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White Bear Lake, MN Real Estate News

By Deb Casper, CRS, e-PRO, SFR
(RE/MAX Results - White Bear Lake)
We got a very early snow storm today, in fact it's still falling!  Probably 3-4 inches total on October 12 - it's a record!  But, my new listing comes on today - do I post a snow photo or not?  The snow is supposed to melt today - but, you never know.  What do you think?  
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By Thomas Janos
(The Janos Group / Real Estate Affiliates Services, Inc.)
Are you still sitting on the Fence? As many of you know the $8000 tax credit ends on December 1st, 2009 which means you MUST be fully closed on your home by November 30th, 2009, so if your still sitting on the fence waiting to buy a home you need to get busy and buy now. I am sorry to say that I would recommend that you DO NOT waste your time looking at Short Sale Properties, if you wish to get the tax credit, as many of them can take up to two or even three months just for the banks to decide if they will accept your offer.  This may not give you enough time to get everything completed in time for you to close on your house prior to the December 1st deadline. Remember there are many items that need to be completed in order for any closing to be completed on time, IE... all mortgage pa...
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By Teri Eckholm, REALTOR Serving Mpls/St Paul North & East Metro
(Boardman Realty)
There are always lots of white bears to be found in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Sometimes you have to do a double TRIPLE take though!   If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet, Homebuyers Success Packet or sign up for Listingbook Twin Cities Home Search. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota. Buying a Home? Check out my new HOME BUYER'S BLOG! Copyright 2009 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/ **************************************************************...
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By Thomas Janos
(The Janos Group / Real Estate Affiliates Services, Inc.)
Well we are coming up to a year now that we have offered our Home Buyers and Sellers the ability to search for homes and competition homes with the ListingBook Program and they love it. If you have never tried ListingBook for your property searches you are missing the boat.  It has many features that most websites do not have that makes the home search easier and more efficient. ListingBook is a free account and loaded with powerful and helpful tools you will not find in anyother service. It is extremely easy to use.  There is PDF Files and Web Seminars for training if needed.  We have clients that are not Tech Savy when it comes to computers and they are usually up and searching with in 15 minutes or so. With Listingbook buyers can easily: Find any home in the Multiple Listing Service-...
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By Thomas Janos
(The Janos Group / Real Estate Affiliates Services, Inc.)
Good Morning Everyone,I just wanted to take a moment and give you all an update on what is currently happening in the market today.  The last two months have been a bit frustrating in the real estate market for Realtors and Buyers. As many of you buyers can see in your property searches, there has been many Sold and Pending homes which is good for Sellers, but, the number of new listings has dropped dramatically in the last few months, which is bad for Buyers.  The last two weeks especially.  I am not sure why that is unless it is because of the Holiday.  Normally Holidays are slow the week before and the week after.  Hopefully it will pick up this week and we will get more new listings.  The bad thing is most homes priced below $150,000 are selling in multiple offers.  I do not mean 2 ...
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By Teri Eckholm, REALTOR Serving Mpls/St Paul North & East Metro
(Boardman Realty)
Flag flying high over White Bear Lake, Minnesota.If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet, Homebuyers Success Packet or sign up for Listingbook Twin Cities Home Search. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota. Buying a Home? Check out my new HOME BUYER'S BLOG! Copyright 2009 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/ ****************************************************************************************************** LIKE MY BLOG? Subscribe and let me email you a...
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By Teri Eckholm, REALTOR Serving Mpls/St Paul North & East Metro
(Boardman Realty)
I never miss an opportunity to take a great photo. Years before we were married, my husband and I ventured out to take photos of the hot air balloon race during the St. Paul Winter Carnival. We froze our fingers that subzero day but took some awesome photos of colorful hot air balloons. Of course with the warm spring weather, I jumped at the chance to photo the RE/MAX balloon as it took off from Benson Airfield just north of White Bear Lake. Little did we know that we were going to be more involved in the launch than just showing up and snapping a few pictures. I thought I had missed out on the flight as it was suppose to fly over the Governor's Fishing Opener on White Bear Lake this past weekend. I had been busy showing homes in Chisago County on Saturday so figured the balloon fly ove...
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By Teri Eckholm, REALTOR Serving Mpls/St Paul North & East Metro
(Boardman Realty)
Bear sculptures abound in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. This one located just off 2nd between Washington Square and Hwy 61 is unbearably cute and NOT white! If you are buying or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet, Homebuyers Success Packet or sign up for Listingbook Twin Cities Home Search. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota. Buying a Home? Check out my new HOME BUYER'S BLOG! Copyright 2009 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/ ****************************************************...
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By Teri Eckholm, REALTOR Serving Mpls/St Paul North & East Metro
(Boardman Realty)
With the official ice out last week, it won't be long until the sails are skimming across Minnesota lakes.   If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet, Homebuyers Success Packet or sign up for Listingbook Twin Cities Home Search. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota. Buying a Home? Check out my new HOME BUYER'S BLOG! Copyright 2009 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/ *****************************************************************************************...
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By Thomas Janos
(The Janos Group / Real Estate Affiliates Services, Inc.)
What you should know if your landlord lets the property your renting go into foreclosure. A foreclosure does not change your lease terms.  You must continue to follow the terms of your lease.  You must keep paying rent unless you have a legal reason to withhold it and you should have an attorney representing you in this case.  Your landlord must also follow the terms of your lease and they must also keep the property in good repair as indicated in your lease and Minnesota Law.  You must also keep you utilities paid current. If you move out early it may be a voilation of your lease.  Both you and your landlord must give legal notice to end your lease.  I would also recommend reading your lease to see if there is anything about your rights if the property is in foreclosure. Your landlord ...
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By Thomas Janos
(The Janos Group / Real Estate Affiliates Services, Inc.)
If your decision is to market your property when your in foreclosure, then choosing the right Real Estate Professional to assist you is very important.  The average Realtor does not have the experience in foreclosure properties and that could make matters worse.  There is a lot of work involved in listing a normal property, but there is a lot more work and legal issues involved with listing a foreclosure property.  The Real Estate Company and the Realtor you choose will have to be a full sercie company that has a marketing strategy to sell your property quickly in the time remaining.  The Realtor will have to know which person at the Mortgage Company, their attorneys office and other lien holder's offices to contact with problems or negotiations.  They will have to contact the city and ...
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The hype surrounding Valentine's Day has long made us dig deep into our pockets for the traditional roses, chocolates, and jewelry. According to a 2008 report from the National Retail Federation, consumers expected to spend $122 on Valentine's gifts last year. But this February, in the midst of a roller-coaster economy, the flutter many Americans are feeling has more to do with financial worries than a quickened heartbeat caused by love. Remember that there are plenty of ways to show how you feel without spending a fortune. Inspired by the "Debt Diva", Clarky Davis, here are some ideas for 'debt-free dates'. 1. Romantic Dinner: Have a nice candlelit dinner at home. Cooking at home costs much less than going to fancy restaurant. Dress up in something nice and make something new. 2. Treas...
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By Thomas Janos
(The Janos Group / Real Estate Affiliates Services, Inc.)
Sometimes because of the condition of the property, property values declining (like todays market), or lenders giving 125% equity loans, the homeowner will owe more than the property will sell for in the current market.  This situation usually occurs when there is more than one mortgage on the property or a declining real estate market.  When you mortgage a property there is both the mortgage agreement and a promissory note.  Even though the property is the collateral, the lenders can obtain deficiency judgments because of the promissory note.  Junior lien holders will often accept "short sales" otherwise they are faced with paying off larger mortgages to protect their smaller ones. In today's market many of the first mortgages are accepting "Short Sales" because they would not be able ...
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It's like leaving the closet light on all day and all night, all year. When 12 months are up, you will have spent between $50 and $70 to keep that light burning. That's an undeniably wasteful way to blow 50 bucks, but that's how much energy is lost in an average household every year. The culprit: electronics sitting idle. But still, $50 in the grand scheme of things? But think of not just your home, but your neighbors.......and their neighbors......in town after town across America. The problem is more electricity being used, which leads to pollution. It forces the electrical grid to work a little harder than it needs to, all for energy that slowly seeps away. Unlike a light bulb, which generally relies on a switch to provide power, most electronics and appliances are continually powere...
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By Thomas Janos
(The Janos Group / Real Estate Affiliates Services, Inc.)
Hello again everyone,  Today I will cover what needs to be done when selling a home in foreclosure.   When listing and marketing homes in foreclosure there are specific time limits in getting the property sold and closed before the end of the redemption period.  The homeowner needs to understand they do not have the luxury of overpricing in hopes of getting more money because it may take longer to sell.  They need to understand that when they are not making payments on the mortgage, the amount they owe keeps increasing every day.  It is very important to price the home competitively for a faster sale to preserve as much equity as possible. The homeowners will be charged a daily interest that will eat up any equity very quickly.  You will also have the banks attorney fees added to the pa...
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Stocks, Treasuries, and Mortgage-Backed Securities(MBS) all showed significant losses today. Weaker than expected economic data was consistent with the decline in stocks, but Treasuries and MBS usually benefit from weak economic news. Bond markets continued to suffer for a second day after the Fed did not announce a definite plan to purchase Treasuries. December New Home Sales fell far more than expected to a record low level of 331K annual units. New Home Sales for 2008 dropped to the lowest level since 1982. The 5-yr Treasury auction received weaker than expected domestic demand, but foreign investors purchased a stronger than average 35% of the total. The House passed its version of the fiscal stimulus plan, and the Senate is expected to consider a different version next week. The Do...
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By Teri Eckholm, REALTOR Serving Mpls/St Paul North & East Metro
(Boardman Realty)
Last fall, I shared wonderful warm photos White Bear Lake shoreline and the bridge that connects Manitou Island to the rest of the City of White Bear Lake. You can take the fall photo tour again by clicking HERE. Today with our weeks of subzero temperatures, the surface of the lake is frozen. It is so solid they were able to move a house from Manitou Island across the lake. I have to admit that though many Minnesotans really get their kicks from ice fishing and spinning donuts on frozen lakes, I never was one to attempt to drive onto frozen water. Today, the scene was one for the record books; homeowners moved their house across the lake from Manitou Island. I wish I had been there in person. If they can move a 60 Ton house across this water, I guess my car would be okay. Maybe next ti...
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By Thomas Janos
(The Janos Group / Real Estate Affiliates Services, Inc.)
NOW IS ONE OF THE BEST TIMES TO BUY A HOUSE IN THE LAST 30 YEARS! Why? Because it is a Buyers Market with great deals & Interest Rates are still the lowest in the last 30 years. We specialize in all types of home buyers from first time home buyers to experienced home buyers up to multi-million dollar properties. Visit our website for important buyer tips and perform your own property search. Our site offers many ways to find your dream home. Check out our Find A Home option and select all the different areas that you may want to live in. Search by area, municipality, zip code, county, etc. It’s that easy! Or contact us and we will set up an account for you in our NEW VIP Buyer software that will do the above listed items and more. Our buyers love this program. Check out our "Get New Lis...
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By Thomas Janos
(The Janos Group / Real Estate Affiliates Services, Inc.)
When lenders begin to foreclose on a mortgage in default, there are typically a number of notices requirements that they must meet for the process to be legal. Otherwise, the homeowners may be able to contest the foreclosure in court for inadequacy of process, and the bank's lawsuit or ability to sell the house may be thrown out and it will have to restart at the beginning.   In most states, homeowners are required to be notified of many aspects of the legal process of foreclosure. Usually this is accomplished by posting the applicable notice on the property itself, which a sheriff's deputy will do. Certified mail may also be used for some documents, such as the complaint and summons or copies of other court documents. However, banks foreclosing on a property are also required to post l...
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By Loren Johnson, CMPS
Saw a news item in the morning paper that just made me cringe...and had nothing to do with the housing industry, for a change!!! A Wisconsin State Supreme Court ruling yesterday says that a former Cheerleader cannot sue another cheerleader who had dropped he during a 'stunt' in 2004. WHAT??? I have a daughter who dances, and sometimes she falls during practice, or strains something during a dance. Would I even think of suing the instructor?????NO. In this case, a female cheerleader was dropped & injured her head during warmups for a High-School basketball game. She sued the boy who had dropped her, the school district, and the insurance company. (The story does not mention anything about any permanent injury...I'm assuming it would have if there were). The court ruled that she couldn't ...
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