Real Estate Snippets

National MLS

A lot of flap has been flying around the real estate industry as more and more aggregators are courting agents to place their listings on line with them.  Zillow has now opened their website for listings.  Point2 Agent has an interface that allows member agents to post their listings and they automatically are fed to Trulia, Google's Oodle, Edgio, and many others.  Local MLS info is sent directly to REALTOR.com as well.  There are so many competitors for listing info these days that it's hard to keep track of all of them.

REALTORS are discussing the possibility of a national MLS.  Minnesota is working toward a statewide system currently.  Agents who are members of the St. Paul MLS can view listings from the St. Cloud and Rochester MLS's.  The state system currently does not allow agents to put their listings in other regional MLS systems unless the agent is a member of that system as well, but that doesn't prevent non-members from checking out their listings!

The move to integrate the different regional MLS's into a system that can be viewed by other regional members has demonstrated how difficult a national MLS would be.  Different regions have different rules on how to input data into the MLS.  In order for a national system to work, it would have to be identical from region to region.

A perfect example is how to list a bathroom.  In St. Paul we call a bath with a toilet and sink a half bath.  In other regions that kind of bath is called a 2 piece bath.  A St. Paul bath with a shower, sink and toilet is a three-quarter bath.  Other regions might call that a full bath or a 3 piece bath.  If there is a tub with a shower head, a sink and toilet is that a 3 piece bath or a full bath?  And what if there's a toilet and shower only?  Or a tub and toilet only?  (I've seen houses with that very problem.)  Are both of those baths 2 piece? 

House styles are called different things regionally as well.  In Texas a one level house is called a ranch style and they seldom have basements.  In St. Paul the one level home is called a rambler and it's rare for them to be without a basement.  Some states are deed of trust states but Minnesota is not.  Minnesota has homestead taxes but many states do not. 

To bring all the regional differences into one consistent format would take a lot of hard work on the part of the programmers for a national MLS system.  It would also require a lot of work in training the real estate agents on how to understand the things that make no sense in their region.  Accuracy and consistency would surely go out the window.  The person in charge of quality control might even be in India if the MLS went national!  The whole idea makes visions of nightmares float through my head!

Otto

It's not surprising that the Bremer Banks Diggin' Dino is named after the Bremer founder Otto Bremer who immigrated to St. Paul in 1886 and became a leading banker, entrepreneur,  political advisor, and civic leader.   The dino Otto is found on Snelling Avenue at Shields by the Bremer Midway parking lot.  Staff of the Bremer Midway branch created Otto.  It's only been recently that Bremer Banks have started appearing in the metro as previously the Bremer Banks were mostly located in small outstate towns.

The Bremer Foundation is funded by a trust established by Otto Bremer.  Their mission statement reads:  "In accordance with the principles set forth by Otto Bremer in his trust agreement, the mission of the Otto Bremer Foundation is to assist people in achieving full economic, civic, and social participation in and for the betterment of their communities.  Beneficiaries must reside in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, with preference give to those in regions served by Bremer banks." 

Otto, the dino's namesake, was indeed a generous man of great forethought!   Many communities in our three state area are grateful for funds generated by the Bremer Foundation.

Oil Tanks

It's a nightmare when the buyers' inspection reveals that the 3" diameter pipe that's been in the sellers' flower garden for 17 years is actually the fill pipe for an unused underground oil tank!  It's especially bad when the storage tank is buried under the cement driveway!

Oil as a heating fuel has become less common in St. Paul, but a few homes still do have an active oil storage tank on their property.  Sometimes the tank is in the basement and sometimes it is buried underground.  A potential buyer will often ask that an abandoned tank be removed or properly abandoned as condition of the sale. 

If your St. Paul house is one of the unlucky few to have a buried beast that is not in use, it is in your best interest to determine how large it is and  become familiar with the process needed to either remove the tank or "abandon" it in place.  Residential tanks with less than 1,100 gallon capacity have different regulations than those that are larger, however, any tank that has not been in use for a full year is supposed to be "abandoned" or removed. 

Oil storage tanks are something the home sellers need to approach proactively.  Even steel tanks will eventually corrode and collapse causing a sink hole or contamination of the soil from oil left in the tank.  Since oil storage tanks are regulated by the local fire marshal, the local fire department is the first place to call for regulations regarding whether the tank must be removed or can be left in place and how to abandon the tanks that are left buried. 

Wasp Season

We pulled up to view the St. Paul house as another agent walked up the steps.  Since multiple showings are not usually scheduled at the same time, we politely lagged back a bit.  As we chatted, the agent opened the storm door, opened the lockbox, looked up and closed the door.  She stepped back and Mr. Buyer repeated her actions.  Mrs. Buyer is as far from the door as she can get.  The agent once again opened the door and hesitated.  All three stepped back and had a little discussion.

Not being the type to sit idly by, I joined the little group on the back step to offer assistance.  The hold up?  There was a new wasp nest being built in the door jamb.  Whereas they had disturbed the critters several times by opening the storm door, they were reluctant to actually put the key in the lock and cross the threshold.  They didn't want to let one of the wasps into the house!  The house was vacant.  Who cares!

Whether they wanted to brave the threshold or not, my clients and I were going to see the house.  I asked for the key, opened the door, and we entered as the other agent joked, "Maybe you'd be better off using her for your agent.  She's fearless!"

Window Thieves Captured

Last May an alert was posted on my blog for anyone who might have seen these stolen windows.  There wasn't a lot of media coverage on stolen stained glass at the time so when the Pioneer Press published today that a ring of stained glass window thieves had been captured and my listing wasn't the only one hit, I was surprised.  The windows might even be in the St. Paul impound lot.  All that has to be done is to bring in the police report, identification, and a picture and one can reclaim their lost treasures!  Tomorrow we'll see if our windows are there and if it's really as easy as they proclaim!

Now let's see.  Does retrieving stolen goods come under the job description for St. Paul real estate agent?

On My Way to . . .

Several visits to one of my listings in the last week produced some interesting pictures of what happens when a neighborhood block club is active in St. Paul.  Sometimes the St. Paul block club works politically to clean up crime, improve property condition, beautify the neighborhood, or convey concerns to the St. Paul city representatives.  Other times it's just plain fun. 

This set of photos was discovered at Pascal and Van Buren before the July 21st painting invitation.

This set of street paintings was created on July 21, 2007, at Van Buren and Asbury.  The turtles inched their way along Van Buren until they reached the old painting on Pascal.  One of the "painters" proclaimed it was fun! 

House Affordability

Lenn Harley is one of my gurus.  She's my mentor and doesn't even know it.  I want to be like Lenn when I grow up.  For those who don't know, Lenn is a woman despite her name!  She's also a REALTOR® of great wisdom, professionalism, and common sense insight.  She's a straight shooter as well.  But this post is NOT about Lenn albeit it was inspired by one of Lenn's recent blog entries.

Lenn's no nonsense approach says it all.  Despite what the media is saying about the real estate market.  Despite what the economic experts might be saying about the real estate market.  Despite what the National Association of REALTORS® might be saying about the real estate market.  Despite the many people who have an opinion about the real estate market, the only people that have the truth about the real estate market are the ones who matter, the buyers.  They are the ones that are creating the trend in lower prices, longer days on the market, and reduced number of sales.  Buyers are the ones St. Paul home sellers and their listing agents should be listening to.

What buyers are telling me is that some are still buying, but they are unwilling or unable to pay the price that sellers are asking.  They are still buying, but they have lots of houses to choose from so they're choosing the exceptional house for the exceptional price.  They are still buying, but they expect sellers to give some kind of concession or they'll move on to the next seller.

Some of my St. Paul sellers have heard the message.  These sellers are pricing their homes lower than the competition.  These sellers are making their homes look like models for Pier 1 Imports!  These sellers are repairing their deferred maintenance items.  These sellers are negotiating to find where the buyers' requests overlap the sellers' ability to meet the requests.

Some St. Paul sellers have not heard the message.  They haven't looked at the figures.  Lenn was right in checking out how family income has risen compared to housing costs.  In St. Paul, the median family income in 2000 was $48,925 and in 2006 it was $52,809.  Income increased by 7.8%.  The median cost of a home in 2000 was $119,900 and in 2006 it was $199,900**.  The cost of home purchases increased by 66.6%!  No matter how much a buyer might want to live in a home, the inflated prices have removed many buyers from the market!  The cost of housing has outstripped income in the last 6 years.

The story continues.  Fewer qualified buyers mean less homes sell.  The lack of sales increases inventory.  The supply of homes outstrips the demand for homes.  The old economic principle of supply and demand asserts its authority once again.  Too much supply forces prices down.  Once prices decrease to an affordability level, buyers can, and will, return to buying.  Until that time, home sellers are going to have to look at the painful truth.  The house they own today cannot sell today for what it might have sold in 2004.  The market has turned.  The prices hit the glass ceiling and now must come down.  If selling is necessary, the seller is going to have to price according to today's market, not the market of 2003 or 2004.

**Based on information from the REGIONAL MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE OF MINNESOTA, INC for the period 2000 through 2006.

Javasaurus

Javasaurus is proudly protecting his/her St. Paul corner (I don't know how to tell gender on a dino!) at Randolph and Fairview.  This big java monster was painted by the Caribou staff for Caribou Coffee at the same corner!

How to Cancel the Purchase without Losing Your Shirt

Earnest money in the St. Paul area can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.   The purpose of earnest money is to show the sellers that the buyers are serious about purchasing the property.  In the St. Paul real estate market, it is customary for the sellers' real estate company to hold the buyers' earnest money in a trust account until the day of the closing.  That practice varies from state to state.

Two days ago we talked about how to lose the earnest money.  There are also protections for home buyers built into the Minnesota Association of REALTORS® purchase agreement forms.  Ways to cancel a purchase agreement without the buyers losing their earnest money include:

• The home buyers do not qualify for the loan.  The financing addendum says in this circumstance the buyers and sellers will sign a cancellation of the purchase agreement and the buyers will get their earnest money back.
• A defect in the house is discovered in the home buyers' inspection.  The buyers request the defect be corrected and the sellers decline.  The inspection addendum says if both parties cannot come to an agreement on repairs, a cancellation will be signed and the earnest money is returned to the home buyers.
• Review of condo or townhouse documents within the alloted ten days reveals something the home buyers cannot accept (i.e., no pets, height and weight restrictions for pets, restriction on number of pets, too little reserve funds in the association, restrictions against renting the unit, restrictions about guests, parking restrictions, etc.).  The common interest community addendum allows the home buyers to cancel the purchase agreement and the earnest money is returned to the buyers.
• The purchase agreement is written contingent on the sale of the buyers' current house within a specified time.  If the buyers' house does not sell on time or if the seller calls for removal of the contingency, both parties will sign a cancellation and the buyers' earnest money is returned.
• If the home sellers do not provide a clear title to the property, the buyers' earnest money will be returned to the buyer.
• If the sellers decide not to sell it is considered default. on the contract.  The buyers can sue to make the sellers perform according to the written purchase agreement.  This does not often happen because it is time consuming and buyers want to move into a house.  In the event the buyers do not sue for "performance" on the contract, they would get their earnest money back.

There are other circumstances when the house purchase falls apart, but these are the most common ones.  In each case the buyers would get their earnest money back if the house does not close.  Note that the terms and conditions of when the earnest money is refunded to the buyers are in writing in the forms that are part of the purchase agreement.  The purchase agreement is a legal and binding contract.  It is for the protection of both the home buyers and the home sellers.  If either party does not perform it is a breech of the contract agreement and penalties can ensue.

Gas Prices

On my way back from an Elk River appointment this afternoon, I glanced to the side of the highway and saw a cow driven hay wagon!  Second glance proved I was not mistaken.  They looked like oxen except they were a beautiful brindle brown.  Had it not been for traffic a perfect pastoral picture was there but the headlines "Highway 10 Pile Up from Blogger Taking Pix of Ox Cart" made me forebear!

Do you think the high cost of gas is why this farmer is reverting to animal power?