If your thinking of buying a MN Minnesota Bank Owned, REO, Foreclosure in Minneapolis or St. Paul, one thing you should check on is to see if it is registered vacant with that city. If you are a foreclosure investor and your looking for Minneapolis or St. Paul homes to flip or rent out as investment property, you must do your due diligence. There are some bad agents out there that do not classify their Minneapolis Foreclosure Listings or St. Paul Foreclosure Listings as registered vacant (if in fact they are registered vacant).  They either don’t know Minneapolis Foreclosure/Vacant Building Rules and Fees and St. Paul Foreclosure/Vacant Building Rules and Fees. Below are links to The City of Minneapolis Vacant Building List and The City of St. Saint Paul Vacant Building List.

City of St. Paul Vacant Building list:http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=2272

City of Minneapolis Vacant Building list: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/inspections/ch249list.asp (click thru link, then scroll down to “Current List of Buildings Registered As Vacant” and click on updated PDF of vacant Minneapolis properties)

If you want to know what the next step will be if you decied to purchase a Minneapolis or St. Saint Paul VACANT BUILDING PROPERTY then click on my previous blog http://mnforeclosureproperties.com/city-of-st-paul-minnesota-vacant-building-code-compliance-category-1-category-2-category-3-what-does-this-mean-if-i-buy-this-foreclosure-how-does-this-affect-saleability/

Know what your getting into… fees can run into the thousands when dealing with vacant building fees and Minneapolis or St. Paul Code Compliance Inspections. If your are thinking of buying a Minneapolis Foreclosure Listing or a St. Saint Paul Foreclosure Listing, contact an REO/Foreclosure Broker! John Schuster is Coldwell Banker Burnet’s #1 listing agent and sold 246 homes in 2010. For a free confidential meeting to discuss your Foreclosure Investment needs, please contact John @ 612-924-7140.

Q3 Minneasota REO Foreclosure stats are out and MN Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, Carver County, Washington County, Anoka County and Scott County bank owned properties are on the rise. 

St. Paul’s Pioneer Press stated:

“Foreclosures in Minnesota are on the rise again, climbing more than 23 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, with the metro area driving the upward trend. Statewide, foreclosures in the third quarter hit the second-highest level on record at 7,254. The only quarter with a higher level was the third quarter of 2008, when the state reached 7,349 foreclosures, according to Friday’s report from HousingLink, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit that studies housing issues.”

Full article http://www.twincities.com/business/ci_16533752?nclick_check=1

This could spell trouble for the Twin Cities real estate marketplace.  Real estate prices might not start to see an upswing for years to come and Bank Owned REO Foreclosures continue to pull down on home, townhome and condo values!  The upside? If you are a real estate investor looking for Single Family Homes, Duplexes, Triplexes, Fourplexes and other multifamily properties can get a sweet deal!  If you looking for CASH FLOW investment properties, you can actually find them now! If you are a home buyer (and do not need to sell a home to buy a home) there may never be a better time to buy! 

If you are looking for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mae (GSE) bank owned REO foreclosure, they have direct access via:

http://www.homepath.com/state/mn.html

http://www.homesteps.com/hm01_1featuresearch.htm

or if you like to search the MLS for Minneapolis, St. Paul, Twin Cities foreclosures, you can search the broker reciprocity Twin Cities Housing database via: http://mnforeclosureproperties.com/hnav/search-foreclosures/

or if you would like a custom search set up, please contact John Schuster, Coldwell Banker Burnet @ jdschuster@cbburnet.com 612-924-7140 www.johnschustergroup.com www.TwinCitiesListed.com www.TwinCitiesCondoShop.com 3033 Excelsior Blvd #100, Minneapolis, MN 55416

Have you ever wondered how the foreclosure process works in Minnesota?

Information sourced from http://www.realtytrac.com/foreclosure-laws/minnesota-foreclosure-laws.asp

Pre-foreclosure Period

In Minnesota, a court foreclosure begins when a lender notifies the borrower of the default.  The lender then files a court action against the borrower. If the court rules against the borrower, a sale is scheduled. The majority of Minnesota foreclosures are handled out of court through a power-of-sale clause contained in the mortgage. Under most mortgages, a lender must mail a default notice to the borrower before scheduling the sale.With both types of foreclosure proceedings, the borrower can stop the foreclosure any time before the foreclosure sale by paying the default amount, plus fees and allowable costs.

Notice of Sale / Auction

The notice must include the borrower, owner, and lender names; the original loan amount; the mortgage date; recording information; the default amount due; a property description; the time and location of the sale; and the redemption period.  The notice must be published for six weeks, and the occupants of the property must be given the notice in person at least four weeks prior to the sale. The county sheriff or sheriff’s deputy conducts the foreclosure sale between 9:00 a.m. and sundown at a public place, usually the sheriff’s office. Anyone may bid at the sale, and the property is sold to the winning bidder. If not the lender, the winning bidder must be prepared to pay the full amount in cash or cashier’s check. The sheriff may postpone the sale by publishing a notice in the newspaper where the original notice of sale was published. After the sale, the sheriff gives a certificate of sale to the winning bidder. The certificate of sale effectively transfers ownership and possession rights to the winning bidder after the redemption period. In Minnesota, a borrower usually has a six-month redemption period, but some property types and mortgages allow for a 12-month redemption period. During this time, the borrower can redeem the property by paying the total amount of the bid plus interest and any applicable costs.

For more info on Sheriff’s Sales in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis & St. Paul) 7-County metro area please click on the links below:

Hennepin County Foreclosures, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Sales http://www4.co.hennepin.mn.us/webforeclosure/

Dakota County Foreclosures, Dakota County Sheriff’s Sales http://www.co.dakota.mn.us/Departments/Sheriff/Services/ForeclosureSales.htm

Anoka County Foreclosures, Anoka County Sheriff’s Sales http://www.co.anoka.mn.us/v3_sheriff/civil-process-sheriffs-sales.html

Carver County Foreclosures, Carver County Sheriff’s Sales http://www.co.carver.mn.us/county_government/s_civil_process.asp

Washington County Foreclosures, Washington County Sheriff’s Sales http://wcsheriff.info/

Scott County Foreclosures, Scott County Sheriff’s Sales http://www.co.scott.mn.us/PublicSafetyJustice/CountySheriff/civilprocess/Pages/ListsofSheriff’sSales.aspx

Ramsey County Foreclosures, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Sales http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/sheriff/Foreclosuresales.htm

If you are facing foreclosure – TIME IN NOT ON YOUR SIDE! Short-selling your home may be the best option. If you are behind on your mortgage payments and you think your mortgage company/bank might foreclose on your home, contact a Minnesota Short Sale agent / broker ASAP – John Schuster, Coldwell Banker Burnet 612-924-7140 jdschuster@cbburnet.com

The Minnesota foreclosure machine for the most part has not been affected by the recent halt to foreclosures by some of the big mortgage players (Bank of America BAC, PNC
Financial, Chase). This is mostly because Twin Cities foreclosures (actually all Minnesota foreclosures) happen in a redemption state. If the owner has cause, she or he can likely get the sheriff’s sale postponed and after the Minnesota sheriff’s sale has happened, the prior owner has 6 month’s to “redeem” themselves and take back title to their home. MN NPR has an interesting article about this issue.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/10/17/foreclosures/
For more info on Hennepin County Foreclosures, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Sales,Dakota County Foreclosures, Dakota County Sheriff’s Sales, Anoka County Foreclosures, Anoka County Sheriff’s Sales,Carver County Foreclosures, Carver County Sheriff’s Sales,Washington County Foreclosures, Washington County Sheriff’s Sales,Scott County Foreclosures, Scott County Sheriff’s Sales,Ramsey County Foreclosures, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Sales http://mnforeclosureproperties.com/?p=161 

Here is an interesting interview with PBS and HUD Secretary Donovan

All in all, the foreclosure are going to keep coming. I think we will see a little more QC done during some of the legal filings and such, but the banks are going to take back homes where someone is not paying their mortgage. For the most part Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul), Hennepin County / Ramsey County / Dakota County / Washington County / Anoka County / Carver County / Scott County foreclosures (REO) listings will continue to work their way through the legal process and be resold on the open market. Coming into the winter market with an ever increasing inventory has created some fabulous opportunities for investors to pick up some excellent CASH FLOW properties with little money down. I think we have about 2-4 more years of this market. The best deals will be in the next year to 18 months before Minnesota foreclosures start to tapper off. If you have good credit, a little money, time to put into an income property and you want to wealth in a decade from now, talk to a good Minneapolis / St. Paul Twin Cities Minnesota real estate broker. – John Schuster

Looking for steal of a deal on your next home? Do you think buying your next Minneapolis Home, Minneapolis Condo or Minneapolis Town Home at a real estate auction can save you tons of money? Maybe so, especially if that auction is a foreclosure (REO) Auction! Hudson and Marshall just left the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) on their Midwest home selling spree!

Here you can see a listing @ 140 10th Street S, South St. Paul MN that was last actively listed @ $119,900 that “Sold” at the Minnesota foreclosure auction at almost half price! This is what I call “Cheap MN real estate”. Note that most real estate foreclosure auctions have a “reserve” price and if the property does not fetch the reserve price – the seller (i.e. the foreclosing bank) can decide if they want to accept, reject or counter the auction sale price.

Auctions can be a great deal and a major headache! First, you must do ALL of your due diligence (buyer inspection) prior to bidding. You might need to pay an inspector to inspect a home that you do not yet own – and might be outbid at auction! Second, you most likely need to be a Cash buyer of real estate as auction sales cannot be contingent upon financing. And third, most auctions have a “buyer’s premium” added to the sales price which is usually 5%. This means if you are the winning bidder at the auction for $100000, this home will really cost you $105000.

Know what your doing if you buy via auction…and if you don’t find a good Realtor that navigate all the Twin Cities auction pitfalls for you. – John Schuster

For the past 6 years, I have advised my clients to use Tim Walz with Suburban Home Inspections.  Walz offer thermal scanning for buyers during their inspection.  Thermal scanning can “see behind the wall” and expose preexisting damage or issue that might get passed up on a normal buyers inspection.  Walz / Suburban Home Inspections has recently done inspections for my clients in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Savage, Eden Prairie, Bloomington, SW Minneapolis and other cities throughout the Twin Cities.  When you buy a bank owned home you are buying AS-IS.  Know what your getting into or don’t buy the home.  Thermal Scanning cost a bit more than the normal buyers inspection, but it is well worth it.  See the results of some of Tim’s famous Thermal Scanning finds @

http://www.homeinvestigator.com/ThermalImageScanning

City of St Paul, MN Code Compliance Report Category 1, category 2, category 3 THINGS BUYERS MUST KNOW

Are you thinking of buying a vacant home or property in St. Paul, Minnesota (MN)? Have you checked to see if this foreclosure / bank owned home is on the City of St. Paul VACANT BUILDING list?  If you haven’t your going to wish you had.  Linked above is a PDF explaining the difference between CATEGORY 1 – CATEGORY 2 – CATEGORY 3 vacant buildings.  Let’s just say category 1 is not so bad,  category 3 may require a bulldozer!  Check out this story from the Star Tribune about this issue http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/39751872.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:UthPacyPE7iUiacyKUnciaec8O7EyUr

The city says – we want our housing supply cleaned up!  With the ever growing supply of vacant buildings on the City of St. Paul’s hands, they decided to to take a troubled situation and take a long vision approach.  The fact is, if a home sits vacant and uncared for for too long it moves up the ladder from vacant – category 1 (no problem, just do an ordinary Truth – In – Housing report) http://www.ci.stpaul.mn.us/index.asp?NID=1085

But, once it goes to category 2 or 3 -  Buyer be very aware!  That simple Ikea flip might turn into a hellish nightmare! Although some neighborhoods are fighting back! Dayton’s Bluff and the Hillcrest area have been holding tours of vacant homes to help get them sold! Check of this story from Fox 9 – KMSP http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/St_Paul_Vacant_House_Tour_Entices_Buyers_with_Strong_Community_Low_Prices

The real deal is that you need a qualified, foreclosure knowledgeable Realtor to help you purchase bank owned / vacant homes in the City of ST. Paul.  John Schuster with Coldwell Banker Burnet is one of the Top Agents in St Paul  and Minneapolis area.  He sold over 100 homes in 2008 and he knows how to work with the banks to get you a fabulous deal.  If you should be thinking of purchasing a foreclosure anywhere in the Twin Cities area contact John Schuster @ jdschuster@cbburnet.com 612-924-7140

Worst, No. 4: Minneapolis, Minn.

Index score: 127

Prices were last this low: April 2002

Month-to-month drop: -4.6%

Year-over-year drop: -18.45%

Deceleration rank: No. 20

http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/24/housing-cities-ten-lifestyle-real-estate_home_prices_slide_18.html?thisSpeed=15000

Forbes.com just released data from S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index, released Feb. 24, 2009.

They state that Minneapolis, MN is the #4 worst housing market in their “10 Best And 10 Worst U.S. Housing Markets”.  Although our real estate market has gone through tremendous stresses in the last year, there is no way we should have even made this list.  We have seen values drop 5-50+% depending on which area of Minneapolis you focus on.  The SW Minneapolis and Lakes area have been able to hold their values much better that North Minneapolis, Phillips and Powderhorn neighborhoods.  The silver lining to declining market values is affordable housing.  First time buyers now have the opportunity to own homes that they can actually afford.  If you are thinking of purchasing a home in Minneapolis or St. Paul or in the Twin Cities metropolitain area, now may be the time.  It is very important to find an agent that know foreclosures / REO properties and regulations in Minneapolis, St. Paul or the municipality in which that home resides.