Living in Ramsey county is like living on the off ramp of the information super highway at least as it pertains to the availability of public information about foreclosures.  There are other information voids but I am going to resist the temptation to make this a full fledged rant. 

Hennepin counties web site has lists of foreclosures and sheriff sales.

Dakota counties web site is the best when it comes to property tax records that are complete with maps and they show foreclosures on an interactive map.  I think if Ramsey county ever decides to build a web site that offers information they should imitate Dakota counties web site.The site is full of information and easy to navigate. I hate to use the word fun but I have been knows to linger on the site and play. (Am I bad?)

Washington counties web site is kind of lame but they do offer a spreadsheet with foreclosure data on it. 

There are all sorts of sources of foreclosure data. The way it works is that someone pays for these public records and then puts them on a web site.  I guess the lack of public data on some country web sites is a business opportunity for some as they become the source of public information and a source of revenue for the county. When it comes to property taxes I find Ramsey counties system mysterious . . as opposed to transparent.

There are some signs that there is not much summer left, we have another month of great weather and then a month of good weather . . and well anyone who lives here knows the drill.

I have already been contacted by people who plan to sell their homes next spring and they want to know if they will be worth more or less than they are worth now. It is hard to say.  Property values seem to have stabilized.  If they are going up or down it isn't by much.  Housing prices are affected by several factors including the unemployment rate which is at a 25 year high and climbing. We don't know if there will be a tax credit for first time home buyers like there is this year and we don't know what the interest rate will be. 

Aren't you happy you came to my blog today and found so much information?  The truth is no one knows what the housing market will be like in the spring at least not at this point. There will be some predictions.  Some things to watch are the unemployment rate, interest rates and of course foreclosure rates.   If they are all high home values will not go up. 

I have been reading that the recession is winding down. That is certainly good news but I don't believe it.

by Erik Hare

Every city in America had a serious problem with gangsters during Prohibition. Saint Paul's problem was somewhat unique, showing that even in our darkest times we do things our own way. The story of is fascinating, and one of our city's favorite tales of sleaze.

It all starts with what is usually known as "The O'Connor System", after Police Chief John J. O'Connor. The local police would not bother criminals who came to Saint Paul as long as they checked in with the police, promised to behave, and made a small contribution to the Police Benevolent Association. It seems like a cozy bit of corruption.

The truth of the matter is that this system pre-dated O'Connor, and was how the city's brothels stayed in business for many years. This system was also far from unusual in the Midwest as well. But up until O'Connor's death in 1924 it secured the one thing that was important – a  sense of order in the streets.  The hoodlums knew that as long as the Good Citizens of Saint Paul weren't bothered, they could do what they wanted. Besides, Prohibition was not exactly popular, and the rising organized crime from 1920 on was often seen as providing a service.

As much as keeping the peace seemed like a noble goal, Saint Paul lay between legal booze in Canada and the vicious gangs of Chicago. That meant that no matter how hard the city tried to stay out of gang matters it was impossible. The first sign that serious trouble lay ahead came in 1928, when local mob boss Danny "Dapper Dan" Hogan was killed by a bomb wired to the starter of his car.

"Dapper Dan" was a peacemaker between gang members, and insisted that there was more for everyone if they divided up the turf and behaved like respected businessmen. He also worked closely with the police, often acting as a go-between. His death signaled an end to any sense that an agreement and a small bribe could keep the peace.

From that time on, there were a number of small dust-ups in the streets, including a shoot-out between John Dillinger (pictured) and the FBI and pistol fights between rival gangs. Stores sold machine guns and armor plated cars in a growing gangster bazaar that caught the notice of everyone. Creepy Karpis, Machine-Gun Kelly, and all the big names of crime walked our streets. It was only a matter of time before something happened to force the city to do something about it.

In 1933, the Ma Barker Gang kidnapped William Hamm, owner of Hamm's Brewery, in broad daylight on Lexington Avenue. He was returned safely after a large ransom was paid, so the gang kidnapped Edward Bremer of the town's other brewing family in 1934. The cops were powerless to stop this one as well. The outraged citizens elected a reform-minded Mayor, and soon the offices of the police were bugged with the help of the FBI. By 1935 they had enough evidence to put 9 cops in jail, including the chief of police.

Since that time, Saint Paul has been a very clean city. Our Police under John Harrington are the pride of the town, and we tend to look back on those dark days and laugh. More than anything, we've learned our lesson and we don't assume that bad guys from elsewhere are just passing through with no intentions of being bad guys here, too.

The places where these crimes took place can be found in "Dillinger Slept Here" by Paul Maccabee, a local writer who is the husband of a former Council member. There are several places where tours can be arranged of various gangster hideouts and scenes of mayhem. Saint Paul is, if anything, honest about its sleaze.

Located in the heart of downtown across the street form the Saint Paul Hotel, the public library, the Ordway Theater and the Landmark Center. People get married in this park too. The city charges $100 and hour to rent it out for events. There is  a hot dog vendor there most week days making it a convenient place to have lunch. Like many of our parks there is a water feature. 

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun.  This week just flew by.  I tried to hang onto it but it wouldn't let me.  I woke up and it was Monday and then the next thing I know it is Friday and I am writing this.  Where did the time go?  Who knows. I promise I worked hard. I spent quality time arguing with a lender over an appraisal and now that I think of it I spent most of the week arguing.  In the real estate business we don't call it arguing we call it negotiation. Negotiation does sound a bit classier.

When I am not arguing negotiating I like to take pictures. Maybe you knew that already. My introduction to photography came through this blog.  I wanted a picture with each post and so I started taking photos around town every chance I got and have continued to do that for almost four years.  Then about a year and a half ago I bought a better camera which made me want to take more pictures. Photography is not a bad vice in my line of work because I find that pictures help sell listings.  Buyers love to see a lot of photos of houses that they are interested in. 

Sometimes I take pictures just for the joy of it and lately my camera has been attracted to valves and power lines. The valve thing started last winter when I found a pretty red valve downtown and the wires . . I can't really say why anyone would take photos of power lines they are not red or rusty. There really isn't anything I can do with the pictures other than post them on my photo blog or use them for a Friday post on this blog. 

So here is a red valve. Maybe you noticed that it is red and I didn't need to mention it.

Here is a photo of some power lines.  I guess if I have to explain what a photo is of it isn't much of a photo but that is OK because it is Friday.

If you ever need a photo of a valve or of power lines please let me know.

Have a great weekend!

St. Paul home prices are still a moving target.   I spend more time than ever analyzing data so that I can come up with a price that will work.   For appraisers and for Realtors the accepted method of determining value is to find three comparable properties that have sold in the last year and are located close to the subject property.  As an example if I had a three bedroom rambler and I put it in the Mac Groveland area it would have one value, if I took that same property and moved it into my own neighborhood it would have a different value. 

To complicate matters a great percentage of the homes that have sold this year have been foreclosures.  Most of us won't use foreclosures as comparable properties because of their condition and because once a home is owned by a bank it's value seems to drop like a rock.   It is always a challenge to find comparable properties especially in the city where the homes were not all built at the same time using a couple of standard floor plans and in the last few months it has gotten even harder.

There are some new rules regarding appraisals and the lender doesn't get to talk to the appraiser any more. It is a bit more complicated than that and on the surface it looks  good but we are now seeing some very low appraisals.  The appraisers would rather err on the side of a low appraisal because there is no risk for them or for the banks if the appraisal is low. Some appraisals go to appraisal companies and the person doing the appraisal may not understand the property or the neighborhood.  

People are getting loans and buying homes every day but we are also seeing more cases where the financing doesn't work out and it is often because of the appraisal.   It isn't easy to price real estate and no one has come up with a software program that can replicate the kind of fuzzy logic that we all use.  Average and median sale prices have been going up a little in St. Paul over the past few months but appraisers seem to be working under the assumption that they are going down.

Sellers need to be realistic with those prices. If your home is on the market and no one is looking at it, it is priced too high.  If buyers are looking at it but no offers are coming in it is priced too high. If it is priced too high and by some miracle a buyer does make an offer it will be a low offer. No matter what the offer is if the appraiser doesn't agree with the price there will be problems.  When a home does not appraise for the amount that a borrower wants to borrow the deal usually falls apart unless the buyer can kick in some cash or the offer is renegotiated.

by G. Sax (@gsax)

3 A.M. Eternal
We're coming up on two years of homeownership here in the Sax household, which feels pretty darn good. I don't want to ever take for granted what it means to have my own place.

Last week, I wrote about concepts of home while roosting 19 floors above San Francisco. I gave my usual love to St. Paul and stated my belief that people should care about where they live, but I didn't say what landed me in that San Francisco hotel, the W at 3rd and Howard.

Sure, it was a place to sleep during a successful work trip. But for this kid, it was something more. The last time I set foot there was September 2001. I was enduring a crisis situation right along with the nation.

While working an odd job across the street from the W as a temp, I helped my boss-for-the-night bring her work-related things back to the hotel. She casually said to me, her hired hand, "I always stay at the W when I travel." I looked around and thought: Pretty nice.

Then I walked a mile to where I would catch a bus that would take me 30 miles away where I would walk another two miles to my home so I could wake up and do some rendition of the same for the next five years. No real hope of homeownership. No real directon. No "always stay at the W" in my future.

I can't say that owning a home in St. Paul finally got me to the W, but I know that it helps. It provides a home base, a safe haven, a launchpad, an "X" from which to begin and end many adventures.

My home is humble. I don't have a techno beat bumping through my public areas. There is no nightly turnover service. The sleeping spaces aren't opulent. But they're all mine. Even if I don't regularly take full advantage of a good night's sleep, I know that I can in one of several places.

Sales photos these are not. I shot them specifically for this writing to illustrate all the places I have slept in my home. I didn't bother to make the beds or hide the fact that I have way too many earth tones going on here.

The floor photos are perfectly drab photos of floors. On the first night, I slept on the dining room floor with a snoring daughter and a freaked-out dog. The office floor is good for a quick wink after long, harrowing overnighter efforts.

I just woke up from the couch to finish this in the wee hours of the night. I'll return to slumber somewhere other than the master bedroom so as not to wake the wife. It's good to have so many choices at 3 a.m. when sleep comes down.

The KLF – "3 A.M. Eternal" (could still play in the lobby at the W)
Psychedelic Furs – "Sleep Comes Down" (could very well play in my head while I sleep tonight)