Good news for Minnesota farmers

While reading through echopress.com, I ran across an article entitled, “Minnesota ranks 7^th in ag production”. According to this article, even though the nation’s economy is struggling, Minnesota is still among the top ten agricultural leaders in the country and its farm income is growing as is the value of agricultural products. This is even more significant when we consider that Minnesota, along with eight other states, accounts for 50% of the total value of U.S. agricultural products. Minnesota ranked seventh among the top nine producing states. This news comes from the 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture, which was released recently. The Census Bureau conducts its Agricultural Census every five years.

Minnesota’s farm production market value grew from $8.6 billion to $13.2 billion over the last five years. The amount of sales from crops and livestock are almost evenly split at 53% and 47% respectively. Hopefully this will be a continuing trend that helps Minnesota to weather the coming economic hardships our nation is facing.

The great thing about Minnesota’s agricultural sector is that it is in a good situation to weather any potential economic problems because regardless of the economic situation, people have to eat. Crops and livestock are always in demand, however, because of the fact that fuel and fertilizer expenses for these farmers has gone up a whopping 90%, it may not be the agricultural sector that sees more profits from this 54% increase in market value over the past five years. Now that the price of oil has dropped again, farmers should start seeing more profits.

If you are interested in seeing the recently released census results, please visit http://www.agcensus.usda.gov or call 1-800-727-9540.

Click if you would like to read this article in its entirety at echopress.com.

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Keeping your investment in tip-top shape

If you have a second or winter home there are some important things that you should do to ensure that your investment stays in excellent condition. Your second home or winter home has two natural enemies, weather and thieves. Both of these things can wreak havoc in your home, potentially costing thousands of dollars in repair costs. I just read an informative article that highlights some things that you can do to help keep your second or winter home in tip-top shape. There are a number of things that homeowners can do to help protect their second home or summer home from the elements and criminals alike. This article is a good starting point to making your home safer against break-ins and inclement weather. If you own or are thinking of buying a second home or a summer home, I recommend reading this article and employing some of the tips it offers to help owners reduce the possibility of damages to their homes.

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Minneapolis in Forbes’ Top Suburbs to Live Well

While reading Forbes.com I ran across a ranking of the top fifteen American suburbs that offer the best standard of living.  This year, Minneapolis has placed second in this ranking entitled, “Top Suburbs to Live Well“.  What went into deciding which U.S. cities offered the highest quality of life?  NeighborhoodScout.com provided Forbes with analyses of crime rates, education levels, homeownership rates, income levels and school quality for every town, city and village within 25 miles of the major city.

In this ranking, four suburbs were considered, Minneapolis, Edina, Minnetonka and Wayzata.  These are some of the best suburbs in Hennepin County and of course, median home costs and the general cost of living are going to be higher.  However, those who enjoy access to fine dining and entertainment venues, ample sports and recreational opportunities and a real sense of community know that these things come at a cost.

I would just like to highlight that Alexandria, as well as some other communities here in Douglas County would fare on par with some of these communities that have made this ranking.  For example, the median home cost in Alexandria is comparable ($270,000), as is per-pupil school expenditures and student/teacher ratios, but the cost of living and property taxes are lower.  Unemployment, homeownership rates and crime rates are also very similar.  In short, I think Alexandria and other Douglas county suburbs such as Osakis, Garfield, Glenwood, Brandon, Grant, Hoffman and Evansville.

For those who would like to compare some different communities, I recommend using Sperling’s Best Places.  Sperling’s offers neighborhood information for cities and towns all over America.  There you can see real estate, population, education, and weather and crime statistics so you can compare different communities.

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Prepare before you sell

After you decide to sell your house and before you place it on the market, it is a good idea to do some preparation.  I was just reading the real estate section of MSN and I saw a good article for those who are thinking about selling their homes.  This article entitled, “10 must-do repairs before selling” talks about some basic, low cost home improvements that will go along way toward making your house a more attractive offer.

Home prices in many parts of the U.S. are dropping due to a disparity between the number of homes for sale and the number of qualified buyer.  Many markets are saturated with housing stock and as a result, buyers have more homes from which to choose.  In order to make your house stand out in a buyer’s market, it is a good idea to undertake some of those repairs you have been putting off.

When a potential buyer decides to view your home, they will form an opinion of it according to their first impression.  We All know the importance of first impressions so it is a good idea to make those repairs that will help to make sure your home makes a good first impression on homebuyers.

This article mentions some important things homeowner should consider repairing before placing their house on the market.  From your home’s entry and interior, to the roof, gutters and bathrooms, you will find some very simple and inexpensive ways to make your house a more attractive offer in the real estate market.

My home sellers page on my website is another good source of information about things you can do to be a more successful seller.  If you are going to be selling your house in the near future, I recommend that you take some time to do a little research and planning.  Making some much needed minor repairs can mean the difference between a fast sale and your house sitting on the market for months on end.

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Relocating?

Are you going to be relocating to a new area in the near future?  There are dozens of things involved in the process, and for those who are relocating for the first time, this can seem like an overwhelming undertaking.  I have found some good links to help those who are going to relocate to another area find out more about the process.

At the Move Advocate website, you will be able to learn more about relocating and all that goes into moving from one area to another.  Whether you are moving across town or cross-country, there are some very important things you will need to know before starting.  You will want to research about the community where you intend to move in order to find out about the cost of living in that area, compare salaries and analyze home values.  Other important factors include determining the value of your current home, determining mortgage costs and moving costs (including transporting vehicles and pets).  Other important factors to research are crime statistics in the area where you will be moving and if you have children, you will want to find out about the local schools as well.

Sperling’s Best Places is another worthwhile website where you can get an overview of specific cities and find out about the local schools, economy, demographics, housing, healthcare, transportation, weather and much more.

Both of these websites are easy to navigate and serve as a good starting point when researching the city where you plan to relocate.  I would like to emphasize that they are a good starting point for research.  One should always search as many sources as possible when conducting their research in order to verify the veracity of their sources.

A professional local area real estate professional can help you facilitate this process by employing their knowledge of the local real estate market to help you determine what current costs are as well as help make sure you are receiving current and correct information.  If you are going to be relocating to the Douglas County or Pope County, Minnesota communities of Alexandria, Osakis, Miltona, Garfield, Glenwood, Brandon, Carlos or Evansville, please contact me and I will help you through the entire relocating process.  I have been helping folks who were relocating to these areas for years.  Please contact me to schedule an interview by phone and see why I am the realtor for you.

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Hello world!

Welcome to my real estate web log for Douglas County and the surrounding areas of Alexandria, Osakis, Todd, Miltona Prairie, Parkers, Pope, Garfield, Carlos, Ottertail, Glenwood, Brandon, Evansville and Hoffman, Minnesota.  My name is Paula Jackson and the purpose of this blog is to help inform you about current events and happenings in these areas as well as keep you up to date on what is new in Douglas County real estate.  Click on the links to the right for more information about the different cities I serve.  There are pages full of information specifically for homebuyers and home sellers and if you are searching for a home, you can use my featured listings or search for all homes in your area using the Multiple Listing Service.  You can also find out more about local schools and parks and recreational opportunities.  Take virtual tours of homes for sale, sign up to receive free market reports, learn your home’s value and more, all in a comprehensive one-stop online resource.  I will continuously be adding more information to this blog so be sure to subscribe to this blog by clicking the RSS link or bookmark this page for future reference.
If you are going to be buying or selling a home in the Douglas County, Pope County or Todd County communities of Alexandria, Osakis, Miltona Prairie, Parkers, Garfield, Carlos, Ottertail, Glenwood, Brandon, Evansville or Hoffman, be sure to contact me to schedule an interview.  I will show you why I am your number one choice in expert, reliable real estate services.

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