Why living in Minneapolis, St Paul and the Surrounding Areas is the Bee's Knees!

Are you thinking about making a move to the metro area? Are you thinking about moving away, and need a reminder of why this place is so great?! Well, look no further my friends, here is my personal list of my 25 favorite things about living here. Some of you may have heard the song "Shh" by Atmosphere. That describes it pretty well. If you haven't, Youtube it. And/or read the following list. Feel free to add comments of your favorite things of metro living! Keep in mind, these are in no particular order.

1. The Chain of Lakes - Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, Lake Harriet, and more. These are surrounded by walking and biking trails, miles of beaches, picnic areas, and so much more. Never a dull moment around here, and a great place to people watch!
2. Minneapolis has been named the #1 bike friendly city in America, beating out Portland in 2010. Enough said.
3. According to Forbes, Minneapolis/St Paul is the #1 Most Relaxed City, based on our employment rates, traffic, and work hours compared to the rest of the country.
4. Local shops - We are all about local around here. Local artists opening their own shops to display their work. Some of my favorites are I Like You in Northeast Minneapolis, Peace Coffee in South Minneapolis, May Day Cafe in South Minneapolis, Common Roots in Uptown, the list goes on and on.
5. Local Music - We have TONS of great artists coming out of Minneapolis. Rhymesayers Entertainment has an abundance of local artists, and their own record store in Uptown, Fifth Element. Cloud Cult, Mason Jennings, Jeremy Messersmith, Prince, Bob Dylan, The Replacements, Mark Mallman, Roma Di Luna, Tapes 'N Tapes, the list just goes on and on and on...
6. The St. Paul Winter Carnival - Sure, Minnesota winters may be brutal. But we make the best of it. The Winter Carnival is a great reason to bundle up, bring the thermos of hot chocolate, and go play outside! This year it is running from January 27th to February 6th.
7. The Stone Arch Bridge - Beautiful year round, and has walking and biking paths. Picnic in the park, walk over to the Guthrie Theater, or just spend time photographing the Minneapolis skyline. Always a good choice.
8. Great Music Venues - Where to start? First Avenue, Varsity Theater, The Fine Line, The Orpheum, State Theater, Pantages. So many good choices, and so many opportunities to see your favorite artists perform.
9. The Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Center - It's always free! Great outdoor space, spend your afternoons aimlessly wandering the park, have lunch, bring your camera. Just watch out for all of that goose poop.
10. Abundance of Vintage and Thrift Stores - if this is your thing, this is the place for you. Buffalo Exchange, Everyday People, Unique, Value Village, I could spend an entire week browsing all of these places. One person's trash is another person's Christmas present!
11. Local Breweries - Premium Grainbelt and Summit. Both are available to tour, both are awesome. We also have an abundance of microbreweries. We like our beer. You should too.
12. Target Field - Voted the most beautiful baseball park in the COUNTRY. And it truly is. Sure, the Twins may have choked at the end, but there is always next year, right? This is a must see.
13. Free/Cheap Entertainment - There is always something to do around here on the fly, and on a tight budget. Trust me, I should know. 7th Street Entry has free/cheap shows. Most concerts are around $10, of course, depending on the artist. The Triple Rock has Free Bacon Wednesdays. Who could pass that up?! There are plenty of websites that list different events going on daily, so finding something to do last minute with no money is extremely simple and fantastic.
14. Theaters - The Guthrie, Orpheum, State, Pantages, and lots of small neighborhood theaters are always putting on amazing shows. Some of these can be a bit spendy, but a lot of them can be pretty cheap. We had Wicked. Who doesn't want to see that?!
15. Craft-o-Rama - Once a year, this amazing craft show goes on at the Midtown Exchange in South Minneapolis. Local artists hang out all day, with your opportunity to buy their cool stuff. Great Christmas ideas! It just so happens that it is this Friday and Saturday. Trust me, you don't want to miss this. I will be there all of Saturday morning. It's going to take hours to get through the whole thing. I probably won't sleep tonight.
16. Outdoor Concerts - You may think of Minnesota as always being cold. But let me tell you, our summers are phenomenal. And the best thing to do on a warm summer evening in Minneapolis/St Paul is check out an outdoor show. The Cabooze has a great venue spot outside. The U of M has lots of space for outdoor activities. We have Soundset, Rock The Garden, Basilica Block Party, The Lowertown Festival, and much, much more. See you this summer!
17. Hiking Trails - There is so much to do outside here! Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Minnehaha Falls is beautiful year round. We have so many nature reservations and hidden trails, I really do think you'll be shocked. There are so many ways to find information on these, too! Multiple websites, and outdoor stores, such as Midwest Mountaineering, will provide you with all the information you could possibly need on this.
18. Winter Activities - As I mentioned before, us Minnesotans like to make the best of a bad situation. In addition to the Winter Carnival, you can go snow shoeing, ice skating, ice fishing, skiing, snowboarding, and so on. Get off the couch and get outside!
19. Bouldering - What? You don't know what this is?! You are missing out, my friend. Go to Midwest Mountaineering. Right now. Their entire basement is a climbing wall. And it's free. Once you've mastered the indoors, take it outside! You may be surprised, there are lots of places to climb around here. Some of them may include a day trip, such as to Taylor's Falls, but it is SO worth it. Stay in shape over the winter at various indoor spots, such as REI, Vertical Endeavors, and many more.
20. Close Day Trips - For days when you'd like to escape the city, you're within a day trip of so much to do. Stillwater is beautiful any time of the year. Red Wing, ditto. Duluth is a mere 2 1/2 hours away. Head to great kayak adventures in Wisconsin. Need more ideas? Ask me. I've got plenty.
21. Science Museum - Located in Downtown St. Paul, it really is fun for the whole family. There is so much to do and see here, and lots to explore. Create your own science experiments! Don't miss Omnifest. Really. Don't.
22. 4 Full Seasons - Minnesota is one of the few states, if you ask me, that still has Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. There is always a way to fill your day, no matter what time of the year. And they all have their perks. I'm partial to fall, because the leaves are amazing, and it's the perfect biking weather. But everyone has their preference. What's yours?
23. Famous People - Yeah, we've got em. Or at least they started here. Prince, Bob Dylan, Josh Hartnett, Joe Mauer, Judy Garland, Jesse Ventura, Al Franken, more and more and more. Neat, huh?
24. Fortune 500 Companies - Target, United Healthcare, SuperValu, Best Buy, Hormel, 3M, Pepsi, Ecolab, Medtronic, C. H. Robinson, US Bank, Delta, General Mills, Xcel Energy. Need a job? Your odds are lookin' good.
25. Last but certainly not least...Minnesota Nice! "A stereotypical behavior of long time Minnesota residents to be courteous, reserved, and mild mannered. According to Annette Atkins, the cultural characteristics of Minnesota nice include polite friendliness, an aversion to confrontation, a tendency toward understatement, a disinclination to make a fuss or stand out, emotional restraint, and self-deprecation." So, we're pushovers.

There you have it! That is my personal list of why it's great to live here. What would you add?

What is your FICO Score?

You may have been hearing the term "Fico Credit Score" in the news lately. And unless you're a mortgage broker, you probably have no idea what that means. Let's break it down, shall we?

First of all, Fico Credit Score, by definition courtesy of Wikipedia, is: The best-known and most widely used credit score model in the United States, the FICO score is calculated statistically, with information from a consumer's credit files. The higher your FICO score is, you may be offered a better interest rate on mortgages and auto loans.

You may also have heard of similar credit ratings, such as your NextGen score, and/ore VantageScore. They haven't had the same popular reactions that FICO credit scores have had.

Now, let's break it down. What does your FICO score look at? What does all of this mean? Well, your prayers have been answered. Here is a detailed breakdown of what your FICO score consists of:

35% - Payment history - Late payments on bills, such as a mortgage, credit card or automobile loan, can cause a FICO score to drop. Paying bills on time will improve your FICO score.
30% - Credit utilization - The ratio of current revolving debt (such as credit card balances) to the total available revolving credit or credit limit. You can improve your FICO scores by paying off debt and lowering credit utilization ratio. Alternatively, applying for and receiving credit limit increase will also drive down the utilization ratio. Closing of existing revolving accounts will typically adversely affect this ratio and therefore have a negative impact on their FICO score.
15% - Length of credit history - As your credit history ages, it can have a positive impact on their FICO score.
10% - Types of credit used (installment, revolving, consumer finance, mortgage) - You can benefit by having a history of managing different types of credit.
10% - Recent search for credit - Credit inquiries, which occur when you are seeking new credit, can hurt your score. Individuals shopping for a mortgage or auto loan over a short period of time will likely not experience decrease in their scores as a result of these types of inquiries, however. While all credit inquiries are recorded and displayed on your credit report for a period of time, credit inquiries that were made yourself (to check your credit), by your employer (for employee verification) or by companies initiating prescreened offers of credit or insurance do not have any impact on your credit score. 

There are other special factors which can weigh on the FICO score.
 - Any money owed because of a court judgment, tax lien, etc. carry an additional negative penalty, especially when recent.
- Having one or more consumer finance credit accounts may also be a negative.

If you have more questions about a FICO score, or you'd like to talk to a mortgage broker in detail about YOUR FICO score, go to www.m19r.com to contact one of our partners in the mortgage business. 

Why use a Rental Agent?

Most people in today's market use a real estate agent when purchasing a property, but a lot of people don't know you can also have a real estate agent when looking at rental properties. You may be wondering what the perks are of using a rental agent.

First, a rental agent knows all of the ins and outs of tenant and landlord rules and responsibilities. They will be able to tell you what fees really apply, and where you might be getting taken advantage of. Rental agents also have access to multiple rental listing sites, including the MLS as of September 2010. Agents can set up showings for you, and accompany you to the showings, as a safety precaution. Agents can assist you in the negotiation process, whether it be the monthly rent the landlord is asking, utilities, pet deposits, and other areas of renting. Some landlords may be flexible in certain areas. Rental agents can also give you more background information on neighborhoods, if you are new to the area. We have access to information about schools, parks, transportation, and other neighborhood amenities that may be of interest to you. 

These are just a few of the perks that come with using a rental agent. One more bonus isthat the majority of the time, the landlord or listing agent will cover the fees for the rental agent, so there will be no cost to you! If you have any questions or if you'd like more information, please call our rental specialist, Jess Mueller at 612-965-8817, or email her at jess@m19r.com