Forest Lake High School Rangers House Construction Project Complete—And Up for Bids!

After the successful sale of last year of the home built by Forest Lake construction students in the parking lot of their school, did it again! Forest Lake High School Students built an awesome 3BR/2BA in 2007 which sold for $65,000 and was moved by its new owners to its permanent location this past spring. The proceeds from the sale of the home funded a new construction project during for this school year. Now that the second home is complete, let the bidding begin!

As you can see, from these pictures taken at the beginning of second quarter, the students hit the ground running in September. The one story rambler home was framed and the exterior work complete prior to the cold Minnesota winter.

As a Realtor in the north metro, I have watched the construction of many homes throughout the Forest Lake School District. From what I can see, there is not a crew out there that can match the passion and dedication as the construction students of the Forest Lake Rangers!

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to buy this solid 3BR/2BA home. This year’s home even features a gas fireplace for added warmth during the Minnesota winters. Bids will be accepted on Thursday, April 10 at 6 p.m. Minimum bid is $49,900 plus Minnesota sales tax of 6.5%. All bids require a bid security of $1000 at time of bid submission.

CLICK HERE to see a floorplan and details of the house in this pdf brochure.

More Articles on Forest Lake, Minnesota that might be of interest:

• Forget Jack! This is the House Students Built—Forest Lake High School Students—And Now its For Sale!
  
• Forest Lake High School Rangers are Pounding Nails Again—New Home Under Construction!
  
• Relocating to Forest Lake MN? The Schools are Full of Ranger Pride!
  
• Seeing the Minnesota Forest Through the Trees at Linwood Elementary
  
• Goodbye Summer! As the MN State Fair Ends, Another School Year Begins in Forest Lake.
  
• Forest Lake, MN Real Estate Market Statistics 4th Quarter 2007
  
• Uniquely Minnesota Artful Distraction—Homeowner Version: Little Gnome Facts in Forest Lake

If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional Realtor, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2008 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/

New Construction Down Considerably in the Twin Cities North Metro!

A 25% nationwide drop in construction was announced last week by the National Association of home builders. But as all real estate is local, what does that mean to those of us living and working in the Twin Cities? Are the numbers the same? Better? Worse?

The answer is, it all depends on your location!

The Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) issued a press release stating that there were 8.961 units permitted in 2007, down from 12,644 in 2006. This translates to a 29% decrease metro wide during the past year. Additional statistics are available showing building permits issued since 2005. Looking at the communities throughout Anoka County and the Forest Lake school district the numbers are significantly lower in most communities.

There were a few surprises but overall and not surprising. The big story is which communities have seen the lowest downturn in new home construction. Forest Lake has faired well with only a 40% decrease in construction. No doubt due to the Summerfield Development off of Highway 97.

Isanti having a big drop off in construction of -89% is not too surprising as it is in the outlying northern perimeter of the metro, Maplewood (-79%) and Stillwater (-89%) however are a different story. Both of these areas while more centrally located with higher demand have less space for big developments. Stillwater focus included more upscale high priced homes which haven’t faired in this changed market.

Similarily, most Ham Lake (-68%) new homes are well into the $400,000 price range. That in combination with being over 30 minutes from either downtown can be a reason for the higher than average building permit fall off. Andover (-62%) having some lower price point homes may have helped its percentage a bit.

Both Blaine (-54%) and Lino Lakes (-54%) are within that magic 30 minute drive time to the downtowns which maybe one reason that the drop off isn’t as bad as communities to the north. Both communities have a wide range of price options for new construction homes as well.

The good news in the sea of negative numbers is the gains for the City of St. Paul. With a whopping +21% increase since 2005, St. Paul has bragging rights.

Once again, the real estate mantra, Location, Location, Location, comes into play.

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If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional Realtor, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2008 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/

Forest Lake High School Rangers are Pounding Nails Again—New Home Under Construction!

After the successful sale of last year of the home built by Forest Lake construction students in the parking lot of their school, the are at it again! The 3BR/2BA rambler built by Forest Lake High School Students in the previous year sold for $65,000 and was moved by its new owners to its permanent location this past spring. The proceeds from the sale of the home were put right back into the next project. That new construction endeavor began with the school year in September.

I have it on good authority that because of this real world building project, the shop classes in Forest Lake High School have a waiting list! Beginning woodshop is the stepping stone to working on this new home construction project.

As you can see, the first quarter students made excellent progress on the home. The framing is done and the windows are in and roofing finished; the siding is also nearly complete on the modest rambler. It looks like this time there might be a detached garage for sale along with the house. The roofing is well underway for that structure too. Just in time for to keep the elements out as old man winter is starting to arrive in Minnesota. Our first big snow could be any day. Working in a real environment gives a real timeline to the construction process.

As a Realtor in the north metro, I have watched the construction of many homes throughout the Forest Lake School District. From what I can see, there is not a crew out there that can match the passion and dedication as the construction students of the Forest Lake Rangers! It will be a fun project to watch to completion!

More Articles on Forest Lake Minnesota that might be of interest:

• Forget Jack! This is the House Students Built—Forest Lake High School Students—And Now its For Sale!



• Relocating to Forest Lake MN? The Schools are Full of Ranger Pride!



• Seeing the Minnesota Forest Through the Trees at Linwood Elementary



• Mid-Year 2007 Real Estate Market Statistics for Forest Lake Minnesota--Including Lakeshore Statistics



• Goodbye Summer! As the MN State Fair Ends, Another School Year Begins in Forest Lake.



• Forest Lake, MN Real Estate Market Statistics 3rd Quarter 2007



• Uniquely Minnesota Artful Distraction—Homeowner Version: Little Gnome Facts in Forest Lake
  

Featured LISTING in Forest Lake:20685 Georgia Ave N, Forest Lake, MN 55025
If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional Realtor, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2007 www.terieckholm.com

Ham Lake, MN Real Estate Market Statistics 3rd Quarter 2007

The sluggish real estate market continues to affect Ham Lake, MN and Anoka County in the third quarter of 2007. Homes are staying on the market longer with an average Days-on-Market (DOM) of 157 days for homes sold in the 3rd Quarter in the Ham Lake area. While homes under $300,000 have a manageable inventory level similar to other areas of the Twin Cities (about a 10 month supply), high end homes are selling at a much slower pace. Note the abundance of existing inventory in the over $500,000 category. With 47 homes on the market and two homes selling every 3 months, it will take over five years to sell the entire inventory if home sales do not pick up in this high end category.

3rd Quarter Ham Lake residential real estate statistics for single family homes:

Under $300,000~ 51 Active Listings, 4 Pending Listings, 12 Sold Listings (All existing homes)

$300,000-400,000 ~ 30 Active Listings, 1 Pending Listings, 2 Sold Listings (New Construction Subgroup ~ 2 Active, 0 Pending, 0 Sold)

$400,000-$500,000 ~ 30 Active Listings, 1 Pending Listings, 4 Sold Listings (New Construction Subgroup ~ 4 Active, 0 Pending, 0 Sold)

$500,000 and Up~ 47 Active Listings, 1 Pending Listings, 2 Sold Listings (New Construction Subgroup ~ 13 Active, 0 Pending, 1 Sold)

Lakeshore available in the City of Ham Lake:

5 Active Listings, 0 Pending Listings, 1 Sold Listings

Ham Lake lakeshore price range: $274,900-$945,000

2 Homes on Coon Lake
2 Homes on Lake Amelia
1 Home on Mallard Lake
**All Statistical information based on information from the REGIONAL MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE of MINNESOTA, INC. for the period of 7/1/07 through 9/30/07.

Featured Lakeshore Listing in Ham Lake Minnesota: 3608 Woodland Drive

Articles on Ham Lake, Lakeshore and Minnesota that might be of interest:
Where's the Playground? A Key to Parks in Ham Lake Minnesota
What Makes a House a Home-Ham Lake, MN
Does "Minnesota Nice" Affect the Real Estate Market? "Yah, You Betcha!"
Dreaming of Life on MN Acreage?--What YOU Need to Know Before YOUR Move!
Affordable Minnesota Lakeshore

If you are relocating to Minnesota, are looking for Homes for Sale in the north and east Twin Cities metro area and need help from a professional Realtor, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage properties! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2007 www.terieckholm.com/

Forget Jack! This is the House Students Built—Forest Lake High School Students—And Now its For Sale!

Carpentry shop class is NOT what it used to be in Forest Lake, Minnesota. Not content to build a shelf or piece of furniture, these construction students put their knowledge of math, engineering and construction and met the challenge of building an entire house in the school parking lot.

“This is a real world project that helps them see the importance of what they are doing in school,” said teacher, Kevin Rivard. “There are a lot of good jobs for kids who are not college bound. This allows them to get the feel for trades and to apply the skills they learn in school to do real things.”

The students had expert and professional assistance throughout the construction process. Professional contractors volunteered their time and talents to work directly with the students on the electrical, plumbing, flooring, drywall and cabinetry. They learned to install everything from a bathroom vanity to an asphalt roof.

The one story rambler has been built on a 2-sided block foundation and designed to be easily moved. It is a 3BR/2BA home with 1352 finished square feet. It features a private master bath, custom oak cabinets, laminate flooring and Andersen Windows. All kitchen and bathroom fixtures are installed and plumbed. The home meets all Minnesota state building codes and has passed electrical and plumbing inspections.

It is truly a unique and impressive project and now it is For Sale!

The call for bids is out and the home will be sold on March 15, 2007 at the Forest Lake School District office. Bids will be opened at 6 pm. At that time all bidders will have an opportunity to increase their bid by submitting a final sealed bid at 6:30 pm. There is a minimum bid requirement of $49,900 (plus MN sales tax of 6.5%). Each bid must be accompanied by a check for $1000 as security. For additional information on the bidding process contact Larry Martini at 651-982-8125 or visit the Forest Lake District website at http://www.forestlake.k12.mn.us/
TWO OPEN HOUSES Scheduled
Interested parties will have the opportunity to come and inspect the home on two different occasions prior to submitting a bid. The house will be open for inspection from 1-3pm on Sunday February 25, 2007 and from 9-11 am on Saturday March 3, 2007.

The home has to be moved from the school parking lot to its new location no later than May 30, 2007. It’s a great opportunity as there are more than 25 lots listed on the MLS within 20 miles of the Forest Lake High School priced between $60,000 and $120,000.