The Star Tribune has a piece titled: Whistleblower: Homeowners pick up the tab. The Strib just scratches the surface of this issue.When someone buys into a townhome or condo development, they are becoming part owner of a nonprofit corporation that has ownership of common elements in the development and responsibilities for maintenance, insurance, utilities, etc for these common elements.When one of the shareholders (homeowners) stops paying their mortgage, they typically stop paying the association dues as well. … [Read more...]
Q&A: Should I Refinance My Home?
September 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment
With the ultra-low interest rates right now a lot of people are wondering if they should refinance their home. It can make a lot of sense for anyone planning to stay in their home more than 3 years - but every case is different and there are no hard rules. It is important to take into account the specifics of your situation. Some people don't have the money to refinance. One option is to "buy up" the interest rate for discount points, which would mean you would have a higher than market rate interest rate … [Read more...]
How Much Should I Offer On A House?
June 7, 2010 by 2 Comments
An answer to this question seems to be one of the most frequent I see consumers searching for on the web. It seems that each day I see a consumer post it on sites like Trulia or Zillow. Determining what to offer on a house is a very important issue, but it is also one that cannot be reasonably answered by anyone other than someone who is involved in the purchase - namely you, your family members and your agent. Unless someone knows what you are looking for and has seen the house you want to offer on and its … [Read more...]
100 Days Left to Take Advantage of Home Buyer Tax Credits
January 21, 2010 by 1 Comment
As part of its plan to stimulate the U.S. housing market and address the economic challenges facing our nation, Congress has passed new legislation that: Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010. Expands the credit to grant up to $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010. Here is more information about how the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit can help prospective home buyers … [Read more...]
Window Condensation and Cold Weather
January 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment
With the extremely cold weather we are having right now, many homeowners complain about wet or frosted over windows. A little frost at the bottom of windows is to be expected - when that frost is very thick or covers a large part of the window, your windows are telling you that the house has too much humidity. Outdoor www.erature and indoor humidity should be monitored to prevent both over and under humidification. Amazon.com has many hygrometers to choose from and you can find thermometers with humidity … [Read more...]
Traditional, Bank Owned and Short Sales – A Comparison
April 24, 2009 by 9 Comments
Most of my buyers are NOT housing experts... they are "regular people" and are experts in whatever field they work in but not in real estate. That's just fine because that's why people like me have jobs doing what we do! One of the most frequent topics that comes up is the differences between traditional sellers, short sales and bank owned (aka foreclosure or REO) homes. Below you will find a summary of many of the big differences, which is also available in a PDF one-page format if you'd like to print … [Read more...]
Q&A: Is NOW the Right Time for Me to Buy a Home?
March 11, 2009 by Leave a Comment
This is a very common question I get asked by prospective buyers given our current economic situation and the conflicting information they get from news, friends, family and coworkers. Below is a list of questions to ask yourself as a guide to help you decide if now is a good time to buy for you. 1. How stable is my job/job field? With the ever-changing economy as it is, you may want to gauge the stability of your current job/employer in addition to taking a look at how stable the job market is in your field. If … [Read more...]
Q&A: Twin Cities Foreclosure Information
December 14, 2008 by Leave a Comment
I often get questions on where to find information on foreclosure properties in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Here are a few free resources that you can refer to: Hennepin County Foreclosures Dakota County Foreclosures Search Foreclosures and Short Sales currently for sale Unfortunately the other counties have not become user-friendly enough to post their sheriff sales onlines... I really wish they would. I regularly reference Hennepin County's data for myriad reasons and I'm sure I'm not the only one. … [Read more...]
Q&A – How Long Should it Take to Sell My Home?
May 9, 2008 by Leave a Comment
According to the RMLS's analysis of the 13 county Twin Cities metro area, the average home is selling in 165 days. But also according to the RMLS, that home is only selling for 91.7% of original list price. Now I'm not 100% sure on this, but my feeling is that most sellers would prefer to sell their homes faster and for closer to their asking price. Edina Realty tracks their activity and has another good metric to compare against: the average home Edina Realty sells has had 21 showings. Based of my activity … [Read more...]
Q&A: When Will the Twin Cities Real Estate Market Hit Bottom?
April 8, 2008 by 4 Comments
This question comes up with both my clients and my coworkers: "When will we hit bottom?" The problem with that question is that there is more than one answer. Are we talking about: Lowest sales price? Fewest units sold in a month? Highest supply of homes on the market? Longest days on market? Lowest (or highest) affordability? Depending on who you are and what you are looking for, your opinion of what a market bottom is will be different. I have a good friend who is a cash buyer and he's looking for a … [Read more...]
