Tara O'Brien's Minneapolis Real Estate Update

Housing May Turn the Corner in 2012: CoreLogic

2012-01-24T10:07:00.002-06:00

CoreLogic’s chief economist Mark Fleming says housing statistics and the duration of the downturn to date indicate 2012 may be the year the housing market begins to turn the corner.

In the first release of CoreLogic’s new MarketPulse newsletter Wednesday, Fleming explained his rationale for such an assessment.

He notes that housing is an industry with long business cycles. Regional housing recessions have typically taken anywhere from three to five years to find their bottom, and Fleming says the national housing recession has behaved similarly in that it has bounced along a bottom for the past two years.

Fleming points out that housing affordability is rising dramatically due to a combination of home price deflation and rock-bottom mortgage rates. In fact, he says, after adjusting for inflation, this has been a “lost decade” for housing as prices are the same as at the beginning of the millennium.

“The time is right in 2012 for prices to begin growing again,” Fleming said, “and housing affordability will put a floor under any further significant declines.”

Fleming says he will be watching the spring and summer buying season closely for positive signs of demand.

He points out that households are paying off their debts and at the same time accessing credit more easily, with some even adding Home Equity Lines of Credit in the third quarter of last year – the first such movement for these second-lien mortgage products since the financial crisis began.

Fleming cites a quarterly survey by the New York Federal Reserve Bank, which shows total household debt continues to decline. At the same time, consumer sentiment rebounded strongly in the latter part of 2011, posting a six-month high in December – an indication that consumers’ confidence in the strength of the economy is growing, according to Fleming.

Most housing statistics basically moved sideways in the latter part of 2011, but Fleming finds several positives in the numbers. Although market indicators are coming off of very low levels, he notes that both existing-home sales and single-family housing starts have begun to increase, homebuilder confidence is improving, and affordability is at an all-time high.

Putting all of these statistics together suggests that while there is a very long way to go, the housing market is likely to sustain these upward movements in 2012, according to Fleming.

“While we cannot say with a high degree of certainty what 2012 has in store for us, indications based on the latter part of 2011 are that both the broad economy and the housing market are moving toward positive growth in 2012,” Fleming said.

He concedes that some impediments do exist, including slower global economic growth, a recession in Europe, and fiscal and political uncertainty in the United States.

But Fleming says when you look at the big picture, “we are bullish on the prospect of improving economic performance in 2012 from 2011.”
-Carrie Bay

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Victory Neighborhood Charmer

2012-01-17T13:56:00.001-06:00

Three bedrooms, two bathroom and tw car garage. Great home for the money. Third bedroom has a low ceiling height, would make a perfect kids room and play area. New fixtures throughout home, updated bathrooms, jetted tub, new carpet & paint, finished laundry room, gorgeous original woodwork, large garage with storage shed, updated windows & more!

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Minneapolis Updated Bungalow

2012-01-17T13:26:00.002-06:00

Gorgeous home with quality updates. New kitchen from top to bottom, New bathroom, some new windows. Beautiful Hardwood floors, built in buffet, loaded with original charm and character. Center island kitchen with ceramic tile, custom backsplash, new appliances, forced air heat.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Happy New Year, Tips for Selling in 2012

2012-01-05T11:07:00.002-06:00

A stubborn overstock of households with loans higher than their value will continue to restrain prices and create some major obstacles for sellers in 2012, a year that's shaping up to be another homebuyer's market. In fact, recent studies indicate that more than 20 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage are still underwater, hinting that many foreclosures and workouts are still to come.

However, even the most conservative forecasts call for growth in home sales in 2012, with some select pockets around the country already busting out where there are competitive offers on new listings. More than one-third of home resales were made to first-time buyers in 2011 -- another good sign.

Meanwhile, here are 12 tips for 2012, aimed largely at the group that needs the most help -- home sellers.

Price it right from the get-go
The old-school strategy of real estate sellers crossing their arms and holding out for a better offer will be brushed off by most homebuyers. Consider that of the homes that took four months or more to sell in the past year, almost half of their owners accepted less than 90 percent of the asking price, according to the National Association of Realtors. For a gauge, have your agent produce the latest comparable sales including short sales and foreclosures as well as a recent summary of sales prices versus original list prices. But be wary that such information doesn't reflect the homes that failed to sell.

Put your best footage forward
Prep, paint, stage, scrub, improve, repeat. Efforts can include caulking, plastering, planting flowers, adding potted plants, making the windows spotless, pressure washing that oily driveway, edging the walks, trimming the bushes and trees, and mending the fences. None of these is excessively capital-intensive, but when applied en masse, they say "buy me."

Be flexible
I'm not saying bend over backward to accommodate real estate buyers. Bend forward and sideways, too. Be ready to negotiate and offer extras such as closing costs, paid property taxes, remodeling work (or a cash credit), appliances, paid condo association/homeowner association dues, a few months of mortgage payments or even seller financing. Home sellers who've been on the sidelines and who advised their agents to ignore offers by lowballers don't have that luxury now. Instruct your agent to listen intently to prospective homebuyers' misgivings about the home and adjust accordingly and immediately.

Trump your techno-fears
Hire a listing agent steeped in mobile platforms. Sellers and buyers are routinely using Facebook and other social media to sell and seek, not to mention dozens of online selling sites. Some owners are even making YouTube videos to showcase their homes, making it easier to quickly link to potential buyers via email. There's also an abundance of smartphone apps cropping up to review real estate listings and refine searches.

Don't fall prey
Fraudsters are targeting distressed homeowners with "deals" that can sound perfectly legit. Some offer loan modifications for upfront fees while others offer fee-based "help" in navigating government housing assistance programs, sometimes claiming they're attorneys.

There are also con-artist "investors" compelling desperate owners to sign over their homes with quitclaim deeds in return for a typically empty promise to remain there indefinitely. Others are telling former owners they can get their homes back for a lump sum. Be forewarned: Never sign blank documents or documents with blank lines.

If you're unsure of an offer, have an attorney or other trusted adviser look it over. Keep in mind that a law barring firms -- except attorneys -- from charging upfront fees for mortgage relief or mortgage modification took effect in 2011. It's called the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule.

Finance 101
Realize it's harder to qualify for loans these days. Credit records are under greater scrutiny, and lenders are often demanding a 20 percent down payment and some pricing flexibility from the sellers, especially if the lender's appraisal doesn't reach the asking price.

Consider cash offers, even if they're not the highest. Reject too-low offers from homebuyers gently and with encouragement, telling them they're oh-so-close. You don't want to give away the farm, but you don't want to give it back to the bank either. These days, meeting halfway usually means meeting buyers on their half.

Be your own spokesperson
Agents once advised home sellers to retreat from view during showings, lest they disclose something unsavory or otherwise botch the deal. That's changed. If you can control your ego and emotions and come off as an earnest, flexible seller, you can serve as your best spokesperson. Be ready to answer would-be buyers' questions about the neighborhood and area schools. Be careful about making verbal promises!

Flight to quality
Worried about durability? Buyers who place a heavier focus on brick or concrete-and-steel housing may find they're more enduring, safer and quieter.

Are you worried about sustaining value? Buy near a prestigious hospital, university, large government employer or newly vibrant central business district. These entities typically aren't going away, and the demand for good housing around them won't either.

Expand your buying universe
There's still an overabundance of well-priced inventory out there, which means you needn't immediately narrow your search to the first house you fancy. That's especially the case with short sale homes, which can be a nightmare to close in a timely manner. There are some for-sale gems that need only a little polishing.

Shop around. Don't dismiss foreclosures and other bank properties, pre-foreclosures, auction homes, for-sale-by-owner or lease-to-own homes. Pick at least three favorites and work from there.

'Site unseen' equals shortsightedness
Are you perplexed by the home valuation you did on your place on the website of a large, seemingly reputable real estate organization? Puzzled how that valuation can be 25 percent or more above or below a firsthand appraisal you've had done? Well, value estimates on these sites can vary widely, sometimes by hundreds of thousands of dollars, even by the admission of the companies themselves. There are way too many variables in the valuation game to give too much credence to blind, algorithm-based estimates that are impersonally calculated. Nothing beats a nuanced firsthand professional appraisal.

Expand your buyer's due diligence
Aside from the financial details, contracts, disclosures and protections you typically tend to as you prep to buy a home, add these to the list:

Hire a title company to check the house for liens and tax arrearages.
Hire you own inspector. Don't use the seller's!
Have the inspector check for unpermitted work such as illegal room additions and garage conversions.
Consider the overall energy efficiency of the home with an energy audit.
Be sure property lines are accurate. If there's any question, hire a land surveyor to research the original deed and to stake out the property's lines and your neighbors' property lines to avoid future disputes.

Make a quality-of-life due-diligence checklist
Go to the National Sex Offender Public Website at Nsopw.gov to search for neighborhood predators.

Spend some time around the neighborhood and briefly interview neighbors. Determine if there are noisy neighbors, signs of gang activity, nocturnal barking dogs, indigent lingerers, frequent loud parties and/or suspicious nighttime visits. Are there lots of rental homes? Is the block a cut-through point during rush hour? Does the school bus go past the block? Is there a restrictive homeowners association?
Determine what types of buildings can be constructed on vacant lots adjacent to the neighborhood. This helps avoid unpleasant future surprises. Is there constant noise from a nearby highway or busy street? Are there odors from nearby industrial plants?

Article first run in Bankrate.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Top 5 Indicators that Will Give Americans Confidence About the Housing Market

2011-12-16T13:40:00.002-06:00

With the U.S. economy still struggling, over half of Americans (54 percent) aren’t sure the President can stabilize the housing market over the next year, according to Trulia’s latest consumer survey on American attitudes on housing policy.

Harris Interactive conducted this online survey on Trulia’s behalf and asked more than 2,000 Americans what signals will give them confidence that the housing market is getting back on track.

Jed Kolko, Trulia’s Chief Economist, says, “Americans won’t believe our economy is improving until they see real proof.” Luckily for agents, the proof that consumers are looking for lies in key data points that agents can present to clients to help give them the confidence to buy:

1. Fewer defaults and foreclosures
“Fewer defaults and foreclosures” tops the list as a key factor indicating recovery, suggesting that consumers will be more confident in the market’s recovery if they believe that their neighborhood as a whole is doing better.

“As long as there are foreclosed homes and lingering for-sale signs in neighborhoods across the country, people are faced with constant, everyday reminders that the housing market is still struggling,” says Kolko. For real estate professionals, showing potential clients and customers local statistics on decreases in defaults can be a major tool in building the confidence consumers need to make a market move.

2. More home sales
The survey data showed home sales matter the most next to defaults and foreclosures. With 38 percent of the votes, this data indicates that statistics showing increased home sales can be a major tool to get consumers to believe in the market’s recovery.

Soon, communicating local home sales data is about to become even more important because of a lingering National Association of Realtors’ revision to 2005-2011 national home sales data which will likely show national numbers have been to high due to inflation.

For agents who have local areas where sales have increased, data driven presentations can motivate clients who may be straddling the fence on the decision to purchase.

3. Fewer vacant homes
While empty homes mean opportunity, they are a downer when it comes to consumer confidence. ”Neighborhood vacancies are like second-hand smoke, hurting everyone around them,” says Kolko.

Survey data showed, with 32 percent of the responses, declines in vacancies are top confidence builders for consumers.

For agents, this means the value of placing a “sold” sign is not only a great moment for the buyer, but for the neighborhood as a whole. To track vacancies by states, check the U.S. Census Bureau’s quarterly release on home vacancies, which breaks down the information by both state and Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

4. Lower Mortgage Rates
The survey data says “lower mortgage rates” are another of the top five confidence builders and received 25 percent of votes. That means it’s important, not only to offer clients updates on the day-to-day changes in rates, but also to show the bigger picture.

When it comes down to visual representations of today’s market opportunity, mortgage rate changes over the past 30 years is probably one of the most dramatic graphs an agent can present to a client. To make your own graph of mortgage rates and see the dramatic change, visit Bankrate.com’s Graph Rate Trends Page.

5. Higher Homeownership Rates
Lastly, the survey showed nothing sells ownership like ownership. Higher Homeownership Rates received 23% of the votes when it came to building confidence among consumers.

This indicates that seeing reminders of sales activity in their area and ownership benefits are keys to motivate clients to make a move.
-Trulia

November Listing Inventory Lowest Since 2004

2011-12-13T12:29:00.001-06:00

Last month, the number of homes for sale in the 13-county Twin Cities metropolitan area plunged nearly 24.0 percent from last year to 19,516 – the lowest November inventory reading since 2004. In addition, November 2011 marked only the third month in more than five years (68 months to be precise) where there was less than six months supply of inventory. Sellers listed 4,102 new homes on the market, down 13.6 percent from last year. Buyers entered into 3,321 purchase agreements, up 30.2 percent over November 2010.

"Despite the dramatic drop in inventory, prices are still bound by distressed activity, budget-conscious consumers and a general sense of economic uncertainty," said Brad Fisher, President of the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®. "Along with strong sales, these declines have moved absorption rates to levels only seen twice since 2006. This may have a considerable impact on the Spring 2012 market."

Some sellers are already starting to benefit from less competition. The share of asking price that sellers receive at sale has posted year-over-year increases for the fourth consecutive month. In November, sellers received an average of 90.9 percent of their asking price. That figure was likely helped by the 30.6 percent decrease in months supply of inventory – currently at 5.7 months. Generally, 5 to 6 months is considered balanced.

The median home price was down 10.1 percent from November 2010 to $149,250. Lender-mediated activity (foreclosures and short sales) comprised 44.1 percent of all closed sales and 41.9 percent of new listings.

The first and fourth quarters of the year tend to see the most distressed sales and listing activity. Consequently, traditional prices fell 9.2 percent to $187,400, foreclosure prices dropped 14.3 percent to $98,500 and short sale prices were down 11.5 percent to $130,000.

Market times were down 1.7 percent to 135 days, on average – the second year-over-year decrease in a row. The housing affordability index hit a new record high of 245, meaning that the median household income in the region was 245% of what is necessary to qualify for the median-priced home under prevailing interest rates.

"Prices don't reflect the improved supply-demand balance yet," said Cari Linn, MAAR President-Elect. "Although there are some reassuring patterns taking hold, it would be overly optimistic to say that all of the market's problems will be washed away by spring."

All information is according to the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® (MAAR) based on data from the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc. MAAR is the leading regional advocate and provider of information services and research on the real estate industry for brokers, real estate professionals and the public. MAAR serves the Twin Cities 13-county metro area and western Wisconsin.

Weekly Market Update Ending Nov 26, 2011

2011-12-07T09:15:00.002-06:00

Tryptophan and chatty in-laws were not able to curb the appetite of local home buyers, as purchase activity easily gobbled up last year's levels. Sellers were apparently stuffed and lethargic, as they brought fewer new properties onto the market than during the same holiday week last year. As we approach the slowest time of year for residential activity, expect transacted dollar volumes and sales counts to weaken from the spring and summer of this year. Keep watching inventory declines; they could have a measurable impact on the Spring 2012 market.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending November 26:

• New Listings decreased 9.1% to 601
• Pending Sales increased 46.8% to 574
• Inventory decreased 22.8% to 20,318For the month of October:
• Median Sales Price decreased 9.6% to $154,500
• Days on Market decreased 0.5% to 134
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 0.9% to 91.2%
• Months Supply of Inventory decreased 27.6% to 6.3

For the month of October:

• Median Sales Price decreased 9.6% to $154,500
• Days on Market decreased 0.5% to 134
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 0.9% to 91.2%
• Months Supply of Inventory decreased 27.6% to 6.3
-MAAR

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Take Advantage of 5 Expiring Tax Deductions

2011-12-01T09:12:00.001-06:00

There are several tax credits and deductions set to expire at the end of the year, and given the federal deficit problem, there's a good chance they won't be extended. If you want to take advantage of them, you need to act before Jan. 1, 2012.

Mortgage insurance premium deduction
If you itemize deductions, you may deduct the premiums you pay for mortgage insurance, just like you do mortgage interest. However, this deduction is phased out if your income exceeds certain levels. To qualify for the full deduction, a couple or a single taxpayer must have an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less. The deduction is phased out completely if AGI exceeds $109,000.

This deduction, which was first enacted for 2007, is scheduled to expire at the end of 2011. Thus, your payments are deductible only if you pay them during 2011; a payment after 2011 is not deductible.

Education expenses deduction
A deduction of up to $4,000 for qualified education expenses is available for 2011. All or part of the amount you pay can be for classes beginning in 2012. But you must make your payments during 2011, because the deduction expires at the end of the year. This deduction is not available if your modified adjusted gross income is more than $80,000 ($160,000 if filing a joint return). Nor is it available if any of education tax credits are claimed.

Home energy credit
First, any homeowner may qualify for an energy credit of up to $500. You can qualify for the credit if you purchase during 2011 solar panels to generate electricity or for water heating, or install wind energy equipment, a geothermal heat pump, or certain types of fuel cells to generate electricity. The credit is up to 30 percent of the amount you spend, up to the $500 limit. This credit is not available for purchases in 2012.

Sales tax deduction
If you itemize, you can deduct either your state and local taxes or your sales taxes paid during the year. This deduction is a boon for people who live in states with no or low income taxes. However, the deduction for sales and use taxes instead of state income taxes is scheduled to expire at the end of 2011. To maximize this deduction, you should make any large purchases before the end of the year.

Adoption credit
A tax credit for adoption expenses (adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees, travel, etc.) has been available for many years. However, an enhanced adoption credit is available for adoptions finalized before 2012. The credit is up to $13,360 of adoption expenses. For 2011, this is a nonrefundable credit, meaning you qualify for it even if it exceeds the amount of your 2011 tax liability. This means that you could qualify for a tax refund even if you did not have federal income tax withheld.

-Stephen Fishman, LinkedIn

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Camden Minneapolis 4/2 BACK ON THE MARKET

2011-11-22T10:21:00.003-06:00

This cute bungalow is back on the market. Inspections are done, city approval given, many repairs made and charming as can be. This home boasts original character the minute you walk in the door. Coved ceilings, gorgeous woodwork that hasnt been painted, original hardwood floors. Updated kitchen with breakfast nook and built in buffett. Huge bedrooms for this age of home, finished basement and two bathrooms. Three levels of home for a ridiculously low price of $100,000. This is truly a great street with nice homes and neighbors. Blocks to the Parkway and easy access to freeways. A great starter home in the Cleveland neighborhood.
MinneapolisHomesForSaleTaraOBrien

How to Avoid the 5 Most Common Holiday Disasters

2011-11-22T10:09:00.002-06:00

Imagine you’re preparing to host your annual holiday party, and you’re past the point of no return. The veggies and meats have been bought. Guests are already braving busy airports and crowded highways to get to your home—and then your oven won’t turn on. Your home-cooked meal has quickly turned into a microwave dinner.

That’s just one of many hosting nightmares that can end your holiday party before it even begins. Thankfully, some of the most damaging mishaps easily can be avoided. We collected five of the most prevalent issues and give you preventative tips to keep your holiday party on track.

Problem: The oven doesn’t heat
For any holiday occasion, the oven is the most important appliance in your house. If it fails to work, the centerpiece of your meal could go from roasted beef, ham, duck, or Tofurky to Peking Duck from the local Chinese takeout joint.

How to avoid:
There are any number of reasons a stove can break, but one common cause of disaster is easy to prevent. Don’t self-clean your oven until AFTER the holidays. You risk blowing a fuse or a thermostat, and tracking down an oven technician around the holidays can be tough.

Problem: The kitchen sink clogs
The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest of the year for plumbers. The prime cause of this clog-a-thon is the mistreatment of drains when cooking holiday feasts. We hope your Thanksgiving went well, and that you avoid clog-a-thons for the rest of the holidays.

How to avoid:
Fats and cooking oils can solidify in your pipes, so never dispose of them in your kitchen sink.
If you have a garbage disposal, make sure it’s running before anything goes in it, and never feed it any stringy, fibrous, or starchy foods like poultry skins or potato peels.
To fix, don’t rely on chemical drain-clearing products that can harm your pipes. Use a snake instead, available for $15 at your local hardware store. Best to keep one on hand.

Problem: The heat goes out
As the party’s host, you’re supposed to hang guests’ coats—not apologize to them for having to keep them on. A lack of heat can stop a holiday party dead in its tracks.

How to avoid:
The key to avoiding freezing your party to a standstill is regular maintenance of your HVAC. Every 90 days, a new one-inch pleated furnace filter should be installed. If you haven’t done it in a while, now’s a good time to replace it.
Also inspect insulation on refrigerant lines that are leading into your house. Replace them if they’re missing or damaged.

Problem: The toilet stops up
Toilets have a way of clogging up at the worst times, such as during parties and when you have overnight guests. This is especially true if you have a low-flow toilet from the early 1990s.

How to avoid:
Don’t flush anything other than sewage and toilet paper down the toilet. And there’s nothing wrong with putting up a polite note to remind your guests to do the same.

Problem: The fridge doesn’t cool
Without a properly functioning refrigerator, your meat could get contaminated, your dairy-based treats could go sour, and you may not be able to save your yummy leftovers. To avoid discovering a warm fridge after it’s too late, take these simple precautions.

How to avoid:
Get a thermometer for your refrigerator to make sure each shelf stays below 40 degrees and you can be aware of any temperature changes.
Also make sure the condenser coils located on the back of the unit or beneath it are free to breathe. Coils blocked from circulating air by cereal boxes atop the fridge, or dirtied by dust or pet hair can prevent a fridge from keeping cool.

-HouseLogic
www.taraobrien.com

What are you waiting for, Twin Cities Ranked #1 in Housing

2011-11-08T10:42:00.000-06:00

Many of the housing markets projected to have the biggest gains into 2012 tend to be the home to major universities, strong private sector employment, or have nearby military bases, according to a list of the healthiest housing markets by Builder Magazine. Builder teamed with Hanley Wood Market Intelligence to compile its annual list of the healthiest housing markets in the country, factoring in housing projections from Moody’s Economy.com. The list was based on projected price appreciation, population growth, income growth, and improving employment picture.

The following are the eight cities that topped Builder’s list, including projected housing permits in 2011 and 2012.

1. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Minn.-Wis.

2011 Building Permit Forecast: 4,511

2012 Building Permit Forecast: 10,118

Home prices here are expected to rise 8 percent next year, the highest growth projected in the 100 cities analyzed. As a hub for medical technology and headquarters for several large companies, employment is expected to grow 2.5 percent in 2012.

2. Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.

2011 Building Permit Forecast: 1,004

2012 Building Permit Forecast: 1,650

With Colorado State University the major employer here and often ranked as one of the best cities to live in the country, households are expected to grow by 2.7 percent in 2012 and employment is expected to grow 2.6 percent. Housing permits are expected to rise 50 percent as well, according to Moody projections.

3. Salt Lake City, Utah

2011 Building Permit Forecast: 1,294

2012 Building Permit Forecast: 1,181

With lots of high-tech businesses, Salt Lake City is poised to have some grains in employment and income in the coming year. After a drop in home prices, prices are expected to rebound and increase 4.7 percent next year.

4. Jacksonville, Fla.

2011 Building Permit Forecast: 2,284

2012 Building Permit Forecast: 4,363

Jacksonville has a strengthening employment picture, with a military presence and a growing financial services sector. Employment is expected to increase 3.2 percent in 2012. With stabilizing home prices already, prices are expected to rise 5 percent next year and housing permits are expected to double.

5. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.

2011 Building Permit Forecast: 2,708

2012 Building Permit Forecast: 7,522

This metro area is expected to reverse course with jobs forecasted to grow by 2.7 percent, home prices stabilizing, and housing permits expected to double. The rebound is expected to be mostly driven by two major projects, the CitiCentre and Resorts World Miami, are expected to add tens of thousands of jobs in coming years.

6. Charlottesville, Va.

2011 Building Permit Forecast: 634

2012 Building Permit Forecast: 798

The city is home to the University of Virginia and also continues to attract a surge in second-home buyers from the Washington, D.C., area. Home prices are expected to rise 1 percent in 2012 and median income is forecasted to grow by 3.7 percent.

7. Colorado Springs, Colo.

2011 Building Permit Forecast: 2,099

2012 Building Permit Forecast: 3,639

The biggest employers in Colorado Springs are military bases and the Air Force Academy, which are expected to see big growth when the troops from Afghanistan return. Home prices are expected to rise 2.6 percent, employment to grow by 1.4 percent, and households to increase by 1.8 percent in 2012.

8. Oklahoma City, Okla.

2011 Building Permit Forecast: 3,417

2012 Building Permit Forecast: 5,284

At 6.1 percent, Oklahoma City has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Furthermore, the job market is expected to continue to rise there, and incomes are projected to increase 3 percent next year. While the area has a seen a drop in home prices recently, housing prices are projected to rebound and increase 2.6 percent as Oklahoma City’s low cost of living continues to attract businesses and new households.

-Realtor.com

New Listing in Mpls, Edina Realty

2011-10-28T11:28:00.002-05:00

Gorgeous home with quality updates. New kitchen from top to bottom, New bathroom, some new windows. Beautiful Hardwood floors, built in buffet, loaded with original woodwork and character. Center island kitchen with loads of storage, ceramic tile, custom backsplash forced air heat. Wonderful fenced yard, three bedrooms on each level, and much more. Too cute to miss.
MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

About Southwest Minneapolis, Minnesota

2011-10-20T19:11:00.000-05:00

Southwest Minneapolis contains the fine communities of Armatage, East Harriet, Fulton, Kenny, King Field, Linden Hills, Lynnhurst and Windom.

ArmatageLocated in the southwest corner of the city, Armatage neighborhood is bounded on the north by 54th Street West, on the east by Logan Avenue South, and on the south and west by the city limits at Highway 62 and Xerxes Avenue South. The neighborhood grew around the school named for Maude Armatage, a distinguished community leader. Armatage is built up with mostly single-family housing and some multifamily buildings. The neighborhood also has a park with a community center. The retail space in the neighborhood consists of individual neighborhood stores and is mostly located along Penn Avenue South. The great majority of housing was built between 1949 and 1969, while about 5 percent of the dwellings were built before World War II.

East HarrietThe East Harriet neighborhood is located in Minneapolis' Southwest Community. It takes its name from Lake Harriet, which Fort Snelling builder Col. Henry Leavenworth named after his wife in 1819. The neighborhood is bordered by 36th Street on the north and 46th Street to the south. Lyndale Avenue is the eastern boundary; Lake Harriet and Lakewood Cemetery largely make up the western border of the neighborhood. In addition to these Minneapolis landmarks, the Lyndale ParkRose Garden and the Thomas Sadler Roberts Bird Sanctuary are located within East Harriet. Many houses in the neighborhood are two-story homes, set back from the streets.

FultonFulton neighborhood in the southwest corner of Minneapolis borders the suburb of Edina. It's bound on the north by 47th Street West, on the east by Penn Avenue South, on the south by 54th Street West and on the west by France Avenue South. Lake Harriet sits in Fulton's northeast corner and Minnehaha Creek runs through it. The neighborhood takes its name from Robert Fulton, the engineer and artist who invented the steamboat in the 19th century. Fulton is bisected by 50th Street West, a busy thoroughfare with a commercial district that extends well into Edina. A largely residential neighborhood, houses were built here mostly in the 1920s and 1930s.

KennyKenny neighborhood is located in southwest Minneapolis. It is bordered by Highway 62, 54th Street, Lyndale Avenue, and the alley between Knox and Logan avenues south. The neighborhood, its park and its elementary school were named for Sister Elizabeth Kenny, an Australian nurse who developed the Kenny method of treating polio. The neighborhood has a lake on its south end called Grass Lake. Houses in the neighborhood tend to have been built in the 1940s or later and are generally larger than the houses in adjacent neighborhoods such as Armatage and Windom. The neighborhood has a balanced mix of longtime and new residents.

King FieldKing Field is named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The neighborhood is located in Minneapolis' Southwest community between Interstate 35W on the east and Lyndale Avenue on the west. The northern extent is 36th Street, and 46th Street is the southern boundary. The King Field neighborhood became part of Minneapolis in 1887 when the southern border of Minneapolis was extended from 38th Street to 54th Street. King Field is mainly a residential area with three-fourths of its single-family houses built before 1920. The King Field neighborhood has a number of amenities including churches, schools, a park also named after Martin Luther King Jr., and three- to four-dozen small businesses.

Linden HillsLinden Hills is located in southwest Minneapolis. It's bound on the north by 36th Street West and Lake Calhoun, on the east by William Berry Drive and Lake Harriet, on the south by 47th Street West, and on the west by France Avenue, which is the city limit. The neighborhood, named by the developer for the linden trees and rolling terrain, was developed in the 1880s to entice homebuyers to leave downtown for cottages on Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. Most of the original cottages have been replaced by large bungalows and Tudors. The Lake Harriet-Como Streetcar ("Trolley") line runs through the neighborhood. Built at the end of the 19th century to connect downtown Minneapolis with the lakes, the historic rail line now only operates between Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun.

LynnhurstLynnhurst neighborhood is located in southwest Minneapolis at the southern edge of Lake Harriet. Minnehaha Creek runs from north to southeast, bisecting the neighborhood. Lynnhurst extends from Lyndale Avenue to Penn Avenue and from 46th Street to 54th Street. It gets its name from a neighborhood park, located at the intersection of West 50th Street and West Minnehaha Parkway. The park was named for its location in the Lynnhurst Planning District, which was most likely named for the abundance of linden trees in the area. The park's name was adopted in 1921, the same year the 8.21 acres of parkland were purchased. Lynnhurst is a residential neighborhood with most of its housing stock built before 1940.

WindomWindom is located in southwest Minneapolis. It is bordered by Lyndale Avenue S, Highway 121, Diamond Lake Road, 54th St W, Interstate 35W and Highway 62. This highway is also at the southern city limit. Like its elementary school, Windom neighborhood was named after William Windom. Windom served from the mid- to late-1800s as a United States senator from Minnesota and as secretary of the treasury. The southern portion of the neighborhood houses a sizeable industrial area, about 15 percent of the neighborhood's land.

SouthWestMinneapolisTaraOBrien

New Listing in Crystal, $160,000, Open Sunday 12-2pm.

2011-10-19T11:12:00.003-05:00

Tara O'Brien, Edina Realty have a completely remodeled home for sale. 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms with high end finishes, new 42 in cabinets, stainless steel appliances, undermount sink, granite counters, new flooring, ceramic tile, custom baths, new fixtures & carpet. Updated windows, maintenance free siding, patio, 2+ car gar, shed and concrete driveway. Price for sale at $160,000. Open house on Sunday 12-2pm. You will be home in time for the Vikings/Packers game.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

3164 Ensign Ave, Home for Sale, New Hope

2011-10-19T10:56:00.004-05:00

Tara O'Brien and Edina Realty Present

Huge rambler loaded with updates. Main floor family room w/fireplace & walkout to backyard, granite counters, tile backsplash, new doors, hardware & stainless steel appliances in kitchen. Fresh paint & updated light fixtures. New roof, garage door & carpet. Hardwood floors & more. wonderful New Hope Neighborhood. Walk to Hidden Valley Park & Northwood Pkwy.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

A Look Ahead at New Homes of 2015

2011-10-12T13:26:00.002-05:00

If you had asked someone in the 1960s what the home of 2015 would look like, chances are they imagined something akin to The Jetsons’ home complete with Rosie the Robot and other space-age appliances that dressed and fed the family.

But, rather than space-age technology, the biggest thing that is expected to change in future single-family homes is the size.

“Homes will get smaller,” says Stephen Melman, Director of Economic Services at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in Washington D.C. “We asked builders, ‘what do you anticipate the new home size would be by 2015?’ ”

According to the results of the study, surveyed home builders expect new single-family homes to check in at an average of 2,150 square feet. Current single family homes measure around 2,400 square feet, which is already a decrease from the peak home size in 2007 of 2,521.

While the decrease in home size has a lot to do with the recession, many believe that the real estate changes will stick around even after the economy and home values get back on solid ground.

“Although affordability is driving these decisions, smaller homes are a positive for builders,” said Melman. “It allows for more creative design, more amenities, better flow. It’s an opportunity to deliver a better home.”

Other things that make up the home of 2015? No more living room. According to the survey, 52 percent of builders expect the living room to merge with other spaces and 30 percent believe that it will vanish completely to save on square footage. Instead, expect to see great rooms — a space that combines the family and living room and flows into the kitchen.

Expect to see more:
1. spacious laundry rooms
2. master suite walk-in closets
3. porches
4. eat-in kitchens
5. two-car garages
6. ceiling fans

Expect to see less:
1. mudrooms
2. formal dining rooms
3. four bedrooms or more
4. media or hobby rooms
5. skylights

Many of these changes reflect a desire for builders and consumers going green. Smaller space means more efficient heating and cooling. Ceiling fans distribute heat evenly while skylights, on the other hand, release heat.

However, as builders look to go green, they’ll be installing energy-efficient windows and compact fluorescent and LED lighting, as well as water-efficient appliances and plumbing.

Additionally, many new homes will have the baby boomer population in mind with walk-in showers, ground-floor master bedrooms and grab bars.

“A bigger share of the new homes will be purchased by people 55 or 65 and older,” said Melman. “They’re more likely to have more cash for a down payment, but they’re empty nesters, so they don’t need five bedrooms.”

-Yahoo Real Estate and Zillow

Weekly market update

2011-10-12T08:15:00.001-05:00

With the final week of the third quarter in the books, buyers posted solid gains over last year's activity levels while sellers listed fewer properties on the market. As is typical for this time of year, expect some seasonal changes to start taking hold. Market activity may slow from one month to the next but should still show favorable year-over-year progress. The lending climate improved even more last week as interest rates dipped below 4.0 percent for the first time ever.
In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending October 1:
• New Listings decreased 21.0% to 1,219
• Pending Sales increased 32.7% to 926
• Inventory decreased 22.8% to 23,177
For the month of September:
• Median Sales Price decreased 6.0% to $156,000
• Days on Market increased 4.6% to 137
• Percent of Original List Price Received increase 0.5% to 91.2%
-MAAR

MinneapolisRealEstateTaraOBrien

5 Home Improvement Projects that Will Get You Top Dollar For Your Home

2011-09-30T16:03:00.000-05:00

It’s a highly competitive market for home sellers right now. More homes to compete with means that the impression your homes makes - from the curb, and on the inside - matter now more than ever. You can increase your chances of selling faster - and at today’s top dollar - by investing in a select few home improvement projects that have been shown to make a big impact on buyers.

Bad news alert: it might cost you a little time, effort and cash. The good news, though, is that the best projects for quickly increasing your home’s resale value tend to be cosmetic and fairly simple and inexpensive to do. Here are five projects with big-time return on investment for home sellers-to-be, in terms of their power to attract buyers, and to attract dollars from those buyers.

1. Painting: Adding a fresh coat of paint to ceilings and walls is a tried and true way to increase your home’s appeal to buyers. Go for white or neutral tones that help lighten your rooms. (Now is not the time to show off your fascination with fuschia and lime green.) Buyers will have an easier time envisioning how they will infuse their own personalities into your home if they’re looking at a relatively blank slate.

Painting lightens and brightens rooms, instantly removes scuffs and dings and gives every room a fresh, polished feel.

Fresh exterior paint - even if your time or cash budget limits your efforts to accents like eaves, shutters, doors and trims - is also a quick, inexpensive way to polish the look of your home from the curb.

2. Landscaping: Everything you’ve heard about curb appeal is true. First impressions matter - especially if your house is one of eight or nine a buyer has seen in one day. Buyers will be more excited to look at the inside your home if the outside looks clean, charming and inviting. Mow the lawn, trim the hedges, pull the weeds and plant some flowers, bushes or shrubs for the biggest impact - and be diligent about keeping your landscaping very well-manicured throughout the time your home is on the market.

Be sure to keep it low-key, relatively low maintenance and neutral, though. This is not the time to indulge your personal fantasies of living in an exotic paradise, unless that matches the existing look and feel of your home, nor is it the time to install a time-intensive English garden that buyers will love, but not want to take on. Think clean, simple and elegant for the biggest boost in value.

3. Cleaning and de-cluttering: Start by removing all your family photos from the walls and all sorts of tchochkes and clutter from the tops of tables, desks, dressers and counters. Buyers want to be able to envision their lives in the house, not yours. Personal items - and the visual clutter they create - have been shown time and time again to block buyers’ ability to create this vision.

Also, remember that buyers are coming to see the house and evaluate its space, not to bear witness to all the fabulous furniture that means so much to you (no matter how amazing your personal taste). Remove furniture that takes up too much space and fills up rooms. Get rid of clutter such as clothes, boxes, piles of mail and other items.

And then clean - and keep cleaning obsessively, the entire time your place is on the market. Kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms should look unlived in when they are shown. And don't forget to clean less obvious places like windows, walls, doors and and floors, to dust off shelves and furniture, and to polish appliances.

4. Plumbing repairs and water stain/damage repair: Paying a plumber to make a few stops throughout your home can be well worth the investment. Leaky faucet in the master bathroom? Get it fixed. Does the space under your kitchen sink look like a science experiment? Leaks and water stains definitely provoke disgust and exasperation on the part of the buyers you want and need to impress. And they can be pretty cost effective to fix - ask your agent for a referral, if you need one.

5. Staging: Staging your home can make a dramatic difference in the price for which your home sells. Good staging is equal parts:

(a) removing your personal belongings and replacing it with more artwork, decor and cleaner-looking furniture,

(b) and tweaking the home’s paint, wall coverings and even landscaping to show the place in its very best light.

When done well, staging can convert your home from just another listing on a buyer’s list to the setting for a fresh, new start to the fresh, new life of their dreams. Professional stagers, in particular, have special skills and materials they use, from convincing you to get rid of a bunch of things you value (but read: junk to a buyer), to items like mirrors, plants, art work, lamps, pillows and even furniture that tells a visual story of the life buyers can fantasize about living in your home.

Talk to your agent about staging - some agents have the skill to do this on their own, while others might have a professional stager they frequently work with.

In some cases, you might want to take on even larger projects. Before you go that route, talk with a local real estate agent; they are well-positioned to know what sort of updates and features will make the most impact on local buyers. Not all major, non-cosmetic upgrades to your home will create a significant difference in the price it commands, so take advantage of your agent’s expertise as you make decisions about whichproperty preparation investments to make (and which to forego).

-Trulia

Weekly Market Activity

2011-09-29T09:28:00.001-05:00

"How's the Market?" (Elevator Edition): New listings remain subdued with 15 weeks in a row of year-over-year declines. Buyer activity is strong with 19 straight weeks of year-over-year gains. Inventory has posted 31 consecutive weeks of year-over-year decreases.

"How's the Market?" (Dinner Conversation Edition): New listings were down 22.5 percent to 1,311 and pending sales were up 40.6 percent to 883 contracts. The inventory bins contained 23,453 active listings at the start of last week – down 22.2 percent from last year. The Percent of Original List Price Received and Months Supply of Inventory metrics suggest a slowly improving landscape for sellers although they are still entrenched in buyer-favorable territory for the time being.

-MAAR
www.taraobrien.com

Weekly Market Update for Minneapolis

2011-09-21T09:02:00.002-05:00

With the Labor Day slowdown in the mix for the current round of numbers, new listings were down 21.2 percent compared to the 12.9 percent average decline over the past three months. At 1,248 new homes, that now marks 14 consecutive weeks of year-over-year declines in new listings. Inventory levels were also down 21.2 percent to 23,481 active listings, marking 30 consecutive week of declines.

Conversely, buyer activity was up 53.0 percent over the same week last year. That’s a fairly hefty increase, but we can’t call it a one-week anomaly because the three-month average shows an impressive 41.7 percent average increase over the equivalent three months in 2010. The 823 purchase agreements mark 18 consecutive weeks of year-over-year increases in pending sales.
Southwest Minneapolis real estate for sale, minneapolis homes for sale.
The Percent of Original List Price Received and Months Supply of Inventory metrics suggest a slowly changing landscape.
-MAAR

SouthwestMinneapolisTaraOBrien

Foreclosure Sales Slow, Tara OBrien, Edina Realty

2011-09-19T12:16:00.002-05:00

While lenders have resumed foreclosures after putting them on hold as a result of an investigation into "robo-signing" a year ago, snags remain in the process.

1010data Inc, and CoreLogic Inc. report a drop in the number of foreclosed homes liquidated to 3.6% in June from 5.7% in August 2010. The number of homes entering the foreclosure pipeline tops the number being sold by banks.

The delays help home owners hang onto their properties longer and aid the economy in the short term, but make it difficult for new buyers to close on foreclosed properties.

source "Effort on Home Loans Stalls" The Wall Street Journal

www.taraobriencom

4 Strategies to Customize and Personalize Your New Home

2011-09-15T12:26:00.002-05:00

Buying a home on today's market takes a lot of work! After the stress of financing and the rush of closing, the move-in can be a let-down. But one of the true joys of homeownership is your ability to truly make your home yours - customizing and personalizing it to suit your tastes, your family and your lifestyle to a t.

Here are four smart strategies for customizing your new home (even if new just means new to you!):

1. Paint to create the feel you want, inside and out. Painting your home with the colors and effects of your choice is one of the most cost-effective ways to create a completely personalized living space. And studies show that color choices, in particular, can have a massive impact on the mood and even the happiness of a home’s residents!

There are several ways - across a wide spectrum of cost and time required - you can use paint to personalize your property:

Exterior. The single fastest way to change your home’s look to match your personal preferences is to paint its exeterior. What did your lifelong dream home look like? What color was it? Repainting your home can make a massive change to its look and curb appeal, and can turn the home you can afford into the home you've always dreamed of.
Front door, shutters and fences. If you bought a home that has a relatively fresh paint job or an overall color you like, consider painting just the front door to inject some color and your personal touch. Aquas and greens, rusty or brick reds and even chic greys and blacks all make for a polished entrance – and the addition of a kick plate or engraved knocker can create a 100 percent personalized look. Painting shutters, fences, eaves and other exterior accents a contrasting color of your choice are additional quick and inexpensive – but powerful – tweaks that can also make your home look buttoned up and, well, yours.
Interior. The individual inhabitants of different rooms can pick their colors and custom effects, like harlequin diamonds or fun, personalized murals for kids’ rooms. Aim to match colors to a room’s purpose, so that bedrooms have a sense of restful sanctuary, bathroom walls read “clean,” and common living areas are warm or energizing, as you wish! Glidden has a fabulous interactive inspiration tool with amazing suggested palettes that coordinate with the various uses of individual rooms, like Growing Up Colors, for kids' rooms, Fresh Baked Kitchen palettes and my personal favorite: the palette dedicated to Man Cave Colors.

If you have a limited time or budget, or you're afraid you'll regret bold color choices, try accent walls - a single wall of color in every otherwise neutral room can go a long way toward customizing your home.

2. Inventory your space and your stuff before you unpack. Many people are buying smaller homes in an effort to manage costs of ownership and live closer to where their jobs are (gas prices certainly don’t look to be getting cheaper any time soon!). Even if you’re not moving into a small place, moving in – period – presents an opportunity to truly customize your living spaces for the activities you want to do and things you want to “live” in them.

There's no rule that says the table and chairs have to go in the dining room just because it’s called that; it's your house - take control! Maybe it’d be better as an office for you and homework space for the kids, and you can ‘dine’ in the kitchen or part of the living room. The windowless “extra” room might make for the perfect yoga room, craft room or space to plot your fantasy football world domination schemes.

Make a chart that divides all your home’s spaces – all of them, including any seemingly wasted spaces or nook-ey areas under the stairs or in the garage, before you move in. Then, decide what you want to (a) do, and (b) store in each area. This approach empowers you to make sure every person, activity and thing in your home has the right amount and type of space.

3. Build organization in. Built-ins make a world of difference, and I’m not just talking about the ones your home’s builder installed. It’s relatively low-cost and low-effort to build in items like:
a. closet organizers,
b. window seats,
c. desktops and bookshelves,
d. pantry-optimizing shelves, spinners and drawers, and
e. medicine and linen cabinets.

If you’re looking for some inspiration as to what sorts of custom organization systems are even possible, and/or you’re intimidated at the mere prospect of doing-anything-yourself, master carpenter and home improvement show host Karl Champley just released a great book on the subject, Same Place, More Space (Chronicle Books, 2011).

4. Match your furniture to your space, your activities and your stuff. Remember the space issues you couldn’t stand in your last place? Anticipate them, and as you plan to buy your furniture, look for things that offer extra organizational or storage features. I have a little “issue” with shoes at my house – they’re always everywhere! So, we put a cubby in the entryway for shoes, and each bedroom has a specific place to store them (an ottoman in mine, shoe shelves for my son.)

Also, if your space inventory (see #1 on this list) showed up lots of stuff with no place to go, make an effort to buy armoires, storage closets and sheds. To give your home a polished look that reflects your (perhaps newly!) organized personal style, a good rule of thumb is to make an effort to have a closed storage space for every item that has a label or would otherwise have to sit on top of a table or counter.
-Trulia post

SouthwestMinneapolisHomesTaraOBrien

Weekly Local Market Activity

2011-09-14T13:15:00.002-05:00

With some September data in the mix, seller activity showed a continuation of its intermediate-term holding pattern, with 14.3 percent fewer listings than the same week in 2010. The 1,313 new listings were more or less on pace with their 3-month 12.0 percent average decline.

Similarly, buyer activity continued to post large gains over the 2010 slowdown. This time, Twin Cities home buyers entered into 976 purchase agreements or 35.6 percent more than the same week last year. Edina Realty, Minneapolis real estate for sale

As we've previously pointed out, shrinking inventory levels can be an important market signal. There are currently 23,849 active listings from which buyers can choose, 20.9 percent fewer than last year at this time. Southwest Minneapolis Real Estate agent
Next week, watch for a changing story with absorption rates and seller concessions. As supply and demand attempt to find neutral ground, sellers are making fewer concessions in order to sell their homes.
-MAAR

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

2011-09-12T10:21:00.000-05:00

Check out this new format and view all my listings. Pretty cool.

Weekly Market Update

2011-09-07T14:06:00.000-05:00

We are now up to 14 consecutive weeks of accelerating inventory attrition. Let's go out on a limb and call this a pattern. For the current period, the number of active listings was down 20.6 percent to 24,047 properties. That's the largest inventory decline in nearly eight years. The metric is now back around first-quarter 2006 levels.

It's plain to see what's driving these declines. Sales are up and listings are down, allowing buyers to absorb the active supply of homes. Buyer activity was up 43.3 percent to 957 purchase agreements signed. While those 957 contracts are reminiscent of 2007, 2008 and even 2009 purchase levels, they far exceed the 2010 summer slowdown.
We have now reached 16 consecutive weeks of double-digit gains in buyer activity. Once again, it feels safe to call that a trend. These undercurrents are flowing into other metrics, such as month’s supply and measures of seller concessions. Month’s supply of inventory was down to 7.7 months, the first year-over-year decline since June 2010. On average, sellers are receiving more of their asking price. August's monthly figures, due to be released next Tuesday, should show a continuation pattern of the trends reported for July.
-MAAR

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

US cities, including Minneapolis see an increase.

2011-09-01T09:03:00.003-05:00

Spring buying pushed home prices up for a third straight month in most major U.S. cities in June. But the housing market remains shaky, and further price declines are expected this year.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index, released Tuesday, shows prices increased in June from May in 19 of the 20 cities tracked. A separate figure shows prices rose 3.6 percent in the April-June quarter from the previous quarter. Those numbers aren't adjusted for seasonal factors. Edina Realty, Minneapolis realtor and real estate for sale.

..“Part of what we’re seeing here is seasonal, but not all of it,” David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's Index Committee, told CNBC. “So this is a pretty thin river of hope.”

Over the past 12 months, home prices have declined in all 20 cities after adjusting for seasonal factors.

Chicago, Minneapolis Washington and Boston posted the biggest monthly increases. Metro areas hit hardest by the housing crisis, including Las Vegas and Phoenix, reported small seasonal increases.

"Broadly it looks like home prices have flattened out,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities in Stamford, Ct. "That's good news. Earlier this year, it had looked like we were looking for another leg down. You would like to see prices to go up, but we take what we can get.”

Stanley pointed to an interesting bifurcation in the market: Distressed property values remain depressed -- a drag on home prices. But non-distressed home sales are starting to rise.

S&P's Blitzer noted that he expects housing to remain subdued for the foreseeable future with no big upswings in prices.

There was a big pickup in consumer spending in July, which means people are willing to make big purchases, he explained. But home buyers are finding it’s more difficult to get a mortgage or home financing, and that is likely to temper any gains in the housing market.
--associated press and Tara O'Brien, Edina Realty

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Market Update from Tara

2011-08-30T19:24:00.002-05:00

For the week ending August 20, Twin Cities home sellers continued to list fewer properties than last year at this time, as new listings were down 11.8 percent to 1,342. that makes for 11 consecutive weeks of (still welcome) declines. Meanwhile, buyer activity was up 53.3 percent over last year, the largest increase in 12 weeks and the 15th consecutive week of double-digit gains.

Inventory has been a winner all summer, and we haven't broken the positive pattern yet. The number of active listings for sale was down 20.0% from 2010 to 24,183 homes. That's the largest decline since the beginning of 2004 and represents more than 6,000 fewer homes on the market than at this time last year.

A flurry of housing and employment reports due out this week could set the stage for the rest of the year. These two economic indicators are more closely tied than ever.
-Star Tribune

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Tips for Selling and Buying at the Same Time

2011-08-28T11:40:00.003-05:00

1. Meet with a local agent who actively sells homes in your neighborhood, far in advance of listing or house hunting. You need them to brief you on items like how long you should expect your home to take to sell on today's market, what (if anything) you can do to move it faster, and whether listing after doing some improvements to your home, at a different time of year or at a different price point than you had planned can realistically be expected to make an impact on your time frame. Call me and with Edina Realty we can get you on your way.

You also need their professional opinion as to what price you can expect to get for your home. This will impact whether you need to consider a short sale (if your home's value is less than you owe on it, for example) which, in turn may affect your ability to qualify for a home loan in the short-term. (Short sales often make it difficult to qualify for a new home loan for a couple of years.) If you need to buy in the near-term, but your home is unlikely to sell except as a short sale, you'll need to discuss the legalities and logistics with your mortgage pro, attorney and/or a CPA, as well.

Actually, the information about how long your home will take to sell, how much you can expect to sell it for and whether you're expecting to have to unload it at a short sale is all information you'll need to provide to your mortgage pro, so definitely collect it as early as possible in the process. A year before you need to move is not too soon to have your first meet up with your agent.

2. Meet with your mortgage broker before your start looking for homes or put your own home on the market. Of course, this is something you would have done eventually in preparation for your purchase, but it's essential that you have them walk with you through both your sell and your plans to buy, before you do either.

Why?

Well, a good local mortgage broker can work with you and your agent to help you:

•do the math on what you'll net from your home sale;
•help you know how much you (a) can qualify to buy, and (b) will need to come up with for your purchase;
•understand whether the sale will impact your credit at all all and by how much
•time your sale vs your purchase.

There are dozens of ways the sequence might need to play out, to be successful at both buying and selling, and you'll need your mortgage pro to be a partner in the process of determining how to order things - before you actually do anything. For example, you might be under the impression that you can't buy before you sell, because you can't qualify for both, when in fact your mortgage pro could suggest a solution like a low- or no-cost refi first, to bring your payment down so you can qualify to buy before you sell. Or maybe you ARE in a situation where you can't qualify to carry two loans, so you need to sell first and use your own cash to make up the difference between what you owe on your home and what it sells for to avoid a short sale so you can still qualify to buy your next property.

In any event, you won't know what exactly your capabilities are, from a mortgage and timing perspective, until you hear it from the source. So, get that meeting on the calendar, too, as early as possible.

3. Know your options for staying in after closing - or moving in early. Many homeowners try to buy and sell at precisely the simultaneous moment, with very little overlap, because they don't want to throw money away on rentals. The reality of today's market is that very, very few sales close precisely when they are expected to, mostly for reasons entirely out of the control of either party. The seller's bank takes months longer than expected to allow a short sale to close, or the buyer's bank takes eons to sign off on the appraised value of the home. In any event, if you are selling your home, before your purchase will be complete, know that it's okay to ask for a "rent-back" where you can stay in the property for as long as a month or more after the sale closes by agreement with the buyer to pay them rent on the property in the amount of their mortgage payment, taxes and insurance for the time you remain in the home.

On the other hand, if you are buying after your sale closes, some sellers will allow you to move in before closing on a similar arrangement - essentially a lease or early move-in arrangement. They may ask you to sign a document waiving their liability for your belongings and anything else that goes wrong while you're there, before closing - you'll have to negotiate and decide what works for all involved. Before you start to freak out at the thought that your 'buy' won't close when you need it to, know that this option might be available, and talk with your home's seller to see if they'll consider it.

4. Plan for gaps - and for overlaps. There is very little in this world we can be sure of, except the high probability of your escrow closing late. Having a backup plan in place just in case you close one or both transactions off-schedule is essential to avoiding the surprise-induced panic attacks so frequently suffered by those intrepid housing consumers who try to buy and sell homes at the same time. And, frankly, sometimes the best defense against these surprises is simply to plan for gaps and/or overlaps.

So, if you want or need to buy before you sell, build a cash cushion that can cover double payments for a couple of a months - and just plan on that. If that's not in the budget, or if you'd like to try out your new neighborhood or town before you buy, close your home's sale, then plan on renting a place during your house hunt - if you just need a place for a month or two, you might want to consider a suite hotel or a short-term rental for the piece of mind of knowing you will not be out of a place to stay.
-Trulia

NE Minneapolis Lot for Sale

2011-08-25T15:46:00.003-05:00

This great city lot is available for purchase from Edina Realty and Tara O'Brien. There are very few lots available in the city of Minneapolis and even fewer in NE Minneapolis. The address of this lot is 1811 Taylor Street NE. Priced at $33,000 with a motivated seller. Want to build your dream home? Looking to invest in land? Here it is, this is the one you have been waiting for. Walk to the athletic fields. Close proximity to Hwy 35 and Hwy 65. Great Windom Park location.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

New Minnneapolis Home for Sale

2011-08-24T13:25:00.003-05:00

This beautiful home is now for sale by Tara O'Brien and Edina Realty. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms on a corner lot. Walk to Riverview Theater and parkway. Home has newly refinshed hardwood floors throughout, coved ceilings and some new windows. New flooring upstairs and skylights in upper level. Huge family room in lower level and a den also. Nice large laudry room and plenty of storage. The kitchen and bathrooms are updated. This home is ready for the new buyer. Situated on a corner lot in a great location of Howe neighborhood in Longfellow.
MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Weekly Market Activity Report

2011-08-23T10:13:00.000-05:00

While day traders continue along their roller coaster ride, 997 Twin Cities home buyers made the smart investment in real estate. That's 40.0 percent more than those who made the investment last year. As this year's pending sales trend line rounds off its seasonal peak, you'll notice that purchase demand is coming back in line with historical trends.

Sellers were another story. There were 1,433 new listings, 18.7 percent fewer than this time last year. Seller activity has also likely reached its seasonal peak but remains below historical levels for this time of year. Consequently, buyers have effectively absorbed existing supply. That's a good thing. The number of active listings is down 18.5 percent to 24,362 available homes for sale.

With strong sales and less new supply entering the market, the balance is shifting toward neutral. Both the prevalence and magnitude of seller concessions have stabilized, and absorption rates improved in July after 12 months of sizable increases. Though still slightly lower than last summer, prices have increased nearly 18.0 percent from March to June of this year.
-MAAR
MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

5 Important Questions To Ask Before You Decide to Buy a Home.

2011-08-22T09:54:00.002-05:00

1. Do I have enough money for a down payment?

And how much, exactly, is “enough?” Today’s minimum down payment requirements range from 3.5 percent on an FHA loan to 10 or even 20 percent for conventional loans. That means coming up with anywhere from $7,000 to $40,000 on a typical $200,000 house. While there are still programs that can give you a down payment assistance, much of the heavy lifting here will need to come from you - in the form of saving up your hard earned cash. And keep in mind there are also closing costs you’ll probably have to pay in cash, which can run as high as 3-4% of your total purchase price; most sellers are willing to help in this department but not all, so buyer beware.

Talk with a real estate pro and a mortgage broker in your areas to start wrapping your head around how much “cash to close” (i.e., down payment + closing costs) will run, approximately, on a local property that would meet your needs. Can your savings cover this? If not, where will you get the money - what’s your plan for coming up with it?
Putting down as much as you can a) makes you more attractive to lenders, so you might qualify you for better loan terms and b) gives you additional purchasing power, either decreasing your monthly mortgage payment or increasing your purchase price limit for a home.

2. Can I handle the not-so-glamorous aspects of homeownership?

If you can’t even fathom the prospect of having a home maintenance crisis without having a landlord to call to fix it, you might want to reconsider homeownership - or at the very least, buy a lower maintenance condo or townhome in great condition, and make sure you get a home warranty! As a home owner, after all, you essentially are your own landlord. Pipe bursts in the middle of the night? Guess who’ll be up fixing it or calling (and paying) the plumber? (Hint: you.)

There are also some less-than-glamorous bills you’ll have to deal with in your new role as a homeowner that you never laid eyes on as a renter: property taxes and hazard insurance, to name two. When you go from renter to owner, you also need to account for the cost of appliances and maintaining the property’s roof, windows, and landscaping, among other things.

3. How long do I intend to stay in the house?

If you think you might move out of the area next year, then you really shouldn’t be thinking about buying a house (unless of course, you want to play landlord and rent it out after you leave - a prospect which requires its own risk/rewards analysis). For your home purchase to pencil out as a good deal, financially, you’ll shouldn’t buy unless you’re comfortable staying in the house at least 5-7 years - even longer, if you’re buying a home in a foreclosure hot spot or an area with a sluggish job market.. This gives you some time to build up equity and make up for the costs of buying, selling and moving.

4. Are my job and finances stable?

Maybe you just went through a major career change and are in the process of working your way back up from the top. Or maybe you work in a field that has been hit really hard by layoffs and cutbacks. The worst case scenario is to find yourself in a spot with mortgage payment you have no way to make, when you could have avoided that by seeing the writing on the wall. If you feel like there’s a real chance you could lose your job or income tomorrow, you may want to hold off on buying a house - that has the added bonus of giving you the geographic freedom to move, if needed, to get a new job.

Is there really such a thing as 100 percent job security in today’s economy? Probably not. But the best practice is to be confident that your finances could handle a temporary loss of income and still make your mortgage payments, before you buy. One way to do this is to have enough money in the bank to cover 4-6 months’ worth of living expenses, calculating them to include your mortgage payment - before you deem yourself ready to buy. That way, even if you lose your job with no warning at all, you’ll at least have a reasonable window of time to find a new one without digging yourself into a hole - or worse, losing your home altogether.

5. What are my real reasons for buying?

Buying a home is a long-term commitment that will have massive impacts on your lifestyle, your family and your finances. In other words, don’t do it unless you’re really sure you want to and are ready for the lifestyle change - don’t let someone else talk you into it. Worthy reasons renters with homeowning readiness give for their decision to buy include some or all of the following:
•You want to build equity instead of paying a landlord. Fact is, if you get a fixed rate mortgage and make the payments for the full term of the loan, you'll eventually pay it off. That's not possible when you're renting.
•You want a place to call your own, where you can paint a wall green, have a fence for your dogs or decorate like its 1970 because it's your prerogative.
•You want the tax advantages of homeownership.
•You want a stable place you and your family can live for as long as you'd like.

Ask yourself these questions, and be honest with your answers. If you really want to buy, but your answers to these questions today don’t weigh in that direction, it doesn’t mean you’ll never own a home. It’s usually just a matter of strategically timing your purchase out a year or two when your savings, your career and your lifestyle are in alignment with the implications of ownership - consider working closely with a real estate broker and a mortgage professional to get an action plan in place and start working that plan.
--Tara on Facebook
MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Edina Housing Market: Huge Increase in Home Sales

2011-08-16T08:53:00.002-05:00

July saw two positive indicators in the market: higher pending sales and lower inventory. We may be coming into a more balanced market in the Twin Cities, say market experts.

Edina, Minn. – Aug. 15, 2011 – The Twin Cities metro area is showing signs of coming into a balanced market, as homebuyers work through the inventory of homes for sale in Edina and the 13-county metro area at an accelerated pace.

Overall, the Twin Cities area saw a 43 percent increase in pending sales last month. For every sale in the Twin Cities, only six properties remain on the market.
According to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR), new listings in the Twin Cities were down by 16.1 percent – a trend true for six of the past seven months. Overall, the inventory of homes for sale has decreased 18.8 percent. In Edina, active listings were down by 8 percent, and new listings were up by 9 percent. The median sales price of a home in Edina is down 14 percent from last year, and is now at $371,500.

Absorption rates improved in the Twin Cities as the months’ supply of inventory came down to 7.6 months, meaning it would take 7.6 months for all of the properties currently on the market to sell at the current rate of sales. A supply of around five to six months is considered a balanced market.

“In real estate, we are always operating in one of three market types: a buyer’s market, a seller’s market, or a balanced market,” said Bob Peltier, president and CEO of Edina Realty Home Services. “We’ve been in a buyer’s market for the past six years, when sellers tend to make more concessions, cut prices, and so on. We finally appear to be trending toward a more balanced market where buyers and sellers will find themselves on a more level playing field.

“While it’s hard to make predictions about the market, this could very well be the year that people look to as the low point, and the best time to buy.”

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Edina Realty, a subsidiary of HomeServices of America, is one of the nation’s largest real estate companies with approximately 60 real estate offices throughout Minnesota, North Dakota and Western Wisconsin and 2,100 REALTORS®. Edina Realty’s family of companies includes Edina Realty, Edina Realty Title and Edina Realty Mortgage. Edina Realty handled nearly 25,000 transactions and $5.3 billion in sales volume in 2010.

Attention Landlords: Twin Cities renters are struggling with short supply

2011-08-15T13:44:00.002-05:00

There have been numerous stories recently about the tightening supply of rental housing in the Twin Cities. The latest story from Star Tribune details the struggles some renters have had in finding a place to rent and reveals to us that the apartment vacancy rate in the Twin Cities is now at an astoundingly low 2.4%.

The housing boom created strong demand for condo conversions, which ate up a lot of rental housing. Then the housing bust killed demand, financing and developer interest in building more apartments. Now we find ourselves in a tight supply market, which will definitely put added pressure on rent prices, which I suspect will rise further in the coming year.

The strong demand for apartments has also spilled over into rentals of single family homes as well. Craigslist is bustling with listings for rental homes and it seems that most of theses listings do not last long. Just under a year ago Twin Cities Realtors got into the rental game in a big way. In the first 11 months of operation, our local MLS”s rental section shows over 1300 units rented – with nearly all of them being houses, townhouses or condos. That represents just a tiny fraction of rental units in the Twin Cities but because of the detailed nature of MLS listings, we will soon have far better insight into the single family rental market than we’ve ever had before.

With the huge investor activity currently occurring in our housing market, I believe much of the current shortage of apartment units will be met by investors buying up properties (mostly foreclosures) and renting them out as apartment alternatives.

As posted by: Aaron Dickensen

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Weekly Local Market Activity

2011-08-09T12:22:00.000-05:00

Despite the anxiety on Wall Street, home buyers on Main Street continued along their merry way. Twin Citizens entered into 1,029 purchase agreements, up 49.1 percent from the 690 seen during the same week in 2010. Sellers, conversely, introduced only 1,323 new properties to the market for a 15.8 percent decline from last year.

For buyers, that marks 12 consecutive weeks of double-digit increases in activity. For sellers, it marks eight consecutive weeks of declines in activity. Relatively strong sales coupled with subdued new listings has drawn down the inventory of actively marketed properties to 24,734. That’s a 17.9 percent decrease from last year at this time, the largest decline since November 2008.

Stay tuned for a flurry of media attention regarding July’s numbers to be released this week. Competitive pricing, low interest rates and high affordability continue to support a favorable purchase environment for buyers; while strong sales and declining supply should eventually translate into fewer and less dramatic seller concessions. These trends will bring a greater sense of balance and normalcy to the marketplace.
-MAAR

Great Loring Way Condo for Rent

2011-08-08T11:53:00.002-05:00

Edina Realty and Tara OBrien have a 1 bedroom condo for rent in the Loring Park neighborhood. This central building is within walking distance to the Walker Art Center. Across the street from Loring Park and faces the city. Great unit with a competitive monthly rent of $1100. Available October 1st and comes with a garage and balcony. Owner pays everything except the electric, this even comes with basic cable. Community rooms, sauna, hot tub, huge deck and more. A must see at this price.
MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Just Reduced by $10K, Minneapolis Home in Wyndom Park

2011-08-08T11:12:00.003-05:00

Edina Realty and Tara OBrien have this great bungalow with all the original character for sale. We have just reduced the price by $10,000 to secure a quick sale. Updated kitchen, hardwood floors, 4 huge bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, room to grow in the basement. There is a workshop for the craftsman, tons of storage and two blocks off the parkway in the Camden Neighborhood. A must see at this new $130,000 price. Call today for a showing.
MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Minneapolis Home for Sale, coming soon. Longfellow, Howe Neighborhood, 3/2/1

2011-08-05T10:23:00.004-05:00

Updated and clean home coming soon in Howe neighborhood of Longfellow, Minneapolis. 3BD, 2BA, corner lot charmer. Character fills this one and a half story bungalow. Loads of storage, finished basement, great yard, open floor plan, hardwood floors, coved ceilings, skylights, huge front porch, walk-in closets and more. 1/2 blk to the River View Theater. Click the link to see a photo of this home on the market soon. Call if you wish to see it sooner and beat the crowd. Priced to sell under $200,000.

New Listing Here

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Weekly Market Activity Report

2011-08-02T15:30:00.001-05:00

For the week ending July 23, Twin Cities home-buying activity increased 54.3 percent while home-listing activity declined 13.2 percent compared to the same week in 2010. Buyers entered into 1,040 purchase agreements while sellers brought 1,380 new properties onto the market.
Sales are up, listings are down. We've heard it all summer. What else is new? Well, inventory levels are down 17.0 percent from 2010, which is the largest decline in 80 weeks or since January 2010. Buyers now have 24,897 properties from which to choose.
Let's visit some monthly numbers as well. The average amount that sellers receive on their asking price declined 2.1 percent in June to 91.4. Market times were up 17.7 percent to 140 days, prices were down 9.3 percent to $165,000. Each decrease or increase was the smallest in several months. Meanwhile, months supply of inventory shrunk 0.1 percent to 8.1, the first small yet measurable decline in 12 months.
-MAAR

If you would like more information on this or any article you see here, please contact me I would be happy to send you the full report.

Price Reduction in Camden Neighborhood

2011-07-26T15:03:00.003-05:00

Edina Realty and Tara O'Brien are selling a wonderful starter home in quiet Camden neighborhood. Four bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, original hardwood floors and character built in. Large expansion upstairs with large bedroom sizes and closets. Room to grow in the basement by adding carpet in the family room and a large workshop for the builder in your life. This home is ready to move into and ready for a new buyer. Priced to sell at $140,000. A must see home with updated kitchen, breakfast nook and attached garage.

Tara O'Brien, Realtor
612-810-7728

Weekly Local Market Update

2011-07-20T11:03:00.001-05:00

Home sales in the Twin Cities housing market continue to show strong year-over-year growth, but we must continue to point out that this is mostly due to how extraordinarily quiet last year was at this time following the expiration of the federal home buyer tax credit.

For the week ending July 9, there were 788 pending sales, an increase of 40.2 percent from a year ago. The amount of signed purchase agreements seen in recent weeks is similar to the activity for the same weeks in the summer of 2008.
The good news is that fewer homes are being listed, which is helping to dampen any potential for an oversupply problem. Over the last three months, there have been roughly 1,400 fewer new listings than during the same period in 2010, and the inventory of available homes for sale is down 16.1 percent from this time last year.

As always, balance between buyers and sellers plus a healthy, sustainable market is the ultimate goal.
-MAAR

Weekly Market Update

2011-07-12T07:46:00.000-05:00

For the week ending July 2, there were 1,057 purchase agreements, a 58.2 percent increase over the 668 seen during the same week last year.

Let's sprinkle in some context. Over the past 10 weeks in the Twin Cities metro area, pending sales have increased slightly from 986 to 1,057. Over the same 10 weeks in 2010, pending sales plunged from a credit-inspired 1,505 to an unimpressive 668. The resulting year-over-year comparisons? Three consecutive weeks of 50.0 percent or greater gains and eight consecutive weeks of double-digit gains in buyer activity.

On the seller side, activity remains comparable with 2010 levels. The 1,396 new properties added to the market were only 0.7 percent under year-ago levels. Strong sales gains coupled with stagnant listing activity is dramatically drawing down inventory levels.

There are currently 25,613 homes being actively marketed in NorthstarMLS. That's down 15.6 percent from the 30,072 seen at this time last year, which is the largest inventory decline since January 2010.-MAAR

Weekly Market Update

2011-06-28T09:06:00.001-05:00

For the week ending June 18, pending sales in the Twin Cities reached a new high for 2011. The 961 signed purchase agreements were 49.0 percent higher than the same week last year. That's the greatest number of pending sales in 57 weeks or since the week ending May 15, 2010—and only four contracts shy of the 2008 peak. It's also the sixth consecutive week of double-digit year-over-year gains, which is still partially explained by the sharp drop in sales once the 2010 credit expired.
New listings were down 10.4 percent from last year to 1,534 new homes, and inventory levels are falling at an increasing rate for the fourth consecutive week, which is a good thing. Having reached or nearly reached our seasonal inventory peak of 24,017 active listings, it's likely that we'll finish 2011 with fewer homes for sale than we started with for only the third time in the past eight years.

Question: What do you get when you combine slowed listing activity with strong sales gains and falling inventory?

Answer: Continued stabilization leading to market recovery.

LInden Hills Townhome, $280,000, 3/2/2

2011-05-24T08:37:00.003-05:00

Edina Realty and Tara O'Brien present this beautiful, updated townhome in Linden Hills. Open floor plan with soaring vaults and great room with wood burning fireplace. New kitchen includes granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, custom lights and more. New carpet throughout home, new laminate flooring. Rare 3 bedroom unit with 2 bathrooms and a 2 car garage. Walk to downtown Linden hills, parks and 2 lakes.
MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Minneapolis 3BD, 3BA Townhome for Sale

2011-04-26T18:30:00.004-05:00

Edina Realty and Tara OBrien have this beautiful Grant Park Townhome for sale.It has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 2 car heated parking. Very exquisite upgrades throughout this home. Stainless steel appliances, granite countertops in kitchen and bathrooms, marble and slate custom shower with spa jets, cherry flooring and cabinets, gas fireplace in living room and more. Huge finished square footage with high ceilings and custom paint that is very tasteful. This is turn key and ready for a new buyer.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Minneapolis Grant Park Townhome 3BR 3BA, 2Car

2011-04-14T14:56:00.005-05:00

Tara O'Brien and Edina Realty proudly present the lovely high end townhome without the high end price. Top of the line finishes include granite countertops in kitchen and bathrooms, marble and slate in bathrooms and kitchen, cherry cabinets with 42" uppers, high end stainless steel appliances with gas stove, gas fireplace and finished basement with full bathroom and walk in closets. For a private showing please contact Tara at 612-810-7728. Showings through listing agent only.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

New Listing in Victory Neighborhood

2011-03-30T16:50:00.004-05:00

Edina Realty and Tara OBrien present this charming home, blocks to the parkway. 3 bedrooms with a full finished basement. Plenty of room for a second bathroom. Sauna, tons of storage, huge yard, front and back porches, tons of cabinet space and more. Hardwood floors throughout, updated bathroom, dual zone air conditioner, forced air heat and crown molding throughout. Open house Sunday from 12-2pm.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Weekly Market Activity

2011-03-29T13:49:00.000-05:00

The week ending March 19 showed a 16.6 percent decline in Pending Sales from the same week last year and a 36.9 percent decline in New Listings.
With a little imagination, spring is in the air. Buyer activity has been gradually on the rise for most of 2011 as prospective buyers seem to prefer sporadic puddles to insurmountable snowbanks. Compared to last year's incentive market, however, the year-over-year declines in purchase activity have been growing as well.
The number of Active Listings for Sale has remained remarkably stable thus far in 2011. In 2010, inventory levels had fluctuated by more than 6,000 units from the first of the year. That volatility has been tamped down below 1,000 units so far this year. With no additional purchase incentive in the pipeline, this should bring supply-side improvements and price stability as demand returns to historically reasonable levels.
-maar

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Weekly Market Activity Report

2011-03-18T13:19:00.000-05:00

For the week ending March 5, there were 717 signed purchase agreements, a decline of 11.4 percent from a year ago when the market was stimulated by the federal home-buyer tax credit. Over the last three months, there have been almost 900 fewer signed purchase agreements than during the same period a year prior.
On the supply side, sellers brought 1,845 new homes onto the market, or 19.0 percent fewer than the same week last year. The three-month average pace of listing activity was 16.6 percent slower than it was a year ago.
Despite the decline in supply, there are a few other metrics that indicate challenging conditions remain for sellers. The Average Days on Market Until Sale currently sits at 157, up 16.1 percent from a year ago. Similarly, the Percent of Original List Price Received is down to 88.2 from last year's mark of 93.2.
In essence, in an environment where it takes homes longer to sell, sellers should be focused on proper pricing and preparation if they want a faster sale. Although there are fewer new listings, smart pricing and marketing are more important than ever.
-mplsrealtor.com

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Weekly Market Update

2011-03-02T16:56:00.000-06:00

The gap between current and year-ago listing activity continues to widen, as anticipated. Expect the supply-side numbers to show sizable year-over-year declines due to the high baseline set during the spring 2010 tax credit. It should be noted that we are now approaching a period where we’ll be comparing the 2011 non-tax credit market to the 2010 tax credit market at its peak level.
For the week ending February 19, there were 690 signed purchase agreements, which made for a 12.1 percent decline from the same week last year. There were 1,367 New Listings for the week, representing a 25.4 percent decline from a year ago. Active Listings, at 21,642, have been holding steady since the beginning of the year due to subdued seller activity coupled with fairly reliable sales volumes. That marked a 3.3 percent decline from year-ago inventory levels.
A more meaningful comparison is to look back at 2009 and 2008 and avoid tax credit stimulated activity. This week's 690 Pending Sales fall right in between 2008 and 2009 numbers. While that is less buyer activity than we would like, it does provide hope for the future.
-maar

New Listing in St. Paul, Edina Realty

2011-02-11T11:26:00.004-06:00

Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, two car garage, built in 2005. Quiet street, great value, nice room sizes, vaulted ceilings, huge family room, priced to sell.

More Infomation Click Here

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Weekly Market Report

2011-02-08T10:31:00.001-06:00

For the week ending January 29, 2011, purchase activity in the Twin Cities 13-county metro registered 2.0 percent below the same week in 2010. That marked the smallest decline in buyer activity in two months. Pending Sales in the first half of 2011 will struggle to match the high marks set during last year's tax credit but should parallel 2009 levels.
Seller activity has mimicked last year's levels thus far, only about 300 units slimmer. A total of 1,317 New Listings entered the market for the week, 16.9 percent fewer than the same week last year.
Active Listings for Sale increased a modest 1.8 percent from last year. Current inventory levels have remained fairly static over the past five weeks.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Making your house FHA Loan Ready, Edina Realty

2011-02-02T16:39:00.001-06:00

Know the basics of FHA loan rules and you stand a better chance of selling your house or condo.

If your house passes the FHA rules, it will appeal to buyers who plan to use an FHA-insured mortgage. If your house doesn’t qualify for an FHA loan, you’re cutting out 30% of potential buyers.

FHA is especially important to first-time homebuyers and those with small downpayments because it allows borrowers with good credit to make a downpayment as low as 3.5% of the purchase price.

Here’s how to make your home appealing to FHA borrowers:

Know the FHA loan limits in your area
Start by checking to see if your home’s listed price falls within FHA lending limits for your area. FHA mortgage limits vary a lot. In San Francisco, FHA will insure a mortgage of up to $729,750 on a single-family home. In the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the loan limit is $271,050.

Home inspections
Most buyers will ask for a home inspection, whether or not they’re using an FHA loan to buy the home. You must give FHA buyers a form explaining what home inspections can reveal, and how inspections differ from appraisals.

How much do you have to repair?
If the home inspection reveals problems, FHA will not give the okay to buy the home until you repair serious defects like roof leaks, mold, structural damage, and pre-1978 interior or exterior paint that could contain lead.

Dealing with FHA appraisers
Help the lender’s appraiser by providing easy access to attics and crawl spaces, which usually must be photographed, says appraiser Frank Gregoire in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Your buyer can hire his own appraiser to evaluate your home. But FHA only relies on reports by its approved appraisers. If the two appraisals conflict, the FHA appraisal preempts the buyer’s appraisal.

Help with FHA closing costs
Most FHA buyers need help with closing costs, says mortgage banker Susan Herman of First Equity Mortgage Bankers in Miami. So a prime way to make your house FHA-friendly is to help with those costs.

FHA currently allows sellers to pay up to 6% of the sales price to help cover closing costs, but is considering lowering that limit to 3% in the fall of 2010.

If you’re selling a condo
FHA also has to approve your condo before a buyer uses an FHA loan to purchase your unit. Be sure your condo is FHA-approved for mortgages. The list has been updated, so if your association was approved a year ago, check again to make sure it’s still on the approved list.

FHA generally won’t insure loans in condo associations if more than 15% percent of the unit owners are late on association fees. Ask your property manager or board of directors for your association’s delinquency rate.

Other rules cover insurances, cash reserves and how many units are owner-occupied and the types of condos that can be purchased with an FHA mortgage.

FHA sometimes issues waivers for healthy condominiums that don’t meet the regular rules. If your condo isn’t FHA-approved, it doesn’t necessarily have to meet every single rule to gain approval. Ask your REALTOR® to consult with local lenders about getting an FHA waiver for your condo if it doesn’t meet all the requirements.

FHA also limits its mortgage exposure in homeowners associations. With some limited exceptions, no more than 50% of the units in an association can be FHA-insured.

FHA loans for planned-unit developments
FHA no longer requires lenders to review budgets and legal documents for planned-unit developments.

More from HouseLogic
Show Your Support for FHA

Other web resources
Why ask for an FHA loan?

Find a State Program to Help Homebuyers Afford Your Home
By: Terry Sheridan
Published: June 2, 2010
Terry Sheridan is an award-winning freelance writer who has covered real estate for 20 years, and has owned and sold three homes

Newly remodeled home 3/2/1, priced to sell

2011-01-28T13:24:00.002-06:00

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms complete home remodel for only $99,000. Perfect home with top of the line finishes. Nicest home in price range. Back porch, great yard. New everything. Finished basement with den and huge family room. New stainless steel appliances, new counter tops, custom cabinets, open floor plan, huge living room with coved ceilings. Very light and on a quiet street.

Tara O'Brien, Edina Realty
MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Huge family home in great location, Minneapolis

2011-01-28T12:59:00.003-06:00

Beautifully restored huge 2 story. New hardwood floors, new carpet, new ceramic tile floors. New upgraded kitchen, custom cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. Great location, huge new 2 car garage, new front porch windows and patios on back. Huge home for the money. Gorgeous woodwork throughout, four finished levels, and more. A must see.

Tara O'Brien, Edina Realty
MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Improve Credit Score with These Home Finance Tips

2011-01-28T11:51:00.001-06:00

By: Gwen Moran

Published: October 22, 2010

How you manage your home ownership finances affects your credit score—and your ability to refinance later.

1. Postpone that refinance until your credit is squeaky clean
Even a small blemish on a credit report can cost you at closing. Money expert Denise Winston found that out firsthand: Her husband hadn’t paid a $40 pager charge. The unpaid bill was turned over to a collection agency and ended up damaging his credit score.

Because of that one small unpaid bill, the interest rate on the couple’s mortgage was 0.25% higher than if he'd had a clean score. Put another way, that’s $13,000 over the life of the loan.

The lesson? Even small items can damage your financial position. Get your credit report beforehand to see if there’s anything damaging. If so, consider postponing a refinance or HELOC (home equity line of credit) until small but potentially costly dings fade over time.

2. Pay your mortgage—now
Not all late payments are created equal: Almost nothing hits your credit score harder than a late mortgage payment. Payment history generally accounts for 35% of your credit score, which is bad enough, but credit score agencies consider late home payments graver than late credit card or car loan payments.

In fact, credit score agency VantageScore will knock off more than 100 points beyond what it would do for delinquent auto loans or credit cards.

But if you think you can improve your credit score with early payments, think again. Geoff Williams, co-author of Living Well with Bad Credit, says it may make a slightly positive impression on today’s risk-averse lender, but it won’t make a big difference in getting future credit.

3. Cool it on second mortgages and HELOCs
Drawing down a second mortgage or HELOC can have a negative impact on your credit score because 30% of your credit score is based on how much you owe to creditors. However, if you pay the loan on time, it will have less of an impact, says Winston.

Also, you can mitigate the credit score damage of a HELOC by staying within 30% of the limit.

4. Protect your mortgage to protect your insurance rates
Late payments on your mortgage may also affect your home owners and automobile insurance rates, potentially costing you hundreds of dollars a year, says Williams. Insurers may assume that if you’re strapped for cash and pay your bills late, you’re more likely to file a claim because you need the money.

5. Pay your utility bills and property taxes on time
If you're late on your utility bills and your account is assigned to a collection agency, that agency may report it, causing a drop in your credit score, says Winston. The good news is that utility companies often don’t bother to report late bills to credit bureaus until your delinquency becomes serious.

Interestingly, late payment of property taxes won’t affect your credit score unless you find yourself with a lien on your property. Since liens are public records, they may appear on your credit report and might cause a drop in your credit score.

6. Refinancing? Beware of taking out equity, too
Refinancing your home generally won’t have an impact on your credit score as long as you continue to pay your loan on time, says Williams. However, if you extract equity in the deal, you could marginally affect your credit score because the amount you owe will increase.

Gwen Moran is a freelance business and finance writer from the Jersey shore. She’s the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Business Plans and writes frequently about real estate.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Monster.com: Mpls. Among Hottest Job Markets

2011-01-26T16:32:00.001-06:00

Occupations that will grow the most in 2011 are in the IT and health care sectors, according to the company.

Popular job site Monster.com recently ranked Minneapolis among the 10 hottest job markets in the United States for 2011.

The Maynard, Massachusetts-based online employment site identified the top markets based on the number of available jobs per person, ranking Minneapolis sixth. Washington, D.C., topped the list, followed by San Francisco, Boston, Baltimore, and Seattle.

Monster.com also identified the top occupations for 2011 in these 10 markets. According to the company, the hottest jobs mostly fell within the IT and health care industries.

“This is largely due to the economic recovery where communities across the nation are starting to spend more on things like IT infrastructure and other areas where they’d previously avoided spending on for as long as possible,” Jesse Harriott, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer for Monster.com, said in a statement. “Meanwhile, health care has long been immune to the economic recession, especially given the skills shortage in that industry due to Baby Boomers retiring, taking those skills with them in the process.”

According to Monster.com, occupations within the IT industry that will grow the most include IT project managers, database administrators, software engineers, computer support specialists, and computer and information research scientists.
Within the health care support market, the job postings that are most likely to increase in prevalence are for nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants; occupational therapist assistants; dental assistants; home health aides; and pharmacy aides.

Monster.com’s full list of the 10 hottest job markets in the United States is as follows:
1. Washington, D.C.
2. San Francisco
3. Boston
4. Baltimore
5. Seattle
6. Minneapolis
7. Cleveland
8. Tampa, Florida
9. Dallas
10. Kansas City, Missouri

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Weekly Market Activity

2011-01-25T11:15:00.000-06:00

Buyers were more eager to get back in the game than sellers for the week ending January 15. There were 1,286 new properties added to the Twin Cities residential real estate market, down 22.9 percent compared to the same week last year. This marks the third consecutive week of year-over-year declines in seller activity after three consecutive weeks of year-over-year gains.
There were 558 Pending Sales for the week, down a slight 2.3 percent from year-ago levels. That's the smallest decline in purchase demand in six weeks.
Active Listings for Sale were up 6.3 percent to 21,744 homes. That's the fourth consecutive week of decreasing inventory gains compared to last year.
-mplsrealtor.com

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Weekly Market Update

2011-01-20T18:15:00.002-06:00

Twin Cities home buyers and sellers both showed week-over-week increases coupled with year-over-year declines. The 1,490 New Listings were up over 120.0 percent from the previous week but down 10.7 percent from the previous year. The 475 Pending Sales were up over 70.0 percent from the previous week but down 8.7 percent from the previous year.
Moral of the story? The market has embarked on its typical new year's ascent as we begin our long drive toward spring. We likely won't match 2010 levels until the summer months – when we're finally comparing two nonincentive markets on a level playing field.
Inventory was the metric to watch for the week, as the number of active listings for sale snuck in only 7.2 percent above year-ago levels. That's the smallest inventory increase since the first full week in August 2010. As of January 18, there were 21,687 homes available for purchase. While that's plenty of product for buyers to sift through, sellers will have to ensure that their properties show well and are
priced aggressively. -from MplsRealtor.com

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Finally some good news for MN Job Seekers

2011-01-18T15:54:00.000-06:00

With roughly three job seekers per opening, the area’s employment is expected to recover fully by mid-2011.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area has been named one of the nation’s top job markets, according to a report released by Forbes. The metro area placed fourth in the rankings, which were released last week—trailing only Washington, D.C.; Boston; and Austin, Texas.

According to Forbes, the Twin Cities’ employment is expected to recover fully by mid-2011, far earlier than a national recovery, as found by a recent Moody’s Economy.com analysis of the region.

Job growth is mostly expected in manufacturing and professional services like accounting. The Mall of America, a retail and tourist destination that is expanding, would also contribute to job growth in the region, according to the magazine.

Forbes reported that there are roughly three job seekers per advertised opening in the Twin Cities. The metro area’s unemployment rate is currently at 6.5 percent, whereas the national average is at 9.4 percent. Statewide jobless rate sits at 7.1 percent.

Topping Forbes’ list is the nation’s capital, with roughly one advertised job opening for every unemployed worker in the region, which includes parts of Maryland and Virginia.

Boston and Austin follow closely with job seekers per opening rates of 2.1 and 2.39, respectively. Las Vegas was the worst job market in the nation, with more than eight unemployed workers for every job opportunity posted online. Most of California and Florida’s major cities were close behind.

Forbes compiled its 2011 lists of America’s Best and Worst Job Markets with metro unemployment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and job site Juju.com’s monthly Job Search Difficulty Index for major cities. Research firm Moody’s provided additional analysis for the trends in each labor market.

—Nataleeya Boss
(edit@tcbmag.com)

Weekly Market Activity Report

2011-01-11T10:29:00.002-06:00

Buyers and sellers were less active in the closing week of 2010 than they were during the final week of 2009. Following three consecutive weeks of increases, sellers pulled back and listed 677 new properties or 1.6 percent fewer than they did last year at this time. This is slightly below the three-month average but up from the holiday week.
Buyer activity continued along its seasonal decline. The 279 purchase agreements signed for the week were down 26.2 percent from the year prior. While the number "26.2" may pique the interest of marathoners, the rest of us are ready to see the market sustain gains in purchase demand. On average over the last three months, the year-over-year decline is a frigid 20.3 percent.
The number of active listings available for purchase rose 10.5 percent from last year to 21,597 properties. That gain came in slightly under the three-month average change in inventory levels but is in line with historical seasonal changes.
From MAAR, enotes.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Huge Renovated Home in Minneapolis 4/2/2

2011-01-07T13:05:00.002-06:00

This large home is located just blocks from coffee shops and stores. Walk to the bus stop which is steps away. Home has been completely renvoated, all four levels. Room for large family or roommates. Great character in the woodwork that is original and in great shape. Hardwood floors, new kitchen with granite counters, stainless steel appliances, breakfast nook, tile floors and new light fixtures. Home has all new carpet, finished basement and attic and new 2+ car garage. A must see at this great price, $170,000. Call today for an appointment to see.

Tara O'Brien, Realtor
MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Huge Price Reduction 55+, New building

2011-01-06T15:51:00.002-06:00

This new 2 bedroom condo is perfect for anyone looking 55+. Plenty of square footage, 2 full bathrooms, garage stall, great floor plan, balcony, pets allowed, security building, wonderful activities and more. Best price for this floorplan, by far. Priced to move quickly at $147,000.

Tara O'Brien, Edina Realty
MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Weekly Market Activity Report

2011-01-04T10:12:00.000-06:00

Buyer activity for the week ending December 25 was fairly even with last year – down only 3.3 percent to 379 purchase agreements signed. The lowest weekly sales volume on record is 235 and it occurred during the final week of 2007. Weekly sales volumes have lingered between 400 and 700 units since the beginning of May 2010.
Sellers were outwardly optimistic about future purchase activity as they listed 657 new homes on the market, up a substantial 47.3 percent from the same week in 2009. That's the largest year-over-year gain in seller activity since mid-April 2010.
Inventory levels are still on their seasonal uphill climb, and this won't change until the snow starts melting. At this rate, that could be May! In all seriousness, there are currently 21,161 Twin Cities properties being actively marketed. That's 11.5 percent more than the same week last year. This is nothing extraordinary and is in line with the usual seasonal changes.
As 2010 limps into the history books, we happily bid it adieu as the outlook for the latter half of 2011 continues to look up.
From: Minneapolis Association of Realtors

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

New 1BD Condo Listing, Downtown Minneapolis

2011-01-03T14:01:00.006-06:00

Beautiful condo overlooking the pool and courtyard. Completely updated throughout. Kitchen has granite countertops, new cabinets, stainless steel appliances, undermount sink, new fixtures. Condo has all new carpet, custom paint, slate flooring, open floor plan. Bathroom has slate tile shower, new cabinetry, new sink, updated light fixture and more. This is a must see condo central to everything. 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, parking is additional. $124,900.

This unit can also be rented for $1150 per month.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Tara O'Brien, Edina Realty
612-810-7728

SOLD!!!

2010-12-28T10:09:00.003-06:00

I am pleased to announce that I have just sold this property at 6485 Barrie Rd. in Edina.

If you or someone you know would like more information about the real estate market in your area, please give me a call.

www.TaraOBrien.com

Tax Tips for Homeowners Looking Ahead to 2010 Returns

2010-12-28T10:03:00.002-06:00

From energy tax credits to vacation home deductions, check out these tax tips for homeowners looking ahead to 2010 returns.

Claim remaining energy tax credits
It's time to get cracking if you didn't exhaust your full allotment of residential energy tax credits during 2009. Although tax credits for big projects like residential wind turbines and solar energy systems have no upper limit and are good through 2016, energy tax credits capped at $1,500 expire at the end of 2010. Eligible capped projects include new windows and doors, insulation, roofing, water heaters, HVAC, and biomass stoves.

Here's how it works with capped federal credits: You can earn energy tax credits worth 30% of the cost of qualifying improvements, but the total tax credits can't exceed $1,500 combined for 2009 and 2010. So if you only took, say, $700 worth of capped energy credits on your 2009 tax return, you're still due for another $800 in credits in 2010. Some projects include the cost of installation--a furnace, for example--while others, such as insulation, are limited to the cost of materials.

Max out tax benefits of a vacation home
Use a vacation home wisely, and it'll provide a break from taxes as well as the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The rules on tax deductions for vacation homes can get a bit tricky, but understanding and adhering to them can yield many happy tax returns.

If your vacation home is truly a vacation home meant for your personal enjoyment, as opposed to a rental-only income property, you can usually deduct mortgage interest and real estate taxes, just as you would on your main home. You can even rent out the home for up to 14 days during the year without getting taxed on the rental income. Not bad.

Now, let's say you want to rent out your vacation home for more than 14 days in 2010, but also use it yourself from time to time. To maximize the tax benefits, you need to keep tabs on how many days you use your vacation home. By restricting your annual personal use to fewer than 15 days (or 10% of total rental days, whichever is greater), you can treat your vacation home as a rental-only income property for tax purposes.

Why is that a big deal? In addition to mortgage interest and real estate taxes, rental-only income properties are eligible for a slew of other tax deductions for everything from utilities and condo fees to housecleaning and repairs. Deductions are limited once personal use exceeds 14 days (or 10% of total rental days), so get out your calendar now to strategically plot your vacations.

Take advantage of tax breaks for the military
In salute to members of the armed forces serving overseas who want to purchase a home, the IRS is extending a lucrative tax perk for military personnel. If you spent at least 90 days abroad performing qualified duty between Jan. 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010, you have an extra year to earn a homebuyer tax credit. In addition to uniformed service members, workers in the Foreign Service and in the intelligence community are eligible.

Thanks to this extension of the homebuyer tax credit, qualifying military personnel have until April 30, 2011, to sign a contract on a new home. The deal must close before July 1, 2011. Just like non-military buyers, first-time homebuyers can earn a tax credit worth up to $8,000, and longtime homeowners can earn a credit of up to $6,500. The same income restrictions and $800,000 cap on home prices apply.

Military personnel can also get a break if official duty calls and they're forced to move for an extended period. Normally, the homebuyer tax credit needs to be repaid if you sell your home within three years, but this requirement is waived for uniformed service members, Foreign Service workers, and intelligence community personnel. The new extended duty posting doesn't need to be overseas, but it must be at least 50 miles from your principal residence.

Challenge your real estate assessment
You can't do much about the rate at which your home is taxed, but you can try to do something about how your home is valued for taxation purposes in 2010. The process varies depending where you live, but in general local governments conduct a periodic real estate assessment to determine how much your home is worth. That real estate assessment figure is used to calculate your property tax bill.

You can usually appeal your real estate assessment if you think it's too high. Contact your local assessor's office to find out the procedure, and be prepared to do some research. There's often no charge to request a review of your assessment.

Look for errors. You probably received an assessment letter in the mail, and many local governments provide the information online as well. Make sure the number of bedrooms and bathrooms is accurate, and the lot size is correct. Also check the assessed value of comparable homes in your area. If they're being assessed for less than your home, you might have a case for relief.

Even if your assessment is accurate and comparable homes are being taxed at the same rate, there might be another route to tax savings. Ask your assessor's office about available property tax exemptions. Local governments often give breaks to seniors, veterans, and the disabled, among others.

This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but is not intended to be relied upon by readers as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax professional for such advice; tax laws may vary by jurisdiction.

Mike DeSenne is Online Managing Editor for taxes, finances, and insurance at HouseLogic.com, and the former Executive Editor of SmartMoney.com. He likes to do his taxes by hand, much to the dismay of his accountant.

The Value of Home Maintenance

2010-12-15T11:04:00.003-06:00

Regular home maintenance is key to preserving the value of your house and property.

“It’s the little things that tend to trip up people,” says Frank Lesh, former president of the American Society of Home Inspectors and owner of Home Sweet Home Inspection Co. in Chicago. “Some cracked caulk around the windows, or maybe a furnace filter that hasn’t been changed in awhile. It may not seem like much, but behind that caulk, water could get into your sheathing, causing mold and rot. Before you know it, you’re looking at a $5,000 repair that could have been prevented by a $4 tube of caulk and a half hour of your time.”

Maintenance affects property value
Outright damage to your house is just one of the consequences of neglected maintenance. Without regular upkeep, overall property values are affected.

“If a house is in worn condition and shows a lack of preventative maintenance, the property could easily lose 10% of its appraised value,” says Mack Strickland, a professional appraiser and real estate agent in Chester, Va. “That could translate into a $15,000 or $20,000 adjustment.”

In addition, a house with chipped, fading paint, sagging gutters, and worn carpeting faces an uphill battle when it comes time to sell. Not only is it at a disadvantage in comparison with other similar homes that might be for sale in the neighborhood, but a shaggy appearance is bound to turn off prospective buyers and depress the selling price.

“It’s simple marketing principles,” says Strickland. “First impressions mean a lot to price support.”

Prolonging economic age
To a professional appraiser, diligent maintenance doesn’t translate into higher property valuations the way that improvements, upgrades, and appreciation all increase a home’s worth. But good maintenance does affect an appraiser’s estimate of a property’s economic age—the number of years that a house is expected to survive.Economic age is a key factor in helping appraisers determine depreciation—the rate at which a house is losing value. A well-maintained house with a long, healthy economic age depreciates at a much slower rate than a poorly maintained house, helping to preserve value.

Estimating the value of maintenance
Although professional appraisers don’t assign a positive value to home maintenance, there are indications that maintenance is not just about preventing little problems from becoming larger. A study by researchers at the University of Connecticut and Syracuse University suggests that maintenance actually increases the value of a house by about 1% each year, meaning that getting off the couch and heading outside with a caulking gun is more than simply a chore—it actually makes money.“

It’s like going to the gym,” says Dr. John P. Harding, Professor of Finance & Real Estate at UConn’s School of Business and an author of the study. “You have to put in the effort to see the results. In that respect, people and houses are somewhat similar—the older (they are), the more work is needed.”

Harding notes that the 1% gain in valuation usually is offset by the ongoing cost of maintenance. “Simply put,” he says, “maintenance costs money, so it’s probably best to say that the net effect of regular maintenance is to slow the rate of depreciation.”

How much does maintenance cost?
How much money is required for annual maintenance varies. Some years, routine tasks, such as cleaning gutters and changing furnace filters, are all that’s needed, and your total expenditures may be a few hundred dollars. Other years may include major replacements, such as a new roof, at a cost of $10,000 or more.

Over time, annual maintenance costs average more than $3,300, according to data from the U.S. Census. Various lending institutions, such as Directors Credit Union and LendingTree.com, agree, placing maintenance costs at 1% to 3% of initial house price. That means owners of a $200,000 house should plan to budget $2,000 to $6,000 per year for ongoing upkeep and replacements.

Proactive maintenance strategies
Knowing these average costs can help homeowners be prepared, says Melanie McLane, a professional appraiser and real estate agent in Williamsport, Pa. “It’s called reserve for replacements,” says McLane. “Commercial real estate investors use it to make sure they have enough cash on hand for replacing systems and materials.”McLane suggests a similar strategy for homeowners, setting aside a cash reserve that’s used strictly for home repair and maintenance. That way, routine upkeep is a snap and any significant replacements won’t blindside the family budget. McLane’s other strategies include:

Play offense, not defense. Proactive maintenance is key to preventing small problems from becoming big issues. Take the initiative with regular inspections. Create and faithfully follow a maintenance schedule. If you’re unsure of what needs to be done, a $200 to $300 visit from a professional inspector can be invaluable in pointing out quick fixes and potential problems.Plan a room-per-year redo. “Pick a different room every year and go through it, fixing and improving as you go,” says McLane. “That helps keep maintenance fun and interesting.

”Keep track. “Having a notebook of all your maintenance and upgrades, along with receipts, is a powerful tool when it comes to sell your home,” advises McLane. “It gets rid of any doubts for the buyer, and it says you are a meticulous, caring homeowner.” A maintenance record also proves repairs and replacements for systems, such as wiring and plumbing, which might not be readily apparent.

John Riha has written six books on home improvement and hundreds of articles on home-related topics. He’s been a residential builder, the editorial director of the Black & Decker Home Improvement Library, and the executive editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. His standard 1968 suburban house has been an ongoing source of maintenance experience.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Find and Prevent Electrical Fire Dangers in Your Home

2010-12-14T13:23:00.006-06:00

Some electrical fire dangers are hidden inside the walls, but if you know the warning signs, you can keep an electrical fire from happening in your home.

Hidden danger #1: Old wiring
The lifespan of an electrical system is 30 to 40 years. But more than 30% of the nation's houses—some 30 million homes—are more than 50 years old. "Older homes with fuses were set up for about 30 amps of power; many homes now have 100, 150, even 200 amps of power," says John Drengenberg, consumer safety director for Underwriters Laboratories, which conducted a study of aging residential wiring.

Warning signs of inadequate power include circuit breakers that trip or fuses that blow repeatedly, and an over-reliance on extension cords. "They're meant to be temporary," Drengenberg says. "If you have extension cords routed all over, it's time to get an electrician out there. Your home would not comply with the National Electrical Code."

Hidden danger #2: Aluminum wiring
Many houses built in the 1960s and early 1970s have aluminum wiring, which oxidizes and corrodes more easily than copper and has been linked by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to electrical fires. "It's okay for a while, but it doesn't have the life that copper does, particularly where wires terminate. The terminals and splices are known for overheating," says Roger L. Boyell, a forensic engineer in Moorestown, N.J.

Short of a whole-house wiring upgrade, an electrician may be able to head off potential problems by installing copper connectors called pigtails at receptacles and breakers. "It's time-consuming," Boyell says, "but there's no big equipment involved."

Hidden danger #3: Arc faults
An arc fault—which occurs when electrical current veers off its intended path, often through a breach in wiring—is a leading cause of electrical fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association. It doesn't take much to cause an arc fault. You could damage wiring inside the wall when hanging a cabinet, a piece of furniture could cut through a cord, or there may be a loose connection in an outlet.

The resulting arc, capable of producing heat in excess of 10,000 degrees F, can be nearly impossible to detect. But arc faults are preventable. A device called an arc-fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) senses these dangerous abnormalities in wiring or appliances and shuts down the circuit before it overheats. The Electrical Safety Foundation International estimates that the use of AFCIs could prevent 50% to 75% of fires caused by arc faults.

AFCIs are now required on circuits covering most general living areas in new houses. (Note: These are not the same as ground-fault circuit interrupters, or GFCIs, which are used in kitchens, baths, and other wet areas to prevent electrical shocks.) But they're even more valuable in older houses, where connections may have degraded over the years. It's an easy job for an electrician to upgrade standard circuit breakers, which don't protect against arc faults, to AFCIs. At $30 to $50 per breaker, it could cost a few hundred dollars to retrofit every circuit. Still, weighed against the potential tragedy of a house fire, it's money well spent.

Hidden danger #4: Counterfeit electrical products
If you've ever gone to a flea market and seen vendors hawking extension cords, power strips, night lights, batteries, even circuit breakers for ridiculously low prices, there's a reason. They're probably counterfeits, and they're incredibly dangerous. "I've seen extension cords all over the country that have inferior copper in them-it's speaker wire, and it literally melts in your hands," says Brett Brenner, president of the Electrical Safety Foundation International. "They're putting a lot of people at risk."

Your best bet is to buy electrical products only from reputable retailers who will take things back if they don't work. And look for the Underwriters Laboratories seal. On low-cost items that are ripe for counterfeits, UL puts its logo in a holographic label that's much more difficult to reproduce.

If the worst happens: Extinguishing an electrical fire
Electrical fires are tricky to put out. If you douse them with water, you run the risk of electrocution, and not all chemical fire suppressants will extinguish them completely. To be safe, make sure your household fire extinguisher is rated A-B-C, which indicates that it is effective against fires involving ordinary combustible materials, flammable liquids, and electrical equipment.

Serial remodeler Pat Curry is a former senior editor at BUILDER, the official magazine of the National Association of Home Builders, and a frequent contributor to real estate and home-building publications.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Holiday Fire Safety Tips

2010-12-08T10:03:00.002-06:00

The holiday season is one of the most dangerous times of the year for household fires, so take note of these tips to reduce your risk.

To keep your household from becoming a holiday fire statistic, here are some safety tips to follow.

Cooking
Cooking is the top cause of holiday fires, according to the USFA. The most common culprit is food that's left unattended. It's easy to get distracted; take a pot holder with you when you leave the kitchen as a reminder that you have something on the stove. Make sure to keep a kitchen fire extinguisher that's rated for all types of fires, and check that smoke detectors are working.

If you're planning to deep-fry your holiday turkey, do it outside, on a flat, level surface at least 10 feet from the house.

Candles
The incidence of candle fires is four times higher during December than during other months. According to the National Fire Protection Association, four of the five most dangerous days of the year for residential candle fires are Christmas/Christmas Eve and New Year's/New Year's Eve. (The fifth is Halloween.)

To reduce the danger, maintain about a foot of space between the candle and anything that can burn. Set candles on sturdy bases or cover with hurricane globes. Never leave flames unattended. Before bed, walk through each room to make sure candles are blown out. For atmosphere without worry, consider flameless LED candles.

Christmas trees
It takes less than 30 seconds for a dry tree to engulf a room in flames, according to the Building and Fire Research Laboratory of the National Institute for Standards and Technology. "They make turpentine out of pine trees," notes Tom Olshanski, spokesman for the U.S. Fire Administration. "A Christmas tree is almost explosive when it goes."

To minimize risk, buy a fresh tree with intact needles, get a fresh cut on the trunk, and water it every day. A well-watered tree is almost impossible to ignite. Keep the tree away from heat sources, such as a fireplace or radiator, and out of traffic patterns. If you're using live garlands and other greenery, keep them at least three feet away from heating sources.

No matter how well the tree is watered, it will start to dry out after about four weeks, Olshanski says, so take it down after the holidays. Artificial trees don't pose much of a fire hazard; just make sure yours is flame-retardant.

Decorative lights
Inspect light strings, and throw out any with frayed or cracked wires or broken sockets. When decorating, don't run more than three strings of lights end to end. "Stacking the plugs is much safer when you're using a large quantity of lights," explains Brian L. Vogt, director of education for holiday lighting firm Christmas Décor. Extension cords should be in good condition and UL-rated for indoor or outdoor use. Check outdoor receptacles to make sure the ground fault interrupters don't trip. If they trip repeatedly, Vogt says, that's a sign that they need to be replaced.

When hanging lights outside, avoid using nails or staples, which can damage the wiring and increase the risk of a fire. Instead, use UL-rated clips or hangers. And take lights down within 90 days, says John Drengenberg, director of consumer safety for Underwriters Laboratories. "If you leave them up all year round, squirrels chew on them and they get damaged by weather."

Kids playing with matches
The number of blazes--and, tragically, the number of deaths--caused by children playing with fire goes up significantly during the holidays. From January through March, 13% of fire deaths are the result of children playing with fire, the USFA reports; in December, that percentage doubles. So keep matches and lighters out of kids' reach. "We tend to underestimate the power of these tools," says Meri-K Appy, president of the nonprofit Home Safety Council. "A match or lighter could be more deadly than a loaded gun in the hands of a small child."

Fireplaces
Soot can harden on chimney walls as flammable creosote, so before the fireplace season begins, have your chimney inspected to see if it needs cleaning. Screen the fireplace to prevent embers from popping out onto the floor or carpet, and never use flammable liquids to start a fire in the fireplace. Only burn seasoned wood--no wrapping paper.

When cleaning out the fireplace, put embers in a metal container and set them outside to cool for 24 hours before disposal.

Pat Curry is a former senior editor at BUILDER, the official magazine of the National Association of Home Builders, and a frequent contributor to real estate and home-building publications.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

5 Holiday Hosting Disasters and How to Avoid Them

2010-12-06T11:11:00.002-06:00

Take a look at the most common things that can go wrong when you have guests and learn how to prevent them.

That’s just one of many hosting nightmares that can end your holiday party before it even begins. Thankfully, some of the most damaging mishaps easily can be avoided. We collected five of the most prevalent issues and give you preventative tips to keep your holiday party on track.

Problem: The oven doesn’t heat

For any holiday occasion, the oven is the most important appliance in your house. If it fails to work, the centerpiece of your meal could go from roasted beef, ham, duck, or Tofurky to Peking Duck from the local Chinese takeout joint.

How to avoid:

There are any number of reasons a stove can break, but one common cause of disaster is easy to prevent. Don’t self-clean your oven until AFTER the holidays. You risk blowing a fuse or a thermostat, and tracking down an oven technician around the holidays can be tough.
Problem: The kitchen sink clogs
The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest of the year for plumbers. The prime cause of this clog-a-thon is the mistreatment of drains when cooking holiday feasts. We hope your Thanksgiving went well, and that you avoid clog-a-thons for the rest of the holidays.

How to avoid:

Fats and cooking oils can solidify in your pipes, so never dispose of them in your kitchen sink.
If you have a garbage disposal, make sure it’s running before anything goes in it, and never feed it any stringy, fibrous, or starchy foods like poultry skins or potato peels.
To fix, don’t rely on chemical drain-clearing products that can harm your pipes. Use a snake instead, available for $15 at your local hardware store. Best to keep one on hand.
Problem: The heat goes out
As the party’s host, you’re supposed to hang guests’ coats—not apologize to them for having to keep them on. A lack of heat can stop a holiday party dead in its tracks.

How to avoid:

The key to avoiding freezing your party to a standstill is regular maintenance of your HVAC. Every 90 days, a new one-inch pleated furnace filter should be installed. If you haven’t done it in a while, now’s a good time to replace it.
Also inspect insulation on refrigerant lines that are leading into your house. Replace them if they're missing or damaged.
Problem: The toilet stops up
Toilets have a way of clogging up at the worst times, such as during parties and when you have overnight guests. This is especially true if you have a low-flow toilet from the early 1990s.

How to avoid:

Don’t flush anything other than sewage and toilet paper down the toilet. And there’s nothing wrong with putting up a polite note to remind your guests to do the same.
Problem: The fridge doesn’t cool
Without a properly functioning refrigerator, your meat could get contaminated, your dairy-based treats could go sour, and you may not be able to save your yummy leftovers. To avoid discovering a warm fridge after it’s too late, take these simple precautions.

How to avoid:

Get a thermometer for your refrigerator to make sure each shelf stays below 40 degrees and you can be aware of any temperature changes.
Also make sure the condenser coils located on the back of the unit or beneath it are free to breathe. Coils blocked from circulating air by cereal boxes atop the fridge, or dirtied by dust or pet hair can prevent a fridge from keeping cool.

MinneapolisCondosTaraOBrien

Save Money With a Fireplace Insert

2010-12-03T10:41:00.003-06:00

Adapt your fireplace, an inefficient heating source, with an insert to improve efficiency and maintain that cozy hearth look while generating heat.

Tax break
Potentially adding to your savings: a federal tax credit for biomass (renewable fuel) stoves installed by the end of 2010. The IRS doesn't explicity state whether inserts are eligible. However, according to the Hearth Association, manufacturers certify qualified inserts for the tax credit. (Make sure to get manufacturer certification for your tax file.)

The tax credit is good for 30% of the purchase price, up to $1,500, as long as the unit has an efficiency rating of at least 75%. Efficiency is the percentage of the fuel's heat that goes into the room rather than up the chimney, according to stove and fireplace maker Jotul.

What you'll spend
Inserts generally run about $3,000 to $4,000, including installation and a chimney liner, acccording to HPBA.

But don't rely on any insert as a primary heater; you need a furnace just in case something goes wrong and to protect pipes from freezing in cold climates.

To choose the type of heater, decide what's most important to you—burning real wood and having heat even if the power goes out (wood insert), burning a bio-fuel without the hassle of wood (pellet stove), or flipping on fast heat in a specific area of the house (gas).

Wood-burning insert creates real heat with real logs
If a freestanding wood stove is too large to fit into your hearth or the style of your hearth makes it impractical, you can opt for a wood-burning insert—a wood stove without legs.This firebox slides into your existing masonry or metal fireplace and burns real logs.

Your installer snakes a stainless steel liner down your chimney and fits a decorative flange made of black cast iron or steel or colored porcelain around the insert, hiding its steel sides and filling the gap between the box and your hearth.

A front door with ceramic glass radiates heat into the room. You open the door to stack the wood, then shut it, on most models, while your fire is burning. Most wood-burning inserts also create convection heat with a fan located underneath the firebox.

Wood-burning inserts can heat anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 sq. ft., depending on their size. Inserts are small enough to fit into most traditional masonry fireplaces.

An insert designed to heat 1,500 square feet will burn for three to five hours before you need to reload; for 1,500 to 3,000 sq. ft., you usually have an eight- to 10-hour burn window.

Green Factor: Efficiency rating of 60% to 80% on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-certified models. Huge improvements in wood stoves and inserts in the past five years mean almost all new wood-burning units now meet the federal biomass tax credit requirement.

Downside: You have to stack and load wood. And the insert can be dangerous in a prefab fireplace. "The prefabricated chimney isn't rated to take the temperature that a wood insert can put out. You need a chimney rated for 2,100 degrees," says John Mountford, a salesperson at Fireside Warmth in Kingston, N.Y. If you have a prefab, many dealers will recommend replacing the entire fireplace with a high-efficiency wood burning fireplace rather than use an insert.

Install a pellet insert for automated wood fire
This prefabricated convection heater slides into your existing fireplace—prefab or masonry. Instead of loading logs, you pour in pellets—rabbit-food-sized bits of compressed, recycled wood waste and other renewable substances.

Like a wood burning insert, it, too, is a sealed combustion box with a partially glass front door, and is surrounded by a decorative flange. It vents through your existing masonry chimney. To operate the system, buy a bag of pellets, pour it in, press a button, and have fire. On some, you just set the thermostat and let the stove do the rest.

Unlike a wood-burning insert, pellet stoves need electricity—to start the fire, operate the blowers, run the auger feeding the pellets to the burn pot, and run the computer board monitoring the system.

Pellet stoves can heat 1,000 to 2,500 sq. ft., depending on their heat-generating capacity and the size of the fuel hopper.

Green factor: efficiency rating of 50% to 80%, according to HPBA; among the cleanest-burning home heating appliances, it uses waste products to create energy. Some stoves can burn alternative fuels such as dried cherry pits, which you can buy in 40-pound bags from hardware and home stores.

Downsides: Weekly maintenance, such as removing the ash, cleaning the glass, and dusting the electronics. If the power goes out, your pellet insert will, too, (though some have battery backup). A 40-pound bag of pellets runs about $4 to $10, and the average household burns about a bag a day for 1,500 sq. ft. Pellet inserts also lack the off-the-grid romance of heading out back and hacking down fuel yourself.

Convert to gas for easy heating
Unlike old decorative gas fireplaces, today's gas inserts are heat-producing dynamos that use propane or natural gas to power a steady flame dancing on fake logs, decorative modern glass chips, or stones behind a sealed glass face.

Gas inserts can be used in masonry or prefab fireplaces; they can be vented through the existing chimney (or a wall for a free-standing unit).

Gas is the easiest insert to use and requires very little maintenance beyond the annual check. Flip a switch; have fire. Its best application is for zone heating—turning up the gas in the room you're in and lowering the thermostat in the rest of your house.

Green Factor: 58% to 85% efficiency rating, says HPBA; very little pollution, smoke, ash, or creosote. Zoned heating allows you to reduce overall fuel consumption.

Downsides: Burns fossil fuel, making it ineligible for the federal tax credit and unattractive if you're eager to reduce your carbon footprint. Propane is an expensive heating fuel—you won't save money heating your whole house with a gas insert.

Savings for all three types
Because fuel prices change constantly, any saving measurements are a moving target. Roughly speaking, yearly savings could range from $64-$255 (based on an average heating bill of $638) if you use an insert for zoned heating and turn down your thermostat, says Wheeler of HPBA.

Permits
Whatever style you chose, you'll likely need a permit. "If you had a fire, and you didn't have the permit, your insurance isn't going to cover your loss," says Anthony Drago, a manager with Ashleigh's Hearth & Home in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Check with your local government about local and state ordinances.

Asthma and allergies
If anyone in your household has asthma or allergies, consider whether an insert is right for you. Inserts and fireplaces can trigger breathing problems, though proper maintenance and care can help mitigage those issues.

Although no fireplace insert looks exactly like the classic open hearth, they all provide more heat and represent the true pioneering spirit of fireplace heating.

Wendy Paris is a writer in New York. She recently built a home in New York's Catskill Mountains and installed a Jotul woodstove in the living room that can heat up the entire first floor. She loves her woodstove. She's written about building her house for This Old House magazine.

Holiday Lighting Safety Checklist

2010-12-01T12:17:00.004-06:00

Before you plug in and light up for the holidays, run your decorations through this quick safety check.

Inspect light strings. Discard any that are damaged. Frayed or cracked electrical cords or broken sockets are leading fire hazards.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions for connecting multiple strings. The general limit is three strings. Light strings with stacked plugs can usually accommodate greater lengths than end-to-end connections.

Replace burned-out bulbs promptly. Empty sockets can cause the entire string to overheat.

Make sure outdoor lighting is UL-rated for exterior use. Exterior lights, unlike those used inside the house, need to be weather-resistant. The same goes for any extension cords used outdoors.

Don't use outdoor lights indoors. They're too hot for interior use. For the coolest bulbs and greatest energy efficiency, try LED lights, which come in a wide range of styles and colors.

Don't attach light strings with nails or staples. They can cut through the wire insulation and create a fire hazard. Only use UL-approved hangers.

Take exterior lights down within 90 days. The longer they stay up, the more likely they are to suffer damage from weather and critters chewing on them.

Store lights safely. Tangled lights can lead to damaged cords and broken sockets. After the holidays, coil each string loosely around a stiff piece of cardboard, wrap it in paper or fabric to protect the bulbs, and store in a sturdy container until next year.

Pat Curry is a former senior editor at BUILDER, the official magazine of the National Association of Home Builders, and a frequent contributor to real estate and home-building publications.

How to Use Comparable Sales to Price Your Home

2010-11-22T13:47:00.002-06:00

Before you put your home up for sale, use the right comparable sales to find the perfect price.

Knowing how much homes similar to yours, called comparable sales (or in real estate lingo, comps), sold for gives you the best idea of the current estimated value of your home. The trick is finding sales that closely match yours.

What makes a good comparable sale?
Your best comparable sale is the same model as your house in the same subdivision—and it closed escrow last week. If you can’t find that, here are other factors that count:

Location: The closer to your house the better, but don’t just use any comparable sale within a mile radius. A good comparable sale is a house in your neighborhood, your subdivision, on the same type of street as your house, and in your school district.

Home type: Try to find comparable sales that are like your home in style, construction material, square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, basement (having one and whether it’s finished), finishes, and yard size.

Amenities and upgrades: Is the kitchen new? Does the comparable sale house have full A/C? Is there crown molding, a deck, or a pool? Does your community have the same amenities (pool, workout room, walking trails, etc.) and homeowners association fees?

Date of sale: You may want to use a comparable sale from two years ago when the market was high, but that won’t fly. Most buyers use government-guaranteed mortgages, and those lending programs say comparable sales can be no older than 90 days.

Sales sweeteners: Did the comparable-sale sellers give the buyers downpayment assistance, closing costs, or a free television? You have to reduce the value of any comparable sale to account for any deal sweeteners.

Agents can help adjust price based on insider insights
Even if you live in a subdivision, your home will always be different from your neighbors'. Evaluating those differences—like the fact that your home has one more bedroom than the comparables or a basement office—is one of the ways real estate agents add value.

An active agent has been inside a lot of homes in your neighborhood and knows all sorts of details about comparable sales. She has read the comments the selling agent put into the MLS, seen the ugly wallpaper, and heard what other REALTORS®, lenders, closing agents, and appraisers said about the comparable sale.

More ways to pick a home listing price
If you’re still having trouble picking out a listing price for your home, look at the current competition. Ask your real estate agent to be honest about your home and the other homes on the market (and then listen to her without taking the criticism personally).

Next, put your comparable sales into two piles: more expensive and less expensive. What makes your home more valuable than the cheaper comparable sales and less valuable than the pricier comparable sales?

Are foreclosures and short sales comparables?
If one or more of your comparable sales was a foreclosed home or a short sale (a home that sold for less money than the owners owed on the mortgage), ask your real estate agent how to treat those comps.

A foreclosed home is usually in poor condition because owners who can’t pay their mortgage can’t afford to pay for upkeep. Your home is in great shape, so the foreclosure should be priced lower than your home.

Short sales are typically in good condition, although they are still distressed sales. The owners usually have to sell because they’re divorcing, or their employer is moving them to Kansas.

How much short sales are discounted from their market value varies among local markets.
The average short-sale home in Omaha in recent years was discounted by 8.5%, according to a University of Nebraska at Omaha study. In suburban Washington, D.C., sellers typically discount short-sale homes by 3% to 5% to get them quickly sold, real estate agents report. In other markets, sellers price short sales the same as other homes in the neighborhood.

So you have to rely on your REALTOR’s® knowledge of the local market to use a short sale as a comparable sale.

Carl Vogel, a freelance writer and former editor of The Neighborhood Works magazine, lives in a home in Chicago that is not typical of those nearby, so he appreciates a savvy comp.

Open House this Sat.11/20/10 1-3 pm 3513 Bloomington Ave MPLS

2010-11-17T11:31:00.005-06:00

Open House this Sat. Nov. 20 2010

1-3pm

Four bedroom, two full bath Powderhorn Park beauty with lots of finished space! Jacuzzi tub, granite countertops kitchen appliances, flooring (hardwood floors,ceramic and carpet). Two car detached garage.

www.TaraOBrien.com

www.3513bloomingtonave.com

8 Tips for Finding Your New Home

2010-11-17T11:24:00.002-06:00

A solid game plan can help you narrow your homebuying search to find the best home for you.

1. Know thyself
Understand the type of home that suits your personality. Do you prefer a new or existing home? A ranch or a multistory home? If you’re leaning toward a fixer-upper, are you truly handy, or will you need to budget for contractors?

2. Research before you look
List the features you most want in a home and identify which are necessities and which are extras. Identify three to four neighborhoods you’d like to live in based on commute time, schools, recreation, crime, and price. Then hop onto REALTOR.com to get a feel for the homes available in your price range in your favorite neighborhoods. Use the results to prioritize your wants and needs so you can add in and weed out properties from the inventory you’d like to view.

3. Get your finances in order
Generally, lenders say you can afford a home priced two to three times your gross income. Create a budget so you know how much you’re comfortable spending each month on housing. Don’t wait until you’ve found a home and made an offer to investigate financing. Gather your financial records and meet with a lender to get a prequalification letter spelling out how much you’re eligible to borrow. The lender won’t necessarily consider the extra fees you’ll pay when you purchase or your plans to begin a family or purchase a new car, so shop in a price range you’re comfortable with. Also, presenting an offer contingent on financing will make your bid less attractive to sellers.

4. Set a moving timeline
Do you have blemishes on your credit that will take time to clear up? If you already own, have you sold your current home? If not, you’ll need to factor in the time needed to sell. If you rent, when is your lease up? Do you expect interest rates to jump anytime soon? All these factors will affect your buying, closing, and moving timelines.

5. Think long term
Your future plans may dictate the type of home you’ll buy. Are you looking for a starter house with plans to move up in a few years, or do you hope to stay in the home for five to 10 years? With a starter, you may need to adjust your expectations. If you plan to nest, be sure your priority list helps you identify a home you’ll still love years from now.

6. Work with a REALTOR®
Ask people you trust for referrals to a real estate professional they trust. Interview agents to determine which have expertise in the neighborhoods and type of homes you’re interested in. Because homebuying triggers many emotions, consider whether an agent’s style meshes with your personality. Also ask if the agent specializes in buyer representation. Unlike listing agents, whose first duty is to the seller, buyers’ reps work only for you even though they’re typically paid by the seller. Finally, check whether agents are REALTORS®, which means they’re members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. NAR has been a champion of homeownership rights for more than a century.

7. Be realistic
It’s OK to be picky about the home and neighborhood you want, but don’t be close-minded, unrealistic, or blinded by minor imperfections. If you insist on living in a cul-de-sac, you may miss out on great homes on streets that are just as quiet and secluded. On the flip side, don’t be so swayed by a “wow” feature that you forget about other issues—like noise levels—that can have a big impact on your quality of life. Use your priority list to evaluate each property, remembering there’s no such thing as the perfect home.

8. Limit the opinions you solicit
It’s natural to seek reassurance when making a big financial decision. But you know that saying about too many cooks in the kitchen. If you need a second opinion, select one or two people. But remain true to your list of wants and needs so the final decision is based on criteria you’ve identified as important.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who has found happiness in a brownstone in a historic Chicago neighborhood. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

4 Tips to Determine How Much Mortgage You Can Afford

2010-11-10T10:41:00.002-06:00

By knowing how much mortgage you can handle, you can ensure that home ownership will fit in your budget.

1. The general rule of mortgage affordability
As a rule of thumb, you can typically afford a home priced two to three times your gross income. If you earn $100,000, you can typically afford a home between $200,000 and $300,000.To understand how that rule applies to your particular financial situation, prepare a family budget and list all the costs of homeownership, like property taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, and community association fees, if applicable, as well as costs specific to your family, such as day care costs.

2. Factor in your downpayment
How much money do you have for a downpayment? The higher your downpayment, the lower your monthly payments will be. If you put down at least 20% of the home's cost, you may not have to get private mortgage insurance, which costs hundreds each month. That leaves more money for your mortgage payment.
The lower your downpayment, the higher the loan amount you’ll need to qualify for and the higher your monthly mortgage payment.

3. Consider your overall debt
Lenders generally follow the 28/41 rule. Your monthly mortgage payments covering your home loan principal, interest, taxes, and insurance shouldn’t total more than 28% of your gross annual income. Your overall monthly payments for your mortgage plus all your other bills, like car loans, utilities, and credit cards, shouldn’t exceed 41% of your gross annual income.Here’s how that works. If your gross annual income is $100,000, multiply by 28% and then divide by 12 months to arrive at a monthly mortgage payment of $2,333 or less. Next, check the total of all your monthly bills including your potential mortgage and make sure they don’t top 41%, or $3,416 in our example.

4. Use your rent as a mortgage guide
The tax benefits of homeownership generally allow you to afford a mortgage payment—including taxes and insurance—of about one-third more than your current rent payment without changing your lifestyle. So you can multiply your current rent by 1.33 to arrive at a rough estimate of a mortgage payment.

Here’s an example. If you currently pay $1,500 per month in rent, you should be able to comfortably afford a $2,000 monthly mortgage payment after factoring in the tax benefits of homeownership.

However, if you’re struggling to keep up with your rent, consider what amount would be comfortable and use that for the calcuation instead.

Also consider whether or not you’ll itemize your deductions. If you take the standard deduction, you can’t also deduct mortgage interest payments. Talking to a tax adviser, or using a tax software program to do a “what if” tax return, can help you see your tax situation more clearly.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who’s owned her own home for more than 20 years. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

What You Must Know About Home Appraisals

2010-11-09T13:36:00.001-06:00

Understanding how appraisals work will help you achieve a quick and profitable refinance or sale.

1. An appraisal isn’t an exact science
When appraisers evaluate a home’s value, they’re giving their best opinion based on how the home’s features stack up against those of similar homes recently sold nearby. One appraiser may factor in a recent sale, but another may consider that sale too long ago, or the home too different, or too far away to be a fair comparison. The result can be differences in the values two separate appraisers set for your home.

2. Appraisals have different purposes
If the appraisal is being used by a lender giving a loan on the home, the appraised value will be the lower of market value (what it would sell for on the open market today) and the price you paid for the house if you recently bought it.An appraisal being used to figure out how much to insure your home for or to determine your property taxes may rely on other factors and arrive at different values. For example, though an appraisal for a home loan evaluates today’s market value, an appraisal for insurance purposes calculates what it would cost to rebuild your home at today’s building material and labor rates, which can result in two different numbers.Appraisals are also different from CMAs, or competitive market analyses. In a CMA, a real estate agent relies on market expertise to estimate how much your home will sell for in a specific time period. The price your home will sell for in 30 days may be different than the price your home will sell for in 120 days. Because real estate agents don’t follow the rules appraisers do, there can be variations between CMAs and appraisals on the same home.

3. An appraisal is a snapshot
Home prices shift, and appraised values will shift with those market changes. Your home may be appraised at $150,000 today, but in two months when you refinance or list it for sale, the appraised value could be lower or higher depending on how your market has performed.

4. Appraisals don’t factor in your personal issues
You may have a reason you must sell immediately, such as a job loss or transfer, which can affect the amount of money you’ll accept to complete the transaction in your time frame. An appraisal doesn’t consider those personal factors.

5. You can ask for a second opinion
If your home appraisal comes back at a value you believe is too low, you can request that a second appraisal be performed by a different appraiser. You, or potential buyers, if they’ve requested the appraisal, will have to pay for the second appraisal. But it may be worth it to keep the sale from collapsing from a faulty appraisal. On the other hand, the appraisal may be accurate, and it may be a sign that you need to adjust your pricing or the size of the loan you’re refinancing.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who’s had more than 10 appraisals performed on her properties in the past 20 years. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Find the Best REALTOR® to Sell Your House

2010-11-04T11:42:00.003-05:00

Ask detailed questions about their experience and skills to help you find the right agent for your home sale

1. How long have you been selling homes?
Mastering real estate requires on-the-job experience. The more experience agents have, the more likely they’ll be able to handle any curveballs thrown during your home sale.

2. What designations do you hold?
Designations like GRI (Graduate REALTOR® Institute) and CRS® (Certified Residential Specialist), which require that agents complete additional real estate training, show they’re constantly learning. Ask if agents have designations and, if not, why not?

3. How many homes did you sell last year?
Agents may tout their company’s success. An equally important question is how many homes they’ve personally sold in the past year; it’s an indicator of how active and aggressive they are.

4. How many days on average did it take you to sell homes?
Ask agents to show you this data along with stats from their local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) so you can see how many days, on average, their listings were on the market compared to the average for all properties in the MLS.

5. How close were the asking and sales prices of the homes you sold?
Sometimes sellers choose their agent because the agent’s suggested listing price is higher than those suggested by other agents. A better factor is the difference between listing prices and the amount homes actually sold for. That can help you judge agents’ skill at accurately pricing homes and marketing to the right buyers. It can also help you weed out agents trying to dazzle you with a lofty sales price just to get your listing.

6. How will you market my home?
The days of agents putting a For Sale sign in the yard and hoping for the best are long gone. Look for an agent who does aggressive and innovative marketing, especially on the Internet.

7. Will you represent me exclusively?
In most states, agents can represent the seller, the buyer, or both in a home sale. If your agent will also represent buyers, understand and consent to that dual representation.

8. How will you keep me informed?
If you want weekly updates by email, don’t choose an agent who plans to contact you only if there’s an offer.

9. Can you provide references?
Ask to talk to the last three customers the agent assisted. Call and ask if they’d work with the agent again and if the agent did anything that didn’t sit well with them.

10. Are you a REALTOR®?
Ask whether agents are REALTORS®, which means they’re members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR). NAR has been an advocate of agent professionalism and a champion of homeownership rights for more than a century.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who’s worked with many real estate agents in the past 20 years. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

7 Tips for Short Sale Success

2010-10-29T10:16:00.001-05:00

Have to sell your home for less than it’s worth? Our seven tips will help you get the best price.

1. Know who you owe
A short sale has to be approved by any company that has a mortgage or lien against your home. That includes your first, second, or even third mortgage lender, your home equity line lender; your homeowners or condominium association; and any contractors who’ve placed a lien on your home. Make a list and start talking to everyone early in the process. Ask what documents they’ll need from you.

2. Pick your short sale team
You’ll need to work with a team of short sale experts, including a real estate agent, real estate attorney, and your accountant. Look for agents and attorneys who advertise themselves as short sale experts. Interview at least three, and listen carefully for signs that they understand the complexities of the short sale process.
Agents should explain how they’ll arrive at a suggested price for your home. Ask them to show you a sample short-sale package or for an example of a prior short-sale success.

3. Get your documents ready
Gather the paperwork your creditors and mortgage lenders asked to see, like your listing agreement and a hardship letter explaining why you need to do a short sale. You’ll also need proof of what you earn and what you owe as well as copies of your federal income tax returns for the past two years.

4. Expect delays
Despite a federal rule saying banks participating in the federal government’s Making Home Affordable loan modification program must respond to short-sale offers within 10 days, it may take weeks or months for your lender to decide whether to allow you to sell your home in a short sale--and even longer if you must negotiate with more than one lender or lienholder.
Your lender and lienholders don’t have to agree to your proposed short sale. They can reject your terms or make a counteroffer, which can create further delays.

5. Anticipate demands
Discuss with your short-sale team how you should respond to common short-sale demands from lenders. For example, are you willing to sign a promissory note agreeing to pay outstanding amounts after the sale is complete?

6. Know the tax implications
Any unpaid amount of your mortgage “forgiven” by your lender through a short sale may be considered income to you under federal tax rules. Ask your attorney or accountant whether you qualify to exclude that amount as income on your tax returns under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation Act. Also ask if you’ll be required to report amounts “forgiven” by other lienholders, if applicable.

7. Consider how the short sale will affect your credit and what you must pay
Ask whether your lender will report the short sale to credit-reporting agencies. Having a portion of your debt forgiven may negatively affect your credit score, but a short sale typically damages your score less than a foreclosure or bankruptcy.

Ask you lawyer whether you'll be responsible for paying back the lenders' loss. If the lender says it will forgive any losses on the sale of your home, get that promise in writing.

This article includes general information about tax laws and consequences, but isn't intended to be relied upon by readers as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax professional for such advice; tax laws may vary by jurisdiction.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

6 Tips for Buying a Home in a Short Sale

2010-10-27T11:13:00.002-05:00

By preparing for a real estate short sale, you can emerge with a great home at a favorable price.

1. Get help from a short sale expert
A real estate agent experienced in short sales can identify which homes are being offered as short sales, help you determine a purchase price, and advise you on what to include in your offer to make the lender view it favorably. Ask agents how many buyers they've represented in short sales and, of those, how many successfully closed the transaction.

2. Build a team
Ask agents to recommend real estate attorneys knowledgeable in short sales and title experts. A title officer can do a title search to identify all the liens attached to a property you’re interested in. Because each lienholder must consent to a short sale, a property with multiple liens, like first and second mortgages, mechanic’s and condominium liens, or homeowners association liens, will be harder to purchase.

A title search may cost $250 to $300 up front, but it can help weed out less desirable properties requiring multiple approvals.

3. Know the home’s fair market value
By agreeing to a short sale, lenders are consenting to lose money on the loan they made to the sellers to purchase the home. Their goal is to keep those losses as low as possible. If your offer is dramatically less than the home’s fair market value, it may be rejected. Your agent can help you identify the price that’s good for you. The lender will determine whether approval is in its best interest.

4. Expect delays
There are two stages to a short sale. First, the sellers must consent to your purchase offer. Then they must submit it to their lender, along with documentation to convince the lender to agree to the sale.

The lender approval process can take weeks or months, even longer if the lender counteroffers. Expect bigger delays if several lienholders are involved; each can make a counteroffer or reject your offer.

5. Firm up your financing
Lenders will weigh your ability to close the transaction. If you're preapproved for a mortgage, have a large downpayment, and can close at any time, they’ll consider your offer stronger than that of a buyer whose financing is less secure.

6. Avoid contingencies
If you must sell your current home before you can close on the short-sale property, or you need to close by a firm deadline, your offer may present too many moving parts for a lender to approve it.

Also, consider ordering an inspection so you’re fully informed about the home. Keep in mind that lenders are unlikely to approve an offer seeking repairs or credits for such work. You’ll probably have to purchase the home “as is,” which means in its present condition.

This article includes general information about tax laws and consequences, but isn't intended to be relied upon by readers as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax professional for such advice; tax laws may vary by jurisdiction.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who luckily has avoided the need for a short sale on her properties. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Essential Heating System Maintenance

2010-10-22T10:33:00.001-05:00

Getting your home's heating system professionally serviced every year will keep it running smoothly and help keep heating costs under control.

Who does the job?
The simplest way to get the work done is to hire your fuel company to do it. Oil companies and gas utilities usually provide this service, or you can hire the contractor who installed the equipment. Also, some plumbers handle heating systems.

What is involved?
The technician will clean soot and corrosion out of the combustion chamber where the fuel is burned, and check it for leaks or damage. He'll inspect the flue pipe for open seams, clogs, or corrosion that could cause carbon monoxide to backdraft into the house. He'll replace the filters on oil and forced-air systems. Finally, he'll test the exhaust from your cleaned machine and use the information to adjust the burner for maximum efficiency.

How much will it cost?
You'll pay between $100 and $180 for the service, depending largely on whether you have a gas system, which is easier to maintain, or oil, which requires a fair amount of soot removal. Usually the cost is covered by an annual maintenance contract that also provides 24-hour emergency service. While the technician is there, he should also service your water heater, assuming it has a separate oil or gas burner.

When is the best time to do the work?
Ideally, have your system tuned up in the fall so it's in top shape for the start of the heating season. Of course, that's when technicians are the busiest, so if you can't do it when you want, do it when you can—as long as your system is serviced once a year. And don't expect your provider to call to remind you that it's time. Even if you subscribe to an annual service plan, you still need to call to make an appointment. Call in the spring or summer to be sure of getting on the schedule in the fall.

A former carpenter and newspaper reporter, Oliver Marks has been writing about home improvements for 16 years. He's currently restoring his second fixer-upper with a mix of big hired projects and small do-it-himself jobs.

Pet Odor Can Chase Away Buyers

2010-10-21T08:58:00.003-05:00

Don’t let pet odors derail your home sale.

Air your house out. While you’re cleaning, throw open all the windows in your home to allow fresh air to circulate and sweep out unpleasant scents.

Once your house is free of pet odors, do what you can to keep the smells from returning. Crate your dog when you're out or keep it outdoors. Limit the cat to one floor or room, if possible. Remove or replace pet bedding.

Scrub thoroughly. Scrub bare floors and walls soiled by pets with vinegar, wood floor cleaner, or an odor-neutralizing product, which you can purchase at a pet supply store for $10 to $25.

Try a 1:9 bleach-to-water solution on surfaces it won’t damage, like cement floors or walls.

Got a stubborn pet odors covering a large area? You may have to spend several hundred dollars to hire a service that specializes in hard-to-clean stains.

Wash your drapes and upholstery. Pet odors seep into fabrics. Launder, steam clean, or dry clean all your fabric window coverings.

Steam clean upholstered furniture. Either buy a steam cleaner designed to remove pet hair for around $200 and do the job yourself, or pay a pro. You'll spend about $40 for an upholstered chair, $100 for a sofa, and $7 for each dining room chair if a pro does your cleaning.

Clean your carpets. Shampoo your carpets and rugs, or have professionals do the job for $25 to $50 per room, depending on their size and the level of filth embedded in them. The cleaner will try to sell you deodorizing treatments. You'll know if you need to spend the extra money on those after the carpet dries and you have a friend perform a sniff test.

If deodorizing doesn't remove the pet odor from your home, the carpets and padding will have to go. Once you tear them out, scrub the subfloor with vinegar or an odor-removing product, and install new padding and carpeting. Unless the smell is in the subfloor, in which case that goes next.

Paint, replace, or seal walls. When heavy-duty cleaners haven’t eradicated smells in drywall, plaster, or woodwork, add a fresh coat of paint or stain, or replace the drywall or wood altogether.

On brick and cement, apply a sealant appropriate for the surface for $25 to $100. That may smother and seal in the odor, keeping it from reemerging.

Place potpourri or scented candles in strategic locations. Put a bow on your deep clean with potpourri and scented candles. Don’t go overboard and turn off buyers sensitive to perfumes. Simply place a bowl of mild potpourri in your foyer to create a warm first impression, and add other mild scents to the kitchen and bathrooms.

Control ongoing urine smells. If your dog uses indoor pee pads, put down a new pad each time the dog goes. Throw them away outside in a trash can with a tight lid. Remove even clean pads from view before each showing.

Replace kitty litter daily, rather than scooping used litter clumps, and sweep up around the litter box. Hide the litter box before each showing.

Relocate pets. If your dog or cat has a best friend it can stay with while you're selling your home (and you can stand to be separated from your pet), consider sending your pet on a temporary vacation. If pets have to stay, remove them from the house for showings and put away their dishes, towels, and toys.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer whose former mutt Marley no doubt created a wet-dog aroma in her condo that still remains. A regular contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

7 Steps to a Stress-free Home Closing

2010-10-15T11:00:00.002-05:00

By doing homework in advance, you’ll understand what you’re asked to sign when you close the sale of your home.

1. Set a closing date
Your real estate agent will work with the seller’s agent and title company to schedule your closing date. Be sure it meshes with the end of your lease or the sale of your existing home and a time when you’ll able to play hooky from work. If you’re tight on cash, schedule your closing for the end of the month because that’s when you’ll have to pay the least amount of interest at the closing table.

2. Gather your funds
You may be required to bring funds to the closing. If they’re not easily accessible, arrange early to transfer them to a liquid account to avoid last-minute problems. If the title company requires the funds in the form of a cashier’s check, also leave time to stop by the bank and pick one up.

3. Purchase title insurance
Title insurance protects the policyholder against trouble with a home’s title. Your lender will insist that you purchase a policy to protect it. You should also consider purchasing what’s called an owner’s title policy from the same insurer, which protects you from fraudulent claims against your ownership and errors in earlier sales. In some areas, sellers traditionally pay for the buyer’s title policy. Shop online at Closing.com, EasyTitleQuote.com, and FreeTitleQuote.com. If your home has been sold within the past few years, ask the prior owner’s insurance company for a reissue discount.

4. Line up homeowners insurance
Get quotes and compare policies to be sure coverage will be in effect by your closing date. An annual policy should run $500-$1,000, depending on your home’s size, age, and amenities. If you live in an area where natural disasters occur, like earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes, you’ll need separate insurance to protect your home.

5. Review your good-faith estimate and HUD-1 settlement sheet
Your lender must provide a good-faith estimate of your closing fees. Some of those fees can’t change, and others can rise by 10%. Before you go to the closing, read your good-faith estimate, compare it with your HUD-1 settlement statement, and question any fees that increased.

6. Do a walk-through
Schedule an appointment to walk through the home one last time just before your closing. Make sure repairs you requested have been made, no major changes have occurred since you last viewed the property, and that the sellers left anything they agreed to leave and took all their belongings.
Also test electronics and appliances, such as the doorbell, dishwasher, washer and dryer, and oven, to ensure they’re functioning properly. Do the same with the hot water heater and heating and air conditioning systems. Walk the yard to be sure no plants or shrubs have been removed.

7. Resolve issues identified in your walk-through
If your walk-through uncovers problems, you can delay the closing until the seller corrects them. But that’s often not feasible because your lease is probably over and you’ve already scheduled movers. Another option is to negotiate a discount to your sales price to cover the cost of the work needed. If the air conditioning is on the fritz and a contractor says the repair will cost $500, ask that the sales price be reduced by that amount. If you make that request at closing, however, be ready for a delay while the title company redoes the paperwork.

A third option: Have the title company hold a portion of the seller’s proceeds in escrow until the dispute is resolved. Once that happens, the funds will be released to you or the seller, depending on the outcome.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who has endured several property closings, but the easiest was done through the mail. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Keep Your Home Purchase on Track

2010-10-14T11:50:00.001-05:00

You’ve found your dream home. Make sure missteps don’t prevent a successful closing.

1. Be truthful on your mortgage application
You may think fudging your income a little or omitting debts when applying for a mortgage will go unnoticed. Not true. Lenders have become more diligent in verifying information on mortgage applications. If you fib, expect to be found out and denied the loan you need to fund your home purchase. Plus, intentionally lying on a mortgage application is a crime.

2. Hold off on big purchases
Lenders double-check buyers’ credit right before the closing to be sure their financial condition hasn’t weakened. If you’ve opened new credit cards, significantly increased the balance on existing cards, taken out new loans, or depleted your savings, your credit score may have dropped enough to make your lender change its mind on funding your home loan. Although it’s tempting to purchase new furniture and other items for your new home, or even a new car, wait until after the closing.

3. Keep your job
The lender may refuse to fund your loan if you quit or change jobs before you close the purchase. The time to take either step is after a home closing, not before.

4. Meet contingencies
If your contract requires you to do something before the sale, do it. If you’re required to secure financing, promptly provide all the information the lender requires. If you must deposit additional funds into escrow, don’t stall. If you have 10 days to get a home inspection, call the inspector immediately.

5. Consider deadlines immovable
Get your funds together a week or so before the closing, so you don’t have to ask for a delay. If you’ll need to bring a certified check to closing, get it from the bank the day before, not the day of, your closing. Treat deadlines as sacrosanct.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who wanted a successful closing on a Wisconsin property so bad that she probably made her agent rethink going into real estate. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Negotiate Your Best House Buy

2010-10-12T12:49:00.001-05:00

Keep your emotions in check and your eyes on the goal, and you’ll pay less when purchasing a home.

Here are six tips for negotiating the best price on a home.

1. Get prequalified for a mortgage
Getting prequalified for a mortgage proves to sellers that you’re serious about buying and capable of affording their home. That will push you to the head of the pack when sellers choose among offers; they’ll go with buyers who are a sure financial bet, not those whose financing could flop.

2. Ask questions
Ask your agent for information to help you understand the sellers’ financial position and motivation. Are they facing foreclosure or a short sale? Have they already purchased a home or relocated, which may make them eager to accept a lower price to avoid paying two mortgages? Has the home been on the market for a long time, or was it just listed? Have there been other offers? If so, why did they fall through? The more signs that sellers are eager to sell, the lower your offer can reasonably go.

3. Work back from a final price to determine your initial offer
Know in advance the most you’re willing to pay, and with your agent work back from that number to determine your initial offer, which can set the tone for the entire negotiation. A too-low bid may offend sellers emotionally invested in the sales price; a too-high bid may lead you to spend more than necessary to close the sale. Work with your agent to evaluate the sellers’ motivation and comparable home sales to arrive at an initial offer that engages the sellers yet keeps money in your wallet.

4. Avoid contingencies
Sellers favor offers that leave little to chance. Keep your bid free of complicated contingencies, such as making the purchase conditional on the sale of your current home. Do keep contingencies for mortgage approval, home inspection, and environmental checks typical in your area, like radon.

5. Remain unemotional
Buying a home is a business transaction, and treating it that way helps you save money. Consider any movement by the sellers, however slight, a sign of interest, and keep negotiating. Each time you make a concession, ask for one in return. If the sellers ask you to boost your price, ask them to contribute to closing costs or pay for a home warranty. If sellers won’t budge, make it clear you’re willing to walk away; they may get nervous and accept your offer.

6. Don’t let competition change your plan
Great homes and those competitively priced can draw multiple offers in any market. Don’t let competition propel you to go beyond your predetermined price or agree to concessions—such as waiving an inspection—that aren’t in your best interest.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who has to remind herself to remain unemotional during negotiations. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

How to Assess the Real Cost of a Fixer-Upper House

2010-10-07T10:15:00.002-05:00

When you buy a fixer-upper house, you can save a ton of money, or get yourself in a financial fix.

1. Decide what you can do yourself
TV remodeling shows make home improvement work look like a snap. In the real world, attempting a difficult remodeling job that you don’t know how to do will take longer than you think and can lead to less-than-professional results that won’t increase the value of your fixer-upper house.
Do you really have the skills to do it? Some tasks, like stripping wallpaper and painting, are relatively easy. Others, like electrical work, can be dangerous when done by amateurs.
Do you really have the time and desire to do it? Can you take time off work to renovate your fixer-upper house? If not, will you be stressed out by living in a work zone for months while you complete projects on the weekends?

2. Price the cost of repairs and remodeling before you make an offer
Get your contractor into the house to do a walk-through, so he can give you a written cost estimate on the tasks he’s going to do.
If you’re doing the work yourself, price the supplies.
Either way, tack on 10% to 20% to cover unforeseen problems that often arise with a fixer-upper house.

3. Check permit costs
Ask local officials if the work you’re going to do requires a permit and how much that permit costs. Doing work without a permit may save money, but it'll cause problems when you resell your home.
Decide if you want to get the permits yourself or have the contractor arrange for them. Getting permits can be time-consuming and frustrating. Inspectors may force you to do additional work, or change the way you want to do a project, before they give you the permit.
Factor the time and aggravation of permits into your plans.

4. Doublecheck pricing on structural work
If your fixer-upper home needs major structural work, hire a structural engineer for $500 to $700 to inspect the home before you put in an offer so you can be confident you’ve uncovered and conservatively budgeted for the full extent of the problems. Get written estimates for repairs before you commit to buying a home with structural issues.Don't purchase a home that needs major structural work unless:
You’re getting it at a steep discount
You’re sure you’ve uncovered the extent of the problem
You know the problem can be fixed
You have a binding written estimate for the repairs

5. Check the cost of financing
Be sure you have enough money for a downpayment, closing costs, and repairs without draining your savings. If you’re planning to fund the repairs with a home equity or home improvement loan:
Get yourself pre-approved for both loans before you make an offer.
Make the deal contingent on getting both the purchase money loan and the renovation money loan, so you’re not forced to close the sale when you have no loan to fix the house.
Consider the Federal Housing Administration’s Section 203(k) program, which lets qualified purchasers wrap up to $35,000 into their mortgages to upgrade their home before they move in.
6. Calculate your fair purchase offer
Take the fair market value of the property (what it would be worth if it were in good condition and remodeled to current tastes) and subtract the upgrade and repair costs.
For example: Your target fixer-upper house has a 1960s kitchen, metallic wallpaper, shag carpet, and high levels of radon in the basement.Your comparison house, in the same subdivision, sold last month for $200,000. That house had a newer kitchen, no wallpaper, was recently recarpeted, and has a radon mitigation system in its basement.
The cost to remodel the kitchen, remove the wallpaper, carpet the house, and put in a radon mitigation system is $40,000. Your bid for the house should be $160,000.
Ask your real estate agent if it’s a good idea to share your cost estimates with the sellers, to prove your offer is fair.

7. Include inspection contingencies in your offer
Don’t rely on your friends or your contractor to eyeball your fixer-upper house. Hire pros to do common inspections like:

Home inspection. This is key in a fixer-upper assessment. The home inspector will uncover hidden issues in need of replacement or repair. You may know you want to replace those 1970s kitchen cabinets, but the home inspector has a meter that will detect the water leak behind them.

Radon, mold, lead-based paint
Septic and well
Pest

Most home inspection contingencies let you go back to the sellers and ask them to do the repairs, or give you cash at closing to pay for the repairs. The seller can also opt to simply back out of the deal, as can you, if the inspection turns up something you don’t want to deal with.If that happens, this isn’t the right fixer-upper house for you. Go back to the top of this list and start again.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer whose parents bought and renovated a fixer-upper when she was a teen. A regular contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Dos and Don’ts of Homebuyer Incentives

2010-10-06T11:42:00.003-05:00

Homebuyer incentives can be smart marketing or a waste of money. Find out when and how to use them.

When you’re selling your home, the idea of adding a sweetener to the transaction—whether it’s a decorating allowance, a home warranty, or a big-screen TV—can be a smart use of marketing funds. To ensure it’s not a big waste, follow these dos and don’ts:

Do use homebuyer incentives to set your home apart from close competition. If all the sale properties in your neighborhood have the same patio, furnishing yours with a luxury patio set and stainless steel BBQ that stay with the buyers will make your home stand out.

Do compensate for flaws with a homebuyer incentive. If your kitchen sports outdated floral wallpaper, a $3,000 decorating allowance may help buyers cope. If your furnace is aging, a home warranty may remove the buyers’ concern that they’ll have to pay thousands of dollars to replace it right after the closing.

Don’t assume homebuyer incentives are legal. Your state may ban homebuyer incentives, or its laws may be maddeningly confusing about when the practice is legal and not. Check with your real estate agent and attorney before you offer a homebuyer incentive.

Don’t think buyers won’t see the motivation behind a homebuyer incentive. Offering a homebuyer incentive may make you seem desperate. That may lead suspicious buyers to wonder what hidden flaws exist in your home that would force you to throw a freebie at them to get it sold. It could also lead buyers to factor in your apparent anxiety and make a lowball offer.

Don’t use a homebuyer incentive to mask a too-high price. A buyer may think your expensive homebuyer incentive—like a high-end TV or a luxury car—is a gimmick to avoid lowering your sale price. Many top real estate agents will tell you to list your home at a more competitive price instead of offering a homebuyer incentive. A property that’s priced a hair below its true value will attract not only buyers but also buyers’ agents, who’ll be giddy to show their clients a home that’s a good value and will sell quickly.If you’re convinced a homebuyer incentive will do the trick, choose one that adds value or neutralizes a flaw in your home. Addressing buyers’ concerns about your home will always be more effective than offering buyers an expensive toy.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who gritted her teeth and chose a huge price decrease over an incentive to sell a languishing property—and is glad she did. A regular contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Appeal Your Property Tax Bill

2010-10-05T13:29:00.002-05:00

To successfully appeal your property tax bill, you first need to do a bit of sleuthing into your real estate assessment.

Read your assessment letter
A real estate assessment is conducted periodically by the local government to assign a value to your home for taxation purposes. An assessment isn't the same as a private appraisal, and the assessed value of your home isn't necessarily how much you could sell it for today. Real estate assessment letters are mailed to homeowners annually, or perhaps every two to three years, depending where you live.

The letter will include some information about your property, such as lot size or a legal description, as well as the assessed value of your house and land. Additional details—number of bedrooms, for example, or date of construction—can often be found in the property listing on your local government's website. Your property tax bill will usually be calculated by multiplying your home's assessed value by the local tax rate, which can vary from town to town.

If you think your home's assessment is higher than it should be, challenge it immediately. The clock starts ticking as soon as the letter goes out. You generally have less than 30 days to respond, though the time frame varies not just between states, but within each state. Procedures are often outlined on the back of the letter.

Gather evidence
Start by making sure the assessment letter doesn't contain any mistakes. Is the number of bathrooms accurate? Number of fireplaces? How about the size of the lot? There's a big difference between "0.3 acres" and "3.0 acres." If any facts are wrong, then you may have a quick and easy challenge on your hands.

Next, research your home's value. Ask a real estate agent to find three to five comparable properties—"comps" in real estate jargon—that have sold recently. Alternatively, check a website like Zillow.com to find approximate values of comparable properties. The key is identifying properties that are very similar to your own in terms of size, style, condition, and location. If you're willing to shell out between $350 and $600, you can hire a private appraiser to do the heavy lifting.

Once you identify comps, check the assessments on those properties. Most local governments maintain public databases. If yours doesn't, seek help from an agent or ask neighbors to share tax information. If the assessments on your comps are lower, you can argue yours is too high. Even if the assessments are similar, if you can show that the "comparable" properties aren't truly comparable, you may have a case for relief based on equity. Maybe your neighbor added an addition while you were still struggling to clean up storm damage. In that case, the properties are no longer equitable.

Present your case
Once you're armed with your research, call your local assessor's office. Most assessors are willing to discuss your assessment informally by phone. If not, or if you aren't satisfied with the explanation, request a formal review. Pay attention to deadlines and procedures. There's probably a form to fill out and specific instructions for supporting evidence. A typical review, which usually doesn't require you to appear in person, can take anywhere from one to three months. Expect to receive a decision in writing.

If the review is unsuccessful, you can usually appeal the decision to an independent board, with or without the help of a lawyer. You may have to pay a modest filing fee, perhaps $10 to $25. If you end up before an appeals board, your challenge could stretch as long as a year, especially in large jurisdictions that have a high number of appeals. But homeowners do triumph. According to Guy Griscom, Assistant Chief Appraiser of the Harris County (Texas) Central Appraisal District, of the 288,800 protests filed in his Houston-area district in 2008, about 58% received reduced assessments.

How much effort you decide to put into a challenge depends on the stakes. The annual U.S. median property tax paid in 2008 was $1,897, or 0.96% of the median home value of $197,600. Lowering that assessed value by 15% would net savings of about $285. In some parts of New York and Texas, for example, where tax rates can approach 3% of a home's value, potential savings are greater. Ditto for communities with home prices well above the U.S. median.

There are a few things to keep in mind as you weigh an appeal. The board can only lower your real estate assessment, not the rate at which you're taxed. There's also a chance, albeit slight, that your assessment could be raised, thus increasing your property taxes. A reduction in your assessment right before you put your house on the market could hurt the sale price. An easier route to savings might lie in determining if you qualify for property tax exemptions based on age, disability, military service, or other factors.

This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but is not intended to be relied upon by readers as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Readers should consult a tax professional for such advice, and are reminded that tax laws may vary by jurisdiction.

Barbara Eisner Bayer has written about mortgages and personal finance for the past 15 years for Motley Fool, the Daily Plan-It, and Nurse Village, and is the former Managing Editor of Mortgageloan.com and Credit-land.com. She has successfully challenged her real estate assessment.

Essential Heating System Maintenance

2010-09-27T14:22:00.002-05:00

Getting your home’s heating system professionally serviced every year will keep it running smoothly and help keep heating costs under control.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is usually a good rule—except when it comes to your heating system. Even if it’s humming along just fine, having a technician take it apart once a year to clean the lines and filters and give it a thorough inspection is absolutely essential. Regular servicing reduces the risk of breakdowns and prolongs the unit’s life. Plus, it saves you money: For every year of maintenance you skip, energy bills jump 5% to 10% because of reduced efficiency. Here’s the lowdown on heating system maintenance.

Who does the job?
The simplest way to get the work done is to hire your fuel company to do it. Oil companies and gas utilities usually provide this service, or you can hire the contractor who installed the equipment. Also, some plumbers handle heating systems.

What is involved?
The technician will clean soot and corrosion out of the combustion chamber where the fuel is burned, and check it for leaks or damage. He’ll inspect the flue pipe for open seams, clogs, or corrosion that could cause carbon monoxide to backdraft into the house. He’ll replace the filters on oil and forced-air systems. Finally, he’ll test the exhaust from your cleaned machine and use the information to adjust the burner for maximum efficiency.

How much will it cost?
You’ll pay between $100 and $180 for the service, depending largely on whether you have a gas system, which is easier to maintain, or oil, which requires a fair amount of soot removal. Usually the cost is covered by an annual maintenance contract that also provides 24-hour emergency service. While the technician is there, he should also service your water heater, assuming it has a separate oil or gas burner.

When is the best time to do the work?
Ideally, have your system tuned up in the fall so it’s in top shape for the start of the heating season. Of course, that’s when technicians are the busiest, so if you can’t do it when you want, do it when you can—as long as your system is serviced once a year. And don’t expect your provider to call to remind you that it’s time. Even if you subscribe to an annual service plan, you still need to call to make an appointment. Call in the spring or summer to be sure of getting on the schedule in the fall.

A former carpenter and newspaper reporter, Oliver Marks has been writing about home improvements for 16 years. He’s currently restoring his second fixer-upper with a mix of big hired projects and small do-it-himself jobs.

Chimney Maintenance for Warmth and Safety

2010-09-24T10:15:00.003-05:00

Chimney maintenance and a fireplace inspection can make the difference between warm safety and drafty danger.

Your fireplace, the most low-tech piece of equipment in your house, may seem like a simple load-and-light operation, but ignoring annual maintenance can impair its performance, leading to heated air (and dollars) blowing out the chimney, harmful smoke inside, and possibly even a chimney fire.

The average number of annual U.S. home fires caused by fireplace, chimney, and chimney connectors between 2003 and 2005 was 25,100, and the average costs for those fires was $126.1 million, based on the most recent statistics from the Chimney Safety Institute of America. That’s roughly $5,024 in damage per home. Annual chimney maintenance removes flammable creosote, the major cause of chimney fires, and identifies other performance problems.

Is it worth the $205 fee, two-hour service call, and all that ash possibly blackening your carpet? Here’s what you need to know to decide.

Annual inspections keep flames burning right
Creosote—combustible, tar-like droplets—is a natural byproduct of burning wood. The more wood you burn, the wetter or greener the wood, and the more often you restrict airflow by keeping your fireplace doors closed or your damper barely open, the more creosote is produced.

Soot build-up, while not flammable, can hamper venting. One half-inch of soot can restrict airflow 17% in a masonry chimney and 30% in a factory-built unit, according to the CSIA. Soot is also aggressively acidic and can damage the inside of your chimney.

The more creosote and soot, the more likely you are to see signs of chimney fire—loud popping, dense smoke, or even flames shooting out the top of your chimney into the sky. Chimney fires damage the structure of your chimney and can provide a route for the fire to jump to the frame of your house.

“If the chimney is properly maintained, you’ll never have a chimney fire,” says Ashley Eldridge, the education director of the CSIA.

The best way to ensure your chimney isn’t an oil slick waiting to ignite? Get it inspected.

Three inspection levels let you choose what you need
A level-one inspection includes a visual check of the fireplace and chimney without any special equipment or climbing up on the roof. The inspector comes to your house with a flashlight, looks for damage, obstructions, creosote build-up, and soot, and tells you if you need a sweep. If so, he’ll grab his brushes, extension poles, and vacuum, and do it on the spot.

“You should have it inspected every year to determine if it needs to be swept. An annual inspection will also cover you if the neighbor’s children have thrown a basketball in it, or a bird has built a nest,” says Eldridge.

A level one typically runs about $125. Add a sweep, and you’re talking another $80, or about $205 for both services, according to CSIA.

Consider a level-two inspection if you’ve experienced a dramatic weather event, like a tornado or hurricane; if you’ve made a major change to your fireplace; or bought a new house. This includes a level-one investigation, plus the inspector’s time to visit the roof, attic, and crawl space in search of disrepair. It concludes with a sweep, if necessary, and information on what repair is needed. The price will depend on the situation.

A level three inspection is considered “destructive and intrusive” and can resemble a demolition job. It may involve tearing down and rebuilding walls and your chimney, and is usually done after a chimney fire. The cost will depend on the situation.

Small steps can improve your fireplace’s efficiency
Besides the annual sweep, improve your fireplace’s functioning with responsible use.

Only burn dry, cured wood—logs that have been split, stacked, and dried for eight to 12 months. Cover your log pile on top, but leave the sides open for air flow. Hardwoods such as hickory, white oak, beech, sugar maple, and white ash burn longest, though dry firewood is more important than the species. Less dense woods like spruce or white pine burn well if sufficiently dry, but you’ll need to add more wood to your fire more often, according to CSIA.

Wood, only wood! Crates, lumber, construction scraps, painted wood, or other treated wood releases chemicals into your home, compromising your air quality. Log starters are fine for getting your fire going, but they burn very hot; generally only use one at a time.

Close your damper when not using the fireplace to prevent warm indoor air—and the dollars you’re spending to heat it—from rushing up the chimney.

On a factory-built, prefab wood-burning fireplace, keep bifold glass doors open when burning a fire to allow heat to get into the room.

Have a chimney cap installed to prevent objects, rain, and snow from falling into your chimney and to reduce downdrafts. The caps have side vents so smoke escapes. A chimney sweep usually provides and can install a stainless steel cap, which is better than a galvanized metal one available at most home improvement retailers because it won’t rust, says Anthony Drago, manager of Ashleigh’s Hearth and Home in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Replace a poorly sealing damper to prevent heat loss. “You can get a top-mounted damper that functions as a rain cap, too, an improvement over the traditional damper because it provides a tighter closure,” says CSIA’s Eldridge.

Install carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors in your house—near the fireplace as well as in bedroom areas.

If you burn more than three cords of wood annually, get your chimney cleaned twice a year.
A cord is 4-feet high, by 4-feet wide, by 8-feet long, or the amount that would fill two full-size pick-up trucks.

To burn fire safely, build it slowly, adding more wood as it heats and keeping your damper completely open to increase draw in the early stages.

Burn the fire hot, at least occasionally—with the damper all the way open to help prevent smoke from lingering the fireplace and creosote from developing.

By the way, fireplaces aren’t officially rated for energy efficiency because they’re so varied. Depending on the source of information, they can be 10% to 30% efficient in converting fuel to heat.

No inspection will turn a masonry or factory-built fireplace into a furnace, but it can improve efficiency somewhat, decrease the amount of heating dollars you’re sending up the chimney, and increase your enjoyment of your hearth time by reducing smoke. If a sweeping prevents a chimney fire, you’re talking about the difference between another ordinary January day, and the potential loss of your home, or even life.

Wendy Paris is a writer in New York currently living in a home with a very smoky fireplace that has set off the smoke detector more than once. After finishing this article, she decided to schedule a chimney sweep. She’s written for This Old House magazine, as well as for The New York Times and Salon.com.

Foreclosure Counselors: What They Can and Can’t Do

2010-09-23T11:21:00.002-05:00

Foreclosure counselors can make the difference between losing your home and keeping it. Here’s how they work and how to choose one.

If you’re facing foreclosure, your foreclosure counselor will be a key part of your foreclosure team. As you start looking for one, however, you need to know what exactly they do, what they don’t do, and how to choose one who’s legitimate and qualified.

What a foreclosure counselor does

Reviews your finances

Helps you establish a budget

Explains your non-foreclosure options, such as loan modification, short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure; helps you navigate the process with any chosen option

Advocates on your behalf with lenders and loan servicers

Counselors should also be upfront about discussing their own track records as well as the track records of the agency they work for.

Expect to spend two to 24 hours with a counselor, depending on the complexity of your foreclosure situation, including how many lenders you have to provide documentation to and negotiate with.

“Be sure the counselor is looking at your entire situation,” and not just your foreclosure, adds Martha Viramontes, director of housing at ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions in Los Angeles. “When counselors focus only on your mortgage, they’re fixing only one aspect of your financial situation.” They should give you an action plan containing the tasks you are going to perform to change your financial situation.

What a foreclosure counselor doesn’t do

Give tax advice

Give legal advice

Give guarantees regarding a particular outcome

Create miracles

For additional advice, add a tax adviser and attorney to your team.

Finally, “don’t expect a counselor to be a genie,” says Douglas Robinson, a spokesperson for NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit community development corporation in Washington, D.C., that provides foreclosure counseling. “If you’re in a home that under the most aggressive scenario you can’t afford, but maybe you got into it because of some toxic loan that should never have been available in the first place, you’re probably going to have to move. It’s best you get out smoothly.”

How to choose an agency
Seek only HUD-approved agencies. HUD makes it easy:

Type in your state or ZIP code at www.findaforeclosurecounselor.org or call HUD’s foreclosure counseling hotline at 800-569-4287 or its foreclosure prevention hotline at 888-995-HOPE (4673). HUD-approved agencies are all nonprofit, community-based organizations that have administered a housing counseling program for at least a year.

HUD-approved agencies also are required to:

Employ counselors who are knowledgeable about federal housing programs

Have a staff of counselors of which at least half must have two or more years of counseling experience. At least half must also have received housing counseling training in the past two years

Provide you with certain documents, such as a privacy agreement explaining how your personal information will be handled

In addition, at the agency you work with, see if you can find a foreclosure counselor who has certification through the NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling Look (NCHEC), which has a Foreclosure Intervention and Default Certification Program. Certified counselors must follow NeighborWorks counseling standards and code of ethics and conduct. They also are required to:

Have at least one year of experience in foreclosure counseling

Attend three foreclosure prevention courses

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who has seen the sad effects of foreclosure on friends and neighbors. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

New Listing! Two bedroom Townhouse in Maple Grove

2010-09-22T11:21:00.005-05:00

Great updated 2bd townhouse in Maple Grove. Nice sized bedrooms, walk-in closet, hardwood floors, new furance, and water heater. Two car garage.

Priced to sell!

http://www.taraobrien.com/

Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams

2010-09-22T11:12:00.002-05:00

With foreclosure rescue scams widespread as more homeowners fall behind on mortgage payments, be smart if you seek help.

A record high 2.8 million properties were hit with foreclosure notices in 2009, putting even more Americans at risk of facing foreclosure rescue scams. Homeowners who fall behind on mortgage payments need to tread carefully when seeking assistance, since foreclosure rescue scams come in many guises. A day spent researching legitimate options, from a mortgage modification or principal forebearance to a short sale or deed-in-lieu, could keep you from becoming a scam victim.

Foreclosure rescue scams run rampant
Homeowners facing foreclosure are prime targets for scam artists. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission identified 71 companies running suspicious foreclosure rescue ads, and the Better Business Bureau counts foreclosure rescue rip-offs among its top 10 scams. Understanding how these scams work can help you avoid becoming a victim.

The variations are seemingly endless, but one popular foreclosure scam involves a representative of a so-called foreclosure rescue company promising to negotiate a deal with your lender. The rep, vowing to take care of everything, will instruct you not to contact your lender, lawyer, or credit counselor during the supposed negotiations. The more brazen ones will even tell you to pay your mortgage directly to them.

Once you pay an upfront fee or hand over a few months’ worth of mortgage payments, the scam artist will disappear. You’ll be left with an emptier wallet and a mortgage that’s in even deeper trouble because no deal was cut and no payments were made on your behalf. According to John Riggins, chief executive of the Fort Worth, Texas, office of the Better Business Bureau, upfront fees can range from $500 to $5,000.

Rip-offs come in many forms
A bankruptcy foreclosure scam can involve a promise to fend off foreclosure in exchange for an upfront fee. Instead of getting you legitimate relief, the fraudster will pocket the fee and secretly file a bankruptcy case in your name. The scam may seem to work initially, because a bankruptcy filing will stop foreclosure proceedings temporarily, but they’ll resume. Compounding your problems, a bankruptcy can mar your credit report for 10 years.

Another common scam, called the bait-and-switch, results in a scam artist taking ownership of your home. You sign documents supposedly for a new loan that will make your mortgage current. What’s really happening is you’re signing over the deed of your house. In this scenario you would still owe on your mortgage but no longer own the home.

In a rent-to-own scheme, you’re told to surrender a home’s deed as part of a deal that lets you stay put as a renter. The scam artist, perhaps claiming to be able to refinance at a better rate with you off the title, promises to sell the house back to you in the future. However, terms of the deal may make it all but impossible for you to repurchase the home, or the scammer may get you evicted by raising the rent beyond your means. Either way, you end up losing the home while remaining on the hook for the unpaid mortgage.

Look out for red flags
Being aware of the warnings signs can protect you from foreclosure rescue scams. Red flags include:

Demands for high upfront fees.
Guarantees to stop a foreclosure.
Instructions to make mortgage payments to someone other than your lender.
Pressure to sign over a deed.

Legitimate foreclosure counselors won’t put on a full-court press, nor will they guarantee that you won’t lose your home to foreclosure. What they will do is review your financial situation and offer up options. Foreclosure counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development won’t charge you a fee either.

Legitimate ways to get foreclosure help
There are a number of legitimate ways to contend with foreclosure. If you’ve missed mortgage payments, start by getting in touch with your lender. Ask to speak with someone in the Loss Mitigation Department and explain your situation.

Your lender may be able to arrange a repayment plan, called a special forbearance, based on your current economic circumstances. The lender could even give you a temporary reduction in your monthly payment or suspend payments for a period of time.

With a principal forbearance, the lender will reduce the amount of your mortgage, thus reducing your monthly payments. However, the amount of the principal reduction doesn’t disappear. Rather, it’s tacked on to the end of the loan, effectively creating a balloon payment.

A federally facilitated mortgage modification could also help. The Making Home Affordable modification program pays lenders to re-work loan terms and lower monthly payments. Be prepared to gather lots of paperwork and undergo a trial modification.

If all else fails, you may need to give up your home. If so, look into the federal Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program. HAFA offers lenders financial incentives to opt for a short sale or deed-in-lieu rather than a foreclosure. In a short sale, a lender agrees for a home to be sold for less than the outstanding mortgage, and then considers the debt paid off. In a deed-in-lieu, a homeowner turns over the home to the lender, and the mortgage is closed.

Donna Fuscaldo has written about personal finance for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, and Fox Business News for more than a decade. Like many homeowners, her mortgage is precariously close to being underwater.

Open House this Sat. 9/18/10 12-2 Renovated Home in Minneapolis

2010-09-15T12:28:00.002-05:00

Beautifully restored huge two story.

3513 Bloomington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN

www.TaraOBrien.com

Open House this Sat. 9/18/10 12-2 Townhouse in Edina

2010-09-15T12:23:00.002-05:00

Beautifully updated two bedroom townhouse in great location. Tastefully decorated, hardwood floors and natural woodwork. New windows, doors, garage door siding, privacy fence. Updated baths, kitchen flooring and millwork, custom blinds and built-ins. Private patio. Amenities include shared tennis courts & amusement/party room.

Walking distance to Southdale Mall. A must see!

www.6485BarrieRoad.com

www.TaraOBrien.com

Website Resources for Foreclosure Help

2010-09-15T12:05:00.003-05:00

Here are some legitimate resources to help you fight the foreclosure crisis.

You’ve been warned about foreclosure scams. But sometimes it’s really hard to tell if something is a scam or not. Some less-than-reliable outfits have even taken to including “hud” or “gov” in their URLs to fool you into thinking they are legitimate foreclosure counselors. It pays to be wary. Below are some websites from government and non-profit agencies that can help you with foreclosure. Some are seeking volunteers and donations to help stop the foreclosure crisis.

HOPENOW.COM
Research your options with this web form
Find your mortgage lender
Find a foreclosure counselor in your area
Focused on helping homeowners in crisis, this alliance helps you determine your options

FTC.GOV
Find a foreclosure counselor
Raise your own credit score
Fix mistakes on your credit report
The Federal Trade Commission has expert advice

FINDAFORECLOSURECOUNSELOR.ORG
Find a legitimate foreclosure counselor near you
This non-profit organization was created by Congress to provide financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization
efforts

MAKINGHOMEAFFORDABLE.GOV
Making Home Affordable
Making Home Affordable: short sale documents
Making Home Affordable: deed in lieu documents
The official government site for loan modifications and foreclosure alternatives

PORTAL.HUD.GOV
Find resources to avoid foreclosure in your state
Consult state and local resources

MYFICO.COM
Improve You Credit Score

Credit Q&A

Credit Basics

Understand credit and your credit scores

ANNUALCREDITREPORT.COM

See your credit report
Get all the details on late payments and other information, but not your actual credit score

RESPONSIBLELENDING.ORG
The Center for Responsible Lending
A non-profit organization that works to stop predatory lending practices

CREDITEDUCATION.ORG
Volunteer to be a credit counselor
Non-profit agency that works to provide financial literacy

LIVEUNITED.ORG
United Way
Donate or volunteer to decrease the number of families that are financially unstable

NCRC.ORG
Donate to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition
Send a donation to help NCRC “ensure that people in traditionally underserved communities are treated fairly and justly when applying for credit, opening a bank account, getting a mortgage, a loan, or other financial product or service.”

IRS.GOV
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act
Get the details about when you might owe taxes on any debt that is canceled through a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure

OCC.GOV
Download a PDF on identifying a loan modification scam
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency provides detail about scams, including “10 Warning Signs of a Loan Modification Scam.

Foreclosure Help: 5 Pros You Need on Your Team

2010-09-14T10:17:00.002-05:00

Know which experts provide foreclosure help—often at no cost to you—and how to find them.

When you’re facing foreclosure, it’s critical to reach out and ask for the foreclosure help you need to save money and trouble—and possibly your home. Recruit the following five pros onto your foreclosure team.

1. A foreclosure counselor
Your first step to get foreclosure help should be contacting a foreclosure counseling agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.“A foreclosure counselor should help you evaluate your current financial situation by looking at your bank statements, tax returns, and monthly expenses and income,” says Kimberly Allman, manager of homeownership preservation at the New York Mortgage Coalition in New York City.

A foreclosure counselor also can help you understand the programs available through banks and government agencies and serve as an advocate to help you communicate with your bank.

And don’t worry about money—foreclosure counselors provide foreclosure help for free. Find one at NeighborWorks America or by calling HUD’s foreclosure counseling hotline at 800-569-4287 or its foreclosure prevention hotline at 888-995-HOPE (4673).

2. A REALTOR®
A REALTOR® can help you find out if a short sale, rather than a foreclosure, is the right path for you. Use this pro to discover if you can sell your house, how quickly, and at what price.

If a short sale seems right for you, make sure your agent is experienced with these. If not, ask for a recommendation for one who is. Short sales are tough to navigate, and they’re further complicated by your loan type—FHA vs. Veterans Administration vs. conventional loans. Real estate agents who specialize in short sales will know the proper steps and order of the steps involved. They’ll also be able to navigate the many parties involved in the process and over-burdened loss mitigation departments.

Look especially for agents who have the Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) Certification, which requires specialized training.

3. A tax expert
You’ll need a tax expert for foreclosure help if you do a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure. Consult with a qualified tax adviser since forgiven debt may be taxable income, says Nancy Polomis, chair of the real estate development department at the law firm of Hellmuth & Johnson in Eden Prairie, Minn. You’ll face myriad other foreclosure-related tax issues as well, which require professional advice.

Tax advisers’ hourly rates range from $150 to $250, depending on where you live. A good choice is a certified public accountant. Check with your local CPA society to see if its members offer free advice at volunteer events like those sponsored by the Illinois CPA Society. Find a list of state CPA associations at TaxSites.

Another qualified tax adviser is an enrolled agent. EAs, like CPAs, are licensed to represent clients at an IRS hearing. Find an EA at the National Association of Enrolled Agents.

4. A credit counselor
If you’re having trouble getting a loan modification, a credit counselor can give you some foreclosure help. According to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a counselor can advise you on managing your money and help you develop a plan to help you avoid future financial difficulties. “Often people need credit counseling because the one thing that’s holding them back from getting an affordable loan modification is high credit card payments,” says Allman. Even if foreclosure is inevitable, credit score repair can help you get back into a home sooner.

Allman often refers foreclosure clients to the nonprofit Greenpath Debt Solutions, which operates in many states. You can find a list of government-approved credit counselors from the U.S. Trustee Program.

5. An attorney
Once your lender has filed a foreclosure lawsuit, contact an attorney. A lawyer can review the lender’s foreclosure papers to determine if it actually owns your mortgage or whether your loan servicer has made mistakes in applying your payments or assessing fees, says Lisa A. Magill, an attorney at Becker & Poliakoff in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

You may be able to avoid foreclosure, or even a short sale, if you just have more time to sell your home, acquire secondary financing, or get a new job. For example, a lawyer can usually make arrangements with the lender to give you more time by filing responses and motions in the lawsuit, says Magill.

Also consider consulting a bankruptcy attorney, who can help you discover whether bankruptcy is a viable option for avoiding foreclosure, says Polomis.

Lawyers charge $150 to $300 per hour or a flat fee of $1,000 to $2,500 to defend a foreclosure action or file a bankruptcy petition. Contact your local legal aid office, such as the Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance, or your local bar association, like the Florida Bar, for a list of agencies that offer free legal representation. A list of state resources may be found at the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who has seen the sad effects of foreclosure on friends and neighbors. A frequent contributor to many national publications including American Bar Association Journal, Bankrate.com, and REALTOR® Magazine, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Facing Foreclosure: What to Do Right Now

2010-09-13T11:33:00.003-05:00

If you’re facing foreclosure, don’t panic: Take steps right now to save your home or at least lessen the blow of its loss.

A record high 2.8 million properties were hit with foreclosure notices in 2009. That’s the bad news. The good news: About two-thirds of notices don’t result in actual foreclosures, says Doug Robinson of NeighborWorks, a nonprofit group that offers foreclosure counseling.

Many homeowners find alternatives to foreclosure by negotiating with lenders, often with the help of foreclosure counselors. If you’re facing foreclosure, call your lender right now to determine your options, which can include loan modification, forbearance, or a short sale.

Foreclosure process takes time
The entire foreclosure process can take anywhere from two to 12 months, depending on how fast your lender acts and where you live. Some states allow a nonjudicial process that’s speedier, while others require time-consuming judicial proceedings.

Once you miss at least one mortgage payment, the steps leading up to an actual foreclosure sale can include demand letters, notices of default, a recorded notice of foreclosure, publication of the debt, and the scheduling of a foreclosure auction. Even when an auction is scheduled, however, it may never occur, or it may occur but a qualified buyer doesn’t materialize.

Bottom line: Foreclosure can be a long slog, which gives you enough time to come up with an alternative. Meantime, if your goal is to salvage your home, think about keeping up with payments for homeowners insurance and property taxes. Otherwise, you could compound your problems by getting hit with an uncovered casualty loss or liability suit, or tax liens.

Read the fine print
Start by reviewing all correspondence you’ve received from your lender. The letters—and phone calls—probably began once you were 30 days past due. Also review your mortgage documents, which should outline what steps your lender can take. For instance, is there a “power of sale” clause that authorizes the sale of your home to pay off a mortgage after you miss payments?

Determine the specific foreclosure laws for your state. What’s the timeline? Do you have “right of redemption,” essentially a grace period in which you can reverse a foreclosure? Are deficiency judgments that hold you responsible for the difference between what your home sells for and your loan’s outstanding balance allowed? Get answers.

Pick up the phone
Don’t give up because you missed a mortgage payment or two and received a notice of default. Foreclosure isn’t a foregone conclusion, but it’s heading in that direction if you don’t call your lender. Dial the number on your mortgage statement, and ask for the Loss Mitigation Department. You might stay on hold for a while, but don’t hang up. Once you do get someone on the line, take notes and record names.

The next call should be to a foreclosure avoidance counselor approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. One of these counselors can, free of charge, explain your state’s foreclosure laws, discuss alternatives to foreclosure, help you organize financial documents, and even represent you in negotiations with your lender. Be wary of unsolicited offers of help, since foreclosure rescue scams are common.

Be sure to let your lender know that you’re working with a counselor. Not only does it demonstrate your resolve, but according to NeighborWorks, homeowners who receive foreclosure counseling are 1.6 times more likely to avoid losing their homes than those who don’t. Homeowners who receive loan modifications with the help of a counselor also reduce monthly mortgage payments by $454 more than homeowners who receive a modification without the aid of a counselor.

Lender alternatives to foreclosure
Hope Now, an alliance of mortgage companies and housing counselors, can aid homeowners facing foreclosure. A self-assessment tool will give you an idea whether you might be eligible for help from your lender, and there are direct links to HUD-approved counseling agencies and lenders’ foreclosure-prevention programs.

There are alternatives to foreclosure that your lender might accept. The most attractive option that’ll allow you to keep your home is a loan modification that reduces your monthly payment. A modification can entail lowering the interest rate, changing a loan from an adjustable rate to a fixed rate, extending the term of a loan, or eliminating past-due balances. Another option, forbearance, can temporarily suspend payments, though the amount will likely be tacked on to the end of the loan.

If you’re unable to make even reduced payments, and assuming a conventional sale isn’t possible, then it may be best to turn your home over to your lender before a foreclosure is completed. A completed foreclosure can decimate a credit score, which will make it hard not only to purchase another home someday, but also to rent a home in the immediate future.

Your lender can approve a short sale, in which the proceeds are less than what’s still owed on your mortgage. A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, which amounts to handing over your keys to your lender, is another possibility. The earlier you begin talks with your lender, the more likelihood of success.

Explore government programs
The federal government’s Making Home Affordable program offers two options: loan modification and refinancing. A self-assessment will indicate which option might be right for you, but you need to apply for the program through your lender. A Making Home Affordable loan modification requires a three-month trial period before it can become permanent.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have their own foreclosure-prevention programs as well. Check to determine if either Fannie or Freddie owns your mortgage. Present this information to your lender and your counselor. Fannie and Freddie also have rental programs under which former owners can remain in recently foreclosed homes on a month-to-month basis.

The federal Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, which takes full effect in April 2010, offers lenders financial incentives to approve short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. It also provides $3,000 in relocation assistance to borrowers. Again, talk to your lender and counselor.

Jerry DeMuth has written about mortgages and other financial issues for more than two decades for trade publications, major newspapers, and consumer magazines. His writing has received four awards and has been included in eight non-fiction books.

6 Reasons to Reduce Your Home Price

2010-09-10T07:34:00.003-05:00

While you’d like to get the best price for your home, consider our six reasons to reduce your home price.

Home not selling? That could happen for a number of reasons you can’t control, like a unique home layout or having one of the few homes in the neighborhood without a garage. There is one factor you can control: your home price.
These six signs may be telling you it’s time to lower your price.

1. You’re drawing few lookers
You get the most interest in your home right after you put it on the market because buyers want to catch a great new home before anybody else takes it. If your real estate agent reports there have been fewer buyers calling about and asking to tour your home than there have been for other homes in your area, that may be a sign buyers think it’s overpriced and are waiting for the price to fall before viewing it.

2. You’re drawing lots of lookers but have no offers
If you’ve had 30 sets of potential buyers come through your home and not a single one has made an offer, something is off. What are other agents telling your agent about your home? An overly high price may be discouraging buyers from making an offer.

3. Your home’s been on the market longer than similar homes
Ask your real estate agent about the average number of days it takes to sell a home in your market. If the answer is 30 and you’re pushing 45, your price may be affecting buyer interest. When a home sits on the market, buyers can begin to wonder if there’s something wrong with it, which can delay a sale even further. At least consider lowering your asking price.

4. You have a deadline
If you’ve got to sell soon because of a job transfer or you’ve already purchased another home, it may be necessary to generate buyer interest by dropping your price so your home is a little lower priced than comparable homes in your area. Remember: It’s not how much money you need that determines the sale price of your home, it’s how much money a buyer is willing to spend.

5. You can’t make upgrades
Maybe you’re plum out of cash and don’t have the funds to put fresh paint on the walls, clean the carpets, and add curb appeal. But the feedback your agent is reporting from buyers is that your home isn’t as well-appointed as similarly priced homes. When your home has been on the market longer than comparable homes in better condition, it’s time to accept that buyers expect to pay less for a home that doesn’t show as well as others.

6. The competition has changed
If weeks go by with no offers, continue to check out the competition. What have comparable homes sold for and what’s still on the market? What new listings have been added since you listed your home for sale? If comparable home sales or new listings show your price is too steep, consider a price reduction.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who made strategic price reductions that led to the sale of a Wisconsin property. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.