General Information
First Time Home Buyer Radio!
With the regular hosts of The Minnesota Real Estate Show on vacation this weekend (actually they’re at a Re/Max Convention) I will be playing “co-host” this Saturday, March 6th 2010.
Among the topics we’ll be covering are the First Time Buyer Tax Credit expiration, and how to make offers on REO/Bank-owned Foreclosure properties.
The MN Real Estate [...]
60 Days Left For 2010 HomeBuyer Tax Credits
That’s right folks – there’s only 2 months left for you to find a house, make an offer, and get an accepted purchase agreement. For the complete list of requirements on the 2010 Home Buyer Tax Credit click here.
For those first time homebuyers who think they have plenty of time to get the deal done, [...]
Housing Inventory for First Time Home Buyers
Two statistics we use to analyze the Twin Cities Housing Market are “Inventory of Homes for Sale” and “Monthly Supply of Inventory”. These typically help sellers determine what a realistic timeframe is for the listing and eventual selling of their home because it gives them a sense of the number of homes on the market [...]
February 2010 Monthly Skinny
Here’s another snapshot of the Minneapolis and St. Paul area housing market, courtesy of the Minneapolis Area Associattion of Realtors.
They call it the “Monthly Skinny” report.
(note: I suggest pausing on each slide to fully read the numbers displayed)
Big FHA Mortgage Changes Coming
You may have heard that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is changing some key things in their loan insurance package.
For those that don’t know, FHA mortgages are loans that are insured (not originated or funded) by the FHA. They offer 3.5% down payment and competitive interest rates.
Well, a TON of people are using these loans [...]
Monthly Market Update
I like to watch these short videos that are made by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, and thought I’d share it with you. They call it the “monthly skinny” which is a good name for it since it’s nice and compact.
There is a TON of good information on where we are as a Twin [...]
90-Day FHA Rule Waived
As of February 1, 2010 the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is waiving their regulations on the “90-day Flipping Rule” they have in place for new FHA borrowers.
To be clear, let’s define everything here.
An FHA loan is a mortgage that is insured (not underwritten) by the FHA for borrowers that meet their qualifications. About 80-90% of [...]
2 Year Foreclosure Moratorium?
Today, the MN House will vote on a bill which may allow homeowners getting foreclosed on a little breathing room.
The bill HF2604 would allow homeowners to stay in their homes if they continue to paying their mortgage or at least 41% of their income to the lender. It would also allow renters of foreclosed properties [...]
St. Louis Park – Live Where You Work
I was working with a Minnesota First Time Home Buyer last week and we were searching for properties in St. Louis Park, MN. One listing told us the buyer could get $2,500 in local grants, so we decided to look into it.
As it stands now, St. Louis Park has a buyer incentive called “Live Where [...]
Filing Your Home Buyer Tax Credit
I just received a very informative note from a colleague of mine regarding tax filing for the 2009-2010 Home Buyer Tax Credits. If you are eligible for either Tax Credit you must file a paper return, and NOT an e-file tax return.
I’m not a great tax mind, so don’t ask me why, but the IRS [...]
