First Time Home Buyer’s Random Questions

Steve Howe — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:53:59 +0000

Another round of the fun questions that you are asking and searching for online. This is just a random sample of some search terms people are finding the blog for.

“Help Owning a Home”
There is plenty of help when you look to buy a home. Tons of industry professional are there to help you get the information you need to know when and what kind of house to buy. The most important 2 people are going get help from are your Realtor and Mortgage Officer. These two professionals are going to help you find loan programs, grants, and assist with your search so you don’t pay to much for your house.
“Earnest Money Amount in MN”
Not matter what state you live in, a good minimum Earnest Money Deposit is $1,000 depending on the price of the home. If you’re making an offer on a $400,000 Lake Home, you’ll probably want to have an Earnest Money Check of 1%, or $4,000. The ABSOLUTE Minimum amount is $500, but in this Market seller’s (especially bank-owned homes) will want $1,000 minimum. The more your Earnest Money Amount, the better chance you have of getting the home. And unless you back out for a non-contingent reason, you will get the money back at closing.
“Typical Minnesota Contingency”
If you aren’t sure, a contingency is a clause in the contract that will allow you to back out of the purchase if those particular aspects are not to your standards. The two most common contingencies are the Inspection Contingency and Financing Contingency. If you opt you have an Inspection, then you will write this contingency with your agent, and if something comes up that you don’t like with the inspection, then you can back out and get your Earnest Money back. Same thing with the Financing Contingency – if you can’t qualify for the loan at the time of closing, you’ll get that Earnest Money back also.
“Minnesota First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit”
This has been a big question for people since the Obama Stimulus Bill was passed a couple weeks ago. There is no big tax credits for just the state of Minnesota, but the national bill has the $8,000 Tax Credit if you buy a home between Jan 1st 2009 and Nov 30th 2009. This money will go to you when you file for your income taxes, and is NOT part of the HUD statement at closing. You must still qualify for a loan and be able to make your closing costs and monthly payment to buy a house. This money is just a bonus from the IRS and Federal Government.

[contact-form-7]

First Time Buyers – Random Questions

Steve Howe — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:21:24 +0000

I’ve been getting a lot of strange questions from Google. I guess that’s to be expected.

What I mean is, I can monitor how people find the website by typing in different terms into Google, Yahoo, or any other search engine for that matter.

Because of these intriguing (and sometimes funny) keywords and questions about home ownership, I’ve decided to address some of them each few weeks so that whether or not you’re looking for these answers now, you’ll have them when they come up later in life.

Can You Buy a House Above The Appraised Value?

Well, yes and no. Shoddy appraisals are part of the reason the home prices skyrocketed and became artificially inflated in the recent past. So appraisers are getting tighter with their value calculations. If you have enough down payment money to make the loan 80% or lower of the appraised value, then you can buy anything you want. However if you’re buying your first home, or have little money to put down right away, you’ll need to listen to the appraisal value more closely, in order to qualify for the mortgage.

Best Place to Buy a Home in Minnesota?

Well, that depends on where you like to live. If you like the city centers with hustle and bustle like a Chicago or New York, then downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul is where you should look. If you like the more quiet lifestyle and don’t mind driving to get most places, then a suburb like Plymouth or Bloomington would be perfect for you. The important thing is to drive some different neighborhoods and always get onto the side streets. Markets are very “block specific” even in today’s environment. One street could be great and just a few blocks away you could find more trouble. Make sure you take care of your Due Diligence.

First Time Home Buyer Classes

That one’s a gimme. See my Events Post for Seminar and Class information.

MN First Time Home Buyer, Now a Bad Time to Buy

This question is a good one. Some people think since prices have come down (and maybe continue to come down for the next several months) it’s not a good time to invest your money into real estate. Well think of it this way: if you are considering buying a home anytime over the next 10 years you’d be better served to start paying down the loan, and have more equity when you go to sell in the future. It’s a common saying that anytime you buy real estate is 10 years too late. So with lower interest rates, and prices, I’d say this is the best time to buy over the past 8-10 years. Go against the grain and the masses, and you’ll be the one that looks like a genius in a few short years with friends saying, “I wish I could get that price/rate now!”

[contact-form-7]

Minnesota First Time Home Buyers » Random Questions

First Time Home Buyer’s Random Questions

Related Posts

First Time Buyers – Random Questions

Related Posts