First Time Buyers – Random Questions
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!”
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Working with a lot of first time buyers, and the market is good for those homes in Eagan. Thanks for the great post.