The information below about a NEW ZERO Down financing program comes from The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency and more information will be coming soon!
This type of program could mean help for Twin Cities home buyers that are on the fence about buying their first home. From rumors I have heard, there will be income limits and credit requirements for this program (appears to also be geared for first time home buyers).
As always, check with your local mortgage lender to see if you qualify. I’ll post more information when I get updates. A couple of lenders that I like and that have access to these programs are:Alec Grebis with Bell Mortgage and Cornerstone Mortgage.

New Loan Product for the Minnesota Mortgage Program

Minnesota Housing will soon be offering Affordable Advantage, a loan product that helps serve low- and moderate-income borrowers. The product has flexible terms and is one of the few 100 % LTV products available in the market. The product is based on Fannie Mae’s Affordable Advantage™, an initiative developed exclusively for Housing Finance Agencies, including Minnesota Housing.

Contact me for more information or to start the home search process!
Jen McKinnon
Real Estate Agent / Investor
AGENT REFERRAL NETWORK
Member of The Minnesota Real Estate Team
jen[at]MnRealEstateTeam[dot]com
612.384.1073

So, you didn’t get into the real estate market in time to take advantage of the tax credit? Below is a great article from a newsletter I get from Ronny Loew at Waterstone Mortgage.

What’s More Important? Low Rates or Tax Credit
In a recent survey by Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, an overwhelming majority of those polled found that when factoring in either low interest rates or the tax credit, low rates were far more important in a decision to purchase a home now.

There’s a good reason for this statistic. For example, if you purchase a home for $300,000 and finance $270,000, and your interest rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan was 5.25% versus 4.75%, you would pay nearly $30,000 more over the term of the loan. This is a significant amount of money!

Since the Fed’s Mortgage Backed Securities purchase program ended on March 31, there has been much volatility and price swings in the markets. Rates overall are off their lows and are often quoted above 5.00% today with no points.

Looked at from another perspective, if prospective home buyers are waiting for home prices to decline a bit more before purchasing a home, but interest rates push higher towards 6.00% in the meantime, waiting could well cost those home buyers more money in the long run.

In fact, let’s say a home buyer delays a transaction but receives a $10,000 reduction off that $300,000 home. If, in the meantime, rates were to rise .75% to 6.00% and the buyer financed 90% of the purchase price, the amount of total payments over a 30-year term would be over $35,000 more than paying the $300,000 purchase price and the 5.25% interest rate.

The Twin Cities real estate market is still HOT and there are great homes at good prices – in ALL price ranges and all areas of the Twin Cities. Please call me to learn more about home buying!

Jen McKinnon
Realtor/Investor
AGENT REFERRAL NETWORK

612.384.1073
jen[at]MnRealEstateTeam[dot]com

I drove through an absolutely gorgeous, exclusive development in Wayzata Minnesota last weekend – just 15 minutes west of Downtown Minneapolis and biking distance to charming Downtown Wayzata!
This development is called Locust Hills of Wayzata and it is nothing short of spectacular.
This property was a former private estate with 70 acres on the shores of Grays Bay (Lake Minnetonka). It has been subdivided and now the European-style community encompasses woods, wetlands, lakefront, lagoon and walking trails along with 44 architecturally designed homes along with 3 estate lake homes on Gray’s Bay of Lake Minnetonka.

Currently there are lots available and there are specific builders that have been pre qualified to build but there is opportunity to bring your own favorite builder – they will just need to be approved by the developers.
By the sounds of it you can get a lot and home starting around $1.2 Million. There is an association that takes care of everything! Talk about maintenance free living! That’s so you can enjoy the Lake Minnetonka lifestyle and spend the summer days boating since private boat slips are provided for each resident of this exclusive neighborhood.

You have to see it to believe it! Please call me for more information.

Jen McKinnon
Realtor / Investor
Agent Referral Network

Member of The Minnesota Real Estate Team
jen[at]MnRealEstateTeam.com
612.384.1073

If you are a landlord in Minnesota, please remember that you need to complete a Certificate of Rent Paid Form for each tenant that paid you rent in 2009. By law, you must have this to each tenant on or before January 31 2010.

For more information and the forms click here…Minnesota 2010 Certificate of Rent Paid

It’s 2010 and the experts are weighing in on the housing market. Here is the forecast according to Money Magazine (December 2009)

There is talk that the market will stabilize in 2010 but regaining equity may take some time.
Home sales are rising and inventory is going down. Experts believe the housing market will hit its bottom in the second half of 2010 but that we will still see another 5 – 10% price drop on houses.

This is still a great time to buy a home whether you are a first time buyer or buying your next home. There will be another wave of foreclosures in 2010 which will boost housing inventory. Interest rates are predicted to stay low in the first part of 2010 or at least until the extended federal tax credit expires June 30 2010 (you must have an accepted purchase agreement by April 30 2010 and close by June 30 2010). This tax credit is good for first time home buyers and other buyers who are buying their next home and have lived in their current home for at least 5 of the last 7 years.

So, what should you do?
If you are hoping to buy a home, make your move now. Right now the market is in your favor but as the economy improves the housing market will become more favorable for sellers. Keep in mind, if you are looking to purchase a lower priced home (under $150,000) expect competition, especially if the house does not need a lot of work done to improve it. If you are trying to purchase a fixer upper that is already in foreclosure or owned by a bank, expect A LOT of competition. In the Twin Cities market, many of these homes (under $100,000) end up in multiple offers within a few days). To improve your odds of getting one of these amazing deals be prepared to offer above list price, be flexible on closing time, offer more earnest money than normal or pay full cash.
However, if you are buying a higher priced home especially if over $500,000, the demand is not as great so you can typically offer about 10% below list price. These homes will still see some drop in value over the next year so offering below list price (always make sure your agent checks out the recent comparable sales in the area) will provide a cushion for this reduction in value.

If you are hoping to sell in the next year, hopefully you have some equity because most likely you’ve lost quite a bit of value on your home. If not, and you don’t have to move, experts are saying hold off. But, if you want to move or need to move, you may be able to recoup some losses on your current home by buying at below market pricing on your new home. Essentially, you can buy more house now than you could even a year ago so in many situations, you may “break even” if you have to sell at a loss but buy at a low price (and great interest rate) for instant equity.

The Twin Cities real estate market is showing similar trends – contact me about your specific situation and I’d be happy to do some market analysis for you!

Jen McKinnon
Realtor / Investor
AGENT REFERRAL NETWORK
MN Real Estate Team – #1 Team In Minnesota

612.384.1073
jen[at]mnrealestateteam[dot]com

So, it’s been 22 days since we closed on our property and so far we have had demolition, most of the interior paint is done – some rooms still need a final coat of paint and the tile is complete.
We had the door way between the kitchen and dining room opened as far as we could go – probably around 6 inches to give the space a more open, modern feel and make the kitchen appear bigger. This made a HUGE difference.
Glass block windows have also been installed into the basement – this is a good safety feature and old windows are usually leaky.   It’s always a good idea to replace basement windows with glass block and it’s actually not expensive but makes a big difference in cleaning up the basement.

The paint colors are neutral yet not the typical boring tan, white or off white. You want the house to feel up to date but no offensive with paint colors. Ie – don’t paint anything red. I like red and the dining room at my personal residence is red but not a good color to chose for an investment property.

The tile is gorgeous and extends from the kitchen into the dining area because the wood floors had been ripped out and it would be very difficult (on a budget) to get new wood floors to match. Tile also adds a texture and color element to the house. The main floor bathroom also has the same tile on the floor as well as the entire bathtub / shower surround.

I am a little disappointed that the kitchen cabinets have not been installed yet as I was told they would be installed early this week – but I’ve been assured that we are still on track to finish on time. Right now that is approximately Oct 19th.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Jen McKinnon
Realtor / Investor
AGENT REFERRAL NETWORK
jen[at]mnrealestateteam[dot]com

Demolition began this week and currently all the old flooring and carpet has been ripped out, the kitchen has been completely gutted and the main level bathroom is partially torn apart.
We have also found that the neighbors are very interested in what is going on. They want their block cleaned up and question us from time to time to make sure we are on the up and up. I guess that’s all part of the deal – they are sort of our watch dogs and let us know what has been happening at the house!
Alot of work still to be done but we’ve made a start!

Jen McKinnon
Realtor / Investor
AGENT REFERRAL NETWORK
jen[at]mnrealestateteam[dot]com
612.384.1073