Fixed Rate Mortgage There are two typical types of mortgages in our industry today, the FHA mortgage, and the conventional mortgage. The main difference is that the FHA has a lower minimum downpayment than a conventional loan. A conventional loan has a typical minimum downpayment of 20%, but some mortgage companies go down to 10% […]

Many people are always wondering how people are financing homes in today's market. I took a look at some data and found that over the course of 2014, people were financing their home purchases as follows: 59% conventional financing 20% cash 16% FHA financing 3% VA financing 2% other financing

What is arbitration? Arbitration is a way to settle disputes between parties, usually between a buyer and a seller. This is one way, among several, to resolve disputes. In the context of a home purchase between buyers and sellers, the outcome of the arbitration process is binding. That means whatever the outcome is, it's final. […]

I recently took the Old Home Certification course that is put out by Preservation Alliance of Minnesota. It was a fantastic 2 day course and we covered so much material that I had to take a day off to let it all soak in. This course had topics that included such items as: Why old […]

How much does it cost to sell a home? I have been asked this question many times by many sellers in the Twin Cities. If you are reading this article from another area, your numbers may be different. Real estate is local, and the cost to sell a home is also very local. I'll be […]

I get asked this question all the time. Buyers and sellers alike want to be able to figure out what the value of a home should be. I have a separate post as to how I go about figuring valuation of a home, and you can read that post on Market Valuations here. If you […]

In each real estate transaction, there are buyer's closing costs, as well as seller's closing costs. But increasingly, buyers are asking sellers to cover their closing costs. Why should sellers pay for buyer's closing costs? The main reason is that this is purely an accounting move. With the way we structure purchase agreements, it is […]

Whoa. I'm a new fan. This place is awsome. I had the Khao Soi (Curried Chaing Mai egg noodle dish with beef, cilantro,pickled mustard greens, and shallots) and the only thing I would improve is more noodles. It was bursting with flavor, and althouh they say it is spicy, it isn't really spicy. Just a […]

This year's winter has taken its toll on the housing market. We are off to a soft start this year. Over the various opens that I've held in the past 6 weeks, I've heard a lot of "we're just starting" and "this is our first day out" and "it's too early in the process for […]

January was a very cold month. Sellers were down, and buyers were also down. As prices rise, there are less underwater homes, and more sellers are coming on the market. But this is taking its time, mostly due to weather. Median sales price is up 12% to $174,000 For the sellers that have a "ready […]

2013 was a good year for sellers. Homes sales and prices were higher. Foreclosures and short sale homes were significantly lower. we had more closed sales in 2013, totaling 53,087, or an increase of 8.8%  5 year high home price $192,000 10.5% less homes for sale. With all of these factors, multiple offers are still very […]

Once in a while, you may see a home listed for sale at a ridiculously low price of $1. Yes, a dollar. Almost always, this indicates that the house is being sold under auction terms. Some times a different house may be identified as going under auction, with a higher price. Either way, auctions can […]