Minneapolis

It was another down week in Minneapolis real estate. Almost 57% of all the houses sold last week in Minneapolis where foreclosures. In addition 46% of the houses that sold were under $150,000. However, there were a couple bright spots. Sales compared to last December were up 20%. So the end result is a mixed bag. I think there are going to be more foreclosures and prices are going to keep dropping. But the big factor is going to be what Barrack Obama and Congress end up doing. If they start spending trillions and trillions of dollars to buy up bad mortgages and pay for peoples bills then I think prices are going to start to stabilize and even go up. However, if they just spend money on public works and let the oversupply of homes work its way through the market then prices will continue to decrease for a year or two. However, if I was looking to buy my first house, start a business, or try to build wealth for retirement I would seriously consider investing in real estate right now. Prices are so low right now that it is easier to make money on a house by renting it out. If you make a few good purchases it is not that hard to generate a $3,000-5,000 monthly income off real estate investing. I think if you are a smart, savvy, entrepreneurial person, and you can be disciplined with your money, then you could by three houses this year and create a very solid business. If you’re a first time home buyer and thinking about getting into real estate investing in Minneapolis give me a call. I would love to help you out.

Some win and some lose. That is the way life works. You can try your best, but sometime you get beat out. It might now be because you were bad, it was just the other person was better. Or maybe, you are bad and you need to improve. I think one of the most important things to do right now and the turn of the year is to reflect on your actions and your life. Are you achieving your goals? Are you happy? Sometimes we can get caught up in everything that is going on. Bernard Madoff tricked a lot of people in to giving him money and now he is being exposed. It is really sad. I think the most important thing to achieve for this difficult time is to try to improve your character. Nobody is perfect and everybody has flaws. But we can work on honesty, discipline, consistency, and generosity. You don’t have to make it complicated. I think the most important thing is to try to do what you said you would do and don’t infringe on others or  their property. If you do that, then you should be ok. If you need a hardwood floor sanding and refinishing estimate give me a call. I’ll try my best to win for you.

It is a new year. 2009 is here. I am excited for it. I know things in the economy are not that good right now but I am optimistic. I think a lot of good stuff can happen from failure. You learn a lot about yourself, test your boundaries, and most of the time you become better. New Data came out for October that stated home prices fell last month more than any other month ever. Also, home prices are now at their 2004 levels. This is pretty bad, but if you are buying real estate it means a lot. The lower the price of a cash producing asset the more it will be worth. Also, GM is offering 0% financing on a lot of its vehicles. So if you need to buy a truck right now you can get a pretty good deal on it. But this stuff doesn’t even matter that much. I think what is most important right now is to have the right mind frame. If you think somebody is going to save you, I don’t think that is the right way to look at it. Throughout my life I have learned that to get things done you have to go out and do it yourself. The key is to do something you love and try to keep getting better at it day in and day out. I love refinishing hardwood floors. So if you need an estimate on your hardwood floors in Minneapolis give me a call. It is a new year and your floors should look new too.

First Time Home Buying Minneapolis Market Expert

Practice, practice, practice! Thats how you get better at something right. If you’re buying your first house in Minneapolis it is no different. The great thing about buying real estate is that you can go through a lot of homes first before you find a deal and make an offer. For example, let’s say you’re looking for a 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house with an unfinished basement in the Lake Nokomis area in Minneapolis. It needs to be under $200,000. Right now there are about 100 houses on the market that fit that criteria. The key to finding value is to go through the houses and find out which ones are overvalued, undervalued, and just about right. By doing this you not only can find a nice house to make an offer on, but you can become better educated about the real estate market in that area. Seeing these assets first hand will give you confidence that you are making an informed and analytical decision based on facts and evidence. So instead of just buying purely on emotion, which is not always bad, you are basing the decision on good financial judgment also. Right now this is critical because there are so many foreclosures in Minneapolis on the market to sort through. Give me call if you’re interested in checking some of these houses out and learning a little bit more about the current real estate market. Thanks a lot. Arne at 612-423-0202

What a great time to be buying your first house in Minneapolis. Interest rates are very low. A client of mine just locked in a fixed rate on his FHA mortgage at 5%. The lowest down payment on a mortgage right now is 3%. That is pretty low historically, but at the same time home prices have dropped a lot over the last two years. Just in Minneapolis alone they have gone down over 12% just this year. So housing is cheap. There is a great program for first time home buyers called the 203K loan that will allow you to finance the repairs and fix up cost on a house into the mortgage. So say you find a really good deal for $100,000. If you put $50,000 worth of work into it, it would be a very nice house and probably worth $225,000. With a 203k loan you would get a mortgage for $150,000 and use $50,000 to pay for the fix ups. The only cash you have to come out of pocket is the 3% down payment and a couple more grand for taxes and insurance. I think that is a really good deal especially with you can find a nice duplex and rent out one side and live in the other. If I was a first time home buyer I would look for real estate deals in South Minneapolis, Northeast Minneapolis and Richfield. There are a lot of really nice homes that are cheap right now. If you’re considering buying your first house call me today and I will give you eight free home showings on some nice foreclosures. Thanks a lot. Arne at 612-423-0202

Want to build a lot of equity with a little bit of cash? Are you a first time home buyer in Minneapolis? If so, you should think about qualifying for a FHA 203K loan. With this loan program you can buy the house with a 3% down payment and finance the fix up cost of the property into the mortgage. Isn’t that great? For example, say you want to buy a duplex. You are going to live in one side and rent out the other side. You and two of your friends are going to live on one side and you’re going to rent to three people on the other side. But to do this, you need to finish the basements for both units, update the plumbing, electrical, refinish the hardwood floors and put a beautiful fresh coat of paint on the walls. To do all of this you need $25,000. Say you buy the house for a good deal because it is a foreclosure. You buy it for $150,000. With a 203K loan you can get financing for $175,000 and use $25,000 of it to fix up the place. When all is said and done your payment with taxes and insurance is around $1500. But you rent each room out for $500 because it is a really nice place and market rents are around $600, but you’re giving them a deal. Your gross rent is $2500 and your payments are $1500. You’re living for free and you’re making $1000 a month. Plus you just added $75,000-100,000 in equity to your duplex. Wow! You did this all with only $5100 cash out of pocket. What a deal. If you’re interested in doing this give me a call. I can help you find a good deal on a house in Minneapolis. Call Arne at 612-423-0202.

The government is giving away money! If you buy a house by July 1 2009, you could get $7500 in an interest free loan from the federal government. You have to make less than $75,000 and you have to live in the house you’re buying. This is a great program for qualified buyers. There are a ton of deals in Minneapolis, Edina, Richfield, which are undervalued. Most just need some paint and a few repairs. If you have a couple of friends who need a place to live, then you can rent to them and maybe even live in the house for free. If they are paying your mortgage you can save that money to invest or start your own business. Give me a call today if you’re a first time home buyer. I will give you eight free home showings in Minneapolis. And tell the Feds to “show me the money!”.