BAP site syndication http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:38:30 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com/images/M_images/ http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com BAP site syndication http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com/buyer-info/important-tips-on-buying-your-first-foreclosed-property-in-the-downtown-minneapolis-condo-market.html Important Tips on Buying Your First Foreclosed Property in the Downtown Minneapolis Condo Market Buying foreclosed properties is getting more popular and more profitable every day. There are dozens of foreclosed properties hitting the Downtown Minneapolis Condo market every day. These properties can be both gold mines and land mines. In this article, weíll go over several simple tips to help ensure that your first foreclosure purchase is a successful one.Opt for a Low-Repair Property for Your First DealWeíve all heard about people who make thousands of dollars buying fixer Downtown Minneapolis Condo foreclosures and fixing them. The reality is, however, that doing such a deal requires a high degree of expertise.Although you can make a lot of money doing fixers, you can also make a lot of money just by buying foreclosed properties, doing minor cosmetic repairs and selling them again. For your first foreclosure deal, look for houses that donít require much work so you can get some experience under your belt.Research the Downtown Minneapolis Condo MarketThere are generally three reasons youíd buy a foreclosure: To rent out, to sell or to live in. If youíre buying to repair and rent out or sell, then market research is absolutely essential. If youíre buying to rent, itís important to know what other properties in the Downtown Minneapolis Condo area are renting for. Itís also important to know what the vacancy rates are. Based on these numbers, you can accurately predict what your cashflow will be like.If youíre buying to sell, itís important to know what you can expect to sell your property for once your repairs are completed.You should know these numbers before you make your purchase. Remember that with any real estate investment, the profit is made on the buy end, not the sell end. You must know how much your property is worth or how much you can rent it out for before you can make a profitable investment.These tips will help you avoid some of the biggest pitfalls beginning investors tend to fall into with their first investments. Foreclosures can be a very lucrative business, but it also has its dangers. There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Downtown Minneapolis Condos or Minneapolis Lofts. For complete information about the Downtown Minneapolis Condo market including current condos lofts for sale, values, and more please visit the most complete website online www.LivingInDowntownMinneapolis.com dedicated to everything Downtown Minneapolis Condos (http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com). Contact Mike Weiland Elke Stephan of The Weiland Group of Keller Williams with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions by filling out the form below. P.S. Free weekly list of Downtown Minneapolis Condos including private listings and foreclosures in the most popular locations call the 24 Hour Recorded Information Hotline Now for details...1-888-391-9039 Ext. 126 or visit www.LivingInDowntownMinneapolis.com. Blog - Buyer Info Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:40:16 +0100 http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com/buyer-info/important-tips-on-buying-your-first-foreclosed-property-in-the-downtown-minneapolis-condo-market.html http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com/buyer-info/home-loans-for-downtown-minneapolis-condos-2.html Home Loans for Downtown Minneapolis Condos Next to shopping for the Downtown Minneapolis Condo itself, shopping for the home loan can be just as cumbersome. For such a large amount of money, you want to make sure you are getting the best deal possible. Loan Elements There are four key elements of your home mortgage payment: the principle, interest, taxes, and insurance. The principle is the amount of money that your are borrowing, less any down payment made. The interest is the cost of borrowing, expressed as a percentage of the total amount that you borrow. The money for your property taxes are put into an escrow account until it is time to pay them. Home insurance is required by most lenders. If your down payment was less than 20 percent, you will also be responsible for paying private mortgage insurance. Types of Loans There are several different kinds of home mortgages for Downtown Minneapolis Condos from which you can choose. The major factor to use in the decision of which home mortgage to borrow is the length of time that you plan to be in your home. For example, if you plan to remain in your home for a long time, a fixed mortgage is perhaps the best mortgage to choose. The two major kinds of home mortgages are fixed-rate and adjustable-rate. As the name suggests, a fixed-rate mortgage, FRM, has an interest rate that doesn’t change over the life of the loan. Your monthly mortgage payments will never change. FRMs are typically available for 15, 20, or 30 years. With an adjustable-rate mortgage, ARM, the interest rate varies depending on current market rates. In most cases, the initial interest rate for an ARM is lower than that of the FRM. If you are interested in lower monthly payments for the first few years of your loan, an ARM is a good choice. A balloon mortgage is yet another type of home mortgage loan that you can obtain. This type of loan has a lower initial interest rate for five to seven years. After that time, the entire balance of the loan is due, hence the term “balloon” mortgage. Balloon mortgages are best if you are planning to sell your home, refinance it, or pay it off prior to the balloon payment due date. Choosing a Loan Now that you know the components of your home mortgage and the types of home mortgages you can choose, how exactly will you make a final decision? This will depend entirely upon your personal situation. As mentioned previously, the length of time you plan to live in the home is a key factor. You should also consider your career and salary for the length of time you will have your home mortgage. Do you expect your salary to remain the same or increase the length of your loan? Are you comfortable with the uncertainty an ARM can present as far as monthly home mortgage payments? Also consider the cost of the loan. What is your interest rate for the loan? Consider also the fees charged by the lender. You may be able to negotiate a waiver of some of the fees. Ultimately, you want to pay the least amount of money for a home mortgage loan. There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Downtown Minneapolis Condos or Minneapolis Lofts. For complete information about the Downtown Minneapolis condo market including current condos lofts for sale, values, and more please visit the most complete website online www.LivingInDowntownMinneapolis.com dedicated to everything Downtown Minneapolis Condos (http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com). Contact Mike Weiland Elke Stephan of The Weiland Group of Keller Williams with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions by filling out the form below. P.S. Free weekly list of Downtown Minneapolis Condos including private listings and foreclosures in the most popular locations call the 24 Hour Recorded Information Hotline Now for details...1-888-391-9039 Ext. 126 or visit www.LivingInDowntownMinneapolis.com. Blog - Buyer Info Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:35:37 +0100 http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com/buyer-info/home-loans-for-downtown-minneapolis-condos-2.html http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com/buyer-info/things-to-do-after-closing-on-your-downtown-minneapolis-condo-3.html Things To Do After Closing on Your Downtown Minneapolis Condo When you walk out of the closing as a new Downtown Minneapolis Condo homeowner, a flood of emotions is running through you. Your main concern is making sure that you do everything to protect your new investment. So how do you do that? The first thing you will want to consider is changing the door locks. Even if it is a new Downtown Minneapolis Condo you won't have any idea who may have a key. It is best to make the home secure and have them all changed at the same time. You can even have all of the locks keyed to one master key for convenience. The mountains of papers that you received at closing are extremely important. Make sure that you keep them in a safe place where you can put your hands on if they are needed. Countless times there is a document issue that needs resolving or a question that requires answering. Putting your hands on them easily may avoid headaches down the road. About two to three weeks after closing contact the county records office to confirm that the title has indeed been recorded. Sometimes, depending on their workload, it may take longer. Regardless, keep in touch until you have verification. Make sure that you have verified having the utilities worked out. If you are purchasing from someone it is best to have them transferred instead of disconnected and reconnected. This will avoid a delay in service. Some companies will even waive the connection fee if they do not have to send someone out to the home twice. Builders can even make this arrangement if you let them know before closing. It is highly recommended that you chronicle your possessions after you have moved in. The best way to do this is to videotape everything in the Downtown Minneapolis Condo as well as the home itself. This will serve as an invaluable tool in the unfortunate event that something happens. Your memory will never be able to take the place of live footage and you will encounter less resistance from your insurance company if you have to prove something was present. Also, make a detailed written list, too. Keep a copy of both in at least one location outside of the home, such as a safety deposit box. There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Downtown Minneapolis Condos or Minneapolis Lofts. For complete information about the Downtown Minneapolis Condo market including current condos lofts for sale, values, and more please visit the most complete website online www.LivingInDowntownMinneapolis.com dedicated to everything Downtown Minneapolis Condos (http://www.busyagentpro.com/http;/www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com). Contact Mike Weiland Elke Stephan of The Weiland Group of Keller Williams with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions by filling out the form below. P.S. Free weekly list of Downtown Minneapolis Condos including private listings and foreclosures in the most popular locations call the 24 Hour Recorded Information Hotline Now for details...1-888-391-9039 Ext. 126 or visit www.LivingInDowntownMinneapolis.com. F Blog - Buyer Info Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:32:44 +0100 http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com/buyer-info/things-to-do-after-closing-on-your-downtown-minneapolis-condo-3.html http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com/buyer-info/the-process-of-buying-a-downtown-minneapolis-condo-for-a-first-time-buyer.html The Process of Buying a Downtown Minneapolis Condo for a First Time Buyer For most people, buying their Downtown Minneapolis Condo is the biggest financial decision theyíll make in their lifetime. The process can be long and involved, and it pays to know what the entire process looks like beforehand. In this article, Iíll walk you through step by step what the process of buying a Downtown Minneapolis Condo is like. The first step is usually to apply for a mortgage. In the process of applying for your mortgage, youíll be able to figure out exactly how much you can afford to spend on a condo based on your cash on hand and the amount youíre willing to spend on a monthly basis. Based on these numbers, you can start looking at condos in your price range.Sometimes buyers start looking at condos before theyíve applied for a mortgage. The process could go a little slower this way, but it does work as well. You could even do both simultaneously.The next step is to take a good hard look at all the condos in Downtown Minneapolis Condo market that interest you. Working with an experienced real estate agent local to the area can go a long way. Remember to look at many condos before you settle on the one that you want to buy.Once youíve found a Downtown Minneapolis Condo you like, the next step is the offer and negotiation phase. Once you make an offer, the seller and their agent will usually make a counter offer. This goes back and forth until an agreement is made.Finally, the last step of the process is the closing or paperwork step. This is the step in which the seller is paid, the contracts are signed, the loan papers are signed, the deep is signed over, title and title insurance are taken care of, closing costs are paid and real estate agents are paid. Usually in closing keys are handed over as well, although you should change your lock when you move in to your new condo. There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Downtown Minneapolis Condos or Minneapolis Lofts. For complete information about the Downtown Minneapolis condo market including current condos lofts for sale, values, and more please visit the most complete website online www.LivingInDowntownMinneapolis.com dedicated to everything Downtown Minneapolis Condos (http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com). Contact Mike Weiland Elke Stephan of The Weiland Group of Keller Williams with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions by filling out the form below. P.S. Free weekly list of Downtown Minneapolis Condos including private listings and foreclosures in the most popular locations call the 24 Hour Recorded Information Hotline Now for details...1-888-391-9039 Ext. 126 or visit www.LivingInDowntownMinneapolis.com. Blog - Buyer Info Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:29:48 +0100 http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com/buyer-info/the-process-of-buying-a-downtown-minneapolis-condo-for-a-first-time-buyer.html http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com/buyer-info/why-you-need-a-downtown-minneapolis-condo-home-inspector-2.html Why You Need A Downtown Minneapolis Condo Home Inspector Alright. So hiring a Downtown Minneapolis Condo home inspector is practically a given now. Hardly anyone who just recently purchased a new home ever foregoes a home inspection. But does a home inspection really only occurs after purchase or just prior to it? When is it really the time to hire a Downtown Minneapolis Condo area home inspector to check your potential new home Well, the answer actually depends on whether or not your house is newly constructed or a resale.New CondosIt is strongly recommended with any new Downtown Minneapolis Condo purchases that you ensure that you fully comprehend and understand all the rules and requirements of your warranty program prior to taking possession. You can visit the specific website of your program and review it in detail.However, if you have not yet purchased your new Downtown Minneapolis Condo, it is a good idea to consider the services of a professional home inspector during its construction. In your Agreement of Purchase and Sale, you may require that the builders include a clause stipulating that a home inspector be permitted. Be careful though, because some builders are hesitant to allow this service. If this turns out in your case, then you may want to reconsider your choice of builders. It is also a good idea to consult an experienced real estate lawyer to rally the builders to your cause. You can ask him, prior to the signing of any purchase agreement, to negotiate your contract in such a way as to allow a Downtown Minneapolis Condo home inspector’s services during construction or immediately after. Your lawyer may also suggest that you have a copy of the floor plan for your new home, included in the agreement papers.If your builder still will not accommodate you for a Downtown Minneapolis Condo home inspector, it is still in your best interest to consider having him accompany you, especially during your PDI or Pre-Delivery Inspection which happens before you start to occupy the condo or make any money changes. Why during PDI? The reason is that during PDI, you are going to be asked to create a list of deficiencies with the builder representative. Your home inspector should come in handy right about that time. And after you move into your new home, you are usually given a period of thirty days in which you may forward a list of building deficiencies to the warranty program. That is another opportunity for you to enlist the assistance of a Downtown Minneapolis Condo home inspector.Resale CondosWith resale condos, hiring a Downtown Minneapolis Condo home inspector is a little different. In most resale transactions, the real estate agent may now include a clause in your offer to purchase, making the services of a home inspector as one of the conditions. If the home inspector gives a satisfactory report, then that’s the go signal you’re waiting for to close on a sale. But if he gives you the red light, then you shouldn’t either. There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Downtown Minneapolis Condos or Minneapolis Lofts. For complete information about the Downtown Minneapolis Condo market including current condos lofts for sale, values, and more please visit the most complete website online www.LivingInDowntownMinneapolis.com dedicated to everything Downtown Minneapolis Condos (http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com). Contact Mike Weiland Elke Stephan of The Weiland Group of Keller Williams with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions by filling out the form below. P.S. Free weekly list of Downtown Minneapolis Condos including private listings and foreclosures in the most popular locations call the 24 Hour Recorded Information Hotline Now for details...1-888-391-9039 Ext. 126 or visit www.LivingInDowntownMinneapolis.com. Blog - Buyer Info Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:26:02 +0100 http://www.livingindowntownminneapolis.com/buyer-info/why-you-need-a-downtown-minneapolis-condo-home-inspector-2.html