Maple Grove, MN

Selling a home in today's market can be a little like being lost in the woods without a compus..excuse me..a GPS! You look around and think you know what the right direction to go is, but there is no one to guide you. You have had all source of information on what to do, but you don't know which source is the correct source and you don't know where to start.

Your thinking of selling your home, but the news, radio and blogs keep yelling at you, "The market has tanked!" "The sky is falling!" While the market is seeing a significant correction, it does have it's upside. Especially if you've been in your home more than five years and have not used your homes value/equity as an ATM. With the current market, if you do have any equity, you can still sell and this is one of the best markets ever if you want to buy up. Meaning purchase a newer or larger home.

We know the market and we know what needs to be done in order for you to have a successful sale. We also know that we need to give you information you need to hear, but might not want to hear. Many agents are afraid to speak to you about the market for fear you will take it personally and chose not to use their services. We cover it all. We believe hard news is a lot better than incorrect or no news.

We offer you a honest custom CMA and marketing solution for your property. We cover everything that is good and bad about your property and give you the steps you need to do to be successful.

We also do fee based consulting if you are thinking of listing with another company, if you have had your home sale expire or if it has been on the market for a long period of time and you need clear answer as to why it has not sold. We do not solicit active listings. We give an accounting of what you can do to be successful in selling your home. Using us or your current agent is entirely up to you.

Any one can do a free CMA on your property and tell you what they think you want to hear. With our custom Broker Price Opinion, you get the answers you need to hear with a clear outline on what you need to do to be successful in today's market.

Call or e-mail us if you would like to discuss our consulting options or if you would like to meet with us to help get your on the market and sold!

From 1860 until 1936, the area we now know as the gravel pits was mostly farm land. There were no lakes at that time. Did you realize that those present today are actually all manmade lakes and came much, much later? They are a result of mining below the water table. The water quality was so pure the City determined it best not to fill in the lakes, so now we have three additional to enjoy.

Levi Dumas owned property north of Eagle Lake and was the first farmer to begin mining operations on his land around 1936. The trend caught on and eventually A. Lucht, Charles Munn, E. Scherber, Charles Freigheim, Fred Rowe, J.H. Balowin, C.T. Nosler and H.A. Schwappach all began mining their property.

There are six types of gravel mined from the Maple Grove pits for use in sewer system drain fields and decorative ground cover, concrete blocks, block layers, cement and sealcoating asphalt roads.

Today C.S. McCrossan and Tiller Corporation are two local companies with a major presence in the gravel mining area. They own or control a majority of the area, and mining operations are still underway.

At this time approximately 500 of the 2,000 acres have been mined, which means the gravel pits will be a part of Maple Grove's future as well as its past. To learn more about Maple Grove's past and be part of it preserving it for future generations, join the Historical Preservation Society. Meetings are held at 7 p.m. the third Thursday of every month at the Government Center. All are welcome!

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blog: http://www.homeloansmidwestblog.com/

HVCC & HERA Could Slow Your Ability to Purchase a Home.

Maple Grove, MN - It's no secret that many facets of mortgage lending and real estate have changed as a result of the credit crisis. In addition to tightened lending practices that resulted from rising mortgage delinquencies, Washington has been heavily involved in altering the way lenders do business today. Two individual pieces of legislation impacting our business need to be taken into account when determining closing dates for purchase transactions.

Home Valuation Code of Conduct - The Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) went into effect May 1, 2009. Intended to shield appraisers from undue influence from loan officers and lenders, this legislation installed a "firewall" between those individuals directly involved in the origination of the loan from the selection of and contact with appraisers. HVCC also requires that borrowers receive a copy of the appraisal a minimum of three days in advance of closing. Part of the kicker here is that "received" is considered, in effect, three business days after the appraisal has been mailed to the borrower. Since HVCC requires this "firewall" between the originator and the appraiser, the time to receive an appraisal has increased, in some cases by as much as two weeks or more. While this may not always be the case, it is important to take into consideration when considering closing dates. Today, conservative closing dates are mandatory to properly manage expectations of all parties. Make sure you're allowing enough time to avoid panic and stress in the days leading up the the closing date.

Housing and Economic Recovery Act - The Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) amends and influences several aspects of obtaining a mortgage, the disclosures required for borrowers, and the timing of their delivery. This Act affects the minimum time required to close, and should any changes be made to a loan application that could impact the Annual Percentage Rate (APR), this could delay the closing date. Other than paying for a credit report, lenders may not accept any additional fees from a borrower until four business days after disclosures have been provided to or mailed to a borrower. This has the potential to delay several phases of the application process.

Finally, upon making application, a borrower is provided a Truth in Lending (TIL) statement, detailing the total expected costs that could be incurred over the life of the loan. Should anything change in the loan application that could change the APR by more than .125%, a new TIL must be reissued to the borrower a minimum of 3 business days before closing. Items impacting the APR could include a borrower accepting a higher interest rate than initially qualified by floating their rate at application, a change to the loan amount, a change in loan type, a change in closing date, and any changes to fees.

What Now? - While there is more we can discuss on the specifics of these legislative implications, I felt it important enough to let you know now that I would not recommend you write purchase contracts with short closing time frames (less than 30 days). I have prepared additional information to help explain the rationale behind not scheduling closing dates in advance of 30 days at a minimum and ideally not less than 45 days.

Ben Olson is Mortgage Consultant affiliated with Mortgages Unlimited, a Licensed Mortgage Lender - Minnesota Department of Commerce. If you would like to get pre-approved for your home purchase, please contact Ben Olson at 763-416-2620 or visit www.AskBenOlson.com.

Maple Grove, MN - With the November 30^th deadline quickly approaching for the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, we've seen a huge increase in activity with our Realtor Partners and in our own office as well. Three months is not a lot of time! Everyone's talking about it [read here] and buyers are getting anxious! But be aware, the time required to process your loan could get longer and longer.

With all of the changes in our industry over the last couple years, the length of the process from loan origination to loan closing has increased. For example, the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) no longer allows Loan Officers to communicate directly with Real Estate Appraisers. Though the heart behind this is to protect the consumer, the results of this law have created an environment where buyers and sellers alike are put at a disadvantage. Appraisers are no longer providing a service and managing business relationships, they are simply order-takers. This causes turn-around times to be extended and appraisal quality in some cases is diminished. All in all, getting the appraisal alone could take up to two weeks or more.

In addition, the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act (MDIA) has the potential of causing delays. In short, when a Loan Officer discloses a loan to you it needs to be VERY accurate! If the final APR varies by more than 0.125% of what was initially disclosed, you must be allowed three days to review the changes before you can close. The bottom line is this: Work with a Loan Officer who knows what they're doing! Thankfully, most of us who are still in the mortgage industry are here for the long-term. However, there is still a high level of knowledge and expertise that is needed to manage a smooth loan transaction.

Amongst other things, keep in mind that in late October and early November there will be a significant increase in purchase files hitting the desks of processors and underwriters - their turn-times in increase naturally due to the increase in work. Also, processors and underwriters do not work on Thanksgiving! If you think you can submit a purchase file on November 1^st and have it close by the end of the month, you may be sadly mistaken.

REMEMBER: If you close on November 30^th as a first-time home buyer, you get $8,000. If you close on December 1^st, you get NOTHING!

Our recommendation is for you to find your home and have a Fully-Executed Purchase Agreement by early to mid October. There will be many first-time home buyers who miss out on this tax credit opportunity. At all costs that shouldn't happen to our clients!

Ben Olson is Mortgage Consultant affiliated with Mortgages Unlimited, a Licensed Mortgage Lender - Minnesota Department of Real Estate. If you would like to get pre-approved for your home purchase, please contact Ben Olson at 763-416-2620 or visit www.AskBenOlson.com.

Here is this months market report showing trends for the Maple Grove area.

Trends show median sale prices continue to drop. However, the vast majority of sales in area are foreclosures which are impacting this number. Marketing times year to date have had a very small increase of just two additional days. Total inventory is down 14% and closed sales are slightly higher.

These numbers show that sellers not needing to sell are removing their homes from the market and that the foreclosure inventory is being consumed by the first time buyers in our market.

Fore more specific information on your neighborhood or for a free market analysis, please contact me.