Shawn Gerhardson Minnesotas Preferred Lenders Blog

Three Hot Renovations That Will Boost Your Home’s Value Without Breaking the Bank Are you feeling the “renovation itch” or perhaps looking for a fun project that you can take on which will provide you with a return on your investment? There are numerous home upgrades and renovations that can add ...

First Time Buyers: Understanding How Property Taxes Work and What You Can Expect to Pay Are you about to buy a house or condo for the first time? Congratulations! Owning your own piece of real estate is a liberating experience and one that will provide you with the foundation to build your person...

Trying to Save on Your Closing Costs? Here Are Three Tips That Can Help Lower Them Whether you’re about to close on a lovely new house for your growing family or a stylish beachfront condo so you can retire close to the ocean, one thing is certain: you’re going to face a variety of closing costs....

Understanding Mortgage Insurance and the Difference Between FHA, VA and USDA Mortgages Are you thinking about using mortgage financing to buy a new home? If so, you’ve likely heard about mortgage insurance policies requirements and you may be wondering how they will affect you. In today’s blog po...

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – December 8, 2014 Last week’s economic reports related to housing and mortgages were few, but construction spending, the Fed’s Beige Book report, non-farm payrolls and the national unemployment report indicated trends for the end of the year. Constructio...

You Ask, We Answer: How to Choose Between Expanding Your Current Home and Buying a New One Does your home feel like it’s starting to burst at the seams? Many homeowners across the country can relate to this feeling having bought a home only to run out of space due to a growing family or for other...

Buying an Investment Property? Here’s How You Can Maximize Your Rental Revenue Whether you’re buying a ski-in/ski-out condo at your favorite resort or you’re thinking of picking up a small home in a busy tourist area, buying a property for short-term rental purposes can be an excellent investment...

Understanding the Difference Between a Mortgage Pre-qualification and a Pre-approval If you’re in the market for a new home and you’ve been researching mortgages, you’ve likely come across the terms “pre-qualification” and “pre-approval”. While these terms are self-explanatory in some circumstanc...

The LTV Ratio: How ‘Loan-to-Value’ Works and Why You Need to Understand This Ratio Are you in the market for a new home? If you plan on using mortgage financing to buy your next home you’ve likely heard the phrase “loan-to-value” or the acronym “LTV” before. Let’s take a quick look at the loan-to...

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – December 1, 2014 Last week’s scheduled economic events were packed into Tuesday and Wednesday, but several housing-related reports were released including the Case-Shiller National and 10-and 20-City Home Price Indices for September, The FHFA House Pric...