We are way past the part of the season when we complain that the retailers are rushing us.  The complaints about Christmas promotions coming too early are mostly forgotten.  It's just about panic mode.  The good stuff is gone and the sales we were waiting for have not materialized.   A month or so ago was a great time to shop, but we waited.  Now, the most sought after gift items are hard to find and overpriced.  There is plenty of less desirable stuff, but it's no bargain either. OK, enough about real estate.  It's not March yet, and we still have a chance to shop early.  If you want to settle for something that's not exactly what you want, or if you want to pay too much for your dream home, just wait.  Wait like you did to start your Christmas shopping.  Wait until spring, and then wa... 12/18/2010

Recovery is of interest to consumers who are hoping against hope that they will recover  the unrealized gains in equity that have gone away. They're waiting for the "fever to break" so they can get on with their lives, refinance and pay off the credit card bills again, buy a new boat, or parlay their profit into a more expensive home.  Forget it.  It's not going to be that kind of recovery.  Look around, this is it. The market is stunted by homeowners who want to move up, but they can't afford to sell their homes.  That part of the market will only return if homeowners start paying down their often negative equity.  An additional monthly payment along with the required amount will bring down the debt and incrementally reduce the amount of interest due.  Just as first time buyers often s... 12/11/2010

According to city data, there are approximately two thousand renter occupied homes in Apple Valley.  If you are one of those two thousand folks currently helping someone else make a mortgage payment, why not consider giving him an annual review?  Here are a few questions about your landlord that you may want to ask.  Actually, you probably know the answer to them, but keep score.  Can you count on not having the rent raised in the next few years?  Can you decorate any way you want?  Can you deduct the property taxes and the interest on the mortgage payment you are making for him?  Can you have a dog?  Ok, now that your landlord's annual review is complete, is he worth not firing?  Just because you don't want to ruin his holidays is no reason to delay the preliminaries.  Call me to arran... 11/22/2010

Home and property sales information for Apple Valley MN for first time home buyers, home sellers, and relocation to Apple Valley. When we are looking at this market we have to compare apples to apples. This market is different that the one we saw one year ago. No first time home buyer tax credit or tax credit for home sellers in this market. Are the numbers where we want them to be? It depends if you glass is have empty or half full. You have to keep your eye on the local economy including unemployment numbers, inflation, and are business adding jobs. The elections is over so let's so what happens. New listings were down 20% and closed sales were down 63%. Remember, the tax credit is gone. Tradition sales are holding their own but sellers have to realize that the market is what is is. ... 11/12/2010

The housing market is comprised primarily first time home buyers and investors.  Move up buyers and relocation buyers make up a shrinking portion of the pool of buyers, and the trend will continue unless there are some changes in lending practices and products. Mobility among potential move-up buyers is almost non-existent.  About a quarter of homeowners owe more than the current value of their homes.  Some are facing economic challenges that will cause them to cease being homeowners.  Some have decent incomes and a desire to change to another home.  They can't move because the cost of selling added to the down payment requirements is more than they can handle.  They are the housing dropouts who will continue to pay their current mortgage debt and their other bills, but they won't be go... 11/09/2010

Although some "credit repair artists" claim differently, you can't change history.  If your credit report has no errors, and it says you have had issues in the past, there is nothing that will change it.  That leaves two things you have the power to fix, present and future. If you are behind on a bill or two, fix it.  Pay the bills current.  If that means you have to make a few temporary life style changes, fix it anyway.  If you need a new car because the old one is broken, fix it.  It's cheaper to fix the old one than to saddle yourself with debt for the next five or six years.  The cost of a new engine or transmission is equal to around six or fewer payments on a new car.Why exchange six payments for sixty? Better credit scores have more benefits than just being able to get a loan fo... 11/07/2010

We're officially in the holiday shopping season now.  Fleet Farm's Toyland opened Saturday at 7:00AM to an anxious crowd of early shoppers.  It's only going to get worse after the election when political ads on television will be replaced with jingle bells and an array of gift items selected by retailers to get you to their store now. The upcoming holiday shopping season is traditionally a time when home sellers consider taking the home off the market until after the beginning of the new year.  There's a perception that showing traffic will probably be even slower than usual, and a conflicting concern that needing to go through a "showing appointment drill" will disrupt other plans. This year, the next couple of months may be the best opportunity real owners have to sell their homes.  W... 10/18/2010

According to the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc., there are almost 400 homes for sale in Apple Valley.  A third of them are priced at $150 thousand or less, making Apple Valley an excellent place to consider if you're looking for your first home.  The convenience of living minutes from the Mall of America, along with Apple Valley's own shopping and recreation opportunities make it a great place for anyone to call home. If you're making tentative plans to buy a home when the lease ends in spring or early summer, now is the time to begin serious planning. According to studies, the average home buyer spends seventeen months in the home buying process. It’s surprising how time consuming it is to find the right home if you prepare properly. I’m not suggesting that you sp... 10/14/2010

The uncertainty surrounding the status of foreclosed home sales may be the break that sellers of owner occupied homes have been needing.  Buyers may have fears that an accepted offer on any bank owned home on the market may not be able to close, or closing may take a very long time.  Those fears are not entirely unwarranted. Non-distressed property owned by real human sellers will be a more popular option for sensible buyers. The indefinite hold on many foreclosed homes in the process of entering the market presents a great opportunity for individual sellers.  The important thing to keep in mind is that this interruption in new listing inventory could end as quickly as it began. The market change does not mean that there is a shortage of homes for sale, just that there are fewer distres... 10/11/2010

Many consumers are confused by real estate practices and procedures.  That's quite understandable considering that most buyers never bought a home before, and many others haven't bought a home in years.  There are many consumer protections today that didn't exist a decade or so ago. One of the least understood parts of home buying is the differences in legal relationships that can exist between a buyer and the agent assisting them.  There are required disclosures which help consumers understand that the seller's broker is working on behalf of the seller and must advocate for the seller in a transaction.  Confusion sometimes tends to still exist in the roll of an agent not legally committed to the seller. A real estate agent can help you buy a home without any legal commitment to advocat... 10/10/2010

There are a lot of homes on the market, and there are a lot of homes that were listed and failed to sell.  Many homeowners have listed their Apple Valley homes for months with nothing to show for the effort but an expired listing contract and a pile of buyer agent business cards.  Lots of showings and no action, sound familiar?  When you sell real estate, you need all the help and information you can get to gain advantage over other sellers.  You're not only competing with your neighbors who want to sell their homes, you're also competing with foreclosures and short sales.  Selling a home is not easy, but it's not impossible either.  If you have tried to sell your home and it failed to sell, you probably need our help. We are well-equipped to conduct a thorough and straight-forward anal... 10/01/2010

There have been almost uncountable times when I have heard an inspector tell a buyer that the grading needs to be addressed or they could end up with a wet lower level.  Over time, the ground around a house tends to repack itself, creating something not unlike a bowl with the house in the middle. When we moved to our current home around eleven years ago and before the real estate business became my passion, I vaguely remember the inspector saying something about grading.  Since then we have never had a problem with even the slightest hint of dampness.  It's a shallow excavation, about four feet in the front and walkout in the back.  The lot slopes away from all sides of the house.  No problem. No problem until today.  After around five inches of rain, it's wet down there, really wet.  W... 09/23/2010

The way we perceive buying a home has changed over the last couple years.  Most of us no longer think of buying a home as a future source of equity to be tapped whenever we need some cash.  Most of us no longer look at a home purchase as an automatic wealth accumulation vehicle.  Today we buy a home because we like it and want to improve our lives, both physically and emotionally.  We want to step up our lifestyle. When you buy a new car, you are sometimes buying because the old one doesn't suit your needs.  Maybe you need nothing more than transportation, maybe you need reliable transportation.  Just as often you need to feel good, and sometimes that means buying a new car right out of the factory.  The desired effect is almost a certainty, albeit quite temporary. Today, if you buy a n... 09/09/2010

There has been a mess of programs instituted by the government to "fix" the real estate market collapse.  Most programs have been directed at helping people who are in danger of losing their homes.  Some are being helped out, some are being helped to get out, and some are being helped by the false illusion of help.  Another program type is the alleged housing stimulus tax credit.  From all appearances, this credit went to people who were planning on buying anyway.  A fair number were induced to push their plans forward, a little like the forward buying during the days of automatic loan approval for all undead applicants.  The tax credits were a great way to get dollars into the hands of the most likely persons to spend them on "stuff."  Home buyers must have good credit to qualify for a... 09/08/2010

It was probably a mistake to name him Dylan. My new office assistant is still learning to not eat the files, and he has found a diversion to his regular training regimen which attempts to prohibit chewing on people and furniture, trying to reach the kitchen counter, and trying to consume real estate documents and files. He is progressing fairly well at just under four months old. 09/02/2010

Apple Valley Real Estate Home and Property Sales Data for July 2010 for first time home buyers, home sellers, and relocation to Apple Valley. The numbers are in for home sales in July and it is the tale of two markets. The data isn't surprising since the tax credit incentive has expired and first time home buyers and home sellers are in a holding pattern trying to figure out this housing market. New listings were down 14% with closed sales down 51%. The year to date number isn't that bad at 6% but still not a great number. Median sales price was up 18% and average sales price was up 3%. Home owners received 92% of original list price at closing which was down a little from last year. Average days on market was down 20% at 109 days. Homes are selling quickly that need need to work and l... 08/24/2010

From time to time, someone posts a blog about buyer broker agreements.  Often, the theme is whether an agent should use them.  Most commonly, responses run along the line of protecting commissions or locking in the buyer's loyalty.  Some states require a signed buyer representation agreement before an agent performs any act as a buyer's representative.  I have doubt that the laws were written to protect agents' commissions or to immobilize buyers.  The reason some states require, and all knowledgeable and reputable agents insist on a signed buyer agreement is simple.  A signed buyer representation agreement is what compels the agent to perform.  The agreement demands fiduciary responsibilities from the agent to the client.  Without a signed agreement, it is impossible for an agent to fa... 07/29/2010

Are you still searching the internet for countless hours at a time looking for that one good deal. You find it and you are excited. You inquire about the property only to find out it sold 3 days ago. Sound familiar? You do have a better option. You can start your Apple Valley MLS search with the click on one button. Real time data at your finger times so you don't wait for information to be posted to websites. When it is active, the information is available to you. On this site you will be able to search the MLS for Apple Valley: First Time Home Buyers Information Foreclosure property Acreage Town homes Condos and more! Don't forget to sign up for the Home Sweet Home Buyers Club. 07/20/2010

Information for first time home buyers in Apple Valley   What a change in numbers from May to June. As the government tax buyer incentives are going away we can see the declines in both new listings and closed sales. The extension was given for homes under contract on April 30 to close by September so that that has given the market just a little hope that we see a good summer market. New listings we down 3% and closed sales were down 4%. That number surprised me but the majority of first time home buyers probably closed by the end of the April period. Median sales prices are creeping up almost 6% and average homes prices were up 10%. Home owners are pricing their properties were they need to be and receiving in most cases the list price of the home. Days on market are trending down as w... 07/16/2010

Description and Features Search Like An Agent! MLS IDX Apple Valley Homes, Foreclosures, and Real Estate Property Search! Click Apple Valley Homes and Properties Incredible Historic Interest Rates Click Freddie Mac 30 Yr & 15 Yr Fixed Mortgage Rate Weekly Survey Results FHA 3.5% Down Financing Click FHA FAQ Click FHA 203k Streamline Rehab Loan Links Listing Website 07/08/2010