New Construction Series

New Construction is on the rise! This is not just my opinion. One of the major newspapers in the Twin Cities wrote on April 30th that "...builders on track to have one of their best years since 1997".  I've been watching the MLS and the sales figures of Completed New Construction, Under Construction, and To-Be-Builts since the beginning of the year have grown. Jan-135, Feb-169, Mar-242, Apr-246, and May-286. Watch for my next blog entry on why New Construction might be a better option than buying an existing home!

How To Buy a home in Farmington

Would you want to learn something about how to buy a home in Farmington? The answers to how to buy a home can be confusing for many home buyers, especially MN first time home buyers. Since this process can be rather complicated I wrote this blog post to offer some tips of how to accomplish your goal.

How To Buy A home in Farmington

Most Minnesota home buyers start their process of buying a home on the web, of course. There are many ways to accomplish this but a good place for you to start is to use the MLS search on my personal website. There are tens of thousands of Minnesota real estate websites out there but you will soon find that many lack all of the important details when searching for a home. National real estate websites do not show the annual property taxes due for each of the listings which is one of the most critical factors when estimating what your monthly payments will be.

Search for a home in Farmington on my website

When you begin your search for homes in Farmington on my personal website you will find all of the available listings from all of the real estate companies in the area. Because I am a member of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), my property website will offer you complete details from every company. Additionally I can set up a specific search for you so that I can email listings in your price range as they come available.

Get Preapproved To Buy A home in Farmington

How will you know what kind of price range you should be hunting for? In order for you to determine home much the monthly payments you will have for a home in Farmington you will need to get preapproved for mortgage financing. Getting through the preapproval process is the critical first step for how to buy a home in Farmington Since there is no cost or obligation when you get prequalified by one of our local MN mortgage lenders, you should do this right away so that you can clear any roadblocks there might be in the process of getting a home loan.

Let's go look at homes!

After you have been preapproved I will take you to available listings in your price range. I recommend that we look through at least 15 or 20 of these before you buy one. By searching extensively you will get educated on homes that are a good value to buy. When a listing comes available meeting your needs you should be ready to make your offer since properties now sell fast.

After the purchase agreement, and before closing

Once you’ve made your offer it usually takes about 30 or longer before you go to your loan closing to finalize the purchase of your home. During this time your lender will collect all of the necessary documentation they need from you to complete your loan approval. They will almost always order an appraisal on the home you are buying to estimate the value based on the sale of other homes. The mortgage lender also orders a policy for title insurance to make sure you will get clean title to the home upon purchase.

Closing on your home

After you receive your complete loan approval from your lender you will ready for closing. At loan closing, all of the involved parties get together to sign documentation as well as to exchange house keys, etc. Now that you have closed on your home you are ready to move in!

The Community of Farmington, MN

Farmington, MN is a rapidly growing suburb of the Twin Cities metro area. With plenty of affordable homes for sale, Farmington, MN has almost doubled its size over the past decade, now with over 20,000 residents. Located just south of Rosemount in Dakota County, many MN first time home buyers have used the Dakota County first time buyers program to buy in Farmington. If you are looking to buy or sell real estate Farmington, MN real estate please don't hesitate to give me a call.

Are you ready to start the process of looking for homes? Just give me a call or send me an email and I am looking forward to helping you find your dream home!
Robert Phyle,CSP,GRI,RSA
Broker Associate, Realtor
Coldwell Banker Burnet
rlphyle@cbburnet.com
Cell 612-801-4657
Direct 952-997-1955
Fax 952-432-8372
7741 147th St W.
Apple Valley, MN 55124
www.facebook.com/robphylerealestate
Visit my website to find Minnesota homes for sale

Saint Paul Home Sales: Meeting The Challenge

If you are selling a home in Saint Paul today you will find it can be quite a challenge, especially with the tough competition from nearby short sales and foreclosures. Real estate values have been declining in part because of the low listing prices offered by banks who need to reduce their real estate owned inventory. About half of the sales in today's market has come from traditional home sellers. Are you in the search for help to sell your home listing in Saint Paul?
 

Benefits of Using A Realtor To Sell Your Saint Paul Home

It has never been more important to enlist the help of a St. Paul real estate agent who studies recent trends in Twin Cities market values. When we visit your home to complete a market analysis, we will compare all of the features of your home to the competing homes for sale in your neighborhood. We need to look at all of the properties that have sold within the past few months to see what the actual sales prices have been. By doing this we will be able to estimate what price a buyer might pay for your house within a reasonable period of time.

One of the challenges for many sellers today is in trying to get enough for their house to pay off the current mortgage on their home. If a seller owes more on their mortgages than what the can sell it for we will either need to talk about paying the mortgages down, attempting a short sale on their home, or listing it for rent and in order to move to another home. With the rapidly rising rents in today's market home sellers are often finding that they can cover all of the resulting expenses for the house through their renter's income.

Lenders have specific guidelines for those Saint Paul sellers who have decided rent out their home in order to buy another. Depending on the equity that you have in your home, a mortgage lender may or may not consider the rental income you receive when they qualify you for the new mortgage. The only way to know this is to call a lender to get preapproved.

Get preapproved right away

Once we have a chance to meet to discuss the value of your current home it is important that you go through the process of getting prequalified for a home loan. Your mortgage lender can help you decide which of the options are best whether selling or renting out your current home. The process of mortgage preapproval is is usually free and contains no loan obligation. A good mortgage lender will be able to analyze all of the financing options available to you such as through MN FHA loans, Conventional, VA, or other types of mortgage financing.

City of St. Paul Information

As both the capitol of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County living in the city of Saint Paul is filled with things to do. Popular attractions such as the Xcel Energy Center and the Science Museum of Minnesota make St. Paul a popular destination for both its residents as well as those living in surrounding suburbs. Employment opportunities abound in St. Paul with major employers such as Ecolab, Lawson Software, Gander Mountain, and nearby 3M. St. Paul housing can be especially affordable for first time home buyers through the Ramsey County's First Home program. Residents enjoy popular regional events such as the Minnesota State Fair and the St. Paul Winter Carnival. If you thinking of buying or selling a home in St. Paul please send me and email or give me a call as I'd love to help you accomplish your goal.

If you want to learn more about selling your Saint Paul home call me. I will work with you to complete a market analysis of your home for free. We will discuss your options based on today's market. Feel free to send me an email or call me.

Robert Phyle,CSP,GRI,RSA
Broker Associate, Realtor
Coldwell Banker Burnet rlphyle@cbburnet.com
Cell 612-801-4657
Direct 952-997-1955
Fax 952-432-8372
7741 147th St W.
Apple Valley, MN 55124 www.facebook.com/robphylerealestate
Visit my website to find Minnesota homes for sale

Looking For Saint Paul Rental homes?

Saint Paul Rental homes: Should I Rent One Or Buy?

If you are searching for Saint Paul rental homes, pause for a couple of minutes and consider the difference in renting homes versus buying one. Since it is more expensive today to rent homes than to buy one isn’t it at least worth it to consider saving some money by buying real estate?

Saint Paul Rental homes: Is It Worth The Cost of Renting?

Saint Paul rental homes will usually have the advantage that you can get out of a lease arrangement within 12 to 24 months. I want you to remember that this advantage comes at a cost, however, , in that your rent payments will often times exceed those of a house payment. In addition, the security deposit for the rental may actually be more than the entry cost required for buying a Saint Paul homes after considering all of the down payment assistance programs available for first time home buyers. Finally, perhaps the real cost in renting a homes is the fact that you are helping someone else buy their home with your rental payments helping make THEIR house payments.

Benefits To Saint Paul Rental Saint Paul

Still, the advantage may certainly be worth it to rent a homes if you will be moving again to a another city at the end when your lease expires. I tend to think that if you buy a home today you should plan on staying in it for a few years while the market develops.

Benefits To Buying Saint Paul homes

With all of the programs available to the MN first time home buyer today, it is hard to know where to start in terms of benefits. The State of Minnesota now offers special loan programs through its Minnesota Housing Finance Agency to offer reduced interest rates as well as down payment assistance. Additionally many communities today offer additional down payment assistance loans or grants that both reduce what you need for cash to close as well as reducing your monthly payment.

First Step: Get Preapproved

One of the critical first steps in searching for a home is to get preapproved for mortgage financing. Many buyers leave this part to the last minute because it is the least fun part of the entire home buying process. It is very important, especially for the MN first time home buyer to get preapproved for financing before buying a home. Please call or email me and I will help you get started in the process with a Minnesota mortgage banker.

City of St. Paul Information

As both the capitol of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County living in the city of Saint Paul is filled with things to do. Popular attractions such as the Xcel Energy Center, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and Ordway Center for the Performing Arts make St. Paul a popular destination for both its residents as well as those living in surrounding suburbs. Employment opportunities abound in St. Paul with major employers such as Ecolab, Lawson Software, Gander Mountain, and nearby 3M. St. Paul housing can be especially affordable for first time home buyers through the Ramsey County's First Home program. Residents enjoy popular regional events such as the Minnesota State Fair and the Winter Carnival. If you thinking of buying or selling a home in St. Paul please send me and email or give me a call as I'd love to help you accomplish your goal.

If you have not yet thought of buying a homes I would like the opportunity to discuss with you about the benefits of both rental homes in Saint Paul versus buying a home. Please take a moment to email or call me.


Robert Phyle,CSP,GRI,RSA
Broker Associate, Realtor
Coldwell Banker Burnet
rlphyle@cbburnet.com
Cell 612-801-4657
Direct 952-997-1955
Fax 952-432-8372
7741 147th St W.
Apple Valley, MN 55124
www.facebook.com/robphylerealestate
Visit my website to find Minnesota homes for sale

Buying A home in Hastings

Are you wondering about how you go about buying a home in Hastings? Learning how to buy a home can be confusing for many buyers, especially for the MN first time home buyer. Since this process can be rather complicated I wrote this blog post to offer some basic tips of how best to accomplish your goal.

How To Buy A home in Hastings

Most MN home buyers begin their process of buying a home on the web, of course. There are many internet sites to begin this but a good place to start is to use the search engine on my website. There are thousands of real estate sites out there but you will soon find that many lack all of the important details when searching for a home. National real estate websites do not show the annual property taxes due for each of the listings which is one of the biggest factors your lender will need to determine what your monthly payments will be.

Search for a home in Hastings on my website

When you begin your search for homes in Hastings on my personal website you will find all of the available listings from all of the real estate companies in the area. Because I am part of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), my real estate website will offer you complete details on every property from every company. I can also set up a specific MLS search for you so that I can email you when properties in your price range come available.

Get Preapproved To Buy A home in Hastings

How will you know what kind of price range you should be searching for? In order for you to know the amount of monthly payments you will have for a home in Hastings you will want to get a preapproval letter for a mortgage loan. Getting through the preapproval process is the critical first step for how to buy a home in Hastings Since there is no cost or obligation when you get prequalified by one of our local MN mortgage lenders, you should do this right away so that you can clear any roadblocks there might be in the process of getting a home loan.

Let's go look at homes!

After you have been preapproved by a Minnesota mortgage lender I will take you out to look for homes in your price range. I recommend that we look through at least 15 or 20 of these before you buy one. By doing a thorough search you will know homes that are a great value to buy. When a listing comes available meeting your needs you should be ready to make your offer since properties at a good value sell fast.

After the purchase agreement, and before closing

Once you’ve made your offer it usually takes about 30 or longer before closing. During this time your lender will collect all of the necessary documentation that they need from you to finish your loan approval. They will almost always order an appraisal on the home you are buying to make sure the price of the home you are buying is in line. They will also order a title policy from a title company to make sure you will get clean title to the home upon purchase.

Closing on your home

After your loan has been fully approved you will ready for closing. At loan closing, all of the involved parties get together to sign documentation and to exchange keys, garage door openers, etc. After you have gone through closing on your home you will now be a homeowner!

Hastings, MN City Info

Looking for a small town feel in a Twin Cities bedroom community? You will want to check out the benefits of living in Hastings, MN. With just a 30 minute commute to downtown St. Paul, Hastings offers its residents both the benefits of a small town as well as big city living. Situated in Dakota county, Minnesota first time home buyers might benefit from the Dakota County first time home buyers program. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Hastings, please call me.

Are you ready to start the process of looking for homes? Just send me a quick email as I am looking forward to helping you find your dream home!
Robert Phyle,CSP,GRI,RSA
Broker Associate, Realtor
Coldwell Banker Burnet
rlphyle@cbburnet.com
Cell 612-801-4657
Direct 952-997-1955
Fax 952-432-8372
7741 147th St W.
Apple Valley, MN 55124 www.facebook.com/robphylerealestate
Visit my website to find Minnesota homes for sale

How To Buy Prior Lake Foreclosures?

So you want to buy one of the foreclosures in Prior Lake? Whether you own house currently or are a Minnesota first time home buyer, you will want to learn the basics before going out to buy. While there are plenty of great values in Prior Lake foreclosures you will want to be prepared for how to negotiate your purchase transaction.

 

Info about Prior Lake

Known as the sister city of Shakopee, Prior Lake is located about 20 miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis. With plenty of affordable housing for MN first time home buyers and move up buyers alike, the city has doubled in size over the past 20 years. The combination of Upper and Lower Prior Lakes make up the largest lake in the lower Twin Cities area. With 54 city parks and a well established Park and Rec, it seems like there is always something to do in Prior Lake. If you are looking to buy or sell a home here, please give me a call.

Foreclosures are Bank-Owned

A bank-owned foreclosure can be a great deal sometimes because the bank owns it and is paying for the maintenance of it. As opposed to a property offered as a short sale, the selling bank has a distinct motivation to get the home off of their books. At the same time, banks who are involved in selling a foreclosure want to get the highest value they can out of the property. In the lower price ranges it has turned into a sellers market meaning that many foreclosures sell for well above the listing price! Knowing what to offer for the foreclosure is critical in terms of being successful with your purchase.

Things to Consider in Buying Foreclosures

There are two big factors to consider when determining how much to offer. The first factor is to consider how long the property has been on the market and the second thing is the general property condition. A foreclosure that has just been listed is likely to sell for near the listing price (or even higher), while a bank that has a house that has been on the market a long time might be willing to negotiate for deeper discounts. Also, a listing that is in poor overall condition may not be able to be financed so the bank may reduce the price far enough to attract cash buyers. I can help you determine these factors as we search for foreclosures.

Foreclosures and Financing

If you are planning on financing the purchase of a foreclosure there are some important things to know as well. First, the listing must be in acceptable condition to the lender n order to qualify for most mortgage loans. Properties in generally poor condition will either require a cash offer or special mortgage financing such as the FHA 203k program. Selling banks will also tend to limit the amount seller paid concessions towards the closing costs of your home loan. In most cases today the selling bank will limit their contribution to three per cent of the selling price. Additionally, a selling bank will never look at your offer if it includes a financing contingency for the sale of a home and if you don't provide a preapproval letter along with the offer.

Get Preapproved Today

The first step in the home buying process is to get prequalified for financing. This simply means that you talk with a local lender who will review your credit, income, etc. In the prequalification application they can tell you what types of Minnesota first time buyer programs you might be qualified for. This important first step can be done right over the phone and most lenders will even do this with you when you are off from work.

Ready to Find A Foreclosed Home?

If you are thinking of buying a foreclosure please give me a call or send me an email. There are many great Prior Lake foreclosure values out there but knowing which one to buy will take some time and expertise. I would very much like to help you in your search for the ideal house!


Robert Phyle,CSP,GRI,RSA
Broker Associate, Realtor
Coldwell Banker Burnet
rlphyle@cbburnet.com
Cell 612-801-4657
Direct 952-997-1955
Fax 952-432-8372
7741 147th St W.
Apple Valley, MN 55124
www.facebook.com/robphylerealestate
Visit my website to find Minnesota homes for sale

Chanhassen homes For Sale: Best Ways To Search

There are a few different ways to search for homes for sale in Chanhassen that I would like to tell you about. As most home buyers begin their search for their dream home on the web, I find that many miss out on all of the possible opportunities to search for and find the right home. I would like to talk with you about the pros and cons to each of these various methods for finding homes for sale in Chanhassen.

 

Finding Chanhassen homes For Sale On The Web

One of the best ways to begin is to go to my website to search for and find all of the homes for sale that are listed all of the local real estate brokers, with all of the available information. The large national websites leave out much of the critical details such as property taxes on the home due to the sheer size of their websites. The problem is that when buying a home factors such as property taxes on the homeare one of the single biggest factors in determining the amount of your monthly payments so why would anyone want to look for Chanhassen homes on websites that are missing such an important detail? Please got to my website and start searching for Chanhassen homes listed on the market today.

Search for Chanhassen homes Via Email

If you are currently searching for a Chanhassen homes, send me an email and tell me the specifics of the type of property you want. I can create advanced searches that will tell you not only what is available on the market via email, but also what has just become available. You will be instantly notified with new listings that meet your search critieria when they become available on the market. Because I need to know the critieria of what you are searching for (for example: 2 bedroom homes in Chanhassen between $165,000 and $215,000), please email me so we can begin the email search process.

A little education goes a long ways, doesn’t it? If you can get exactly what you need via email such as my customized search why would a home shopper need anything else? The Guesswork and Luck strategy involves searching for properties the large national websites which don't contain all the property details. Without a customized approach to finding the house that you want, I find that too many Minnesota home buyers rely on the strategy of Guesswork and Luck.

City of Chanhassen

Chanhassen is a beautiful outer ring suburb located just southwest of Minneapolis. Both Life Time Fitness and Snap Fitness are headquartered here providing employment to those who are not making the 20-30 minute commute to downtown Minneapolis. The population of Chanhassen, MN has doubled over the last 20 years according to the 2010 census. Voted the tenth best place to live by Money magazine in 2011, Chanhassen is popular both for Minnesota first time home buyers and move up buyers alike. If you are planning on buying or selling a home in Chanhassen please give me a call.

MN First Time Buyers First Step

For many Minnesota first time home buyers the intimidating question is where do I start? Your very first step towards buying your first home is to get preapproved for a first time buyer's mortgage. By doing so you find out how much of a loan you are qualified for so that we can search for homes in the right price range.

Please invest the time to properly understand the strategy you are using to search for possibly the largest investment that you will ever make. I highly encourage home buyers to be proactive and to take control of the property search strategy! Please take a moment to visit my website and find all of the available Chanhassen listings.


Robert Phyle,CSP,GRI,RSA
Broker Associate, Realtor
Coldwell Banker Burnet
rlphyle@cbburnet.com
Cell 612-801-4657
Direct 952-997-1955
Fax 952-432-8372
7741 147th St W.
Apple Valley, MN 55124
www.facebook.com/robphylerealestate
Visit my website to find Minnesota homes for sale