Presenting The Lister Sisters!

Ready to have a place of your own, sick of renting, parent’s basement getting you down, failure to launch?

Calling all campers…come and join this fun and exciting class just for First Time Home Buyers and their guests.
Taught by two knowledgeable and experienced Realtors, Kristin Rial and Lisa Pearl as well as our Mortgage Specialist Robyn Kellogg, you’ll walk away with with the knowledge you’ll need to buy your first home. This is a no pressure class, taught with you in mind. We’re teaching what you want to hear and you’ll be surprised. It’s your time to buy!

Saturday-May 9, 2009
10:00 am to 11:30 am
Edina Realty Eden Prairie
11800 Singletree Lane #401
Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Please RSVP-
Kristin Rial 952-210-3121 KristinRial@edinarealty.com
Lisa Pearl 612- 226-4673 LisaPearl@edinarealty.com

For those who need to launch, but don’t know how to do it….

• Falling Home Prices Also Hurting Sales (hsh.com)
• Recovery (dealerdan.blogspot.com)
• Existing-Home Sales Rise for a Second Month (nytimes.com)

Tags: buyers, buying, class, first time home buying, Kristin Rial, Lisa Pearl, real estate home buying seminar, Realtors, Realty, Robyn Kellogg, seminar, Taught

Record low mortgage rates are providing a small measure of stimulus to the troubled U.S. economy as borrowers scramble to refinance their home loans–a move that frees up cash to spend on other items.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that the volume of loan applications has soared since November to its highest level in six years.

However, despite mortgage rates hovering around and even under 5 percent in recent weeks, a surge of buyers back into the housing market is not likely anytime soon, and some homeowners who want to refinance are finding they cannot because of lenders’ tightened credit standards

Tags: buyers, home ownership, Mortgage, motgage rates, Refinancing

Hey everyone who is a first time home buyer.  Don’t miss these fantastic classes taught by none other than Lister Sister Lisa Pearl.  Buy smart! Get informed!

You can attend a one all-day class or a series of four classes.  You will learn how you can buy an affordable home in Suburban Hennepin even  if you have limited income, limited cash, or credit problems. During our Home Stretch: Homebuyers Workshop, we’ll walk you through each step of the home buying process and you’ll receive a comprehensive homebuyer guidebook.

You’ll get information on how much home you can afford, how to identify and overcome barriers to homeownership, and how to find the right home. You’ll also receive valuable information concerning how to identify potentially costly heating, plumbing, electrical, foundation and roofing problems before they drain your pocketbook.  Completion of this workshop may qualify you for special financing, down payment, and/or closing cost assistance.

After you have completed the Home Stretch classes you’ll have the ability to meet with one of our counselors that will address your individual housing needs. These workshops meet or exceed the standards of FHA, Fannie Mae, HUD, Freddie Mac and the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. The cost for all four classes is $20 per person and you must pre-register by calling CAPSH at (952) 933-9639 x281 or by downloading and completing the links below.  We also provide a one-day eight hour class that is $50 and includes lunch.

To Register: http://www.cashenn.org/media/Homestretch%20Registration%20Form.pdf

For more information? http://www.cashenn.org/homestretch.htm

February One Day Workshop – Saturday, February 7
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Eden Prairie

February 11, 12, 18, 19 – Wednesday / Thursday
6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.
Hopkins

March One Day Workshop – Saturday, March 7
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Brooklyn Center

March 27, 28 – Friday / Saturday
Friday 1:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Saturday 8:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.
Hopkins

May 13, 14, 20, 21 – Wednesday / Thursday
6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.
Hopkins

June 12, 13 – Friday / Saturday
Friday 1:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Saturday 8:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.
Hopkins

Tags: brooklyn park, buyers, classes, down payment, down payment assistance, eden prairie, first, first time, hennepin, home, home buyers, home stretch, hopkins, minneapolis, suburban, suburban hennepin, twin cities

Tax Credit Changes Could Unleash Home Sales :

If all home buyers become eligible for a tax credit without a repayment feature, it could result in an additional 555,000 home sales, enough to meaningfully draw down excess housing inventory, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® says.

An evaluation of options for a home buyer tax credit by NAR shows wide ranging implications and benefits. A full credit to all buyers means an additional 2.22 million households would meet the income requirements for purchasing a home, but only one in four of those households would actually make a purchase.

Under the current $7,500 first-time home buyer tax credit, which must be repaid over 15 years, 264,000 households meet the purchase requirements. Using the same assumptions, with plans to hold their home for a median 10 years, it would mean only 66,000 additional sales.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said NAR is advocating a tax credit for any home purchase meeting qualifying underwriting standards. A home buyer incentive is critical to help reduce housing inventory and stabilize home prices, he said. The bigger the incentive, the faster housing can help pull the economy out of recession. The cost to the Treasury would be far less than the additional costs of a prolonged recession with insufficient housing stimulus.

Analysis of other options shows that if only first-time buyers are eligible and the repayment feature is dropped, it could mean an additional 202,000 home sales. If extended to all home buyers but the repayment feature is retained, the gain would be 181,000 home sales.

NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said a flexible approach to the tax credit would have added benefits. A home buyer tax credit also should be allowed to be used as a part of downpayment. This would instantly add an equity cushion for homeowners ” a vested financial interest provides the foundation for sustainable homeownership, which helps improve economic stability, he said.

NAR estimates only 25 percent of newly eligible households would become homeowners, and does not capture the effect of increased trade-up buying activity. As such, these projections may understate the full impact of a home buyer tax credit.

Source: NAR

Tags: buyers, home sales, Housing tax credit, sellers, tax credit

Distraught sellers who need to generate more interest in house that has been languishing on the market for months should consider 10 steps from MSNBC financial guru Laura T. Coffey

• Can the clutter. Pack up knickknacks, pictures, piles of paper and furniture that makes the place look crowded.
• Let the light in. Take down any heavy drapes.
• Scrub-a-dub-dub. Shampoo soiled carpets, Scrub the front door. Repaint scuffed walls. Tidy up the lawn and trim the shrubs.
• Get moving on the “honey do” list. Fix everything that is in need of repair.
• Enhance the view. Erect a fence or plant shrubbery to improve or obscure the view of unattractive nearby properties or streets.
• Try weeknights. Holding an open house on Wednesday may attract a different crowd.
• Ask for criticism. Consult with buyers’ agents for their feedback.
• Send the owners away. Ask them to vacate when potential buyers come around so they can talk freely.
• Rent to own. Give a potential buyer a little credit .Becoming a landlord may keep you from having to shoulder two mortgages.
• Drop the asking price. And figure out the lowest amount you’re willing or able to accept.

Source: MSN Money, Laura T. Coffey (01/06/2009

Tags: buyers, seller tips, sellers, staging