Have you ever considered acquiring a home through a real estate auction? How about a foreclosure?

The Minneapolis Convention Center will be hosting a Real Estate Foreclosure Auction on May 30, 2009 in Room 200

Contact Information:
Real Estate Disposition Corporation
(800) 793-6107
www.ushomeauction.com

Minneapolis Convention Center
1301 2nd Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55403
conv_ctr@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Phone: (612) 335-6000
Fax: (612) 335-6757
http://www.minneapolisconventioncenter.com/

So your looking to sell your house, one of the biggest things you can do before anything else is get the home inspected. Once you receive your home inspection list don’t be discouraged, there are going to be a lot of things on that list. The inspectors will usually spend hours looking through every inch of your house, they will find faults, no house is perfect. The thing to keep in mind is that you need to bring the home up to good condition, not perfect-brand-new-in-the-box condition, just good condition.

Before the inspection takes place do your own inspection. Some simple things to look for are:

• Appliances
• Lighting
• Garage Doors
• Window Operations
• Outlets (Specifically GFI’s)
• Operation of Doors & Locks

Fix all the things you can before the inspection and then have the inspector come in and do their job.

Once completed start going through the list and you’ll begin to see a lot of simple to fix items that you missed during your own inspection. Start with those items and then work on to the bigger ones. Or, if the bigger ones are too big for you, call in a contractor to take care of them. Fix as many items as possible. If your budget is a little tight always fix the most important items first. These items will include:

• HVAC
• Mold & Mildew, if any
• Roof
• Plumbing
• Electrical
• Drainage

Always keep all receipts and records of any other inspections or fixes that you have done while living at the house. This will show potential buyers that you have always done routine maintenance on specific items. Examples are yearly inspections and adjustments on furnaces, hot water heaters, and AC units. Also keep records of any warranty work that was done for appliances.

A good book that I recommend for anyone that is about to have their home inspected or for anyone that wants to do some fixing up around the home is “How to Operate Your Home by Mr. Fix-It“. This book goes over a great deal of information for every home owner to know about their house. It has solutions for common problems and recommendations for maintaining your home.

What is the purpose of this program? FHA loans provide mortgage insurance for a person to purchase a principal residence in metro or rural areas. The mortgage loan is funded by a lending institution, such as a mortgage company, bank, savings and loan association and the mortgage is insured by HUD.

Advantages about FHA:

• Borrower’s credit can be much lower with FHA versus a conforming loan.  I’ve seen approvals for borrowers with 570 scores.
• Borrower is eligible for approximately 97% financing on a purchase and with the Nehamia program up to 6% of the final contract sales price for down payment and/or closing costs.  So you can buy a home with no down payment out of your pocket and get a great rate!
• Eligible properties are one-to-four unit structures, including farm housing located on 2 acres or more of land adjacent to an all weather road.
• Available for first-time and repeat homebuyers.
• Approved for new construction and resale homes.
• Interest rates are as good as conforming rates.
• Borrower can refinance and take Cash Out for up to 95% of the appraised value!!

FHA is a great option for those who do not own other properties and want to purchase a home with little or no money down. It is also great for borrowers who want to refinance and pull cash out of their home up to 95% of appraised value. FHA however is more expensive and not always the best program. To find out what loan program is right for you just give me a call at 612-481-7841 and we can go over your specific needs to find the right loan for you. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more market news.

Eric Ollestad, Mortgage Consultant

work (763) 416-2653     cell (612) 481-7841