Longfellow Nokomis Real Estate Guide

Too Busy to Blog

Dear Blog,

I'm soooo sorry.  This Spring has been crazy busy, and you've paid the price.  Good homes in popular neighborhoods are being snapped up like it's 1999.  But really Blog, it's not my fault.  If more people with good starter homes would put their homes on the market at appropriate prices, then I could get my buyers into those homes and have more free time to spend with you.  We could blog about which businesses haves closed (Firefly, Isabel's, Re Gifts) and which have opened (Nokomis Yoga, Nokomis Pet Clinic, Pizza Joe's).  We could post pictures of the first blossoms of Spring.  But alas, more of my Nokomis and Longfellow neighbors will need to take advantage of this market first.

Housing Shortage?

What?  That's crazy!  Haven't you heard the news?  It's a buyers market, the market is flooded with foreclosures, and banks aren't lending money.

Well maybe not.  First, banks are lending money.  I've yet to have one qualified buyer turned down for a loan.  Underwriting is taking a little longer, and sometimes they are raising issues the day before closing, causing a delay, but they are still making loans.

Second, listings are down.  Plus a big portion of the listings that are out there are in foreclosure and in poor condition.  Because of changes in the lending industry, first time buyers are almost exclusively buying with FHA loans.  FHA has certain requirements for the condition of the homes it will back a mortgage on.  Most of the foreclosures don't qualify.  So the fanciable inventory is down even further.

Third, who wants $8000?  Any guesses?  Give up?  The answer:  everyone.  This means more buyers.

This is creating a situation where the number of qualified buyers is out growing the number of attractive fanciable well priced homes.  We are seeing homes sell in a week, in a day, in a few hours.  They are all well priced homes, so don't confuse this to mean that your home is actually going up in value.  Buyers still have high expectations for what they can get for the money.  But your chances of selling may be better than you thought.

April Fool's Day: The Sequel

This weather is just horrible.  If you remember, it snowed last year on April Fool's Day too.  Although last year it was pretty.

http://www.minneapolislongfellow.com/2008/04/april-fools-day.html

New Look, New Dog, New Pizza...same old weather (includes Pizza Joe's review)

A week of change!  We've been working on updating the look of this site and went live with it on Sunday night.  Here it is!  You're looking at it.  It's not perfect, but I think that's okay considering that we help people buy and sell houses for a living, not design websites!  Let us know what you think.  Like it? See a glaring error?  Tell us that too!

Second, my family and I adopted a new dog on Sunday.  He was formerly known as Chevy Chase, but we have fittingly renamed him Clark W. Griswold.  He's a ~7 month border collie/lab mix.

He is very exited to meet all his neighbors around Lake Nokomis and the Minnehaha Dog Park.

And lastly, news for everyone in the East Nokomis area.  I tried our new pizza joint last night.  Pizza Joe's moved in to the space formerly occupied by Ginelli's.  Ginelli's was a favorite of my neighbors and mine.  Would Pizza Joe's successfully replace it?

Well so far so good.  We tried to order on their website and ran into some errors.  When we called to follow up, they were unbelievably nice.  The manager was clearly excited at a chance to make some new customers.  We ordered two pizzas:  a build your own with peppers, onions, and mushrooms, and a sausage.  We had our choice of three different crusts and went with the "hand tossed."  Both pies were well received.  The sauce was good, the toppings fresh, the cheese gooey, and I heard from the others that the sausage was good. 

Was it as good as the late great Ginelli's?  Well...no.  But it was better than any of the chains for sure.  It held up well against the local joints too. I like the choices and flavor of Parkway Pizza better, but their bitter crust cannot be eaten alone and you end up with a plate of "pizza bones."  And Pizza Joe's was cheaper!  I'm not a huge fan of Joey D's..err...I mean Chris and Rob's pizza, but I know that others are.  I guess I could see myself order from any of the them depending on what I'm in the mood for and what crowd I'm feeding.

Welcome to the neighborhood Pizza Joe's!

The Tax Credit is like 52 card pick up

The members of the house and the senate stood across from each other and on the count of three, both bodies threw their decks of cards into the air. Now the cards lie on the floors of the house and the senate, waiting to be picked up and sorted out into one cohesive deck.

Ben wrote about the $7500 tax credit and how things will play out still remains to be seen. The language in the house bill is for 2009 transactions, and the language in Senate bill is for homes purchased after the President signs the legislations.

I'm passing on a chart for you to download that was included in my email this morning from the Minnesota Association of Realtors. All of this is subject to change as the language in the bills are ratified to be the same. Language, start dates and benefits are all subject to change. But, here's what the deck of cards looks like now:

Download HomebuyerTaxCredit.pdf (224.5K)

What Can I Do To Help With the Economical Crisis?

Well if you have lots of money and job security, go on a shopping spree!  And try to by local products at local shops.

But if you're just doing okay and have a stable home environment, adopt a pet.  They are the silent victims of the foreclosure crisis.  Many families have had to give up their dogs and cats in order to find a new place to live.  There have even been stories of families visiting their beloved pets at the shelter until they were adopted.

If you are looking for a animal companion, please consider adopting a pet from a humane society or other shelter instead of from a breeder.

www.animalarkshelter.org

www.midwestpetfinder.com/minnesota_shelters.htm

What's Up With This $7500 Tax Credit?

Good question.  Congress has been passing laws faster than the industry knows what to do with them.  The current law, as was passed last year, gives a $7500 credit on your tax return for qualified first-time buyers who purchase a home between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009.  Except it isn't a credit.  It's a zero interest loan that must be repaid on your future taxes over the next 15 years.

As you can imagine, this did little to stimulate the housing market.  It doesn't increase your ability to purchase a home.  It just makes expenses easier to handle once you're there...eventually...when you get a refund...that you pay back.

The new stimulus plan that passed the house on Wednesday turns that credit into a...CREDIT!  If the bill becomes law, that $7500 would become a straight-forward credit on your 2009 returns.  It would retroactively include purchases made since January 1, 2009 and extend through either June or August (depending on the bill). 

Will this simply be a windfall for the qualified first-time buyers who were going to buy anyway?  Or will this be enough incentive to convince someone on the fence to buy?  It still won't give you $7500 to use towards your down payment.  But knowing it's there in 2010 may just be the assurance you need, that you can afford to buy in this well priced market.

Yesterday I wrote about inman news saying we were in for more foreclosures. Today, the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors released very specific information about foreclosures and a much better picture of how foreclosures are effecting the different MLS districts. One of the "scientists" behind the data is Edina Realty's very own Aaron Dickinson

See the roreclosure report here to see how foreclosures effect where you live.

More Foreclosures?

I've tried to duck under tables, hide behind closed doors, and cower in dark corners. No matter where I've tried to hide myself, the foreclosures and short sales have found me. I've done my best to conquer the demon and have gone to classes, and studied under agents who specialize in these kinds of transactions so I can represent my clients to the best of my ability. That doesn't mean I like them. I don't. These transactions are difficult, and often take a toll on the sellers (in short sales) and buyers. It takes a bank months to do what a good real estate agent can do in a week.

One of my clients, a first time home buyer, is looking for a foreclosure. He needs to keep his monthly payments down and doesn't mind doing some work on the house. He commented to me "It seems there are more houses coming on the market now." My response was "Yes, the suits are back from their holiday hiatus and are now ready to go to work to unload the inventory they've gathered up over the holidays."

An article this morning in inman news is predicting even more foreclosures to hit the market (again, remember this is a national newsletter and may not reflect what's happening in the twin cities metro). Even though my clients are not economists, nor do they have crystal balls, they are noticing the trend here in the Twin Cities.

I met a first time home buyer over the weekend who was looking in Minneapolis for a foreclosure. He was shocked to find out there were offers on two of the homes we looked at. If you're going to be in the market for a foreclosure this spring put on your running shoes. You're going to need an agent who watches the market very closely for you, prepares you for the ups and downs of dealing with these difficult transactions, and you HAVE to be ready to write the offer as soon as you see the house.

If Inman News' prediction is correct, the foreclosures we'll see come on the market will be listed at fire sale prices. There will be buyers who will think they can get the house at clearance prices, and a few will. The majority will sell at fair market value, because they'll end up with multiple offers that will drive up the price.

The buyers who will win in this market have a great agent, are pre-approved with a NON-fha loan, have reasonable expections for how long the negotiation process will take, and aim to get the house at a fair market price.

2009 U.S. Pond Hockey Championships

The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships return again to Lake Nokomis this weekend (January 23-25), and it sounds like an icy blast of arctic air will arrive just in time to scare away any thin skinned spectators.  The website for the event even includes safety tips for cold weather!

And remember, it was warm weather than brought the tournament to Lake Nokomis in 2007 from Lake Calhoun.  The ice just wasn't good enough after the mild winter.  We're glad to see them back here for a third year.  I bet the new Caribou will do a lot of business this weekend.  If you want to help out a local coffee shop, try crossing over the lake to Nokomis Beach Coffee.  Great coffee and locally baked pastries will surely warm you up.  Plus hot soup and sandwiches!