The Brainerd Lakes Real Estate Blog

Helping make real estate dreams come true How long must I have worked before applying for a loan? Two years of stable employment at the same employer or continuous employment in the same industry. What do I need to have in the bank?  Have 6 to 8 months of PITI (principal, interest, taxes, insurance) in the bank as seasoned funds. What should I not do?  Do not buy a new car less than 6 months prior to applying for a mortgage or make any major purchases using credit. Credit report tip:  Check your credit report prior to applying for a mortgage so you can fix any errors. Places to apply:  Look into getting approved by a FHA approved broker/lender. This will be easier to qualify than having 20% down payment.  If you are shopping for a real estate agent in the Brainerd Lakes area of Minnesota, work with Kathleen Lordbock of Keller Williams Realty Brainerd Lakes, a licensed agent who knows about the current market trends, financing options and credit ...

Helping make real estate dreams come true     Have you received a Notice of Default on your property?  What are your plans?  Do you plan to walk away or do you want to try a Short Sale which has much less damage to your credit and helps you save face? You need a plan of action and if you want to buy some time, stay in the home until it sells and save up some money - then contact:  Kathleen Lordbock REALTOR/Staging & Short Sale Specialist  Keller Williams Realty Brainerd Lakes Don't just walk away - there is hope, there is help!

via brainerdlakesblog.blogspot.com Posted via email from Kathleen Lordbock's Posterous

CRAVAACK CALLS ON OBERSTAR TO RESIGN AS HEAD OF HOUSE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE ST. PAUL -- Congressional candidate Chip Cravaack today called on Rep. James Oberstar to resign as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee because he has failed to take  any useful  action in the two months since an oil well began to poison the Gulf of Mexico. “ During the worst environmental disaster in American history, Jim Oberstar has been asleep at the helm of the House Transportation committee ,” Cravaack, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, said. “ No skipper has been so slow to act since Joe Hazelwood was sleeping it off in his bunk during the Exxon Valdez crash in 1989 .  It is time for Jim Oberstar to step down as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.” Oberstar is chair of the committee which oversees the Coast Guard and is responsible for federal management of emergencies and oil po...

Helping make real estate dreams come true     Reuse   By Paige Tepping RISMEDIA, July 15, 2010-       Most of us know the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle, but when we work on conserving, we often leave reuse out of the picture. While you can often find tips on how to reuse common products from other people, what you need most is creativity. With a little thought, there are many items around your home that can be reused—toilet paper holders can be used to sow seeds for the vegetable patch, old yogurt containers can be cut into strips to make plant labels and old food jars can be refilled with homemade foods or can make great impromptu vases.      Check out your local Habitat for Humanity's ReStore for some great buys on used or slightly damaged donated new items. They even have stuff that is in perfect condition at perfectly good prices. Have you received a Notice of Default on your property?  What ar...

Helping make real estate dreams come true Getting Ready By Paige Tepping The appraiser will need approximately 30 minutes to one hour to complete the inspection phase of the appraisal process, which includes: exterior photos of the front and rear of the home and a photo of the street in front of the property; measurements of the exterior of the home, garage and any outbuildings; a walk-through inspection of all rooms and levels of the interior of the home including the basement. Get organized. Put together a checklist that will help you get ready for your appraisal and get the results you're looking for. Be flexible when scheduling the appointment. Have a copy of your home’s blueprint to help verify measurements and lot size. Provide a list of improvements made to the property since the purchase. Improvements that should be noted include adding a pool, patio, updating your kitchen or bathroom and any room additions, etc. Allow your appraiser access to the entir...

Helping make real estate dreams come true Have you received a Notice of Default on your property?  What are your plans?  Do you plan to walk away or do you want to try a Short Sale which has much less damage to your credit and helps you save face? You need a plan of action and if you want to buy some time, stay in the home until it sells and save up some money - then contact:  Kathleen Lordbock REALTOR/Staging & Short Sale Specialist  Keller Williams Realty Brainerd Lakes Don't just walk away - there is hope, there is help! Can You Prevent Internet Scams such as others stealing listings and posting them as rentals? It would be nice but you probably can not. This is very common on the Internet now days. One scam you may not have heard of involves stealing a listing's for sale information and photos and then the thieves run ads that the house is for rent. They run the ads on free websites like Craigslist. Their hope is that someone out of state might be i...

Helping make real estate dreams come true   Have you received a Notice of Default on your property?  What are your plans?  Do you plan to walk away or do you want to try a Short Sale which has much less damage to your credit and helps you save face? You need a plan of action and if you want to buy some time, stay in the home until it sells and save up some money - then contact:  Kathleen Lordbock REALTOR/Staging & Short Sale Specialist  Keller Williams Realty Brainerd Lakes Don't just walk away - there is hope, there is help!

Helping make real estate dreams come true The Law of Liberty from the Institute for Creation Research July 4, 2010   "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." ( James 2:12 )   On Independence Day, Americans should give thanks to the Author of liberty that we have been privileged to live in this "sweet land of liberty," where we can worship God freely, in accord with His Word. Liberty is not license, however, and the essence of the American system is liberty under law. Fundamentally, that law is "the law of nature and of nature's God"--the natural laws of God's world and the revealed laws of God's Word. Within that framework we do have liberty--but not liberty to defy either the physical law of gravity or the spiritual "law of liberty." The latter is formulated in Scripture and has been applied over the centuries, in the English common law and later...

Helping make real estate dreams come true! Homebuyer traffic nationwide tumbled in May, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Monthly Survey of Real Estate Market Conditions. Most of the decline was attributable to first-time homebuyers who sharply reduced their home shopping last month. The survey's first-time homebuyer traffic index, which measures home shopping activity on a scale of 1 to 100, registered an anemic 35.1 in May. This was down from an index of 63.5 in April. Since September 2009, the index had never been below 50, which represents a flat, or neutral, condition in home purchase activity. “The decline of first-time homebuyer traffic is undoubtedly related to the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit,” stated Thomas Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. “Homebuyers had until April 30 to sign a purchase and sale agreement and receive the credit. Once we entered the month of May, the government stimulus disappeared.” Have you ...

Helping make real estate dreams come true RISMEDIA, July 1, 2010--FHA Pros, LLC, a national FHA condo approval service, has developed a list of facts speaking to the top misconceptions associated with FHA loans in order to help home buyers better navigate an already confusing market. FHA loans are mortgages issued by qualified lenders and insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). “We have seen home buyer interest in FHA loans go from practically zero three years ago to upwards of 87 percent today,” said Christopher Gardner, founder and president of FHA Pros, LLC. “Despite this rapid rise in popularity, many buyers still do not fully understand the benefits of these loans, and we believe it’s time to change that.” 1. FHA Loans Are Not Only For Lower-Income Borrowers. FHA loans are available to everyone. In fact, even Bill Gates can get one. There is no maximum income restriction associated with FHA loans. Borrowers do need to substantiate income and asse...