Selling a home today in Roseville can be a big challenge, especially considering that nearly half of the competitive listings are short sales or 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. Roughly half of the closed sales in the curret MN real estate market has resulted from “traditional” home sellers. Are you in the search for help to sell your home in Roseville?

Benefits of Using A Realtor To Sell Your Roseville Home

It’s never been more important to work with a Roseville 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 will need to look at all of the homes for sold within the past few months to determine what the actual sales prices have been. By doing so we can estimate what price a home buyer might pay for your house within a reasonable period of time.

The challenge for many sellers today is 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, going through the process of a short sale, or listing the current house for rent and in order to move to another one. With the rapidly rising rents in today’s market home sellers are often finding that they can cover all of the investment expenses for the home through the income from the rental.

Lenders have specific guidelines to follow for those Roseville home sellers who will rent out their home 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.

Once we meet to discuss your home’s current market value it is critical that you go through the process of getting preapproved for mortgage financing on another home. Your mortgage lender can help you decide which of the options are best whether renting or selling your current house. The process of mortgage preapproval is generally 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 MN FHA loans, VA, conventional, or other types of loans.

Living in Roseville, Minnesota

There are many great reasons to consider living in the City of Roseville. As one of only two cities with contiguous borders to both St. Paul and Minneapolis, residents have a convenient commute to a wide variety of employers. Homeowner’s in Roseville also enjoy some of the lowest property taxes in the area partly due to its commerically-zoned land. Home to the original Target and Best Buy stores, Roseville is a major shopping district and has more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the Twin Cities. Students in the area attend one of the schools in the Roseville Area Schools system, District 623. If you are thinking of buying or selling Roseville real estate agent please give me a call or send me an email.

The Call Is Free

If you want to learn more about selling your Roseville home call me. I will arrange a time to come out and complete a market analysis of your home for free. We will discuss your options available in the market today. Feel free to email or call me.

Shawn Hartmann
Licensed Realtor in Minnesota
Keller Williams Realty
shawn@hartmannteam.com
Direct 651-468-9099
2680 E Snelling Drive North
Roseville, MN 55113
With a focus on Saint Paul Homes for Sale

Do you want to learn about how you can buy a homes in Roseville? The process of how to buy a homes can be confusing for many people, especially for the MN first time home buyer. Since the process can be a bit complicated I would like to share with you some tips of how to accomplish your goal.

How To Buy A home in Roseville

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

Search for a homes in Roseville on my website

When you search for homess in Roseville on my website you will find all of the property listings from all of the real estate companies. 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. One of the other things I can do is to set up an advanced search for you so that I can notify you by email when listings in your price range come available.

Get Preapproved To Buy A homes in Roseville

How will you know what price range for a home you should be looking for? In order for you to know the amount of monthly payments you will have for a homes in Roseville you will want to get a preapproval letter for a mortgage loan. This is the important first step in the process for how to go about buying a homes in Roseville 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.

After you have been preapproved I will take you out to look for homess in your price range. I usually suggest that we look through at least 15 or more of these before you buy one. By doing this you will get educated on homes that are a good value to buy. When a home comes available that meets 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 have made your offer it normally takes about 30 to 45 days before closing. Throughout this time your lender will collect all of your documentation they require from you to complete your loan commitment. Additionally they will order an appraisal on the home to estimate the value based on the sale of other homes. They will also order a title policy to make sure the title to the home is clean.

After your home loan has been completely approved you will ready for closing. At loan closing, all of the involved parties get together to sign documentation and to give up property keys and welcome you to your new home. After you have gone through closing on your home you will now be a homeowner!

A Brief Overview of Roseville, MN

There are many great reasons to consider living in the City of Roseville. Located in Ramsey County, and with borders touch both St. Paul and Minneapolis, residents have a convenient commute to a wide variety of employers. Homeowner’s in Roseville also enjoy some of the lowest property taxes in the area partly due to its commerically-zoned land. Home to the original Target and Best Buy stores, Roseville is a major shopping district and has more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the Twin Cities. Students in the area attend one of the schools in the Roseville Area Schools system, District 623. If you are thinking of buying or selling Roseville real estate please give me a call or send me an email.

Do you believe you’re ready to start the process of searching for homess? Just send me a quick email as I am glad to help you begin your search for a homes in Roseville!

Shawn Hartmann
Licensed Realtor in Minnesota
Keller Williams Realty
shawn@hartmannteam.com
Direct 651-468-9099
2680 E Snelling Drive North
Roseville, MN 55113
With a focus on Saint Paul Homes for Sale

One of the common ways of financing a purchase of Como real estate is through FHA (the Federal Housing Administration). This federal program started back in the Great Depression to help with a situation like we have today when foreclosures were on the rise and buyers struggled to come up with a large down payment. FHA loans have many advantageous guidelines for both the MN first time home buyer as well as the homeowner who is renting out their current home to buy another.

Como FHA Loans: Not Just for First Time Home Buyers

While the years of the zero down payment loans have gone away for most of us, Como FHA loans offer down payments as low as three and a half per cent of the purchase price. This fact along with the fact that most negotiated offers today involves seller paid closing costs allows you to get in for a much more reasonable entry cost. This is also helpful for current home owners who are selling their home with little or no equity and need to buy their next one with a small down payment.

FHA loans offer more expansive credit guidelines as well. Home buyers who have struggled through some credit challenges may qualify for FHA whereas not a conventional loan. Unlike conventional loans which have big pricing adjusters based on the home buyers credit scores, rates and discount points with FHA loans vary only slightly based upon the borrower’s credit score.

One compelling fact about FHA mortgages is called assumability. This means that in the future when you are ready to sell, the new home buyer of your house may have an option to take over your mortgage if they qualify. This would be a great selling feature to your home if market interest rates are higher when you go to sell your home than they are today When the buyer of your home assumes your FHA loan they make up the difference between your sales price and your loan amount through a down payment.

First time home buyers in Como may benefit through beneficial interest rates and down payment assistance programs through the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. This state program buys FHA loans and makes use of FHAs special program features which allow for second mortgages on the home to be used for reducing the buyer’s entry costs. While maximum income limits apply for this program, a traditional FHA loan does not have maximum income limits.

First Step In The Process

For many Minnesota first time home buyers the big question is where do I start? Your very first step to home ownership is to get preapproved for a mortgage. In so doing you will find out how much you are qualified for so that we can research homes in a price range with comfortable payments for you.

Como Park Information

The Como Park neighborhood is situated in the northwestern part of Saint Paul along the northern city limits. It is bounded by the communities of Falcon Heights and Roseville on the north and west. Nearly 2 million visitors are attracted to the Como Park Zoo every year. With plenty of affordable Como Park homes for sale, this is a great place for MN first time home buyers.

If you are interested in buying a Como home using FHA financing, just send me an email or give me a call. With great rates and low prices today, it is a great time to be a home buyer!

Shawn Hartmann
Licensed Realtor in Minnesota
Keller Williams Realty
shawn@hartmannteam.com
Direct 651-468-9099
2680 E Snelling Drive North
Roseville, MN 55113
With a focus on Saint Paul Homes for Sale

Have you been hearing and reading about all the Minnesotans who have bought their first home in recent months? Are you tired of paying for the mortgage payments someone else’s home (your landlord’s)? If you are, you may want to consider learning more about buying your first home in North Saint Paul. With record low mortgage interest rates along with special MN first time home buyer programs, monthly payments haven’t been this affordable in years.

North Saint Paul: Community Info

The city of North Saint Paul is one of the more mature suburbs in the Twin Cities area with older homes and well planned neighborhoods. Conveniently located in the eastern metro, North Saint Paul is conveniently located in Ramsey County. With a population of about 11,000 living in North Saint Paul is a little like living in a small town, but has all the benefits of the Twin Cities. With an ample supply of affordable housing, the city of North Saint Paul can be a wonderful place to search for homes for the Minnesota first time home buyer. If you want to search for housing in North Saint Paul please give me a call to discuss the opportunities.

Financing Options

There are a wide variety of mortgage loan programs that may benefit you as a MN first time buyer. The most common are FHA loans which allow you to get into a home with as little as 3.5 percent down. A program designed for American’s veterans are known VA loans, a program with as little as zero down payment. If you find a home with Fannie Mae’s Home Path logo, you might qualify for their 3% down Home Path loan which does not require mortgage insurance. Your mortgage lender will help find the best program based upon your loan qualifications.

Down Payment Assistance

In addition to State of MN down payment assistance funds many local communities offer programs of their own as well. Each of these programs vary in terms of qualifications required to access the funds. Depending upon when you are reading this these programs may or may not be funded so we can check on it when you call me.

Get Preapproved for Mortgage Financing

The first part in the process of buying a house s to get preapproved for your home loan. This simply means that you talk with a local lender who will review your credit, income, etc. In doing so they can tell you what types of MN first time buyer programs you might be qualified for. This first step can usually be done right over the telephone and most lenders will even do this with you when you are off from work.

There may never be a better time to buy North Saint Paul homes for sale. If you are tired of the steady increase of rent payments take this opportunity now to learn more about the benefits of becoming a first time home buyer. I’ve worked with many MN first time buyers before and am always eager to answer all of your questions. Simply give me a call or send me an email and let’s see what might be possible!

Shawn Hartmann
Licensed Realtor in Minnesota
Keller Williams Realty
shawn@hartmannteam.com
Direct 651-468-9099
2680 E Snelling Drive North
Roseville, MN 55113
With a focus on Saint Paul Homes for Sale

Are you in the planning stages to buy your own home in Phalen, Minnesota? There are some simple things that I would like to share with you about Phalen real estate to help ensure you avoid some of the bigger mistakes that many first time buyers make. With some very basic preparation you can avoid some painful pitfalls.

5 Tips For Phalen First Time Buyers

1) Get preapproved for your first time home buyers loan first! I have met far too many first time buyers who find their home before they get prequalified for a home loan. It can be an extraordinarily painful experience to go through the work of searching for the perfect home only to find out you are not yet ready to qualify for a loan. You can get preapproved with my preferred MN mortgage lender right over the phone. There is no cost and no obligation so why not start the process of preapproval immediately?

2) Get educated about the process of home buying early on. You can learn a great deal at a first time home buyer seminar or at a Home Stretch Worshop available through many communities around the Twin Cities. There is so much to know about the home buying process that it is well worth it to learn as much about it as you can and as early as you can.

3) Get a house inspection on the house you are planning to buy. While a home inspection is not required it can reveal major potential problems in the house before you are fully committed to the purchase. I will help you negotiate a transaction with a contingency upon a professional home inspection that is satisfactory to you so that if it comes back bad, you can back out of the transaction. Some first time buyers will skip buying the house inspection because of the cost involved. The inspection cost is cheap when compared to making a purchase of a home with so many problems that it becomes a money pit.

4) Take good care of your credit after preapproval. After you have received your preapproval for mortgage financing your MN mortgage company still might need to check your credit again. Make your payments on time and do not open up new debts. Additionally, avoid additional credit inquiries after your preapproval to avoid a reduction to your credit score.

5) Do not spend your down payment money prior to loan closing. Your mortgage banker will give you a good faith estimate at loan application including an estimate for how much money you will need at closing. Just save your money so that you’re not caught short at closing.

Phalen Community Info

The Payne Phalen neighborhood of St. Paul, MN is also known as the “Greater Eastside”. Nearly a half-million visitors are attracted to the lovely Lake Phalen every year, one of the largest lakes in St. Paul. Just a few minutes away from downtown St. Paul, Phalen residents enjoy a quick commute to many major employers. With a variety of affordable Phalen homes for sale, this is a great neighborhood for the Minnesota first time home buyer.

MN First Time Buyers First Step

For many MN first time buyers the big, intimidating question is where do I start the process? Your very first step to home ownership is to get prequalified for a home loan. By doing so you find out how much of a loan you are qualified for so that we can research homes in a comfortable price range.

Shawn Hartmann
Licensed Realtor in Minnesota
Keller Williams Realty
shawn@hartmannteam.com
Direct 651-468-9099
2680 E Snelling Drive North
Roseville, MN 55113
With a focus on Saint Paul Homes for Sale

How to Find homes in South Saint Paul

There are a few ways to find homes for sale in South Saint Paul 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. In this post I’ll share with you the benefits and challenges to each of the different methods of search for homes for sale in South Saint Paul.

Finding South Saint Paul homes For Sale On The World Wide Web

One of the first places to start is to go to my website to search for all of the available homes from all of the local brokers, with all of the available information. The large national search engines leave out many of the most important details such as property taxes due to the 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 you want to search for South Saint Paul homes without such an important detail? Please got to my website and start searching for South Saint Paul homes listed on the market today.

Search for South Saint Paul homes Via Email

If you are currently searching for a South Saint Paul 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 via email with new property listings that meet your advanced search critieria whenever they become available. Because I need to know the critieria of what you are searching for (for example: 2 bedroom homes in South Saint Paul between $165,000 and $215,000), please send me an email so that we can begin the advanced search process.

A little education goes a long ways, doesn’t it? If you can get exactly the listings you want to see via email such as my customized search provides why would you need anything else? The Guesswork and Luck strategy involves using the large national websites with limited information! Without a customized approach to searching for the house that you want to buy, I find that too many Minnesota home buyers rely on the strategy of Guesswork and Luck.

South Saint Paul: A Great Place To Live

Just south of downtown Saint Paul, MN you will find the great city of South Saint Paul. Steeped in Minnesota history, South St. Paul is one of the historic major meat packing districts of the United States. Located in Dakota County, first time home buyers can possibly benefit from the Dakota County first time home buyer program. With a highly active Park and Rec program in South Saint Paul it seems there’s always something to do! With plenty of affordable housing available this is a great place to search for homes for the MN first time home buyer. Ready to look for homes in South Saint Paul? Please take a moment to give me a call or send me an email!

Get Preapproved for Mortgage Financing

The first step in the process of buying a home is to get prequalified for financing. This means that you meet with a local mortgage lender who will review your financial situation. In doing so they can tell you what types of MN first time buyer programs you might be qualified for. This important first step can be done right over the phone and most lenders will arrange to talk with you when you’re off work, even in the evenings or weekends.

Looking For South Saint Paul homes?

Please understand the strategy you are implementing to search for a home which is possibly the biggest investment you will make in your lifetime. I highly encourage home buyers to be proactive and to take control of the stategy for home searches. Please take a moment to visit my website and find all of the available South Saint Paul.

Shawn Hartmann
Licensed Realtor in Minnesota
Keller Williams Realty
shawn@hartmannteam.com
Direct 651-468-9099
2680 E Snelling Drive North
Roseville, MN 55113
With a focus on Saint Paul Homes for Sale

Roseville Rental Homes: Should I Rent Or Buy A Home?

If you are searching for Roseville rental homes, let’s pause for a minute and consider the difference between renting homes versus buying. 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 a home? Roseville rental homes will have the advantage that you can get out of the lease contract in 12 months. Remember,however, there is a cost to this advantage , in that your rental payments will often exceed those of a house payment. Additionally the rental deposit may well be in excess of the entry cost required for buying a home after considering all of the down payment assistance programs available. Finally, perhaps the real cost in renting is the fact that you are helping someone else buy their home with your rental payments helping make THEIR house payments.

Benefits To Looking For Roseville Rental Roseville

The advantages may certainly be worth it, despite the high cost of renting, to rent if you have plans on moving again at the end of your lease. 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 Roseville homes for the First Time Buyer

With all of the benefits 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.

Get Preapproved Today

The first step in the home buying process is to get preapproved for mortgage financing. This simply means that you talk with a local lender who will review your financial situation. 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.

A Brief Overview of Roseville, MN

There are many great reasons to consider living in the City of Roseville. As one of only two cities with contiguous borders to both St. Paul and Minneapolis, residents have a convenient commute to a wide variety of employers. Homeowner’s in Roseville also enjoy some of the lowest property taxes in the area partly due to its commerically-zoned land. Home to the original Target and Best Buy stores, Roseville is a major shopping district and has more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the Twin Cities. Students in the area attend one of the schools in the Roseville Area Schools system, District 623. If you are thinking of buying or selling Roseville real estate please give me a call or send me an email.

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 Roseville versus buying a home. I encourage you to take the first step which is to email or call me.

Shawn Hartmann
Licensed Realtor in Minnesota
Keller Williams Realty
shawn@hartmannteam.com
Direct 651-468-9099
2680 E Snelling Drive North
Roseville, MN 55113
With a focus on Saint Paul Homes for Sale

One common financing option for buying Falcon Heights real estate for Minnesota home buyers is available through the VA. This type of financing has increased nationally by about 20% over the last couple of years due in part to the increasing number of our Minnesota veterans returning from the service. Additionally with the loss of other options for zero down payment loans in Minnesota, the VA offers a benefit that offers eligible buyers a unique opportunity to buy their home with no down payment.Many veteran home buyers misunderstand the fact that they may use their VA financing benefit multiple times. As a result veteran home buyers do not necessarily need to be a MN first time home buyer in order to use their VA eligibility. This can be a great solution for current homeowners who want to sell their home despite having minimal equity. Since they will be able buy their next home with no down payment with a Minnesota VA loan they can sometimes afford to sell their home without receiving any proceeds from equity in order to buy the next.

Falcon Heights veterans should discover two things to see if they will be eligible for a VA mortgage. First they should research if they are eligible for a Certificate of Eligibility through the Veteran’s Administration. They can apply for this online or even just through their Minnesota mortgage broker. There are several categories for eligibility and I encourage veterans to check with the VA or to research their eligibility online

The Certificate of Eligibility grants a guarantee to the lender which will pay off some of the losses to the lender if the home goes into foreclosure. This guarantee is paid for by the veteran home buyer in the form of the VA funding fee which is typically financed on top of the mortgage loan. The funding fee is waived for veterans who have service related disabilities.

Falcon Heights VA Loans: Get Preapproved for Free

The second thing a veteran must determine is if they qualify for the standards of the VA home loan. I encourage all veterans to talk with a local mortgage lender to get preapproved for Minnesota VA loans before we go out hunting for Falcon Heights homes. By going through the preapproval process the banker will review your financial situation to determine if you meet the requirements for VA financing. This important first step is usually free and requires no commitment to buy on the part of the buyer. In fact, many mortgage lenders offering VA loans will do this right over the phone, even on weekends when you’re off work.

Falcon Heights: A Great Place to Own A Home

The City of Falcon Heights is located just north of St. Paul in Ramsey County. Known as the home of the Minnesota State Fair, the city of Falcon Heights is also considered the best educated city in Minnesota with over 70% of its residents with bachelor’s degrees. First time home buyers may benefit from Ramsey County’s First Home down payment assistance program. With convenient access to the University of Minnesota and downtown St. Paul living in Falcon Heights has both recreational activities as well as employment opportunities. If you are thinking of buying or selling Falcon Heights real estate please take a moment to send me an email or give me a call!

If you are a Falcon Heights veteran and are interested in buying your first home feel free to give me a call or send me a quick email. Whether you have a home to sell or are ready to buy your first, VA loans can be a great way to buy a home in Falcon Heights. With interest rates at record lows combined with reduced property values many veterans are finding that it is cheaper to buy a home than to rent!

Shawn Hartmann
Licensed Realtor in Minnesota
Keller Williams Realty
shawn@hartmannteam.com
Direct 651-468-9099
2680 E Snelling Drive North
Roseville, MN 55113
With a focus on Saint Paul Homes for Sale