Too often, home buyers are disappointed when they find their dream home only to discover they are not able to get a mortgage to purchase the property. There are methods that potential buyers can use to ensure this does not happen to them. One of these options is to ensure you obtain a pre-qualification from your lender. It is important to understand the difference between a pre-approval and a pre-qualification. While both are helpful, they do not carry the same weight. What Are The Differences Between These Options? A pre-qualification allows a borrower to determine how much money they may be able to borrow. For most borrowers, this allows them to start the house-hunting process with a mortgage amount in mind. Borrowers should understand, while the loan amount can be calculated, changes... 06/18/2014

Purchasing an investment property is one of the most important decisions that you'll ever be a part of. As such, it's a necessity to make your decisions with only the most careful of consideration. Here are the six tips that you need to heed in order to ensure that you don't get fleeced. Find The Right Property At The Right Price: Yes, this is a whole lot easier said than done. However, it's not impossible. All it takes is some patience and research. You have to determine what everything in your area is selling for in order to be able to spot a bargain! Further, you need to know that various property classes will outperform each other. For example, land and home units will appreciate differently. Figure Out The Cash Flow: It's always a good idea that you know how to maintain your mortga... 06/18/2014

If you are an entrepreneur or a small business owner, you probably know that there are a lot of advantages to this lifestyle - the freedom, the exciting challenges, the opportunities and the ability to make a living doing what you love. However, you also know that being a small business owner can make some things more challenging - such as apply for a mortgage for your home. Many small business owners find it tough to get approved for a mortgage, because their income can be erratic and the banks want to see proof of consistent earnings over a significant period of time. However, it is possible to qualify for a loan as a small business owner. Here are some important things that you need to know about the process: Ask Your Mortgage Lender What They Look For: If you ask your mortgage lende... 06/18/2014

Growing a home garden creates beauty, oxygen and even food for our families to enjoy. If you're looking to get more from your home garden, here are four easy ways to improve a green thumb. A Good Foundation For Your Garden: Good soil is the foundation of a healthy garden. By using quality soil, you can give your garden plants the best start possible. Adding a variety of organic matter to soil will give plants a happy home to grow in. Add two to three inches of organic matter to your garden bed at the beginning of each season. Compost, dried leaves, grass clipping and dry manure are all good organic materials to use in your garden. Manures provides nitrogen, which is a great contributor to soil aeration and composting efforts. Being so far along in the decomposing process, the nutrients ... 06/17/2014

Buying newly constructed real estate isn't much different from buying an "already used" home. What variances there are, however, can make all the difference between buying a diamond or a lemon.  Here are a few tips to keep in mind when buying new construction: Tip #1: Don't Use The Builder's Sales Agent - Hire Your Own: If they're the builder's agent, they're being paid to represent the builder, no matter what they tell you.  Your own real estate agent, who is representing you, is required to tell you the negatives as well as the positives.  The builder's agent doesn't have to tell you the drawbacks of the transaction. Tip #2: Find Your Own Lending Agency: Again, if you go through the builder, the lending agency may offer you a deal that isn't in your best interest.  In addition, the bu... 06/17/2014

April's meeting of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee was held along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Meeting minutes released Wednesday indicated the committee's interest in "normalizing" its monetary policy. This included the FOMC's ongoing commitment to tapering its asset purchases under its quantitative easing program. The committee agreed to taper the Fed's monthly asset purchases by $10 billion to $45 billion per month. Committee members discussed raising the target federal funds rate, which now stands at 0.00 to 0.25 percent, but the minutes clearly stated that this topic was undertaken as part of "prudent planning, and did not indicate that normalization would necessarily begin sometime soon." The FOMC minutes reflected the committee's concern with... 06/17/2014

Current Home Prices in Maple Grove MN Real estate market data for Maple Grove, MN provided by Myra Jensen, The Jensen Team - Home Marketing Experts of Keller Williams Classic Realty NW  Maple Grove Home Prices   If you are considering buying a home you can still find deals on a house in Maple Grove but having a good real estate agent who understands the market is a must.  Don’t wait on the sidelines for too long, many of our listings are starting to sell within a few days of hitting the market. To make sure you don't overpay for your home, you'll want to have an agent that does a thorough market analysis of the Maple Grove home on which you are making an offer.If you are interested in current inventory on the market in Maple Grove you can find that information by clicking on the link. H... 06/07/2014

Whether you're sprucing up your house to sell or simply looking for a color to bring out the beauty of your home, it's imperative that you do your homework. Before you head off to your local DIY store with a paint sample in one hand and a wallet in the other, you need to ensure that you're picking the colors that are right for your home and your personality. It is true that you can never go wrong with a neutral, but you can also go so much more right with the correct color in the appropriate space, whether it's a neutral or not. Give The Buyers The Blues: Blue is a great calming color and has even been known to lower blood pressure. When a person walks into a blue room they feel tranquil and at peace. Blue is also the color of trustworthiness and dependability, so if you are selling you... 05/29/2014

These days, efficiency and productivity are the keys to life, which is why it's no surprise that home automation is a bigger topic than ever before. As more and more people become tech savvy and get used to working with handheld devices, home automation becomes a natural fit for your smartphone or other handheld device. After all, it's a true pleasure to be able to control nearly everything in your home from just one device! You have so many things to do each and every day that it would be too much of a hassle to do everything separately and to control everything independently. Home automation solves that problem for you. Here are the three iPhone apps that will make home automation tasks much quicker and easier. The Haiku Home Automation App For HAI: Sure, this app will cost you $50, b... 05/29/2014

Each year around April, we can find ourselves becoming a little more tense at the thought of what is about to occur: tax time. Instead of falling into the trap of procrastinating your taxes, however, it's much more beneficial to face tax time head-on and do your research on your applicable deductions well in advance. Your home is good for many things, but using your home to reduce your tax burden may be one benefit you haven't thought of. Here are some tax benefits that can be leveraged with your home, and some ways to lower your tax bill in 2014. Deduct Interest On Home Loans: Though interest paid on personal loans isn't deductible on your tax return, interest paid on mortgages is. Home mortgage interest, for both your primary residence and a second home such as an investment property,... 05/28/2014

Getting pre-approved for a mortgage loan is an integral part of having the ability to purchase a home in today's society. With most home prices well above what the majority of us have in the bank, getting approved for a mortgage can be the deal maker or breaker when it comes to purchasing a piece of property. Therefore, getting rejected for a mortgage can feel like a huge loss. The first thing to realize, however, is that there are action steps you can take to get to "yes." Here's what to do if you're turned down for a mortgage or other home financing. Shop Around: Don't Take "No" The First Time If you get a "no" from your bank the first time around, don't be fooled into thinking that everyone will give you the same answer. Instead, be sure to shop around your mortgage with different ba... 05/28/2014

Homeowners who want to increase the appeal of their residence before putting it up for sale can, within a few hours and with a little elbow grease, perform some do-it-yourself (DIY) kitchen upgrades that are sure to pique the interest of would-be buyers. Many people either have or are in the process of listing their home, so it makes sense to do as much as possible to attract the interest of prospective purchasers. It need not cost a proverbial arm and a leg to boost the selling price of a home. Here are three DIY kitchen upgrades that will help homeowners gain a competitive advantage in the real estate market and get attractive offers for their residence. On-The-Cheap Cabinet Upgrades: For a DIY upgrade project that won't cost much money and won't take much time, homeowners should cons... 05/16/2014

A home appraisal is an independent opinion of your home's value, performed by a licensed home appraiser. Appraisals are part of the traditional home purchase process, and lenders require them for most refinances, too. Appraisers Are Trained Professionals: First, they derive a base for your home's value based on the recent sales prices of homes that are comparable to yours in terms of bedrooms, bathrooms, style, and square footage. Then, accounting for features and amenities that make your home different, the appraiser applies "adjustments" to that base value. This methodology is called the "Sales Comparison" approach and the result is your home's appraised value. It's the most common appraisal method used by lenders. As a homeowner , you can't affect the sales prices of your home's comp... 05/16/2014

  Are you applying for a mortgage on your home? Keep in mind that a mortgage is a major financial decision and choosing one will have a significant impact on the rest of your life. Many people go into this decision without understanding all of the essential mortgage information they need to know, which means that they are likely to make poor choices that will result in paying much more than they need to. If you want to save yourself from throwing away your hard earned money, here are a few common mistakes to avoid: Trying To Bottom Out the Market: Many people will wait too long to make a decision to lock in their mortgage rate, trying to wait until they think that the rates have hit bottom. However, unfortunately most of the time this leads them to wait too long and end up with a higher... 05/16/2014

As economic influences affect the housing market in the United States, there has been the introduction and development of programs to assist with the downturn. During the 2009 economic crisis in the United States that resulted in home prices and values falling, a program named HARP was introduced to assist the many affected homeowners. Harp has since developed and a 3.0 version has been introduced. As a result, many homeowners are beginning to wonder: What will Harp 3.0 mean for homeowners after 2014? The Economic Crisis: Harp 1.0 In 2009: In 2009, HARP 1.0 was introduced. The program was designed to help homebuyers who couldn't refinance their homes because of the sudden and significant dip in home values. It was open to borrowers with loans that were taken out prior to May 31, 2009, a... 05/13/2014

Thinking about ways to engage your children in gardening and educational opportunities outside of the classroom? Creating your very own veggie patch with them is a great way to help them develop interest in the wonderful hobby of gardening! Growing a vegetable garden links together many concepts your children are learning about in school while teaching them the art of discipline, responsibility and delayed gratification. Here are some great tips on how to nurture this project with your children. Choose Pick-And Eat-Vegetables: The joy of being able to eat the fruits of their labors straight out of the garden will be an amazing reward for children. Vegetables like snap peas and cherry tomatoes are great for this. A bonus is that pea seeds are big and easy for those tiny hands to plant if... 05/13/2014

Over the course of a lifetime, financial development can lead to some wonderful opportunities. A person's financial development and state of affairs is something that is particularly important when it comes to taking out a bank loan to further progress in life, and the largest loan most people will require is a mortgage for a home purchase. Since the process of getting approved for a mortgage is heavily dependent on credit history and that three-digit credit score that reflects reliability as a borrower, you should always put forth practices to keep that number healthy and growing. However, how much importance does a credit score hold? Does that magic, three-digit number need to be above 800 in order to get approved for a mortgage? The FICO Score: The Magic Number That Counts: When you ... 05/13/2014

Putting down the largest sum of money at your disposal might seem like the best way to go when it comes to your mortgage down payment. There is a certain amount of truth to this, but the reality is bigger is not always better. Ideally, the amount of money you settle on for your mortgage down payment will take into account your monthly budgeting requirements. The Big Advantages Of A Large Down Payment: Fewer Mortgage Payments: The larger the down payment, the higher the likelihood that you will be able to afford a shorter mortgage. Unlike some of the other benefits of large down payments, ensuring this perk is available to you is solely dependent on whether or not your post-down payment budget will be able to support the necessary payments. Lower Payment Totals: If you choose to stick to... 05/07/2014

The last few years have been financially difficult for millions of homeowners, with job losses and decline in home values devastating families all over the US. As a result, a great number of homes have gone through short sales, which has had a detrimental effect on consumers' credit ratings. If you've considered or experienced a short sale, one of the biggest concerns you may have is how it will impact your ability to purchase another property in the future. Here are five key variables on how a short sale can impact your next home purchase. Duration Of Delinquency Plays A Big Role: Short sale transactions take a long time to complete, depending on the state that you live in and the bank's policies. During this process, homeowners in a short sale may have trouble continuing to make month... 05/07/2014

Believe it or not, paint colors can affect your mood. When remodeling your home, the color you use on the walls can end up being just as critical to the thematic consistency of your home as the furniture you use to decorate it. Before you slap any old color on the walls, take some time to consider what mood you'd like each room to inspire. Red, Yellow And Orange: The Colors Of Excitement, Hunger And Happiness: Ever wonder why the dining rooms, kitchens and entertainment rooms you see in magazines always seem come in every shade of red? It's because these rooms are dedicated to eating and leisure time. Shades of red, especially bright, vibrant reds, have been linked to increased appetite and increases in energy levels. In a similar vein, we have shades of yellow. Typically, yellow hues h... 05/07/2014