Here’s some interesting graphs on Twin Cities homes for sale/sold over the years. For specific data on the price of YOUR home, give us a call and we’d be glad to give you an in-person analysis! [Read more...]
Buying Homeowners Insurance for your Roseville, MN Home
Buying a home in Roseville, Minnesota is an exhilerating, complicated process. One of the many details you need to sort through is homeowners insurance. Where do you find it? How much coverage do you need? What does it cover and not cover? Particularly for a first-time home buyer, these questions can seem daunting. [Read more...]
Removing the Rose Colored Glasses to Buy or Sell in Hugo, MN
Whether you’re buying or selling a home in Hugo, MN, you may find yourself wearing a beautiful pair of rose colored glasses. Buying or selling a home can be an emotional process, and sellers and buyers have different blind spots that they are susceptible to in a sale or purchase. This article outlines a few of the ways that you can prepare yourself for a successful transaction by taking off the glasses. [Read more...]
Getting the Money Right to Buy a White Bear Lake, MN Home
Looking for a new home in White Bear Lake, MN? Once you’ve made the decision that it’s the right time to buy, it’s so tempting to just get out and start looking. But there is some very important financial groundwork that you should lay before even stepping inside a house for sale. [Read more...]
Tips for Summer House Hunting in Stillwater, MN
We’re mid-way through the summer, and you may be wondering if you’ve missed your best chance at finding a home in Stillwater, Minnesota. The answer is “no”! It’s true that many home owners list their homes for sale in the spring, because many buyers want to be moved into their new homes well before school begins. But there are other advantages to finding homes for sale later in the summer! [Read more...]
Boost the Value of your Forest Lake Home’s Garage
As you prepare your Forest Lake home for sale, don’t neglect the garage! It’s easy to allow garages to become (or remain) catch-all holding tanks for your possessions, especially as you prepare to move. It’s a mistake, however, to treat the garage any differently than you treat the rest of your house as you clean and stage it. [Read more...]
Selling Your Woodbury, MN House? Give it a Bath.
If you’re working on getting your Woodbury, MN home ready to sell, you’re probably getting sick of the phrase “curb appeal”. You want to do everything you can to make your property attractive to potential buyers, but it can be overwhelming to think about all the possibly ways you could spend money sprucing up your house and yard. [Read more...]
Ten Tips for Getting a Good Price on a Home in Center City, MN
If you’re fortunate enough to be looking for a home in Center City, MN, you have many advantages on your side: housing prices are low, mortgage rates are at record lows, and inventory is high. But does that mean that you will automatically get a home for a good price? This article gives good tips on how to evaluate the investment value of any house: [Read more...]
Help Sell Your Lindstrom House With a Gorgeous Lawn
To sell your house in Lindstrom, MN, you need good curb and web appeal. Most potential buyers will be viewing your house online before coming in person for a showing. A beautiful lawn is key to presenting your house in the best light, and achieving it is not as difficult as you might think. Here are some simple steps to getting a gorgeous green lawn to attract buyers:
- Soil - your lawn may become compacted, which will hinder growth. Having it aerated will allow water to seep into the group and soften the soil. Testing your soil’s pH balance is also a simple thing that may be a big difference-maker: if your soil is too alkaline, simply adding some soil amendments may be the thing that allows your grass to grow lush.
- Water - it’s very possible to overdo it. Your grass doesn’t need an unlimited amount of water to grow well. One inch is about right, and doing it early in the morning when there is no wind is the most effective way to avoid evaporation
- Mow - not too short! Most people mow their lawns too close to the ground, and are then disappointed when the first very hot, sunny day of the summer turns their yard into straw. Longer blades of grass absorb more sunlight and grow deeper roots, which prevents them from burning out quickly in the heat.
- Thatch - If you don’t have a mulching mower, you may end up with a layer of thatch on your grass post-mowing. Raking your yard well will allow water to get down to the soil.
- Fertilizer - fertilize twice a year: once in the spring and once in the fall, using a slow-release fertilizer. It will take you about 20 minutes, and is well worth the green rewards! Natural fertilizers have been shown to be more effective than synthetic fertilizers, and are better for you and your family as well.
“Fixing your lawn” can seem like a huge, overwhelming task. Breaking it down into these steps will help make it more manageable; none of these jobs is very difficult on its own, and together they will add up to more buyers looking at your Lindstrom, MN home!
Tips for Buying a Home in Chisago City, MN
Looking for a home in Chisago City, MN? Follow the timeless advice of getting your financial paperwork together and finding a good real estate agent who knows the area well, like us! After that, here are five tips to put you on good house-hunting ground: [Read more...]
Avoid These Landscaping Mistakes to Sell your North Branch, MN House
If you’re working toward selling your house in North Branch, MN, you may be looking around your yard and considering ways to improve your curb appeal. You’re wise to do so – Smart Money magazine indicated that consumers value a landscaped home up to 11.3 percent higher than its base price, and a study by Aspen Environmental Companies found that a landscaping investment is nearly always recovered and can help reduce time on the market. [Read more...]
Short Sale or Foreclosure for your Highland Park Home?
If you are facing the reality of a potential foreclosure on your home in Highland Park, St. Paul, MN, you’re probably considering the option of a short sale. It can be a very confusing process, and one that you shouldn’t attempt without experienced professionals helping you through it – both legal help and real estate help.
Why Use a Realtor to Buy a Minneapolis Townhouse?
If you want to buy a townhouse in Minneapolis, chances are you’re looking at every possible angle to make sure you’re getting a good deal and making a good investment. Let me take a few moments to tell you why working with a realtor is the smartest way to go. [Read more...]
Top Things to Know About Buying a Home in St. Paul, MN
Ready to buy a home in St. Paul, MN? There are all kinds of things you’re likely thinking about. What kind of house do you want? Which neighborhoods are you most interested in? Before you get really invested in thinking through a lot of these kinds of issues, however, you want to have some fundamentals together. [Read more...]
Study These Trends to Sell your Grand Avenue, St. Paul House
Want to sell your Grand Avenue, St. Paul house? You would be well-advised to study recent buyer trends when it comes to home priorities. Ron Phipps, president of the National Association of Realtors, lists several noted trends that show what buyers are looking for. Some may surprise you! [Read more...]
Selling Your Maple Grove, MN Home as a Short Sale
There is good news and bad news on the horizon if you want to sell your Maple Grove, MN home as a short sale. If you owe more on your mortgage than the house is currently worth and need or want to sell, a short sale is quite possibly your best option. [Read more...]
Staging Your Shoreview, MN House to Sell
If you’re thinking about selling your Shoreview, MN house, one of the most important things you need to do is something you can’t do: view your house from a detatched, unbiased perspective. Your real estate agent is someone who can help you make important decisions about the price of your home, and a stager is someone who can help you make good decisions about how to present it. [Read more...]
Why It’s Time to Buy a Townhouse in Cottage Grove, MN
Looking for a townhouse in Cottage Grove, MN? You might be wondering if it’s a good investment. The past five years of the real estate downward spiral in the United States has been discouraging for some, but surveys show that most Americans still believe that buying a home is a good way to invest their money. And with good cause, per the Wall Street Journal. There are indications that 2011 might be exactly the right time to buy: [Read more...]
Mortgage Tips for Buying a Home in Lake Elmo, MN
Should you be in the market for a home in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, you might be facing a chicken or egg conundrum: do you find the house you want first, or first get approved for a mortgage? Increasingly the answer is the latter. [Read more...]
Tips for First-Time Home Sellers in Mahtomedi, MN
If you are selling a home in Mahtomedi, MN and this is your first time as a home seller, the good news is that you have no previous experiences to compare this to. That’s good news because all your previous experiences would have had very little bearing on what it’s like to sell a home in today’s market. [Read more...]
