Tag: Mary Schumann

Apple Valley
Uncategorized

Apple Valley

MaryLeave a comment

Calm down, professor! I’m about to tell you!

A lot of these blog posts are actually motivated by me trying to answer the question “why?” about a particular suburb or area of town. I live in Minneapolis and while I spend time in the suburbs looking at homes for clients or visiting a venue or store, I try to take a bit of a closer look when I do these so I can really understand the character of the different communities around the metro areas.

It’s a Bedroom community – Apple Valley is residential with the exception of the shopping centers serving it along 150th & Cedar & parts of Galaxie. If you want to live near your company’s HQ, this is probably not the place. There isn’t really any nightlife or a a wide selection of non-family style entertainment options. But that’s great if what you are looking for is a quiet community that serves your everyday needs and you don’t mind taking a short drive when the urge strikes to do something else.

It’s only about 25 minutes into Minneapolis and less than 20 to the airport.

How do residents keep themselves occupied?

The Minnesota Zoo is located in Apple Valley. The zoo is great because they actually do more than educate & entertain children, the zoo holds a concert series that has some pretty big headliners and attracts people out of the city down to Apple Valley for some fun as well.

Apple Valley has easy access to Lebanon Hills Regional Park which is the largest park in the Dakota County system. They have really well marked trails that are various distances to get out and get a hike. We’ve been there and had a great time spotting different animals and types of caterpillars. If you’re an equestrian and want a place to ride – there are a lot of trails for you here as well!

The park also has a campground if you want to get a taste of roughing it without driving very far and a beach at Schulze lake.

Galaxie Library is really a gem – big and beautiful and looks to have been newly renovated.

Apple Valley goes for that small time community vibe by having celebrations a couple of times a year to bring everyone together – Freedom Days in summer with the pre-requisite parade and fireworks, but the one that sounds more interesting (and needed) happens in February when everyone in Minnesota has about had it with being cold or in the house – they have what they call “Midwinter Fest”. It’s sad that February is MID-Winter, but who am I to argue? Midwinter Fest has horse drawn wagons, ice skating and ice hockey, bonfires and smores, and indoor activities like pickleball and volleyball tournaments.

About 52,000 people call Apple Valley “home”, and 79% of them are home owners. The median income in Apple Valley is $87,164, and the median single family home price is above the twin cities median at $331,000. However, I thought it was really noteworthy how many townhouses, twinhouses, and condos were in Apple Valley – really great housing diversity. Condos have a median price of $122,000 and Townhomes are at $218,500. Another thing that struck me was that there were a lot of homes that looked to be single-level living and that isn’t the easiest thing to find in the Twin Cities area, so if that is a requirement for a comfortable lifestyle for you, you may want to consider Apple Valley.

And last, but not least, if you have kids and you’re evaluating schools, Apple Valley is ranked an A+ on niche.com. The high schools are really large, but there is a lot of diversity in educational choices for elementary – they have 4 schools that really stood out for specialized programs. They have a School of Environmental Studies, Cedar Park Elementary STEM School, Diamond Path Elementary School of International Studies and Echo Park School of Leadership, Engineering and Technology.

This week I spent some time in Apple Valley and found a couple of neighborhoods that need to be highlighted! Stay tuned for those.

mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703

Getting a win in a seller’s market…
Home Buying · Living in Minneapolis · Uncategorized

Getting a win in a seller’s market…

MaryLeave a comment

oh my gosh… being a buyer right now is like being thrown into the Gladiator pit. It. Is TOUGH. During our team meeting the other day agents that have been at this for many many years are saying that this is the roughest market for buyers that they have EVER seen.

I thought it was crazy last summer. And then I think everyone kind of held their breath and hoped that one “positive” of having a pandemic may be a bit more balance in the housing market. It has not happened.

So, if you want to buy a home in the Twin Cities metro, there are things you need to know and understand up front before you innocently walk into the pit thinking you can take your time, or not be prepared, or ask for seller concessions. Just for fun I’m going to post some screen shots of a discussion we recently had on our office facebook group – a bunch of agents discussing what it’s like representing buyers right now. Hold onto your hats! Horror stories coming!

So what is a buyer to do? Well, I am going to tell you!

  1. FINANCES. The most important thing you can do is to be pre-approved for a loan. Know what you can afford and have proof in the form of a letter that you can attach to a purchase agreement. In addition to this, know that a conventional loan with a decent downpayment or a cash offer are far more attractive to sellers than an FHA loan or another that puts requirements on the seller and indicates that credit may not be as clean as it could be.
  2. SPEED. Do not use one of the big search engines to find a home. Zillow and others are notoriously inaccurate and will not have updated info available in a timely manner. Your agent will set up a search that reflects exactly what YOU want and can set it to send the listings to you immediately. Speed is very important! If you can be the first one to see a listing (or have your agent see it and do a virtual showing as I often do) and put in your offer you are far better off than coming in to a multiple offer situation.
  3. CLEAN. Have as few contingencies as possible. What is a contingency? Well, it’s any barrier to closing the deal. If you have another home to sell, have to get approved for financing, want the home to pass an inspection, etc. Your best bet is to have your financing ready, be able to perform on the purchase of the home without needing to sell, and make your inspection contingency as light as possible. If there are contingencies related to selling a home, you MUST have a contract on that home already and a close date to add to the contract.
  4. CLOSING COSTS. the best approach is to plan to pay them and not ask for seller contribution OR ask for very little, possibly with the sale price elevated to account for it, essentially rolling them into the mortgage. The big catch here is that you’ll pay interest on them over time and the house needs to appraise for the amount you offer if you’re getting a loan.
  5. SKIN IN THE GAME. Earnest money. Here in MN we typically do 1% of the sale price as earnest money. Earnest money is your good faith deposit on a home. If you increase the size of this deposit it shows that you are more serious about the property, and some are even stipulating that all or part will be non-refundable to the buyer for a home that is particularly desirable and in multiple offers. It shows a seriousness about the offer and is a tempting carrot for the seller to know they will get at least X$.
  6. INSPECTION. Make your inspection period shorter if possible. Typical has been 10 days and I really work to still get that for my clients because I work with a lot of relocation clients and traveling to MN or arranging for inspection remedy long distance can be a challenge. That said, sellers want to have a good idea if a deal will go through or if they should take the next offer as quickly as possible so that they do not have wasted days on market without the potential to sell to someone else.
  7. INSPECTION PART II. Request only health and safety remedies. If things are functioning but not brand new, that is acceptable. No house is perfect. EVERY house has flaws, even brand spanking new ones. One of the best favors you can do for yourself is to get the inspection as early in the inspection period as possible. This is important for a couple of reasons: 1.) if the house doesn’t come near to passing inspection in your opinion, you can exit the transaction and be on to the next one as soon as possible and 2.) if you request remedies, there is time to work with the seller on it and not be forced into a corner. What I mean is that if you get an inspection on the last day of the period and require remedies (fixes), if the seller doesn’t respond to that request by the end of the period your options are to a.) accept the original agreement as written (no fixes) OR b.) cancel the agreement entirely. In this market that favors sellers 100% because they likely have another offer waiting and are fine with a cancellation.
  8. MOVE IN DATE. From a risk perspective, you always want to take possession of the home at closing. However, your best option for getting to that point is knowing what the preferred closing date is for the seller if you have any wiggle room at all. Many of them are being cast into the same pit to find a home and may need some extra time to do so, knowing their preferences up front may sweeten the deal for them because having that uncertainty may be worth more than money.
  9. *LETTER. This one can be a tipping point or make no difference whatsoever. If you write a letter to the seller telling them why you love their home and neighborhood and how you look forward to caring for it and enjoying it in the way that they have. Avoid mentioning anything to do with protected groups and focus on what you love about the house and area and what made you pick that home. Most people have some emotional attachment to their home and want to feel that they are passing it on to someone who will care for it.
mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703

Is your kid headed to the U?
Home Buying · Living in Minneapolis · Neighborhood Tours

Is your kid headed to the U?

MaryLeave a comment

In the past couple of months I’ve had multiple people contact me as they explore housing options for their kids as they head off to college – either as an undergraduate coming from overseas to attend college in the US, or somewhat more locally, students from other parts of the US to pursue a graduate degree here in MN.

One parent in particular said that he had focused on tuition costs while saving for college and didn’t really give much thought to the fact that housing alone would be another $1000-$2000 / mo. Ouch. And that is to share a dorm room with between one and 3 other people.

So, maybe you start to think about renting an apartment instead? Well, rents here are not any better even if your space may be larger. Is renting a space the best way to spend your housing dollar? Possibly! But another thing to think about is buying a place and reaping the rental rewards for yourself, while enjoying possible tax benefits and putting your dollars toward an asset that you can eventually sell.

I used nerdwallet to see if this would be a “smart” move and made some assumptions – one that you’re buying a condo or a home with a purchase price of $300K and that because your family member is living there that you can put 20% down (not 25% as in an investment property). I also assumed that the interest rate would be around 3.5% which is actually HIGH for loans these days if you have decent credit. Why the BIG arrow and the underline and the exclamation point? Well, look at that payment!

This week I viewed condos that could have 3-4 students in them and were NICE listed at around $300K, walking distance or easy public transit to the U and they were getting $3000/mo in rent.

I’m quite literally sitting here wishing that I had $60K to put down RIGHT NOW so I could buy that condo and start bringing in an additional $1500/mo in rental income. (ok – this is a goal of mine for my own kid and yes, she’s only 12, and, ok, she may not attend the UMN, BUT!!!, I still have deep desires for income properties near the U.)

Median sales price in Marcy Holmes by the U over the past 3 years compared to the Twin Cities as a whole.

MLS / Infosparks 6/26/2020

I even like this graph that shows that days on market are longer there – more of a buyers market! 🙂

MLS / Infosparks 6/26/20

OK – today’s video is a little tour of the area. I hope you like it. Let me know if you have questions!

mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703

Four things to love about the Tangletown neighborhood!
Living in Minneapolis · Neighborhood Tours

Four things to love about the Tangletown neighborhood!

Mary1 Comment

I’m staying closer to home this week and highlighting another great neighborhood in south Minneapolis. I like to drive through here and let my jaw hang open looking at all of the beautiful homes.

#1 The homes…

This neighborhood is just chock full of very well cared for old homes. If you like the character and quality of homes built in the 1920’s, Tangletown is the place. Watch the video for a peek at the homes there, or just take a gander at the photo for this post which I took on a walk a few days ago.

Tangletown also has a row of Lustron homes along Nicollet Ave. One came up for sale last year and I was able to view it. It was like walking into a museum show piece – the owner had kept everything original and used period furnishings as well, but added a private outdoor patio / entertaining space that was ogle-worthy. If you’ve never seen a Lustron home read this article written about that particular home. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love that there is still room for different home styles and tastes.

Photo credit to Creator: Benjamin Clasen 
Copyright 2019

If you are looking for history and charm this neighborhood should be at the top of your list. And it’s positively bucolic – the winding streets, well landscaped yards, terraced gardens, and mature trees give you the very best of what a city neighborhood can offer.

#2 I love a walkable neighborhood!

This is definitely a residential area, but as is typical in Minneapolis you’ll see little corners within neighborhoods that have a coffee shop, cafe or little boutique of some sort. On the larger streets – Nicollet, Lyndale or 50th there are little shopping centers and more to offer.

Tangletown has within its borders: Kowalski’s grocery, Starbucks and Caribou coffee, one of the best stocked liquor stores in the city – South Lyndale Liquors. If you need some obscure liquor to make your special cocktail they likely have it, along with a large selection of local craft beers. The Washburn library is a friendly place with a wide selection of books and activities and they are happy to help you get a copy of whatever you’re looking for brought to this branch. On Nicollet you can get your bagels or other fresh breads and sandwiches at Sunstreet Bread or St. Louis Bagelry. I like to throw a little love toward the local Ace hardware stores here too – Tangletown has one, and I have found them to be the most helpful places to buy whatever you need for your home. If you want some farm to table food and an outdoor patio – head to Wise Acre Eatery. And one of the best garden shops in the city – Tangletown Gardens – is located right next door.

And schools are walkable too! Washburn High School and Justice Page Middle School are located within Tangletown.

#3 Bike paths!

Ok – this isn’t unique to Tangletown, but they are right on one of the BEST bike paths in the city. The one that follows along Minnehaha Creek and connects the chain of lakes to Minnehaha Falls.

I should probably change the heading to “Minnehaha Creek” because it’s not just the path, but the creek itself. We often walk along the path and my dog loves to jump in for a swim. People also kayak or float on inner tubes down the creek in the summer. Just make sure you get off the creek before you hit the falls!

Last year I saw some kids fishing there and they pulled out an ENORMOUS fish. And it wasn’t the largest caught in the creek – check out this story from MPR on a monster sturgeon caught in the creek last year:

Photo from Owen Sanderson

#4 Easy Access to Downtown

If you live in Tangletown you can be in the heart of Minneapolis in literally 10 minutes via the freeway (35W). Your commute can’t get much better than that.

So you get that neighborhood feel, walkable amenities, outdoor fun AND easy access to the more urban parts of Minneapolis.

Where it’s at!
Median home prices for Tangletown over 3 years as compared to TC Metro
mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703
Ahhhh… Victoria. Seriously one of my very favorite towns!
Living in Minneapolis · Neighborhood Tours

Ahhhh… Victoria. Seriously one of my very favorite towns!

MaryLeave a comment

I don’t live there, but I think it would be way better than a sharp stick to the eye. (My mom says that… sorry if you’re grossed out).

I do, however, spend time in Victoria whenever I get the chance.

My favorite things to do there are camp in the Carver Park Reserve – it’s not crowded, it’s clean, there is a really nice little beach, and a LOT of walking/hiking trails.

I also like camping there because it’s short trip into this adorable town for a civilized lunch, a glass of beer and / or an ice cream cone. I like my camping with a side of delicious food that I don’t have to cook. Haters… save it.

Victoria is located near the Landscape Arboretum and the UMN Apple House so you can get first dibs on the apple crop. Minnesotans are very in tune with apple varieties and that may be because the U breeds apples (is that the right term?) – they experiment and develop new varieties. Love your Honey Crisp? Thank the UMN. Into SweeTango’s … UMN.

Anyway – I’ve been out there a lot lately and not minding a bit. Check out what Victoria has to offer. Let me know if you have questions or ideas about another place you’d like to see. 🙂

mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703
Chaska!
Neighborhood Tours

Chaska!

MaryLeave a comment

I’ve been viewing and showing homes a lot in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities lately and one of the suburbs is Chaska. It’s super charming!

Chaska, MN

Chaska has a sweet old historic downtown. It’s beautiful and you can imagine grabbing an ice cream an spreading a blanket out on the lawn to listen to a band play in the gazebo. The buildings are primarily made with what I think of as Chicago style brick -and I LOVE that.

Chaska has a really lovely park with a beach, event space, and playground. And this charming downtown is surrounded by some older homes, but primarily newer subdivisions.

Short post – but watch the video to see what Chaska has to offer! Let me know if you have questions or drop a comment below, I’d love to know if there are other neighborhoods or topics that you’s like to know about. 🙂

mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703

Living in Minneapolis

My summer Twin Cities to-do list!

MaryLeave a comment

I’m posting this on Memorial Day and it’s the start of summer, but we have some different challenges to deal with this summer while we still try to have as much fun as possible in the warm weather. So with that in mind I am presenting my list of 6 things to do this summer that are really fun and still allow for social distancing. #6 is INSANE and the one I most want to do. 🙂

Best things to do in Minneapolis / Best things to do in the Twin Cities
Minneapolis has palm trees! NOT

#1: Regular theaters are closed, but this may mean the rebirth of the drive-in! Minnesota still has several that have hung on and our love of movies and lack of theaters may be the shot in the arms that these theaters need. 🙂 My first pick is the Elko Drive-in theater. No, it’s not down the street from my house, but it’s more than a movie. Its a DRIVE-IN! When I was a kid my mom used to take us in the station wagon and we had our sleeping bags in the back and snacks ready. The “kid” movie was usually first and then they would play one for adults – thinking kids would have knocked out by then? The beauty of it then was that you paid by the car, not the person. Mom loved this. Unfortunately, Elko prices by the person $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12 & under. You can see what’s playing here: https://www.elkospeedway.com/drivein/

Minnehaha Falls

#2: Minnehaha Falls & Sea Salt Eatery

If you’re in the city head over to Minnehaha Falls and walk the trails. You can really work your glute muscles by climbing the stairs back up from the Falls when you’re done, about a 100 steps – you can challenge your family & see who wimps out – and even if they do they still have to get up there somehow, so see ya at the top! If it’s hot out you can wade in the creek and cool off – there are little “beach” areas that allow you to easily get in and out. While this year is not the same as past years and you won’t get to gather and listen to music and share picnic tables while drinking beer… (memories!) you can still order carry-out from Sea Salt Eatery and pick it up from the window and take it to a spot for a picnic. Check out Sea Salt’s online ordering here: https://www.seasaltmpls.com/

Chillaxing (I know that’s not cool. I’m not cool)

#3 Rent a Pontoon!

Pricier, but a lot of fun if you have up to about 10 people that you want to spend the day with is to rent a pontoon boat and spend time on the water and the beaches of the St. Croix River. It is a MASSIVE river that borders MN, and it’s only about a 40 minute drive to get to Stillwater MN or Hudson to rent one. We have done this several summers in a row. You can take your food on board and just hang out and relax all day long. We love it as a way to bring the “water culture” of Minnesota to guests. It’s especially nice because it appeals to all ages – my senior citizen mom loves it as much as my daughter.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

#4 Bike the Midtown Greenway or bike paths

Even if you’re just visiting the city, this is a nice way to spend the day and there are day use bike rentals all over the city – our service is called Nice Ride https://www.niceridemn.com/ . It’s great because you never have to loop back to where you started, you can drop your bike at any station and grab a meal, or catch an Uber or a cab to where ever you want to go next. I love that this is an option now – for people that live here and want to use it for transportation or if you want to explore the Greenway, Grand Rounds bike trails around the lakes, or even make your way through the city in the bike lanes.

#5: Walker Art Center – Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

If you just want to wander and take in some art, the sculpture garden is a great place to go. They recently rehabbed the entire park and added a lot of new art that you can interact with. Then stop in the Walker or okay some mini golf nearby as well. And if you feel like exploring a little more, cross the bridge over the freeway and you’ll be in Loring Park – another little gem in Minneapolis.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

#6 (this is my favorite) Drive a tank!

I am so intrigued with this idea. I’m not very interested in anything military, but the idea that you can actually DRIVE A TANK?!?! That just sounds FUN!!

It’s on my bucket list. I really wish I had first hand experience with this one. I would love to hear from you if you do!

They have changed their offerings a little bit for this year, but hey. Still looks awesome. It’s located in Kasota MN, which is about an hour south west of the city, but it seems like an experience worth driving for!

https://www.driveatank.com/

What are your favorite things to do in the Twin Cities?

612-234-5703
Maple Grove
Neighborhood Tours

Maple Grove

MaryLeave a comment

I decided to do my latest neighborhood tour on Maple Grove, MN. It was like trying to eat an elephant in one bite. Maple Grove isn’t a “neighborhood” – it’s a city of over 60,000 people, so … I’ll call this an overview? Summary? Drive by? Basically, I was a little ambitious about what I thought I could include in one video.

Maple Grove Minnesota

In the video you can see the housing stock that is available – from a planned community surrounding Central Park including everything from apartments to townhouses and larger single family homes. I love the idea of having community space for a neighborhood to gather and enjoy, and this community space was really nice. A lake, a skating ribbon, playground, basketball and tennis courts, a farmers market every week – just so much to appreciate! The neighborhood is really close to 2 major shopping centers as well.

Maple Grove also has very easy access to freeways for commuting – it’s probably about 20-30 minutes to downtown Minneapolis during rush hour and far less when not. So you can get in and out of the city for Twins games or festivals relatively easily.

The other aspects that really appealed to me were access to giant lakes – big enough for motorized boats and water skiing, as well as Elm Creek Park Reserve. Elm Creek Park is part of the Three Rivers Park District – I was a fan of it before because we have found their trails to be really well marked, the camping uncrowded and clean, the parks are easy to access from the Twin Cities… but I had never been to this one. It is so nice! They have skiing and tubing in winter, disc golf, an off leash dog park, camping – in camper cabins if that’s your thing!, an enormous and amazing playground, a manmade swimming area, bike and roller blade paths, picnic areas… If I lived closer I would probably be there every week for one reason or another.

The homes that border the park are older and similar to what you see in many other suburbs of Minneapolis – ramblers or split levels.

Other things that stood out to me are the library – drop dead gorgeous! And HUGE. As well as the community center and all of the things that Maple Grove provides for its residents – from a pool to 2 hockey rinks and senior citizen services. If this is a suburb you’re considering at all – check out their web site and just start to get an idea of all the things that Maple Grove has. If the suburbs are your jam – I would say that Maple Grove should be near the top of the list.

City of Maple Grove https://www.maplegrovemn.gov/

612-234-5703
Buying a home – online!
Home Buying

Buying a home – online!

MaryLeave a comment

Dr. appointments are held via telemedicine & Zoom calls. My cousin just ordered a CAR online and had it delivered to her house. You may now be buying your groceries online for delivery or curbside pick-up. We also buy just about everything from Amazon, pajamas for my kid, water filters for my fridge, I’ve even ordered a new antennae for my old VW Beetle from Amazon! We read a lot in our family and the libraries are mostly closed with some drive up options, but now we do kindle and download (I know that’s old hat, but it’s a new way for us).

Would you ever consider buying a home online?

This topic likely could have been one of the first that I put on my blog, but sometimes you do something so much that you forget that it’s unusual! Covid is bringing a lot of attention to it right now – a friend sent me a copy of this article in the Wall Street Journal about the fact that buying without seeing a home in person has gone from 3.5% of agents saying that they have done a contract this way to a whopping 31% in April of this year! All I could do was nod my way through it.

Buyers do this when they are in the military, moving from overseas, or simply relocating from another state. Obviously at any point a visit is welcome, but if it’s not possible then there are ways to make it work.

I know people start shopping for homes that way – they like to visit the big online portals for listings so that they can see what homes are for sale, see pictures, get information on taxes and prices etc.

I have a good understanding of the difficulty of relocation because of my personal history of moving from state to state for fun or job relocation and also knowing how hard that was without being able to piece together what life looked like – most especially when I moved to Minneapolis from Chicago, which had much higher stakes for us, we had a kid changing schools, no family here, homes to sell and buy…

I started my YouTube channel and have focused a lot on showcasing neighborhoods and homes of every price and type, as well as trying to show a bit about what life is like here in Minnesota.

I thought I would help people like me.

And I *AM*!!

I regularly get calls or emails from people that are moving to Minneapolis for work, school, medical care or just because they want to, and they are coming from every part of the United States and across the world. They may be thinking of renting at first or may also be ready to buy a home here.

So, how do you buy a home from a long way away? Well, it’s definitely not the same as when you’re here in person, and the most important thing is to find an agent that you can trust. Agents always act as your partner in the purchase of a home, but when you are buying from a distance this is far more important. Your agent will be able to give you the information that you need before making a decision. This can be data on sales, rising and taxes, information about what schools are there, to just being able to provide you with video and commentary on what is in the area.

A very important aspect is that you are very open and clear with your agent as to what you prefer and what things are important to you in a home. I’ve had clients that were very specific about wanting 2 acres of property in the south suburbs, to those that prefer a high rise in the heart of downtown and everything in between. For out of town clients I preview all homes for them and take a video tour. In some cases, I’ll look at anything available in their price range that meets their criteria – listings sometimes aren’t enough to decide. More than once I have bought a home that I didn’t even think I wanted to see based on the photos. If nothing else, this gives a very clear picture of the competition and a better idea of what to offer once you’ve narrowed down your choices.

You’ll still need to do all the basic things like get pre-approved for a mortgage (easily accomplished ONLINE!) so you know how much you can afford to buy. But after your preferences and budget are clear I generally try to do the following:

  1. Set up a search on the MLS for you. People generally seem to love Zillow, but I believe that is probably because it’s what is available and people are used to it. It is also notoriously inaccurate. The best thing to do is to have an agent set up a search that meets YOUR criteria. This can be very specific – certain streets, specific layouts (ranch, 2 story, town house…), school districts. This is tailored specifically to YOU.
  2. When you have an idea about neighborhood, I will film a neighborhood tour – this gives you a good sense of what the neighborhood looks like, what the streets look like, what businesses are there, is it very residential or mixed with industrial? Do you want to be able to walk or bike ride? What about public transportation and schools? Any funky smells? I can show these to you and you’ll have a private link on YouTube to look from afar.
  3. When you find the neighborhood that you like and narrow down the homes, we can take this a step further. Agents always present their listings to the best advantage in pictures, but does this always match reality? No. So again – a video tour of the home, inside and out so that ALL aspects of the home and its situation are available for your evaluation – closets, basements, the street, the back yard. This can be on a video link or through Facetime so you can be “present” on the tour.
  4. If the home is acceptable and you decide to move forward video can continue to do its job. The inspector may take video or your agent can attend in your place and video the inspection. This is helpful because you can pause at any time and rewatch as you like – it gives you some time to process what you’re seeing and hearing in the video. Sometimes inspections can feel overwhelming if it’s a first time buyer, but this actually gives you a way to slow it down.
  5. We already do so much of our business on line – we sign contracts and loan docs, transfer money, search for homes, communicate often and easily via text or msg, this is just the last piece. You can likely close remotely assuming that signatures are notarized or witnessed, and you’ll be able to get keys either sent to you or held for pick up when you’re ready.

It’s always best if you can see the home yourself. Then you KNOW. But if you can’t, that doesn’t have to stop you from getting a home for yourself.

You just need to find an agent that is used to working remotely and is willing to put in the time to show you what you need to know to feel comfortable with your decision. I personally find this to be a really satisfying client to serve – it gives me a new perspective on my city and I get to welcome new residents to a place I love.

Are you in this situation? I’d love to help you out. Contact me or leave a comment with questions!

mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703
Steps to building equity in your home…
Home equity

Steps to building equity in your home…

MaryLeave a comment

What is equity?

Equity is your ownership stake in the house. If your home is worth $300,000 and it’s paid off, you have have 100% equity in the home or equity of $300,000. Most people do NOT have 100% equity in their home, they may have put a 20% (or if it’s an FHA loan 3.5%) down payment and then owe the balance (80% or 96.5%). But that isn’t the end of the story. Beyond whatever your original down payment is, you can build “equity” in a home by doing what you can to improve the value of the home as well.

Most homes will increase in value over time and that means that beyond paying down principal, equity will increase as the home’s value increases because the value increase is YOURS and nothing to do with any debt to a mortgage company.

To use a very simplistic example: If a home’s value increases at 3% per year and the home was valued at $100,000 when it was purchased, the following year it would be valued at $103,000. You owe less on your loan because you’ve been paying down the principal AND if you were to sell your home would it likely get $3k more than it would the year before, and that money is yours.

Here are some ways to increase the equity in your home:

Pay more than you need to on your mortgage.

This is a great option if you don’t have debts that carry a higher interest rate than your mortgage (pay off the highest interest rate debt first), if your home appreciates faster than your 401K or if you aren’t tight on money month to month.

Talk to your lender to make sure that extra payments will go specifically toward principal and then consider either adding additional money to your payment or trying to make at least one extra payment per year.

Here is an example of interest savings and reduction in the life of the loan by making an extra payment, or simply paying a little more each month from Bankrate.com

Here’s an example of how prepaying saves money and time: Kaylyn takes out a $120,000 mortgage at a 4.5 percent interest rate. The monthly mortgage principal and interest total $608.02. Here’s what happens when Kaylyn makes extra mortgage payments:

PAYMENT METHODPAY OFF LOAN IN …TOTAL INTERESTTOTAL INTEREST SAVED
Minimum every month30 years$98,888$0
13 payments a year*25 years, 9 months$82,870$16,018
$100 extra every month22 years, 6 months$70,944$27,944
$50 extra every month25 years, 8 months$82,452$16,436
$25 extra every month27 years, 8 months$89,864$9,024
*Extra $608.02 payment
https://www.bankrate.com/mortgage/prepaying-your-mortgage/

Refinance to a shorter term loan.

People often only think in terms of a 30 year loan on a home, but you can finance a home for 15 years at a lower interest rate and pay off your home in half the time. Even better, those aren’t your only 2 choices – you can ask for any term that you like and that will make the rates work for you. Not every lender will have that flexibility, but the ones I work with have been offering off term loans as well.

One thing to consider with this option is that you will have a higher payment that you are obligated to make. You’ll be committed. In the first scenario that I mentioned where you pay a little more every month it’s voluntary and you can set it up to do so automatically so you don’t have to make that decision every month, but you can also stop it if your financial situation changes.

Renovate the interior.

Simple things like fresh paint and new light fixtures can go a long way to improving the value of your home and your equity in it. You don’t have to make it look like an HGTV star lives there – simply having relatively modern fixtures and a home that looks clean and well cared for goes a long way.

If you do choose to do a more extensive update, kitchens and baths are where you’ll see the biggest return. This assumes that you choose a style that is not super trendy or likely to appeal to only a small subset of buyers. Keep things relatively classic and as high quality as you can afford.

Add curb appeal.

Many buyers make their decisions within seconds of seeing a house. You may not be a gardener, but taking care of the exterior of the home goes a long way. No chipped or faded paint. Flowers in pots or well maintained beds. Make your entryway look inviting by having a fresh paint job on the door & quality fixtures. Keep trees and bushes pruned back away from the house and the lawn well cared for and not overgrown. It’s weird that free or inexpensive things like trimming trees and planting flowers can have an impact, but value is also about perception. Square footage is one thing, but condition is another.

Any deferred maintenance on the exterior makes alarm bells ring loudly to buyers and appraisers.

Why does equity even matter?

Well, it doesn’t, unless it does to you. One reason it could matter is if you’ve purchased a home with less than 20% down and want to get out from under PMI. If you are able to increase the value of your home over time or with improvements, you can have the property reappraised and potentially get rid of PMI. If you had an FHA loan you would be required to refinance, but the same theory applies. And, hey! If you had an easy time making your mortgage while paying PMI, pretend you still have it and throw that $100/month at your mortgage principal instead.

Some people want to be debt free, and home mortgages are typically the largest debts we carry. Ridding yourself of a house payment as soon as possible as well as reducing interest payments is a good thing if this is your goal.

Or maybe you use your home as a form of savings account in addition to whatever else you’re doing and plan to sell it when you retire and use the proceeds to buy your beach bungalow or cabin. Or you have kids that will be going to college and you want to be able to use some of the equity in your home to pay for it.

Whatever your goals are, these are a few ways to help you get there.