LOGO

I am so excited to get my logo on a sweatshirt. !! Today I received my products with my "My Realtor Michelle" logo. How fun!! I have made logos before but this one is special for me. It symbolizes what I am trying to acheive. I want to be my client's Realtor. When people think about who their most trusted confidants are, they should think about people who have their interests at heart. Their Lawyer, Accountant, Doctor and Realtor. I want to be my family, friends and clients Realtor. Why? Because I am up to date on the market and I know that by working with me, my clients will get the highest quality in Real Estate professionalism and value.

Behind the scenes at HGTV

I had a blast being the Realtor Expert on HGTV's, "Band For Your Buck". The show looked at 3 homes in the Minneapolis area, all spending the same budget on their Lower Level remodel. I had to determine what their return on investment would be. Meeting the families and the crew from HGTV was a wonderful experience. What surprised me was..... that they really did want the drama! I really couldn't be wishy washy. I had to love something or really not like it. I think they wanted a definitive position from both the designer, myself and the homeowners. Also, they shot 40 minutes of tape to 1 minute that they actually aired. There was a lot of room to edit. The real purpose of the show is to help homeowners get a return on the money that they are spending on their home renovations. This may seem obvious, but most people renovate and decorate for themselves and their families needs. They only really care about the return when they are ready to sell. Then , homeowners assume if they spend $100,000, a buyer should realize this and pay them $100,000 extra, when they sell their home. It doesn't work that way. If you plan to stay in your home for many years, do whatever makes you happy. If you are planning on selling in the near future, consult a professional Realtor so they can advise you on current trends, your local market statistics and the biggest bang for your buck, so that you can get the largest return on your investment.

How's Business?

I hear this everyday. My answer is: it is great if you are a Buyer and want to trade up or buy a first time home. Or, if you have substantial equity in your home and are a realistic Seller. I can help everyone find the best house, in their price range, on the market. How to find those people who are willing, ready and able to buy...that is the question...

Hera Hoepa Guidelines: "Here's a hoepa it a closa's."
July 30th is the drop dead date for the change from old practices to new . What Hera Hoepa is really saying is, let's do business, the way we should have in the beginning. Tell people who are buying a home exactly what they will be paying for the duration of their loan and tell them clearly and timely, so they will fully understand their major decision to buy a home.The bottom line is: It may take longer for our buyers to successfully close on a home, which will effect the Seller and the next buy and the next Seller etc...The onus will be on the Realtors to insure those appraisals will come in at PA, or above. This means the Listing Realtor needs to continuously do current comps and price correctly. The Appraisers who now cannot communicate with the financial concerns, will have to be very good at their knowledge of the area and fully understand the current comps.Communication is always the answer. Managing expectations and being the expert will benefit your clients.
Posted by myrealtormichelle at 6:16 PM 0 comments
Thursday, July 16, 2009

Waiting on a Loan Modification?
Waiting on a loan modification? Those who put large down payments may be dissapointed.If you are making less money now than when you purchased your home a few years ago and wanted to refinance to enjoy lower rates, but are self employed, you may be finding that hard to accomplish.Here is the scenario:You bought a home, in 2006, that you could afford, and you put down over 20%, and you thought the interest only product for 10 years, sounded good. Now, you are having a lack luster year as a self employed individual. Your property values have plummeted. You contact your bank because you have heard that President Obama is trying to help homeowners who have high interest only rates and cannot afford their payments. You are told that each case is looked at individually and if you send in all the paperwork, you may get a loan modification or other help from the "Make Homes Affordable Program". You wait 30 days, then 60 days and you keep getting calls from people that have NO information for you, but just want to tell you, "We are still working on your individual case". At least these people have jobs.You finally ask more questions and realize this:Because you put down a large down payment, over 20%, and now have a principal amount, which is significantly less than you paid for the house, you will not be helped like the homeowner who paid little or nothing down on an interest only loan.The bank IS reviewing the files exactly on the same criteria,across the board!!!! What is your current home value compared to your current principal mortgage balance . They are not looking at what you paid on the home initially, and how much you have already lost on the property.Yes, they look at debt /income ratios but I feel the investors are not distinguishing between how much the homeowners have already sunk into their homes.I feel that this is an inequity, punishing homeowners for actually putting money into their homes !!
Posted by myrealtormichelle at 12:05 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, July 15, 2009

This 3 Month Period

I do not have a crystal ball. Ironically, I am watching "Bewitched" as we speak. Though I do not have a crystal ball , I am going on the record to say that this 3 month period , will go down in history as one of the best times to buy a home in Minnesota. The perfect storm of low home pricing/low interest rates will be only a favorable memory come next year.
If you are looking to trade up or sell, this is it.
One more prediction. The feeding frenzy next Fall, will be on every headline in town , ( if we are still reading the papers) The 1 st time home buyers will be leaping at every home they can afford. The thought of losing the $8,000 stimulus credit will create a buying craze.
What a fun time to be in Real Estate.
If you know anyone who wants to Buy or Sell or Invest in Real Estate in Minneapolis. Please have them call me, I will take care of them.

Coffee,Open Houses and such

I am gearing up for an Open House , drinking coffee and wondering what the day will bring. It is exciting to not know who I could meet today. That is the exciting part. It is a bit peculiar,sitting in someon else's house opening the door to strangers. My Mother warned me about this sort of behavior. In between the , hopefully, many people that will stop in, I will be trying to get work done on my computer, think about cleaning my messy house, and when I will find the time to get everything done. However, I will relish in the few hours, that I sit in a clean house and hope for the buyer ,who won't have a Realtor, that will walk in and say those magic words," I want you to be my Realtor, and I have cash"

Today I start to Blog

Thanks for reading my Blog.
I am excited to share my stream of consciousness blog with you about Real Estate, my life and my ideas.
I may throw a crazy story about my day or something I am thinking about that I would just like to share with you.
I promise to always be original and not to get on a soap box too often.
Hopefully, this will be a fun way to bring information and a smile to all who read.