Real Estate Information

"Defaulting on the Dream: States Respond to America's Foreclosure Crisis" is a must read for home owners struggling with their mortgage.

Produced by the Pew Charitable Trusts as the first detailed dissertation to chronicle the impact of the foreclosure crisis at the state level, the report is chock full of "where-to-go-for-help" advice.

"The stakes are incredibly high. Home ownership is the primary vehicle through which American families build financial security. It also is an essential building block of state and local economies," according to Pew managing directors Susan Urahn and Shelley Hearne.

Their timing is impeccable. One in 33 current U.S. homeowners may be headed toward foreclosure in the coming years because of subprime loans, and in some states the crisis is more acute. In Arizona, one in every 18 homeowners could lose their home. In Nevada, the ratio is one in 11, according to the report.

The report charts some assertive, even experimental state efforts to mitigate financial harm to homeowners, lenders, local communities and state budgets.

The report also explains the foreclosure process and lists home owners options when they default (become more than 30 days late on a payment) on their mortgage.

 

• Bring the account current by paying the past due balance on their loan, including late charges and other fees assessed by the lender.

   

• Renegotiate the terms of their loan with the lender.

   

• Pay off their loan by refinancing the loan with another lender.

   

• Sell the property to pay off the current loan, if the home is worth more than the mortgage. Or if the property is not worth the mortgage balance, engage a "short sale" where the lender forgives a portion of the debt provided a seller is available to buy the home.

   

• Voluntarily convey the property back to the lender through a deed–in-lieu of foreclosure.

The report also lists a host of relief efforts, some on the state level, some not, some well known, some not so well known, including:

 

• Homeownership Preservation Foundation creates partnerships to help families overcome obstacles that could cause foreclosure.
• National Consumer Law Center uses consumer law to promote marketplace justice for vulnerable home owners and families.
• Minnesota's Foreclosure Prevention Assistance Program provides eligible state home owners with counseling and financial assistance.

Check with your state housing, consumer, social or community agencies to determine what home owner and mortgage programs and assistance is available to help see you through hard times.

Published: October 30, 2008

In a competitive market, it’s a price war and a beauty pageant. Banks and foreclosures have the luxury of competing on price. Traditional resale homes must compete on condition and amenities. The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors has conducted a comprehensive study using our local MLS statistics. They separated the foreclosure type property from traditional resale homes. The findings tell the tale of two markets. Where foreclosure properties average sales prices are considerably down, traditional resale properties in most areas are down single digits. As you are blasted with information from the internet, television and newspaper, remember that all real estate is local, from metro area to city/community down to your neighborhood.

September/October Market Observations:

1.                   As our local market continues to heal, one of the first indicators is a slow down in new listings hitting the market. Historically, the gap between supply and demand narrows in the last quarter. Less competition and continued buyer activity translates into a good window for serious sellers.

2.                   September experienced a huge spike in sales compared to last year. This is most likely due to down payment assistance programs expiring at the end of the month. Regardless, we anticipate a ripple affect from increased first-time buyer activity.

3.                   The bottom quartile price ranges continue to sell as banks are slashing prices on foreclosure property.  In the peak of the market, the top quartile, new construction activity was driving the numbers upward. Still, nearly 30,000 homes have been sold in 2008. Just off last year’s numbers.

4.                   If you’ve filled up your gas tank recently you can relate to prices being a moving target. For many inexperienced agents, understanding the current market conditions are puzzling and difficult to extract from statistics. Where some properties are receiving multiple offers and others sit on the market for months with our experience and volume of being in the trenches everyday allows us to keep our finger on the pulse of a dynamic market. 

5.                   Government intervention and stimulus measures will hopefully force lenders to loosen up their purse strings and lend to qualified borrowers. Large banks are still gun shy with the Wall Street roller coaster. Still, we are anticipating interest rates for your run of the mill, 30 year mortgages will remain at or near 6 percent into early 2009.

6.                   The Supply Demand Ratio and Housing Affordability Index clearly point to a buyers market. In the last decade, there hasn’t been a more affordable selection of homes combined with lower interest rates and incentives for first-time buyers.

Is Minnesota really average? The state ranks 23rd of 51 when taking the average of 65 measures in the latest Census data from 2007.

That lands us right in the middle of all the states, plus the District of Columbia. But a closer look shows we're more accurately a state of extremes — sort of like our winters.

We rank high on things like income, education and home ownership. We rank low on other measures. But some of our low numbers — for instance, being 44th in the percentage of people living below the poverty level — are actually positive. Our "worst" ranking is having the lowest percentage of any state of people 65 and older with a disability.

Averaging the highs, the lows and a bunch of measures where we truly are "just average" results in our middle-of-the-pack status.

Take a look at the numbers and decide for yourself: Average? Or a cut above?

Housing

Best in the nation: More people own their own home — 75 percent compared to national average of 67 percent.

Average monthly costs for renters at $711, but slightly higher-than-average costs for mortgage-holders, $1,500.

Below-average percent of housing units that are mobile homes, 4 percent.

Income and employment

Tied for best in the nation: 81 percent of people age 16 to 64 in the work force. The national average is 74 percent.

Fourth in the nation: 63 percent of married couples both work. The national average is 53 percent.

Above-average median household income, $55,802.

Below-average percentage of people working in service industries, 16 percent; above-average in professional industries, 22 percent.

Below-average percentage of people in poverty, 10 percent.

Lowest in the nation: 35 percent of people 65 and older have a disability. The national average is 41 percent.

Education

Tied for best in the nation: 91 percent of adults have a high school diploma. The national average is 85 percent.

Above-average percentage of adults with a bachelor's degree, 31 percent.

Average percentage of adults with an advanced degree, 10 percent.

Family life

Seventh in the nation: 52 percent of households are married-couple families. The national average is 50 percent.

Slightly better-than-average ratio of single men to single women, 115 to 100.

Average percentage of grandparents who take care of their grandchildren, 44 percent.

Below-average number of people per household, 2.45 people.

Transportation

Sixth in the nation: 36 percent of workers live in one county and work in another. The national average is 28 percent.

Average percentage of people who take public transportation, 3 percent.

Below-average commute times to work, 22.3 minutes.

Diversity

Eighty-eight percent of the population is white. The national average is 74 percent. That means we rank 39th in diversity.

Average percentage of people who are foreign born, 7 percent.

Average percentage of people who speak a language other than English at home, 10 percent.

Information from:

www.TwinCities.com

Article by By Mary Jo Webster
 

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Offered at $309,900
 Mint Condition three bedroom, three bath walkout rambler style twinhome. Spacious open floor plan, private master suite with walk-in closet and master bath. Quality upgrades throughout including Maple flooring, French doors, ceramic tile, gas fireplace and vaulted ceilings. Finished walkout lower level with workshop, full bath with whirlpool tub, two additional bedrooms, and family room with walkout to private patio.

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Maplewood 

 2318 7th Street North

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