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More Activity in Hawley Real Estate Market Despite Quiet F/M Market Today

3/27/2013

9 Comments

 
One new property is on the market from yesterday in rural Hawley.  The property was on the market starting in September through early March of this year.  The home was taken off the market for a short while but is not available again at a reduced price from $310,000 to $290,000.  Located just west of Hawley about 3 miles this 8.26 acre property hosts a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home with a large 34 foot by 84 foot insulated shop.

One other property in Hawley got an accepted offer on it yesterday.  The home was located on the east side of town and was listed for $99,900.  This property featured 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a 2 stall attached garage.  Overall in the region there were 18 new properties on the market and 12 sales in the Fargo/Moorhead MLS.  In the lakes area of Detroit Lakes there were 8 new properties on the market and only 1 sale.
9 Comments

Rural Hawley Lots Drop Asking Price

3/26/2013

11 Comments

 
The real estate market in Hawley was very busy yesterday.  One rural development located just a mile east of Hawley at the corner of Hwy 32 and Hwy 10 dropped prices on all remaining lots.  Eglon Hills Subdivision has 16 total lots each with approximately 2 acres.  The remaining 7 lots have been reduced to $29,000 for interior lots and $34,000 for lots overlooking the west.  The developer also dropped prices on lots just north of Lake Park in Serenity Shores and South Shores Subdivisions.  Those lots were lowered $10,000 per lot on some occassions.  Lake lots on Duck Lake are $19,500 and wooded back lots are at $29,000.

As for housing in Hawley there was one rural home that came to terms with a buyer and accepted an offer.  The home was located near Rollag and set on over 20 acres.  The property was listed for $317,900 and was built in 2002.  With over 3100 square feet and 4 bedrooms/3 bathrooms the home was accompanied nicely by a large outbuilding.  In addition to this home getting an accepted offer was another property reducing its price in the city of Hawley.  On 1st Street a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom home with a 2 stall detached garage was originally listed for $107,900 and now has dropped their price to $99,900.
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Hawley Area Snow Removal and Today's Real Estate Market

3/22/2013

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Winter seems to not want to leave us alone this year. Shoveling all the snow has provided a great workout but is getting tougher with the snow piles being so high. When you think you have had enough of this winter it might be reasonable to think about hiring one of our many area snow removal companies. I have had to do this for the first time ever this year because of the large snow fall amounts we have had. The companies are very reasonable and many average sized driveways in the city can be cleaned out for around $20 to $30.

Sometimes work, family life or the hustle and bustle of daily life could use more of our attention than the snow. Some of the good local snow removers include the following:
Justin Martin/Brian Jegtvig: 218-790-2385
Chad Larson: 218-790-0652
For some of the bigger jobs Sellin Brothers might be a good option at 218-483-3522

On the real estate picture for today we have 16 new properties on the market in the Fargo/Moorhead MLS and 9 sales. In the Detroit Lakes MLS we had 7 new properties come on the market and 4 sales. In Hawley one home just got an accepted offer on it. The home is located in the Westgate area and was listed for $197,500. The home had been on the market for over 400 days which is rare for this market. The property was built in 2003 and has 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and over 2400 square feet.
9 Comments

New Hawley Home on the Market

3/15/2013

8 Comments

 
After some overnight snow and blowing snow this morning we still have some real estate activity going on. There were 30 new properties on the market yesterday in the Fargo/Moorhead MLS but only 7 sales. I guess sellers are ready to move some property but buyers seem to be waiting for nicer weather. One of the new listings was a home in Hawley listed for $10,500. This one story home is a one bedroom and one bathroom property with approximately 400 square feet. I was going to preview the home but with a sick son our family had to do some creative scheduling with work and family life.

Before this snow I was planning on showing a home in Detroit Lakes but the buyers and myself decided to put it off until tomorrow. This will work out but again it shows how weather is affecting the market right now. I was able to shovel the sidewalks at the office and the snow was light and fluffy, yet chances are if the wind keeps blowing I will get another opportunity for a workout with some shovel exercises.
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Today's Real Estate Interest Rates and Refinancing

3/13/2013

13 Comments

 
After some research through Cornerstone Bank and Principal Mortgage Group I have found that rates are remaining at all time lows for home loans. If you haven't thought about refinancing it might be time to do so. Many buyers and home owners I have talked to are actually going to a 15 year mortgage rather than the traditional 30 year mortgage. One saves so much money going this route. For example on a $100,000 loan you end up actually paying $162,000 over the 30 years because of the interest. The same loan only amortized over 15 years one ends up paying only $122,000. What would you do with $40,000 in savings???

The one down side of doing a 15 year mortgage over a 30 year mortgage is cash flow. That is to say you will be paying a little more each month for your loan on a 15 year than a 30 year mortgage. Using the same example of a $100,000 loan one will be paying $450/month on a 30 year loan. On a 15 year loan one will be paying $229 more a month for a total of $679/month. That $229 could be used for groceries, clothes, utility costs, vehicle costs, etc. Everyone has to look at their financial situation to see if it makes sense to go to the 15 year loan. Making some little changes to your daily spending could make up that difference and save you a lot of money in the long run.

Depending on you credit score and debts verses income rates can go up or down from these average rates. Usually lenders are looking for good credit between 680 to 720+. It is always a good idea to have the lender pull your credit to make sure it is done properly. Various loan types and their general terms are the following:

FHA Loan (Federal Housing Administration) = 3.5% down payment, 3.25% interest rate on a 30 year loan. 3.5% down payment, 2.875% interest rate on a 15 year loan. This loan type does require Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). Generally speaking this PMI is a fee that is added to your monthly payment for 5 years or until you have paid down the loan to 78% of the original loan amount.

RD Loan (Rural Development) = 0% down payment, 3.5% interest rate on a 30 year loan. RD does not do 15 year loans.

Conventional Loan = 20% down payment, 3.5% interest rate on a 30 year loan. 20% down payment, 2.75% interest rate on a 15 year loan. Most refinances will end up going this route, however occasionally refinancing is better with previously discussed loans. Your loan officer will discuss all the pro's and con's of each type of loan.
13 Comments

Hawley Real Estate and New Properties on the Market

3/12/2013

14 Comments

 
One new property came on the market in Hawley today. It is a one of 25 new homes on the market in the Fargo/Moorhead MLS. The property is listed for $212,500 and is located in the Westgate area of Hawley. The home was built in 1993 and has 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a 3 stall attached garage. This bi-level has 2876 total square feet and no back yard neighbors as Westgate Park is behind the property.
As for sales yesterday, the Fargo/Moorhead MLS only had 6 sales in the region while the Detroit Lakes MLS had 3 sales. Last summer during the peak of sales we were seeing any where from 15 to 20 sales per day and approximately 30+ new homes coming on the market in any given day. Once warmer weather comes I think the inventory will increase as some sellers prefer taking their home off the market during the winter. Many buyers and sellers alike would rather not move in our frigid winter climate.
14 Comments

Real Estate and Moving Companies

3/11/2013

13 Comments

 
We all know how much work moving can be. Many times sellers move their personal items by themselves or with help of some friends. One option to consider is hiring a moving company to help even if for just some of the larger items. On a recent real estate transaction I have been working with a company out of Detroit Lakes called All About Moving. There rates are much better than many other companies located in the Fargo/Moorhead area. They of course have all the trucks, packing supplies and man power to get the job done quickly.

In the last 7 years of working in real estate few sellers I have worked with have considered hiring a moving company. There have been times it would have helped to have a company help because of closings happening in a short period of time or people having a difficult time getting away from work. Companies like All About Moving can move about any amount of personal property to your new home or even to a storage unit. Hawley currently has a large number of storage units at different locations to help make it as easy as possible for any move you may have.
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Foreclosures in Real Estate

3/8/2013

27 Comments

 
Over the last 7 years I have worked with private buyers and sellers of all types of property. Another part of my business has come from working with banks to sell foreclosed or bank owned properties. Often in the news or advertising of these homes you will see "REO" tagged to the bank owned properties. This stands for "Real Estate Owned by Banks". Unfortunately bad things happen to good people all the time and these REO properties are in all price ranges.
In association with REO properties many times you will see "BPO" also related to homes. BPO stands for "Broker Price Opinion". When a bank takes possession of a property through foreclosure they will hire real estate agents to go out to a home and do a BPO to help them establish market value. Usually the banks will hire 3 different agents to do BPO's just so they can have different opinions. The 3 agents are paid for their work and have and give an unbiased opinion on the property's value. After the banks decide on a price they usually will have a different agent actually list the property for sale.
When people see the term foreclosure tagged to a property they usually think they can get the home for a deal. This is not the case as the banks rely on agents and their BPO's to understand the local market. Agents compare the foreclosure to other sold homes with similar qualities. Some foreclosures don't need any work done to them while others need a complete overhaul. More often I have seen a majority of foreclosures just needing a little love and some minor repairs.

Every community has it's share of foreclosures. In the last year Hawley has had 7 foreclosures ranging in price from $39,000 up to $239,900. Some homes were located in town while others were in the country. In Moorhead there were 38 sold foreclosures in the last year. Currently Moorhead has only 6 foreclosed properties on the market. They range in price from $112,000 up to $174,900.
27 Comments

Real Estate Continuing Education

3/1/2013

8 Comments

 
I just finished 2 days of continuing education classes in Detroit Lakes. The state of Minnesota requires 15 hours of continuing education each year. Of those hours one needs to take a Fair Housing and Agency Relationships class every two years. The most difficult issue is being away from the office but the classes are excellent refreshers and great sources of information on the ever changing laws in real estate.
I learned a lot of good information to help buyers and sellers in transactions as well as being reminded of important issues/topics affecting real estate in today's world. For example it is important that all sellers remember Fair Housing laws of both the state and federal levels. Fair Housing deals with the issue of discrimination. One CAN NOT discriminate on who one sells their house to.

The federal law on Fair Housing states that one can not discriminate with regards to Race, Religion, Color, Sex, Handicap, National Origin, or Familial Status. The state of Minnesota also requires that one does not discriminate based on Marital Status, Sexual Orientation, or Public Assistance. These protected classes are very important remember whenever dealing in a real estate transaction.
One new property came on the market today in Hawley. We now have 23 homes on the market. The new home is listed for $229,900 and is on Sunset Blvd. It features 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a 3 stall attached garage. The property was built in 1994 and is a one story home located on a corner lot.
8 Comments

Hawley Real Estate Market

2/22/2013

16 Comments

 
Finally we are all shoveled out from the big storm that dropped about one and a half feet of snow. The real estate market has showed a little slow down during this year's biggest snowfall. Today we had only 9 new properties on the market in the region and only 7 sales. I believe as we get some warmer temperatures activity will pick up for both buyers and sellers. Hawley had one new home on the market today and was a 2005 built home on 2 acres for $349,900.

One interesting note on mortgages and manufactured homes was discovered this morning. In the past it has been nearly impossible to get financing to purchase a manufactured/mobile home on a lot. I have discovered one lender that is doing financing now for those properties. With some reasonable stipulations, Wells Fargo does finance those types of properties. The financing options include FHA, VA and Conventional loans. Rural development loans do not qualify for those types of properties however.

Only 9 new properties on the market yesterday in the entire region. Yesterday had 8 sales which is pretty quiet. Hawley still has only 21 homes on the market. Must have been the snow that slowed down the market yesterday....
16 Comments
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    Mike Olson has been in real estate since 2006 and is the Broker for Sky Lodge Properties MN, LLC.

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