Nearly everyone wants to have a part of the American dream by owning their own home. Whether that home is a sprawling ranch in the country, a bungalow in the suburbs, or a condo in the city, it’s a dream that most of us share. For many that dream has already come true, and is just a fact of life. For many others the dream of home ownership seems too far away to reach.

The usual reason, in their mind, is affordability. But what is really keeping them from owning their own home? It’s usually got more to do with their personal finances than the cost of the home.

Mismanagement of finances over a long period of time causes two of the biggest factors in home buying to become seemingly impossible hurdles—credit history and down payment.

We have all heard about, and probably experienced or seen first-hand, the effects that overwhelming debt can have on a home owner, or anyone else for that matter, when an unexpected loss of income occurs. Whether that loss was from the death of a spouse, a serious illness or injury, or loss of a job; the effects on a family’s finances can be the same.

Foreclosure, repossessions, tax liens, judgments, garnishments, and sometimes bankruptcy can all happen when the debt-to-income ratio suddenly hits an unmanageable high. We have even heard increasing stories of formerly successful people ending up homeless due to a combination of job loss and un-payable debt.

For those who have the dream of owning their own home, these types of problems can seem impossible to overcome to reach that end. The only way to get there is to start at the beginning. Pay off your debt in small steps, get caught up on past payments, and start saving for the future.

Many advice givers are out there, some good like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman, and some not so good, occasionally the financial organizations themselves, but one thing that is common between them all is the need for financial stability.

Financial stability is usually found by having little or no debt prior to obtaining a home mortgage and by having significant savings and investments. Not only should you have enough savings for a hefty down payment, but you should have enough additional savings to see you through at least 6 months of full expenses should the unexpected happen.

How much of a down payment should you have? The more the better. Many banks require at least 10% down, even the FHA is ready to raise the minimum to 5%, but most financial advisers recommend at least 20% down. However the simple fact is, the more down payment you have the more house you can get and/or the lower your monthly payments will be.

Lower monthly payments and higher savings mean less of a chance that a job loss will bring you to the point of foreclosure on your home. Whether you want to grow old in your home, eventually seeing a paid off mortgage, or if you plan to sell it in a few years and move up or down, the more equity you have the more stable your life will be and the more security you will have in the biggest investment you will ever make.

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Looking for a home in the Edina area? Visit my website. When you are ready to visit any of these homes, or if you would like to list your home, contact me, Chris Prescott, at (952) 944-1728 or via email.

One of the best things about living in Minnesota in the winter is the ice! No, I don’t mean the ice that may appear on the roads or your front steps; I’m talking about the ice skating opportunities! From informal skating at a community park to formal ice skating and hockey games, it’s a great source of winter recreation.

Edina has several recreational opportunities for ice skaters. A popular one that is open for skating only in the winter, of course, is Centennial Lakes Park. Open year round for a large assortment of outdoor activities, when the lake freezes hard enough, it becomes a maintained public ice skating rink. 10 acres of ice will give you both a workout and afternoon of family fun. There are even Norwegian ice sleds to enjoy! When the cold gets too much for you, head over to the park’s Centrum building, purchase a cup of hot chocolate from the concession stand and warm up next to a roaring fire.

If the weather is just too darn cold for you, if it’s snowing or raining, or even if it’s a hot summer day, you can still enjoy a spin around the ice. A popular indoor Edina rink is Braemar Arena. Braemar offers both open skating times and skating lessons for all ages and skill levels. Braemar Arena is also home to the Edina Hornets hockey team, the Braemar-City of Lakes Figure Skating Club and the Edina Hockey Association.

There are many other skating rinks open during the winter in Edina and the greater Twin Cities areas. You can find a list of local rinks at RinkTime.com.

If you are relocating to Edina from a warmer climate, you might be surprised at just how many outdoor activities Minnesotans participate in. What is your favorite winter-time activity?

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Looking for a home in the Edina area? Visit my website. When you are ready to visit any of these homes, or if you would like to list your home, contact me, Chris Prescott, at (952) 944-1728 or via email.

Selling your home is never an easy task, especially in a buyer’s market. But maybe that house of yours is just not what you need now. Whether you are wanting bigger, smaller or just different, it’s time to move. And the Home Buyer Tax Credit sure looks good too.

Before you can buy a new home and take advantage of the credit, you have to figure out what to do with your current home. Should you sell it? Should you rent it out? Should you just leave it on the market whether it sells or not? Should you turn it into a vacation home?

Assuming your finances are in order, you owe little or nothing on your current home, and you have the funds to do necessary repairs, any of these could be a valid option for you. But which one will work for you and how?

Sell Your Home--Quickly

Wouldn’t it be great if you could list your house and have an offer in hand tomorrow? Sometimes this happens, but more often than not it can take a few weeks or months, or even longer. There are some things you can do to speed up the selling process.

• Find a Realtor who will market your home effectively.

• Get a professional inspection.

• Repair problems that come up on the inspection and things that have been bugging you for a while.

• Clean up your yard, landscape as appropriate for the season.

• Keep any holiday decorations at a tasteful level.

• Stage your home.

• Reduce clutter—begin packing stuff that isn’t essential.

• Rent a storage unit and move boxes and extra furniture into it until moving day.

• Brighten up your walls with a fresh coat of neutral paint.

• Wash windows, inside and out.

• Replace burned out light bulbs.

• Replace old or worn flooring with something new and modern; refinish hardwood floors if needed.

Become a Landlord

This may be a good option if you have been considering getting into this business anyway, or if you have had your home on the market for a long time with few bites. If your long-term goal is to sell your home, perhaps you will have success with a lease-purchase option. Either way, you should still perform needed repairs on your home.

Leave it on the market

Many people find themselves moving into their new home without selling or renting the old one. While this could make it easier to sell, especially if you have pets or young children, it can be a risky gamble. If you go with this option, be sure to fix problems and stage your home well. If you have extra good-looking furniture you can leave for now, do so. Consider renting some furniture to use for staging. Empty rooms are harder to sell.

Turn it into a vacation home

Current interpretation indicates this option is available for the home buyer tax credit also. Perhaps your home is in the woods or on a lake and ideal for weekend getaways or long summer vacations, but the commute to work is a bit too far for your tastes. Turning it into a vacation home could be ideal.

Give me a call today and we can review your options, both for selling and for purchasing your next home. For the alternatives to selling your home, consult your tax specialist before making a final decision.

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Looking for a home in the Edina area? Visit my website. When you are ready to visit any of these homes, or if you would like to list your home, contact me, Chris Prescott, at (952) 944-1728 or via email.

Many people find it hard to resist going all out with their holiday decorations, especially if others in the neighborhood do as well. It’s a fun tradition, sure, but if your home is on the market what should top your list this season is a buyer for your home!

If you do decorate your home for the holidays, keep it relatively simple and in good taste. Keep the pile of plastic candy canes and blow up reindeer boxed up this year. A moderate amount of lights along the edge of your house or in your bushes is a good idea, simply because they are hard to see in the daylight, but avoid stringing them along poles across your yard. Wreaths are always a nice touch, no matter the season, as are electric or battery powered candelabras in the windows.

Going all out might be cute, but it detracts from your home.
You aren't selling snowmen, you are selling a house.

Try to make it make your decorations fit the style of your home and neighborhood. An ultra modern house with Victorian decorations seems out of place. But a metallic tree might fit in nicely! Likewise, if your home is a traditional style, then traditional decorations might warm the hearts of house hunters.

Attempt to coordinate with, or at least do not clash with, your paint and furnishings. A pale yellow color scheme might not look very good with hot pink garland, but the right shades of green and purple would compliment it.

A good touch for the season is an automatic air freshener in a seasonal scent; “sugar cookies” is always one of the best smells to make your home seem like home to others. Also consider the wintery smells of evergreen, apple and cinnamon, baked pie and peppermint.

No matter what your style of holiday decorating, or if you decorate at all, remember that your number one mission this December is to have a signed sales contract by January. Seasonal decorations can bring smiles and feelings of home to those looking at your house, or they can send them running away with “what were they thinking” as their only memory. Which do you think would be most likely to “sell” your house?

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Looking for a home in the Edina area? Visit my website. When you are ready to visit any of these homes, or if you would like to list your home, contact me, Chris Prescott, at (952) 944-1728 or via email.

Many financially stable home owners have wanted to sell their homes for various reasons over the past year but have either had no luck or just decided to wait. If you are one of these homeowners you should seriously consider putting your home on the market now. Why? There are a variety of reasons:

• Lower inventory. Everyone knows that the housing market has been flooded with short sales and foreclosed properties, but the first time home buyer tax credit had a significant impact in the number of houses on the market. Just about every first time home buyer who qualified for the credit and was able to purchase a home has done so. This has helped to lower the number of available properties, making it more likely that your house will sell.

• Extended tax credit. Most of the first-time home buyers who were going to buy have already done so. But some haven’t. The tax credit has been extended until April which may be just enough time for those who weren’t quite ready to be so.

• Expanded tax credit. The credit was not only extended, but expanded to include first-time home buyers with higher incomes and current home owners. This opens up a whole new group of people who will jump at the chance to buy a home and cash in on the tax credit.

• Low prices. Perhaps you have been concerned about selling your home for less than it is worth. This is a valid concern and has kept many financially stable home owners from listing their home. But consider this: your new home will cost you less as well. It’s quite possible that you may be able to find a home in your price range that you will not be able to afford when its value increases.

• Expanded tax credit. (Again) The expanded tax credit might include you! If you were to purchase a new home before April, then you will qualify for the $6500 tax credit, if you meet the requirements. This just might help to offset any loss you could incur based upon lower property values. Add it to your down payment and you could afford a more expensive house.

• Money for fix-ups. Home buyers hoping to find a house ready to move into with little more than a change of paint color, have been rather dismayed by the condition of many foreclosed homes. Even homes qualifying for short sales could be in need of major TLC simply because a distressed home owner does not have the funds to make repairs. This makes buying a house from a financially secure home-owner a much more attractive to most buyers.

• Flexibility. Another problem that home buyers have found when trying to buy a distressed property is the time it takes for a bank to respond to an offer. You may find a home-buyer who needs to close in two weeks, or one who low-balls an offer and needs several back and forth offers to agree on a reasonable price. You have the flexibility to handle this situation, whereas a bank may not be able to meet their needs.

Now tell me, can you think of a good reason not to list your home? Give me a call and we will get things started.

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Looking for a home in the Edina area? Visit my website. When you are ready to visit any of these homes, or if you would like to list your home, contact me, Chris Prescott, at (952) 944-1728 or via email.

Many people in Edina and the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area took advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit this year. There were many others who weren’t quite ready to make that jump into home owners, as well as many current home owners who wished they could participate in the credit. Well, if you were one who delayed or didn’t qualify, your chance may have arrived! An expansion and extension of the credit was approved and it’s yours for the taking.

Last week, the credit was extended for another 6 months and expanded to include first-time home buyers with higher incomes. The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 opens the up-to-$8000 tax credit to almost all first-time home buyers by increasing the maximum annual income. The income cap for single home buyers has increased from $75,000 to $125,000. The cap for married buyers jumps from $150,000 to $225,000.

Home owners looking to purchase a different home shouldn’t feel left out anymore, the new credit covers them as well! Homeowners who lived in their home for at least 5 consecutive years in the past 8 are eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500 on their next primary residence purchase. The income limits are the same as for first-time home buyers.

The purchased home must be a primary residence costing less than $800,000. Live in it for at least three years after purchase and the $8000 will not have to be paid back.

In order to fight tax fraud, the new law requires anyone claiming the credit to provide documentation that the sale has closed and only adults can claim the credit.

Anxious for your money? Even if you purchase the home in 2010, you can claim it on your 2009 taxes and get an almost instant credit back. Ask your tax professional for details!

Sales contracts must be signed by May 1, 2010, with closing by the end of June. Don’t waste time, let’s start looking! Call me today and I’ll show you what’s available.

If you are a home owner wishing to sell, call me and let’s get your house on the market in time for your next home purchase to qualify you for the credit!

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Looking for a home in the Edina area? Visit my website. When you are ready to visit any of these homes, or if you would like to list your home, contact me, Chris Prescott, at (952) 944-1728 or via email.

If you have delayed planting your spring bulbs, delay no more. The University of Minnesota Extension Service recommends planting of most spring bulbs in Minnesota by the end of October. Early November may not be too late though, especially for tulips which can be planted as long as the ground isn’t frozen too hard.

Here are some tips to remember:

• Bulbs should be firm with a papery skin. If soft or moldy, throw them away.

• Bulbs need to be able to grow roots once planted in the fall, and they need the cold winter to break their dormancy cycle in order to bloom in spring.

• Bulbs will need warmth and light in the spring to trigger their growth. Choose a site that will not be shaded in early spring.

• Bulbs can be planted under trees as long as they will receive enough light before and just after their blooming season. Full shade in summer is acceptable.

• Soil near southern and western exposure foundations could start to grow too soon, risking cold damage. It’s better to plant in an area that is sheltered from damaging winds but that will not warm up before other areas.

• Bulbs need rich, well-drained soil. Avoid areas that tend to fill with water during rain storms.

• New bulb beds should be cleared of rocks and matted roots, and some organic matter should be tilled in to a depth of 10-12 inches. Add some fertilizer in when tilling, but do not add it directly to the bulb holes.

• Plan to plant the bulbs in odd numbers or mass plantings. Put the bed where it will be enjoyed from a window or the road.

• The basic rule for planting depth is 2 ½ times deeper than the diameter of the bulb. Sandy soils should be a bit deeper, and heavy clay soil should be a bit shallower.

• Always plant the bulb with the pointed end facing up, cover with a portion of the soil and water well. Add the rest of the soil, smoothing the surface, water again and add 3-5 inches of mulch. Leaf material, grass clippings and straw work well. (You will remove much of this mulch in the spring.)

Then sit back and wait for spring!

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Looking for a home in the Edina area? Visit my website. When you are ready to visit any of these homes, or if you would like to list your home, contact me, Chris Prescott, at (952) 944-1728 or via email.

Creek Valley Elementary is one of 6 elementary schools in Edina Public School District. The school’s mission is to “educate the mind and heart of each student in a safe and positive environment with shared, active, and meaningful learning through careful planning and an emphasis on community partnership and the practice and application of ethical values.”

Creek Valley Elementary has an active PTA and Site Council, holds regular events for students, and strives to create a fun and educational environment for students while maintaining communication with and participation of parents.

Edina Public Schools have been recognized by publications around the nation as outstanding. One of the most recent was Family Circle magazine, which ranked Edina as one of its top 10 towns, due in large part to the quality of Edina Public Schools.

Creek Valley Elementary is located at 6401 Gleason Road in Edina. For more information on other Edina public schools, visit the Edina Public School District’s website. http://www.edina.k12.mn.us

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Looking for a home in the Edina area? Visit my website. When you are ready to visit any of these homes, or if you would like to list your home, contact me, Chris Prescott, at (952) 944-1728 or via email.

Looking for a unique activity this weekend? Head over to the Mall of America in Bloomington. There is a unique competition going on.

Called “Canstruction”, architect students are competing to see who can build the best structure. But these aren’t just any structures. They are made out of cans. Regular cans of corn, fruit cocktail, SpaghettiO’s, and everything else you can think of!

Beginning today, the competitors have 12 hours to create the most creative and intricate designs they can. Judging of the competition will be Sunday afternoon.

Here is a quick video I found on YouTube showing an entry in a similar Canstruction competition in Canada. Enjoy!

The designs will be deconstructed on Monday and the food donated to the Second Harvest Heartland food bank in St. Paul. Last year the competition raised nearly 20,000 pounds of food!

Want to contribute to the competition and the food drive? Be sure to bring along some canned goods with you when come. These can be delivered to the Sears Court stage throughout the event.

For more information on this competition, visit the Canstruction website.

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Looking for a home in the Edina area? Visit my website. When you are ready to visit any of these homes, or if you would like to list your home, contact me, Chris Prescott, at (952) 944-1728 or via email.

When purchasing a house, having a sizable down-payment has always been good advice, and with today’s tighter credit guidelines it is essential. However you need to keep in mind that you will need savings beyond the down payment of your home. Here is a list of the things that usually come up during a home purchase and subsequent move that will require some cash.

• Appraisal fee 
• Professional home inspection 
• Extra closing costs 
• Homeowner’s association fees 
• Repairs, upgrades, renovations. There are the obvious and the not-so-obvious. Your inspection may have suggested upgrading some of the electrical outlets, and you may already know you don’t like the paint color, but after you move in there are little things you will probably notice that will you’ll need some cash to rectify immediately. 
• Moving van rental fees, boxes, bubble wrap, and mover’s fees. Even if you enlist the help of friends or family, you will need to feed them or at least provide them with refreshments. And don’t forget the gas for the moving vehicle! 
• Termination fees for current services, deposits and connection fees for new services. 
• Appliances. If your new home already has a full set of appliances, then you can scratch this off your list! If not, be sure to remember the extra costs involved with warranties, installation, etc. 
• Household items. Invariably you will find that the stuff you filled your last home with are not quite right for the new one. This can turn into hundreds or thousands of dollars from runs to the home furnishings store and home-improvement store. 
• Lawn-care equipment. If this is your first home with a yard you will be surprised at how much equipment you will decide you need. An alternative is to hire someone to do your lawn care for you, which will still incur a cost, although it will be spread out over the coming months. 
• If you are relocating a great distance you might have air fare or other transportation costs for your entire family (pets included), a night or two in a hotel, and all the other expenses that can creep up. 
• And don’t forget that for at least a few days you might be eating out while you search for that box of dishes!

Once you have that downpayment and the extra savings accumulated, be sure to give me a call so we can find the perfect Edina home for you!

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Looking for a home in the Edina area? Visit my website. When you are ready to visit any of these homes, or if you would like to list your home, contact me, Chris Prescott, at (952) 944-1728 or via email.