ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2014
A new paper on homeownership recently released by Eric Belsky, Managing Director of the Joint Center of Housing Studies at Harvard University, gives five financial reasons people should consider buying a home rather than renting. 1. Housing is typically the one leveraged investment available Peop...
05/30/2014
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Hello! I’m Angela Anderson, the newest associate with HomesMSP, and I’m so excited to be here! I’m a native Minnesotan: I grew up in East St. Paul, graduated from Harding High School (go Knights!), and received a bachelor of arts degree in French Studies from the College of Saint Benedict. I’m a ...
05/28/2014
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The recently updated New York Times rent vs buy calculator raises the bar. According to Jack Guttentag, a mortgage expert who has dozens of calculators on his website, this is the best he has seen. Making the choice between buying and renting is a big financial decision, and this new sophisticate...
05/28/2014
How do you plan for this and what will really happen? The reality is no one really knows where interest rates will go but the Mortgage Bankers Association does predict that rates will be at about 5% by the end of 2014. In 2015, rates are predicted to increase to 5.3% or 5.5%. As rates increase...
05/28/2014
After writing a blog post about leaking temperature and pressure relief (TPR) valves at water heaters, I learned that this particular issue seems to completely befuddle folks. In the two years that I allowed comments to be posted, that post received 245 comments, including my own. The majority ...
05/28/2014
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According to a recent Gallup poll, more Americans now believe real estate is the best long-term investment... ranking it above gold (winner in recent years), stocks/mutuals funds, savings accounts/cds and bonds. See below how beliefs break out by age and income level... Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX R...
05/28/2014
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Summer weather might actually come before the solstice here in the Twin Cities. After a rough winter most of us will truly revel in the sunny skies that are sure to be here soon. Sunday afternoon picnics with the family will be fabulous and there are many, many, many places to do that. In fact, ...
05/28/2014
There are different types of investors with different goals. Some investors buy properties for wholesale purposes and others buy properties to rehab and rent. A third type of investor that I work with are those that are buying properties, rehabbing them and then reselling them for a profit. Inv...
05/28/2014
2013 was dubbed by some the year of the move-up buyer, and 2014 is even stronger... creating the year's biggest challenge... getting caught in the middle of a housing logjam! It has been a long time since we saw the normal exchange of real estate as people sold one home to buy another. Those buye...
05/12/2014
Rainmaker
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Sharlene Hensrud
Realtor. Listener. Knowledgable. Patient.