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Minneapolis Mortgage News
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June 25, 2007 11:24:40 EST
Optimus Home Mortgage is now approved and certified for the Minnesota Home Ownership Accelerator Loan. "Use your mortgage as your checking account and become the Bank of You!"
What is the Home Ownership Accelerator?
The Home Ownership Accelerator makes one simple change in your financial life. It combines your checking account with your home loan. So you flow all of your personal cash against your loan balance. Why is this a big deal? The money currently in your checking account earns close to nothing. In the Accelerator account, your money will "earn" your home loan rate (a much better return) and can pay off in half the time. This concept is popular in Australia and they are called offset loans in the UK. Further explanation here :Homeowners opt for balancing act with offset loans |
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January 30, 2007 13:48:40 EST
Bad for mortgage consumers or good? As stated in a recent article in the Star Trib= "Taking out a loan? You might want opt out of unwanted marketing pitches." Loan applicants may borrow annoyance along with the cash. "The practice is known in the industry as "trigger leads." It's legal so long as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion sell the data to lenders who present a "firm" offer of "pre-approved" credit. Trigger leads become illegal if the marketer engages in deceptive or unfair practices, such as pretending to be "taking over your loan" or working with the company that first sought your credit score. "
My position on triggers is that it is another good idea in theory, but bad in practice. I am all for consumers being able to shop and find a great deal. The problem is by the time we are ready to pull credit, most often our clients have already done the shopping and have chosen to work with us. If one does not opt out they may be barraged with more lender calls they do not want. Bad for the entire mortgage industry I say. Here is the link to the site to opt out of prescreened offers- OptOutPrescreen.com |
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November 30, 2006 05:36:55 EST
This is not good...
Twin Cities Home Foreclosures At Near Record High. "Home foreclosures in Minneapolis, St. Paul and other communities around the state are rising at a rate that is beginning to alarm some officials worried about destabilized neighborhoods. In St. Paul, foreclosures are on a pace this year to be three times higher than they were in 2003. In Minneapolis, they're up by about 79 percent compared with last year. And in Dakota County, there were more foreclosures by Sept. 1 than in all of 2005."
Unfortunately, this is due in part to people who have purchased houses using mortgage products that they didn't fully understand. Is this financial illiteracy due to "Minnesota Nice" and not asking enough questions of the loan officer or shady lenders who do not have the best intentions of the customer in mind? It is probably both. I know there has been a huge influx of new loan officers due to the recent refinance boom. To them a quick sale was more important than the long term financial health of the borrower. Sad. |
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October 30, 2006 12:09:15 EST
It's that time of year again... The Twin Cities Loft & Condo Living Tour. In their words- "Explore the Twin Cities newest lifestyle trend on the 3rd annual Twin Cities Loft and Condo Living Tour! With 47 loft and condo developments in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul and urban areas throughout the metro, it’s the largest tour yet. Tour everything from restored warehouses to remodeled historic apartments to innovative new construction – each with unique architecture and design."
We checked out a few lofts last year and plan to do more this time around. Especially this one - Reflections at Bloomington Central Station |
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July 24, 2006 09:19:35 EST
According to the Downtown Journal... The Nicollet swaps sales team . Edina Realty has taken the reins from Financial Freedom Realty as the new sales company for The Nicollet condominium building, a 56-story project planned for South 10th Street and Nicollet Mall. Financial Freedom has been selling units for The Nicollet for more than a year and sales have been slow recently — 48 of the building’s 357 units are sold and 65 are reserved, according to a June report from Hunt Associates. The Nicollet is scheduled to open in the fall of 2008. For more information about the project, go to www.TheNicollet.com |
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May 23, 2006 03:14:03 EST
New article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about condos and Lofts. Some complexes are not so Luxurious after construction is done... Star Tribune Article Here. "Luxury living or glorified apartment? As the pace of condo, loft and townhouse construction continues unabated, some buyers are discovering myriad problems with their "carefree" homes..."
The second part of the series gives advice on what to do when you encounter problems... Tips for owners of problem condos. "Talk to your condo or townhouse association. Bylaws that restrict volume levels, outlaw subwoofer speakers, fine repeat noise violators and require exhaust fan use when smoking and cooking, etc., can prevent and solve many problems..."
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April 3, 2006 10:21:13 EST
This is interesting, in light of the recent research I have done on search engine placement for my own website... A court has ruled that a lawsuit over a company purchasing a rival's trademark as a search keyword should go to trial, in what could be the first case to scrutinize the trademark infringement liability of keyword purchasers. ZDnet Article Here. Edina Realty has sued competitor MLSonline for "false advertising, trademark infringement, and trademark dilution," and the US District Court in Minnesota has ruled that the suit can go to trial. This case involves two real estate companies. Edina Realty is a major old-line Minnesota real estate agency, and TheMLSonline.com appears to be an online realty agency with some full-service aspects. In that respect, the firms are competitive, although TheMLSonline.com also offers a content database of MLS realty listings from all sources, including competitor agencies.
To build traffic, TheMLSonline.com purchased keywords at Google and Yahoo such as “Edina Realty,” “Edina Reality,” “EdinaReality.com,” “EdinaRealty,” “EdinaRealty.com,” “www.EdinaReality.com” and “www.EdinaRealty.com.” (Interesting that people appear not to know how to spell “realty.”) The resulting ads contained the words “Edina Realty,”...
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March 13, 2006 11:51:10 EST
We checked out The 2006 South Minneapolis Housing & Home Improvement Fair Saturday on March 11, 2006.
2006 South Minneapolis Housing & Home Improvement Fair . Entering its 12th year, the Housing and Home Improvement Fair remains one of the most successful and well-attended community events in the South Minneapolis area. Free and open to the public, the Fair promotes city living, home improvement and maintenance, and community involvement.
The Housing and Home Improvement Fair features vendor displays and educational workshops designed to help current and prospective homeowners in the process of improving, maintaining, enlarging, purchasing or refinancing a home. Sponsored by
Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program . Was fairly helpful- we just happened to be needing deck and gutter contractors for our complex. A little small but worth the 45 mins.
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March 01, 2006 12:28:22 EST
Life is unfair? Minneapolis in the Middle.When it comes to housing affordability, the Twin Cities has a long way to go before it catches up to Indianapolis. On the other hand, it’s light years ahead of Los Angeles — or just about any other major market in California.
The National Association of Home Builders, in its latest survey of the nation’s most and least affordable housing markets, rated Indianapolis as the most affordable major market and Los Angeles as the least affordable.
Minneapolis-St. Paul was 55th among the 159 U.S. markets included in the current survey, which is based on fourth quarter 2005 data.
The Twin Cities’ middle-of-the-road standing may actually be a positive sign, according to Steve Melman, director of ecocomic services for NAHB. Some markets, he noted, are high on the affordability scale because there are no jobs in those cities.
Indeed, 11 of the 14 most affordable housing markets in the nation are in Ohio or Michigan. Those states happen to rank near the bottom when it comes to creating new jobs, according to a new report from the Milken Institute.
“By being more in the middle range, [the Twin Cities] maybe has a better balance than a place like San Francisco, on one end, or Peoria [Illinois] on the other end,” Melman said.
NAHB’s survey calculates affordability by comparing an area’s median home price (new and existing) with its median family income. It then determines the percentage of median-priced homes that are affordable to median-income families.
The upshot is that 61.5 percent of homes sold in the Twin Cities in the fourth quarter were affordable to a median-income household in the area. That compares with 88.7 percent in Indianapolis, and 2.3 percent in Los Angeles.
Recent trends show... Continued here... Finance And Commerce |
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February 21, 2006 17:32:11 EST
How many Condos and Lofts is too many? Here is most of an article I cannot find the complete link to. Article from CityPages here in Minneapolis... Market beginning to shift for Minneapolis Uptown condo developers SNIP- Downtown Minneapolis has won the bulk of the attention as a hotbed of residential condo development. Now the Uptown neighborhood is a fast-emerging market for condo developers, but as competition intensifies and the market shifts, many are wondering about the depth of the market.
Stuart Ackerberg, president of the Minneapolis-based Ackerberg Group, has two developments in the works that will bring more than 200 units of new housing to Uptown - an unnamed, mixed-use development with 165 condo units and Lumen on Lagoon, a 44-unit project at Lagoon and Emerson avenues.
"We see Uptown as really different than downtown, just given the inherent amenities that are already existing in and around Uptown. It's truly an urban community. For someone that truly wants urban living, Uptown is the best option," Ackerberg said. "In Uptown, there's been very few new housing options available for a long, long time."
Sales for the Lumen began about a month ago. Since then, 18 of 44 units have been sold. Sales for the larger, mixed-use project don't begin until January, but 98 reservations already have been taken. Ackerberg has partnered with Minneapolis-based Financial Freedom Realty on both projects. Both firms call Uptown home.
Projects planned or under construction in the broader Uptown area could add about 700 new condo units to the neighborhood, with more projects looming in the wings.
Business is brisk for St. Louis Park-based Mathwig Development Co., which is developing the 122-unit Loop Calhoun project, slated for completion in early 2007.
"We're about 70 percent sold," said Troy Mathwig of Mathwig Development. "We're very happy. There's still a lot of activity and still a lot of interest on the remaining units."
But not every developer trying to do an Uptown area project is doing cartwheels.
Last week Michael Lander, president of Minneapolis-based Lander Group, pulled his application for 2626 W. Lake St., a proposed 70-unit project on the north side of Lake Calhoun, as the Minneapolis City Council was poised to vote against the project.
Lander has been working on the project for a year, and his option to buy the site is slated to expire at the end of the year. Lander has faced neighborhood objections to the height and scale of the project, which rises to 110 feet - the height of the nearby Calhoun Beach Club - at its highest point.
"I'm very frustrated at this point," Lander said.
Sales were solid for Lander's 72-unit Midtown Lofts, developed by Lander Sherman Urban Development, a joint venture with Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates.
The project was completed earlier this year and has a single unit remaining for sale. But Lander is keenly aware that the market is shifting.
"Right now, the number of projects that are being talked about or proposed are in excess of the current demand. We see that the market has dropped off somewhat. There's definitely more caution," Lander said. "The underlying demand, I would argue, is still growing, but the supply has grown faster."
Out of the Uptown core, the Edina-based Cornerstone Group has shelved its planned Machinery Lofts project at 2848 Pleasant Ave. S. after two different proposals (a 57-unit adaptive reuse and a 123-unit new construction proposal) failed to win neighborhood approval. Cornerstone has owned the site for 10 months.
"We are doing some internal brainstorming about what the possibilities are," said Colleen Carey, president of the Cornerstone Group. "We might look for a temporary solution. I like the neighborhood, I like the building, I like the possibilities. But given what's going on in the market, it isn't clear to me what we should be pursuing there."
Minneapolis-based Hornig Cos. has proposed a 34-unit project at Lagoon and Irving avenues. The company, primarily an apartment owner, wants to test the waters for development.
"We don't have to build anything. We're going to see what the market says," said Jon Hornig, a third-generation member in the family business. "We're exploring the idea of building a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building, which would be like a green building. That would be a way to further differentiate ourselves."
The long-planned expansion of Calhoun Square also calls for new housing. But last week, CARAG (Calhoun Area Residents Action Group) voted against the project for the second time, citing concerns about the height and design of the project.
"There are a number of issues that the neighborhood is concerned about," said Aaron Rubenstein, who chairs CARAG's zoning committee. "We'd like to see the design improved and see it take on a more urban character. Some of the buildings look like they would be more appropriate in a suburban setting."
Solomon Real Estate Group principal Jay Scott did not return phone calls seeking comment about the Calhoun Square project.
The project is slated to come before the Minneapolis City Planning Commission next Monday.
The new, scaled-down proposal calls for 108 units of housing, down from 124 a few months ago.
As the Legal Ledger went to press, it was not clear what the city planning staff would recommend.
Other projects in the pipeline include Track 29 Uptown, a 126-unit condo and townhome project being developed by Ross Fefercorn's RMF Entities. Ackerberg is also partnering with Village Green Cos. on a rental project, an approximately 160-unit apartment building near Lake Calhoun.
Meanwhile, the pace of condo conversions in the Uptown and southwest Minneapolis areas is cooling off. Clark Gassen, founder and president of Financial Freedom Realty, said his firm has converted about 300 apartment units into condos, but that his company is shifting gears.
"We truly are getting out of the conversion business," Gassen said. "We're going to wind down the conversions and focus on urban infill sites. There's no question the demand I'm seeing right now is in new construction."
In addition to his partnerships with Ackerberg, Gassen's group is developing the Edgewater, a luxury 23-unit building.
Gassen estimated that his company has about 100 converted units still available for sale.
"It's slower than we'd like," Gassen said of the pace of sales for converted condo units.
There's a general acknowledgment that the condo market is not as robust as it was a year ago.
"I think if you get outside of the high demand locations, it could be a little tougher going forward," Mathwig said. "It will just take longer to sell out projects."
But overall, real estate observers say the health of the Uptown market is strong. |
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February 25, 2006 23:22:10 EST
Not really mortgage related but a good article at MPR. Housing bubble over? Tough times ahead? Only the rich getting richer? 40 percent of those seeking food assistance say they are faced with choosing to pay for utilities or heating fuel and food SNIP-Nearly 380,000 people in Minnesota are relying on food shelves and soup kitchens for their meals. That's according to a new report released Thursday by Second Harvest America. The national organization is the largest food bank network in the U.S. The report shows since 2001, food shelf use in Minnesota has increased by 45 percent.
St. Paul, Minn. — Jane Brown, executive director of Second Harvest Heartland, says the 2006 Hunger in America Report dispels the myth that food shelves mainly serve homeless people or poor people who've been through a catastrophe, such as high medical bills or the loss of a job.
"Hunger has become more chronic. The evidence for that is 47 percent of respondents are working poor," says Brown.
Second Harvest Heartland serves 41 counties in Minnesota and 18 in Wisconsin. Brown says food shelves are seeing families coming in on a regular basis because they can't make ends meet.
"By the time they pay their rent and their utilities and their day care, and all of those other demands that they have to pay, the one variable is the food," says Brown.
The Hunger in America report is based on 52,000 face-to-face interviews with people seeking emergency food assistance across the country.... |
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February 24, 2006 09:42:50 EST
And now I have a good excuse why no mortgage calculators have been added to the tools section of the website. I have seen a few that are good- but its best to call us-heres why.....Buyers, beware of
online mortgage calculators SNIP-It seems like a simple question: What is the most expensive home you can afford?
Nearly every mortgage lender offers a calculator on its Web site. Enter your income, your debts and your savings, and learn the top of your price range.
But the number on the screen may be misleading.
Input an income of $56,400, the average for the Charlotte area, and the estimates from some of the nation's largest lenders range from about $150,000 to more than $300,000, the Observer found in using the calculators last week.
At the high end of that scale, what the calculator calls affordable is far more than any financial expert says you should spend on a home. Shoppers who use the figure to guide their search risk buying a home they may not be able to afford.
Lenders, who make more money when people take larger loans, say the calculators are intended to offer broad estimates, not personalized advice. They emphasize that people should contact a lender to determine what they can afford.
Consumer advocates say people should also contact a third party.
"You need to get advice from someone who doesn't have a stake in the transaction," said Floyd Davis, the CEO of Community Link, a Charlotte nonprofit that counsels people on the home-buying process.
Setting a price range is often the first step in buying a home. And it's a smart one. Experts say people who skip that step can get in trouble by falling in love with a home they can't afford, then stretching for a loan so they can buy it anyway.
The Web site calculators offer an informal way to gauge your range before you start shopping. But calculators that return higher estimates may lead shoppers into the same problem of believing they can comfortably afford a home when in fact they would be stretching.
There is no golden formula for determining what is affordable; it depends on the individual. But studies show that as homeowners devote a higher share of income to debt payments, they face a progressively greater chance of defaulting on their loan and losing their home.
The estimates offered by online calculators are created in a two-step process.
First the calculator figures how much you can spend on housing each month, based on personal financial information you provide. Then the calculator figures how much of that payment goes toward principal, and how much is consumed by interest and other fees.
While the calculation of interest and fees is fairly constant, companies program their calculators with very different assumptions about how much of your income is safe to spend on housing costs.
Most conventional lenders cap spending on all debt payments at 36 percent of gross monthly income. That's the ratio used by most calculators, too, including a pair of widely used calculators from two third-party providers, Leadfusion Inc. of San Diego and KJE Financial Solutions of Minneapolis.
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February 22, 2006 17:32:40 EST
Have you seen the article at the Kare11's website? It
talks about the"Money" article that showed Minneapolis
homeowners pay too much in closing fees. ACK! Our costs
are sooo low- how can this be. On behalf of all the reputable
mortgage brokers in Minnesota- I apologize for the few
"bad apples" ripping off consumers.
"Money"
says Minneapolis homeowners pay too much in closing fees. SNIP- When
you take out a $522,000 loan for your home, you may not
pay attention to every little charge. Robert and Beth
Grommesh admit they didn't understand all the fees listed
on their forms when they closed last year on their home
in St. Louis Park. "I don't know if I would've known to
ask, 'Is this really legitimate? Is this something that
can be negotiable?'" says Beth Grommesh. "I don't think
I'm educated enough to even know." The Grommesh family
recently agreed to give their forms to Money magazine
for analysis. They were later told an expert found $1,265
in so-called "junk fees," which are charges not related
to any actual service performed by a broker. "To be honest,
I wasn't real surprised," says Robert Grommesh. The Grommeshes
are one of many local families featured in this month's
Money magazine. That's because Money named the Minneapolis
area the worst place to close on a home. The magazine's
analysis says, for the average U.S homebuyer, pretax closing
charges make up 0.4 percent of their home loan. But in
Minneapolis, pretax closing costs are 0.94 percent of
home loans, according to Money. Pat Martyn, executive
director of the Minnesota Association of Mortgage Brokers,
disagrees with Money's assessment. "It is by no means
the worst place to close a real estate transaction in
the country," he says. "Minnesota real estate is a great
value." Martyn says part of those closing costs include
a Minnesota regulation tax of 0.24 percent, something
you will not find in every state. The Minneapolis Area
Association of Realtors said Money's article was "at best,
partially factual." Mark Allen, the association's CEO,
felt it inaccurately compared some of the fees. But regardless
of where Minneapolis may or may not rank, experts say
"junk fees" do exist, and consumers should beware. "Different
companies just come up with different names for things,"
says Prentiss Cox, a law professor at the University of
Minnesota. "They might as well call it the 'Pluto research
fee.'" Cox, who used to head the state Attorney General's
consumer division, says one of the problems is that real
estate agents are sometimes encouraged to send customers
to in-house mortgage lenders or closers. "So when a real
estate agent tells you to use a particular closer or lender,
the best thing to say is, 'I'll take that into consideration,
give me some cost estimates,' and then go get some comparative
bids," Cox says. Experts say it's very important to shop
around for lenders and closers..... |
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February 21, 2006 13:12:30 EST
Beware of teaser rate quotes!
The following information is needed to give an accurate rate quote. You CANNOT get a valid quote from the newspaper or a website. Call us- we will be happy to explain! Loan size, Appraisal Value, Credit Score, Cash-out or Rate/term, Occupancy Type, Loan program, Income Type, Lock Length, Points or no points paid. We have hundreds of different loan programs to choose from. The following is a partial list: Fixed Rate 30, 15, or 10 yr. terms , Interest Only Payment Loans,Pay Option ARM, Jumbo and SuperJumbo Loans, 7/1, 5/1, 3/1 LIBOR ARMs , No Money Down Loans, 80/20 Combo Loans, Investment Property Loans, Subprime, B/C Credit Programs. Refinance and close in your home. |
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August 23, 2005 18:58:30 EST
Why higher rates on jumbos mortgages minneapolis than on conforming loans? In part risk (jumbo loans are bought and sold on a much smaller scale than conforming). However, the difference between jumbo and conforming rates varies with the economy. When mortgage money is plentiful the spread decreases and when money is tight the spread is greater. For a more detailed explanation see this Congressional Budget Report. |
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April 12, 2005 11:22:52 EST
Why work with a Mortgage Broker rather than a Direct Lender? If you are a reasonably astute shopper, you will do better dealing with a mortgage broker because they do not add any net cost to the lending process. They perform functions that would otherwise have to be done by employees of the direct lender. Furthermore, because mortgage brokers deal with multiple lenders -- they can shop for the best terms available on any given day. In addition, they can find the lenders who specialize in various market niches and Minneapolis loan programs that many other lenders avoid, such as stated income loans, jumbo pay option ARMS, loans with minimal or no down payment, and so on. As a minneapolis mortgage broker, we at Optimus home mortgage shop local and national lenders for the best rates and programs for our customers. Let us save you hundreds of dollars at closing and thousands over the life of your mortgage! We are able to lend on residential homes, investment properties, multi-family and vacation homes in the state of Minnesota for both purchases or refinances. Buying an Minneapolis area home? Buying a home can be one of the biggest events in your life. Get expert advice and guidance. Our pre-approvals are free and we can even recommend a Realtor if you are not currently represented. Need to refinance your Minneapolis area home? Time to cash-out some of that equity to finish a home project, start a business, control credit card debt or take a vacation? We can close your new mortgage or home equity line of credit quickly. |
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March 01, 2005 16:28:50 EST
How to get a Free Credit Report.
If you are considering buying or refinancing a home in the next 5 months, it's better to call Optimus Home Mortgage now and check on your credit report. If you wait, you may have to re-score at the last minute or worse, be stuck with a higher rate loan as the only option. Call us at 612.872.1686 to complete an application over the phone.
You can always request a free copy of your credit report. Congress has passed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, part of which mandates that consumers have a central place to obtain a free copy of their report from each bureau once every 12 months. For the Midwest this will be available on March 1, 2005.
To get your free report: Call the FACTA center 877-322-8228 or by mail at:
Annual Credit Report Request Service PO Box 105281 Atlanta, BA 30348-5281
Or on the Web: AnnualCreditReport |
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March 23, 2004 14:48:20 EST
Credit score FAQ's By Jeremy Heimer
I have been originating home loans since 1996 and am now the owner of Optimus Home Mortgage, a Minneapolis-based mortgage brokerage. Over the years my clients have asked many of the same questions about credit scores. Here are some of the most commonly asked questions and their answers. Q: What is a "good" score? A: Credit scores range from 300-850 and you get a score from each of the three credit bureaus. Most often the middle of the three scores is used in qualifying for a home loan. A score of 660 or more is considered "good" and 700+ is "excellent". Continued here... Credit Frequently Asked Questions |
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