HomePath® Mortgage Financing

This special financing is available on Fannie Mae homes!

The benefits include:

• Low down payment and flexible mortgage terms (fixed-rate, adjustable-rate, or interest-only)
• You may qualify even if your credit is less than perfect
• Available to both owner occupiers and investors
• Down payment (at least 3 percent) can be funded by your own savings; a gift; a grant; or a loan from a nonprofit organization, state or local government, or employer
• No mortgage insurance*
• No appraisal fees
• Also eligible for HomePath Renovation Mortgage (see details below)
• HomePath Mortgage financing is available from a variety of lenders - both local and national.

Need help buying a home?

Our state and local housing authorities often have programs to help homebuyers research and purchase a home. Programs can include counseling, down payment assistance, and more. Currently, some housing authorities are also using funds from HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) for additional assistance for homebuyers. To get more information on what may be available in your area, please contact me at 218/390-0290

Take Advantage of the $8,000 Federal Income Tax Credit

Congress has recently passed a federal income tax credit for first-time homebuyers that is the lesser of either 10% of the home's cost or $8,000.

This will be available to qualified first-time home buyers for the purchase of a principal residence between January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

In addition, first-time home buyers can now use the $8,000 federal tax credit to help cover a down payment and other upfront costs if they are taking out a loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration.

Read More...

It's Not to Late to Invest in Land

Land seems to be the new buzz word floating around currently. 

I offen wonder why there has not been more attention paid to Land. I guess that because it is so common to us all that we just pass it by, not realizing that Land is what feeds us, cloths us, houses us and provides all the resources of life.

In my research, I ran across an anonymous statement years ago entitled "Who Am I?" that spoke to my heart and expanded my understanding and appreciation for Land.

I am the basis of all wealth, the heritage of the wise, the thrifty and prudent.

I am the poor person's joy and comfort, the rich person's prize, the right hand of capital, the silent partner of thousands of successful people.

I am solace of the widow, the comfort of old age, the cornerstone of security against misfortune and want. I am handed down through generations, as a possession of great value.

I am the choicest fruit of labor, the safest collateral and yet I am humble.  I stand before every person bidding them to know me for what I am and asking them to possess me.

I am quietly growing in value through countless days. Though I might seem dormant, my worth increases, never falling, never ceasing. Time is my aid and the ever increasing population adds to my gain. I defy fire and the elements, for they cannot destroy me.

My possessors learn to believe in me and invariable they become envied by those that have passed me by. While all other things wither and decay, I alone survive.  The centuries find me younger, always increasing in strength. All oil and minerals come from me. I am the producer of food, building materials and the home to every living thing. I serve as the foundation for homes, factories, banks and stores.

I have not been produced for millions of years yet, I am so common that thousands, unthinking and unknowingly, pass be by.

Who Am I? - I Am Land
Anonymous

In this statement, the author mentions the values of Land several times. In the first paragraph it states "I am the basis of all wealth..." The second paragraph states "I am...the right hand of capital..." The third paragraph "I am...the cornerstone of security... handed down through generations, as a possession of great wealth."   The forth paragraph states "I am quietly growing in value...my worth increases..."

In the current state of our economy, I advocate diversifying investment portfolios to include Land holdings because of it historic stability and ever increasing value. During our resent and current debacle in Wall Street, as everyone and I do mean everyone watches their investment portfolios diminish, those who are wisely holding Land investments have not lost a dime. Land prices during downturns usually stabilize and hold there value during the financial storm.

Several of my investors have contacted me in the past several months thanking me for advising them to diversify their 401K, Sep Plans and Trust Accounts into Land holdings. On the other side of the coin, I have had even more potential clients that would not commit to Land Investments contact me saying that they wished they had diversified their holdings into Land holding before they lost most of their investment money.

My current position on Land investments is IT IS NOT TO LATE!!!  There are tremendous opportunities out there right now, today! Land is the safest investment and usually requires little or no maintenance.

Powering a House with Solar Cells
 
Have you ever wondered if it is practical to consider powering your house with solar electricity? Well, in a recent article at How Stuff Works they asked the question "How many solar cells would I need in order to provide all of the electricity that my house needs?"

Making a series of assumptions about electricity use and basing the hardware costs on today's rates, the writers concluded that it would cost at least $30,000 to generate enough to provide the electrical requirements of a typical home. And that doesn't even include the cost of space heating, water heating, cooking, and clothes drying - all of which it was assumed would be done by natural gas.

The numbers go like this. A "typical" home in the US requires an average of 600 watts per hour every 24 hours to run the lights, appliances, computers, refrigerators, TVs, and fans and motors on other appliances such as the furnace, clothes washer and dryer, and so on. That is approximately 14,400 watt-hours per day.

To generate that much electricity using solar cells you would need about 41,000 square inches or 285 sq. ft. of solar panels. At today's prices that would come to about $16,000. And then, because the sun is not available for parts of some days or at all on other days you would need a battery storage system that would cost at least the same - roughly another $16,000. So that puts the price at about $32,000 for the system.

At today's cost of electricity off the grid that much electricity would cost roughly $525 per year. At these rates, to recover the up-front costs would take more than 50 years. Long before that time had passed the entire system would have to be replaced. In fact with today's technology the battery system would probably have to be replaced several times over that time period. So it is no wonder that not very many "solar houses" are being built.

Even if we accept these numbers at face value it does not mean that solar energy has no place in the energy mix of the future. It just means that it is important to think long and hard about where it is practical to use it.

Starting a Compost Pile

Having a compost pile keeps organic yard and household waste out of your local landfill. It also creates a rich "natural" mulch for your flowerbeds and vegetable garden.

Here is how to create your own compost pile:

1. Create a pile (without a container) in an out of the way corner of your yard. Or you can, build a simple three-sided compost box about three feet tall and three feet square. Adding a removable front to your box is a good idea too. A compost box will allow you to pile up enough organic material so that heat builds up and decomposition is accelerated.

2. Properly managing your compost pile will speed up the process. First, you should regularly turn your compost over with a spade. Second you should keep it damp, but don't let it get soaked regularly. If you live in a dry climate you should spray your pile with a hose every few days. If you live in a damp climate you may have to keep it covered with a tarp between the application of moisture.

3. Your pile should be located where it can get some sun - in order to keep the temperature up. Regardless of the season, the interior of your pile should be warm. As the material decomposes it creates heat, so a warm interior indicates that it is decomposing correctly.

4. Your pile should contain both "brown" and "green" components with about 2/3 being "brown". Brown components are rich in carbon and include such things as dried leaves, pine needles, spoiled hay, straw and paper. Green ingredients are rich in nitrogen and include grass clippings, yard waste, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable kitchen waste.

5. Start with a 5 inch layer of brown components and then add a 2 inch layer of green, and so on.

6. Don't add meat waste to your pile because it will attract raccoons and other pests.

7. Don't add chemically treated grass, cat litter, dog feces etc.

8. Putting weeds in the center of the pile is good because the heat will kill the seeds. What a great way to get rid of all those weeds!

So go ahead and create your own compost pile. A properly managed compost pile will start yielding good compost in between 4 and 10 months. Your neighbors will be "green" with envy.

Eliminate Dandelions The Natural Way


Now that chemical poisons are being outlawed in many parts of North America many homeowners have become involved in the quest for the ultimate "green" dandelion eliminator. Here are some tips...

1. Mow the plants before they go to seed - If you can cut off the dandelion heads before they go to seed you will have at least eliminated the source of most new dandelion plants. Part of the solution is to mow your grass frequently. Of if you have just a few dandelions showing, cut off those heads before they go to seed.

2. Root them out - If you are going to manually dig out existing plants, be sure to pull out as much of the root as possible. There are inexpensive tools that do a pretty good job. But it is really back-breaking work if you have lots of dandelions in a large lawn.

3. Pick the leaves - Cutting, picking or grinding off (see #4 below) the leaves will eventually starve the roots. But this takes persistence and is only practical in a small lawn.

4. Trample them - George Rotramel claims that trampling dandelions greatly impedes their growth. As he says, "Trampling this stem crushes it and exposes the plant to infection by plant pathogens. The result is a dead dandelion with no time-consuming digging, no pulling, and no herbicide application". He drew this conclusion by noticing that dandelion growth was much more extensive around the outside of soccer fields than in the playing area.

5. Poach them - Pouring boiling water over dandelion plants will shrivel them up and render them impotent. Or at least that's what we've been told.

6. Pickle them - Use a 5-percent solution of vinegar as a weed killer against perennial weeds such as dandelions, foxtail, velvetleaf, smooth pigweed and thistle. Heating the solution is said to work even better.

8. Burn them out - Some say you can torch dandelions and other perennial weeds with a weed burner torch, but others claim this is a pretty ineffective and inefficient way to get rid of them.

7. Corn Gluten Meal - If you don't have time for any of this manual digging or spraying, then you may want to try corn gluten meal (CGM) applied to your entire lawn. This is called a "pre-emergent" solution that prevents roots from forming during seed germination. It will not kill already existing plants, but it will prevent additional germination from taking place during growing seasons - especially in the spring.

8. Replace grass with Dutch clover - You may want to try replacing at least some of your grass with Dutch clover. This has some advantages. Clover is nice and green and will grow almost anywhere. It requires less water, does not require fertilizer, needs less frequent mowing, chokes out weeds, and grubs and other common lawn pests do not like it.

Simple Green Ideas for Your Lawn


We spend lots of time, energy and money making our lawns beautiful and user-friendly. Here are some tips for making them environmentally friendly as well.

1. Mulch Your Grass Clippings when possible - Grass clippings contain valuable nutrients taken right out of your soil. So isn't it odd that we gather our grass clippings in bags and ship them off to a land fill somewhere on the other side of the county?

Did you know that mulching your grass and leaves can save you as many as two fertilizer applications every year? Most lawn mowers come with a mulching blade that chops grass and leaves into small pieces and deposits them right back into the lawn.

Mulched leaves - especially sugar and red maple leaves - provide a degree of natural weed control when mulched into the lawn. Sometimes it is not practical to mulch your leaves because you have too many of them. But often it is - and it helps your lawn too!

2. Plant trees, shrubs and flowers  - You know that trees are good for the environment. They help clean the air, return moisture to the air and provide shade from the hot sun. Shrubs, flowers and bushes also have many benefits other than just adding beauty. They help stimulate the soil, add bio-diversity to your yard, and attract birds and other wildlife.

3. Use Fertilizer Wisely - Synthetic fertilizers almost always contain nitrogen and phosphorous. Nitrogen is what your grass needs for healthy growth. Much of your lawn's nitrogen requirements can be supplied by mulching your grass each time you mow it.

Phosophorous (the second number) is usually unnecessary for healthy lawns, and it has some negative effects on the environment. Phosphorous that ends up in our rivers, lakes and ponds stimulates plant growth which disrupts the habitat of fish and other water life. Look for a fertilizer than has "0" phosphorous.

Organic fertilizers may actually contain more phosphorus than synthetic ones, so read the label carefully.

Energy Saving Tips for the Homeowner
 
One of the most obvious areas where a homeowner can go "green" is in the use of energy in the home. The biggest energy hogs are heating, air conditioning, electrical appliances, lighting, and water usage. Here are some practical tips for saving energy and money at the same time.

1. Do an "energy audit" - A good place to start is with an informal energy "audit" to reveal where you are using the most energy and where you are wasting it. The average US home uses 31% of its energy consumption on heating, 12% on cooling, 12% on water heating, and 29% on appliances, lighting, and electronics such as TVs and computers. So these are obvious places you can cut back.

2. Insulate, insulate, insulate - If 43% of the energy used in our homes goes for heating and cooling this is the place to start. Insulation in your attic, outside walls and basement walls is critical. New products such as blown in insulation have made it easier to insulate previously difficult areas. But be careful to get professional advice before tackling a project like this yourself.

3. Seal doors and windows - Usually the worst areas of heat loss are windows and doors. Check for holes or cracks around your walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches, and electrical outlets. All of these can leak air into or out of your home. Have a professional take a look at your home and make some recommendations.

4. Turn the heat down - Wear warmer clothes and shoes in the winter so your house feels warmer. Then turn your thermostat down a few degrees. Set it to automatically lower the temperature at night. You'll save a lot of energy and you'll probably get fewer colds too.

5. Use less hot water - Be sure to have a highly efficient hot water heater. In some climates a tankless water heater may save energy, but research it thoroughly. Then study your hot water usage carefully. You may want to turn the temperature of your hot water heater down a bit. Consider replacing some appliances with more efficient ones. Use warm rather than hot water for washing clothes. Don't use the dishwasher for partial loads, shower for shorter periods of time, and don't let the hot water run when washing or shaving.

4. Turn off appliances and lights - When appliances are not being used they should be turned off or even unplugged (because many appliances use electricity even when they are not on). Set the energy saving features of your computer to shut down monitors and hard drives when not in use. Or turn your computers right off if not being used for an extended period of time.

5. Control your lighting - About 11% of the average home's energy usage goes to lighting, so this is an obvious area for significant savings. Replacing old incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) will save between 50 and 75% per bulb. And turning lights off when they are not required will (obviously) save even more.

Check back soon for regular blog posts about exciting things in Northern Minnesota real estate, Articles of Interest, Events and activities on the Iron Range and interesting news from Minnesota's Arrowhead region.

 Thanks for reading,
~ Stu Johansen ~