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Maple Grove, MN Real Estate News

By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
Six to Eight Weeks before Moving Day  Working with the Mover * Have the moving company conduct a household goods survey in order to furnish you with a written estimate, although the final cost will depend on the actual weight of your household goods after they are loaded on the van. * Before the removal list arrives, inspect the property. Include the garage, patio and any storage shed. Decide what to move and what to discard. Remember the cost of moving an item may be greater than the cost of replacing it. * Decide whether you want to do any of the packing or have it done by the moving company's experienced personnel. Show on the removal list everything that is to be moved. Specify articles that are to be packed so the estimate will include these charges. Any items that are later added ...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
Estimate of Moving Costs Unless you have been given a binding estimate where a firm cost isestablished in advance, the exact cost of a move cannot be determineduntil after the shipment has been loaded on the van and weighed. Theweight on which charges are based is calculated by weighing the vanbefore and after loading. The total cost of the move will includetransportation charges, any charges for declared valuation, pluscharges for any extra services performed at your request. All of thesecharges are based on tariff rate schedules. Owner's Responsibility  It is the owner's responsibility to see that your mechanical,electrical equipment and appliances are properly serviced for shippingprior to the arrival of the moving van. For safe moving, have theseitems prepared by a licensed or prope...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
In Search of a New Residence Subscribe to the area's local newspaper in advance of your move. Itusually contains a large real estate section, which can be veryhelpful in giving you some idea of the type of housing available inthe new city, as well as other useful information. Arrange for ahouse-hunting trip to your new city. When looking for a new home, takealong a tape measure and a list of the exact dimensions of each ofyour major appliances and other large pieces of furniture. Measure theareas provided for them to be sure your appliances and furniture willfit. Establish credit in the new city. Ask your banker for a referralto a correspondent bank and to act as a credit reference. PreplanningYour Move Plan the move as early as possible. If you are able to moveat any time of the year, ...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
You can change things, a feeling of being in control It's your home. You can add to it, remodel it, change the landscaping,do whatever projects you want. You have a feeling of being in controlof something in your life. At work we don't always have control ofwhat happens, but your home is your castle that you have dominionover. You can see what you're building take shape before your eyes. More control over the children than in an apartment complex In a neighborhood, kids usually play in the yards or go to friend'shouses a few doors away. My clients have told me that in an apartmentcomplex they never knew where the kids were. They could be in any ofhundreds of apartments, doing who knows what. In a home you get toknow the neighbors and watch out for each other's kids. Children do better i...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
You've probably seen lots of financial arguments about why you shouldown your own home rather than rent. This includes budgeting (no rentincreases) and the tax savings you'll most likely have. Now I'm goingto give you some reasons you probably haven't heard. Freedom to pursue other goals in life once the major goal of homeownership is achieved Strange as it sounds, many of my first-time buyers have told me thatonce they bought the house, other things in their life started to fallinto place. It's as if not owning took so much of their mental energythat other goals were not worked on until that big goal was reached.So buy a home and get on with your life! A greater sense of belonging to the community Once you own a home, you feel more attached to the city in which youlive. You're more int...
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6. Seek entertainment. When there's nothing you can do about thesituation, take your mind off of it altogether. Maybe you expectedloan approval on Friday, but now it won't come until Monday. You hatebeing in limbo and feeling powerless. So do something else entirely,maybe something where you aren't powerless. Take a hike, play tennis,get out of town for the day. Watch a movie or pour yourself into yourwork. Whatever diversion works best for you, now would be a good timeto engage in it. Just forget the situation and refuse to listen tothose irritating thoughts when they come into your head. Think aboutsomething else instead and just take it one day at a time. To keepstress to a minimum, here's how I'll serve you when you work with mein buying your new home: Give my best-reasoned expert c...
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4. Get knowledge. One thing you'll probably feel during thistransition time is being out of control. It feels like everyone elsehas taken over your life. The seller, your lender, the appraiser, theinspectors, they all have the power to say yes or no to your movingplans. We'll try our best to let you know ahead of time what yourexpenses will be, and what the unknowns are. We'll tie down the looseends as soon as possible. We'll try to get your loan approved withina reasonable time frame. We'll educate you as best we can and let youin "behind the scenes" so you won't ever feel stupid or out ofcontrol. 5. What is your option? When things don't go as smoothly as you hadhoped, don't let emotions take over. Always ask yourself "What is myoption?" because there are always options. Let's pretend...
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2. Be flexible. In your monetary calculations, overestimate by athousand dollars. In this market, anything can happen between contractacceptance and closing. It could be the inspections reveal areas ofconcern that the seller is unwilling to fix or the repair costs arehigher than the amount limited in the contract. Or the interest ratechanges which affects the necessary down payment and closing costs youwill need to come up with. As your real estate team, we will strive totie up loose ends as quickly as possible, but remember there is noperfect world. Most buyers feel a bit overwhelmed when taking on anew mortgage and the responsibilities of a new home and we've seenmany buyers get angry when it seems like the cost just keeps going up.Anger is caused when reality doesn't match up with th...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
˜DEATH, DIVORCE & MOVING are the three most stressful experiences inlife. There are two very different kinds of needs that people havewhile moving. First there are the transactional needs, like findingthe home that is just right for you, finding a seller who isrealistic, negotiating the price, filling out the paperwork, handlingthe escrow, and arranging for the move. But there are also emotionalneeds that are involved when moving, and this is where the biggeststress comes in. Any competent agent will handle the transactionalneeds for you, but if your emotional needs are unfulfilled, you'll befrustrated and may not act in your own best interests. The ideal realestate agent is one who is competent with paperwork and numbers, butcan also guide, direct, and counsel you through the emotional...
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By Donna Quanrud, Donna Quanrud Southwest Metro Homes
(Coldwell Banker Burnet)
Maple Grove is fast becoming a go to place for shopping, dining and entertainment in Hennepin County.  There are lots of choices when it coming to dining with our newest addition being Mongo's Grill.  If you enjoyed mongolian barbecue at the now closed New Kings Inn then you will like Mongo's.  Here is a list of restaurants to enjoy in Maple Grove: Angeno's Pizza & Pasta - Grove Square  763-420-8200  13588 80th Cir N, Maple Grove, MN 55369  Applebee's Neighborhood Grill - Maple Grove  763-494-3289  14400 Weaver Lake Rd, Maple Grove, MN 55311  Arby's  763-416-4972   7885 Wedgewood Ln N, Maple Grove, MN 55369  Bella Sera Wine Bar  763-425-7372  12730 Elm Creek Blvd, Maple Grove 55369 Benihana  763-315-0090   11840 Fountains Way N, Maple Grove 55369 Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano  763-416-22...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
Expect that your children may be even more distressed after the movethan they were before it. The new house will not be beautiful thenight after the moving van leaves, or for months after. The furniturewon't fit the rooms. The curtains won't be up, and every spot on thefloor will be covered with half-unpacked cartons. The children won'tknow anyone at school and, if you move during the summer, they mayhave little opportunity to meet anyone their age. You may be facedwith many more problems in your new community than they will, butremember that you can handle them more easily than they can. They willneed your help, and you should plan to give them the support theyneed. After the move, give each of them a long distance telephonecall allowance so they can keep in touch with the people back ...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
Sugar coating will help, but since children can quickly see thenegative sides of most situations, every parent must plan to deal withtheir children's worries, fears and sorrows. The children will losefriends they may have known all their lives. They will leave behindtheir sports teams, their clubs and they're dancing teachers. Theywill have to start over in a new place, making friends, becomingaccepted and fitting into different groups. Younger children needprotection from fear of the unknown. Listen carefully to theirconcerns, and respond quickly to allay their apprehensions. It wouldbe normal, for instance, for a young child to worry that his or hertoy box and shelf of stuffed animals might be left behind. Find thoseanxieties and correct them. Probably the best tactic is to get thechi...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
The impact of a move on a typical child starts about the time he orshe first hears that Daddy has accepted a promotion, and oftencontinues for about a year, until the new house becomes home andmemories of the previous place fade. It's not usually necessary toannounce this big change to children immediately, although they musthear about it from you before someone else breaks the news. Mostteenagers see themselves as adult members of the family, and willprobably feel they have been left out if they don't hear everythingfrom the first day. But it is probably not a good idea to telltoddlers and preschoolers until they have to know. There is no pointin making them worry far in advance. Be sure to announce the move ina totally positive way. You might say how proud you are that Daddy'scompany ...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
Moving from one house to another is seldom easy or fun for adults andit can be especially troubling for children. If parents deal withtheir children's concerns and needs thoughtfully, much of thatdistress and discomfort can be avoided. Children see moves differently than their parents do, and theybenefit much less from the change in their comfortable routines, or soit seems at the time. Most often, a change in houses or communitiesheralds an important step forward for the adult members of the family.The family moves because Daddy or Mommy has a great new job or apromotion in reward for years of hard work. They move becausefinancial success has allowed the purchase of a bigger and nicer housein a more costly neighborhood. They move because they can finallyafford private bedrooms for each...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
Access Factor Top selling agents will not show your home if both the Key and accessare not readily available. They do not have time to run around townall day picking up and dropping off keys. They want to sell homes!The greatest way to show a house is to have a key! When your home isbeing shown, please do the following: * Keep all lights on* Keep all drapes and shutters open* Keep all doors unlocked* Leave soft music playing* Take a short walk with your children and pets* Let the buyer be at ease and let the agents do their job * Paint & Carpet Factor Paint is your best improvement investment for getting a greater returnon your money. Paint makes the whole house smell clean and neat. Ifyour house has chipped paint, exposed wood, or the paint looks faded,it is time to paint. If your carp...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
The best chance for selling your property is within the first sevenweeks. Studies show that the longer a property stays on the market,the less the seller will net. Below are 5 main factors toaccomplishing this goal.  Pricing Factor It is very important to price your property at a competitive marketvalue right when you list it. The market is so competitive that evenover-pricing by a few thousand dollars could mean that your house willnot sell. It's interesting, but your first offer is usually your bestoffer. Here are reasons for pricing your property at the market valueright from the start in order to net you the most amount of money inthe shortest amount of time. An overpriced home: * Minimizes offers* Lowers showings* Lowers agent response* Limits financing* Limits qualified buyers* Ne...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
Mistake #9. Not planning your move earlier enough Many sellers simply don't plan their move early enough and then feeltotally overwhelmed at the time of moving out of the house. If you areable to move at any time of the year, don't wait until summer, thepeak-moving season. Consider also that the first and last few days ofthe month are extra busy. If you plan to sell your house, get it onthe market as soon as possible. Keep a record of all expenses relatedto the move, some of which may be tax deductible. Fill out thePersonal Household Inventory for each room. This is important forestablishing the amount of declared valuation for the shipment and asa permanent inventory for insurance purposes. List, as nearly aspossible, the year of purchase and original cost of each item. Attachany invoi...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
Mistake #7. Not knowing how to price your home to sell Perhaps the most challenging aspect of selling a home is listing it atthe correct price. It's one of several areas where the assistance of askilled real estate agent can more than pay for itself. Listing thehome too high can be as bad as too low. If the listing price is toohigh, you'll miss out on a percentage of buyers looking in the pricerange where your home should be. This is the flaw in thinking thatyou'll always have the opportunity to accept a lower offer. Chancesare the offers won't even come in, because the buyers who would bemost interested in your home have been scared off by the price andaren't even taking the time to look. By the time the price iscorrected, you've already lost exposure to a large group of potentialbuyer...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
Mistake #6. Forgetting what you would want to see if you were thebuyer of your home Remember that although people can be different in personality, theytend to be the same when it comes to expectations at someone else'sexpense. In other words, a prospective buyer would probably like tosee a perfect home from top to bottom, inside and out, when it comesto your home. Try to do as many of the following items as possible toimprove the likelihood of your home sale in an expedient way.   On the outside 1) Sweep front walkway.  2) Remove newspapers, bikes and toys.  3) Park extra cars away from the property. 4) Trim back the shrubs. 5) Apply fresh, clean paint throughout.  6) Clean windows and window coverings throughout.  7) Keep plumbing and all appliances in working order.  8) Maintain all s...
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By Richard McDeid
(Our Home Real Estate)
Mistake #4. Forgetting about health and safety issues Be upfront and disclose to your Realtor any problems with theproperty. The problems are going to be discovered anyway. A decadeago, health and safety issues were rarely a part of the typical realestate transaction. Today, however, it's common for inspectionsrelating to health, safety, and even environmental concerns to be apart of most sales contracts. Moreover, in many states, the sellermust disclosure to the buyer any knowledge of existing propertyproblems. In many cases, these issues have been or can be factoredinto the home's listing price.   Mistake #5. Thinking you need to be in the home to explain things to aprospective buyer You will be better served if you allow your Realtor to do their jobwithout you there. Most potential b...
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