Woodbury MN Relocation - Durham Executive Group   The Durham Executive Group assisted a young couple who had transferred up from Florida and was looking to relocate to Woodbury MN. After an extended search we were able to help them find and negotiate on a home that met all their criteria for a new home. With strong representation the transaction was seamless and we closed on the home just a few days ago.   08/19/2011

Woodbury VA Home Loans One increasingly common mortgage option in Woodbury for Minnesota home buyers is available through the VA. This type of Woodbury mortgage financing has increased by about twenty per cent over the last few years due in part to the increasing number of our Minnesota veterans returning from the service. Additionally with the loss of other options for zero down payment loans in Minnesota, the VA offers a benefit that offers eligible buyers a unique opportunity to buy their home with no down payment. Woodbury VA Mortgages: Not Just For The First Time Buyer Many veteran home buyers misunderstand the fact that they may use their VA financing benefit multiple times. As a result veteran buyers do not necessarily need to be a first time user in order to use their VA benefit... 08/10/2011

Woodbury MN Town Home Association Lawsuit Against Contractor Prevents Sale   As I type this my buyer's were to be closing on a town home in Woodbury this morning. Unfortunately at the beginning of the week we discovered late in the game that the Association has a lawsuit against a contractor, which prevents anyone from obtaining a mortgage to purchase a town home in the development. Subsequently, since investors will not back a mortgage no one can sell or purchase. The exception is if there is a cash buyer though one would think that with the lawsuit for various poor construction issues that even most cash buyers would hesitate. While very frustrating for my buyer's I keep thinking of all those poor town home sellers who may need/want to sell over the next several years, but are unlikel... 08/05/2011

Relocation Stonemill Farms, Woodbury MN - Durham Executive Group   Yesterday's closing on 11089 Stonemill Farms Curve was a very satisfying moment for Becky and me as the real estate agent. This was an absolutely beautiful one-story walk-out rambler that backed up to a large pond with perfect landscaping both in the yard, as well as landscaping maintained by the Association around the pond with large fountains. The buyer's were relocated to Woodbury MN from Texas and I don't know if Becky and I have ever sold a home that seemed to meet our buyer's needs better than this highly maintained home. The closing was extremely satisfying as I have never been part of a closing where both agents along with seller's and buyer's got along so well making the transaction seamless. I have no doubt the... 08/02/2011

I often have clients ask "When is the ideal time to buy a home"? In order to appropriately answer the question with their best interest in mind I will have to see why they ask. Usually the response is about interest rates, prices, or something like "My uncle's, mechanic's, best friend that that used to be a Realtor said..." My short answer is "When you are ready." but what does that mean? How stable is your employment? Do you intend to stay or hold on to the property for more than 5 years? Do you have adequate reserves in case you were to be let go from your current employment? In a recent Forbes blog post, multimillionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson declared that today’s record-low interest rates made this the best time to buy homes in fifty years. “If you don’t own a home, buy on... 08/01/2011

Are Woodbury MN home prices going up already? Real estate is local and every once in a while you will find some anomalies like this! While inventory is decreasing for single family homes in Woodbury Minnesota we are seeing an increase in the median sales price of traditional sales. This means the transaction can take place from a traditional approach, no foreclosure or 3rd party approval required. All you have is a seller and a buyer ready to do some business and everyone is ready to make that happen. The way real estate should be IMHO... of course with home values dipping to 12 year lows in the 7 county metro area these kind of transactions are few and far between but according to the stats what you see is what you get! We have been fortunate enough to have several sales come together ... 07/28/2011

One of the common ways of financing a purchase of Woodbury real estate is through a loan program known as FHA(the Federal Housing Administration).  This federal program started back in the Great Depression to help with a situation like we have today when home foreclosures were rising and home buyers struggled to come up with a large down payment.  FHA loans have many advantageous guidelines for both the MN first time home buyer as well as the move up buyer.         While zero down payments have most gone away, Woodbury FHA loans offer down payments as low as three and a half per cent of the purchase price.  This fact along with the fact that most negotiated offers today involves “seller paid closing costs” allows the Minnesota home buyer to get in for a much more reasonable down payment... 07/25/2011

Are you wondering about how you go about buying a home in Woodbury? The process of how to buy a home can be confusing for many people, especially first time home buyers. Since the process can be a bit complicated I would like to share with you some tips of how to accomplish your goal. How To Buy A home in Woodbury Most MN home buyers begin their process of buying a home on the web, of course. There are many places to do this but a good place for you to start is to use the MLS search on my personal website. There are tens of thousands of Minnesota real estate websites out there but you will soon find that many of the sites lack important details you will need when finding and pricing a home. National real estate websites do not show the annual property taxes due for each of the property ... 07/22/2011

Woodbury listing inventory is approaching a 5 year low. That's right, we are on pace right now to go below the low of 295 single family homes for sale set in Aug/Sept. 2010 bringing us back to the levels seen in June of 2006! This, of course, marked the beginning of the down turn in home sales and sygnified the bubble bursting in our market.   I remember it like it was just yesterday. The market that spring was like a bad dream when you want to run away from the bad guy but you just can't muster the strength to get anywhere. Who would have imagined our median sale price would drop over 20% in 5 yrs... pushing us back to prices seen just before 2000. You mean there is good news? Well sure, inventory down... sales up... we could be seeing the market stabilize and give us a chance to catc... 07/18/2011

  I wanted to get your thoughts on if we move Aug. 18-20, what if we clear everything out of our house. My wife is pretty convinced that it'll appear larger with nothing in it but I'm on the fence. Are the pictures of how we had stuff in the rooms enough if nothing was in them? What do you think? Mr. Homeowner, The reason for staging is to create an experience, define space, and help the buyer visualize how they can use the different spaces in the home. If you pull everything out it's left to their imagination and most of the time buyers are incapable of understanding if their couch will fit or if their king size bed is too big etc. I would recommend leaving some of your items there with the primary areas of focus being the living room, dining area, and master bedroom. Some  cute hand t... 07/14/2011

If you're working on getting your Woodbury, MN home ready to sell, you're probably getting sick of the phrase "curb appeal". You want to do everything you can to make your property attractive to potential buyers, but it can be overwhelming to think about all the possibly ways you could spend money sprucing up your house and yard. One simple, time-efficient and cost-effective thing that you can do to immediately boost the look of your house and yard is to pressure wash it! This is particularly good for stucco homes, but will produce positive results on any kind of siding. For about 5-10% of the cost of painting your home, you can get a fresh, clean look by blasting away dirt and residue from your siding, patio, driveway and sidewalks. And that's if you're hiring someone to do it - if you... 07/07/2011

 Woodbury MN Relocation - Durham Executive Group Last month, the Durham Executive Group received a phone call from a family in Texas relocating to Minnesota. They wanted to look at homes spread throughout the whole Twin Cities including the following communities of Savage, Minnetonka, Prior Lake, Wayzata, and Woodbury. The purpose of their search was to zero in on their community of choice, as well as find their dream home. This was a family with a variety of interests and specific needs seeking that special home and John and Becky worked tirelessly with them in narrowing down their search to find a home that met all their criteria. Pictured below is the beautiful Woodbury MN home they decided to purchase. The inspection has been finalized and the family is waiting for a successful appr... 06/25/2011

 Average Days on Market Woodbury, MN - Durham Executive Group The following chart provides those seller's and potential seller's of homes for sale in Woodbury, MN a good visual of average days on market until sale. The bar graph below encompases both zip codes 55125 and 55129. Keep in mind that a home that is well prepared for the market will sell much quicker than the average days on market you see below. Meaning....the home has to be in great condition, staged well, priced appropriately, and the seller's need to ensure they have a agent who is a top marketing agent for homes in Woodbury. WoodburyDays on Market Until SaleRolling 12 Months  Graph and information provided by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors     06/25/2011

If you’re in the process of selling your Woodbury, MN home, you know that you need every advantage on your side. With many foreclosed houses on the market competing with yours for showings and interest, it’s never been more important to make your house stand out from the crowd. There’s very good advice in this article regarding presenting your home to buyers. These days “web appeal” is nearly more important than “curb appeal”, as almost all buyers are checking out homes online before setting up a showing. And web appeal means good photography of your home. Sure, you could take some yourself with your point & shoot camera, but they likely will not be the kind of photos that draw buyers in. Having a good stager and photographer set your rooms up to be properly shot and lit is a good inves... 06/13/2011

Woodbury MN Relocation Real Estate Agents - Durham Executive Group Recently, when a 3M SIRVA relocation buyer from Michigan moved to Minnesota looking for a home meeting all their needs and expectations John & Becky Durham of the Durham Executive Group was able to assist and ensure that the transaction was seamless with strong representation and negotiation skills from the beginning of the home search process all the way through closing. If you are relocating into or out of Woodbury and the surrounding area regardless of the Relocation Company and package John & Becky Durham are certified relocation agents who work with all the relocation companies. Remember...while the relocation company you are working with will provide you several generic real estate agents to contact...you are the t... 06/11/2011

If you're thinking of buying a foreclosure in Woodbury, MN or surrounding areas, it seems you'll have your pick for a while. According to a an insightful article on CNBC about foreclosure delays across the nation, while the rate of foreclosures is the lowest it's been in over 3.5 years, that's probably only because the banks have been slow in bringing all owners in default through the actual foreclosure process. Diana Olick of CNBC even interviewed the CEO of RealtyTrac, a company that closely monitors foreclosures throughout the nation, and he said it might take some loans 3-4 years to move through the foreclosure process! So, if you are thinking of buying a foreclosure in Woodbury, Minnesota, or any of the surrounding parts the Twin Cities, you can count on some interesting choices. A... 05/12/2011

Woodbury MN Home Sold by the Durham Executive Group   This property at 3075 Copper Oaks Trail closed today. This was a nicely maintained 2-story Woodbury MN property in the Copper Oaks neighborhood. The home had many upgrades including a walk-out basement and a dry sauna.   04/25/2011

Eagle Valley Woodbury MN Homes for Sale - Durham Executive Group    The Durham Executive Group sells another Eagle Valley Home: 10520 Pinnacle WayWoodbury, MN 55129       MLS ID: 4001798   Welcome to 10520 Pinnacle Way - Eagle Valley - Woodbury MN 55129 Location, location, location! In the Pinnacle of Eagle Valley (the premier section of this development), this home sits on the 17th fairway of the Eagle Valley Golf Course. With views of the rolling hills, wetlands, wildlife and the home's beautiful & professional landscaping, the back yard is your very own oasis. Quality schools for the area top it all off. This 2-story home features 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3-car garage & room to grow w/ a walk-out basement ready for finishing. Tons of curb appeal with perfectly maintained landscaping and ... 03/14/2011

Information about Buying a Woodbury MN Home - Durham Executive Group   Find information about buying a Woodbury MN home.    The very most important thing a buyer should do upon deciding to buy a Woodbury MN home is to find a top selling and experienced real estate agent to work with.  Finding and working with a good real estate agent who is familiar with the Woodbury MN housing market is vital if the home buyer wants to make the home purchase transaction as seamless as possible. There are many high quality real estate agents that work in the Woodbury area. The key is finding that one agent who listens to your needs, and who you feel you can trust and forge a great working relationship with. A quality real estate agent is going to first perform an assessment of what you are looking for ... 03/07/2011

Woodbury MN Sold Home Price Statistics for 2010  - Durham Executive Group Using reaearched information gleaned from the MLS this blog reflects the average sale price along with the total number of of homes sold by percentage points in Woodbury MN's zip code (55129) for 2010 compared against the same Woodbury MN zip code in 2009.  What our research discovered was that in the 55129 zip code there was a +19.58% increase in the average sales price during 2010 compared against the same time period in 2009. Also, our research shows that there were -41.38 fewer homes sold in 55129 during 2010 than 2009. The above statistics for 55129 compared very well in terms of the average sale price for solds than 55125, but did not compare favorably against 55125 relating to the percentage of homes sold. ... 03/07/2011