Thursday, March 28, 2013

Picture Perfect DREAM HOME with Harold's Purple Crayon!

Decades ago, when I was first learning to read, I loved picture book, "Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Crockett Johnson. I wanted a crayon just like that little boy who drew out his dreams in his footy pajamas. Even though I have never been a fan of the color purple, I always wanted one of those special violet Crayola-type sticks of wax to draw to draw my dreams. Imagine life being so simple.

After many years of wondering whether the dream of owning a home was dead, the housing market has made a turn around. Due to lower inventories in many areas, sellers are back in the  drivers seat and would be homebuyers are back to sitting on the fence dreaming about their perfect home. As interest rates start to creep up, the dream of a home could slip away. The reality is, there STILL are AFFORDABLE homes in the Minneapolis/St. Paul north and east metro. Maybe homebuyers just need one of Harold’s purple crayons so they can draw out a path to a perfect new home…

Draw YOUR perfect REALTOR® Grab that magic purple crayon and sketch out your ideal of a trusted professional REALTOR®. The first step in owning a dream home is to find the agent of your dreams to represent you throughout the process. Make certain to sign the buyer’s representation agreement for with a blue ink pen not a purple Crayola.

Draw Your Preapproval letter. Pre-approval is an important step before you begin looking for a home. It not only determines how much home you can afford to spend on a home, it guarantees that you are ready to write up the offer when you find your dream home. The letter will serve as notice to the sellers that the bank has committed to lend you a specified amount based on your financial history. This gives you significant buying power as a seller recognizes you are approved for a loan. Your professional REALTOR® can assist you in locating a qualified loan officer that will work with you to make your dream home a reality.

Draw YOUR perfect home!  Here’s the drawing you have been waiting for...glide that purple crayon across the page and sketch out your dream home. Your perfectly depicted REALTOR® will set up an MLS search for homes that meet your needs. As perfect homes hit the market, showings will be set to view the homes in person.

Draw up a Purchase Agreement and happy seller! Use that magic purple crayon to draw up a contract on your dream home. Okay the contract will more than likely be completed in something other than that crayon, but here is where you work with your REALTOR® to draw up a contract including all of the details such as what you want to pay for the home, what personal property is to be included as well as the date you want to close and move in.

Draw a Qualified Inspector. To be certain that you didn’t miss any important details when you sketched out the beautiful purple palace, draw a home inspector that is qualified to check out your new purchase.

Draw up a SOLD sign. A big purple "SOLD" sign will announce to the world that this is YOUR dream home! It will stay on the sign while the home is in "pending" status prior to the closing. During this period prior to closing, your dream professionals work closely together to ensure that details such as the appraisal and updating the title are handled in a timely manner. Now you can use a REAL purple crayon to cross off the days on the calendar until you get to the closing table!


Draw the Keys to your new front door! ! One final purple colored work of art will complete the home buying process—Sketch up a set of house keys! When closing day arrives, be prepared to attend with your state issued picture identification, a 10 year address history, your checkbook, and all other information requested by the closer. At the end of this meeting, you will be handed the keys to your new home.

Wait a second! Nobody really needs a purple crayon! You just need a trusted professional REALTOR® to guide you through the story to your happily ever after!

Copyright 2012 Teri Eckholm

Rent Continues to Rise in Minneapolis & St Paul MN

The September Rent report just released by ABODO shows te average rate to lease a one bedroom apartment in St Paul to be increasing ...