Are you ready to buy a house? Considerations before taking the plunge

Overwhelming. An apt word to describe the process of searching and buying a home.

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Along a myriad of decisions to makestarting from calculating how much money you are willing to cash out to scouring the real estate market in your localitycome considerations to explore in undertaking this important milestone in your life.

In the list of concerns, financial costs should be number one since there will be spiraling fees and charges from closing a mortgage down to moving in. You have to contemplate and answer several questions before taking the plunge. First, do you have a steady income? Second, will the value of the home you are eyeing on not go down in a year or so? Third, will you be able to cover maintenance and repair costs?

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Those are just a few of them. Forbes Magazine suggests to dig deeper, like when choosing the location. Is the neighborhood the perfect place for you and your family? Are there any pending local redevelopment plans? How’s the crime rate in the community? Are there churches, schools, and malls nearby?

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Seasoned homebuyers say that it’s easy to fall in love at once with a house and fantasize living in it. However, you should not let your emotions impede your line of thought for they can cause trouble by clouding your judgments. Doing the math, making a thorough research, and comparing notes with real estate experts contribute to making wise decisions.

Steve Liefschultz is the chairman of the board of The Remada Company, a real estate firm. Learn more about the business by subscribing to this Facebook page.

Amid a multifamily rental housing boom, apartment vacancies remain low in Twin Cities

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According to the latest Apartment Trends report by Marquette Advisors, construction of multifamily rental housing units continues across the Twin Cities while apartment vacancy rates remain steady. Currently, the apartment vacancy rate across the metro was at 2.4 percent at the end of the third quarter, which is a slight decrease from the 2.5 vacancy rate that was reported for the same period last year.

Near the end of 2013, construction of new apartments and condos started after a period of inactivity. Positivity and demand were high once again and residents started to move to new buildings that have fancy amenities such as pools, rooftop gardens, bocce courts, and dog walks among others. There were 2,763 new apartments that opened that year alone.

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By the end of 2014, about 5,000 new apartments are expected to be ready for occupancy in the metro. In 2015, an additional 3,600 new unit are expected to rise. Downtown Minneapolis currently sees most of the new apartment projects, with 40 percent of new construction and 33 percent of absorption in the region since December 2012.

The rental vacancy rates were at 2.1 percent in Minneapolis and 3.1 percent in downtown Minneapolis. The latest figures show a significant drop from the vacancy rate of 5.7 percent that was recorded in the second quarter of this year.

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Banker and real estate investor, Steve Liefschultz is the chairman of the board of The Remada Company in Minnesota. For more news and updates on Minnesota real estate, visit this Facebook page.