Ignite Has Started!

Ignite: a Keller Williams course that has a single objective - to propel both newly licensed and experienced KW real estate agents to immediate productivity. 

1st Day of IGNITE! 

The Keller Williams Ignite course is one of the many reasons realtors choose Keller Williams. They are so focused on training their realtors and giving them the skills they need to have a successful real estate career. 

Ignite contains a "wealth of fundamental and foundational real estate content, enhanced by productivity-based exercises, an online tracking system, practical job aids, and powerful real estate scripts."

And this month our office, Keller Williams Premier Realty Lake Minnetonka, is hosting it! So exciting to see both brand spankin' new agents starting up their real estate career, as well as experienced agents re-focusing on success.

If you have any questions about how you can get involved in this awesome course or become a real estate agent with Keller Williams please contact Jim Camarata at the Lake Minnetonka office -  jimcamarata@kw.com. 

Wayzata Summer Concert Series

Mark your calendars - Wednesday evenings in July from 7:00-8:30 PM! The 2014 Summer Concert Series will be held in Wayzata at the Depot Park on Lake Minnetonka & the lineup is looking good!

July 9 | The High 48s Bluegrass Band

July 16 | Patty Peterson & Friends

July 23 | Jeff Dayton

July 30 | The Tuxedo Band 

Don't miss the opportunity to enjoy gorgeous Minnesota summer nights on the lake and listen to some good music! 

What to Do Now That My Offer Has Been Accepted?

CONGRATS! Your offer has been accepted! You are almost at the finish line, but there a few crucial steps that stand between you and the closing.

1. Hire a home inspector
   Your Realtor is a great source to find the best home inspector. They have done a ton of inspections and will have a strong opinion on who and who not to use. So listen to their advice. Just make sure it is based on merit and a job well done and not on referrals. Ask friends and family who have recently purchased a house how their home inspection experience was. Then, once you got a few names of inspectors contact them to get their credentials. If they belong to a professional organization like the “American Society of Home Inspectors” it's a good sign that they are skilled and experienced.
   
2. Get the home appraisedUsually your mortgage lender will hire the appraiser. But on occasion, during negotiation, the sellers will agree to pay for it. Appraisals tend to run between $300 and $400.
   
3. Make purchase funds availableYou will need funds for closing. So make sure you have them available and ready to go when you finally get to the closing table.
   
4.  Final walk-through You are allowed to do a final walk-through of your new house 48 hours before closing. This allows you to make sure that the currently homeowners have been keeping the property in good shape, and kept their end of the agreement to fix or do any improvements around the property. This is NOT the time to back out of the deal or negotiate with the seller. It is just what you do before you sign your name.
   

After all of that… it is closing time! At the closing, be prepared to sign lots and lots of documents. But it’s totally worth it! Because you now are the official owner of your dream home! Just make sure you bring your ID and cashier’s check to pay for the closing costs. You will be notified about how much you owe before you get there.

Now go out and treat yourself! The road to home ownership is a long one – so enjoy being done with the process and enjoy your new home!

RED Day 2014

     RED Day (Renew, Energize, & Donate) is an annual event celebrated by all Keller Williams associates around the globe that represents the Keller William’s year-round commitment to improving local communities. RED Day occurs on the second Thursday in May each year. On that day each Keller Williams Market Center participates in a different project based on a need they see within their community.  Projects include rebuilding homes, cleaning up local parks, assisting food shelters, hosting blood drives, and much, much more.

The Keller Williams Premier Realty Lake Minnetonka office celebrated RED Day by helping the Big Woods in Wayzata. The Big Woods is 14 acres and is the last metro remnant of a forest that once covered all of central Minnesota.

The Wayzata office was roaring and ready to help out on RED DAY, May 8^th 2014, but unfortunately the weather was not in their favor. It rained in the morning and left the woods a giant mud puddle, so the Wayzata office was not able to get out and help that day. But to show their commitment to RED Day and to the community they rescheduled it for the following week and helped then instead. This goes to show that RED Day isn't just a one day event, but can be celebrated any and every day of the year!

So once they got out to the woods the office helped by pulling out Garlic Mustard weeds. Garlic mustard is an invasive species that is infecting the Big Woods. The Big Woods was once filled with trillium bloodroot, Jack-in-the-pulpits, ferns and other wildflowers, but these are disappearing as Garlic Mustard crowds them out and releases a natural herbicide into the soil. This is a problem not only because it is taking away the beautiful flowers and plants, but also because birds, butterflies and other wildlife depend on such native plants to survive.

So KW agents, dressed in red, got out there and pulled up as much of the weed as they possibly could. They worked all morning, only to stop for a group picture and a snack. Then they got back to work until lunch time. Marketplace Home Mortgage, Keller Williams Premier Realty's preferred mortgage vendor, brought in a delicious lunch from D’Amico & Sons for the troops. Even after full stomachs the team got back to pulling more Garlic Mustard.

In the end, the day was a huge success, the Big Woods was extremely grateful, the KW agents had fun bonding and team building, and the weather held up… the second time around. 

This was the 2^nd year that the KW office helped the Big Woods and we hope to be back there next RED Day to keep the tradition going and keep the woods clean! 

“RED Day isn't about cleaning up a park. It is a one-day expression of what happens 24/7 in the Keller Williams culture. It is seeing a need, discovering who can meet that need and then getting it done."

Look at Real Estate Listings Online and In-Person

Now that you have all your ducks in a row and know what your price range is, are pre-approved with a mortgage lender, and found a kick-butt real estate agent, it is time for the fun part of this journey – actually finding your dream home!

During this step – Step #7 – Look at Real Estate Listings - you will be working very closely with your real estate agent. They are professionals and have all the tools needed to help you find your home and stay updated on price reductions and when new listings hit the market that are in your price range.

But you might want to do some of your own research. There are lots of websites out there that are easy to use and will help you narrow down your search by price, city, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, etc. The best place to start the research is on your agent’s website. They have a link and possibly a map to help you find the perfect house.  We recommend shopping around on your agent’s website because not only do they offer easy access for property searching but they also usually have lot of other add-ons and buyer/seller resources that will help with the process as well!

Other websites to check out would be Trulia or RealEstate.com – they great sites to get an idea of what homes are available in your market. You can check those out to get some ideas and let your agent know what peaks your interest.

Another great way to search for homes is a real estate mobile app. Lots of different real estate agencies have kept up with the technologically advanced times and have created property searching apps to download onto your phone! So make sure you check in with your agent to see if they have one and download it today.

One, specific app that knocks it out of the park is the Keller Williams’ Mobile App, which is a GPS-enabled app that allows you to connect with your KW agent instantly, easily search for properties (via a map or by current location), view local property details with photos, create notes about what you like for each property and then share the property info with friends and family – all at your fingertips! Download the app today!

Once you find some properties that interest you, make sure you let your agent know and actually go see them in person. It will give you a much greater feel on what you like or don’t like.

Houses are always getting added to the market, so if you can’t find anything you love right away, don’t give up hope - your agent will keep you posted on all property updates!

Check back soon to learn more about the next step on the Road to Home Ownership – Research Neighborhoods. And then you will be one step closer to officially finding your dream home! 

   

The Road to Homeownership - Step 1

    The road to home-ownership might scare you, have you questioning if you can actually do it, and give you financial anxiety, but don't let that overcome you! It is a process, but following the right steps, getting help from the right Real Estate and Mortgage professionals will help you be successful and put you at ease throughout. Let's start from the beginning, at step #1. 

    #1."Determine if you're ready to buy a home, check online listings to see if you can afford one" 

This is where you are going to start. You are going to make sure you can afford a house. But it’s not only about having sufficient funds, it’s also about being at the right spot in your life. Some questions you should ask yourself include:

·        Are you happy with your job?

·        Are you ready to settle down? In this specific community?

·        How well can you budget?

·        How much money do you have saved up?

If you feel like the answer to these questions point to you being able to buy a home, then get searching!

    You are going to get online and start researching. Research not only different listings, but research different areas (cities, neighborhoods), and different websites to search for homes (kw.com). Make sure you are giving yourself time on this step and do a real thorough job. The more information you have the more power you will have the rest of the road! 

     The best place to do some research is on specific Real Estate Agent's websites. Why? Because agents make these websites as a one-stop-shop for home buyers (and sellers). They will present you with so much information you might not need to go anywhere else - if you find the right agent. They will have listings, they will have different area information, they will have market updates, tips, preferred and trusted vendors, etc. Start your search here! Maybe it’s a referral or an agent you met at the grocery store, but get on their website and see where it takes you! 

    Jump on the Keller Williams Premier Realty Lake Minnetonka website and see what listings or agents are ready and waiting to help you start down the road of home-ownership!

     And check back later for more info on step #2 – “Get Your Credit Report”!

     

      

The Spring Market is NOW

     Spring is almost here! That means so many good things for us Minnesotans - goodbye snow, goodbye 8 layers, goodbye windburn face, we could go on! But what is as exciting as the coming warmth, flowers, sun and grass is the spring real estate market. It is about to get crazy for home buyers, sellers and their hard-working agents. So what can you actually expect from the spring market of 2014? 
     One thing, that we can usually expect every year, is the increase in inventory and the increase in buyers. This is a trend that can usually predicted without fail, every year. Once spring comes more houses hit the market and in turn more buyers are ready to make the move. This is wildly encouraging for everyone who will be involved with the buying/selling process. There isn't a formula for why exactly this happens but everyone has their own theories. One of which believes that this happens solely because of the consumers mindset. They believe that in the winter the market is slow and stinks, but in the spring everyone is buying and selling and real estate agents have their game faces on, so they want to participate in this market, not the "trudging-through-the-snow" market. 
      Even though the spring brings hope of more buyers and sellers, doesn't mean you should hold off. There is already a shortage of inventory of houses for sale, so if you are planning on buying a house this spring - DON'T WAIT. Right now there are more buyers than there are favorable listings and you don't want to completely miss out this spring, because in all realty, the spring market has already started and will end sooner than you may think. 
     So make sure you get in touch with your Keller Williams Lake Minnetonka Realtor about selling your home ASAP so you don't miss out. Otherwise, if you wait for the spring market to hit full force you should be ready to pay higher prices in some serious bidding wars. 
     Feel free to call the Keller Williams Premier Realty Wayzata office at 952-475-0111 and let us know how we can help you with any of your real estate needs and questions!