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3 Stress-Free Packing Tips For Moving Into Your New Home

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Packing Tips For Moving HomesMoving everything in your house to your new Minneapolis/St Paul home can be an overwhelming task.

You never realize how much stuff you actually own until you try to fit it all into boxes and move it somewhere new.

When you are packing up your things to relocate, here are some helpful tips to make your moving experience much easier:

Start Packing In Advance

You don’t have to wait until the day before you move to start packing everything in your house!

As soon as you find out that you are moving, you can start packing the items you don’t often use, such as your seasonal decorations, photo albums and family keepsakes.

If you pack a few items per week, you’ll have almost everything packed by the time you are ready to go except for the essentials you use every day.

Establish A System

Rather than randomly throwing every item you see into a box, think ahead and create a logical plan for your packing.

Before you start, develop a simple record-keeping system.

Give every box you pack a number and write a corresponding list detailing the items in that box.

This way, when you arrive you will know exactly where to find each item.

Stay Organized

You will want to keep all of the items from each area of the house together so they can be unpacked easily.

For example, keep all of the boxes of kitchen supplies together and then put them straight into the kitchen when you arrive at your new home.

You could even designate a color for each room in the house and put colored stickers on the boxes so that the movers or anyone helping you can easily determine in which room a box belongs.

Bonus Tip: Sometimes Less Is More

One final consideration that can make your move easier is to use your move as an opportunity to pare down your unused belongings.

Plus, you won’t be left wondering why you decided to move things from one home to another once you start unpacking.

As with many things, the more organized you are when packing, the less stressful it will be when you arrive and at your new house.

 

Why Buying Real Estate Can Be A Smart Financial Move

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Owning Real Estate Can Be A Smart Financial MoveBuying Minneapolis real estate doesn’t just give you a place to live; it can also be a very smart financial move.

This is because owning a home can be like having a forced savings account, which you are committed to for the long term.

Consistent Saving On Autopilot

Sometimes saving money on our own each month is difficult. It takes a lot of discipline to maintain a consistent savings plan.

However, paying your mortgage every month means that you are paying down the principal and working toward eventually owning the property outright.

In the early years of the mortgage, the payments will go primarily to the interest on the loan.

But over time, the portion of your payment dedicated to principle increases, which accelerates paying off the entire mortgage.

Make Yourself Wealthy Instead Of Your Landlord

In the long term, owning your own home may be a much better financial arrangement than renting a home. No matter how long you pay monthly rent, you will never own the real estate that you are living in.

When you are renting your home, it may also be possible for your landlord to increase your rent every year.

On the other hand, paying a mortgage on your real estate means that every month you get closer to owning the home.

In fact, most home mortgage lenders offer a fixed interest rate mortgage. This gives you a sense of control over how much you are paying every month, year to year.

In a fixed rate mortgage, every mortgage payment pays down a portion of the principle on your mortgage loan.  In many cases this builds equity in your property and increases your net worth.

It’s a good idea to check with a professional mortgage lender to get an idea of the most up-to-date programs available.

Real Estate May Increase In Value Over Time

Over the years, your home might appreciate in value. Many experts say that the average home value increase each year over longer stretches of time, although this will vary according to the area you live in, the current economy and other factors.

Your home’s value may very well fluctuate throughout the years, but history has shown that over the long term, buying a home can be a very beneficial financial decision.

Understanding the benefits of home ownership, including the potential financial upside of purchasing your own home, can be an excellent way to further your overall personal financial plan.

For more information Minnesota Real Estate Today Updates

 

Over 70% Of US Metro Market Housing Markets Improve In February

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Improving Market IndexThe National Association of Homebuilders recently released its Improving Markets Index for the month of February.

The report attempts to identify U.S. metropolitan areas in which the economy is improving, demonstrating “measurable and sustained growth”.

259 U.S. markets are qualified as “improving” this month, a 17-market jump from the month prior and includes participants from all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia.

Experts point to improving market conditions in at least one market in all 50 states as a strong indication that the housing recovery is gaining substantial momentum.

This increasing momentum may suggest that now may be a very good time to purchase a home.

Compared to September 2011, when there were just 12 improving metro market areas, the widespread positive movement indicates how conditions are steadily improving nationwide.

So what qualifies a market as “improving”? The NAHB uses strict criteria.

First, the group gathers data from the three separate, independent sources :

  1. Employment growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
  2. Housing price appreciation from Freddie Mac
  3. Single-family housing permits growth from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Next, for each of the above data sets, the National Association of Homebuilders separates for local data in each U.S. major metropolitan area.

And, lastly, armed with data, the NAHB looks for areas in which growth has occurred for all three data points for six consecutive months; and for which the most recent “bottom” is at least six months in the past.

In this way, the Improving Market Index doesn’t just measure housing market strength — it measures general economic strength.

Of the 22 markets added to the Improving Market Index in November, the following cities were included : Chico, California; Columbus, Georgia; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Topeka, Kansas; and Wenatchee, Washington.

Several markets dropped off the list, too, including Champaign, Illinois; Lebanon, Pennsylvania; and Amarillo, Texas.

The complete list of 259 metropolitan areas on February’s IMI, plus breakouts of the metropolitan areas newly added and dropped is available online at http://www.nahb.org/imi.

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