Fourth of July Celebrations in the Twin Cities

It’s so close I can nearly taste the brats and potato salad. If you’re looking for something fun to do this summer holiday, we thought the following list might help:

• Minneapolis Red, White & Boom http://www.mplsredwhiteboom.com/ With street performers, a family-fun zone and fireworks on the riverfront
  


• Taste of Minnesota (St Paul) http://www.tasteofmn.com/ Food, food, food, music and fireworks.
  


• Apple Valley Fourth of July http://tinyurl.com/n7fx36 Apple Valley’s festivities started on June 26 and will continue through fireworks on the 4th
  


• Blaine’s Blazin’ 4th Festival http://www.blainefestival.org/ Starts with an 8k run and ends with a bang
  


• Chanhassen’s 4th of July Celebration http://www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us/parks/july4.html Carnival rides, contests and fireworks
  


• Coon Rapids July 4th Celebration http://www.coonrapidslions.org/ carnival rides, parade and fireworks
  


• Delano 4th of July Celebration http://delano.citisite.com/delano4th/events.html Tournaments, music, food and fireworks
  


• Eagan Funfest http://www.eaganfunfest.org/ Celebrating July 3-4 with a pageant, carnival and fireworks
  


• Freedom Fest Party in the Park http://www.ci.roseville.mn.us/ Music, games and fireworks in Roseville
  


• July 4th Celebration http://www.stlouispark.org/ Music and fireworks in St Louis Park
  


• Lake Minnetonka 4th of July http://www.southlake-excelsiorchamber.com/ Sandcastle building, music and fireworks
  


• Maplewood 4th of July http://www.ci.maplewood.mn.us/ All American Lumberjack show and fireworks
  


• Powderhorn Park 4th of July http://www.minneapolisparks.org/ Family fun with fire dancers and fireworks
  


• Richfield 4th of July http://www.richfield4thofjuly.com/ Carnival rides, classic cars and fireworks
  


• Stillwater 4th of July http://www.lumberjackdays.com/4thofjuly.asp Family fun and fireworks
  


• White Bear lake Fireworks http://www.whitebearlake.org/ Music and fireworks
  


• Woodbury 4th of July http://www.ci.woodbury.mn.us/events/cityevents.html Swing band, food and fireworks
  

4th of July Safety Tips

Summer is in full swing and the 4th of July is right around the corner. It’s a great time for celebrations and family gathering. To make sure the occasion is happy MedicineNet recently published a list of 11 Tips for a Safe Fourth of July. We wanted to recap for our readers:

1. Be a safe swimmer
2. Keep the kids away from the fireworks at all times
3. Use alcohol responsibly.
4. Review safe boating practices
5. Cover food and beverages outdoors
6. Apply sunscreen
7. Check prescription medications
8. Protect yourself from tick-borne diseases
9. Drink plenty of fluids to avoid heat illness
10. Keep children away from campfires and grills.
11. Don't leave the picnic spread out all day.

June Market Report

Here's the latest video market update from the Minneapolis REALTORS:

Backyard water pond

Ever wanted to enjoy the relaxing sound of water in your own backyard? A backyard pond kit might just do the trick. Leah and I had purchased a small fountain and put it in the landscaping, the water sound just wasn't enough from this small fountain. For about the same price we were able to get a pond kit, mulch and landscape rock and a much better water sound. Also, it is much more visually appealing.

On day one of the project Leah laid out the shape of the pond with the rope that was provided. She removed the sod from that area and laid out the second tier of the pond. The digging then commenced, and within one day the hole for the pond was completed and lined with playground sand. On day two Leah laid the liner in the hole and set the pump and light in the bottom of the liner. She also dug in the black edging and removed the sod from where the mulch would go. The third day was mostly finishing the landscaping around the pond. The landscape stones are Tumbled Bluestone from a local landscape supplier. Tumbled Bluestone is about 3 times the cost of your standard retaining wall block but the natural look is worth it. By the end of day three all that remained to be done was add some perennial plants and complete the electrical. About 7 perennials surround the pond with a mix of colors once they are all flowering.

For about the same amount of money as some of the backyard fountains you too could have a visually appealing and very relaxing backyard pond. It really did make out backyard the oasis we wanted. We enjoy being out in the backyard more than any other place at our home. We thank Mary and her hard work for helping us find our home and making the move and first year stress free. Mary and Buyers Real Estate Group are top notch!

Jumbo mortgages

Jumbo mortgages remain expensive and hard to get. So is there any advice for a homebuyer who is looking to move up into a larger home?

REALTOR magazine detailed the situation. The problem is that the jumbo loans are too big for secondary mortgage market companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy for packaging into securities and outside the limit of FHA.

Banks are requiring more and charging more for jumbo loans. For example, to get Bank of America financing, borrowers must come with 20 percent down and have a good credit score. They're restricted in the amount of home they can buy: no more than $1.5 million, though that limit will rise later this year to $2 million.

Here is one solution offered by REALTOR:

Adamo says the federal government can help simply by tweaking the so-called
conforming-jumbo market composed of homes above the traditional conforming-loan limit of $417,000 and below the new conforming-loan limit of $729,750. Loan
limits are set by county, and only about 75 counties in the United States are
eligible for loans up to the $729,750 limit. All the other high-cost areas fall
somewhere between $417,000 and that limit. Thus, high-cost homes in a county
with a lower median home price can’t qualify for the higher conforming
loans.

A simple regulatory fix that would eliminate the county-by-county
restrictions would go a long way to clearing up the problem, Adamo says. Lenders
should be allowed to decide which borrowers, based on their creditworthiness,
can apply for jumbo conforming loans, letting their underwriting

considerations determine loan decisions.

There’s good news for home-owning disabled vets

The “Disabled Veteran” Value Exclusion provides a market value exclusion for property tax purposes for the homestead property of an honorably discharged veteran who has a service-connected disability rating of 70% or higher, as determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

There are some rules:

• The property must be homestead.


• The veteran must have been honorably discharged.


• The veteran must be certified by the USVA as having a service-connected disability.


• Qualifying veterans must have a 70% disability rating or higher.


• The veteran must apply to the program.(Applications must be made by July 1 to qualify for the exclusion on the current year’s market value for taxes payable the next year
  

Learn more

Submitted by exclusive home buyer agent, Ron Jensrud

Give jeans get $5

Donate any pair of used jeans to a Lands' End Inlet (Minnetonka, 952-797-0707, Roseville, 651-633-7004, Richfield, 612-861-4100, Woodbury, 651-714-9000) by June 21 and receive a $5 voucher for any purchase of $25 or more in BackRack merchandise (catalog returns, blemishes, discontinued styles or colors). The jeans will be used to create cotton fiber insulation used in home construction. It takes about 500 pairs to create enough insulation for an average-sized U.S. home.

HUD Announces Guidance for Use of Tax Credit on FHA Loans

Here’s the latest from Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors…

Last month at NAR's Housing Summit in Washington, DC, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced a program that would allow borrowers to use the first-time homebuyer tax credit for a downpayment or closing costs on an FHA-insured mortgage.

The details of the program were announced on June 1 in Mortgagee Letter 2009-15. Government entities and instrumentalities of government may provide a second mortgage. Currently, just ten state housing finance agencies offer a product buyers can use that will effectively monetize the tax credit for down payment purposes. Minnesota is NOT YET on this list, but we are working toward this as quickly as possible. The required 3.5 percent downpayment may also be a gift from a family member, employer, or a nonprofit, charitable organization.

The original guidance permitted lenders and HUD-approved nonprofits and lenders to offer bridge loans via second lien financing or short-term loans. Guidance released today allows lenders to offer the monetized tax credit for downpayments in excess of 3.5 percent, closing costs and interest rate buy downs. Mortgage industry leaders have indicated that this type of product may not be immediately available to consumers. Lenders need time to develop documentation for what will effectively be personal loans to buyers. We will keep you informed.
Full HUD News Release Mortgagee Letter 2009-15