Minnesota Real Estate Investors Association, Inc.

Just when things are looking like they are settling down, the great DFL of Minnesota is at it again. Today, the MN House of Rep. Tax Committee released a "delete all amendment" to HF2323.

Items of note:

1. Eliminate Mortgage Interest Deduction
   • Replaced with a maximum $420 credit
2. Eliminate Property Tax Deduction

Here is a short video with Christopher Galler from the Minnesota Association of REALTORS explaining this.

Contact your Representative (if you live in Minnesota) and urge them to Vote NO on HF2323.

Most newbie investors are scared of making offers because they are not sure of the repair costs. This is completely understandable if you did not come from a construction background. I would venture to say that if most newbie investors were comfortable with repair estimates, then they would be way more comfortable making offers.

There is a way to quickly estimate repairs if you break the repair cost down into major components vs. miscellaneous items. Here is a list of what I consider Major Components:

This winter and spring saw a major decline on the number of foreclosure actions due to moratoriums on foreclosures and the fact that many lenders wanted to wait and see what the Obama Housing plan would do. February had the lowest level of NOD (Notice of Default) filings since 2007, but March saw a huge increase of NOD filings.

Here is a short clip from CNBC provided by Mortgage News Daily about the record number of NOD’s in California.

Foreclosures by major banks are surging once again even as the Obama mortgage rescue plan kicks into gear, reports CNBC's Diana Olick.

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY. There will be Tax Day Tea Parties all around the country. Will you be there? If you are like me and agree that government spending has gone completely out of control with no oversight and you don’t like the thought of your children’s grand children paying for this governments spending, then you will be there.

April 15th is the one time a year when most people actually look at what they pay in taxes annually. While I am not against taxes in general, I am against taxation without representation, just like our fore fathers were. It has been over 200 years since the original Boston Tea Party in 1773.

President Obama even said that it was the government’s job to spend money because we the people are not and can’t afford to spend money. Then the question begs to be asked. “If we can’t afford to spend the money, then how are we going to be able to spend the money”?

Maybe it i
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Some might blame the banks for the prices of houses declining, and I would agree to a point. While the banks are not the only problem, or even the major problem, they are a contributing factor in today’s market. The entire problem is too complicated to explain in a single article or blog post, but I will do my best to spell out the banks part in this mess.

Last week I was contacted by Rick Kupchella from Kare 11 News about the relationship between Short Sales and foreclosures and how this is affecting the market. Here is the video that aired on Kare 11 Extra on 3/29/2009.