JUST LISTED...4602 81st St. N. Fargo

Click here to view photos/video of this home...

 

This unique home will take your breath away! Must see inside to appreciate. Double Garage, spacious foyer with view of spiral staircase and upper loft. 4Bdrms or 3bdrm w/den, 3 full baths, 1992 sq' on main & loft plus completely finished basement w/2bdrms (walk in closet), bathroom w/dual sinks. Gorgeous & open kitchen w/custom cabinets, stainless steel appliances and beautiful flooring. Main floor laundry & main floor master bedroom w/dual walk in closets & private bath. Spiral staircases to loft and lower level. (Wide entrance from garage to basement for easy moving of furniture.) Wet bar with oven, gas fireplace, built-ins, loft w/patio doors to upper deck. 2.3 Acres including swingset, playhouse & pool (pool can stay or go). 

Call today for your private showing (701) 491-2000.

Click here... to search ALL homes listed for sale in the FM Area and Surrounding Areas.

Fargo opening new Pizza Place!!

Deek’s Pizza began leasing a space in Fargo at 702 N. University Drive in November, and Kuenzel said crews have been working ever since to get it ready to open in late January or early February.  The Fargo location already has hired 15 to 20 employees to get ready for the opening.

Kuenzel said the Grand Forks restaurant has thrived despite heavy competition — 27 other pizza places were in town when Deek’s first opened — because of its simple concept and ability to offer “an inexpensive pizza for the college budget.”

Read all about it...

Train Your Brain to Focus - Harvard Business Review

Next time you are sitting in a meeting, take a look around. The odds are high that you will see your colleagues checking screens, texting, and emailing while someone is talking or making a presentation. Many of us are proud of our prowess in multitasking, and wear it like a badge of honor.

Multitasking may help us check off more things on our to-do lists. But it also makes us more prone to making mistakes, more likely to miss important information and cues, and less likely to retain information in working memory, which impairs problem solving and creativity.

Over the past decade, advances in neuroimaging have been revealing more and more about how the brain works. Studies of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using the latest neuroimaging and cognitive testing [PDF] are showing us how the brain focuses, what impairs focus — and how easily the brain is distracted. This research comes at a time when attention deficits have spread far beyond those with ADHD to the rest of us working in an always-on world. The good news is that the brain can learn to ignore distractions, making you more focused, creative, and productive.

Here are three ways you can start to improve your focus.

Train Your Brain to Focus

Popular Web Sites Shut Down Today in Protest

WordPress.org, Craigslist, Wikipedia, Moveon.org, Reddit, and Firefox browser creator Mozilla are among more than a dozen Web sites that are going dark on Wednesday for a 24-hour period to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), which critics say threaten free speech on the Internet.

Google, Twitter, and Facebook -- who also are strongly opposing SOPA -- say they will not be participating in Wednesday’s blackout. However, at midnight Eastern time Wednesday, Google blacked out its logo on its home page in protest. Visitors who click on the blacked-out logo will be directed to more information about the protest.

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Popular Web Sites Shut Down Today in Protest

Shopping For the Best Rates

The lowest interest rates in decades sound enticing enough, but they are often out of borrowers’ reach.

 Mortgage lenders adjust their rates based on perceptions of risk, so unless you can show you’re a low-risk borrower, you are unlikely to qualify for a rate that matches those seen in all the advertisements or headlines.

The rates quoted by Freddie Mac and others are averages drawn from a variety of financial institutions, and lenders use varied approaches to set them. As its base line, for instance, the Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union uses rates posted on the Credit Union National Association Web site for New York, according to Daniel Alejandro González, the credit union’s director of lending. Others, like Chase Mortgage, use markers like Treasury yields and agency mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae.

Consumers who want to try for the lowest rates available need to consider these basic factors.

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Shopping For the Best Rates

Simply click on the photo and enter details of the home you're looking for and you'll receive a FREE list of local homes for sale that fit EXACTLY what you are looking for! Free, Easy, Quick & no obligation!

Is That Fixer-Upper a Wallet Emptier? Get Free Info

The average cost of a midrange bathroom remodel is $16,552, according to the 2011-2012 Remodeling Magazine Cost v. Value report. That may be just the tip of the expense iceberg for buyers considering purchasing a fixer-upper.

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Get free info... 

Mortgage Applications Soar 4.5%

Mortgage applications for purchase -- a gauge of future home buying -- increased 8.1 percent last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. The purchase index on an unadjusted basis now stands at 41.9 percent higher than last year, signaling more people taking out loans to buy homes.  More home owners are also taking advantage of low...

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Mortgage Applications Soar 4.5%

Home Affordability Offering Up 40-Year Deals

Home affordability is at 1971 levels, due to falling home prices and record low mortgage rates, pushing home ownership in reach to more families, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Home owners are bringing in nearly double the median income they need to cover the cost of an average home, Housing Predictor reports.

"With interest rates at historically low levels and markets across the country beginning to improve, home ownership is within reach of more households,” 

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Home Affordability Offering Up 40-Year Deals

Eighth annual Farmers Insurance study ranks the most secure places to live in the U.S.

Fargo-Moorhead RANKS 3rd in the U.S.!!







Mid-Size Cities (150,000–500,000 residents)

1. Kennewick–Richland–Pasco, Wash.
2. Boulder, Colo.

3. Fargo, N.D.–Moorhead, Minn.

4. Olympia, Wash.
5. Binghamton, N.Y.
6. Sioux Falls, S.D.
7. Bellingham, Wash.
8. Lincoln, Neb.
9. Fort Collins–Loveland, Colo.
10. Rochester, Minn.
11. Duluth, Minn.–Superior, Wis.
12. Utica–Rome, N.Y.
13. Bremerton–Silverdale, Wash.
14. Yakima, Wash.
15. Anchorage, Alaska
16. Burlington–South Burlington, Vt.
17. Las Cruces, N.M.
18. Green Bay, Wis.
19. Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux, La.
20. Spokane, Wash.

LOS ANGELES, CA (December 15, 2011) —Farmers Insurance Group of Companies® annually ranks nearly 400 U.S. communities based on safety and security. In its Eighth Annual Most Secure Places to Live in the U.S. study (2011), Farmers has rated Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania., as the most secure U.S. community among large metropolitan areas (population of 500,000 or greater).

The Kennewick–Richland–Pasco, Washington, area is the most secure mid-size U.S. city (population between 150,000 and 500,000), while Ithaca, N.Y., ranks as the most secure small town (population less than 150,000).

The rankings, compiled by database experts at www.bestplaces.net, took into consideration crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, housing depreciation, foreclosures, air quality, terrorist threats, environmental hazards, life expectancy, mortality rates from cancer and motor vehicle accidents, and job loss numbers in 379 U.S. municipalities. The study divided the communities into three groups: large metropolitan areas, mid-size cities and small towns.

Read More... Safest Places to Live

2011 Market Statistics "What does it take to get your home sold in this market?"

If you notice the number of homes on the market greatly exceeds the amount of homes sold, this is due to a number of factors. Overpricing and condition are the two biggest problems in our market that keep homes from selling or from selling quickly. If the condition of the home is not in tip top shape, then neither should be the pricing of the home. This leads to multiple homes with fewer sales. The homes that are selling are priced right and they are prepared for the sale. There are too many homes on the market for buyers to skip over the ones that do not compare in their price range. When you are pricing your home, make sure your agent does their homework and tells you the truth of what your home will sell for. Many agents will inflate the pricing to get you to list with them, ask them if they feel the price they are telling you will "really" sell you home. If your home is being compared to many others that are in better shape, are larger, better location... then your house WILL NOT SELL. Either make the effort to put the work into your home that it needs, stage your home or simply drop your price to where you're home needs to be to sell. Plan to have your home on the market for around the average days on market (which has been over 3 months for quite awhile), unless you are pricing under the market or doing excessive staging to your home, do not expect your home to sell quicker. This is why it is worth doing the extra work to make your home stand out.

Check out the days on market graph to see what the averages were throughout 2011. This doesn't mean that homes do not still sell very quickly. It takes 2 to get the job done quick and for the most money! You ~ and ~ Your Realtor! Its all in the preparation and staging of the home by you and then how aggressive and knowledgeable your realtor is. Honesty is sometimes hard to hear when it comes to where your home should be priced. Keep in mind... Any realtor can list a home, but to price it right and market it aggressively takes knowledge and experience!

If you are currently thinking about selling and would like an HONEST analysis of your home and what it will take to sell it quickly and net the most money. Give Modern Market Realtors a call and we can tell you the TRUTH and get your home on the SOLD CHART!! Call or email Shannon anytime 701-491-2000, shannonbarnum@gmail.com

Property Tax... Fargo vs. Moorhead

You can get more home for your money on one side of the river vs. the other.  Moorhead property taxes are significantly lower than Fargo property taxes.  Check out these examples...

Home Value             Fargo Yrly Tax Est          Mhd Yrly Tax Est
$150,000                                $2611                       $1926
$200,000                                $3481                       $2727
$250,000                                $4351                       $3527
$300,000                                $5221                       $4327



*amounts based on estimates using city estimated property tax calculators

Trend Watch: Home Design Gets Simpler

As home buyers continue to rank affordability high, more home styles are getting simpler and homes are becoming lower maintenance, according to the latest Home Design Trends Survey, conducted by the American Institute of Architects.

Simpler exterior details and the use of durable building products are growing in popularity, according to the third-quarter survey of architects, which mostly focused on community and neighborhood design.

Read More...http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2012/01/03/trend-watch-home-design-gets-simpler/

Cost of Homeowners Insurance May Soon Be on the Rise

Homeowners insurance premiums are starting to rise after tornadoes, hail, winds and lightning slammed U.S. insurance companies' balance sheets throughout 2011. Storms along the East Coast, tornadoes in the Southeast and in Joplin, Mo., and earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand wreaked havoc on insurance company finances, especially firms that might have too many policyholders in certain geographic areas, says Bob Skow, CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa. The numbers aren't in yet, since renewals don't all happen at one time, but Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, says customers are starting to feel the cost of years of heavy losses, particularly in the Southeast and Midwest. "We've had record losses for four straight years," he said. "My sense is that premiums will probably...

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http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/insurance/story/2012-01-04/homeowners-insurance-rising/52367258/1

Fed to Publish a Forecast of Rate Moves, Guiding Investors

The Federal Reserve will begin later this month to publish the predictions of its senior officials about their own decisions, hoping to increase its influence over economic activity by guiding investor expectations. The change was approved at the most recent meeting of the Fed’s policy-making committee, in December, but was kept secret until Tuesday afternoon, when the Fed released an account of the meeting after a standard three-week delay. The inaugural forecast, set for Jan. 25, will show the range of predictions made by Fed officials about the level of short-term interest rates in the fourth quarter of 2012, 2013 and 2014, although it will not list individual predictions. It also will summarize when...

Read More...Fed to Publish a Forecast of Rate Moves, Guiding Investors

The Importance of Lighting and Putting Your Listings in the Best Light

"Before"

"After"

Don’t forget lighting updates when planning to sell. From front door lighting to bathroom fixtures and everything in between, updating lighting is an important item on a home owner’s checklist when planning to sell a home. Brushed or satin nickel finishes on lighting fixtures make a subtle impact when a prospect first sees MLS pictures and decides what homes to actually spend the time visiting.  Don’t be left off this list.

Read More...The Importance of Lighting and Putting Your Listings in the Best Light