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Many sellers think that spring and summer are the best times to sell their homes, but this a false narrative.

In many cases, we see a lot of activity during the winter months, and the quality of the buyer is much higher than during the spring and summer. We’ve found that the buyers who are looking in December, January, and February are very serious because they need to buy a home. So by selling in the winter, you might have fewer showings, but the quality of those showings will increase dramatically.

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I just ran the numbers: From December 1, 2019, to January 8, 2020, 115 properties sold or went under contract in Crowing, Cass, Aiken, and Morrison counties—all during the supposedly ‘slowest time in real estate.’

We can definitely sell homes during the winter months. If you’re thinking of listing your home, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We can even give you a “Buy It Now” price, where we’ll buy your home as is for cash and you get to pick the closing date! In the meantime, have a wonderful 2020!

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Many times, sellers think it’s in their best interest to wait to list their homes until the spring market. In my opinion, this is a flawed approach.

We find that during the winter months, there’s typically less inventory for buyers to choose from. The buyers that are out looking for homes during this season tend to be more serious. Winter homebuyers who brave the elements to view homes aren’t usually tire-kickers; they need to buy a home—and fast.

In the wintertime, the number of showings a seller is liable to have for their listing will likely decrease, but the quality of those showings increases. Winter buyers might have a lease that’s near its end, and they’ve decided to make a purchase; they might also have sold their home and are looking to move up or they may have been relocated to the area for a job.

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So if you’re thinking of selling your home, don’t wait until spring—take advantage of the low inventory and the serious buyers that our winter market has to offer.

To get a free market analysis of your home, reach out to me directly. I’d be happy to advise you on your next home sale. Until then, happy holidays!

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You can feel it in the weather: Temperatures are dropping, the leaves are changing, and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. As a special thank you to all of our current and past clients, we're giving out free pumpkin pies! Click here to RSVP for your pie today.

Stop by our Baxter office located at 7153 Forthun Road, Baxter, MN (Just south of Home Depot) on Monday, November 25 or Tuesday, November 26 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. to pick up your free pumpkin pie. You can also enjoy hot chocolate, pie, and coffee with us.

From everyone at the Chad Schwendeman Real Estate Group, we want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

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Do you or someone you know currently rent your home out as an Airbnb or VRBO in Crow Wing County? If your answer is yes, you want to pay particular attention to this topic.

What is being proposed is going to double and in some cases triple people's real estate taxes in Crow Wing County. The county commissioners are proposing that if you currently use your home or cabin as a VRBO or Airbnb, you’ll have to file a permit with the county. This permit will cost anywhere between $400 and $600. They’ll call it a licensing fee.

Once you pay that licensing fee, your taxes are going from residential or seasonal to commercial taxes. In some cases, this means taxes will triple. I think this is going to have an appalling impact on real estate in the Brainerd Lakes area. Our largest cash commodity here is tourism; we don’t have manufacturing or a lot of commercial companies. They estimate between 600 and 2,000 properties are currently using VRBO in Crow Wing County. What happens to those that are no longer allowed to rent out their property? They might leave the area.

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During our busy summer months, those potential tourists coming in will not stay in the Brainerd Lakes area. This will not only impact real estate, but grocery stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and so on. This could take 4,000 people per week out of our economy, and it will impact many businesses. I encourage you to reach out to your Crow Wing County commissioners. Whether you’re in favor of this or not, please let them know.

If this proposal passes, it’s going to have some long-lasting impacts on our marketplace. Businesses may close due to this. All these additional people coming in will have no place to stay in July and August, our busiest tourism time. This is something to take seriously.

Voice your opinion, and please call me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.

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Friends and Clients —

You are cordially invited to our 4th Annual Oktoberfest. This is our way of saying "Thank You" to our past clients, current clients, friends and family for all of your support, referrals, and business over the years.

Enjoy an evening of free beer (Jack Pine Brewery), brats, burgers and other treats (from Prairie Bay), live music, and even a bouncy house for the kids.

This year will have a local favorite band, The District, playing from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

When: Saturday, October 5th from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Where: EXIT Realty Office

7153 Forthun Rd

Baxter, MN 56425

(Just south of Home Depot)

RSVP here or call (218) 454-0966.

We hope to see you soon!

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New data shows that nearly 40% of all homes in the U.S. have no mortgages whatsoever. The highest percentage is 54% in West Virginia. Maryland and D.C. are on the other end of the spectrum at just 27% and 24%, respectively.

Many believe that a real estate dream means buying a home and staying in it just long enough to have some equity and move up to a bigger or better home. If you’ve considered the idea of a forever home and want to be among the homeowners who are living mortgage-free, here are four tips to help you pay down that balance faster:

1. Switch to bi-weekly payments. Let’s use some real-life scenarios here: Say you have a mortgage of $200,000. With a 5% interest rate on a 30-year term, bi-weekly payments will actually save you $34,328 in interest and would shorten the length of your mortgage by five years. That’s pretty incredible for just one extra payment per year.

2. Make additional principal payments. Obviously, the first part of your mortgage will go toward interest. Making an additional payment to pay down the principal amount of the loan is going to help shorten it. On a $120,000 loan at 4.5% for 30 years, that would give you an extra $608 per month. Just an additional $25 payment per month on the principal would save you over $9,000 in interest.

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3. Switch to a 15-year term. If you can afford the higher payment, switching the term of your loan can save you a ton. On a $250,000 mortgage with a 4.5% rate, it would cost you $429,674 in principal and interest payments. The total interest is $179,674. With the same loan over 15 years, you would only pay $82,860 in interest. That’s about 46% of the interest on the 30-year loan. Typically, the interest rate on the 15-year term will be lower. Right now, you can get one at 3.125% at Wells Fargo.

4. Make small sacrifices. This could be as easy as skipping Starbucks or a dinner out on the town. The average American spends $3 a day on coffee. That’s another $90 that you could be committing to your mortgage each month, which would reduce your term by over four years while saving you over $25,000.

If you have any questions for me in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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Real estate investing is hotter than ever, and it’s no wonder why.

Mortgage rates are low, home prices continue to grow, and demand for rentals is strong.

But if you're interested in investing in real estate, where do you start? And what do you need to know? Here are five crucial tips I've gathered from successful real estate investors to help you out:

Many fledgling real estate investors limit their search to neighborhoods they know well. This might cut into your potential for profit. The best deals might be a bit further away, and emerging neighborhoods might offer better growth potential and tax incentives.

A good rule of thumb for real estate investing is to look for properties that will offer a monthly return that is greater than 1% of the sales price. In other words, if a home costs $100,000, you should only invest in it if you expect to get at least $1,000 a month in rent.

An investment property doesn't have to look like a Pinterest photo shoot. Instead of trying to convert an investment into your dream home, go with middle-of-the-road fixtures—and save yourself both time and money.

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Now, these five tips are valuable—
but they are only a start.

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Single-family homes tend to consistently appreciate. They are also most likely to attract good tenants, and they are something you have direct experience with—and can evaluate personally.

It pays to know the many possible tax benefits associated with real estate investing. These include deductions for depreciation, mortgage interest deductions, and maintenance, as well as the benefits that come from investing through qualified plans like self-directed IRA accounts.

Now, these five tips are valuable—but they are only a start.

If you're seriously considering real estate investing, I'd advise you to first take a look at some of the great homes available around the Brainerd Lakes area. And if this gets your investment appetite going, give me a call at (218) 831-4663. There are two reasons why:

First, I can give you my impressions about which types of homes (and in which neighborhoods) might make for a sensible first investment.

Second, I can also point you to other professionals I personally trust—mortgage brokers, tax advisors, contractors—who can help you make that first investment profitable with the minimal amount of fuss.

If you have any other real estate questions, feel free to reach out to me as well. I’d love to help you.

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Today I’ll share seven surefire ways to make sure that your home is ready for the summer selling season:

1. Assess your home’s condition. Look at your home through a buyer’s eyes: Is there worn carpet on the floor or chipped paint on the walls? Are there any burnt-out fixtures that need to be fixed or replaced? Buyers have a very critical eye, and you’ll want to address any of these easy-to-fix issues.

2. Get rid of oversized furniture. Oversized furniture can shrink the apparent size of a room, and we ultimately want the house to feel spacious. If you have too many pieces of furniture, overlarge furniture, and/or just a lot of clutter, rent a storage unit and put those items there. Less is more.

3. Remove clutter and depersonalize. Put away the trophies, family photos, and other such personal items. You want the buyers to be able to clearly imagine themselves living in your home, instead of making them feel like they’re kicking you out of your home.

4. Deep clean the home. This means you should take some time to thoroughly clean the bathrooms, tiles, windows, drapery, appliances, and such. Don’t forget about the outside of your home—power wash your siding and remember to clean out your gutters.

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Following these seven steps will
ensure that your home stands out
in our market.

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5. Work on curb appeal. Most buyers will drive by a home before they’ll set up an appointment to view the inside of it. With that in mind, really focus on the exterior of the home and consider what a buyer’s first impression of it would be. Rake the lawn and be sure to plant fresh flowers to enhance the curb appeal of your property.

6. Repaint using neutral colors. A fresh coat of paint will make your home feel years younger. If you’re going to take the time to repaint the house, be sure to use neutral colors like beige, off-white, light grays, and other soothing colors to really give your property a warm, inviting feel to your potential buyers.

7. Get professional photos taken. Around 96% of today’s buyers look for homes online, and if your home doesn’t show well online, they’ll just skip yours and go on to the next listing. Research and hire a professional who will come in and capture your home in its best light.

Following these seven steps will ensure that your home stands out in our market. If you’re interested in taking the next step to get your home sold quickly and for the most money possible, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to give you a free market analysis, show you step-by-step how we’ll advertise your home to buyers in the market, and we’ll even help you stage your home for the best results. I hope to hear from you soon!

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If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about successfully flipping homes in today’s market, you’re in luck. Today we’d like to invite you to our free upcoming seminar, which will teach you the ins and outs of this common real estate investing tactic. The event will take place on Tuesday, June 18, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Country Inn and Suites in Baxter.

During this seminar, we’ll share how to find great investments and buy them for zero money down. We’ll also explain which renovations are worth making before you sell, as well as what you should look for in your next flip. This is going to be a great learning opportunity, so I hope to see you there.

If you’re interested in attending, please RSVP here. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me or my team a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

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When it comes to a real estate transaction, the seller pays the commission for both agents. In many cases, the commission runs anywhere from 5% to 7% of the sale price, which is split between the two Realtors.

In a massive class-action lawsuit, the plaintiffs are suing the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and some of the top real estate brokerages in the country to contest this practice, saying that it’s unfair to have the seller pay the buyer’s commission. The lawsuit goes on to assert that this behavior is illegal and has harmed sellers. As a result, plaintiffs are asking for an incredible $54 billion in damages.

Now, the NAR feels that this lawsuit is meritless, but the law firms representing the plaintiffs have awarded their clients tens of billions of dollars in some of the largest class-action lawsuits this country has ever seen, such as those against Toyota, Apple, and other big-name companies.

So will this lawsuit be successful? I’m not an attorney, so I can’t speak on the merits of the case—only time will tell. Regardless of the outcome, it will take years for the lawsuit to sort itself out in the courts, and you can expect an appeal eventually.

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Plaintiffs are suing the National Association of Realtors (NAR)
and some of the top real estate brokerages in the country for an incredible $54 billion in damages.

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The lawsuit has, however, stirred an even bigger question: Is there a value for real estate agents in today’s marketplace?

Of course, I say yes, but you can speak to my current and past clients to hear about the extreme value we provide by helping them buy and/or sell their home. Throughout all our real estate transactions, we treat our clients like partners.

So if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to partner with you and help you obtain your real estate goals.