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Ben Goheen

Ben Goheen

As the son of two music teachers, Ben spent his first 21 years trying to make a living with his slightly above average trumpet playing. After no return calls from Dizzy Gillespie and then a failed attempt at becoming a fly girl on "In Living Color," he switched gears and finally found his nichè in real estate. He's a Minnesota appraiser and also a Realtor with his better half, Stacia. Labeled “one to watch” from an anonymous source (thanks mom), Ben is smart, good looking, athletic and a rock star inside his own head. He also never passes up a chance to write his own bio. Find him online at twitter or selling Stillwater Real Estate.

How healthy is your bank?

How healthy is your bank?

By Ben Goheen on December 18, 2009 | 1 Response

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation expects more banks to fail in 2010, increasing the operating budget 35% to $4 billion dollars. Over 1,600 new staff members will also be added to the payroll. Luckily the FDIC sees this as more of a short-term problem since…

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Christmas Comes Early For Some FHA Borrowers

Christmas Comes Early For Some FHA Borrowers

By Ben Goheen on December 3, 2009 | 1 Response

The Federal Housing Administration repealed the second appraisal requirement for loans exceeding $417,000 in declining markets, and for cash-out refinances. The two appraisal mandate initially went into effect on April 1, 2008 and was strongly opposed by the National Association of Realtors.
The second appraisal…

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Obsolescence- What Real Estate Classes Fail to Teach

Obsolescence- What Real Estate Classes Fail to Teach

By Ben Goheen on November 13, 2009 | 5 Responses

Many properties can exhibit some form of obsolescence – either functional, external or both. Don’t know what that it means? You’re not alone. Real estate classes often dart past these terms because real life situations that occur nationwide are difficult to cite. Yet as…

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Technology Tip: Google Apps Combine Your Business Tools

Technology Tip: Google Apps Combine Your Business Tools

By Ben Goheen on November 6, 2009 | 4 Responses

Nerd alert
This post contains technical information on how to setup Google Apps for your domain. The process isn’t extremely complicated – fairly similar to setting up a website.
Another Google product? Not exactly. Google Apps combines several business related tools that you may…

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StreetLinks $1M Guarantee is as Useful as Crap in a Box

StreetLinks $1M Guarantee is as Useful as Crap in a Box

By Ben Goheen on October 9, 2009 | 9 Responses

Indianapolis based appraisal management company StreetLinks has established a $1,000,000 fund to pay a performance guarantee to its clients, saying that it ensures their appraisals are consistent and accurate.
Of course with any guarantee you have to read the fine print. A lender simply has…

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Tech Tip: Xobni

Tech Tip: Xobni

By Ben Goheen on October 1, 2009 | 6 Responses

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most widely used email clients around. It also comes with it’s limitations, like trying to quickly find an old message or client’s contact information. This is where the add-in called Xobni (inbox spelled backwards) really shines.

Fast Email Search…

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FHA Default Rates by Lender

FHA Default Rates by Lender

By Ben Goheen on September 11, 2009 | 3 Responses

The amount of FHA loans has skyrocketed in the last few months, primarily because they require lower down payments than conventional loans. I’ve mentioned that this increase is possibly due to the fact that lenders can bypass the HVCC, thus still influencing directly contacting…

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FHA says “no” to HVCC

FHA says “no” to HVCC

By Ben Goheen on August 27, 2009 | 6 Responses

Since May 1st the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) has caused chaos with real estate transactions. Talk to any Realtor or mortgage broker and you’ll hear stories about unqualified out-of-area appraisers killing deals with low values. On the other hand, appraisers will talk about…

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Help the Appraiser Kill Your Deal

Help the Appraiser Kill Your Deal

By Ben Goheen on August 14, 2009 | 13 Responses

Recently the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) has been blamed for being the main reason appraisal values are low. It definitely hasn’t helped the situation but doesn’t hold true for every home. There are other ways to negatively impact the appraisal:
Let There…

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My Name is IRL

My Name is IRL

By Ben Goheen on July 30, 2009 | 3 Responses

Tweet-ups seem to be the latest rage with kids these days. I’ve seen it mentioned a couple times in my area but the trend hasn’t really hit the Midwest in full force yet. Just this week though I’ve had 3 in real life (IRL) meetings…

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