Housing briefs

Jack Dobier, Hackensack, has joined Leech Lake Realty in Walker. An office will be reopened in Hackensack and staffed by Dobier and other Realtors serving the Hackensack Area.

Dobier brings 31 years of professional negotiations, mediation, facilitation and conflict resolution experience to representing sellers and buyers through Leech Lake Realty.

Bullen joins MidAmerica Mortgage

Carl Bullen joined MidAmerica Mortgage Corporation as a loan officer.

He is responsible for residential loan applications for purchases, refinances, and new construction. He has completed Professional Mortgage Origination schooling for this position.

Before joining MidAmerica Mortgage Corporation, Bullen was a small business owner for nearly 20 years.

Habitat gains donation

US Bank of Brainerd President Tom Madden and vice-president Tom Norman recently presented Kevin Pelkey, Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity executive director with a $2,000 cash donation.

US Bank of Brainerd has supported the area efforts of Habitat for Humanity several years.

Habitat for Humanity is a Christian ministry that partners with the community to bring together resources of time, talent, materials and money to build affordable housing with families in need.

It is a self-help program intended to improve family lives and community livelihood. Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity completed seven homes in 2002 and plans to construct 8-10 homes in Crow Wing and Cass counties in 2003.

New mortgage program for new homebuyers

U.S. Bank introduced a new mortgage loan that eliminates the requirement to purchase mortgage insurance.

The U.S. Bank Home Mortgage Payment Buster reduces monthly payments by offering a one-percent discount on the interest rate for the first year and eliminating the requirement to purchase mortgage insurance, which is an industry standard for loans of 80 percent or more of the property's value.

The borrower may finance up to 100 percent of the value of the home and lower their monthly payments without the need to purchase mortgage insurance.

Available on 25-year and 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgages, the Payment Buster also makes it easier for homebuyers to get into a home with less cash up-front because the down payment, which is typically required in cash, may now be borrowed.

"This program is unlike any other in the country," said Dan Arrigoni, president of U.S. Bank Home Mortgage. ... By setting aside conventional thinking about how to structure a mortgage we've come up with a formula that eliminates some barriers and makes homeownership a reality for more people."

U.S. Bank Home Mortgage originates mortgage loans in all 50 states.

Hibbard joins Kurilla Real Estate

Nisswa - Debbie Hibbard joined the sales staff at Kurilla Real Estate in Nisswa

She worked in sales and marketing related fields since 1980. She moved to the Brainerd lakes area in 1996.