The Logan Real Estate Water Cooler 
Down Payments, Mortgage Insurance, Taxes, Oh My!
Thursday, December 6th, 2012 at 10:16am. 733 Views, 2 Comments.
The American dream is never complete until one owns one’s
own home. Home ownership is nothing if
not liberating. There’s something to be said about waking up every morning,
knowing that the hard work that you do each day is paying off – that you are
actually paying on something that will eventually be 100% yours.
If you have not yet made the decision to cross over from renter (or perhaps even squatter in your mom’s basement) to home owner, then you may be wondering if you can swing a monthly mortgage payment.
Unforseen Expenses For Homeowners
The truth is that planning and careful budgeting is necessary for most folks to become successful home owners. The first budgetary consideration you will need to make is whether or…
You CAN Buy Bank-Owned Properties – Here’s How!
Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 at 11:40am. 713 Views, 0 Comments.
Many would-be homebuyers are confused when it comes to
buying bank-owned properties and most of them give up – and pass up bargains –
before they actually give the process a chance.
But the process for buying these so-called REOs is not that complicated, although these are waters best treaded with the help of a licensed real estate agent by your side.
If you are looking for REOs to browse while home shopping, then contacting an agent who works in the same area that you want to live in should be your first step. An agent with local ties is one that will know about the REOs and other distressed properties that might interest you.
One reason that dealing with an agent is the way to go is that your agent will have up-to-date…
Deciphering What Your Lender Says
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 at 2:05pm. 1651 Views, 1 Comments.
Does your mortgage lender sound like he’s speaking a foreign
language? Getting a mortgage can be difficult, especially since there is a lot
of paperwork involved.
You will have lots of documents to read and then sign, and if you are like the average homebuyer, you will run into a lot of different terms that you may not have heard before.
Instead of just nodding your head and signing on the dotted line, it is important that you gain a better understanding of what your lender is saying (and what you are signing), or you may end up making costly mistakes on the biggest purchase of your life.
Don’t get your pen out just yet! You need to learn some of the basic mortgage language and gain some general knowledge about terms like…
The Devil’s in the Definitions When It Comes To Real Estate Law
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 at 4:28am. 903 Views, 0 Comments.
The devil’s in the details, or so they say, and when it comes to zoning and land use regulations, the place to watch out for the devil is in the Definitions.
Each town or county sets its own land use definitions, so that’s where you’d go to find out what you’re up against.
Let’s say, for instance, you want to divide your house up so your mother-in-law can move into her own space. Does that classify as just creating an “in-law apartment”, or are you turning your “single-family house” into a “multi-family dwelling”?
Or if you want to set up an antique shop in your garage, is that a “retail use” or just a “home occupation” or an “accessory use”?
Definitions of terms like “residential” and…
Less Can Be More in a Fixer-Upper
Friday, December 23rd, 2011 at 1:46pm. 812 Views, 0 Comments.
When
it comes to fixing up a fixer-upper, remember the maxim “less is more.”
All too often I see a perfectly good old house being renovated to death by over-zealous owners who were brainwashed into the mindset that brand new sheetrock is better than hand-mixed horsehair plaster and that wall-to-wall carpet is better than tongue-and-groove maple flooring.
As a rule of thumb, the quality of materials and workmanship in years past was far superior to what you’ll pay an arm and a leg for today, so why not use that as the starting point, rather than tearing it all out and starting from scratch?
So if you’re thinking of buying a fixer-upper, try to surround yourself with people who understand the “less is more”…
Buying Distressed Property: What You Need To Know
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 at 3:18pm. 931 Views, 0 Comments.
Distressed properties (short sales, foreclosures, REOs) are abundant these
days. They are “distressed” because many
times, the home sits empty with no attention to its maintenance. For investors, the homes become a good
opportunity to invest in real estate at a lower cost than the neighborhood
might dictate.
For home buyers, foreclosures and short sales represent the chance to “move up” in their amount of home at a great price.
I showed a foreclosure property last week. It was a true showplace or at least it had been before the owners let it go. I had the forethought to walk through the home before my clients arrived. As I walked through, there were scratches on the hardwood floors and walls, wires everywhere,…
The 3 Biggest Mistakes In Property Investing
Sunday, December 4th, 2011 at 1:16pm. 538 Views, 0 Comments.
These errors cause investors thousands of dollars and countless hours of stress.
Error 1 is Price Shopping.
Going with the cheapest solution to get and manage your property will
get you the cheapest result. Value is
getting the most bang for your buck from your investment dollar. Many investors start out planning to get a
large cash flow by acquiring the least expensive home the can find and by doing
the management themselves, part time.
After about six months of trying to invent an accounting system using a generic spreadsheet software, learning boiler zone valve repair at night after their regular job, and discovering they are in sales and marketing, they start shopping for someone to fill their vacancies and for goodness…
How to Write the Short Sale Hardship Letter
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 4:29pm. 2139 Views, 1 Comments.
First, if you’re currently
involved in a short sale, and your listing agent isn’t assisting you in writing
your short sale hardship letter, you need a new agent. This letter is critical
to persuading the lender to allow a short sale of your home. A seasoned short
sale professional understands this and offers advice on how to put together the
short sale hardship letter.
If you thought you were down in the dumps over the fact that your house is worth less than what you owe on it, wait until you write your short sale hardship letter to the lender. Once it’s finished, though, and on the desk of the loss mitigator at the bank, you can breathe a sigh of relief, realizing you are one step closer to moving on with your life.
A short sale…
5 Upgrades that Will Help You Get Your Home Sold
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 at 5:42pm. 988 Views, 3 Comments.
As a Calgary Realtor® I know that when placing your home on the market, you clearly want to get as much for it as possible.
One way you can make this happen is to make some simple upgrades. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a great deal of money to make this happen. In fact, here is a look at 5 simple upgrades you can make to help get your home sold.
Upgrade #1: Create More Storage Space When looking for a home, most buyers are interested in one with plenty of storage space that is also easy to access.
By finishing an attack or basement or by installing some flooring to make a closet or other storage space more attractive, you are likely to attract more buyers.
Upgrade #2: Paint Walls and Add Moulding You might be surprised…
Weber County Real Estate Market Conditions Report - June 2011
Friday, July 29th, 2011 at 11:15am. 925 Views, 0 Comments.
Weber County had a nice month in June 2011 with a total of 241 homes sold, up from May's 214 mark; an increase of 11.3%. This is to be expected as we hit the summer selling season. However, we are still slightly down year over year as there were a total of 250 homes sold in June 2010, a decline in home sales by 3.6% year over year. This is to be expected as the economy continues to struggle.
Average days on market for Weber County home sales was 146 days, which is down by 5.9% compared to May's 155 day average. Compared to most Northern, Utah real estate markets, this is a great sign as most are increasing in this department. However, in 2010, homes took on average 133 days to sell, which is an 8.1% increase year over year.
After a…
