Utah County Homes for Sale, Home Selling Pricing Factors There are a number of factors that a Home Seller needs to consider when pricing their home for sale. Factors Which Do Not Influence Value ·       You need more equity than you have ·       You may have invested in Repairs and Improvements ·       Prices of homes where you are moving ·       Refinance Appraisal Dangers of Overpricing ·       Miss the Window of Opportunity ·       Perception of being stale ·       Takes longer to sell ·       Ultimately sells for less ·       House never sells Any or all of these factors may come up during the evaluation of pricing your home for sale. Just make sure you discuss these items with your Realtor, and don’t make a mistake that could aff... 05/20/2011

Utah County Homes for Sale, Motivated Seller When looking for homes for my buyer clients, I have found that the Seller’s Motivation can have a dramatic effect on the price of the home. The most common “Motivated Seller” is someone who has already bought his or her next home or is relocating to a new area. They will be under the gun to sell the home quickly or face the prospect of making two mortgage payments at the same time. Since that can drain a bank quickly, most sellers want to avoid such a situation and may be willing to give up thousands of dollars to avoid the possibility. Family crises can be a motivation for a seller to make a quick deal. However, when you see a real estate ad that mentions, divorce, motivated seller, relocation, or something to that affect, beware. Many time... 05/11/2011

Utah County Homes for Sale, Top Three Home Buyer Mistakes Well you have finally decided that it is time to stop renting and that you need to purchase a new home.  Be aware that is important to stay calm and think your way through the process; don't get so excited that you overlook a few very important steps. Failure to get pre-qualified before making an offer on a home: The very first step you need to take when considering the purchase a new home is that of interviewing and hiring a Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer.  Understanding how much you are qualified to purchase up front can save you a lot of time and frustration later on.  The pre-qualification letter is very important to the seller when it comes time to make offer on their home.  Taking the time to get pre-qualified gives you ti... 05/08/2011

Utah County Homes for Sale, Earnest Money and the REPC The Real Estate Purchase Contract involves more than just price.  You will have to discuss personal property possession, rent, tests, inspections, closing dates and more.  The one term that throws most buyers, especially first time buyers is Earnest Money Deposit.  What is it?  Why do I need to pay it?  Why do I have to pay so much? Not the Down Payment Many buyers show up to write their offer and announce to their agent that they do not have to put an earnest money deposit because they are getting down payment assistance or 100 percent financing.  Communication is very important, it is not difficult to see where an inexperienced buyer would confuse one deposit for another, so do not feel bad if you, too, just learned something new.... 04/19/2011

Utah County Homes for Sale, Utah County Realtor and Home Seller Discussion The time has come when you have decided that you must sell your home.  Before you place a "For Sale" sign in front of your house there are few things you need to consider to help make the sales process run smoothly and efficiently.  Listed below are a few things that you should consider when discussing the sale of your home with your Utah Realtor. Time Frame It really depends on where you live in the country, but most Realtors consider spring to be the best time for selling a home.  The weather is usually getting better families are starting to make plans for the summer and the following school year.  Reports state that the slowest selling months are usually during January and February.  Most important is to disc... 04/02/2011

Utah County Homes for Sale, Home selling options Today, in Our Real Estate market, selling a home is not as easy as it has been in the past.  You may find yourself without a single interested buyer and forced to rethink how you want to approach your dilemma.  Sure, you could spend hundreds of dollars on marketing and advertising fees just to promote your home.  But at this point, it would be encouraging to cut your losses if you see no possible buyer in sight. Delay the sale of your home It is possible that today is not the right time to sell because of market conditions.  You could wait until the inventory of homes drop and the demand goes up.  Most of the time, spring it the best season to put up your house for sale. Refinance Maybe not the best option in this type of market due to th... 03/20/2011

Utah County Homes for Sale and the Motivated Seller When looking for homes for my buyer clients, I have found that the Seller's Motivation can have a dramatic effect on the price of the home.  The most common "Motivated Seller" is someone who has already bought his or her next home or is relocating to a new area.  They will be under the gun to sell the home quickly or face the prospect of making two mortgage payments at the same time.  Since that can drain a bank quickly, most sellers want to avoid such a situation and may be willing to give up thousands of dollars to avoid the possibility. Family crises can be a motivation for a seller to make a quick deal.  However, when you see a real estate ad that mentions, divorce, motivated seller, relocation, or something to that affect, beware.... 03/15/2011

Utah County Homes for Sale, Home Inspection Well, you just made an offer on a beautiful new home.  You are excited about the possibilities that this new home is going to bring to you and your family.  Don't let this dream turn into a nightmare because you decided not to spend a little extra money on a Home Inspection. A study conducted by the American Society of Home Inspectors and the NAR in 2001 found that 77% of all homebuyers insisted on a Home Inspection prior to purchasing their property, and 97% of that group believes the service was a good value for the price. Next to the financial contingency in the Real Estate Purchase Contract, the Home Inspection is the most reason you need to consider before purchasing the home.  This is where you have the right to back out of the contract,... 03/09/2011

Utah County Homes for Sale - Source of Funds Source of funds for your down payment and closing costs is one of the major concerns when it comes time to close on your home loan.  Lenders will require statements for the last two or three months on any of your liquid assets.  This includes checking and savings accounts, money market funds, certificates of deposit, stock statements, mutual funds, and even your company 401K and retirement accounts.  It is very important that there not be a lot of movement between the accounts mentioned above just prior to or during the closing process.  Lenders will require a complete paper trail of all the withdrawals and deposits.  Moving your money around, even if you are consolidating your funds to make it easier could make it more difficult for the lend... 02/11/2011

Utah County Homes Sold in Alpine, Utah - 2010 Month Jan 2010 Units 3      Sales Volume $1,580,000.00 Avg. List Price $459,995.00 Avg. Sold Price $424,000.00     Sq. Ft. 5,590 Per Sq. Ft. $98.92       Feb 2010 1 $880,000.00 $1,449,000.00 $880,000.00   9,157 $96.10       Mar 2010 5 $4,066,000.00 $669,000.00 $490,000.00   5,508 $88.96       Apr 2010 7 $8,502,400.00 $499,000.00 $385,000.00   5,575 $83.03       May 2010 5 $2,028,200.00 $425,000.00 $327,000.00   5,059 $66.03       Jun 2010 8 $5,646,500.00 $484,450.00 $430,000.00   4,726 $97.30       Jul 2010 6 $2,509,000.00 $339,450.00 $380,000.00   4,635 $103.75       Aug 2010 6 $2,925,000.00 $601,900.00 $502,500.00   5,827 $93.45       Sep 2010 6 $2,279,200.00 $384,900.00 $370,000.00   4,257 $87.07       Oct 2010 2 $1,453,500.00 $867,450.00... 11/20/2010

Utah County Real Estate - Home Inspection Well, you just made an offer on a beautiful new home.  You are excited about the possibilities that this new home is going to bring to you and your family.  Don't let this dream turn into a nightmare because you decided not to spend a little extra money on a Home Inspection. A study conducted by the American Society of Home Inspectors and the NAR in 2001 found that 77% of all homebuyers insisted on a Home Inspection prior to purchasing their property, and 97% of that group believes the service was a good value for the price. Next to the financial contingency in the Real Estate Purchase Contract, the Home Inspection is the most reason you need to consider before purchasing the home.  This is where you have the right to back out of the contract, i... 10/21/2010

Home Buyer Representation - Buyer Agent vs. Seller Agent During the past 25 or so years, home buyers have been able to choose between Buyer agents or the Sellers agent representing the Seller, to buy a home from. Many buyers didn't even know that they could use a buyer agent or even if they were available. Most home buyers assumed the agent showing the home represented them. Seller agents were obligated to represent the seller's interest unless they had a separate written agreement with the buyer to represent them. The FTC did a study of the Real Estate brokerage industry in 1983 and determined that most home buyers actually thought that the Real Estate agent showing them homes was working in their best interest, the vast majority were wrong. The FTC started putting pressure on the stat... 10/13/2010

Utah County Real Estate - Closing Costs Closing on a property is a very challenging time for a would-be homeowner.  Being informed, either through your mortgage broker, Realtor, or through self knowledge is the best thing you can be when going through this procedure.  A good Realtor can help you tremendously.  They should know the local market well enough to help you save money in whatever way they can.  Since closing costs are handled differently in different areas, having a professional with experience in that area is your best bet.  They can give you a better idea of what costs are customarily paid by the buyer, and which ones are paid by the seller. The Mortgage Broker you deal with can make a big difference as well.  Have them show you several programs suited to your needs.  There ... 10/10/2010

Utah County Homes for Sale - Supply and Demand The Supply and Demand factor can play a major role in the Utah Home Market.  When the supply of available homes is greater than the supply of buyers, appreciation may slow and prices may even fall as happened during the early 1980's and early to mid 1990's.  If you are lucky enough to purchase a home during a slow period, you can be reasonably certain the economy will begin to show strength again.  Real estate values may even surge drastically. In many regions of the country, this is precisely what occurred in the 1980's and 1990's.  With the increased home inventory that we enjoy in Utah today, now is a great time to buy. Search Utah MLS Listings - Utah's Finest MLS Home Search, Utah County's Exclusive Home Buyer Service - Utah Homes for S... 10/01/2010

Utah County Real Estate - Homeownership While some people choose the flexibility of renting and being free of maintenance, many others choose ownership for other reasons.  The pride of being a homeowner is a very important reason for purchasing a home, but more people are interested in homeownership for purely economic reasons. Building Equity One of the main economic reasons is that of building equity.  Especially in today's market, with home values being deflated as they are, many buyers can pick up a home at a very reasonable price.  With interest rates being at all-time lows, you can make a healthy payment and have most go to the principal of the home loan, thus creating more equity. Tax Deduction Another good reason for purchasing a home is the ability to deduct your mortgage inter... 09/26/2010

Recently we are seeing an uptick in the number of volunteer fire departments requesting energy audits. Most volunteer fire departments are operating on limited budgets, which is good because most of the buildings we test require low cost fixes to lower their utility costs. Things like adding weatherstripping around doors and windows. A quick look at these photos clearly show the cold air (blue in photo) leaking in around various windows and doors.   09/20/2010

Utah County Real Estate - MLS Listings, IDX and the Virtual World Technology has reached new levels for the Realtor in today's Virtual World.  The home buyer can actually sit in the comfort of their present home and view all future homes just as if they were actually there.  I am just amazed where technology has taken us. Internet Data Exchange (IDX) The Internet Data Exchange is a service available to real estate agents today to display their listings through internet feeds that bring the home search process to new levels.  Services are available to all real estate agents at a very reasonable price.  Realtors are able to actually bring their MLS listings to life. Virtual Earth Virtual Earth is a software program available through Microsoft, which provides Maps and Pictures of MLS listi... 09/19/2010

Utah County Real Estate - Earnest Money and the REPC The Real Estate Purchase Contract involves more than just price.  You will have to discuss personal property possession, rent, tests, inspections, closing dates and more.  The one term that throws most buyers, especially first time buyers is Earnest Money Deposit.  What is it?  Why do I need to pay it?  Why do I have to pay so much? Not the Down Payment Many buyers show up to write their offer and announce to their agent that they do not have to put an earnest money deposit because they are getting down payment assistance or 100 percent financing.  Communication is very important, it is not difficult to see where an inexperienced buyer would confuse one deposit for another, so do not feel bad if you, too, just learned something new. R... 09/11/2010

Utah County Homes for Sale - Your Dream Home May not Wait Are you always thinking about that perfect Dream Home?  Wondered if you could afford a more spacious house?  Are your children growing up and you wish you had more rooms?  Well, winter time could very well have the opportunity that you have been waiting for.  Today, could hold the life time opportunity to get amazing deals on that dream home you have always been thinking about.  Mortgage rates are low; home prices are down, you should think twice before you wait till spring and lose out on these great opportunities. Some ideas to consider when one is seeking to buy a home: •·         Understand the options available and begin screening immediately.  Being an early mover gives one a definite advantage to get the best deal on prope... 09/10/2010

Energy Auditing Municipal Buildings for the city of Alpine, Utah | Information gathered from any Utah energy audits of the city government buildings in Utah County can be used to determine energy efficiency, retrofitting and weatherization projects. Retrofitting projects will include air infiltration, energy efficient windows and doors, insulation levels, weather-stripping and caulking, and electric base loads.   Using the data from the energy audit to retrofit and improve the energy efficiency of a number of it's municipal buildings that will result in substantial reduction in energy usage.   DOES ADDING INSULATION REALLY HELP?    Third Party Energy Auditing Verification by Alamo Infrared on Episode 116 of Homes Today Utah. An old home was chosen in Salt Lake City, Utah for an energy r... 09/08/2010