Utah County Real Estate Foreclosure Process Is a distressed Property right for you? Distressed sales are a sad fact of the Real Estate market.  While no one wants to see a homeowner lose their home, these properties also present unique opportunities for buyers.  To determine whether you are a candidate for such a purchase, it's important to learn all you can about distressed properties - and to work with qualified buyer's representative who can guide you through each step of these complex, non-traditional transactions.   Foreclosure is a process, with buying opportunities at each stage: Stage 1.  Pre-Foreclosure   A period of time that begins with the initial mortgage default and ends when the distressed property is sold   Stage 2.  Foreclosure Sale   When the property is auctioned to t... 06/04/2010

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, that provides Maps and Pictures of MLS listin... 06/02/2010

Utah County Real Estate - Seller Disclosures When touring prospective properties to purchase, we are very careful to look at the walls and the ceiling, turn on faucets, and play with light switches, but how thorough should we be?  The seller has years of knowledge about his or her home and there may be things you want to find out about as quickly as possible.  For this reason, you should require certain disclosures as part of the offer. You want the seller to disclose any adverse conditions that may have a substantial impact on your decision to purchase the home.  This must include any problems with the house, whether the property is in a flood zone, a noise zone, or any king of hazardous area. When you have a Realtor representing you, this is almost automatic, but many states do not re... 05/28/2010

Utah County Homes for Sale - Buyer Agent Commission One of the most often used marketing tricks that Listing agents use to attract home buyers is a Buyer Agent Commission (BAC) that is larger than what is generally offered.  Generally speaking most home sellers offer a commission of 6 percent to the agents that assist to sell their homes.  Half of the commission or 3 percent goes to the agent that listed the home for sale.  The other 3 percent goes to the agent who represents the buyer in the transaction.  By offering an inflated BAC, the listing agent is hoping that the agent representing the buyer will show their home before the home that only has a 3 percent commission. Home Buyers Beware Home buyers need to understand that sometimes their agent may be motivated to show them a home w... 05/27/2010

Real Estate in Eagle Mountain Utah experienced a pretty good increase of homes sold from 2000 to 2006.  Sales decreased by about 200 over the next two years then last year they were back up again.  That being said, Eagle Mountain Real Estate has had it pretty good.  Prices dropped below the appreciation curve for a few years then increased above it and dropped slightly below again last year.  Eagle Mountain homes are very reasonably priced under $200,000. 05/25/2010

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... 05/24/2010

Utah County Homes for Sale - Title Insurance and the Closing The last process that takes place just prior to recording is the closing.  At closing the Title or Escrow company provides the buyer with Title Insurance or an Owner's Policy.  They insure that you have clear title to the property.  If there are any problems later you can always go back to the Title Company and have them clear it up.  During the closing the Title Company also provides a Lender's Policy.  The Lender's policy insures your mortgage lender that there are no liens or judgments against the property and that the property and the mortgage company will be in the first position.  In other words, should you sell the property or refinance it, their mortgage gets paid first, before any other claims against the property?  T... 05/23/2010

Utah County Real Estate - 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 Utah County 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 gi... 05/20/2010

Utah County Real Estate - Short Sale The time to consider a Short Sale is when your Mortgage is considered to be in default, one or more payments have been missed.  There are a number of solutions available to remedy the situation: •·          Short Sale/Payoff •·          Forbearance agreement •·          Loan Modification •·          Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure A Short Sale occurs when a borrower sells their property for an amount that is less than the amount owed to the lender.  To qualify for assistance the borrower needs to prove that they are experiencing a substantial financial hardship.  A hardship is a situation that has life changing effect for the borrower that results in an in-ability to pay the mortgage debt in either, short or long term: •·          Separation or Divorce •... 05/19/2010

Utah County Real Estate - Benefits of Home Buying Buying a home is a very good investment. As a general rule, homes appreciate about five percent a year.  Some years will be more, some less.  The figure will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and region to region.  Five percent may not seem like that much at first.  Stocks, at times, appreciate much more, and you could earn over six percent with the safest investment of all, treasury bonds. Presumably, if you bought a $200,000 house, you did not pay cash for the home.  You got a mortgage, too.  Suppose you put as much as twenty percent down - that would be an investment of $40,000.  At an appreciation rate of 5% annually, a $200,000 home would increase in value $10,000 during the first year.  That means you earned $10,000 with an i... 05/17/2010

Utah County Real Estate Technology Technology has reached new levels for the Utah County Realtor in today's Virtual World.  The Utah County 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 that provides Maps and Pictures of MLS listings that ... 05/13/2010

Utah County Real Estate - Top Three Buyer Mistakes Well you have finally decided that it is time to stop renting and that you need to purchase a new Utah County 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-qualif... 03/10/2010

We need Positive Price Action to confirm market bottom. One month of price improve isn't sufficient to confirm the market bottom. We need to see appreciation month over month for three months. PRICE ACTION Other good signs in addition to positive price action is lower DOM (days of the market), lower new listingsand higher percent of new listings being SOLD. SUMMARY Has the Utah Real Estate Market bottomed? Currently we are not seeing the needed positive price action (along with other indicators) to confirm a market bottom. This is NOT a good time for those investor with low and/or no risk tolerance to purchase. Investors with a long term buy and hold strategic.Opportunities are starting to make sense. Contact your property resource specialist for information to make an informed buying d... 02/28/2010

Utah County Real Estate - Short Sale The time to consider a Utah County Short Sale is when your Mortgage is considered to be in default, one or more payments have been missed.  There are a number of solutions available to remedy the situation:        ·         Short Sale/Payoff        ·         Forbearance agreement        ·         Loan Modification        ·         Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure A Short Sale occurs when a borrower sells their property for an amount that is less than the amount owed to the lender.  To qualify for assistance the borrower needs to prove that they are experiencing a substantial financial hardship.  A hardship is a situation that has life changing effect for the borrower that results in an in-ability to pay the mortgage debt in either, short or long term:    ... 02/25/2010

Utah County Homes for Sale - Offer pricing factors There are many factors to consider when you are trying to determine what price to offer for a new Utah County Home.  Gathering and analyzing information form comparable sales helps to establish the range of prices you should consider.  More weight should be given to the most recent sales of like properties in the local area.  Other factors to consider include condition of the property, improvements, the current market, and the circumstances behind the seller's decision to sell. Search Utah MLS Listings Utah County Real Estate  Utah County Homes  Utah Homes For Sale  Provo Real Estate WS  Orem Real Estate WS  Utah Homes 4 Sale  Alpine Real Estate  Alpine Real Estate  Cedar Hills Real Estate   Highland Real Estate  Eagle Mountain Real Est... 02/17/2010

Home Inspections Utah County Homes for Sale 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 biggest reason you need to consider before purchasing the home.  This is where you have the right to back out of the contra... 01/21/2010

Utah County Short Sale What is a Utah County Short Sale? With the present Utah County Real Estate market in turmoil and many home owners are having a hard time trying to sell their home, because they owe more than it is worth.  I keep getting the question from my buyers about what is a Short Sale and how does it work?  Well I will try and address that question here.  I hope I am accurate, I am sure I will hear about it if I am not. What is a Utah County Short Sale? A Utah County Short Sale occurs when a property sells for a price that is insufficient to pay back the loans secured by the property (or any other liens against the property, such as delinquent property taxes, Homeowners/Condominium Association fees, etc.), as well as standard sales closing costs.  In order to complete such a... 12/28/2009

Utah Home Loans and the Yield Spread Premium (YSP) - Utah County Real Estate As a Utah Loan Officer and Utah Realtor I have noticed an area of Home Loans and Mortgages that goes unnoticed by the consumer,  that of Yield Spread Premium.  Most borrowers believe that their Loan Officer makes his profit with the Loan Origination Fee.  But most don't understand that the Loan Officer can make up to 4 percent more, on most loans, with the Yield Spread Premium. What is Yield Spread Premium? Yield Spread Premium, or YSP, is the fee paid by the Lender to the broker in exchange for a higher interest rate, or an above wholesale rate.  The borrower may qualify for a certain rate, but the broker can charge this fee and give the borrower a slightly higher rate to make more commission.  YSP was origina... 12/07/2009

We need Positive Price Action to confirm market bottom.  One month of price improve isn't sufficient to confirm the market bottom.  We need to see appreciation month over month for three months. PRICE ACTION   Other good signs in addition to positive price action is lower DOM (days of the market), lower new listings and higher percent of new listings being SOLD.    SUMMARY Currently we are not seeing the needed positive price action (along with other indicators) to confirm a market bottom.  This is NOT a good time for those with low and/or no risk tolerance to purchase.  High and medium risk tolerant investors are making buying decisions and are doing some bottom fishing.  Some are trying to time the market and market timing is risky.  Trying to time the bottom is not for the inexperien... 11/01/2009

Utah County Home Buyers - First-Time Home Buyer - $8,000 Tax Credit and $4,000 Home Run 2 Grant - Utah County Real Estate Utah County Home Buyers and Utah County First-Time Home Buyers have a great opportunity to enter the Home Buyer market now.  This programs ends soon, contact me for more information. What is the $4,000 Home Run 2 Grant? The Home Run 2 Grant is a mortgage assistance program that grants $4,000 to home buyers who wish to: •A)     Have a new home constructed •B)      Have a partially-constructed home completed •C)      Purchase a newly-constructed home. It must be the primary residence of the home buyer.  Homes that have been previously occupied do not qualify. How is Home Run 2 different from the first Home Run program? The first Home Run program, which ended in June 20... 09/05/2009