Archive for September, 2007
Cyprus High School Homecoming: Make it a Blast!
September 23rd, 2007 Categories: Magna
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Cyprus High School Homecoming: Make it a Blast!
An Open Letter from the Student Body Officers of Cyprus High School:
We as Cyprus High School’s Student Body Officers are campaigning to raise funds for the Fireworks Celebration at our Homecoming Football Game on Friday, September 28th.We welcome the community to attend the festivities, but we need your financial contributions help to make it happen. No amount is too small or insignificant. If you are an alum of Cyprus, you know how great it is to be a part of this kind of event and the need for this kind of support.
Donations are graciously being accepted at the Cyprus High School Administration Office 8623 West 3000 South, or at the Magna Chamber of Commerce Office Mail Slot at 9145 W 2700 S.Cyprus High School has always supported local business and we are here for you as well. Thank you for keeping our Cyprus spirits high and our sails hoisted!
Sincerely, 2007-2008 Cyprus Student Body OfficersI had the pleasure of being there when these four young students made their presentation to the Magna Chamber of Commerce, they were awesome.
I had the pleasure of being there when these four young students made their presentation to the Magna Chamber of Commerce, they were awesome. For Donations You Can contact me at 801-694-4762, Rob@Aubrey.net or Lisa Henrie 801-250-9680 Lisa.Henrie@magnachamber.org
Click to view Magna Homes for Sale
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Why It Is Time To Buy Rental Properties In Salt Lake
September 23rd, 2007 Categories: Buying, Investing
Things are looking good for buying rental units in and around Salt Lake. Rental rates are on the rise and vacancies are low. We can expect rates to go a little higher, but the real key is low vacancies. Vacancies can be one of the highest expenses to a property owner.
With the tightening of the lending climate and home prices that sky rocketed. Over 25% of the population is under 18 years old, there is a steady stream of renters entering the market.
This makes for an interesting situation. Properties being harder to finance (especially non-owner occupied) means there are less buyers, yet rents are attractive.
Rental Market Outlook From Commerce CRG Real Estate
Over the next 12 months the rental market conditions in Salt Lake County will continue to improve for existing rental property owners, but little change is expected in the difficult conditions for developers of rental properties. Strong demand will drive rental rates higher over the next year with possible double digit increases. On the supply side, there are not a large number of new units under construction that will ease the tight market conditions, and vacancy rates will remain in the 3.0 to 4.0 percent range over the next 12 months.
I recommend the classic three bedroom starter home for the same reasons rents are steady and vacancies are low. It has a built in steady flow of people entering the housing market. The starter homes are a the easiest to rent, easiest to liquidate if necessary.
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Things The Online Home Value Sites Don’t Want You To Know
September 23rd, 2007 Categories: Selling
The big buzz Zillow. Consumers get pricing online instantly. How nice would that be? The reason no one hasn’t done it before because it cannot be done nationally with accuracy. Some markets it can be done nicely and others not even close.
Salt Lake City Home Values
Utah is a non-disclosure state. Meaning the sales price is not a public record. Some states have a transfer tax and the tax may be public and simply figure out the price by the tax. However in Utah the transfer deed states for $10 and other considerations. Now the amount recorded against the property is public. However that does not tell how much the property sold for.
Zillow has been off by 40% according to Leslie Walker in her Feb Washington Post article. That is way too much to consider useful.
The other problem with the system that Zillow is trying to implement is that it is a scientific approach. Appraising is an art and not a science. There are nuances that are not tabulated in the science approach. For example if ramblers are in style and there is a comparable split entry (the only difference is the stair case) one could sell for a lot more than one would pay for the other property. What about a property that is 10 doors away from the house that sold on the busy street? These are the obvious ones.
Now let’s suppose we work through all the algorithms and come up with an accurate assessment and the market is shifting (always has and always will). It is now only worth what a buyer is willing to pay, regardless of what is owed, what the owner paid, what it cost to build, what the neighbors sold for. It is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay PERIOD.
Let’s say there are 12 comparable sales that justify a price of $250,000 for a home. If there are 10 homes in the nearby area that are selling for $240,000 the house will not sell for $250,000
Real Comparable Sales For Salt Lake and Surrounding Areas
For real comparable sales in the Salt Lake Metro area. Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Tooele, Weber counties go to http://www.morehousevalues/. There you will get real comparable sales for the area, not a guessing formula that Zillow uses.
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The Lengths Men Will Go To
September 23rd, 2007 Categories: Not Real Estate
I have always thought that razor blades were quite expensive, I buy the three blade type. I am raising my hand (my wife Julie and I have a rule, if you are going to change the subject you have to raise your hand), Moore’s law observes that computer chips double in power every 18 months. I don’t know how long it took to go to from two blades to three. I am guessing 15 blades by the end of the century. Back to the original story.
Razor blades are expensive. I could never figure out why, because typically men’s hygiene stuff is usually not as expensive as women’s. Why because men will do without before we shell out a lot of money for naught. Then one day I kissed my wife with a couple of day’s growth and she said you need to shave. Eureka men will pay a lot of money because we all know men will do what it takes to be with a beautiful woman (Julie is hot). So I set out on the quest to be the envy of all men the “The Deal” on razor blades.
I searched everywhere except EBay, which is the first place I should have checked. Low and behold, I found my favorite blades for less than 2/3rds (including shipping) what I normally pay. I now have the best of both worlds, not paying through the nose and pleasing a beautiful woman. I realize that makes me some kind of hero with men. Today they arrived 50 packs of 4 Gillette’s Mach 3 Turbo. How cool is that?
P.S. The Shaving Kit Above is $375
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Let’s List high and Leave Room For Negotiating
September 23rd, 2007 Categories: Selling
This is probably one of the biggest mistake a seller can make and here is why. If a buyer is looking at a list of houses online or wherever, do you think they start at the ones that seem to be overpriced even a little? They are searching for the lowest price in their specific search criteria. It also reduces the activities of the highly productive Real Estate Agents.
Since Nov 1995 to current the average List to Sale Ratio in Salt Lake County is 98% as Reported by the Wasatch Front MLS. Does that mean you can throw a price out there and you will get 98% of that? Absolutely not what it means is you cannot list your home more than 1 or 2 % above market value.
The real damage happens because the best activity comes in the first few weeks. When you are pardon the expression “fresh meat”. If you are overpriced during that period you missed all the active buyers currently on the market. Then you will get the trickling of the new buyers. Then after about 2-3 weeks there is the perception something is wrong.
Then as a seller you realize that the experiment of leaving room for negotiation didn’t work and then you adjust the price. Now you are saying we are desperate, you have been on the market a while and then you lowered the price. Buyers smell blood or at least the perception of blood. They will start to make offers less than what you lowered it to.
It is so much easier to price it correctly in the beginning and turn down offers then to not get any at all.
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Should I Sell Then Buy or Should I Buy Then Sell????
September 23rd, 2007 Categories: Selling
Here you sit knowing that the family is moving. You, your spouse, 4 kids, a dog and a hamster. You’re moving out of state and have to be there is 60 days to start working.
Do we go to the new area and start house hunting and buy a house contingent upon the sale of our Salt Lake House? Do we sell the Salt Lake House contingent upon going to new area and finding a suitable house? Do we sell the Salt Lake House and then just move, all our stuff is in a P.O.D. stay in an extended stay or with luck relatives (your luck, not theirs, 6 people 2 pets).
Price or terms, remember this statement.
Let’s look at the options closely so we can see how to navigate the decision process.
1. Go to the new area and house hunt, buy a house contingent upon the Salt Lake House selling. That depends a lot on a couple of things. What is the market like where you are going? Is it a buyer’s market, is it a seller’s market? Now let’s suppose it is a balanced market and homes are selling in 60-90 days. You make an offer on a home with the contingency and now you have to set a closing date. Hmm, the answer I don’t know, is not a strong position to negotiate from is it? You have become a weak buyer and for a full price offer the seller might be willing to do that and that just cost you 2-3%, or $6-12,000 depending on the price range. Now let’s suppose the seller said OK but they got their price and they want to be able to shop for back up offers. Low and behold someone else buys the home, now you have the house hunting to start all over again.
2. Sell the Salt Lake House contingent on going to the new area and finding a suitable home. Any buyer that is willing to pay you top dollar is motivated wouldn’t you agree? Remember when you were looking for a place to live how strong were you as a buyer. Now you are a weak seller. This may cost you a buyer or at best a few percentage points on the price. Now you fly to the new area and you look find a home and make an offer get it accepted and you do your inspection and order the appraisal (both paid for) and low and behold your Salt Lake sale falls through (why is not important in this study). That means you have to cancel the deal in the new market and start marketing your Salt Lake Home all over again.
3. This seems like the least of the three options because from an emotional point of view you are selling a house, you, your spouse, 4 kids, a dog and a hamster are homeless, that will test your sense of adventure. But let’s think about it. This scenario makes you the strongest buyer and seller of all the options. If a ready willing and able buyer comes along and has to move immediately you are in a position to accommodate them. But remember that statement, price or terms, if the buyer has to move right now. Whose terms are they, the buyer’s, if the terms are the buyer’s that means it is your price. Now you sold your Salt Lake House and you are in the new area flush with cash. You are looking for a house and you find and awesome House it is vacant and the seller would really like to close as fast as they could. Their terms equals your price again. Between the two transactions this option can be worth around $12,000-24,000 cash in your pocket. Yes there are going to be some expenses involved that might not have occurred otherwise. But it is a lot easier to negotiate when you can pick and go at any time and or close as fast or slow as a seller might want to.
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How Much Earnest Money Should I Put Down?
September 23rd, 2007 Categories: Buying
This is a really great question. I think the more you put the better.
When you are making an offer I am assuming you want to negotiate the best deal possible.
So with that said let’s look at why more EM can help you. For starters, the EM goes towards your down payment or towards your closing cost if you are doing 100% financing.
It shows how serious you are and shows you have some money. This along with good deadlines can help you get a better price as a buyer. The reality is, if you are putting down 3% or more in a total down payment, than there really is no reason, for you not to put a large EM.
Your EM is protected with the basic contingencies of the Standard Board Of Realtors Real Estate Purchase Contract-REPC (pronounced rep-see).
Those basic contingencies are Appraisal, Inspection and Loan. They all have deadlines and you can cancel the contract within those guidelines with WRITTEN NOTICE. If the contract is canceled within the parameters of the contract then the EM is returned to the buyer.
Another reason is called liquidated damages. The default clause of the REPC Paragraph #16
DEFAULT. If Buyer defaults, Seller may elect either to retain the Earnest Money Deposit as liquidated damages, or to return it and sue Buyer to specifically enforce this Contract or pursue other remedies available at law. If Seller defaults, in addition to return of the Earnest Money Deposit, Buyer may elect either to accept from Seller a sum equal to the Earnest Money Deposit as liquidated damages, or may sue Seller to specifically enforce this Contract or pursue other remedies available at law. If Buyer elects to accept liquidated damages, Seller agrees to pay the liquidated damages to Buyer upon demand. It is agreed that denial of a Loan Application made by the Buyer is not a default and is governed by Section 2.3(b).
So a large EM benefits you as a buyer all the way through, as long as you monitor your dates and everyone in the transaction stays on task and on time, your money is not at risk.
In summary, a larger EM along with good deadlines can help you negotiate a better price and in the event the seller defaults you awarded a larger damage settlement.
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Cottonwood Heights’ Bark In The Park
September 22nd, 2007 Categories: Cottonwood Heights
Cottonwood Heights’ Bark In The Park
Today September 22nd was the annual “Bark In The Park” for Cottonwood Heights Residents was held at Mill Hollow Park 2800 East Mill Hollow Dr. (6750 S). There plenty of dogs and kids and people cleaning up after man’s best friend. Not a place for shaking hands.
The weather didn’t slow down everyone, I am sure there would have been a bigger turn out, but to the faithful. Woof.
K-9 Unit, Search and Rescue were there for exhibits. Contest for Tail Wagging, Kissing, Pet Massage, Fashion Show and other
events. All started off with the “Strut Your Mutt”
Some of the vendors were adoption, pet chipping, licensing.
Of course there were Hot Dogs and Drinks for sale.
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College Savings Plan
September 22nd, 2007 Categories: Investing
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has declared September as “College Savings Month” from an article in the Salt Lake Tribune, to encourage Utahns to save for their children’s education. You can get information about “The Utah Educational Savings Plan” at www.UESP.org or calling 800-418-2551.
This must be the law of attraction or something like that. I had drafted an article on Real Estate as a College Fund. This is not a new concept but one that is starting to catch momentum, especially among grandparents. Grandparents typically are more liquid and they can benefit from it financially also.
The more I think about this the more it makes sense to me. One set or both sets of grandparents can join forces for more leverage.
They buy rental properties with a large enough down payment to enjoy cash flow with a 15 year mortgage. Using a property management company of course (they don’t want to mess with tenants). They can use the cash flow for themselves or pay down the note faster and have tax benefits too. There are many financial benefits of owning investment properties. The idea is at the end of 15 years the property(s) are paid off and all the rent minus expenses would go toward college expense or the property(s) can be sold at the current market value. We all know no matter what the condition of the current market is in, 15 years from now all real estate will be worth a lot more.
I like the idea of creating some form of trust to own the property and it is passed down generation to generation for education. Please seek advice from tax and estate planning professionals.
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Would You Trade $10,000 for $200,000?
September 22nd, 2007 Categories: Real Estate News
Would You Trade $10,000 for $200,000? Maybe.
Don A. Matthews did according to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune. Oh by the way his real estate license was revoked by the Utah Division of Real Estate too. According to the Trib, he paid a $10,000 fine for allegations of Loan Fraud. He is alleged to have falsified documents and selling property he didn’t own. (There is an investment strategy I didn’t think of before).
There are few details on how it played out, but he supposedly he netted $200,000. Paying a $10,000 fine is too cheap, that is a 5% tax. I don’t know about you but I will gladly pay $10,000 for every $200,000 there is, I have done harder work for less. He was also cited for illegally paying an Unlicensed Real Estate Agent for bringing the buyer.
So is this a crack down or do the ‘alleged” consider it a cost of doing business? However I do 
applaud the State for their efforts in going after the fraudulent dealings that our recent hot market created.But the real damage in these alleged crimes is hard to quantify. How many legitimate people bought homes based on fraudulent information that these types of dealings create? If they bought a home based false values a lot of people can be upside down or have minimal equity regardless of how much they put down. That is where the real crime is.
Personally I think these actions are to be punished with hard jail time. These are not little money schemes. They have major repercussions that can go on for years. I don’t mean one incident will cause that, for every one that was caught many got away with it.
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