salt lake: Mortgage Shopping Will Soon be a Lot Less Complicated - 11/10/09 07:11 PM
Mortgage shopping will soon be a lot less complicated.
RESPA Reform takes effect on January 1, 2010. While still not perfect, the changes do simplify the ability to compare loan offerings between lenders. The goal was to simplify and improve disclosure requirements for mortgage settlement costs under RESPA. My analysis: … (3 comments)
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salt lake: Owning Becomes More Attractive as Rent's Rise, Home Prices and Interest Rates Fall - 04/10/09 01:48 AM
Demand for rental homes and units in many parts of the country is on the rise as many homeowners who are unable to refinance their mortgages to today's lower rates because their property values have declined have sold their homes "short" or left them altogether after foreclosure. Increased restrictions for obtaining … (1 comments)
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salt lake: Utah Once Again Nations "Best State" to Live - 03/23/09 01:11 PM
Utah once again ranked as the Best State to live in overall based on a Forbes.com report of a recent Gallup-Healthways poll.
Utah ranked first for both Well-Being and Work Quality, and ranked second for Life Evaluation. It also ranked in the top 10 for Physical Health, Emotional Health and Basic … (1 comments)
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salt lake: An Equal Level of Representation for Home Buyers - 03/16/09 11:14 PM
Great Article in the New York Times Friday, featuring a good friend and colleague of mine, Ira Freireich of Long Island, NY.
The article points out how many homebuyers are becoming more savvy and aware of how they can get the best level of representation in the real estate transaction: Exclusive … (3 comments)
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salt lake: Home Buyers in Sandy, Utah Value Having an Agent on Their Side - 03/12/09 08:29 PM
We recently purchased our first home in the Salt Lake area. In choosing a realtor, we considered several options, but ultimately chose to work with Benjamin Clark based on positive recommendations we'd received.
We weren't very familiar with the concept of an Exclusive Buyer's Agent (EBA) at the outset, but during … (2 comments)
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salt lake: "Impressed with Your Professionalism" - 02/27/09 01:26 PM
Ben,I wanted to take a moment and thank you for letting us help you with the purchase transaction for the Tanners. I was impressed with your professionalism and particularly the depth of your understanding of the closing process and the HUD-1 settlement statement. Your attention to detail is obviously a huge … (5 comments)
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salt lake: Real Estate Negotiation Skills a Must for All Salt Lake Area Home Buyers, Especially in the Current Market - 10/13/08 01:33 PM
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - Benjamin D. Clark has been awarded the Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE) designation, achieved by real estate professionals who have successfully completed formal training in the art of negotiation. Agents who receive this certification are in the top 1% of all agents nationally.
Buyer's agents with … (4 comments)
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salt lake: Buying "Small" in Salt Lake - 10/03/08 03:53 PM
With all the plusses that come with more square footage, the smart buyer will look at the additional costs.
Whether you are buying a home as an investment, or planning on living there a long time, there are many reasons some Buyers choose to buy "small" rather than buying "large" homes. … (3 comments)
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salt lake: Are Downpayment Assistance Programs Bad? - 10/03/08 02:49 PM
So were (are?) Downpayment Assistance Programs bad?
I don't think DAPs are bad in and of themselves.
But coupled with additional items from the lender's bags-of-tricks, they likely contributed to a number of defaulted mortgages, including some that will continue to default as adjustment dates and balloons come due.
(Click Here … (0 comments)
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salt lake: Downpayment Assistance Programs (DAPs) or, The "Money-Go-Round" - 10/03/08 02:37 PM
Downpayment Assistance Programs are being allowed less and less. One "stated" reason is that they likely helped contribute to the breakdown of the real estate market.
Here's how a downpayment assistance program (DAP) usually worked:
The Seller would give 3% plus some "administration fee"...
(sometimes 1% of the Purchase Price)
… (0 comments)
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salt lake: Provo-Orem and Salt Lake City, UT at top of 2008 Best Performing Cities Index - 09/15/08 04:19 PM
The Milken Institute ranks metropolitan areas by how well they create and sustain jobs, wages and salaries and technology.
Their report, dated September 10, 2008 shows Utah's Largest Metro Areas strong atop the list of over 200 Large Metropolitain areas nationally.
Provo-Orem comes in at #1 with Salt Lake City at … (0 comments)
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salt lake: Wasatch Front Home Price Historical Data for the past 5 years - 08/30/08 12:17 AM
The Salt Lake Tribune has an excellent "extra" specifically related to Median Home Prices along the Wasatch Front.
The data is broken down by zip code with an accompanying map to make it easy to understand which areas you are looking at.
The link is here: Home Prices Along the Wasatch … (0 comments)
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salt lake: Most homes sold in Salt Lake County (July 2008) were priced $300,000 or less - 08/29/08 11:50 PM
Good news for those hoping to buy (or sell?) homes under $300,000 in Salt Lake County:
The Salt Lake Board of Realtors said this week that 71 percent of home sales in Salt Lake County in July were for properties priced less than $300,000. The most active price range was from … (1 comments)
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salt lake: Why fewer housing starts in Salt Lake is a good thing. - 08/19/08 09:44 PM
I know you know this, and I know this, but the media doesn't seem to get this...
Fewer housing starts are a good thing!
(Well, at least for now.)
Remember how builders overbuilt and there was a glut of inventory on the marketplace?
Remember how builders were offering the craziest incentives … (1 comments)
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salt lake: Roy Home Buyers Find Success by Hiring Exclusive Buyer's Agent - 05/29/08 02:54 PM
Wow, where do I start relaying my experience of buying our first house? First, I guess you can say that my husband and I are very cautious people. We do a lot of research before buying any large-ticket item, whether it be a lawnmower, a washer, a car, etc. So when … (1 comments)
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salt lake: Salt Lake Real Estate Update: Number of Sales Down - Prices Slightly Up - 05/03/08 02:07 AM
First Quarter 2008 showed only small improvement in home prices and the number of SOLD homes was also down.
Fourth Quarters and First Quarters are historically low, while Second Quarters and Third Quarters are historically higher with regards to the number of SOLD homes reported.
There has been increased activity over … (1 comments)
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salt lake: Questions for Buyer's Agents - My Responses - 04/18/08 01:10 PM
I don't know the specific origin of these questions, but Buyers ask them all the time. A wise homebuyer will ask these types of questions to any agent they interview.
Here are my responses to Buyers when I am provided with these questions:
Do you spend 100% of your time representing … (2 comments)
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salt lake: Ummel Case Juror Suggests "Buyers Agents Suck" - 04/17/08 01:57 PM
OK. Those weren't her words. Read this article from The Voice of San Diego (author, Kelly Bennett) and comment if you like.Here are a few quotes from the juror:
"After my seven days of realtor training (sitting in a court room), I may consider not using a realtor in my next purchase … (21 comments)
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salt lake: Things to Do in Salt Lake City Utah - 04/17/08 11:10 AM
One of the greatest benefits of living in Salt Lake County is that you can be in about any one of 30 towns in about 15-20 minutes! (Well, except during rush hour!)
Within that circle are:
4 Costcos
12 Wal-Marts
20 Movie Theatres (Including 4 Megaplexes with 12-20 screens!)
Over … (0 comments)
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salt lake: Salt Lake Real Estate over the past year (April 2007-April 2008) - 04/16/08 12:08 PM
A year ago Salt Lake was seeing appreciation rates in the 15-20% range. Today, appreciation is somewhere between 0 and +3% (My best guess - Official Data won't be out until the 20th).
There was a 6 month stretch with fewer home sales, making it harder to find comparable sales for … (0 comments)
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