Posts Tagged "home buying"

Will Interest Rates Or Home Prices Make A Difference?

Posted in For Buyers, General Musings

Buying a Home In Salt Lake City, Ut
Will Interest Rates Or Home Prices Make A Difference?

One of our clients, a first time homebuyer, asked us the other day whether they should wait for home prices to drop more before buying a home. They were also concerned about interest rates rising and rightly so.  Our answer to them was twofold (don’t you just love literary elegance?) and we thought we would pass this on to you as well.

1. Interest rates are indeed on the rise. They are higher today than the 4.785 that we have been
   

   Townhomes & Condos in Salt Lake

   seeing for the last several months in Salt Lake.  Now this means not only a higher payment on a loan, but can also mean that your buying power is diminished (you can’t qualify for as much to purchase a home).

2. Although prices in Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas may continue to drop slightly during theremainder of the year, the consensus is that our market has basically bottomed out, especially in the first time home buyer price range of under $250,000.  Our market has not suffered the free fall associated with California, Las Vegas, and Arizona, and so has stabilized more quickly.
3. With the incentives offered by the govt in the form of the $8000 first time homebuyers tax credit, the $6500 credit extended tax credit for existing homeowners, grant money, and Utah Housing financing buying a home in Salt Lake holds it’s attraction. Now, this post was written back during the good old days when these were all in place, but since you missed ‘em, we will just tell you that Mortgage Interest is Still Tax deductible, which can turn a 2,000 refund into a $4,000 refund with that deduction, which means you can adjust your take home pay to cover part of your payment. Whoo Hoo!

To illustrate how interest rates more so than a drop in price will affect you in buying a home, we turned to our trusty lender, Lance Sorenson, to provide some valuable information for you.

Look for homes in West Jordan under $250,000

As you can see, interest rates will make more of a difference than a decline in price, so keep that in mind as you make your decision to buy a home.

It could save you lots of money (and I don’t know about you, but I would rather have that extra 100 bucks in My pocket, not the banks).

If you have any questions, be sure to give us a call or shoot us an email!
Til later,
Ciao

Buying Your First Home In Salt Lake City, Ut

Posted in 1st Time Homebuying, General Musings

Buying Your First Home In Salt Lake City, Ut

We know, we have told you this before, now is a great time for buying your first home. There is a little bit of apprehension going on with you…I can feel it as you read this.

Jay and Kate had the same apprehension, in fact they didn’t even think they could Qualify for their first home, much less find one they could afford.  But for some reason Jay called me one day on one of my listings and I, being the ever vigilant protector of buyers, began asking questions about his and Kate’s goals and dreams of buying their first home.

Now, note here, and Jay will tell you this, I did not bite, kick or use any form of torture on him, but after a conversation on the phone, I put him in touch with one of my favorite lenders who works with my first time homebuyers.

He too was gentle, and, with a little more conversation, made the proud announcement to Jay and Kate that they

Here Is The Home They Bought

could indeed buy a home, their credit was not as bad as they thought and they did actually HAVE credit when they thought they didn’t, and with some of the programs available to first time homebuyers, they could buy their first home as soon as we found the right one.

So…. armed with that knowledge, plus a pre-qualification from their now favorite lender,  off we went, searching for that perfect home, the one they told me about when they were telling me of their dreams.  By the 2nd time we went out, we found a new construction foreclosure townhome that was a perfect fit for them, (and at 2200 sq ft 3 bd, 2 1/2 bth it’s as big as most homes!), was the right price, and for which they could help pick out some of the colors to finish it off.  Wow!

Long story short, we got them into their darling home, they got $8000 for buying their first home to help with furnishings, (they bought a new living room set and a big screen tv), and they are happy!  All because they called me one day.

They bought a home…you can too, especially with the help of your trusty buyer’s agent…me.  Don’t wait though,if you want to buy your first home , get a great interest rate, and get the home you dream about,  you need to move…Now.  Call me and let’s get started.  What we did for Kate and Jay, we can do for you! Now stop reading and call or text me at 801-819-9005. Right now!

Contingencies For Buying Homes In Salt Lake, Ut

Posted in 1st Time Homebuying, For Buyers, General Musings

Contingencies For Buying Homes In Salt Lake, UT

Buying a home in Salt Lake is an exciting experience, especially if it is your first home.  As you go through the process of home buying, however, there will inevitably be a point in time where you experience the “What Ifs”.

What if’s” are those doubts that creep into your mind after the rose colored glasses come off …after you have found “The” home to which you are about to give your commitment, your time, your love…and your money. Thoughts like

• “What If”…I can’t afford the house after I buy it?
• “What If”…I find out the air conditioner doesn’t work?
• “What If”…I lose my job in the next month?
• “What If”… I don’t qualify for the loan?
• “What If”…I change my mind?

There are a thousand different “What If”s that go through buyers minds at different points in the process of homebuying, but don’t worry, in Salt Lake these “What Ifs” are handled through “Contingencies” that are written into the REPC ( Real Estate Purchase Contract).

Contingencies that are standard for homebuying in Salt Lake are those that deal with:

• Finance Contingency- Utah Real Estate Purchase Contracts protect the buyer if  he cannot ultimately qualify for a loan or the loan terms and conditions (payment amounts or variable rate etc) are not what he wants.
• Appraisal Contingency-If the sales price of a property comes in below the sales price, the buyer has the right to cancel the real estate contract.
• Due Diligence Contingency- The REPC protects the buyer by allowing her time to inspect the property, find any problems with condition, and negotiate the remedy with the seller.
• Due Diligence Contingencies also allow the buyer to cancel the contract if he cannot remedy the condition, or if he just simply changes his mind.

During the contract period, usually 30-45 days, there is ample time for you to find the answers to all the “What Ifs” especially if you use a great Buyers Agent.

Your Buyers Agent , especially if you…ahem…use Us, will know how to protect you and address any concerns you may have by:

1. Properly preparing you to make an offer- not only getting you pre qualified with a lender, but making sure you are in the right kind of loan for your circumstances, AND that you are comfortable with your price range and payment. They will help you make a plan for Earnest Money and whatever downpayment you will need as well.
2. Counseling with you on what terms and conditions (contingencies) should be included in your offer to address all your concerns and to protect you in the transaction.
3. Planning the Home Inspection with you and attending the inspection to help address any problems with conditions and help you find the answers to all the questions.
4. Communicating with both you, the lender, and the seller’s agent to make sure the transaction goes smoothly, all contingencies are met, and to head off any problems that might occur.

So, never fear, contingencies when you buy a home in Salt Lake are there to protect you, the buyer. And if you have the right people working for you (smiling slyly here), your experience will be as it should be…..Fantastic!

Start your Search for affordable homes here.

Til later, ciao

How To Buy A Foreclosure

Posted in For Buyers, Foreclosures, General Musings

Foreclosures have been one of the best real estate purchases of late. However, Foreclosed homes can be tricky transactions. 

Buyers Agents-Are They Just In It For The Money?

Posted in For Buyers, General Musings

Are Buyer’s Agents In It For The Money?

Well, if I answered that and told you no, would you believe me?  Probably not.  So, I will tell you that Yes, buyer’s agents want what comes along with a successful transaction.  Steve and I want the following:

• A Happy Buyer- that’s why we work hard behind the scenes with lenders, appraisers, the listing agent, home inspectors, title companies and escrow officers ,ALL the paperwork, (and various lions and tigers and bears) to head off glitches before they get to you. We want you to have a smooth experience, one where you say…”Wow, that was easy, do I get to move now?” (Note, we would also like “Steve & Debbi, you are the Best Realtors Ever” or some such accolade, but we are totally happy with the first sentence).
• The Best Price For Your Home- That’s why Steve (he is so good at this) goes through an exhaustive process of finding the market value on the home.  This not only includes the Amigos, what we call comparables, but finds additional information like what the sellers owe, how long the property has been on the market, talks with the Listing Agent about the sellers motivation, all in order to give you the suggestions of the best price for the home of your dreams.  Steve takes great pride in doing this for you… he loves a win!
• The Best Home For You- As your buyer’s agent, we want you to be thoroughly in love with the home you choose. We want you to tell us your dreams and your vision of your home, and we want to help you Find that vision.  We ask lots of questions, preview lots of homes to see if they fit your vision, we do lots of homework before you ever get in the car with us.  We want to make sure you know everything about your home choice by having home inspections. We want to make sure you get the right Price for your new home, that you are comfortable with your loan and payments, so that when you come to the closing table, it’s an exciting day!
• And yes, we like getting paid.  Who doesn’t?  But, part of our payment is in you giving us referrals because you think we did a wonderful job for you.  Part of our payment is when you are ready to move on, you Remember what a great job we did, and you ask us to help you sell your home and buy your new one.  Part of our payment is you becoming part of our circle of friends…forever. Now, That’s incentive!

We found a little video that kinda emphasizes what we’re talking about and let’s you see that we aren’t the only ones who feel this way.  We Love all our clients, we want to help them realize their dreams….and yeah…..we like to get paid.  Call us now (number is right at the top!)if you are looking to buy for the first time, or if you are looking to move up or downsize!

Til later, ciao