New listing posted to CirclePix.com

2595 S THOREAU DR. W Magna, UT 84044

New listing just posted: http://circlepix.com/VT9FFT

Description: Possible Short Sale -Very lovely home with a little bit of TLC. Extra Features: House built & elevated 18\" above ground level. Full Landscape - Auto Sprinklers Full- 2-car Garage with Opener. Secondary Water. .023 Acres.

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Home Information:

Beds: 5

Baths: 2.00

Sqft: 2172

Asking Price: $175000

MLS #: 1106236

Listing Your Utah Home? Top 6 Mistakes to Avoid!

6 Common Mistakes After Listing Your Home

Part 1— Top 6 Mistakes For Utah Sellers to Avoid

Disclosure Signatures

Disclosing material facts that might affect your Utah property’s value is a fair obligation that’s understood by everyone. Yet properly disclosing all material facts won’t help you at all if an issue comes up later but you can’t prove the disclosure. A good agent will double- and triple-check all the signatures, but at the end of the day, your peaceful sleep at night is only protected when you also take care to keep complete copies of the paperwork with all signatures accounted for.

Earnest Money 

Ah — the thrill of getting the first offer! After readying the property and listing your home, when an offer comes quickly, you’ll be tempted to say, “Where do I sign?” But slow up: getting a great offer is just the first step. Part of being a prudent seller is scrutinizing the offer and buyer to gauge the likelihood that the deal will close. The amount of earnest money should demonstrate the prospect’s sincere intent to buy…not just their desire to tie up the house while they make up their mind!

Exclusions

Want to watch warm feelings ice up in a hurry? Try surprising your buyer with the last-minute news that you intend to take your coveted washer/dryer (or heirloom chandelier, or custom closet system) with you because you forgot to exclude them. It’s part of my job as your agent to go over the more obvious items when listing your home in Salt Lake City and Beyond, but even so, it’s ultimately up to you to make sure your intent is known. Trust me - I’ve seen more than one sale go south in the eleventh hour over some unbelievably minor items.

Coming next, I’ll flush out more of these most common pitfalls. Watch for next week's Blog.

 Of course, listing your home with me means you won’t need to worry: I make it may job to keep an eye out for all of them. If you’re thinking of listing your home in our neck of the woods this spring, call me today!

As Flowers Bloom, Housing Markets Do, Too!

Local Housing Market Not Really Yoked to Wall Street

Wall Street, Our Street: Different Kinds of Thoroughfares

Even though the housing market looks as certain to rise as the spring shoots, behind that optimism is the perenniel question about whether another “dip” is coming — a lot of which has to do with Wall Street. 

Remembering how 2008’s economic downturn saw the housing market and stock market take blows pretty much simultaneously, it’s not far-fetched to assume that the two markets always move together. And while some folks are emboldened as stocks soar to record-level heights, for others, the same phenomenon causes altitude sickness. What goes up must…well, you know the rest! 

Historically, the housing market and stock market are hardly inextricably joined. Nor should that be a surprise. On the one hand, the housing market reflects a real good (as ‘real’ as it gets!) — something that carries intrinsic utility. That won’t change until people figure out a way to exist without shelter. 

Stocks, on the other hand, represent participation in ownership of a venture, and a share of financial gain (or loss) from its success. Both markets are influenced by some of the same factors (employment, inflation, etc.), but to different degrees. It’s widely agreed that the direct influence of one on the other waxes and wanes.

So when anyone thinks about whether a dip is coming in the stock market, and whether that should influence their real estate thinking, I’m pretty certain that the answers are less important than the more measurable effects that buying or selling a home will have on their day-to-day living experience. With positive housing market data continuing to arrive (like the recent rise in land values — up 13% last year; the first annual gain in eight years), it’s hard not to agree with the majority of economists that the positive housing market trend is likely to keep going for a good while longer.

If you are considering selling your home and want to explore the housing market in Salt Lake City and Beyond this April, give me a call.  Regardless of what each market is doing at any given time, I keep the latest up-to-date statistical and local neighborhood information available for my clients.

VA LOANS

VA LOANS...Continue to Help Families Finance Their Homes Within the past few years, the financing options for veterans to obtain VA loans has become readily available and more accessible. VA loans have given families and veterans the opportunity to cash in on some of the most cost-friendly down payment opportunities as well as streamlined refinancing strategies for years. Although VA home loans have been able to help veterans acquire low-to-zero down payment rates for the past 70 years, the programs are increasingly becoming more valuable for qualified individuals in this day and age more than ever before. Last year, the VA loan program experienced one of its most successful years in history, as it reached its 20 millionth loan and increased its loans by 50 percent. One of the reasons for an increase might be due to the fact that there have been more restrictions placed on conventional home loans due to a series of economic shortfalls. While traditional lenders may demand as high as 20 percent on a home down payment, VA loans generally require no money up front, which is one of the main reasons eligible families have sought the assistance of such programs for so many decades. This way the families can focus on getting their lives back in order rather than figuring out ways to maintain a substantial FICO score. Requirements necessary for obtaining a VA loan VA borrowers must be aware of the fact that the loans are insured and aren't financially supported by the VA, which ultimately means that they must go through a traditional lender once they get the go ahead from the VA. There is an overhead cost of 1 to 3 percent of the property's value that will be added for VA loans, which can generally be negotiated with lenders and paid off over a set period of time. In order to obtain a VA loan, the borrower will have to have a credit score of at least 620, which is significantly lower than the average denied score of 669. The programs are especially helpful to first-time homebuyers, who might not have an adequate credit score to put money down through a traditional program. Those who are interested in obtaining a VA loan should see if they qualify first. Whether or not they are will depend largely on several factors, including whether or not they will have to have a co-signer as well as income and occupancy requirements. Once this has been determined, they will be able to move forward with their goals in financing a home.