13. Houses: You’re typically able to get better and more features for your dollar when you purchase an older home rather than building new. Older houses were often constructed on bigger corner lots, and you also get architectural variety in your neighborhood if the houses were built or remodeled in different eras.
I am always looking for interesting things in the news. This was a great article I think a lot of people need to read. Because I work with consumers directly I am constantly being bombarded with financial questions. And it really comes down to simple management. If you want me to dumb down our current economic situation it is actually quite simple. Money mangement! How hard is it to not buy something you can’t afford? Is that hard to understand? When you buy a home, you buy a home that you are qualified to purchase. Based on your income, your income to debt ratio. Now what is your income to debt ratio. For example, if you make $2000 a month, and you have a car payment and a credit card payment that equal $1000 a month. That would put you at 50%. That is what lenders are looking for.
Our Govt. hasn’t quite learned this principle yet either. So I guess I can’t be to surprised that the majority of the country doesn’t either..
For those of you who want to be in an amazing area at an affordable price, this house is for you. Total it is about 2,800 sq feet which is big for the neighborhood and it also has a mother in law with a separate entrance and complete kitchen. There are 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms in this house that is situated on .20 acres fully fenced. Many new ugrades including paint, carpet, roof, etc. Home is close to freeways, shopping, and parks. Don’t miss out.
We need to sell this asap as the owners are relocating to another state! Address is 7292 S. 1540 E. in Cottonwood Heights.
This is a great article written by a good friend of mine Josh Mettle. He is one of the top producing Loan offiers in Salt Lake.. Great info..
Existing Home Sales dropped in May for the first time in 3 months but still managed to post its second-highest since November 2009, buoyed by the expiring federal tax credit program.
An “existing home” is a home that cannot be considered new construction; a resale of an existing home. Existing Home Sales fell 2.2 percent in May.
The press is calling the drop in sales “unexpected” anddisappointing, but a deeper look at the data shows the news isn’t as bad as it first appears.
First, on a regional basis, sales were mostly solid. Only the Northeast region posted a loss. The West even managed a gain.
Northeast : -18.3 percent
Midwest : 0.0 percent
South : +0.5 percent
West : +4.9 percent
Second, the supply of homes for sale dropped to 8.3 in May and, because home prices are based on supply and demand, this is a positive for pricing.
By comparison, in 2008, the average existing home inventory was 10.4 months.
And, lastly, in May, first-time home buyers represented 46 percent of all buyers. The number was likely buoyed by the tax credit program but that doesn’t damper the fact that first-time buyers provide a support floor for the housing market.
First-time buyers in Salt Lake enable “existing owners” to move-up to bigger homes, which, in turn, trickles up to the mid-size and jumbo markets.
Analysts expected more from May’s numbers and that may explain why the reaction to the data is generally negative. However, in many cities, home resales did just fine.
Home prices slide due to the expiration of the first time home buyer tax credit. Apprently it did inflate the number of homes selling over the last 6 months.
Interesting time, who would have thought? The big questions is, do you think they will bring the tax credit back now that they realize things are pulling back again?Some say they will, others say they should stop writing checks they can’t cash..
“Most of the homes we looked at ended up being short sales,” she said. Not surprisingly, the couple ended up buying their dream last month, a 6,000-square-foot home with all the bells and whistles, via a short sale at a sizeable discount in South Jordan.
In Salt Lake County, for example, nearly one-quarter of all residential listings are short sales, which involve properties being offered by those who owe more than their properties are worth, known as being under water.
Interesting times, when I hear comment like above on a daily basis. All I have to say is don’t always beleive it. There are some great deals out there, and the best thing to do it get a hold of a true professional that knows exactly what they are doing. They will help point you in the right direction. To often these articles don’t pain the entire picture..
I found this really interesting, kind of long but worth it. The city has been hit pretty hard. Now I really don’t like turning it into a political issue, because I don’t think it is necessarily. However what we do know is that it hasn’t worked in the past. Scary to think about..
Hey I thought I’d run this idea by you because I think its great…
There are a bunch of homes in areas in Salt Lake County (Magna, Rose Park, Kearns, West side Salt Lake, etc) that have a great potential for remodels. The reason they have great potential is because the homes are pretty trashed and the everyday buyer in that price range does not have the cash to fix it up, and more importantly they can’t get a loan because a bank isn’t going to loan on a house in this condition. Well, some of these homes get their value hit so hard they are selling for anywhere from $50K-$100K as bank repos. However if you go in and do a quick cosmetic uplift, maybe a new vinyl exterior depending on condition, new carpet, new paint, nice cabinets (but still cheaper ones), you can turn around and sell these things for a nice profit because buyers will pay up to $150K for a home in decent condition.
I have been showing a client these places and he is going to submit a couple offers on bank repos next week and do the work himself and turn around and sell it and make anywhere from $20K-$40K depending on the deal with a 6-8 month time frame, and it usually works out to be a great return on his money. The one he has his eye on will actually be around an 18% return. The deals I have been looking at with him have all been less than $70K and need around $20K of work. In a nutshell, he is into the home TOTAL around $90,000. Then he can turn around and sell it for anywhere from $120K to $140K depending on sq footage, # of bedrooms and baths, area, etc.
Attached is sheet I made of a guy who did this all last year. He successfully did over 5 of these in the worst market most of us will ever see. I know of a few other guys who are jumping on board as well.
Here’s the advantages I see to a deal like this:
1) Not very expensive. You won’t extend yourself too much.
2) Lots of buyers. Surprisingly Rose Park and areas on the west side of Salt Lake (900 W to 1700 W) have been selling quickly and had good turnover. It’s not like trying to sell a million dollar east side home that don’t move quickly and stay on the market for a long time.
3) Return on money. I have looked at a lot of remodels this year and even for the guys who pick up a home in a better east side location usually will max out at $40K profit, but yet they need to pay upwards of $150-$220K just to get the house, and THEN they have to remodel it. The more expensive homes don’t necessarily mean better return on $$, in fact sometimes it is worse.
4) Worst Case scenario. I always like to look at deals with a worst case scenario in mind. Meaning, if for some reason you said, “Crap, I HAVE to sell this in a weekend!” We could put it up for around $109,000 or even $105,000 and you’d still make a little money and it would sell. Think about it from a buyer’s perspective. The only thing even decently nice under $120k in ALL of Salt Lake are condos and many are only one or two bedroom, so if you are advertising a 3 bed, 2 bath 1,400 sq foot home you will be able to sell it. These homes are out there.
5) Short time frames and turn around time. These remodels are quick and don’t need to be anything fancy or over the top. As long as it is nice and all the systems in the home are working, low income families will look at it and like it. You really could do most work within two months from what I’ve seen, and in some cases one month if you are working fast.
Sorry this got so long, I just think its one of the only things that makes sense in today’s housing environment as far a flips and remodels go. These deals really are selling quickly and more investors are jumping on board. I sent my client three new listings last week and all three are under contract now.
June 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to give homebuyers another three months to settle on their contracts and take advantage of a popular tax credit that sparked a rush of activity in the housing market.
The Senate, with a vote of 60-37, accepted an amendment by Democratic Leader Harry Reid that extends the closing deadline to Sept. 30 for buyers who met the April 30 deadline to have a signed contract.
The current deadline requires buyers to close by June 30 to get the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. Existing homeowners buying a new primary residence are eligible for a $6,500 credit.
Reid offered the measure as an amendment to a bill that would extend some popular business tax breaks and extend unemployment insurance benefits for jobless workers.
The proposal would not have a significant impact on future home sales as the extension would be only for home buyers who already had a contract in hand by April 30.
The popularity of the tax credit has caused some anxiety because settlement offices are inundated with buyers trying to close on transactions by the end of this month to get the tax break. (Reporting by Donna Smith; Editing by John O’Callaghan)
Salt lake County Home builders association has posted some interesting news and opinions on the economic recovery. We all knew these govt. incentives were falsely inflating our local econmic recovery. And the Home Builders just admitted they can’t survive without a little bailout money from our govt. To be honest, it is time to clean house. I am a Real Estate Broker, right now is a time for the survival of the fitest. And I think we will see who makes it throught this perfect storm. Builders, real estate agents, everyone..
Salt Lake City, UTAH is no different from the rest of the country we are struggling just like everyone else on the Real Estate Market front..
Well, I am not sure if I completely agree with this article, however I am going to be optomistic and say ok! I mean I hope we do not go into another double dip recession. This thing keeps lasting a lot longer than everyone thought it would, wow have the dominos fallen, and I feel like they keep falling. In a world of high tech communication and the world wide web. Information is transmitted instantaneously, meaning the stock market falls the second news is reported. So do I think these economists have it right?
