Open House Party – This Saturday March 30th 11 AM – 3PM

Everyone come to the open house for the house the Utah Cribs team just built…Saturday, March 31 from 11-4pm. Address is 13645 S. Fort Street, in Draper.

Photo Tour

Amazing floor plan. This brand new home is custom built, Incredible Master Suite with a custom sliding door over the bathroom. Your clients will love the details of this home. This private lot with the wonderful curb appeal is a definite plus. Amazing laundry/locker room that everyone will love, Upstairs above garage has two large bedrooms and a full bathroom. This home will not disappoint.

Bank REPO properties in Salt Lake City UTAH.. Bank Owned.

Here are all of the new Bank Owned properties in the Salt Lake Valley. I am getting a lot of people asking for deals, the number one requested type of property are bank owned. If you are serious about a deal, let me know immediately as they all go extremely fast. Buying a home in Salt Lake City Utah, is a lot different than the rest of the nation. Our market is heating up, we are seeing multiple offers on majority of good priced homes. Act quick before interest rates go up again..

Thanks,

Spencer Janke

See a detailed report of these properties

See a detailed report of these properties

Spencer Janke

UtahRealtors.com :: January home sales highest in five years

January home sales highest in five yearsCategories: None | Tags: NoneUtah home sales increased for the eighth consecutive month in January, up more than 6 percent compared to the prior year, according to a new report from the Utah Association of Realtors. Utah Realtors sold 120 more homes this year than they did last January, closing 1,985 transactions. In fact, this was the best January in five years in terms of homes sold.Among the more populated areas, sales were particularly strong in Salt Lake, Uintah and Davis counties where sales were up 30, 29 and 6 percent, respectively.“The Utah real estate market began the new year in much the same way as the prior year concluded: Home sales were up, housing inventory was down and market fundamentals continued to improve,” said Utah Association of Realtors President Lori Chapman. “The spring buying season is also looking like it will be stronger than last year.”The number of contracts signed to buy homes in January increased 20 percent, signaling a likely rise in February closed sales. The number of January pending sales has not been higher since 2007.Another positive sign is the fact that the number of homes available for sale is declining. In January, inventory fell 24 percent compared to the prior year.“The falling inventory is good news because excess supply has been one reason we’ve seen drops in home prices,” Chapman said.January inventories typically rise following the holiday season, but this year bucked that trend with inventories falling about 3 percent from December levels. With about 20,000 homes listed for sale at the end of January, this is the lowest inventory since February 2007.The Utah Association of Realtors estimates that at the current pace of sales, it would take 7.1 months to clear the entire inventory, the lowest level since July 2007, before home prices began falling. This indicator has seen significant improvement since last year when it stood at 10.4 months.The lower inventories can be attributed to the pickup in home sales and a decline in new listings. The number of newly listed properties fell 12 percent in January. Over the past 12 months, new listings are down an average of about 13 percent.The median price was $166,000, down about 7 percent compared to January 2010.“One reason for the decline is the fact that the share of lower-priced homes being sold is higher than it was last year,” Chapman said. “When a lower-priced mix of homes is compared to a share of more expensive houses, the comparisons can be skewed.”During the 12 months ending in January 2012, homes priced $150,000 and below accounted for 39 percent of all home sales. The year earlier that share was only 30 percent. Over the past year, sales of homes priced $150,000 and below have soared, rising nearly 40 percent. At the same time, sales declined in each of the higher price ranges. For all sales, sellers are receiving more of their original asking prices. In January, sellers received about 91 percent of their original list prices compared to 89 percent during the same period a year earlier.UtahHousingTracker Home

via UtahRealtors.com :: January home sales highest in five years.

Frequently asked questions when Buying a home.

Frequently asked questions home buyers and sellers:

Question: Is my earnest money automatically non-refundable when I offer on a home?

Answer: NO! When you get an offer accepted, you will be required to deposit earnest money, but it does not become non-refundable right when it is deposited. In the real estate purchase contract you have two deadlines that you would need to pass before the earnest money becomes completely non-refundable. The first is the “Due Diligence” deadline and the second is the “Financing and Appraisal Deadline”. The Due Diligence includes your inspection of the property. If for some reason the house has problems and issues that you cannot resolve with the seller, you can cancel the contract and get your earnest money back as long as you do it before the deadline. The deadline is typically 10-14 days for a residential home purchase. You can also get your earnest money back if for some reason you cannot secure the intended financing you thought you could get. You also would have to cancel this before the deadline in order to get the deposit back. The financing and appraisal deadline is usually 20-24 days.

Question: I have my 3.5% down-payment for an FHA loan. Is there anything else I need to pay for when I buy a home?

Answer: YES! When you buy a home and financing is involved you will have closing costs, in addition to the down-payment. The closing costs involve all of the lender fees such as loan origination, document preparation, lender policies, and appraisals. They also include the title company’s fees for recording the property and handling the settlement process. However, the buyer can ask the seller to offer concessions to pay for these closing costs for the buyer. For example, if the closing costs on a $200,000 totaled $5,000, the buyer can offer $200,000 but then ask the seller to pay $5,000 for them to go towards closing costs. This would eliminate the buyer having to come out of pocket for these expenses, and only have put the 3.5% down on the home.

Question: If I don’t use a buyer’s agent, can I negotiate the 3% commission that a buyer’s agent would have received off of the list price of the home?

Answer: NO! Many buyers get confused about this principle because they feel there is a commission that can be used as a negotiating point if they don’t have a realtor. They couldn’t be more wrong. What buyers fail to understand is who pays the commission, and who the commission contract is between. The seller pays the commission. This is decided BEFORE the house even hits the market and it is included in the listing agreement between SELLER and LISTING AGENT. The listing agreement is a completely separate contract between only the seller and listing agent. Typically the agreement is for 6%. The seller agrees to pay this 6% to listing agent when the house sells. The listing agent then puts the home on the market and advertises to other realtors that they will get 3% if they bring a buyer. If no other realtors are involved, the listing agent can keep the full 6% as agreed upon previously.  So in essence, the seller has agreed to pay a 6% no matter if there is a buyer’s agent involved or not. The commission contract is not between buyer and seller, so the buyer cannot effectively negotiate the commission out of the purchase price. The buyer is better off being represented by a competent realtor who understands negotiations, the market, and the home buying process.

The nine steps to buying a home.

1. Get pre-approved with the Josh Mettle Lending Team

This step is one of the most simple and crucial steps to buying your first home. This step is important because Josh Mettle’s team will be able to tell you how much you can afford and what your actual payments will be. Many times buyers simply find an online mortgage calculator to figure out principal and interest requirements, but don’t take into account mortgage insurance, taxes, HOA fees, homeowners insurance, credit scores, and debt to income ratios. The preapproval will also look at your credit score and Josh’s team can give you tips on how to improve it.

2.Identify your needs and wants

After you know how much you want to spend, you need to sit down and identify and your actual needs and wants. This includes everything from cities and neighborhoods, to square footage, number of bedrooms, and style of home. Being realistic about your needs and wants will save you time and headache.  The biggest need should be the area you want to live. Have a realtor send you properties in different areas to get an idea what is out there. Drive different neighborhoods and see if they work for you and are close enough to your work, recreation, friends, etc. If the neighborhood doesn’t meet your requirements, then you need to scratch any houses in that area. The three L’s of real estate are Location, Location, Location and this applies to you with your home search. The best house on the planet will lose its “cool” for you if it doesn’t fit in the area you want to live in.

3-Search for a home

Once you know where you want to live, the fun can begin. Touring four to five properties in one morning will tell you if you will be able to find your perfect home in the area you have selected. If you are encouraged by the homes you see, keep looking in that area. When you see a great home, don’t be afraid to jump and make an offer.

4-Write an offer

“How much should we offer?” This phrase is usually the first thing that comes out of buyers’ mouths when they find the perfect home. The answer is, “Depends on the house!” There is no simple equation or formula that tells you how much you can offer off of list price. You need to work backwards with your realtor to determine the value of the home. Before you simply “lowball” every house you see, sit down with your realtor at a computer and review the comparables. By doing this you will be able to determine the market value and make an appropriate offer. Some houses are overpriced and you can justify putting in an offer 10% less than market value. Others are priced very competitively and you can offer 1-3% off list price, while others (such as bank repos) are priced extremely competitively and you may have to offer at least list price or even over to have a shot at landing the house.

5-Get an inspection

Once you have the house “Under Contract”, you can begin your inspection process. This includes a physical property inspection by a licensed inspector. Inspectors will check all the systems of the house including plumbing, electrical, heating, and A/C. The inspector will also look for leaks and cracks in the roof and foundation. They also can do meth and radon tests. We like to tell people this is similar to a doctor’s checkup. The inspector will not make any repairs, rather he will make suggestions and if the property needs a specialist, such as a roofer, we will get the roofer out there to look at the problem. In addition to the physical inspection, you will also inspect the title report for any possible problems with title report such as liens or judgments against either the buyer or seller.  Remember that in Utah, property is sold “As-Is”, meaning the seller is not obligated in any way to fix or perform any repairs for you, however sometimes sellers may be willing to do some in order to get the deal closed.

6-Get an appraisal

Throughout the whole process you will be in touch with the lender by providing them with any information they need to get the loan processed. The lender will order your appraisal through a third party company. The appraiser will view the property and compare it to other comparable properties that have sold recently. The lender will send you a copy of the appraisal once it is complete.

7-Do a final walk through

Once the appraisal and inspection items have been completed, you are close to closing! You can do a final walk through of the home with the realtor to see the condition of the home and verify that any requested repairs were completed. This is a good time to figure out where you’re going to put the new 60” flat screen or the new sectional you are buying.

8-Settlement

Settlement takes place at a title company and involves you signing all the loan documents. You will sign a settlement statement which shows the breakdown of the monies involved in the transaction. The lender and realtor are typically present and can help answer any questions you may have. Once you have signed the title company will receive the wire from the lending institution that is giving the money and disburse it accordingly (this is called funding). Once the seller and buyer have signed and the funds are wired, the title company can record the house in your name!

9-Get the keys and move in!

As soon as the house records, it is yours and you can move in! This typically happens within one day of settlement, but can be up to four days. If you are planning to move in over the weekend, be sure to tell your realtor and lender that you’d like to sign by Tuesday or Wednesday if possible so that funding and recording can take place with no problem. Time to move in and enjoy the house! Don’t forget to invite your realtor and lender over for the house warming party!