Robert Brown posts this video blog from his car on a rainy day in Cache Valley. You might think a rainy day signifies cold, but in Cache Valley Utah rain signifies warmth because it is not snowing.
In addition to the weather warming up, the real estate market is picking up as well. Buyer activity has greatly increased as smart real estate buyers are looking to take advantage of the home buyer tax credits and incredible mortgage interest rates.
There are lots of new listings coming on the market every day, and a lot of homes going under contract in Cache Valley as well. This has kept our real estate inventory levels steady in a time of year when the number of Logan Homes for Sale usually rises.
In this video blog, Robert Brown explains what Earnest Money is. Earnest money is an essential part of Utah Real Estate transactions.
When a buyer makes an offer on a house, they put down a “good faith” dollar amount. This shows the seller that they are serious about the house, and that if they back out of the contract for an unauthorized reason, they will lose their earnest money.
For Real Estate in Cache Valley, earnest money is typically $500 for starter homes, or about 1% of the purchase price for other homes. Sometimes for foreclosure homes, banks will specify a certain minimum requirement of earnest money. If you offer a lesser value of Earnest Money, sellers may question your commitment and ability to actually pay for the home. A higher earnest money value really shows the sellers that you are serious about your offer.
In the Real Estate Purchase Contract, there are several circumstances where buyers may back out of the contract, without losing their earnest money. These include, home inspection, due diligence, and inability to obtain financing. The catch is that if the buyer is going to back out of the contract, they need to give the seller written notice by the deadlines set in the REPC. If a buyer cannot fulfill, or chooses to back out of a contract after the deadlines, they will likely lose their earnest money.
The Utah real estate purchase contract (also known as the REPC) is a standard form provided by the Utah Association of Realtors designed to cover all the essential elements of the real estate transaction. It includes the purchase price, closing dates, due diligence deadlines, earnest money amounts and rights, and just about everything else necessary to make sure that things are clear and in writing for both the buyer and seller.
Good Realtors are very familiar with this standardized form. They will help you write up the offer in a way that your best interest is protected. Realtors also have access to special addendums to the Real Estate Purchase Contract that cover the necessities for short sales, lead based paint, fha loans, home buying contingencies, and more.
In this video blog, Robert Brown reminds us that the first time and move up buyer federal government tax credits are expiring soon. If you want to take advantage of these tax credits, you need to find the house you intend to by before the end of April, and close on the new home before the end of June.
Because real estate transactions fall apart quite often, I would recommend having the due diligence deadlines completed by the middle of April. This way, if you have to cancel your contract, you still have time to get a new property under contract before the expiration of the tax credits.
Shane Calder tells about the latest new listing in Providence Utah. A hidden creek townhome. This condo is clean, has nice amenities, and in great shape.
Agency is essentially the legal representation established between a client and their real estate agent. Signing agency with a Logan Real Estate agent essentially shows them that you are committed to use them so that they in turn can give all their efforts to seek after your best interests.
In a typical real estate transaction there are two agents involved. A listing agent, the agent who represents the home seller, and a buyers agent who represents the buyer.
When you are buying or selling real estate it is your benefit to have a real estate agent. Someone who is committed to looking out for you and your best interests.
A lot of people don’t understand exactly what appraisals are and how they work in regards to the real estate transaction.
In this video Robert discusses what appraisals are for, and how they work in the real estate transaction. Essentially, appraisals are a tool used by lenders to verify that the house is worth the contracted purchase price. Mortgagecompanies don’t want to give a loan to an overpriced home. For residential homes, appraised values are determined primarily by comparing the subject property with three other recently sold homes.
It used to be that appraisals in Logan Utah almost always came in at contract price value. However, since the housing bust, appraisal guidelines have gotten much stricter.
When making an offer on a home for sale, it is very important that one of the conditions for contract cancellation is the appraisal meeting value. It’s also important that real estate agents are on top of these deadlines to make sure home buyers are protected in the event that the appraisal comes in low.
With the way appraisal guidelines are now, there are many instances where market value just won’t match appraised value. There might be several people willing to pay a certain price for a home, but because the appraiser has no homes in which to compare it with, the value for the lender can’t be verified.
The other day there was a newspaper article in the Logan Herald Journal that talked about just how dismal selling conditions were in Logan Utah. It’s true that many people will have a hard time selling their homes this year, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible, or hard to sell for everyone in Cache Valley.
In fact, there are some conditions going on with the Logan real estate market that make it a great time to sell a home. One key to remember though is the importance of pricing your home. With as much competition as there is right now, overpriced homes just will not sell.
In this video Robert discusses what closing costs are when buying a home.
When buying real estate, your closing costs are primarily associated with the fees of getting a mortgage loan. These fees include a mortgage origination fee, processing and underwriting fees, the cost of the appraisal, and the cost of title insurance for your lender.
Another thing that can be considered with the closing costs are pro-rations. Lenders require that property taxes and homeowners insurance are collected and payed by them. They require that the escrow account has some money in it at closing. This amount will vary depending on the time of the year, and whether or not the seller has already paid property taxes for that year.
You will also have a small closing fee from the Title Company you close with. In Cache Valley, this closing fee is usually around $100. If you buy a home with cash, the actual Title company closing fee may be the only fee you actually have to pay.
One thing many buyers do to reduce the closing fees they will actually have to pay is to ask the sellers to pay for their closing costs. Essentially, this just wraps the closing costs into the mortgage loan so they can be paid over an extended period of time. This is beneficial for buyers who don’t have a lot of extra cash on hand when they purchase a home.
A rule of thumb is to expect closing costs of about 3%. Of course, these costs will vary based on the lender you’re using, the amount of your down payment, and the time of year you buy.
One thing to note in the different closing costs is that there is no fee for using a real estate agent. That’s right, when buying real estate, most agents don’t charge you anything. Their commissions are paid by the sellers.
Robert talks about the strong buyers market we still have in Cache Valley. He just got back from showing a house for sale in Hyrum built in 2003, with nearly 2000 square feet for just $120,000. In his opinion, the house is worth $135,000. This house is a Hyrum short sale, and I actually was part of the two previous transactions with this house. The first time I sold it while representing buyers in March of 2006 the house sold for $126,000. When these owners moved, we sold it for $139,000. Now, the same house is listed at just $120,000! It was a nice house the last time I was in it.
This is just one of the many deals out there. Click here to view allLogan Utah Homes for Sale right now.
![](http://paw.utahcornerstone.com/images/utcs.jpg")
