Archive for category Home Selling

American’s Want Smaller Homes

This report done by Trulia shows that American’s attitudes toward’s real estate ownership have changed since the housing boom. Far less Americans want larger Mcmansion Homes. Check out how this study compares with Logan Real Estate and Utah Real Estate.

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Understanding Earnest Money

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.

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The Real Estate Purchase Contract


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.

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What is Agency? And Why Does it Matter

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.

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The Logan Real Estate Market for Selling

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.

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5 Reason's Using a Real Estate Agent Saves You $$$

In this video, Cornerstone Agent Matthew Payne stands in the cold at the Stonebridge Subdivision and discusses five ways that using a real estate agent saves you time and money. They are:

1. Cornerstone Uses Technology to Make Things Easier. With Cornerstone you can view all Logan Homes for sale online, as well as view and transfer real estate transaction documents.
2. Higher Net Proceeds – Studies show that on average net proceeds are higher for sellers who list their homes than those who sell by owner.
3. Buyer Screening – Real Estate agents make sure that buyers are actually qualified and can obtain financing before they show homes. Many people who call for sale by owner aren’t in position to buy, even if they really liked your house.
4. Negotiating Expertise – Good real estate agents understand the real estate market, they know what values should be and factors that give you a better chance of getting a better deal.
5. Follow through and keep track of documents and deadlines to make sure the closing actually happens.

How to buy a home when you need to sell…

The majority of home buyers in Cache Valley are not first time buyers, which means that in order to buy a home, they will have to sell their existing home first.

In this video blog Robert discusses how to go about the real estate transaction when you need to sell your home first. It is okay to start looking for Logan homes, even though your home for sale doesn’t’ have any offers. And, if you find one you like, you can still make an offer, you will just need to make it contingent on the sale of your house. Writing your real estate purchase contract this way protects you as the buyer in the event that you have trouble selling your home.

The downside of writing offers this way is that an offer with a contingency is never this strong. In addition, with as slow as the Logan Real Estate market is right now, some sellers may not accept your offer at all, or might accept it with a “time clause.” The time clause means that the sellers are going to be permitted to continue marketing their home to other potential buyers. If they get an offer, then they will give you 72 hours in which you must remove your contingency if you want your offer to remain in first position.

The best thing to do if you are looking to buy and sell, is to price your home right so you can actually get it sold. When you do this the obstacles for buying your new home will be minimized.

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Avoid "Emotional Attachment" When Selling Real Estate

Selling a home is a difficult experience, especially when you’ve lived in it for a while and have gained an emotional attachment. It is very important that you look at the real estate transaction objectively, and don’t take offense at potential buyers thoughts and opinions. Have a real estate agent is one of the best things you can do to remove the emotional attachment, but even with an agent, it is important that you realize the realities of the real estate market that we are in.

That fact is that for Northern Utah Real Estate, it is a buyers market. There are a lot more homes for sale than there are potential buyers. Home values have declined. Your home may not be worth as much as you think it is, regardless of how much work, time and money you have put in it.

In this video blog Robert Brown shares an example of how some potential sellers killed a deal because they were too emotionally involved with the home they were selling.

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Find out how much real estate is worth with a CMA.

One of the most common questions asked associated with real estate is, “how much is it worth.” The best way to determine market value of Cache County Real Estate and Logan Utah Homes for Sale is with a CMA.

A CMA, comparative market analysis, competitive market analysis, or whatever you want to call it, compares the for sale, and recently sold properties with your home. It compares nearby recently sold properties of similar sizes and ages. We then add or subtract values based on what is missing to better compare apples to apples. If you are planning on selling your home, we also compare it with properties that are currently for sale so you can see where it would stand against the competition.

CMA’s are generally used if you are planning on selling your home, but they can also be useful if you want to dispute a tax value, are planning on refinancing, or are just curious.

If you would like a free CMA for a house or parcel of land in Northern Utah, click this link: Free CMA from Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals

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New Listing in Smithfield Utah Under Contract in 13 Days

This Smithfield Utah listing went under contract in 13 days, much better than the average of about 100 days on market for Cache Valley. Feel free to email me at Robert@UtahCornerstone.com or visit www.LoganUtahRealtor.com  to see all homes for sale in UT.