Utah County Homes for Sale - Monthly Payment Stability One of the major advantages of owning your own home is the stability of having a stable monthly mortgage payment.  In today's ever changing housing market, with the rise in foreclosures, renting a home has been the only option for many families.  The supply demand for rental properties has increased the monthly payments for many renters.  As a general rule rent will increase quite often even during a stable housing market. With a fixed rate mortgage, the home owner has the luxury of establishing a stable monthly payment.  This along with the tax benefits discussed in a previous blog makes for a much more desirable housing payment scenario. Search Utah MLS Listings - Utah's Finest MLS Home Search, Utah County's Exclusive Home Buyer S... 09/16/2010

Utah County Homes for Sale - Car Payments and Your Home Purchase When determining your ability to qualify for a home loan, a lender looks at what is called your "debt-to-income ratio.  The debt-to-income ratio is the percentage of your gross monthly income (before taxes) that you spend on debt.  This will include your monthly housing costs, including principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and homeowner's association fees.  It will also include your monthly consumer debt, including credit cards, student loans, installment debt, etc. Buying a new car during the Home Loan Process can drastically affect the outcome of your Mortgage.  Let's suppose you earn $5,000 a month and your car payment is $400.  Depending on the interest rate you are able to get, you would qualify for between $50,000 ... 09/01/2010

Utah County Homes for Sale - Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) - Early Exit Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is the safety net of the lender.  PMI benefits lenders because it guarantees payment on the balance of loans not covered by the sale of foreclosed properties. If a borrower makes a down payment of 20% of the cost of the home, the lender can generally trust that he will make his mortgage payments faithfully to protect a large investment. In this case, the lender comes out ahead if the borrower is forced to foreclose on his house, because the lender loans 80% of the cost of the house, but will probably recover 100% of the cost of the house. But, if the borrower makes a smaller down-payment, such as 3%, 5% or 10%, and borrows the rest, and then defaults on his loan, the lender loses ... 08/28/2010

Utah County Real Estate - Picking your Realtor Well the time has come for you to sell your home; it could be for a variety of reasons.  Perhaps you need more space for an expanding family maybe your current home just doesn't fit your needs anymore.  Maybe the reason is much more stressful such as a divorce or any unexpected job relocation.  The last thing you need during this time is someone helping you sell your home that is unprofessional or doesn't understand the current real estate market. When you are selecting a Realtor, make sure you find someone whose personality is not in line with yours.  Even if the agent has terrific credentials and has sold a lot of homes over the years, they may not make you feel comfortable.  You will be dealing very closely with your Realtor every day, s... 08/17/2010

Utah County Homes for Sale - Picking the Right Home There are a number of things to consider when choosing the right home and everyone's priority is different.  Where should it be located; neighborhood preference; single or multi-level, number of bedrooms and baths; square footage: yard size; features: quality of school; age of home; interior or exterior appeal; and most of all, price, because if it's out of your budget, it can't be considered. Make a List Make a priority list of things important to you.  Start with the most important, things you have to have.  Then work down the list, putting them in order of most important.  After you are done, go up to the top and move down until you get to a place where you can draw a line.  Above the line should be all of the items you have to have... 07/25/2010

Utah County Real Estate - Offer Pricing Factors There are many factors to consider when you are trying to determine what price to offer for a new home.  Gathering and analyzing information form comparable sales helps to establish the range of prices you should consider.  More weight should be given to the most recent sales of like properties in the local area.  Other factors to consider include condition of the property, improvements, the current market, and the circumstances behind the seller's decision to sell. Search Utah MLS Listings Utah County Real Estate  Utah County Homes  Utah Homes For Sale  Provo Real Estate WS  Orem Real Estate WS  Utah Homes 4 Sale  Alpine Real Estate  Alpine Real Estate  Cedar Hills Real Estate   Highland Real Estate  Eagle Mountain Real Estate   Springvil... 06/22/2010

Showing your home is probably the most important part of the selling process.  Consider the following carefully as you prepare your home for viewing: First impressions mean a lot and often prospective buyers make a decision almost immediately. Curb appeal is important since many buyers search by themselves and then call their Realtor about property they have only seen from the street. Fresh paint on your house's exterior and interior is one of the easiest and best improvements you can make to enhance that first impression. It makes your house look bright and clean. If you paint, use whites, creams, or neutral colors on the interior and exterior colors that will blend with the neighborhood. If you don't paint everything, at least paint the places that need it most. Get rid of clutter. Cl... 06/18/2010

Energy Audits for Historical Buildings like the Thomas Cutler Mansion in Lehi, UT | Information gathered from any Utah energy audits in the Historic Areas of Utah County, Utah will be used to determine energy efficiency, retrofitting and weatherization projects using funds from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG). Retrofitting projects will include air infiltration, energy efficient windows and doors, insulation levels, weather-stripping and caulking, and electric base loads.   Using its EECBG formula funding to retrofit and improve the energy efficiency of a number of it's municipal buildings that will result in substantial reduction in energy usage. EECBG Formula grants can be used for energy efficiency and conservation programs and projects community wide, as ... 06/16/2010

Are you purchasing a vacant or unoccupied home, condo or townhome in Lindon, Utah? Industry experts and the federal government all agree and recommend using thermal infrared cameras on all home inspections. Looking to increase the energy efficiency of your home in Lindon area of Utah, Utah. Are your  gas bills through the roof? Let Alamo Infrared Energy Audits and Home Inspections inspect and evaluate your Utah area home or business. Our modern equipment can evaluate and determine the air tightness of your new home. Leaky windows and doors as well as missing or insufficient insulation can only be detected using high performance blower doors and infrared cameras. For more information visit our website:  www.utahenergyaudit.com  www.umrt.com Alamo Infrared is the oldest and largest energy... 02/21/2010

The Home selling price is determined by taking into consideration a number of different factors.  First and probably the most important factor is the selling price of comparable homes in the homes selling area.  Other factors include the current trend in the market, the availability of homes for sale in the area and the urgency of the seller. Obviously, the lower the selling price the quicker the home will sale. Other factors to take into consideration include: ·         Average selling price per square foot of homes in the same area. ·         Major improvements to the home, such as swimming pool and other additions can add to the overall value of the home. ·         Interior and exterior amenities can be beneficial to an increase in selling price. ·         The general condition of yo... 06/07/2009

Have ever bought a home or considered buying a home, you know how important interest rates are in getting yourself a good mortgage deal. Have you ever wondered though how those mortgage rates are determined? Why it is that all the lenders you talked with gave you roughly the same interest rate estimate (all other things being equal)? Mortgage interest rates are a complicated thing, but they are largely based on overall market indicators. Becoming familiar with the general trends of rates can help you track the direction of rates and give you a better idea of what to expect. Do you remember that old phrase supply and demand from your economics class? Here's a case where something from school actually applies to real life! The general idea is when demand goes up, so do prices. When demand... 04/18/2009

First Time Home Buyers have a lot to do when preparing to buy a home.  Buying a home is a big step one that should be carefully planned out and prepared for. Ideally you should start preparing yourself and your finances for the purchase about one year in advance. CreditYour credit report is a highly influential document these days. Lenders use it as a reflection of your responsibility with credit sources. They also use your credit score as a gauge of how much risk there are assuming by lending you money. In fact, the interest rate that they will offer you on a mortgage is often directly related to your credit score - the higher your score, the better your rate. So your task is to start now to make your credit score as attractive as possible to lenders. It generally takes at least six mo... 04/10/2009

The mortgage market is reeling right now with failed subprime or poor credit home loans, a loss of secondary market investors, the creation of a credit crunch, and a tightening of mortgage standards. What caused all this? Who is to blame? What can you as a potential homebuyer do to avoid it all? Lenders may have been greedy and borrowers may have been uninformed, but what should you do in the future to prevent getting into a bad home loan? For starters, you can reduce your chances of dealing with an unscrupulous lender by shopping around. Talk with many different lenders and get a feel for their business style. You should check out their profiles with the Better Business Bureau to learn about the lenders history of business practices and if any complaints have been filed against them. B... 04/02/2009

By: Robert A. Hulme - Realtor - Loan Officer -Utah County, Including Provo, Orem, Pleasant Grove, American Fork, Lehi, Highland, Alpine and Cedar Hills, Eagle Mountain, Payson, Saratoga Springs, Spanish Fork, Springville, Mortgage Xpress, Agent When touring prospective properties to purchase, we are very careful to look at the walls and the ceiling, turn on faucets, and play with light switches, but how thorough should we be?  The seller has years of knowledge about his or her home and there may be things you want to find out about as quickly as possible.  For this reason, you should require certain disclosures as part of the offer. You want the seller to disclose any adverse conditions that may have a substantial impact on your decision to purchase the home.  This must include any prob... 02/22/2009

The time to consider a Short Sale is when your Mortgage is considered to be in default, one or more payments have been missed.  There are a number of solutions available to remedy the situation: •·         Short Sale/Payoff •·         Forbearance agreement •·         Loan Modification •·         Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure A Short Sale occurs when a borrower sells their property for an amount that is less than the amount owed to the lender.  To qualify for assistance the borrower needs to prove that they are experiencing a substantial financial hardship.  A hardship is a situation that has life changing effect for the borrower that results in an in-ability to pay the mortgage debt in either, short or long term: •·         Separation or Divorce •·         Medical Bills •·         Inabili... 01/22/2009

By:  Robert A. Hulme - Realtor - Loan Officer When is the proper time for the Seller to vacate their property after closing?  This question comes up quite often during the process of the Real Estate transaction.  Just when the proper time is, depends solely on the wording within the Real Estate Purchase Contract.  Unless the property is vacant, generally speaking the seller has until after recording with the county.  Most important is how much was indicated within the REPC.  Usually it takes about a month to close a smooth transaction on a purchase.  If the transaction turns out to be a nightmare, then the closing could go on for an extended period of time.  Another method that can be used is an occupancy agreement between the parties.  If the seller needs more time to move, the Realtor... 01/06/2009

By: Robert A. Hulme - Realtor - Loan Officer -Utah County, Including Provo, Orem, Pleasant Grove, American Fork, Lehi, Highland, Alpine and Cedar Hills, Eagle Mountain, Payson, Saratoga Springs, Spanish Fork, Springville, Mortgage Xpress, Agent Well you have finally decided that it is time to stop renting and that you need to purchase a new home.  Be aware that is important to stay calm and think your way through the process; don't get so excited that you overlook a few very important steps. Failure to get pre-qualified before making an offer on a home: •·         The very first step you need to take when considering the purchase a new home is that of interviewing and hiring a Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer.  Understanding how much you are qualified to purchase up front can save you a ... 12/04/2008