Most Utahns like most Americans just don't know much about home buying or consumer credit. Add current headlines like "Credit Crunch", "Mortgage Meltdown", and "Foreclosures on the Rise" and no wonder confusion seems at an all time high. Because of this, in conjunction with Mountain America Credit Union, I will teach teach two monthly seminars as a community service. Gratis! The next seminars will be offered December 6th in the Downtown Salt Lake Public Library beginning at 7:00pm. Dec. 6th 7:00pm - 8:00 pm, Home Buyer Seminar: "Buying a house is the first step to a secure financial future and is the largest investment of a lifetime for most Utahans. The process of buying a home can be overwhelming to a first-time buyer yet understanding the process helps to prevent this. In this monthl... 12/04/2007

The Redman building in Sugar House got a makeover recently from this           to this             Regardless of whether the development of this historic structure was a good idea, I am liking the face lift. I was digging the peach/orange look but think this will be more suitable for the residents that plan to move in there. From the look of the September Sugar House Community Council, it looks like the condo plans are moving forward. No word yet when they will be on the market. Whoever gets the penthouses in the top will be living the Sugar House high life. Update 4/4/08 Redman Condos will soon be taking reservations.  Go to redmancondos.com to join the interest list.  11/26/2007

 Salt Lake City Condo7174 S. Kristilyn LnWest Jordan, Utah UTClean, bright top floor living.  Light oak kitchen with island.  Open floor plan with larger rooms.  Bedrooms on opposite ends of condo for extra privacy.  2-tone paint.  Excellent view of Wasatch mountains.  Ready to move in. MLS #: 738799  Maintenance Fees:  125MLS #: 738799Status: AvailableAgent: Jen LazzaraAddress : 7174 S. Kristilyn Ln City : West Jordan ,UT  Zip :  84084 Type: Condominium    Sq Ft:  1,205Garage:  1  Pool: 1 YESNeighborhood:  BrittanySubdiv: Brittany Jordan  Bed rooms :  2 Full Baths :  2 Year Built :  2001    Salt Lake Real Estate 11/24/2007

Salt Lake City is a glorious part of the United States, situated in the mountain valley between the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountains.  An outgrowth of the Mormon Church which originally settled in the area and brought vegetation and water, naming the city after the Great Salt Lake. Today, the population of Salt Lake City is over 2 Million people and is served by a bustling economy. The large urban area that encompasses Salt Lake City is considered by locals to be the "Wasatch Front." Many high-tech firms and industrial banks are headquartered in Utah, such as e-Bay, Unisys, Siebel, Micron, L-3 Communications and 3M.Salt Lake City offers excellent winter skiing, and hosted the 2002 Olympic Games. Activities flourish year-round, and include: Snow SkiingSnow BoardingHikingSite-SeeingShoppingN... 11/24/2007

I had been hearing rumors of a moratorium on condo conversions in Salt Lake City so yesterday I went down to the City and County Building and talked with the planner of the day.  Here is what I found out.   There is an administrative hold on all new condo and all condo conversion projects at this time.  They are accepting applications but they are not processing them.  The issue seems to be parking and the city being worried that developers are building too many condos but not enough parking.   The salt lake city city council is expected to make a decision on the condo development issue sometime this next week.  I looked at their agenda   for their next meeting on Nov 20th and could not see anything there about condo development.    If you want to go to the salt lake city council meeti... 11/16/2007

The area above Foothill Dr is referred to by a few different names and has a few small neighborhoods within it.  The area includes St Mary’s, “above the zoo”, and “by the H rock” neighborhoods.   Recently, the neighborhood was given a lift by the addition of 12.6 acres of land preserved in perpetuity for open space.  In addition to open space the area has a lot going for it.  It is minutes away from the University of Utah and 10 minutes to downtown.  You can be to ski resorts in 30 minutes.    There are a lot of condos in the area with a concentration of condos right at the bottom of Emigration Canyon.  Some notable buildings in the area are Canyon Crest and The Presidential Club.  The Canyon Crest condos are the more affordable option with 1 bedrooms starting around $175,000.  1 Bedro... 11/09/2007

 It is not too late to register for the Turkey Trot coming to Salt Lake City.  It is a 5K walk/run that starts at Fairmont Park.  Since we are pass the November 4th deadline, the cost is $20.00 instead of $15.00 and you don’t get a t-shirt.  I am going to be there and I hope you can make it too!   To register go to this site and then click on programs and the select Turkey Trot.  Race starts at 11:00 am on Sat November 17th  11/08/2007

 The Harvard Yale Area of Salt Lake is probably best known for its large mature trees.  The area gets its name from the two streets that wind through the area; Harvard and Yale. This neighborhood has some of the most architecturally significant homes in the valley.  Here you will find large old homes with castle like appearances that impress and are not over the top.  There are also Frank Loyd Wright style homes, bungalows, and tudors.  Some of the best lots in the neighborhood back a canyon or “gully” that gives the home extra privacy and seclusion.    For the purposes of this article, the Harvard Yale neighborhood is from 900 south to 1300 south and 1300 east to 1900 east.  The area is walking distance to the University of Utah and 5 minutes from downtown.  At the time of this writin... 11/07/2007

 There is a lot of converting going on in downtown Salt Lake City and we are not talking religion.  This is a real estate blog, and we are talking about the condo conversions taking place in Salt Lake City.  There is not a lot of affordable housing downtown so it makes sense for developers to convert apartment buildings to condos.  The homebuyer gets more homes to choose from.  The condo projects are attractive to the urban dweller that wants something comfortable and a little different.    I have compiled a list of condo conversions that are available right now in Salt Lake City.  These projects are all available now and are not yet sold out.  This list does not include the many condo conversion projects in Salt Lake City that have already been successful converted and sold.  If you w... 11/04/2007

October 2007NAR's Price Analysis for the Salt Lake City Metro Region states that "Home prices in the Greater Salt Lake City Metro Region are still booming." I wouldn't say "booming" - I would say still rising - at about 9% (based on 3rd Quarter Statistics).Copyright National Association of REALTORS®, Reprinted from REALTOR.org with permission.The report also comments on Utah's low unemployment rate and the fact that national mortgage interest rates are still historically low. Even so, it does mention the slowing in home sales and specifically attributes the slowdown to sellers who are overpricing their homes: "Sales activity has come down notably because of the fast rising home prices in Salt Lake City. The local economy is quite strong and is generating jobs at a solid pace." I address... 11/02/2007

SLIDE SHOWS: Add a little "Twist and Shout" to your blogs. Tutorial  Do you want to add a little fun in your blogs? A little "Twist and Shout"? Well here is a great tool that I found in my reading ventures here on ActiveRain. Somebody out in the rain (I wish I could remember who) had one in their blog and it looked like a lot of fun, so I went on my way to try it out myself.    Today I posted a blog for my friend Penny Florence for her Birthday. Grace Safrin commented on my blog “Julie - how did you do that way cool video birthday card :)” please blog on this for those less talented than you :) First of all, I truly can’t take credit for finding the slide show or going to a lot of hard work to create these fun little additions. (Thank You Grace for your extremely kind comment) However,... 10/31/2007

Are You Missing The "HOT" Listings?If you're relying on the "Buyer's Guides" that are distributed in grocery store racks to find your home, you will likely find that the only homes still available are the "leftovers."It can take up to 45 days for some "Buyers Guides" to be compliled, printed and distributed. In Utah's market today, that means you will miss out on the best homes. Nice homes, priced fairly (called "Hot Listings") usually sell quickly, often within a few days. Thus, by the time you see them, most of the good homes are already gone.These so-caled "Buyer's Guides" also don't really contain much information about buying a home. The purpose of these magazines is to advertise. They display lots of homes to people who are thinking about buying a home, in order to get the agents'... 10/20/2007

I was out today and the weather was quickly changing from blue skies to stormy. On one side of me the sky was black and on the other it was blue. As I prepared to shoot the mountain range on the east side of the Salt Lake valley clouds literally began to appear before my very eyes. The small clouds you see in the panorama in front of the large mountain peaks literally grew and grew in size until the entire sky was dark grey and the rain began to pour just about 15 minutes after I finished taking these pictures.I hope you enjoy the panorama. Unfortunately it won't allow me to post a larger size in the blog. See a larger version on my website by clicking on the picture.Thanks!When you move to Salt Lake, this is what you get to see every day.Make sure you hire an agent that works for YOU!H... 10/20/2007

Today I had the opportunity to go to the celebration of a real estate deal.  This real estate deal was special because the land purchased will be preserved for the future.  The 12.6 acres just below the H rock on Salt Lake City's east bench will be forever maintained in its natural state through a conservation easement.  Some of the people involved were Rocky Anderson, Peter Caroon, Salt Lake County Community Council, Salt Lake City Community Council, Utah Open Lands, Quality Growth Commission, East Bench Community Council, Highland High, and the Open Space Land Advisory Board.  Voters voted for a bond that will be used to preserve open space in Salt Lake.  The bond has 5.4 million to spend.  They spent 612,000 on this project.  This was their first collaborative effort.  Rocky Anderson... 10/16/2007

I've recently commented on a blog "They're At It Again) where Sharon (Toni) was talking about receiving SPAM.  This gave me the idea of blogging here to help others who may find my method useful and beneficial.I have approximately 8-10 email addresses.  WAIT !!! DON'T GO YET....Yes, I have 8-10 email addresses but in reality I only have 3 email accounts that I check...  The rest of them send the emails straight to my real email addresses.Here is the TRICK....1- If your email provider offers email forwarding services, then create an email address and forward them to the ones I really use and not advertise...  2- When I have to register to websites, I always use the same FAKE email address, where the confirmation mail goes to the FAKE email which is then forwarded to my REAL email.  All I... 10/07/2007

These projects are in various phases from planning to construction.City Creek Development This is a 20 acre development that will be finished in 2011.  The project will feature condos, Dillards as an anchor, Harmons as a grocery store. The City Creek Development is the largest in Salt Lake and is led by the LDS church.  New Development in Sugarhouse An aggressive development that will reconstruct the downtown Sugarhouse area .  The mixed use project will have retail stores, a six story office building, and six story condo tower.  Plans are still on the drawing board.  There is opposition to the project.  To see the contrasting viewpoints look at the video interviews with patrons  and the developer.    222 South Main A state of the art 22 story building with over 350,000 sq ft of office ... 10/07/2007

Removing junk from homes will add up to 30 % more to your home sale 10/05/2007

Emigration Canyon is one of the seven canyons that are a part of the Wasatch Mountains.  The canyon has been developed  with residential homes more than most canyons.  About 1,000 people live in the canyon.   It is a great place fore residents to live and for people to recreate.  Real Estate in the CanyonHomes that are on the floor of the canyon next to the road are less expensive priced around $300,000-$400,000.  Homes in the subdivisions are more expensive.  For example, the Wasatch Front Regional Multiple Listing Service shows one home that sold for 1.4 million in the last year in Emigration Oaks.  The market looks stable as of October 2007 with 6 homes on the market and 2 sold in the last 30 days; giving the canyon a 3 month supply of homes on the market.  Highlights of the Canyon ... 10/01/2007

 Although I am a photographer, I have been doing website designs in the past and had a passion in graphic design.  I have designed logos, flyers, business cards, etc... So when it was time to create my business card, I've decided to something a little out of the box or maybe edgy but after all I am the client so there will be no rejections for my idea  :)I'm attaching both the Front and the Back of the business card.Well, the first comment was from my wife that it was weird, and she said "I don't know".  Second reaction which was few hours later was that she "kind-of-likes it"Third reaction was about a day after when she said that "She really likes the idea"It took her a day to like it, but more importantly, it made her think for about 24 hours or more.This is the back of the card, ther... 09/27/2007

 It's that time of year.  The Utah Grizzlies  are coming out of hibernation.   So pull out your puck, I mean buck and buy some tickets to watch the Utah Grizzlies  play. Break out of your own hibernation and slide into the  excitement of the 2007-2008 Hockey Season, with a Date night, Guys Night, Gals Night, Family Night or a Birthday. You won't be disappointed.                                         Home Games are located at the The E Center on 3200 South Decker Lake Dr. West Valley City, UT. 84119Games begin Friday October 26, 2007-Thursday April 05, 2008  Rinkside $30.00Center $22.00Corner $14.00Party $8.00Check out SmithsTix  for all updates for pricing, dates, times and locations of games.   Pictures Courtesy of Flickr.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~... 09/23/2007