Real Estate Articles

HAFA HAMP Participating Lenders
Here is a list of HAFA and HAMP Participating Lenders.  Foreclosure alternatives may include a loan modication, short sale or HAFA Foreclosure program.

Salt Lake City Real Estate Market and Short Sales
Where did all the Short Sales go?

Salt Lake City Real Estate Market Update
The Good News and the Bad News.  Salt Lake City Real Estate Market Update First Quarter 2010.  Salt Lake area Home Prices down, number of homes sold up.

HAFA FAQ
New Short Sale Laws

10 Big-Impact, Low-Cost Remodeling Projects
Are you thinking about selling your home?
Here are some ideas that will help you sell your home fast and for top dollar.
This is a list of budget-minded enhancements you can make to your home that will help it stand out from the competition.

Short Sale Guidelines from the Government
Government Announces Short Sales Guidelines
The U.S. Treasury Department announced new guidelines this week designed to make short sales go more smoothly.

Move up Home Buyer Tax Credit
Good News - The new bill signed into law provides a Move up Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $6,500 for qualified move-up/repeat home buyers (existing home owners) purchasing a principal residence after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010 (or purchased by June 30, 2010 with a binding sales contract signed by April 30, 2010).

$8000 First Time Home Buyer Federal Tax Credit Extended and Expanded  President Obama signed legislation today that will extend the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit to contracts signed by April 30 and closed by June 30. The controversial credit, which many say has boosted home sales in recent months, was set to expire after Nov. 30.

Senators agree to extend home buyer tax credit 
WASHINGTON -- Senators agreed Wednesday to extend a popular tax credit for first-time home buyers and to offer a reduced credit to some repeat buyers

Foreclosures of the Rich and Famous
You are not alone.  Although the rich and famous are rich and famous, it doesn't mean that they are impervious to the popping of the real estate bubble. Many have succumbed to real estate woes as of late.

Two New Programs Available
Two very exciting things that happened this last week.
First :  The $8,000 Federal Tax Credit can now be used to as a down payment to purchase your first home.
Second :  The Utah Home Run2 Grant is available again.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT HOME RUN 2 GRANTS
What is the $4,000 Home Run 2 Grant?
The Home Run 2 Grant is a mortgage assistance program that grants $4,000 to home buyers who wish to:
(A) have a new home constructed,
(B) have a partially-constructed home completed, or
(C) purchase a newly-constructed home. It must be the primary residence of the home buyer. Homes that have been previously occupied do not qualify.  FULL STORY

Short Sales with Bank of America
In a time when the banks and mortgage companies should be doing everything possible to help move the short sale process along, why are they drawing it out and making it difficult to sell the home?  This is another article about the frustrations of completing a short sale and trying to buy a bank repo.

The Devastating Effect that Short Sales Have on Both Buyers and Sellers.
A Sample Time Line for the Short Sale Process
The problem with a short sale is the devastating and emotional effect that this lengthy process can have on both Buyers that are trying to buy a house and Sellers that are trying to sell a house that is going through the Short Sale process.

Short Sales are an Option to Stop Foreclosure
Utah foreclosures made the top ten in States with the highest foreclosure rates.
If you need Short Sale Help in Utah don't drag your feet.  Call us today.  Don't be one of the many foreclosure statistics.
Foreclosures have increased despite intervention  FULL STORY ->

Woo Hoo! Real Estate Sales Are Up
WOO HOO! Pending home sales are up for the 4th straight month in a row. This is a great article from the National Association of Realtors.
Pending home sales show a sustained uptrend, rising for four consecutive months with very favorable housing affordability and a first-time buyer tax credit boosting activity, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

$8000 Tax Credit Procrastination
There has been a lot of news lately about legislation concerning the $8000 tax credit for First Time Home Buyers.
You may be thinking that you might get a better deal or a bigger tax credit if you wait to purchase a home. The problem is, if you wait too long, you might not get anything at all.

Housing Markets, Top Rising and Falling
It's always fun to compare different markets, but this report doesn't mention our Salt Lake City Real Estate Market.
What we're seeing locally, is more homes are being sold, but the prices are still creeping downwards.  However, not as much in other Real Estate markets.  We don't take the huge increases in good markets and as a result, we also don't take the huge decreases.

Tax Credits
I'm so excited I have personally seen the positive results from the tax credits being issued by the the government. This is definitely helping the Salt Lake City Utah Real Estate Market.
I read in USA Today about the proposals for improving these tax credits. Here is what they had to say.

$8,000 Tax Credit Can Be Used for Down Payment
More help for the Real Estate Market Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Tuesday said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment.

$6,000 Utah Home Run Grant
Answers to all your questions about the $6,000 Utah Home Run Grant

First Time Home Buyers Have An Effect on The Real Estate Market
First-time Home buyers accounted for half of all purchases nationally during the first quarter of 2009 as reported by the National Association of Realtors. 134 out of 152 metropolitan statistical areas1 reported lower median existing single-family home prices in comparison with the first quarter of 2008, while 18 metros had price gains.

Get Some of Our Commission - Cash Back to Home Buyers

You do some of the work, so shouldn't you get part of the commission? Real Estate Companies are changing. The way we buy and sell real estate is different than it's ever been before. Ten years ago, if you wanted to buy a house you called a Realtor because they knew what homes were for sale and you didn't. But today, the first thing a buyer does is go online and search through all the homes that are for sale.

Home Buyers - Did Your Mortgage Application Get Rejected

Home Buyers Help for Getting Your Home Mortgage Approved Home Buyers - Did Your Mortgage Application Get Rejected? Here is Part 1 of a 2 part article that helps you get your Home Mortgage Approved.

Part 2 - Home Buyers - Did Your Home Mortgage Loan Get Rejected?
Home Buyers Tips to Getting Your Home Mortgage Approved Continued Tips to Getting Your Home Mortgage Loan approved.

The Applications Keep Rising
This is GREAT News. This is the information naitonally, but from talking to my lenders in the Salt Lake City Real Estate Market, the Mortgage applications are on the rise locally as well.

Tips for Home Buying
Understanding closing costs for buyers. You could use the money you receive from the Home Buyer Rebate Program to help pay for your closing costs.

Ionic Air Purifiers
Safety assumes top priority in the selection of an ionic air purifier for use in the home, office, factory or school.

Investment Clubs
Home Investing Start by finding out how much insurance will be with free house insurance quote. Until recently, House Investing has become one of the most popular trends in making money. This is a fact. Some of the richest persons in the world who proudly maintained a House Development status have acquired more and is still growing. Give it a moment. If you think that Real Estate Investment is your thing and you don't have the slightest idea on how it works, then it's time to spend some time in trenches.

Pulte Homes to Buy Out Centex
$3.1 Billion Merger This is BIG. The top two builders. WOW I used to work for Pulte Homes so I understand how big this is.

Home Buyers - Did You Do Your Due Dilligence?
Due diligence? As a Home Buyer, you hear the term, but what does it really mean? Here's a simple definition: "Investigation and verification of the details of a particular investment." In real estate investment, you can start this process before you make an offer, but you also normally have clauses in the offer that allow you to have inspections done, and reviews of the books and certain documents

Real Estate Market Update