Riverton, UT

By: Robert A. Hulme - Realtor - Loan Officer -Utah County, Including Provo, Orem, Pleasant Grove, American Fork, Lehi, Highland, Alpine and Cedar Hills

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, and below the line should be all of the things that would be nice to have. This will save you a great deal of time and provide a clear focus for your house hunting.

Working with a Realtor

Although the Internet can provide you with homes matching your criteria and it seems easy to drive around, take notes, and set up appointments to view homes for sale, using an agent can be more efficient. They can do the same thing for you, but by working with a Realtor, you benefit from their knowledge and experience also. Their advice could better help you determine the right home for you and they can assist you with the actual purchase contract.

What to Do When You Find the Right Home

Considering everything has come together, the price is within your budget, and a home has met your demands, it's time to make an offer. Part of the offer should require a home inspection so you have reliable information about any major problems or repairs you might incur and how they will be handled. If your offer is accepted, the sale proceeds. If your offer is not accepted, the seller may counter-offer with different terms.

Riverton sales were down by 21% in 2008, and house prices went down by about 5.5%. The median sold price went down to $269,450 and the average sold price was at $305,411. With many homes listed in Riverton, buyers are bound to find something they like. Current home prices are higher now than they were even in 2007.

These numbers are not official.

We need Positive Price Action to confirm market bottom. One month of price improve isn't sufficient to confirm the market bottom. We need to see appreciation month over month for three months.

PRICE ACTION

Other good signs in addition to positive price action is lower DOM (days of the market), lower new listings and higher percent of new listings being SOLD.

SUMMARY

Currently we are not seeing the needed positive price action (along with other indictors) to confirm a market bottom. This is NOT a good time for conservative buyers to purchase.

High risk tolerant investors and speculators are doing some bottom fishing. Some are trying to time the market and market timing is risky. Trying to time the bottom is not for the inexperienced buyer.

Also it is good to note that those waiting for a market bottom confirmation will miss the bottom. This is because confirming factors are lagging indicators.

Buy and hold is the best buying strategic for owner/occupied and investor purchases.

Data considered accurate... However is NOT Guaranteed. Contact your Mark Watterson your Local Property Resource Specialist for the most up-to-date data

By: Robert A. Hulme - Realtor - Loan Officer

The overall appearance of your home is one of the major factors to consider when placing in on the market to sell. The problem is, either you don't have or are not willing to spend the money to remodel. There are some inexpensive things that you can do to give the appearance of success without spending the money to make it happen.

Enhancements or redesigning of the kitchen usually is one of the first areas considered when thinking about what to do to improve the appearance of your home. But is it the most cost productive means. Many buyers would like and appreciate saving money on the purchase of the home, so that they can do the redesign themselves, this should always be considered when pricing your home for sale.

The frugal minded home seller should find a way to reduce the clutter in their home. Most seller agents suggest a home presentation company, especially for higher priced homes. But being frugal as most of us are, we need to take a closer look at what other options are available. One of the greatest benefits of getting rid of clutter is the perception of increased space in the home. There are a number of suggestions for creating this illusion:

•· Clean out or empty closets

•· Store away excessive furnishings

•· Hide or store away personal items, such as family portraits, etc...

•· Clean out all storage areas, take stock of those things that you can throw away

•· Remove all bulky, out of place furniture

•· Reorganize remaining furniture, to maximize the remaining space.

•· Maximize kitchen space

•· Store away throw rugs

Most important when working on the overall appearance of your home when putting it up for sale is to consult your local Realtor. Your Realtor does these things everyday and knows how and what home buyers look for and at when evaluating the appearance of homes for sale.

Not surprising - People that over charged their credit cards, over qualified for their mortgage on a home that they couldn't afford in the first place, with an ARM that they could never face when it came due (my dad would say - bit of more than they could chew) faced defaulting and foreclosure went crying to the government and the government replied with mortgage modifications earlier this year and after a short sigh of relief - guess what? They are defaulting again - Re-defaulting

Surprising? Not surprising at all!

"The results, I confess, were somewhat surprising, and not in a good way," said John Dugan, head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in prepared remarks for a U.S. housing forum.
"Put simply, it shows that over half of mortgage modifications seemed not to be working after six months," he said.

Ed Newman, Alamo Infrared Home Inspections