Mandy Greenwood

In this day and age it’s hard not to feel a little negative at times. The real estate market and economy in general is struggling along. High unemployment, record high national debt and rising food and gas prices only add to the gloomy environment.

Even though there are negatives, there are certainly positives too. Undoubtedly, it’s a great time to look for and buy a new home. Interest rates are at amazingly low levels! Financing is loosening up again and more and more mortgage products are coming available. This time can be considered a rich man's garage sale as people are off-loading property. There are truly great bargains to be had!

If things happen to be slow for you, it’s a great time to fulfill some continuing education requirements and learn a new skill-set in the real estate industry. Perhaps you want to delve into property management or foreclosures? Go for it!

In the end, a positive attitude can account for much and although there will always be negatives, there most certainly will also be positives. Make a mental effort to focus on the positive! A positive attitude is infectious and will rub off on others. After all, most seem to gravitate to those with a great attitude!

For more of my ideas check out my blog on Park's Edge Park City.

Which question you ask? Of course, "will you allow me to represent you as your Buyer's Agent?"

Approaching this topic with potential clients seemingly brings more fear to the hearts of agents than any other question. Homes with leaky roofs or foundations? No problem! Real estate having a history of being a meth lab? Piece of Cake! Listing presentations? Butter! But, when it comes to asking someone to sign a Buyer's Agency Agreement? Where do I hide?

What is it we are so afraid of? To cut down on the apprehension, ask yourself if you enjoy working for free! Implied agency does not pay in most cases!

If an agent will understand a few simple principles, they can jump this hurdle and get to work. It is Utah state law that in order for anyone to act as an agent, an agency relationship has to be established. The agency relationship is not created until the Buyer’s Agency Agreement has been signed. One simple approach is to kindly explain to a potential client you would like to keep everything legal and that entails getting a signed agreement. Additionally, explain that until an agreement is signed, you can only give a small amount of your time to provide direction concerning real estate.

Something that has worked for me is to provide a free hour of consultation. During that hour, I will answer their questions and help them begin the process of finding a home. However, until they have a signed an Agency Agreement, I let the potential client know I can provide no further assistance. However, if they sign the agreement they will always receive first class treatment and have my full and undivided attention.

Once the agreement is signed, it’s a great feeling to know you are in compliance with Utah state law and can now show your client property and provide them the advice and service they deserve.

If you don’t bother getting a signed Agency Agreement you are hanging yourself out and might be working for free!

For more of my ideas on real estate visit my blog at Park's Edge.

Many wonder if home warranties are actually worth it. To come to a conclusion, what needs to be established is:

• How much the warranty costs
• What company is providing the warranty
• What the warranty covers

In Utah, a warranty that provides the highest amount of coverage will cost around $450. This includes homes that are 5,000 square feet or smaller. Depending upon which company is providing the policy and what is covered will largely determine whether it’s worth the cost.

For an illustration, let’s imagine you purchase an older home in the middle of the winter. Due to the winter season, you were unable to inspect or test the home's air conditioning system. As the seasons change, you turn on the A/C only to find that air is blowing but it’s certainly not cold.

Thankfully, you purchased a home warranty right? Unfortunately, there is always fine print attached to those warranties! All companies will charge some inspection/service fee to determine if the problem can be fixed or not. The fees range in price from $50 - $70. Depending upon the stipulations of the policy, if a new A/C system is needed, it might not be covered. Additionally, the policy might not even cover the repair if the problem is deemed “pre-existing”.

So yes, you might have paid for a warranty that doesn’t cover what you thought it would and you will be stuck footing the bill.

An A/C repair cost could run as high as $800-900 and a replacement of the whole system could run $1500-$2500. There are some warranties that will cover up to $500 and you are responsible for covering the rest. However, other companies will cover the repair and/or replacement and not think twice about it. So, again are home warranties worth it? Yes, if you get the right company with a policy that will cover all you think it will. I would advise reading the warranty sales brochure in detail before making a decision. I would also consult with my real estate agent because they might also have experience with different types of home warranties.

A good warranty could certainly cost you more, but in my opinion they are well worth it! For more of my thoughts and insights on real estate take a look at my blog at Park’s Edge Park City.

We hear a lot about “green” these days. However, what is the definition of a “green” home and how “green” can a home get? There really is a good reason for all the fuss because it’s important. Like affecting your pocketbook type of important!

Have you ever heard of HERS? HERS stands for Home Energy Rating Score. HERS actually provides a way to quantify all the systems that go into a home and how they work together for energy efficiency. The more efficient the appliances, wall insulation, windows, HVAC equipment, etc., the more energy efficient the home. The general rule is the lower the score, the better.

For example, a home built to 2006 building standards would have a HERS index of 100. A home with a HERS index of 0 would essentially be “off the grid” and not pay anything in energy costs. A home that is Energy Star rated would have a HERS index of 85. For every one percentage point drop in a HERS index, a 1% point saving in energy costs can be expected. So, an Energy Star home would have 15% energy savings over a home built to code in 2006.

As can be guessed from the above, homes built prior to 2006 might really be energy hogs with HERS indexes of 120 or more!

At Park’s Edge Park City, a HERS index of 62 was obtained and third party certified. That's right! 62! This means a 38% savings in energy costs can be expected when compared to a 2006 home. At Park’s Edge we were curious and decided to track actual monthly utilities on three homes for over two years. The average energy cost per home (gas and electric combined) came to $95 per month!

So, when looking for real estate, consider not just the square footage and price but also what the home will actually cost to operate on a monthly basis. If a home is not leaving “green” in your pocket, it’s clearly not “green” enough!

A question that is not often asked by new buyers is, “what is the difference between a townhome and a condo”? Quite honestly, I am not sure why more people don’t ask this question because confusion seems to exist, even among some appraisers and new real estate agents. There are differences between the two types of housing and they do matter.

For the most part, and without getting too complex, the difference between the two is how the real estate is titled and therefore owned. Two common ways to own a property is Fee Simple (owning land) and Condominium (owning defined space).

Not always, but generally, a condominium is titled a "Condominium." This means that the owner of a condo owns the insides of an individual unit and that all home owners of the development have an undivided interest in the structures and land outside of the individual units. You own defined and "mapped" space but not actual land.

Townhome ownership in Utah is generally titled "Fee Simple," just like a single family home. This means, that in most cases, the owner of the property owns not just the insides of a unit but also the exterior. An owner also owns the land under their townhome, including any land on the recorded plat that may include a small front or rear yard. Additionally in a townhome, an owner has an undivided interest in common areas, just like a condo. At Park’s Edge we sell townhomes and the owner has Fee Simple title.

When talking about structural differences, a townhome shares only a common wall with an adjoining home. Whereas a condo might share common walls, common floors/ceilings with someone above or below, like in a hotel. What this can lead to, if the construction is not done properly, is sound issues for the home owner.

As an aside, common walls and floors have a rating that measures sound transfer (STC) and the higher the number the lower the sound that gets transferred. A Park's Edge common wall has a STC rating of 72 (see Park's Edge video for detail), which blocks nearly every sound. Most new construction, built to today's Code, have a STC rating of 50 which stops only 62% of all noise--definitely something you want to find out when looking!

Given the current financial climate it is very difficult, in some developments impossible, to finance a condo. Whereas, a townhome has access to the same loan products as most single family homes. This is due to banking regulations, HUD, and restrictions put in place by Fannie May and Freddie Mac, who control the secondary market for loans.

I would recommend buying a townhome if marketability and financing are an issue. Even as a cash buyer, a townhome is more marketable when you go to sale someday. More buyers will have the ability to access financing that they won't have with a condo. Consequently, many condo developments have been stopped because there is no way for potential buyers to purchase.

Finally, there are no advantages to owning a condo over a townhome. From the outside, both types of communities may look the same, but they don't live or function the same, especially when it comes to financing. Remember, you also own good old terra firma when you own a townhome, a nice thing to have!