About Uintah County, UT

Red Cloud Loop Area North of Vernal Utah

We recently went four wheeling up at Red Cloud Loop. It is 14 miles from Vernal Utah. If you enjoy camping, hiking, snowmobiling, petroglyphs, horseback riding, picnicking, caving, boating, and of course wildlife this is a place to check out! If you love flowers like I do you will love the wildflowers in the area. I will post some of the ones I saw in June in a later post.

Red fleet Reservoir was named after the Navajo sandstone buttes nearby. The three formations look like a red fleet of ships.

This area has great scenery, dinosaur tracks, fishing, boating, camping, or stop in and have a picnic.

They found more than 200 bipedal tracks on the reservoir shoreline. Check them out by boat or hiking the trail. These tracks are more than 200 million years old. As you travel up to Red Fleet the rock formations are labeled as to which prehistoric period they come from.

The Red Fleet Reservoir area is approximately 10 miles from Vernal, Utah.

I you will be headed our way in July there are several fun things to do.

The Outlaw Trail Theater is July 1-3 at the Western Park Ampitheater. Of course there will be Independence Day celebrations. There will be a parade on Main Street in the morning, and fireworks in the evening at the Ashley Valley Park.

Dippy the Dinosaur will be having a birthday celebration again this summer. This party celebrates the discovery of the Diplododus skeleton. This skeleton is on display in the museum. I am sure Dippy will want to invite his dinosaur friends.

The Country Show Down is July 8th at the Western Park Ampitheater.

The PRCA Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo will be held July 9-12.

Each year there are activities to celebrate Pioneer Day. It is a state holiday to celebrate the arrival of the first pioneers to settle in Utah. In Vernal, there will be a parade on the Main Street.

Alive After Five in Cobble Rock Park will start July 31st, and continue each Thursday in August.

Come and join us!

The weather has been kind of cold and unusual out this way. Now it is warmer and it seems like summer is going to stay. A sure sign of summer in Vernal is seeing the beautiful planters and pots along Main Street filled with petunias. Varieties of purples and pinks, with a touch of white. Thought I would share this wonderful site!

Cobble Rock Park

Fountains at Cobble Rock Park

Petunias along the front of the park

Petunias along the Natural History Museum

Welcome to Spring of 2008! Did you know June is National Homeowners Month? This year's theme is "Back to Basics".

From the HUD.gov website: This year's theme - "Back to Basics" - is designed to underscore the importance of having strong, common-sense fundamentals as a way to maintain a sustainable housing market. Many of those basics were ignored in the lead-up to the housing bubble. HUD's Federal Housing Administration is at the center of the Administration's efforts to help qualified homeowners refinance into safer, more affordable mortgage products.

Despite many news stories that suggest that buyers must put down at least 20% as a down payment in order to buy a home, there are many loan programs that allow a buyer to put a lower down payment, or even to refinance an existing loan with a fairly high loan-to-value ratio.

One of the oldest, most stable loan programs is the FHA loan program. FHA stands for Federal Housing Administration and as you can glean from the name of the program, it is a government-backed loan program, administered by HUD.

You might not realize that the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) has insured over 34 million home mortgages, and has been in existence since 1934.

FHA loans are for ANYBODY -- not just first time buyers. FHA loans can be used on single family houses, certain condominiums, duplexes, 3-plexes and 4-plexes. If duplex, 3-plex or 4-plex, the borrower must live in one of the units, and the loan limits for these kinds of properties are higher than for single family homes.

I have started collecting FHA tips from several lenders I work with. Here are a few that I think many of you may find helpful and interesting.

** The cost for the seller to accept an offer with an FHA loan is now only the tax service fee which is about $85. It previously cost $100 - $200 in years past.

** FHA requires only 3% down. Some of the loans above the standard FHA loan limits (temporary limits by Congress) do require 5%, but some lenders offer a loan program only requiring 3% down for the temporary limits too.

** FHA does allow seller paid closing costs. The minimum contribution for funds to close by the borrower is 3% and the funds can be gifted.

Buyers, or homeowners wanting to refinance, can apply for an FHA loan through a local mortgage lender. Not all mortgage lenders can or will do an FHA loan, so don't hesitate to ask for referrals. Take the time to explore your financing options before you go home hunting, it can well pay off in valuable information.

If you would like to learn more about an FHA loan, or apply for one, simply CLICK HERE to contact me today.

Kyle