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CategoriesSt George Area Real Estate StatisticsSt George Area Information St George Area Schools St George Area Things to Do St George Area Home Services Providers St George Area Utility Companies The Legacy Real Estate Statistics Tips for Buyers Tips for Sellers For Sale By Owners Short sales and Foreclosures Mortgage/Finance Politics Favorite LinksSearch for Homes in St George UtahSt George Chamber of Commerce The Spectrum Newspaper Zion National Park Bryce Canyon National Park Utah State Parks Brian Head Ski Resort City of St George City of Ivins City of Santa Clara City of Hurricane St George Musical Theater Tuacahn Amphitheater Utah Shakespeare Festival Celebrity Concert Series Southwest Symphony St George Marathon Huntsman World Senior Games St George Parade of Homes Green Valley Spa Red Mountain Spa ArchivesAugust 2007Utah Foreclosures on the decline!Posted at 11:05 AM, Aug. 24, 2007U.S. foreclosure activity increased more than 93 percent from July 2006 to July 2007, but at the same time, foreclosure activity in Utah actually dropped more than 58 percent, according to July 2007 data from RealtyTrac. In fact, this is the six month in a row that “States like In 10 Steps to buying a homePosted at 12:07 PM, Aug. 19, 2007Ten Steps to buying a homeSTEP 1 - DEFINE NEEDS FOR YOUR NEW HOME
Congratulations on your decision to purchase a new home! Your first step toward buying your new home will be to analyze your needs. Your real estate agent can help you determine exactly what you want your new home to look like and how it should function for you and your family. First, write down why you are looking for a new home. For example, are you currently renting and would like to begin building equity? Maybe you recently married and have outgrown your current residence. Or, maybe you received promotion that requires you to move to a new city. These factors will all have a bearing on how you approach your home search. Second, establish a time frame for buying your home. Depending on your reasons for wanting a new property and the current state of the market in the area you are looking to buy, you should be able to come up with a rough guideline. Finally, you probably have a mental picture of what your dream house looks like. Turn these ideas into two lists: one should describe your dream home and the other should list features that are absolute must haves. In a perfect world, your new home would fulfill both lists 100 percent, but it is more likely the two lists will turn into a list of priorities, as you get clearer about what you want and what is available. STEP 2 - PRE-APPROVAL VS. PRE-QUALIFICATION
Now that you know what you want in a home, you need to find out what you can afford. There are two ways to go about this: prequalification or pre-approval for a loan. Either way, you can contact your agent about choosing a mortgage company. Prequalification is the simpler of the two processes. It can even be done online or over the phone. When you contact a mortgage company, they will ask you for some basic information about your finances ? how much money you earn, your debt load, etc. They will take this information and give you a rough estimate of how much of a loan you might qualify for. Pre-approval is more a more in-depth process. The lender will perform an extensive check of your finances including your credit rating, whether or not you're a first-time buyer, what your debt load is, how much money you have to put as a down payment, etc. This figure will be a much more reliable estimate of what you can afford. In most markets, pre-approved buyers are preferred over those that are merely pre-qualified. Being pre-approved lets the seller know you have gone through an extensive financial background check and there should be no unexpected obstacles to you buying their home. STEP 3 - NEIGHBORHOOD INFORMATION
Now that you have your list of needs and wants and know how much you can afford to spend, it's time to look at some houses, right?! Well, don't forget, people don't just buy a house; they buy the neighborhood the house is in. Think about that...if you found the perfect house but it was in a neighborhood that was not to your liking, would you make an offer on it? You will need to make another list for the type of area you want to invest in. Consider things like drive time to work and major destinations, amenities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, parking, etc., area schools and the demographics of the surrounding area. STEP 4 - HOME SEARCH
At this point you will have a good idea of what you can afford and the type of area you will want to invest in. Taking that information into consideration, you are ready to embark on your home search. If you don't know much about the city to which you are moving, you will want to start by finding areas that meet your criteria and then narrowing your search to particular properties in those areas. There are a few ways to go about this. Possibly the most efficient way to find homes is to allow your real estate agent to keep you up-to-date on available properties that meet your criteria, and then allow your agent to screen them for you. When your agent presents you with a home that interests you, he or she can arrange for you to tour it at your convenience. You can find available homes by reading local real estate publications, contacting local Neighborhood Associations, visiting the local Chamber of Commerce, looking on the Internet, or driving through neighborhoods that meet your needs. Driving around a particular area looking for a home that is for sale is good because you can actually see the house, but it can be very time consuming and very "hit or miss." STEP 5 - MAKE AN OFFER
Now that you've found your dream home, it's time to make an offer. Your real estate agent will help you determine the offer price by reviewing recent sales of homes that are similar in size, quality, and conveniences and amenities. Your real estate agent will advise you on how to create an offer that will have the best chance of being accepted. After consultation with you, your agent will create a written contract with your offer that meets all the local and national legal requirements. This document details what needs to be done by both parties to execute the transaction. It should protect the interests of both parties and will ensure your financial position as the buyer. The contract should include, but is not limited to, the following: Legal description of the home Offer price Down payment Financial arrangements List of fees and who will pay them Amount of the deposit Inspection rights and possible repair allowances Appliances and furnishings that will stay with the property Settlement date Contingencies Remember the legalities of this phase are very important. If you have any questions or concerns, be certain to address them with your real estate agent right away. STEP 6 - NEGOTIATING TO BUY
Once your offer is made you may need to negotiate with the seller to reach an agreement. Keep in mind almost everything is negotiable when you are buying a house. This can give you a great deal of leverage in the buying process, that is, if you have adequate information and you use it in an appropriate manner. Some things you may negotiate: * Price * Financing * Closing costs * Repairs * Appliances and fixtures * Landscaping * Painting * Occupancy time frame Counter offers happen frequently. Remain in close contact with your real estate agent so you can quickly review any changes from the seller. Remember...bargaining is not a winner-take-all deal. It is a business process that involves compromise and mutual respect STEP 7 - SERVICE PROVIDER COORDINATION
After your offer is accepted, your agent will help you coordinate the activities of service providers and serve as your advocate when working with them. Your agent will make sure these vendors have access to the property to perform their procedures and will oversee the execution of those procedures on your behalf. One service you may need is a home examination. An inspection of the property, the foundation, and the surrounding environmental may be needed to make sure the property meets the standards set forth in your written agreement. If there are issues or inconsistencies brought to light during this time, it may delay or even nullify the contract. Insurance is another item that will need to be taken care of. Experts recommend you obtain title insurance equal to the full replacement value of the home. This kind of insurance is purchased at closing and protects the buyers in the unlikely event that the title to the property becomes invalid. Homeowners insurance protects against theft, fire and liabilities. It often includes things such as bicycles, furniture and jewelry. Flood insurance is generally only necessary for flood-prone areas. The federal government issues this kind of insurance. In addition to aforementioned types of insurance, you may want additional assurance for your new home. Home warranties are one way to protect yourself after you buy. Warranties for new homes protect against plumbing, wiring and structural defects. Existing home warranties cover things like major appliances and structural problems. Having these procedures done in a timely and professional manner is a must. Investigate each service provider to make sure they are reputable and have a clean operational history. Your agent's experience in this area will be invaluable. STEP 8 - BEFORE YOU CLOSE
As the closing date (otherwise known as settlement or escrow) draws near you will need to be in contact with the escrow company or closing attorney and your lender to make sure all necessary documents are being prepared and will be delivered to the correct location on the appropriate date. Find out what form of payment you will need to bring to the closing for any unpaid fees. Make sure that your payment is made out to the appropriate party. These days, buyers and sellers don't even have to be in the same room to close a deal. Thanks to computer automation, signed paperwork can be delivered overnight to both parties. STEP 9 - CLOSING ON A HOME
Closing is where ownership of the home is legally transferred from the seller to the buyer. It is a formal meeting that most parties involved in the process will attend. Closing procedures are usually held at the title company's or lawyer's office. Your closing officer coordinates the document signing and the collection and disbursement of funds. In order for the closing to go smoothly, each party involved should bring the necessary documentation and be prepared to pay any related fees (closing costs). There may be more than one form of acceptable payment for your closing costs so ask the closing officer which form of payment will be required and to whom it should be paid. Sellers sometimes pay for a portion or all of the closing costs, depending on local market conditions, terms of the purchase contract, and the seller's cash and timing considerations. Any such concessions should be acknowledged in writing. Most lenders will allow a credit from the seller to the buyer for the non-recurring closing costs. However, they usually won't allow a credit that reduces the amount of the buyer's down payment or any of the buyer's recurring costs, such as expenses for fire insurance premiums, private mortgage insurance (PMI) or property taxes. STEP 10 - POST-CLOSING
Congratulations on the purchase of your new home! Now that you have taken ownership of it you will need to have your electricity, cable and phone set up. Also be aware of typical homeowner expenses such as Neighborhood Association fees, landscaping costs, and annual taxes and budget for them accordingly. { 0 comments } { add comment } { Permanent Link }
View more entries tagged with: Home, Purchase, Buyers, Find Home Purchasing your first home is like learning to rock climbPosted at 11:38 AM, Aug. 19, 2007Rock climbing and purchasing your first home; what do these two events have in common? Most people would probably respond immediately that rock climbing and buying your very first home have absolutely nothing in common. I probably would have responded that way too, if I had not assisted a young couple recently in the purchase of their very first home.
Rob and Jennifer (not their real names) called me a few months ago and asked if they could see a 2 bedroom town-home that we had listed. I asked them if they had met with a Lender yet to get “pre-qualified” for a mortgage loan. They didn’t understand why they had to do that; all they wanted to do was look at this little town-home that they were pretty sure they could afford. They said that they would go see a lender if they liked the home and wanted to make an offer to purchase it.
I met Rob and Jennifer at the town-home at 3:00PM on a Saturday in January. They were a very cute young couple who were both going to school full-time and had part time jobs. They told me that they had been married about 1 year, which was very obvious by the dreamy way they looked into each other’s eyes. They further explained that they had moved into a tiny studio apartment right after they returned to St George from their honeymoon in Mexico. They had been saving as much money as they could for the past year to use as a down payment on the purchase of their first home. They informed me, very excitedly, that they were ready to take the plunge and become home owners!
I knew, at this point, that I had to put on my “private eye hat” to learn what I could about Rob and Jennifer to determine if they could qualify for a loan, or if this meeting was just going to end up as an exercise in futility. One of the questions I asked Rob was whether he was involved in any kind of sport or activity. My reason for asking this question was that I wanted to show him the correlation between mastering a sport and purchasing a home. Rob told me that he and Jennifer
 had just been introduced to rock climbing by a close friend of theirs, and they had just enrolled in a rock climbing class.I thought it might be a little bit of a stretch to compare rock climbing and buying a home, but I thought it would really help Rob and Jennifer see that both of these activities have a lot in common. If you have never purchased a home before, the thought of going through this unknown process can be very scary, yet, at the same time, very exhilarating. These same feelings are felt by the beginning climber when they are standing in front of the first rock wall that they are going to attempt to scale.
To become an expert rock climber and eventually conquer the slick face of a mountain requires a number of steps. First, you will need to seek the advice of, and get training from, expert rock climbers. You will want to learn from people who have years of experience and have climbed a number of mountains, not from someone who has just read a book about rock climbing and has never actually done any climbing. Then you will need to invest in, and learn to use, the right equipment; cutting corners here could mean disaster down the road. After you have had professional climbing lessons and have purchased the appropriate equipment, you will need to spend a lot of time practicing what you have learned in order to become an expert rock climber.
Similarly, to be prepared to make the largest purchase of your life, you need to find the right team of experts in the real estate industry. You will need a qualified mortgage lender who can explain all of the different mortgage loans that are available and recommend the best loan for your particular lifestyle. This expert will be able to determine how much home you can afford based on your credit scores and your monthly income. You will also need to choose a professional real estate agent who can help you find the perfect home that will fit both your needs, and your pocketbook. You will want to choose someone who is an expert in real estate, someone who has been in the business at least 2 years, and preferably someone who has made a full-time commitment to their real estate business. When you make the biggest purchase of your life, you want a team working for you who has your very best interests at heart. Your real estate team should be competent and skilled and should be able to guide you from the beginning to the end of the home buying process.
Just as you wouldn’t attempt to climb the face of a shear cliff with no guidance and without the right equipment, you shouldn’t attempt to make the largest purchase of your life without the right team, and without investing the time it takes to gather all of the information in order to make the right choice.
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View more entries tagged with: First Time Homebuyers, Purchase First Home, Rock Climbing 2nd Quarter Stats: Utah home prices up, sales downPosted at 9:10 PM, Aug. 17, 2007Home prices in With 11,740 homes sold in the second quarter, total state existing-home sales decreased 10.10 percent from last year at this same time when 13,059 homes were sold. Home sales were down in many areas of the state, but a number of markets saw their sales increase from last year including Brigham/Tremonton, Central Utah, The A ListPosted at 1:12 PM, Aug. 17, 2007We are really excited to tell you about "The A List". "The A List" is a group of business professionals who can assist you with any home related service. When you call one of the home service business who are affiliated with "The A List" you can be assured of excellent service, dependability, guaranteed performance, honesty, and competitive prices. Why take a chance on calling someone from a phone book or newspaper ad that you don't know when you can call one of our proven professionals and be assured of excellent service Each of the businesses on this list are licenses and insured. The following businesses have committed to provide excellent service to all of their customers: The Computer Guy - Dustin Shearer 435-215-1378 dustin@tcgosu.com The S Gallery, Custom furniture/Art Architectural Elements/Cabinets - Mandy Irwin 435-673-9729 Finishing Touches, Home Cleaning - Tanni Harlin 435-467-4314 Reel Home Theater, Home Entertainment Systems - Glenn Thomas 435-688-7335 www.reelht.com Kinetico Water Systems - Gene Bowcut 435-673-1717 SoftH20@hotmail.com Watch My Home, Go Ahead and Roam, We'll Watch Your Home, 435-668-4406 www.WatchMyHome.net Sherry McGhee State Farm Insurance 435-628-2673 StoneTree Landscape & Design - Josh Bastian 435-668-6303 The Basso Group of Keller Williams - Greg and Annette Basso 435-680-5178 www.BassoGroup.com Elite Security - Jim Jennings 435-656-0685 { 0 comments } { add comment } { Permanent Link }
View more entries tagged with: Computer, Furniture, House Cleaning, Entertainment, Water, Home Watch, Insurance, Landscape, Real Estate, Security St George featured in upcoming National Geographic MagazinePosted at 12:50 PM, Aug. 17, 2007Check it out!! St George will be featured as one of the top 50 cities to live and play in the nation in the September issue of National Geographic Magazine. This will undoubtedly have an effect on our tourism and our growth. I'm afraid that "the best kept secret" is out. We are certainly on the map!!
Moose's TravelsPosted at 10:32 PM, Aug. 12, 2007
Boy oh boy—do I have some stories for you. Moose and I have been very busy this last month. Our first big adventure was BOTH of us going to Grammy’s house. That is a first (and probably a last). The humans had to go to Colorado on business and Auntie Carol was out of town, so Grammy bravely relented to watch us both. I was none too excited about this idea, since I am the only one worthy of the royal treatment given by Grammy. Anyway, after we’d been there a few hours, it was time to eat. Rather than the usual china plate I eat on when there, Grammy had the nerve to try and feed us with PLASTIC BOWLS! Well, we both went on a hunger strike and refused to eat until we were served on the proper dinnerware. Our humans brought both of our beds to Grammy’s so we would have somewhere to sleep, but we didn’t bother to use them. I mean, why sleep on a Costco bed when you can have a king-size slice of heaven? Moose decided that even though there are TONS of toys at Grammy’s, chewing on her stuff was much better. I just knew that other shoe was gonna drop, I just didn’t know it was gonna drop at Grammy’s! She was none too pleased, let me tell you. I tried to explain to him that you don’t mess with Grammy but remember: he’s STOOPID! He did agree, however that staying there is the best. As a matter of fact, when we got home and didn’t receive the same treatment, we had our little doggy bags packed and ready by the front door hoping to go back to Grammy’s. Our next big adventure was camping in Beaver. Well, the humans called it a motel, but to us, it was quite primitive. We were there for some holiday in July and again, no china to be found, so again with the hunger strike. We were so mad we even decided that we would go on a “poopin” strike. So, for three days, there was no eatin’ and no poopin’. You wanna see the humans get worried? They tried everything: Burger King, treats, nummies, etc. but we held strong to our pact. I overheard the female human even talking about taking us both to the vet when we got home! Fortunately for us, we got to go home the next day, and we made sure that we followed our regular “routines” so we didn’t have to go see Dr. H. Don’t get me wrong—we still love going to Beaver, just for much shorter trips (i.e. NO OVERNIGHTS). Up there on the morning of this holiday, they think it’s real funny to shoot off a cannon about 6000 times at 6 in the morning. Now I don’t know what they’re shooting at, I only pray it’s not the Burger King!
August Real Estate StatisticsPosted at 12:35 AM, Aug. 11, 2007At the end of July 2007 there were 19.89 months of inventory on the market in the Washington County MLS area. This includes residential home resales, lots, new homes, multi-family homes, townhomes/condos, and modular/mobile homes. Compare this with June, 2007 where there was 14.68 months worth of inventory. More Back to School TipsPosted at 10:30 PM, Aug. 10, 2007
MORE BACK TO SCHOOL TIPS Helping Children Succeed in School & Life 1. Teach them to love learning. The point is the progress, not the grade. Extend your child’s learning by going to a museum or zoo together. 2. Get involved. This shows your child you really are interested in what they do and how they learn. Accompany a class field trip or organize parents to help in the classroom. 3. Keep in touch with teachers. Going to parent-teacher conferences is important, but more frequent contact can keep you on top of day-to-day progress and challenges. E-mailing the teacher is an excellent way to check in. 4. Help your child organize. Organization skills are critical, so start early. Sit down with your child to map out assignments and break down larger projects into manageable pieces. 5. Make family meals a must. Families who eat together generally have higher literacy rates. It is also an excellent time to monitor achievements and difficulties in school. Take this time to real listen to your child. HAVE A TERRIFIC SCHOOL YEAR! Happy SpringPosted at 2:43 PM, Aug. 8, 2007Happy Spring to all of you! I am just back from a trip to Grammy’s and hate to tell you that apparently she got the word that I’m too fat cuz she didn’t kick down ANY extra goodies—not even when I was done doing my business. I only got 1/4 of a Beggin’ Strip, which is hardly worth the trouble I have to go through to get it.. Anyway, according to Grammy, I now have another amazing talent to add to my impressive resume—I’m psychic! I never had a name for it but now that I know that it’s an actual skill, I am really quite impressed with myself. It all started on the day my humans were due to pick me up at Grammy’s. At about 6PM, I just knew they were close by. They had been gone for a week, but I could tell they were near. I guess I started acting “all weird” (her words, not mine) so Grammy called the female human to find out where they were. Of course, they were only 1 hour away! Don’t ask me how we know these things—we just do.
 I overhead my male human talking to some people by the name of “clients” the other day and apparently they think that this column is totally made up. Can you imagine anyone making this stuff up? I might be offended, if I knew what it meant. I know some of Stoopid’s antics are suspect, but trust me, they are as real as the day is long. Unfortunately, Stoopid has been freakishly good lately. As a matter of fact, he’s been SO good, he hasn’t been giving me any material to write about. I heard the female human talking about “waiting for the other shoe to drop”. I think that means that she’s just waiting for Stoopid to pick up where he left off. For now though, it appears that all the plants, shoes, clothes and anything laying around are safe from his mauling. Knowing Stoopid as I do, I’m just afraid that he has major home renovation plans, if you know what I mean.
Do any of you have shower monsters in your bathrooms? I see them at least twice a day at our house. They usually come out in the mornings, but I have seen them at night sometimes. I’ll be in the bedroom, snoozing on the bed and WHAM! Out comes the shower monster. First, one of the humans gets in this closed-in water box in the bathroom and then this horrible monster noise starts up. Being the guard dog that I am, it’s my job to go in there and slay the monster. Usually, I only have to bark for about 5 minutes before the ugly monster dies, but then the other human gets in the box, and I have to start all over again. I’m not quite sure how to get rid of these monsters, but the humans seem very grateful for the good job that I do. Gotta love job security!
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