Written by stratum

Everything included with this 3bd/2ba move in ready home.  This energy efficient home has ceiling fan in Master Bedroom, including a ceiling fan in living room with dbl pane windows throughout home.

Freshly painted inside and out and includes vaulted ceilings with an open floor plan.  Master has a walk-in closet with master bath-shower combo in master bath, and 1 of 2 guest bedrooms has walk-in closet with guest bath close by.  Compact organized kitchen with pantry for lots of storage; plumbed for a dishwasher but unit not included.  All appliances and most furniture will stay with this immaculate turnkey home.

Low maintenance fully landscaped picture perfect yard with front and back wrap-around driveway and lots of mature trees on .46 acre lot.  The front and back are fully landscaped with low maintenance gravel, and easy watering with a drip system to all trees and shrubs with plenty of gardening room in deep back yard.  Utilities for this home are minimal cost efficient, nice second home option, starter or retirement home.

Included are RV hookups, 2–8’x12′ storage sheds (one with workshop capabilities) and drip system for trees and shrubs. Wonderful views of the mountains and valley around Enoch, 10 minutes to Cedar City or I15; or Southern Utah National Parks.  Great views, great neighborhood, excellent choice.

Written by June Holder

Great Home! 3 bd/2ba/oversized 2car garage on quiet low traffic cul-de-sac in friendly neighborhood.  Large open floor plan w/lots of storage space throughout.  A large kitchen with cabinets galore with nice deep pantry for kitchen needs; a long bar with stool-chairs separates kitchen from dining area.  Living room adjoining kitchen opens to large entertaining living space.  Large Master is large enough for king sized bed with walk-in closet and master bath adjoining with bath/shower combo.  Number two and three bedrooms good sized across hall from guest bath entertaining bath/shower combo.   (View on Realtor.com)

Covered patio off dining area includes a natural gas connection for BBQ; the patio opens to gorgeous view of mountains and valley terrain.  Extending further to the east of the property is a utility shed for tools, etc storage; a garden spot beyond the fully fenced and fully fenced landscaped back yard sporting a horseshoe pitching pit to the east corner.  A 36’x36’corral and 10’x16′ storage-barn are south of the house with mature trees shading the roomy recreation area.   Beyond the fully fenced back yard to the west is a .50 acre lot that is included with the property; the lot has a separate tax ID# and can be sold separately or developed as pasture for animals.  Water is serviced through Enoch water company which supports this gorgeous yard area very well.

This property has an inviting country feel and such a calming atmosphere among the cool shade trees front or back.  Just the place to get away from the noise and hastle of city life, just 10 minutes from Cedar City, or I-15, short drive to St George or many National Parks here in Southern Utah.  Great place to live!

Written by Brandon Schank

Missed mortgage payments, short sales, and foreclosures can all drastically bring down a credit score.

Lenders use credit scores to measure how well a person handles debt. Credit scores range from 300 to 850, with 650 and below considered poor credit. A mortgage makes up a big part of a person’s credit score and often is the most important part of a person’s credit profile.

And just missing a single mortgage payment by 30 days can ruin a credit score, say FICO and VantageScore, which have studied the impact mortgages can have on credit scores. For borrowers, that can be nearly as destructive as a foreclosure to a credit score, according to the companies.

On the other hand, loan modifications, which is when lenders approve new loan terms, have a “very, very minimal” impact to credit scores, possibly dropping the borrower’s score by 10 or 15 points, Sarah Davies, the senior vice president for analytics at VantageScore, told The New York Times.

A good credit score is important not just for financing home purchases, but employers increasingly check credit as well as landlords when seeking rentals. Also, poor credit scores can also mean higher costs on car loans and credit cards.

How a Credit Score Is Affected

FICO evaluated three various scenarios of mortgage holders — a borrower with a great credit score (780), a borrower with good credit (720), and a poor credit borrower (680) — in a study it conducted last month. Here’s the impact FICO found:

? 30 days late on a mortgage payment: The 780 credit score borrower has her credit score fall to 670-690. The 720 credit score borrower has his fall to 630-650. The 680 credit score borrower falls to 600-620.
? Short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or settlement, assuming the balance has been wiped out: The 780 credit score borrower falls to 655-675; the 720 credit score falls to 605-625; and the 680 credit score drops to 610-630.
? Foreclosure, or short sale with a deficiency balance owed: The 780 credit score drops to 620-640; the 720 credit score falls to 570-590; and the 680 credit score decreases to 575-595.

Written by Jan Wilkinson  

In particular if you are a first time home buyer this can be a very daunting process, and even if you have experienced buying a property before it’s not unusual for you to feel the need to seek some guidance in this area.

I am a Realtor here in Cedar City, Southern Utah, and I thought I would share with you some of the questions I have being asked over the years; hopefully this will make the process a little less daunting for you

Is this a good time to buy?

I have come across so many buyers nervous to buy in this economy, but actually due to this economy there are some great opportunities available for buyers.

The property market is about 70% foreclosures and short sales, and due to this the regular buyer has to be very competitive on price in order to sell their home, so yes this is a fantastic time to consider buying a home, ask a Realtor to send you some options and check this out for yourself

Do I need a Realtor?

I would definitely advise any buyer to have the guidance of a Realtor, and I am sure you are thinking of course I would say that, but there are good reasons for my advice, as a Realtor it is my job to look after my Buyers best interests, to make sure they are not paying too much for a property, and to negotiate the best deal for my Client, and to take the time to really understand what each buyer is looking for, and to know the property market well enough to find the perfect place.

It is also a Realtors responsibility to guide the buyer through the process, by liaising with the lender, Home inspector and Title Company and making sure the sale goes through smoothly, and the best news of all is that it does not cost a buyer to be represented, so all you need to do is go out and find a good buyers agent who will work hard for you, and if you do not know one, ask your friends to make a referral, and interview each one and make up your mind from there.

How do I know what I can afford?

Seek advice from a Lender, if you have no idea who to choose ask your realtor for 2 lenders who they would recommend, meet with both of them and choose who you feel most comfortable with.

I have found in this economy when the lending process is a little tougher, it is important to have a lender who can close the deal, who will tell you any issues up front, so that you have time to resolve them, and a lender who will communicate with your realtor, and will aim to make the process as smooth for you as possible, why have stress when you really don’t need too.

 I have found a home that I really like, how do I know I am not paying too much?

Before writing up an offer always check data, have your Realtor provide sold comps going back no more than 6 months, to see what properties that compare to your chosen home have sold for, after reviewing the comps discuss with your Realtor how much you would like to offer as a starting point.

I am clueless when it comes to construction, how do I know if the home is a sound investment?

As a Realtor I understand this is the biggest investment you are likely to make, so go into it wisely, I would always advise a buyer to get a professional inspection completed on the property.

If the property is not sold as is, as a buyer you have the opportunity to go back to the seller and ask if they can repair any of the big items which may be a concern to you, they may not always agree to take care of all of them but at least you know the issues before going ahead with the sale.

I’ve being renting for years, what are the benefits of buying a home?

Some of my most rewarding sales have being to find a home for a buyer who never imagined they would have the opportunity to buy their own home.

I have seen many buyers get into a property paying the same or less than they did when they were renting, the buyers often get to choose locations in the City which they have found preferable to the area which they rented in, and on top of that you are no longer wasting your monthly payment, as the property market turns you are creating equity in your home, and of all the times to consider buying, a buyer’s market is the time

I’ve being calling on signs and driving round town to find a home I like, but it takes so much time, is there an easier way to do this?

Absolutely, choose a Realtor to represent you and save yourself all this hassle, your best use of all this time and energy is to review all the options they send to you, so take a minute in telling the Realtor what your needs are, and ask your agent to set you up on auto search so that you get all the new or reduced properties that meet your criteria as they are listed on MLS, so that you don’t miss out on any great options, and as you can imagine on the top of every buyers list is finding a great deal, so if you see something that really interests you, don’t waste time, call your Realtor right away and see it before it has gone.

Good luck in your property search, I hope after reading this you feel less daunted by this whole process, and remember buying a home truly is an exciting time for you, so go and have fun.

Written by Scott Bird   

Fannie Mae is currently offering 3.5% in closing cost incentives as well as $1200 bonus to the buying agent for properties that close before October 31, 2011.

Today’s statistics show that 323 of the 546 homes sold within the last six months in Cedar City and Enoch areas were bank owned. With the majority of these sales being one party (Fannie Mae), it is nice to see them offering discounts and incentives to both the buyer and the seller.

To take advantage of Fannie Mae incentives, it is very important to know that the offered incentives must be requested by the buyer with their initial offer. You can visit their website at Fannie Mae’s website anytime and click on the “Special Offers” tab. Understanding their proceedures is very important so be sure your Realtor guides you correctly.

Incentives Requirements include:

• Buyer/Buyer’s Agent must request the incentive upon submission of initial offer.
• Initial offer must be submitted on or after June 14, 2011 and close by October 31, 2011.
• Sale must close on or before October 31, 2011.
• Buyers must be purchasing a HomePath property to use as their primary residence.
• Sales closed via the retail channel are eligible, including those utilizing public funds. Pool and auction sales are ineligible.
• Up to 3.5% or total closing costs (whichever is less) can be used.
• Fannie Mae reserves the right to remove any property from promotion or end the promotion at any time.

Written by Brandon Schank    

Of course this is a real estate website, and we are in the business to sell houses, but in this article I wanted to discuss why a good time to buy Real Estate is NOW.

As all are aware, most of the markets across the country have seen a decrease in home values over the past few years.  Most industry professionals agree that the “bottom” has been reached.  Regardless of whether or not it has or hasn’t been reached isn’t the question you should ask yourself if you are considering to buy.  The question you should ask yourself is whether you will ever get an opportunity to purchase a house at the prices they are at now with the combination of historical low interest rates.

As a builder and Real Estate Broker, I look at housing prices right now in a different approach than other brokers may.  I look at things from the “Cost” or “Replacement cost” approach (or as I like to call it “Brandonomics”).  Let’s say you are a first time home buyer looking to buy in the under $100k range.  Most of the properties in this price range are town homes (you own only the dirt under your building itself, but are usually attached to other units) or twin homes (you own your backyard and front yards, but have usually one attached neighbor).  Let’s look at an example.  I have a twin home listed right now for $94,900.  This home is 1470 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms with a 1-car garage.    The vertical construction costs alone, with building permits, appliances, etc. on this home would be roughly in the $88,000 range.   Builders, who are in business to build things, have to make money.  Let’s say the builder would build this house again for $5,000 (a very, very low number.  You will see that I am only trying to prove a point here, and the exact profit a builder would charge doesn’t matter.)  We also need to factor in a sales commission of 6%.  The seller is paying the listing broker 6% to sell and market the home he has listed.  This adds another $5700 in costs to this home.  The seller has closing costs, real estate taxes, title insurances, etc. that he has to pay for as well.  Let’s plug in a number of approximately $900.  So as an update, we are at a cost of $99,600!  We haven’t even discussed the land and development costs!    Very quickly, the rough cost of developing ½ of a twin home lot (curb, gutter, sidewalk, asphalt roads, water, sewer, gas, power, etc.) would be in the ball park of $15,000.  Land costs can vary, but I think my point is made.  From the example above you can see that for some properties, the cost or replacement value of the property far exceeds the current prices of the homes.

At some point, Real Estate values will increase.  Just like anything out there, if you can buy it for less than what it costs to make it, it’s a good buy!

Written by Scott Bird    

Each year we see a cyclical swing in the real estate market, some are greater than others. The one thing that remains constant between then and now is that it is most likely that values will once again swing back up and the chances of increasing your return on your investment is greater. Real Estate is a way to invest your money safely and should be considered as a long-term retirement investment included in your portfolio.

A portfolio is the combination of all your producing and non-producing assets. It may include a 401k, real estate, cash, stocks, bonds, etc. Everyone seems to be trying to make the best decision on where to put their hard earned money so that some day they will become self reliant.

An IRA (Individual Retirement Account) allows opportunities for long-term investments, as the government allows you to invest $5,000 annually ($6,000 if you are older than 50) in individual stocks, money market accounts, certificates of deposits, bonds and mutual funds. There are several various types of IRA accounts that allow you to also invest in real estate, trust deed notes and other qualified investments. The one you should consider most is a Roth IRA.

The Roth IRA was initially set up to defer your taxes paid. You pay taxes on the money you deposit at the current tax rate but you don’t pay any taxes on the balance or increase when you begin take it out at the age of 59 ½. We know that taxes will not decrease between now and retirement age so by paying taxes on the upfront investment, your return will be maximized because you are not paying a higher tax rate. The beauty with the Roth IRA is that you can use the invested money to purchase real estate.

Buyers of real estate generally want to buy at a good price (low) and sell high. Today’s market is very low. When you are purchasing with the intent to use the generated income as retirement money, your investment should be more thought out with the intent for long-term benefits. For example: Paying a little more in a down market for a better property in a better area may be a much smarter investment in 30 years from now. You should consult your local Realtor when trying to locate the perfect home as he/she will generally know more about market trends. If history repeats itself, the real estate values will continue to rise and fall. As most Roth IRA investors predict, the value of investment will be much greater when the time to withdraw arrives.

Setting up a Roth IRA is easy but it is recommended to contact a custodian/administrator or financial planner for assistance.