Are You A Hero? By Paige Marsh
Are you employed as a Firefighter, Military Personnel, Police Officer, Medical Professional, or Teacher? If so, you are one of the “Hero” professions, which qualify you for deep discounts that can be applied toward your closing costs. The Homes For Heroes program was started as a way for the real estate community to thank people who spend their daily tasks in hero capacities.

What this program can do for you is give you a monetary credit back to you at closing that can be used toward your closing costs whether you are buying or selling a home. Depending upon the sales price of the transaction, this can save you a few hundred or up to several thousand dollars.

This is a terrific program that is important to use if you are employed as one of these professions. To get more information or to sign up to use one of the Homes For Heroes Affiliate realtors, please visit https://www.homesforheroes.com/.

HOW BRIAN HEAD CAN BENEFIT YOU by Paige Marsh

Brian Head, Utah, is the most popular ski resort destination in Southern Utah. People come from all around the region to stay and play. Brian Head offers not only downhill skiing, but snow-shoeing, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing in the winter months; and hiking, mountain biking, fishing, four-wheeling, and day trips to nearby Zions and Bryce Canyons during the summer months.

The town of Brian Head has approximately 118 permanent residents. However, on any given weekend that population could multiply exponentially depending on the time of year. Brian Head is home to hundreds of cabins, and countless condos. With the mecca of attractions that Brian Head offers, owning one of these pieces of real estate could be quite profitable.

Condo’s carry a smaller purchase cost than do cabins in the area, however they do come with monthly HOA fees that should be taken into account. The fee depends upon the community and the size of the condo. They range generally from the mid $200’s and can go up to the high $600 range. This can seem extremely steep, however, you can also rent these units out for anywhere between $80 – 250 a night depending on the time of year AND day of the week. Renting the unit a few days a month can potentially pay the HOA fee for you. Many people like to purchase these units with cash so the only payment they have to worry about is the HOA fee.

Cabins carry a much higher purchase price; however you do not have an HOA fee to contend with. You can also rent these properties for much more than you do a condo. Cabins rentals will run anywhere from $250 – $425 a night again depending upon the time of year. One of the biggest attractions for rentals is how many people the property can sleep, so the more beds you have available, the more traffic and activity you will have with your rental.

If you are interested in learning more about the potential benefits of owning a piece of Brian Head real estate, give me a call and I can get answers to your questions. Thanks! Paige

INTEREST RATES BACK DOWN by Paige Marsh

If you are on the fence about whether to pursue buying or building a home this year, look to the current interest rates for your answer. From a recently published table sent to me by a lender friend of mine, the first quarter of 2015 has a current average rate of 3.72%, which is a whopping 3.5% lower than the 30 year average.

(see http://www.mediacenternow.com/temp/15678_2.pdf?gd=56cea3d9-c60c-4ba9-aa8d-ba8f0046b3ee)

Looking at this rate versus the 5.87% interest rate from 2005 (remember when THAT was a good rate??), you can see why this is such a terrific time to lock in payments for a 30 year mortgage:

Purchase price of $200,000 with a 20% down payment:

Loan amt $160,000 at 3.72% P&I only: $739 per month
Loan amt $160,000 at 5.87% P&I only: $946 per month

You can see how that is a savings of over $200 a month. Would you rather pay $739 or $946 for the EXACT SAME HOUSE? This is a really good thing to consider right now as it has been projected by some financial analysts that the interest rate could increase to 5% by the end of 2015. If this does become the case, then you really could be faced with the scenario of deciding whether you want to pay $739 or $946 for the exact same house. The only factor that will determine getting the lower payment will be your timing. Purchase sooner and guarantee getting the better rate. If you wait, you could possibly be throwing a few extra thousand dollars away each year in interest charges. I can think of many different ways that I could better spend that extra money – like a family vacation!