Archive for Uncategorized
February 12, 2009 at 12:08 am
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged bank repo, foreclosure, real estate market, saint george, utah real estate
Washington County, Utah now has 1.8% of all mortgages in foreclosure as of Dec. 2008. This is an increase from Dec 2007 where the rate was 0.7%.
If you’re looking for a St. George, Utah foreclosure – please contact me. There are tons of opportunities on the market right now including St. George short sales.
The total number of mortgages that are 90 days past due has jumped to 4.5% which is an increase from the December 2007 statistics. This has caused a huge number of short sale properties to come on the market in southern Utah. Combine this with interest rates at 5% or so – and you have a great environment to invest and ride the market until it comes back in a few years. St. George real estate has always gone in about 8 year cycles and then it cools down for a bit. Our market peaked in about the summer of 2006.
If you’d like to discuss the option in the real estate market here in St. George – give me a call at 435-632-5491. It’s also a great time to buy a cheap condo or townhome to rent out.
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December 3, 2008 at 3:39 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged mortgage loans, mortgage rates, utah, utah finance, utah mortgage
Fluctuation in interest rates is interesting to watch. On November 28, we were quoted 5.25% for a 30 year fixed mortgage. How good does it get? Then on Monday the rates remained at that level. Yesterday they were up 1/8 of a percent. Still great.
Now is a great time to purchase real estate in Washington County. Prices are down, sellers are motivated, and interest rates just don’t get better. If one waits for consumer confidence to return to the overall economy, one would have waited too long. Once that happens we will see prices rising again. Due to government intervention many foreclosures are being postponed, many loans are being renegotiated to enable sellers to keep homes that might otherwise have come onto the market.
If you are contemplating making the purchase of a St. George, Utah home at this time, please call your favorite lender and request a “Good Faith Estimate” to see just how much it would cost to get into that home. Should you not have a favorite lender, contact me for names of reputable lenders.
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September 26, 2008 at 6:03 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged bank repo, property, saint george utah, short sale, utah, utah foreclosure, utah short sale
If you are wondering what it takes to successfully obtain a home through a short sale, here are some tips. We’ve had quite a bit of short sales and foreclosures in the St. George, Utah real estate market – hope this helps!
1. Decide with your Realtor’s help what price to offer. Take into consideration the original amount of the loan, how old that loan is, what part of that unpaid balance may be covered by mortgage insurance. Have your Realtor obtain recent sold comparables in the area. Also, ask your Realtor to obtain the listing history of the subject property. After looking at all the details decide what price the bank may accept. According to the National Association of Realtors, 80% of the offers made on short sale properties are not accepted. This may be due to buyers and their agents not doing enough research to come up with a price close to what the lien holder will accept.
2. Include in your Real Estate Purchase Contract an “AS IS” Addendum. The thinking here is that the lien holder is not going to allow any funds to be paid out to accomplish any repairs on the property (the lien holder wants as much of the proceeds as he can possibly get). So you must be willing to accept the property in its current condition.
3. Do your “Due Diligence” on the subject property prior to making an offer. This means getting any inspections done prior to, rather than, after the lien holder approves the sale.
4. Be willing to obtain a Home Warranty on the property at your expense; it is unlikely that the lien holder will be willing to allow the seller to pay this expense, and it is well worth the cost.
5. Give your Realtor a letter from your lender if you are going to finance part of the purchase price of the property. This letter should state more than the fact that you are credit approved. The lien holder is going to want to make sure that you have already supplied your lender with all of the documentation necessary to make the loan; it should also state any unmet conditions for making you the loan, such as an appraisal of the property and a commitment for title insurance. This letter should be submitted with the contract.
6. Follow any other advice that your real estate agent offers. There are wonderful opportunities out there and a good Realtor can make all the difference in helping you through this type of transaction. Good Luck.
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September 4, 2008 at 4:57 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged marathon, st. george, st. george marathon, utah
The St. George Marathon is scheduled for October 4, 2008. We’re now 1 month out!
It’s an exciting time of year for St. George, Utah. Lots of attention and visitors from all over the country and outside the U.S. Our city loves the visitors and it’s great for business. St. George City always organizes a world-class event that features great activities and many local businesses get involved.
The race will begin at 6:45AM MST. For more information you can visit www.stgeorgemarathon.com
The southern Utah real estate business usually gets a little boost at this time of year because so many people fall in the love with the area. We see a lot of people looking for investment property until they decide to convert it to personal use upon retirement. There are also a lot of buyers who will be looking for second homes. This is a great time to buy with so many short sales and foreclosures in the St. George, Utah area.
If you haven’t already made reservations – normally it would be too late, but I’ve heard that there are some rooms at a few hotels in town. We have your normal chains like Marriott, Hilton, and more. Check their websites for more details.
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August 15, 2008 at 11:37 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged elected officials, government, politics, southern utah, st. george, state, state government, utah, utah government
Study completed by a think tank in DC on the management of state governments.
Utah, Washington, and Virginia all ranked A-
Utah had only 3 areas where they were considered mid-level while the rest were all high marks.
Washington had 7 mid-marks.
Virginia had 8 mid-marks.
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/Grading-the-States-2008.pdf
So that makes our government #1 in the terms of efficiency, organization, budgeting, etc. They focused on 4 general areas of the government – money, information, people, and infrastructure. 2 of our bad marks came because of hiring/workforce issues because our economy grew so fast…
The key thing they mentioned is the high level of transparency that helps with checks and balances to insure against abuses of power. Such as the example where they noticed Dept of Corrections management payrolls so they could take corrective action quickly.
Normally, I notice reports by this. It was completed in March 2008, but I didn’t see any attention given to it by mass media outlets. A lot of good things about Utah get overlooked because it’s not sexy news and well…I guess people just don’t want to hear it. They would like to have ideas that we’re all crazy out here in the west! 
Our state officials have done a wonderful job!
If you’d like to learn more about moving to St. George, Utah – please contact me. It’s a great area to invest, live, work, and play!
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July 17, 2008 at 5:24 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged bank, fannie mae, freddie mac, home loan, lender, loan, mortgage, real estate, utah
Been wondering who they are and what they do? We are hearing reference to them today so much in our news. They are two organizations of great importance in that they are a source of funds for primary lenders. When a primary lender makes a loan to the client, often the loan is sold to one of these organizations, which action replaces the primary lender’s capital. This replacement of capital enables the primary lender to continue to make loans. This is what is referred to as the “secondary” market.
Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) used to provide funds to the savings and loan industry. Later, after the savings and loan industry was no more, Freddie Mac expanded and became and source of funds for conventional home loans.
Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) is now the largest purchaser of conventional home loans (not included are FHA and VA loans).
Both organizations sell stock, notes and bonds to the public to raise money. The money they raise is used to purchase home loans on the secondary market as described above.
Both organizations are privately owned, but both are regulated by the government.
This is a most simplified, but accurate, description of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. For information on St. George Utah Real Estate – please contact us.
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June 26, 2008 at 3:35 am
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged business, business expo, commercial real estate, expo, real estate, st. george, st. george utah, utah
The 15th Annual St. George Area Business Expo kicked off today.
It is located in The Dixie Center at 1835 S. Convention Center Drive. The Expo features business exhibits – approx. 150 businesses will be represented.
Last year the Expo had between 8000 and 9000 visitors. Refreshments will be served and it’s a great opportunity for local businesses owners to network. It’s also great for residents to find out which businesses are located in the area.
The theme is “Big League Business” – inline with the growth projections for the next decade in southern Utah.
More and more businesses are finding that St. George is an excellent place to relocate and expand their current operations. With lower cost of living, housing prices, and competitive wages than southern and northern California – it makes for a great alternative. These factors and those like the future airport and strong infrastructure are attracting businesses from all over the country.
If you are considering relocating your business we’d love to help you. We have agents that specialize in southern Utah commercial real estate purchases and leases. So visit our site!
See you at the Expo!
Anita
Your Realtor
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June 18, 2008 at 2:40 am
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged broker, real estate, realtor, saint george, st. george, st. george utah, utah
Welcome to our new St. George, Utah real estate blog!
We’ll be posting market updates and informative articles very soon so please check back often.
We are a real estate brokerage located in southern Utah that specializes in residential, commercial, and new construction.
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