Photo Courtesy of Daybreak Homes

There has been a pretty radical shift in how we are thinking about our homes and our communities in recent years and nowhere is that more evident than when looking at new homes in Utah. Planned communities are popping up all over the country but make no mistake, these aren’t the tired, generic retirement “walled cities” of past years. They are vibrant and affordable alternatives to your standard urban neighborhood and offer a lot of extras that a new home buyer might not expect.

Most of these modern planned neighborhoods in today’s construction world are geared towards creating sustainable communities by way of offering shops and services as well as residential homes in a predetermined area. The communities are safe, well maintained, and offer a sense of togetherness between residents that is more difficult within your regular suburban sprawl.

Not only are the homes designed to be individually unique rather than cookie cutter copies of one another, they are also designed with the environment in mind. Many new homes in Utah within these areas are EPA energy star rated which means they will use thousands of gallons less of water per month than the average home as well as up to 30% less energy. With our stronger focus on the impact we have on the planet, new home buyers are demanding responsible builds like these sustainable communities.

You get all of the safety and security, all of the individuality of a distinct and separate home as well as the community feel and the knowledge that your home understands what it means to be environmentally responsible. These new communities peppering our landscape truly do offer buyers a win/win situation. If you are considering a home purchase in the future, take a look at what a sustainable neighborhood can offer you and your family. You might be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

For more information on sustainable homes check out Daybreak Sustainable Living

Article, special to Salt Lake City Cribs from Daybreak

You probably already know which banks have the most streamlined short sales. See if your experience matches up with the list recently published by Deutsche Bank, which ranked major mortgage servicers based on their timelines for completing short sales. Here are the results based on loan type:

Prime

• Quickest: GMAC, about 6 months per transaction
• 2nd fastest: CitiMortgage, about 7.5 months per transaction
• 3rd place: Wells Fargo, roughly 8 months per transaction
• Slowest: Countrywide (Bank of America), more than 13 months per transaction

Subprime

• Quickest: Wells Fargo, more than 15 months
• 2nd fastest: HomEq Servicing, 16 months
• 3rd place: Morgan Stanley’s servicing arm Saxon Mortgage Services, a little more than 17 months
• Slowest: Equicredit and Ocwen, more than 29 months

Option-ARM

• Quickest: JPMorgan Chase’s EMC Mortgage, just over 8 months
• 2nd fastest: Aurora Loan Servicers, 10 months
• 3rd place: GMAC, more than 10 months
• Slowest: Countrywide, almost 14 months

Alt-A

• Quickest: First Horizon, just over nine months
• 2nd fastest: Wells Fargo and Aurora, roughly 11 months
• Slowest: Countrywide, more than 13 months

From Utah Association of Realtors

Sales for Salt Lake County (homes/condos) in the 2^nd Quarter of 2010 experienced a 7% increase from the same period last year. Prices, however, declined, 7.6% from the 2^nd Quarter of 2009. The last half of 2009 reported the largest percentage decline in prices since the housing downturn began in 2007. The good news is that price declines seem to be leveling off. The increase in sales can be attributed to the $8,000 tax credit, stimulating the number of sales. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues next quarter. I will report these numbers as soon as they are out in October.

Did you or someone you know miss getting in on the tax credit? Want a better reason to purchase now than when we had the $8,000 tax credit? Interest Rates! With interest rates at historic lows, the value of your buying power is 3 times the value of the $8,000 credit. Rates are almost 1% lower than when the tax credit was offered. If you borrow $200,000 now at 4.75%, you have $21,222 more buying power than at 5.75%! If you missed the tax credit, don?t miss the low interest rates, call me today to get started looking for your new home.

Looks like home prices in the 1st quarter of 2010 increased slightly from the 4th quarter of 2009. The number of sold units was down from the 4th quarter 2009, but slightly higher than the 1st quarter of 2009. The number of listings also increased from the 4th quarter of 2009, which saw the lowest level in at least 6 years. Interest rates are still low, and the tax credit will probably keep home sale steady through the 2nd quarter of this year.

Home owners who fall behind on their mortgages will most likely be approached by people offering to help them save there homes from foreclosure by a loan modification program. In the past, these people didn’t have to be licensed by the state of Utah, they could just get a Notice of Default list from the recorders office and start contacting homeowners. a lot of home owners would get swindled out of their money and some got swindled out of their homes!

This year the Utah State Legislature requires anyone offering to help with a Loan Modification or Foreclosure Rescue Service be a Mortgage Licensee or hold a Utah Real Estate license. You can find the names of licensed Mortgage and Real Estate people at the Department of Commerce website.

The following are NOT allowed:

• Request or require a person to pay a fee before executing a written agreement defining the services you will provide.
• Require a person to forfeit the fee if the lender forecloses on the property within one year from the date on which you and your client execute the written agreement for services.
• Suggest to a person that you have a spe­cial relationship with his or her lender or loan servicer.
• Falsely represent or advertise that you are acting on behalf of a government agency, a lender or loan servicer, or a nonprofit or charitable institution.
• Recommend or participate in a foreclosure rescue that requires a person to transfer title to you or to a third party with whom you have a business relationship or finan­cial interest.
• Advise a person to make a mortgage pay­ment to anyone other than his or her loan servicer.
• Tell a person to refrain from contacting his or her lender, loan servicer, attorney, credit counselor, or housing counselor.
• Effective May 11, 2010, engage in fore­closure rescue or loan modification without offering in writing to the client a right to cancel the agreement within three business days after the day on which he or she enters the agreement.

Source: Utah Division of Real Estate First Quarter, 2010

A great video from Mortgage Success Source about how mortgage interest rates change. This complex issue is broken down to understandable bite size pieces.

The contest between Utah skiing and Lake Tahoe for the Roaming Gnome is over, and the WINNER is Utah!! According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah won by a slim margin, but it is still a win. The Travelocity Gnome will be coming to Utah for his next ski vacation. Sources have it the the Gnome will be arriving sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Let’s role out the red carpet Utah, welcome the Travelocity Roaming Gnome!! You will love what we have to offer!