It is easy to spot.
The grass is crispy brown. Backyard weeds peek over the top of a 6-foot-tall fence. The trees are dead and swarming with insects. Fading notices are duct taped to the broken garage door and to the front door. Old newspapers and a sack of phonebooks sit on the sagging porch. It is the foreclosure next door — a symbol of pain and sadness and a harbinger of property values dropping.
Gaynell Instefjord is a real estate agent working in foreclosures. Instefjord shows how the kitchen cupboards were stripped from a foreclosed home by the previous owner of a home in Midvale.Gaynell Instefjord has seen it all. For more than a dozen years the associate broker at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Sandy, Utah has worked selling foreclosed houses for several bank clients. In the best of circumstances, she says, it is a long process.
But it isn’t the best of circumstances right now. In Utah, where Instefjord works, foreclosures totaled 6,567 during the third quarter, ranking the state in 6th place for the most filings. Foreclosures fell 39 percent from the previous year. Nationwide, foreclosure filings fell 38 percent to 214,855 in September.
This means that few people don't have a foreclosed or abandoned home in their neighborhood. There are things that neighbors can do, however, to preserve property values and maybe even get the home sold.
The Process
The process to foreclose takes time. The bank has to wait for three consecutive missed payments before it can issue a notice of default. Then another three months go by to give the homeowner a chance to fix the problem. The bank then files a notice of trustee sale. About 30 days later the trustee sale occurs and the foreclosure is complete. In all, it's a seven-month process. "That's the quickest it can happen," Instefjord says. "The process is dictated by the trust deed and note the borrower signed when purchasing the property."
But it doesn't have to go that fast.
Some banks, particularly with the high number of defaults these days, may wait for more than 12 months of missed payments before starting the process.
This means the bank is not the owner of the abandoned home until it is foreclosed. It can't keep weeds down and secure the property against vandalism. It can't board up broken windows and tarp a leaky roof to protect the house against further damage.
"Neighbors get upset that the house sits and looks bad and they wonder why somebody doesn't do anything about it," Instefjord says. "The reality is as long as the consumer owns the property, the bank can't do anything to it at all."
Behind Foreclosed Doors
Kitchen cabinets are torn down. Sinks and bathtubs are taken out. The baseboards are ripped out. Heating elements are removed from water heaters. Bleach is poured on carpets. Some people are not happy about losing their home.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The foreclosure next door: saving your neighborhood | Deseret News
Saturday, October 29, 2011
How to Choose a Home to Buy
1. Types of homes. Choose the type of home that is the most appealing yet practical for you. In addition to single family homes, there are multifamily homes, condominiums and co-ops. Multi-family homes are often good for first time home buying because they can have rental income to help with their mortgage.
2. Budget and investment considerations. Find a balance between your needs, wants and budget. Decide whether you should buy a newly constructed home, a bit older home or a “fixer-upper”. If you may sell your home in the future, the following are best for re-sell value:
Homes with “curb appeal” always sell best
Homes that are NOT unusual or unique and not the most expensive on the block
3. While house-hunting you will probably look at many homes for sale, so keep careful and complete notes and compare.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Mortgage Payment about the same as 30 Years ago!?!?
The Year 1981
- Betty Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
- Endless Love - Diana Ross / Lionel Richie
- Lady - Kenny Rogers
- (Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
- Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
- One That You Love - Air Supply
- Tide Is High - Blondie
- 9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
- Queen of Hearts - Juice Newton
- Kiss on My List - Hall & Oates
- Being With You - Smokey Robinson
- Celebration - Kool & the Gang
- Tainted Love - Soft Cell
| The Fall Guy Starring: Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, & Heather Thomas | ||
 | The Greatest American Hero Starring: William Katt & Robert Culp | |
| Hill Street Blues Story of an overworked, under-staffed police precinct in an anonymous inner city patterned after Chicago. We follow the lives of many characters, from the lowly beat and traffic cops to the captain of the precinct himself. | ||
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| Falcon Crest
General Hospital | |
| TODAY 2011 | ||
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Now lets talk about real life the life that has affected all of us for the past 30 years....
What about your home could you afford a home or did you have a home on October 1981
Today the same mortgage rate on average is about 4% for the same loan.
Right now an average homebuyer purchasing a home in todays market with the 4% interest rate, would have a monthly mortgage payment of $698.00. According to Lawrence Yun Chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, in October of 1981 the monthly payment would be close to that at $598.00 THAT IS A DIFFERENCE OF $100.00 FOR THE SAME HOME
Do you see a trend here???
With todays interest rates homes are still very affordable and interest rate can take credit for that. If you look at your monthly mortgage bill, interest is a large part of your payment, higher interest rate higher payment...lower interest rate lower payments
Interest rate will not and can not stay this low forever now is a great time to look for that new home. Give me a call today lets talk
801-940-9560
**What Does House Price Index - HPI Mean? | ||
Thursday, October 13, 2011
CNN Money ranks Logan No. 22 in nation for jobs - USU Statesman - Utah State University
Cache County was recently listed as the 22nd best place in the U.S. to find a job, according to a a piece published in CNN Money.
In truth, however, the local job market is only slightly less dismal than the rest of the country, said economics Professor Randy T. Simmons.
"CNN is just looking at U.S. Census numbers," Simmons said. "Yes, there are more jobs here in 2010 than there were in 2000, but there are also more people."
According to Utah's Department of Workforce Services, jobs may have increased in Utah, but unemployment has as well. The state average was around three percent in 2000 but is closer to eight percent today. Cache County hovers just below the state average at about five percent.
The CNN article lists the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative as one of the key components in local job growth. According to Simmons, however, USTAR is not one of the major employers in Cache Valley. CNN also listed employers not in the county as critical to job growth here.
"CNN got some of their information confused," said Jacoba M. Poppleton, USTAR public relations specialist. "The Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center is actually in Vernal, not in Logan."
CNN also listed Utah County as the eighth best area for "where the jobs are," yet Utah County's unemployment rate is currently at 7.5 percent — higher than Cache County, according to the UDWS.
"CNN's analysis is very superficial," Simmons said.
The Unpromising Job Market
The job market in Logan is in a sad state of affairs, but it's better off than the rest of the nation, said James Feigenbaum, assistant professor of economics.
"Cache Valley — and Utah — seem to be in a better spot than, say, California or New York," he said. "In a lot of states there have been promises to public employees to grant huge pensions, and Utah does not have such an overpaid public sector. Looking forward, I'd say Utah is slightly better off."
The local capitalist spirit and the young, optimistic students who are eager to work seem to offset the recession slightly, Feigenbaum said.
The more free market approach to business regulation also helps keep the local economy above the water line, Simmons said.
"The cost of government here is low compared to other places. The local government tends to stay out of business, rather than picking winners and losers as they do elsewhere," Simmons said. "Utah's ranked No. 1 or No. 2 economically, and I think it's because we have limited but effective government involvement."
Despite Cache Valley being better off than other places, we are far from trouble free, Simmons said.
"Officially the recession bottomed in 2009, but we haven't had much recovery since then — it's far from over," he said. "I am the former mayor of Providence, and I can tell you that for realtors, builders and everyone else it's been a tough three years. The only homes that are selling are in the low-end market."
Statewide, Utah had one foreclosure for every 450 properties, said economics and finance Professor Benjamin Blau. Cache County only had one foreclosure for every 1,056 properties.
"We face greater uncertainty now than we have since the Great Depression," Feigenbaum said, "It's not just part of the business cycle. It's a demographic shift. There are more old people, and there is going to be a painful transition in the near future."
There have been many layoffs in Cache County since 2008, according to Simmons, who said ATK, Malt-O-Meal and Autoliv all recently made cuts. However, he said, the area did not crash quite as hard as other areas because of less government intervention and business diversity.
"We have a broad academic and industrial base," Feigenbaum said. "The university employs a lot of people, but we also have a more varied set of businesses and industries than most college towns this size."
Seeking Help
Director of the Cache Community Food Pantry Matt Whitaker said more people in Cache Country are requesting aid than ever before.
"I chuckle when I hear politicians say the recession is over," Whittaker said. "The number of people coming (to the food pantry) has been trickling higher and higher."
Wayne Jolley, a Logan resident, is one of those who depends on the food pantry for survival.
"Without their help I wouldn't have any way to get dinner for my family," he said. He said he is a father of five.
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Friday, October 7, 2011
Riverdale council and candidates grapple over ambulance benefits
Why or Why does the little city of RIverdale have all the problems? What are your thoughts?
RIVERDALE -- City council members in 2010 approved a policy that gives them and their families a deep discount on ambulance services provided by the fire department.
At an Aug. 25 meet-the-candidates night, council candidates were asked about their take on city officials and employees getting so-called free ambulance services.
Three candidates commented on the issue. One was Councilwoman Shelly Jenkins, who initiated discussion more than a year ago that eventually led to passage of the policy.
The city's personnel handbook says the city will bill the insurance provider for the ambulance transport of employees, elected officials, appointed officials and their household family members and accept resulting insurance reimbursements as payment in full.
In a June 7, 2010, voicemail to City Administrator Larry Hansen, Jenkins said she was "caught up in the middle of an insurance boondoggle with the ambulance service through Riverdale."
She said the ambulance transport of a family member "created a significant issue" for her in "the way that the deductibles were applied."
In a transcript of the voicemail, obtained by the Standard-Examiner through a GRAMA request, Jenkins said "insurance is not going to pay any (of the ambulance bill) and we're on the hook for the full amount."
She inquired whether the city could offer a discount.
Fire Chief Doug Illum said he prepared the ambulance service policy after researching a similar policy in Roy. Roy Fire Chief Jon Ritchie wasn't available for comment Thursday.
On Aug. 3, 2010, Jenkins abstained from voting on the policy, three council members voted in favor, and Councilman Alan Arnold voted against it.
The three who voted in favor can ask to put the reconsideration on a future agenda.
"I would still vote for the policy, but I would not have allowed it to pass to allow retroactive use of that policy, " Councilman David Gibby said recently.
Although the policy was officially implemented Aug. 3, 2010, a May 16, 2010, ambulance transport of Jenkins' family member was written off using the policy.
Hansen said the policy covered all billings then on the city books. Because the May 16, 2010, transport bill was still unpaid when the policy took effect, it was written off Sept. 1, 2010.
The city had billed the transport to Jenkins' Blue Cross insurance on June 14, 2010. Blue Cross did not cover the bill because it was part of Jenkins' out-of-pocket deductible. After a $15 adjustment based on a contractual agreement with the insurance company, the amount owing was reduced to $1,086.60.
The policy was not used to write off ambulance transport for other employees' family members.
For example, an employee's mother was transported via ambulance both Sept. 17, 2010, and Aug. 2, 2011. Because the patient was not a household member of the employee, payment will be collected without using a policy write-off.
Similarly, a Jan. 30, 2011, transport of an employee's grandson will be collected without a policy write-off.
In each of these three ambulance transports, Medicare/Medicaid was billed.
The city bills differently for employees who need work-related ambulance transports. For both a March 25, 2010, and an Oct. 14, 2010, work-related transport of an employee, the city's human resource director advised the city not to bill insurance, Hansen said.
"If we bill insurance for work-related employee transports, it works against us claim-wise," Hansen said.
No workers' compensation claims were submitted for the two transports, he said.
"It is something I consider an entitlement," Arnold said recently. "It's an entitlement for elected and appointed officials and employees that should not exist. It's an easy no-brainer that it should go away. I want to vote for people that don't vote for entitlements."
Councilman Don Hunt referred to the policy as a "perk" or "discount," but said it would be a misrepresentation to call it free.
Councilman Norm Searle said, "When I look at it in hindsight, elected officials shouldn't be in (the policy). They are voting themselves benefits. If it's a burden on them, they can request the fee be waived. Any resident's fee can be waived."
Both Searle and Hunt said they hope the council will look at the policy in the future.
Ogden and Layton do not have policies allowing ambulance benefits for employees or elected/appointed officials.
Salt Lake City Blogs:News Blog-Utah Banks' and Lenders' HAMP Report Card
This week’s City Weekly cover story looks at how banks and lenders in Utah have used and abused a federal program meant to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Here is a look at how well all banks and lenders did in helping Utahns fend off foreclosure with loan modifications.
The Making Homes Affordable Program, known as HAMP, was rolled out by President Barack Obama in 2009 with plans of helping as many as 4 million homeowners obtain loan modifications to help them keep a roof over their head. But to date, fewer than 800,000 loans have been modified. As this week’s cover story explored, the program was beset with confusing guidelines and lacked penalties for banks and lenders who abused the program.
Below, you can see how well your bank did in Utah for its performance in converting trial applications to the program into permanent modifications. Keep in mind that while not every trial is qualified to become permanent, a major criticism of the program was that the inefficient handling of the trial process has strung homeowners along to the point that their trial was canceled because the home faced imminent foreclosure.
Another critique is that HAMP was pushed and promoted to homeowners who simply did not qualify for it, and that manipulating the modification to try to get a loan modified also expedited the foreclosure process.
UTBanksLenders
Click on the link for a full list of banks and the percent of completion you will be amazed. Is it really that good of a plan what are your thoughts?
Thursday, October 6, 2011
25 days until Halloween in Utah - Boo at the Zoo
This one is for kids 12 and under to get a chance to dress up and meet the animals while trick-or-treating. It a one day only event October 29, 2011 from 9am to 3pm so set your calendars so you dont miss this one.
Boo at the Zoo
Start: Saturday, October 29, 2011
End: Saturday, October 29, 2011
Times: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Come Celebrate Halloween at the Zoo!
Kids 12 and younger can come in costume to trick-or-treat at various candy booths set up throughout zoo grounds. Trick or Treating activity is free with regular Zoo admission or membership. Trick-or-Treat bags will be provided (while supplies last), or bring your own and join us for one of the biggest events at the Zoo!
Zoo Booster and Booster Deluxe Members will receive early admission to Boo at the Zoo from 8 to 9 am!Parking is limited. Please carpool and do not park in designated no parking areas.
2600 East Sunnyside Avenue | Salt Lake City, Utah 84108 | (801) 582-1631
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
26 Days to Halloween in Utah - Castle of Chaos Haunted House on 3300 South in Salt Lake City Utah
The Castle of Chaos has 3 location throughout the Northern Park of Utah 1 in Ogden and 2 in Salt Lake City for $25.00 you can purchase a pass to attend all three. As per Angie the one located on 3300 S in Salt Lake in her words was the "BOMB” she said pay the extra $3.00 at the 3300 S location for the hands on experience. I ask her what is the hand on experience?..... This allows the actors in the haunted place to touch, push and pull you away from the group. Hello I don't even want to go into the place yet alone allow someone to touch me. As for this event you are on your own I am not going with you!!!
Okay this is one for the Teens and Adults and is a review from my daughter Angie.... You would never catch me in these places. But as I said she would be my go to person for the Haunted house in Utah.
Castle of Chaos 3300 South
Our “Final Year of Fear” At This Location
Voted “Utah’s Best Haunted House”
in 2011 by City Weekly MagazineFeaturing
- Hands On Horror – An experience so intense and so terrifying, you must first sign a waiver in order to participate!
- X-Scream – as seen on the Travel Channel which includes our signature Buried Alive Coffin Slide!
WILL YOU SIGN YOUR WAIVER?
Located At the corner of 3300 South and West Temple in South Salt Lake, UT
Thursday, September 29, 2011
HotPads: Smarter Map-Based Search for Homes, Foreclosures, Rentals, and Hotels
Name: HotPads.com
Quick Pitch: HotPads is a map-based housing search engine. Housing shoppers can find long term rentals, homes for sale, vacation homes, and hotels on our map-based search.
Genius Idea: If you’re in the market for a new home, vacation property, or rental, you can turn to Craigslist, iList, or dozens of other online classifieds sites to help you in your search. But, most of these options aren’t tailored to the best search experience for your housing-related needs. HotPads, however, keeps it simple with interactive map-based search results for everything from apartments to hotels and even recently foreclosed homes.
If you can get past the off-putting name, you’ll find that HotPads provides an enjoyable search experience for housing and hotels. You can quickly search the map, find centers of housing activity, view listing details without leaving the map, and narrow search results by type, price range, or points of interest. With more than 300,000 rentals, 3,000,000 homes for sale, and a myriad of vacation and hotel listings, HotPads has got the entire residential and commercial landscape covered.
Some great features of the site’s map-based approach to housing include the ability to zoom into precise locations for a better view of nearby venues and hot pads, demographic heat map overlays for info on population density and median rent prices, street, arial, or hybrid views, and advanced search options to find detailed info on mortgage terms and down payments.
We’re sold on the site and think it could prove to be a time-saving resource for finding and researching your next big move or out of town stay.
Check out before you go out!!