Sunday, November 13, 2011

You just never know what's next! Pretty lucky guy. My nephew had an almost identical accident when he was eighteen years old driving home from a concert one night. In his case the pole went through his chest miraculously missing his heart by a whisker and going through one lung! Ex-Marine who survived impalement: ‘Just a lucky guy’ - Good News - TODAY.com

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

iGoogle

Rick Carter
67 South Main, Suite 110
Layton, Utah - 84041
Phone: 801-644-2323
Fax: 801-444-9134
E-mail: rcarter@graystonemortgage.com
Website: www.graystonemortgage.com

Clearing your Mind

Have you ever experienced this scenario: You lie down and try to fall asleep, but you start thinking about what you need to get done the next day. You may focus on what time the kids need to get picked up from school or a proposal that needs to be completed for work. Maybe you think about a bill that needs to be paid, but you do not have the funds to pay it. All of these thoughts create stress, causing you to toss and turn for hours before you finally fall asleep.

Sometimes we have so many different things going on in our lives that our minds get overloaded and do not function correctly. This can be especially true during stressful situations, when the mind needs to be cleared so the brain can be refreshed.

This is often easier said than done, especially when we are tense and worried about getting a task completed. Here are a few ways that we can clear our minds:

Center yourself – Think of a place/time that brings you to a complete state of peace. Maybe this was a vacation that you went on or a very special holiday that you spent with your family. This will help to remove the worry and stress from the task you need to complete.

Exercise – Often times the best way to clear your mind is to run/work out. This will help to take all of the energy that is being focused on the task, remove the stress and worry, and rejuvenate the body and mind.

Take a five minute break – Sometimes if you have several things that are stressing you out, it is best to remove yourself from the situation. By taking a five minute break, you can re-focus yourself on the task at hand and what needs to be done to complete it.

Meditate – One way to clear your mind is to put on soft music and meditate. During this time, do not focus on any of your worries. You will be very surprised by the calming effect that you will experience.

Although life can be often be very hectic, you need to take time to clear the mind and relax. It is very important for not only your sanity, but also your overall happiness.

Call me today and we can discuss how clearing your mind will help to focus your thoughts and make you a happier person!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Home prices falling in most major US cities - ksl.com

Monday, April 25, 2011

New-home sales rose in March after weak winter | The Salt Lake Tribune

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Exactly What Should I Understand With Regard To Procuring A House In The Current Depressed Housing I

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Mortgage crisis brings advocates, victims to Capitol Hill - ksl.com

Friday, April 15, 2011

Utah 4th in foreclosure rate in 1st quarter

2011-04-15 05:56:42
Utah 4th in foreclosure rate in 1st quarter

One in every 98 Utah households had a foreclosure filing during the first three months of 2011.

	Top 10 states with highest foreclosure rates Nevada California Arizona Utah Idaho Georgia Michigan Florida Colorado Illinois
By Jasen Lee April 14th, 2011 @ 10:20pm From KSL.com	'The probability that foreclosure activity will begin to increase again as lenders and servicers gradually work their way through the backlog of thousands of foreclosures that have been delayed due to improperly processed paperwork.' -James Saccacio, RealtyTrac CEO

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah continues to rank among the highest in the nation for its rate of home defaults and foreclosures.

A report released Thursday by RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, Calif., indicated that one in every 98 Utah households had a foreclosure filing during the first three months of this year.

The U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for the first quarter of 2011 showed foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — declined 15 percent from the previous quarter and dropped 27 percent from the same period last year.

However, some states — including Utah — are still being impacted by the housing crisis.

'It's a serious problem … for the real estate market,' said Jim Wood, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Utah. 'It's continuing to put pressure on prices.'

Utah trailed only Nevada, California and Arizona in the rate of filings per household. But, the percentage of filings is declining for the most part.
Nevada had the highest rate at one in 35 households registering a filing. Nevada filings were down 10.38 percent from the previous quarter, and down 7.21 percent from the same time last year.
Arizona reported one in 60 households with a filing, up just more than 15 percent from the previous quarter, but down more than 17 percent from the first quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, California is still feeling the pain of foreclosure with one in 80 households reporting a filing, a decrease of 3.57 percent from the previous quarter and a 22 percent decline from 12 months ago.
Idaho rounded out the fives states with the highest foreclosure rates with one in 106 households reporting a filing, up 8.38 percent from the previous quarter, but down 3.53 percent from last year's first quarter. Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in the first quarter were Georgia, Michigan, Florida, Colorado and Illinois.
Nationally, more than 197,000 properties received default notices for the first time in the first quarter, a 17 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 35 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010. For March, a total of 73,393 properties received default notices, up 16 percent from February, but still down 37 percent from March 2010.
The number of foreclosures on U.S. properties during the first quarter fell 6 percent from the previous quarter and declined 17 percent from the first quarter of last year.
James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said foreclosure activity has fallen to a three-year low, but the housing market continues to languish.
“Weak demand, declining home prices and the lack of credit availability are weighing heavily on the market, which is still facing the dual threat of a looming shadow inventory of distressed properties,' he said, 'and the probability that foreclosure activity will begin to increase again as lenders and servicers gradually work their way through the backlog of thousands of foreclosures that have been delayed due to improperly processed paperwork.”

While Wood does not agree entirely with the report's methodology, he said the fact remains that the housing sector is still struggling, and it may be a while before the market fully recovers.

'It's an absolute mess,' Wood said. 'It's near intractable. (The recovery is) so slow, it's like death by a thousand cuts.'

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Home upgrades that don't add value - ksl.com

Friday, April 1, 2011

IMPORTANT INFO! FHA RATES TO GO UP 4/18/2011

The FHA is raising one of it's fee rates and could affect the price of a home and more importantly will raise themonthly payment enough to put some homes ot of reach for some buyers. If you are close to finalizing your home contract or feel you could be in the next few weeks it is probably a good thing to consider tied up and not be tagged this extra monthly fee if at all possible...Good luck and let us know if we can help.

Below is an email our lender just sent me on some changes on financing a home. Karl,

I wanted to let you know that as of April 18th 2011, FHA will be raising its monthly mortgage insurance by .25%, from .90% to 1.15%. This will add an additional $40 per month to the payment on a $200,000 mortgage. If you have any buyers that are currently thinking that they would like to apply for an FHA mortgage, I would encourage them to act now not later. They do not need to close before April 18th but we need to identify a property and pull an FHA case number.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me 801-644-2323.

Sincerely,

Rick Carter

Graystone Mortgage

You can also get questions answered by submitting them here.

IMPORTANT INFO! FHA RATES TO GO UP 4/18/2011

Have You Seen This? Twin babies having a conversation - ksl.com

Friday, March 4, 2011

Weird but Wonderful Homes - CNBC

Friday, February 25, 2011

Homeowners Willing to Tackle Remodeling Projects

Homeowners Willing to Tackle Remodeling Projects

By Kathleen Lynn Print Article

RISMEDIA, February 25, 2011—(MCT)—Homeowners who put off renovations during the recession are thinking about spending money on their properties again.

Take Barbara Moreno and Robert Ptaszynski of Washington Township, N.J., who delayed plans to add a second story to their ranch house when the recession hit their industries—automobiles and title insurance—hard.

Now they’re ready to move forward, because they feel more confident about the economy. “Things seem to be—knock on wood—settling down a little bit,” Ptaszynski said this week at the Home Show in Secaucus, N.J.

Contractors said that customers seem willing to spend again—but cautiously.

“People have been procrastinating for almost three years now,” said Joe Tighe of Complete Roof Systems in Dumont, N.J. During the recent economic hard times, homeowners were more likely to ask about patching and repairing, rather than replacing, their roofs. But now, they seem more willing to tackle the big jobs, he said. “The general mood I get from people is that they’re ready to spend money again,” Tighe said.

After homeowners slashed their spending during the recession, housing analysts say the remodeling industry is poised for a bit of a revival. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard, spending on remodeling is expected to rise 4-6% this year, as long as the job market and economy continue to recover.

“We don’t expect spending to rebound to the heights that we saw during the housing boom; that was unsustainable,” said Abbe Will, an analyst at the Harvard center. “But we’re in a better place now than we were a year ago. As long as the economy continues to improve, homeowners will have more confidence and be more willing to use their savings to make improvements that they’ve likely been putting off for a couple of years.”

Tax credits for energy-efficient improvements will also help buoy the market, said Will. And buyers who move into foreclosed properties over the next several years will probably have to spend significant amounts on home improvements, because those properties are typically neglected.

Ray Engel of Sierra Landscape Design and Garden Center in Wanaque said he was approached at the home show by several people who said they had bought foreclosed homes and need to update the landscaping.

But it’s clear that homeowners continue to watch their budgets. “Everybody’s looking for a better deal,” said Gary Townsend of The Kitchen Guy in Little Falls.

Homeowners interviewed at the at the home show, which ran for three days at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, want to make sure their homes work right, not spend tens of thousands on luxury upgrades. Janice Campbell of Cliffside Park, for example, wants to renovate her bathroom because the tub is leaking.

“It needs to be done, but it doesn’t mean I go overboard,” said Campbell, who is retired. “It has to fit within the budget.”

Similarly, Sharon and David Berger of Teaneck are considering a renovation of their main bathroom, which is original to their 1950s split level, because the shower isn’t working properly. “What I’m doing now is getting an idea of what things cost,” said Sharon, who runs a promotional advertising business. “I’m not jumping to spend. I’m not convinced that the economy is where it needs to be for me to consider spending money like this.”

Several of the contractors at the show said they are benefiting from homeowners’ thrift. Lucia Portali Waters of Fabu Designs by Lucia in Hasbrouck Heights said that when times were good, affluent homeowners hired her to paint murals and apply decorative wall and ceiling finishes.

Recently, however, she’s been painting and refinishing furniture and kitchen cabinets for customers who want to be practical and save money. “They don’t want to rip out their cabinets,” she said. “They’re not replacing; they’re refinishing.”

James Saluzzi of Emerson Construction Corp. in Emerson said he’s seen the same thing. He worked recently on updating a kitchen in Old Tappan, where the homeowner had the walls painted, the cabinets refinished and a new backsplash installed. “Five years ago, he would have ripped the whole thing out,” Saluzzi said.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

398,000 square feet of living space! (Not a typo- 398,000 square feet

Photo courtesy of Jay Hariani

Posted Tue Nov 2, 2010 8:58am PDT

By Matt Hickman, Mother Nature Network

Lovers/supporters/practitioners of sustainable architecture and design have been collectively groaning and rolling their eyes over recent news that the world’s first billion dollar single-family home — it was initially dubbed “The Greenest of All Buildings” according to an appalled writer over at Inhabitat — has been completed on tony Altamount Road in Mumbai, India.
Built for Asia’s wealthiest man, 53-year-old businessman Mukesh Ambani (the world’s fourth richest individual, according to Forbes), his wife, and the couple’s three children, the home — if you can even call it that — has 398,000 square feet of living space spread across 27 stories. (The 568-foot tall glass-and-steel tower can accommodate 60 stories, but the ceilings on each floor are rather, umm, high). All and all, this non-humble abode named Antilia boasts more square footage than Versailles

Even though Inhabitat claims that Antilia “truly exemplifies the disease of excessive consumption, extreme wastefulness, and unsustainable living that is permeating today’s society,” of course we want to know what’s inside such a perversely large home. Well, here we go: at least one swimming pool (natch), a fitness center, a 50-seat movie theatre, nine elevators, a ballroom, and enough guest rooms to gag a horse (and provide accommodations for a small convention, I'm guessing). There are also three helipads and a garage large enough to fit 150 cars. To keep things running smoothly at chez Ambani, there’s a staff of 600. Good grief.

On the green front, The Guardian reports that Antilia was built with local materials and features a four-story, sunlight-absorbing hanging garden that was inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. This living wall helps to keep the interior of Antilia warm in the winter and cool during the summer months. Interesting enough, Antilla was designed by high-profile, sustainability minded American architecture firm Perkins + Will(the firm behind Victoria B.C.'s Dockside Green) while Atlanta-based Hirsch Bender Associates oversaw the home’s interior design scheme.

While it's easy to conclude that any sustainability that played a part of Antilia’s design is negated by the home’s egregious size, at least something went into it. I’ll give it that much. But not much more.

An associate of Ambani defends him and downplays the home’s lavish size, telling The Guardian:

He can't just walk into a cinema and watch a film like you or me. So he has built a house to his requirements like anyone else would. It's a question of convenience and requirements. It's only a family home, just a big one. It's just another home that someone is living in. It's no big event."

What do you think of Antilia? Does the fact that sustainability played a part, no matter how small, in the world's most expensive private home validate it in any way? Or is Antilia simply a flat-out monstrosity?

Via The Guardian, Inhabitat

This story originally appeared on the Mother Nature Network.

Friday, February 18, 2011

First-Time Buyers Demand Move-In Ready Starter Homes

Print Article

RISMEDIA, February 14, 2011—The term “starter home” seemingly refers to an entry-level property—one that is affordable yet needs tender love and care. But amidst the many homes available in today’s market, current first-time buyers want places with a little less room for improvement. In a survey of 300 consumers who purchased their first home in the last year, 87% said finding a move-in ready home is important to them.

This survey from Coldwell Banker Real Estate explored what was most important to new buyers to provide insight for those looking to buy or sell in 2011.

According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), first-time home buyers accounted for half of the market in 2010.

What Surprised First-Time Home Buyers
Several consumers experienced unexpected benefits after buying their first home:
-67% said the market afforded them the opportunity to buy a home sooner than expected
-Half said they found a home in a more desirable neighborhood than expected
-61% were able to get the home at a better price than expected
-40% got more space than expected
-43% locked in a lower interest rate than expected

“There’s a real ‘a-ha’ moment for sellers revealed by this survey that the condition and quality of their home matters a great deal to first-time home buyers,” said Diann Patton, consumer real estate specialist, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “On top of that, our agents have reported that on average, first-time home buyers now look at more than 11 homes before making a decision, which is higher than in the past. They can be choosy about what appeals to them and are recognizing the benefits of the low prices and wide selection of homes in many areas.”

What They Want
In addition to move-in conditions, first-time buyer results revealed the old adage “location, location, location” still holds true:
-78% of respondents said the home had to be in an area convenient to shops and services
-Three-quarters of buyers said it was important to be close to their place of work
-Nearly two-thirds said it was important to be near “highly-rated” schools

For more information, visit www.EveryHomeInUtah.com

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Real Estate Tycoon - Just for fun game!

How A Short Sale Purchase Can Get You Your Ideal Home For Less


By: Karl Hartley	Email Article
Word Count: 590	Digg it \| Del.icio.us it \| Google it \| StumbleUpon it

The term "short sale" has been used quite often in the past two or three years since the slump in the housing market, but for someone who is on the market for a home the very first time, the term can be quite unfamiliar.

A shortsale is a type of real estate transaction that permits a purchaser to buy a home at a much lesser price than its actual value. From the homeowner's perspective, a short sale is the most sensible way to get out of dismal mortgage debt or imminent home foreclosure. In simple terms, a short sale is a special real estate transaction where a property is sold for a price lower than what an owner owes on the home.

Consider the example of a borrower who got an 80% loan to purchase a $300,000 home back in 2007. So he owes about $240,000 on that home. But because to the housing slump, home values have significantly crashed over the last three years. Some homes even lost as much as 30 to 45 percent of their original worth, hence that $300,000 home purchased in 2007 is in all probability just worth a little over $200,000 at present.

The lenders know they can't take back the entire $240,000 owed on the home, so they will try to arrive at the best deal to recover as much as they can. They don't want to be left with a property that isn't delivering any income.

Very new home buyers are advised to work with a real estate agent or short sale specialist so they can come across superb deals on homes and leave much to savings. You can actually buy this $300,000 home for two-thirds of it's original price. Naturally, if you let your thoughts limit you, you would reckon that it's just a $10,000 difference from it's present market value. But think beyond, say 5 to 10 years from now and imagine how much this home will be worth. Home values are no longer slipping - on the contrary, they are starting to pull through. A short sale could actually be one of the most lucrative purchases you'll make in a lifetime!

It's a bit more complex to get into a short sale transaction, but just like all other mortgage arrangements, you will benefit from getting pre-qualified and approved for a home purchase. If you are ready with the money for the purchase, you may buy the home outright, but most experts will tell you to reap the benefits of the current buyer's market to build your credit rating. That means there are more individuals putting up homes for sale rather than buying homes. So if you're a home buyer, the present market situation is to your advantage. Interest rates on home loans are a lot lower, and no adjustable rate mortgage brokers are around to entice you into sub-prime lending arrangements.

You will also have to obtain approval from the seller's creditor and from your own. The negotiation process can get a bit troublesome for the first-time buyer, so it is best that you work with a short sale specialist since they have vast experience in these types of transactions and can get you the best deals you won't be able to arrive at if you relied on your own efforts.

For more tips on getting the best value for your first home purchase and to learn more about the short sale process, check out Short Sale Basics. We can also help you find great deals at our Best Home Deals Site

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Some Military members may qualify for the $8000 tax credit til April 30, 2011

I saw this article and thought some of our local military members might like to be aware of this extended period to purchase a new home and still qualify for the $8000.00 tax credit that ended last year for most home buyers. Let your military friends know! Article below from NAEBA the National Association of Exclusive Buyers Agents...

Special Provisions Allow Military Home Buyers to Capture Tax Credits
Posted on June 3, 2010
Extension of Homebuyer Tax Credit and Exemption from Tax Credit Recapture Rules Ease the Home Buying Purchase for Members of the Military
Military families seeking to buy a home can count on a little tax help. The Homebuyers Tax Credit which provides eligible buyers with a tax credit of $8,000 for first time buyers and $6,500 for repeat home buyers ended on April 30, 2010 for civilians. However, active duty military or those on extended overseas duty have until on or before April 30, 2011 to have a binding sales contract in place. The bill also exempts qualified service members on official extended duty from tax credit recapture rules.
“We honor those who serve our country and are glad that this bill acknowledges the unique circumstances they face,” said Benjamin Clark, 2010 President of NAEBA (http://www.naeba.org). “This bill ensures that members of the military have equal opportunity to participate in the homebuyer tax credit and offers relief to struggling military families by making the mortgage payment tax deductible.”
The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 provides a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence and a tax credit of up to $6500 for repeat home buyers who have owned a home for five consecutive years out of the prior eight years. The tax credit is available for eligible purchasers who have a binding sales contract in place by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30, 2010. However, realizing that members of the military, the Foreign Service and Intelligence Community have unique circumstances the bill has special provisions for this group:
Tax credit extended for one year for military personnel serving outside the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning December 31, 2008 and ending May 1, 2010.
Eliminates the 36-month recapture requirement for military personnel, including members of the Foreign Service and intelligence community, forced to sell or move from a tax credit home as aresult of an official extended duty of service.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

WWW. Every Home in Utah .com Q+A 2

Poodwaddle.com

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