When purchasing northern Utah real estate, explore it thoroughly. Will you be living in a fish bowl? Will you be so secluded that lurking predators will be a constant suspicion? Who will maintain the grounds? Will it be you or will you need to hire. If you hire, will the neighbor boy suffice or will you need the local “Mr. Clipper” franchise to tackle your property. If you decide to employ your own landscaping skills, will the finely groomed yard take on a “wild flower” motif because of its overwhelming size?

Maybe you’d like to alter the elevation of your northern Utah real estate structure (frontal view). You don’t need to strip the facade back to the cornerstone. Real estate can transform with very simple modifications. Fresh paint, a couple of trees, removal of a couple trees, window trim, or a new front door can add spice to an otherwise drab building.

When looking into the back yard (rear view), are you greeted with the sight of a transformer, radio broadcasting tower, gas station, bus stop, or ball field where night games are played?

Do these tips seem obvious? Sure. But it’s so easy to get distracted by that cute little kitchen. The gas station dinger at mid-night or the need to pull out the lawn weapons to tame the back yard jungle will quickly overshadow the thrill of the property ownership honeymoon. Marry your property wisely!

One real estate author has written a more in depth analysis about the pitfalls of the landlord / tenant / foreclosure relationship.  Logan Utah real estate is not exempt from this dilemma and those who are renting apartments in Logan Utah should be familiar with the following information.

“James Wexler wrote a post  - Stop Foreclosure Evictions, the innocent victim of the housing trouble – in which he discusses the fact that innocent renters are being evicted because even though they have paid their rent, their landlord didn’t pay the mortgage payments.  Once the property is foreclosed on, the innocent renter is evicted, and the landlord gets to keep the rents that were paid to him.  James promotes simply stopping all evictions.

If all such foreclosure evictions are prohibited, would a renter simply be able to avoid eviction by claiming not to have known about the foreclosure?  Must there be a full trial in every case to let the renter prove whether he indeed paid his rent to someone who may claim he did not?  If there is no notice requirement, there will be some who take advantage and others who will be advising them on how to take advantage.

It is unfair to the lender to force it to keep the renter in place and become the landlord for some unknown period of time.  It is unfair to the renter not to know for sure how long the moratorium will last or where to make rent payments in the meantime, and unfair to the landlord if he is trying to cure the default while the renter suddenly stops making rent payments to him.  It is a very complicated issue.

When a lender is going to start foreclosure with a Notice of Default, he must give written notice by certified mail to the borrower and any second mortgage holder or lienholder.  If the borrower can’t cure, there are instances (depending on your state law and the timing) where the second holder can and does cure, so he doesn’t lose his security.  When those notices are mailed out, what would you think of another notice going to the renter?

This could either come from the lender or from the borrower, but should be mandated by law, so the renter would at least know there is a risk in continuing to pay rent to a defaulting landlord.  And if the renter could keep making the rent payments after that fact, but make them to the lender directly or into a trust account, the landlord might still have an opportunity to bring the loan current before it went all the way through foreclosure, and the rents would have to be used for that purpose rather than other personal expenses of the landlord.  If foreclosure is completed, those funds could go to the lender to offset the amount owed, or could act as seed money for the renter to relocate or to use for down payment to buy a property.

Perhaps under some circumstances he might even be offered an opportunity to buy the house he has rented at foreclosure instead of suddenly being told after the fact that his landlord no longer owns the property and he must leave his home in a short period of time.  This would give the renter a lot of time to decide what to do (from Notice of Default to foreclosure takes several months) instead of a surprise eviction after the foreclosure has taken place.

The early giving of notice to the renter would give the renter legal right to perhaps give notice that he intends to leave before the natural term of a lease, without penalty.  In other words, if he is under a 1 year lease that still has 6 months to go when he receives the notice, he should be able to give 30 days’ notice of intention to vacate the premises rather than continuing to pay rent that might not be going where it should.  And he wouldn’t have an eviction on his record that he would have to explain in order to be accepted by a new landlord.

Much of my idea is not completely formed, but if states adopted something similar, this might be a solution for everyone that would help the innocent renters while also helping the banks who are troubled sue to the large number of foreclosures.

Imagine the happiness of the renters who could be converted to first time homebuyers or at the very least be assured that they would not be hit with a surprise eviction.

And instead of so many REO Realtors having to be the ones who often have to see to moving unhappy renters out, some of those Realtors could be helping these renters buy their homes.

What do you think?

If you are renting a Logan Ut. apartment or home, and faithfully paying your rent, you’d think your exposure to the foreclosure and short sell troubles would be zero.  Not so.  If your landlord is unable to make the mortgage payments because he has lost his job for example, he may have to sell the property or undergo foreclosure.  In either instance, the new buyer of the property might want to move into it himself and you could be evicted.  Depending on the terms of your rental agreement, it could be with relatively short notice.  Maybe this would be another reason why you would rather be a Cache Valley home owner instead of a renter.

The research showed an index prepared by Trulia, comparing the costs of renting a median 2 bedroom apartment, condo, or townhomes vs. the purchase of a median 2 bedroom house.  History has shown that most often, renting costs less – in part, because renting does not provide many of the emotional benefits of homeownership.  However, times are different today.  The researchers found that in 72% of the U.S. target cities, buying a home is cheaper than renting.

In todays market, it seems that multiple factors have combined to make real estate purchasing not only affordable, but wise.  The answer to the cornerstone of real estate questions is apparently, “Yes, the purchase of a home makes more financial sense than renting apartments in Logan Ut.”

Hope drove irrational thinking that waves could build forever.  Unfortunately, they either didn’t receive the advice and guidance of caring real estate agents and lenders who might have warned them to expect the downturn, or they chose to ignore it.

Some were speculators who bought Cache Valley homes for sale as investment, thinking to hold a house for a short time and sell at a profit – to flip it.  Speculation is a cornerstone of the real estate trade.  Others were home buyers who fell in love with the idea that they could pay interest only for a couple of years, refinance when the market went even higher and never have to pay the full principal and interest payments.

Other home buyers, however, were like experienced surfers.  They viewed real estate as a long term investment, fully expecting to absorb highs and lows in the process.  Taking this “long term” view when buying Cache Valley homes for sale is a cornerstone of successful and satisfied investors.  They didn’t buy such an expensive home that the slightest problem would throw them, they maintained enough savings to sustain them through a down month or two due to a family emergency, and they didn’t use their homes as ATM machines to buy new cars, boats and fancy trips – they built equity.  And those buyers are nearly all still enjoying their homes, riding the wave up and down and still on their feet.

Find an experienced Realtor and a lender who will help you to understand what you can comfortably afford, and become a homeowner!  Right now with rents going up more and more, it is less expensive for many folks to buy than to rent!  And remember that renters are buying real estate – they are just buying it for their landlord instead of for themselves!

An experienced and alert surfer can ride the crest of a huge wave, understanding that sooner or later, that crest will break.  He anticipates and prepares for the break by sliding down the wave so that when it breaks, the surfer can glade in toward the shore still on his feet and ready to go out again.

A reckless surfer may ride the crest of a big wave, and hope as if it will go on forever.  However, because he hasn’t noticed the signals of the breaking wave, when it does break, he is un-prepared and he crashes with the wave and goes under.

Cache Valley homes have risen and fallen like the waves in the ocean.  There have been, and will be, crests and breaks, ups and downs, but a historical chart will clearly show an upward value trend for Logan real estate.  The trick is to gauge the market and your ability to ride out the volatility that is to be expected as part of the historically inevitable appreciation of Cache Valley homes.

When jumping, it’s critical that you know “what’s below the surface of the water”, and that you know “I really can swim” and so on.  In the real estate world, this type of knoweledge would include economic data, the condition of a piece of real estate (as determined by an inspector), my capacity to earn the payment and more.   However, there is a big problem.  The problem is that when an economic discussion begins, eyes glaze over.  Most prospects are not willing or not able to learn the fundamentals of real estate security.  They want someone else to “jump in first” and yell back that it’s safe.

Fortunately, for those who are living in Logan Utah apartments or homes, there are those who are already in the water.  We call some of them financial advisors, but most of them are know as realtors.  The barber and the used car salesman have plenty of horror stories to share about Logan Ut. real estate, but why would you listen to your barber about market values and economic trends when he spends his day discussing aftershave and Rogaine.  Nothing against barbers, it’s just not their area of expertise.  I wouldn’t let my realtor touch my hair, either.  Anyway, what you need to understand is that, even if you live in Logan Utah apartments, you need not be the next victim of the economy if you are wise and seek the advise of one or more seasoned professionals.

For one who is considering an investment in a Logan Utah home, the purchase need not lead to an inevitable foreclosure.  When a thoughtful search is followed by an educated offer, buyers can confidently walk away with a property that they can afford.

It’s true, after digesting a variety of homes, it’s tempting to buy a few luxuries or more house than you need.  However, a disciplined buyer, combined with an experienced realtor will often make a wise choice – finding a home priced lower than the budgets top end and leaving money available to upgrade over time.  This is a cornerstone to real estate safety.  Not only is this wise, but it can provide a lot of satisfaction to see a house transform while adding value.  When you follow this plan and are certain you can handle your payment, you will have a valid claim to financial housing peace.

Now, according to several studies, the data shows that it is just plain cheaper to own Logan Ut. real estate, even without tax and equity considerations.  The reason is a simple case of supply and demand.  When so many folks were foreclosed on or forced to short sell their homes, those people moved into the rental market.  Therefore, with more renters entering into the real estate market in Logan Ut., the renter began to out pace the rentals available.  Thus, with the demand, rents went up.  Meanwhile, home prices had dropped and interest rates were low, so if you’ve been a renter, you are going to find that your dollar will buy more home than at any previous time in your life.  So, if you’re looking at the Logan Ut. real estate market, buying simply beats renting today.

One cornerstone to making real estate decisions is the question, “Will this transaction make financial sense?”  Thus the question, “Should I buy or should I rent an apartment in Logan Ut.?”  Perhaps you’ve seen studies and analysis comparing the value of homeownership vs. the costs of renting.  Some of this research tries to factor in the emotional value of homeownership, while other examinations consider only the pure financial data.  One such study was published in the March issue of REALTOR® Magazine.

The research showed an index prepared by Trulia, comparing the costs of renting a median 2 bedroom apartment, condo, or town home vs. the purchase of a median 2 bedroom house.  History has shown that most often, renting costs less – in part, because renting does not provide many of the emotional benefits of homeownership.  However, times are different today.  The researchers found that in 72% of the U.S. target cities, buying a home is cheaper than renting.

In todays market, it seems that multiple factors have combined to make real estate purchasing not only affordable, but wise.  The answer to the cornerstone of real estate questions is apparently, “Yes, the purchase of a home makes more financial sense than renting apartments in Logan Ut.”