Quick Answer: If you are waiting for a rate cut before buying in Utah, know this: a rate cut tends to raise Utah home prices in a low-supply market. Utah County has been running under a four-month supply of homes, with a lot of buyers on the sidelines. If the Fed cuts and those buyers…
Quick Answer: For most Utah new construction buyers, a private home inspection is a low-cost insurance bet rather than a necessity. It runs about $400, and the home already carries a builder warranty. In 25 years, Micah Olson – Effective Agent has had one buyer find something genuinely serious this way – a furnace exhaust…
Quick Answer: American Fork, Utah is one of the most centrally located cities in North Utah County – roughly 15 minutes to Provo and about 10 minutes to Point of the Mountain and Silicon Slopes, with solid freeway access north toward Salt Lake. The tradeoff for anyone relocating to American Fork, Utah is that the…
Quick Answer: No – a Utah builder’s advertised mortgage rate is typically the best-case number for its most qualified buyers, not a guarantee for everyone who walks in the door. Micah Olson saw this on his own new construction purchase: the builder advertised 3.875%, but he was underwritten at 3.99% despite credit above 720, 20%+…
The questions to ask split into two very different scenarios, depending on how you’re buying the lot. If you’re buying a lot from a builder — especially a large tract builder — most of the groundwork is already done. Utilities are typically stubbed, perk tests are already done, and it’s ready to build. Your main…
This one is completely subjective to the lifestyle a family wants. Northern Utah County puts you closer to employment, dining, entertainment, and transit corridors, including light rail. Southern Utah County puts you closer to walking trails, lakes, mountains, and campgrounds — and OHV trails — with less crowding and traffic, but longer commute times and…
Micah loves Vineyard, especially the Water’s Edge community — miles of walking trails, lakefront trails, plenty of parks, and lots of natural open area, with huge parks and clubhouses that are private to Water’s Edge, which makes up most of Vineyard. Micah and his wife almost bought a lakefront lot there years ago to build…
It depends heavily on the basement’s size and who’s doing the work. On Micah’s own 1,100 square foot basement — two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen — bids from larger, one-stop-shop basement finishing companies ran $50,000 to $60,000, not including appliances. Micah instead used contractors and workers he’s known for years through his real estate…
It depends who you listen to. Most real estate and economic experts recommend buying now if it fits your current financial situation. Most in-laws and well-intending uncles will tell you the market’s about to crash because they read a headline. Neither is automatically right, but the actual numbers point one direction more than the other….
A 7/6 ARM is an interest rate structure where the rate stays fixed for seven years, then adjusts every six months after that, based on whatever index it’s tied to. Rates could go up or down from there, depending on where the market moves. Most 7/6 ARMs also carry a maximum and minimum rate cap,…
Herriman is linked directly to FrontRunner to get to the airport and downtown Salt Lake — but so is Lehi. The bigger difference is county: Herriman is in Salt Lake County, while Lehi is in Utah County. Herriman has better road access today, but Lehi is quickly closing that gap with three different highways running…
It depends on lifestyle. If a parent wants the shortest commute for more family time, Lehi is likely the better choice, depending on where you work. If your kids are into theater, arts, or marching band, American Fork has some of the best programs in the nation. There’s a common myth worth clearing up: people…