Every landlord wants to make sure that their property is being treated adequately by tenants.  So, when assessing the risk that a tenant might behave poorly, landlords look to several tools to help them weed out the bad actors.  Credit and past rental references go a long way toward establishing the good character of a tenant.  A healthy security deposit acts as a financial incentive to induce good performance by a tenant. But,  while these tools work to reduce the risk, they cannot eliminate it entirely.   With that in mind, we recently […]

My clients just closed on the purchase of this nicely constructed brick cottage in Garland, Utah.  Built in 1949, the home boasts 3,300 SQFT on three levels.  The home has 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.  My clients are a young family so they should have plenty of room to grow.  The house sits on a .25 acre lot but we also included the .35 acre lot next door in the transaction. After looking at homes all over Box Elder County, we found this home which my clients loved but we determined […]

I just closed on the sale of this Ogden East Bench rambler located at 1736 20th St.  My clients asked me to help broker a private transaction between them and a neighbor who was interested in the home.  After living in the home for several decades, they rented the home for several years.  With life changes coming, they decided it was time to finally sell the home. The home was constructed in 1972 and has 2472 SQFT between the main level and the basement.  The home sits on a .23 acre […]

We just recently took over management of this interesting historical 5-plex in Ogden.  The building was constructed in the 1920s with an addition added on shortly thereafter.  The lot is extremely narrow and the building is only a couple feet away from the drip edge of a neighboring victorian home. Oddly, both of these properties share a garage structure at the back of the property with the property line bisecting the garage. The property has been well managed in the past and there appears to be minimal work we will […]

Finding quality tenants is an important part of being a property manager.  A landlord looks for tenants who can pay timely rent, be a good neighbor, and taking care of the property.  Identifying tenants that show promise in doing these three things is one of the great challenges in the business. To help identify these folks from the non-performers, we have created a questionnaire that helps us weed out undesirable tenants. Here is a section of our rental application with an explanation of why we ask these questions: Are you or […]

House prices have been on an unprecedented tear this past year.  Much of this has to do with the timely convergence of low interest rates, a booming local economy, and in-migration of people from other states. So for fun (and I use that word liberally here) I did some number crunching to see how interest rates have behaved over time and how house prices have responded in kind. Join me as we go on an odyssey back in time (like 8 years ago) to see if we can glean a few […]

I just listed this beautiful historic property in Downtown Ogden.  The property is located at 515 24th St. and sits next to the former historic Presbyterian Church and across the street from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.  The home has over 1900 SQFT with 4 Bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  The kitchen has been freshly updated but with care to maintain the historic flavor of the home.     The home has its original fireplace, woodwork, and brass hardware.  It is a MUST SEE! Here is a video montage:   Be sure […]

Hiking is something I do to clear my mind and challenge myself.  Mount Borah has been on my list of peaks to bag since my father first suggested the idea when I was a teenager.  I attempted it with friends once in 2012 and had to turn back due to weather.  This time, we came ready to make it to the top. The hike is approximately 8.2 miles round trip with an estimated 5200 feet in elevation gain.  The trail is unrelenting from start to finish and provides just a […]

I recently traveled to Chicago while on some Legislative business.  While I was there, I took some time to appreciate the amazing architecture of downtown. The Palmer House – Hilton We stayed at the Palmer House located at Monroe and  Wabash.  It was constructed in the 1870’s and burned down a few days after in opened in the Great Chicago Fire.  It was quickly rebuild with a different design and then remodeled into a giant 1.600 room building in the 1920s.  In many ways, this hotel is a big daddy […]

We recently came home from a family vacation in Island Park, Idaho.  We had a great time as a family.  However, I couldn’t help but laugh at some of the work done in the cabin.  For $450/night, this is what we encountered. The cabin itself was a series of several addons.  I estimated that there were probably four separate times the home was ‘amended’.  And don’t be fooled by the faux log exterior.  Those are just milled sheets of log-looking wood to tie all the various addons together. Structural supports […]

I just closed on the purchase of this new construction townhome located in the Meadows at Riverbend development next to the Ogden River.  Our odyssey with this transaction began back in December of 2015 when my clients and I were shopping around for a townhome that would meet their needs.  After coming up short on existing homes, my clients thought we should give these new townhomes a view.  They instantly fell in love with the property.  The unit they chose is the Willow model which is 3 Beds, 3 baths, and […]

I recently closed on the sale of this great property located in Ogden.  We originally listed this property for sale in early May for $124,900.  We received three offers immediately and placed the home under contract.  Unfortunately, the offer we accepted was placed by some buyers who were not familiar with older homes.  They withdrew their offer a few days after we accepted it.  We immediately turned to a backup offer and accepted that.  Likewise, these buyers had never seen the property before.  They withdrew a few days after we […]

Shopping for homes with my clients is often an adventure.  Here are some memories you will enjoy: When an immovable object meets an irresistible force. Which came first?  The tree?  Or the garage?   When you rent your home to the Incredible Hulk.   This has lazy written all over it.  Too lazy to texture the sheetrock seams so they just nailed up trim strips to cover them.  Then too lazy to tape off the trim so they just sprayed popcorn texture all over it.  Ugh!   Now that is […]

We recently took over management for this historic 7-plex located in Ogden.  The building comes to us in a state of transition between tenants.  One unit will need renovations before it is able to be leased.  Another unit needs cleaning before we have it ready for market.  There are also a couple deadbeat tenants that will need to be ‘handled’. As part of our turn around effort at the building, we will be focusing on improving the existing landscaping with a sprinkler system and flowers.  We will also be looking […]

The real estate market has been on an unprecedented run this year.  A surging local job market combined with limited inventory has pushed all of the normal market dynamics to extreme territory.  Buyers know this as homes they pursue are snatched up before they can even submit an offer.  Sellers know this because they are smiling all the way to the bank.  The anecdotes are compelling but the charts really tell the story.  Lets take a look at a few: First, lets take a look at what residential real estate values […]