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 […]

We live in a 108 year old home and have been working steadily on improving and restoring our home to its former splendor.  We have recently repainted much of our home in historic colors and one of the last things we have left to do is restore the wood casings and baseboards. Until now, it  has been a bit of a mystery to us on how to bring the trim work back to life.  Our casings are made of Douglas fir and the wood is rather soft.  We have been […]

  I just listed this lot for sale at 355 Parry St. in Downtown Ogden.  It is located just over a block from the Ogden River Parkway and sits in a neighborhood that is beginning to gentrify. The lot is .10 acres and is just a stone’s throw from Washington Blvd.  The city has it zoned R-1-6 for single family dwellings.  It is possible to building a home on this lot with the right design. The seller is offering terms, so if you are interested in this property, CONTACT ME, […]

I just closed on the sale of this listing for a client.  This home is located at 1165 N. 430 E. in northern Ogden.  The sale of this home is an excellent case study in the ongoing surge in house prices in Weber County.  When I first visited with my client, it was early in the Spring sales cycle and there were fewer comparable sales available to help determine a price.  Based on the best information available, we figured this 1,400 SQFT home would be worth about $155,000 at that […]

While working with some buyers recently we found a home that they like which had recently been renovated.  When we viewed the home, there were various tools scattered about the residence and we knew that they weren’t completely done with the work.  We wrote an offer and asked the seller to make some final repairs to the building.  We thought that the seller had hired crews that came in periodically to do the work. Well, it turns out we were wrong.  The “crews” actually lived on site.  Not in the […]

I just closed on the sale of this listing on Ogden’s East Bench.  When I listed this home initially, my crew of handymen we were finishing up some repairs of the home for the seller.  The home had been used as a rental property and needed some sprucing in order to be prepared for market.  We put the home up on the MLS on a Friday evening (list price of $154,900) and instructed everyone that showings would begin at 6pm Monday evening once the crews had finished cleaning up their […]

  I just closed on the sale of this nicely appointed home in Harrisville with a buyer referred to me by a loan officer friend.  The home is 1894 SQFT and was listed for $239,000 on the 30th of April.  We viewed the home on the 9th of May and submitted an offer that same day.  We didn’t want to hesitate given the competitive nature of buyers in the market right now. We offered full list price and asked for $7,100 in seller paid closing costs.  The sellers immediately accepted our […]

The housing market is experiencing a dynamic that is off the charts.  Inventory is so low that the days that a home sits on market has reached record low levels.  The most recent reading is that homes sit on the market an average of only 10 days in Weber County (look for charts and analysis in another post to come). These circumstances are putting tremendous upward pressure on house prices.  Several of my recent listings began immediately with bidding wars.  For a seller this is certainly a good thing.  However, it […]