Browsing Posts From: Real Estate News

I walked into the office this morning to begin work.  After about a half hour I looked out the window and noticed white smoke billowing over my neighborhood. I bolted out the door to see if it was a home of someone I knew. This victorian mansion used to be owned by the Barker family and was originally built by the Eccles family at the turn of the century.  It is located at 566 24th St. in Ogden. By the time I arrived, the fire had worked its way into […]

  Ogden has many beautiful historic homes.  However, like many older urban centers, it went through a rough period where these larger homes were converted into apartment buildings.  When Ogden’s economy soured after the rail road industry fell into decline, the viability of these subdivided homes came into question.  Hence, Ogden has been working hard to restore these older homes back into majestic single family homes again. To help homebuyers and owners overcome the financial hurdle of restoring these properties to homes again, Ogden city offers $20,000 per unit that an […]

  Seller financing is a topic that ebbs and flows in popularity depending on market conditions.  Back in the early 1980’s when mortgage rates hit 18%, buyers were priced out of the traditional money markets and sellers began offering their own financing terms to get their homes sold.  My parents purchased a home this way when I was a young lad during that time.   More recently, the Great Recession saw rates plummet while mortgage lenders went out of business.  Such conditions left willing buyers and sellers flummoxed and wondering […]

  Ogden continues to be a city in metamorphosis.  Here are a few photos that illustrate the ever increasing investment in Ogden’s Downtown neighborhoods: This victorian home located on the 26th block of Madison Ave. was converted into an unseemly triplex many decades ago. Fortunately, a new owner renovated the property and restored it back to single family use.  Quite a remarkable difference!   I listed and sold this property last year to an investor who wanted to restore this 1880s Victorian building.  The building was abandoned and configured into […]

The real estate market is an endless source of entertaining treats.  Here are some morsels I spied while visiting properties with clients.   Nothing says “freaky” like textured ceilings done in a hands-and-feet motif.   A rare collision of refined elegance, fuzzy toilet lids, and bathroom carpet.   Security system FAIL.   Well, that is one way to set up your swamp cooler… Tired of that antique patina on your historic home’s woodwork?  Spray paint it.   Introducing the Spartan Kitchen (with accessory flame-out water heater).  Minimalist sheek. Remember that […]

I recently hosted a meeting for real estate investors to discuss current market trends and identify investment strategies.  Josh Irvine also took some time to discuss estate planning and how to properly arrange business structures to protect against liability risk.  The meeting was well attended and we had some very good questions asked. Here is the video of our presention:                            

Every once in a while, I will take a moment to check in on market statistics to see if what I am experiencing day-to-day in the field matches what is happening across the county.  Once again, my suspicions have been confirmed. The chart you see represents the median price per square foot for homes sold in Weber County.  Using price-per-square-foot as our guide helps us get a better feel for the overall value of homes when stacked side by side.  Using this measure in the overall market shows us trends […]

For the past several years, I have managed a small and cute rental cottage located at 553 16th Street in Ogden, Utah.  Recently, the owner asked me to organize a major renovation to the building to prepare it for sale.  The transformation was remarkable.  For about $11,000, we were able to take the house from being a tired edifice to a sparkling home. For those of you interested in some of the improvements here are some specifics.  We used the Eddie Bauer color selection at lows.  The exterior was painted […]

This year has been unusually wet.  Being such, homes have been put under stress as extraordinary amounts of water have threatened basement spaces and roof systems.  When it comes to basements, there are some simple things that people can do to manage problems with wetness. Water that runs off a roofline drips along the edge of the home. That large amount of water doesn’t just magically disappear into the ground never to be seen again.  In some cases, it festers along the foundation and seeps into walls. Here is a […]