It's that time of year.  The Utah Grizzlies  are coming out of hibernation.   So pull out your puck, I mean buck and buy some tickets to watch the Utah Grizzlies  play. Break out of your own hibernation and slide into the  excitement of the 2007-2008 Hockey Season, with a Date night, Guys Night, Gals Night, Family Night or a Birthday. You won't be disappointed.                                         Home Games are located at the The E Center on 3200 South Decker Lake Dr. West Valley City, UT. 84119Games begin Friday October 26, 2007-Thursday April 05, 2008  Rinkside $30.00Center $22.00Corner $14.00Party $8.00Check out SmithsTix  for all updates for pricing, dates, times and locations of games.   Pictures Courtesy of Flickr.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~... 09/23/2007

You can still buy a home today with little or money down in Utah with a couple of good tips.  Agency loans like MyCommunity and Home Possible are still making loans to home buyers with no down payment.  The rules for qualifying for these loans have tightened up in effort to reduce the chances of exposure to foreclosures for the lender.  Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA all love to see reserves for borrowers; which helps enormously in getting approved for a no money down loan. What lenders like to see is a minimum of two months the buyers proposed mortgage payments with taxes and insurance in reserves with the borrower.  This can in the form of bank accounts, 401K and other retirement accounts, stocks, bonds or any liquid asset that has been in borrowers account for two months.   What man... 09/16/2007

1. Mid-mountain trail This thing is more like 100 rides on one trail because of the numerous amounts of trails connecting to it. The mid-mountain trail goes from deer valley to the canyons and is the main corridor of the Park City trail system. This trail runs roughly halfway between the top and bottom of the mountain. 2. Wasatch Crest This trail runs along the Wasatch between Big Cottonwood Canyon and Millcreek Canyon. Most people like to run a shuttle where you drop off at the top of Guardsmen pass and ride to the bottom of Millcreek Canyon. 3. Bobsled The bobsled is an offshoot of the Bonneville Shoreline trail. It is only ridden one way and that way is down. It is fun because the smooth single track goes up on the canyon walls like a bobsled going down a track 4. Mueller Park The k... 09/08/2007

The neighborhoods surrounding liberty park are sometimes called the liberty park area.  The park itself is a large park located east of downtown. The liberty park neighborhood is approximately 600 south to 1700 south and state street to 700 east.   There are a lot of bungalows and older Victorians built in the early 1900’s.  In recent years, a lot of the homes have been renovated and the area has experienced significant price appreciation.As of September 2007 (according to the WFRMLS), there are 94 homes on the market.  8 sold in the last 30 days giving the neighborhood an absorption rate of 11.75.  The lowest list price was $99,900 for a cottage and the highest was $439,000 for a renovated Victorian.  The average sales price for the 8 homes sold in the last 30 days was $187,287. The hi... 09/08/2007

The Mill Creek Township includes the Canyon Rim, Olympus Cove, Millcreek, and East Millcreek neighborhoods.  (Each of these neighborhoods has its own community council and the links to each council's website is provided above.)  The boundaries of the Millcreek township are difficult to describe since the township looks like a splatter on a map.  See the map below from the East Millcreek Community Council for boundaries of the township and the locations of the neighborhoods.                    Olympus Cove is located right at the base of Mt Olympus and is roughly 3300 south  to 4500 south and everything east of 3500 east.  The streets in Olympus Cove are very steep and the home prices are too.  Homes start around $300,000 and go up from there.  There are about 10 homes above a million o... 08/30/2007

  This morning started with the sun shining, the birds tweeting, a yawn, a stretch and the optimism of the day being filled with goodness. With I smile, there I was all ready to head out for the day in my white t-shirt, jeans, Reeboks, and my pink baseball cap. Not exactly professional attire, but it will be appropriate for my day. With much excitement, I pulled up to this quiet little cul-de-sac in the heart of Salt Lake City, with a twin home being built. “Bob the Builder” (really Mike) who was the man in charge, and a sweet darling Mom sitting anxiously at the sidewalk for the crew to show up to continue building her dream. The crew would be me and 9 other people, which included Realtors, 2 Loan officers and our broker’s 2 children. One by one everybody arrived and as we were waitin... 08/24/2007

Sugar House is likely Salt Lake's most popular neighborhood.  For the purposes of this article, the boundaries of Sugar House go from 1300 South to 2700 South and 700 East to 2000 East. Sugar House has a lot of 1950's style bungalows that have been updated.  The highlights of Sugar House are the many coffee shops, small local businesses, the tree lined streets, and Sugar House Park.  Sugar House is one place in Salt Lake City where living without a car might be a possibility because the amount of bus lines and stores in the area.  It is close to downtown, the University of Utah, Westminster,  and about 15 minutes to Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood Canyons.  According to the WFRMLS, as of August 2007, there are 213 homes on the market from $135,000 up to $924,000 with 34 homes sold... 08/24/2007

The Avenues is the neighborhood on the North end of the valley up on the hill.  Everything north of South Temple and between A street and Virginia Street is considered the Avenues.  The streets running north and south are named after the alphabet starting at A and going to U and then ending on Virginia.  The streets running west to east are numbered 1-18 and are appropriately called 1st ave 2nd ave and so on.                  The higher you go on the bench the newer the homes. The homes around the 3rd ave area are older with a lot of large Victorian homes.  The homes around 18th ave and at the top of the hill are nice homes built in the last 20 years.  And there is a mixture of everything in between with 70's contemporary homes thrown in to the balance. The draw of the Avenues is the pr... 08/23/2007

Capitol Hill is at the North end of the valley and gets its name from the Capitol Building that sits on top of the hill.  For the purposes of this article, Capitol Hill is all homes East of 200 West, West of 200 East and North of North Temple.  There are several neighborhoods within Capitol Hill; Marmalade on the west slope, Heber’s Bench on the south slope, Wasatch Springs to the north, and City Creek to the east.   Marmalade District is the neighborhood with the most history and personality.  The homes  are mostly Victorians and brick Bungalows that have been restored.  The homes date back from the late 19th and early 20th century and they are some of the oldest homes in the valley.  There are also a few new green condo developments on the west side of the district.  Capitol Hill has... 08/22/2007

Rose Park, is located in the North West corner of the valley, North of 600 North and West of I-15.  Rumor has it that Rose Park gets its name from all the beautiful Roses that use to grow in the are but I can not verify that. The majority of homes in Rose Park are 1950's brick bungalows.  The streets of Rosepark are similar to other older neighborhoods in Salt Lake with mature trees.  The main advantage of Rose Park is that it is close to downtown and the prices are reasonable.  At the time I am writing this, there are 90 homes in the 84116 zip code (according to the WFRMLS) priced from 94,900 to 299,900.  Last month 21 sold.  That gives Rose Park an absortpion rate of 4.2.  Probably one of the lowest in the County but up from a month ago. To search available homes in Rose Park and the ... 08/20/2007

Should Parleys Historic Nature Park be an off-leash dog park? This has been a very volatile issue for Utah home owners. The current city council has done extensive research on the park including a one-year "off-leash" trial period and utilizing a "working group" to decide whether the park should be off-leash, on-leash, or a shared use. On July 17th   the Salt Lake City Council reviewed and accepted recommendations from the Parleys Historic Nature Park Committee to: Appoint a park advisory board to provide stewardship for the park Adopt an interim management plan (within 90 days) Develop a Master Plan for the park which includes long range vision Monitor day to day operations and make recommendations Establish partnerships with user groups and interested parties Encourage user groups to ... 08/09/2007

SaltLakeSpeaks is sponsoring a Blog Debate for the Salt Lake City District 6 City Council candidates. To read the Introduction to the blog debate the format we are following click here. There are 4 candidates running for the seat vacated by Dave Buhler. They are:  William Huckins, Ellen R. Reddick, Roger J. McConkie, and JT Martin. Only three of the candidates have been willing to participate in our blog. Following are the brief bios each of the participating candidates e-mailed to us. They are presented as received without any editing and/or corrections: (I've also linked the candidates to their web-site if I could find one for them):   08/09/2007

SaltLakeSpeaks e-mailed an invitation to each City Council candidate in District #6 to participate in a Blog Debate - of sorts. Utah Home owners pleased that all but one candidate has accepted and provided us their answers to the debate questions. Our intent is to provide members of our community a look into the minds of each candidate early in the primary election. Hopefully it gives you an opportunity to vote based on some of the issues the candidates will face if elected rather than you voting for who places the most neighborhood signs. District 6 Area and Candidates The City Council District 6 chair is being vacated by Dave Buhler, current candidate for Salt Lake City Mayor. Dave did a terrific job representing the district for 7+ years and is a leading candidate for Salt Lake Mayor... 08/09/2007

This week I posted an ad on craiglist for a 2 bedroom apartment for $950 a month in Sugarhouse and was amazed at the results.  The ad looked something like this:   Sugarhouse Dogs Ok Utilities W/ Gas Included. Recently UpdatedGreat Top Floor Unit in Home with mother in law apartment below you. Large Yard. Recently Updated with refinished hardwoods, new paint, updated bathroom. Very Clean. *Water, sewer, garbage, power and gas included (tenant responsible for amount over cap) *Looking for a 6 month lease with 500 deposit *Carport and 1 car garage included *Fully Fenced Yard and Dogs Ok. $25 more a month with dog     I had the ad up for less than 5 minutes and my phone started ringing and did not stop for 2 hours.  I put the ad up around 3pm.  I told everyone that I was showing it that ni... 08/02/2007

 According to a FannieMae representative visiting my office, FannieMae had four times the MyCommuityMortgage loans by April this year than they did the entire year of '06.  They are now trying to slow down the sale of this product. As of May 19th 2007 clients applying for 100% MyCommunityMortgage for purchasing a home will no longer be required to pay-off collections of any amount to close their loan for one-unit, owner-occupied properties.  (Judgements or things that show up at title that could end up being a lien against the property still have to be paid). Effective July 22, 2007 - Community Seconds may be used in conjunction with the interest only feature.  Effective August 1, 2007 - Loan-Level Price Adjustment or (llpa) of 1.00 percent applies to all MyCommunityMortgage loans.   Mo... 07/17/2007

The average home price in Salt Lake City Utah continues to increase despite continually dropping sales volume and increasing inventories. The number of homes sold during the second quarter are 20% lower than the 2nd quarter 2006 and and 25% less than the 2nd quarter 2005. The number of listings available continues to increase with the absorption rate (the number of months it would take to sell all current listings) now at 6.8 months and growing. It has clearly moved from a balanced market to a buyers market. The average price of a Salt Lake City Utah home continues to increase despite continually dropping sales volume and increasing inventories. The number of homes sold during the second quarter are 20% lower than the 2nd quarter 2006 and and 25% less than the 2nd quarter 2005. The numb... 07/13/2007

Salt Lake School District and Clayton Middle School met with homeowners and parents last week to present the final plans for the construction of the new school. Clayton construction is scheduled to begin in September and will take about 2 years to complete. Parents and surrounding homeowners generally seemed pleased with the new plans. The biggest concerns were bus traffic dropping off and picking up kids and where to hold gym class. Currently the school bus loads and unloads on 1900 East. It is the busiest street in the neighborhood but kids load onto the curb and don't have to cross traffic. With the new building the bus will enter school property on the south end of the school completely off public streets to load and unload. The concern is the buses will then have to enter 1800 East... 06/23/2007

Salt Lake City School District and East High School named the new principal last week. The new man in charge is Dr. Paul Sagers. KeithSellsUtah congratulates Dr. Sagers and wishes him the best in his new position. He takes the helm July 1st. So who is this new principal? The following is from an email sent by retiring principal Robyn Roberts. "Paul has a Bachelor's degree in English, Theatre and Communications, a Master's degree in Special Education, and a Doctorate in Educational Administration and Policy.  Paul will be retiring this month as the Assistant Superintendent for Program Services in Granite District and has 30 years of experience in education at the elementary, secondary and district levels.  His Principalship experiences have included Cyprus High, Olympus Jr. High, Crestvi... 06/15/2007

Salt Lake City Home sales increased 26% in May over April but is still 14% under sales for May 2006. The average sold price for Salt Lake City Avenues homes increased almost 5% over April figures and are almost 14% higher than May 2007.   The saturation rate (number of months it would take to sell all current listings at current sales volume) is currently at 6.3 which is a neutral market. Neither buyers nor sellers really have any advantage. Many buyers are still taking a wait and see attitude. They're uncertain about the direction of the market and don't want to buy until they are more comfortable we are not going to see any price corrections. All sales statistics are taken from the WFRMLS as of 6/9/2007. To find a Salt Lake City Real estate Agent go to Utah Real Estate Directory. 06/09/2007

The Salt Lake City Council  unanimously approved a resolution for eminent domain to take private property from three landowners in Tooele at the City Council meeting May 22, 2007. Salt Lake City isn't shy about using their power of eminent domain. This action will mark the third time they've used it to take real estate in 2007. The first was in February when they wanted land owned by Rocky Mountain Power and Rocky Mountain wouldn't sell but, was willing to make a trade. So Salt Lake City condemned some property owned privately that Rocky Mountain Power said they "might" want in the future for a power sub-station and traded it with the utility. Was the real estate taken from the private citizen for "public use"? Hmm. The second taking was in March and was done at the request of Salt Lake... 06/08/2007