Kim Novak's Utah Real Estate Blog: June 2009

Offered at $389,900 ... 146 N. Cold Creek Way, Layton, UT 84041. Beautiful west-facing home located in the upscale Coldwater Creek Community near Swan Lakes Golf Course and Layton City’s Ellison Park Sports Complex. Within the boundaries of the brand new Legacy Jr. High and a short walk down the street to new the Elementary & North Davis Preparatory Academy Charter School. Gorgeous kitchen with granite countertops, island, gas range and double ovens. Formal living room or dining room. RV parking with drive through garage to backyard. Private community pool membership is part of the HOA. 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, approximately 4,777 square feet with an unfinished basement, almost 1/3 acre fully fenced yard, 3-car garage, built in 2007. Light Rail Station: 8 minutes, Hill AFB: 10 minutes, Ogden Historic District: 21 minutes, Salt Lake City & Airport: 32 – 37 minutes, Ski & Snowboarding Resorts: 47 minutes. MLS# 889213. Eligible for $1,500 Buyer Bonus. Contact Kim Novak 801.726.1443 or 800.977.7835 kim@utahhouseandhome.com.

Price Reduced to $279,000! Eligible for $1,250 Buyer Bonus. Located at 3861 Formby Dr., Syracuse, UT 84075 in the Prestwick Community on the 4th hole fairway at Glen Eagle Golf Course. Fully fenced backyard with covered patio & hot tub. Updated kitchen with granite countertops, new appliances, gas range. Great room with fireplace. Hickory wood floors on main level. Exercise room with matted floor, game room & wet bar downstairs. 5 bedrooms + den or 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, approx. 3391 square feet, fully finished basement, .26 acre corner lot, fenced backyard, built in 1998. Buffalo Point Elementary, North Davis Preparatory Academy Charter School, West Point Jr. High, Syracuse High School. Light Rail Station: 14 minutes, Hill AFB: 17 minutes, Ogden Historic District: 26 minutes, Salt Lake City: 41 minutes, Salt Lake Int'l Airport: 45 minutes, Ski & Snowboarding Resorts: 60 minutes. Contact Kim Novak 801.726.1443 or 800.977.7835 kim@utahhouseandhome.com. MLS 860927

With the big push to sell out the new construction inventory sitting on the market in Utah, through the Homerun Grant Program (358 grants remaining as of today) and various builder incentives, a prudent homebuyer and their agent should familiarize themselves with Utah's State Construction Registry. This is especially important in light of the high number of contractor/builder bankruptcy filings that our current real estate market is facilitating.

The SCR was enacted in 2004 as House Bill 136, Sixth Substitute, Electronic Filing of Preliminary Lien Documents. It was designed to avoid the complications that frequently arise from Mechanic's Liens that show up after closing. It is a phenomenal system when used properly. However, the timelines are critical (see below) in order to protect yourself from reverting to the state's lien rights.

Why should you care? Educational Video for Property Owners

Municipalities in Utah are required to file a Notice of Commencement within 15 days of a building permit being taken out on a property, but don't rely on the city to do this! Other parties who should or must file are 1) the General (aka Original) Contractor and 2) the Owner. Other interested parties can sign up for notification, as well, such as the lender and the title company.

What the registry does is to require subcontractors to electronically file their "preliminary notice" that they have done work on a particular construction project. The beauty of the system is that whenever one of these "preliminary notices" are filed, all parties who are registered on the project (contractor, owner, lender, title) receive email notification. What a great way to track the subs who have worked on your home, in case you need to contact them after you move in, and avoid dealing with unpaid subcontractor services after closing!

If you are buying a completed "spec" home, then you should check out the Public Search Site to see if you are protected from liens by the SCR. You can also make sure that your owner's title policy is either a Plain Language Policy or an Eagle Policy.

Excerpt & Overview from Utah's State Construction Registry Site:

Filing Timeline

Key Dates & Details:

Notices of Commencement

Notices of Commencement must be filed within 15 days of commencement of physical work or the issuance of a building permit. If a Notice of Commencement is not filed within the 15-day window the preliminary notice requirement is voided and lien rights are automatically preserved.

For the majority of projects, Notices of Commencement are automatically filed in the SCR based on permit data received from the issuing municipalities. For projects in which a Notice of Commencement is not automatically filed, owners and original contractors may file a Commencement in order to enforce the preliminary notice requirement. Examples: state projects in which permits are not issued, exempt projects, projects in which a municipality fails to transmit permit data.

Preliminary Notices

Preliminary notices must be filed within 20 days of furnishing labor, service, material and/or equipment OR within 20 days of the filing of the notice of commencement, whichever comes later.

The timeline for filing a preliminary notice is affected by the filing of a Notice of Completion. The window for filing Preliminary Notices is closed 10 days after the filing of a Notice of Completion. Therefore, parties providing goods and services at the end of a project may have less than 20 days to file their Preliminary Notice (a party providing materials 2 days prior to the filing of a Notice of Completion only have 12 days total to file a Preliminary Notice).

A party that misses their initial 20-day window may still file a Preliminary Notice to protect future work and / or materials. If a Preliminary Notice is filed after the initial 20-day period passes, there is a 5-day penalty and any material and / or service provided after the penalty period is protected.

Notices of Completion

Notices of completion may be filed by owners, original contractors, lenders, surety or title companies anytime after one of the following conditions has been met:

• A permanent certificate of occupancy has been issued
• A final inspection has been completed
• All substantial work has been completed

Kim Novak is a real estate broker with RE/MAX Masters in Salt Lake City and Layton, Utah. She holds a BSBA with an emphasis in Sales & Marketing and has achieved the designations of ABR: Accredited Buyer Representative, CRS: Certified Residential Specialist, CSP: Certified New Home Sales Professional, GRI: Graduate of the Realtor® Institute, SRES: Seniors Real Estate Specialist and ePRO: Internet Professional. Licensed in 1995, Kim has closed over 500 sales during her full time real estate career. ActiveRain Profile   LinkedIn Profile   Facebook Me!

Direct Phone:    801.726.1443
Direct Toll Free: 800.977.7835
Direct Fax:        866.541.2392

kim@utahhouseandhome.com

www.UtahHouseandHome.com

What's My Home Worth?                www.utahhomevalues.net

Search for Homes                            www.utahhomelistings.net

... Educated & Experienced, Professional & Successful ...

Eligible for $500 Buyer Bonus!
Price Reduced … Again! Beautifully maintained and move in ready. Updated kitchen with brand new appliances, new floor coverings & freshly painted throughout. Walk out from dining area to fully fenced backyard with patio. One-car garage plus RV or 2nd vehicle parking. Automatic sprinkler system. Close to Hill AFB and Layton Hills Mall. 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, approx. 1526 square feet, .19 acre lot, built in 1969. Crestview Elementary, North Davis Preparatory Academy Charter School, Central Davis Jr. High, Northridge High School. Hill AFB: 5 minutes, Light Rail Station: 7 minutes, Ogden Historic District: 19 minutes, Salt Lake City & Airport: 34-37 minutes, Ski & Snowboarding Resorts: 45 minutes. Contact Kim Novak 801.726.1443 or 800.977.7835 kimnovak@remax.net. MLS 870940

Disclaimer: I use an internet feedback service, FeedbackCentral.com, to obtain input from Buyer's Agents after showing one of my client's homes. This allows the Buyer's Agent the option to uninhibitably hit "delete" if they do not wish to respond, and provides a venue that satisfies my clients' desire to know what potential buyers, and their agents, think about their home in comparison to others that they've just seen.

My #1 Policy: I represent the buyer, so I am not going to share anything with the seller's agent that may negatively affect my client's negotiating strength (just in case they make an offer on the home). I have used a feedback comment seemingly inane as, "my clients loved the second kitchen because their mother is going to live with them - this is the nicest one they've seen" to my seller client's advantage when an offer from that same buyer was presented.

Policy #2: If you are the listing agent's assistant calling me for feedback, please don't bother. Why should I give feedback to someone who has never even seen the home him/herself? You are taking up my valuable time and precious cell phone minutes for naught. I suggest instead that you take a tour of your boss's listings and provide him/her with your own feedback. If you do this often enough, you may become a more valuable team member because you'll be experienced enough to assist your boss with CMAs.

Policy #3:  If you ask for price feedback, then I will tell you the same thing that I tell my own seller clients. "Homes are still selling. If your home is not sold yet (read "under contract"), then you are priced too high to sell right now." In today's market, it is ALL about price, followed by condition and location (the old mantra of "location, location, location" has been stood on its head). Homebuyers are becoming exponentially price savvy in this current real estate climate and advice from talking heads and those of us in the blogosphere abounds.

Exceptions to the rule (you knew it was coming): I will provide feedback relating to real estate matters. Like, if your keybox is located in the flowerbed with a sprinkler head pointing right at it. Like, if you have listed a home as having four bedrooms, but the 4th bedroom doesn't have a window, closet or door. Like, if your remarks section says that my client has to use the seller's title company (but that's a whole 'nuther topic).

Pet Peeve #1: Email a copy of the listing to me, don't call. I show an average of 21 homes to each of my buyer clients. I will not remember yours without a visual aid.

Pet Peeve #2: Leaving me a message like, "Hey Kim, it's Samantha with Biggs Real Estate. I have a question on a listing" when you want feedback. Yeah, that only works once before I know to screen your calls.

Pet Peeve #3: If you call me for feedback, and it is in my client's interest to provide it to you, and I do share their and my insight, please don't become argumentative or get incensed about my opinion - remember that you're the one that asked for it.

Anyway, you get the drift.

Kim Novak is a real estate broker with RE/MAX Masters in Salt Lake City and Layton, Utah. She holds a BSBA with an emphasis in Sales & Marketing and has achieved the designations of ABR: Accredited Buyer Representative, CRS: Certified Residential Specialist, CSP: Certified New Home Sales Professional, GRI: Graduate of the Realtor® Institute, SRES: Seniors Real Estate Specialist and ePRO: Internet Professional. Licensed in 1995, Kim has closed over 500 sales during her full time real estate career. ActiveRain Profile   LinkedIn Profile   Facebook Me!

Direct Phone:    801.726.1443
Direct Toll Free: 800.977.7835
Direct Fax:        866.541.2392

kim@utahhouseandhome.com

www.UtahHouseandHome.com

What's My Home Worth?                www.utahhomevalues.net

Search for Homes                            www.utahhomelistings.net

... Educated & Experienced, Professional & Successful ...