Salt Lake City Area Real Estate Podcast with Jodie Osofsky

Everyone has their go-to website when they want some information, and the real estate world is no different. There is both reliable and truthful information out there, and some not-so-reliable or truthful information that’s peddled strictly for personal gain. It’s important for you to know that Utah is a non-disclosure state. Unless someone is licensed as a Realtor or appraiser by the state, they do not have access to the same information that we do. If you’re getting your home values in Utah from sites published by these imposters, the information is not valid. They’re using different algorithms and basically using guesswork. “ Get the right information the first time. ” Talk to a professional and get the right information the first time. Buying a home is a big investment. If you’re looking at homes for sale on any other site besides mine or UtahRealEstate.com, I can’t guarantee you’re seeing valid homes for sale, and not just clickbait. Keep that in mind and tell your friends and family so that they’re not getting bad information, either. If you have any other real estate questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Looking to buy in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a full Home Search  Looking to sell in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a free Home Equity Report Today, we’re going to discuss the importance of using professional photographs when selling your home. You only get one chance at a first impression, so if you take the photos yourself and post blurry, fish-eye, or sideways pictures, buyers won’t be drawn to your property. In our current market, we have a new kind of curb appeal online. That’s because 95% of buyers begin their home search online. If your photos don’t shine, they will move onto the next property. “ Online curb appeal is crucial in today's market. ” In fact, I asked 10 buyers and each one said that if a property had poor pictures or no pictures at all, they would scroll right past it.  That’s 100% of 95% of buyers that won’t even look at your home if the pictures are no good. Imagine what that does to your showings! If you’re competing with a property nearby and you have higher-quality photos online, you are more likely to get the showing. Buyers will be more motivated to see your home first. If you have any questions about today’s video or need to be put in touch with a professional photographer for your home, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Looking to buy in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a full Home Search Looking to sell in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a free Home Equity Report Quickly before we talk about DIY advice, we’ve just completed our first year in the Charity Challenge, and I want to thank everyone for contributing and coming out and supporting us. I also want to thank all of my sponsors for supporting us, although I’m sure you weren’t exactly aware of what you’re getting yourself into. I saw a lot of opportunities for improvement and I’m excited to continue on into next year. But now for our topic…. Those of you that know me probably realize that I’m not the craftiest person. However, we had a ceiling fan that was in need of a little modern touch. It worked well, it just didn’t match the look of the home. I found a great article on Pinterest that showed me how to repaint a ceiling fan, so I took it down, painted it, and it looked great. “ Be careful with your DIY repairs. ” However, when I put the ceiling fan back on it wobbled quite a bit. It turns out that when I took it off or when I put it back on, I broke a very expensive piece on the fan that made it wobble. The moral of the story is that I now have to buy a new ceiling fan, so an inexpensive repair turned into a very expensive one. Be careful with your DIY repairs! In the future, I would love to hear about your DIY successes so I can talk about them on this blog. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about real estate in Salt Lake.

Looking to buy in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a full Home Search Looking to sell in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a free Home Equity Report Charity work is close to my heart. Last year, I was elected onto the board of directors for the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. I want to help give back to our community, so I helped create this year’s Charity Challenge.  This year, we are raising money for Habitat for Humanity. We have an event coming up on June 16th from 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM at the Realtor Campus that will be a ton of fun for the whole family, and all the money will benefit Habitat. Click here to learn more details.  “ Help us give back to the community. ” If you are interested in donating or becoming a sponsor for this event, give us a call or send us an email. You can also visit my fundraising page to donate. Habitat for Humanity is a 501(c)(3) organization, so all donations are tax deductible.  If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. I look forward to seeing you at our event!  Realtor Campus Address: 230 W Town Ridge Parkway  Sandy, UT 84070

Looking to buy in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a full Home Search Looking to sell in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a free Home Equity Report I’m excited to talk a bit today about the Salt Lake Board of Realtors Charity Challenge. I’m lucky enough to be part this year, and we’re excited to do a fundraiser to benefit Habitat for Humanity! I’ve learned a lot about it lately and I’m so impressed. The more I learn the more I love them, and it’s become near and dear to my heart very quickly.  We’ll be doing weekly challenges, and the week of June 6th through June 10th, we’re collecting paint trays and paint tray liners for Habitat. I’m issuing you a challenge - be the best by bringing me the most paint trays and liners. There will be prizes on June 16th for the winners! “ I want to issue this challenge to help me beat all the other Realtors out there. ” Whether you’re a Realtor, a Facebook friend, or a client, I want to issue this challenge to help me beat all the other Realtors out there. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. Before I go, though, I wanted to issue one more quick challenge. On June 16th, we’re also going to have a dunking booth! If you’re seeing this video and can help raise $6,000 by June 16th, I’ll get in the dunking booth! Let’s see if you can do it! I look forward to hearing from you!

Looking to buy in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a full Home Search Looking to sell in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a free Home Equity Report Today, I’m going to talk some exciting news I read recently. Salt Lake City was ranked the number one trendiest city where you can afford a home! The National Association of Realtors conducted a survey and the results favored our area. The research tracked 500 different metropolitan areas in the United States. They were then analyzed through the following categories. Number of foodie hotspotsNumber of bike shopsNumber of yoga studiosNumber of cultural outletsIncreased population of 25 to 34 yearsHousing affordability Particularly, the study noted some of our city’s hipster areas. There’s a new Eccles Theater, a 2500 broadway-style performance center scheduled to open in October. There’s the Sugar House in Liberty Park neighborhoods, where small businesses and restaurants sell locally-sourced foods. Because of these thriving and booming areas, we were named top in the nation for housing affordability. “ We’re the top in the nation for housing affordability. ” If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in the surrounding Salt Lake City area, give me a call or send me an email! I’d be happy to answer your questions.

Looking to buy in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a full Home Search  Looking to sell in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a free Home Equity Report If you're looking to make top dollar for your home, you've probably looked into different home improvement projects that will add value to your home. Today, I want share a few inexpensive, but effective, upgrades anyone can do to their Salt Lake City home. Traditionally, homeowners are told that the greatest return on investment comes with upgrading kitchens and bathrooms. The problem is that these are expensive renovations, and not everyone has the cash on hand to make it happen. If you want to increase your home’s value on a budget, here are some cheap and easy renovation projects: Fresh paint: Paint goes a long way, not just in color, but in cleanliness, smell, and the overall feel of the home. Go out, get some neutral paint colors, and add some fresh trends and colors into your home. Lighting: This is a very inexpensive way to update your home and make it feel a bit more customized. Don’t be afraid to replace those old light fixtures with newer, more energy efficient ones! Switch and outlet plates: If you have an older home, these might be yellowing or cracked and broken, so you want to be sure to replace them before you show your home. Switch plate covers are typically very cheap. Heating grates and vent covers are also really inexpensive. Nice, clean vents really go a long way in making your home look fresh and unlived in. Plumbing fixtures: You can replace these yourselves. This will ensure you have no leaks and that your bathrooms and kitchens look as modern as possible without having to spend much money. Window treatments: These go through a lot of trends and looks, so updating them is crucial if you don’t want to turn buyers off! If you would like additional help when selling your home, give us a call or shoot us an email. We’re always available to help you!

Looking to buy in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a full Home Search Looking to sell in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a free Home Equity Report If you haven’t heard the buzz about the Salt Lake City International Redevelopment Project, you will soon! It’s new information to everyone, but the local airport will be rebuilding a majority of its terminals. It will be an eight-year-long project that closes around 1.8 billion dollars. However, the project expects to bring in 3.3 billion dollars in the local economy, in addition to creating 24,000 jobs. The current design isn’t up to par anymore. Previously, it was created to serve 11 million passengers a year. Currently, Salt Lake International serves 22 million passengers a year and grows 5% annually. Plus, the buildings have aged and aren’t adequate to survive an earthquake. That’s why the building will be rebuilt, instead of remodeled. There will be two separate levels for drop-off and pick-up, on-site terminals for rental cars, and more parking. Additionally, international traffic will increase in the next few years, including direct flights to Amsterdam, London, and Toronto. Although it’s a few years away, I’m excited to see the changes and success the project will bring to our area. We might even begin to see changes in the airport as early as next month. If you have any questions about real estate in the surrounding area, give me a call or send me an email! I’d be happy to answer any questions you have.

Looking to buy in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a full Home Search Looking to sell in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a free Home Equity Report This year has started off with a bang when it comes to the stock market. There has been a lot of turmoil in our global economy and our global markets, China in particular, and it has made investors a bit uneasy. We feel a good solution to global economic instability for investors is to invest in local real estate in order to diversify their portfolios. A shaky world economy is beneficial to local real estate markets, as it's likely interest rates on mortgages won't see much of an increase this year. While the Fed has raised rates slightly, they're only short-term rates. Currently, you can lock in an interest rate around 4%, which is fantastic. There is more good news. In 2015, home values increased significantly, and we're expecting more of the same this year. Some people fear that we're in a bubble because things are going so well, but the fact of the matter is that our current conditions are historically normal. Lenders are more careful about who they give loans out to now, so it's not likely that we'll see another sudden downfall. If you have any questions about what to expect in 2016, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Looking to buy in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a full Home Search Looking to sell in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a free Home Equity Report If you’re watching this video, you’ve been invited to learn about our Preferred Client Program! In this program we offer many unique benefits. We set you up with specified search criteria that your home is in. We keep you up to date on the activity happening in your market. Additionally, we can set you up with your dream home, even if you’re not looking to buy right now. Even if you’re not looking to sell anytime soon, it’s good to feed your curiosity. It’s always important to know what your home is worth! We can help you find out. We offer a free home equity report. This is especially helpful for anyone looking to sell within the next year. We offer advice on remodeling and upgrading. Please reach out to me if you are doing either! We want to provide feedback. We can help you get the best return on investment and improve the quality of living inside your home. As always, you have access to preferred professionals in the area if you need a service done. I have a list of service providers, including CPA's, insurance agents, financial advisors, general contractors, and more. When you decide to buy, we have access to off-market properties. We have exclusive resources you can’t attain on your own. This helps you avoid competition later on and save you money. If you have any questions about this program or anything else, give us a call or email today. Let me be your real estate resource!