Purchasing your new home!

 Infinitely more money, thought, and prep work go into acquiring real estate—and given that it's not a purchase you make often, it's understandable if you might not be adept at wheeling and dealing.

But guess what? There is someone who can show you the ropes well within reach: your real estate agent! Odds are, you've hired an agent to help guide you through the home-buying process. But even then, there might be things you end up doing that make your agent sigh deeply—and get a strong urge to sit you down and say, "Listen, here's the deal!"

Curious about what those things are? 

1. Know what you can afford before you start looking

Finding the perfect home would be a snap if money weren't an issue, but let's get real. For most people, money doesn't grow on azaleas, which means their finances must be taken into account. So don’t waste your time shopping for real estate before you know what price range you can afford; that's like shopping on Rodeo Drive on minimum wage.

One easy way to get your bearings is to type your income, savings, and other details into a home affordability calculator. Better yet, get a mortgage pre-approval letter; the process involves a lender checking out your finances and determining how much it's willing to loan you for a home.

2. Don’t call the listing agent

In case you didn't know, buyers generally have their own agent, and sellers have theirs. And ideally, it's the buyer's agent and listing agent who interact with each other, conveying their clients' questions and concerns to see if a deal can be done.

As such, when you do an end run and contact a listing agent directly, this seemingly innocent move can cause a whole ton of trouble.

“When you call the listing agent directly, you basically imply that you don’t trust your agent and that you and your agent don't have a strong working relationship," says Shane Lee, statistical data analyst at RealtyHop. "These two things will impede the negotiation. You basically give your power away to the seller’s agent.”

3. Please stop talking around other agents

Another time buyers often put their foot in their mouth is during showings and open houses. Since the listing agent may be present, this is a time when loose lips can sink real estate deals.

You might say things you are not supposed to say, such as how many houses you’ve checked out, how much you like or dislike the house, and, worst of all, how much you can afford or are willing to spend on it.

Sharing such info is akin to tipping your cards while playing poker: It gives the home sellers a whole lot of info they can use as leverage during negotiations.

4. You don't have to see every house in a 100-mile radius

If you have an agent truly working for you, you won't be looking at tons of places.Your agent will screen properties for you and make sure you're only looking at the ones that fit your needs. So if the first home you see is the one, that's OK, your agent did her job.

5. Don't let the commitment give you cold feet

Sure, buying a house is a big commitment. Yes, it's scary, and your mind might race with all sorts of worse-case scenarios. What if you make an offer on a house, and that very day another house—even more perfect for you—crosses your path? Or, what if you move into a house you're happy with, then a layoff leaves you unable to pay your mortgage? Sure, these are all possibilities, albeit slim. But don't let them get in the way of making this important move. Remember, you can always sell a house later on; this need not be a death-do-you-part endeavor.

Higman Real Estate Team

Paula Higman - Lead Agent

Director of Luxury Sales

Engel & Völkers U.S. Holding, Inc.

Mobile: 1-435-602-8228

FAX: 1-435-214-7091

Mail to: paula@higmanluxuryrealestate.com

Internet: http://paulahigman.evusa.com

"See what my clients are saying about me online"

Member of the Park City Board of REALTOR®

Member of the National Board of REALTOR®

ENGEL & VÖLKERS 

PARK CITY - 

890 Main Street  Suite 5-101
Park City, UT 84098   USA

What Happens When Someone Googles Your Name?

Things People Should Find When They Google Your Name......

First and foremost. 

The instant barometer of your brand. 

Because if you don’t exist on Google, you don’t exist. And ideally, you’d like people to see as many of the following hits at the highest possible ranking.

Blog posts. Articles. Newsletters. Whitepapers. Ebooks. Tweets. 

You speaking on stage. You in action. You behind the scenes. You doing what you do. You being you. All of which show people why you’re awesome. These things help your customers get to know YOU. 

On Social Media sites. On your own sites. On sites where you contribute content. They give people a snapshot of you. Just few bits of personal information, but presented in a way that makes the mundane memorable.

S.O.F.A.T.  =  a person people can STUMBLE upon, become OBSESSED over, FALL in love with, become ADDICTED to and TELL their friends about.

Higman Real Estate Team

Paula Higman 

Director of Luxury Sales

Engel & Völkers U.S. Holding, Inc.

Mobile: 1-435-602-8228

FAX: 1-435-214-7091

Mail to: paula@higmanluxuryrealestate.com

Internet: http://paulahigman.evusa.com

"See what my clients are saying about me online"

Member of the Park City Board of REALTOR®

Member of the National Board of REALTOR®

ENGEL & VÖLKERS 

PARK CITY - 

890 Main Street  Suite 5-101
Park City, UT 84098   USA

Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor

Celebrity sightings so far: Bruce Willis, Robert Kraft, Jeff Gordon, Don Cheadle, Nick Cannon, Aisha Tyler, Mark Robins, Paul Crowe and Sharif Hadley.

Higman Real Estate Team

Paula Higman 

Director of Luxury Sales

Engel & Völkers U.S. Holding, Inc.

Mobile: 1-435-602-8228

FAX: 1-435-214-7091

Mail to: paula@higmanluxuryrealestate.com

Internet: http://paulahigman.evusa.com

"See what my clients are saying about me online"

Member of the Park City Board of REALTOR®

Member of the National Board of REALTOR®

ENGEL & VÖLKERS 

U.S. Dollar Strengthened

As the U.S. dollar has strengthened over the past few years, foreign buyers of U.S. homes have responded to the squeeze in different ways. Buyers from some countries have adjusted their sights lower and responded by shopping for less expensive homes, while others have likely dropped out of the market altogether allowing their better-heeled countrymen to seek more expensive places.

And still others seemingly haven’t adjusted their behavior at all.

Compared to the start of 2015, the U.S. dollar now buys about 30 percent more Mexican pesos, about 25 percent more British pounds, about 15 percent more Brazilian reals, about 10 percent more Chinese yuan, and about 7 percent more Euros or Canadian dollars. These movements mean that homes have become more expensive for international shoppers, above and beyond the added expenses that all buyers – foreign and domestic – have had to cope with as home prices themselves rose.

As the US dollar strengthens relative to these currencies, it’s reasonable to expect two things to happen. First, foreign shoppers could begin to shop for less-expensive U.S. homes. And second, more budget-conscious buyers seeking more modest homes to begin with might drop out of the market entirely. Our research indicates that while both of those are happening to some degree among some buyers, not all international home shoppers have responded in the same way to changing exchange rates, and that some groups tend to be more price-sensitive than others.

Fluctuations in exchange rates don’t appear to matter much to buyers from Europe and the United Kingdom. Regardless of the relative strength or weakness of the euro or British pound, these buyers generally shopped for the same kind of homes they always had, targeting a price percentile roughly 15 to 20 percentage points above the typical U.S. buyer.

Our northern and southern neighbors from Canada and Mexico responded similarly to one another to a strong U.S. dollar, and home shoppers from both nations appear to be particularly sensitive to currency exchange rates. As the loony and peso weakened, the cost of homes considered actually rose, suggesting shift among shoppers toward fewer but more affluent Canadian and Mexican home shoppers in the United States.

Chinese shoppers also appear to be sensitive to currency exchange rates, but in a different way: As the yuan weakened relative to the dollar, Chinese home shoppers began to shop for somewhat less expensive homes. Between early 2015 and early 2017, the yuan moved from around 6.2 yuan per dollar to about 6.9 yuan per dollar, which is associated with about a budget tightening of about $22,000 by the median Chinese home shopper in the United States. The Chinese government also recently started outright prohibiting certain international home purchases.

The case of Brazilian shoppers is less conclusive: There is no statistically significant relationship between the real/dollar exchange rate and the target price of Brazilian home shoppers over the period we studied. Unlike the other currencies we examined, which generally weakened over the past two plus years, the real first weakened and then strengthened. In both mid-2015 and early 2017, the real/dollar exchange rate was at similar levels. But in 2015, Brazilian home shoppers targeted a much lower price point than during the more recent period.

Higman Real Estate Team

Paula Higman 

Director of Luxury Sales

Engel & Völkers U.S. Holding, Inc.

Mobile: 1-435-602-8228

FAX: 1-435-214-7091

Mail to: paula@higmanluxuryrealestate.com

Internet: http://fb.marketinggrape.com/higman-luxury-real-estate

"See what my clients are saying about me online"

Member of the Park City Board of REALTOR®

Member of the National Board of REALTOR®

ENGEL & VÖLKERS 

Qualifying for a Mortgage Just Got Easier

Fannie Mae recently made an industry-shaking announcement: the company is increasing the allowable debt-to-income ratio to 50%, up from 45%, on July 29th. That means that in just a few weeks more buyers who were previously on the edge of securing a loan, including first-time, millennial, and lower to moderate income households, could now qualify for a mortgage insured by Fannie Mae.

Fannie Mae is hoping this change will help people with student loans, car payments, and credit card debt. The debt-to-income ratio takes a person’s monthly gross income and then divides it by monthly debt payments. This ratio is then used by lenders to determine if a potential borrower can afford monthly mortgage payments. Other factors also play a role in approving a potential borrower’s application, including their credit score, cash reserves, down payment amount, and household income.

While this is exciting news for potential buyers, it is important to remember that Fannie Mae insures mortgages and does not make the loans. Individual lenders have their own criteria when approving mortgage applications. However, it is possible that Fannie Mae’s announcement could influence lenders to follow suit and raise the allowable debt-to-income ratio.

With nationwide real estate inventory at historic lows, this new announcement has the potential to make our highly competitive market even more spirited.

Higman Real Estate Team

Paula Higman 

Director of Luxury Sales

Engel & Völkers U.S. Holding, Inc.

Mobile: 1-435-602-8228

FAX: 1-435-214-7091

Mail to: paula@higmanluxuryrealestate.com

Internet: http://paulahigman.evusa.com

"See what my clients are saying about me online"

Member of the Park City Board of REALTOR®

Member of the National Board of REALTOR®

ENGEL & VÖLKERS 

PARK CITY - 

890 Main Street  Suite 5-101
Park City, UT 84098   USA

Homeownership Outpacing Rental Market

At 63.7 percent, the homeownership rate is almost a full percentage point up from last year at this time, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quarterly Housing Vacancies and Homeownership report. With homeownership ahead of renter households for the first two quarters, it is clear that the trend toward owning a home is not a passing phase.

Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist at Trulia explains, “For only the second time in 11 years, and for the second consecutive quarter, the number of owner-occupied households grew faster than renter households over the year. The fact that we now have two consecutive quarters where owner households outpaced renters is a strong sign this trend is reversing.”

The biggest share of homeowners comes from those aged 65 or older with 78.2 percent of owned homes. Those aged 34 and younger have the smallest share of owned homes with 35.3 percent. The rental vacancy rate was also higher than the homeowner vacancy rate, with rental properties at 7.3 percent vacant and homeowner properties at 1.5 percent. The median asking price for housing for sale in the second quarter was $177,200, while the median asking rent for rental properties was $910.

Paula Higman
paula@higmanluxuryrealestate.com
1-435-602-8228

High Asking Prices Aren’t Scaring Buyers Away

Even with record breaking asking prices nationwide, home sales are still on fire this summer. Listings are moving 6 percent faster than they did in July of last year. In July, princes were 10 percent higher than one year ago, with the national median sale price at $275,000 and the national median days on market at 64 days. Creating an even more competitive market, there are 11 percent less homes on the market than this time last year.

Normally there is a nationwide slow down by the middle of summer, with prices dropping, but 2017 is proving to be an exceptional year. Javier Vivas, manager of Economic Research at realtor.com further explains, “After a strong start to the buying seasons, homes are not only selling faster than last July, but faster than last year’s peak months. However, quick sales don’t necessarily mean more sales, particularly when there isn’t enough inventory as is currently the case. Home prices also remain stubbornly high, failing to show hints of the usual seasonal cooldown. Low- and moderately- priced homes are being snatched up especially quickly, keeping many would-be buyers from being able to get into the market.”

With the market not showing any sign of slowing down, buyers should be ready to jump when they come across a great deal.

Higman Real Estate Team

Paula Higman 

Director of Luxury Sales

Engel & Völkers U.S. Holding, Inc.

Mobile: 1-435-602-8228

FAX: 1-435-214-7091

Mail to: paula@higmanluxuryrealestate.com

Internet: http://paulahigman.evusa.com

"See what my clients are saying about me online"

Member of the Park City Board of REALTOR®

Member of the National Board of REALTOR®

ENGEL & VÖLKERS 

No Park Silly Market 8.13.17

Trademarking your business name

1. Trademarks are an effective communication tool. In a single brand or logo, trademarks can convey intellectual and emotional attributes and messages about you, your company, and your company’s reputation, products and services.  Your trademark doesn’t need to be a word. Designs can be recognized regardless of language or alphabet. The Nike “Swoosh” design is recognized globally, regardless of whether the native language is Swahili, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Arabic or English.

2. Trademarks make it easy for customers to find you. The marketplace is crowded and it’s hard to distinguish your business from your competitors. Trademarks/brands are an efficient commercial communication tool to capture customer attention and make your business, products and services stand out.

Customers viewing a trademark immediately know who they are dealing with, the reputation of your business and are less likely to look for alternatives. Your brand could be the critical factor in driving a customer’s purchase decision.

3. Trademarks allow businesses to effectively utilize the Internet and social media. Your brand is the first thing customers enter into a search engine or social media platform (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest) when looking for your products and services.

Higher traffic on a website or social media platform translates into higher rankings, bringing even more traffic, more customers and more brand recognition.

4. Trademarks are a valuable asset. Trademarks can appreciate in value over time. The more your business reputation grows, the more valuable your brand will be.

Trademarks provide value beyond your core business. Trademarks  can lead the way for expansion from one industry to another, such as from personal care to clothing or eye ware. If you desire it, your trademark can lead to the acquisition of your business by a larger corporation.

Trademarks are a property asset, similar to real estate, that can be bought, sold, licensed (like renting or leasing) or used as a security interest to secure a loan to grow your business.  

5. Trademarks can make hiring easier. Brands can inspire positive feelings in people’s minds. As a result, employment opportunities are more attractive to candidates. Employee retention can be higher if employees have positive feelings for the brand and the products and services offered.

6. Trademarks are a bargain to obtain. The United States Patent and Trademark Office charges as little as $275 to obtain trademark registration, only a few hundred dollars after five years and another few hundred dollars every ten years.

7. Trademarks never expire. Your trademark will not expire as long as you are using it in United States commerce. Some of the most recognized brands in the United States today have been around for over a hundred years. Mercedes was first registered in 1900. Pepsi-Cola was registered in 1896.

Brands are a critical asset. Do your due diligence before investing a lot of time and money in launching a new brand. Be sure the brand fits your company. Obtain a clearance search to make sure your new brand is available and doesn't infringe on anyone’s prior rights.

Failing to research a brand before adopting can lead to denial of registration by the USPTO or, worse, a cease and desist letter from another brand owner. Spending the time and money up front to determine whether a brand is available will help avoid the very high costs of a dispute or litigation.

Keep in mind that the more you differentiate your brand from others in your industry, the easier it'll be to protect. Choose a name and logo that distinctly identify your business and will protect it from competitors.

Higman Real Estate Team

Paula Higman 

Director of Luxury Sales

Engel & Völkers U.S. Holding, Inc.

Mobile: 1-435-602-8228

FAX: 1-435-214-7091

Mail to: paula@higmanluxuryrealestate.com

Internet: http://paulahigman.evusa.com

"See what my clients are saying about me online"

Member of the Park City Board of REALTOR®

Member of the National Board of REALTOR®

ENGEL & VÖLKERS 

PARK CITY - 

890 Main Street  Suite 5-101
Park City, UT 84098   USA

Second Most Important home buying Decision You'll Make: is finding the right Agent for you

You’ve come upon that time in your life when you need, or want, to make a move. Whether you’re buying your first home, upgrading from your starter home, or downsizing now that all the kids are out of the house, working with a real estate agent is likely the best move you can make.

There are two sides to any real estate transaction: the buyer and the seller. Your relationship with your agent is going to differ slightly depending on which side you’re on. Further complicating matters is the likely scenario in which you are both selling and buying a home, usually represented in both transactions by the same agent.

Understand home financing better. One of the most valuable benefits of working with an agent is their help with understanding how much you can afford for a new home. Aside from recommending trusted lenders, real estate agents are spectacular resources for insights into neighborhood specific information and trends.

Your real estate agent might have great information on HOA obligations for a specific building or development, and could save you huge headaches from upcoming fees or special assessments. For first-time homebuyers, agents can be invaluable in helping you understand all of the added costs of owning a home, such as: taxes, insurance, maintenance, and the like.

Get the most up-to-date property listings, comparisons, and benchmarks. There are dozens of resources to search for homes, but the most up-to-date and reliable data is always going to come from the MLS or directly from the broker. While you, and millions of others, can lean on all of the resources available publicly online to get an idea of the market, your real estate agent is going to be able to keep you updated to-the-minute on the status of properties.

They will be your best resource for information on how long a home has been on the market, if it’s been listed more than once, how it compares to neighboring properties, and any insights from previous inspections.

Get marketing & guidance from a seller’s perspective. Your agent will provide comparative market analysis that will be a strong estimate of the home’s value for pricing based on comparable sales in the area, condition of the property, and state of the market.

Skilled agents will also provide valuable exposure to court prospective buyers. Only licensed agents and brokers can add your listing to the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for syndication to other agents and even web portals.

Ultimately, your representative will help guide you through the complex selling process. They will verify that any buyers you are working with are pre-screened, pre-qualified, and generally capable of completing the transaction. The agent will work with the buyer to negotiate the final price, as well as any adjustments that are requested based on inspection results (with your direction being the final say). They will also handle any earnest money deposits from buyers and prepare certain documentation within their domain such as purchase contracts.

Higman Real Estate Team

Paula Higman 

Director of Luxury Sales

Engel & Völkers U.S. Holding, Inc.

Mobile: 1-435-602-8228

FAX: 1-435-214-7091

Mail to: paula@higmanluxuryrealestate.com

Internet: http://paulahigman.evusa.com

"See what my clients are saying about me online"

Member of the Park City Board of REALTOR®

Member of the National Board of REALTOR®

ENGEL & VÖLKERS 

Heber City, UT

Heber City, Utah's real estate  is extremely hot right now.  We could put a listing on the market right now and we could easily receive 10 offers. I wouldn't recommend taking the highest bid, to my clients

Instead, we as Professionals working for our clients would take the cash offer because wee want to ensure that there were no hang-ups along the way toward closing, 

Appraisals, are not keeping up with the sales prices. If the appraisal doesn’t match the contracted price, buyers usually can’t get the mortgage and then never make it to settlement.

They’re kind of putting a glass ceiling where we can’t raise our prices any higher than we have comps to support it, so we REALTORS are definitely going with more cash offers than we used to,

First-time buyers are feeling the brunt of the competition. They tend to be more mortgage-dependent and many also using low down-payment loans, which tend to have stricter underwriting standards. When appraisals come in even the slightest bit under the contract price, the mortgage financing can fall through.

Anytime prices move up fast, the actual appraisal process, because they’re looking back in history, not forward into the future, they are lagging behind, 

From the buyer’s perspective, it’s a tough situation where they want to rely on the value of the home, on the appraisal, yet they know that if they decide to back away there are other buyers waiting to pounce.

        

 

Regardless of price point, our team is united in their efforts to support the client, support each other, and get the job done in the best way possible. Paula Higman Real Estate is a unique team of talented and diverse individuals with a passion for success and client satisfaction.

Contact Paula Higman Real Estate today and let us take this journey with you to marketing and selling your home for the best value, to the biggest luxury real estate market out there.

 

Ensure that you have the best representation when buying and/or selling. Contact Paula Higman Real Estate Park City at 435-602-8228 For a property tour and more information about Heber City and the surrounding areas.

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Engel & Völkers Gives Network the EDGE

Engel & Völkers today announced the launch of its Extensive Domestic & Global Exposure (EDGE™) platform, a diversified suite of preferred and premium partnerships designed to maximize exposure of Engel & Völkers’ property listings to qualified, targeted buyers worldwide.

“In today’s real estate landscape, it’s important that we continue to empower our advisors by aligning with strategic partners who provide the greatest opportunities to give our network and consumers a competitive edge in selling homes efficiently,” said Anthony Hitt, CEO of Engel & Völkers North America. “EDGE goes beyond a standard syndication function by truly marketing our listings to relevant consumer segments in ways in which they want to be marketed.”

EDGE is inclusive of primary digital and mobile platforms reaching over 500 million consumers each month, from first-time homebuyers to the most affluent clientele – a reflection of Engel & Völkers’ breadth of service experience. This reach goes above and beyond Engel & Völkers’ existing linked and fully integrated website structure that cross-markets properties in the more than 30 countries in which it serves.

In addition to broad, yet strategic listing exposure benefits, EDGE provides specific advertising, lead generation, editorial, language translations and consumer insights that are easily sharable with Engel & Völkers advisors and clients. Engel & Völkers advisors have access to metrics that can help drive and refine strategy for their specific listings and be shared with clients to clearly show the extensive exposure being provided through the program.

"Now is the right time to enhance our current syndication offerings into something much more robust, exclusive to our network and via a platform that we can enhance and evolve with the changing needs of our advisors and clients,” said Jill DeSilva, SVP of Marketing & Platform Development for Engel & Völkers North America. “We will always lead with personal experience and leverage the right technologies to enhance the white glove service that’s synonymous with Engel & Völkers.”

Partnerships with Juwai.com and RealEstate.com have been incorporated into the EDGE platform in addition to the realignment of existing relationships Engel & Völkers maintains with premier online portals and digital partners inclusive of Zillow Group, Realtor.com, JamesEdition, Mansion Global, ListHub and The Wall Street Journal, among others.

Higman Real Estate Team

Paula Higman 

Director of Luxury Sales

Engel & Völkers U.S. Holding, Inc.

Mobile: 1-435-602-8228

FAX: 1-435-214-7091

Mail to: paula@higmanluxuryrealestate.com

Internet: http://paulahigman.evusa.com

"See what my clients are saying about me online"

Member of the Park City Board of REALTOR®

Member of the National Board of REALTOR®

ENGEL & VÖLKERS 

PARK CITY - 

890 Main Street  Suite 5-101
Park City, UT 84098   USA

Discover Park City

Park City, Utah has been ranked the #1 city in the United States for "the best general health" and the
#1 city for highest percentage of exercise among residents.


















Citydata.com, 2013 consensus research

Park City, Utah - Bus system goes electric

Park City, Summit County launch fleet of electric buses

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah -- Park City and Summit County have launched their new electric bus fleet called the Electric Xpress.

The fleet includes six buses that run only on electricity.

They received a federal grant of $3.9 million for transit last August, and in 11 months’ time they have the E-buses on the ground and working as of Friday.

“There are very few cities that have been bold enough to take on a new technology and embrace it the way Park City does,” said Proterra CEO Ryan Popple.

Proterra is the electric bus company.

“These vehicles are powered by a very powerful, energy-dense electric motor that is capable of climbing the hills in Park City and driving in the snow,” Popple said.

Darren Davis, Park City Transit Manager, said the buses will help them achieve goals.

“We are trying to do something that really supports our sustainability goals,” Davis said.

Davis said Park City is on track to meet its zero-carbon footprint by 2022. Summit County plans to cut its carbon emission by 50 percent by 2032.

“It kind of sets the stage for the nation,” Davis said. “Hope they follow our lead.”

A regular diesel bus only gets about four miles to the gallon, while the Proterra electric buses are six times more efficient, according to Proterra.

The E-bus route is from Kimball Junction to the Old Town Transit Center. It will run seven days a week from 7 a.m. to midnight, and it is a fare-free ride.