Great Deals for the "Budget Conscious"

There are some GREAT deals out there to be had and most of them on a daily basis.  Here are just a few:




SONIC Happy Hour 1/2 price drinks from 2-5pm EVERY DAY.  My favorite is the Cherry Limeade with extra cherry and extra lime.  (I also like the Cherry Lime Slush.)

SONIC 1/2 price Shakes after 8 pm.  I like this one because UNLIKE MANY other chain restaurants, they use REAL ICE CREAM!  (It REALLY bothers me that so many Ice Cream treats are now "Frozen Dairy Desserts".  That means they are NOT Ice Cream.)



Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen in Herriman ONLY:  Thursday Night ONLY from 5-8pm, children's meals only 99¢.  They also do face painting, and a few other fun things.  They also usually have a pretty good "Special" for adults for about $4 or $5.

Taco Bell.  "Happier Hour" between 2-5pm, $1 small freeze drinks, or regular drinks.  I like the Baja Blast. But the Starbust flavored freezes are really good. and the Orange Vanilla Crush looks pretty good, but I haven't tried it yet.

Right now if you apply for a FREE Maverik Adventure Club Card at ANY location, you can get an XL soda for $1.  ANY DAY, ANY TIME, ANY LOCATION.

If you're a SODA freak, this is nice if you are out and about all day.

Culver's has about 8 or 9 "SnackPak" Meal Deals, all for around $5.  They include a small drink and small fries, but it is a complete meal for me, and their BURGERS (Called BUTTERBURGERS) are the best Fast Food Burgers money can buy.  If you've never had a butterburger, may I suggest giving them a whirl.
They also have "Kids Meals" ALL of which INCLUDE a kids size Frozen Custard.
Also, check the "Flavor of the Day" for the location nearest you, and plan your visits according to your favorite flavors.  My families favorite flavor is "Just Drummy."  But there are SO MANY GREAT FLAVORS...  Turtle, Double Marshmallow Oreo, Chocolate Oreo Volcano, Cherry Chocolate Chip, Caramel Cashew.

And here is a little known tip about the "Flavor of the day."  For Kids size, you can add 1 extra "Mix-In", and for larger sizes, you can ADD 2 ADDITIONAL "Mix-Ins." at no additional charge!  So my suggestion is to get the "Flavor of the Day" with 2 "Mix-Ins." when you go.


As I find more deals I will post them.  I will also try to keep this as up to date as possible.  Happy eating, drinking and snacking!

HELOCs may cause another rise in Foreclosures, Bankruptcies, and Short Sales.

Here is the latest information I have been distributing in our neighborhood.  This is GREAT information.  There is an old saying that says something to the effect of:
"Those that cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."  I believe it was Winston Churchill that gave us that great quote.

This attached flyer goes along great with that saying as it was only back in 2006-2008 that we had a FLOOD of property foreclosures, bankruptcies, and short sales in the housing market.  There were serious repercussions throughout the whole country.

This information is GREAT for those that may still be "feeling the burn" from 2006-2008, and may not know that they may be able to qualify for a home loan since that time. It also spells out the current thought in the industry, and that is; the HELOCs may cause the same scenario, but most likely not to the degree that 2006-2008 gave us.  However, if you know ANYONE that may be in danger of the attached scenario, please give me a call, I can go through every situation on a case by case basis.

Please feel free to share this blog with anyone that you think may benefit from it:
brettinfo.blogspot.com

Here is the flyer. (2 pages)

Real Estate Math

OK, so if you know me, you know I've always been somewhat of a math nerd...  I love math!  It makes sense, it doesn't change, there is a right and a wrong answer, and sometimes there are many different ways to come up with the right answer.

There are so many different things you need to be able to calculate in math to be a successful agent.

Simple interest, be able to calculate a monthly payment, calculate the ROI, or the capitalization rate, are just a few of the things an agent needs to be able to do.  Fortunately, this is a pleasure for me.  With a background in Financial Analysis at one of the largest mortgage bankers, my division was able to assist them in producing an average of $445 Million per month loan production, with a HIGH month of about $550 Million. 

The best thing about Real Estate, is that you have many backups.  You have lenders, and loan officers that will confirm your numbers, and even be able to give better estimates and more accurate market interest rates and monthly payments.  You also have escrow and title companies that confirm these numbers as well.  That's not to say that mistakes NEVER happen.  They do occasionally occur, so it is up to the agent and the borrower to confirm all numbers and verify their accuracy.

Utah Real Estate Acts, and their importance

There are a few acts relevant in Utah:

The Uniform Land Sales Practices Act
  Requires all Developers to register their projects with the Division of Real Estate.

The Timeshare and Camp Resort Act
  Requires all Timeshare developers/sales to disclose important facts and data about their projects, including Contact Information, Criminal Background Information, Project information and maximum number of interests available.

The Utah Marketable Record Title Act and Homestead Act
  Allows defects on title more than 40 years to be disregarded for marketable title.  And the Homestead Act protects the homeowner in the case of bankruptcy.

Why is Equal Credit Opportunity so important?

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act is very important to create and maintain a level playing field for obtaining and accessing credit, whether it be for a mortgage for a home, or a credit card, or an auto loan, or any banking type loan.

It protects the following classes:

Race
Sex
Color
National Origin
Marital Status
Religion
And if they are receiving public assistance

A lender CAN use: history of credit, bankruptcies, foreclosures, judgments, credit score, etc. in determining credit worthiness.

Why is Fair Housing important?

The Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 and enforced law that would make it illegal to discriminate against anyone based on:

1.  Race
2.  Color
3.  National Origin
4.  Sex
5.  Familial Status
6.  Religion
7.  Disability

If you believe you have been discriminated against, while trying to purchase or rent a home based on any of the above protected classes, you are encouraged to contact HUD.gov and report it.  I have been actively involved in the Equal Housing from my first day in the Mortgage and Real Estate Industry.  It is very important that every agent/broker knows and is sensitive to the public, and dealing with the public.  If you own real estate, it is your duty to educate anyone involved with dealing with the public, from leasing to maintenance.  They need to know how to interact properly with the people who lease property on your premises.

There ARE exemptions from this:
1.  When certain conditions are met, owners of single family homes are exempt when selling the home without the use of an agent and broker, so long as they are not discriminatory in advertising.
2.  The leasing of residential space of a 1-4 unit building, so long as the parties are not discriminatory in advertising and one of the units is owner occupied.
3.  Facilities owned by private and religious organizations may be leased to members for non-commercial purposes.

And this is NOT to be confused with denying rent for legitimate reasons:
Inadequate Credit
Inadequate Income
Misleading or False information given on the rental application
A negative rental rating
Or it may be that another rental applicant was just BETTER qualified.

If you contact HUD because of any of the above reasons, or conditions under the exemptions, they will most likely not be able to assist you.

What is a Deed?

There are actually MANY different kinds of deeds.

For the most part when you go to sell your home, the escrow company will have a Grant Deed drawn up, and you will execute the Grant Deed in front of a Notary Public.

The other types of deeds are as follows:

General Warranty Deed:  Guarantees that nobody has any claim to the property.  This is the best type of warranty.

Special Warranty Deed:  Says they have had no problem with the property for as long as they've owned the property.  These are better than quitclaim deeds, but not as secure as a General Warranty Deed.

Quitclaim Deeds:  Basically releases any and all interest in the property. No warranty is implied.

Contract for Deeds:  Used in Seller Financing.  Can get messy if the original owner has a mortgage, and they end up not paying on the mortgage after they sold it with seller financing.

And then there are the following:

Sheriff's Deed and Tax Deed - These types of deeds are the results of the owner defaulting either on the mortgage payment resulting in a sheriff's sale or defaulting on property taxes resulting in a tax sale.
Administrator's Deed - Used to transfer a property when an owner dies without a will.
Executor's Deed - Used when a person dies with a will to transfer the property.
Deed of Gift - Used when the property is transferred as a gift.