Moving to Utah County

[Harbinger]

Idaho is dirt cheap too.

That's why there are so many farmers there.

Edited to add: Oh, wait, I thought you said the dirt was cheap.

[Nessa]

So we sold our house here in Salt Lake, even before we were planning on putting it on the market. Yay!

However, this means we need to immediately begin looking for a house, since now we're going to move in June instead of July.

This could be fun or very very painful.

[JenaRey]

I live in North Orem and actually love it up here.  It's far enough away from the Y that you don't get the students everywhere thing, but close enough to everything else for decent access.  I don't have kids, but my neighbors are very complimentary of the Orchard schools in our area.

One thing to keep in mind with coming south. The construction on the I-15 corridor is going to get worse before it gets better.  Orem to PG is a HUGE bottleneck for traffic going both directions in the evening.  Not as bad in the morning, but if you mistime your evening commute you can sit for as long as 30 minutes in stop and go traffic.  I communte between South SLC and Orem every day and if I miss the window for going home and beating the traffic I just stay at work until after 6.  Better to be here where I can accomplish something than sitting in traffic and wanting to swear.  The current plans for construction will increase the  number of cross roads to I-15 and give stronger options for getting into SLC while continuing the I-15 work to expand the lanes all the way down to Springville.  Not to say that won't change, this was just what was in the last city update I got in the mail, but something to keep in mind as you figure out where you wanna locate to.

~J

[42]

House shopping in Utah County can be frustrating. It's often easier to sell a house than buy one. Hence there is so much construction to meet demand for more housing.

Course, in June you could probably rent a place for a month or two at the last minute if you run into a snag.

Good luck.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Not as bad in the morning, but if you mistime your evening commute you can sit for as long as 30 minutes in stop and go traffic.

NO! NOT HALF AN HOUR!
On the best days my commute is 55 minutes. Stop your whining you panty waists!

[JenaRey]

*THIBBIT*

I wasn't whining, but commenting.    I hate stop and go traffic whether the hold up is 5 minutes or 3 hours.  I'm sure there's documented evidence, somewhere, that stop and go brings out the road rage in all of us.

[Fellfrosch]

The realtor we used to buy our house in Orem was awesome, Nessa. We've worked several after buying three times, and this guy was the best. I can give you his info if you like.

[Shrain]

whoo-hoo, Nessa! That's wonderful to have your house sold way early! Although, hearing about your plans to move to UT county are making me rather homesick.

[Nessa]

The realtor we used to buy our house in Orem was awesome, Nessa. We've worked several after buying three times, and this guy was the best. I can give you his info if you like.

Sure, what the heck. We're working with a realtor through my husband's job, but if she doesn't work out...

whoo-hoo, Nessa! That's wonderful to have your house sold way early! Although, hearing about your plans to move to UT county are making me rather homesick.

You are invited to visit me whenever the mood strikes you.

[Nessa]

So my husband's new company has set us up with a realtor, who seems really nice and knowledable. Right now she's setting us up some places to see on Saturday when we go down to Utah County to look at houses.

We got a contract via email yesterday that we're supposed to sign and bring with us on Saturday. It's a typical exclusive realtor contract thingy. Do I have to do this? The flat rate for houses marketed by her company is fine, but the % for helping us with non-company marketed houses is out of control. Is it reasonable for her to expect us to only go through her? We would rather look at for sale by owner houses on our own if she's going to charge 3% of the house cost to represent us.

I could really use some advice.

[42]

Sometimes you can negotiate the realtor fee, usually when they are trying to get you to buy a more expensive house than what you had planned on getting. This just what I've seen on HGTV during the middle of the night.

[Fellfrosch]

I'll get you my realtor's info this evening when I get home, and you can call and ask his fee. If it's better then go with him, if they're the same then it's probably pretty standard.

[The Lost One]

Although 3% seems standard, you don't have to take it. 42 is right, you can negotiate the fee and I would do that before you sign any contracts or look at any houses (unless they are for sell by owner). Tell the realitor that 3% won't work for you and see if the realitor will give you a different offer.  Do not sign a contract with a realitor unless you know for sure that you want to go through that realitor to buy a house.

The important thing to remember in any negotiation is to recognize what leverage you have (you can walk away and find another realitor) and having information (what other deals/options are avialable).

[MsFish]

And if you need any advice about bed posts, I'm sure Lost One could help you out.  At least until he levels.  

[Nessa]

Hehe Fish. Great advice, thanks.  

So we negotiated, talked it down, straightened everything out, and I'm happy with how it's going. Saturday is all set. I'm excited to look at houses! We're mostly looking in Springville and Provo, but there's a few houses in Mapleton and Orem.

Wish us luck!