Buy Your First Home in Utah: Interview With Dustin Brohm
Published on Feb 21, 2016
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
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Dustin Brohm is a top Salt Lake City real estate agent
Realtor, blogger, entrepreneur, and smart home expert.
Q1. What’s the biggest fear you hear about from first time buyers about the process, and how do you respond to it?
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Usually it’s the fear of “the buying process” itself, and the fear of committing to buying a home. When a first-timer doesn’t know what to expect, they’re intimidated. As they should be. When you can’t see the road ahead of you, it’s hard to not be nervous or afraid. The only way to overcome that is to educate the buyers. Give them a run down of what they need to prepare for and expect in coming days and weeks. I like to refer them to a great infographic or article that visually shows them what lies ahead. Once they know what to expect, the fear subsides and the excitement comes back again.
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In terms of fearing commitment, again this comes down to educating them on all the different “outs” they have as a buyer, and how they really aren’t signing away their first born kid. Couple that understanding about the buying process with some perspective on why home ownership beats the hell out of renting, and they’re usually ready to rock. We need to wear a few different hats when working with first time homebuyers. We need to be a coach, a mentor, a teacher, and a babysitter. Remember it’s their first time! Teach them how the process works in a way that everyone can understand, and you’ll be setting them (and yourself) up for success and excitement.
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Actually going through the process is the best learning experience ever. It’s one thing to “know” certain things that you learned in a book or from classes, but you truly comprehend on the deepest level when you actually experience the process for yourself. Applying for and getting a mortgage of my own was the biggest learning experience. Since buying my own home, it’s helped me relate to my buyer clients, because I have gone through the same roller coaster of emotions and stress that they have.
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Because of that personal experience, I’m able to be much more helpful to the buyers. Buyers should always ask their prospective Realtor if they have ever personally bought a home before. If the answer is no, common sense tells you that there is no possible way that the Realtor can ever fully relate to the process the buyer is about to begin.
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By now I think most people are sick and tired of hearing Realtors and loan officers say “there’s never been a better time to buy a home!”. When they say the same thing every single month, month in, month out, it’s easy to see this advice as nothing more than just Realtors trying to sell homes. With that said though, there is a ton of evidence that right now really is an amazing time to buy a home. “The best time ever?” That’s hard to say, but if you look at the current housing climate in the U.S. it would be intellectually dishonest for anyone to say that it’s NOT a great time to buy real estate.
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First, mortgage rates are so crazy low. When you look back at the 18% interest rates in the late 70’s-early 80’s and compare that to the 4% rates we see now, it’s mind blowing. Even if mortgages rates tick up a bit, it’s still an extremely great time to finance a home. Second, there are home prices. In Salt Lake City, Utah where I live, home values have been going up steadily for years, with no real end in sight. Of course they won’t keep going up forever (duh!) but right now, they are.
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This means that those who bought a home 1-2 years ago have benefited greatly from that increase in value. Those that buy now will most likely be glad they did a few years from today, assuming values keep going up. You know what the say… “the best time to buy real estate is today, and 30 years ago.
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Q4. Is there anything special or unique about your city or state that first timers should know about?
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Aside from being at the feet of the Wasatch mountains and having world-class ski resorts within a 30 minute drive, Salt Lake is getting a ton of national praise and recognition for being so economically robust. Go ahead and Google “Salt Lake City unemployment rate”… it’s 2.9%! We have jobs being created hand over fist and major corporations are opening offices here. Goldman Sachs, Adobe, eBay, Twitter, etc are all opening up shop in the Salt Lake area.
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Housing follows jobs, and with the incredible job growth in Salt Lake City right now, it’s a safe bet that 5 years from now you’ll be kicking yourself for not buying Salt Lake real estate now. Gas prices are around $1.56 at the time I write this! Salt Lake is so affordable compared to the majority of the nation that it’s just an amazing place to live.
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If you don’t move here, you at least need to come out for vacation and check out our mountains, whether summer or winter. Hell, I’ll even buy you a coffee and show you around!
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www.buyyourfirst.com
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