So what do I do with this blog? Well, I have thought a little bit and I think I will keep it. It’s been a nice blog to have and I rather liked posting to it. Though I am not working in real estate anymore, I think I will still post about things happening in the city. It was kind of turning into a community blog anyway, so I’ll keep with that path and write occasionally about the happenings I see or hear. I suppose I’ll keep the title just for fun.

So feel free to check back regularly as I hope to have more content in the future than I have had in the recent past. Maybe I’ll write about Utah homes I like, maybe about events, or maybe about whatever I want. I guess you’ll have to come back and see.

Just today I was out visiting Terrace Homes in Daybreak, built by Garbett Homes. Lots of first-timers think they can’t afford Daybreak anymore, but thanks to Garbett Homes (and they are not the only ones by any means), you can now buy these luxury condos for prices starting in the high 150’s. These days in Daybreak, that’s almost unheard of.

Like in any condo or town-home development, you will get a basic model at the base price of $159,900, and prices will go up as you increase square footage and add upgrades. The upper floor will be more expensive than the lower floors, for example, since you get a nice balcony that offers a great view of Daybreak and the valley if you are facing that way. Expect to pay more for what you see in the model. They’ve decked out the model to the tune of about $192,000, for which you’ll get hardwood, tile, carpet, granite countertops, staggered cabinets, etc. If that’s your style then go for it, but just know that your price will be up there. If you don’t need all the upgrades, then you could just choose a few of your favorites and still keep the price down in the $170’s.

I’d encourage anyone to head out and take a look at these before you buy anything else. You get a lot for your money, and Daybreak is now an official fan favorite among homeowners. There is a pride of ownership there that few communities can match.

The condos are located at 11754 South Grandville Ave. (4960 West). If you need help or you will be buying soon, I’d be more than happy to go out there with you – just shoot me an email at nbbblair@yahoo.com.

Tags: Daybreak South Jordan Utah, Daybreak Utah real estate, South Jordan Homes, homes, real estate

I’ve been watching a TV program lately that I can now endorse as a good guide to improving your landscape. Desperate Landscapes on DIY Network, hosted by Jason Cameron, is a show about taking bad yards and fixing them up. Jason Cameron is a carpenter by profession, so I wondered how good he would be at hosting this show, but he’s done a good job from what I’ve seen so far.

So if you are a home seller, I encourage you to not just watch the show, but take careful notes on what they do. The fixer-upper yard and your own yard might be very different, but if you pay attention to how they use space and what they plant, you will be able to apply the same principles to any landscape regardless of shape or size.

I like how Jason isn’t afraid to take out old trees that don’t do anything for the landscape, and he isn’t afraid to bring in new things that may make the homeowners a little nervous at first. That’s why he is good – he changes it up so much that you don’t even recognize the place when they’re done with it.

If you are more into having a professional do it, then I can promise it will be a good investment if you hire someone good. Many people would much rather do it themselves, which is fine too. Just make sure you have looked at plenty of good examples and plan exactly what you will do before you do it.

If all other factors are right, such as price, marketing, etc, then a transformed landscape will take your home to the next level.

Tags: Desperate Landscapes, DIY Network, landscaping, Salt Lake City landscaping, real estate

It is true that our unemployment rates have gone up to 3.1%, but we are still below the national average of 5.1%. And our housing prices rose 2.5% while most of the nation was dropping. The other promising number, according to Forbes, is a 5.5% expected growth percentage in education and health services.

I’ve always thought that it is important to publicize this kind of news in addition to all the bad news swimming around out there. It’s too easy to get caught up in the gloom of the national media, so I make sure to point out good news when I see it.

Salt Lake City residents are in a relatively good position right now. Jobs are still being created, people are buying homes (although there needs to be more of that happening), and health services and education is growing. I know people here are feeling the rise in prices, but it could be a lot worse for our city. I don’t think it will be too many months before we start to come out of this, especially in the Salt Lake housing market.

Tags: Salt Lake City economy, Salt Lake City real estate, Forbes, business, real estate

I don’t much care for forwarded emails because they’re usually a giant waste of time, but here is another one that I really liked.

You are supposed to read this before you click on the link below:

“If you thought that the people who set up a room full of dominoes to have them knocked over later was amazing, you haven’t seen anything yet.

There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in these images.  Everything that you see happened in real time exactly as you see it..

The recording required 606 takes and in the first 605 takes there always was something, usually of minor importance, that didn’t work. It was necessary for the recording team to install the set-up time after time and it took several weeks working day and night to achieve this effect.

The recording cost 6 million dollars and it took 3 months to finish, including the engineering design of the sequence.  The duration of the video is only 2 minutes, but every time that Honda shows the commercial on British television, they make enough money to

support any of us for the rest of our lives. However, this commercial has turned out to be the most displayed in the history of the Internet.

Honda execs think that it will pay for itself simply because of the free showings (Honda is not paying one cent for you to see it) When Honda senior execs viewed it, they immediately approved it without hesitation-including costs.

There are only six Honda Accords built by hand in the whole world, and to the horror of Honda engineers, the recording team disassembled two of them for the recording.

Everything you see in the sequence (besides the walls, floor, ramp and untouched Honda Accord) is part of those two automobiles. The voice is that of Garrison Keiller. The commercial was so well received by Honda execs when they saw it, that their first comment was how amazing the computer graphics were. They almost fell out of their chairs when told that the recording was real without any graphics manipulation.  By the way, about the wind shield wipers in the new Honda Accords, they are sensitive to water and designed to start working as soon as they get wet.”

Being a Honda guy myself, I thoroughly enjoyed this commercial. And as you’ll hear the voice in the video say, yes I do love it when my car just works.

Watch the New Honda Accord Commercial

Tags: Honda, Honda Accord commercial, Honda cars, car commercial