Notes on the local market

The Home journal

Sell when your plan is ready, Not when the calendar says. A snowy porch step with a sack of flower bulbs and garden gloves.

2026-11-02 · 5 min read

Should I Sell My House in Winter or Wait for Spring?

Sell when your plan is ready, not when the calendar says so. Homes sell in Salt Lake City in every season, so if your next home and your money line up this winter, you do not need to wait for spring.

Change the locks, find the shutoffs, then make the bed. A small kitchen with a vase of autumn flowers, one open box, and a ring of new keys.

2026-10-30 · 5 min read

What Should I Do the First Week in My New Home?

Take care of safety first: change the locks, find the water shutoff and the electrical panel, and make sure the utilities and your mail are in your name. Then unpack the bedroom and kitchen, meet one neighbor, and give your feelings time to catch up.

Spread it out and hire the lifting, so your job is to direct. An armchair with a folded blanket beside a few boxes stacked on a moving dolly.

2026-10-29 · 5 min read

How Do I Move Without Wearing Myself Out?

Spread the work over several weeks, hire people for the heavy lifting, and plan moving day so your only job is to point and decide. Rest belongs in the plan from the start.

Picture your days first, then the home. A park path that forks in two, with a bench, fall trees, and mountains in the distance.

2026-10-28 · 5 min read

How Do I Choose Where to Live Next?

Start with how you want your days to look, and then pick the kind of home that fits them: a condo, a townhome, a single-level home, a 55-and-older community, a place near family, or a rental for a while. Then decide how the purchase fits with your sale.

Ask family once, set a date, then let it be used again. An antique china hutch and a wingback chair with a blank tag tied to its arm.

2026-10-27 · 5 min read

What Do I Do With Furniture My Kids Don't Want?

Ask your family once, give them a date, and then let the pieces go where they will be used: sold, consigned, donated, or passed to a friend. Keep the story, even when the furniture goes.

Start with the room you miss least, and save photos for last. An open cedar chest of folded quilts beside plain moving boxes and a closed photo album.

2026-10-26 · 5 min read

How Do I Sort Through 40 Years of Belongings?

Start with a room you do not use, work in short sessions, and let the size of your next home decide how much comes with you. Save photos, letters, and keepsakes for last, when you have had practice with easier choices.

The contract sets your move-out day. Sealed moving boxes, a rolled rug, and a pot of orange mums by an open front door.

2026-10-23 · 6 min read

How Long Do I Have to Move Out After Closing?

You have as long as your purchase contract says. In a Utah REPC, you and the buyer agree on possession, either when the deed is recorded or a set number of hours or days after that, and if you need longer, it is usually set up in a separate written agreement.

Signing is step one. Recording finishes it. Brass house keys on a closed folder beside a fountain pen and a vase of autumn leaves.

2026-10-22 · 6 min read

What Happens on Closing Day When I'm Selling?

You sign the final papers with the title company, often at a different time than the buyer. Then the buyer's loan money arrives and the deed is recorded with the county, and once it records, the house is sold and the title company sends you your money.

Watch the dates in your contract. An hourglass, a stack of folders tied with twine, and a ring of house keys on an entry table.

2026-10-21 · 6 min read

What Can Go Wrong Between Contract and Closing?

The most common problems are the buyer's loan, a low appraisal, the inspection, and title surprises in the public records. Most of them can be worked out when someone catches them early and acts before the next deadline in your contract.

You have choices after a low appraisal. A tape measure, a clipboard, and a small level on the floor of an empty, sunlit room.

2026-10-20 · 6 min read

What Happens If the Appraisal Comes in Low?

The buyer's lender will only lend based on the appraised value, so a low appraisal leaves a gap between that value and your price. You and the buyer then work it out: lower the price, have the buyer cover the gap, meet in the middle, or ask the lender to take a second look, and if the contract allows it, the buyer may be able to cancel.

Price is only one part of an offer. Two plain white envelopes and a brass letter opener on a kitchen counter, with a bowl of apples.

2026-10-19 · 6 min read

How Do I Compare Two Offers on My House?

Compare what each offer leaves you with and how likely it is to close, not just the price at the top. Look at how the buyer is paying, what happens if the appraisal comes in low, how long the buyer has to back out, the settlement date, when you hand over the keys, and any money the buyer asks you to pay toward their costs.

Find the reason first. A blank white yard sign and a rake on a lawn covered in fall leaves.

2026-10-16 · 5 min read

What If My House Isn't Getting Offers?

Find the reason before you change anything. Plenty of showings with no offers usually points to the price or the condition. Very few showings usually points to the price or the photos. Once you know which, the next step is much clearer.

Keep a basket, then leave. A front entry with a bench, a woven basket, a boot tray, and a scarf on a hook.

2026-10-15 · 5 min read

How Do Showings Work When I Still Live in My House?

A buyer's agent asks for a time, you approve it, and you leave while they are there. A short routine each morning keeps the house ready, and a plan for pets, valuables, and where you will go makes the busy weeks much easier.

You only get one first week. A front porch at dusk with the porch light on and pots of orange mums.

2026-10-14 · 5 min read

Why Does the First Week on the Market Matter So Much?

The first week is when your home gets the most attention it will ever get. Every agent watching your neighborhood and every buyer with a saved search sees it right away, so the price, the photos, and the house need to be ready before the listing goes live.

Clear the counters and turn on the lights. A bright living room with every lamp on and a camera on a tripod, fall trees outside.

2026-10-13 · 5 min read

How Do I Get My House Ready for Listing Photos?

Clear the counters and surfaces, open every blind, turn on every light, and put away the everyday things buyers do not need to see. Most of the work is putting things away, not buying anything new.

Start with what actually sold, then show the why. A brass balance scale holding a small wooden house on a dining table by a fall window.

2026-10-12 · 5 min read

How Do You Decide What to List My Home For?

I start with what homes like yours have actually sold for, nearby and recently. Then I adjust for what makes your house different, and I show you my reasoning, so the number makes sense to you before it goes on the sign.

Start with your number, not a dumpster. A notepad, calculator, and house key on a kitchen counter beside flat moving boxes.

2026-10-09 · 5 min read

What Should I Do First If I'm Thinking About Selling?

Find out your number first: what your home might sell for, and what you would walk away with. Then decide roughly where you would go, and walk the house with a checklist before you fix or pack anything.

Ask about their plans, not the house. A dining table with sliced apples, two glasses of water, and an open notebook by a fall window.

2026-10-08 · 5 min read

How Do I Talk to My Parents About Selling Their Home?

Ask before you advise. Start with what your parents want the next few years to look like, listen longer than you talk, and leave the decision with them. Plan on several conversations, and bring information instead of a deadline.

Your house, your timeline. Front steps with a handrail, fall leaves, orange mums, and a snow shovel by the door.

2026-10-07 · 5 min read

My Kids Want Me to Move. What If I'm Not Ready?

It is your house and your decision. Listen for the worry underneath what your kids are saying, then answer that worry on your own timeline. "Not yet, and here is my plan" is a complete answer.

Name the worry first, then answer it. Two glasses of water, reading glasses, and a folder on a kitchen table by a fall window.

2026-10-06 · 5 min read

What If My Spouse Isn't Ready to Sell?

Then the two of you are not ready yet, and that is common. Find out what each of you is worried about, because it is often two different things, and put the same facts in front of both of you.

You don't have to feel sure, you need a plan. A moving box with a folded quilt at the foot of a wooden staircase in fall light.

2026-10-05 · 5 min read

How Do I Know I'm Ready to Sell My House?

You are ready to sell when the house costs you more than it gives you, in work, worry, or money, and you can picture where you would go next. You do not have to feel sure. You need your number and a plan for your next place.

Walk it yourself first, then decide. A clipboard and flashlight on the front steps of a brick home at sunset.

2026-10-02 · 5 min read

Should I Get My Own Home Inspection Before I List?

Sometimes. A pre-listing inspection removes surprises and gives you time to get bids. But it costs money, the buyer will still hire their own inspector, and what you learn you may need to disclose. For many sellers, a careful walk-through is the better first step.

After the report, you have choices: fix, credit, price, or no. An open report with reading glasses and a cup of tea on a dining table.

2026-10-01 · 5 min read

What Happens After the Buyer's Home Inspection?

The buyer reads the report and decides what to ask for. You then have a few days to answer, and your choices come down to fixing it, offering a credit, adjusting the price, or saying no.

Clear the path, then leave for about three hours. A tidy entryway with keys, a garage remote, and a folder of receipts on a side table.

2026-09-30 · 4 min read

What Do I Do the Day Before the Buyer's Home Inspection?

Clear a path to everything the inspector needs to reach, make sure the utilities are on, set out your receipts, and plan to be gone for about three hours with your pets.

Two straps on the water heater, checked every time. A basement water heater strapped to the wall with an expansion tank above it.

2026-09-29 · 5 min read

What Do Utah Home Inspectors Check That Sellers Miss?

Water heater straps, the expansion tank, the relief valve pipe, the outlets by the sink, and the garage door's auto-reverse. These are the items sellers walk past and Utah inspectors write down.

Get ready before you list, not after the offer. A clipboard with a blank checklist, a flashlight, and a new furnace filter on a kitchen counter.

2026-09-28 · 5 min read

How Do I Get Ready for a Home Inspection When I'm Selling?

Start before your house goes on the market, not after you accept an offer. Walk it the way an inspector will, fix the small things now, and get bids on the big ones so nothing on the report surprises you.

Equity is real, it is not spendable. A well-kept two-story home at golden hour, seen from across the street.

2026-09-25 · 5 min read

What Does My Equity Mean If I Can't Spend It?

Equity is the part of your home you own outright. It is real money and it is genuinely yours. What it is not is money you can reach without doing something.

As-is means no repairs, it does not mean silent. An empty room being prepared for sale with a toolbox on a drop cloth.

2026-09-24 · 5 min read

Can I Sell As-Is, or Do I Have to Fix It First?

Yes, you can sell as-is. But as-is means you are not agreeing to make repairs. It does not mean the buyer cannot inspect, and it does not relieve you of telling them what you know about the property.

There are four ways through this, choose before you list. House keys on a wooden entry table beside moving boxes.

2026-09-23 · 5 min read

How Do I Buy and Sell at the Same Time?

There are four ways through this, and only four. Which one fits you depends almost entirely on whether your money is stuck in the house you are trying to leave.

The sale price is not what you get, ask for your number. An open notebook and a mug of tea on a wooden kitchen table.

2026-09-22 · 4 min read

What Will I Actually Walk Away With?

The sale price is not what you get. What you get is the sale price minus what you still owe, minus the costs of selling, plus or minus a few prorations. That final number is your net proceeds.

Utah has no transfer tax, most states do. A calculator and papers on a wooden desk in morning light.

2026-09-21 · 5 min read

What Does It Actually Cost to Sell a Home in Utah?

Selling a home costs money, and most of it comes out of the proceeds at closing rather than out of your pocket along the way. The costs fall into four groups, and every one of them is a number you can see in advance.