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Old 03-30-2008, 02:04 PM
 
6 posts, read 11,307 times
Reputation: 10

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Hey guys,

I'm soon to move to SLC and will be in the market to buy a home with my wife. I hope you'll all excuse my ignorance, but I don't know the first thing about buying the real estate market in Utah or how to go about getting a mortgage.

Is it possible for a foreigner with no credit history to get a mortgage in Salt Lake?

Which are the big sites for advertising real estate in Salt Lake?

What's the cheapest place I can get close to SLC that's habitable?

Have any other foreigners had experience in getting a mortgage?

I'll be earning about $50k and have roughly $20k of a downpayment. Hope someone can help answer my questions! If anyone has any other advice about the market or buying, I'd love to hear from you
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Old 03-30-2008, 02:19 PM
 
Location: The other side of the mountain
2,502 posts, read 6,973,197 times
Reputation: 1302
The first thing you will need to do is talk to a lender. I don't have any idea about the qualifications needed if you are a foreigner. They will assess your credit situation and let you know how much you will be able to spend on a home.

Now is a great time to buy. Prices are coming down, interest rates are stable (for now) and sellers are motivated.

Check out Utah Real Estate - Your One Stop Source for Searching Real Estate in Utah You can narrow your search down by the number of bedrooms/bathrooms, area, size, price, ect.

Some parts of SL aren't too expensive, but aren't in the greatest of areas. Tooele County has lower home prices than SL, so that might be a place to look too.

Good luck!
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Old 03-30-2008, 03:57 PM
 
7 posts, read 43,799 times
Reputation: 11
Default What are your wants?

What type of community are you looking for? Do you want to be right in the city or a suburb? What part of Salt Lake are you going to be working in? It is cheaper to live in a suburb depending on your commute.
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Old 03-30-2008, 06:56 PM
 
Location: Mostly in my head
19,855 posts, read 65,824,181 times
Reputation: 19378
WHen I moved here from the South, I could not get financed with a 75% down payment because I didn't have a job yet. I was starting one in a few months and moved early to have time to learn the area and have fun. I had to cash out my 401K and IRA to pay cash for the house. Then, when I started working, I got a home equity loan to "pay" myself back. But it sure hurt on tax time. I had the same situation in the South the last time I moved and I was financed in a heatbeat. How can a lender worry with that big a down payment? Only thing I felt was, I was a "foreigner" to this conservative area.
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Old 03-31-2008, 02:27 AM
 
6 posts, read 11,307 times
Reputation: 10
Wow, I didn't realise that a mortgage was so difficult to get in the States The only thing is, that I have a job, so I'm hoping that lenders will be a bit more sympathetic.

I'm working in downtown SLC, not really too concerned about the area I live in as long as there aren't gun battles outside my door! It'll only be my wife and I, so we don't need a big place, an apartment would probably do. What sort of price range and area would I be looking at in order to get a 1-2 bedroomed place no more than 10 minutes drive from downtown? What would be the same cost to rent such a place?
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Old 03-31-2008, 08:01 AM
 
Location: The other side of the mountain
2,502 posts, read 6,973,197 times
Reputation: 1302
You won't have too many gun battles outside your door in SL. Not saying you won't ever hear gunshots, but it would be pretty rare.

Try this link for an apartment search.

Salt Lake City Apartments

Craigslist.com and KSL.com classifieds also have homes and apartments for sale and rent.

I haven't rented in ages, so I don't know what the going rent rate is right now. There are lots of apartments that you could find close to downtown though.
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Old 04-05-2008, 08:54 AM
 
Location: Slc
56 posts, read 213,167 times
Reputation: 26
Default buying a house

Your biggest hurdle is going to be financing. You need to talk/meet with at 3 lenders and see what they can offer you. All lenders carry different fees and they will also hopefully be able to offer you different things so you have options. Right now because of the economy it might be a touch harder for you to get a loan, but I am sure someone can help you on the lending side as long as you have great credit. After that you will know how much money you have to play with and that way you can narrow down your search. I think if you can get a loan right now is an awesome time to buy because the market here is flooded with homes for sale and GREAT deals!!! Let me know if you have any questions I am a realtor here, so I'd be happy to help.
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Old 04-09-2008, 12:52 AM
 
Location: Imaginary Figment
11,449 posts, read 14,465,311 times
Reputation: 4777
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewToSLC View Post
Hey guys,

I'm soon to move to SLC and will be in the market to buy a home with my wife. I hope you'll all excuse my ignorance, but I don't know the first thing about buying the real estate market in Utah or how to go about getting a mortgage.

Is it possible for a foreigner with no credit history to get a mortgage in Salt Lake?

Which are the big sites for advertising real estate in Salt Lake?

What's the cheapest place I can get close to SLC that's habitable?

Have any other foreigners had experience in getting a mortgage?

I'll be earning about $50k and have roughly $20k of a downpayment. Hope someone can help answer my questions! If anyone has any other advice about the market or buying, I'd love to hear from you
Unless you want that 20k to disappear into thin air, I'd recommend renting for at least the first two years of your stay in SLC.
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Old 04-09-2008, 01:42 PM
 
6 posts, read 11,307 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by SLCPUNK View Post
Unless you want that 20k to disappear into thin air, I'd recommend renting for at least the first two years of your stay in SLC.
Why???????????
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Old 04-11-2008, 12:20 AM
 
Location: Imaginary Figment
11,449 posts, read 14,465,311 times
Reputation: 4777
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewToSLC View Post
Why???????????
The US, including Utah (no matter what others may say) is going through a credit/RE bubble. Right now we are are around the peak or ARMS resetting, which means we still have another 2-3 years left of these stinky subprime loans outstanding. We have record foreclosures right now, new home builders with excess inventory that can sell cheaper than resells per sq ft, and sellers desperate to unload before their rate resets. To top it all off the liquidity has all but dried up. This has significantly decreased the prospective buyers out of the market (no more 100% loans.)

This is driving prices downward, and will continue to do so for some time. I do not agree with those who say "Now is a good time to buy." Quite the contrary, I think now is a horrible time to buy. We are nowhere near a bottom, and even when we do hit it (2-5 yrs, my guess) it will flatline, not zoom back up. (If an item is overvalued by about 25-30%, and you are able to obtain it for 10 % less than the year prior, you are still paying to much for it, while it simultaneously depreciates in value.)

If you are buying a home that you know you will live in for a long time, then perhaps negative equity is something you should not be concerned about. But if you are not sure, I'd recommend renting for a couple of years, finding out the area you like, then buy after the surplus of homes has cleared out (and they will move, it will just be an ugly process.)

There are knife catchers in almost every market, why be one of them?

This is coming from a RE investor, rehabber and landlord, not some doomsdayer chicken little.
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