Most homebuyers know they should get an inspection before purchasing a house, but some may not know about important tests beyond the scope of a basic inspection.

It’s hotter than Hades outside. With temperatures hovering close to 100 degrees day in and day out, today’s dip to 94 feels like a cold front. We live in a desert, and there is nothing more inviting on the dog days of summer, in the middle of a desert, than water — cool, blue, deep, refreshi…

“You have to believe we are magic.” So said Olivia Newton-John in her 1980 classic hit “Magic.” Currently, I have a client who believes we are (I am) magic, and while I appreciate the vote of confidence, it is clear I have not spent nearly enough time engulfed in the studies of Hogwarts wiza…

The Law of Reciprocity may be the most collectively acclaimed moral principal on the planet. In Eastern religions, it’s called karma. Christians call it the Golden Rule, but every religious philosophy has some version of it.

When in Rome ... you know the rest — do as the Romans do. Do not, however, go to one of their hospitals.

“You broke into the wrong house,” was the one good line from the movie I spent 1 hour and 28 minutes sitting through last weekend. Time I will never get back. It’s not a total loss, however, because I did go with two of my sisters, so I’m counting it as sister bonding time, while viewing a m…

Utah business leaders are working to bring more awareness to the issue of housing affordability. That’s because without new housing policies and efforts to build affordable homes, our children could find themselves paying more than $700,000 for a modest home.

A pig and a chicken are walking down the street. The chicken says, “Hey pig, I’m thinking we should open a restaurant!”

“So, what’s the bill? Come on, come on, how much?”

Closing costs, response time, purchase price, deadline, property description, code of ethics; all part of the vernacular of a licensed Realtor. At least it should be. Before last week, it used to be an assumption. It was something that I simply took for granted — the fact that every Realtor …

“The highest levels of achievement in life cannot be accomplished by any person working alone.” Although this originated from a book on leadership by John Maxwell, it can be used in any context. It is as true today as it was in 1624 when the poet John Donne declared that, “no man is an islan…

Five to seven years. That is the average amount of time that millennials are staying in their homes before deciding to make a move. Although I am not even close to millennial age, I have personally moved from my self-proclaimed “final resting place” at least four times. I’ve been in my curre…

Back in the day, when kids used to walk to and from school instead of driving their own cars — which, incidentally, are nicer than what most corporate executives drive — or having their parents drop them off at the door, I was using my own two legs that the good Lord gave me to walk home fro…

There’s been a lot of discussion about whether young adults will be a generation of renters or homeowners.

“I Can’t Drive 55.” This, of course, being a 1984 hit song from Sammy Hagar, but also a recent theme in my life ... again. My youngest daughter just turned 16. Frankly, neither one of us can drive 55, but we are on opposite sides of the gas pedal. Where I tend to be a bit on the heavy-footed…

For those who are worried about safe travel, rest assured, TSA has your back. Well, they have mine anyway. And by “having my back,” I mean that I am “randomly” selected for the additional security screening every time I travel. Every time. Both ways. With no exceptions. I think I have a sign…

The English language can be so much fun ... sometimes. Take the word “bad,” for instance. It can hold several different meanings. Bad can mean of very low quality/not acceptable, as in, “The dinner I made a rare attempt at cooking last night was bad.” It can also mean evil or morally unaccep…

It’s 5 a.m. on Sunday morning and I am sitting at my desk in my office. The clock says it’s 6 a.m., but it lies. My body knows it’s only 5 o'clock. We lost an hour. Somehow, around 2 a.m., an hour disappeared. It just vanished. It has gone into some sort of a surreal transcendental, non-inte…

Three hundred hours. That is how many education hours it takes to become a nail technician in the state of Utah. It would, most likely, take me at least 1,200. It is definitely an art and I have been stuck in Beginning Stick People 101 since the first grade. To become a full-fledged licensed…

Back in December of 1983, Newsweek featured a cover showing a young girl wearing a high-collared frilly blouse and a bad hair-cut, clutching a ginger-haired, dimpled-faced doll while kissing her cheek. The headline read: “What A Doll: The Cabbage Patch Craze.”

Year-end real estate results are in for 2017, and even though Northern Utah failed to beat 2016 levels, demand in local real estate markets remains strong. In fact, sales should increase in 2018 as the number of listings picks up and buyers have more choices.

Conversation with the 15-year-old daughter last week: “Mom, you absolutely have to see that movie. It is so so good. Can we please go tomorrow night. Please, please, please?”

When asked what the No. 1 rule in real estate is, the quickest and most accessible answer is almost always location, location, location. I know because I ran my own little poll this morning to a group of local business owners, and that was their answer. Gallup’s got nothing on me. However, I…

In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes. It’s a special treat, however, when you can bush up with both on the same day.

With the passage of the tax reform bill, many are wondering whether Congress has preserved traditional home-buying incentives. While lawmakers have kept many of the most attractive homeownership benefits, they have made some alterations.

Home prices are rising in Northern Utah, according to Utah Realtors. In Davis County, the median sales price rose 9 percent to $272,500 during the first 10 months of 2017. The trend was similar in Weber County, with an increase of 11 percent to $205,000. Prices in Morgan County, where sales …

December is officially upon us. For those of you keeping track, there are only 24 more shopping days until Christmas. Just for the record, if any of you happen upon me this festive holiday season, I’ll just warn you now; please don’t ask if I’m ready for Christmas yet. Don’t ask it this week…

As last week was brought to you by the color gray, today’s sponsor is the color black — as in Black Friday. Let the festival of greed begin. Arguably, if someone is willing to stand out in arctic temperatures in a line longer than four football fields at an unseemly time in the morning follo…

Fifty shades of gray. I’ve seen them all.

Last weekend I learned a valuable lesson — the hard way. Again. It seems to be the only way for me to really learn a lesson.

Every year it happens at least once. Some years it occurs up to three times. For many, it can result in symptoms that include rapid heart rate, tingling or numbness in the extremities, or even difficulty in breathing.

According to good ol’ Webster himself, one definition of the word “discount” is: “regard (a possibility, fact, or person) as being unworthy of consideration because it lacks credibility.” This particular definition is spot on when describing a “discount” brokerage.

Northern Utah’s housing market is booming. In only a year, home values in Davis, Morgan and Weber counties increased more than 12 percent. In both Davis and Weber counties, the median sales price is about $30,000 higher than last year, according to the Utah Association of Realtors’ July report.

Having been married to a plumber for over a year now (please hold the applause), I’ve learned a few things about the trade. Don’t get me wrong — I know nothing about how to auger out a drain (I’m not even sure if that is the proper terminology for it), but I do know that I should never attem…

Each year, as the day of my birth approaches, I try to think of some way to celebrate that is different and unique, yet somehow implies that I’m not really aging. Some years I come up with a pretty good game plan. This was not one of those years. 

When putting a home up for sale, one of the most important tasks is making sure the price is right.

Erma Bombeck once said, “Cleanliness is not next to godliness. It isn't even in the same neighborhood. No one has ever gotten a religious experience out of removing burned-on cheese from the grill of the toaster oven.” I will have to say a big amen to that. However, if you want to sell your …

Kids say the darndest things. They are also some of the best clients. They are so easy to work with.

Last week my sister invited me to go shopping with her. As generous as it was for her to extend this invitation to me, I had to remind her that I would rather wait in line at the DMV while eating kale chips than go shopping.

Clear back in 1903, a woman named Lizzie Magie — a bold and progressive feminist, writer and inventor living in a home with a decent amount of land, which she had purchased herself (almost unheard of for the time) — decided to create a board game.

If walls could talk. This was a phrase I reflected on a plethora of times this week.

Think, people. Think. Who do you know that could benefit from a Have a Heart Home?

“What goes around comes around.”

Location, location, location. All too true.

Readers of this column and those of you who have been following other numerous media reports over the past few months know that there is a critical shortage of affordable housing in Northern Utah. In fact, one recent report shows that Utah has a need for 43,000 affordable housing units, posi…

Ernest Hemingway once said, “"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them." So simple; except when it comes to doing it.

One would think that, after 42 years, it would finally be safe to go back in the water.

Last week I had the opportunity of attending my very first destination wedding.

Last night as I was watching my daughter mow the lawn, which she doesn't do for free, I caught myself reminiscing. It wasn't more than one year ago that I was out there mowing that same lawn myself.