Last Frontier

Living in Tooele County has really made me appreciate our opportunity of seeing the beautiful wilderness. As urban sprawl effects so many areas in our state, our beautiful county seems to be less touched by it . A few days ago my husband and I got in our side by side 4 wheeler and drove down the road.... yes, you heard right, we didn't have to trailer our 4 wheeler! We simply drove to the mountains. We ran across a little settlement in the Stansbury mountain range. Oh how I wished the homes could talk and tell us their stories. Bryan thought at first it was a mining camp, but after wandering around we could tell it wasn't. What miner would plant a lilac bush and persistent tulips? These small little homes definitely had a woman's touch. There was a sign on one of the little homes that said 1913. Was it really built in 1913? I have no way of finding out.
We ran across an old truck while we were exploring? How in the world did they get it up there? It was pretty rough terrain. I'm sure it would have some stories to tell also. Did I mention the amazing wild flowers? They were so beautiful. I truly felt blessed to see such beauty.

We never seem to run out of places to explore here in 'Tooele County, Utah. What a great place to live! Serenity and convenience!

New appraisal guidelines could affect market

New appraisal guidelines that could further affect the Real Esatate Market. Some banks & mortgage companies have already implemented some of these restraints. The new rules are formally announced. Check out the final version of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct with implementation required by May 1. Clearly, this will have a major impact on all facets of the mortgage industry... Specifically, the code prohibits:

• Direct contact between a loan originator and an appraiser.
• Passing an expected or desired value.
• Requesting estimated values or sales comparables prior to completion of an appraisal report.
• Direct payment for appraisals to appraiser by origination-related personnel

"The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has formally announced the final version of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) to be implemented by May 1, 2009. As expected, the code specifically addresses appraiser independence, pre-valuation requests and the passing of any expected value by a loan originator."

In the past appraisers not familiar with an area could look at comparables suggested to him by a realtor, is this going to still be allowed? Anyone's guess. We'll have to see how this is going to affect a market that is just showing signs of rejuvenation!