Questions, answered

Utah law requires sellers to fill out a Property Disclosure form covering the home's condition, known defects, water damage, HOA details, and more. I'll walk you through it line by line so you know exactly what you're buying before you commit.

Every listing I take goes to the MLS. The public portals follow inside the window your listing agreement sets. Private or delayed marketing happens only on your written instruction, and I show you what it is likely to cost before you sign it. Zillow's 2026 analysis of 6.2 million transactions from 2023 to 2025 found off-MLS sellers closed about 1.3 percent below comparable MLS listings, roughly $4,230 per home (published May 2026). As a buyer, you see every listing I can find, regardless of what it pays me.

A contingency is a condition in your contract that has to be met before the sale closes. The two most common protect you if the inspection turns up problems or your financing falls through. A third protects you if the lender's valuation comes in below your offer price. They're your safety net.

Escrow is a neutral third party, typically a title company in Utah, that holds your money and documents until every condition of the sale is met. Your earnest money deposit goes in at the start and gets applied to your down payment or closing costs at the end.

Prequalification is a rough estimate based on what you tell the lender. It's a starting point, not a commitment. Pre-approval means the lender has verified your income, assets, and credit. In Salt Lake County's market, sellers usually expect pre-approval. I can connect you with a local lender if you need one.

When you find the right home, we'll look at comparable sales to land on a smart offer price. I'll draft the purchase contract and explain every term in plain English. Then I negotiate on your behalf. You see the closed sales behind the price before you sign, and I tell you what each deadline in the contract commits you to.

Yes. I'll explain every step in plain language, and I'll help you weigh your financing options. No jargon, no rushing. You'll know where you stand at each stage.

Very common and very manageable. We can time your sale and purchase to line up, or look at bridge loan options if you need to move before your home sells. I'll help you map out a plan that keeps things moving without the stress of carrying two mortgages.

Typically 30 to 45 days from an accepted offer. Cash purchases can close in one to two weeks. The exact timeline depends on your lender and your inspection results, and on how quickly both sides satisfy the contract. I track the contract dates myself, and you hear from me when one moves.

Focus on the big stuff: roof, foundation, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. A good inspector will flag everything, but not every item is worth fighting over. I'll help you sort what's worth negotiating from what's a dealbreaker.

Buyers in Utah typically pay 2 to 3 percent of the purchase price in closing costs. That covers lender fees, title insurance, escrow, and prepaid taxes. I'll send you an itemized estimate before you write the offer, and I'll update it when the lender issues the Loan Estimate.

Lower than most states. The typical Salt Lake County bill works out to about 0.476 percent of the price, and the county's cities run from about 0.43 percent to about 0.57 percent (medians of tax bills divided by price, from about 4,900 Salt Lake County MLS records, July 2026). For a specific address I will pull the parcel and send you the figure rather than a range.

Spring, roughly March through June, is the most competitive season in the Salt Lake Valley. Inventory climbs and buyer activity peaks. Summer stays active, then things cool in fall. Winter brings fewer listings and less competition, which can work in a buyer's favor. If you're selling, spring is usually the launch window. If you're buying, winter can be yours.

A structural supply problem, mostly. The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute put Utah's housing deficit near 44,000 units in 2025, built up over years when growth outran homebuilding. Utah's strong job market and lower cost of living compared to coastal cities support demand over the long run, though sales do slow when rates climb, as they did in 2022 and 2023. In well located neighborhoods, that pressure rarely fully releases.

Silicon Slopes is the tech corridor running along I-15 from Lehi through Draper and South Jordan, and it has been a major driver of price appreciation in the south valley. Tech hiring keeps demand strong in the neighborhoods around the corridor. Draper in particular has seen some of the strongest long-term appreciation in the county, tied directly to that growth. If you're buying near the corridor, expect competition: prices there have tended to run ahead of the county average.

Two districts cover most of the south and east valley. Canyons School District takes in Sandy, Draper, Cottonwood Heights and much of the east bench, and Jordan School District takes in Herriman, South Jordan, West Jordan and Riverton. Corner Canyon High School in Draper ranked fifth in Utah on the U.S. News 2026-2027 Best High Schools list. If schools are the priority, district boundaries are worth mapping before you start your search, and I can map them against a specific address.

Yes, canyon access carries a premium in Salt Lake County. Homes in Cottonwood Heights and upper Sandy that sit 10 to 15 minutes from the canyon mouths consistently command higher prices than comparable homes further from the mountains. The canyons are a year-round draw, and in my read that premium is durable.

Herriman and South Jordan led the county's growth for much of the past decade, and the southwest valley is still adding homes. New construction and strong schools drive it, and prices still sit below the east bench. Daybreak in South Jordan is a master planned community that is still expanding. West Valley is also seeing significant reinvestment, with improving infrastructure and a total price point that is hard to beat among the county's big cities.

Nothing. It arrives by email as a free assessment, and it ends there unless you write back. There is no follow-up sequence and no call unless you ask for one. Brokerage services are paid at closing, under a written agreement we would both sign before I represent you. You can start it with the address.

It comes back within one business day. You send the address and nothing else: no account, no questionnaire about your kitchen. If your home is unusual enough that I need longer, I will tell you on day one rather than go quiet.

No. There is no step in it where you have to decide anything. Most people who ask are working out whether a move is realistic this year, and that is a reasonable thing to want a number for. If you read the range and decide to stay put, that is a perfectly good outcome and it costs you nothing.

This is a market analysis I prepare myself. It is not an appraisal. When a buyer finances a purchase, the lender orders its own separate report from a separate licensed professional, and that report is the one the loan relies on. The method behind every range I send is written out in full, including which sales I use and what I adjust for, on how I price a home.

My fee is agreed in writing before I show you a home. Buyer-side compensation offers became optional under the NAR settlement practice changes effective August 17, 2024, so a listing may offer less than that fee or nothing at all, and you see the difference before you write an offer. The whole arrangement is set out on How I Get Paid.

It is the written agreement that makes me your agent. It sets out what I do for you, what I am paid, how long it runs, and when either of us can end it. I go through it line by line before you sign, and you keep a copy. What the agency relationship means for you is on Who I Work For.

Equity Real Estate is a large brokerage, so the agent listing a home you want may work under the same broker I do. Utah calls that limited agency, and it cannot start without your written consent. I tell you the day I see it, and you can decide to have someone else write your offer instead. The policy is on Who I Work For.

Yes. Since August 17, 2024, MLS rules require a written buyer agreement before I can tour a home with you, and I do not work around that. It can be short, and it can cover one property or one day while you decide whether to work with me. The fee written into it is explained on How I Get Paid.

I got my Utah sales agent license in December 2025. That is recent, and I would rather you read it here than find it on the state lookup later. What sits behind it is on this site: eighteen city market pages I refresh from the MLS, thirteen neighborhood guides I walked, nine of them filmed, and the pricing method written out in full. Check the work, then decide.