Buying a home
How We Help You Buy
How buying actually works in Utah: the Exclusive Buyer-Broker Agreement, the Due Diligence period, earnest money, and closing through a title company.
The short version
Most buyers are handed a house and left to work out the rest as it happens. The result is a series of surprises, each arriving with a deadline attached.
I would rather you knew the whole path before you started walking it. Four parts, in this order, and each one is finished before the next matters. They spell R.E.A.L.
This describes how I generally work and the usual shape of a Utah transaction. It is not legal, tax or lending advice, and your contract governs your deal.
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Ready: what you can buy, and what we sign
Before we look at houses, two things get settled.
What you can actually buy. Not what you are approved for, which is a maximum rather than a recommendation. The payment with taxes and insurance, against what you want the rest of your life to look like. I am a licensed mortgage lender as well as an agent, so that conversation happens once rather than across two people who never speak to each other.
The Exclusive Buyer-Broker Agreement. This is what you sign with me before I start showing you homes. It sets out that I represent you, what I do, and how I am paid. Read it properly and ask me about anything in it. How buyer representation gets compensated changed across the industry recently, so it is worth having that conversation deliberately rather than assuming the old arrangement still applies. The terms are agreed between us and they are negotiable.
Earnest money, so it is not a surprise later. There is no fixed amount in Utah. Practically, $1,000 is the minimum that gets taken seriously, and $2,500 to $5,000 is the range that makes an offer look solid to a listing agent. It is not an extra cost. It goes toward what you owe at closing.
How We Help You Buy
Educated: what things are called here
Every state uses different words for the same ideas, and being the only person in the room who does not know them is why buyers feel behind.
Due Diligence. In Utah this is your inspection period. It is the window after your offer is accepted in which you investigate the property: inspection, review of what the seller disclosed, and anything else you want to check. The length is agreed in your contract rather than fixed by law, and it is negotiable like any other term. This is the most important window in the transaction, and the worst place to save a few hundred dollars on the inspection.
The appraisal is separate from the inspection and it is for your lender, not for you. It supports the loan amount based on value. An inspection tells you about the condition. They answer different questions.
Closing happens through a title company. Utah is not an attorney state. The title company handles the search for anything that would affect ownership, holds the funds, and manages the signing and recording. You do not need to hire a lawyer to buy a house here, though you are always free to.
Aligned: the search, and the offer
The listings are public. Everyone can see the same houses. What is not public is most of what decides whether one is a good buy.
How long it has genuinely been sitting, whether it was listed before under a different price, what the last buyer walked away from, and what the sellers care about besides money, which is frequently the timing. That comes from calling the listing agent and asking, which is ordinary work a surprising number of agents skip.
Your offer is more than the price. When a seller has two or three in front of them, the difference is usually the terms: a closing timeline matching what they actually need, which contingencies you keep or shorten and what each one costs you in risk, and financing that looks solid at a glance. That last one is where being able to speak to the lending side of your own offer does real work.
I am a Master Certified Negotiation Expert. On the buying side that shows up twice: writing an offer that gets accepted without overpaying, and the Due Diligence response afterwards.
Locked: under contract to keys
Once your offer is accepted, the contract dates start running and they do not wait for anybody.
Earnest money is delivered to the escrow holder per your contract. Due Diligence runs: inspection, disclosure review, and any specialist reports the property calls for. If something turns up, that is a negotiation rather than an automatic exit, and it is a real opportunity to improve your position.
Your lender moves from pre-approval to underwriting. Do not make major financial changes during this period. A new car loan between acceptance and closing has cost people houses.
The appraisal is ordered. If it comes in below the purchase price, your options depend on your contract and your loan, and we will go through them properly rather than panicking.
Title work runs in the background, then a final walkthrough shortly before closing, then signing at the title company. Funding and recording may be the same day or not, depending on the transaction.
You get told what is happening as it happens, not after.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much earnest money do I need in Utah?
There is no fixed amount. Practically, $1,000 is the minimum that gets taken seriously and $2,500 to $5,000 is the range that makes an offer look solid. It is not an extra cost, it goes toward what you owe at closing.
What is Due Diligence?
It is the Utah name for your inspection period, the window after acceptance in which you investigate the property. Its length is agreed in your contract rather than set by law, and it is negotiable. It is the most important window in the transaction.
Do I need a lawyer to buy a house in Utah?
No. Utah closes through a title company rather than an attorney. The title company handles the title search, holds the funds and manages signing and recording. You are always free to involve your own lawyer if you want to.
What do I sign before you show me homes?
An Exclusive Buyer-Broker Agreement. It sets out that I represent you, what I do, and how I am paid. The terms are agreed between us and they are negotiable, and I would rather you read it properly and asked questions than signed it quickly.
What happens if the appraisal comes in low?
Your options depend on your contract and your loan programme, and they usually include renegotiating, adjusting terms, bringing additional funds if you want to, or cancelling where the contract allows. We go through them together rather than reacting.
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