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Show .wwm mrrrrrrrrrr r m r f f f ? f rrrrr 9 A-20 The Park Record Saturday, January 3, 1998 Talking Shop How to pick your real estate team members submitted by the Park City Board of REALTORS Winston Churchill's description descrip-tion of the Soviet Union also applies to the home-huying process. For the uninitiated, Churchill characterized the Soviet Union as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." If you're like most folks who are just starting to look for a home, you're not an expert on property values, financing, or lax and real estate law. And when your life savings are on the line, abject ignorance isn't hliss. Not understanding the process of buying a home can cost you big buck and make you unhappy with the home that you buy. How can you find your way through the maze of constantly changing real estate market conditions, local laws, regulations regula-tions and tax codes? Where can you sign up for a crash course in home values? Even if you have the aptitude, how will you find the time to become an expert in so many fields? One way around these problems prob-lems is to do nothing. You can't get into trouble if you're lying in a corner, curled tightly into the fetal position. Of course, the downside of doing nothing is that nothing gets done. You can never buy a home using this method. How the team concept works Time and time again, we've seen smart people blunder into horrible situations when they buy a home. What gets them into trouble is usually ignorance of something that they (or their advisers) should have known, but didn't. Strangely enough, knowing everything isn't important. What .v important is having good people on your team people who know what you need to know so that you can solve the problems that invariably invari-ably arise. You don't have to become an instant expert in home values, mortgages, tax and real estate law, title insurance, escrows, pest control work and construc tion techniques in order to play the home-buying game well. You can choose to hire people who have mastered the skills that you lack. Home buying is a team sport. Your job is to lead and coach the team, not play every position. posi-tion. After you've assembled a winning team, your players should give you solid advice so that you can make brilliant decisions. deci-sions. If cost were no object, you'd hire every competent expert you could get your hands on. However, you probably don't have an unlimited budget, so you need to determine which experts are absolutely necessary, neces-sary, and which tasks you can handle yourself. Here's a thumbnail sketch of the possible players on your team: You: Always remember that you're the most important player play-er on your team. In nearly every home purchase, something goes wrong one of your players drops the ball or doesn't satisfy your needs. You have every right to politely, yet forcefully, insist that things be made right. Remember that you hire the players on your team they work for you. Bad players may see things the other way around: they'd like to believe (and want you to believe) that they're in charge. They may try to manipulate manip-ulate you to act in their interests rather than yours. Don't tolerate toler-ate this. You're the boss: you can fire as well as hire. Real estate agent: Because the home you're about to buy is probably the largest single investment you'll ever make, you must have someone on your team who knows property values. Your agent's primary mission is to help you find your dream home, tell you what the home is worth, and negotiate for it on your behalf to make sure you don't pay one cent more for it than you absolutely have to. Real estate broker: Every state issues two kinds of real estate licenses: a salesperson's license and a broker's license. If your real estate agent is not an independent broker or the broker bro-ker for a real estate office, then he (or she) must be supervised by a broker who is responsible for everything your agent does or fails to do. In a crisis, your transaction's success may depend upon backup support from your agent's broker. Lender: If you can't pay, you can't play. And because most people can't pay all cash for their homes, you probably need a loan to buy your dream house. A good lender offers competitively competi-tively priced loans, and may even be able to help you select the best type of loan from the financial minefield of loan programs pro-grams available today. Property inspectors: A house's physical condition greatly affects its value. Your dream home should be thoroughly thor-oughly inspected from roof to foundation before you purchase it, to make sure that you actually actual-ly get what you think you're buying. Escrow officer: Mutual distrust dis-trust is the underlying rule of every real estate deal. You and the seller need a neutral third party the escrow officer to handle funds and paperwork related to the transaction without with-out playing favorites. The escrow officer is the home-buying game's referee. Financial and tax advisors: Before you purchase a home, you should understand how the purchase will fit into the context con-text of your overall financial situation. sit-uation. You should address the issues of what your financial goals are and, given those goals, how much house you can afford. Lawyer: You may or may not need a lawyer on your team, depending on your contract's complexity, your dream home's location, and your personal comfort level. The purchase agreement you sign when buying buy-ing a home is a legally binding contract. If you have any questions ques-tions about your contract's legality, put a lawyer who specializes spe-cializes in real estate law on your team. Odds are that you won't win the game unless you have a winning win-ning team. But remember that your players are advisers, not decision-makers. Decision-making is your job. You're the boss. The buck stops with you. After all, it's your money on the line. Taken from Home Buying for Dummies, with permission from author Rav, Brown. Marketplace Ami Joaillerie Gallery opens on Main New jeweler and gallery offers both fine baubles and fine art by Bruce Lewis OF THE RECORD STAFF Park City's newest jewelry store and art gallery has opened on Main Street, just down the street from the Claimjumper restaurant. "We offer very fine jewelry and very fine art," said Shawn Mir, who works as a custom-jewelry designer and sales representative for Ami. The store offers both limited-distribution pieces and designed-to-order jewelry. "We carry jewelry lines such as Lapponia, Carrera y Carrera and Helen Ringus," said Michael Rowley, director of the Park City location. "Almost all our lines are unique to Utah, and some are unique to the United States." Carrera y Carrera, for example, has been making fine jewelry in Madrid, Spain, since 1885, and Lapponia is an affiliation of jewelry designers from Finnland. Zoltan Popovits, designer and craftsman for Lapponia, wrote that "Jewelry should be the connecting link between the wearer and his or her surroundings." Lapponia pieces on display at Ami were a combination combina-tion of angular design with flowing curves, and frequently combine multiple metals such as yellow gold, silver and platinum with precious and semi-precious stones. "We carry 14- and 18-carat gold items in the store; no 10-carat items," said Rowley. "We also offer Tahitian black pearls and platinum items." Ami will have a full-time, full-service full-service jeweler on premises soon, as soon as the workshop area is completed. com-pleted. "We will be able to support almost any kind of jewelry work in the store, from repairs to custom design and crafting," said Rowley. "If the work is too complex, we can send it to Ami's East Coast manufacturing manu-facturing facility and have it back within a few days." Ami's manufacturing facilities in New York employ more than 20 jewelers and polishers, who make 80 percent of the products carried in Ami Joaillerie Gallery. In addition to 1eing a place for NNt, ....... ........ i 0,g. ' v Nv 1 r BRUCE LEWISR4RK RECORD Michael Rowley, director of Park City's new Ami Joaillerie Gallery, holds a custom-designed 18-carat gold heart-shaped pendant with pave diamonds. In the background is the painting "High country" by Utah artist Karen Home. exquisite jewelry items. Ami Joaillerie Gallery is also a gallery for fine art. "We thought that an approach of being a jeweler where a customer can also purchase fine art would be attractive in Park City," said Ami Joaillerie President Michael Faiella, who also oversees operations in Squaw Creek, Calif., New Jersey and New York. Faiella's daughter, Kim, will soon be joining the staff at Ami. She studied at Skidmore College and will become another in-house jewelry jew-elry designer at the Park City location. loca-tion. . The store is currently showcasing showcas-ing Utah artist Karen Home's paintings. Born in New York, Home was raised in California and Utah, and was influenced by her great-grandmother's collection of Utah impressionist paintings. She completed her B.A. with honors at Yale University, and later pursued an M.F.A. on a full teaching fellowship fellow-ship at Indiana University. After studying for a summer in Italy, Home moved to New York, where she resided until returning to Utah in 1996. Home, who is scheduled for a show at the Kimball Art Center later this year, has exhibited widely throughout the U.S. since her first solo show in 1981. "We plan to have rotating shows of artists, both local and regional," Rowley said. "We will also have receptions where guests can meet the artists whose works go on display dis-play here." "Our goal is to be a complete gallery of luxury," said Rowley. Minding Your Business Twice Weekly The Park Record www.newschoice.com Rick Hovey 3 Wpr"c ft xhLI uJK Great Investment or Ski Vacation Retreat! Located right in the heart of Park City, this very clean, 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit includes nice furnishings with everything you need except your toothbrush! Project amenities include underground parking, patio hot tub and located right on bus route. CONVENIENT LOCATION IN PROSPECTOR! 213 New Claim Condominium $159,900 Live or Invest in the Heart of Old Town! Rare Old Town location win walking distance to historic Main Street. Wonderful, bright, end unit with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, private 2 car garage, rock fireplace, new carpet and paint, private deck whot tub, washerdryer and approx. 1,200 sq.ft. 235 Park Avenue $269,000 Park City Affordable Living! This 2 bedroom, 2 full bath condo is perfect for a convenient place to live or as an investment. Vaulted ceilings, many upgrades, located on top floor with view of pool and close to the property's great amenities. ameni-ties. Easy commute to Salt Lake City or Park City. 4-L Powderwood Condo $119,900 Attention Investors! Duplex! Not a fixer upper! Built in 1980, remodeled in 1996. Each side has 2 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, 2,048 sq. ft. total. Outstanding views of Old Town. Almost a ski-in ski-out location. Here's an idea... live in one side and rent out the other long-term or short-term! 150 Upper Norfolk $439,000 Beautiful, Custom Family Home! The home everyone has been waiting for! Superb craftsmanship with impeccable detail and quality finishes throughout, this spacious floor plan includes 3,656 sq. ft., 3 bedrooms25 baths, heated 4 car garage, walkout basement master suite denloft, and large, secluded patio wspectacular landscaping. landscap-ing. Located in ideal family neighbor hood w 2 lakes, tennis, park and elementary ele-mentary school. Shows beautifully!! 5084 N. Silver Springs Road $425,000 TS COMMUNICATIONS linimw ft Mij fk Now you can share your airtime with any phones on the same plan for as low as $24.50 per month 2 phone minimum FREE Cellular Phone on selected price plans 2064 Prospector Ave. Suite 204 Park City, Utah 84060 (435)655-8789 Service provided by: AlRTOUCH" Cellular Contact us for all your Cellular, Two- Way Radio, and Paging needs OPEN WEEKDAYS 9AM - 6PM SATURDAY 9AM - 3PM |