Protect Yourself From the Winter Inversion

Our area suffers from a winter inversion, but there are a few tips you can follow to protect yourself from it.

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If you’re feeling the effects of the winter inversion in our area, I have a few tips to share with you that will help you feel better and keep your family safe.

First, let’s recap what the winter inversion is. You see, air quality is often best in the wintertime when the weather works to clean the air, trapping ozone and other pollutants in precipitation or blowing them off with sharp, gusty winds. As the inversion goes on, this trapped air begins to stagnate, and the concentration of fine particle pollutants in the air, emitted by the consumption of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants, and factories, increases. An extended period of inversion sometimes results in the formation of a brownish fog.

The first thing you can do to minimize the effects of the winter inversion is visit www.air.utah.gov to check the air quality in your area on any given day. 

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If you can physically feel the air affecting you in your day-to-day life, invest in an air purifier for your household.

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Second, if you’re like me and you prefer to exercise outside, try doing it during hours with low traffic activity. You can also exercise in high-altitude areas above the fog.

There are several tips you can try that will also help the environment at large, including:

• Not burning trash 
• Recycling
• Carpooling
• Turning off your car when you’re waiting to pick up your kids from school

Lastly, if you can physically feel the air affecting you in your day-to-day life, invest in an air purifier for your household. My family did this, and although it was expensive, it’s made a big difference for us.

If you have any more questions about this topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you.

How to Make Your Home Ready for Fall and Winter

Today, I want to go over a few essential maintenance tips for the fall and winter months.

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Today I want to go over a few fall maintenance tips. Fall and winter hit us very quickly here in Utah, so there are a few ways you should think about preparing before it’s too late in the year to do so. First, get an automatic change form if you have renters in your property. That way, the property is automatically transferred to your name if they leave. I have literally walked into properties where I’ve found ice hanging from the ceilings. Getting an automatic change form can avoid disasters like this. Secondly, make sure you seal everything. Water can cause mold and structural damage, so make sure your doors, windows, and other areas are all properly sealed.

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You absolutely do not want your furnace to go out when it’s 10 degrees outside.

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This brings me to my third tip, which is to seal your gutters. I’ve seen basements actually flood because of water coming down from the gutter and directly into the basement. Also, another tip I want you to think about is to check your furnace on an annual basis. You absolutely do not want your furnace to go out when it’s 10 degrees outside. Make sure you are checking and maintaining it as needed. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

What the Insane Rental Market Could Mean for You

The current rental market in Salt Lake City is simply insane, and we choose to see that as an opportunity. You should too!

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The current rental market is simply insane, and it's having an effect on our market.

I recently looked at a study by Yardi, a software company used by property managers, which looked at 250 cities and found that they're experiencing a 2% year-over-year increase in rent. They found that 203 of those cities actually had an increase in the last 30 days. The most interesting part was that Salt Lake City is the 13th fastest rental growth market in the whole country with a year-over-year increase of 7.7% in rent rates.

This affects our market in a few ways. For one, if you rent right now, you can buy a property, lock in an interest rate, and actually pay less for a mortgage than you currently pay in rent.

Secondly, if you haven't taken advantage of the market in the past and you're looking into how to build wealth, looking into the rental market might be a good option for you. We can help you make sure you know how to be a good landlord and educate you through the whole process. We also want to make sure you find a property that will have cash flow and bring you equity. We also want to be sure you have a cash flow that isn't affected if the market takes a downward turn.

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Real estate investment is one of the best hedges against inflation.

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That's why they say real estate is one the biggest hedges against inflation—as the market continues to grow, home values go up and rents go up.

Finally, if you're a landlord and have not increased rental rates in the last 18 months, considering doing so now. I've personally had to increase all my rent rates, so let's do a rent analysis for you if you think it might be time.

If you have any other questions about rental properties or investing in any kind of real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to serving you soon!