Finishing your basement can significantly increase the value of your home.
I just helped my son finish the drywall for the basement in his in-law’s home so him and his wife could move in after just being recently married.
Here are my 3 simple tips for remodeling:
1. If you can, do it yourself, but consider hiring a professional for the electrical and plumbing.
2. Keep in mind there will be intensive labor such as the sheet rocking shown in this video.
3. Map out all the details before you start. Make a plan.
If you have any questions about remodeling, I could answer them for you! If not, I’ll be sure to point you in the right direction. I am here to help you make your home the best it can be for your own enjoyment or ready for the market!
Contact me for more information and for all your Real Estate needs.
Brian Olsen – Coldwell Banker 801-318-3108 bolsenrealestate@gmail.com www.bolsenre.com
You may be too cold still to think about swimming outdoors here in Utah. However, August will be here before you know it and with that is our annual Coldwell Banker Client Appreciation Party at the Lindon Pool. We have great food, great competitions, and more often than not great weather. One of the most fun things to participate in is the “Lily-Pad Race”. I’m always so grateful for those I get to work within Real Estate and those that continue to refer their friends and family to me. Please plan on attending our Pool Party and we’ll see who wins the competition this year. Hope to see you there!
Watch for more information with the date and time.
Contact me for more information and for all your Real Estate needs.
Brian Olsen – Coldwell Banker 801-318-3108 bolsenrealestate@gmail.com www.bolsenre.com
Have you had the chance to spend time in Salem, UT?
Check out the beautiful view in this video below! The Sun is just setting and hitting the
top of the mountains, it’s stunning.
My Top Favorites in Salem:
Salem Pond:
If you’re familiar with the pond, you know that they do an awesome winter lighting
display right on the pond. It is so neat! It is really one of the best
things we like to see in Salem. During the winter seeing the lights on the pond is really cool.We look forward to it every Christmas! Throughout the year, you can see fishermen all around the pond. They stock it with fish really well; the DWR does it in March, April, and May. Fishing is fantastic during the summer months. So that’s number one.
Salem Christmas Lights:
The second thing is again Christmas related; Christmas lights! If you’re going to come and see the pong, make sure to drive around the neighborhoods. There are so many awesome homes with beautiful Christmas lights. It’s one of the favorite places to come, for all of our family,
to just drive around and see Christmas lights.
Stokes:
And number three, this might be a suprise, but Stokes is a wonderful grocery store here in Salem. I think that the grocery store here is one of the absolute best. Maybe it’s because I grew up in Burley, Idaho and the people that own it in fact came from Burley. Idaho. They have some of the best deals and always have such wonderful produce. (My in-laws live here, I should have
said that’s my first best thing about Salem; is that my in-laws live here, I
love them, they’re great.) But they’re continually there on Saturday mornings stocking up for Sunday dinner and the rest of the week. My mother-in-law gets some incredible buys of strawberries and all kinds of different things.
That’s my top three favorties of Salem, Utah (and that’s for everybody, for me personally my in-laws are of course my top number one thing about Salem) Anyway, come down and check out to Salem.
My son actually lives in Salem and he has his real estate license and helps me
a lot down this way in this part of Utah County. He loves living here. It is close to everything he needs but still feels like a little town.
In a sentence, Salem is a great little city. There is a lot happening in Salem, a lot of growth
here and many people buying and selling real estate. If you have a question about the area
give me a call and either my son or I will help you out with anything you need.
A bathroom remodel can be a great investment if you’re looking to sell or simply improve the comfort of your own home. I have 2 important tips to make sure you get the most out of your bathroom remodel. And don’t miss my piece of inspiration, a unique remodeling hack, at the end!
1. What’s your vision? Make sure you have a plan before you start, and you know the end goal. Often times we get in over our head with ideas off of Pinterest, and they may not work out as planned.
2. Professional is best. Let me emphasize, if your remodel isn’t well done, it can really hurt your home value. You want to have a professionally done remodel. I suggest getting a professional contractor who will do a good job for you! Make sure and take the opportunity to see some of their work before you hire them. I recommend you find someone local to support and then personally see what kind of work they do, what kind of colors they have, tile options, countertops, how the drawers glide…all of it. It may be intriguing to buy something off the internet, but sometimes once it arrives it won’t quite be what you expected.
Need some inspiration? THIS IS MY NOW MY FAVORITE BATHROOM FEATURE!
Check out this bathroom! It is quite small, but there was a new vanity, sink and drawers installed. However, keep watching— the creativity is underneath all that.
I thought this was such a unique inspiration for your current bathroom remodel! Organization is a key component to helping you enjoy your bathroom space! I hope this idea brings a new perspective to your current remodel aspirations.
If you have any interest in selling your property or would like a home evaluation contact me today! I’m happy to give you advice throughout the entirety of your home, together we can make it as attractive as possible to your future buyer!
If you’re looking to buy I can also help take care of you! I’m here to help.
I recently went through a home in Heber City for a client. This home had 4,500 sq. ft, 6 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths. There are many homes similar to this one if you are interested!
Heber City is a wonderful place to live. Located on the Wasatch Back, it is the perfect place if you want to live somewhere that feels isolated; yet still close to Salt Lake City, Park City and Provo. There are homes with high square footage and large spacious lots.
If you’re looking to buy, there are currently 233 residential listings on the Wasatch Front MLS in Heber City. It is a great time to look through a variety of homes and find one that suits your liking!
In 2018 there were 258 residential sales. Have you recently considered listing your home? Contact me today for a home market evaluation at no cost!
Contact me for more information and for all your Real Estate needs.
Brian Olsen – Coldwell Banker 801-318-3108 bolsenrealestate@gmail.comwww.bolsenre.com
Have you ever been to Midway, UT? I just want to share a little bit of information with you about an area of Midway well known as Dutch Fields. Last fall they started building out at Dutch Canyons. (it’s just west of Dutch Fields) It’s a little bit higher elevation and is absolutely beautiful. There aren’t many parcels left in this area. Dutch Canyon is an HOA, Dutch Fields is an HOA, and a lot of people tell me that they don’t want to be in an HOA. However, what are some benefits of it? Some HOA fees are higher than others. However, sometimes the lower priced HOA fees don’t give you as many benefits like this one does. This HOA here in Dutch Canyon includes a pond and a swimming pool, etc. HOAs often have conditions, covenants, and restrictions to keep the homes nice and that’s one of the biggest benefits of an HOA. People don’t want their home or their property to lose value due to someone not taking care of their yard. So a couple of things: some HOAs have a higher fee, but they take care of everything. They take care of your front lawn, back lawn, the trees, the shrubs…everything. Others will charge a little bit less and allow you to take care of a portion of your yard or all of your yard. However, if you start letting your lawn get too dry or you have a car on cinder blocks on your front lawn it may not be tolerated; there are some certain restrictions to keep the community looking nice. So HOAs in that aspect are a benefit to maintaining the value of your property and the overall feel of the neighborhood.
Anyway, check it out! There are a variety of price ranges in this area. I have another client that’s looking at a property and it’s not on the higher end like the Dutch Fields and Dutch Canyon. Keep in mind that HOAs do have an impact on your loan-to-value ratio. So depending on what you’re looking to do there, that’ll have an impact. Check out this clip and take in this beautiful area, it’s just incredible. What a great view of Heber Valley, it’s a great location! If you are interested in Dutch Canyon or Dutch Fields please get in contact with me and we can find you a wonderful place to live in Midway, UT. Contact me for more information and for all your Real Estate needs.
Brian Olsen – Coldwell Banker 801-318-3108 bolsenrealestate@gmail.com www.bolsenre.com
Last year I was able to participate in a golf fundraiser for Huntsman Cancer! This is a little clip from that event and some more information about the fundraisers I am privileged to be a part of. Let me know if you’d like to join us for this year’s fundraising golf tournament! This specific fundraiser was held at the Dave Rose classic for Huntsman Cancer at the Alpine Country Club. If you ever want to support Huntsman Cancer this is the way to do it. What do they say? The worst day of golf is better than the best day at work! I love this organization, Huntsman is just a classy place. My mom passed away about 26 years ago of cancer and I appreciate what research they do here. It’s amazing the stories that you hear about Huntsman Cancer. Dave and his wife Cheryl Rose have taken this project (I know I’ve talked about it before on my blog) and they raise money every year. I also appreciate Coldwell Banker and what they do to support this program. I donate every time I have a settlement or a closing. I appreciate my clients and those that have worked with me over these years who make it possible for me to donate! If you have any inkling of buying or selling let me know, I’d love to work with you and make another donation to Huntsman Cancer. It’s amazing what they do. There is a new joint venture with Primary Children’s and Huntsman Cancer. They have a PET scan where they can do these scans that enable them to know within a day, or even just a few hours, the impact of the treatments, how it’s working and what’s happening with the cancer. It used to take weeks to get information. Have a great week! It was a beautiful day and I’m very blessed to be able to golf with Coldwell Banker at this Huntsman Classic every year. Get in touch with me if you’d like to come to golf at our fundraising event this year! Contact me for more information and for all your Real Estate needs.
Brian Olsen – Coldwell Banker 801-318-3108 bolsenrealestate@gmail.com www.bolsenre.com
My son just taught me how to reach my dream goals.
I recently had the opportunity to spend some time at the skate park in Park City with my son Zachary. Skating is something he’s had a passion for since he was about 10 years old. It was really neat to see how far he’s come and how his talent for skating has developed.
Watching him skate made me think of something that my mom often told me:
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not: Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
As I’ve looked back at my life, I’m always trying to improve; trying to be a better father, a better husband, serve more in my community and do better at my career of being a realtor. I’ve had some pretty big and unexpected changes in the last few years going from owning my construction business to real estate, and it seems like I’m always looking for an answer. ACHIEVING MY DREAMS IS HARD. “What can I do to be better? How can I connect with my children better, communicate better with my wife?” Whatever it is, one thing that I know is that, especially as I look at my children, you never stop. You never stop being concerned. You never stop trying to do better; whether it’s with your family, if it’s with income, in the community… Whatever it is, you never stop.
I just want to share with you that I know persistence and determination are critical in whatever you’re doing. Sometimes it’s hard to get up in the morning and think I’ve got to go another day. However, there are a lot of rewards as we are persistent and determined. Want to reach your dreams? Learn persistence! That’s what I’ll be doing. We’ve got this!
So anyway, have a great weekend and if you’re interested in Park City, it’s a great place to live! Get up here!
Coldwell Banker hosts so many fun activities all year round!
Contact me for more information about future events!
In this fun little clip, we are at Classic Skating on a Saturday morning. We do events like this every year in the Spring. Let me know if you’d like an invite to this year’s event! They have so many things here; I haven’t been here since it was just a skating rink. They’ve got bounce houses and a huge jungle gym. Contact me for more information and for all your Real Estate needs.
Brian Olsen – Coldwell Banker 801-318-3108 bolsenrealestate@gmail.com www.bolsenre.com
Hello everyone, I am in Saratoga Springs looking at a home here and just wanted to share a couple things with you. Saratoga Springs is the coolest place and this home is in the area that used to have the marina and the old hot springs.
If you know much about Saratoga Springs, it’s a cool story about a guy named John Beck. He was working in the Tintic district of Utah and had made a ton of money in the mines out there. He came over to this side, saw the hot springs and then bought approximately a thousand acres and turned it into a resort. He named it Saratoga Springs after the Saratoga Springs Resort in New York.
It was the late 1800’s when he started it (not that I go back that far) but I do remember coming here in the 70’s. There were parks, picnic tables, a water slide and of course the hot springs. I was a really, really cool place. Now it is homes.
This home is a great home; just over 5,700 square feet, six bedrooms, four baths. But the thing that’s really cool is this home is in a location where they have an HOA and it’s around $100 a month. They have two pools, they have the dock, in fact, you can see the lake right here in the video. They have a private marina, dock, they have basketball courts, they have pavilions, a couple clubhouses. It’s amazing what they have in this HOA for such a low price!
Saratoga, as I’m sure everybody’s heard…Saratoga, Eagle Mountain, all of this side of the lake…has been growing like crazy! In this area here they have houses built, but they’re not on top of each other.
So if you’re interested in living in Saratoga let me know! If you’re interested in the history I’d love to talk to you about that too, it’s a pretty fun history.
Give me a call if you’re interested in buying or selling Saratoga! Add that to your list, I’d love to help you!
Contact me for more information and for all your Real Estate needs.
Brian Olsen – Coldwell Banker 801-318-3108 bolsenrealestate@gmail.com www.bolsenre.com
