Author Archives: Fairpark Community

The Fairpark Community Real Estate Update

Well, you may have heard, real estate is booming, and has been for quite some time now. We have more qualified buyers than we have inventory to sell, thus the new construction boom has blossomed all over the valley. We have recovered from the worst of the recession, prices have come back up, and here’s the rub: interest rates are still at all-time lows, so with today’s rates (about 4%), at 2007 list prices, buyers can still purchase approximately 30% more home than they could 8 years ago when rates were hovering around 6%. That is a significant advantage.

Home owners are now out from under their mortgages with enough room to sell, and buyers have been busily picking up all the decent inventory for several years now. In our Fairpark Community boundaries, we currently have 8 active listings, 6 under contract, 41 homes have sold in the last six months with the top sales price at $269k. In fact, we’ve had 15 homes sell in the past 12 months with sales prices over $200k. Days on market for new listings are currently less than 30 days, and very often, it’s only matter of hours for many homes with multiple offers before going under contract. To say this is a hot market is an understatement.

If you find that your home is not selling, here’s the not-so-secret industry tip: it’s price or condition – and both can be remedied with a price reduction or repairs. It’s very simple. The buyers are speaking loud and clear – they are savvy to the market changes and they know the inventory. Don’t bank on the one buyer who “might” come along and pay you full price – if your home is sitting on the market and not producing an offer, meet with your Realtor and put a game plan together. There is not much worse for your home value than sitting on an over-priced listing for several months. Buyers become anxious that your home has problems and then it becomes stigmatized – everyone remembers “that” house….the one that sat listed for 3 years, etc. Don’t let that be your strategy. Be intent to sell, work with a knowledgeable Realtor, and price your home to move it. No wishful thinking or magical fairy dust will sell an overpriced listing, not even in a sizzling market.

The Fairpark Community is the place to be! We have an extraordinary quality of life, we have fantastic freeway access, and we’re close to everything. So get out and enjoy the trails, the sunshine and our beautiful city – we are so very lucky to live here!!

Brook Bernier is a Fairpark Community resident, Council Board member and is a real estate agent. Brook can be reached at brookbernier at gmail dot com.

October Safety Tips: Halloween and Falling Back

Reduce Fear This Halloween

One of our favorite times of year in Fairpark is Halloween. Often a fun-filled time for children, however, there are many dangers associated with the holiday unrelated to ghouls, goblins and witches. Parents should take the necessary Halloween safety precautions to make sure their children remain safe while still having fun. Check out the infographic on safe costume choices to help keep kids safe on Halloween: http://www.nsc.org/act/events/Pages/Halloween-Safety.aspx

Click here http://www.nsc.org/learn/safety-knowledge/Pages/halloween-safety.aspx for tips on Halloween safety, tips for motorist, tips for trick or treating and on costumes.

Fall Back on November 1st

When you change your clocks, it’s also a great time to check the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Check to see if your fire extinguishers need recharging.

The Utah State Fair: Perspectives on a United Community Tradition

The state fair is an annual event that brings our community together with the rest of the state – rural and urban folk alike. This year’s State Fair had something for everyone with the many exhibits,events and fun that brought out kids of all ages.

Little Hands on the Farm, The Fishing Pond, 4-H Exhibits, an old-fashioned, under-the-big-top circus, comedians (who were also entertaining hip-hop dancers), cooking demonstrations, art exhibits, photography exhibits, creative arts exhibits (including some clever sculptures made from soda pop cans), demolition derby, carnival rides and a wide variety of food options.

The Fair means different things to many people in the Fairpark community. Perspectives from two Fairpark residents are offered here.

“Does no one else see the Fairgrounds as I see them? Beautiful in their humble but strong malleability. I love the flexibility of these spaces and their untethered usefulness,” says Ann Pineda, Fairpark resident and artist. “At the Fairgrounds, hundreds of skills are showcased each year. The work I showcase , only one of those skill-sets, has become a request for these beautiful spaces to be appreciated and in a way that is consistent with the history of this place.”

“I’ve discovered that fair food is a big draw for me,” states Brook Bernier, community resident. “I have visions of Navajo Bread with melted butter and powdered sugar for weeks coming up to the opening day. Something about Fair food – it just brings back so many good memories. I know exactly where the Navajo Bread pop-up is located at the Fair. I go there first, then I walk about 30 feet and get a super sweet corn cob, and turn around, walk over to Leatherby’s and get a big ice cream cone. I was short on time this year, so I made sure to fit in all my food priorities first. I rode my bike to the fair, which is also pretty awesome, so there was less guilt associated with eating all of that high-calorie food in a matter of minutes.”

Continue reading →

Education Corner: Supporting your student’s school experience

Students have many teachers in their lives and parents are their first! There are many resources for parents to learn how to best support their student during their school career.

Colorin Colorado, a bilingual site for parents, has an article on 20 ways you can help support your child’s school experience.

¡Colorín Colorado!, ¡Ayudando a los niños leer…y a triunfar!

En efecto, muchos estudios científicos demuestran que lo que la familia hace es más importante para el éxito escolar de los niños que el nivel de ingresos familiares o el nivel educativo de los padres. He aquí 20 maneras en que usted puede ayudar a su hijo a triunfar en la escuela.

http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/twenty-ways-you-can-help-your-children-succeed-school

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Salt Lake County Library services has a new homework help resource, Brain Fuse, which provides free live tutoring for all subjects and grades.

You can utilize Brainfuse from home with your library card. If you are an educator outside of Salt Lake County you are eligible for an educator card to utilize this resource. Contact our customer service: 801-943-4636 for more details.

http://www.brainfuse.com/highEd/liveTutoring.asp

http://www.brainfuse.com/highed/helpNow.asp?a_id=929EC11B&ss=&r=

Please share with anyone who would be interested, the tutoring is available in Spanish as well and there are also career and job help resources through it.

Pedal in the City: Resources for the average Cyclist

Pedal in the City is a new column to promote and educate everything about bicycling in Salt Lake City.

Increasing numbers of Salt Lake City residents are using pedal power to commute and recreate. Not only is it good exercise, it is environmentally responsible. This month’s column is dedicated to providing resources for people who currently cycle or who want to know more about how to incorporate cycling into their lives.

Salt Lake City has created a website as part of its transportation division devoted to bicycling, “Bike SLC” – http://www.bikeslc.com. The website includes maps and safety tips and is a good starting point for information on biking in SLC.

Green Bike SLC is a bike sharing program. Bike sharing is different from bike rentals. Your read all about bike sharing at: https://greenbikeslc.org

The Salt Lake Bicycle Collective provides education and refurbished bicycles to the community.http://www.bicyclecollective.org/
BIKE SAFETY TIP OF THE MONTH:

This month’s safety tip comes from Bicycle Safe ~ http://bicyclesafe.com

Ten Ways to Not Get Hit

How to avoid the “Right Cross”:

This is the most common way to get hit (or almost get hit).(source1, source2) A car is pulling out of a side street, parking lot, or driveway on the right. Notice that there are actually two possible kinds of collisions here: Either you’re in front of the car and the car hits you, or the car pulls out in front of you and you slam into it.

How to avoid this collision:

1. Get a headlight. If you’re riding at night, you absolutely should be using a front headlight. Even for daytime riding, a bright white light that has a flashing mode can make you more visible to motorists who might otherwise Right Cross you. Look for the new LED headlights which last ten times as long on a set of batteries as old-style lights. And headlamps (mounted on your head or helmet) are the best, because then you can look directly at the driver to make sure they see your light.

Read the rest of the tips for avoiding the Right Cross Collision here.

Adopt-A-Spot News

The September Adopt-A-Spot event was a bit more quiet than usual. It seemed as though there wasn’t much activity in the parks that day. Nonetheless, we were able to collect garbage along the north and south side of the river from Constitution Park, over to the Cottonwood Park, the trail along the north side of the river and up to 700 North. Everyone grabbed a big green garbage bag and trash-picker-upper and off they went in all directions.

The city provided us with sidewalk chalk to write friendly notes in English and Spanish, (in lieu of signage that is still in the works). You may have seen our sidewalk art and messages. We wrote notes such as: “Please use the garbage cans,” “No tiene basura, por favor,” “Love your parks!” “Please don’t litter” “Tiene un buen dia!” The kids loved writing helpful messages on the sidewalks – the notes seemed to last more than a week before it rained, so we know lots of trail-users were able to see them.

We are planning our last Adopt-A-Spot event on Saturday, November 7th, from 11-2pm. We will meet at the east parking lot of the Northwest Rec Center again – this is the area near the soccer field (and dumpsters) 1200 W 300 N. AND, if you’re coming, you might as well bring your glass to be recycled, and any clothing items to be donated. Both collection bins are located right at that location!

Thanks for coming out last month – it was great to see you, and we all appreciate your efforts in keeping our trail and river clean and beautiful. See you next month!

Look for announcements about the next Adopt-A-Spot event on our website and facebook page.

Art Exhibit: For the Fairpark

The artwork of Ann Pineda, local Fairpark community resident, is on exhibit at Anderson-Foothill Public Library October 8-Novembe 13. A reception will be held October 8 from 7:00-8:30pm at the library.

Artist Statement:

For the Fairpark

Does no one else see the Fairgrounds as I see them? Beautiful in their humble but strong malleability. I
love the flexibility of these spaces and their untethered usefulness. Periodically, the dirt gets heaped up
into small, bumpy mountains for who knows what use and fences are moved around for various events.
I got curious.

For a number of years, I have been coming to draw and paint in the open spaces of the Fairpark. The different qualities of light playing off its surfaces and spaces wind up in the paintings. The Fairpark glows each evening under its peach-colored lights. In mornings, the light is soft, of course, as it is in late afternoons; but more usually, I have been working in the bright sheen of mid-day, trying to figure out what it is I’m seeing. It’s a bigger subject than I could paint in several lifetimes. I like that. I like trying to do more than I know I can presently do or even understand. (Oh, I believe I’m talking about “Reach.”)

Continue reading →

Dirt2Table: Too Many Apples?

Now is the time to preserve apples. There are literally tons of apples ripening on trees here in the Fairpark Community. These apples might be in your yard, your neighbor’s yard or maybe even in a public park. Apples are great to eat fresh, and they will keep for quite a while in the fridge or a cold room. They are also great for making apple butter, applesauce or apple jelly.

One of my favorite things to do with a lot of the apples that I get this time of year is to make dried apples.

You need to get the apples into somewhat uniform thin slices. They can be up to 1⁄4 inch thick, but a little less than that is better. This can be done with one of the hand crank machines that peel, core and slice the apple. They aren’t too expensive and can sometimes be found in good shape at a thrift store. The slices they make are actually a long spiral that can be separated into the pieces you lay on your dehydrator screen. You can also cut, peel and core your apples with a paring knife,and make thin slices that way.

Once you have your slices, just arrange them on the trays of your food dehydrator, and in 5 to 10 days you will have delicious dried apples ready to store for the winter. That is if you don’t eat them all up! They are so good that it is easy to eat a lot of them. Kids love them and they make good gifts in small jars. Try sending some to school with the kids for lunch or snacks.

Education Corner: Talking to Your Children about School

School has started and students are busy studying math, social studies, reading and writing. By now they should be entrenched in learning as a daily routine.

The other day I asked my grandson what he learned in school that day. His response? “Nothing.”

This brought back memories of similar responses from my children as they were growing up. How can parents create meaningful conversations about school with their children? The answer: Be specific.

Instead of asking “How was school today”, try “Explain to me what types of problems you did in math today,” followed by questions like “How did you solve them?” “Can you show me what you did?” “What about solving the problem gave you the most trouble?” This will help your child answer to more specific questions and help you determine where your child is being successful and what things are more difficult for him/her.

Parent.co has a list of specific conversation starters you can ask your kids about school – some humorous and others more serious about academics. View the list here.

The key is communicating with your children. Be specific. Be interested. Your kids will thank you some day!