“What Happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”….Is no longer true for me! My decedent indulgence when I visit sin city is the amazing Creme Brulee that I eat for “breakfast” at Treasure Island. There are times when I’ve even thought about jumping on a plane just to experience the thick, rich, creamy goodness with a crackle top. That’s until I found a perfect recipe that completely feeds my addiction. This is my own personal “ancient Chinese secret”, but I will share it with you my beloved friends. Follow the directions precisely and you will call to thank me.

Fantastic Creme Brulee

4 – cups chilled heavy cream

2/3 – cup granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

1 - vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and seeds scraped out

12 – large egg yolks

8-12 - teaspoons turbinado sugar

1. Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Combine 2 cups of the cream, the sugar, and salt in a medium sauce pan. Add the vanilla seeds to the pan, submerge the pod in the cream, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat and let steep 15 minutes to infuse the flavors.
3. Meanwhile, place a kitchen towel in the bottom of a large baking dish or roasting pan and arrange eight 4 or 5 ounce ramekins (or shallow fluted dishes) on the towel. Bring a kettle or large sauce pan of water to a boil over high heat.
4. After cream has steeped, stir in remaining 2 cups cream to cool down mixture. Whisk yolks in large bowl until broken up and combined. Whisk about 1 cup cream mixture into yolks until loosened and combined; repeat with another 1 cup cream. Add remaining cream and whisk until evenly colored and thoroughly combined. Strain through fine-mesh strainer into 2-quart measuring cup or pitcher (or clean medium bowl); discard solids in strainer. Pour or ladle mixture into ramekins, dividing it evenly among them.
5. Carefully place baking dish with ramekins on oven rack; pour boiling water into dish, taking care not to splash water into ramekins, until water reaches two-thirds height of ramekins. Bake until centers of custards are just barely set and are no longer sloshy and digital instant-read thermometer inserted in centers registers 170 to 175 degrees, 30 to 35 minutes (25 to 30 minutes for shallow fluted dishes). Begin checking temperature about 5 minutes before recommended time.
6. Transfer ramekins to wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Set ramekins on rimmed baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 4 days.
7. Uncover ramekins; if condensation has collected on custards, place paper towel on surface to soak up moisture. Sprinkle each with about 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar (1 1/2 teaspoons for shallow fluted dishes); tilt and tap ramekin for even coverage. Ignite torch and caramelize sugar. Refrigerate ramekins, uncovered, to re-chill, 30 to 45 minutes (but no longer); serve. Recipe compliments of Cooks Illustrated

Please let me know how it goes. I love to hear from you!!!!

Tobi Roberts

With low interest rates, tax credits offered by the Federal Government, and lower home prices, a “Perfect Storm” has created a favorable time to purchase a home. With two out of three of these incentives ending soon, time may be running out.

Interest Rates

Since November of 2008, The Federal Reserve has purcahsed a significant amount of mortgage backed securities to drive down interest rates. At the end of March, the entire budget of $1.25 trillion will be depleted, and this program will expire. This will undoubtedly result in upward pressure on mortgage rates.

As mortgage rates move higher, a homebuyer’s purchasing power decreases. Consider the following example:

Assume that Bill and Carol are comfortable with a mortgage payment no higher than $1,750 per month (this payment does not include taxes or insurance premiums). With a down payment of 20% on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 4.875%, they can borrow approximately $330,500. However, if mortgage rates increase by 1% up to 5.875%, given the same parameters they can only afford to borrow $295,500.

When you look at the last 30 years of home prices and interest rates, now is an incredible time to purchase a home. Back in 1982, the average price for an 1,800 square foot home was $100,000 with an average interest rate of 18%. A principal and interest payment for this scenario was $1,507. Contrast that with the current average home price of $200,000 and an interest rate of 5%. The payment on a similar home today is only $1,073.65. That is a monthly payment savings of $455.35 from 1982!

Tax Rebates

For first time buyers, there is currently an $8,000 tax rebate paid by the federal government. This is not a tax deduction, but rather a tax credit that wil put this much cash in your pocket. There is also a $6,500 tax credit offered for current homeowners who have owned a home for at least five years and purchase a different home as a primary residence. Both tax credits are set to expire on April 30, 2010.

Housing Prices

Lastly, it is important to note thathoems are more affordable today than they have been in years. Although home values will likely remain low for awhile, the reduction in home prices has slowed. This is a positive signal that values may be stabilizing.

The Michael Roberts Team at City Creek Mortgage is uniquely structured to ensure exceptional mortgage advice and loan management. If you or someone you know are considering purchasing or refinancing a home, contact me to review options. A 15 minute review will help ensure you are in proper mortgage in your current home or a home you plan to purchase.

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Have you taken advantage of the Tax Credit that is available to Home Buyers? If you haven’t NOW IS THE TIME! Take just a minute to watch this short video and if you have any questions, feel free to call me at 801-501-7950 or email at mike@citycreekmortgage.com. If you already have taken advantage of the tax credit, forward this video to a friend. We’d love to have the opportunity to assist them with any of their mortgage needs. Now is the time, we’d don’t want you or anyone you know to miss this great opportunity. (Turn your volume up just a bit.)

I heard a quote by Warren Buffet that said, “Be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy.” Thinking about the current Real Estate market we are in, one cannot pass up the incredible opportunity their is to purchase a home. With historically low interest rates and plenty of homes to choose from, NOW IS THE TIME! If you, a family member or friend, have been contemplating purchasing a home, we’d love the opportunity in assisting you or a loved one into the home of their dreams. I came across the following article written by Steve Harney, a mortgage and real estate professional that makes us realize the value in becoming a Homeowner. Enjoy the read!

“There seems to be a long held American belief currently under attack. For over two hundred years, homeownership in this country was a desire of almost every American family. Recently however, more and more people have been pontificating on the fact that owning your own home should never have been held in such high regard.

I don’t want to overstate my concerns as I know that the majority of Americasn still hold homeownership sacred. Trulia just did a survey showing 77% of those questioned still believe that owning a home is a part of the American dream. Yet, it does concern me that, while people are being forced from their home due to economic difficulties, some are claiming that homeownership never should have been the goal anyway.

Let me spend a few moments looking at the financial benefits of owning a home.

You may ask why I would make this argument today knowing that housing is in the midst of one of its worst times ever. Well, quite frankly, the last ten years have not treated the homeowner that badly. Obviously, people who purchased a home in 2006 and 2007 have seen their value depreciate over the last two or three years. But, real estate was never seen as a good short-term investment.

If we look at housing values over the last 10 years, we find that even through these tough times real estate has averaged over 50% return as an investment.

The chart below compares real estate to other investments over those ten years.

Then why this challenge today? Well, in the middle of the last decade, when prices were appreciating in some areas by as much as 20% annually, many got caught up in the belief that housing values should double every few years for the rest of time. That belief created all sorts of reckless behavior.

Many purchased homes well-beyond their financial means. Others decided that they would gamble on future values and interest rates by taking exotic mortgages to allow them to purchase a McMansion and worry about the cost at some later date. And others used their homes as an ATM, withdrawing their equity in the form of a home equity loan, in some cases, on an annual basis.

Previous to this, homeowners realized that a house was a home first and then a pretty good long-term investment. They might have borrowed against the house to put a child through college, finance a wedding, or pay for medical bills.

In the last few years however, people regularly refinanced to buy “new toys” (a new car, a boat, matching ATVs, etc.) Or, if it was for a medical procedure, it would just as likely be voluntary cosmetic surgery as a life saving operation.

I realized that tere were some people who were caught in difficult situations and others who got terrible advice from people they trusted. Their current situation is no fault of their own. My heart goes out to those people.

My hope is that, in these difficult times, the same people make sure they get good counsel. For example, I hope people think long and hard before they willfully default on their mortgages. They should try a modification first and, if that is unsuccessful, they should look for assistance in doing a short sale. A short sale will allow them to rebuild their credit more quickly, and enable them to purcahse a home again in half the time it would take if they go through foreclosure.

For over 200 years, Americans were eager to purchase property because they knew that on a long-term basis it would create wealth. That concept is alive and well in this country even today. For those who don’t believe this, save this blog post and we’ll revisit it in ten years.

Steve Harney

Over the past year it seems like all we’ve heard in the news is nothing but the status of the economy. Is it getting better or is it getting worse? I read this article just the other day and thought I’d pass it along to you. I’ll forewarn you that it’s a lot of statistics, but if you take just a minute and read through it, you’ll realize that Utah is doing a lot better than most states. I hope you enjoy!

UtahsEconomicRecovery