Mar
28
Andrew Regan asked:
A skier who skied off a marked trail and then collided with a wall – suffering severe internal injuries – has managed to revive a lawsuit against Snowbird, a ski resort in Utah. William Rothstein claims to have skied through a gap in a rope, in a cordoned off area, which he mistook for an entrance to an open trail. He crashed into a wall made of railway sleepers that was covered by a thin layer of snow, and sustained broken ribs, kidney injuries, liver damage and a collapsed lung.
Snowbird had initially won an earlier ruling, because Rothstein, like all skiers who buy season lift passes had signed a waiver meaning that he accepted the inherent dangers of the sport and in particular a clause that stated that the skier assumes all risk “including the negligence of Snowbird, its employees and agents.” But the Supreme Court decided that the release goes against a state law, which was written to protect resorts by keeping liability insurance rates affordable. This means that Rothstein can now attempt again to sue Snowbird for what he claims was negligence.
Jesse Trentadue, a lawyer representing Rothstein, claims the ruling will “encourage ski resorts to be more careful in their operations”. However the more likely outcome is to simply encourage people who sustain an injury whilst in skiing or snowboarding to try and bring about a law suit against the resort, meaning higher insurance premiums higher lift pass prices and even more restrictions imposed on skiers.
Many in nearby Salt Lake City have been outraged by the ruling, saying that people should take responsibility for their own actions and stop encouraging the creation of a Nanny State, where people have to be mollycoddled by the government in every aspect of their lives.
The so called “sue culture” that now blights America, and is also becoming more common in other western countries, has meant that due to fear of being sued over some ridiculous claim of negligence, many businesses are limiting their services to protect themselves from financial ruin. The outcome for this is that while a few individuals benefit financially from a payoff, everyone else suffers higher insurance premiums or increasingly more severe restrictions over their freedoms, all in the name of “insurance purposes.”
Of course, on occasion, there are some genuine acts of negligence which lead to serious injury, and in these cases compensation should be awarded, but the vast majority of cases going through the courts appear to be from greedy individuals out to exploit the system for their own financial gain. It’s now a sad fact of life that a massive industry has sprung up around trying to find reasons to blame others, rather than taking responsibility for ourselves.
For the sake of Snowbird ski resort, as well as restaurants, guesthouses and hotels in Salt Lake City, it’s hoped that the ruling goes in favour of the ski area and that the skier accepts responsibility for his own actions. But if Rothstein is successful in his case, it’s likely to open the flood gates for all manner of other gold diggers and as a result, push up ski pass prices, and induce further restrictions on winter sports fans.
Eddie
A skier who skied off a marked trail and then collided with a wall – suffering severe internal injuries – has managed to revive a lawsuit against Snowbird, a ski resort in Utah. William Rothstein claims to have skied through a gap in a rope, in a cordoned off area, which he mistook for an entrance to an open trail. He crashed into a wall made of railway sleepers that was covered by a thin layer of snow, and sustained broken ribs, kidney injuries, liver damage and a collapsed lung.
Snowbird had initially won an earlier ruling, because Rothstein, like all skiers who buy season lift passes had signed a waiver meaning that he accepted the inherent dangers of the sport and in particular a clause that stated that the skier assumes all risk “including the negligence of Snowbird, its employees and agents.” But the Supreme Court decided that the release goes against a state law, which was written to protect resorts by keeping liability insurance rates affordable. This means that Rothstein can now attempt again to sue Snowbird for what he claims was negligence.
Jesse Trentadue, a lawyer representing Rothstein, claims the ruling will “encourage ski resorts to be more careful in their operations”. However the more likely outcome is to simply encourage people who sustain an injury whilst in skiing or snowboarding to try and bring about a law suit against the resort, meaning higher insurance premiums higher lift pass prices and even more restrictions imposed on skiers.
Many in nearby Salt Lake City have been outraged by the ruling, saying that people should take responsibility for their own actions and stop encouraging the creation of a Nanny State, where people have to be mollycoddled by the government in every aspect of their lives.
The so called “sue culture” that now blights America, and is also becoming more common in other western countries, has meant that due to fear of being sued over some ridiculous claim of negligence, many businesses are limiting their services to protect themselves from financial ruin. The outcome for this is that while a few individuals benefit financially from a payoff, everyone else suffers higher insurance premiums or increasingly more severe restrictions over their freedoms, all in the name of “insurance purposes.”
Of course, on occasion, there are some genuine acts of negligence which lead to serious injury, and in these cases compensation should be awarded, but the vast majority of cases going through the courts appear to be from greedy individuals out to exploit the system for their own financial gain. It’s now a sad fact of life that a massive industry has sprung up around trying to find reasons to blame others, rather than taking responsibility for ourselves.
For the sake of Snowbird ski resort, as well as restaurants, guesthouses and hotels in Salt Lake City, it’s hoped that the ruling goes in favour of the ski area and that the skier accepts responsibility for his own actions. But if Rothstein is successful in his case, it’s likely to open the flood gates for all manner of other gold diggers and as a result, push up ski pass prices, and induce further restrictions on winter sports fans.
Eddie
Mar
20
Terry Fitzroy asked:
If you are traveling in Utah and you find yourself in need of an auto body shop, you better hope that you are not in the desert on your way to Wendover. The state of Utah is sparsely populated and most of the population is concentrated on the Wasatch Front, so it is difficult to find quality service in the cities situated out from the mountains.
No matter where you stop to leave your car in Utah, there are some things you ought to know to make sure you get good, reliable service for your vehicle.
First of all, meet the person who will be working on your car. If for some reason he is “too busy” to come talk to you, he will likely be “too busy” to do a good job on your car too. Ask him about his experience with cars, and be sure to ask if he has ever worked on your model of car before.
Get a quote on service fees, and also make sure you know how much money is going to be involved with parts. The last thing you need is a heart attack when you see a surprise bill that goes into four digits. If you feel like the person working on your car is not being up front and honest with you about all the work that is going to be involved, thank them for their time and ask to use the phone book.
Look for another body shop in that phone book because you should never leave your car in the hands of strangers that do not want to lay out the deal straight up. Once you are confident in the person who will fix your car body, inspect the facility. Do all the parts appear to be new, clean, and up to date with the latest technology? Remember that the state of Utah was founded by pioneers who came by wagons pulled by ox or by hand.
If those kinds of vehicles appear to be the type that the shop regularly works on, ask to use the phone book if you already have not. The paint is one of the main causes for concern any time any work is done on your car. Auto body shops should have the best car painting tools available, but the tools are not the only thing you should worry about. You should carefully inspect the paint job before paying for anything.
Be attentive to bubbles or differences in the color. Matching paint color is not an easy task, but that is exactly what you are hiring these people to do so make sure it is done right. Finally, ask about the Utah auto body shop’s policy in regards to customer satisfaction and service guarantee. You want to hire somebody who will guarantee your satisfaction, but you should have reasonable expectations. You are not there to take advantage of anybody, only to verify that the job is done properly.
You can find a lot of excellent auto body shops in Utah, but the best way to find a great one is probably to ask somebody with a good-looking car where they take theirs.
Konrad
If you are traveling in Utah and you find yourself in need of an auto body shop, you better hope that you are not in the desert on your way to Wendover. The state of Utah is sparsely populated and most of the population is concentrated on the Wasatch Front, so it is difficult to find quality service in the cities situated out from the mountains.
No matter where you stop to leave your car in Utah, there are some things you ought to know to make sure you get good, reliable service for your vehicle.
First of all, meet the person who will be working on your car. If for some reason he is “too busy” to come talk to you, he will likely be “too busy” to do a good job on your car too. Ask him about his experience with cars, and be sure to ask if he has ever worked on your model of car before.
Get a quote on service fees, and also make sure you know how much money is going to be involved with parts. The last thing you need is a heart attack when you see a surprise bill that goes into four digits. If you feel like the person working on your car is not being up front and honest with you about all the work that is going to be involved, thank them for their time and ask to use the phone book.
Look for another body shop in that phone book because you should never leave your car in the hands of strangers that do not want to lay out the deal straight up. Once you are confident in the person who will fix your car body, inspect the facility. Do all the parts appear to be new, clean, and up to date with the latest technology? Remember that the state of Utah was founded by pioneers who came by wagons pulled by ox or by hand.
If those kinds of vehicles appear to be the type that the shop regularly works on, ask to use the phone book if you already have not. The paint is one of the main causes for concern any time any work is done on your car. Auto body shops should have the best car painting tools available, but the tools are not the only thing you should worry about. You should carefully inspect the paint job before paying for anything.
Be attentive to bubbles or differences in the color. Matching paint color is not an easy task, but that is exactly what you are hiring these people to do so make sure it is done right. Finally, ask about the Utah auto body shop’s policy in regards to customer satisfaction and service guarantee. You want to hire somebody who will guarantee your satisfaction, but you should have reasonable expectations. You are not there to take advantage of anybody, only to verify that the job is done properly.
You can find a lot of excellent auto body shops in Utah, but the best way to find a great one is probably to ask somebody with a good-looking car where they take theirs.
Konrad
Mar
11
Kaycee B. asked:
I am looking to start a business in Utah. Basically it is going to be a venue with a small fresh cafe/eatery type of thing. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with government grants or any suggestions. Thanks so much!
Declan
I am looking to start a business in Utah. Basically it is going to be a venue with a small fresh cafe/eatery type of thing. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with government grants or any suggestions. Thanks so much!
Declan
Mar
8
Why We Gladly Lost $20,000 Flipping A Utah Fixer Upper House
Filed Under Utah Business | Leave a Comment
Don Glasgow asked:
Flush with cash from two recently sold fixer uppers, my partners and I buy an expensive fixer home hoping to flip it for big bucks. All we got was a lesson in what not to do and a large tax deduction for 2006. This article explains how we, the investors, got flipped…
In August of 2005, my real estate business partners and I were flush with cash. We had just made $45,000 from having just fixed up and then sold 2 mobile homes in St. George, Utah. The excitement of making so much money so quickly had gone to our heads. We thought we were invincible. We were about to learn the truth.
After the mobile homes had sold my partners and I began looking for another fixer upper that we could flip. I wanted to move up into flipping expensive houses, thinking that we could make more money that way.
I was aware of a foreclosed home for sale in Santa Clara. Santa Clara is a small town, just outside of St. George.
The bank had had the home had been for sale for about two years with no takers. It was a Santa Fe style, luxury home built in 2002. The home was 3000 sq. ft., had amazing views, slate tile throughout, a three car garage, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and tons of upgrades throughout.
The home was unfinished and had never been lived in. It was clear that the builder had run out of money before he could finish the home and sell it. The kitchen was unfinished. The tile was cracked here and there from settling. The closets were totally unfinished. The yard was a jumble of weeds, mud and boulder sized rocks.
At the time that we looked at the home, St. George was coming to the end of an amazing run up in home prices, about a 1% increase in home values every week for months. My partners and I were aware that the market would slow down sometime in the future, but what we didn’t know when we bought the home, was that the market slow down had already started.
Well, we made an accepted, full price offer on the Santa Clara home ($395,000). We made a full price offer because there was another buyer that was negotiating with the bank to purchase the home at the same time we were. We felt we could make money on the home and we wanted to make sure that we were the buyers the bank chose to buy the home.
We ended up buying the home for $395,000. We also financed our closing costs, bringing our mortgage loan amount to $400,000.
After the purchase, we invested $15,000 into fixing up the yard, about $4,000 into finishing the closets and another $6,000 in various other fix up / finishing costs.
We put the home back up for sale, almost immediately upon buying it, for $525,000. We truly thought it would sell quickly for this amount when we were done fixing it up. The home was for sale the entire time we were working on it.
After the repairs were done, the home sat on the market for months. The St. George real estate market had ground to a halt during the time we were working on the home. We ended up having to make about $9,000 in mortgage payments while we anxiously waited for the home to sell.
In March of 2006, seven months after the purchase, we were beginning to panicking because we weren’t certain we could make anymore mortgage payments. We didn’t want to lose the home and our investment, but the mortgage payments were eating us alive by this point.
We were forced to gradually lower our asking price until finally we had our asking price at $430,000. In March we breathed a sigh of relief as the home finally went under contract at this price.
We sold the home in April 2006. Our costs to sell were about $16,000 including the $12,000 commission that was paid to the buyer’s agent.
Here’s what the final tally on the fixer upper Santa Clara home was:
What we sold the home for………..$430,000
Fix up costs……………………$25,000
Mortgage payments………………..$9,000
Commission paid…………………$12,000
Closing Costs……………………$4,000
What we paid for the home……….$400,000
———————————————————————
Total loss……………………..($20,000)
We felt very lucky to have been able to sell an expensive home when our local real estate market was so bad. There are a lot of investors that bought at the top of the market who haven’t been so lucky; people who are stuck with homes that they can no longer afford. These investors are wondering if their homes will sell before they lose them to the bank.
Strangely enough we are actually looking for another home to fix up. We are going to stick with mobile homes or condos and just rent them out. The lesson that we learned is that the less expensive the fixer upper home is, the less risk there is to the investor.
Hubert
Flush with cash from two recently sold fixer uppers, my partners and I buy an expensive fixer home hoping to flip it for big bucks. All we got was a lesson in what not to do and a large tax deduction for 2006. This article explains how we, the investors, got flipped…
In August of 2005, my real estate business partners and I were flush with cash. We had just made $45,000 from having just fixed up and then sold 2 mobile homes in St. George, Utah. The excitement of making so much money so quickly had gone to our heads. We thought we were invincible. We were about to learn the truth.
After the mobile homes had sold my partners and I began looking for another fixer upper that we could flip. I wanted to move up into flipping expensive houses, thinking that we could make more money that way.
I was aware of a foreclosed home for sale in Santa Clara. Santa Clara is a small town, just outside of St. George.
The bank had had the home had been for sale for about two years with no takers. It was a Santa Fe style, luxury home built in 2002. The home was 3000 sq. ft., had amazing views, slate tile throughout, a three car garage, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and tons of upgrades throughout.
The home was unfinished and had never been lived in. It was clear that the builder had run out of money before he could finish the home and sell it. The kitchen was unfinished. The tile was cracked here and there from settling. The closets were totally unfinished. The yard was a jumble of weeds, mud and boulder sized rocks.
At the time that we looked at the home, St. George was coming to the end of an amazing run up in home prices, about a 1% increase in home values every week for months. My partners and I were aware that the market would slow down sometime in the future, but what we didn’t know when we bought the home, was that the market slow down had already started.
Well, we made an accepted, full price offer on the Santa Clara home ($395,000). We made a full price offer because there was another buyer that was negotiating with the bank to purchase the home at the same time we were. We felt we could make money on the home and we wanted to make sure that we were the buyers the bank chose to buy the home.
We ended up buying the home for $395,000. We also financed our closing costs, bringing our mortgage loan amount to $400,000.
After the purchase, we invested $15,000 into fixing up the yard, about $4,000 into finishing the closets and another $6,000 in various other fix up / finishing costs.
We put the home back up for sale, almost immediately upon buying it, for $525,000. We truly thought it would sell quickly for this amount when we were done fixing it up. The home was for sale the entire time we were working on it.
After the repairs were done, the home sat on the market for months. The St. George real estate market had ground to a halt during the time we were working on the home. We ended up having to make about $9,000 in mortgage payments while we anxiously waited for the home to sell.
In March of 2006, seven months after the purchase, we were beginning to panicking because we weren’t certain we could make anymore mortgage payments. We didn’t want to lose the home and our investment, but the mortgage payments were eating us alive by this point.
We were forced to gradually lower our asking price until finally we had our asking price at $430,000. In March we breathed a sigh of relief as the home finally went under contract at this price.
We sold the home in April 2006. Our costs to sell were about $16,000 including the $12,000 commission that was paid to the buyer’s agent.
Here’s what the final tally on the fixer upper Santa Clara home was:
What we sold the home for………..$430,000
Fix up costs……………………$25,000
Mortgage payments………………..$9,000
Commission paid…………………$12,000
Closing Costs……………………$4,000
What we paid for the home……….$400,000
———————————————————————
Total loss……………………..($20,000)
We felt very lucky to have been able to sell an expensive home when our local real estate market was so bad. There are a lot of investors that bought at the top of the market who haven’t been so lucky; people who are stuck with homes that they can no longer afford. These investors are wondering if their homes will sell before they lose them to the bank.
Strangely enough we are actually looking for another home to fix up. We are going to stick with mobile homes or condos and just rent them out. The lesson that we learned is that the less expensive the fixer upper home is, the less risk there is to the investor.
Hubert
Mar
5
Re.Bath Company. Utah franchise?
Filed Under Utah Business | 4 Comments
taffscott asked:
Any opinions from those who have dealt with this company? I signed a contract yesterday with them to install a liner and new shower walls. The contract is for almost five thousand dollars. I put down 2500. The contract allows for a three business day “buyers right to cancel.” I’m having some serious buyers remorse at this point since I gave them 2500. down. Can’t find them listed anywhere with BBB. They advertise heavily in the Utah area so I’m sure they are legit, it just seems after the fact that this a lot of money for what is essentially a bath liner and new shower walls.
Aedan
Any opinions from those who have dealt with this company? I signed a contract yesterday with them to install a liner and new shower walls. The contract is for almost five thousand dollars. I put down 2500. The contract allows for a three business day “buyers right to cancel.” I’m having some serious buyers remorse at this point since I gave them 2500. down. Can’t find them listed anywhere with BBB. They advertise heavily in the Utah area so I’m sure they are legit, it just seems after the fact that this a lot of money for what is essentially a bath liner and new shower walls.
Aedan
