Check Property Taxes before you Move.
Americans who are deciding on a city to relocate to and want to minimize the cost of housing should take into account property tax rates. According to Rocket Mortgage Hawaii has the cheapest residential tax rates (although the high home prices offset that benefit),...
Home Building Catching Up?
Permits to build new houses in the metro Phoenix area were up 57% from January to May 2024. 11,775 permits were issued versus 7,511 in the same period last year. Admittedly that pace is not exceptional, as the rate of new home building has been considered below...
Live in an Office Building? Part 1.
You probably never considered moving into an office building. But the possibility is increasingly likely for apartment dwellers in some cities. That is because there are unused or underutilized office complexes that could find new life as apartment homes. A recent...
Arizona is Affordable.
USA Today surveyed the cost of living in each state. Criteria for the rankings were median income and five expenses: home ownership costs, groceries, health care, income tax and the cost of gasoline. The three most expensive states to live in were Hawaii, California...
New Floodplain Requirements.
HUD published a rule for HUD financed projects or buildings constructed using HUD-assisted funds. The rule redefines and expands the existing 100-year Floodplain by establishing a new “Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) Floodplain.” This new FFRMS...
Dog Wins the Blue Cross.
Juliana was a Great Dane who lived in the U.K. during WW2. In April 1941during the German bombing campaign known as the Blitz, a small incendiary bomb fell through the roof of the house of Juliana and her owner. Despite the noise, shock and fire, Juliana ran to it and...