Blog
N. Mark Kramoltz, JD, GRI, CIPS writes blog articles on the metro Phoenix, Arizona, national and global real estate markets. Written from his perspective as a designated broker and real estate attorney, his articles avoid the inaccuracies and vacuous industry propaganda common to most real estate writings. He also blogs about animals (mostly dogs in the military) due to his love of pets and military history.
Horrifying Home Stories for Halloween, #1.
About a week prior to close of escrow the sellers received a letter from a person called “The Watcher.” The letter claimed a right of possession to the home. Following close of escrow, the buyers began receiving threatening letters from The Watcher, who advised the...
Chips.
Chips was a German Shepherd-Collie-Siberian Husky mix in the American army during WWII. During the invasion of Sicily in 1943, Chips and his handler were pinned down by an Italian machine-gun. Chips broke from his handler and jumped into the Italian pillbox, attacking...
Insurance Coverage for ReModels, Part 2.
In Part 1 (https://tinyurl.com/yyzlf5qf) I discussed checking that the contractor has injury, property damage, workers' compensation and liability insurance. I also suggested purchasing builder's risk insurance. Another option is completed operations insurance....
HOA Renter Laws, Part 1.
If your home is in an HOA and you rent, the association can ask for certain information about your tenants. It is limited to the name and contact information of all adults occupying an unit, the term of the lease, and the license plate numbers of the tenant vehicles....
The Bank of Mom and Dad.
Coming up with a down payment can be difficult for young home buyers and those with high student-loan debt. But many mortgage programs allow parents to help fund their children’s down payment. There are of course hoops to jump through to assure the lender that the...
The Cost of Selling to Ibuyers, Part 2.
More info on iBuyers has become available. Typically they offer 90 to 96% of fair market value. They use their own contracts, NOT the seller friendly Arizona Assoc. of Realtors form, so you will lose many important rights . As a result they can demand seller repairs...
Lucky The Doberman.
One of the Doberman Pinchers used by the Marines in the Pacific in WWII was “Lucky”. He was used, like many of the other Dobermans, to locate Japanese snipers using the dogs’ smell, hearing and vision. During one successful mission where multiple snipers were located,...
Errors in Your Credit Report.
Nearly a quarter of Americans have discovered problems with their credit report. Incorrect info can result in a denial of a home loan or more expensive loan terms. The most common problems are incorrect or outdated credit or personal information, information that...
They’re Moving to Phoenix, Part 2.
According to Bloomberg, 200 people arrived in greater Phoenix from 2017 to 2018 on a daily basis. That represents a 26 per person per day gain from the previous period of 2016-17, when the metro Phoenix area welcomed 174 daily new arrivals. That makes the Valley of...