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.
Don’t Scare Off Buyers!
Halloween is a fun holiday to decorate your house. But if you’re home is listed, you don’t want to go to far with decorations if you don’t want to truly scare off buyers. Experts say to not over decorate, and choose what you put up wisely. In general, decorations...
Closing Costs – Who Pays and How Much? Part 4.
Loan Related. Like many pre-paids, these are the sums paid to the buyer’s lender or as a result of the lender's requirements. Examples include a credit report fee, flood certificate fee, and a tax service fee. Fees payable directly to the lender, such as discount and...
You Already Have A Down Payment, Part 1.
A recent NAR survey of more than 2,700 Americans showed that more than 80% of consumers across all ages, income brackets, and education levels believed a down payment of 10% percent or more was required to purchase a home. However, the average median down payment for...
How to Price Your Home.
The best technique for pricing a home when listing it for sale is setting the asking price just below a round number, according to recent research published by the Journal of Housing Research. On average, buyers are more attracted to a house priced at $399,000 than to...
How Much is Solar Worth? Part 1.
An ongoing issue in home sales is the evaluation of solar panels. Systems can be owned or leased. When a system is leased, the homeowner doesn’t own the system. Leased items typically don't add much value, and in some cases can be legitimately excluded from...
Canadian Travel Campaign Lures U.S. Visitors.
The Connecting America tourism campaign is Canada’s latest effort to attract more American visitors. The U.S. is Canada’s largest inbound tourism market, representing approximately 70% of overnight tourists to Canada. Other notable examples to strengthen Canada’s...
Calgary is on the rise for Chinese buyers.
While Vancouver and Toronto are traditionally the top two favorites for Chinese buyers, there’s a new competitor that is nabbing much Chinese investor interest – Calgary, the largest city in Alberta. Chinese inquiries for Alberta properties on Juwai.com have surged...
Scottsdale Owners Save.
The city and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have reconsidered a designated flood plain area east of Scottsdale Road, from roughly Deer Valley to Happy Valley. Better flood modeling techniques and improvements in infrastructure led to FEMA dropping the...
Do You Have That Sinking Feeling?
According to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Florida has more sinkholes than any other state. The Florida Geological Survey noted that, "[s]ince the entire state is underlain by carbonate rocks, sinkholes could theoretically form anywhere." To illustrate...