Can You Build a Casita in Arizona? The 2026 ADU Law, Explained
Yes. Arizona law now requires cities and counties to allow a casita on a single-family lot, one attached and one detached, and your city cannot make you add parking or match your roofline. Three things still decide whether you can actually build one: your recorded CC&Rs, your lot math, and the permi
What Happens When a Home Appraisal Comes In Low (And Why Two Appraisers Disagree)
When a home appraisal comes in below the contract price, the lender funds against the lower number, so somebody has to close the gap. The buyer brings the difference in cash, the seller reduces the price, the two meet in the middle, or the contract cancels. Nothing about the house changed. Only who
What Is a Portable Mortgage? What the MOVE Act Would Actually Do
A portable mortgage would let you carry your existing interest rate, loan balance, and remaining term to a new home instead of taking out a new loan at today's rate. It does not exist in the United States today. A two-page bill called the MOVE Act (H.R. 10028) would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Ma
Can You Buy and Sell a House at the Same Time in Arizona?
Yes. Selling one home and buying the next inside the same window is the most common move we handle in the East Valley, and both sides can close on the same day. It is not one hard transaction. It is four separate decisions, and the order you make them in decides whether the two halves line up. Where
How to Get Your House Ready to Sell in Arizona in Summer
Getting a house ready to sell in Arizona in the summer uses the same four things as anywhere else, deep clean, paint, declutter, and stage. Each one means something different in the heat, though. Get the hard water off before you clean, paint only the sides the sun cooked, keep a path to the water h
What Stays With the House in Arizona? Washer, Dryer, TVs, and Patio Furniture
In Arizona, anything attached to the house stays and anything not attached goes, unless the purchase contract says otherwise. The refrigerator, washer, and dryer each get their own checkbox. Wall mounted TV brackets stay and the TVs leave. Patio furniture and barstools transfer only if somebody writ
Should I Waive the Appraisal Contingency? It Is a Number, Not a Yes or No
Waiving the appraisal contingency does not mean you agreed to overpay. It means you promised to cover the shortfall in cash at closing if the home appraises below your offer. It also is not all or nothing. You can waive up to a cap you choose. That cap is the whole decision, and most advice on this
How to Get Your House Ready to Sell: The Five Things That Actually Move the Price
Getting a house ready to sell comes down to five things: clean it, declutter it, replace flooring that is stained or worn, paint it, and stage it. Bathroom remodels, new kitchen countertops, and other major renovations almost never come back in the sale price. That list is short for a reason, and th
What Does a $10,000 Price Drop Actually Save You Per Month?
A $10,000 price reduction lowers a mortgage payment by about $62 to $67 a month, on a 30 year fixed loan at rates between 6.25 and 7 percent. That is the thing you may be sitting out a year to get. It is real money. It is also the smallest lever on the table. The larger lever is what a seller can ha