George Hirko's (azgeorge) Blog

Exactly this happened to me this week. I had gone with a website company, and it was understood there were no early cancellations, the deal was for a year, unless they turned out to be unable to perform. So far so good. I have been with these folks for 2 1/4 years now, with no real complaints. Th...

Hard money, or private money, is usually not for the faint hearted.Although it has other uses, in real estate, it is often used to buy or fix a property, so that a more conventional loan can later be used, or the property can be put on the market for sale. This product is usually available throug...

Many times the topic of HOA's comes up: they're run by petty despots, they are unreasonable, the rules are laughable, the enforcement is draconian, etc. I don't live within an HOA,but have experienced similar types of rules while overseas. Having lived overseas for many years, I can say that ther...

When IndyMac, the big Alt-A lender based in Pasadena, CA collapsed, there was a major scramble by depositors to get their money out. By then it was too late for most. While control was transferred to the conservatorship of the FDIC, to conserve the assets, and arrange an eventual sale of the bank...

For years there has been a discussion about getting freeway access to Queen Creek.With the recent downturn in the economy, the issue appears to be on the back burner. The proposals that have been put forth are all very expensive. The main problem getting to Queen Creek is A) the roads are too nar...

If you haven't visited San Tan Village in Gilbert, try to do so. It's similar to Kierland in Scottsdale, with a big improvement; they laid out the main streets north south, so the sun exposure would be minimized. It's an eclectic mix of department stores, movie theaters,cafes, national chain bout...

There's a scheme being perpetrated on innocent users of Craigslist and similar websites. It can be a seller of furniture who is victimized, or a property manager (i've seen both attempted). The scheme is based on the "float" of a personal check. This is the time between when a check is negotiated...

Many times people have spoken to me about buying a home, but they were absolutely sure it was out of their reach. They had a down payment, they made good money, but there were some issues on their credit that would not go away without some work, and that would take time. Good news: I have seldom ...