Real Estate Q & A: No right to a view without an easement. This week’s legal predicament: A homeowner has trees that obstruct (or could grow to obstruct) a “neighbor’s scenic view.” Does the homeowner have to remove the trees? Adam Martinez, Rose Law Group Real Estate Litigation Department Chairman, explains the legal hurdles that must be overcome before an “obstructed view [would] constitute a nuisance,” in Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2m8fa9V
Ducey signs bill clearing way for San Tan Valley incorporation. “But Tuesday’s action [by Gov. Doug Ducey] does not guarantee there will someday be such a city…. [O]nce the lines are drawn for the proposed new community, it still needs a majority of people within those boundaries who show up to vote to support the plan.” (On the other hand: “[T]he new town [could be] automatically incorporated without an election.”) Find out how that would work and get further details on the new law in this report from Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer at Arizona Capitol Times. http://bit.ly/2lvQ8hY
Phoenix in top 10 for buyers affording homes. “Rising home prices [up more than “6 percent” from a year ago]”? Not a problem! Interest rates [up ‘0.4 percent’ from last year].” No biggie! As AZCentral reports, not only did these upswings fail to “knock metro Phoenix off the top 10 list of most affordable big cities for homebuyers,” but we actually moved “up a spot from last year”(!) Click through to see all the results (including least/most affordable cities) in this report by “national mortgage research firm HSH.” http://bit.ly/2lLZ71b
Pollack: Mixed, but normal. Wait a sec, does this Pollack headline refer to last week’s economic news, or could it actually be describing how you, our readers, feel about us presenting a Tuesday installment of The Monday Morning Quarterback on a Wednesday? At any rate, here are the MMQ’s “Snapshot” topics… U.S.: Leading Indicators, Retail Sales, Manufacturing & Trade, Consumer Price Index, Industrial Production, Capacity Utilization, Building Permits. AZ: Air Traffic at Sky Harbor – Emplaned & Deplaned. http://bit.ly/2mmc52g
Banks retreat from apartment market. “Swelling supplies of apartment units are prompting big banks to pull back from new projects, forcing developers to scramble for capital, in a sign that the U.S. apartment industry headed for a downturn.” Says industry CEO Toby Bozzuto: “I haven’t seen anything this seismically different since 2008.” More on this troubling news in The Wall Street Journal. http://bit.ly/2lLMKC1
Mall landlords’ next act: apartments and concerts. “Westfield, Simon Property venture into residential buildings, organize concerts and develop apps to engage with consumers.” As one industry consultant notes in this WSJ report: ‘[T]o drive traffic to their centers’… landlords have to provide more than just bland boxes containing stores and restaurants.” (As for mall concerts? Great idea! Seems like a perfect gig for groups with names like The Gap Band or The Pet Shop Boys. Not so much, though, for groups with names like Arcade Fire and Widespread Panic.) http://bit.ly/2l8rwLi
Big banks could get back in the mortgage market in a big way. “Big banks like JPMorgan… Bank of America… Citibank… “ What would “open the door” for a return to a market currently dominated — “in a big way” — by “nonbank lenders such as Quicken, loanDepot and Caliber Home Loans”? According to this CNBC report in Mortgage News Daily, it all hinges on President Trump and whether “deregulation happens.” —> http://bit.ly/2l8CbWh
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