Dan J. Harkey

Master Educator | Business & Finance Consultant | Mentor

Real Estate-Technical

Technical Real Estate Insight on the Issues that Move Value—Legally, Operationally, and Financially

Legal issues, valuation realities, operational pitfalls, and market shifts—explained in plain English.

Real estate isn’t just “location, location, location.” It’s contracts, compliance, conditions, valuation, and the little details that turn good deals into expensive lessons. My articles cover technical and legal issues, ownership and operations across residential and commercial property, and the market trends reshaping what works (and what doesn’t). If it affects risk, value, or performance, it belongs here.

Most deals don’t fail on the headline numbers—they fail in the details: condition, documentation, liability, tenant/legal exposure, and assumptions that don’t survive due diligence. I write about real estate the way it behaves, benefits, detriments, valuation methods, and the shifting landscape that changes your risk overnight.

Search Results

Due-On-Sale and Encumbrance Provisions In Loan Documents

This Provision May be Contained In the Trust Deed for Residential, and the Trust Deed and Loan Agreement in Commercial

Environmental Hazards in Real Property Require Investigation By Professionals

Serious Risks And Liability For Real Estate Owners, Agents, and Lenders When Properties Are Not Vetted Properly

Making Loans On Real Property with Environmental Issues

Anytime There Is A Commercial Property, Reviewing Environmental Issues Is Necessary

What We’ve Got Here Is A Failure to Communicate: Origin-Cool Hand Luke

The Communication is About How Mortgage Brokers Deliver Their Loan Transactions To Viable Lenders

There’s a Stranger in My House

The (stranger) in real estate lending is referred to as PACE or “Property Assessed Clean Energy” and HERO or “Home Energy Renovation Opportunity” loans

Private Money/Hard Money Overview

A Vital Subset Of The Real Estate Lending Industry

An Insurance Broker and a Borrower Willfully Engaged In Fraud Against a Lender

Even A Few Service Providers Have No integrity

Networking Professional Service Providers with Large Networks of Their Own

Are A Valuable Referral Sources For Private Money Lenders

Family Trusts vs Deeds of Trust

Insurable Value vs Assessed Value

Valuation Methods and Purposes Differ Greatly

Depreciation: The Concept of Real Estate Ownership

Depreciation refers to the loss in property value from any cause. It results in diminished value reflecting the difference between the present value and the cost to reproduce or replace.

Real Estate (Private Money) Loan Documents and Related Disclosures

Real Estate Practitioners Should Obtain A Comprehensive Understanding Of The Loan Documentation To Carry Out Their Fiduciary Responsibilities To The Principals.

Accidentally Building A Portion Of Your Structure On Their Property

On A Neighbor's Property That You Don’t Own

Deed of Trusts and Mortgage Investments In California

Overview Of The Licensing and Regulatory Scheme

Procedures for Procuring Loans To Earn Fees

Best Practices

A Successful Real Estate Career Is Both A Science Of Technical Methodologies And An Art Of Effective Techniques

Strategies for Successful Closing More Loans

The Soon-To-Be Ex-Husband Found Rejection And Isolation

When He Tried To “F” Over His Soon-To-Be Ex-Wife

Successor Co-Trustees of a Family Trust: They Dispise Each Other

Personal Agendas Get In The Way Of Making Rational Decisions When One Party Wants To Use Mom And Dad's Assets For Personal Gain

Cross-collateralization: Encumbering Multiple Properties

and Cross-Default Provisions

Modifying Collateral Lien Positions By Mutual Written Agreement Between Principal Parties

Subordinations and Inter-Creditor Agreements