Josef Eckmair MBA

Co-founder, CheckValue · More than 20 years in real estate in Tenerife and Austria

Josef Eckmair MBA

Co-founder, CheckValue · More than 20 years in real estate in Tenerife and Austria

Josef Eckmair MBA is co-founder of CheckValue (CBDNOL GmbH, Ansfelden, Austria). He has more than 20 years of real estate experience in Tenerife and Austria and writes about appraisals, taxes, selling costs and valuations for professionals.

Follow: RSS · Feedly · Add as a preferred source on Google

Articles by Josef Eckmair MBA

Appraisal

Appraisal vs CMA vs AVM vs BPO: Definitions, Legal Weight and Prices

Appraisal vs CMA vs AVM vs BPO: who is liable for the number, what each costs, how long it takes, and which one lenders, courts and the IRS accept.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · October 10, 2026

Property tax assessment notice next to a calculator and a small house model, comparing assessed value with market value

Life events

Assessed Value vs Market Value: How Assessments Work and How to Appeal

Assessed value vs market value: how mass appraisal, assessment ratios and caps (Prop 13, Save Our Homes) work, why they diverge, and how to appeal in time.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Appraisal

Date-of-Death Appraisal, Refinance and Divorce: Valuing a Home for a Date

Date of death appraisal explained: IRC §1014 basis, retrospective valuations, refinance rules and waivers, and neutral appraisers in divorce, with costs.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Screen with house price index charts and a city map, the official data sources behind a home value

Data & method

FHFA House Price Index and Other Official Home Value Data Sources

The FHFA House Price Index explained: repeat-sales method, metro and ZIP indexes, plus Census, HUD and county records. Where US home value data lives.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Licensed appraiser with a clipboard measuring the exterior of a single-family house during a home appraisal inspection

Appraisal · Guide

Home Appraisal Cost in 2026: Process, Timeline and When You Need One

Home appraisal cost in 2026: typical fees, what drives them, the process from order to report, how long it takes, who pays, and when a report is enough.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · October 10, 2026

A homeowner reading a printed property tax bill at a kitchen table beside a laptop showing a county parcel search

Ownership records

How Do I Find the Property Taxes on a House? Public Records, Step by Step

How do I find the property taxes on a house? Search the county or local treasurer's site by address or parcel number for taxable value, millage and bills.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 11 min read · October 10, 2026

Two people at a kitchen table with house documents and a calculator, working out a divorce home buyout

Life events

How Is a House Valued in a Divorce? Neutral Value, Buyout and Equity Split

How is a house valued in a divorce? Valuation dates by state, neutral appraisers, the equity formula, buyout mechanics and the §1041 and §121 tax rules.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Three-bedroom suburban single-family house with a two-car garage, a mowed lawn and a For Rent sign at the curb

Rent & investment

How Much Can You Rent a $400,000 House For? The 2026 Numbers

How much can you rent a $400,000 house for? Roughly $2,000 to $2,600 a month, and here is how HUD and Census figures let you check it.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 11 min read · October 10, 2026

Seller handing over house keys at closing, the moment the net proceeds of a home sale are settled

Selling · Guide

How Much Does It Cost to Sell a House? Commissions, Taxes, Net Proceeds

How much does it cost to sell a house in 2026? Commissions after the NAR settlement, closing costs line by line, taxes, payoff and your net proceeds.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · October 10, 2026

Calculator, house keys and a rent ledger on a kitchen table in front of a small duplex, the tools for working out cap rate and rental yield

Rent & investment

How to Calculate Cap Rate, Gross Yield and Net Yield: A Duplex Example

How to calculate cap rate, gross yield and net yield: formulas, 2026 benchmarks, the 1% rule and GRM traps, and a full duplex example from rent to return.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · October 10, 2026

Older family house with a mature garden, the kind of inherited property heirs must value as of the date of death

Life events

How to Determine Fair Market Value of Inherited Property: Step-Up in Basis

How to determine fair market value of inherited property: date-of-death value under IRC §1014, probate vs trust, 2026 estate tax, and keep, sell or rent.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Real estate agent at a desk with laptop and phone preparing owner letters from county property records

Ownership records

How to Find Absentee Owners: Legal Lookups, FCRA Limits and Outreach

How to find absentee owners legally: county records to mailing address, skip tracing, FCRA and TCPA limits, Fair Housing, and letters that get replies.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Entrance of a modern apartment building, the kind of property that is often held through an LLC or a trust

Ownership records

How to Find Out Who Owns an LLC or Trust That Owns a House

How to find out who owns an LLC that owns a property: the vesting line, Secretary of State searches, trusts and trustees, estates, and the legal limits.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Selling

How to Sell a House Without a Realtor: Commissions After the NAR Settlement

How to sell a house without a realtor: what the 2024 NAR settlement changed, FSBO step by step, flat-fee MLS, and the pricing mistakes that cost sellers.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Row of small apartment buildings and single-family rentals on a city street, the mixed portfolio a landlord revalues each year

For professionals

How to Value a Rental Property and a Whole Portfolio Consistently

How to value a rental property and a portfolio with one method: sales comparison, income (cap rate, GRM), cost, lender metrics and a revaluation cadence.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Empty driveway in front of a suburban house at dusk, a homeowner by the front door checking a phone while waiting for a scheduled appointment

Appraisal

I Paid for a Valuation Visit and It Was Late or Rushed: What Now?

Appraiser never showed up, rushed the visit or ran weeks late? The published timetables, your right to the copy, how a reconsideration of value works.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · October 10, 2026

An empty living room with bare floorboards and tall windows, the view a buyer gets at a showing of a vacant house

Selling

Is It Better to Sell a House Empty or Staged? What the Data Say

Is it better to sell a house empty or staged? Staged usually sells faster: the NAR survey numbers, the real cost, virtual staging rules and an example.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 11 min read · October 10, 2026

Listing agent walking a seller couple through a printed valuation report with comparable sales at their kitchen table

For professionals

Pre-Listing Appraisal vs. CMA: A Cited Valuation Report for Listing Agents

Pre-listing appraisal, CMA, BPO or AI valuation report? Cost, time and credibility compared for listing agents, with a pricing example and ethics notes.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 11 min read · September 27, 2026

An old recorded deed with a notary seal, the kind of document kept in county property records

Ownership records

Property Records Explained: Deeds, Assessor, Recorder and Parcel Numbers

Property records explained: the three county offices, the parcel number that ties them together, deed types decoded, and how to read an assessor page.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Tape measure stretched across the floor of an empty room in a house, checking the living area against the county property record

Data & method

What If My House Facts Are Wrong or the Comps Are the Wrong Homes?

Facts about my house wrong, or the comps the wrong homes? Where errors in square footage, bedrooms, lot lines and comps come from, and how to fix each.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 11 min read · October 10, 2026

A signed property deed with a notary stamp lying on a desk, the document United States counties record as proof that a house changed hands

Ownership records

What Is the Best Proof of Ownership of Property?

The best proof of ownership of property is the deed recorded in your name at the county recorder. Here is the full ranking and how to order a copy.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 11 min read · October 10, 2026

Appraisal

What to Do If the Appraisal Comes In Low: ROV, Second Opinion, Renegotiate

What to do if the appraisal comes in low: find report errors, file a reconsideration of value under the 2024 guidance, and weigh four exits with numbers.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Suburban street of single-family houses seen from the sidewalk, the kind of block whose parcels all appear in a public county record

Ownership records

Why Can Everyone See My Home's Value and My Name Online?

Why your home's value and name are online, which layer you can actually get removed, and how to clear the data-broker profiles tied to your address.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 11 min read · October 10, 2026

Home value

Why Does the Free Online Valuation Ask for My Phone Number First?

Why does the free online valuation ask for your phone number before showing the value? Because your number is the product. How to see a value without it.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 11 min read · October 10, 2026

Printed property valuation report open on a desk beside a laptop showing a county parcel map, a pen resting on the reference list

Home value

Why Does the Paid Report Show No Sources and Nothing I Couldn't Find Free?

Paid report shows no sources and nothing you couldn't find for free? Why records resellers do that, what a checkable valuation must print, how to dispute.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 11 min read · October 10, 2026

Farmhouse on a gravel road at the edge of a small Midwestern town, an address many online home value tools leave blank

Data & method

Why Is There No Home Value Data for My Address or Small Town?

No home value data for my address or small town? Why portal estimators skip rural areas, where the records really are, and how to get a value anyway.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 11 min read · October 10, 2026

Nearly empty living room in a modular housing unit, turquoise walls, plywood floor and four wire chairs, the kind of room a buyer walks through

Selling

Why Is the Instant Cash Offer So Far Below the Estimate They Showed First?

Why an instant cash offer lands far below the estimate you were shown first: how resellers price offers, what the FTC found in 2022, and how to check it.

Josef Eckmair MBA · 12 min read · October 10, 2026