Andrew Lietzow-MBA, GRI

(This message is posted, in its entirety, on the Website of the Polk County Assessor, which can be found here). Please note, this is for 2007!!! The new notice was not yet posted, as of March 12, 2009. I'll add it here just as soon as it is available -- probably around April 1, 2009.

Iowa, and Polk County in particular, have not experienced the decline in housing values anywhere near as dramatically as many other parts of the country. While sluggish, the local economy is going though a period of correction in values, not a depression (of course, tell that to the guy who just lost his job and is losing his house to foreclosure. To him, we're definitely in a depression). Anyhow, here is the article from our very talented Polk County Assessor, who spoke recently at one of our Two Rivers REIA of Central Iowa meetings, along with LaRayne Riccadonna.

--------- Here is Jim Maloney's Message ------ Stay tuned for updates Around April 1! --------

Iowa has a biennial assessment system, and wholesale changes are normally made only in the odd number years. This is another one of those years.

For all properties except agricultural, we are required to assess property as of January 1st at its fair market value. The rolls mailed out on April 12th represent our best efforts to do that. The number and amount of increases this year surely surprise a lot of people. The press accounts of the falling real estate values across the nation have many believing the residential market has gone completely south.

It has trended down in Polk County, but only in the last five months of 2006, and only about 3% according to our statistical studies. And, since we set new assessments every two years, we have to look at the over all trends for the two year period which includes 2005 as well as 2006. And the net increase in residential values for that two year period is up about 6.9%.

Average per acre agricultural assessments went up but about 23%. Agricultural assessments are based a five year rolling average of crop prices and yields according to a formula mandated by state law. We had to drop a couple years when prices and yields weren't so good and added two more that were much better. Average values of farm land in 2007 will still be below what they were in 2003.

There is also a message from Rod Hervey, ICA, explaining our approach to commercial assessments , and Randy Ripperger, CAE, ICA explaining our valuation model for residential assessments . Also, there is a discussion by Jim Willet, RES, ICA, of the results of the 2007 Residential Revaluation .

We also have a number of other very talented and dedicated individuals that I am privileged to work with in this office. I think we can be justly proud of the work we have done and the efforts we've made to make the information we use in our assessment process available to the public. We also recognize that our models and the data available are not perfect, and expect we always learn more as we go through the protest period with the Board of Review.

We invite those who wish to check out their assessments on the internet. This year we are including a protest form with the assessment roll. After doing the research those who believe their assessment is incorrect should file a protest, but we want to discourage filing unless there is some reasonable basis to support it. Just because one thinks their taxes are too high isn't enough, by itself, to justify filing a protest. Frivolous protests will clog up our system and take time and attention away from those that really need it.

Those who do not have internet access are welcome to come to this office for assistance. We will do our best to be helpful.

Written by Jim Maloney, Polk County, Iowa - Assessor

Kinzie - great blog entry! I'm glad I stumbled across your post! (Entry can be found here - http://activerain.com/blogsview/978465/Short-Sale-Discussion)

I am both a licensed Real Estate Agent, and an investor. I've been working short sales with others who were the investor, as the LA, but only recently made the decision to get involved in the process as the investor -- i.e. helping the homeowner to avoid the foreclosure by making an offer to purchase the home, and by seeking a new buyer who will purchase the home long before the foreclosure takes place.

One of the common traits of a pre-foreclosure client is they will be in denial for a goodly portion of the time they are falling behind in payments. Rather than taking charge and dealing with the problem head on, they just continue to deny that it's really happening, to them! OMG! There is a reason the house is going into foreclosure and they have to admit that they are a variable in the equation.

You quoted a statistic -- the 10% success rate -- which may or may not still be accurate, I don't know. Here's another I've heard recently which is surprising -- 50% of homeowners whose house goes to sheriff's sale, have NEVER contacted their lender directly during the entire process, not even once!

Nor have they contacted a consumer credit counseling agency, or an attorney. Many don't even contact their lawyer to "file a delay of sale" because of the hardship the foreclosure will cause them. It's ludicrous, but those are the signs of a borrower in denial.

Here's another. When I present my paperwork I use in the process to the homeowner, which shows them clearly how the process is going to work, they often say, "I want to run this by my attorney". I used to say, "no problem, that's fine". In the future, I'm going to try to really ferret out what their issue is with the paperwork -- their "objection" to simply sitting down and reading the docs themselves -- because once they contact their attorney they discover the attorney is nearly as confused about the process as they are!

The attorney I had on the phone yesterday didn't even know what a BPO is. How are these "legal eagles" really supposed to help them when they often don't understand the basics?

Here are a couple critical basics they often don't understand: 1) that you have to have an offer in hand before you can ever petition the lender to compromise the debt, 2) that one of the investors goals is to keep more liens off the house while the potential transaction moves forward, 3) and three, any investor who starts this process will definitely try to get a complete settlement of the debt, if at all possible, completely eliminating fears of any deficiency judgments. How one structures a deal to prevent these things can be a little complicated, to both the homeowner and the attorney they respect, whom they insist needs to approve everything they do all of a sudden.

I'm going to start asking them, "Well, did you have your attorney present, or even ask them to review your mortgage, prior to your signing on the dotted line?". Now that they are 3 months behind on payments, suddenly their attorney is called in to save them?

Working short sales is not for whimps. I've been beating that through my thick skull for nearly a year now, and thank God, I think some of that truth is finally starting to sink in.

That's why I believe 90-98% of Realtors should focus on finding the retail buyer and leave the SS negotiating up to an investor. That's probably why your 10% figure is not that far off the mark; a lot of Realtors aren't really ready for the fight. I'm ashamed to say, I used to be one of them!

All my personal and business best to you. Great post!

The 12th annual National REIA convention just concluded. Held February 7-14, starting the first weekend in February every year, this event offers a plethora of nationally recognized speakers with non-stop opportunities with Real Estate Investors from all over the country.

Those who work hard should get to play hard, and Carnival Liberty in the Caribbean was just what this cold Iowa boy needed. At my ripe age, I hate to confess that this was my first cruise ever, but I've already signed up for next year.

If you're into Real Estate investing, it doesn't matter whether you're a seasoned veteran, an investor wannabe, or somewhere in between, this is an event that will pay big dividends well beyond the relaxation of a mid-winter cruise. San Juan, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten were our ports of call, but even if we'd never gotten off the ship, it would have been a marvelous time.

Check out the link to National REIA from our Web Links and Sponsors page, then look for Cruise info.

While it's still tentative at this point, in just a few days I will know for certain whether we will have two nationally recognized speakers coming to Des Moines for a Rehabber's seminar and presentation that is going to be dynamite!

Because I haven't signed the final paperwork yet, I can't let the cat out of the bag, but for those into rehabbing, wholesaling, short sales, wholetailing, or wanting to sharpen their skills in just about any area of residential real estate investing, you'll want to block out 8:00AM - 5:00PM for a full day of education, networking, and even mentoring.

Most likely, the venue will be the Pappajohn Education Center, but we may have to move the event to a larger venue right away. Based on the enthusiasm I know this event is going to generate, we might not fit even in their largest room! Both of these speakers have never been to Des Moines and we're really blessed to be able to have them come.

So, for the moment, just mark your calendar, and send an email to info@TwoRiversREIA.org for more info. Better yet, go to the TwoRiversREIA.org website and click on the Contact Us page, to be added to our email list. That way, you'll be sure to receive notifications EARLY.

Incidentally, we have other great local speakers scheduled to present, as well. With this great market for Buying, shouldn't you be keeping your RE investing ax sharp all the time? Check out Two Rivers REIA for more info.