Lebron Little GRI, ABR, e-PRO

Well, we thought we had handled this problem. We met with the city commission a few months ago and explained why we as REALTORS can not be held responsible for the weeds and yard work needed in vacant properties. However is seems that another attempt has been made to attack us as a group: Alamogordo City Commission Opinion in the local newspaper.

We continually make an effort to make our clients aware of the condition of their yards and properties. This includes but is not limited to, yard work, exterior condition, interior condition, windows, doors, garage, roof, trees, etc. The condition of the property can affect the sale of the property, and that is our main objective, sell the property. For some reason the city commissioners feel that if the weeds are grown up in a vacant property we have not tried to contact the owners. They fail to realize that sometimes the owners do not care about the upkeep of their properties. Sometimes the owners are banks and repo companies that will not care for their properties. Sometimes we just can't get them to do anything! We have no way of making the owners pay for upkeep or maintenance on their properties. The city, however, has a means to place a lien on the property after the work has been done and then the bill has to be paid before title can be transferred. DUH! Doesn't this make more sense than degrading and alienating REALTORS?

So how do you handle this situation? Your seller wants to sell his home real bad so he can move/build/retire, etc. He really loves his house but he has to sell. He knows all the "bells and whistles" that make his home unique and the best house in the neighborhood. So he wants to show the potential buyer everything he knows about his home. You know, however, that some buyers want to be left alone while looking at a home so they can get a feel for whether this home really feels like home. They don't care that all the kitchen cabinets have pull-out shelfs or that the bathroom lights were the best that money could buy at the time. They just want to look at their leisure and not be followed from room to room by an over-zealous seller.

Maybe our sellers need to be counseled more or stronger about how to show their homes. If there are special features then maybe a placard or card identifing the feature can be placed strategically nearby. I have used information flyers identifing all the special features of a home.

I think the most important thing to remember is we don't want to irritate the buyer. There are so many homes out there to look at that buyers can be choosy. They will walk away from a home if they are irritated and go next door.

So sellers remember, we know you want to sell real you home and that there are special features that make you home better than your neighbors but don't bombard my buyer with all this information while they are looking.

The City Commission has a tough job trying to please everybody. Commissioners get calls from their constituents all the time complaining about things that are going on in the neighborhood. Our City Commissioners work hard trying to please everybody especially when it comes to keeping our town beautiful. This time though I think they may have "overstepped their authority".

One of our commissioners introduced an ordinance that would make REALTORS financially responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of their listed properties, especially the weeds and lawn. We presently have an ordinance that allows the city to fine the owner or agent of the owner $200.00 plus the cost for maintaining the lawn and weeds if they do not respond within 15 days of being cited. The new ordinance would include REALTORS whose sign is in the yard when the citation is issued. The commission maintained that since we call ourselves real estate agents we therefore should be considered "agents" of the owner since we have their property listed for sale.

There was a call for force at the City Commission hearing where the ordinance was to be discussed. I am proud to say that the real estate community came out in force to comment on this proposal. I am sad to report though that the commissioner that introduced this proposed change immediately starting attacking us as a group instead of appealing to us for help in solving this problem. He stirred up quite a hornets nest.

After the commission discussed this issue we were allowed to present our case. We explained that although there are provisions in our New Mexico Real Estate Law to represent our clients as Agents, very few of our brokers do. We instead chose to represent them as "Transaction Brokers". Even if we do represent our clients as Agents we are limited in our authority to the confines of the written agreement between ourselves as agent and our clients. Our State issued Listing Agreements specifically state that we are not responsible for maintaining the property, that falls on the owner in all situations. We can certainly assist the owner in finding capable, qualified vendors to perform the work but we can not and will not be held financially responsible.

After much discussion the commission decided to drop the addition to the ordinance and instead agreed to work with the Real Estate community in finding a solution to the problem of weeds and lawn care in our beautiful city. I did not fault the City Commission in trying to find a way to solve this problem, I just disagreed with their solution.

A team of economists who created a variety of forecasting models concludes that predictions of further large housing price declines are greatly overblown.

They point to the house price index of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise as most reflective of reality. Its data reveals that only four states - Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada - have had declines of more than 4 percent in home prices over the past year.

How are we faring here in New Mexico, particularly in Otero County? Records from the Otero County Association of REALTORS® (OCAOR) indicate that homes are selling for 95-97% of their asking price, which is usually based on a REALTORS® CMA (Comparative Market Analysis), or a home Appraisal. New Mexico ranks in the top 5 states in the United States where housing prices have actually appreciated over the last year.

So why do we refer to this market as a "Buyers Market"? There is a glut of homes on the market now. Therefore, buyers have a variety of homes to view. Buyers can be picky about little things while shopping for the right home for their family. Sellers have to be meticulous about the small details that set their home apart from the home down the street. The favorite saying for real estate sales has changed from "Location, Location, Location" to "Price, Price, Price". Homeowners have to be realistic in establishing the price for their home. You may believe that your home is the "best home on the block", but buyers may not see it that way. When you overprice your home, you are actually helping sell the home down the street, that may have the same features as your home.

Now that the tax credit is almost over, many who are still sitting on the fence about homeownership are asking about the benefits of owning a home over renting. While paying mortgage payments and property taxes may seem like an expensive and stressful proposition over the near worry-free lifestyle of renting, these expenses actually provide great financial benefit for homeowners, even without the tax credit incentive.

When you rent, every dollar you pay is retained by the landlord.

However, when you purchase a home, a portion of each monthly mortgage payment is used to pay down the principal amount of the loan and in return increases your equity in the property. In addition, you can offset much of the cost of property taxes and mortgage interest through allowable tax deductions.

Finally, by owning a home you may also increase your equity if the property appreciates in value.

For specific information on the financial and tax benefits of buying compared to renting, contact your local financial or tax consultant.