Bruce & Sandy Soli

From the Incline Board of Realtors...

As some of you experienced, Commissioner Breternitz responded to our original call to action on the proposed nuisance ordinance, stating that our information was not correct. He specifically states that our comments are "erroneous" because the ordinance does "not contain any Tahoe specific modifiers."

We have been purposeful to comment on what is actually written in the ordinance language. Because the ordinance does not have specific modifiers in its language at this point, we can only comment on the stated intent of Section 8.

The proposed "Intent" states:

"The public nuisances at issue focus generally on the consequences of intense vacation home and rental land uses as well as abuses produced at times by the entertainment and recreation industries."

IVBOR has responded to Commissioner Breternitz to address his comments and reinforce our position on this issue. Below is a copy of the correspondence all Washoe County Commissioners received this morning from IVBOR's Washoe County Government Affairs Director Jim Nadeau:

Commissioner Breternitz:

We understand that Adrian does not necessarily see the implications of this language.

Because the ordinance does not have specific modifiers in its language at this point, I can only comment on the stated intent of section 8.

The proposed Washoe County Nuisance ordinance Section 50.310 Modifications to Public Nuisances includes the following language:

"The public nuisances at issue focus generally on the consequences of intense vacation home and rental land uses as well as abuses produced at times by the entertainment and recreation industries."

On its face the ordinance does not establish standards for vacation rental or rentals land uses in general, but just the inclusion of these terms within the context of the modifier section opens the door for classifying rentals and vacation rentals as nuisances at a later date. If there is no intent in capturing vacation rentals and rentals in the nuisance ordinance; then there is no rational reason to include that reference. As resolved as we are on the inclusion of rentals in the ordinance, we are equally concerned with the implications of section 8 as a whole. You and I have discussed this individually.

That said, Washoe County Community Development staff created a Lake Tahoe Nuisance group that has been meeting at Incline Village since earlier this year specifically to address the Lake Tahoe modifiers. This group was appointed prior to any approval of the ordinance by the County Commissioners. Some of the members of this Lake Tahoe Nuisance group have very specifically expressed their interest, if not their intent, to include vacation rentals and rentals in general. This has generated considerable discussion regarding vacation rentals and rentals along with other areas of interest. Again, the mere inclusion of this language within the "Intent" section opens this door and suggests that vacation rental and rental land uses could be construed to be nuisances. Under no circumstances should vacation rental and rental land uses be included in a nuisance reference.

Because of the potential broad application of the modifier section, we agree with Washoe County staff's option of dropping section 8 completely. Designer ordinances or "modifiers", in general, are just a bad idea.

Incline Village Board of Realtors

924 Incline Way, Suite 1

Incline Village, NV. 89451

(775) 831-3777 Fax: (775) 831-1386

It's almost Halloween and with the holiday comes a tradition in Incline for all youngsters (well some older too). The Trail of Treats and Terror is calling all Incline Trick-or-Treators and their parents to join the quest by parking their mere mortal vehicles at the Incline Middle School (IMS) parking lot or Sierra Nevada College Parking lot before entering the haunted trail.

Stops include: the Donald W. Reynolds Community Non-Profit Center, the "Fantasy Forest," "R.I.P." (Recreation in Peace) at the Recreation Center, the LakeTahoe School, the "Talking Tree Forest" and "The Haunted Halls" of SNC. The Spooky Shuttle will return any survivors to their cars parked at either lot.

This event really is a fun one for the whole family and multiple stops along the way keep everyone curious. Beware, the closer to SNC the scarier things become. If you have little ones you may want to stear clear of there! Come join the fun...they are dying to see you! Don't forget your flashlight.

See you on October 29 at 4:00 pm (goes til about 8:00pm)!

Luxury Homes in Incline Village reduce to entice buyers all over the country. Are prices at an all time low? Recent price reductions in this segment of the market have increased some buyer activity and on a whole the luxury market has done pretty well in 2009. However with so much inventory on the rise, will prices continue to drop or will these gorgeous homes get snagged up at their current low prices?

Currently there are 23 luxury listings on the Incline Market (look up includes all homes over $2Mil built after 2002). There are 8 between $2-$3Mil, 11 between $3-$5Mil and 4 over $5Mil. Currently only one of these is in escrow and it is a short sale, 517 Fairview Blvd.. Has this segment been hit hard by the economic conditions...you betcha! Luxury homes and their owners are not always protected from economic hard times although many of them can sustain these until it improves.

So far to date there have been 12 sales in the same look up, 6 were under $3Mil and the remaining 6 luxury home sales were between $3-5Mil. Of these at least 4 were short sales (some are too proud or not sure how to post them in the MLS as true short sales) and none were reported as Bank Owned properties.

Of the luxury homes sales this year the average list price was $3.9Mil, dropping to an average of $3.35Mil before closing at an average of $2.9Mil. The average price per sqft is $477 and Days on Market is an average of 279 days. The % of list price from the price when it went into escrow is 89% of list.

Median prices tell a similar story with Original median list prices at $3.4Mil, dropping to a median of $3.22Mil when finally going into escrow and closing at a median of $2.7Mil. Median days of 242 on the market and closing at 90% of list price.

Currently, here are the Top Six Picks for the best deals in the market for luxury real estate based on price, amenities and location or view.

Catch the latest updates with the Notice of Default list, properties in some form of distress and current short sales and bank owned sales each week right here!

NEW REOs:

825 Southwood - Southwood Pines #1, APN 127-110-01, Rec 10/7/09

818 Donna Dr., APN 124-082-40, Rec. 9/25/09

820 Oriole - Royal Pines #57, APN 132-252-34, Rec. 9/16/09

Full Report...

Here's what is happening inside the Incline MLS for the week of 10/12-10/18 2009. This last week proved to be a pretty activity week for new escrows and sales, despite the economy and the falling temperatures.

New Listings this week were low with only 3 condos added to the market, 1 PUD and 6 single family homes. Of the condos just listed the one in Southwood Pines screams of a deal, but make sure you understand what is going on with the complex. Apparently there is a major assessment in the works! The one new PUD that was added is a short sale and a great deal based on sqft alone. The floor plan is not conventional, but interesting to say the least. The best part of this unit is the setting...it faces the woods, has great views up to Diamond Peak and a couple of big decks to enjoy the outdoors. One of the 6 single family homes caught my eye as a best buy. 861 Jeffrey was just purchased at auction and relisted at $449K. Based on sqft and a one car garage with the house in decent to good shape, this is a Hot Buy for sure. Do not expect this one to last long on the market. Full Report...