tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38132697059093215142024-03-14T02:27:45.729-07:00Thomasville & Cairo Georgia Dual Agency in a Nut ShellThere are good real estate agents and bad real estate agents. And within each category are agents whose behavior puts them at the very top and very bottom of the spectrum. Dual Agency: A listing agent who also represents the buyer is a dual agent. Dual agents cannot operate in a fiduciary relationship with either party and must treat both sellers and buyers equally. They cannot share confidential information and they cannot give confidential advice. Real Estate ServicesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-52903765087672328022016-07-08T14:14:00.001-07:002016-07-25T13:35:04.895-07:00Avoid Dual Agency Pitfalls and The Pitfalls of South Georgia Dual Agency!<div class="MsoNormal">
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<st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Thomasville</span></st1:city><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">, </span><st1:country-region><st1:country-region><st1:country-region><st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Georgia</span></st1:country-region></st1:country-region></st1:country-region></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> is a small town, just because most of them speak with a country accent that makes them look so friendly, but please do not fall for their cheap accent. Sorry but I will call it as it is they are scumbags and believe me or not most are females, not to say they are not males because they are. These so called "Realtors" will sale a wheelchair right from under a disabled person and not even think about it twice, but on the weekend they are at church asking for forgiveness and then they are back Monday morning screwing people over again.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">These lowlife are very aware of what goes on in this small town because most of them have lived in this town all of their lives and if your part of that lowlife group of "Realtors" which they all are aware of these bad lots and that trying to build a home on these bad lots will devalue the home, and when I say bad area, I mean "flood zone" in a flood zone you will pay a lot more then a regular lot for insurance. A "sinkholes" this is when you get so much rain that the land create a sinkhole. Now on hwy 19 in Thomasville, we have a subdivision that had a few sinkholes and this area has been on the news and with the stigma of this subdivision you will never sell your home, unless your local “lowlife “Realtor” works it out for the commission with another local lowlife “Realtor” to screw over a new buyer from out of town that is not aware of this subdivision stigma.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">I was contacted by a nice couple that was looking for a piece of land to build their custom family home and they were not from here, they contacted a local lowlife “Realtor” and this lowlife “Realtor” wanted to sell them a lot and it was not even listed on the local<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:stockticker><st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">MLS</span></st1:stockticker></st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">, so when a property or lot, land is not listed on the local MLS is because of a 2 reasons. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">1) It is a friend of this lowlife “Realtor” and they are aware of the problem with this lot or home and are trying to pass it along to a u</span>nknowing family. In a good scenario they would end up spending a fortune to build on the lot. worst scenario you would not be able to build on that lot. Now try to get your money back by re-listing the lot. The lowlife "Realtor" you get will tell you that you are going to have to drop the price that you paid because you paid to much for that lot or house. to pass it on to another sucker. "THIS SCENARIO HAPPENS EVERY DAY IN THIS TOWN WITH THESE LOCAL LOWLIFE "REALTORS" WITH HOMES AND LOTS."<br />
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">2) Pocket listing, A </span><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">pocket listing</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> or hip </span></span><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">pocket listing</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> is a real estate industry term used in United States which denotes a property where a broker holds a signed </span></span><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">listing</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> agreement (or contract) with the seller, whether that be an "Exclusive Right to Sell" or "Exclusive Agency" agreement or contract, but where it is never advertised. In this town number 2 does not happen </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">often. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">A few years ago we had a person building really cheap </span><span style="font-size: 14px;">homes</span><span style="font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">below minimum building code and to make a long store short this person built these homes all around the county and city and he is still building in Thomasville, GA., but these homes he build a few years ago were really badly built, now the listing lowlife “Realtor” knew that these homes were being built bad, but she did not give two S**ts. You see she was only interested in the commission. But you see all of these lowlife "Realtors knew that these homes were being built bad they all were more interested in the commission then looking out for their client the buyer. So in Thomasville, GA. And<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:place><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">these lowlife “Realtors” do not care about you the seller or buyers. They say that “Realtors” have a Code of Ethics, not if they are from<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:place><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">South Georgia they do not</span></st1:place></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">I have been living in this town close to 20 years, and I have seen and heard of so mean unethical activities that are unbelievable. I am a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:state><st1:place><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Florida</span></st1:place></st1:state></st1:place></st1:state><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">and Georgia Real Estate License holder and I would prefer to sell shoes then to activate my license with any of these so called real estate agents in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:place><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">or<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Thomasville</span></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:state><st1:state><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">GA.</span></st1:state></st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Why would you think that they are so many “For Sale by owner signs”? in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><st1:place><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">. The first time we came to this town looking at properties we most of gone through a few of these lowlifes "Realtors", because they just wanted to show us first all of their personal listings and then their office listings. </span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">when we asked about the “For Sale by owner” they would answer with “I do not have any information on that property and if it is not listed there most be something wrong with it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">A long time ago I had my Real Estate license activated in Florida and our broker told us to try and go get the listing from a 'For Sale by Owner" and if we could not get the listing if they would be interested in paying 3% if we bring them a buyer and 99% of the time they would say YES. If you are a true professional Realtor you would look at the "for sale by owner" as a potential home to sell. No, not these lowlife "Realtors" they think they are worth 6% commission for doing nothing. Remember in Georgia these lowlifes "Realtors" are dual agents which means they get the full 6% commission. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Now do you think they deserve 6% commission for selling a home on square footage alone. You see they are so lazy that they do not care to learn anything new a home has or what is so special about a particular listing. I am sure you are aware of these show on TV that sale real estate like "million dollar listing of new York". You sell properties on the custom features a home has. It might be a cliche' but yes that's how real estate agents really work. Not look at a listing and say one has more square footage then the other because any monkey can do that for less than 6%. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Now these lowlife scumbags ”Realtor” when it comes to "For Sale by owners" they will talk bad about the house, they will tell a potential buyer anything that they can come up with at any cost to avoid showing a "for sale by owner" You see these lowlife "Realtors" are even willing to cut each others throat because remember they get full commission of 6% when they sell their own listing that is what " Dual Agency" is. And also remember they are all trying to make as much money as possible. They do not care about you the buyer or seller they are all money hungry. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">they will not tell you how much your house is wroth they will just take the listing and list it, then after a while when you have no showing they come and tell you that you have to low your price, because remember the cheaper you list it the faster they make their full 6% commission and they will not have to split the commission. And in some occasions when they take a listing the seller has to full out a property disclosure and by law they are supposed to list anything wrong with the property. Now it is very interesting how these forms are filled out. If you're buying a home I would take a very good look at this form, because you are going to tell me that you have lived in the house all of your life or had the house built, or lived in the house for a long time and you are going to check mark on "you are not aware of any issues. "YEAH RIGHT" this would be the recommendation of the lowlife "Realtor" </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Then of they see that your home has been listed by them and then take the listing from them to another office they will not show it and there excuse is that that house has been on the market for a long time so there must be something wrong with it.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;">A while ago we had a family members
ask a few Real Estate breakage offices to show homes in our area. Now our home
had been remodeled from top to bottom. The agents were the mother and daughter
and owner of Re/max franchise. They told our family member that our house was
overpriced and that they did not want to see that house. Our home was the
cheapest in the subdivision and remember it was remodeled from top to bottom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">“ to be continued I will be adding more to this blog. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Wouldn’t it be nice if life were clear-cut? Often in residential real estate it is: The most common legal arrangement in the business is for a listing agent from one company to represent the seller and a buyer’s agent from another company to represent the buyer in a transaction. The advantage to this scenario is that when negotiations arise or the parties are sending counteroffers back and forth, the two sides have a relatively balanced opportunity to obtain guidance and strategy from their own representative. But dual agency creates relationships with clients and customers that aren’t clear-cut.</div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.4pt;">For example, Rita Real Estate Broker is the listing agent holding an open house for her client, Sam Seller. Barb Buyer asks Rita details about the property during the open house, tells Rita she isn’t working with an agent, and asks Rita’s help in preparing an offer for Sam’s house. Rita has to stop, ask Barb if she’s asking for representation, and decide if she wants to enter into a dual agency relationship.</span></div>
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First Rita must resolve whether her state’s laws and her brokerage’s policies permit dual agency. Next, she must determine whether Sam Seller has agreed to let her act as a dual agent in the transaction and obtain his full, written consent to Rita’s new role. She must also disclose the limitations the dual agency will place on her ability to assist Barb and Sam. Only then will Rita have done everything necessary to create disclosed dual agency.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If she does enter into a disclosed dual agency relationship, Rita must observe her state’s dual agency laws, which probably require her to keep some types of information from each party confidential. In a dual agency relationship, Rita’s fiduciary duties to her clients are much more limited. She can no longer be an advocate for either party because each client has opposite goals.</div>
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Designated Dual Agency</div>
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Avoiding Dual Agency Traps<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dual agency relationships occur not only when one agent represents two parties but also when two agents from the same company represent two parties in the transaction. If Rita’s friend Alice Agent, who works out of a different office of the same brokerage Rita is affiliated with, comes to Rita’s open house with her buyer clients, Bill and Betty Buyers, and the Buyers later make an offer, once again, a dual agency relationship may be created.</div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.4pt;">In some states, there’s another option, designated dual agency. In these cases, the broker of Alice’s and Rita’s brokerage could designate one agent to represent the buyer-client and another to represent the seller-client. The broker would screen off some transaction information so that neither agent has access to the confidential information of the other party.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.4pt;">Although designated dual agency can work well, it poses the same general challenges as a typical dual agency arrangement. Designated agency still places significant responsibilities on each agent and on the brokerage to follow strict management policies to avoid compromising the integrity of the transaction.</span></div>
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In a few states — <st1:state>Colorado</st1:state>, <st1:state>Florida</st1:state>, and <st1:state>Kansas</st1:state> — dual agency is prohibited. This prohibition ensures that the real estate practitioner isn’t put in the difficult position of trying to satisfy both parties and risking that one or both parties may walk away feeling they didn’t receive the focused and thorough representation they expected. That dissatisfaction could lead to legal action, especially if there are problems with the transaction.</div>
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However, if dual agency is legal in your state and you want to make it a part of your business model, be sure to take these steps to ensure that both clients are treated fairly.</div>
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1. Review your state’s laws (consult with an attorney if necessary) to determine if dual agency is legal and what disclosures and procedures you must follow.</div>
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2. Review your brokerage company’s policy to see if dual agency is permitted and exactly what actions you as a dual agent may not perform for each party.</div>
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3. Disclose the dual agency and what it means to all clients in writing, and obtain their timely, written consent to the relationship. Be sure to explain how dual agency limits your ability to fully represent each party.</div>
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4. Review and discuss with your client any state-mandated agency disclosure forms. Some states also have statutory language that must be included in all dual agency agreements. Failing to properly disclose dual agency is illegal.</div>
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5. Recommend that both parties retain attorneys to advise them regarding the purchase agreement, contingencies, price, earnest money, or other negotiated issues. This can be a win-win for all parties involved since the client will be adequately represented and the attorneys’ participation will take pressure and liability off of the sales associate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you’re careful in informing all parties about the requirements of a dual agency relationship, acting as an agent for both can be a viable way to close deals. Just don’t let your desire to get the deal done lead you to inadvertently overstep the limitations dual agency imposes.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-16616061553869176142016-07-08T12:43:00.002-07:002016-07-08T12:43:48.920-07:00BE WARY OF DUAL AGENCY - THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA IS FULL OF DUAL AGENTS THAT ARE THIEVES.<div style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.6px;">
With the growing number of very large and widespread brokerages, the issue of dual agency arises more frequently than ever before. Any purchaser, seller, lessor or lessee confronted with a dual agency issue by their real estate agent should not take the issue lightly. Parties to a real estate transaction, including real estate brokers and salespersons themselves, seldom realize the inherent problems of a real estate agent acting as a dual agent.</div>
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Dual agency arises when a real estate broker or salesperson represents adverse parties (e.g., a buyer and seller) in the same transaction.</div>
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Dual agency typically arises in the following way: a real estate broker employs two salespeople, one who works for the buyer as a buyer's agent and the other who works for the seller as a seller's agent. The real estate broker and his salespeople are "one and the same" entity when analyzing whether dual agency exists. As soon as the buyer's agent introduces the buyer to property in which the seller is represented by the seller's agent, dual agency arises.</div>
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Dual agency can also arise in a more subtle way: A real estate broker who represents the seller procures a prospective purchaser who needs to sell her property before she is able to buy the seller's property. The prospective purchaser then signs a listing agreement with the real estate broker to sell her property so that she can purchase the seller's property. The real estate broker is now a dual agent representing both parties in a mutually dependent transaction.</div>
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When you employ a real estate broker or salesperson as your agent, you are the principal. "The relationship of agent and principal is fiduciary in nature, ‘...founded on trust or confidence reposed by one person in the integrity and fidelity of another.' (citation omitted) Included in the fundamental duties of such a fiduciary are good faith and <i><b>undivided loyalty</b></i>, and full and fair disclosure. Such duties are imposed upon real estate licensees by license law, rules and regulations, contract law, the principals of the law of agency, and tort law. (citation omitted) The object of these rigorous standards of performance is to secure fidelity from the agent to the principal and to insure the transaction of the business of the agency to the best advantage of the principal. (citations omitted)." (Emphasis added) <i>DOS v. Moore</i>, 2 DOS 99, p. 7 (1999)</div>
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"A real estate broker is strictly limited in his or her ability to act as a dual agent: As a fiduciary, a real estate broker is prohibited from serving as a dual agent representing parties with conflicting interests in the same transaction without the informed consent of the principals. (citations omitted) ‘If dual interests are to be served, the disclosure to be effective must lay bare the truth, without ambiguity or reservation, in all its stark significance.' (citation omitted)</div>
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‘Therefore, a real estate agent must prove that prior to undertaking to act either as a dual agent or for an adverse interest, the agent made full and complete disclosure to all parties as a predicate for obtaining the consent of the principals to proceed in the undertaking. Both the rule and the affirmative [defense] of full disclosure are well settled in law.' (citation omitted)" <i>Id.</i> at pp. 9-10.</blockquote>
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In a purchaser/seller transaction in which dual agency arises, the agent must not only clearly explain the existence of the dual agency issue and its implications to the parties, the agent must also obtain a written acknowledgment from the prospective purchaser and seller to dual agency. That acknowledgment requires each principal signing the form to confirm that they understand that the dual agent will be working for both the seller and buyer, that they understand that they may engage their own agent to act solely for them, <b>that they understand that they are giving up their right to the agent's undivided loyalty</b>, and that they have carefully considered the possible consequences of a dual agency relationship.</div>
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The fiduciary duty of loyalty that your real estate agent owes to you prohibits your agent from advancing any interests adverse to yours or conducting your business to benefit the agent or others.</div>
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Significantly, by consenting to dual agency, you are giving up your right to have your agent be loyal to you, since your agent is now also representing your adversary. Once you give up that duty of loyalty, the agent can advance interests adverse to yours. For example, once you agree to dual agency, you may need to be careful about what you say to your agent because, although your agent still cannot breach any confidences, your agent may not use the information you give him or her in a way that advances <b>your</b> interests.</div>
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As a principal in a real estate transaction, you should always know that you have the right to be represented by an agent who is loyal only to you throughout the entire transaction. Your agent's fiduciary duties to you need never be compromised.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-55921699269496135832015-12-04T07:48:00.003-08:002015-12-04T07:48:44.834-08:00WE ARE THE BEST BUILDERS BY FAR IN GEORGIA AND NORTH FLORIDA<br />
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WE ARE THE BEST BUILDERS BY FAR IN GEORGIA AND NORTH FLORIDA</div>
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What is Your HERS Score?</div>
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At CHB Homes tremendous efforts go into making our homes energy efficient and we are extremely pleased with our HERS rating scores. The HERS rating score has helped us become the premier Green Builder in the Georgia and North Florida area for new custom homes. The HERS rating score is mentioned and utilized throughout our planning/design and construction processes, so for those of you who may not know what a HERS score is we have provided more details below.</div>
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The RESNET HERS Index is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured. The HERS or Home Energy Rating System was developed by RESNET and is the nationally recognized system for inspecting and calculating a home’s energy performance. Certified RESNET Home Energy Raters conduct inspections to verify a home’s energy performance. Tests include verification of density of insulation, vapor & air barriers, blower door tests (to check the house leakage), duct system performance testing, and many others.</div>
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A code built home has a HERS score of 100. CHB Homes new custom built homes have been averaging HERS scores in the low 50’s, which means our homes are typically 40%+ more efficient than a code built home.</div>
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Our new build home scored a 49, meaning an overall $2,965 savings annually for our clients. It also means a tighter sealed home with less draft during uneven temperatures, therefore simply more comfortable overall.</div>
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RESNET explains a HERS score in the 40’s is a very good score indeed! RESNET states a builder has done a lot of the right things to make this home more energy efficient, like using energy efficient lighting systems and installing efficient heating and cooling equipment.</div>
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Do you know what your HERS score is?<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-89105904578670946822014-12-22T09:17:00.001-08:002014-12-22T09:17:40.917-08:00Buyer and seller beware: Your agent may not represent your best interests<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Homebuyers sometimes gripe that their real estate agent seems more interested in closing a sale and collecting a commission check than in helping them find the right home at the right price.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Sellers, too, may feel pressured by their broker to make price reductions or accept an offer that’s less than what they’d hoped to receive for their home.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">What buyers and sellers alike may not realize is that, in many cases, real estate brokers and agents actually have no legal obligation to look after their best interests. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">This is 100% true when it comes to working with a dual agent, </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> is a dual agency state.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Laws in 25 states now allow brokers to provide services to buyers and sellers as "transaction brokers" or "facilitators," without traditional fiduciary duties of loyalty and obedience. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The state of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> is one of those state. "Buyer Beware'</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">All 50 states also <a href="http://www.inman.com/reports/dual-agency" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">provide avenues</a> for brokers to "double end" a deal, working with both the buyer and seller in the same transaction and avoiding the need to split commission income with a cooperating broker. In such instances, neither the buyer nor seller is fully represented, critics say. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The state of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> is one of those state. "Buyer Beware'</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Because they rely on referrals and repeat customers for much of their business, scrupulous real estate brokers and agents strive to provide a high level of service, whether they are representing clients individually in "single agency" relationships or double-ending deals. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Not True in </span><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> and </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Thomasville</span></st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, </span><st1:state><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">GA</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer Beware'</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">See related report:<br /><a href="http://www.inman.com/reports/dual-agency" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">Beyond Dual Agency</a></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">But consumers shouldn’t assume that their broker or agent is obligated to represent their interests, and their interests alone, until they have seen a written disclosure describing the agency relationship under which services are being provided to them. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">This form is not truly explained to a buyer or seller in </span><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> and </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Thomasville</span></st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, </span><st1:state><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">GA</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, leaving buyer's and seller's on aware of what they sign. "Buyer Beware'</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Homebuyers and sellers looking to negotiate the best commission rate, obtain the highest level of service, and protect their legal rights in the event of a dispute can start off on the right foot by making sure they understand the form of representation their broker or agent is providing.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"><br />Agency relationships</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Agency relationships are created when one person agrees to act on another’s behalf, or represent them in dealings with a third party.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Once an agency relationship is established, agents owe their clients "fiduciary duties" of loyalty and obedience. They are typically required to place their clients’ interests ahead of their own, providing services with honesty and good faith while avoiding conflicts of interest or "self-dealing."</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">But the rules governing agency relationships between consumers, real estate brokers and their agents vary from state to state, and all have been rewritten in the last 25 years.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Depending on the laws of the state they are licensed in, brokers can provide services in one of six relationships:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Single agency</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">: A broker or agent represents the interests of the buyer or seller alone in a transaction — either as the listing agent or as a "buyer’s agent." Consumer advocates and agents who work exclusively with buyers say single agency is the best form of representation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Designated agency</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">: One broker designates two of their agents to represent the buyer and seller separately. When states require that brokers implement safeguards to protect clients’ confidential information, designated agency is the next best alternative to single agency, academics and consumer advocates say.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Disclosed dual agency</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">: A lone agent provides services to both the buyer and the seller in a limited agency relationship, without an obligation to represent the best interests of either. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"Buyer Beware'</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">In states with no provisions for designated agency, when two agents affiliated with the same broker represent both sides of a transaction, the broker may be considered a dual agent.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Although <a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2012/02/22/no-consensus-real-estate-dual-agency-double-ending" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">controversial</a> even among real estate brokers and agents, disclosed dual agency does present opportunities for experienced sellers to negotiate discounted or "variable rate" commissions in advance.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Transaction brokerage</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">: One agent or two agents at the same brokerage may provide services to the buyer, the seller, or both, in a non-agency relationship, owing no fiduciary duties of loyalty and obedience. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">In addition to having the same disadvantage as dual agency — neither the buyer nor seller can expect an agent to represent their interests during negotiations — consumers served by transaction brokers have little leeway to file claims for professional negligence. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Provision of "ministerial" services</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> to unrepresented "customers": A listing broker may avoid splitting a commission with a cooperating broker by providing limited services to an unrepresented buyer. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Every state in the union provides avenues for brokers and agents to "double dip." Of the eight states that ban dual agency outright, four allow designated agency (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Alaska</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Colorado</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">,</span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Maryland</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> and </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Texas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">), three allow transaction brokerage (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Florida</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Kansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> and </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Oklahoma</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">), and three allow both (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Alaska</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Colorado</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> and </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Texas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">). </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Subagency</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">: The listing broker represents the seller in an agency relationship. "Selling agents" who work with buyers are "subagents" of the listing broker. All of the agents involved in a transaction owe their allegiance to the seller, and buyers are unrepresented. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">So </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Although subagency was a standard industry practice for most of the last century, this form of representation has largely fallen out of favor because of legal risks for brokers and sellers. NotTRUE for </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Click the map image below to <a href="http://www.inman.com/reports/dual-agency" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">view an interactive map</a> describing states’ varied real estate representation options:</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">During the matchmaking stage, brokers who are hoping to double-end a deal may attempt to steer buyers to listings they represent. Or they may fail to aggressively market their sellers’ listings in the hopes of limiting the pool of buyers to those they will represent. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Very </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> inGeorgia "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Brokers may offer incentives, such as higher commission splits, to agents who sell in-house listings to their buyers. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Agency relationships and commissions</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The Consumer Federation of America <a href="http://www.consumerfed.org/elements/www.consumerfed.org/file/housing/Real_Estate_Cartel_Study061906.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">advises</a> consumers to always negotiate commissions with real estate brokers, using agency relationships as a starting point.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Buyers and sellers should insist at "the first substantial contact" that brokers disclose whether they will represent their financial interests at all stages. If not, the group advises, consumers should ask whether the broker will represent the financial interests of the other party, or simply serve as a facilitator or transaction broker.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Sellers should try to "knock one percentage point" off the standard commission right off the bat, the Consumer Federation of America advises, and "insist that if their broker double dips, the commission be reduced another percentage point or two."</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Search and negotiate</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Of all the services that real estate brokers and agents provide for their clients, two of the most important are "matchmaking" — connecting buyers and sellers — and negotiation. Agency relationships can come into play during both stages.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"My broker doesn’t endorse this practice (of offering such incentives), as it may lead to an agent ignoring the best interests of the client in favor of the best paycheck," said Chris Dowell, an agent at Re/Max Premier Realty in Prairie Village, Kan., a Kansas City, Mo., suburb. Dual agency and several other forms of representation are permitted in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"LUCKY YOU'Georgia "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"There is a large, local brokerage that pays a significant bonus for selling in-brokerage listings, and because of that, faces … lawsuits, as well as a buying public that is very cynical toward that brokerage’s actions." </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">During the negotiating stage, brokers and agents working with the buyer and seller in the same transaction may disclose confidential information — such as how much the seller is willing to accept — in the hopes of moving a transaction along. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware" I can't STRESS this how </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> it is.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Michele Guss, an agent at Thompson’s Realty in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Phoenix</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, said that in her brokerage, agents don’t "sit around gossiping about their clients and transactions." </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Not all offices have the same practice. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"With that said, I will say when I was with (another brokerage), agents were always telling other agents what listing they had and what a seller would be willing to accept. This is not OK. Agents are not authorized to give any (information) unless the seller or buyer specifically authorizes them to do so," she added. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Common practices Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Boost for brokers, but at what cost?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The California Association of Realtors, in soliciting contributions to its Realtor Action Fund,<a href="http://cache.inman.com/files/stories/2009_CAR_DuesInsert.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">claims</a> that the lobbying it has done to preserve dual agency in the state "saves" Realtors thousands of dollars each year. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">More many in the realtors pocket. and buyer's and sellers with no representation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Not having to split a commission with a cooperating broker provides a boost to the bottom line.</span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">CAR</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> spokeswoman Lotus Lou said the group currently estimates that preserving dual agency generates $1,873 in annual savings for the average agent and $4,627 per brokerage, but was unable to provide specifics on how those estimates were derived.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"Each agent and firm makes that additional amount, respectively, because of dual agency," Lou said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The jury is still out, however, as to whether buyers and sellers are at a disadvantage when they agree to dual agency or other forms of limited- or non-agency representation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">A study of 4,154 repeat sales in the Memphis, Tenn., market from 1997 through 2003, "<a href="http://aux.zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/jrer/papers/pdf/past/vol27n03/02.267_292.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">Homeowners’ Repeat-Sale Gains, Dual Agency and Repeated Use of the Same Agent</a>," found no convincing effects of accepting dual agency for buyers or sellers.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Another study of 1,334 </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Utah</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> home sales in 1999 and 2000 found that the impact of agency representation varied by property size.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">For small- to medium-sized homes, buyers represented by their own agents paid about 2 percent less than those who were represented by the listing agent, or who were unrepresented "customers" of the listing agent.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">But the study found that the benefit of working with a buyer’s agent could easily be canceled out by generous commission-split offers.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">That study, "<a href="http://aux.zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/jrer/papers/abstract/past/av24n02/v24n02a04.htm" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">Agency Representation and the Sale Price of Houses</a>," revealed that sellers of medium- to large-size properties agreed to larger price reductions when the buyer was represented by a designated agent.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The authors of the study theorized that listing agents might be more likely to pressure sellers to agree to a price reduction if an offer was coming from a buyer represented by another agent at their firm.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">More recently, an analysis by technology-based real estate brokerage Redfin of 230,000 home sales in 22 markets around the country in 2011 <a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2012/02/23/redfin-sellers-lose-in-dual-agency" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">concluded</a> that sellers represented by dual agents agreed to larger discounts from their asking price than sellers represented by single or designated agents.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Redfin — which primarily represents buyers in single-agency relationships — acknowledged that sellers represented by dual agents may have been able to negotiate commission discounts.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Legal liabilities</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Despite more than two decades of tinkering with the laws, regulations, customs and practices governing Realtor-client relationships, real estate brokers still view agency issues as their<a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2012/02/14/legal-pitfalls-agency-representation-real-estate-professionals" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">greatest potential legal liability</a>. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">NAR’s latest survey of members showed 18 percent of Realtors practiced transaction brokerage in 2010, up from 10 percent the year before. The percentage of Realtors practicing buyer and seller agency with disclosed dual agency dropped from 41 percent to 32 percent. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Our area in</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> it is up in our area by 99% "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Statistics provided to Inman News by four of the nation’s largest multiple listing services <a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2011/11/1/dual-agency-and-double-dipping-still-risky-business" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">show declines</a> in same-broker or same-office transactions during the last decade. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Our area inGeorgia it is up in our area by 99% "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">At the largest </span><st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">MLS</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> in the Northeast, Rockville, Md.-based Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. (MRIS), for example, 21.7 percent of transactions in 2002 were handled by an agent or agents working out of the same office. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">99% of sold listings in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> are sold and listed by same agent. with no protection to the buyer or seller and full commission to the listing agent. "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The percentage of same-office sales dropped to 15.8 percent in 2009, a low for the decade, before rebounding to 16.4 percent in 2010. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Our area in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> it is up in our area by 99% "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Roselind Hejl, an agent at Coldwell Banker United Realtors in </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Austin</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, </span><st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Texas</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, said she believes that dual agency is becoming unacceptable to consumers in an era of increasing transparency. In </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> it is the only agency sought out by local Realtors</span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">. Dual Agency in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> is sought out by local realtors for the full commission. "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"I think (dual agency) is a holdover from the days when both agents represented the seller, and the buyer was technically not represented. It was customary to ‘double dip’ and earn both sides of the commission," she said. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"In today’s world, agents may get away with this once in awhile, but dual agency is rapidly coming to an end. The public wants more information and transparency. It is up to us to respond to that." </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">They get away with it everyday in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">. "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Kansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> agent Chris Dowell, meanwhile, said he believes the wealth of information available on the Internet has encouraged a "do-it-yourselfer" mentality, and that there is a "trend toward unrepresented buyers purchasing through listing agents directly." </span><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">It happens daily in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> So"Buyer's Beware" An uneducated buyer is going to believe whatever their buyer's agent tells the buyer.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Worries about legal liability aren’t the only factor that may be contributing to a general decline in double-ending.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The role of real estate websites</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Consumers today are likely to start the home search process on websites like Realtor.com, Zillow and Trulia that feature advertisements or lead forms for brokers and agents who are seeking to represent buyers in their market.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Those advertisements — typically worded as an offer to provide more information about a particular property that has come up in search results — have been controversial with some listing brokers, who want inquiries from prospective buyers funneled to their agents.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Critics say listing brokers who object to the ads are worried that they are losing out on opportunities to double-end transactions.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Some brokerages — such as Minnesota-based Edina Realty Inc. — have <a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2011/11/21/minnesota-broker-will-stop-sending-listings-trulia-realtorcom" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">pulled their listings</a> from "third-party" sites that send business to their competitors over concerns about ads and lead forms that appear next to their listings.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The nation’s fourth-largest brokerage, Pittsburgh-based Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, recently took <a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2012/02/21/howard-hanna-invests-1m-plus-enhance-real-estate-listings" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">another tack</a>, entering into marketing agreements with Realtor.com and Zillow to prevent competitors’ advertisements from appearing next to the company’s listings.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Third-party sites not only provide listings data, but statistics on market trends and neighborhood demographics, crime and schools, so consumers are no longer reliant on real estate agents as the primary source for community, neighborhood and home information.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"><br />http://www.inman.com/2012/02/24/buyer-and-seller-beware-your-agent-may-not-represent-your-best-interests/#</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-17714469223660932762014-09-04T09:40:00.001-07:002014-09-04T09:40:50.551-07:00MY AGENT SAYS HE WILL BE DOUBLE DIPPING - THAT SOUNDS GROSS<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.7pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">First-time buyer</span></strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"> – My agent
showed me a house that I like and for which he is the listing agent. I
heard him use the term double-dipping. I know you’re not supposed to do that
with chips and dips, but what is that all about in real estate?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Answer</span></strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"> - Double dipping
at the chips and dip station is a nasty party etiquette faux pas and it
can be a nasty real estate practice too, involving not so much etiquette as
ethics. Some states have enacted real estate laws and practices to limit the
practice or at least to bring full transparency to it. </span><st1:state><st1:place><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Michigan</span></st1:place></st1:state></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"> is what is
called a Designated Agency state. That means that we have laws that define the
agency role and responsibilities when a Realtor signs a client up to be their
listing agent or their buyer agent and it requires a clear definition and
agreement with the client about what role the agent is playing. The
cornerstone of the concept of agency is the agent’s fiduciary responsibility to
the client.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.7pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Curt Vonnegut used to
do a commercial for TIAA-CREF, the retirement programs people, in which he had
fun with the word fiduciary. It does sound funny. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">From Wikipedia comes
this definition of a fiduciary –</span></strong><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">A fiduciary is a legal
or ethical relationship of trust between two or more parties. Typically, a
fiduciary prudently takes care of money for another person. In a
fiduciary relationship, one person, in a position of vulnerability, justifiably
vests confidence, good faith, reliance, and trust in another whose aid, advice
or protection is sought in some matter. In such a relation good conscience
requires the fiduciary to act at all times for the sole benefit and interest of
the one who trusts. A fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care at either
equity or law. A fiduciary (abbreviation fid) is expected to be extremely loyal
to the person to whom he owes the duty (the "principal"): such that
there must be no conflict of duty between fiduciary and principal, and the
fiduciary must not profit from his position as a fiduciary (unless the
principal consents). </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;">This also goes for Realtor working directly with a local
builder. This is also called double dipping and when that Realtor/broker is
part owner of new homes being built and sold by the same agent, that's illegal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"><u2:p></u2:p>So, when
a client signs up with a real estate agent to list his house, the agent takes
on a fiduciary role with that client. That means that the agent may learn
things from the client that the client does not want to others to know, such
and how much he’d really sell the place for. The agent is bound by his fiduciary
relationship not to disclose that to a buyer. The agent owes his loyalty to the
seller.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">So what happens when
that same agent signs up a buyer couple and starts looking for houses for them.
He owes fiduciary loyalty to the buyers and shouldn’t disclose things like how
much the buyer is willing to pay to any sellers. So far, so good.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Now, suppose that the
agent is sending the buyers listings and they happen to see one of his listings
and want to see it. Even worse, they love it and want to put in a bid on it.
Where do the agents loyalties lay now? Can that agent serve two masters? Some
states allow that to happen and some put some pretty good restrictions on what
the agent can do and what level of transparency has to be maintained for both
parties to the deal.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<st1:state><st1:place><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Michigan</span></st1:place></st1:state></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"> requires that
the agent get the written permission of both parties before he should even show
the house to the buyers. That written permission should state clearly the
compromise that the agent will have to make if placed in this position. The
things that need to be dealt with in that document include what the agent can
and cannot disclose to either side and includes a strict prohibition against
sharing any secrets or confidences that either party has already shared with
the agent. Potentially a bigger issue is the fact that the dual agent can no
longer negotiate for either side. If having the agent there to handle the
negotiations was important to either side, that is gone if the agent is allowed
to become a dual agent. Some states, like </span><st1:state><st1:place><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">California</span></st1:place></st1:state></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">, that don’t have
designated agency laws in effect, are currently dealing with dual agency cases
in their court systems that could have major impact across the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;">So, what’s the double dip
thing? That means that the agent is going to receive both sides of the
commission – double what he/she would normally make – thus a double dip into
the commission pot. That’s not an illegal things or necessarily a bad thing,
but is does provide the motivation to perhaps not render as much fiduciary
responsibility as is still possible. The agent may become more motivated by the
opportunity to double dip that to protect the interests of both parties. Money
tends to corrupt like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">How can you protect
yourself against the potential problems that could be caused by dual agency?
The simple answer is not to allow it. Since the agent needs to have your
permission in most states to act in a dual agent role, just tell them that
you’d prefer not to do business that way. Ask them to have a different agent
represent the buyer or you, so that each of you has an agent who can give you
the full fiduciary attention and responsibility that you should have. In states
that don’t have Designated Agency laws that may mean finding an agent in a
different company. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.7pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Your agent may refer
you to another agent and it is perfectly legal for him/her to get a referral
fee for doing that. That way you are still rewarding the agent who worked for
you and found you the house that you want, even if he/she can’t be there with
you through the sale. If your agent refuses to do something about the
dual-agency issue, then fire that agent and find another agent. He/she was more
interested in double dipping that in making sure your interests were properly
served.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">The agent might take
the position that he can represent only the seller but can still do the
paperwork and put the deal together. Listing agents who meet unrepresented
buyers at open houses in their own listings often take that approach. You’ll
need to decide whether you feel comfortable with that and whether you are
concerned that the agent may already know enough about your and your
wherewithal to put you at a disadvantage in the negotiations – people do tend
to talk at open houses, especially to the friendly, nice man that showed them through.
You can see how hard this can be to keep straight. Double dipping has been a
fairly common practice in many places and is a favorite with many agents for
obvious reasons; but, the bottom line is that it’s up to you and you need to
feel completely comfortable with the representation that you will be getting in
the deal. If you are not, remember the advice that you used to hear about drugs
or teenage sex, just say no.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<address style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"> http://normwerner.realtytimes.com/advicefromagents1/item/28614-my-agent-says-he-will-be-double-dipping-that-sounds-gross</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></address>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-31757244882127238722014-09-03T05:35:00.003-07:002014-09-03T05:35:34.249-07:00Should A Home Buyer Use The Listing Agent?<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;">
Double Dipping</h3>
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<img alt="Dual Agency" class="alignright size-full wp-image-10960" height="350" src="http://www.sacramentorealestatevoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Double-Dipping-in-Real-Estate.jpg" style="box-shadow: rgb(51, 51, 51) 0px 8px 7px -6px; display: inline; float: right; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;" width="350" />Home Buyers should be aware of what Dual Agency means specifically to them and the purchase of a house or condo. In the real estate business we refer to this as “double dipping.”</div>
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It has been written about for years that when a listing agent also represents the home buyer, it either means no one gets represented fully where the real estate agent becomes neutral or the home buyer is left out in the cold with no representation at all. You need to remember that a relationship was established with the home seller long before the home buyer came into the picture. In other words the fiduciary relationship was originally with the seller. You can’t serve two masters fairly! And don’t let anyone try and convince you otherwise.</div>
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Dual Agency is Double Dipping</h3>
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A definition of dual agency is “a breach of agency rules” which must be disclosed to the parties because the agent has a conflict of interest when representing both the buyer and the seller. That should tell you something!</div>
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I prefer an “arms length” transaction where I totally represent my client and I do NOT do dual agency. Anyone who says they can give both sides equal representation is fooling himself/herself as well as the uneducated client.</div>
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Do some real estate agents like dual agency, well sure they get paid twice. But, for the inexperienced real estate agent who thinks only of the double commission, they may find a lawsuit will eat up that double dipping! The number 1 claim and complaints filed are about Dual Agency. More real estate complaints occur due to Dual Agency where the client’s did not feel they were fully represented.</div>
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These are the States that ban Dual Agency:</div>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;">Alabama</li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;">Florida</li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;">Kansas</li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;">Maryland</li>
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Now, the uscrupuious listing real estate agent who has lingo down pat of, “I’ll give you your own PRIVATE showing.” Or scares the buyers into thinking they have to write a contract with the listing agent in order to get the house are all examples of an unethical real estate agent. The uneducated, naive home buyer is typically the one who falls for this lingo. And in the end, some of those very home buyers actually think they got a good deal…how sad!</div>
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Private showings are always the case whenever a home is shown unless it’s an Open House so don’t fall for the “private showing” gibberish. And scaring a home buyer into thinking they must write the offer with the listing agent in order to get the house is not only unethical, it’s a lie. The seller will pick the best offer. The seller only cares about how much money they will net. So, don’t fall for that lie.</div>
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Do you double dip your chip in the dip? Then don’t be represented by the same real estate agent that represents the seller. Some things are just not Kosher. And if you have an established relationship with a REALTOR®, then by all means be loyal and don’t fall prey to ridiculous rhetoric from a listing agent.</div>
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In summation, this article is for all home buyers. You have now become educated on the pitfalls of NO REPRESENTATION when going along with Dual Agency. The first question an ethical REALTOR® asks is, “are you currently working with a real estate agent?”</div>
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A unethical agent never asks and ropes you in and hopes you fall for their tricks while smiling all the way to the bank. Wise up home buyers and don’t be taken! When you go to that Open House without your REALTOR®, then take their business card with you and speak up…I have a REALTOR®.</div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">http://sacramentorealestatevoice.com/should-a-home-buyer-use-the-listing-agent/#comment-44863</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-8724349834392854852014-09-01T15:11:00.001-07:002014-09-01T15:11:09.875-07:00Buying a new Home in Thomasville or South Georgia Compare features..<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Custom Green Homes from $86/Per Sq. Ft. </span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We don't build eight minimum code homes at a time we build
custom green high-performance homes and we build it right. Don't overpay for a
new home with less features and an overpriced H.O.A in </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">South</span></st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><st1:state><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">GA</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">,
We are the only builder building green homes in </span><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">South
Georgia</span></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> with Energy bill GUARANTEED!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Capital Home Builders – We are the only true custom
home builder in </span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Thomasville</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, and </span></b><st1:place><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">South
Georgia</span></b></st1:place><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<st1:stockticker>CHB</st1:stockticker></div>
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Homes</div>
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Other New Homes</div>
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<b>All of our homes
are built with </b><st1:state><st1:place><b>Florida</b></st1:place></st1:state><b> Code NOT </b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b>Georgia</b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b>…. <span style="color: red;">Better Code </span>/
Better Homes..<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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1) Stronger foundation and Footers - Our Found are built
with Wire Mash and Fiber</div>
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2) 2X6 Exterior Walls - Stronger House and More Wall Insulation</div>
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3) Continuous load Path - Stronger House (Ask other
builders will not know)<o:p></o:p></div>
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4) Trusses Design with Heel for extra insulation <o:p></o:p></div>
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5) Titanium Underlayment With Ice & water and
installed properly. <o:p></o:p></div>
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6) Whole House Surge protector<o:p></o:p></div>
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7) Hole House Wiring For Smart Home</div>
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8) Video Surveillance Monitor on Vacation</div>
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9) Smart thermostat Lower A/C with Smart Phone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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10) 2.5 Ton 16 SEER A/C unit. For a 2,500 Sq. Ft. Home.
Very Energy Efficient </div>
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11) Tankless Water Heater<o:p></o:p></div>
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12) Top Quality Energy efficient Windows </div>
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13) Advanced Framing - (Ask Other Builders Will not know
what that is…)</div>
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14) Insulated <st1:country-region>Georgia</st1:country-region>.
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15) No <st1:city>Bath</st1:city>
inserts – Top Quality Porcelain Tile<o:p></o:p></div>
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16) Dual Flush Toilets<o:p></o:p></div>
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17) Architectural Shingles – NOT three tab shingles other
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18) 2’ Overhang trusses for more shade – Other builder NO….</div>
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19) 6" Fascia For a better roof look – Other Builders
4” Fascia <o:p></o:p></div>
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20) High Quality Cement Board Siding. </div>
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21) Driveway has Fiber with Wire mash – Other Builders DO
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22) A/C Unit reviewed by a mechanical Engineer<o:p></o:p></div>
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23) Our homes are rated by an Energy Smart Rater.</div>
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24) LED and CFLs - All of our homes come with High-End
Lighting <o:p></o:p></div>
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25) HERS Rating of 54 THAT MAKES OUR HOMES 46% BETTER <st1:stockticker>THAN</st1:stockticker>
ANY OTHER. </div>
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You will not find a better built home in <st1:city>Thomasville</st1:city>
and <st1:place>South Georgia</st1:place></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-1308413781510376232014-08-07T13:42:00.001-07:002014-08-07T13:42:48.930-07:00CHB is ranked top 1% of builders in the U.S. building high-performance homes with a score of 54.<h2 style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; line-height: 13.8pt; margin-top: 3.75pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">The home energy rating system (HERS) provides a number rating that makes it easy for consumers to see how same-size homes compare in energy use. The lower the number, the less energy used.</span></h2>
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We at capital home builders have been pushing the envelope when it comes to building spec homes with custom features. We have reached a new milestone by building homes with a HERS Rating of 54. We are the only builder in South Georgia and North Tallahassee fl. to achieve a score of 54. Our 2,500 square foot home will have an electrical bill under $100/per month. We are ranked top 1%er of builders in the U.S. building high-performance homes.</div>
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports that a typical resale home scores 130 on the HERS Index, while a typical new home might rate 100. A home with a HERS Index Score of 70 is 30%more energy efficient than that standard new home, and 60% more efficient than a typical resale.</div>
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“A home is one of the largest and most important purchases a family can make but, until recently, buyers have had little information about what their costs to own the home would be long term. When we buy a new car, we know how much mileage we can expect to get. Homebuyers should know the expected performance and monthly energy costs of a home.” <b>We give our home buyers a gift that keeps on giving.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b><a class="" href="http://images.trulia.com/blogimg/b/a/3/b/798589_1406811791339_o.jpg" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue !important; cursor: text !important;"><img alt="" class="yui-img" src="http://images.trulia.com/blogimg/b/a/3/b/798589_1406811791339_b.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer !important; margin: 5px; width: 500px;" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-17721947956915300542014-01-12T12:10:00.000-08:002014-01-12T12:10:08.901-08:00A HERS® Index Score Can Help Sell Your Home!<h1 class="entry-title" id="articleTitle" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #0e3d70; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 0.42em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 4px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">We at Capital Home Builders have always built homes to a
higher standard by using quality materials and labors. Our homes are not built
like standard built homes in <st1:city>Thomasville</st1:city>
and <st1:place>South Georgia</st1:place>. The approach to building a minimum
code home is “how much can I really cut back on laborers, materials and
building code. Capital Home Builders approach to building a quality high-performance
homes is how can we build it better, stronger and more energy efficient, our
RESNET number do not lie. </span></span></div>
</h1>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFWA1Lgfiug8OYup1jjzhPCayTYtBXX5hPXsuwhB-Hkfeij-qtqAmN-NzFimVk2CxW7Nx8KwTJl3B6MdvTUhYCrzAeFrqtWI8leI_kubYtzwq2KusYpfIe5K8cZLBS0BPISk8bvVTm8Vd/s1600/RESNET-CHB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFWA1Lgfiug8OYup1jjzhPCayTYtBXX5hPXsuwhB-Hkfeij-qtqAmN-NzFimVk2CxW7Nx8KwTJl3B6MdvTUhYCrzAeFrqtWI8leI_kubYtzwq2KusYpfIe5K8cZLBS0BPISk8bvVTm8Vd/s1600/RESNET-CHB.jpg" height="120" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you’re selling your home and a potential buyer wants to know what its HERS Index Score is, can you tell them? Because chances are, this is a question that’s going to come up more and more often. That’s because the issue of home energy efficiency is on the rise and consumers are trying to cut back costs wherever they can – and that extends to buying a home.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fact: the highest cost of homeownership outside of the home loan is energy.</b></div>
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For many years, consumers have been able to buy cars and appliances based on energy performance. While cars have MPG (miles-per-gallon) stickers and appliances have Energy Guide labels, for the longest time homebuyers had no way of knowing the potential energy costs of homes they were viewing. That meant sometimes choosing a home that ended up costing more than anticipated due to poor energy performance. The <a href="http://www.resnet.us/library/index-scores-lower-better/" style="border: 0px; color: #002664; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none !important; padding: 0px;">HERS Index Score</a> changes that.</div>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #494c54; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 3.077em 0.89em 1.538em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.resnet.us/images/layout/bullet.png); background-position: 0px 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.48em 0.82em;">The HERS Index was developed by RESNET and is the industry standard by which a home’s energy performance is measured.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.resnet.us/images/layout/bullet.png); background-position: 0px 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.48em 0.82em;">A HERS Index Score is the result of a <a href="http://hersindex.com/articles/energy-rating/" style="border: 0px; color: #002664; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none !important; padding: 0px;">comprehensive HERS rating</a>, in which a certified RESNET HERS Rater assesses a home on its energy performance.</li>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fact: mortgage </b><a href="http://www.resnet.us/library/lower-mortgage-risks-with-energy-efficient-homes/" style="border: 0px; color: #002664; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none !important; padding: 0px;">default risks are 32% lower</a><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> on homes with low HERS Index Scores.</b></div>
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Why Should Homeowners Get a HERS Index Score?</h2>
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A HERS Index Score tells you how your house compares to other similar homes for energy performance. The lower the score, the more energy efficient the home; the more energy efficient the home, the higher the potential resale value. The Earth Advantage Institute, a nonprofit based in Portland, Oregon, “found that newly constructed homes with third-party certifications for sustainability and energy efficiency <a href="http://www.resnet.us/library/increase-home-value-with-energy-mortgage/" style="border: 0px; color: #002664; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none !important; padding: 0px;">sold for 8% more</a> on average than non-certified homes in the six-county Portland metropolitan area. Existing houses with certifications sold for 30% more.” Their report, published in May 2009, confirms that energy efficient retrofits add value to homes, resulting in generally higher resale prices for sellers.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fact: energy efficient homes save money, improve home comfort and enjoy higher resale values.</b></div>
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As a homeowner, you want to keep your energy costs under control and your home comfort levels high. The best way to achieve this is through energy efficient improvements. By making your home more energy efficient, not only do you save money and improve your home comfort, you also add value to your home. And that means a higher resale price when you sell, because <a href="http://www.resnet.us/library/hers-index-and-homebuyers/" style="border: 0px; color: #002664; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none !important; padding: 0px;">homebuyers want energy efficient homes</a>, and HERS Index scores tell them how energy efficient a home is.</div>
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Therefore, as a homeowner who is looking at their home as not just a place to live in but also as an investment, getting a HERS Index Score is the smart thing to do. After all, you know how energy efficient your car is – don’t you want to know about your home too?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.resnet.us/library/index-score-can-help-sell-home/">http://www.resnet.us/library/index-score-can-help-sell-home/</a></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-27956618771741949542014-01-11T07:15:00.002-08:002014-01-12T12:09:41.706-08:00EFFICIENT HOMES MAY BE MORE VALUABLE THAN OTHERS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR7V2aO2kwQfifRK3rUTMTLUwRaggC9byKRh27jJ1FZ4azOZucF_pzsZzv3QhGrHPULt2G_E5lu1vt3lG-iM8I5SGUPdfMJ01HA-q66YxQjKwkSWp5SGcf7Xe6Utka7sRY_v8SotZZ9LU9/s1600/500x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR7V2aO2kwQfifRK3rUTMTLUwRaggC9byKRh27jJ1FZ4azOZucF_pzsZzv3QhGrHPULt2G_E5lu1vt3lG-iM8I5SGUPdfMJ01HA-q66YxQjKwkSWp5SGcf7Xe6Utka7sRY_v8SotZZ9LU9/s1600/500x500.jpg" height="105" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;">We are the
first and only builder building energy smart custom home builders. All of our
homes are built above minimum code with high-end materials and quality laborers.
We GUARANTEE that our homes are more energy efficient than any other new
or existing home built in </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;">Thomasville</span></st1:city><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;">, </span><st1:state><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;">GA.</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #1a1aa6; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: green; font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-large;">You simply can't buy a NEW HOME and get a
better RATING then "GUARANTEED".</span></div>
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When insurance companies offer discounts for lower risk customers, you can bet it’s based on reliable evidence. Think lower car insurance rates for drivers with no speeding tickets, and discounted life insurance for non-smokers.</div>
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Genworth, the large private mortgage insurance firm spun-off from General Electric, now offers a discount for buyer of energy efficient houses. (OK – Genworth implemented this policy in Canada — but <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/important-to-understand-how-to-value-homes-that-incorporate-green-or-sustainable-building-methods-says-genworth-mortgage-insurance-video-230663491.html" style="color: black;" target="_blank">reports suggest</a> it’s coming to the US market….</div>
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Genworth is validating that the risk of loss to the mortgage lender is lower when the borrower is in a more energy efficient house.</div>
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<img alt="Blue Sky Homes Desert 2" class="size-full wp-image-129916" src="http://www.earthtechling.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Blue-Sky-Homes-Desert-2-e1377800996179.jpg" height="162" style="border: 0px; color: #cc0000; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%;" width="320" /><br />
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Image via Blue Sky Building Systems</div>
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The policy makes a ton of sense. Attributes of an energy efficient house — better air sealing, more insulation, high performance appliances — are attributes of a well-built house. These measures make a house more valuable. If the borrower gets into income trouble and can’t afford the mortgage payments, a more efficient house will likely hold its value better than a house built to lower standards.</div>
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And home value is a strong predictor of lender losses — if a borrower has home equity, default is rare because the house can be sold for more than the mortgage. For more on that, see <a href="http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/campbell/files/amodelofmortgagedefault20122808.pdf" style="color: black;" target="_blank">this paper by economist John Campbell.</a></div>
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A more efficient house also means lower energy expenses, so the borrower might not get into income trouble in the first place. And, these lower expenses are one reason an efficient house is more valuable.</div>
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A funny thing about the mortgage market is that this kind of policy can be self-fulfilling. The fact that more energy efficient houses are more valuable is a basis for the Genworth policy to give a discount, but it’s also likely to be an outcome of the policy. That is, the discount on mortgage insurance should allow some borrowers to pay more for energy efficient houses and increase demand for those houses among homebuyers. This effect should remind lenders, investors, appraisers, and others how the current, conventional policy can be self-fulfilling in the opposite direction — loan policies that make it difficult for a borrower to borrow more to pay a premium for a more energy efficient house can inhibit the very evidence needed to support policy correction.</div>
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While most U.S. mortgage borrowers don’t get private mortgage insurance, the fact that Genworth has adopted this new policy should be a strong signal to lenders, investors, appraisers, and others to continually assess how the value of energy efficiency is reflected in the property value and the loan.</div>
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<a href="http://www.earthtechling.com/2013/12/efficient-homes-may-be-more-valuable-than-others/">http://www.earthtechling.com/2013/12/efficient-homes-may-be-more-valuable-than-others/</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-25027334146332156962014-01-05T08:58:00.002-08:002014-01-05T08:58:30.122-08:00“Green” Labeled Homes Worth More on the Real Estate Market, Study Says<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdo2yqMZPfiQdhyphenhyphensHegpZJjFbzjo6lqGhrHvdrz1T0YoLQB_dBgFZ96NSFj8WYIfz18Nk2q5rTGN36KfNJ31t9m7pQ8q1cKxwOAi0CqaRCBdUfJeNVFma6YhVoaah3k-YrNm4MZjpMRU8/s1600/green-label-homes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdo2yqMZPfiQdhyphenhyphensHegpZJjFbzjo6lqGhrHvdrz1T0YoLQB_dBgFZ96NSFj8WYIfz18Nk2q5rTGN36KfNJ31t9m7pQ8q1cKxwOAi0CqaRCBdUfJeNVFma6YhVoaah3k-YrNm4MZjpMRU8/s320/green-label-homes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1aa6; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Capital Home Builders are the first builders of green smart homes in </span><st1:place><span style="color: #1a1aa6; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 13.5pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place><span style="color: #1a1aa6; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 13.5pt;">. It looks
like the green building trend has not reached the </span><st1:place><span style="color: #1a1aa6; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 13.5pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place><span style="color: #1a1aa6; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> area. We
think if </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="color: #1a1aa6; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Thomasville</span></st1:city><span style="color: #1a1aa6; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 13.5pt;">, </span><st1:country-region><span style="color: #1a1aa6; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Georgia</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="color: #1a1aa6; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> can still
live in the era of horse and carriage they would, but we are changing the way
homes are being built in Thomasville and South Georgia by building better homes above minimum code. Green Homes are built above minimum code non-green homes are NOT.......<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles today released a new study on the economic value of green home labels in the California residential marketplace. “The Value of Green Labels in the California Housing Market” is the first rigorous, large-scale independent economic analysis of the value of green home labels in California. The study found that a green home label adds an average 9 percent price premium for single-family homes in California. Based on the average California home price of $400,000, homes with a green label sell for an average of $34,800 more than comparable homes without a green label.</div>
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In addition, the study yields two key insights into the effect of green labels on property values. First, the price premium associated with a green label varies considerably from region to region in California, and is highest in the areas with hotter climates. This trend may indicate that residents in these areas value green labels more due to the increased cost of keeping a home cool. Second, the premium is also positively correlated to the environmental ideology of the area, as measured by the rate of registration of hybrid vehicles. The observed correlation suggests that some homeowners attribute value to intangible qualities associated with owning a green home.</div>
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Led by researchers Nils Kok, visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Matthew Kahn, professor at the Institute of the Environment, Department of Public Policy and Department of Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, the study examined data on the 1.6 million single-family homes sold between 2007 and 2012 in California. Of these homes, approximately 4,300 were certified with green home labels from Energy Star, GreenPoint Rated, or LEED for Homes.</div>
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“In certain regions of the state, we observed a phenomenon we’ve termed the ‘Prius effect’ — a positive correlation between the value of green home labels and environmental ideology, as measured by the rate of hybrid registrations,” said Kok. “In communities with strong environmental values, residents may see green homes as a point of pride or status symbol.”</div>
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The estimated $34,800 price premium for green-labeled homes is significantly greater than the price increase associated with other typical home improvements made by homeowners prior to sale, such as home staging. A 2012 <a href="http://blog.homegain.com/home-improvement-surveys/homegain-2012-national-home-improvement-survey-results/" style="border: 0px; color: #4e682c; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">survey</a> by HomeGain found that staged homes sold for an average of $2,144 more than non-staged homes, while an upgrade of the kitchen and bathroom was found to increase the sale price by $3,254.</div>
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“Environmental ideology was not as strong in some other areas, and yet we still saw a high value placed on homes with a green label,” said Kok. “It appears that a hotter local climate also provides a practical reason to value green homes. With both ideological and pragmatic reasons to go green, it’s no surprise that the popularity of these labels is rising.”</div>
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The benefits of green homes include:</div>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 1.5em 1.5em 1em; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 2em; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lower operational costs than conventional homes due to greater energy and water efficiency, which can result in lower utility bills;</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 2em; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">High quality construction, since green label requirements for building materials and techniques often go beyond standard building codes;</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 2em; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">More comfortable and stable indoor temperatures;</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 2em; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Healthier indoor air quality; and</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 2em; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Other features that reduce environmental impact such as proximity to parks, shops and transit.</li>
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“Increasingly, homeowners who are planning to sell their home are looking for innovative ways to make their home more attractive to potential buyers,” said Robin Gaskins, a realtor who has worked for 10 years in Alameda County. “Particularly if a home already has a number of green or energy-saving features, it really does pay to go the extra mile and get a green label.”</div>
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Growing awareness about global warming and the extent of greenhouse gas emissions from the residential sector has increased attention to green building in recent years. <a href="http://www.ucei.berkeley.edu/PDF/seminar20090130.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: #4e682c; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Previous research</a> has shown the value of green labels and certifications in the commercial real estate sector. “The Value of Green Labels in the California Housing Market” confirms that the same trend applies to single-family homes.</div>
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“The Value of Green Labels in the California Housing Market” has been submitted for presentation at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association and will be submitted to a scientific journal in fall 2012.</div>
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<a href="http://www.arounddublinblog.com/2012/07/green-label-homes-worth-more-real-estate-market/">http://www.arounddublinblog.com/2012/07/green-label-homes-worth-more-real-estate-market/</a>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-79716605002075640022013-12-24T10:19:00.000-08:002013-12-25T05:48:55.186-08:00How to Identify a High Energy Performance Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3hDJ0DMYDWc-CezOgK32RE4YwTebrX9HOT3o6cj9B-wDDZYdM05cuVGPNqkjlymkpfG3wrLwmbXqSjq9kO41zGGsJYN-7HG9x2kMDuFWOyWSBoiFAvommkUVBxmPcp_w47VMBt4ce5w/s1600/How-to-Identify-a-High-Energy-Performance-Home-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3hDJ0DMYDWc-CezOgK32RE4YwTebrX9HOT3o6cj9B-wDDZYdM05cuVGPNqkjlymkpfG3wrLwmbXqSjq9kO41zGGsJYN-7HG9x2kMDuFWOyWSBoiFAvommkUVBxmPcp_w47VMBt4ce5w/s320/How-to-Identify-a-High-Energy-Performance-Home-image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Capital Home Builders is the only and first custom and
energy smart home builder in <st1:place>South Georgia</st1:place>. Our homes come
with more features then any other home built in <st1:country-region>Georgia</st1:country-region>
and <st1:place>South Georgia</st1:place>. We are also the only builder offering
<strong><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Home Energy Rating System</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">(</span><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">HERS</span></strong>) </span>Rated homes. We are the only builder with</span> <span style="color: red;">Residential Energy Guarantee</span>. <span style="color: #444444;">We will guarantee your
electrical bill for Two Years and if you go over we will pay you back the </span><span style="color: #444444;">difference</span><span style="color: #444444;">.
NO other builder in <st1:place>South Georgia</st1:place> will stand behind
their homes like we do. We do not believe in building to minimum code and our
homes are proof of that. You may pay 5% to 10% more for a High-Performance home,
but with all of the energy savings you will make it back the first 2 years. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So you’re
looking to buy a new home…but not just any home. You want one that’s easy on
the environment and uses less energy. A<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.resnet.us/library/building-a-new-house-save-money-by-making-it-energy-efficient/" style="cursor: pointer; outline: none !important;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #002664; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">comfortable
home that saves you money while reducing your carbon footprint</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In other
words, what you want is a high energy performance home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0.5in 12pt 0in; outline: 0px;">
<span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">But how do
you know when you’ve found one? I mean, how can you tell if the house you’re
viewing is actually a high energy performance home? Is there a way to
differentiate between a home that’s energy efficient from one that’s not?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0.5in 12pt 0in; outline: 0px;">
<span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Luckily there
is and increasing numbers of builders are using it to market energy efficient
homes. It’s called a HERS Index score and hopefully one day soon every house
will have one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #25a5ff; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 17.0pt;">Energy Performance and the HERS Index Score<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So what is a HERS Index score anyway? The home energy rating
system (HERS) was developed by RESNET to help homebuyers compare homes based on
their energy performance. For example, when a certified RESNET Home Energy
Rater does<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.resnet.us/library/save-on-energy-by-getting-an-energy-assessment/" style="cursor: pointer; outline: none !important;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #002664; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">a
home energy rating</span></a>, they’ll give the home a HERS Index score based
on its energy performance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A standard new American construction home that adheres to
current energy guidelines is awarded a default HERS Index score of 100, which
serves as a benchmark against which all other homes are measured.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.resnet.us/hers-index" style="cursor: pointer; outline: none !important;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #002664; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">A higher HERS Index score
translates into a less energy efficient home, and vice-versa</span></a>. A
typical American resale home scores 130 on the HERS Index, making it 30% less
energy efficient than a new construction home. On the other hand, if a house
gets a HERS Index score of 50, it means that it’s 50% more energy efficient
than a standard new construction home. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And in </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Thomasville</span></st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, </span><st1:state><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">GA.</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> a typical new
home has a score of 130.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #25a5ff; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 17.0pt;">Why the HERS Index Score is Important to Builders<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt 0in; outline: 0px;">
<span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Thanks to the HERS Index and HERS Index scores, for the first
time homebuyers can actually get an true <a href="http://www.resnet.us/library/energy-efficient-home-with-energysmart-builder/"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #002664; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">understanding about how energy efficient a home</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>really is. This naturally changes the
way people are viewing homes they’re interested in and builders have been quick
to understand that. Consequently, many are now actively marketing their homes
using HERS Index scores to advertise potential savings that homebuyers could
enjoy when purchasing a high energy performance home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0.5in 12pt 0in; outline: 0px;">
<span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In addition
to this, utility companies too are jumping on the bandwagon by offering
builders rebates on energy costs based on their homes’ HERS Index scores. In
fact, LG&E and KU Energy, a utility company based in </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Louisville</span></st1:city><span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, </span><st1:state><span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Kentucky</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, recently
had their Energy-Saving New Homes Program recognized as a RESNET Energy Smart
Program. The program rewards enrolled builders with rebates based on the HERS
Index scores of their houses. For example, single family dwellings with HERS
Index scores of 85 are eligible for a rebate of $440, and it increases up to
$1,200 for homes that score 50 or lower. LG&E and KU Energy are the first
utility in the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">U.S.</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> to earn this
designation from RESNET.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #25a5ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17pt;">What Does All This Mean to
Homebuyers?</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #494c54; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Thanks to increased efforts and awareness, it’s now getting
easier for homebuyers to identify and buy high energy performance homes. As the
popularity of HERS Index scores continues to grow, and with builders actively
promoting energy efficient homes via their scores, the future is starting to
look a little…well…<em style="outline: 0px;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">greener
</span></em>than it once did!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-8069123733803515692012-09-08T06:44:00.002-07:002012-09-10T08:59:22.933-07:00The ONLY True Green Smart Energy Efficient HOME in Thomasville, GA. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNrFwYWpspMan01QJJlrjt7oXD8wdQiFgBQhyphenhyphenBC_2YjkhA41U3bUwjDx0mBpUPW91w9a3JUsx27x_q3Llq2AHteG-nmt9ZyOgCNxsHVdxBEmDIt5e3CHOh_I9NV6O8vokXBvOLOvcc_4/s1600/902243_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNrFwYWpspMan01QJJlrjt7oXD8wdQiFgBQhyphenhyphenBC_2YjkhA41U3bUwjDx0mBpUPW91w9a3JUsx27x_q3Llq2AHteG-nmt9ZyOgCNxsHVdxBEmDIt5e3CHOh_I9NV6O8vokXBvOLOvcc_4/s320/902243_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our homes are the only one built above Minimum Code in Thomasville, GA.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">A COMPLETE THERMAL ENCLOSURE SYSTEM</span><br />
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You want your home to be comfortable no matter what room you’re in or what the weather is outside. Comprehensive air sealing, properly installed insulation, and high-performance windows work together in an ENERGY STAR qualified home to deliver better comfort, better durability, reduced maintenance costs, and lower monthly utility bills. During construction, ENERGY STAR builder partners must meet all of the requirements of EPA’s comprehensive thermal enclosure system inspection to ensure that-<br />
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Your new home is tightly sealed to reduce leaks and drafts; and thermal bridging across walls is minimized.<br />
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Correct levels of insulation are selected to provide whole-house comfort.<br />
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Insulation is installed properly to deliver the best performance.<br />
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When builders meet these rigorous requirements, you get a home with a complete thermal enclosure system—a better approach to building a better home.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">A COMPLETE HEATING ANDCOOLING SYSTEM </span><br />
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Your home’s heating and cooling system should do more than just provide cooled or heated air. It should keep you comfortable and provide better moisture control, improved indoor air quality, and quieter operation as efficiently as possible. This can be done by ensuring your HVAC system is installed properly. New homes that meet ENERGY STAR guidelines require proper installation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. <br />
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Home Energy Raters then verify the system’s installation through completion of their own checklist that involves quality inspections and tests. This helps ensure your system was designed specifically for your new home so you can be confident that it is functioning efficiently and effectively. <br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">A COMPLETE WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM</span><br />
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ENERGY STAR certified homes include a comprehensive package of water management practices and materials that help to protect your home from water damage and reduce the risk of indoor air quality problems. During construction, ENERGY STAR builder partners must meet EPA’s comprehensive water management requirements to prevent rain and moisture from building up in living areas, attics, basements, crawlspaces, or behind walls. These water management requirements help ensure that-<br />
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Water is directed off the roof, down the walls, and away from the foundation.<br />
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Your home is built with moisture-resistant barriers to prevent water damage.<br />
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Building materials are protected during construction to minimize the possibility of mold and rotting.<br />
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When builders meet these rigorous requirements, you get a home with a complete water management system—a better approach to building a better home.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">ENERGY–EFFICIENT LIGHTING AND APPLIANCE </span><br />
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The lighting and appliances in your home come with two price tags—the purchase price and the cost to operate and maintain them. ENERGY STAR qualified lighting and appliances meet strict energy efficiency guidelines that deliver better performance, provide better quality, and help reduce home operating costs through lower monthly utility bills, while creating the style you are looking for in a new home.<br />
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During construction, ENERGY STAR builder partners often select efficient lighting and appliances to create a complete energy-efficient package that meets EPA’s rigorous guidelines-a better approach to building a better home.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">INDEPENDENT INSPECTIONS AND TESTING</span><br />
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When you’re choosing a new home, you want to know it will be as comfortable, durable, and energy efficient as possible. With an ENERGY STAR certified home, you’ll know that you’ve made a good decision for you and your family. Homes that earn the ENERGY STAR stand above other homes because they must meet stringent energy efficiency requirements set by EPA. The better performance and better quality built into every ENERGY STAR certified home is independently inspected and tested by a Home Energy Rater. Home Energy Raters work with ENERGY STAR builder partners throughout the construction process to ensure that—<br />
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Your new home has the appropriate energy-efficient features that fit your climate region.<br />
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Critical construction details are verified at different building stages.<br />
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The key systems in your new home are working properly to deliver better efficiency, durability, and comfort.<br />
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When builders work with Home Energy Raters to meet rigorous ENERGY STAR requirements, you get an energy-efficient home built better from the ground up—a better approach to building a better home.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ecohomesga.idxco.com/idx/4644/details.php?idxID=301&listingID=902243"><span style="font-size: large;">http://www.ecohomesga.idxco.com/idx/4644/details.php?idxID=301&listingID=902243</span></a><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">We really hope that local realtors in Thomasville, GA. take a few minutes to read this small description of the steps needed to build a true custom smart energy efficient home, and how a true energy saving home is documented by a third party, because right now on some listings it looks like local realtors are adding the key word “energy saving” without having any clue or documentation on the actual energy savings, would be considered misleading and by adding “AS </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">PER</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> OWNER” does not remove the responsibility of the listing agent. If these agents need help we would be happy to explain it to them like if they were a two year old. </span><span style="color: black;">“We can work with Ignorant, We can’t do much with Stupid”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-59399988720851997282012-08-15T07:28:00.001-07:002012-08-15T07:28:10.336-07:00Beware The Racist Realtors and Beware The Racist Realtor – Part II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH957K182bw5vcapHjsMpEeGH91rcYXybcWp1q3CBKE6OSBu8venHorsNJm4EVVqB60gmB7nDnll24wMYzmqBji9EgVHLr60-77ko-HM9b_Gp9gssnepjiDi-A9AqbhZynvr76-u5gCGA/s1600/racist-realtor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH957K182bw5vcapHjsMpEeGH91rcYXybcWp1q3CBKE6OSBu8venHorsNJm4EVVqB60gmB7nDnll24wMYzmqBji9EgVHLr60-77ko-HM9b_Gp9gssnepjiDi-A9AqbhZynvr76-u5gCGA/s1600/racist-realtor.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;">We did not write this blog, but we think it brings to light that racists exist and you do not need to wear a white cap and gown to identify these types of ignorant, small minded and scared people with no morals or imagination. Buyers Beware!</span><br />
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National Fair Housing Alliance & HUD Investigations Confirm Discrimination! Where’s the outcry from the National Association of Realtors? On July 18, 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against the real estate brokerage doing business as Re/Max East-West alleging discrimination on the basis of race and national origin in violation of the Fair Housing Act.<br />
<span id="more-11824"></span>Re/ Max East-West is a major brokerage company serving DuPage and Cook Counties in Illinois. An undercover investigation of Re/Max East-West was conducted by the National Fair Housing Alliance and the investigation unturned a repeated pattern of racial discrimination among real estate agents in as many as 12 cities. The NFHA found that Re/Max East-West agents time and again steered potential white and Latino homebuyers to areas where their race predominated. A Re/Max agent showed a Latino tester three homes in predominantly African-American and Latino areas, homes that were markedly less expensive than those she could afford, and told her that he did not have a lot of time for her.<br />
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Conversely, the same agent showed a white tester nine homes, the majority of which were in predominantly white areas such as Bartlett, Geneva and St. Charles. The agent offered to show the white tester many more homes in predominantly white neighborhoods as far as a 50 mile drive away.<br />
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One real estate agent, John DeJohn, also made illegal comments. He told a white tester, “I don’t care if you are a bigot. If we go to an area and you don’t like it, just let me know. I can’t be a bigot but you can be one.”<br />
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In addition, DeJohn informed a white tester that the two homes they viewed together in a predominantly African-American and Latino area were “dumps” and “repos” even though he had told the Latino tester that one of those homes “might be good for you.” And while the white tester received multiple follow-up calls subsequent to his appointment with the real estate agent, the Latino tester received none.<br />
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“That agents of Re/Max East West were allowed to engage in such blatant discriminatory behavior is outrageous,” said Shanna L. Smith, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “It is sad to think of how much the community’s residential segregation can be attributed directly to their sales practices.”<br />
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Sad indeed. It makes you wonder how much of this is going on across the USA. The Justice Department’s action comes as a result of a complaint filed by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) with the <a href="http://www.hud.gov/" target="_blank">U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development </a>(HUD).<br />
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In August, 2005, HUD began an investigation and later found evidence that agents of Re/Max East-West steered homebuyers based on race and national origin, made discriminatory statements, and treated individuals differently based on their national origin. After HUD issued a charge of discrimination, NFHA filed an election to have the case heard in federal court. As a result, the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division by the Justice Department.<br />
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“We are pleased with HUD’s decision to issue a charge,” said Ms. Smith. “Our investigation of this company revealed egregious examples of housing discrimination and we hope that this will send a clear message to the housing industry that real estate agents and companies must be held accountable to the law.”<br />
After the NFHA filed a HUD complaint in 2005, HUD initiated an investigation based on the NFHA’s findings and issued a charge of discrimination on June 9, 2008. The Justice Department then brought suit against Re/Max and John DeJohn in United States v. S & S GROUP, LTD. d/b/a REMAX EAST-WEST, through its successor in interest, S&W ELMHURST, LLC, also d/b/a REMAX EAST-WEST and JOHN DEJOHN (Case no. 08-CV-4099).<br />
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This investigation was part of NFHA’s <strong><em>multi-year, multi-city </em></strong>enforcement project to test for housing discrimination in real estate companies identified by HUD as having previously discriminated during its Housing Discrimination Study.<br />
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NFHA’s 12 city investigation <strong><em><span style="color: red;">found an alarming 87% rate of racial steering and an almost 20% rate of denial for African-Americans and </span><span style="color: red;">Lat</span><span style="color: red;">inos</span></em></strong>. <br />
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The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. DeJohn, who left Re/Max in 2004 and now works for a Hillside real estate firm, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But he denied the allegations when they first surfaced in August 2005. “Never. Ever,” he told the Daily Herald. “I will sell to anyone, anywhere.”<br />
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Chris Carlos, who represents both Re/Max East-West and DeJohn, added: “Both of my clients deny the allegations and are looking forward to proving their innocence if need be through litigation,” said Chris Carlos, who represents both Re/Max East-West and DeJohn.<br />
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Now I know some will say this is just a small sample of real estate agents but does that really matter? I won’t even proffer that the sample size is sufficient to show evidence of a prevailing problem. Let’s leave it at 12 cities. Even just in these towns this information is bound to be news in communities across the country. Yet the <a href="http://www.realtor.org/" target="_blank">NAR</a> has not bothered to even respond. In fact, not many real estate agents even want to talk about this.<br />
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When are Realtors going to learn. Your image is damaged. The consumers don’t trust you. Your prestige and credibility are both at all time lows. Instead of spending millions of dollars on frivolous<a href="http://www.realestateradiousa.com/blog/2008/02/14/would-you-buy-and-drink-outdated-milk/" target="_blank"> “dead on arrival” advertising </a>campaigns, perhaps it should really seek to implement a campaign that seeks to instill consumer confidence.<br />
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The image of some is hurting the pocketbooks of many. Why aren’t the rank and file Realtors taking a stand and policing from within? Instead we get incidents like this that further cast a stain on the real estate profession. <br />
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<a href="http://www.realestateradiousa.com/2008/08/04/beware-the-racist-realtor/">http://www.realestateradiousa.com/2008/08/04/beware-the-racist-realtor/</a><br />
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Do they exist in your small town? <br />
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We believe this is true in small towns at a level of realtors not showing homes built by an outsider. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Beware The Racist Realtor – Part II</span></strong><br />
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Oh I finally understand the National Association Of Realtors advertising campaign. Silly me, I needed to read between the lines. “It’s a great time to buy a home…if you’re white!” <a href="http://www.realestateradiousa.com/blog/2008/08/04/beware-the-racist-realtor/" target="_blank">Another agent is charged </a>with being a racist.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.hud.gov/" target="_blank">U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) </a>announced today that it has charged Rodney Foreman, a real estate agent formerly employed by Coldwell Banker-Joe T. Lane Realty, Inc., in Jonesboro, <span style="color: red;">Georgia</span>, with racial steering in the sale of homes. <br />
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HUD’s investigation found that Foreman steered whites posing as homebuyers to white neighborhoods. HUD has also charged Coldwell Banker-Joe T. Lane Realty, Inc., with violations of the Fair Housing Act based on the discriminatory actions of Foreman.<br />
The agency says an undercover operation found that Rodney Foreman, a former agent with Coldwell Banker-Joe T. Lane Realty, refused to take white clients into predominantly black neighborhoods and made derogatory statements about African-Americans. He also allegedly told white clients that he kept different listings for whites and African-Americans, HUD said.<br />
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Foreman, who now works for <a href="http://www.cbbullard.com/clayton.html" modo="false" target="_blank">Coldwell Banker-Bullard Realty</a> faces fines if found guilty in administrative court. He could also face punitive damages if he decides to fight the charges in federal court.<br />
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Foreman’s discriminatory actions were exposed during undercover testing by the <a href="http://www.nationalfairhousing.org/" target="_blank">National Fair Housing Alliance</a> (NFHA), a fair housing organization with 20 years of experience in fair housing testing. NFHA sent white and African-American testers to Coldwell Banker-Joe T. Lane Realty, Inc., posing as potential homebuyers looking to relocate to the Atlanta area.<br />
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Foreman allegedly steered white homebuyers to white neighborhoods and made derogatory statements about black residents. Foreman allegedly told one of the white testers that he had two sets of listings-one for white homebuyers and another for African-Americans.<br />
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While investigating the NFHA claims, HUD filed its own complaint to ensure HUD’s ability to obtain relief for victims who have not been identified.<br />
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“Since the passage of the Fair Housing Act 40 years ago, one of the highest priorities of the Department of Housing and Urban Development has been to combat housing discrimination,” said Kim Kendrick, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “In the 21st century, steering should be something of the past. This case shows why HUD’s enforcement actions are crucial to eliminate housing discrimination.”<br />
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The HUD charge will be heard by a United States Administrative Law Judge unless any party to the charge elects to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds after a hearing that discrimination has occurred, the judge may award damages to each complainant for actual loss as a result of the discrimination, as well as damages for emotional distress, humiliation, and loss of civil rights.<br />
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The judge may also order injunctive and other equitable relief to deter further discrimination, as well as the payment of attorney fees. In addition to the money damages payable to the complainant, the judge may impose a civil penalty in order to vindicate the public interest. In the event that one of the parties elects to proceed in federal district court, punitive damages may also be awarded to a prevailing complainant.<br />
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When will these idiot, racist realtors learn? Funny thing, we never seem to hear anything from the <a href="http://www.realtor.org/" target="_blank">NAR</a> on these issues. We also don’t hear many if any realtors speaking out against this either. Where is Coldwell Banker in regards to getting out in front of this? Where’s the diversity training for its agents?<br />
Silence.<br />
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<a href="http://www.realestateradiousa.com/2008/09/24/beware-the-racist-realtor-part-ii/">http://www.realestateradiousa.com/2008/09/24/beware-the-racist-realtor-part-ii/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-84264408234291060572012-08-15T05:01:00.000-07:002012-08-15T05:01:33.895-07:00Bonus to Selling Agent, Unethical or Illegal?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OF5__G0h_sHx5T6ZMSjMbOQ2_rlio_3F2CIE11kZB8_yUcI79ZasS8RW-eSY1zuKx4kSLTH08eo9wsEXu9ErG-sThxzP9DRUad2Bj_cyppPL1yALHy5f1xTl7W4jazPI4vb6Xb-Xqh7a/s1600/bonus-money-150x150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OF5__G0h_sHx5T6ZMSjMbOQ2_rlio_3F2CIE11kZB8_yUcI79ZasS8RW-eSY1zuKx4kSLTH08eo9wsEXu9ErG-sThxzP9DRUad2Bj_cyppPL1yALHy5f1xTl7W4jazPI4vb6Xb-Xqh7a/s1600/bonus-money-150x150.jpg" /></a></div>
The practice of a Bonus To Selling Agent (BTSA) should be banned.<br />
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I know that statement will be hugely unpopular to a number of agents, but it doesn’t change the fact that a BTSA is at least unethical and at worst illegal.<br />
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For a refresher for agents, what is a BTSA? A residential property is usually sold with approximately a 5-6% commission built into the price, and the commission is split between the seller’s agent and buyer’s agent (also known as the “selling” agent). On a $200,000 home, that’s a $6000/$6000 split for each agent. Sometimes, the seller will offer an additional incentive called a Bonus to Selling Agent (BTSA), above and beyond the 3% commission split. A BTSA of 1-2% is typical on new construction from a home builder, and is also offered frequently on existing homes.<br />
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Listing agents often advertise these bonuses in email marketing flyers sent to buyer’s agents in the hope that the bonus will be an incentive for the agent to show the property to their client. ‘Take a look at this – we’ve got a great deal for you!’ is the message. Some of the recent email flyers I receive on a daily basis said “$5000 Bonus to Buyers Agent”, “5K BTSA”, and “Who wants to pay you $11,510???”<br />
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Whose pocket does the extra $5K come from? Ultimately, the buyer. It is $5,000 they could have used to reduce the price of the home or buy new furniture.<br />
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Why is a BTSA unethical?<br />
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The Realtor Code of Ethics states in Article 1 that “when representing a buyer… as an agent, REALTORS® pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client.”<br />
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On advertising, Article 12 of the Code of Ethics goes on to state that “the offering of any inducements to do business is subject to the limitations and restrictions of state law and the ethical obligations established by any applicable Standard of Practice.”<br />
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In other words, the NAR Code of Ethics acknowledges that agents have an obligation to their clients, and that you should not induce someone to do business if it is at odds with the Code of Ethics. But clearly, a BTSA advertisement by a listing agent conflicts with the duty that the buyer’s agent owes to his client. The advertisement isn’t for a compelling feature of the house, a price reduction, or anything else that would benefit the buyer. The only benefit is to the buyer’s agent. That’s a problem.<br />
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Is a BTSA Illegal?<br />
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There is a bigger problem with bonuses to buyer’s agents. As most agents learned in real estate school, agents have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients. Businessdictionary.com says that a fiduciary “must not exploit his or her position of trust and confidence for personal gain at the expense of the principal.” In other words, the agent has to hold his buyer’s wants and desires above his own. <br />
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If a buyer’s agent steers his buyer to a particular house because a higher commission is offered, that is a violation of his fiduciary responsibility to the buyer. He should find the best home at the best price for his buyer, not one that fills his wallet better than another.<br />
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So why offer a Bonus to Selling Agent? Why is a BTSA offered on literally thousands of properties every year?<br />
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Because sadly, often times it works. Some real estate agents will say a BTSA should not work, but does. It’s human nature. And therein lies the problem.<br />
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Consequently, the only solution I see is to simply ban BTSAs. Clearly a bonus for the buyer’s agent is not in the buyer’s interest, as the buyer ultimately pays more for the house. Real estate agents have a duty to the buyer, and a buyer’s agent bonus conflicts with that obligation.<br />
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© Copyright 2010, Andy Salo, Yigdigs LLC<br />
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Tags: 6% commission, Bonus To Selling Agent, BTSA, Buying a Home<br />
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at 11:38 am and is filed under Buying a Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Home Buyers in Georgia: I would ask if the home you are interested in making an offer has a “Bonus” FYI, most bonuses are in the Realtors private note section for other realtors to see as an enticement to bring more buyers to that listing. That bonus should go to the buyer NOT the selling agent and it should be advertised in the public section. </span><st1:country -region="-region"><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> is a Dual Agency state so, a $400,000 home sold by the listing agent is a $24,000 commission + $10,000 Bonus, Will you do the math.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></span><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.yigdigs.com/fsbo-blogs/andysalo/2010/04/bonus-to-selling-agent-e28093-unethical-or-illegal/">http://www.yigdigs.com/fsbo-blogs/andysalo/2010/04/bonus-to-selling-agent-e28093-unethical-or-illegal/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-67894356223684619852012-06-12T15:20:00.001-07:002012-06-12T19:23:40.957-07:00“Cleaning Up Lead, Asbestos, and Other Hazards”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Raveen and Allison Sharma thought they knew what they were getting into when they decided to buy and overhaul a handyman's special, circa 1940, in Auburndale, Massachusetts. Given that the house—the subject of This Old House TV's Fall 2010 project—was built at a time when asbestos was still considered a miracle fiber and lead paint was par for the course, they weren't surprised when a home inspection revealed the presence of both. And since termite damage is the bane of existence for many an old-house lover, they weren't exactly shocked to learn the front sill had been devoured.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What the Sharmas weren't prepared for was the extent of these ills. The asbestos turned up all over the house, the lead paint coated the entire exterior, and the termites had already moved on from their appetizer of sill to the main course of studs. "We were just relieved that we didn't have any mold," Allison says.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Sharmas faced some big decisions about how far they wanted to go—and how much they wanted to spend—to address all these issues. Their story may well help you tackle those decisions at your own old house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">Shown:</span> The 1940s Colonial Revival will undergo major surgery, including the addition of a gabled garage roof, new entry, and an open, family-friendly kitchen. </span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Make your offer contingent on the home passing a complete inspection, then cough up the extra cash for your own inspector; NEVER use the one the real estate agent recommends. (I also have him/her go along with a contractor that I've hired on an hourly basis. That way, I get a real idea of what's needed.) Make sure he's a bulldog, and go with him WITH a list of your own and questions. DO YOUR HOMEWORK; this is the biggest investment of your life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I just assume that the seller is an idiot, the agent is a crook, and the house is a piece of junk until I learn differently. There are other houses out there....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"If you live in a house built before 1978, assume it has lead-based paint," says TOH general contractor Tom Silva. The question for the Sharmas, whose house was built decades before the 1977 ban, was: How much lead was there—and where, exactly? Lead abatement became a budgetary issue for anyone hiring out a renovation last April, when the Environmental Protection Agency introduced its Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rules. These require every contractor who comes into contact with lead paint to complete an eight-hour certification and follow strict new guidelines that make the work more time-consuming, labor-intensive and, as a result, expensive. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now, even a plumber installing a shower—or any project encompassing more than 6 square feet of lead-painted surface (20 square feet outside)—must wear a HEPA-filtered respirator and meticulously contain and clean up paint debris by sealing off the entire room with plastic and duct tape. The paint removal still has to be done in a way that eliminates dust, and, just to be safe, everything from tools to coveralls must be cleaned before leaving the contaminated space. Ignoring the rules can lead to hefty fines.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">Shown:</span> TOH general contractor Tom Silva inspects a window frame for lead paint with homeowner Raveen Sharma at this season's TOH TV project house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Of course, lead is far more than just a cost concern for the Sharmas, who have two kids; children are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning's effects, which can range from chronic headaches to brain damage. The danger occurs when they ingest paint chips or chew on "mouthable surfaces" containing lead, such as painted moldings, or inhale lead dust embedded in, say, floor cracks. If lead paint is in good repair, and not pulling away from surfaces, the EPA says it's safe and acceptable to encapsulate it with special primers, such as Child Guard, which seal in the toxins and have a bitter taste to deter children. If you choose to undertake lead abatement yourself, be sure to follow the same precautions as the pros. (Check out epa.gov/lead/ for more information.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">Shown:</span> Cutting into the wood allows him to see whether lead is present in deeper layers of paint. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Since the Sharmas were tackling a major renovation, encapsulation wasn't a viable option. To minimize the RRP work inside, they called in Covino Environmental Associates, which used a type of X-ray machine to scan the walls. As in many old houses, which were often wallpapered, lead paint was discovered only in the kitchen and bathrooms, where moisture was a concern. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Once Tom and crew removed that paint, the renovation could continue unimpeded. Outside, Tom identified lead paint on the windows and wood shingles with Lead Check, a DIY testing kit. That meant they were going to need an awful lot of plastic and duct tape to replace the windows and repaint the house. "In the old days, guys would go up there in shorts and T-shirts and start sanding away," says Ron Peik, owner of Alpine Environmental, which helped with the Sharmas' abatement. "Lead is the new asbestos."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">Shown:</span> Tom uses a chemically activated swab, called LeadCheck, to test for lead on the house's old windows. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Sharmas knew they had asbestos to contend with after their home inspector found it in the insulation of the boiler as well as some 9-by-9-inch basement floor tiles. But it was only after Covino completed a full test that they began to fret. "There was a lot more than we bargained for," Allison says. Asbestos also turned up in the 12-by-12-inch floor tiles in the kitchen and bath, wall panels surrounding the boiler, and joint compound in the basement drywall. Left undisturbed, asbestos is harmless. The boiler insulation was friable, meaning it would've crumbled if touched, but luckily the whole unit was being removed anyway. For the rest, the Sharmas were told they could just tile over the asbestos flooring and leave the drywall alone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">Shown:</span> After asbestos was found in the basement's resilient tile and wood subfloor, the Sharmas had a choice. They opted to have Tom rip out everything down to the aggregate and pour a new concrete subfloor rather than cover the contaminants. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Removal:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Largely for peace of mind, however, they wanted the stuff completely eighty-sixed from the house. They called in an army of men decked out in Tyvek suits to seal off the asbestos-contaminated rooms, rig a vacuum system to capture floating fibers, and then scrape it off, double bag it, and haul it to a landfill licensed to handle asbestos. (See epa.gov/asbestos/ for more on asbestos removal.) The Sharmas' entire job took only a couple of days but, together with the inspection, cost more than $8,000. Allison says it was worth it: "The patient was already opened up on the operating table—so why not get all the bad stuff out all at once?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Termites:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Termites aren't necessarily bad for your health, but they are for your house, causing billions of dollars of damage to American homes each year. By the time the Sharmas moved in, termites had already devoured about 35 feet of the front sill. It was only when Tom started demo work that they saw the pests had worked their way up to the studs, too. Tom had to install a new sill and replace the damaged stud sections. To ward off the pests in the future and safeguard their children's health, the Sharmas decided to go with Green Planet Pest Control, a local company, which applied a borate-based solution to the new sill. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">Shown:</span> Tom checks out the replacement for a termite-ravaged sill. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Testing for Termites:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Green Planet also baited the area around the foundation with cylinders containing wood briquettes to guard against renewed attacks. If the wood ever shows signs of nibbling, the company will lace the briquettes with insecticide, serving up a hearty last supper for the little gluttons. (Go to thisoldhouse.com/bonus to see a video of Tom Silva taking on termites.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">Shown:</span> A wood stake set 18 inches off the foundation will tell you if termites are present. If they are, "they'll have a party on that," says Tom. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Mold:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One nightmare the Sharmas didn't have to face was mold. "That surprised me," says Tom. He figured moisture found while demolishing the sunporch would lead to more bad news, but he saw none of the telltale signs, such as water stains and deteriorating fascia boards. That's a good thing, considering that mold can feed on the cellulose in wallboard, mineral-fiber or wood ceiling tile, and even wood studs, resulting in significant property damage. Worse, molds reproduce by releasing spores that can provoke allergic reactions ranging from itchy eyes and coughing to severe skin rashes and worsened asthma. It's wise to check your home for mold in basements, attics, and other poorly ventilated areas a few times each year. On hard surfaces, isolated mold outbreaks (less than 10 square feet) can be cleaned up with diluted bleach or soap and water. Anything larger should be handled by a pro. (Check out epa.gov/mold/ for more on mold.) </span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">To the Future:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's no coincidence that most firms doing abatement of lead and asbestos also handle mold. These are the three biggest health hazards in older homes. For the Sharmas, now that the toxins and termites are gone, they can start focusing on the fun stuff—with a truly healthy outlook. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20428889_20852632,00.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20428889_20852632,00.html</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thomasville, GA has really old homes that have been Remodeled ASK FOR DOCUMENTATION of these bad materials removed. Lead, Asbestos, Mold. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Any home built before 1978 has some type of lead base paint; also do not forget the likely chance of Asbestos and mold. Any home from 1978 and 1900 and 1800 should be tested by a company that specializes in removing Lead, Mold, and Asbestos and they should provide documentation of no findings of these types of hazards and dangerous materials in any old home. No documentation buyers beware. As a real estate agent I would not show this type of property or list without proper documentation. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-87159772243246746602012-06-12T15:17:00.002-07:002012-06-12T15:17:19.281-07:00Check Lead and Asbestos Presence Before Buying Older Homes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVeyh97DTYyy4os83fadix6mwdZqhb-wMqhz_kfMPiDDh21PbTeSiTKBpa3f06VrqGIPmYfS_Ko2rMfgLNZYS13z0Dxak4RA44yUfmvvYz1xuoA9UEw9setVvb3szDOSf0o3L2f_A-QQ/s1600/LEAD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVeyh97DTYyy4os83fadix6mwdZqhb-wMqhz_kfMPiDDh21PbTeSiTKBpa3f06VrqGIPmYfS_Ko2rMfgLNZYS13z0Dxak4RA44yUfmvvYz1xuoA9UEw9setVvb3szDOSf0o3L2f_A-QQ/s200/LEAD.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Many home buyers are enticed with older homes because these properties have great structure, facade, design and integrity. These homes foster durability may be due to the materials used in building them. Asbestos and lead are two ingredients that possess many practical physical attributes suitable for long-lasting building. On the other hand, health problems were later on discovered to be brought about by lead and asbestos. As a present home buyer, it is your responsibility to seek proper measures in determining whether these elements are existent in the old home you are looking into. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A lot of residential unit developers and builders from early 1900s to late 1970s were convinced to use materials containing lead and asbestos. Lead was a common ingredient for paints, drying agents and external coverings of roofing joints because of its qualities of malleability and corrosion resistance. Asbestos was used in cement, flat sheet, shingles, pipes, vinyl tiles, flooring felt and some paints for textured painting. This mineral is known to maintain proper insulation and slow down fire. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Despite the wonderful construction attributes these elements have, they pose health problems as well. Lead can trigger many undesirable conditions for people. Once this is inhaled or ingested, the blood stream will be poisoned. And lead poisoning can lead to poor mental, nerve and motor functioning and permanent learning and behavioral disorders. A pregnant woman also endangers the normal growth of the fetus once she is exposed to lead. Abdominal pain, headache and anemia are common symptoms of lead poisoning. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Asbestos is commonly associated with respiratory problems such as lung cancer, Mesothelioma and asbestosis. The second condition refers to the cancer of the mesothelial lining of the lungs and chest cavity, abdominal cavity or a sac surrounding the heart. The third one is the scarring of the lung tissue which can later on affect lung dysfunction. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Older homes with these elements still pose risks until today. This is because the lead and asbestos content in the materials can be scattered as dust particles or through microscopic bacterial fibers. Thus, a lot of countries have implemented total bans and/or usage and manufacturing regulations regarding lead and asbestos in home products and building materials. Other measures like here in the US instigate proper management and assessment of lead and asbestos presence in older homes. Government bodies such as US Environment Protection Agency and Housing and Urban Development strongly advise home buyers and owners to hire professionals who would conduct inspections and testing of home areas. Expert services are required as these elements need specific equipment for detection. These are invisible to the naked eye, cannot be smelled or tasted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Once the inspections present alarming traces of lead and/or asbestos, the affected areas should be immediately removed and replaced. Eco-friendly alternative materials from non-toxic renewable natural resources are available. Cotton fiver, lycnene foam and cellulose are green materials that can be used to replace insulation, piping, siding or roofing materials that contain asbestos or lead. While you are augmenting the healthy environment in the property, using green substitutes may mean financial gains for you as well. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, home owners who purchase such materials can be rewarded with tax incentives.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="http://www.realestateproarticles.com/Art/13368/283/Check-Lead-and-Asbestos-Presence-Before-Buying-Older-Homes.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.realestateproarticles.com/Art/13368/283/Check-Lead-and-Asbestos-Presence-Before-Buying-Older-Homes.html</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thomasville, GA has really old homes that have been Remodeled ASK FOR DOCUMENTATION of these bad materials removed. Lead, Asbestos, Mold. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Any home built before 1978 has some type of lead base paint; also do not forget the likely chance of Asbestos and mold. Any home from 1978 and 1900 and 1800 should be tested by a company that specializes in removing Lead, Mold, and Asbestos and they should provide documentation of no findings of these types of hazards and dangerous materials in any old home. No documentation buyers beware. As a real estate agent I would not show this type of property or list without proper documentation. </span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-28811543762827748262012-06-12T15:15:00.002-07:002012-06-12T15:15:30.268-07:00I'm going crazy thinking about the lead paint in my house<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mshnkznv24xCoWGej73Pgjq1FlOaXF0YEHNWttvu0RN4hSfv3PSr-LXa2qfqZ0sdV_b9WYIlRJuLdA81AAi5T9-r71jBNiRSJxrl3bUYgZVN5C_txiuL6nbKcrTE5PcgauqmcMxJC4s/s1600/LeadBasedPaint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mshnkznv24xCoWGej73Pgjq1FlOaXF0YEHNWttvu0RN4hSfv3PSr-LXa2qfqZ0sdV_b9WYIlRJuLdA81AAi5T9-r71jBNiRSJxrl3bUYgZVN5C_txiuL6nbKcrTE5PcgauqmcMxJC4s/s200/LeadBasedPaint.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hi All,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This entry is a bit long-winded, but I think that this is a very important topic for all. I’ve been a faithful This Old House magazine subscriber for years. I’ve enjoyed reading about all of the fantastic remodels and old house restorations, but as far as I know (and let me know if I'm wrong), there is not one article about the dangers of removing lead paint. Most of these renovations and restoration jobs require that you disturb walls/paint. I used to get very motivated reading about people who uncovered beautiful wood underneath layers of paint they removed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Personally, I had a very bad scare last year. My husband and I have been restoring our 115 year old house for the last 6 years. We were not planning to have kids, so just like the poeple in This Old House, we went ahead and stripped the paint off of all of our mouldings. The floor was painted too, so we hired a floor professional to sand them. 6 years later, the house was still not finished, and lo and behold, I got pregnant. We had a healthy baby girl, and with the encouragement from our pediatrician, we had our house tested for lead. The numbers were off the charts, so I immediately had the baby tested. Luckily, the tests came out negative and we were VERY relieved to say the least. We have her tested every 6 months due to the risks and so far, she is clean. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am in my 40s and I know that people in my age group and older have been exposed to lead paint. My husband remembers eating paint chips (and he's still a smart cookie). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The city where I live in is filled with rows and rows of old houses. When the renovation boom came along, most of the houses on my block were gutted and re-done. Where did all of the lead-laden debris go to? Answer: The landfills. When I was redoing my kitchen, I consulted with a lead abatement spe******t and for a 400 square room, he quoted me $7,500 to take down 4 walls!! We definitely could not afford that. When I asked him why the price was so high, he replied that he has to contain the lead paint in a special metal barrel where it will be incinerated at a special facility. It just didn't make sense to me - so how about the other houses when they did their demos? Did they place their debris in special metal drums too? I don't think so.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I also talked to the City’s top lead spe******t, and he offered to do a lead test in my home. He said that if he finds any lead in my house, he will close my house down and won’t let me in until I perform lead abatement - this could cost over $20,000!! How about the other houses? All of them have lead too. Shouldn’t he close those houses down too? He had no comment about that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I was reading about how ingesting one micron of lead can screw up a child's brain development, and how a neighbor's house gut job can affect you as well since their lead dust can land on your property. If this is true, my child's lead levels should be sky high. Several of my neighbors have gutted their houses and I know that there are more than several hundred micron particles of lead dust stuck somewhere between our floor boards due to our prior work removing paint and sanding the floors. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In my house, there are several doorways where the hacked up mouldings have peeling paint - they desperately need replacing. I'm stuck because prying off the moulding would disturb the paint and produce lead particles, but not removing the moulding is bad too because the paint will continue to crack and fall off. I can't imagibe spending $2,500 per doorway for a lead abatement company. So what do I do? Move out?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I literally walk around with a spray bottle of Ledizolv (a cleaner that dissolves lead particles - used by lead abatement companies), and I'm making myself crazy thinking about all the lead particles that are hiding in the nooks and crannies. I cringe when my daughter plays on the floor, and I am constantly washing her hands. My question is for the old house owners out there - has anyone else been in the same shoes? If so, how did you deal with it? The bottom line is that lead is everywhere (and I mean EVERYWHERE), and believe me, I am fully aware of the dangers of lead. How do you live in your house without going crazy thinking about that? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="https://advice.thisoldhouse.com/showthread.php?t=14415"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">https://advice.thisoldhouse.com/showthread.php?t=14415</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thomasville, GA has really old homes that have been Remodeled ASK FOR DOCUMENTATION of these bad materials removed. Lead, Asbestos, Mold. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Any home built before 1978 has some type of lead base paint; also do not forget the likely chance of Asbestos and mold. Any home from 1978 and 1900 and 1800 should be tested by a company that specializes in removing Lead, Mold, and Asbestos and they should provide documentation of no findings of these types of hazards and dangerous materials in any old home. No documentation buyers beware. As a real estate agent I would not show this type of property or list without proper documentation. </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-54580494547196642452011-08-30T04:46:00.000-07:002011-08-30T04:46:21.285-07:00Watch For "Green" Claims To Rise In Real Estate<strong>The town of Thomasville, GA Is NOT immune to “Green Washing”</strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdrh_DcSzuK0rDtysVK6OXvdhd7YkY5TF5uzpLBT8qG7VzaYEdf-WcRmKycqZOVh8VGqch7itwTEh04t1vV0AaEFsvdu7EcLkpaqcMmGXJRGZ0wZLcTO-Ps701POt0uWvrn9o8AWuRKI/s1600/ar121028461093472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdrh_DcSzuK0rDtysVK6OXvdhd7YkY5TF5uzpLBT8qG7VzaYEdf-WcRmKycqZOVh8VGqch7itwTEh04t1vV0AaEFsvdu7EcLkpaqcMmGXJRGZ0wZLcTO-Ps701POt0uWvrn9o8AWuRKI/s200/ar121028461093472.jpg" width="200" xaa="true" /></a></div>I was recently introduced to an article in the St. Petersburg Times that deals with the now-popular term "greenwashing". It was called "'Green' Houses in Name Only?" by Chuin-Wei Yap. I thought the author did a good job of framing the problem that is starting to crop up everywhere in real estate - sellers inappropriately identifying their homes as "green" or "energy efficient". I loved this quote:<br />
<br />
"As home building slumps and environmentalism becomes a business advantage, a fast-growing market for green homes is becoming synonymous with "buyer beware"<br />
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The article addressed the lack of proper oversight in "green" claims and the frustrations certifying organizations face when they see claims being made. Since most of the oversight still is voluntary, there's nothing to stop a builder (or realtor) from making a claim that the home is energy efficient or even green-built. In fact, we have at least one builder I know of who's labeling their homes as energy efficient (they're nothing special, and are not certified as Energy Star or better to my knowledge). When I questioned the claim to the listing agent (in a friendly way) I got silence in reply.<br />
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"Greenwashing" is the general term for mis-representation or over-representation of a product's environmentally-friendly attributes. Keep a sharp eye out for this trend in real estate and "buyer beware".<br />
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<a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/502458/watch-for-green-claims-to-rise-in-real-estate">http://activerain.com/blogsview/502458/watch-for-green-claims-to-rise-in-real-estate</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-74189505890989216032011-08-23T19:36:00.000-07:002011-08-23T19:36:14.025-07:00Dual agency = Let's Screw Them Twice!<div id="post_message_8655928">I realize some states are lucky enough that Dual-Agency is ILLEGAL and I wish tomorrow it would become illegal in ALL states, but until then, I'll continue to warn buyers & Sellers to stay clear of DUAL AGENCY! For any reader that doesn't know what dual agency means, it's when one RE agent represents BOTH buyer & Seller. Trust me, you <b>DO</b> <b>NOT</b> want to EVER have your agent represent both you and the Seller/Buyer. It can be the WORSE move in the RE transaction that you could possibly make!!! And guess what? It <b>DOES NOT </b>help you as a Buyer OR Selller in any way shape or form. The ONLY person it helps is the agent and or broker! How? Because it takes one agent out of the equation therefore it ultimately give the agent/broker MUCH MORE OF YOUR MONEY!!! You have ABSOLUTELY NO OBLIGATION to agree to DUAL AGENCY and why this is still legal in many states is a complete mystery to me!!!!<br />
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MAKE SURE that when you sign your listing agreement, Buyer's agent agreement, or any paperwork for that matter, you DO NOT allow the RE agent to slip you this DUAL AGENCY form to sign!!!! <br />
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Would you want your attorney to represent you and the defendant? THIS IS NO DIFFERENT!!!! PLEASE BEWARE! It's your money and your house! Guard it with your life! Think about it? Why else would it be ILLEGAL in many states?</div><br />
Read more: <a href="http://www.city-data.com/forum/real-estate/639743-dual-agency-lets-screw-them-twice.html#ixzz1VtPTAJI7" style="color: #003399;">http://www.city-data.com/forum/real-estate/639743-dual-agency-lets-screw-them-twice.html#ixzz1VtPTAJI7</a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-23486059969590314312011-08-23T15:19:00.001-07:002011-08-23T15:19:45.005-07:00Dual Agency Should Be Illegal! - Georgia is a Dual Agency State<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQs9OoBOCk5dW9Y2pNPrIsMqe6QkzjxGy863RxXZ3w8rI3JnE3tT_h30cn2PYn1CFBZ6goz8iu29nWyV6jXUfB1VrYRAQ88oHB7Bb6VqsF-raWI2UajRzvhVjx_est8_4dxUmX1AeqT7F5/s1600/Two_Faced_image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQs9OoBOCk5dW9Y2pNPrIsMqe6QkzjxGy863RxXZ3w8rI3JnE3tT_h30cn2PYn1CFBZ6goz8iu29nWyV6jXUfB1VrYRAQ88oHB7Bb6VqsF-raWI2UajRzvhVjx_est8_4dxUmX1AeqT7F5/s200/Two_Faced_image.jpg" width="168" /></a></div>According to the National Association of Realtors, “As a customer, a buyer is not represented by an agent… the agent cannot negotiate on the buyer’s behalf nor reveal to the buyer any confidences of the client, the client is the seller.” Without the benefits of using a Buyer Representative, you become just a customer to the seller and their agent.<br />
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The seller’s agent is legally obligated to get the most money for the seller. Can the Seller's Agent who is contracted to work in the best interest of one party also work in the best interest of the Buyer? <span style="color: red;">They can not.</span> A seller’s agent, by law, must work in the best interest of their client, including giving information about the buyers to the sellers. Buyers Agents work in your best interest. The goal is to get you the best price and the most savings possible.<br />
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This is not Real Estate for Dummies. But, it probably should be. The basic definition of dual agency is “The same real estate agent is representing both buyer and seller in the same transaction”. Dual agency is the single worst issue involved in real estate. The average “Joe” out of the street easily understands that dual agency is WRONG. This seems like common sense to the regular guy. So, why can’t the politicians and many real estate agents & brokers understand this simple terrible concept? The main reason why dual agency exists is because of the glorious MOOLAH. Real estate brokers and agents have a huge financial incentive to be involved in a dual agency transaction at the detriment of their buyer or seller. Dual agency has no benefits to protect the consumer (buyer or seller). One of the simplest and best examples that I’ve ever read about the problems of dual agency actually came from a traditional real estate agent (Matt Difanis) in Illinois and not an Exclusive Buyer Agent. A few years back, Matt had a sent this letter to the Realtor Magazine.<br />
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Here is another real simple definition; agency is when a real estate broker discloses “who” & “how” they are going to represent a buyer or seller. Home buyers need to STOP spending all their time on the Internet looking at pretty pictures of potential homes and START spending more time fully understanding all types of agency (dual, single, transactional, limited or designated). Understanding agency is definitely not the most exciting part of the home buying process. As a matter of fact, it is down right boring. But, <span style="color: red;">PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE;</span> before you start down the path of buying a home make sure you spend time fully researching everything. As with many major financial decisions (car, home, vacation, etc.) most of us end up rationalizing decisions based on emotion, don’t make a decision based on emotion!!<br />
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Non-disclosed dual agency is ILLEGAL in all 50 states. But, only a few states have made (disclosed) dual agency illegal. Dual agency should be”outlawed” and made illegal in all 50 states. If you are a buyer or seller involved in a dual agency transaction and you don’t completely understand dual agency than you should immediately contact or RUN to your nearest real estate attorney. <br />
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<span style="color: red;">A TRUE AGENT is one who provides 100% loyalty to his/her clients 100% of the time. No dual agency; no "designated agency", no "transaction brokerage;" no "Chinese walls;" no weasel clauses! - International Real Estate Directory </span><br />
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Buyers Agent: Representing People, Dual Agency: Commission<br />
http://mybuyerbrokerblog.com/2007/10/28/dual-agency-should-be-illegal/Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-2588395967340399692011-07-14T09:36:00.001-07:002011-08-02T06:08:15.818-07:00Can you trust a dual agent realtor to work on behalf of the buyer or Seller?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWODe-EdM6lbGw80huuShrm2G4sFlajZ3mPWdISt8oKNtRJkyj8NJN2wFRYIWVuTE2E8mqaG0JTC02aYiCkiPD-XQpsTw_ljznj5j-o2IS0V4ZorY0aS4GkvaIBIci8q7_u3SYY4TOG0/s1600/RAT.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWODe-EdM6lbGw80huuShrm2G4sFlajZ3mPWdISt8oKNtRJkyj8NJN2wFRYIWVuTE2E8mqaG0JTC02aYiCkiPD-XQpsTw_ljznj5j-o2IS0V4ZorY0aS4GkvaIBIci8q7_u3SYY4TOG0/s200/RAT.gif" t$="true" width="200px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><stockticker><span style="font-family: Georgia;">SEE</span></stockticker><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> HOW MANY REALTORS </span><stockticker><span style="font-family: Georgia;">ARE</span></stockticker><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> OPPOSED TO DUAL AGENCY on Zillow.com about working with a dual agent. It is very interesting that I am NOT the only one that feels strongly about working with a dual agent. This is allowed in </span><country-region><place><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Georgia</span></place></country-region><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> and yes even in </span><place><city><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Thomasville</span></city><span style="font-family: Georgia;">, </span><state><span style="font-family: Georgia;">GA.</span></state></place><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> It is illegal for a dual agent to try an influence a buyer to a particular listing that is listed by the same agent or benefit the same brokerage office or a co-workers listing to keeping the sale in house with the same office. It is illegal to tell a buyer that a property is overpriced so not to show a particular listing. A dual agents responsibility is to show the buyer all listings in that buyers price range. IT IS ILLEGAL FOR A DUAL AGENT TO DO OTHER WISE.</span></div><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Can-you-trust-a-dual-agent-realtor-to-work-on-behalf-of-the-buyer/396844/">A MOST READ IF YOU PLAN TO WORK WITH A DUAL AGENCY.......</a></span></strong><br />
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<div><a href="http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Can-you-trust-a-dual-agent-realtor-to-work-on-behalf-of-the-buyer/396844/">http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Can-you-trust-a-dual-agent-realtor-to-work-on-behalf-of-the-buyer/396844/</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-37369235115226867452011-02-17T04:23:00.000-08:002011-02-28T08:52:30.668-08:00Thomasville, Georgia - Good ol' boy network - Alive and Well<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BsDkwQ_veI3dr70L_Js3ZcP6t_G-XUI5cfJDsHiaD3uVuPBg5WPBqX5bnx6IeH18d8f1na0Q5Ug-0mVuPr86_HW6zjwzrSad_qxr7gPHvpsS2FWq_8Ga4VFwvKcX1lNaqbCjX-1DkMg/s1600/members+only.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BsDkwQ_veI3dr70L_Js3ZcP6t_G-XUI5cfJDsHiaD3uVuPBg5WPBqX5bnx6IeH18d8f1na0Q5Ug-0mVuPr86_HW6zjwzrSad_qxr7gPHvpsS2FWq_8Ga4VFwvKcX1lNaqbCjX-1DkMg/s1600/members+only.jpg" /></a><br />
<strong>Good ol' boy network and its meaning:</strong><br />
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, or "Good old boys", describes a system of social networking alleged to exist among communities and social strata. These networks are assumed to be located throughout the world and very prominent in small towns like Thomasville,GA. It is sometimes taken to refer to informal legal, judicial, social, religious, business, and political associations among members, ("good ol' boys"). <br />
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Some negative effects of the good ol' boy network are its exclusion of others, leading to possibly limiting business transactions to other elites or to friends or acquaintances from within the network, to give friends better deals, and generally to reinforce traditional power structures over any other elements in the society. <br />
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Most consumers and sellers do not realize that some real estate agents and brokerage offices supporting these low to bare minimum code homes knowingly and pushing these homes to consumers are only doing so for its easy sell while many listings sit un shown for years and sellers jumping from brokerage companies in hopes that their properties are shown more often. While these new under minimum code homes are pushed to consumers for being the best of the best other home sellers sit listening to their listing agents advise them to lower their selling prices because new and bigger homes are being sold for rock bottom prices and these prices are possible because of cutting corners in building cost. Our building inspectors should be vigilant to these practices in order to protect the consumers in order for them to utmost acquire a home built to minimum code.<br />
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It's becoming more and more common to find misrepresented listings and claiming the properties to be more efficient and misstating their square footage in order to manipulate the price/sq. ft. and by using the words (By Owner) as a loophole for the real estate agent and is sadly tolerated while the consumer gets mislead only to find out they ended up on the shorter end of the deal. <br />
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Whatever happened to looking beyond the square footage and weighing in the amenities of each property and negotiating and comparing property amenities and their individual situation for their low sale? Why is it that certain Realtors have their hands in the home building industry and their personal listings selling for full price or very close to listing price and others have to sell below apprised value? Is your Realtor telling you that your home is overpriced? One possible reason is that Realtors are pushing homes under $300,000 thousand with more then over 3,000sq.ft. being built to bare minimum code and possibly even below code and comparing all homes to these SQUARE FOOTAGE. Agents bringing buyers to these homes everyday while others trying not to loss their home are not getting shown. What type of service are these dual agents providing to all their sellers and not to mention their buyers? Consumers did you know that a dual agent is not allowed to negotiate for either party in this capacity? They would be breaking the law if they did. Why would you deal with an agent in this capacity? I pose this question. Would you hire a divorce attorney working for you soon ex-husband? same scenario.<br />
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<strong>The following is a True Story experienced by our company in this small town and evidence of the Good 'O Boy network in action:</strong><br />
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We began building custom homes in Cairo, GA and offering features that were not being offered by no other local builder in effort to provide home buyers with a higher quality home with luxury features specific to each home we built. As a new company in the area and in a small town, we wanted to hire local quality companies. We visited many construction sites in search for these companies since we did not find many companies in the traditional way through advertisements. We visited many construction site in Thomasville, GA looking at different subcontractors and their workmanship. “Mind You” Cairo GA. is a small town and it is approximately 10 minutes from Thomasville, GA. We were searching for a good local trim company and wanted to have the opportunity to see the trim work as well and we noted some work being done on a new home being built. As we visited the site to look at the workmanship in order to consider the trim company, we spoke with the person doing the trim work which was a small one man operation local company. We looked around the home and liked their detailed work and we asked him if he would be interested in doing some work for us up in Cairo GA. The gentleman replied “sure he would love to do the work” We gave him one of our business cards and asked him to call us. To our surprise when he took a look at our business card and saw our company name he informed us that he would not be able to do any work for our company and if he did the Good old’ boy Network would not give him anymore work in Thomasville, GA. Mind you these times where booming with home sales. At that point we realized that the small town of Thomasville did not receive new comers in the real estate business very well and to our astonishment could not believe these form of band existed in today's day and age. <br />
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So, it makes you think who is manipulating the real estate system? Sellers and buyers do not realize what really goes on behind the scenes until they personally have been affected by the same systems that placed them in their homes but by then it is to late and a bitter experience is achieved and all Realtors are grouped with the bad apples in the industry. We have spoken to enough people to know that there are many with the same sentiments but do not have the means to publish there opinions. Many in the industry are not very happy with our strong opinions and bringing these issues to light.<br />
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But these blog's are meant to educate consumers with our experiences and knowledge of what we see happening in our community. If you the reader feel differently and do not care for the information you are more then welcome to exit this web page and we want to thank you for your visit but we like to express our freedom of speech which is one of our countries greatest rights.<br />
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Izzy Bienes / Builder / Developer - Holds a Florida & Georgia Real Estate License<br />
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<a href="http://www.trulia.com/blog/CHBEcoCustomHomes/2011/02/thomasville_georgia_-_good_ol_boy_network_-_alive_and_well">http://www.trulia.com/blog/CHBEcoCustomHomes/2011/02/thomasville_georgia_-_good_ol_boy_network_-_alive_and_well</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-45487325849702217732010-12-13T09:18:00.000-08:002010-12-13T09:29:59.794-08:00The "Top 10 Complaints" Received by the Real Estate Commission<strong>1. Misrepresentation</strong><br />
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The License Law requires agents to refrain from misrepresenting material facts - either affirmatively or by willful or negligent omission. What is a material fact? Generally speaking, it is any information which the parties need to know in order to make an informed decision (i.e., which might affect the parties' decision to purchase or sell, or which has the potential to put the contract or interests of the parties at risk).<br />
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Material facts fall into three broad categories: facts about the property (leaky roof, synthetic stucco siding, presence of asbestos, etc.); facts relating to the property, including zoning changes and plans for a major highway nearby; and facts which relate to a principal's ability to complete the transaction, such as a bank foreclosure. Typical complaints of misrepresentation involve material facts that include hidden defects, changes in land use, whether a piece of land "percs," square footage and lot-size errors.<br />
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A recent complaint came from a condominium-buyer who discovered after closing that the condominium was smaller than she had been led to believe. In fact, the unit measured 200 square feet LESS than the figures in the listing agreement! The listing agent admitted to having used tax records to obtain the square footage.<br />
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To avoid this type of complaint, disciplinary action by the Commission and the potential for civil liability, do your homework! Don't rely on the work of others. Measure each piece of property yourself.<br />
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Be aware that your duty to properly disclose includes oral representations and representations made in print, so check your MLS listings and advertisements for accuracy. Also be aware of your duty to disclose material facts to all parties involved in the transaction, not just to the party you represent.<br />
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<strong>5. Disputes over Contract Acceptance</strong><br />
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The Statute of Frauds requires that all contracts for the sale of land be in writing to be enforceable. Furthermore, all negotiated terms must be in writing, any changes must be initialed by the parties, and the contract must be signed by all parties.<br />
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A typical complaint occurs when agents negotiate for their clients orally; e.g., an oral counteroffer is relayed to the buyers and they agree to the new terms; their agent calls and informs the sellers' agent, who tells the sellers. The sellers think that they have a binding contract, but they don't. While the oral acceptance is an indication that a contract will soon be formed, it is not itself legally binding.<br />
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To avoid creating conflict between the parties and to ensure that your clients have an enforceable contract, don't tell them that they have a contract until you have the contract signed by all parties.<br />
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<strong>7. Conflict of Interest</strong><br />
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The License Law prohibits agents in a transaction from acting for more than one party without the knowledge of all parties. Complaints in this area usually deal with dual agency, seller subagency, and special relationships between the parties.<br />
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With dual agency, there is an inherent conflict of interest because the agent is representing both the buyer and seller, who have different and competing interests. To avoid this type of complaint, you as a dual agent must be sure to disclose the duties that you owe to each party. Thoroughly review the agency forms and explain how your responsibilities as a dual agent differ from those in an exclusive agency arrangement. Finally, be sure to have the parties sign the Dual Agency Contract or Dual Agency Addendum, whichever is appropriate.<br />
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As a seller's subagent, keep in mind that although you are working with the buyer, your primary obligation is to the seller. Don't advise the buyer on strategy or advocate on his or her behalf.<br />
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Finally, if you have a special relationship with any party to the transaction (e.g., you are a relative of the buyer), disclose it to all parties to avoid the appearance of impropriety.<br />
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<strong>8. Discrimination</strong><br />
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Recently the Commission received a complaint alleging discrimination at an open house. The matter ultimately was resolved, but not before an investigation by both the Real Estate Commission and the North Carolina Human Relations Commission.<br />
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The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to discriminate in the sale or rental of dwellings of four or more units on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status (the presence of children under 18 years old) or handicapping conditions (including AIDS). Therefore, if you discover that the landlord, tenant, seller, or buyer that you represent intends to discriminate on the basis of any of these protected classes, you must immediately terminate your agency agreement with that party, or risk violating the law and losing your license to sell real estate in this state.<br />
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<strong>9. Records Violations</strong><br />
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When the Commission receives a complaint, the first thing Commission staff requests is a copy of the firm's records, including bank statements, canceled checks referencing a ledger sheet, deposit tickets, separate ledgers, general journal or check stubs identifying each transaction, copies of contracts, leases, management agreements, closing statements, property management statements, and other relevant documents.<br />
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Commission rules require that agents retain records for three years; however, because complaints filed after the three-year limit for record retention are investigated, the Commission recommends that agents retain their records for longer than three years. Be aware that your documents indicating proper record-keeping can be used in your defense in the event that a complaint is filed against you.<br />
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<strong>10. Lack of Communication</strong><br />
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Many complaints to the Commission come from disgruntled clients. Complainants state that their agents will not return their phone calls or keep them updated on their transactions.<br />
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Try to avoid this situation by communicating with your clients. Return their phone calls. Keep them informed about what you are doing for them and how the transaction is going. An informed client is less likely to complain to the Commission.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ncrec.state.nc.us/bulletin/vol31-2bulletin/TopTenComplaints.html">By Pamela V. Millward, Associate Legal Counsel</a><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">When buying or selling real estate and working with dual agency always educate yourself on the rules and ethical responsibilities of dual agency. Some real estate agents have been doing dual agency for a long time and are very good when it comes to using loopholes on listing properties, like the “Word” “Buy Owner” when it comes to square footage – like when public records square footage does not match owners square footage, energy efficient home, extra insulation, quality home, bonus rooms done without a permit. If you suspect something is wrong with your real estate transaction you should consult a trusted real estate Attorney. </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813269705909321514.post-31376271475036016972010-10-21T03:46:00.000-07:002010-10-21T03:49:31.241-07:00Dual Agency is the Ultimate "Bait and Switch."<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7VrALVWaCLa5S6D6-h_TYgDlmCXRCRzeAUGYaPXoK_fhd60GjzCgG0erLrxGJGh1hiCYt_rqzwBieagSXQ71AM2us8sa2ViExiuPrZxpxCydTNErwwZiPYrKyqrHUPXKYPEERpm5q5FqW/s1600/no_dual_agency_r2_c19.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530446753066321714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7VrALVWaCLa5S6D6-h_TYgDlmCXRCRzeAUGYaPXoK_fhd60GjzCgG0erLrxGJGh1hiCYt_rqzwBieagSXQ71AM2us8sa2ViExiuPrZxpxCydTNErwwZiPYrKyqrHUPXKYPEERpm5q5FqW/s400/no_dual_agency_r2_c19.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 250px;" /></a><strong>Bait and Switch</strong><br />
Dual agency is potentially one of the worst “bait and switches” possible because it involves the “switch” (abandonment) of a trusted advisor and advocate. Even with disclosures, consumers rarely expect the change in relationship that comes with dual agency and they are almost never prepared for the complete abandonment that defines dual agency. And despite the degradation in the level of services in a dual agency situation, the client still pays full commission in a dual agency. <br />
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<strong>Should Less Service Equate to a Lesser Fee? </strong><br />
The Consumer Federation of America came up with a recommended fee schedule that suggests a sliding downward scale to align the degradation of services that results from dual agency with a lowering of the fee Realtors charge. According to them, less service should translate into a lower fee. The Minnesota Bar Association incorporated this fee structure into their Standard Listing Contract, but since Realtors typically control which listing contract consumers sign, the Bar Association’s Contract is rarely used. (see attachments below). As a result, consumers typically pay the same amount for an agent who offers nearly no service (a dual agent) as they would for an agent who provides full service.<br />
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<strong>Compare to Attorneys </strong><br />
Attorneys possess incomparably superior education and licensing standards as compared to Realtors. In addition, attorneys are trained in how to manage conflicts of interest. Realtors are not.<br />
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Attorneys must have a post graduate doctorate degree and pass a State Bar Exam in order to become licensed. They also have a meaningful Code of Ethics that provides substantial and public penalties for infractions. Even with their tremendous training in agency relationships and conflict management, attorneys avoid dual agency because of the impossible situations it creates.<br />
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Licensing requirements for real estate agents are essentially non-existent. The minimum standard to obtain a real estate license doesn’t even require a high school diploma and an individual can often obtain their license after taking only a 30 hour class on how to pass the exam. And their "Code of Ethics" is enforced by peers (competitors) who are members of their trade association and all decisions are kept private. Licensing laws are typically lax as is enforcement of those laws.<br />
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There really is no comparison. Realtors do not possess the necessary training or education to engage in such a complex relationship as dual agency. <br />
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Despite the complete lack of minimum standards and the incredible complexity and danger of dual agency, it is now legal in most states for Realtors to practice dual agency. It is typically not legal for attorneys. <br />
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Attorneys run conflict checks to avoid dual agency and have for the most part bifurcated their profession into plaintiff and defendant firms. Nothing like that system exists for Realtors. We believe that it should. To make matters worse, Realtors don’t understand dual agency, they have little training in conflict management, the and disclosure forms are misleading and inadequate. Consumers don't understand it, are highly vulnerable and typically rely upon their Realtor for skewed and inconsistent “advice” about dual agency. And to totally drive the malfeasance home, Realtors are financially encouraged to practice dual agency and fondly refer to the bagging of dual agency clients as a “hogger.” <br />
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<strong>The Worst Kind of Swine Flu </strong><br />
Dual agency (aka "Hoggers") exist to enable real estate brokerage firms to double in size and to unfairly collect double commissions. It's greedy, dishonest and anti-competitive. Similar to theft by swindle, dual agency is highly profitable and relies upon the vulnerabilities of its victims to succeed. Oddly enough, dual agency was a response to an innovative entrepreneurial business model of exclusive buyer agency that was quickly gaining market share. Buyer agency offers a legitimate and substantial benefit to consumers in that agents sacrifice the profitability of both buying and selling properties for the exclusive loyalty that comes with only representing buyers. <br />
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Dual agency confused and misled the marketplace about buyer agency and all but destroyed the exclusive buyer brokerage innovation. It was a great loss as buyer agency aligned the agent’s financial interests with the interests of the client. It brought a higher level of integrity to the industry. It should be noted that exclusive buyer agency still exists and is promoted by a trade organization called the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA). <br />
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<strong>Omnipotent Lobbying Power </strong></strong><br />
Instead of representing only buyers or only sellers, brokerage firms busted through the constraints of fiduciary case law in order to collect double commissions. Without an all powerful lobbying group behind them (National Association of Realtors “NAR”), it never would have been possible to legalize conduct that is more accurately described as a betrayal. The common law standard to permit dual agency requires a full disclosure of all the material conflicts of interest (an almost impossible standard) and the informed consent of the client (another almost impossible standard). Rather than adhere to these common sense standards, Realtor Associations across the country changed the law so that they could double dip. They amassed a colossal lobbying effort to rewrite state laws to allow for dual agency. In one lobbying effort they defiled two hundred years of common law and eliminated an important and already successful point of redress for consumers who were harmed by dual agency – class action lawsuits. <br />
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<strong>NAR – Dual Agency is a Totally Inappropriate Agency Relationship </strong><br />
Hypocritically, it should be noted that the National Association of Realtors previously took the position that, “Dual agency is a totally inappropriate agency relationship for real estate brokers to create as a matter of general business practice…The disclosures and consents necessary to make a dual agency lawful are so comprehensive and specific that a typical real estate broker cannot undertake them as a matter of routine.” Taken from “Who Is My Client? *– A Realtors Guide to Compliance with the Law of Agency” 1986 National Association of Realtors. See attachment below. <a href="http://caare.org/sites/default/files/nar_exec_counsels_against_dual_agency--north_speaks_0.pdf">The Executive Vice President of the Association also wrote a letter about the topic.</a><br />
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<strong>Dual Agency Should Be Banned </strong><br />
<a href="http://www.caare.org/content/dual-agency-ultimate-bait-and-switch">CAARE’s</a> position on dual agency is that it should be banned. It is an insurmountable conflict of interest that results in the abandonment of the client when they need their agent the most – right when they find the property they want. No Dual Agency On Federally Funded Loans At the very least, investors who loan mortgage money should forbid dual agency in their transactions. In addition, HUD should forbid dual agency on all federally funded loans. When mortgage fraud is rampant, consumers need more than ever to be able rely upon their Realtor for exclusive representation and unbiased and untainted advice. We would like to see the elimination of disclosure statements that disclose bad conduct like dual agency and see in its place the elimination of bad conduct like dual agency.<br />
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