President`s Pen - Reading-Berks Association of Realtors

An Official Publication of the READING-BERKS ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, INC.
Volume 22
Number 3 - 2013
R-BAR Scholarship
Recipient
The scholarship fund was established in 2003 by the Reading-Berks
Association of Realtors® to recognize outstanding graduating seniors
from Berks County High Schools. This year through the Berks County
Community Foundation, three Reading-Berks Association of Realtors scholarships were awarded. The first $500 was awarded to Kyle B.
Beissel in honor of the memory of Herbert J. Bellairs.
Kyle is a graduate of Schuylkill Valley HS and will attend Lebanon
Valley College and major in Business/Finance. He lives in Mohrsville
with his parents, Ronald & Denise Beissel. Denise is a Realtor® with
Coldwell Banker Select Professionals.
The other two scholarship recipients were Robert Geer and Douglas
Schwindt.
Robert is a graduate of Schuylkill Valley HS and will attend La Salle
University and study to be a Financial Analyst. He lives in Leesport
with his parents, Merlin & Tracey Miller.
Douglas is an Oley Valley HS graduate and will attend University of
Connecticut and study Actuary. He lives in Reading with his parents,
Robert and Laurel Schwindt. Laurel is a Realtor® at Century 21 Gold.
Congratulations to all our scholarship recipients! We wish you all the
best in your future endeavors.
Pictured from left to right are Kyle Beissel and Thomas J. Bellairs
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President’s
Pen
By Peter J. Champagne
I hope that everyone is
enjoying the current
resurgence of the Berks
County real estate market.
Okay, so it is not the good old
days when homes sold overnight, agreements were one page, there were
no inspections to deal with, and when you went
home you were basically done for the day. Plus,
mortgages were eminently easy to get back then!
But it is still pretty good, compared to the last few
years. Even the recent 1% spike in the interest
rates hasn’t really made a dent in the market.
(Did anyone believe that interest rates in the 3’s
would last?)
There are mountains of issues on the state and
national levels that we, as Realtors, should be
aware of...issues that greatly affect our abilities
to do our jobs. RPAC is a big reason why we continue to get to do what we love. Mechanics liens,
seller financing, carbon monoxide detectors, the
Real Estate Licensing Law changes, property tax
reform – these are only a few of the issues and
goals that PAR has set for 2013.
In addition, there are topics on the local level in
which RBAR is involved, and in which we participate. In the next President’s Pen, I will discuss
some of the typical agenda items at meetings of
your Board of Directors. We hope that you, as
members, will make every effort to support RPAC,
to be informed about your local association, and
to help keep real property rights for all.
-Pete
Welcome New
R-BAR Members
ADVERTISING INDEX
Congratulations to the New Members class held
August 7 at the Chamber Training Center in
Wyomissing. Here is the list of new Realtors®:
Affinity Bank..................................................... 6
Ana Aponte-Fernandez, Prudential Landis Home Sale Services
Buyers Real Estate Weekly............................... 13
Kathy Brautigan, Prudential Landis Home Sale Services
Diamond Credit Union................................... 14
Jaime Brown, Prudential Landis Home Sale Services
Fleetwood Bank ............................................... 12
Roger Brown, Keller Williams Realty Elite
Fulton Mortgage Company............................. 18
Laura Callowhill, Century 21 Gold
Furniture Soup.................................................. 10
Dyan Correll, Coldwell Banker Select Professionals
Greater Reading Economic Partnership........ 12
Lori Dollinger. Century 21 Gold
Homes & Land of Berks County.................... 10
Nelson Gamez, Century 21 Gold
Jamison Appraisal Services............................. 14
Scott Gerhart, Stout Associates
L&L Services..................................................... 16
Linda Gruber, Century 21 Gold
M & T Bank....................................................... 12
Joshua Haines, Century 21 Gold
Mortgage America............................................ 12
Dennise Heckman, Prudential Landis Home Sale Services
Petro Heating & AC Service............................ 10
Bree Kantner, Century 21 Gold
PuroClean.......................................................... 6
Erin Maguire, Prudential Landis Home Sale Services
Reading Eagle Company................................. 8
Fritzlyne Nelson, Century 21 Gold
Real Estate Education Center......................... 9
Jaime Nothstein, Century 21 Gold
Reliable Home Inspections.............................. 9
Edward O’Connell, Century 21 Gold
Schlicher-Kratz................................................. 10
Gerald Pelker, Sands & Company
TREND.............................................................. 14
Katherine Scott, Century 21 Longacre
VIST Bank ........................................................ 6
John White, Destination Realty
Waterstone Mortgage Corporation................ 14
Kimberly Wisser, Stout Associates
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.......................... 6
President’s Pen............................ 1
New R-Bar Members.................. 2
Save the Date............................... 3
R-BAR Store................................ 4
Jim Goldsmith Article................ 5
REALtor Life Adventures.......... 7
Dianna’s Den .............................. 11
Buyers Real Estate Weekly......... 13
Andersen Insurance Brokers........................... 14
AnnieMac Home Mortgage............................ 12
CORE........................................... 15
REALTOR® Safety Month.......... 17
Drop of REALTOR®
& Affiliate Membership......... 18
Transfers/Reactivation of Membership18.
18
Government Affairs Update...... 19
Almost the Last Word................ 20
Property Lines - Page 2
PROPERTY LINES
SAVE THE DATE!
An Official Publication of the
READING-BERKS ASSOCIATION
OF REALTORS®, INC.
2201 Ridgewood Road
Berkshire Commons, Suite 350
Wyomissing, PA 19610
(610) 375-8458 Fax (610) 375-6298
email: [email protected]
Website: www.RealEstateInBerks.com
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Dates subject to change.
Check www.realestateinberks.com for
up-to-date info! All events at R-BAR
unless otherwise noted.
Golf Outing
Friday, September 13, 2013
Willow Hollow
DIRECTORS
Craig Binkley
Jerry Buffa
Eva Eisenbrown
Dawn Hickernell
Michael Klonis
Gary Lando
Arlene Parisi
Sharon Sapp
Oktoberfest
Monday, September 30
Hitching Post
Free Social Media Marketing
Class
Wednesday, October 16
Night at the Races
Friday, November 1, 2013
West Wyomissing Fire Company
Fall Membership Meeting
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Green Valley Country Club
NYC Bus Trip
Saturday, December 7
Holiday Luncheon
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Crowne Plaza
Installation/Awards Dinner
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
OFFICERS
Peter J. Champagne, President
Victoria Venezia, President Elect
Jeffrey Sicher, Immediate Past-President
David Mattes, Vice President
Bradley Bentz, Secretary/Treasurer
NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE:
Lorrayne B. Klahr, Chair
Brad K. Bentz
Dianna Alpini
Deb Scheidt
Denyne Potts
The Newsletter Committee is looking for more
members or featured writers. Contact the
R-BAR office if you are interested in finding
out more information.
IMPORTANT NUMBERS:
National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)
1-800-874-6500 • www.realtor.org
Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS® (PAR)
1-800-555-3390 • www.parealtor.org
PAR Legal Hotline
1-800-727-5345
PA State Real Estate Commission
1-717-783-3658 • www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa
TREND: 1-877-330-9900 • www.trendmls.com
Property Lines - Page 3
R-BAR
Debora Scheidt
R-BAR
Membership and
Communications
Director
Kelly J. Pieja
R-BAR/BREW
Managing Director,
Interim Association
Executive
Chuck Liedike
R-BAR
Government Affairs
Director
J. Kitridge Fegley, Esq.
Association
Counsel
BREW
Denyne Potts
BREW
Art and Production
Manager
Anna Held
BREW
Graphic Designer
Dave Renninger
BREW
Sales Executive
• Cookbooks
• Yard Signs
• Closing Gifts
• REALTOR® logo items
• Lock Boxes
• Open House shoe covers
• Open House registers
• Key Hiders
• St. Joseph’s Statues
• Shirts
• Hats
• Jewelry
Shop the R-BAR Store!
Property Lines - Page 4
Buyer terminated for lack of
mortgage commitment agent malpractice?
By James L. Goldsmith, Esquire
It’s funny, but after suffering a market in which sellers had trouble
giving away their homes, the Hotline is now getting calls about
sellers who seek to get out of their agreements of sale. There have
always been sellers, usually older, who come to grips with the reality of moving out of familiar homes only after signing an agreement.
But why there is an increase in cold-footed sellers is beyond me.
This article focuses not on sellers with cold feet, but on the duty of
a buyer agent to protect her clients from being ousted. Sellers who
have cold feet will look for “legitimate” reasons to terminate their
agreements as opposed to simply digging in and refusing to move
without any basis. There are a few clauses that allow a seller to
unilaterally end a contract, and one is found in the mortgage contingency clause where the buyer is obligated to produce a mortgage
commitment by a specific date.
One of the attorneys in my firm is defending a buyer agent who lost
a deal because her buyers did not have a commitment by the date
identified in the agreement of sale. The buyers were distressed
to lose the home and also unhappy about the money they paid to
inspectors, appraisers, their lender, et cetera. So they hired an
attorney who filed a suit against the buyer agent for these losses,
as well as the “loss of the benefit of the purchase” (e.g., they claim
that the fair market value of the first property was greater than the
fair market value of the second property, and that this value was
lost because of the fault of their buyer agent).
The basis of the liability claim was that the buyer agent was negligent in failing to seek an extension of the mortgage commitment
date. The buyers asserted that their agent was duty-bound to stay
on top of the timetable and should have observed that the date for
producing the commitment was fast approaching.
Before I weigh-in on the issue, what do you think? Was the buyer
agent at fault and should she be obligated to reimburse the buyers
for their losses? I am guessing more of you side with the buyer
agent, but I am also guessing that some of you are more introspective: can this happen to me? Do I have an obligation to extend the
mortgage commitment date if my buyers haven’t received their
commitment?
No two cases are alike and a slightly different situation can or will
lead to different results. But we can draw some conclusions and
perhaps alter our own practices to avoid the situation of this buyer
agent. So, on to the answer.
One, buyer agents are advisors and guides, but not babysitters.
Presumably the buyers are intelligent adults upon whom it should
be impressed that timelines make differences. If you are required
to produce a mortgage commitment by a certain date, then make
it your obligation to follow through. Buyer agents need to impress
upon buyers that they are participants and for their own wellbeing,
have obligations to meet.
Two, even if you find that the buyer agent was negligent for failing
to question the status of the commitment as the deadline approached, what difference did her negligence make? In other
words, had she requested that the sellers extend the commitment
date, would they? Presumably one doesn’t ask for an extension of
time until one realizes that it is needed. When would that be? We
all know that commitments are issued very close to commitment
dates and we hardly worry two or three days out. It would seem
that our buyer agent would be justified waiting until nearly the last
minute to ask for such an extension. And if she asked near that
commitment date, what would the sellers’ response have been?
If the sellers were reluctant or experienced cold feet, would they
really be willing to extend the commitment date? Hardly! This is
the opportunity they would be looking for in order to terminate the
agreement. It can be argued that any negligence on the part of the
buyer agent was not a factor in losing the transaction.
With you as my jury, I have no doubt what the outcome of this suit
would be: victory for our buyer agent! But such victories come at a
price and are not always won. The better experience would be that
the buyer agent was never sued and never had to defend herself
in the first place. Keeping a watchful eye on the timetable established by the agreement of sale is critical, but so too is the need to
underscore for buyers at the signing of the agreement that there
are provision which can result in its termination; that timetables are
imperative to be followed and that every buyer should proceed as
though the seller may be looking for an excuse to terminate.
Copyright © James L. Goldsmith, Esquire,
CALDWELL & KEARNS, P.C., 2012
All Rights Reserved
Jim Goldsmith is an attorney with Caldwell & Kearns and serves as general
counsel to PAR. A substantial portion of his practice is dedicated to providing advice and counsel to real estate licensees. He and his firm represent
and defend real estate salespersons and brokers in civil lawsuits and
licensing claims across the Commonwealth. Jim also defends REALTORS®
in disciplinary hearings conducted by the Real Estate Commission. He
routinely counsels employers on employee relations issues and is one of
the voices of the PAR Legal Hotline. He may be reached at
www.realcompliance.com
Property Lines - Page 5
4 Wellington Boulevard
Wyomissing, PA 19610
610-678-9702
George Spanier
Sales & Marketing Manager
OFFICE (610) 678-4077
CELL (484) 624-2707
[email protected]
TOLL FREE (855) 553-2687
128 W. Broad Street
FAX (610) 678-9087
Shillington, PA 19607
puroclean.com/ers-pa
PuroClean Emergency Restoration Services
WATER
FIRE
MOLD
BIOHAZARD
Property Lines - Page 6
REALTOR® LifeAdventures
By Lorrayne Klahr
Hello everybody!
I received an emailed story from Ed Stauffer, and he entitled
it “Buyers Are Not Always What They Seem”. This is one of
those near-disaster stories. Here is the email from Ed:
“I got a call from a new couple that just got married and they said
that they wanted to buy a home ASAP. They wanted to a nice 4
bedroom home under $250,000. I had them come to the office to
talk to me and so I could get them to sign all of the proper paper
work. They were eager to get started. I did ask them the important
question “are you pre-qualified” they said not yet but the husband
said that he is going to stop by M&T bank right after our meeting.
He is in the body shop business and has known the bank for 25
years. They were dressed well and they were driving a new black
Audi A7, that’s a $70,000 car. Sounds ok so far.
If you read Brad Bentz’s column on Page 20, you will hear
about yet another one of these miserable things that sometimes happen to real estate agents. Amazing how we have
to be resilient, pick ourselves up, and go on to a new set of
problems that we have to solve. And keeping in mind, at all
times, the Golden Rule.
One of our long-time Realtors passed away recently, and he
was a dear friend. Davey Pfautz was a unique fellow, and
everybody who knew him will miss him, I’m sure. I have a
little Davey Pfautz story that sort of fits in with the theme of
not-so-great experiences in real estate.
Davey and I would go to lunch once in a while, and I would
sometimes complain to him about my real estate problems.
Told him that some of my clients seem to be crazy, or nasty,
or demanding, etc. Then he’d tell me about his own nutsy
people. We’d both complain, and then he’d say, “We should
only work with nice people!” Big emphasis on the word
“nice”, in his gruff voice. Then he’d laugh his sudden, loud
laugh, and it always cracked us up.
I set up some homes to look at the next day and they picked out
one that they like. The wife was a big influence and she said that
she was also a Realtor in the past. The wife didn’t want to be
on the loan, which I thought was strange. I wrote up one of the
homes but I could not do anything until I had the pre-approval.
The husband said that he didn’t have time to stop at the bank but
would do it the next day. Again, the wife is eager to get into the
new home with her NEW husband.
So, for all of these many years, we’d laugh about that. If
I’d mention some bad situation, he’d say, “But are they nice
We were to have a meeting at the office at 3:00, but I really need- people?” and I would answer, “Oh yeah, Davey. They are!
ed to see that pre-approval letter that the husband said that he We only work with nice people.” And he’d laugh. It was our
had but now it was with Wells Fargo??? I stopped over to where little joke.
he said he worked to see if I could get it. I went to the garage
where the husband said he worked, and it was a family owned One more story about a bad experience, as told by our RBAR
business. The husband was one of the brothers. When I said his President, Pete Champagne.
name, they all had a puzzled look on their faces. Then they said “I pull up to a house on which I had set up a showing the day be“he doesn’t work here, he hasn’t for 5 years and he just got out of fore, to find my buyers there already. They had requested to see
prison for check and credit card theft. He also had a bankruptcy this particular address. I get out and proceed to the front door,
and his credit was shot. I said, what about the home down the only to find that the lockbox combo does not work. So I do what
road? Who owns that? They said their mother and not the hus- any good agent would do: I call the listing office to straighten out
band like he told me.
the mix-up.
Wow, I thought. How did he ever think he was going to buy a
home and here is the Jerry Springer moment…….the NEW wife
had no idea about any of the NEW husbands past record or whom
she just married. I wished her the best.
With a little emphasis on the fact that my clients and I are there
and trying to get in, I told them I really need the right combination.
I was given the same 3 letters as before. Disgusted, I give up and
apologize to the buyers. The buyers say they are not interested
Wow, Ed. You handled that so well! Makes me think that anyway, as the neighborhood and yard are not what they had in
mind.
avoiding disaster may be an important part of what we do.
…continued on page 9
Property Lines - Page 7
Property Lines - Page 8
…continued from page 7
REALTOR® LifeAdventures
When I have a chance to check my emails, I get the feedback
form for the showing that I had set up. My first reaction was that I
should let the listing agent know just how annoyed I was that we
all wasted our time...but then I figured that is not me, and I would
simply state that I had an issue getting into the house, etc. Then,
as I look at the photo, I notice it doesn’t look like the house where
we had been! So, I double-check and sure enough, there are two
houses with the same address, but in neighboring municipalities!
I set up the wrong one! I’m going to state here that I was just too
busy and had a senior moment. That’s my story and I’m sticking
to it.” Pete
Ahhh, great story, Pete.
To conclude, I found a list of funny sayings in a pile of papers that I saved. Here are a few that might make you smile:
~Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to
live with.
~I thought I wanted a career; turns out I just wanted pay checks.
~I didn’t say it was your fault. I said I was blaming you.
~If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.
~The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it’s still on the list.
~We never really grow up. We only learn how to act in public.
~Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting
it in a fruit salad.
Ok, now that I got all of that negative stuff out of my system,
I will wish you a lovely and prosperous fall, a lot of nice people to work with, and the wisdom to determine which ones
they are.
---Lorrayne
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Property Lines - Page 9
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Property Lines - Page 10
Dianna’s Den
by Dianna Alpini
Recently, I came upon a question posted in Trulia
by a first-time home buyer:
Asked by Anonymous, Pennsylvania
“My real estate agent convinced me to rely on the FHA appraisal instead of getting a home inspection since the house
is only 12 years old. I am a first-time home buyer and I believe that my real estate agent convinced me to do this in an
effort that was not protecting my best interests...am I wrong?
I found out that the FHA does not do a home inspection but
does an appraisal and that there are indeed some serious
items (i.e. termites) that are not considered in the appraisal (all after the fact). Is there a real-estate agent out there
that would ever convince someone to buy a house without
a home inspection and rely on the FHA appraisal process?”
I’m happy to report the answers provided by several different agents
ALL stated that they always encourage a home inspection, especially
termite. One agent stated that even if the property is being sold “As Is”,
we should encourage an inspection, or at the very least, have a contractor check the building out so the buyers know exactly what they’re
getting into.
Flashback to March of 2005, when I bought my home and naively elected not to have an inspection done, trying to save some money. Boy,
was that a big mistake! I spent my first year, trying to figure out why all
of the luscious plants I had grown and maintained for years, were dying.
Initially, I thought it was dry forced air heat that did it. However, over the
next couple of years, I noticed that when the weather turned too cold to
leave the windows open, I often felt sick and sluggish. Eventually, after
realizing that the gas heating system (which was 20+ years old) and gas
water heater had pilot lights constantly lit, I paid an inspector to come
test for carbon monoxide in the air. Well, there was carbon monoxide
and it was being circulated through the vents and into the air inside my
home! He told me it was a good thing I had kept the windows cracked,
despite the freezing temps outside. Needless to say, I’ve switched to
electric and have been feeling much better with each passing year.
As a REALTOR®, I can say that I am grateful for that experience. It has
caused me to have an appreciation for inspections and great respect for
the inspectors, even if they sometimes cause the purchasing process to
become troublesome, delayed or to fall through completely.
One of the many excellent companies in Berks County that I’ve become
familiar with is DOOR to DOOR Home Inspections, Inc., owned by Mike
Fella. He and his team are thorough and comprehensive when examining a home, and Mike is patient while explaining issues or systems to
the buyers/sellers he serves.
Mike has over 30 years experience in building, construction, and real
estate. In business for over 10 years now, his DOOR To DOOR company has grown into a multi-inspector firm with full time office coverage
for 6 inspectors. They have built their business on service and customer
satisfaction and are constantly evaluating and expanding their services
to fill the needs of their growing customer base.
The scope of DOOR To DOOR services include:
– Wood destroying insect inspections
– Radon gas testing with tamper resistant, continuous monitor,
state of the art equipment
– Post mitigation testing for radon verifying proper operation
– Septic inspection
– Water testing (coliform)
– Water testing FHA/VA; specialized water sampling and testing
upon request
– 6 month and 1 year contractor punch list inspections
– Home owners maintenance inspections
– Multi-unit dwellings
– Light commercial
– Spanish inspections and reports
Complete home inspections, which include the following:
electric, structure, plumbing, basement, kitchen, interior, exterior, roofs,
heating & air conditioning.
Like all home inspectors, Door To Door strives to keep buyers, sellers
and agents out of the courtroom by finding potential problems so that
both buyers and sellers can make good decisions and take right action. And, as with all home Inspectors, Door To Door keeps current with
construction issues, and stays well-informed. In addition, Mike Fella of
Door To Door will provide classes at
our real estate offices, in which he
identifies the top 10 recurring deficiencies found during home inspections.
Mike also serves as Vice President of the local ASHI chapter, is a
member of the CORE program with
RBAR, and of the Pre-Settlement
Review Committee
Dianna Alpini
Property Lines - Page 11
M&T makes homebuying
easy and affordable.
Save thousands with M&T’s
Bi-Weekly Mortgage. Call
today 610-921-4808.
Certain restrictions apply.
©2010 M&T Bank.
Property Lines - Page 12
The FREE Open Houses Continue
and they are now in COLOR!!!
Please enter your open house information in TREND
by noon on Monday.
• Receive a FREE open house ad in the Buyers Real Estate Weekly
• Receive a FREE ad on www.OpenHousesInBerks.com
OR only $20.00 for an enhanced COLOR open house ad
which will include your logo & a description of the property
Call Dave Renninger at 610-375-2610 for more today!
Broker Open Houses
by Dave Renninger
About two years ago, Mike Chaknos asked me if we, at the
Buyers Real Estate Weekly, could help him and other agents,
promote Broker Open Houses. I had never heard the term,
“Broker Open House” so Mike had to educate me. Since then
we have helped promote hundreds of them.
in the Home Zone section of the Weekly. All for only $100.00.
The color quarter page ad certificate alone is worth that! If two
agents coordinate a Broker Opens in the same neighborhood
on the same day, the cost is only $90.00 each. With 3 or more,
it is only $80.00 each.
For those of you as naïve as me, a Broker Open House is
simply an open house for other agents and brokers, held during the week, and usually including food. As one agent said
to me at one of the earlier open houses, “This is reminiscent of
the Tuesday morning tours!” I guess he is correct, and the purpose is the same. Visit a house for sale and be more knowledgeable about it when speaking with your buyers. Even with
multiple photos on TREND and other web sites, you just can’t
appreciate some amenities of a property unless you experience them in person. The size of a finished basement or a
spectacular view come to mind.
Most open houses are at lunch time and sometimes the agent
hosting the event will offer lottery tickets or gas cards as an
enticement as well. These are additional investments on your
part to attract your fellow agents.
Sometimes I see Broker Open Houses later in the afternoon
with snacks and beverages of some sort. Only once have I
seen one held in the morning and I don’t recommend doing it
then.
If you decide to hold a broker open, here is how we can help
you promote it. We will send at least two mass emails to the
REALTORS® of the association announcing your event, we
will put it on our web site, we will give you a certificate for a
color quarter page ad in BREW to raffle, and you will have your
choice of either 2 weeks in the New Arrival section or 4 weeks
Do they work? Ask Jack Evans from Century 21 Park Road
or Kent Gutzler from Re/Max of Reading! They both told me
recently that they are sure they got their listings under contract
as a direct result of holding the event.
I invite you to take some time and visit an upcoming open
house, even if it is for the food or a chance to win some free
advertising.
Property Lines - Page 13
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quality
of
service!
Michael Zettlemoyer | Barbara N. Lowden, SRA
SteveC.
C.Jamison,
Jamison,
RAA
Steven
RAA
| sjamison
@ comcast.net
610.916.7507
Bachelor
of
Science
Real
Estate
Penn
University
Bachelor of Science - Real State
Estate
Penn State University
Michael Zettlemoyer
Barbara N. Lowden, SRA
610.916.7507
Michael [email protected]
Zettlemoyer
610.916.7507 | [email protected]
110
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CORE (Community Reinvestment)
Frequently, I am asked about the CORE program that the Reading-Berks Association of Realtors is partnering in with the City of
Reading and the Reading Redevelopment Authority. There are
many Realtors that have a mild understanding of the program,
some with a pretty strong grasp, but many more that have never
heard of the program or RBAR’s role in the housing strategy for
the City. I hope, this will go a little way toward explaining the
partnership, and give Realtors an appreciation of our role in helping the City’s strategic housing plan.
The CORE program is actually a Pennsylvania Association of Realtors program, with the intention of streamlining the process of
marketing and selling municipally owned properties, with particular emphasis toward owner occupants. Ideally, CORE hopes
to assist in helping to provide quality housing for those members
of the workforce that work in the City, and wish to own their own
home. The program aims to strengthen neighborhoods, grow
pride of ownership, and increase property values. CORE utilizes the partnerships with the local Realtors Associations to assist
in providing financing, contractors, inspectors, appraisers and
more. Having a housing program that is not tied to government
funding is a huge benefit to the City.
The concept for CORE is actually borrowed from a similar project
that had significant success in Baltimore called SCOPE (Selling
City Owned Properties Efficiently). Through SCOPE, the local Realtors’ Association assisted the City of Baltimore in selling 273
properties, and made significant improvements to the City as a
whole, estimated at a rehabbed value of over $38,000,000. PAR
created a task force in order to develop a similar program, and
with the assistance of an Ira Gribbons Grant from the National
Association of Realtors with the intent of providing workforce
housing, CORE was born.
Being a PAR program, CORE is more than a name. There is a
course that Realtors may take, in order to be CORE-designated,
which makes the Realtor eligible to list municipally owned properties through CORE. The specialized education and skills a Realtor
learns include topics such as selling government owned properties, pricing properties with unique attributes, fair housing and
much more. Additionally, there are a unique set of forms created
by PAR specific for CORE-related transactions. Information about
the CORE program details can be found at www.PARealtorcore.
com.
the possibility of utilizing CORE to assist in their efforts of removing blight, repurposing vacant housing and strengthening neighborhoods through the private sector.
CORE currently has a very large home listed for sale at 737 N
4th St in the Centre Park Historic District, and we are anticipating several more homes to be listed in the coming months. To
date, this is the only property listed through CORE across the
Commonwealth of PA. Many other Associations are looking to
see how the program goes, and how to implement the program
elsewhere. 737 N 4th St has been vacant for a few years, and
will require a buyer with vision and the financial ability to acquire
a rehabilitation or construction loan to fix the property. Many of
RBAR’s affiliate members in the lending industry have stepped up
to assist buyers as CORE moves forward. There have been many
significant procedural lessons learned over the last few years in
working with the City, and we anticipate being able to report on
settlement of properties, subsequent rehab and continued growth
of the program moving forward.
Many interested Realtors have earned their CORE designations
and taken part in CORE committee meetings at the RBAR offices.
Many more Realtors have volunteered their time and efforts by attending meetings, offering suggestions, speaking in front of City
Council and more to get CORE to this point, and they are to
be commended for their efforts. Additionally, Government Affairs
Director Chuck Liedike’s efforts in the CORE project have been
invaluable.
CORE is an exciting opportunity for concerned Realtors to get
engaged in the City of Reading’s housing plan and make a direct
impact. It is our expectation that CORE will be a vital component
in the City’s housing strategy for years to come, and we welcome
anyone who has additional interest to get involved!
Mark Mohn
RE/MAX of Reading
CORE Committee Chair
Locally, the CORE program was initially presented to Mayor Tom
McMahon and members of the City of Reading administration,
and has grown significantly from that initial meeting a number
of years ago. Now under Mayor Vaughn Spencer, and with the
unanimous approval of City Council, the local CORE project has
matured into a strong partnership between the City of Reading,
the Reading Redevelopment Authority and the Reading-Berks Association of Realtors. The City has been particularly excited about
Property Lines - Page 15
Property Lines - Page 16
Solutions for Staying Safe with Social Media
Problem: Savvy real estate professionals like yourself frequently update your presence on Facebook,Twitter, and LinkedIn. However, because of the nature of your work, you are
likely to have “friends,” followers, and connections whom you
don’t know.
Tweets Are Forever
Social media usage has an impact on your safety, as well as
your reputation. Carefully consider each item you share, and
be aware that old posts, even if they’ve been deleted, may be
copied or saved—and the Library of Congress is actually recording every single Tweet.
Solution: Following these basic steps can help you avoid
exposing yourself or your data to risk through social media
tools. It is vital to consider what you are sharing through the
Internet!
As a savvy real estate professional, you can maximize the business-building potential of social media while minimizing the
unique risks it poses. Just follow these basic steps to help safeguard yourself, your data, and your reputation.
Keep Business Separate
To learn about more safety strategies, and access
One way that you can make sure you are not revealing too free safety resources, including safety expert Anmuch personal information is simple: set up a business account drew Wooten’s webinar “Social Media and Cyber
on each platform. Sure, anyone can figure out that Sally Field, Safety,” visit www.REALTOR.org/Safety.
REALTOR®, is the same person as Sally Field—but Sally will
only accept requests to connect to strangers on the business
account, whether Facebook or Twitter. Her personal account Safeguard Client Data
stays private (especially once she familiarizes herself with privacy settings), protecting her family photos, links to her kids’ Cyber security goes much deeper than safe use of social mepages, and personal posts from people she doesn’t know.
dia: As a real estate professional, you routinely keep sensitive,
personal information about clients on your computer. If this inTag! You’re It!
formation falls into the wrong hands, it can lead to fraud, idenWhen a friend posts your photo, you may be “tagged” against tity theft, or similar harms. To avoid potential legal and liability
your will. If you don’t want clients or others to find a refer- costs of a security breach, develop a data security program
ence like this—such as a less-than-flattering photo taken at a based on the Federal Trade Commission’s five key principles to
late night party—you can remove the tag and/or ask the per- a sound data security program. Details can be found at
son who posted it to do so. And be sure to follow up and ask www.ftc.gov/infosecurity.
friends to check first before tagging!
(Sources: Andrew Wooten’s REALTOR® Safety
Don’t Give Away Passwords
webinar “Social Media and Cyber Safety”;
Consider this: One way that hackers manage to crack personal www.ftc.gov/infosecurity)
passwords is by searching Facebook for easy answers. They
know they may find answers to common security questions
such as “What high school did you attend?” and “What are
the names of your children?” So keep information about family
members, household details, and past events to a minimum in
order to help prevent this.
Guard Against Identity Theft
These days, anyone can find all kinds of personal information about anyone else. That doesn’t mean you have to make
it easy! For example, if you who want to post your birthday,
don’t include the year. (And delete any public comments that
indicate their exact age.)
Property Lines - Page 17
Transfers and Reactivations of REALTOR® Membership:
Century 21 Gold
Robert Heiner
Elvin Morales
MaryBeth Nausbaum
Coldwell Banker Select Professionals
Dianna Alpini
Craig Reinert
Keller Williams Realty Elite
Rebecca Haughey
Walter Hotzman
Felix Munoz
Sean Murphy
Joan Seward
Pete Wanner
Mary York
Exeter Realty
Samar Alsaad
John Monaghan
Christopher King
Keller Williams Realty Elite
Catherine Blanchard
Michael Bohn
Roger Brown
Michael Cipar
Denise Devine
Pam Gantkowski
Alan Harris
Prudential Landis Home Sale Services
Jennifer Bonawitz
Melissa Breitegam
Randy Corcoran
Jennifer Dinatally
Diego Lopez-Cabrera
Teri Lutz
Frank Ramos
Susan V. Weaver
Reading Realty Group
Pete Gustis
Izzy Gonzalez
Navid Moosa
Stout Associates
Jeffrey Rushing
Val Sarko
Christine Swalley
Weichert-Neighborhood One
Samuel Padovani
REALTOR® Membership Drops:
Weichert Neighborhood One
Carla Perella
Prudential Landis Home Sale
Melissa Breitegam
Property Lines - Page 18
Land Value Tax
By Chuck Liedike, Government Affairs Director
Over the past several months, land value tax has
been receiving incredible attention in the media.
Mayor Vaughn’s administration in City Hall believes that it is a tool to help facilitate change.
The Reading-Berks Association of REALTORS®
has been specifically asked to hear out this new
idea. What is land value tax? According to Investopedia.com, “land value tax is a tax on the
value of a piece of land. Land value tax inherently
makes up a portion of all real estate property tax;
however, land value tax takes only the fair value
of the land into account. The taxation of land is
very straightforward, requiring only a valuation of
the land.” Investopedia.com continues to state
that “some argue that land value tax is the best
tax in terms of economic efficiency. Since the
availability of land is inelastic, the value of land
is therefore determined by the rules of supply
and demand.” Further, “Saving Communities”, a
land value tax think-tank has created many talking points on its benefits. They indicate “to levy
a conventional property tax, assessors normally
determine the value of the land and the additional
value of the improvements. The two values are
added together and the total value is taxed.
How will your clients react to this news? That’s a
question you need to ask them. How about economic development? The Mayor’s administration believes land value tax will encourage economic development, and even entice businesses
to move back into Reading. How can they be so
sure? The administration has indicated on multiple occasions that taxes will go down for many
homeowners. If taxes do go up for some residents and businesses, they can expect a tax increase of less than $10 per year (in many cases).
There are areas that are certain to be affected by
land value tax though. For example, REALTOR®
and Councilman Randy Corcoran has indicated
that car dealerships will be hit hard with this tax.
Remember, this tax is levied on the overall value
of the land. Land value tax supporters indicate
that the market will produce the highest and best
use of the land in Reading. Car dealerships occupy much land, but very little building square
footage. They would not benefit from land value
tax. The administration has also indicated that if
passenger rail service comes up through Reading
again, land value tax would be a benefit to area
businesses. The Mayor’s administration has speAs a result, property tax falls mostly on improve- cifically requested us to take a position. The supments. As a result, property tax penalizes most porters have made their voices heard. However,
home owners, who usually improve and maintain the detractors aren’t quite as vocal. Our membertheir homes better than absentee owners. The ship needs to consider the positives and the negproperty tax on improvements also discourag- atives. Ask the hard questions. Is this good for
es construction while it rewards those who use the future of
run-down properties or sit on vacant properties Reading?
with light taxes. Jurisdictions that levy land value
taxes charge lower rates (or no tax at all) on improvements. Tax burdens on well-developed and
well maintained properties fall and burdens on
blighted and vacant properties rise until identical lots pay the same taxes no matter what the
improvements on those lots are worth.”
Property Lines - Page 19
“Almost
the Last Word” by Brad Bentz
“You’re Living In America At The End Of The Millennium
You’re Living In America Leave Your Conscience At The Tone
And When You’re Living In America At The End Of The Millennium
You’re What You Own”
From the screenplay “Rent”
This summer brought to me a transaction that allowed me to remember why I love this business and, in the end, confirmed who I want
to be.
A family friend called me about a piece of land that he wanted to
purchase. This family, husband and wife, had been neighbors to my
parents when they lived out of the area, and had more or less been
their caretakers. They are special people to my family.
The land was a large parcel by today’s standards, just over 15 acres,
but held a special place in my client’s heart. The land had been part
of a much larger farm, once containing about 173 acres. In 1752 my
client’s forefather boarded the “Phoenix” in Rotterdam, traversed the
ocean and landed in Philadelphia. After traveling around the area, he
purchased this farm, building a log home and barn on the property.
Over the years the farm had been parceled off, the log home had
burned down and a farmhouse had been built on its foundation. My
client, now the seventh generation to have walked the land, lived in
the farmhouse as a child until its sale with the remaining 73 acres,
and for the first time in 197 years, the homestead was owned by a
different family.
Today, all that is left is the farmhouse, in such disrepair as to be condemned, an equally shaky trailer, and a corn crib. The barn has long
since collapsed, with only its stone foundation as a reminder of what
had been once a proud and productive working farm.
To anyone beyond my client, the only value was the land. But to my
client the value was in the childhood memory and the heritage; it has
been his life long dream to return the homestead to the family name
that had worked it for so many years.
My client, surprised to see a “For Sale” sign, had spoken with the listing agent who indicated that there had been an offer, actually more
than one, and that one had been verbally accepted. My client then
called me to find out if there was any way to get the opportunity to
purchase the property. I discovered that the sellers, all three living
in separate parts of the country, had verbally accepted an agreement
but had yet to have all three signatures.
We prepared an agreement, netting $10,000 higher than listed price,
and presented it to the listing agent. In turn, the listing agent contacted the 3 sellers, who considered this elevated price, but had agreed
to stand by their verbal commitment and proceeded with the agreement for $10,000 less.
Sensing a lifetime opportunity might pass, my client asked if there
was any other way to approach the seller. We decided to approach
the listing agent, who was also the selling agent, and asked her to
ask the buyer if he would accept $15000 to transfer the agreement,
we would in turn be responsible for any additional transfer taxes and
commissions. The buyer declined the offer, indicating that he has
some specific intention for the property.
Overcome with regret for missing his chance, my client would call me
periodically to see if the property had settled and it was truly over. I
had been in constant communication with the listing agent, who coyly
suggested that she will be speaking to me after the settlement occurred.
The day after the property had settled to the new buyer, the listing
agent called me and indicated that the buyer, now owner, would be
willing to sell to my client for $65000 more than his purchase price of
$125000. My client, while reluctant to submit to such money gouging, made a counter offer that would net the new owner $45000. The
new owner responded that instead of wanting $65000 more, he now
wanted $70,000 more. My client agreed. I was assured by the listing
agent that the new owner had verbally agreed to pay the full commission cost while sitting at the settlement table.
When the listing agent went to get the agreement and also a listing
contract signed, the new owner indicated that he did not feel that the
Realtors were owed all the commission, and would only pay less than
1/3 of what he had agreed. After the meeting the agent called me,
with great emotion, to explain what had occurred. After much discussion we decided to work out something between us, with both of us
making major concessions, hers more than mine. We felt that it was
in the best interest of my client to allow the transaction to proceed
without conflict, acknowledging our mistake of taking someone on his
word and not having the terms in writing. I have a great respect for
the listing agent owning her responsibility.
On the day of settlement I met with my client at his soon to be recovered land. And while both of us discussed our displeasure of the
seller’s ethics, he was beaming at the fulfillment of a life long bucket
list, and getting to be the 7th generation to own the homestead. He
succinctly summed up the transaction saying “it isn’t moral, but it’s
legal”.
At settlement, after all the checks had been disbursed, the listing
agent turned to the seller in front of everyone and said “Mr. Seller,
we sat 60 feet from this spot when you bought the property where
you promised to pay me a full commission. You used my mistake
of accepting you at your word against me. You are a very dishonest
person; I will never work with you again”. The seller just shrugged and
put his proceeds check in his folder.
That evening I went to sleep fulfilled in knowing that I had the opportunity to assist my client with one of his life long dreams, and the
thought of someone getting the better of me vanished.
My client slept with the fulfillment that after 64 years, the farm was
back in the family, and he was content.
The seller, well, I suspect he slept well wrapped in his blanket of
greed and in his dreams he will always be chasing tomorrow. But
greed, similar to other addictions, is an empty trap. Sooner or later
he will just be pacing the cage.
Jesus was a beggar, he was rich in grace
And Solomon kept his head in all his glory……
-Joni Mitchell
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