Another Boneheaded new law from our Texas Legislature

I wrote a while back about a new law imposing a mandatory two day grace period for landlords in Texas, which will cause tenants to pay more in late fees that they currently do – exactly the opposite of what the author of the bill intended. Now we have a new law that is equally as stupid and will serve no purpose other than to make real estate transactions more complicated and confusing.

At present, a Seller in Texas has no obligation whatsoever to make any repairs or improvements to a property being sold. It doesn’t matter if it’s out of code, falling down, roof leaks, etc. All property is sold as-is except for those repairs agreed to in writing between a buyer and seller.

House Bill 2118, which goes into effect Sept 1, 2007, creates several new points of which Sellers and their agents need to be aware. I’m going to discuss the main effects these will have on the home buying selling and process.

The new law says that Sellers may be required to install smoke detectors for the hearing impaired. If the new purchaser or a member of their family is hearing impaired and asks the seller to do so as part of the contract the seller will be required to install new smoke detectors. The buyer must request this in writing within the first 10 days of the contract and have a letter from a physician. The expense is negotiable between the buyer and seller.

Lest I appear to be hostile toward the hearing impaired, let me just say that I’d make the same arguments I’m going to make if a new law required hand rails at tubs and showers for elderly buyers, or required sellers to install wheel chair ramps for the mobility impaired. The point is, if a buyer has a special need or requirement of their new home, they are free and welcome to make those changes after they own the home and at their own expense.

So let’s break this one down.

You are a seller and you receive an offer on your home. Within 10 days of the effective date, you receive a written notice from the buyer requesting that you install smoke detectors equipped for the hearing impaired.

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Austin Condos – First signs of pullback from developers

In today’s Austin Business Journal there is news about the first sign of something we knew would eventually happen. The question has been asked “are there enough condo buyers to buy all of these Austin condos scheduled to be built?” The answer I’ve heard from various sources (economists, builders, Realtors who specialize in condos) is “no, there won’t be enough demand, but the developers know that and many of these projects simply won’t be built, or will be postponed”.

That makes sense, but I haven’t actually seen a project get pulled until now.

From the Business Journal article:

Some developers reevaluating area’s booming condo market

In what may be the first sign that all is not well in the booming local condo market, one of the developments slated for South Austin is unlikely to happen as planned.

Sound familiar? I wonder if more may follow.

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Real Estate ‘Pretenders’ dropping like flies

I learned a new term this week at the Keller Williams camp in Austin. Agents from declining markets that have turned into Buyer Markets referred to the real estate “pretenders”, who are now dropping like flies in the tough markets. This year will be the first year in a decade that membership in the National Association of Realtors (NAR) declines. Austin saw this in the 1980’s. In 1986 there were over 5,000 Austin Realtors. Then the market tanked. 18 months later, there were less than 2,000 Realtors in Austin.

So who and what is a real estate pretender? They are agents who jump into hot markets and ride the wave. These can include discounters, newbies, scammers and legitimate Realtor hopefuls wanting to crack into the business. They are referred to as pretenders because they are not truly running a real estate business, but instead are just surfing a wave. They can get listings and sell them, or find buyers willing to write offers, but are not operating in a business manner that will survive a downturn. When the wave dies, so does the business, and the agent goes away.

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Do Professional Guitarists and Realtors have anything in common?

I just wrapped up 3 days at the Keller Williams Mega Agent Camp in Austin. It’s really great, no matter what industry you work in, to get around a bunch of other people who do the same thing you do, and to share and trade ideas. The Mega Agent camp is not for Newbie Agents, which is good because it means we don’t have to sit through a lot of beginner stuff, as is the case with a lot of real estate conferences. This one is more about mindset, attitude and taking action.

Gary Keller wants every KW agent to focus on becoming a “Master” at our craft. At a talk he gave a few months ago at our SW Austin Market Center, he challenged us all with this question – “if you’re not in this business to become a master of your craft, the very best Realtor your clients will ever work with – then why are you here? Why don’t you find something you want to be the best at and go do that?”

He also asked the question, “why do you think I am here talking to you?”, and answered himself by saying that when real estate markets get good, such as the current Austin real estate market, Realtors often forget to stay focused on the business basics, because the business starts to seem easier than before. Then when the downturn comes, as it always does, many agents are not prepared to survive because the underlying business fundamentals were abandoned during the good times.

That worries him. In other words, the good times can make us lazy and unfocused. Those weren’t his exact words, but that’s the message I came away with. So, the reminder to everyone was to always be striving to master your craft, regardless of market conditions.

Back to the Agent Camp and the cool twist. A guest speaker, who is a true master of his craft, spoke and performed at the KW Camp. Austin Guitar Legend Eric Johnson. Wow! If you don’t know who Eric Johnson is, he’s arguably one of the five greatest guitarists to ever play. Sylvia and I last saw him at a house concert in Circle C a few years ago, which was incredible. We’re both fans from way back as Eric is one of Austin’s own. We were stunned and amazed to see him live again, of all places, at our Keller Williams real estate conference.

For the Mega Agent Camp, he played three songs for the 3,000 KW Agents at the Austin Convention Center, and then sat down on stage for an interview with Gary Keller. They discussed the challenges of mastering a craft, and the dedication, sacrifices and effort required to rise to that higher level and to then keep pushing further.

So, what can a guitar virtuoso possibly have to say that would be inspiring and meaningful to an audience of 3,000 Realtors? A lot as it turns out. A whole lot.

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Texas Foreclosure Rates Down

From the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M: COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center, RealtyTrac Inc.) – Foreclosure rates may be on the rise, but recent information from RealtyTrac Inc. shows Texas MSAs were not among the top ten foreclosure areas in the United States for the first half of 2007. Among the other findings: Fort … Read more