Friday March 2, 1:58pm ET

NEW YORK (AP) — Realogy, which owns the Coldwell Banker and ERA Brands, on Friday said it would partner with Google and the Trulia real estate websites to market listings from its brokerages. Parsippany, NJ- based Realogy has added about half a million listings from the three brokerages to Google Base and to Trulia.com, a real estate search engine stated in 2005 that makes money through advertising. More that 58 percent of real estate-related online searches are executed on Google and partner Web sites, Realogy said, citing November data from comScore Networks.

“This serves as a milestone in our strategy to maximize the advantages of the Web,” Realogy President Richard Smith said in a statement. “our announced distribution strategy follows an intense study of the advantages of the broad distribution of our listing inventory, “Richard A. Smith, vice chairman and president of Parsppany, NJ- based Realogy, said in a statement. He said the company’s 320,000 practitioners stand to benefit from higher traffic to their home listings. Under the agreements, all listings from Realogy’s Coldwell Banker businesses — as well as listings from company-owned brokerages managed by Realogy’s NRT. subsidiary - will be automatically added to Google and Trulia.

As part of a pilot study in 2006, Realogy provided listings from ERA.com to the Trulia site. During the four-month trial, 15 percent of search portal traffic to ERA.com originated from Trulia.com, Realogy said.

Alex Perriello, president and CEO of Realogy Franchise Group, says the agreements are part of a strategy to “maximize the advantages of the Web for real estate professionals and consumers alike.”

Realogy shareholders will vote on March 30th whether to approve taking the company private. On Dec. 17, private equity firm Apollo Management LP agreed to buy Realogy for more than $6.6 billion while assuming $2.4 billion of the company’s debt and other liabilities. Realogy — along with Wyndham Worldwide Corp., Travelport and the Avis car rental business — were part of Cendant Corp. until they were split up last year in an effort to increase value to shareholders. Realogy shares were up 4 cents at $29.55 in afternoon trading on the New Your Stock Exchange.

Throughout most of the state, the boom conditions in the real estate market ended in 2005 – in some cases rather abruptly. According to figures from the Department of Revenue, Wisconsin home values rose an average of 10 percent in 2005. DOR figures are not yet available for 2006, but the popular consensus is that home prices have leveled off (or at least slowed in the rate of increase).

The impact of this market change can be felt in many areas for homeowners – including the area of property assessments and the property tax bill. Tax bills for 2006 arrived in December and many homeowners have expressed concern, if not frustration – particularly if they are also in the process of trying to sell their property. Why? Because their tax bill is based on an assessed value that appears to be many thousands of dollars higher than the market is willing to pay.

How does this happen? First of all, we must remember that the 2006 property tax is based on the assessed value of that property as of January 1, 2006 – the very end of the housing price escalation. Unfortunately, there is no correcting the 2006 assessments.

Local assessors are busy establishing the assessed values for 2007. So what do we do now if we believe an assessment is too high? By law, property owners have an opportunity to challenge their current year assessment if they do so in a timely manner.

Assessment Questions Answered

Notice of Change in Assessed Value

An official notice of any increase in the assessed value must be mailed to the property owner at least 15 days prior to the local Board of Review meeting (or Board of Assessors, if applicable). The notice must contain the amount of the change in the assessed value along with the date, time and location of the Board of Review meeting. In addition, the notice must set forth the procedures available to the property owner to object to the assessment. Typically these notices are mailed in April or May, but please note – failure to receive the notice does not invalidate the assessment. Therefore, if there is concern about an assessed value, it may be prudent to check with the municipal clerk’s office as to the anticipated date of the mailing of notices and the date of the Board of Review meeting.

Assessment Roll Open Book Sessions

If possible, the property owner should always try to meet with the assessor to discuss any questions about the assessment. By law, the local unit of government must publish or post a notice at least 15 days in advance of when the tax rolls will be open for inspection. This process is a less formal alternative – especially given that the assessors are present for at least two hours while assessment roll is open. Minor errors and misunderstandings may be easily corrected. It may be a good idea to contact the municipal clerk to verify the dates of the open book sessions and determine the times the assessors will be available.

48 Hours!

If the property owner decides to appeal the assessment to the Board of Review, the property owner must file a notice of intent to challenge the assessment with the Board’s clerk at least 48 hours in advance of the Board of Review’s first meeting.

Filing the Assessment Objection Form

The next step in the process is the filing of the objection to property assessment form, again with the clerk of the Board of Review, no later than during the first two hours of the Board’s first scheduled meeting. The form itself is available from the local municipal clerk’s office. It is always best to reconfirm with the municipal clerk the date, time and location of the first Board of Review meeting, as this may have changed to a later date than designated on the original notice of assessment change.

Board of Review

The Board’s first meeting will be at least two hours long. Assessment roll and other assessment data will be available during the meeting for examination by property owners. It is imperative that the property owner (or the property owner’s representative) appears at this meeting in order to preserve any subsequent rights of appeal.

The Board will schedule all objections that have been received prior to or during the first two hours of the meeting for a subsequent hearing. A minimum of 48 hours prior notice of the hearing must be provided to the property owner and the assessor (unless the parties mutually agree to waive the notice requirement).

The Board of Review is made up of municipal officials, local residents or a combination thereof, as established by the local ordinance. By state law, the Board must include at least one member who is the municipality’s chief executive officer (or his or her designee). This person(s) must have attended DOR training within two years prior to the Board’s first session.

The Board operates similar to a court of law – receiving sworn oral testimony supported by appropriate documentation. For example, if the property owner has an appraisal that he would like to introduce into evidence, it will be necessary for the appraiser to attend the hearing and provide testimony about the appraisal. In Milwaukee and other cities that have a Board of Assessors, the process is a bit different. The property owner must first go through an informal review by the Board of Assessors (composed of members of the assessor’s staff) before objecting to the Board of Review.

Removal of Board Members

In order to preserve the due process rights of the parties, a property owner filing an objection to the assessment may request that any one Board member be removed during the hearing on the assessment – for any reason whatsoever. Further, the property owner may request the removal of additional Board members for cause. All requests must be filed at the time the 48-hour notice of intent to challenge the property assessment is filed. Lastly, the municipality must also remove any Board members having a conflict of interest in the particular objection coming before them.

Appeal of the Board’s Decision

A property owner has the right of appeal if he or she does not agree with the decision of the Board of Review. There are two avenues of appeal set forth in the statutes – one is to the circuit court and the other is to the Department of Revenue.

Conclusion

The Department of Revenue Web site (www.dor.state.wi.us/html/govpub.html) offers a number of helpful publications regarding property taxes and the assessment process that can be downloaded or ordered, including the “Guide for Property Owners” – an excellent booklet of questions and answers about property assessment and taxes in Wisconsin.

By March or April of this year, most assessors will set the 2007 assessed values to properties. This will provide a new opportunity for property owners to make certain their property values reflect accurate values in the post-boom real estate market conditions.

By: Kevin King and Debbi Conrad

REALTOR® & GOVERNMENT Day
April 18, 2007
Monona Terrace Convention Center | Madison, Wisconsin

1:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Help Lobby Your Legislators at REALTOR® & Government Day 2007

The state Capitol won’t be quite the same after April 18, at least not if we have anything to say about it! Because that’s the day we hope to fill the building with over 500 REALTORS® from every corner of the state to lobby lawmakers on issues that will improve the quality of life for Wisconsin homeowners, property owners and REALTORS®. And we want you to be a part of it!

What is REALTOR® & Government Day?

REALTOR® & Government Day is the one day each year when we ask REALTORS® to invest their time to come to Madison and meet with their state legislators to discuss the key issues facing our industry and Wisconsin property owners. There is no lobbying effort more effective than REALTOR® constituents visiting Capitol offices and making face-to-face presentations on key issues such as the real estate transfer tax hike proposal, health care, property taxes, land use, property rights and license regulations. Along with fellow REALTORS® from your area, you can help explain to your state senators and Assembly representatives the real impact of proposals they will be voting on during this legislative session.

Why should you care?

First, you should care because it’s important to lawmakers and to Wisconsin. The toughest job of a state lawmaker is to stay informed about important issues and the impact of those issues on the state generally and on their constituents specifically. Because REALTORS® are involved so deeply in their communities, our members know better than perhaps anyone what’s important to their communities, markets and people. Taking the time to pass this information on to your legislators is therefore important to them in reaching the right conclusions and making the right vote.

Second, you should care because it’s also important to you. An uninformed legislator, or one that is only getting information from groups or interests that may oppose our position, will make the wrong vote – either intentionally or unintentionally. By taking the time to talk to your legislators, you’re making sure the views of our industry and that of property owners are well known to lawmakers before they vote. They may not always agree with us, but at least they will be making well-informed decisions.

What are the key issues in 2007?

In the new two-year legislative session that began in early January, over 2,000 individual bills will be introduced for consideration by the Legislature. Some of these will be short – a word or sentence or two. Some will be very long and complex, like the state budget, which could be thousands of pages and chock-full of new policies. The WRA lobbying and legal team reviews every bill, every rule and every amendment to determine which of these will impact our industry. The staff consults with the WRA Public Policy Committee, the WRA officers, and the WRA Board of Directors to determine positions on the hundreds of bills that impact your business and Wisconsin homeowners. Once positions are taken, WRA staff must contact lawmakers to explain our positions.

This is where you come in. At REALTOR® & Government Day you are the messenger. REALTOR® constituents meet with legislators and their staff to discuss these issues and explain the impact - good or bad - on the industry and on property owners. If we seek changes to proposed laws, we discuss the merits of those changes and listen to what legislators and other interests have to say. This process of communications is what democracy is all about.

So what are the key issues facing our industry this session? Here’s a look at some of the major issues in this new legislative session, many of which will be talked about on April 18 at REALTOR® & Government Day 2007.

Tax issues

Home tax

* The Governor has proposed to double the real estate transfer tax! This will hurt housing in Wisconsin and must be defeated.

Property tax relief

* Support legislation to provide immediate and permanent property tax relief for Wisconsin homeowners.

K-12 funding reforms (including property tax reductions and possible sales tax increases and/or exemption repeals)

* Work with all stakeholders to reform elementary school funding with the goal of permanently lowering property taxes, while improving education.

Budget deficit

* Monitor the creation, introduction and consideration of the 2007-09 biennial budget to ensure anticipated deficits are not addressed through increased taxes that will hurt property owners, the real estate industry or economic growth.

Transactional issues

Health insurance reforms for independent contractors

* Seek legislation to ensure members have full access to all medical insurance opportunities available in the marketplace.

fees

* Provide brokers with a legal remedy if they want recourse following a transaction where a third party company demands unearned referral fees.

Settlement services - predatory lending, mortgage fund availability and credit scoring

* Provide standards for loan commitments, disclosures, and timely funding of loans, etc.

Regulation and Licensing Rules

* Update Department of Regulation and Licensing rules to be consistent with recent changes to Ch. 452

Practicing without a Wisconsin license

* Clarify the law relating to out-of-state brokers practicing in Wisconsin without a Wisconsin license.

Land use and environmental issues

Pier regulations

* Grandfather all existing piers that were not illegal when originally placed and guarantee the right for all riparian owners to place a pier.

Shoreland zoning

* Ensure that revisions to the state’s shoreland zoning regulations (NR 115) adequately protect the rights of property owners, while at the same time protecting our state’s water resources.

Purchase of development rights (PDR) program

* Ensure that any PDR program (a) contains locational criteria that restricts the preservation of land that should be developed, and (b) is not funded through real estate-related fees.

Farmland preservation

* Encourage farmland preservation plans to include density requirements, rather than minimum lot size requirements.

Stewardship

* Support re-authorization of the Stewardship program.
* Work with other interested groups to require a portion of state Stewardship funding to be used for the acquisition of land in urban areas for the purpose of developing neighborhood parks.

Economic development

Annexations

* Ensure any changes to annexation requirements protect the ability of property owners to choose which local unit of government provides them with services.

Income tax/sales tax increment

* Support the use of increased incremental income tax withholding/sales tax revenues, derived from increased/improved jobs, for payment of certain economic development project costs.

Limitations on moratoria and allotment ordinances

* Limit the ability of local units of government to enact moratoria and place restrictions on the number of building permits to be allocated each year.

Miscellaneous

Broker/salesperson education

* New post-license requirement for licensed salespeople: require all newly licensed salespeople to take a mandatory post-license course within 12 months of licensure.
* Increase pre-license requirement for brokers to 72 hours (from 36 hours).
* New experience requirement for broker license: to obtain a broker license the agent must have one year documented experience, as established by the REB and confirmed by the broker-employer, or have held a salesperson license for two years.
* Increase real estate continuing education requirements to 18 hours (from 12 hours). Also create CE 4B as a mandatory course, specific to broker management (i.e., broker supervision). (REB to establish definition of group to take the specific course.)

Campaign finance reform

* Support compromise campaign finance reform legislation developed by the WRA and others to emphasize transparent disclosures and reporting of campaign contributions while protecting the rights of individuals and organizations to participate effectively in political campaigns.

No Call / telemarketing legislation

* Contain fees; oppose increased fines

We need you and Wisconsin homeowners need you!

The WRA is considered one of the most legislatively successful organizations in Wisconsin and in the nation. Our success is due in very large part to the time and effort REALTOR® members invest personally in the political and legislative process. As an association and an industry, we need you to personally take part in these important efforts. But Wisconsin homeowners and property owners need you too. You are their organized voice when it comes to legislative issues that impact their lives.

By investing one day you’ll be investing in yourself, your family and your business, and homeowners across Wisconsin. Make the commitment today by registering at www.wra.org/RGDay.

By: Michael Theo

For questions contact Mike Theo at mtheo@wra.org

Michael Theo is Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs for the WRA.

When deciding to sell to sell your home, a little extra work can make a huge impact as to how smooth your transaction will be. It will have an impact on who will be looking at your home, what a prospective buyer is willing to offer you on your home, and even if you get to the closing table!

Personally dealing with the West Bend Wisconsin real estate market, I can tell you that anything you do cosmetically to increase curb appeal will help with the sale of you home. This means you are staging your home to look like it is on display. Many common improvements that have an impact on selling a home aren’t very expensive at all. Simple tasks, such as giving rooms a fresh coat of paint, quickly pay off.

Those planning on adding a “for sale” sign to the front lawn this spring might want to consider these five areas while creating their to-do list when getting ready for sale.

First Impressions, Lasting Impression!
Giving your home the proper look is going to determine how potential buyers feel about your home the second they pull up. History shows the first impressions are based on the home’s exterior, the shrubbery, the gutters and the front door. This includes the landscaping of the yard, maintained bushes with no overgrowing, and overall curb appeal. If there is a fire hydrant near your property, it may be wise to add a fresh coat of paint giving the neighborhood a little more glow as well. After all, you technically are selling the neighborhood as well.

Peeling trim or an odd color exterior of a home could lose potential buyers before they even set foot in your home. This goes hand -in-hand with your Realtors online marketing as well. Hundreds of people searching for there next home are going to be making decisions to move foreword with there purchase based on there interest online. Having good wide angle pictures of a home with great curb appeal is going to attract three times as many buyers to set appointment to come a view your home. Studies have shown the now in 2007, 87% of home buyers start there home search online, and online buyers purchase on average of 3 weeks earlier than traditional buyers. Don’t fall victim to poor first impressions. It could be the kiss of death for your homes sale.

De cluttering and Neutralizing
When it come to preparing the interior of your home, real estate professionals will advise a client to make a move to more neutral colors. It seems that people can’t visualize beyond what they see. Neutral colors, including beige and ivory, can also have an added advantage of making a room appear larger. Adding higher wattage lights is a good idea because it makes the home more bright and spacious.

Take down your personal pictures! Someone that is actively searching for a home is not going to want to see your wedding photos, pictures of all the kids, graduation pictures, and other wall knick-knacks. This makes your home seem to personal and may make the viewer feel unconvertible about being there. Or worse, be more interested in your belongings than your home! Other than keeping your home clean, do some basic spring cleaning: Shampoo the carpets, rebuff hardwood floors and oil any wood cabinetry

Replace Things Before It Becomes An Issue
Sellers might also consider having a home inspection done prior to listing the home as a way to detect any overdue replacement projects. A seller has the option of either fixing the problem or giving the buyer a discount to account for the needed repairs, but Mr. Gillespie is an advocate for making the necessary repairs before selling. Home buyers recognize the value of a house that doesn’t need major repairs. It is best to be able to address issues before someone puts in offer in on your home. It is just one way for the deal to possibly fall apart.

In fact, according to the 2006 “Cost vs. Value” report from Remodeling magazine, a roof replacement for a midrange home had an average cost of $14,276, and returned $10,553, or 73% at resale. A vinyl-siding replacement had an average cost of $9,134, and returned $7,963, or 87% at resale.

Kitchen & Bathrooms
It’s no secret that buyers tend to be awed by updated kitchens and bathrooms.

If the last time it was remodeled was in 1972, that’s going to be points against versus another house that was upgraded even five years ago with sort of a modern look. It’s hard to go wrong with a kitchen or bath remodel unless you get a little too edgy with the design or the materials. Keep them classy.

If kitchen cabinets are structurally fine but their exteriors are outdated, it might be worth it to reface them. If counters are old, replacing them will add new life to the room.

Offer a Home Warranty & Having Documented Work
Sellers can provide some extra peace of mind to buyers by purchasing a home warranty on their home that will cover such things as heating and plumbing should the buyer run into problems after closing. The coverage is getting more popular nowadays. Warranties can be bought from companies including American Home Shield and Aon.

I, Dan Burgeson, Explain to my potential clients that when putting there home on the market, providing a Home warranty will lower the amount of time there property is on the market. Buyers like to know that nothing is going to happen to them once they close on there home. Providing a home warranty says something about your home. It tell buyer that your home is in great shape and to prove it, we will cover any issues for a year after you move in. Coldwell Banker has a relationship with American Home Shield and can be advertised on every home listing. Displaying the age of the water heater and furnace isn’t a bad idea either. If one is on the older side, have it inspected for proof that it functions correctly. Also, explain if any home improvements have produced a cost savings in terms of energy usage. WE Energies in Wisconsin give a tax credit for energy efficient homes.

Countrywide Financial Corp. has instructed its brokers to no longer offer zero-down mortgages as an option for borrowers, the Wall Street Journal reports.

That’s because such loans are among the biggest reasons for a recent and sharp increase in the level of delinquencies at U.S. home lenders.
Countrywide joins such other companies as General Electric Co.’s WMC Mortgage and Washington Mutual Inc. in requiring that loan applicants have at least a 5-percent stake in their homes.

Previously, “if you breathe and have a Social Security number . . . you were going to get a house,” notes Mark Cady of Market Street Mortgage in Houston. Now, lenders are demanding that applicants have higher credit scores and contribute a bigger down payment, among other requirements.

While the flow of money available to the subprime borrower community is likely to slow considerably as a result of this trend, observers note that lenders not subject to federal regulation will continue to offer higher-risk products such as 100-percent financing and interest-only loans.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle
Originally Published On: Realtor Magazine Online