Politics influence the real estate market – Things like impact fees on developments, qualifications of assessors and appraisers, tax credits for energy efficient or Earthcraft houses, exemptions for wells on properties under three acres, limitations of property tax rates, suspending water hook-ups during certain emergencies (the potential for abuse on this one seems particularly likely, and would definitely impact the real estate market), not to mention the Dillon Rule, and also whether or not you could use your fireplace if you lived in a densely-populated area, or whether you can give your 17 year old kid a glass of wine.Simply put, knowing that there may be a tax credit for energy efficient houses makes me better able to represent my clients. Knowledge and information are power; being able to efficiently manage that information is equally powerful.If you scroll down, you will see this new sidebar addition, showing the bills in the Virginia General Assembly that I am watching. Courtesy of Richmond Sunlight, you too can track bills that affect you in the General Assembly; go to the new Photosynthesis page here.I do wish there was a way to filter out all the commendations and celebrations, and I wonder how much each one of these costs taxpayers…. (please note the sarcasm)I wonder if this could develop into a social network of people tracking bills, maybe even become a Facebook widget.If we leave politics up to “everyone else,” we are doing ourselves a disservice.
Browsing Category Politics
Track bills with ease in Virginia
Check it out. I’ve got mine. Do you have yours? The threshold of participation in politics is getting easier and easier.
Attempted Censorship or misguided public official?
Sometimes, as in this case, the responses are from the public officials charged with assessing property.I would however request that you immediately remove all inappropriate and misleading information related to the Office of the County Assessor, real property taxes, and the assessment process in Loudoun County from your web site.Properties are assessed on an annual basis…. At no point in any of the emails from Todd Kaufman the Loudoun County Assessor, does he identify exactly what part of the post he found to be “erroneous and misleading.”This situation goes beyond real estate and real estate assessments and into the realm of trying to squash free speech and open public discourse…. The Free Flow of Information Act says we might:(2) COVERED PERSON- The term `covered person’ means a person who is engaged in journalism and includes a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of such person.(3) DOCUMENT- The term `document’ means writings, recordings, and photographs, as those terms are defined by rule 1001 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (28 U.S.C…. Trying to keep the County Officials in check via a blog is like sticking your finger in a bee’s nest!I’d argue that trying to keep public officials in check is our shared responsibility and obligation.Realtors are held to a higher standard due to our shared Code of Ethics; public officials are supposed to be held to a higher standard as well.This seems to me to be an egregious attempt to control a conversation.
Private Malls are “public” places
As noted on the Consumerist -“A shopping mall is a public forum in which persons may reasonably exercise their right to free speech,” Justice Carlos R. Moreno wrote in the majority opinion.This case seems very similar to the one that played out in Charlottesville last year. With public areas decreasing, this is likely going to be an issue to be addressed in many, if not most, areas of the country. The balance between property rights and the “greater good” is one that requires constant vigilance.
Learn about the FairTax
The WSJ has a great editorial today (temp free link).The distributional effects of the FairTax have been extensively studied, and although the proposal has distinct advantages for investors and wealth creation across the income spectrum, the greatest benefit of the FairTax is to low- and moderate-income Americans. The effect of eliminating regressive payroll taxes is commonly overlooked when analyzing the FairTax, but it would have a very significant impact, as these taxes represent the single largest tax burden on these income earners.Significantly, the FairTax eliminates all loopholes, gimmicks, exemptions and deductions from the federal tax system…. The FairTax would also eliminate the lucrative tax lobbying practices that represent more than 50% of all lobby dollars spent annually in Washington.Clearly there would be short-term impacts, positive and negative. We need to, in all things, be able to look beyond the next three to five years and see the real effects.
Assessments, property taxes and shifting market values in Albemarle County
Working with real estate assessments in Albemarle County
Clarifying my stance against Dual Agency
I have long argued against Dual Agency, and need to slightly redefine/clarify my opposition – My beef is with Single Agent Dual Agency where the same agent represents both sides of a transaction. In principle and practice, Dual Agency, also known as Designated Agency, when practiced by agents in the same firm should be legal and ethical.From the Virginia code:”Designated agent” or “designated representative” means a licensee who has been assigned by a principal or supervising broker to represent a client when a different client is also represented by such principal or broker in the same transaction.”Dual agent” or “dual representative” means a licensee who has a brokerage relationship with both seller and buyer, or both landlord and tenant, in the same real estate transaction.