The Consumer Federation of America — which labeled the traditional real estate industry a “cartel” four weeks ago — is now directing its fire at the state regulatory bodies that oversee brokerage transactions. In a research report scheduled for release last Friday, the CFA said that more than four-fifths of all members of state real estate commissioners nationwide currently “earn a living through real estate transactions,” either as brokers, agents or in affiliated activities such as title agents or real estate closing attorneys. That built-in conflict of interest, in turn, “harms consumers both through omission — what (the regulators) fail to do — and commission — their initiatives that harm consumers.”

CFA’s research found that four states — Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi and Nevada — require that all real estate commissioners be real estate brokers or salespeople. Another 11 states require that at least 80 percent of commissioners hold real estate licenses. Three states — California, Illinois and Minnesota — have full-time professional regulatory boards, rather than commissioners with industry connections. (more…)

search for : real estate industry, cartel, consumer, real estate commissioner, real estate broker

“As the Gateway to the Smokies, we have the responsibility to make ourselves more aesthetically pleasing,” said David Perella, Gatlinburg’s director of tourism. And as the director of the Great Smoky Mountains Association, Terry Maddox, said, “It’s why Gatlinburg exists.” That’s why the city is focusing more on its own history and culture than it is on bringing in tacky tourist traps. “Over the years, we haven’t done a very good job of (focusing on) the culture and heritage of the Smokies,” Perella said. “So we’re moving in that direction.” And in 2007, the city will have a perfect opportunity to do that when it celebrates its bicentennial of the town’s European settlement.

Gatlinburg’s first century was highlighted by a Civil War battle, in which Cherokee Indians fought alongside the Confederate Army, and birthplace of John Reagan, who served as postmaster general of the Confederacy. But in the early 1920s, Knoxville photographer James Thompson’s pictures of the Smokies started drawing tourists to Gatlinburg. Ruth Miller knows all about those early years and what turned Gatlinburg into a destination spot in Eastern Tennessee. Her grandmother owned land in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park before 1934 when it was established by Congress. “There were 1,200 farms that had to be bought to make this a national park,” Miller said. “I asked my grandmother one time if she wanted to sell the land, and she said, ?We didn’t want to sell – we had to.? “But I could tell as an old woman, she was glad it was a park. We never had any money, but our mountain people loved their land.” (more…)

search for : Gateway to the Smokies, Gatlinburg, Smokies, Civil War, Cherokee Indians, Confederate Army, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

When our beautiful, 200-year-old red oak had fallen during a rainstorm while I was away, I was sad but not worried. The tree had narrowly missed the house and landed smack in the middle of our yard. While it was clearly a mess, I felt certain that our homeowners policy would pick up the cost of setting everything right.

The adjuster, surveying the scene, broke it to us. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” he said. Not only would our insurer not pay the staggering $10,000 bill for lugging away the tree, but it wasn’t likely that we’d get enough money to replace the trees and shrubs that had been wiped out. Had the oak fallen on our house, our homeowners policy would have paid for more of the cleanup and replanting. But because our loss wasn’t structural, my husband and I were looking at $20,000 in out-of-pocket costs. (more…)

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Redeveloped downtowns, apartments and more affordable smaller homes are coming into vogue. Big backyards, unbridled spending and buying into long commutes are leaving town. Just as the housing market boom left its mark on the economy and the nation’s way of life, the new real estate market of flat and falling sales and prices is reversing those trends, often creating simpler, less complicated lifestyles.

People are trading in big back yards for balconies, just as they’ve traded in boom boxes for iPods. Often young professionals and the older “echo boomers” (Baby Boomers’ kids), the new generation of home buyers, are choosing more affordable downtown living in high rises, close to jobs and cultural centers. They are marrying later and putting off child rearing so they don’t generate pressure to move into a big house. Likewise, older boomers who’ve redefined retirement are snatching up smaller digs to keep going in work and at play. Condo conversions underscore that demand as second home buyers, investors and speculators all move to snatch up compact housing. (more…)

search for : affordable smaller homes, housing market boom, echo boomers, Baby Boomers, retirement

There are a lot of factors that have contributed to this growth in women buying and owning homes. Increased wages have boosted female homeownership as the gender gap in pay continues to slowly narrow. Another major factor is the increased availability of financing for women. Not so many years ago a woman seeking to buy a house faced formidable obstacles to obtaining a mortgage - or any kind of credit for that matter. Young women in today’s workforce would be appalled at stories their mothers, if they were at all financially proactive, could tell about trying to even obtain a charge account from Filenes or Sears as late as the 1970s. (more…)

search for : Single women, National Association of Realtors

One of the hottest of trends is the teardown. Prospective sellers of teardowns may favor an FSBO sale or using a discount broker because they want the maximum return from their asset or speculation. They’re aware that the value of the property is in the land, not the house, and they don’t want to have to go through a full service broker, with all that implies: open houses, print ads, showings - with 6 percent commissions.

Sometimes community groups and town fathers object to the whole teardown phenomenon. They say it can ruin the charm of a community by replacing lovely old homes with ostentatious McMansions. In Hinsdale, Ill., many of the old families and preservation advocates formed CHART, Citizens of Hinsdale Advocating Responsibility in Teardowns. Hickey is sympathetic to their aims (I grew up in Hinsdale,” he says), but he thinks groups like CHART should focus on the kinds of buildings that go up in place of the demolished homes and institute building codes to prevent McMansionization. (more…)

search for : full service broker, McMansions

Moving your home, especially long distance, can cost you a mint if you want full-service packing and shipping. That might be your only option if you have one of the larger McMansions or your apartment is full of antique furnishings that need to be protected. For those who can rough it a little, there are more and more do-it-yourself options out there. Rental trucks allow you to do it all yourself — pack, drive and unpack.

If you’re up for packing but not driving, a few services will drop off containers at your home for you to load at your leisure. Then they will drive or ship your furniture to your new home. It costs more than renting but you pay nothing for gas and travel expenses and you get plenty of time to load and unload. The downside: these services aren’t available everywhere and you’ll have to arrange street parking yourself. (more…)

search for : Rental trucks