As a Real Estate professional, I’m often asked about the probability of a particular neighborhood’s housing of registered sex offenders. The concern is the same as mine, and rightly so. We want our children and families as safe as possible. I often refer these families to one of several sex offender registries. There is a growing number of Web sites that make it simple and easy to find out how many registered sex offenders live in a given area. Many of the Web sites are a result of Megan’s Law which went into effect in 1996 requiring states to make information on registered sex offenders public. Web sites such as Family Watchdog (www.familywatchdog.us) and the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Sex Offender Public Website (www.nsopw.gov) are free while some mobile apps can cost a few dollars.
What concerns this writer is how diluted the list has become. Round-the-clock media coverage of high profile abductions and murders have contributed to a general sense that society has run amok, when in fact violent crime rates in most areas are generally lower now than they’ve been since the 1970s, according to Lenore Skenazy, author of "Free Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts With Worry" (Jossey-Bass, 2009).
According to Skenazy, the number of people registered as sex offenders has been exploding for 15 years, and not because of the escalation of high-risk perpetrators. She notes that while there are still plenty of creepy criminals on state registries, the MAIN reason the list has grown so large is because we’ve “dumbed-down” the notion of what constitutes a sex offender.
Did you know that a person can wind up on the registry for urinating public, visiting a prostitute or in 32 states, taking part in the silly prank of streaking? I sure didn’t. But perhaps the most problematic group of “sex offenders” according to Skenazy is TEENS. Teen boys getting caught having sex with their girlfriends, and more times than not, consensually. In Texas alone, 4,000 registrants ended up on the list as juveniles. And in Georgia, it was found that less than 1% defined as “predators” were actually considered driven by compulsion to commit sex crimes.
Skenazy states that adding to the registries to “keep our children safe,” they’d likely be safer if registries were smaller and more meaningful. She further argues sex offender registries contribute to an irrational fear of “stranger danger” when in fact nearly 90% of all crimes against children are committed by a family member or other people they know, according to David Finkelhor, who directs the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.
So what is a concerned parent or Realtor to do? I know I’ll continue checking out the Web sites myself and when asked, I’ll refer them to my clients. After all it only takes one individual to cause real fear in a community. I guess it really is better to FEEL safe than BE sorry.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Housing Shortage in the Cards?
In the current market, the idea of a housing shortage may be hard to accept. There are simply too many For Sale signs and delinquent mortgages threatening to turn into foreclosures to make a housing shortage seem like a serious possibility. But the big drop in home construction over the past few years suggests that it COULD become a real issue.
Home builders must add 1.6 to 1.7 million housing units each year to accommodate typical U.S. population increases and replace demolished homes. During the boom years of 2003 to 2006, production far exceeded the historical average, with builders producing a cumulative surplus of 1.3 million units.
That overproduction remained hidden, though, because investors flush with easy money were gobbling up property. Once the easy money dried up and prices headed down, investors were forced to dump properties. Today, there might be as many as 700,000 empty units ABOVE normal levels.
Still, the great underproduction in the past three years is an issue that will need to be reconciled, especially if the trend continues. Once we start seeing new household formation again, a housing shortage is something we won’t be able to dismiss too quickly.
(June 2010) Lawrence Chun, Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors
Home builders must add 1.6 to 1.7 million housing units each year to accommodate typical U.S. population increases and replace demolished homes. During the boom years of 2003 to 2006, production far exceeded the historical average, with builders producing a cumulative surplus of 1.3 million units.
That overproduction remained hidden, though, because investors flush with easy money were gobbling up property. Once the easy money dried up and prices headed down, investors were forced to dump properties. Today, there might be as many as 700,000 empty units ABOVE normal levels.
Still, the great underproduction in the past three years is an issue that will need to be reconciled, especially if the trend continues. Once we start seeing new household formation again, a housing shortage is something we won’t be able to dismiss too quickly.
(June 2010) Lawrence Chun, Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Negotiate Your Best House Buy
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(New!)
Negotiate Your Best House Buy
Keep your emotions in check and your eyes on the goal, and you’ll pay less when purchasing a home. Read
Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.
Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
FIELDING A LOWBALL PURCHASE OFFER ON YOUR HOME
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(New!)
Fielding a Lowball Purchase Offer on Your Home
Consider before you ignore or outright refuse a very low purchase offer for your home. A counteroffer and negotiation could turn that low purchase offer into a sale. Read
Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.
Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Monday, June 21, 2010
Priorities to Consider When Negotiating Repairs (For Buyers)
I always stress the importance for Buyers to attend the inspection of a home they plan to purchase. Doing so enables them to be shown specific items of importance and allows them to ask questions of the inspector. The following information is coming straight from the horse's mouth (so-to-speak), a REAL inspector...and a very thorough one I might add. Please read on....
In the words of Glenn Wharten, Texas Inspection Partners: It happens during nearly every inspection. The buyer will ask me if the seller “has to” repair a particular item or they will ask which items they should ask the seller to repair. Repair negotiations are of course, the responsibility of the buyer’s agent. The agent however, is not supposed to be making value judgments in regard to repairs. It therefore falls to the inspector to give every buyer some level of guidance as to how to set priorities among all of the items found.
I first advise buyers that much of the repair negotiation process rests on the seller’s attitude towards the process. If the seller believes he “took a bath” or is financially stressed, he may have little interest in conducting repairs. At the other end of the spectrum is the seller that thinks he did well during initial negotiations or earnestly wants to leave the home in a tidy manner. The normal scenario tends to be somewhere in the middle of these extremes.
To prepare for repair negotiations you need to accept two facts. First, a seller will not repair the entire list. The simple explanation that I use is that you have to accept that there is a normal level of wear and tear on any home. Secondly, the buyer must make a serious decision about what he is unwilling to accept and what he can do himself. Homeownership is a responsibility; it comes with an obligation to conduct upkeep. Items found by the inspector that fall into the normal upkeep category are poor choices for repair negotiations.
Finally, consideration must be given to the buyer’s personal situation. Factor in buyer skill set, the age of the new occupants and any mobility issues with the new occupants. Priorities 1 through 3 (below) can routinely become part of a negotiating process, while 4 normally does not. This is what I give to my buyers:
Priority 1: Safety - Repair any item that can be construed as harmful if not fixed. Opinions on what is a safety issue will vary. Good examples include GFCI repair or the replacement of a copper gas line.
Priority 2: Structure - Repair any item, which causes a weakening of the structure or opens the structure up to environmental damage. Rotted wood, plumbing leaks or ineffective flashing.
Priority 3. Mechanicals - Repair any mechanical or appliance needed for home comfort or functionality. AC or heat, which is not working.
Priority 4. Routine Repairs - Items that are part of a normal maintenance program but need attention now. Caulk repair around windows, trimming vegetation.
In the words of Glenn Wharten, Texas Inspection Partners: It happens during nearly every inspection. The buyer will ask me if the seller “has to” repair a particular item or they will ask which items they should ask the seller to repair. Repair negotiations are of course, the responsibility of the buyer’s agent. The agent however, is not supposed to be making value judgments in regard to repairs. It therefore falls to the inspector to give every buyer some level of guidance as to how to set priorities among all of the items found.
I first advise buyers that much of the repair negotiation process rests on the seller’s attitude towards the process. If the seller believes he “took a bath” or is financially stressed, he may have little interest in conducting repairs. At the other end of the spectrum is the seller that thinks he did well during initial negotiations or earnestly wants to leave the home in a tidy manner. The normal scenario tends to be somewhere in the middle of these extremes.
To prepare for repair negotiations you need to accept two facts. First, a seller will not repair the entire list. The simple explanation that I use is that you have to accept that there is a normal level of wear and tear on any home. Secondly, the buyer must make a serious decision about what he is unwilling to accept and what he can do himself. Homeownership is a responsibility; it comes with an obligation to conduct upkeep. Items found by the inspector that fall into the normal upkeep category are poor choices for repair negotiations.
Finally, consideration must be given to the buyer’s personal situation. Factor in buyer skill set, the age of the new occupants and any mobility issues with the new occupants. Priorities 1 through 3 (below) can routinely become part of a negotiating process, while 4 normally does not. This is what I give to my buyers:
Priority 1: Safety - Repair any item that can be construed as harmful if not fixed. Opinions on what is a safety issue will vary. Good examples include GFCI repair or the replacement of a copper gas line.
Priority 2: Structure - Repair any item, which causes a weakening of the structure or opens the structure up to environmental damage. Rotted wood, plumbing leaks or ineffective flashing.
Priority 3. Mechanicals - Repair any mechanical or appliance needed for home comfort or functionality. AC or heat, which is not working.
Priority 4. Routine Repairs - Items that are part of a normal maintenance program but need attention now. Caulk repair around windows, trimming vegetation.
See who's coming to Dosey Doe's!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - EZRA CHARLES 8:00 PM $40 Dinner
He is firmly rooted in every type of music that ever came out of Texas; Boogie-Woogie, Swing, Rockabilly, and Blues. Famous for his flashy piano antics and girls in the horn section, Ezra spends the evening talking & playing with host Kyle Hutton for this recorded for radio event.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - MARK CHESTNUTT 8:00 PM $70 Dinner
With one of “the” voices in Country music, Mark is the heir apparent to both of
the Georges! Success came early in the ‘90s and continues as he is always on top of the charts & winning awards. Mark spends the evening talking & playing with host Kyle Hutton for this recorded for radio event.
MORE TO COME......
He is firmly rooted in every type of music that ever came out of Texas; Boogie-Woogie, Swing, Rockabilly, and Blues. Famous for his flashy piano antics and girls in the horn section, Ezra spends the evening talking & playing with host Kyle Hutton for this recorded for radio event.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - MARK CHESTNUTT 8:00 PM $70 Dinner
With one of “the” voices in Country music, Mark is the heir apparent to both of
the Georges! Success came early in the ‘90s and continues as he is always on top of the charts & winning awards. Mark spends the evening talking & playing with host Kyle Hutton for this recorded for radio event.
MORE TO COME......
Looking for something FUN to do?
Crú in The Woodlands is featuring live jazz, spectacular wine country cuisine, artisan cheeses, wood-fired pizzas and nightly seasonal Chef Specials. Each night their in-house wine specialist will select and open a rare large format bottle to offer by the glass at exceptional value for your enjoyment.
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