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Show “ THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS February The OGDEN VALLEY Volume XIII Issue [IX 15, 2006 Letters to the Editor NEWS Staff: Shanna Francis -2688 E-Mail: slfrancis@att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 745-2879 745-2879 erwendell@att.net crwendell@msn.com Opinions expressed by advertisers, columnists or letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of the owners and staff of The OGDEN VALLEY NEws. Guidelines for Letters to the Editor Letters should be 300 words or less. Letters must be signed and the address of the writer submitted. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS reserves the right to edit or decline printing of any submissions. Announcements Sought As a community service, The OGDEN VALLEY NEws will print local birth, wedding, residents to send their announcements to: The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS PO BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 If you would like your submitted items returned, please send a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. The OGDEN VALLEY News, while respecting all property received, will take no responsibility for lost or misplaced items. Please remember to keep a copy for yourself. Invitation for Articles The staff of The OGDEN VALLEY NEws welcomes the submission of articles by our readership. We invite you to submit local historical t i hies, articles pertaining to contemporary issues, and/or other material that may be of interest to our readers. We also invite you to submit to the paper, or notify the staff of local events. Awards that have been earned by the reader, family members, neighbors or friends are also sought. While the staff of The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS invites the submittal of information and articles, we reserve the right to select which material will be considered for publication. All material, to be considered, must be submitted with Realtors’ Actions Governed by Code of Ethics I feel it is important that I respond to the recent article that was printed in your February 1, 2006 edition of the paper that was titled “Speculation (Realty) or Reality?” and written by Martha D. Schickedanz with Bott and Sold Real Estate. First, | must state, | am a realtor and my pay and I own a home ag in the Valley. , like so many others here, see a beautiful ee and a wonderful consenntiy to call home. I feel that it is important to clarify some statements wr itten in this article. it was stated “that there must be something in the water, specific to that being pumped into local Real Estate Offices; something that promotes wild & crazy, and greedy pricing of property.” Another statement says, “What I have witnessed over the last eight conti is ugly.” “Valuations have been put property overnight that are not justified.” It was also stated in the article, “I, for one, will continue to tell people the truth. To let them know what property is actually worth and 2 the short and long term reality i is.” rst, one must understand that price is solely determined by what the market will bear. In other words, what a buyer is willing to pay for a piece of land or home actually determines the value. In this process, one will find there are at least three factors considered. First, a realtor will use market indicators to assist the seller in making a determination of what current market value is on the property of interest. Seller then decides what to list property at with, or without, the advice ofa realtor. Second, there needs to be a willing buyer ‘0 pay said price and a third party appraiser to confirm that the property is valued, at least, at the amount that is being financed through a lending institution. Note, ifit doesn’t appraise, the burden falls on the buyer to decide whether or not to continue with the purchase of the home or property—not the realtor. Inspirational Thought “Every day I would appreciate the miracle of life that God gives to each of us; I would show greater love to my family and friends, and never again would I take for granted the wonderful, ev eryday things of life.” simple, Our Utah Real Estate Purchase Contracts have a condition that allows the buyer, if he/she chooses, to withdraw their obligation to purchase the property should the property appraise for less than the purchase price. It is the buyer’s final decision to pay for the property at the agreed price. I have witnessed, on many occasions, buyers being advised by their realtor that the property in question does not appraise or show a current market value for what the buyer wishes to purchase the property for. On many of these occasions if the buyer still wishes to purchase the property, they will use cash, or pay the difference from the appraised value in cash. I have also seen, on occasion, that if the demand is high and the supply is limited, the buyer come in with a es price that is more than the listing pric Personally, I have not witnessed anything “ugly over the last eight months about these The buyer simply wants to purchase the property. Too many times in our business I have heard statements that blame real estate agents or realtors for what others believe to be unrealistic prices in the market. I have been a realtor in Texas and now Utah. The Valley, in my opinion, is simply catching up in price to similar resort areas elsewhere. In my opinion, we still have a way to go. I have been very fortunate to get to know many of the realtors in this Valley. I believe that they serve the best interests of their clients, and all these transactions are being handled in an ethical way. As realtors, we have a duty to report activities to our local board should we feel things are not being handled appropriately. Our board does respond quickly and appropriately as these infractions occur. I respect the author’s opinions related to curiosity about who our future neighbors could be, and I would have enjoyed reading an article discussing this specifically. I too see buyers that are coming in and buying property and reselling after a time period for a profit. I do not see this type of activity as greed, but as a good investment. Regardless of the real estate profession, these types of purchases will happen. Therefore, to insinuate that local real estate offices are somehow behind the wild, crazy, and greedy pricing of property is unfair. The truth of the matter is, one cannot simply determine what the short and long term reality is. One may only spec- ulate in these situations. If you are a buyer and/or seller and do not feel your best interest is being served by your realtor, it is recommended you contact our local state board, and/or the Division of Real Estate. If you are a realtor and feel a fellow member is not abiding by our code of ethics, it is my recommendation that you go and speak to our local board and file a formal complaint. To see our code of ethics, one may go to <www.REALTOR.org> In addition, when choosing a real estate professional, | recommend that you verify that you are working with a REALTOR®. You may do this by going to <http://www.webernorthdavisrealtors.com/> The term REALTOR® isa registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a mere of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION TORS® and subscribes to its strict code of ethics. Jolene Weinstein, REALTOR® + [Spanish Language Center Now Open & Enrolling Students! All Levels of Instruction Available Increase your career opportunities by learning to Write, Understand, & Speak Spanish Fluently! Or give your child the gift of a Second Language Call 745-2580 = Recreation and xt Specialist FOR SALE BY OWNER $395,000 ber of the person submitting the material. 801-710-9460 The OGDEN VALLEY NEws’ liability on account of errors in, or omissions of, advertising shall in no event exceed the amount of charges for the advertising omitted or the space occupied by the error. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS does moe endorse) promote or sale of any product or service advertised i in this newspaper. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The OGDEN ‘ALLEY NEws hereby disclaims all liabilpee for any damage ates as the result of e Open VALLEY NEWSi is not responsible for any claims or tisements in this newspaper. 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Note: The contents of The OGDEN VALLEY ful copying, written permission is required before any individual or company engages in the reproduction or distribution of its contents, by any means, without first obtaining written permission from the owners of this publication. Deadline for material for the March I issue of the OVN is February 20. Misty Samuels 801.710.3637 / www.mistymountainproperty.com / ReMax Community-Valley |