As a REALTOR® many think that my only job is to help someone buy or sell a house, but we do much more. As I began my crazy day today, I thought I would give everyone a quick glimpse into what all a REALTOR® does which is beyond just helping someone buy or sell a home. This is all what happened this morning by 9:30 AM.
I started my morning today by discussing with someone how we are active in our community helping preserve the right to home ownership with both local and state governments to make sure your rights to own a home stays affordable and safe. For example, over the past few months we have lobbied with local government in Horry County to not pass any sort of impact fees on property.
The government thought that by adding some sort of impact fee onto the purchase or sale of property it would help to stimulate economy and increase revenues to fund other items in the county. While yes, it would increase the amount of money the county has, the fees that it would impose would make it virtually impossible for many consumers to purchase or sell their homes as the fees could be several thousands of dollars. I shared this on my first call of the morning while speaking with a buyer client.
As I hung up my phone, I was greeted by an email from our state director on government affairs, Lindsay Jackson on another issue we are currently battling here in South Carolina. This issue is SC Bill 3886 which is a bill regarding Homeowners Association Legislation. Here are the main points of the bill.
- Clarity on disclosure of governing documents ensuring the seller must disclose documents to potential buyers.
- Clarity on the obligations of the HOA confirming that the HOA will provide printed copies of the documents for actual cost and electronic copies at no charge.
- 48-hour notice to homeowners from the HOA before taking any action to add or increase fees.
- Creating of an online training course for HOA board members at no cost to the consumer.
- Allow magistrate courts to have concurrent civil jurisdiction over certain disputes between associations and homeowners.
- Create a Homeowners Association Ombudsman within the Department of Consumer Affairs to assist in dispute resolution and helping homeowners understand their rights and responsibilities.
If you would like to read the entire bill in detail, I’ve uploaded a copy SC Bill 3886 here. Also, I’ve attached a screenshot of my letter to my local state representative that was submitted digitally to her this morning below.
The original laws were put into place back in 1976 and have many amendments over the years. The one area though that has not had a lot of changes over the years is the governing of Homeowners Associations. They have been able to raise fees as they wish, make changes, and do as they wish without really any type of regulation. This new law would help to change that and add a very much needed level of governance to help protect homeowner rights. You can send a letter to SC representatives here.
As you can see, the job of a REALTOR® is more than just selling a home I also like making sure the rights of homeownership are protected and safe for generations to come. Feel free to reach out to me if you would like to learn more about homeownership in Myrtle Beach or more about this upcoming bill.
With my history, I had the opportunity to go work at any company I’d like along the beach. I went and interviewed with several of the top brokerages in town and met with their leadership to see which seemed to be the best fit. I ended up picking the #1 RE/MAX in the area, but the reasons why might surprise you. It wasn’t because of the awesome compensation plans that they offered. If that was the only reason, I would have ended up at a brokerage that was offering me ownership in the company to come work there.
As a whole, RE/MAX is a big donor to the Children’s Miracle Network. Since 1992 RE/MAX has donated more than 140 Million to Children’s Miracle Network. Our office alone donated over $20,000 to CMN in 2015 alone. Every agent in the company donates a portion of each sale to the program. This past month we did a quick fundraiser where I cooked up some BBQ to help raise money. We were able to make close to $400 in one lunch that day just making BBQ plates. It was so successful that we will be doing this again in a few weeks in our Garden City office and then in North Myrtle Beach some time in June. Our company is constantly looking for ways to be involved in the community and ways to give back. In fact, they just recently hired a new position to help us become even more involved in our area.
