The Iowa Association of REALTORS (IAR) offers an opportunity for agents and brokers from across Iowa to converge in Des Moines each February, to learn about the most important issues affecting Iowa property owners that are facing the current legislative session, and to lobby our legislators to take appropriate action.


I’ve been able to participate in this event three times over the eight years I’ve been in real estate, most recently this week. It always proves to be an extremely positive and educational experience – one I would recommend for anyone involved with an industry or community organization that organizes group lobbying efforts. Several reasons…

1) Staying current on issues that affect your industry, your community, and most importantly, the constituency you serve (in my case, home buyers and sellers) puts you in a position to offer information, guidance, and influence that could ultimately benefit everyone.

2) It’s a wonderful opportunity to network, to learn how other regions are handling issues, to gather new tools and resources, and to make friends across the state.

3) Being witness to the process of state government is a fascinating and empowering experience. Regardless of your feelings on the issues, just to see government at work will help you to appreciate the principles upon which our country was founded.

4) I’ve only visited a small handful of state capital buildings, but the architecture, the design, and the materials that went into the Iowa State Capital are nothing short of extraordinary. If you’ve never been, consider a trip to Des Moines simply for a tour of that building. It is absolutely stunning.

       

The Iowa Association of REALTORS (IAR) has focused their 2012 lobbying efforts on two key issues affecting Iowa property owners:

1) Strengthening the standards under which auctioneers may sell real property, and
2) Advocating for comprehensive property tax reform, rather than a piecemeal approach

Here’s a look at the talking points for each issue:

The 2012 Waterloo-Cedar Falls delegation of real estate agents and brokers was able to connect with State Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, State Rep. Anesa Kajtazovic, D-Waterloo, and Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, and we shared our concerns over these issues, as well as the ever-present conversation about requiring radon testing and mitigation at time of transfer.

Radon testing and mitigation are important, just not upon transfer of a property. If radon is a public health concern, it should be addressed now, by educating and touching everyone possible, and not singling out a sliver of home buyers and sellers. Time of transfer would unfairly burden home sellers with the cost of mitigation at the same time they incur many other costly expenses. In addition, there are multiple classes of sellers that would be exempt from this mitigation requirement – leaving many home buyers in the dark, which completely negates the intent. Renters, and homeowners who stay put in their homes for many years, would also be missed with time of transfer mandates.

Educate yourself about radon – visit http://www.epa.gov/radon. For more information about legislative issues affecting property owners in Iowa, visit http://www.iowapropertyownersalliance.org.

Winter can be a rather quiet time in the real estate market, which provides a great opportunity to get a little spring cleaning out of the way, and in my case, give a facelift to my Oakridge workspace. I now have an improved space to meet with clients and colleagues, and a more inviting environment to work in every day. Now open for business!

BEFORE


AFTER

And kudos to Carl Ericson and Kathy Albert, two fellow Oakridge agents, for helping share our message in the media. Carl was honored to be quoted in the Inman report itself, and Kathy did a great job sharing this report in the local news as the representative of our Board of Realtors. Go Oakies!