In fact, I guess the question is how different (or not) the Taos real estate market might be?  Or, are we losing buyers to other ski areas where prices are more attractive?

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We have a small MLS and there isn't a huge amount of competition here, so maybe those are a couple of reasons why listing brokers can continue to provide mediocre services for high dollar commission. In putting up a price change alert today, I noticed a home over $500k that had been reduced three times in price, and it only had three exterior photos. I was really feeling sorry for the seller for paying a high commission for such poor property presentation until I saw that it was owned by the broker...so they're getting what they deserve.

But, this prompted me to take another look at all of the residential listings currently active (873 of them) to see how they fared for images and virtual tours.  Here are some bullet points:

• 303, or 35% had less than the maximum 9 allowed photos of the listed home.
• 90, or 10.3% had 4 or fewer photos.
• 24, or 2.7% had either no photo at all or just one.
• A whopping 749, or 86%,  had no virtual tour link in the listing.

Sorry sellers, but why do you put up with this?  This is especially true in today's technology world when virtual tours are either free or a few bucks each.  And, with digital cameras, why would there not be enough about your home worth taking 9 easy, fast and free pictures?  In that group with zero or only 1 image, almost half were over $300k, with at least one listed at more than $1.2 million.

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In the article "Housing Market: Buyer Really Beware," Time.com states that today's market causes desperate sellers to omit material facts, or even lie, to get their home sold in a buyers' market.  Items mentioned include:

• mold
• incorrect taxes
• lot size mis-stated
• home size mis-stated
• no or under-stated utility bills
• not disclosing pest problems, noise issues, past damage, etc.

The article suggests that the buyer ask to see utility and tax bills, get inspections, etc.  It's interesting to me, as there's no way one of my clients will get close to closing with mis-stated square footage or lot size, or any major problems in the areas discussed in the article.  It's my job as a buyer broker to get this information and all disclosures to them as quickly as possible.  And, by the way, in our long days on market, a disclosure a year old isn't going to cut it.  I'll want a new one.

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I recently switched to buyer brokerage, meaning that I no longer take listings.  But, I wanted to clarify that I'm also still doing real estate consulting.  This has allowed me to help FSBO (For Sale By Owner) sellers in the past to get the deal from contract through closing when they do find their own buyer.   Please call me if you're about to sell your property to a family member or a buyer you've located yourself.  I'll do the transaction work on a consulting basis.

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You'll be returned to the home page when you submit the form, and receive one confirmation email.  I don't do mass emails or share email addresses.

Web Form
First Name   :
Last Name   :
Email   :
Bedrooms Min   :	-None- 1 2 3 4 5 6
Baths Min   :	-None- 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Drive Time Max   :	-None- Any 5 minutes 15 minutes 20 minutes 30 minutes 1 hour
Property Type(s) Use <ctrl> for multiples  :	Condo Sgl Fam Home Home or Condo Vacant Land
Lot/Land Size   :	-None- Any Less than 1 acre 1-2 Acres 2-5 Acres 5-10 Acres 10+ Acres
Land Cover Use <ctrl> for multiples  :	Any Sagebrush Pinon/Juniper Trees
Other Comments   :
Garage   :	Not Necessary Preferred Carport OK 1+ 2+ 3+ More
Highest Land Price   :
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I recently announced that Gallery Realty of Taos is now a buyer only brokerage in the Taos real estate market.  I'm no longer taking listings, just representing buyers exclusively.  I gave my reasons, mostly related to my perception of offering greater value to buyers, as well as the ethical component of not ending up representing both sides of a transaction.

I want to announce one more thing.  Because I'm not taking listings, if you're about to list a property, or even have one listed now, I offer a free and unbiased opinion as to your property's saleability in the current market.  I say unbiased, though I will be representing buyers who may consider it for purchase.  But, I won't be telling you anything that could lose me the listing either.

My opinion will come from the buyers' side, with straight talk and information as to how I would comment on it to a prospective buyer client.  You don't have to agree, but it could give you a different perspective to help you to evaluate the listing price and other information being provided by potential listing brokers.

My goal is not to criticize other brokers, nor to convince you to proceed in a different approach or pricing model than they are recommending.  If you had a surgeon recommending radical surgery, you might very well get a second opinion.  And, you would try to get it from an unbiased third party.  That's the service I'd like to provide.

I want to help sellers to predict the attitude of buyers who will be considering their home or land for purchase.  I won't pull punches, nor will I varnish over the plain truth as I see it.  I may not always be on the mark, but I'll certainly not be coming from a competitive approach to list your property.

Call me at 866-289-8267.

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Taos Real Estate

Really, this is good advice for any market, not just in Taos real estate shopping.  Realtor.com ran a short post about what to look for in shopping for condos.  The gist of the article is to carefully examine the condominium association documents, budgets and other financial information.  Just because a condo project looks healthy and well-occupied doesn't mean that this is the case.

With a single family home, you're pretty much in control of a lot of things that you can't control in a condo project.  With the pooled fees, maintenance and improvements are dependent on a properly structured budget, and condo owners that are paying their dues on time and in full.  Too many in arrears, and critical functions can be threatened...that is unless and until other owners have to increase their dues to make up the difference.

In today's more restrictive lending environment, lenders scrutinize condo projects carefully, as they lose some control as well.  They are denying loans if too many units are owned by one entity, or if more than 15% or so of owners are behind in their payments.  As a buyer broker, I don't just deliver condo docs and wait to see if you object to any of the items in them.  If you thoroughly understand them and don't need my help, great.  But, I want my clients to know that I'm ready to go over every document, and ferret out other information if necessary to make sure that the project's finances are in good order.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Condos to be auctioned at steep discounts (seattlepi.com)
• City Room: Condo and Park Projects Feel the Pinch in Greenpoint (cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com)

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Even more of a possible conflict of interest is present when the agent you're working with as a buyer is negotiating on your behalf to purchase their own listing. New Mexico law requires that they provide disclosures to both you, the buyer, and their seller that they're working now only as a "middleman," or a transaction facilitator. In other words, they now don't aggressively represent either you as a buyer, or their seller. They merely take care of the details, move the paperwork, and try to stay neutral as far as influence and strategic help in the negotiation.

This is in itself a problem, even if they manage to stay neutral and as fair as possible to both sides. Neither side is then receiving the representation they really need, with no aggressive investigation of true value for the buyer, or hard bargaining for the seller. Even more of a possible perceived conflict of interest is the double commission situation. It's really heavy pressure to keep a deal on track, with neither buyer nor seller encouraged to take tough negotiation positions for fear of losing the deal entirely.

It's been rough going in the Taos real estate market for a year or so. However, the last normal year I had, I advised two out of three of my buyers to leave deals due to unfavorable terms, pricing, or property situations with easements or septic issues. Some ended up buying other properties, and others decided to buy in Santa Fe and other areas. It was lost income to me, but they appreciated the help in avoiding situations they could have regretted later.

Now, as a buyer brokerage, Gallery Realty of Taos has no listings, and thus can never be in a situation that creates any possible perception of a conflict of interest in representing both sides in a deal. I'm free to be a buyer advocate in the very best way.

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Of course, this leaves the buyer in a precarious position, as they are really not represented at all, and the agent showing them properties is required to try and help the seller get the highest possible price for their property. For this reason, most states have done away with sub-agency. In New Mexico, I do receive a split of the commission offered by the seller through their listing broker. However, I owe no allegiance or fiduciary responsibility to the seller. I am working solely in the best interests of my buyer.

As the Internet has brought about change in the way real estate is marketed, buyer agency has become more necessary in my opinion. There are so many websites out there that display listings. The information they display can come from many sources, taxing government records, or even from for sale by owner information entered by the seller. A few, like Realtor.com, actually display listing information directly from local MLS's (Multiple Listing Services). However many, such as Trulia.com and Zillow.com, get their information from a variety of sourcs.

The accuracy of listing information found on the Internet varies from the best (from regulated MLS's) to the worst, entered directly by sellers or from out of date tax records. I believe that, as a buyer broker, a large part of the value I provide to a buyer customer/client is my understanding of the local market and my knowledge of which of the online resources you can trust, and which you cannot. I also find that Taos real estate has some very unique characteristics in the areas of easements, septic systems, and topology. Helping my buyers to avoid problems, make their best deal, and buy with confidence in their resale prospects is very important to me.

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Buyer brokerage, if done properly, does not allow the taking of listings. The fact that you could be showing your buyer one of your brokerage's listings is viewed by some as a possible conflict of interest. I agree, as the fact that commission income would be doubled could very easily influence the actions and decisions of a broker.

I want my buyer customers to know that I'm working completely in their best interests, as I will never be taking them to my listings. I also want to let all buyers know that I work for the stated shared commission in the MLS, and that any bonuses offered by the seller will be rebated to my buyers. I want not even a hint of the perception that I may be showing a certain property before or instead of others due to a bonus offered.

Gallery Realty of Taos, the new Buyer Brokerage in Taos, NM.

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