Gratitudes

 My gratitude list for this week includes the following: 

1. I am not a landlord at this point in my life. If you want to know why, hit me up and I will give you eight years' worth of reading material, coupled with a lecture about how lenient judges are about tenants during a Covid pandemic. 

2. Marty didn't get the layoff notice this week. Of course, we play this layoff game once again in a few weeks. But it is nice to have a slight reprieve for now. 

Market Data

Bliz came to town. So, we went on a girl's trip last weekend where we talked about the same thing we discussed when we were 16. We probably drank the same things then too. However, this time it came with matching pajamas, an Air BNB and about three hundred howling coyotes surrounding us as we walked in the desert one morning. I don't recommend that last one. 

But you don't come to this site to see grown women in matching jammies. So, here's the latest: 

There are 3.39 buyers for every home for sale. Last year there was 2.19 buyers per home. We thought that was an incredible seller's market back then. I am told the trend is "leveling out," but please keep in mind, it took a year to get this high, we (probably) aren't going to get into a buyer's market overnight.

In yesterday's real estate market presentation we were told that we will see prices falling when we have 57,000 new and VACANT homes active on the market. Given we have about 5,000 right now and most of them are occupied, I am thinking we've got a way to go. So, don't expect a crash any time soon--though if a giant wave of zombies attack, who knows? And before you scoff: we are in the midst of a pandemic and two hurricanes hit the exact spot in less than a week, plus the aforementioned coyotes. So, be careful folks.  

Over It

One of my dearest and favorite people told me last time I saw her that she was practicing stoicism. It really works for her personality too. I dearly miss this friend and just writing about her makes me want to go breath in her space just to see her smile and hear her voice. 

Stupid pandemic. 

Anyway, as a type A-cubed personality, stoicism probably isn't in the cards. But I am practicing my own level of, "I'm over it." Marty's latest layoff announcement comes out tomorrow. And, I'm over it. There is no anxiety. There is no drama. Either he is on this list or he isn't. And you know what? I (currently) do not care. I've survived much worse financially. I won't starve--and let's face it, skipping a meal or two won't impact my life that much. I can go back into the work force if necessary. I know there are call centers that would hire me. Hopefully.

Meanwhile, my anxiety level is gone and I am happier. Will Marty being unemployed come with challenges? Yep. Will we get through them? Yep. And no amount of elevated blood pressure and imaginary scary scenarios will change anything. I might learn to embrace this new zen normal. Maybe. 

The Other Grievance Committee Meeting

So we had a second grievance committee meeting this month. We only reviewed two cases.  

The first one was a selling agent who was mad that the buyer cancelled the purchase contract when they found out there was a roof problem with the house. Though I didn't look up the property, given the current market conditions, I am pretty sure that house sold for full price to the next buyer that came along. I described the situation to the grievance committee as a contract issue, not an ethics issue. They agreed. We dismissed. 

The other case was even stupider. Joe put in a rental application. He lied on the application and said he made a pretty significant income. He didn't. In fact, he made a verifiable no income and didn't even pretend he was living off savings, investments, trust fund, or lottery winnings. Essentially he had no way to pay the rent. His application was denied by the landlord. Again, I didn't look up the property in question, but I'd be willing to bet the owner didn't want him and had lots of applicants to chose from. 

Here's what the case was about. The tenant's agent (who would have made about $75 total for this transaction if his fabulous client was picked by the landlord) was mad at the leasing agent (who works for the landlord and has no decision making authority whatsoever) for not approving Joe. So what did the agent do? He blasted her with lots of unkind and ugly comments. I read the entire e-mail thread and he couldn't have been more nasty if he tried. And I guarantee, he tried. 

By the way, the agent admitted his client lied but that shouldn't matter. He said Joe's misrepresentation of the truth wasn't a "big deal," and people do it "all the time." As a former landlord, that hurt my head. But I digress. 

To the leasing agent's credit, her replies were professional and short. She was the one who filed the complaint against this dude, but there really is nothing in the Realtor Code of Ethics that says someone can't be rude and nasty when their lying client doesn't get a rental house. We dismissed this case too. 

In Other Ill-Timed News

Marty told me yesterday morning that, out of the blue, his company has decided to do more rounds of layoffs. He will find out what our current future employment looks like by the end of the month. And then the end of the next month. And then the month after that--if there is, indeed another "month after that."  

I think Marty's boss said it best when stated he was sure everyone's spouses must be tired of this drama. 

Maybe I shouldn't have been so frustrated about him putting in an out-of-state application last week. 

Maybe I shouldn't have decided to buy new flooring for my home, either. 

I am Currently Reading Two Books

 So it appears in Marcopa and Pinal County combined there are 5,232 homes for sale. To be fair, there are 1,947 "average priced homes," of which, the first 16 on the list are in Coolidge, Superior, Maricopa, Eloy and Arizona City. The first one on the list in Maricopa County is a 600 square foot one bedroom, one bath in Tempe. 

The cheapest of these 5,232 homes is a one bed, one bath gem located in Eloy Arizona. For $29,000 and the chance to live in Eloy, this gem could be yours. 

The most expensive on the MLS right now is this eight bedroom, 10 bath in Scottsdale that has been on the market for 434 days. It can be yours for $32,000,000. 

Only the Universe is Laughing

Early last week, while Polly and I were out running errands, and in an unassuming bliss, Marty sent me a job requisite with a note that said, "this job looks cool." 

Sigh... Of course it did. 

And of course, it is out of state. But hey! At least it isn't in Florida! By the way, I haven't looked up anything about the community, other than the general price of homes for sale and rent. And even that took less than 2 minutes to satisfy my curiosity. 

The first job interview was yesterday. 

I don't know if the interviews will amount to anything. But I have to say, I thought we had put a bit of a hold on this phase of our lives--at least for a little while longer. But then again, Marty looking at out of state jobs seems like a cosmic joke at this point. 

Incidentally, because I am at home with three other cooped up people, and two of them are young adults, I dusted off the ole' resume and applied for a few local jobs. I doubt anything will come of my whim, especially if Marty manages to charm a few HR folks in other states. But it was nice to just be able to see I might be qualified for something other than working in a call center. 

This Week's Data

Today's MLS count: 4,641 single family homes (3 or more bedrooms) for sale in Marciopa County. (Add Pinal County and you will have a total of 4,641). 

According to that bastion of truth, the Internet, there are 41,000 people who live in my zip code. There are only 25 homes for sale. There are also four properties for rent, of which, three are actually houses. Of those three houses, one is for rent for $6,500 a month. 

By the way, what is considered a "normal" market in the United State's 5th largest city? 35,000 to 40,000 homes for sale. 

Anyway, I'm still not working. 

Grievance Case Part 2

Here's another interesting case we had this week.

So, Jill was buying a house. Jack was her agent. 

Jill was buying the house from Wilma. Wilma owned the house, in fact, it was a flipped property. Wilma was also the selling agent. 

Wilma said in her advertising the AC was two years old. Wilma also said in her disclosure statement she was "told" the AC was two years old. 

Jill did not get a home inspection. Instead Jack provided her (given to him from Wilma) an old property inspection that had been done weeks earlier. In it, it said the AC is not two years old but probably towards the end of its useful life. Apparently Jill did not read this report. By the way, the AC went out a week after Jill moved in. 

Jill was accusing Wilma of false advertising. 

And here is where it got dicey. As agents (we are all agents on the Grievance Committee) we saw that Jack was a horrible agent and did not advise his client to get a home inspection or a educate his client of a few other necessary tid-bits that would have let Jill make an informed purchase decision. Also, it appeared that Jill didn't actually read the former home inspection. Jack really needed to have his butt handed to him for not doing his job. 

However, Jill filed an ethics breach on Wilma. 

The committee agreed Wilma had falsely advertising the AC unit was newer than it is. The case needed to go to the High Inquisitor Squad. If I were Wilma, I would probably argue that Jack didn't do his job and educate his client. Jill didn't read the material handed to her by Jill's agent nor did she read the actual purchase contract that says the buyer needs to do her own due diligence. I'm not saying Wilma is innocent, I just think the bigger transgression is Jack's failure to make sure his client was educated and protected. But, according to Jill, Jack is a rock star (incidentally, this member of the committee did not agree with Jill about Jack's rock star status.). 

Oh yes, the committee also decided Wilma's broker, was on the hook for this too and Mr. Broker now has an ethics complaint on behalf of Wilma. I am sure he will be thrilled. In real estate terms, the broker actually owns the listing so if the agent (Wilma) advertises something incorrectly it is on him as well. Though this paragraph is short, I promise you the debate that ensued to get to this point, was not.

I am sorry I won't see how this one turns out. But, I may look up Wilma a few weeks from now and see if she is practicing real estate somewhere else.  

Grievance Cases part 1

There is so much joy in the world of realtor code of ethics these days, that our committee is meeting twice a month. That is a big change from every other month. So, either there is more agents breaching their duties or there are more agents who have the free time to turn in their colleagues. 

The role of the grievance committee is to evaluate the evidence in front of us and decide whether or not there is a potential violation. If we believe there is--based on only the evidence in front of us (did I mention that?)--then we can recommend the Grand Inquisitor Squad try the case. At that point, the harmed party and the person making the complaint get to meet up and fight out their positions. As members of the Grievance Committee, we don't know how the cases turn out, which is really too bad. The Grand Inquisitor Squad, if a violation has been proven to be committed, then can censure the offending agents or suggest extra classes, levy a fine or even do something to make the agent's license disappear. 

The other bonus for the Grievance Committee is we can once in a while--and of course if appropriate--hand down financial citations against an agent. We had a couple cases this week that went this direction. 

In one of these cases, the agent in question was accused of something. In my opinion, had he just shut up and let the Grievance Committee do our job, we probably would have dismissed the case. I personally don't think there was enough evidence. 

But no, it wasn't just that there was a code of ethics breach, it was that his ego was offended. So, he wrote a rebuttal letter to the parties who accused him of an ethics breach. A three-page, single spaced nasty letter. In it, he admitted to what he did (and now there was enough evidence!). He defended his position. Then he spent the next two pages attacking and accusing the persons who filed the claim. Yep, he put it in writing. 

In his letter, he said that he made a lot of money and that's why he was justified in violating his duties to the public (hence, the ethics breach). He also promised the persons who filed the claim will (WILL!) see jail time for their, "defamation of his character." Two sentences in and I wasn't sure there was anything anyone else needed to do. He was defaming his character enough on his own. Plus, I would need to check with my favorite attorney, but I am pretty sure there is no jail time punishment for a civil character defamation lawsuit. 

Additionally, and I think everyone kind of felt sick here, he personally threatened the agents who filed the ethics claim, and I hope they get a restraining order. Anyway, some of what he said in his letter caused us Grievance Committee folks to decide a citation was a reasonable course of action. Unfortunately, there is no code of ethics breach or citation possible for being a pluperfect asshat, but there are times like this when I wish there were. We also agreed, because he willfully admitted he breached the Code of Ethics (though he felt completely justified), he needed to go to the High Inquisitor Squad. Hopefully they will rule in such a way to take his ego down a notch or two.  

 

Baseball and Babysitting

Still no more reading. I've had my 7 year old nephew all week. And probably next week too. This distraction is a good thing! Because: 

1) the Diamondbacks are losing a lot, and  

2) there are only 5,183 single family homes for sale between Black Canyon City and Eloy and between Tonopah and Superior. 

If you are considering a condo or town house, that brings the total inventory to 6,928. 

Peer Review

For some reason, real estate agents are forgetting their commitment to the Code of Ethics lately. I know this because there are nine cases in front of the grievance committee this month. I am peer reviewing one of them. It is 75 pages long. Nope, that's not a typo. I wasn't given this case because I am special. I was given this case because my name was randomly selected. In other words, just my luck. 

The actual buyer is a young 20-something who has put a lot of drama into her narrative. The girl states everything made her "distraught" and she did a lot of crying. And oh yes, her stomach hurt. Yep, that's part of her complaint. 

The case is interesting on a few levels, and I may write about it more, once we meet because I am curious how the committee is going to tackle some of these (legitimate) issues she is mentioning. In any case, may I just offer this pro tip: If you have a grievance with any member of the Arizona Realtor community and file a complaint, please don't make it 75 pages and in your narrative, stick with the facts. Telling random strangers you are crying and feeling "stressed-out" isn't relevant. 

Later: it should be noted, I have now read through every single case. I won the lottery when it comes to cases. I much prefer the stressed out buyer than anything else I read. More blogs later, I am sure. 

New Lows

There are currently exactly 86 three or more bedroom homes for sale under $200,000 in Pinal and Maricopa counties. Before you decide you want to go house-hunting, please be prepared to live in Wickenberg, Witman, Gila Bend, Florence or Casa Grande. 

There were a couple in the Phoenix metro area. They either had tenants in place, were being sold as a "bundle" (that is, the owner was selling a few and whomever was buying would be expected to purchase all of them). Or, they were as we euphemistically say in in the biz, "handyman special."  

Lest you think I'm making this up. Here is the (abbreviated) description from a $180,000 listing in the Phoenix area: "Buyer backed out by playing games. This South Mountain area gem with 11 bedrooms. No front yard landscaping to maintain, plenty of parking available & the sky is the limit. You can move in & start figuring out how you can use the extra rooms to offset your mtg payment. Close to Phoenix Sky Harbor, I-10 & I-17, minutes to Downtown Phoenix" 

And here are the pictures of this "gem":