TheREALTYgram Blogger

Craigslist Forums And Blog Reach OutTo Match Katrina Victims And Samaritans

Craigslist founder and (Real Estate Blog Squad member) Craig Newmark has his programmers working overtime to provide an online forum to help victims of the Gulf Tragedy. He's posting links for General Help, and he is posting links on city sites in Baton Rouge, Pensacola, New Orleans, Jackson (MS), and a link to the Slidell Hurricane Damage Blog. We'll stay in Craig's tracks and keep you posted.

Dallas Fender Bender ReportOffers Humorous Aside On A Sunday

An operations manager for Jack in the Box was late for a meeting and called his boss to tell him he was running late. As he was leaving the voice mail message, he witnessed an accident and went on to provide "play by play" of the incident. This is the actual voice mail message. It was forwarded so many times within Jack in the Box, it crashed the company's  voice mail server. Turn your sound up. Click here for the scoop. (Thanks to Lynda King of RE/MAX at the Crossing, Indianapolis for sharing this gem on the RealTalk real estate listserv.)

Nationwide Sex Offender Registry

There is a new database that offers a sex offender search of numerous states by offender name or by zip code.

REALTORS® Urged To Rethink And Retool Safety Measures

SELLER SAFETY -- The Inman Brain Trust scores another solid tip with a Blog post urging that REALTORS® institute Open House standards that will preclude buyers from touring a home without a REALTOR® escort: "I think it's time for a change in our industry's standards for respecting the home security of sellers. No hosted tour or escort, no access to the open house." I agree.

BUYER SAFETY -- I would urge ALL real estate offices to enforce a policy that insures that dogs will not have "run of the house" during a showing. Several months ago I sustained two very bad dog bites on my hand and leg. (I'm still unable to peel potatoes, a sorry fate for a middle-age Polish lady.) Believe it or not, there are still offices that tell showing agents: "There is a friendly dog in the house. His name is Boo." I personally showed a house last week with instructions to "use the lockbox, the sellers will not be home". About two minutes into the showing, a very nervous, jittery dog appeared. There was no prior notice about the animal; I have a personal rule not to show houses with unrestrained dogs. We exited the property without incident, but it took almost a week of negotiating  to get back into the house with assurances that the dog would be secure. The listing agency told me that it did not notify agents of the dog since the dog  had such a "nice" reputation. I think that all offices need to consider the issue of canine safety and ultimate legal liability.

Bloggers Call On National Assn. of REALTORS®To Take The Lead In REALTOR® Safety Reform

Brad Inman has an interesting post on his blog that strongly urges all real estate offices to adopt a policy whereby agents must obtain and file copies of valid drivers' licenses of prospective buyers at their offices prior to showing properties. I think that it is a worthwhile safety measure. He additionally asks that  National Assn. of REALTORS® policy makers place the consideration under review. I think that a safety step such as this will be easier to communicate to the general public if all agencies subscribe to the measure similarly.

I would urge state and local associations to review the matter as well. There is no area more acutely aware of the dangers that REALTORS® face than the Lehigh Valley, PA, where a REALTOR® was brutally murdered eight years ago after presumably making an appointment to show a vacant house. The case was never solved. There was a lot of discussion about personal safety that followed the incident, and there were safety tweaks at offices here and there.

NAR issues an "annual safety reminder" to its membership. The industry needs more than that. It is time is to adopt a uniform set of Safety Guidelines that can be applied across the board. It is fundamentally important that consumers see this as a necessary measure and not be shocked when asked to produce valid ID in order to see a house. This type of measure can only work if everyone is on board.

Setting The Record Straight About Radon -- A Matter Of Grave Concern To 30,000 People Each Year

I posted an article about Montana radon mines three weeks ago. The article was a tongue-in-cheek description of abandoned mines that have been converted into "health spas"; visitors pay admission fees to sit and breathe radon filled air. It has been brought to my attention that some readers of that article may consider that it is an endorsement about purported health benefits of radon gas. Nothing could be further from the truth. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. So says the U.S. Surgeon General, the EPA, the American Cancer Society, and esteemed scientists worldwide. What is radon and how does it cause cancer? "Radon is a radioactive gas released from the normal decay of uranium in rocks and soil. It is an invisible, odorless, tasteless gas that seeps up through the ground...Radon decays quickly, giving off tiny radioactive particles. When inhaled, these radioactive particles can damage the cells that line the lung. Long-term exposure to radon can lead to lung cancer, the only cancer proven to be associated with inhaling radon,." according to NCI.

Some years ago when residential radon came on the health radar screens, federal guidelines were developed that recommended residential remediation at levels that were substantially lower than levels that prevailed in Canada and Europe. Critics cried  "foul" and accused the government of pandering to radon remediation companies who were likely to reap more dollars from more stringent guidelines. Time, however, has proven the critics wrong on all counts. Recent studies published in The American Journal of Epidemiology point to higher incidents of lung cancer occurring even in households where the radon levels are at the low end of that scale.

A British report goes even further with the potential for radon risk: "... calculations suggest that the dose to the basal layers of the skin may also be high, with a consequent possible risk of skin cancer. Unless countermeasures are taken, a smaller number of people may also run a significant risk of stomach cancer from radon ingested in drinking water." (UK National Radiological Protection Board, published in Journal of Radiological Protection 2002). Other studies conducted worldwide concur and document similar risks.

We urge you to have your homes tested for radon. We also urge you to stop smoking.  The best way to beat lung cancer is prevention. Don't let it happen to you or your family. Take action now.

State-By-State View Of Sex Offender Notification Laws

Here is an overview of state sex offender notification laws as prepared by the National Assn. of REALTORS®.

PA State Police Expose Sex Offenders

The Pennsylvania State Police Megan's Law Website has been launched to "enhance public safety". Visitors to the site will be able to search registered sex offenders by county, city, zip code, name, and alias. There are corresponding links to History of the Law, Registration Details, Notification, and FAQs.