Notes From Readers: Powerful Tool

This is a thank you to all of you. I love the Web site, REALTOR® Magazine Online. You have just given my business a very powerful tool! I just had to say thank you.
—Susan Short, John L. Scott Real Estate,  Orting, Wash.

Don’t Risk Your Life on a Chore

I appreciated the article on hazards at home (“Home Sweet Hazards,” Nov./Dec. 2011, p. 48). But I must add my own: Never, never, climb a ladder without having someone on the ground watching you. My brother died when his foot slipped and he fell backward and cracked his skull. He was kept on life support until his organs could be harvested. So he does live on in other people’s bodies and in my heart. I have preached this safety issue ever since, but just last week a friend decided to clean out her gutters herself and slipped on the wet ladder. She survived, but she suffered severe bruising and a damaged rotator cuff. The best rule, as far as I’m concerned, is to hire a professional to do the work, and remember that no chore is worth risking your life.
—Nancy Battles, GRI, Prestige Realty, Phoenix

Help for Relocating Seniors

Your editor’s column (“More Than Just a House,” Nov./Dec. 2011, p. 8) was very timely. Many of us gathered with our senior relatives over the holidays. This offered us the perfect time for a dialogue concerning independent living and whether those relatives should leave their long-time home. In addition to the Senior Real Estate Specialist designation, there is a wonderful organization called the National Association of Senior Move Managers. A senior move manager in Florida can help pack up a client and assist a real estate agent and moving company. I can coordinate the unpacking and resettling in Massachusetts. We are bonded and insured and adhere to the strictest standard of ethics. We can act as mediators and alleviate much of the stress of both sides of the move. To have parents walk into their new residence and have it completely move-in ready is a wonderful scenario for all involved.
—Candace B. Bauer, GRI, SRES, Realtyology Inc. & McDonald Real Estate, Leominster, Mass.

Representing Everyone

In response to the letter written by Mike Ramos with Coldwell Banker Select Real Estate of Reno, Nev. (“Absence of Minorities,” Oct. 2011, p. 8), I wonder whether one need be a person of color to “embrace minority communities and help them achieve the American dream of home ownership?” In his letter, Ramos poses the question that a number of minority groups may echo: “Who in this group [of NAR leaders] is representative of me?” My answer must be, “All of these board members represent you.” I think I can safely say that it is the moral, legal, and ethical responsibility of every member of that board, as well as the rest of us, to represent every client or customer who comes through the door, regardless of minority status. As a broker-agent, I represent anyone that comes through the door to the best of my ability, regardless of their minority or protected status. I don’t see African Americans, Hispanic Americans, or Native Americans. I see only Americans!
—Michael L. Gilliland Sr., ABR, GRI, Crye-Leike Inc., Realtors®, Dickson, Tenn.

Less Government, Not More

I was very upset to learn that Congress recently approved new higher loan limits for federally backed loans with the enthusiastic support of NAR. Our industry is increasingly reliant on the largesse of government that long ago ceased to be able to afford its profligate ways. It is almost impossible to get a mortgage without the involvement of the federal government. Why should our government be insuring mortgages at all, let alone those at the $700,000–plus level? At what point do we stand on our own as an industry? We’re loaded with smart people; we could be boldly promoting simplified tax codes that eliminate the need for the mortgage interest deduction instead of fighting like rabid dogs to preserve it. 
—John G. Hauck, Cannon Country Real Estate LLC, Blairstown, N.J.

Editor’s Note: “Restoring the loan limits is critically important to stabilizing housing” and will benefit both the FHA insurance fund and the taxpayer, NAR policy analysts said in a myths & facts document released in November. Want to learn more? Access the document at REALTOR.org.
 

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Note: Letters and blog posts are edited for space and clarity. Publication of a letter doesn’t constitute an en­dorsement of the writer’s views by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® or ­REALTOR® Magazine. Submission of a letter constitutes permission to publish it in any form or medium.