Governor Granholm's Plan:
Sales Tax Burden on the Real Estate Industry

Facing an $800 million budget deficit, Governor Granholm announced her tax plan for the state as part of her budget and economic plan for the 2007 and 2008 fiscal years. It was recently confirmed that a 2% sales tax on various services is the main focus of her tax proposal, which includes a sales tax on real estate commissions. The plan was released last Thursday during the presentation of the state's budget. The complete list includes a number of other real estate fees as well and also includes most services one would use in either building a new home or improving the existing home. The exact details of the plan remain hazy; however appraiser fees will more than likely be lumped into this unfair tax system as well. As an association, it is highly critical that we band together to oppose this tax burden. While figures may be "tweaked" in the coming weeks as debate on the proposal begins, MAR leadership is concerned. Bill Martin, CEO of the Michigan Association of REALTORS®, stated, “There is a very negative implication for the real estate market and for our members in particular.”

The Michigan Association of REALTORS® remains strongly opposed to any sales tax on services and its devastating consequences on our industry. The MAR Board of Directors will discuss our immediate response at its regularly scheduled meeting this week. Currently, there is no legislation introduced, so while it is imperative we craft a clear, unified message immediately, a specific call to action strategy is not being pursued at this time. In the meantime, we will look to you to join us in continuing to communicate with legislative officials about our opposition to including real estate fees in any proposed solution for the state's fiscal woes. We will keep you posted of any further updates as they arise.

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Traditional Real Estate Appraisals: Copyrightable?

An interesting article recently appeared in the Washington Post regarding divergent appraisal industry philosophies and practices. The controversy centers on the growing practice where online appraisal services may be extracting key appraisal information by purchase from electronic real property data companies. This information is gleaned from traditional appraisal services where an onsite inspection is actually conducted. However, after the information is bought and sold, the online appraisal services input and accumulate this information for use in their own databases and, through a formula, generate an appraisal for lenders at a discounted rate.

Understandably, traditional appraisers contend that the quality work that they put in to create the appraisal is being illegally exploited. As a result, the online appraisal services and data companies have drawn fire from intellectual property lawyers and the traditional appraisers for illegally violating copyrighted material. This argument delves into the always ambiguous and heavily litigated territory regarding what constitutes a fact or statistic – which cannot be traditionally copyrighted; and what constitutes a report comprised of carefully ordered statistics and facts – which may be copyrighted.

Read the article here

Additionally, find the following link for additional commentary and opinion on the current controversy and the ways to restrict the exploitation of appraisals that you may generate.

www.concurringopinions.com

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National Appraiser Expert Confirmed for 2007 Annual Convention & Expo

Mark your calendars for Sept 26 - 28! MiCREA is putting together a great appraiser education line-up designed to provide you with CE approved courses in a dynamic convention environment. Craig Harrington, national appraisal speaker, has been confirmed for a debut convention appearance. Look for more details and a registration form in June...

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Real Estate Appraisal From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Wikipedia is a new paradigm in human discourse. It's a place where anyone with a browser can go, pick a subject that interests them, and without even logging in, edit or add an article. It has been questioned for reliability and accuracy and criticized for its susceptibility to uneven quality and inconsistencies. Despite these questions however, Wikipedia has emerged as one of the most powerful instruments for opening knowledge that the Internet has yet produced. Click here to find out how one of the twelve most visited web sites worldwide defines an appraisal.

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MiCREA Monthly
February 2007

• Governor Granholm's Plan

• Traditional Real Estate Appraisals: Copyrightable?

• National Appraisal Expert Confirmed for 2007 Annual Convention & Expo

• Real Estate Appraisal From Wikipedia