apartment kalkaska mi rental

City of Madison Assessor Mark Hanson said that kind of problem hasn't been an issue in Madison, where most people already used certified appraisals in challenges.

Agents fighting proposal

"It was a real fast thing," she said. "I know Flor just because we live in a small town and we knew his dad and they've been doing business here for years."

A debate over who should be able to provide value opinions - real estate agents or professionally trained appraisers - is pitting questions of consumer choice against consumer protection, with future service to state residents who buy and sell property or need price estimates for other reasons at stake.

"For most people, decisions involving real estate are the biggest financial decisions that they will make," said Jennifer Gonda, a senior legislative manager with the city of Milwaukee, which joined a state appraisers group in seeking to restrict agents last month. "Basic consumer protection should require that a Wisconsin licensed or certified appraiser perform real estate valuations within the state of Wisconsin."

The Senate sponsor, Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, already has agreed to include the WRA amendment when he introduces the measure as SB 339.

If that happens, they say, the consumer will suffer because many agents provide informal appraisals in different situations - such as for divorce negotiations when a house is at stake, for property tax appeals, for home insurance purposes, for easements, or for estate settlements involving property - at little or no cost compared to licensed appraisers, who also are in short supply in the northern and more rural parts of the state.

Appraisers favor restrictions

The original proposed measure to limit agents, known as AB 472, was effectively neutered on Oct. 27 in the Assembly after 1,700 agents in two days called or e-mailed their legislators at the WRA's request. But the polarizing issue is likely to resurface in the Senate when lawmakers come back for the spring session.

"Why should I have to pay $200 to get a formal appraisal if all I need is a market value?" she said.

Getting a property appraisal on the cheap could become more difficult in Wisconsin if state appraisers have their way, although the quality of the work done could be better.

Real estate agents and their backers, meanwhile, see the dispute as a turf battle over business, with appraisers just trying to muscle out agents.

But saving a few hundred dollars shouldn't be the priority when it comes to determining property values, appraisers and their supporters say.

But the battle over who can or should do appraisals and for what purposes is only half over. Professional appraisers, who have far more required education and training in property valuation than agents under state and federal law, are expected to raise the issue again in the spring.

Chetek-area resident Sara Olson already knows where she stands on it. Olson recently had agent John Flor do an informal appraisal - for free - of her and her husband's house outside Chetek. The couple recently deeded the house to their son and they "just wanted to see what it would be worth in today's market," Olson said.

"It's a way of making connections with people," Chetek-area agent Flor said. "I do those things for free, and hopefully they'll call you down the road for something."

The original measure was advanced by the Wisconsin Chapter of the Appraisal Institute and the city of Milwaukee, which Gonda says became involved because of "pretty consistent problems" with people using "very faulty" appraisals done by agents and others to challenge property tax assessments. Going through the required process of rejecting these "outlandish" valuations winds up wasting everyone's time and money, she said.

The Wisconsin Realtors Association last month managed to beat back a legislative attempt by appraisers to drastically restrict the ability of agents to provide opinions about property values for clients.

"Watch for the next call to action," WRA chief lobbyist Mike Theo told agents in a victory video posted on the group's Web site after the measure was approved by the Assembly on Oct. 27 with a crucial amendment protecting agents' rights supported by the WRA.

"Many times attorneys and clients don't need a full-blown appraisal," said Bub Zwygart, an agent in the Monroe area. But there haven't been problems (with agents doing this work). "I can understand the appraisers just wanting everybody out of their business. I don't know of an estate appraisal I've done in 30 years that has been contested."

Being able to do price opinions also is a marketing tool for agents, they said.

Olson said she "surely would not" be pleased if state law were changed to require her to use a certified or licensed appraiser for that kind of job.

Minocqua Real Estate - Northern Wisconsin Real Estate ...
Minocqua-Northern Wisconsin Real Estate and Northwoods MLS property search. REMAX First LLC ... Your Minocqua-Woodruff-Northern Wisconsin One stop Realtor. ...

Rockford Illinois Real Estate | Southern Wisconsin Real ...
Searching for Rockford Illinois Real Estate? Headquartered in Rockford, Illinois with branch offices in Belvidere, Byron and Oregon, Whitehead Realtors is a full ...

Homes and Land in Northern Wisconsin ( Real Estate)
Northern Wisconsin Real Estate, Phillips Wisconsin. ... are looking for and I will be your Realtor Link to Wisconsin's great Northwoods. ...

Minocqua-Northern Wisconsin Real Estate-RE/MAX First
Minocqua,WI real estate and homes for sale in Northern Wisconsin. Minocqua realtors specializing in waterfront homes,lake front property, vacant land and commercial ...

Ann Meyer Realtor Real Estate Northern Wisconsin
ANN MEYER - REALTOR / BROKER ASSOCIATE - Serving North Central Wisconsin ... Ann has been in the real estate profession since 1996. ...