by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
When the State of Florida’s Department of Education instituted the FCAT and subsequent school grading system several years, there’s little doubt they had no idea that decision would eventually start to impact individual realtors and the residential real estate industry as a whole.
But it did.
In addition to the usual queries like location, size of the house and down payment, prospective home buyers also ask about schools — with a caveat: “Is it a good school?”
“It’s the number one priority,” said Pat Closson of Watson Realty. “But, it’s not about the kids being able to walk to school. It’s about the grade level of the school.”
Closson’s not talking about whether the nearby school is an elementary, middle or high school. She means people want to know if the school down the street is an “A” school or a dreaded “D” or “F” school. And, she not the only realtor or builder who’s been grilled about local schools.
“If they [the parents/buyers] are going to keep their kids in public schools, it’s the number one question as to whether they will or will not buy the house,” said Judy Hicks, a realtor with Re/Max Real Estate Specialists. “They will not buy the house if it’s not in the district they want. If they have their kids in private schools, it does not matter.”
Hicks says the dilemma is such a problem, she often skips Duval County altogether when showing newcomers to Jacksonville around.
“They will pick St. Johns or Clay over Duval County schools,” said Hicks. “Duval County schools get so much negative press. Even their co-workers tell them to look in St. Johns and Clay.”
As resident of Jacksonville, Hicks find this growing trend a disturbing one.
“I don’t like it,” she said. “I live in Duval County and my taxes go to Duval County schools. My nephew is in a Duval County school and he’s making all A’s.”
Not all of Jacksonville is shunned, however. Closson says the area of town can make or break a sale.
“I had one client recently who would only look in St. Johns County. When they found out the schools in Mandarin had higher FCAT scores, they ended up buying a home in Mandarin,” she said. “For a family buying a home, it’s the number one priority. Dad will drive farther to work to live near a good school.”
Builder Michael Crawford agreed with both Closson’s and Hicks’ assessments. Given the choice, his clients will opt for a Clay County address.
“I agree 100 percent,” said the president of Crawford Homes. “Because of where we are [near the Clay-Duval line], we have a unique perspective on where to build. Most of our clients choose to buy in Clay because of the schools. They will drive longer to work because of the quality of the school system.”
Unlike Closson and Hicks — and maybe because he’s a builder — Crawford says schools rate high on a buyer’s list, but not at the top.
“Schools are pretty much second behind price and value,” he said. “Parents, though, will certainly sacrifice convenience to put their child in a great school.” “Don’t be greedy and don’t be ignorant. Lack of knowledge is the most devastating ways to violate the statutes.”
Pierce said that Realtors need to take contracts seriously.
“Contracts mean something, folks,” he said. “I don’t know whether you really understand that. The legislature gave you the right to write sale contracts and to write options. Writing them means something because what is on that paper is what the parties to the transaction are bound to.”
He said the mortgage companies look at them when it comes time to make loan decisions, the title companies use the document to process the transaction and real estate agents get paid when the transaction closes based on the fact that they wrote the contract.
“When it fails, you have two parties that are upset and you didn’t get paid,” he said. “Everyone is looking for their money, but you have a dead deal because you didn’t dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s and make sure the contract had all the things in it that it needed.”
He said there are other reasons why deals fall through, but by and large it is the contract that makes or breaks a deal.
“Please pay close attention to the documents,” he said. “When I do an investigation, the first thing I look at is the documents.”
Pierce said one thing they are investigating and prosecuting very heavily is unlicensed real estate activity.
“If it’s out there, please report it,” he said. “We want to keep those who have no business selling real estate from doing so.”
If you make any changes to your license, whether it is an address change or moving offices, make sure to inform the DBPR. Also, make sure to have some sort of verification that you sent it in.
He also recommended that Realtors go onto www.myflorida.com frequently and check the status of their license.
If you are late in renewing your license once the renewal date has past, your license goes inactive, so after you renew you need to make sure to make sure it is active before you do any business.
If you move to a new company, make sure the new broker has sent in the documentation registering you with the new company.
If the Realtor has not registered with the new company, the company gets a letter of non-compliance, but the Realtor gets a $500 fine for not registering his or her license with that employer.
“Brokers, you also need to go onto the Internet and check the licenses of your salespersons,” said Pierce.
He said to make sure the agents in your office are properly licensed. If there are agents who are no longer with the company, make sure the records reflect that.
He feels becoming a Realtor is very important because Realtors stand before their peers upholding a code of ethics.
“You will work to be the best you can be,” said Pierce. “There is education, camaraderie, working for your community and it takes it beyond a person who is just trying to earn a living selling real estate. It takes a commitment. Your becoming a Realtor is very important to your success in this business.”