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This is a blog about Austin real estate market conditions, statistics and anything else happening in the Austin area area that might impact the real estate market here. Every so often I will throw some unrelated stories in so please come back often.
ABoR - Is It a Single-Family or Condo?

A conversation started at a multi-agency property tour I attended today that got a lot of people fired up.  The particular subdivision being discussed is one that I will not mention by name.  It is an area in which there are several groups of properties that were zoned as condominium in order to get a higher density of properties on the ground.  However, the homes that have been built are single-family and they share no walls.  Agents have entered the properties into the MLS using the property designation HOUSE. 

That is where the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) comes in.  If the legal description says the property is a condo, the Board has been changing the listing to CONDO without notifying the listing agents.  Some of these, although zoned condominium, for some reason do not show that in the legal descriptions as HOUSEs, so they remain in the MLS that way.

So, looking at the photo, which of these is a house and which is a condo?  Can you tell by looking at them?  I sure can't.  How about the ones at the top of the hill?

The homes in for foreground are zoned condo and are called condos by ABoR.  But wait, the homes on the hill in the background are free-standing single-family homes zoned as condos, but the legal doesn't have the word condo in it.  So what does ABoR do?  It leaves them in the MLS as houses.  Is there anything reasonable about this?

Home buyers who are searching for single-family houses will not select the term condo when doing a property search because they don't want to have shared walls.  So they will miss these single-family homes.  Home buyers who are searching for condos aren't generally looking for units that are free-standing, but they might like them when they see them.  So some of the properties in the above photograph will be completely missed in property searches.   See the problem? 

There are condo regimes all over the five county area served by ABoR in which the structures are really single-family, stand-alone homes.  Is ABoR going to do an exhaustive search of all of these and then change the listings so they may not be found in property searches?  I can understand the Board having rules, but this one needs to bend.  People selling homes that are zoned as condos and have the term condo in the legal description need a little leeway.  We need to be able to enter these free-standing "condos" with no shared walls as HOUSEs.

Any home owner who is having a hard time getting their properties shown because of this and any real estate agent who care need to speak up to the Board.  There are a lot of agents in my area who are going to petition the Board to allow us to change this technically accurate, but misleading rule.  I hope the Board will listen.

Posted: Friday, May 02, 2008 1:26 PM by Sam Chapman

Comments

DenaDavis said:

I agree with you wholeheatedly.  We see this in east Austin.  There are house plus cottage properties that have installed a condo regime.  They share a lot.  Some of these that are on a corner lot -- really fuction as a house.  They share no common walls and they have thier own fenced yards.

I have skimmed by listing these as houses.  I figure it is worth the $100 fine if I get caught.  Chalk it up to advertising.  

I really wish there was a separate category for so called condos that share no common wall.

# May 2, 2008 7:16 PM

Steve Crossland said:

Hi Sam,

We agree on many things but I'm not sure I'm with you on this one. I'll have to think about it some.

The reason I hesitate is that even though some of the condos may be free-standing, they often come with higher HOA fees and private roadways that the home owners must maintain. We have one of these type of neighborhoods in South Austin and the HOA fee is $65/mo. That's more than Steiner Ranch and there is no pool or any amenities. The fee is required for road maintenant and common ground maintenance.

So, buyers need to be careful in some of these subdivisions. I do get your point though that the structure is more of a house than a condo.

Steve

# May 2, 2008 10:38 PM

Sam Chapman said:

Steve - I agree with you that the association fee doesn't get you much compared to an HOA for a neighborhood like Steiner or Lake Pointe, but I have to stick by my point.  There just has to be a way these homes can be found in property searches.  The condo vs. house association fee thing needs to come back to the agent showing properties. Individual agents need to make sure they are informed so they can inform their buyers.

# May 3, 2008 10:19 AM

Steve Crossland said:

Yep, ultimately it comes down to the agent. I must confess when helping buyers look for a home, I don't include "Condo" in the search, just "Houses". So you're right, these hybrid condo/house properties son't come up on that type of search.

It also introduces another question - which contract would be used to write an offer on the property? If it's a house, then the residential 1-4 Family sales contract would be used (TAR 1601). If it's truely and technically a condo, then the Residential Condominium Contract (TAR 1605) must be used.

I'd say that if the offer has to be written on the Condo Contract, it's a Condo and should be listed as such. But I do think that ABOR needs to recognize that as what we call a "neighborhood" and a "house" evolves and becomes blended with what we formerly called a "condo", adjustments may need to be made.

Under no circumstance though would it benefit us if the line gets too blurry. I still want a "house" search to show me "houses" and not condos.

Steve

# May 4, 2008 11:53 AM

anonymous said:

As a homeowner, I don't think I would ever want to look at these condo/house properties.  The whole issue started when the builder wanted to up their profits.  An individual homeowner, or the HOA, is not going to be able to undo the initial zone without a lot of time and money (read as: not going to happen).  If a buyer settles now, they will probably have to settle later, when its time to sell (ie less profit, less appreciation).

I predict that even if the ABOR fixes things for now, its not a sure thing and problems will keep poping up unless the zone is actually changed.

# May 5, 2008 8:56 AM

Sam Chapman said:

I'm not necessarily a fan of these condo developments.  I don't like the density and I hate that almost every tree is cut down to make room for these units.  My only beef is not being found in searches.

# May 8, 2008 3:25 PM
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