Housing News
Keller Williams fundraising for Joplin tornado victims
Loss of property, hope, and life
The recent tornado in Joplin, MO is said to be the worst tornado on U.S. soil in decades, with a death toll of 139. In response to the devastation, the St. Louis Keller Williams office through their KW Cares program is fundraising to help with a goal of raising $100,000.
According to Keller Williams, 100 KW agents practice in Joplin, seven of whom lost their homes and one who lost their son as he was driving home from his high school graduation. It is a disaster of epic proportions and will have a long lasting impact on the area as annihilation of property means no income to recover by these and other agents.
What is most moving is that many of the agents that are fundraising don’t know anyone in Joplin, rather as St. Louis Realtor Karen Goodman said, “we are just people helping our own.”
How to Donate
KW Cares notes that all donations are 100% tax deductible and they don’t keep any of the profits. If you’re interested in helping, the team is accepting checks payable to KW Cares with the word “Joplin” on the memo line which can be mailed to:
Teri Nicely
KW Cares
Keller Williams Realty
10936 Manchester Road
St. Louis, MO 63122
Credit card payments can be arranged by contacting Teri Nicely at 314-677-6218.
Karen Goodman notes that “all Keller Williams agents can also have a donation billed directly to their office account by contacting their Team Leader or MCA. Make sure you tell them you want it directed to the Joplin fund.”
Below is a video made discussing the Joplin fundraiser:
The camaraderie of the real estate industry shines most brightly when there is hurt and devastation as illustrated by Keller Williams’ fundraiser.
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The average home age is higher than ever
(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.
With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.
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Click here to continue reading this story…
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Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?
The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.
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(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.
Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.
So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.
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It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.
Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.
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Last fall, the News Corp. acquisition of Move, Inc. was given the green light by the feds, and this month, Zillow finalized their acquisition of Trulia.
…Click here to continue reading this story…
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Karen Goodman
June 2, 2011 at 11:31 am
Lani – Thank you SO much for helping us spread the word and raise money for the real estate agents impacted by the Joplin, MO tornado. Not only are there 7 agents who lost there homes and one who lost a son, but every single one of them is going to lose their source of income for a while. No one will be buying or selling and current contracts will have delays in closings as lenders and insurance agents want to confirm that the homes weren't damaged.
I worry about all of these people who don't have damaged homes…will they still be eligible for government and charitable assistance so they can pay their bills until life gets back to normal? KW Cares will step in with every penny going to the victims (all admin costs are absorbed by non-donation money) to help any of the agents who have real needs from this crisis.
And thank you to everyone who makes a donation. We won't hit our goal without your help!
Karen Goodman