Real estate community not to blame for law

Normally I would not respond to such an outlandish and inaccurate letter but, as a real estate professional and a member of the Selkirk Association MLS Board, I felt it was important to correct some of the misinformation in Bob Wynhausen's letter on Dec. 4.

To begin with, the state of Idaho is a "voluntary" disclosure state. There is no mandate to disclose or not disclose the sale price of a property. Because of the ambiguity of this law, we were required to reevaluate how our own information was being disseminated to the assessor's office. We recognize that the disclosure of this information is a key component to an accurate assessment. But we had to also recognize (as the law is written) that any property owner has the right not to disclose that information, for whatever reason.

For the time being, we came up with a temporary solution whereby the assessor will be given limited sales price information unless the owner gives permission for full disclosure of that information (more specifics on that property). The decision of full disclosure is up to the property owner and has nothing to do with the real estate professional. As for the market, that is set by the buyers and what they are willing to pay and by the state of the economy.

Having said all of this, there is the issue of real tax reform. That can only take place when we become a full disclosure state. Our legislators have been actively working on such a bill as a part of meaningful tax reform. I highly recommend contacting your local representative for more accurate information on this. Until then, our assessor and county commissioners have also been working on a full disclosure mandate. I recommend contacting them for more accurate details.

The point is, the real estate community is not to blame for how the law is written in this state and we have nothing to gain by keeping sales information from anyone.

SUE BROOKS

Sandpoint

GRI, Realtor