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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA013 - Letter from Lee & Barb Matson, Tax Abatement Oct 06 00 05: 15P RE MRX Real Estate Center (515) 232-4707 p. l A /0/0-00 Lee & Barb MATS N Thursday, October 05, 2000 OCIT - 9 2000 E Ted Tedesco LEE Se BARB MATSON 4002 Stone Brooke Road CITY CLERK Ames, Iowa 50010 CITY OF AMES,IOWA RE: Somerset Property Tax Abatement Dear Ted: The developers of the Somerset addition to Ames have temporarily given the other real estate agents in Ames access to selling their homes in Somerset now that they have not been able to sell them without our assistance. We welcome the opportunity for those agents not associated with Hunziker, Friedrich or Furman to finally be allowed to receive a decent commission rather than a referral fee(if any at all) for providing a buyer for their new construction. In recent past years Furman has been very good about letting us show and sell their new construction all over town, Friedrich would allow a referral fee to be paid and Hunziker would not even pay a referral fee until just the past few months. Several of us in the real estate community are concerned that we may be asked to help "contribute" to the property tax abatement and also to encourage our buyer prospects to become interested in the Somerset addition, only to have the right to sell these homes taken away from us after the "over supply" has been marketed. I have tried twice to get a statement in writting from the developers indicating that they would continue to honor the new commission agreement and schedule (even without the $1000 bonus) until Somerset is completed and we have yet to receive a written, or even verbal, commitment from the group. Does it not seem logical that for at least as long as the property tax abatement is in place that the selling of new homes constructed by the developers be open to all real estate agents of the local real estate market instead of just those agents that are associated with Hunziker, Furman or Fried- rich? Verbally I have been told that this is not a problem when approaching each of the developers individually, but they have had 2 weekly meetings since I first brought this matter to their attention and I have yet to receive a written, or even verbal, guarantee that the project will remain open to the other 50+Realtors associated with the Ames Multiple Listin ice. 47"' - F1,A 4 1 X Real Estate Center Each Office Independently Owned and Operated 1606 S. Duff Ave, Suite 100 Ames, IA 50010-8026 kL Phone (515) 232-4663 . .M- Fax (515) 232-4707 Oct 06 00 05: 15p RE MAX Real Estate Center (515) 232-4707 p. 2 Question, if we are going to have a property tax abatement, why not the whole town, not just So- merset. Is it fair to other local developers not to be included in the abatement program? I will not be in town next week, so I hope you can pass on my thoughts to the other council members. Thank you in advance for your consideration. ncerely, Lee Matson, ABR, CRS, GRI Broker/Owner of the First RE/MAX office in the state of Iowa Lee and Barbara Matson REALTOR®