Page 14 - Stuart Exposure - December '23

Page 14, Stuart Exposure

art Happenings

Created To Create A Record- Several of her paintings were auctioned off,
with proceeds going to her tuition. If you’d
Breaking Smash! like to contribute to Ava’s journey, contact
VSOA at (772) 283-4888.
By Jackie Holfelder Mario Murgado, president/CEO of
Every time Murgado Automotive Group Inc., which
Visionary School owns Infiniti of Stuart, a longtime partner of
of Arts (VSOA) VSOA, generously opened the dealership’s
thinks it has had a showroom once again. In the past, he has
record-breaking art stated that he is “honored to host this event
show, the nonprofit for Visionary and for the remarkable and
proceeds to break its talented artists!” Lynne Barletta and Ava Ledon, age 17 Leon Ciambriello, age 14
own record! VSOA is a 501(c)(3) established in
“Created to Stuart in 2010. Children ages 5 to 18 are introduced
Create,” which to and supported in fine art training, leadership, and
was held Nov. 3 at public presentation through shows, competitions, and
Infiniti of Stuart, community give-back. The after-school and weekend
welcomed more program, summer camps and workshops instill confidence
guests than any in students as they are taught marketing and business.
prior show had Paisley Bradford, age 13 and Brooke Since its founding, VSOA students have won over 700
done. More than 90 Bradford, her mother local, national, and international awards for fine art and
works of art from leadership.
VSOA students ages 5 to 18, as well of that of Visionary If you would like information on Visionary School
instructors, was on display. The unique event featured a of Arts’ building fund – Visionary Futures – its summer
celebration of creativity in innovation and design in the camps, classes, or show or scholarship sponsorship, type
sciences, technology, architecture, music, in addition to info@visionary-arts.org. in the address bar at the top of
fine arts. your web page.
A highlight of the evening was the showcasing of the Visit www.visionaryschoolofarts.org to read the entire
art of longtime VSOA student Ava Ledon, who will be compelling story of VSOA.
attending SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). Photos provided by Visionary School of Arts Olivia Chafin, age 8 and Lynne Barletta
real estate

Treasure Coast Real Estate because the borrower needs to pay a commission. The options. I can be reached at (772) 341-2941 or jimweix@

Report easiest way to do that is to reduce the purchase price to jimweix.com.
$390,000. In other words, the seller pays.

Jim Weix is a broker associate with The Keyes
Will the lawsuits shake up the real estate industry? Company. Jim has 25 years of experience selling real
Will The Massive Realtor Lawsuit Ruling Change How You bet! The future of real estate will be interesting, and estate full-time. If you have questions or want the services
Real Estate Is Sold? I welcome it. Just remember that there is no free lunch. of an experienced expert, you can reach Jim at (772) 341-
Feel free to call me if you would like to discuss your 2941 or jimweix@jimweix.com.
By Jim Weix
A recent lawsuit, known
as Sitzer/Burnett, centered
around the National
Association of Realtors
(NAR) participation rule
and the practice of agent
commission sharing. Under
the rule, in order to advertise
a property in the Multiple
Listing Service (MLS), the
seller’s agent must offer
compensation to buyer agents. The aim is to attract more
people interested in purchasing a home.
When it sells, the listing agent’s commission, which
typically averages between 5 and 6 percent of the sales
price and is paid from the proceeds, is split with the buyer’s
agent. But the plaintiffs in the lawsuit alleged, and the jury
agreed, that this practice unnecessarily increased the real
estate transaction cost for sellers.
Does this mean that sellers will no longer have to pay the
agent that procures a buyer for their property? I doubt it.
Let’s say a seller lists their property. As it is now, they
agree to pay a commission, of say 5 percent. The listing
agent and seller also agree to compensate the agent that
procures a buyer half of the commission, so each agent
gets 2.5 percent. The seller still only pays 5 percent.
The lawsuit is complicated, but in short, it says that
the seller doesn’t have to pay the 2.5 percent that goes to
the agent who procures a buyer. This would mean that the
seller only would pay 2.5 percent instead of 5 percent.
That might sound exciting to the seller until they ask
themselves who is going to procure a buyer for their property
if they don’t get paid. The answer is simple: nobody.
As sellers that have tried to save a commission by
doing a For Sale By Owner have discovered, there is no
free lunch. Most buyers use an agent, and the seller ends
up paying a commission. If the buyer has no agent, the
buyer knocks off 6 percent of the offer price.
When the smoke clears on this lawsuit and the copycat
lawsuits that will follow, it is very likely that sellers will
no longer have to agree to pay the agent that procures the
buyer. This means that the buyer will have to pay their
agent. They will most likely do this by requiring the seller
to reimburse them.
If the buyer is getting financing this creates another
problem. Lenders finance real estate, not commissions.
For example, if the property appraises for $400,000, the
lender is not going to base the loan on a value of $410,000