MERCED COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

635 W. Main St., Merced, CA 95340

Telephone: 209-725-2165 Fax: 209-383-7998


Location of Office

2010 Board of Directors


Nominations and Election for the Board of Directors For 2011

Dated: June 14, 2010

Voting: August 3, 2010 - Association Office - 8:00 a.m.

Nominating Committee's Slate of Candidates:

2011 President*: Ernie Ochoa

2011 President-Elect: Terri Miller

2011 Secretary / Treasurer: Karen Elliott

2011 Director: Bob Gilbert

2011-2012 Director: Vicki Bandoni

2011-2012 Director: Dave Lueck

Remaining on the Board of Directors for 2011:

2011 Immediate Past President: Tina DeLeon

2010-2011 Director: Maryam Shabazz

2010-2011 Director: Kory Billings

*2010 President-Elect Ernie Ochoa will automatically ascend to the presidency.

Additional candidates may be placed in nomination by petition signed by at least 25% of the REALTOR® members eligible to vote, and filed with the Secretary by July 13, 2010. Currently, 25% of the members eligible to vote equals 121 REALTOR® members.

Voting will take place at the August General Membership scheduled to be held on Tuesday, August 3, 2010, at 8:00 a.m., at the Association Office, 635 W. Main Street in Merced. There will be no proxy or absentee votes. (Retiring Directors: Michele Gabriault-Acosta and Connie Dalke)



News Release


House Detective: It's best to inspect to get what you expect.


When making an offer on a house, experts advise that a home inspection should always be a contingency.
A competent home inspector should look at all of a home's systems:


The purpose of a home inspection is to reveal the pluses, minuses and maintenance issues in a house. There is no such thing as a perfect house, but a home inspection gives buyers a good idea of issues and expenses they'll be facing. A certified home inspector will belong to an organization such as CREA/ASHI and the report may include over 1000 detailed items.

For more information contact your local REALTOR® or Home Inspector.
Submitted by: Consumer Protection Committee, Merced County Association of REALTORS®


The president of the National Association of REALTORS® is asking members of the association to join him in a campaign to halt a proposal under consideration by the Federal Reserve Board and the Treasury Department that would allow federally chartered banks to engage in real estate brokerage and property management. "Should this regulation be adopted, several large financial services holding companies will quickly dominate our industry by buying up brokerages or driving others out of business," NAR President Richard A. Mendenhall said. "In a short time, through sheer market power, a few huge banks could control a significant portion of real estate brokerage, relocation and management businesses and change our industry for the worse," Mendenhall added.

"Banking-controlled real estate brokerages will become marketing arms of mortgage departments and other services banks sell. We're concerned they will be more interested in making a loan or selling mortgage insurance than helping a buyer find the best deal," Mendenhall noted.

Mendenhall said the rule could lead to higher costs for consumers, should banks "bundle" and cross-sell products and services through captive real estate brokerage subsidiaries. "Banks will control the real estate transaction end-to-end, creating opportunities for extra charges and add-ons that consumers may not need," he said. Mendenhall added that NAR is also concerned that banks would be able to share confidential customer financial data with their captive real estate brokerages, jeopardizing privacy and creating an unfair competitive advantage over independent brokerages.


History of our Association


In October 1944, coffee was twenty-nine cents a pound, the average price of a "modern" six room home in Merced County was $6,500, and the Merced County Association of REALTORS® was founded. Today, the median price of a three bedroom home in Merced County is $345,000.

In October 1944, twelve association members attended a dinner meeting held in the Hotel Tioga. They came to hear an update by representatives from the F.H.A. office in San Francisco. Today, our association has five hundred members. Ninety members attended our last meeting.

In 1944, the association rented office space. In 1996, we moved into our new building on Main Street in Merced. The back entrance of our building opens onto the Arts Alley. We share the Arts Alley with the Merced Multicultural Arts Center, the Merced Civic Center and the Shannon Parcade. Our members and guests enjoy the free parking in the Parcade. Our main meeting room can accommodate 250 members. The Hotel Tioga is still a Merced landmark. In fact, it is right around the corner from our Association office.

The entire real estate section on homes for sale in the Merced Sun-Star in 1944 was contained in two columns. Descriptions were brief. The term "modern" was used a lot, along with the number of rooms. Today, there is a section in the Merced Sun-Star devoted to real estate using approximately eight pages each Saturday. The last monthly Home Search publication contained ninety pages. Although property descriptions are extensive, the term "modern" is seldom used. The number of rooms has been changed to the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

Over the years, REALTORS® have made important contributions to Merced County. McConnell State Recreation Area was named after our 1946 association President W. F. McConnell. Recently, our members worked closely with local community leaders to promote the building of the tenth campus of the University of California at Merced.

The population of Merced County has grown from 47,000 in 1944, to more than 215,000 in 2006.

We are centrally located between Fresno and Modesto. Our office is one mile north of Highway 99. We hope you will stop in to see us, if you are ever in Merced.

"Jeanne's Bouquet" by Merced Artist Maria Lustre

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