GREC REnews, Vol. 3, Issue 3 (Mar. 2007)

Georgia Real Estate Commission

GREC RENEWS

Volume 3, Issue 3 March 2007

2007 Dates to Note
March 14, 2007 Trust Account Class Hall County Board of Realtors 770-534-1564
April 24, 2007 Trust Account Class Southwest Georgia Board
April 26 & 27, 2007 Georgia Instructor Training, Macon State College, Macon
GREC Disciplinary Sanctions
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Conservation Easements 1 Mortgage Fraud Resource 2
Focus on Terminology:
"Conservation Easements & Land Trusts"
Georgia Real Estate Commission Suite 1000, International Tower 229 Peachtree Street N.E. Atlanta, GA 30303-1605

Conservation Easements
are Thriving in Georgia
Perhaps a farmer is surrounded by new growth and is concerned about the increased taxes from escalating property values. The farm has been in the family 100 years and the owner wants to keep it in the family forever. A Conservation Easement (see the Terminology section below) may be the perfect way to meet his objectives. Perhaps a property owner wants to ensure that his property running along the riverbed, and its natural wetlands remain in their natural state. The owner can contact a land trust to accomplish that and still retain ownership of the property and even get a tax break.
These situations are examples of the type of transfers taking place all over the country. "In the 5 years between 2000 and 2005, the amount of land protected by local and state land trusts using easements doubled to 6.2 million acres." The northeastern part of the United States has had conservation easements in place for many years.
Georgia is expanding beyond major metropolitan areas and outside second-tier cities. When the development reaches fragile habitat or working
continued on next page...
Focus on Terminology: Conservation Easements and Land Trusts"
Conservation Easements are donated or sold by the landowner to Land Trusts for the purpose of restricting the land from inappropriate development while retaining ownership. Granting a conservation easement is similar to granting away mineral rights to a property in that owners only transfer a portion of their interest in the property and continue to use the property as it is. The most common example is the owner of a working farm who donates a conservation easement to a land trust so that he may continue to farm the land and be able to leave the property to his heirs as a farm. A Conservation Easement is granted in perpetuity, meaning it cannot be removed in the future.
Land Trusts are independent, non-profit organizations created for the purpose of preserving fragile habitats and open space. A land trust is dedicated to working with landowners and government agencies, local and state, to "conserving land for its natural, recreational, scenic, historical and productive values." (Source Land Trust Alliance @ http://www.lta.org/) A Land Trust is responsible for insuring that the land interests it acquires by donation or purchase are maintained according to the restrictions placed upon it. Land Trusts are the stewards of conservation easements and land purchased for conservation.
1

Georgia Real Estate Commission
Suite 1000, International Tower 229 Peachtree Street N.E. Atlanta, GA 30303-1605
You can sign up to receive the GREC RENEWS electronic
newsletter each month by visiting
the GREC website or CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

Volume 3, Issue 3 March 2007
Conservation Easements Are Thriving In Georgia
continued from previous page...
farms, owners are looking at conservation easements to prevent development on their land. In essence the owner grants away the rights to develop or subdivide the property in perpetuity.... forever. A Conservation Easement is a permanent Deed Restriction and is recorded with the Deed.
These restrictions could be considered as a tool to protect land from surrounding development pressures. However, there are strong benefits to a developer in working with the state, city and local groups to develop a plan that can actually add value to a project by incorporating both conservation and added amenities, such as open space.
Conservation Easements have a strong presence in other parts of the United States, particularly areas that have dense populations and development. As Georgia continues to grow, easements provide an opportunity to combine livable communities with Greenspace while preserving fragile habitats, protecting historically significant properties and creating more nature friendly and desirable projects. Local governments can incorporate these easements into their comprehensive use plan and work with private property owners (such as farmers) to help shape their community. Some great examples of that would be Chattahoochee Hill Country and Carroll County, GA (http://carrollcountyga.com/home/comp%20plan/comp-plan.html) Communities do want growth and they are using tools such as comprehensive plans and Conservation Easements to help determine where.
To find out more about Conservation Easements and Land Trusts, visit the website of the Land Trust Alliance at http://www.lta.org/.

RENews Newsletter Comments or Suggestions Click Here
GREC

A Timely and Useful DVD Arrived in your Brokerage Office Last Week.
The DVD, titled, "Closing the Door on Mortgage Fraud," was produced through a contract funded from the Real Estate Education, Research and Recovery Fund of the Georgia Real Estate Commission and produced by the Georgia Association of Realtors. This material was produced to help real estate licensees recognize and help prevent mortgage fraud.
The DVD was sent to every brokerage office in Georgia along with a resource booklet. These tools may be used in broker training sessions, education courses and as a reference tool for the individual licensee. By the end of May, these resources will be available on the Georgia Association of Realtors website http://www.garealtor.com/. Due to the high incidence of mortgage fraud in Georgia, every real estate licensee needs to be proactive about detecting and preventing mortgage fraud.
The GREC web site also has a list of Do's and Don'ts for purchasers in an article about Mortgage Fraud in pdf format. It is accessible from the Consumer section of the GREC site and from the Individual Agent, How-to Section of the site.
2