REALTOR® WEEKLY UPDATE

Weekly Update on PGPCNPREALTORS.com

June 25th, 2009

To view archive editions, please click HERE.

Breaking News!

Important information for REALTORS®, Landlords, and Property Managers - The Charlotte County Department of Solid Waste Resources would like to inform you of some guidelines for garbage collection that may be of help to you. With the introduction of our new once-a-week automated garbage collection program last year, we have encountered some issues that involve all homeowners, but especially landlords and tenants. There are significant issues with regard to limits on extra garbage being placed outside the cart, and a fee of $75 for replacement garbage carts. Please click HERE to download the memo and flyer from the County’s Solid Waste Division, pass this important information to your clients, landlords, property managers and tenants and if you live in Unincorporated Charlotte County it also applies to YOU.

Toastmasters International – Congratulations to our brand new officially chartered Toastmasters Club. As of June 15^th, our club has officially been chartered and is off and running strong. Come join us for our next meeting on Wednesday from 7:30am – 8:45am, there is no cost to attend the meeting and you are not obligated to join, come see what this is all about. The club is open to REALTORS® and Non-REALTORS®, so invite your friends, neighbors, or co-workers. You will have the opportunity to see what a meeting is like and discover how Toastmasters can help improve your communication and leadership skills and network with other professionals. Remember, good communication skills are the keys to success in business and real estate! For more details or to RSVP for the meeting, please email David-Logan@comcast.net you can read more about Toastmasters on the web at www.toastmasters.org

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK!!

Karen Rolland, President

My Fellow REALTORS®/Members,

What a month this has been! Between all the great classes being organized by our Professional Development team and the District Conference last Friday, any attendees have to feel a little more educated and prepared for coping in this market. David Logan, Nancy Bell and the entire Professional Development team deserve major kudos for putting those classes together for us. If you missed the District Conference, my heart goes out to you. Cynthia Logan, Linda Pizarro, Bob Gray & Bill Dryburgh did an awesome job of putting together a top notch conference that was attended by 500+ people and 50 exhibitors from Manatee to Marco Island, it was a pleasure working on this committee. We certainly made it known that Charlotte County is open for business!

This evening we will be celebrating the achievements of those who qualified for the Million Dollar awards for 2008. It was a very trying year for all of us in the industry and I congratulate anyone who achieved (or exceeded) their production goals. The numbers continue to improve for our area and for Florida overall in terms of numbers of sales. Prices are down but that means availability is UP so turn it into a positive whenever you can!!

Our next General Membership meeting will be held on July 24^th so be sure to mark your calendars and plan to attend. It is shaping up to be a great meeting so please try to attend. Orientation and Induction of new members will be taking place on July 20^th. If you are in the neighborhood between 3:15 and 3:30 that day, please stop in and welcome our new members!

Have a great week and keep on selling! Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President this year.

Education Corner

***NEW CLASSES*** Email David-Logan@comcast.net with any questions or to reserve your space. All courses below are FREE to Education Passport members! Non- Passport Members – see details for cost.

July 20^th – Contract Class 9am-12pm FREE Click HERE for details.

July 23^rd – BlackBerry/Smart Phone Seminar 10am-11am FREE Presented by Verizon Wireless Zone. Click HERE for details.

Aug 26^th/27^th – 14 Hour Series need your Core Law or 14 hours for license renewal? Click HERE for details.

Sept 3^rd – How to Run a Consumer Friendly Website 1pm-4pm 3 Hours CE Credit. Click HERE for details.

Sept 17^th – Red Flags on the Waterfront 9am-11am w/Attorney & Waterfront Expert David Levin-FREE. Click HERE for details.

FREE Hands On Training! Sign up for additional FREE training and unlock the tools to help you succeed! See the list of FREE Mid-Florida educational opportunities. Courses include “Design Web Page”, “iMapp: interactive tax and mailing labels”, “Tools: MongoFax, RatePlug, ShowingTime and MLX Wireless”, “Creating a Professional CMA”, and “MLXChange Advanced”. Classes are HANDS ON with laptops provided. This additional training is included in your Mid Florida membership, so do not miss out on these opportunities. Click HERE for class schedule, additional details and to reserve a seat.

Visit the Education Calendar for full course offering and details.

From Your international committee

THE LOWER US DOLLAR ENCOURAGES MANY NON-RESIDENTS TO BUY IN THE USA AND FLORIDA IS USUALLY THE FIRST CHOICE. Here are some examples of the U.S. Dollar Yield To Date Percentage change versus particular Foreign Currencies from January 2009.

US $ % Value VERSUS FOREIGN COUNTRY. ( For instance the US $ is now worth 12.2% less than the Brazilian Real since Jan.1st, 09 ) So here are some Currency examples with the US $ Values now lower. Brazil -12.2%, Canada -5.3%, Chile -15.9%, Columbia -7.4, Mexico -2.8%, Peru -3.5, Uruguay -5.1%, Australia -9.7%, Indonesia -5.2%, New Zealand -7.1%, Norway -5/8%, UK-10.8%, South Africa -13.1%.

Here is an opportunity to contact prospects and let them know of their Currency Advantage. Of Course FX Rates can and may change radically - so keep up to date - www.xe.com/ucc/ is a good, FREE source. It is usually wiser for your Buyer to convert their currency once an offer is accepted - the cost could change against them. Many expect the US Dollar to continue to lower in value but most expect the Dollar will retain its AAA Rating. Your International Committee will be holding several Seminars this year - so do attend and learn more about these foreign prospects. And we would welcome more members for our Committee. Norm White, Chair. normwhite@comcast.net

Where in the World Is…..

The following agents can now be found at…

Paul Nunez – Exit Realty Foundations

Market Watch

Canadians Investing in U.S. Real Estate- The number of Canadian investors in U.S. real estate rose to 23.5 percent from 11 percent over the last year, and condominiums account for almost half of their purchases. For the full story, click HERE.

The Power of the Technology Helpline on Your Desktop – The Technology Helpline widget is now available for all Florida Realtors. This desktop widget gives you a quick link to the Tech Helpline phone number, allows you to instantly launch chat sessions with our tech analysts or send emails with your tech requests for lower priority or after hours requests. For more information or to download the widget, click HERE.

NAR Creates Flyer Using the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit with FHA Loans - NAR has received many inquiries from our members regarding how first-time homebuyers can use the tax credit with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans. NAR created a flyer to help members understand how the tax credit can be used in their respective state. The flyer identifies how to use the tax credit in one of the 11 states where housing finance agencies offer a product that monetizes the tax credit for FHA loans. It also provides some guidance for all other states where such programs do not currently exist. To download the flyer, click HERE.

MLS TIP OF THE WEEK

Did you miss My Florida Regional MLS’s SHORT SALE Newsletter? This single document contains important short sale information from the MLS, Contract, and Lending perspectives. Click HERE to download a PDF copy for your records. This is a great reference sheet that you do not want to miss.

Did you know that if you have a waterfront property listing you can upload an aerial or water view photograph into the first slot on MLXchange? It's true, as long as you upload a front exterior view in the second slot. With the abundance of Florida's natural beauty of lakes, rivers, the bay and the gulf, now you can market those waterfront properties with more prominence. To read the full story, click HERE.

Real Estate Trivia

This Week’s Question

Question: Do you know how to calculate if someone should Rent v. Buy, Remodel or Move, Refinance, etc? Realtor.com has a long list of real estate calculators which are available to you and your clients.

Answer: Click HERE to add these tools to your play book and share with your clients.

Last Week’s Question

Question: Social networking sites are great tools for real estate professionals to stay connected with clients, reach out to prospects, and build relationships in the business. But as you get into online communities such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the blogosphere, you may find yourself in an entirely new world of communication that seems unfamiliar.

Answer: Click HERE and Use this quiz to test your social networking smarts and learn more about this rapidly growing trend.