REALTOR® WEEKLY UPDATE

Weekly Update on PGPCNPREALTORS.com

July 2nd, 2009

To view archive editions, please click HERE.

Breaking News!

The Power of the FREE 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. You can also access the Technology Helpline is also available via telephone at 407-587-1450 The FAR Technology Helpline is a FREE service included in your membership.
 
Important Information on Florida Downpayment Assistance - The FAR Office of Public Policy has been getting a lot of questions from across the state regarding downpayment assistance for those who qualify for the federal first time homebuyer tax credit.  Given that there is a state downpayment plan and a federal downpayment plan (and at least one special exemption) it definitely gets confusing, and details have been slow to emerge.  Many of you are finding that local housing authorities just don’t have all of the information they need to move forward and some are reporting that bankers are steering clear of the downpayment assistance programs.  We have some brand new information for you.  The state program was passed during the recent legislative session as part of the 2010 budget and took effect July 1, 2009. The downpayment assistance program that is specific to Florida is the Florida Homebuyer Opportunity Program (FLHOP).  The federal program is through FHA. The state program, FLHOP, is intended to help Floridians maximize the $8,000 federal first-time homebuyer tax credit by allowing local housing authorities to make “bridge loans” to consumers.  To read the rest of this very important memo, click HERE.
 
RENTAL OF A HOMESTEAD COULD COST YOUR CUSTOMER THEIR EXEMPTION - Realtors® and Property Managers regularly bring visitors together with home owners willing to rent their property for a short or long term. The property appraiser gets involved when the owner of the house or condominium is claiming Homestead exemption on the property they are renting out. Under Florida law rental of your homestead exempted property constitutes abandonment of the homestead. For the full Memo as prepared by Sarasota County Property Appraiser Bill Furst, click HERE. Please note that the Sarasota Property Appraiser has a new website, www.SC-PA.com, you can reach the Charlotte Property Appraiser at www.ccappraiser.com

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK!!

 

Karen Rolland, President

My Fellow REALTORS®/Members,
 
Have you checked out the latest edition of Florida REALTOR? At our recent District Conference, the best attended sessions were those dealing with Social Networking, Chinese Drywall, Navigating Market Changes and Commercial Real Estate. Believe it or not, every one of those topics is included in this month’s issue! If you missed the Conference or just want a review, be sure to take it along with you to the beach this weekend! There is also a tear out sheet that you can use to explain the $8000 Tax Credit for first time homebuyers and a planning calendar for the upcoming FAR Annual Conference in Orlando August 19-23. It is no small surprise why Florida REALTOR walked away with the Excellence Award last year at NAR!
 
Thank you is something we don’t say often enough. I want to ask a favor of all of you and that is to try to remember to say thank you. It is such a great feeling to be on the receiving end of that phrase yet so many of us forget that. This past month our Association was involved in some pretty great things. We had the District Conference, the Million Dollar Recognition Cocktail reception, a lot of great educational classes, and a number of us had some showings and yes, even some sales! How many people did you thank for the benefits you received? I know I didn’t do it enough and I am really trying to get better at that. Not just from a business standpoint, but personally as well. Our families and loved ones are going through this tough market too and sometimes we lose sight of that. It doesn’t matter if it is just having someone open a door for you or offering to take your floor time for you when you have a scheduling conflict or picking up the kids when they know you have had a rough day…they are all attempts to make life a little easier and even though we do appreciate the efforts, we don’t always say it. As we celebrate the 4th of July this week, please be sure to say thank you to those who have served in the armed forces and those who have loved ones serving today. We wouldn’t be able to be doing what we do and have the freedoms we enjoy without them. If you are one who has served, THANK YOU!
 
From an Association standpoint, I thank Linda Pizarro, David, Karen, Falyn, Sonya, Mary, and Anita for all of their efforts. This has been a very tough year from a budget standpoint and staff/hour cuts have meant that our staff has had to put forth an extra effort to keep our association running. They do a phenomenal job and an occasional thank you means a lot to them. Your MLS Board of Directors, the Association Board, committee chairs, and committee members also spend countless (unpaid) hours working to make our association better as well. We have one of the best Associations in the state and it didn’t just ‘happen’.
 
On that note, thank YOU for all of your efforts and have a great holiday weekend!

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 20th – Contract Class 9am-12pm FREE Click HERE for details.
 
July 23rd – BlackBerry/Smart Phone Seminar 10am-11am FREE Presented by Verizon Wireless Zone. Click HERE for details.
 
Aug 26th/27th – 14 Hour Series need your Core Law or 14 hours for license renewal? Click HERE for details. Courses include Core Law; A Real Estate Agent’s Guide to Technology; Body Language & other Negotiating Skills; and Branding with Search Engine Indexers. Classes can be taken al-la-carte or as a 14 hour series.
 
Sept 3rd – How to Run a Consumer Friendly Website 1pm-4pm 3 Hours CE Credit. Click HERE for details.
 
Sept 17th – Red Flags on the Waterfront 9am-11am w/Attorney & Waterfront Expert David Levin-FREE. Click HERE for details.

Looking to Improve your Public Speaking or Leadership Skills? - Come join us for our next meeting of Toastmasters International 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

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.

Market Watch

Reverse Mortgage Scams on the Rise - The housing bubble, lax regulatory oversight and an influx of shady loan professionals have made lawmakers uneasy about the safety and soundness of the popular government-backed reverse-mortgage program. At a field hearing Monday in St. Louis, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, chaired by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., heard government officials and consumer advocates discuss a number of problems with the program, including aggressive marketing tactics, fraud and taxpayer liability for loans on homes whose values have plummeted. For the full story, click HERE.

Room Makeovers from Staging Pros - So what would a staging professional do if faced with a less-than-perfect room in a listing? Get ideas for your own listings by viewing some of these staging professionals' best room makeovers. Then, get more ideas from your peers with 9 Room Makeovers That Wow Buyers, featuring some of the best room transformations from real estate pros. Click HERE to see the before and after photos.

Smaller, 'Jewel-Box' Homes becoming a Trend - Small homes designed with top-quality materials, upscale detailing and custom built-ins. Tailored to the owners’ way of life, smaller homes suit a variety of demographic groups, including newlyweds, young professionals, empty-nesters and retirees - the last two a fast-growing segment of the population. The current recession, the downturn in the housing market and the emphasis on energy-efficiency all are playing into the jewel-box trend - and are making it increasingly difficult for homeowners to unload “starter castles,” says architect Sarah Susanka, author of “The Not So Big House.” For more information, click HERE.
 
Who’s your New Online Pal, your REALTOR®? - More and more real estate professionals are using Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and other social networking sites to stay in the public eye. They say these Internet destinations offer networking opportunities and allow them to discuss local news and events. For more information, click HERE.
 
Bill Seeks to Suspend HVCC Appraisals - Reps. Travis Childers (D-Miss.) and Gary Miller (R-Calif.) have teamed up to champion a bill that would create a moratorium on the new Home Mortgage Valuation Code of Conduct, which prohibits loan brokers and loan officers from directly ordering appraisals. The bipartisan legislation directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency to suspend the code for 18 months. The code has been criticized by the National Association of Mortgage Brokers for delaying residential property closings and costing its members business at a critical time. Group members also oppose paying high fees to appraisal management firms. Source: American Banker (06/30/09) P. 6 © Copyright 2009 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688

MLS TIP OF THE WEEK

Technical Updates Improve the System - In our daily encounters, whether in training sessions, on the phone with the Help Desk Technicians, or even in our feedback form on the website, we gather and evaluate your suggestions. We are pleased to announce the implementation of these suggestions:
  1. Special Sale Provisions such as short sale, in foreclosure, pre-foreclosure, bank owned and corporate owned will be removed from the Realtor Info field, please see Special Sale Conditions article for more information.
  2. "Pool (Home) Y/N" -- is changing to "Private Pool Y/N" (private pool versus community pool which is located in the Community Features field.)
  3. "Spanish" in the Architectural Style field is changing to "Spanish/Mediterranean"
  4. "Display Sellers Address Y/N" -- change to "Display Property Address"
  5. "Heating & Fuel" -- is changing to "Heating and Fuel"
  6. "IDX Y/N" --  from a radial button option to a drop down selection field
  7. "Originating Board" -- is changing to "Office Primary Board ID"

Real Estate Trivia

This Week’s Question – Independence Day Edition
Question: We all know that Independence Day is a National Holiday Celebrated on the 4th of July each year, but do you know the date that the official “Resolution of Independence” was passed, signaling official legal separation from England?
Answer: July 2nd, 1776 marks the official separation of the colonies from England. John Adams even wrote in a letter to his wife “The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” So remember that TODAY, JULY 2nd, we can certainly celebrate this great event.
 
For more interesting facts on Independence Day, check out the Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States)

Last 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.