REALTOR® WEEKLY UPDATE
Weekly Update on PGPCNPREALTORS.com
July 9th, 2009
To view archive editions, please click HERE.
Breaking News!
BEWARE OF SCAMS - REALTORS® locally and around the country are reporting scams. A local agent was targeted this week with an email like this:
Hi there, I am interested in viewing one of your properties while on my holiday here, could you please call me on my foreign mobile +882 135 503 25 to setup a time. As I am travelling and unable to pickup emails regularly so please call.
Kind regards, Elizabeth Casey
Mobile: +882 135 503 25
Reports show that this may be a scam to lure agents to calling an international toll phone number which will charge the agent and earn money for the scammer. Please be very careful, especially in this day and age when agents are desperately looking for every potential lead, scammers are also looking to take advantage of the situation. A simple google search of this phone number will show that this person as apparently contacted hundreds of agents from around the country asking similar questions and is most likely a scam.
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.
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.
Calling all Golfers –Save the Date September 12th, Kingsway Country club. The Association’s 3rd Annual Golf Tournament to support our Scholarship Program. Keep an eye out for more details.
Upcoming Events – Mark your calendar for two following events:
General Membership Meeting – July 24th 12pm. FREE LUNCH. Email l.pizarro@comcast.net to reserve your space today!
Happy Hour Social – July 28th 5:30pm, FREE FOOD, PRIZES, LOTS OF FUN click HERE for details. Email David-Logan@comcast.net if you would like to attend.
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK!!
Karen Rolland, President
My Fellow REALTORS®/Members,
Today (Wednesday) I participated in a Webinar offered by FAR. It was really pretty cool. Did you know that next week is WELCOME HOME WEEK across the state? Well, I did, but I wasn’t able to really get my arms around it until this morning when I had the opportunity to see all that FAR had put together for its members. There are some awesome tools out on the website www.floridarealtors.org that could really help you in your business of dealing with customers who may be eligible for the $8K tax credit or who may be facing foreclosure. The whole purpose of Welcome Home Week is to educate not only the Public but also the REALTORS® about all of the tools available to help them understand and communicate the new $8000 tax credit, the forms required, the process, and all of the other opportunities you, as agents and business partners, may find useful in working with eligible customers to take the most advantage of this unique government offering. FAR has put together a group of tools, ranging from downloadable PDF documents and posters, to various audio-visuals to help you communicate quickly and accurately with your customers about what is available to them in terms of down payment assistance and how to prevent foreclosure. There are creative radio spots that can be used as part of an email or for posting on your websites. There are PDF documents geared to guiding you through the various issues that come up with the $8000 credit and with foreclosure procedures. We all complain that we pay too much in dues….check out the website and take advantage of what FAR has to offer. I can assure you that the tools and member benefits that are being provided MORE than compensate for our dues. You can access all of the prepared materials by clicking on the Home Buyer’s Center on the home page of www.floridarealtors.org. They are FREE! There is also a convenient wizard (in both English and Spanish) to help you and your customers determine if the $8000 credit is something that would work for their individual situation.
Another item FAR is working on is a new consumer website, www.FloridaFaceOfForeclosure.com. The press announcement was made today introducing the site. The focus is on the consumer and it takes a human approach to foreclosures. It combines research data to show not only the regions affected, the statistics, and the various markets but also the consumer perspective. It is meant to show that someone cares how it happened, why it happened and how it can be prevented in the future from happening again. This step is radical and will help to make FAR the prime resource for foreclosure data and information. No one has, to date, tried to consolidate the various types of information regarding foreclosures, particularly the consumer perspectives, in one place.
On another note, our Association continues to receive accolades from across the two districts about our District Conference held on June 19th. It was truly a great event and we successfully illustrated that Charlotte County is open for business and has much to offer. Again, I thank all of you who participated or volunteered to help make it the success that it was. Have a great week and please be sure to check out the Florida Realtors and the NAR sites to take advantage of all the tools that are available to you as part of your membership. You will be amazed at all of the free downloads to help you in building your business.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President this year,
P.S. You a Harley fan? Reserve September 12th and watch for further details…..it will be fun!
Education Corner
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.
Where in the World Is…..
The following agents can now be found at…
Vivian Fahrenholz – Century 21 Almar
John Tryba – Home Choice Real Estate
Market Watch
NAR Appraisal Study: Impact of HVCC - “A preliminary analysis indicates that the implementation of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) appears to be having adverse impacts on the housing markets,” says Jed Smith, managing director, quantitative research, with the National Association of Realtors®. “Appraisal issues associated with the implementation of HVCC have recently been in the news. NAR Research has developed information on the subject through a statistically representative survey of the membership.” For the full story, click HERE.
Homeowner’s Associations Loose Some Power over Lawns - A new law empowers Florida homeowners to ignore some community’s covenants or deed restrictions to create an environment-friendly yard. A water conservation bill signed last week by Gov. Charlie Crist, SB 2080, included an amendment concerning Florida homeowners’ lawns. Introduced as a stand-alone bill by Sen. Carey Baker (R-Eustis), the drive to empower homeowners to plant Florida-friendly yards was rolled into the larger water bill, and a side note to the larger issue. Click HERE for more details.
Banks worry about Commercial Property - The next big drag on the economy could come from about $1.7 trillion in commercial property loans held by banks for U.S. office buildings, shopping centers and other income-generating properties. A recent Deutsche Bank study warns that tougher underwriting standards and a projected 50-percent plunge in property values would prevent many commercial borrowers from refinancing their loans as they come due over the next four years. For more information, click HERE.
Real Estate goes through the Roof in China - Real estate prices in major cities in China have suddenly gone from bust to boom, a leading real estate expert said.“The bidders have gone irrational,” said Pan Shiyi, chairman of SOHO China, a large property investment company. In one instance, a land parcel in Beijing was taken off the market 15 months ago due to a lack of interest, the China Daily reported. But this week, the same parcel broke a record for a single-parcel price, selling for $585 million, the newspaper said. For more information, click HERE.
MLS TIP OF THE WEEK
Internet Explorer 8 – Please keep in mind that Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is not fully compatible with MLXchange; however, if you have upgraded to IE8 or must upgrade for other reasons, please keep in following in mind: Currently you will be able to search and do CMAs and everything else in the MLXchange using IE8, however you will not be able to print the map. We do have to make some adjustments to the IE8 browsers so that the MLXchange runs smoothly on it. The correction of all the IE8 glitches will come out with HotFix 6. There is no time as to when it will be out yet.
Click HERE for instructions on what settings need to be changed in order to make IE8 run as smooth as possible, but again please keep in mind that you may be better off staying with Internet Explorer 7 until all of the bugs are worked out.
Real Estate Trivia
This Week’s Question
Question: How well do you remember your manners? “There are those who say manners have gone the way of luxury trains and white gloves. But proper business etiquette can make you stand out like a pair of patent leather shoes in a row of sneakers. Take our courtesy quiz, adapted from the etiquette lessons in Letitia Baldrige's New Complete Guide to Executive Manners to see whether you're refined or rude.”
1. This is a proper introduction between your clients and broker: "Bill and Beverly, this is my broker." True or False?
2. When is shaking hands inappropriate?
a. When you run into someone you know.
b. When you say good-bye to the same person.
c. When you greet someone with an arthritic hand or a prosthesis.
d. When the other person is eating an hors d'oeuvre and holding a drink.
3. If you see someone you've met before but can't remember the name, you should
a. Move to the other side of the room or cross the street.
b. Say, for example, "I remember meeting you at that chamber of commerce function last month. I'm Julie Johnson."
c. Pretend you never met the person if approached.
d. Look busy by talking on your cellular phone.
4. You forget an appointment with a prospect. You should
a. Telephone your apology.
b. Send a note of apology.
c. Send flowers or other gift, such as fruit, wine, or candy.
d. All the above.
5. You're dining at your broker's house. The only course you need to wait for your host to begin is the main one. True or False?
Answers: Click HERE to see the answers.
Last 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.