REALTOR® WEEKLY UPDATE
Weekly Update on PGPCNPREALTORS.com
August 13th, 2009
To view archive editions, please click HERE.
Breaking News!
2009 FAR Convention & Trade Show FREE FRIDAY! - The Florida Association of Realtors Convention Committee is celebrating our new venue, The Rosen Shingle Creek, with free admission to our Trade Expo, Friday Aug. 21 from 9 am ‘til 2 pm. But you can’t get in free unless you download, fill out, print and present the Free Friday Trade Expo Coupon at the Expo entrance (please do not send the coupon to FAR – simply bring it with you the day of the show). Click HERE to download the coupon.
Calling all Golfers –Save the Date September 12th, Kingsway Country club. The Association’s 3rd Annual Golf Tournament to support our High School Scholarship Program. This is a great opportunity to hit the links for a good cause and enjoy a day on one of Southwest Florida’s most beautiful courses. We are looking for teams to play and Business Partners to sponsor, please email David-Logan@comcast.net for more details. Download the flyer to sign up your team HERE.
Interested in GRI, how does HALF PRICE SOUND? Do not miss out on this LIMITED TIME OFFER! FAR is offering for a SHORT TIME only, the GRI 1 on-line for half price ($150 rather than $300). The Online format means that you have 90 days to complete the course, work at your own pace, attend from home, office, boat, poolside or anywhere you can get an internet connection. Course also counts for 11 Hours of CE Specialty Credit (everything except core law) OR 45 Sales Post-License credit. This is an amazing opportunity that should not be passed up! Also, our Association will be providing the opportunity for all on-line participants to engage in an on-line user group which will meet to discuss questions that you may have and hear from special guest speakers who will help combine the on-line content with real-world experience. Email David-Logan@comcast.net for details.
***NEW EDUCATION CLASSES***
BlackBerry/Smart Phone Seminar – August 20th 1pm – 2:30pm, sign up today for this FREE BlackBerry/Smart Phone seminar presented by Verizon Wireless Zone of Port Charlotte. The course will provide demonstrations for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Palm devices and apps. You do NOT have to have verizon service to attend this class, it is open to anyone. If you have a BlackBerry or smart phone, then bring it with you along with your questions for tech support. If you are thinking about upgrading to a smart phone, this is your chance to see what phones and plans are available. Email David-Logan@comcast.net to reserve your space.
Shift Tactics: Are you learning to deal with a changing Real Estate Market? Would you like to learn how to shift gears by “bulletproofing the transaction” and “pricing ahead of the market”? DO NOT MISS Top Rated speaker Nikki Ubaldini who will present “Tactics to Success in a Shifting Market” based on the best-selling book “Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times”. Nikki is a highly rated speaker on the state and national level and has been recommended by many of our local members, so you do not want to miss this opportunity to hear from her. September 16th from 10am – 2:30pm including a Free Lunch. Class is FREE to education passport members and $15.00 for non-passport members. RSVP to david-logan@comcast.net to register.
Market to the World on a Shoestring Budget: Come experience how you can reach out to the world on a shoestring budget with technology expert Barry Grooms. Topics include Web 2.0, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogging, Postlets, Listing Syndication, and Google for Grownups. October 22nd 9am – 12pm. Class is FREE to education passport members and $15.00 for non-passport members. RSVP to david-logan@comcast.net to register.
More Education Opportunities are listed below!
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK!!
Karen Rolland, President
My fellow REALTORS and Members,
Today a lot of us are thinking back on where we were 5 years ago. Kind of a strange feeling, isn’t it? We were all buckling down thinking that the storm was headed north and we really weren’t in danger but man, were we wrong! Those experiences, and each of us have our own story, were incredible and little did we know just how much of an impact it would have on the building of our individual characters and on the rebuilding of our community. We have a lot to celebrate and I truly hope that each of you are appreciating just how far we have come since then. I hope to see you on Saturday for the celebration in Laishley Park.
Have any of you heard about Floridians for Further Growth? If you haven’t, you need to check out this website http://florida2010.org/index.php. Please don’t blow this off, it is important not only to you and your family, but also your customers and all Florida residents. What is your impression when you hear the words “Hometown Democracy”? Mine is a vision of apple pie, the national anthem, somebody sitting in front of a fire singing God Bless America and all that is good for our country. Unfortunately, a group of people have adopted this logo/phrase for their move to adopt an amendment (Amendment # 4) to our state constitution that is anything but what that phrase represents and it could be lethal for our state. Most unsuspecting voters will look at the promotional phrase of “Hometown Democracy” and be misled. It is our job to make sure they know what it means.
The Floridians for Further Growth are opposing Amendment 4 or the “Vote on Everything” amendment. Their (Hometown Democracy’s) amendment - requiring voters to approve all local comprehensive land use plan changes - subverts a well-established, open, accessible, and democratic planning process. With the Vote on Everything amendment, many Sunshine State voters - not the representatives they elected - will be expected to decide 200 to 300 intricate land-use planning amendments every year.
This was implemented in St Pete Beach, FL not so very long ago and that city is totally crippled. Nothing has been done and the city is dying a slow death. We don’t want this to happen in our city and definitely not across the state of Florida. Please, please, please, read up on it and do your best to communicate to your customers, friends, family, and legislators the importance of NOT letting this amendment pass in November. There are a meager 640+ votes that were able to put it on the ballot….ignorant folks who have absolutely no idea what the impact of this amendment would mean to Florida or ultimately to the country. I am not one who gets involved in the political arena very often but I am totally passionate on this issue. It really ticks me off when they use the term “Hometown Democracy” because it lulls people into thinking it is something good for us…believe me, this is NOT good. Do a Google on St Pete Beach, check out the website and come to your own conclusion but I think you will agree.
Linda Pizarro and I will be meeting with a local group of community leaders later in September to stem the efforts of the proponents of this legislation but I feel that it is important that you, as area real estate experts, be informed of the situation BEFORE it hits the polls in November. Please do what you can to educate your customers, co-workers, friends, family, etc about the impact of this amendment. Encourage them to vote NO. By the way, RPAC will also be fighting against this amendment so if you haven’t made your investment in RPAC yet, now would be a good time!
On that note, have a great week. Our numbers are still pretty good…home sales are up 5% from this time last year but median price is down about 26%, much of that is to be attributed to the number of foreclosure and short sales transactions. All in all, we are doing great so keep up the good work!
Education Corner
All courses below are FREE to Education Passport members! Non- Passport Members – see details for cost.
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.
FREE Hands-On MLS Training! Courses include “Design Web Page & Capture Leads”, “iMapp: interactive tax and mailing labels”, “Tools: MongoFax, RatePlug, ShowingTime and MLX Wireless”, “Creating a Professional CMA”, and “MLXChange Advanced” and more. Classes are HANDS ON with laptops provided. Click HERE for class schedule, additional details and to reserve a seat, space is limited!
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
Congratulations to the following members
Please notify David Logan when you earn a REALTOR® Designation so that we can recognize your accomplishment!
Janice Klein – Earned a GRI Designation
Vicky McPhee – Earned a CRS Designation
Karen Rolland – Earned a CRS Designation
Where in the World Is…..
The following agents can now be found at…
Chad McCrory – RE/MAX Anchor
Chris McMillan – RE/MAX Anchor
John Dibble - RE/MAX Anchor
Ronald Mowry – Punta Gorda Realty
Boyd Gibson - Weichert Realtors Southern Choice
Ivan Shumeiko – Ivan Shumeiko Realty (New Office)
Pamela Wilson – Premier Properties of Punta Gorda
Mariann Milner – Century 21 Almar
Market Watch
Drywall Homes: Bargain or Bind - Florida homes tainted by defective Chinese drywall are popping up on Realtor.com at bargain-basement prices. Although it is not required by law, many brokers have readily adopted a new drywall disclosure form developed by the Florida Association of Realtors® to use in sales transactions. There currently are nine drywall properties listed for sale on the site – all of them fairly new and for under $50,000 – but there also are questions about whether the low prices are worth the hassle the real estate could bring in the future. For the full story, click HERE.
Many Buyers with FHA Loans Lose Funding - HUD pulled FHA funding from a large lender (Taylor, Bean and Whitaker), now buyers and homeowners have questions. Read HUD's list of (PDF format) FAQs by clicking HERE.
Homeowners gain an Edge with Internet Searches - In the colorful, centuries-long history of house hunting, when have so many buyers come to the table knowing so much about prices, neighborhoods and school test scores? Probably never. Credit an average 16 weeks spent browsing the Internet before buyers contact a real estate agent to get serious. Fifteen years into the World Wide Web, home searches once defined by riding around in agents’ sport-utility vehicles – a process in which agents knew all and a buyer knew little – have been thoroughly recast. Buyers – 84 percent of whom use the Internet for house hunting, according to a California Association of Realtors study – have taken on much of the information gathering formerly done by agents, who occupy the middle of a transaction. For the full story, click HERE.
Commercial Real Estate Woes Not Over - Despite signs that the global economic free fall may be over, conditions in the commercial real estate sector remain extremely stressed. A financing drought and declining property fundamentals are pushing up both “maturity” and “performance” defaults on commercial mortgages, threatening to undermine the economy’s longer term ability to create jobs and grow, according to The Real Estate Roundtable’s latest quarterly survey of senior commercial real estate executives. Of the 120 CEOs, chairmen, presidents, board members and other top executives participating in the Q3 “Sentiment Survey,” 93 percent said asset values are lower than they were a year ago, while 82 percent expect values to remain roughly the same or to erode even further in the next 12 months. For the full story, click HERE.
MLS TIP OF THE WEEK
Many statistical reports are available at the click of a button in MLXChange. Reports can help outline Market Trends, Sales & Inventory, NAR Sales Report, agent production report etc. Statistical reports can be filtered by status such as active, sold, pending, etc. These reports can be a huge benefit for marketing and business planning purposes and are very simple to generate. Please click HERE for detailed step-by-step instructions on how to run reports.
Real Estate Trivia
This Week’s Question
Question: Are you a property pro or a real estate rookie? With today's real estate market, it's important to stay sharp and play it smart. Take this quiz and bone up on everything from mortgages to staging. We'll tell you how your knowledge stacks up and give you tips on how to increase your expertise.
Answer: Take HGTV’s Real Estate IQ Test HERE
Last Week’s Question
Answer: Take NAR’s Home Staging Quiz HERE