REALTOR® WEEKLY UPDATE
Weekly Update on PGPCNPREALTORS.com
October 30th, 2008 to view archive editions click HERE
Don’t forget the General Membership Meeting on Friday, October 31st at 12pm. Food and Refreshments sponsored by Adam’s Homes and All Phase Insurance. Click HERE to RSVP (required). Did you download your certificate for FREE ADMISSION TO NAR’S EXPO in Orlando? If not, see the Upcoming Events section below for details.
Breaking News!
Do you have Customers who want to live in a Florida community with qualified housing for older persons? Would you like to market your listings in MLXchange to include they are in a community that is Qualified Housing for Older Persons? Disclosure of “Qualified Housing for Older Persons” is now available and optional in MLXchange. This is a new field for members who want to take advantage of adding this to their existing listings or when submitting a new listing. For additional information, see the “Housing for Older Persons” Rules and Regulations article.
You only have 62 more days to complete your Quadrennial Ethics requirement. All REALTORS® must take NAR Code of Ethics between January 1st 2005 and December 31st 2008. Your Association is hosting a class on November 13th. Please email David Logan to reserve a space. Course also qualifies for 3 CE credits.
American Cancer Society “Relay for Life” Garage Sale. Hosted by Century 21 Almar and Associates at their Murdock office in front of Home Depot at 19700 Cochran Blvd. Saturday, November 1st from 8am-2pm. Please come out and support the American Cancer Society. E-mail Linda Megill with any questions at lmegill@hotmail.com.
Last Week’s Winner!!
Rick Lundgren- $25 Gift Certificate to Carrabba’s, compliments of Brian Chapman State Farm Insurance. Please email or stop by Brian’s office to pick up your prize! You can reach Brian Chapman or Kimberly Service at 941-625-9998. Remember, you can't win unless you enter and it only takes a few seconds. See below for this week's drawing compliments of Odette Embury of Calusa National Bank.
Business Sponsor – Odette Embury - 941-255-8558
Please click HERE to enter for a chance to win a $50.00 Simon Visa Card compliments of Odette Embury and Calusa National Bank.
This week’s newsletter is sponsored by Odette Embury with Calusa National Bank. Although the Bank was just born a year ago, Odette has been helping this community with financing their homes since the eighties. With her knowledge and experience, she has brought Calusa National Bank the ability to help your customers as well. Calusa, although a small community bank, can offer your customer’s the same products as a large bank with the benefit of a local personal touch. We offer such products as a 30 and 15 year fixed rate loan, Jumbo loans, as well as FHA and first time homebuyer products, to name a few. Whether you’re looking for a mortgage for yourself or your customers or just want a safe, friendly, and secure bank in which to deposit your money, you can count on Calusa National Bank. Call Odette Embury at 941 255 8558.
From the President’s Desk
Bill Dryburgh, President
To my fellow REALTORS®,
Last weekend we had a Halloween Party at your Association Auditorium. I wish each one of you could have been there to see what Bob (fig) and Nancy Newton and the Entertainment Committee had done to our building. It looked great and from what I saw and heard, everyone in attendance had a really good time. To all the winners of the costume contest I congratulate you on a job well done. To the rest, there were no losers...each one of you are winners for just being there and being a part of trying to bring our Association closer. To everyone that helped put the party together, a big THANK YOU for a job well done.
Remember to vote next week. Many of people sacrificed a lot so we can have the freedom to vote…and some gave their all.
Education Corner
International Seminar - FREE – Learn how to better serve International Clients with “Understanding FIRPTA" by local FARR LAW FIRM Real Estate/Probate attorney Dorothy Korszen and "Immigration Issues” presented by International Attorney Donna Scarlatelli. November 3rd, 9am – Noon. Click HERE for more details.
Tax Deferred Strategies OTHER than 1031 Exchange – 3 CE Credits $15: Highly rated NEW CE class. Defer capital gains tax without a TIC, 1031 or Triple Net Lease and receive an income stream for life! Don’t worry about Failed 1031’s again with the 1031 Rescue. November 11th 2pm E-mail David Logan to sign up for this unique opportunity. Click HERE for more details.
New Class: "Don't get Blogged Down" Nov 12th 1pm-5pm. Nationally recognized blogging experts Joeann Fossland and Frances Flynn Thorsen will help guide you through the blogosphere. Learn how to use blogging and a suite of social networking tools to leverage your expertise and online presence. Develop a blog business plan and promote your blog on/offline. You do not want to miss this unique opportunity. Presented in conjunction with W.C.R and sponsored by Lambert & O'Neill, Stewart Title, and Charlotte State Bank.
Unlock the power of Microsoft Office. Classes on Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher are taught by our very own Microsoft certified instructor Mary Gitzen. Visit the Education Calendar for details.
Contract Class: Learn the "why's" of Contract Law; Comparison and Contrasts of the FAR-9 and FAR/BAR Contracts; Step by Step instruction in Completing Contact Forms. Instructor: Bill Perrault. November 20th 9am – 2pm
Making the most of your Mid-Florida Membership? Sign up for additional training and unlock the tools to help you succeed! See the list of FREE Mid-Florida educational opportunities. Courses include “Design Web Page”, “iMapp”, “Tools”, “MLXChange Advanced”, etc. Many classes are HANDS ON with laptops provided. Sign up soon, space is limited.
Visit the Education Calendar for full course offering and details.
REALTORS®, did you know you have access to an entire FREE library of print and audio books? Please visit Realtor.org to download FREE print and audio books on topics such as: Leadership, Public Speaking; Sales; Foreign Language; Travel, etc. You can even download FREE audio books by Barak Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden, and Sarah Palin. Once again the books and audio books are FREE and available 24 hours a day and can even be transferred to your iPod, a CD or other portable device. Please contact david-logan@comcast.net if you have any questions. Use Realtor.org to get more value out of your NAR membership!
Business Partners
When was the last time you contacted one of your Business Partners to find out what is going on in their industry. There is no better resource for your business than Your Business Partners. We are blessed to have professionals from all the affiliated industries which help to support and improve your business. Also, if there is a business that you regularly work with who is not a business partner, ask them why they are not taking advantage of this opportunity and have them email david-logan@comcast.net to get more information. Remember, we are all in this TOGETHER! See the Business Partner page on our website to contact someone today.
Where in the World is……
Maureen Duso Re/Max Palm
Robert Allen Re/Max Palm
Kelli Geddeis Re/Max Palm
Kathleen Chesney Century 21 Sunbelt
Upcoming Events
October General Membership Meeting – Friday October 31st 12pm.
2008 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida! Nov 7-10th
All Florida REALTORS® are entitled to FREE ADMISSION TO NAR’S EXPO. Download the following VIP INVITATION to take advantage of this free offer. Expo features: Unlimited opportunities to shop, compare, and save on the best tools on the market, more than 600 exhibitors and the opportunity to talk directly with product experts, second home and resort properties around the world from nearly 100 exhibitors, win $1,000 in daily drawings or a new Cadillac CTS!
Women’s Council of Realtors®
Meetings 1st Wednesday of each month 11:30am
Next meeting Wednesday November, 5th 11:30am – Mark Martella of the Martella Law Firm will speak on how to structure your business – what are the pros and cons of various corporate structures for real estate professionals? Guests Welcome, please RSVP to Sharon Neuhofer to take advantage of this opportunity.
Bowling with WCR – November 1st 6pm – 8pm Treasure Lanes. Click HERE for more information and sponsorship opportunities. Contact Rose or Odette for additional information.
Don’t miss the Caravan.
A Caravan is a great opportunity to showcase your listing, network with fellow Realtors®, get pricing opinions, and have a good time. No listing to show…just come along for the ride!
Punta Gorda Caravan – 1st Thursday every month – 8:15am – Home Choice Real Estate - 6101 Duncan Rd. To have your listing included contact Mike no later than noon on the Tuesday prior to the caravan.
Port Charlotte Caravan – 3rd Thursday every month – 8:15am - PGPCNP Association Office **Please note that due to upcoming events and holidays, this caravan will be meeting the 2nd Thursday until 2009** E-mail Karen Martin two days prior to the caravan date to have your listing included. Listings can also be faxed to Karen at 941-743-9023.
Market Watch
Protect Yourself!! You might think that fewer transactions and lower sales volume would lead to fewer real estate professionals getting entangled in lawsuits and Florida Real Estate Commission investigations. Not so. Read the full story HERE
For the first time in almost three years, Florida's existing home sales rose in September, up 24 percent from September 2007; and statewide sales of existing condos increased 11 percent in the year-to-year comparison, according to FAR's latest housing data. Sales are up nationally, too: NAR reports sales of all types of existing housing rose 5.5 percent last month compared to August's sales, and are 1.4 percent higher than September 2007 sales. Read the full article HERE.
New home sales recorded an unexpected 2.7 percent increase in September - economists had expected a decline. Read the full story HERE.
When the Federal Reserve meets this week, policymakers are widely expected to lower interest rates - perhaps to their lowest point in more than four years - with the hope of relieving some of the economic pain felt by many Americans. Any Fed rate cut would be aimed at cushioning the fallout from the global financial crisis. Read the full story HERE.
USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing Loans Offer 100% Financing! One of the lesser known options for available financing might be of great benefit to prospective clients. The USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing (GRH) program provides up to 102% financing for low to moderate income folks who are thinking about purchasing a home in a rural area. The program is an excellent option for those that have not saved a lot for a down payment. Click HERE to find out the requirements. All of Punta Gorda, most of North Port, and many parts of Port Charlotte (including Deep Creek) are within eligible Rural Housing areas. Click HERE to see a map of eligible locations in our area. Loans include Single Family and Multi-Family loans as well as Business Loans, Grants and Energy Efficiency Programs.
More Stories:
Mortgage lenders more flexible, some say
Florida’s recovery from economic slide bumpy
MLS TIP of the WEEK
Are Your Listings Mapped Properly? The latest integration of Microsoft Virtual Earth(TM) within MLXchange has revolutionized how many REALTORS® search for and display properties to their clientele. Instead of relying on a list, you can view the potential listing matches on a map, even showing the aerial view if you choose to. At the time the listing is loaded into MLXchange, when using tax autopop to populate the listing with the tax information, the property is automatically geo-coded so that it will show up on the map. Microsoft Virtual Earth(TM) generally does a good job, but it does not always know the exact location. Learn how to map your listing correctly
Real Estate Trivia
This Week’s Question
Question: What do the histories of Charlotte Harbor, Fl and Charlotte, NC have in common?
Answer: See next week’s edition of PG-PC-NP Weekly Update!
Last Week’s Question
Question: Can you locate the Wealthiest and Poorest places in Florida (per-capita income)?
Answer: To view the entire list, click HERE
Florida Counties Ranked by Per Capita Income
According to Wikipedia there are sixty-seven counties located in Florida, six of which are in the top 100 richest counties in the country.
1 Collier County $31,195
2 Martin County $29,584
3 Palm Beach County $28,801
4 St. Johns County $28,674
5 Sarasota County $28,326
16 Charlotte County $21,806
63 Madison County $12,511
64 Hardee County $12,445
65 Calhoun County $12,379
66 Union County $12,333
67 Hamilton County $10,562
Florida Places Ranked by Per Capita Income
1 Fisher Island, Florida $236,238
2 Jupiter Island, Florida $200,087
3 Golf, Florida $144,956
4 Manalapan, Florida $143,729
5 Indian Creek, Florida $137,382
116 Punta Gorda, Florida $32,460
460 Port Charlotte, Florida $18,563
549 North Port, Florida $16,836
883 Franklin Park, Florida $6,583
884 Five Points, Florida $6,246
885 Homestead Base, Florida $6,181
886 Malone, Florida $5,701
887 Belle Glade Camp, Florida $4,995