Monday, August 30, 2010

Make Every Dollar You Pay in Dues and Fees Count!!

For the life of me I do not understand why every member would not want to squeeze every possible benefit and monetary rebate from their dues and fees available to them! One of the core tenets of our existence as an association is that we are sworn to uphold and promote the professional standards of our industry. It is a part of our corporate charter and we must report those activities on our IRS 990. MLSOK, although a for profit entity, also works to return any profit generated back to the members in tools and services. MLSOK underwrites many of the conference activities as a means to rebate the members while assisting OKCMAR in  achieving the requirements of our corporate charter and non-profit status. Only $125 of your REALTOR® dues stays at OKCMAR- the rest are sent to the Oklahoma Assn of REALTORS® (state) and the National Assn of REALTORS® (national). That is $10.25 cents per month per OKCMAR member.

By sponsoring conference events, MLSOK can promote the industry that supports it. Many of our educational opportunities are free, including past conferences. This year OKCMAR is requiring a $69 enrollment fee for the two days of the conference.  $60 covers the cost of two luncheons charged by the Reed Center. $9 of each registration goes to the hotel for some of the usage fee. Included in the conference are breakfast and afternoon snack breaks and the cost of the expo which features free appetizers and cocktail service.

So the entrance fee covers your meals and beverages. The actual conference and all of its incredible information, education and networking opportunities is in essence completely free and your dues and fees dollars at work! The conference is bringing in national speakers, Janelle Odishoo, who will teach you how to make all that social media activity a profit center, Marsha Petrie Sue who will share the secrets of success to running your own small business, and local, but nationally reknown, motivational and inspirational speaker, Stan Toler who will inspire you and propel your business to the next level!

Joyce Painter is offering the residential Green Designation Elective Course and Dr. Bart Binning the Commercial Green Elective Course. Dan Sight will be teaching the commercial CE course, Financial Analysis and Melynn Sight will be teaching the CE course Writing for Real Estate which is applicable to all REALTORS regardless of specialty. Kristi Randall is offering her extremely popular CE Class, I Hate Math. In addition there are two showing assist labs with Kathleen Forester of Showing Assist, CIE labs for the commercial practioner and learning how to set up a blog. Bring your laptops and follow along.

But that is just the beginning! Various committees are presenting 45 minutes Quick Learns about pertinent real estate issues such as FHA requirements and going paperless and how to invest for retirement. There are also several panel discussions covering financing and title insurance requirements. WOW! My head is spinning! Investing a small amount for your meals and squeezing every benefit out of what you already are paying. How could anyone not want to register for this event?

Still not convinced at how worthwhile your attendance will be to your career? The two luncheons are all about you, the member! The first day is the OKCMAR election luncheon and the second day is the Awards luncheon where outstanding OKCMAR members will be recognized for their achievements in innovation, leadership and RPAC committment.

Register Today by clicking here....

How does the HWC Rule affect you?

I have received a few calls over the last couple of weeks requesting that OKCMAR comment about the recent addition to the Rules and Regulations pertaining to the new HUD statement about RESPA and their summary regarding Home Warranty Companies’ payments to Real Estate Brokers and Agents.

After reading the information, I find it broadly open to interpretation, with specifics that deal with a lot of probability and what if’s.

Needless to say, it would be extremely difficult for the OKCMAR Board to render a suggested course of action with this issue, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it is a RESPA issue, which means it is a Federal Government issue.

Secondly, HUD’s interpretive rule does offer some examples of services that it regards as potentially compensable.

The HWC Rule was open for public comment through July 26th 2010, and any comment OKCMAR would offer at this point will be disqualified as outside the timeline. However, because RESPA is a federal ruling, your National Association of REALTORS® did submit a comment to the ruling and is working hard on your behalf. This is exactly where your RPAC dollars become so important to the industry. To read NAR's comment on the ruling click here:
http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/3eaf0480434e6a36870b87b0e53c74b2/gov_aff_respa_hwc_letter_072210.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=3eaf0480434e6a36870b87b0e53c74b2

Confused yet? I urge you to read the rule at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-15355.pdf to come up with your own interpretation.

The best thing to do for us, the REALTOR®, is to consult with your Broker to determine how your Company views this legislation.

Don't Practice What You Don't Know

Short sales are a tricky business and not for the faint of heart or for the inexperienced. Over the past year the association has put out a great deal of information on the short sale process. However, reading information alone does not an expert make. Before you decide to take on the short sale process think about the skills you bring to the table. Are you adequately prepared and knowledgeable to complete this transaction? Are you the best person for the job? I know that this is harsh but over and over statistical data bears out that those REALTORS® who specialize in a field or market are those that survive and thrive over the long term. There are REALTORS® out there who specialize in short sales and have for several years. They know the ins and outs and many are either Loss-Mitigation Certifed (LMC), Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPE) or Short Sale and Forclosure Resource (SFR) certified.

I believe that every practicing OKCMAR REALTOR® out there wants to do the very best for their clients and customers. The OKCMAR logo is the sign of quality. From our outstanding MLS, our syndication system to our public-sided search site to our phenomenal education programs, being an OKCMAR REALTOR® says to your clients; YOU ARE THE VERY BEST! So what do you do if one of your best customers or clients comes to you with a short sale opportunity? If you are not skilled and knowlegeable in the short sale process your best bet (Remembering that your time equals money out of your net income-the more time you spend on a transaction the less per hour you are making per transaction) may be to refer your client to a short sale expert.

A simple phone call followed by a policy letter can assure that you are paid a referral fee, your client has the benefit of your input (knowing his/her situation, likes/dislikes etc) and is grateful for a swift and clean short sale transaction. Your client knows that you have his/her best interests at the forefront of your actions and is more likely to refer other business your way. You also avoid the liability pitfalls that these tricky sales can sometimes result in.

If you have been participating in short sale transactions successfully and see this as a market specialization you may want to pursue get SFR certified. Please note that the SFR is the NAR certification and is the only program currently sanctioned and endorsed by NAR. At minimum, make sure you have read and reviewed the entire NAR short sales field guide.


Down for the Count!

Dear Readers:

I deeply apologize for my lack of posting this month. I started out the month with a trip to Chicago, my second hometown so to speak. My brother, mother and three sisters all live in Chicago. I was there for the leadership summit. I enjoyed my time with Pres-Elect, Steve Mann, and Commercial President-Elect, Bijan Babbolah. This year's summit was interesting. The part I liked the very best was listening to the NAR Outgoing, Incoming and First Vice President talk about what the NAR leadership experience had meant to them. Ron Phipps, Pres-Elect, was very impressive. He chose his words carefully and deliberately and I think his message was clear, "Seize the Day". That we only have today to impact our industry and our national and global economy. Each of us should be representing our profession to our utmost ability.

When I returned home it was to a deluge of medical issues. In fact today is the first full day I have been at work in two weeks. I am happy to report I am on the mend and will be happily writing for the autumn weeks to come.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

On the Road Again!

I am on my way (sort of) to Chicago for the National Assn of REALTORS® leadership summit. This is a three day seminar where Pres-Elects and their AE's learn how to work together and what NAR will be offering this year. I am sitting in the airport with Pres-Elect,  Steve Mann. Got here on time only to learn our flight has been delayed by 1 hour. I tried to call Shirley Holland, the Norman AE, and heard from her staff- she is stuck on the tarmac here in OKC. Oh the joys of traveling!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

HR 4173 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Bill Signed into Law

This new law directly impacts mortgage availability and you should know about it. The actual bill is over 2100 pages long but there is a concise overview of the new law on one of my favorite sites; http://opencongress.org . I have written about this site before as a great informational source.  At the end of this post is information about opencongress.org.

A synopsis of the bill's mortgage provisions:

Mortgage Reform and Handling the Mortgage Crisis

  • Establishes a federal standard for home loans, and requires that institutions ensure that borrowers can repay their loans
  • Prohibits financial incentives for subprime loans that encourage lenders to steer borrowers towards more expensive loans
  • Requires lenders to disclose the maximum amount a consumer might may on a variable rate mortgage
  • Establishes the Office of Housing Counseling (within HUD)
  • Provides $1 billion to states and localities to rehabilitate, redevelop, and reuse abandoned and foreclosed properties
  • Provides $1 billion to help cover mortgage payments for unemployed homeowners with reasonable prospects for reemployment
  • Authorizes a HUD program to help provide forecloseure legal assistance to low- and moderate-income homeowners and tenants
     

Your National Association of REALTORS fought very hard on your behalf for this provision. Following is how NAR influenced the bill (Your RPAC dollars at Work!):

MORTGAGES

Risk Retention – Qualified Mortgage Exemption
  • At NAR’s request, Congress included a qualified mortgage exemption from potentially costly--for both lenders and consumers--risk retention requirements.
  • Congress gave the regulator flexibility in determining what a qualified mortgage is, however the mortgage must meet the standards laid out in the predatory lending portion of the bill. These standards include underwriting based upon full documentation, ability to repay, and limitations on fees among other things.
  • NAR will work with the regulators to ensure that the regulatory framework maximizes access to affordable mortgages for consumers.
Qualified Mortgage Safe Harbor
  • A safe harbor from the “ability to repay” requirement was created, which limits the total points and fees collected by lenders and their affiliates to 3. This provision was included over NAR’s strenuous and repeated objection.
  • However, we believe there is some regulatory flexibility in this provision including flexibility for smaller loan amounts with “smaller” being left undefined.
  • NAR will work diligently to ensure this provision is interpreted in a manner consistent with the best interests of real estate professionals, their lender partners, and their clients and customers.
Seller Financing
  • NAR was successful in getting the legislation amended to allow an individual to conduct three seller financed transactions in a 12 month period without being subject to the complicated mortgage rules in the new Act. NAR has asked HUD to adopt a similar approach to exempt seller financing, up to three transactions in a 12 month period, from loan originator licensing requirements under the S.A.F.E. Act.

To learn about the other provisions in the bill where NAR advocated on behalf of the industry and the consumer click here. 

To read about the bill itself click here

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