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Tag Archive: NAR
Protect Mortgage Insurance Deductions!!
Many of us are frustrated with what is happening through laws, bills, and changes. If ever you want to get “involved” now is the time. Picture our industry and what will happen if mortgage interest write offs are taken away, or at a minimum limited. We can’t let that happen.
I am attaching a video and Call for Action that was just sent out today. Please do yourself, your clients, our industry and others a favor. Please respond to this immediately and forward this message to all that you can. We need to stop this as soon as possible.
Thanks for your help.
Marge
Preserve, Protect and Defend MID
You can shape legislation by being heard early and with strong conviction. This is one of those times. Congress needs to hear from you. Warning signs have appeared on Capitol Hill about mortgage interest deductibility. Homeowners have taken big hits the past few years. We cannot have Congress adding to the injury.
Watch NAR President Ron Phipp’s video Call for Action explaining why our action is so urgent. Then send your letter asking your Representative to cosponsor H.Res25, a bipartisan House resolution that affirms the value and importance of the Mortgage Interest Deduction.
Realtors need to direct Congress to Preserve, Protect and Defend the MID. No economic recovery is possible without a vibrant housing market. Please Take Action today.
NAR Convention New Orleans 2010
So what do you say about a long weekend in the Big Easy? Wow and ouch sound appropriate. Wow because of the sheer volume of meetings, classes and vendors to check out and ouch because your feet are challenged from all the walking and standing.
Let’s cover the Expo – the overall theme continued to be mobile applications, social media and integration. Phil reported on QR codes and tags, which were prominently scattered throughout the trade show floor. I took the time to shop for a new phone, hear from the vendors their recommendations as well as what they use and what REALTOR® discounts are available. I also stopped in to a couple of booths to see their latest offerings; including REALTOR.com; Realtytrac; and Houselogic; all of whom I would recommend for further study.
On the meeting front, I would start by recommending going to www.narconferencelive.com and ‘clicking on’ Conference Live, which will take you to a number of videos from the conferences highlights. I would recommend that you start on Day One and work your way forward by your favorite topic. The 59 and ½ is the Conference kick off and this year the 2010 President Vicki Cox Golder spoke of the year’s challenges and accomplishments. Also, Ron Phipps interviewed HUD’s Secretary Donovan. Probably the next session to watch is Lawrence Yun’s Economic Forecast. These sessions are sometimes the entire presentation, although some have been edited. Also there are many more sessions available and in different formats-i.e. on a CD or MP3 format so you can listen in your car or on your iPod. These you’ll have to order and buy.
At the BOD meeting on Monday, the board decided to update the Code of Ethics to include some Social Media points including one on ‘retweeting’. We heard a number of reports including one from REALTOR.com discussing accurate data and their recent purchase of ListHub. This is a point that agents and consumers will be seeing and hearing more about, since the data is in so many places, but who is checking to see if it’s been updated in a timely fashion to make sure the price is correct or solds have been pulled? RPR gave their presentation discussing their live data for the last 6 weeks. I think that they are starting to get some traction in our marketplace. I did speak with their officers about timely data for the ARMLS system. They are certainly aware of the issues and have committed to fix them ‘in the near future’. Stay tuned.
NAR Conference Wrap Up
Jim Sexton and I got back from the 2010 REALTOR® Conference in New Orleans Monday night. For me, it was 2 days of expo floor walking, REALTOR® and REALTOR® Association staff networking, shrimp bisque eating, Bourbon Street fun. Since most of my time was spent walking and talking on the expo floor, I’ll be publishing some articles this week and next about the upcoming tools that will be available to ARMLS Subscribers and REALTORS® in Arizona.
Theme of the expo: Mobile Technology
We’ve heard the statistics that mobile smart phone usage will soon be the #1 way people access information online. Judging by the number of booths that mention the word mobile, today’s vendors are pro-active.
Sub-theme of the expo: QR Codes
flickr photo credit: Brad Andersohn
These interactive barcodes were everywhere from name badges, to business cards, to Expo booth displays. It makes me want to write more about tips and tricks for using QR Codes. (Maybe it’s time for a class?) I don’t even remember seeing one QR code last year so to see how wide-spread they were this year is an impressive statement to their ease of use and buzz-worthy factor.
Come to think of it – I didn’t see any “Text: Info to 12345″ signs. They’ve been replaced with QR’s. Maybe it’s the anonymous factor that QR codes provide that consumers prefer? Anyway, expect more from me about utilizing them in your real estate business.
Other noteworthy themes…
Social Media
Even with the new QR kid on the block, Social media still held it’s grasp on the buzz. The REALTOR.com booth was offering to help REALTORS® start facebook business pages in their booth. In fact, it looks like twitter and facebook are the 2 social sites winning the buzz battle for social media. Based on this and requests from agents, it’s time for a facebook business page class. Stay tuned.
Lead Generation
Lead generation is always huge. The hard part is weeding through what you’ll use, what will work if you use it, and what is useless. Lead generation tools come in a lot of different forms. They had direct mailer companies, real estate sign and rider companies, website companies, and also the ‘purchase contact information’ companies.
Classrooms
flickr photo credit: Brad Andersohn
The number of expo booths with a classroom type layout is on the rise. Teaching REALTORS® about current marketing and technology trends while plugging products is now a common expo strategy. I think it’s a great way to provide some value while getting the message out about a product. The one I sat in was a session by the guys from TechSavvyAgent.com talking about real estate agent reviews (more on that topic in a separate article).
Banks
Second and third place to NAR as far as booth size goes – Wells Fargo and Bank of America. They had huge displays, not to mention all the other smaller vendors that offered banking, retirement, or mortgage services.
Most Popular Giveaway: iPad
I lost count of how many “Enter to Win” contests I entered to win, but if I win an iPad there will definitely be a re-gift contest on this blog. We’re all in this together!
Wrap-Up
So the moral of the conference for me, real estate technology training. Stay tuned for the schedule of Facebook Business Page Strategies and QR Codes for Real Estate Agents. Also, let me know what other classes you’re interested in attending.
Here’s to your Success in 2011!
5 Tips To Successfully Explore RPR
REALTORS® Property Resource (RPR) was launched for ARMLS subscribers on October 5th 2010. This nationwide database of parcel information, market statistics, and community demographics is organized behind a REALTOR® only login at http://www.narrpr.com. Bookmark the site. Memorize your login. This will be one you check out more than once.
I recommend you give yourself about a half an hour for your first RPR experience. You’ll need your NRDS number (What’s my NRDS number?) to initially set up your account. After your first sign-in, you’ll be able to access with your email and a custom password – you won’t need your NRDS number every time.
On your first login you’ll be able to set your default market areas and start your exploration.
Resource: RPR Help Desk
5 Tips For Successful Exploration
1. Be on the look out for tabs! They usually have great things in them. If you see tabs, click them.
2. Be aware of the “Deeper Search” link. It hold lots of good search fields.
3. Watch for the ‘Report’ button. This is quick access for getting the data out of RPR in a PDF format so you can share it will sellers, buyers, or leads.
4. It’s okay to fill out your Profile! Your Profile information is automatically added to the property and market reports. Be sure to add your logo (or picture), company name, website, et cetera.
5. Last but not least, look up your house! Although the estimated value may cause you to flinch, I like starting with something familiar.
Once you’ve explored, come back and share what you like/dislike.
I’ll start. I like the market reports. I’m thinking REALTORS® will be able to offer them to website visitors in exchange for contact information. I dislike the fact the intro video is 27 minutes! However, if you’d like to see home value heat maps in action fast forward to 4 minute mark.
Okay, your turn! 
Tax Credit Deadline Extension and Flood Insurance Renewal
Here is the NAR Government Affairs email Marge received last night.
Subject: Tax Credit Deadline Extension Passed Senate! headed to the President. FloodInsurance Too!
Sent: Jun 30, 2010 6:48 PMFrom: NAR Government Affairs
RE: Tax Credit Closing Date Extension/Flood Insurance Extension
DATE: 30 June 2010After a close brush with the deadline, Congress has passed an extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623) . The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 that have not yet
closed. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension the new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010. There is will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.NAR worked closely with Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to enact this important legislation. Extending the Tax Credit Closing deadline will help provide additional stability to real estate markets across the nation.
For additional information on the extension visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs
Additionally, the United States Senate has passed the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5569) an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program until September 30, 2010. This will allow transactions to move forward. The bill is retroactive and covers the lapse period
from June 1, 2010 to the date of enactment of the extension.For more information on the flood insurance program visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs
NAR Member Reference Guide
Did you get this in the mail yet? Come on, pull it out of the recycle bin. At least get your NAR membership card out of it! Don’t you want to be able to proudly declare you’re a card carrying member of the NAR? Maybe it’s just me…
All kidding aside, take note of the text under your membership card that says there will be no membership guide or membership card in 2011. If you don’t check out this year’s issue, you’ll have to visit their website for member benefits.
My two favorite deals:
My two favorite tools:
REALTORS® Property Resource
RE Barcamp San Diego session: Introduction to RPR
The first session I sat through really wasn’t a technology session at all, but more of an informational session about the newly announced NAR program called RPR (REALTORS® Property Resource). If you haven’t heard of RPR, I recommend reading the information NAR posted on REALTOR.org. There you will find a press release, fact sheet, and webinar that goes through some of the screen shots I’ll include below. Then, if you are a fan of intelligent writing from the dark side, check out Rob Hahn’s post about the Death of RPR. To tell you the truth, there is much more to learned from those readings than what I can explain here or what was explained at barcamp. No worries, I’d like to give you a flavor of the session.
Reggie Nicolay (Director of Social Media for RPR), Neil Pinchin (Web-designer for RPR), and Todd Carpenter (Social Media Manager for the NAR) were on the hot seat fielding questions for about half an hour. They didn’t get too many beginner level questions. Instead they they got CEO, COO, and MLS Consultant level questions. It seemed to me the majority of the questioneers were looking for definitive answers on, what pieces of the RPR database can be shared and how? Given that RPR was announced about a week prior to this event, it was no surprise that there were a lot of unanswered questions.
Unfortunately, there were no visual aids that could be used to help focus the presentation on the benefits to the REALTORS®. The most basic way to explain what RPR plans to do is merge MLS data with all the public records data they can get their hands on for the entire country. After the creation of this massive database of information that includes every parcel in the US of A, REALTORS® will be able to login and gain access to an extremely slick portal of information.
With a tool of this magnitude comes fears of a National MLS, among other things. RPR has repeated in several places they have no intention of turning this into an MLS – there will be no offers of compensation within the system.
Once RPR has parcel information for the entire country they are going to have quite the unique product to sell. Some MLS’s would like to be included in some of the profit sharing.
Like all things, there are pros and cons. Like all change, it’s scary. The way I look at, I’m glad the NAR is involved some how some way. To tell you the truth, I’ve gone back and forth on whether I think this is a good idea, but from what I know now – I’m for it. As local broker Jay Thompson says, “I don’t get, at all, why an agent wouldn’t want as much RE data as possible.”
I’m sure we’ll have more to talk about down the road. Until then here are a couple of screen shots from the webinar posted on REALTOR.org.
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Extend the $8000 Tax Credit
NAR’s REALTOR® Action Center has a Call to Action to help extend the $8000 first time homebuyers tax credit. Please support NAR and take the time to fill out the form. NAR does the rest of the work for you!
Support NAR's Four-Point Housing Stimulus Plan
NAR is asking for REALTORS® help. They’re not looking for financial help, the just need your voice. I received this in an email yesterday. Their campaign ends November 30th, 2008.
Congress may soon consider a new economic stimulus bill. Housing has always lifted our economy out of past economic downturns so it is imperative that Congress focus on housing in the next stimulus package.
We need ALL members to support NAR’s efforts to have the NAR Four-Point Housing Stimulus Plan included in any future stimulus bill.
Take action and contact Congress today and ask them to include NAR’s Four-Points in the next stimulus package.
The Four-Points are:
1. Make the $7500 tax credit available to all purchasers and eliminate the repayment requirement. The credit’s limited availability and required repayment terms have severely limited the credit’s appeal to potential homebuyers. As a result, the credit has not been widely used or proven effective at stimulating sales.
2. Make the 2008 FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits permanent. New rules for 2009 would significantly reduce the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limit from their 2008 levels. Now is not the time to limit the availability of affordable mortgages.
3. Get the Emergency Treasury bank relief program back on track by targeting more funds to mortgage relief efforts and increasing efforts to mitigate foreclosures. Don’t just give the banks unrestricted cash. Make the program work to improve mortgage and housing markets as it was originally intended.
4. Permanently bar banks and banking conglomerates from engaging in real estate brokerage and management. The banks have proven they have enough to do to simply properly manage their current lines of business. Do we really want them to manage on the home buying process? Imagine what could have been the situation now if they already had the added ability to engage in real estate sales.
Representing Arizona in the REALTOR® Good Neighbor Awards…
Reita Hutson, a long time Arizona real estate agent, is among the top 10 finalists in the National Association of REALTORS® Good Neighbor Awards Program! Straight from the press release…
The Good Neighbor Awards program, now in its ninth year, recognizes Realtors® who generously volunteer their time to help others. These Realtors® often donate countless hours and dollars to organizations that help those in need and make their community a better place to live.
In October, five winners will be selected from among 10 finalists and will receive travel expenses to the 2008 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando in November, national media exposure for their community cause, and a $10,000 grant for their charity.
Reita, a 21 year veteran with John Hall & Associates, is the only finalist from the entire southwest! We are incredibly proud that she has made this list and that she is receiving national recognition for her philanthropic efforts. Here is a more about why she made the top ten…
Hutson founded Gabriel’s Dream after learning about the plight of the Lost Boys, refugees from Sudan’s civil war. Since 2003 she has helped more than 400 young men start a new life in Arizona, helping them obtain apartments and furniture, job skills, health care and medical services, education and hope. Hutson has recruited more than 100 dentists who have given over $1 million in free care for these young men whose five or six front teeth were pulled as part of a cultural ritual. She has awarded nearly 100 merit scholarships totaling $50,000. She is working with Lost Boys to raise money to build a school in their village in Sudan.
Congratulations Reita and thank you for being Arizona’s Good Neighbor!
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