Proper ID Required to Renew RE License

Effective January 1, 2012, the Georgia "Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011" requires all applicants for real estate licensure or appraiser classification, and those applying for renewal of an existing license or classification, Appraisal Management Companies, Instructors, and School Directors to submit to the Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC) proper identification. Please click here to read more about this requirement and to download information on what you will need to renew your license.

Congratulations to the following Women’s Council of REALTORS® Award Recipients!

2011 Entrepreneur of the Year - Judith McDougal, Re/Max Savannah

2011 President's Award - Ann Ellis, Tri County Real Estate

2011 Outstanding Member of the Year - Janet Howard, Konter Realty

2011 Affiliate of the Year – Patty Tatom, Brand Mortgage

Habitat For Humanity Gift Wrapping (Earn one DSS Slip)

Habitat Gingerbread House Building (Earn One DSS Slip)

The 2011 Distinguished Sales Society Application is ready!

You can find the application and rules by clicking on the "Awards" tab. 

DSS Workshop on December 5, 2010 10:00am at SABOR

Who should attend?

·         REALTORS®

·         Brokers

·         Staff

·         Administrative Assistants

·         If you want to know what DSS is!

·         Whoever needs help filling out their application!

·         If you have any questions at all about DSS!

Special Awards

As 2011 comes to an end………….. please reflect back on the year. Send in your nomination for a well deserving recipient for one of our “Special Awards” to be given out at our 2011 Awards Banquet on February 17, 2011. All applications need to be sent to chrissyc@savannahboardofrealtors.com no later than January 13, 2011.

All applications are under the "Awards" tab.

The GAR Statewide Professional Standards Program

The GAR Statewide Professional Standards Program has been a great success this year, thanks to the hard work of your members. We have been busy this year with more than 30 Ethics and Arbitration cases combined.

It is almost the end of the first year for the Statewide Professional Standards Program and just wanted to give you a few updates and information for the 2012 year. Pat Johnson will be  Chairman of Professional Standards and Tim Adams will be Vice Chairman of Professional Standards in 2012. Faith Reid will be Chairman of Grievance and Dan Wilhelm will be Vice Chairman of Grievance in 2012. The GAR Board of Directors voted to create a Mediation Committee for 2012, information on the Mediation Committee is enclosed. The GAR Board of Directors also voted to create an Interboard Arbitration Agreement for those boards/associations who do not participate in the Statewide Program, information on that is also enclosed.

Attachments:

1.       2011 Ethics and Arbitration Activity Report through September 30, 2011.

2.      2012 Grievance and Professional Standards Entitlements based on July 31, 2011 membership numbers.

3.      Grievance and Professional Standards blank appointee form. Please return the completed form to me before December 1, 2011. You don’t need to list anyone who is already serving with term dates ending in 2012 and 2013.

4.      Statewide Professional Standards Enforcement Agreement. If you have already signed and returned an agreement, you don’t have to sign another agreement. It is stated on page six that to withdraw from the Statewide Program, you must notify GAR 30 days in advance of the date of withdrawal.

5.      Mediation Information. We will be accepting Mediation Officer Applications through November 14, 2011. Your board/association doesn’t have to participate in the Statewide Program for your members to apply.

6.      Interboard Arbitration Agreement. This document is for those boards/associations who are not participating in the Statewide Program.

The Professional Standards and Grievance Committees will be meeting soon to discuss Training for 2012. Mediation training will also be scheduled for 2012.  I will send everyone the dates as soon as they become available.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at cconway@garealtor.com or 678-597-4129.

  

Sincerely,

  

Christy Conway

Director of Leadership Services

Georgia Association of REALTORS®
3200 Presidential Drive
Atlanta, GA 30340-3910
Direct: 678.597.4126
Fax: 770.458.6992

GAR Mediators Needed

As some of you are aware, the GAR Board of Directors has approved the formation of the GAR Mediation Committee. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Mediation Committee will be selected by the 2012 GAR President and President Elect.

To be eligible to serve as a GAR Mediator, please complete the attached Mediator application and return to me by November 14, 2011. The qualifications are listed below.

Qualifications

To serve as a mediator for the Georgia Association of REALTORS®, an individual should meet the following qualifications:

·         REALTORS® with tact, diplomacy, and a sense of equity who have a familiarity with state real estate rules and practice, seven years of real estate experience, who are or have managing broker experience, and who have completed a recognized course of instruction on mediation; or

·         Professional mediators with recognized mediation credentials who are members in good standing with an established public or private dispute resolution organization and who possesses a fundamental knowledge of real estate satisfactory to the association; or

·         Real estate professionals including title officers, real estate attorneys, appraisers, association staff, etc., who are trained in mediation by and possess real estate experience satisfactory to the association.

·         Be familiar with the NAR Code of Ethics, Georgia real estate statutes and regulations, and applicable MLS Rules and Regulations.

·         Primary member of GAR

It is preferred that mediators have served on the Grievance Committee and/or Professional Standards Committee on a local or state level and have served on at least one hearing panel, but it is not required.

Georgia Association of REALTORS®

Mediation Officer Application

Full Name:     ________________________________    Date: ___________

Company: _____________________________________________________

Office Address: __________________________________________________

City: ______________________  State: ______________  Zip: ____________

Primary Local Board/Association: _____________________________________

Best Contact Phone Number: ________________________________________

E-mail Address: _________________________________________________

1. How long have you been actively licensed?

_______________________________________________________

2. What is your Managing Broker experience? If you are not a REALTOR®, please describe what type of profession you are in.

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

3. Have you completed training on mediation? If so, what training did you attend?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Please explain your Mediation experience.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Please list any State and/or Local Grievance and/or Professional Standards experience.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. How far are you willing to travel to a Mediation?

_______________________________________________________

_________________________                   _______________________

Applicant’s Signature                                 Board/Association President or AE Signature

You may mail, email or fax this application to the:

Georgia Association of REALTORS®, 3200 Presidential Drive, Atlanta, GA  30340

Attention: Christy Conway         E-mail:  cconway@garealtor.com           Fax: 770-458-6992

Congratulations to Austin Hill and Janet Howard for being selected to participate in the 2011-2012 Leadership Savannah Program!

Unified Zoning Ordinance (UZO) draft

On Tuesday, June 28, 2011 the Metropolitan Planning Commission released the Unified Zoning Ordinance (UZO) draft, including a zoning map for public review and comment. The UZO is an updated and unified zoning ordinance and zoning map for the city of Savannah and unincorporated Chatham County. http://www.thempc.org/ 

If you would like to make comments on the new UZO draft feel free to email your SABOR President, Monica Spillane at mspillane@oursignatureproperties.com

SABOR's Annual Bowl-A-Thon

SABOR welcomes Patrick Kelley to our staff!

Dear SABOR/SMLC Members,

In our continued effort to provide you with the best, most up to date service and support, we are proud to welcome Patrick Kelley to our staff.  Patrick will assume the responsibilities of SMLC Director and Technology Director. He, as do the other staff members, looks forward to hearing from you with any problems or assistance that you may need. Also, Patrick is available to speak at your sales meetings about issues and questions regarding the MLS, so give him a call and get him on your schedules.

Sincerely, Chip Kreps, Association Executive

SABOR/SMLC/RCA

WCR & YCR Luau Thursday, June 16th

Savannah Board of REALTORS® Supporting our Community!

Nationwide Open House: June 4-5, 2011

Save the Date - Nationwide Open House 2011

Welcome to the Nationwide Open House (NOHW) 2011 page for GAR members! Please bookmark this page and re-visit it frequently to read updated news and to download tactics (flyers, etc.) as they are added. Below is some basic information on NOHW. More information will be added in the coming weeks.
The Event
Nationwide Open House Weekend will be held June 4-5, 2011. To be successful, this event must be a partnership between GAR, local boards, our brokers and our individual members. Our goal is to invite the public to come out and take a look at their local housing market. They will be assured that they can visit the open houses with no pressure to purchase, and that the REALTOR® on duty will be happy to answer their questions about the home buying and selling process.
    At best, we hope this event leads to several closings around the state for our members. At the very least, we hope this will enable you to meet with individuals who come to view your listing so that they may be added to your contact database and potentially become future clients. Here is the role of GAR, the agent and the broker in this event:
   GAR will provide:
• Publicity via press releases, news media pitches, social media, etc.
• A Web site for consumers, www.OpenHouseGeorgia.org, that will educate consumers on buying and selling a home and why they should use a REALTOR®, as well as include helpful links and information about NOHW.

Members are encouraged to:
• Identify 1-2 listings in which to hold an open house on either or both days of the event weekend.
• Promote NOHW through their contact database – Web site, newsletters, social networks, blogs, etc.
• If you regularly purchase ads in print or electronic media, mention your Open House weekend in the ads you run in the week prior to the event, complete with location details.

Brokers are encouraged to:
• Provide helium tanks so that their agents can inflate the blue REALTOR® balloons throughout Open House weekend.
• Review tips for holding a successful open house as well as safety tips during open houses with their agents during sales meetings.
• If your firm regularly purchases print or electronic media, mention your agents’ participation in the Statewide Open House event in the ads you run in the week prior to the event – provide addresses for each listing if space allows.

Nationwide Open House Images

Download the images below to use in your personal marketing materials. For more information contact msapp@garealtor.com.

NOH Logo
Vertical NOH Logo

Balloons are available at SABOR in Chrissy’s Office!

Letter from our 2011 SABOR President, Monica Spillane

Dear Fellow Members,

   I just returned from the NAR Mid Year meeting in Washington D.C. The main reason for this meeting is to have the opportunity to go to the Capitol and meet with our area legislators to make sure they understand the issues that are important to Realtors, Homeowners and our industry. As the only trade organization that advocates for private property rights, this is one of the most important things we can do to protect the future of home ownership in this country. And while this year was no different in that regard, there was one other issue that was creating much more buzz: RPPSI.

  For those of you who don’t know what that stands for –it is the Realtor Political Party Survival Initiative. This initiative is in response to a 2010 Supreme Court ruling, which changed the requirement that only Hard funds (such as those contributed by you to RPAC) be used to  pay for Independent Expenditures. IEs’ are campaign efforts, such as ads and mailings, used by third parties to influence the outcome of a particular race. This ruling allowed Corporations to contribute unlimited soft funds to help shape public opinion about candidates and issues.

   If Realtors want to still be able to effectively advocate for private property rights, we would need to support this Initiative to compete with corporate interests. So on the subject of the Initiative, there was little or no debate.

   The debate came on how to fund the Initiative. One option was to put the Public Awareness Campaign on the back burner and use the $35 that we each pay annually, to fund the RPPSI. The other option was to increase our NAR by $40 annually. The second option was the one for which the delegates ultimately voted.

    Here are just a few of the Legislative issues that NAR is dealing with at this time on your behalf:

1. Affordable and Available Property Insurance-NAR is urging Congress to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program for at lease five years and end the uncertainty of extensions and shutdowns.
2. The future of the Secondary Mortgage Market-NAR is urging Congress to enact legislation to restructure the secondary mortgage market GSE’s (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac) in a way that provides the federal government with a continued role to ensure mortgage liquidity in all markets under all economic conditions.
3. Access to Affordable Mortgage Products-NAR opposes mandatory increases in mortgage down payments as proposed by financial regulators.
4. Preserving Home Ownership Tax Benefits-NAR urges preservation of the tax rules that apply to home ownership, specifically the Mortgage Interest Deduction.
5. Short Sales-NAR urges passage of H.R. 1498 that will require servicers to approve or disapprove a short sale within 45 days of a request for approval of a short sale.

These issues strike at the very heart of our industry and the future of homeownership as we know it. $40 is a small price to pay to protect them.

 

 If you have any questions about this issue, please email me at mspillane@oursignatureproperties.com.

Monica Spillane

2011 SABOR President

GAR Meetings: Tell Us What YOU Think

GAR is looking to the future of our statewide meetings and conventions and we want the input of all of our members so that we can plan conferences that offer value to everyone.

  

Please take a moment to complete this survey regarding GAR meetings. Even if you have never attended, we still want to hear from you. Click on the link below to take the survey, or cut and paste the link into your browser.

  

Thank you in advance for your input! 

  

Survey link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/37TFKR7

YCR Educational Meeting - Wednesday, May 25, 2011

WCR 40th Anniversary Celebration!

Thursday, May 26 at 11:30am at the Pirates House, Women’s Council of Realtors Savannah Chapter will celebrate the 40^th Anniversary of the Chapters Formation. Harriet Konter founded the chapter and held the first meeting at the Pirates House 40 years ago!  Guests are welcome to attend and lunch is only $15.  To make a reservation, email Lauren Fowler at lauren@homesandland.com.  We already have 65 confirmed and space is limited!  Networking begins at 11:30, Lunch served at 12:00.  If you are not a member of WCR, this will be the perfect meeting to find out why Women’s Council should be a part of your business plan.

There will be at least 10 door prizes: gas card and cruise raffle ticket giveaways.  Cruise raffle tickets may also be purchased for $20 for a 1 in 250 chance to win a $2,000 Royal Caribbean Cruise certificate with $500 in spending money (drawing in December).    

Heads Up: NAR Call For Action to Launch May 18, 2011

This is to alert you of an upcoming action. NAR will be launching an all member Call for Action (CFA) on Wednesday, May 18, 2011. The CFA urges our members to write their Representative and their Senators to oppose the proposed 20% down payment requirement (QRM) for home buyers. Members of Congress will be urged to sign a house or Senate letter that urges regulators to drop the proposal.
QRM was widely discussed at the recent MYM and information on the QRM may be found at this link(http://www.realtor.org/topics/qrm).

Brokers in NAR’s Broker Involvement Program will be utilized in this CFA.

Gumbo Bingo for RPAC

This event is open to REALTORS®, Affiliates, Association Staff and their Families.

YPN (Young Professional Network)

 Liz Thompson will be informing the group about changes in Homestead and Stephens Day property taxes

 that all REALTORS® need to know about.

We will also have a special guest....Morgan Sapp, The Georgia Association of REALTORS® YPN Liaison

Check out the YPN Savannah article in the newest GA REALTOR® Magazine!

The Tech Helpline - A New FREE Member Benefit...

The Tech Helpline provides support for hardware, software, networking and digital devices. The support staff can troubleshoot problems and offer solutions, often by remoting in to your computer while you relax. As a member of the Board, you can now call and receive free support for any tech problems or issues. Tech Helpline is based out of Florida and is a firm that is widely used by REALTORS across the country.

Click here for more details!

REALTOR® Nation Wide Open House Weekend

Nationwide Open House Weekend will be held June 4-5, 2011. To be successful, this event must be a partnership between GAR, local boards, our brokers and our individual members. Our goal is to invite the public to come out and take a look at their local housing market. They will be assured that they can visit the open houses with no pressure to purchase, and that the REALTOR® on duty will be happy to answer their questions about the home buying and selling process.

Welcome

The Savannah Board of REALTORS® (SABOR) is the trade association for real estate licensees in Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties, representing approximately 1,800 members. MISSION STATEMENT The Savannah Board of REALTORS® is the Voice for Real Estate in the Coastal Empire. Our Mission is to educate, to promote the highest professional and ethical standards, and to address the changing needs of members while protecting private property rights.

Mission Statement

The Savannah Board of REALTORS® is the authority for Real Estate in the Coastal Empire. We offer our members:

• A value-based framework for information, communication, benefits, services and professional development
• An organization perceived by the public as professional and valued as central to the transaction
• A proactive definition of real estate issues that affect members and the public through the financial commitment and grassroots mobilization of members
• A commitment to being an active, engaged entity that interfaces with community initiatives

The objectives of SABOR are to unite all REALTOR® and Affiliate members for the purpose of providing a combined influence upon matters affecting real estate, private property rights, and home owndership, as well as to elevate the standards of the real esate profession and the professional conduct of persons engaged therin throughout the board's jurisdiction.