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!