Advertisement Republic Title Burgess Industries
CCAR NewsCCAR Closed for ThanksgivingAnnual Holiday Auction - 11/6 CCAR Adds New Affiliate Lookup to Web site USPS Helps REALTORS® Help ClientsThinking About a New Smartphone or PDA? CCAR Announces Winner of Satisfaction Survey Drawing HUD Implements New Down Payment Rule on November 1
EducationEducation Feature Classes
Republic Title has several convenient locations to serve you better. Our commercial division is centrally located in downtown Dallas and Fort Worth, and our residential division has many offices within the core of the Dallas, North Dallas, Richardson, Plano, Frisco, Denton and Fort Worth areas. Top
Top
USPS Helps REALTORS® Help ClientsDid you know the United States Postal Service (USPS) has a program in place specifically to help REALTORS'® clients with address changes? The USPS is asking you to send your clients to www.usps.com/realmove to change their address online. While there, they have access to $300 in coupons. They will receive an e-mail confirmation of their address change, and they can safeguard their personal information with identity verification for a simple $1 charge to their credit or debit card. This convenient way to take care of an address change will save your clients a trip to the post office.
Thinking About a New Smartphone or PDA? Just a reminder...if you are shopping for a new smartphone or PDA, you can check the list of eKEY compatible devices at www.supraekey.com, click on "eKEY Special Offers." An explanation of the eKEY Basic or eKEY Professional level of service is also included in the information.Top
CCAR Announces Winner of Satisfaction Survey Drawing Congratulations to Tom Branch of Realty Revolution, LLC., winner of our recent CCAR Satisfaction Survey drawing. In mid-September, we e-mailed a survey to our members asking for feedback on how we are doing. Thanks to all 657 of you who responded. We learned that 95 percent of respondents were "Satisfied" or "Very Satisfied" with their most recent contact with CCAR. Ninety-six percent felt "Valued" or "Very Valued." While we are very proud of these numbers, our goal is 100 percent for both of them, and we are taking steps to make that happen. We also learned that 86 percent of you who called us, spoke to a live person when you called. Only 14 percent had to leave a message. Of those that left a message, 75 percent had their call returned before the end of the day, a third of those within an hour. Of those that e-mailed us, 81 percent received a response by the end of the day, half of those within an hour. We pride ourselves in providing personal service in a timely manner to our members. Again, we are happy with these results, but we are working hard to make them even better. Finally, you gave us lots of great comments and suggestions. We really appreciate those, and we take your feedback to heart. Don't be surprised if your suggestion gets implemented. (however, we probably won't be putting a Margarita machine in our lobby, but thanks for that suggestion).
HUD Implements New Down Payment Rule on November 1By Don Thomas, CCAR REALTOR/Lender CommitteeRemember when you had an FHA borrower and could ask the seller to give the three percent down payment to a non-profit organization? In turn, that non-profit would gift the money to the buyer at closing for his/her required down payment. Those days appear to be gone.
HUD has announced that this practice is no longer an acceptable form of down payment, and the rule is scheduled to take effect on November 1. However, several lawsuits have been filed that may delay the implementation of this new rule. Regardless of the outcome of those lawsuits, Nehemiah Progressive Housing Development Corporation has existing litigation that will allow it to continue funding down payment gifts until March 31, 2008. However, we need to gear up for the new guidelines immediately, as it is unclear if mortgage investors will continue to accept these forms of assistance past November 1.
While there is very little positive news on the mortgage front these days, HUD is once again considering 100 percent financing on their FHA products. Although this should be good news for most, the change will likely come with risk-based mortgage insurance, which means the cost will increase to those borrowers considered to be higher risk. Congress and the Senate appear to be working hard on FHA reform, and we hope that our legislators can put together a bill that the President will sign that makes these changes and includes a substantial increase in the FHA maximum loan amount. However, we should plan for the worst.
As always, CCAR’s REALTOR/Lender Committee is available to answer your questions regarding these, or any other recent changes in the mortgage industry. Please feel free to contact Mary Leidy, CCAR Chief Operational Officer, at mary@ccar.net or 972-618-3800, to be put in contact with a REALTOR/Lender Committee member.Top
Complete Your Real Estate Education on Spring Break!Join Kaplan Professional Schools on a seven-day Spring Break Cruise. Whether you’re new to the industry or a seasoned professional, these courses will enhance your career with topical, relevant information. The program will include two new courses:
MCE 2008 – 15 hrs (MCE includes Ethics and Legal Update) Sales and Marketing 101 – 30 hrs (Licensing or SAE)
For more information on the Spring Break Cruise, click the link or call 972-727-9196.Top
Vote for Prop 6 on November 6! Texas legislators recently passed a bill that could end the insidious fee called mixed-use vehicle taxation that targets REALTORS® and many other independent contractors. However, there is one final hurdle: statewide ratification by voters. This is the do-or-die step to ensure that all Texas REALTORS® won’t have to pay $600 or more in additional taxes per year.
The stakes are high. If Prop 6 fails, it will be a green light for all central appraisal districts to target REALTORS® and other independent contractors who drive a car. Spread the word. Tell friends, family, neighbors and business associates to go to the polls and vote for Prop 6 on November 6. Early voting runs from October 22-November 2.
To read the actual language for Prop 6 click the link, and for more information contact Diane Donley at 972-618-3800 or diane@ccar.net. Top
Invest in TREPAC OnlineCCAR has added another new feature to our Web site. You can now make an additional TREPAC investment from the comfort of your home or office. From our homepage, www.ccar.net, you can click "Make Additional TREPAC Investment" from the "Online Services" box in the center of the page. This additional investment can be any amount. You just type in the amount of the investment along with your credit card information. We are continuing to make more online services to available to our members to save you time. Of course, you can still mail in a check or come into the office, if you prefer. We count on your feedback to let us know how we can provide you with the best value for your member dues, so please let us hear from you.Top
Vote for the Future of Collin County on November 6Collin County residents: Are you tired of wasting countless hours in traffic? The county is registering an astounding 94 new cars every single day!
As one of the fastest growing counties in the country, we must keep pace with the rapid growth. Your vote FOR the Collin County Bond projects will keep Collin County moving. The "Dallas Morning News" has soundly endorsed these proposals, stating that the bond election is all about the future. The good roads, criminal justice facilities and open space projects that will result from the passage of the bond package, will directly impact our future.
The bond projects are supported by all four County Commissioners, the mayors of Allen, Frisco, McKinney and Plano, as well as leaders of other fast growing cities in the county. We urge you to vote during early voting, October 22-November 2, or on Election Day, November 6. For more information, or to find out where to vote, go to http://www.collincountybonds.org/.Top
CCAR Committee Meetings Monthly calendar of committee meetings located at CCAR.10/30 - Tuesday, 9:45 a.m. Affiliate Auction Meeting 10/30 - Tuesday, 9:45 a.m. Membership Development Committee Meeting11/1 - Thursday, 11 a.m. Education Committee Meeting11/2 - Tuesday, 9:45 a.m. REALTOR/Lender Committee Meeting11/2 - Tuesday, 9:45 a.m. TREPAC Committee11/13 - Tuesday, 9:45 a.m. Government Affairs11/19 - Monday, 11:30 a.m. Housing Opportunity11/20 - NO Affiliate Committee Meeting11/20 - Tuesday, 9:45 a.m. MLS Committee Meeting11/20 - Tuesday, 12 p.m. B&F and Executive Committee Meeting11/27 - NO Membership Development Committee Meeting Top
CCAR REALTOR® Store Welcome Cheryl Vander Linden CCAR is proud to announce Cheryl Vander Linden as the REALTOR® Store's new operator. Cheryl welcomes your visits and suggestions for new products that you would like to see in your store. You can e-mail her your suggestions at cheryl@ccar.net, or come in to the store and sign our suggestion book.
New arrivals to the store include mileage logs and presentation document folders with the REALTOR® logo.
In addition, your store will also offer monthly specials, including vintage cookbooks, featuring our very own CCAR member’s recipes! They are on sale in time for the holidays and going fast! Also, for your gift giving convenience, your REALTOR® Store will discount some of its jewelry.Top
NTREIS Rules and Regulations Weekly ReviewSection 8 - Selling Procedures
While inside a property showing a house, limit your visit to viewing the property only. Do not make yourself at home! It is also important to make sure that your clients are aware of this rule. If you have any questions regarding this rule, please feel free to contact Judy Kresich, MLS Quality Control, at judy@ccar.net or at 972-618-3800.Top
CCAR Offers TechPro Certification CCAR has recently developed a new certification for our members who complete seven real estate-related technology courses within a two-year period. The specific courses are NTREIS Listings 101 and 102, NTREIS WyldFyre 101 and 102, NTREIS Rapattoni, ZipForm and Digital Photography. Upon completion of these classes, you will receive recognition at a CCAR networking meeting and in the CCAR Newsletter. You will also receive three free classes from an approved list of courses eligible to maintain your certification (nine hours every two years following your certification). Completing the TechPro Certification will not only show your clients that you are invested in being a real estate technology expert, it will help you to be more efficient and effective in your business. For more information and an application please click this link or paste it into your browser:http://ccar.net/resourcelibrary/viewdocfile.aspx?id=522Top
CCAR Announces Cutting-Edge MLS Data Collin County Association of REALTORS® members who receive their MLS services from CCAR/ATS will soon have access to an exclusive career-shaping tool that no other agents in the state of Texas have—state-of-the-art MLS data. “The CCAR Pulse” will provide expanded data and charts that have never before been produced in the state of Texas.
The CCAR Pulse is a free monthly housing market update that provides in-depth tools to delve into the submarkets of the North Texas communities where our members live or work. Each community report features data for the past month and year-to-date in several areas, including:
Access to this information will help you better serve your clients by providing them with current market information relevant to buying or selling property. Our members who receive their MLS from CCAR/ATS will receive exclusive monthly CCAR Pulse reports via e-mail in an attractive presentation quality PDF format for easy viewing and presentation to clients. In addition, the reports will be available 24/7 on CCAR’s Web site in a members/subscribers-only section. To see a sample CCAR Pulse report click the link or paste it into your browser: http://ccar.net/resourcelibrary/viewdocfile.aspx?id=525. We are excited to offer this new value-added benefit to our members/subscribers, and we know you will find this to be a useful productivity tool for your business.
For more information about The CCAR Pulse, please contact Steve Haid, Member Services Director, at steve@ccar.net or 972-618-3800.Top
