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CCAR NewsCCAR Office Closed July 4th! Update - also 7/16, 2:30pm-5pmTerri Phipps Assumes DirectorshipCCAR Welcomes Cheryl Vander LindenWCR Octoberfest Party! - Save the Date 10/19/2007CCAR Plans Keybox Exhange - June 25th - 28th! Personal & Property Safety Classes
EducationEducation Feature Classes for June and July
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
CCAR Closed July 4th! The CCAR office will be closed all day, Wednesday, July 4, 2007 for Independence Day and will reopen Thursday, July 5, 2007. HAVE A GREAT 4th!UPDATE! CCAR Closed Monday, 7/16/07 from 2:30pm - 5:00 pm for Staff DevelopmentGround Zero Prepares for Ground-breaking Sheet metal worker Peter Scaglione secures the sign that's hanging from the 13th floor of 7 World Trade Center, New York. New York Governor Pataki toured the constuction site and announced enthusiastically they would break ground on the Freedom Tower on July 4th at the World Trade Center Site.Top
Thank you to my office mates for embracing me so warmly as the scan queen of special projects and now as the Member Services Department Manager. I have always loved being in service professions and interacting with people and building relationships. I look forward to establishing a long relationship with the Collin County Association of REALTORS®.
I have been extremely impressed with everyone’s dedication to their respective positions. I look forward to learning your jobs and what goals you want to achieve and how we can make that happen.
My Management Career started with substituting at private area elementary schools for 5 years where I learned crowd control. I then moved on to keeping track of almost a 1,000 teenage boys in the Discipline Office at Jesuit where I honed my detective, listening and confidentiality skills. The best lesson learned from those years was, “don’t tell a story unless it’s yours to tell.” I even kept mum when one of the students confessed that he’d put soap in the prayer garden fountain! I progressed onto adult supervision when I managed an office of 16 administering and maintaining employee plans and records, mentoring and training assistants, handling payroll, accounts receivable/payable, balancing multiple bank accounts, authoring a weekly newsletter, co-authoring an office manual and procedures handbook, negotiating and ordering equipment and consoling crying escrow officers at month and wit’s end.
Other fun positions included being director of a church nursery for 15 years, working with The Dick Chaplin Cotillions for 15 years (ballroom dancing and manners) and as business development and marketing for title companies.
My passion and pursuit was and is education. I set up educational programs for 4 years at the title companies. Additionally, I love going to class myself and finished degrees in Sociology at Wisconsin State University, a Master of Liberal Arts at Southern Methodist University and an M.S. in Human Relations & Business from Amber University.
When time permits, I enjoy visiting and being with my twin sons in New York and attending Broadway shows.Top
Personal & Property Safety Classes Mark Dawson of the Plano Police Department Crime Prevention Unit is hosting several classes for personal & property safety. These classes are free and are held here in Plano at the Liberty Recreation Center, 2601 Glencliff. Click here for directions. In addition to REALTORS®, these classes are open to victims of burglary, stalker victims, harassment victims, divorce complications, family violence, peeping Tom's, etc. Identity Theft Prevention - One of the fastest growing crimes in recent years. Learn how it happens, how to prevent it and what to do if you are a victim. This class will be held on Thursday, July 12th.Property Protection - How to harden your residence to make it more difficult for any unwanted person(s) to enter. In this class you'll learn how weak and vulnerable your current security is. There are many ways your house/apartment can be entered with no forced entry at all. Whether you're attempting to keep out burglars, former spouses/boyfriends/girlfriends, or stalkers, etc., this class is a must. Learn what to do to improve your odds against unauthorized entry. This class is set for July 19th.Personal Safety - You will learn how your natural intuition can keep you out of trouble and perhaps save your life. You'll learn to obey your instincts and how to avoid a potentially bad situation. All of us have that 'sixth sense', but many pay no attention to it. This class is scheduled for July 26th.Each class above begins at 7:00 pm and lasts anywhere from one and half to two hours depending on the amount of questions from the audience. You are encouraged to invite friends, family or co-workers to these classes. The Plano Parks and Recreation Department asks that you register through them prior to attending any of these classes. They can be reached by phone at 972-769-4234 or at http://www.planoparks.org/ if you wish to register online.These classes are fun, entertaining and educational. Please join me as we reduce your chance of becoming a victim of crime. If you have any questions feel free to call me at 972-208-8045 during regular business hours.
I hope to meet you in the near future.
Mark DawsonPlano Police DepartmentCrime Prevention Unit Top
Education feature Class for June 26th & 27th, 2007 Real Estate Professional Assistant – REPA™ 2 day certification - All successful real estate brokers and agents know how important a good assistant is to their success. “The best investment of time and money,” says Martin Edwards, Jr., President of the National Association of REALTORS®, “just might be in a well-trained professional assistant. The REPA™ course can turn the right candidate for assistant - or any support position, for that matter - into an agent’s “right hand”. Check the following website for more info about REPA™ http://www.professional-assistant.com/
Upcoming Class: Wednesday/Thursday, June 26th & 27th from 9:00am—4:00pm daily. MCE 10-12 hours. Cost: $149 for CCAR members and their Assistants and $179 for non-members.
Instructor: Barbara Straughanhttp://ccar.net/resourcelibrary/viewdocfile.aspx?id=402Top
The Texas Association of REALTORS® Governmental Affairs Department was hard at work during the 80th Texas Legislature. Part of the reason for this success, is the important relationships made with our Legislators throughout our grassroots support in the electoral process. Every TREPAC investment is also carefully targeted to those candidates who are REALTOR®-friendly candidates. Below are just a few of the highlights from the session.
1. In February, county clerks around the state closed their doors following an Attorney General opinion which stated that county clerks could be held criminally liable for releasing documents containing social security numbers. Without access to these public records, many title companies could not issue title insurance, putting a halt to real estate closings in Texas. The Texas Association of REALTORS® immediately responded and encouraged the Attorney General to abate the ruling for 60 days. This allowed the real estate industry to resume business and gave the legislature time to rectify the situation. With the assistance of the Texas Association of REALTORS®, House Bill 2061 was quickly passed, providing a county clerk with an affirmative defense and indemnification for providing a record that includes a Social Security number.
2. Permanently exempting from ad valorem taxation a personally owned vehicle used both for personal and business purposes has been one of the top priorities of the Texas Association of REALTORS® during the 80 th Legislative Session. HB 1022 and HJR 54 will save you hundreds of dollars each year.
3. The Texas Association of REALTORS® played a major role in passing comprehensive mortgage fraud legislation, HB 716. The economic impact of mortgage fraud is tremendous in Texas, which ranks in the top 10 in the nation for mortgage foreclosures.
4. The Texas Association of REALTORS® helped pass important legislation to protect all data contained in the Multiple Listing Services (MLS). The protection of this data will allow MLS’ to once again establish a working relationship with central appraisal districts. HB 2188 exempts all information obtained by a central appraisal district from a contractual agreement with an MLS from the Public Information Act.
5. The Texas Association of REALTORS® works hard each legislative session to update and improve the regulations under which REALTORS® operate. This allows REALTORS® to practice in a fair, efficient and safe environment. During the 80 th Legislative Session, HB 1530 made several changes; including allowing TREC to Conduct FBI background checks on all real estate licensees.
6. The Texas Association of REALTORS® was successful in blocking attempts to require mandatory disclosure of sales-price data in all real estate transactions. Requiring sales-price disclosure will do nothing to ensure a more fair and balanced appraisal process within the confines of an overburdened property tax system. Furthermore, most states that require sales price disclosure do so solely for the purpose of calculating a real-estate transfer tax.
Mike Barnett is the North Texas Field Representative for the Texas Association of REALTORS®. He can be reached at mbarnett@TexasRealtors.com or (512) 971-8338.Top
NTREIS RULES AND REGULATIONS WEEKLY REVIEW – WEEK 28
SECTION 7 – LISTING PROCEDURES
MEDIA
7.28 – NTREIS does not permit the name, phone number, e-mail address, or web address of the listing agent or other similar information that is not descriptive in nature and relevant to an accurate portrayal of the Listed Property to be placed in the Property Description section of a listing. The same restrictions are applicable to the “Property Photograph” section, the “Picture Description” section, and the Driving Directions section. Only a true current photograph of a Listed Property may be placed in the “Property Photograph” section without decorative borders, other embellishments, or any digitally enhanced modifications that would misrepresent the true condition or appearance of the property. Any alleged violation of this Rule will be subject to the enforcement procedures of Sections 11 and 12 of these Rules.
NTREIS does not allow any type of agent contact or website information in the Property Description field. Additionally, you cannot have any contact information in the actual photograph of the property and the Driving Directions field. Please keep in mind that the Driving Directions field is not to be used for anything but the Driving Directions to the property itself. Therefore, try to avoid referencing the Mapsco Page (which already appears in the Agent and Customer Reports) and any mapping websites such as Mapquest.com
If you have any questions regarding this Rule, please feel free to contact Judy Kresich, MLS Quality Control at 972-618-3800 EXT. 216Top
Many of our members have reported that they've received e-mail correspondence with the subject: “Please Confirm Your Subscription to Texas Realtors”.
The Texas Association of REALTORS® did NOT send that e-mail.
Clicking the links contained within the e-mail take the recipient to the website Topica.com, an online marketing company that has no affiliation with the Texas Association of REALTORS® .
We are conducting an investigation into this matter and are drafting a cease-and-desist order to be sent to Topica.com.
Please check back to TexasRealtors.com for more information as it becomes available. Brandon C. AldereteTexas Association of REALTORS®800/873-9155Top
