SMTAR Bits and Pieces

SMTAR Bits and Pieces http://www.SMTAR.com News and Important Info from the Southern Middle Tennessee Association of REALTORS en-us AUGUST 2010 BITS AND PIECES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT'S INSIDE THIS EDITION

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

CONGRATULATIONS TO 2010 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

NOTES FROM RICE INSURANCE

Q & A OF THE MONTH

UPCOMING EDUCATION

DATES TO REMEMBER

GET WELL NOTICES

IMPORTANT CONTACTS

If you received this newsletter by e-mail and would like to be removed from our mail list, please reply to the e-mail with the word "REMOVE" in the subject line. You will receive a confirmation of removal.

Need some statistics? Find them on our website by visiting www.SMTAR.com and clicking on "News".

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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

SMTAR is moving our new member notice to the internet. Our new members are accepted about 2 weeks prior to publishing of the newsletter. So that you can get this info FASTER, we are now going to publish the new member information to Facebook, Twitter, and our website at SMTAR.com. To find out who our new members are for July, just follow this link!

Want to get more bits from SMTAR? Subscribe to our Facebook Notes by clicking here.

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FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

HOT, HOT weather prevailed in July! Despite this, I hope everyone is enjoying some business. The good word is how our interest rates have dropped; the lowest in a long, long time. Hopefully this will help to keep the housing market moving. (Here are some tips on getting the low interest rates that you can share with your clients. Click Here.)

Two important legislative issues have passed during the last month. The Rural Housing bill has been extended to Sept. 30. I know we are happy to be able to continue to get these RD loans through. Also, National Flood Insurance Program was extended to Sept.30. This is also a positive for our business.

Hope all of you have the TAR Convention on your calendar. It will be Sept. 14-17 in Memphis. Sounds like lots of fun & a great program line up. Early bird registration has ended, but you can still sign up to go.

Fay Robinson
President

SMTAR's Facebook link (Be sure to copy and paste the entire link into your browser if you are unable to click!):
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Columbia-TN/Southern-Middle-Tennessee-Association-of-REALTORS/38462364810

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CONGRATULATIONS TO 2011 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Everyone on the slate for the 2011 Board of Directors was elected on August 11th! Thanks to everyone who turned out to vote. For your first look at the 2011 Board, CLICK HERE!

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NOTES FROM RICE INSURANCE

In June, SMTAR staff attended the TREC Update in Lewisburg. Last month, we published some of our notes from the portion of the session covered by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission. This month, we'd like to share with you a few of our notes on the information presented by the Rice Insurance represenative.

Claims made and reported during your policy period are covered by your E & O insurance. If you are sued after you retire your license, then you will not be covered since your policy will end when you retire your license.

Your Tennessee policy will cover you even if you are licensed in another state.

Fraud of any kind is excluded from coverage. If you are being sued because you were dishonest, you are on your own. 70% of all of the claimes filed include some component of fraud.

Personal injury, sickness, death, disease, mental anguish, pain & suffering are items not covered by E & O.

Common claims that are filed are failure to disclose defects, misrepresentation of square footage (acreage/boundaries, etc), discrepancies in sewer/septic size, mistakes in advertising or in the MLS, & title issues.

If someone asks if they should disclose and item, then the appropriate answer would be "Yes". If it is significant enough that a seller would ask the question, then it is likely significant enough that the buyer would want to know about it. Also, do not assist the homeowner in completing the disclosure forms.

Forged or altered documents are also on the top of the list of claims filed. No person should sign a document on behalf of another person without a Power of Attorney. Additionally, Rice discourages real estate licensees from signing documents on behalf of their clients whether they have Power of Attorney or not.

Want to know a little more about your insurance? Click Here.

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Q & A OF THE MONTH

Q: Why do I have to pay the Lockbox Maintenance & Service Fee?

A: Not everyone who is a member of SMTAR is required to pay the annual Lockbox Maintenance & Service Fee. Those individuals who borrow lockboxes directly from our office and those who are in firms with an "in-house" inventory of lockboxes are required to pay this fee. If you do not come to our office for lockboxes, or if your firm does not borrow lockboxes for you to use, then you were not required to pay the fee. This fee covers the cost of purchasing new lockboxes, batteries for lockboxes in our inventory, shackles, and whatever additional expense might be incurred in supporting our lockbox program. If your firm holds an inventory of lockboxes, you must pay this fee even if you do not use the lockboxes. Your broker has decided to make this service easily accessible in your office, and the fee for this service is calculated as "Broker times the number of REALTORS".

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UPCOMING EDUCATION

Ethics
Wednesday, August 18 , 2010
9:00AM - 12:00 PM 3 Hours of CE
Cost is $40, DISCOUNTS are available. Register online with this REGISTRATION FORM or call 931.381.5556 for registration information, or e-mail SMTAR@RealTracs.com.

RealTracs 1
Wednesday, August 18 , 2010
12:30PM - 3:30PM 3 Hours of CE
You must have an MLS User ID to attend. Please use the following procedure to register:

Open your web browser and log in to RealTracs.net
Click the following link or type it into your browser address bar AFTER you have logged in to RealTracs: http://www.realtracs.net/MemberInfo/Training.aspx?tab=0

RealTracs Training
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Two Sessions Available: RealTracs Plus and/or Webmail & SPAM Management
You must have an MLS User ID to attend. Please use the following procedure to register:

Open your web browser and log in to RealTracs.net
Click the following link or type it into your browser address bar AFTER you have logged in to RealTracs: http://www.realtracs.net/MemberInfo/Training.aspx?tab=0

DON'T FORGET OUR ONLINE COURSES AT WWW.SMTAR.COM!!!!

DATES TO REMEMBER

September 14 - 17 : TAR Convention in Memphis!
October 6 - General Membership Meeting in Pulaski
November 20 - REALTOR(r) Celebration & Installation of Officers & Directors

GET WELL NOTICES

Kathie Whitwell - Re/Max Elite
Bonnie Hickman - White/Woodard Realty

IMPORTANT CONTACTS

Association Office		931.381.5556
Mary Scott, Association Executive	scottm@realtracs.com
Rebecca Head, Office Manager	rebeccah@realtracs.com
Tammy Brown, Administrative Assistant	tammyb@realtracs.com

SMTAR 2010 President
Fay Robinson		931.363.7515
robinfay@realtracs.com

RealTracs (Middle Tennessee Regional MLS)		800.397.9282
Member Login: www.RealTracs.net
Public Login: www.RealTracs.com

2010 MLS Director
Matt Collins		931.359.6231
matt@grovercollins.com

Tennessee Association of REALTORS(r)		615.321.1477
www.TARNET.com

Tennessee Real Estate Commission		800.342.4031
www.state.tn.us/commerce/boards/trec

National Association of REALTORS(r)		800.874.6500
www.REALTOR.org

Wed, 11 Aug 2010