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 JANUARY 2010 BITS AND PIECES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT'S INSIDE THIS EDITION

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

2010 REALTOR(r) DUES NOW PAST DUE

FAIR ADVERTISING

E & O INSURANCE COSTLY FOR LICENSEES

Q & A OF THE MONTH

UPCOMING EDUCATION

2010 TAR FORMS NOW POSTED

DATES TO REMEMBER

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 pleased to present new members for the month of December:

Cindy Conaway - Keller Williams Realty - Spring Hill, TN
Blair Derryberry - Keller Williams Realty - Spring Hill, TN
Joyce Jackson - Crye-Leike REALTORS - Columbia, TN

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FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

As we start a new year, it is my wish that each of you will enjoy good health and have a HAPPY PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR IN 2010!

As I begin a new year as your President, I have chosen the theme of our NAR President: "On the Rise - Looking up and Moving Forward". In implementing this theme in our local association, we, first of all, need to look at 2010 as a new day and a new beginning for REALTORS(r). We need to get more members involved in shaping policies that will revitalize the real estate market. We need to become more involved in political advocacy, and every member needs to be registered for the "Call to Action"**. We all know that it was through the untiring efforts of NAR that such programs as the Homebuyer Tax Credit were implemented, and we are even more aware of the impact they have had on our business. To be politically involved is very vital in our industry. Our RPAC dollars pay off!!

You have elected very capable officers and directors to guide you this year, and it is important that you, the members, let us know your concerns. We are here to serve you the very best way possible, but we need your participation. Be an active member--attend committee meetings, our business luncheons and our state meetings.

I believe 2010 will open up some new opportunities that will positively affect our industry! We all need to work together to meet the challenges and changes as they come.

Best wishes,
Fay
Fay Robinson, President

**CALL TO ACTION: NAR's REALTOR(r) Action Center provides members with a means of staying abreast of changes in legislation that will affect the real estate industry. When a piece of legislation is introduced at either the national, state, or local level of government that will affect your business or your right to home ownership, the Action Center will send you an e-mail with information about the legislation. Additionally, the Action Center provides you with a form letter conveniently addressed to the representative for your political district so that you can express your point of view with just a few clicks of your mouse!

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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2010 REALTOR(r) DUES NOW PAST DUE

Members who have not paid their 2010 REALTOR(r) dues are now past due for payment. Those members will be deleted from membership if payment is not received by January 15th.

If a Principle Broker has failed to pay by January 15th, he/she will be deleted from membership and services to the entire firm will be interrupted.

Per Article X, Section 2 of SMTAR bylaws, we must collect dues for all active licensees in a firm. If the licensee has not submitted dues by January 15th, those dues will then be billed to the Principle Broker of the firm.

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FAIR ADVERTISING

Many words that we would use to describe a property for sale could be considered, by some, to be derogatory or geared toward a particular group of people. We came across this article in the REALTOR(r) magazine not too long ago. It is one component of a toolkit for Fair Housing Practices and references a list of acceptable words for advertising, as well as a list for words to avoid. We hope you can take a moment to review this article and will consider reviewing the entire toolkit for this topic.

http://www.realtor.org/toolkits/fair07

Please note that though a property may be located near a specific school district, you should always double-check the school zone before assuming that the property is in the zone for the school it is near.

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E & O INSURANCE COSTLY FOR LICENSEES

SMTAR staff recently reviewed the Regulatory Boards Disciplinary Action Report for November 2009. This report shows the disciplinary actions taken by all Tennesee licensing boards for the time period posted. For November, 31 pages of the 34-page report were devoted entirely to the disciplinary actions of the Tennessee Real Estate Commission. Of the over 350 violations listed on those 31 pages, only 7 of the violations DO NOT pertain to "failure to maintain E & O insurance".

We know that failing to maintain E & O insurance is not a new problem for licensees. We know that this is not the only violation of real estate law going on out there. What we gain from this report is the fact that TREC is taking stern notice of this particular violation and is holding the agents and, in some cases, their brokers accountable. These violations carry monetary penalties that just get bigger the longer the licensee goes without renewing their E & O policy. Thus, the overall expense of the policy for these agents grows.

Individual licensees are not the only ones responsible for making sure their policy is current. Because principle brokers are required by TREC to supervise their agents, they must ensure that the E & O policies of the licensees in their office are up-to-date if they wish to avoid penalties themselves. If a principle broker allows a licensee to avoid renewal of their E & O policy, they will be penalized the same amount as the licensee. For the principle broker, this happense for EACH licensee that fails to renew. Therefore, if a broker has 3 agents in the office that are penalized in a given month, then their penalty will be trebbled.

We hope that you will take a moment to check the expiration date of your E & O insurance policy (as well as the expiration date on your license). We recommend that principle brokers maintain a list of the expiration dates on their licensees' policies and follow up shortly before the expiration to ensure that the policy has been renewed.

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Q & A OF THE MONTH

Q: When I run a monthly statistical report using Quick Search in RealTracs and then compare it to the Activity Report in the Reports menu, the numbers do not match up for the month specified. Is there something wrong with the system?

A:The answer to this is "No". Reports obtained using the Quick Search menu are calculated using information that is "live" in the system. If you print a report from this screen, the data that prints out on paper becomes "static" and will not automatically change if you perform a new search on your computer. The Activity Reports in the Reports menu, though they are on the internet, are the same as the "static" report that you printed out. Those reports are calculated on the 5th day of each month for the preceeding month. They do not include any changes to listings that may have been made after the 5th day of the month. The static Activity Reports will always differ slightly from the reports that you pull from "live" data in Quick Search.

Since the Activity Report information is calculated on a regular basis, at exactly the same time each month, it is best to use these reports when comparing one time period to another.

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UPCOMING EDUCATION

Please note: The 2010 Education Calendar has not yet been determined. We anticipate that a schedule of classes will be available in February or March 2010.

Ethics
Wednesday, January 20, 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 Training
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Two Sessions Available: RealTracs 2 and/or Statistics
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

Reducing Risk in Short Sales & Foreclosure DVD
Wednesday, February 3, 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.

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

2010 TAR FORMS NOW POSTED

DATES TO REMEMBER

Friday, January 15th - Last day to submit dues before being deleted from membership.
February - You should be receiving your invoice from RealTracs for your Sentricard User Fee sometime in February. Invoiced fee will be AT LEAST $120.

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

Sun, 10 Jan 2010