Weekly Facts Blog - July 21, 2008

SRES® Designation Course Being Offered at GTAR
– Monday & Tuesday, August 25 & 26
GTAR will be offering the two-day SRES® (Seniors Real Estate Specialist) Designation course for the first time on Monday and Tuesday, August 25 and 26; class will be from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both days. Cost for the course is $325, if registered by August 15 and $395 after that date (the cost includes the first year’s dues of $99 in the SRES® Council). The course is currently pending 16 hours of elective CE credit with OREC.
The SRES® Designation is recognized by NAR and has over 16,000 members across the United States. Baby Boomers represent the largest and wealthiest group of buyers in the country; understand what motivates this growing market and how to address their mature needs by earning the prestigious SRES® Designation. For course details and online registration, log on to tulsarealtors.com; under Member Resources, click Education-Enroll in Classes, then click Register for Classes. For more detailed information about the SRES® Designation, including member benefits, visit www.SRES.org.

Federal Regulations Which May Affect Your Business
The Affiliate Marketing Regulations which goes into effect on October 1, 2008 requires a company to provide a notice to consumers and an opportunity to opt out before an affiliated company can use certain information for marketing purposes.The affiliate marketing notice is in addition to the privacy notices already mandated, and would be a second required notice and opt out opportunity. To learn the details about these requirements, see the Affiliate Marketing Regulations FAQs.
The Identity Theft Red Flags and Address Discrepancy Rules will go into effect November 1, 2008. These rules require all users of credit reports to take certain actions whenever a credit report contains a notice of an address discrepancy. The rules also require all creditors, and those that regularly arrange for credit to be provided, to establish policies and procedures to protect against identity theft. To learn the details about these requirements, see the Identity Theft Red Flags FAQs.
NAR has also produced a podcast explaining how these rules affect real estate licensees. To view the podcast go to http://www.realtor.org/letterlw.nsf/pages/legalaffairspodcast?OpenDocument&Login

Help with Cultural Diversity Class
The Equal Opportunity Committee is seeking panel members for a new cultural diversity class which it is developing. If you or anyone from your office is interested in educating your fellow REALTORS® on your culture, please contact Connie Montalbano at connie@tulsarealtors.com or Daniele Holland at daniele@tulsarealtors.com, or call GTAR at 663-7500.

Upcoming Computer Classes at GTAR
Pre-registration is required. For more information or to enroll, log on to tulsarealtors.com; under Member Resources, click Education-Enroll for Classes, then click Register in Classes. All classes are held in the GTAR Computer Lab.
CIE Manager: Monday, July 21, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Realist Tax System: Tuesday, July 22, 1:30 – 4:00 p.m.
MarketLinx 1: Wednesday, July 30, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.