Weekly Facts Blog – December 21, 2009

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
Thursday, December 24: GTAR/NORES Office will close at 12:00 p.m.
Friday, December 25: GTAR/NORES Office will be closed all day
Thursday, December 31: Office will close at 12:00 p.m.
Friday, January 1: Office will be closed all day

December 24 to January 4 — Board Store Closed for Inventory
The GTAR/NORES Board Store will be closed for inventory from noon Thursday, December 24 until noon on Monday, January 4, 2010, so please plan ahead. This will not affect Key and KeyBox purchases.

LATE: 2010 GTAR Annual Dues
The deadline to pay your 2010 GTAR annual dues without penalty was November 30, 2009; a $20 late payment fee has now been added to your account. You can pay by credit card online at tulsarealtors.com; on the main Member Services page, click on the yellow View/Pay Bill bar, then click GTAR–Accounts Receivables, and follow instructions to pay. Payment can also be made by calling the GTAR/NORES office at 918-663-7500 during business hours or by mailing a check, payable to GTAR, to P.O. Box 470603, Tulsa, OK 74147. After business hours you can drop payments in the mail slot located inside the front entrance foyer of the GTAR/NORES office.

Get Your Required CE Hours in January
Don’t wait until the end of your 3-year licensing period to get your CE hours! Take advantage of a slow month and knock out all 12 OREC required core CE hours; classes in all four categories (HOT, FHR, PSC, BRA) will be offered at GTAR in January. For details and online registration, log on to tulsarealtors.com; on the main Member Services page, click the red Education bar, then click Register for Classes. All classes are in the GTAR Training Center and cost $15 pre-registered or $20 the day of class, unless otherwise indicated.

Thursday, January 7: What the 2010 RESPA Changes Mean to Me and My Business (HOT)
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. with instructor Attorney Monica Wittrock. The new RESPA changes become effective January 1, 2010. Think the changes won’t affect you as a real estate professional? Better think again! Click Here for Course Details

Thursday, January 14: Fair Housing and Ethical Practices (FHR)
1:00 – 4:00 p.m. with Kathryn Jones. (Please note: This is a new date.)

Thursday, January 21: REALTOR® Ethics (PSC)
1:00 – 4:00 p.m. instructor TBA; this class is free but space is limited and pre-registration is required.

Monday, January 25: OK Broker Relationships (BRA)
1:00 – 4:00 p.m. with instructor Ann Lloyd.

GTAR/NORES Inclement Weather Policy for Classes
We are entering that time of year when the weather does not always work in our favor; therefore, GTAR/NORES has established the following inclement weather policy for all education classes at GTAR (CE, Computer, New Member Orientation, etc.): If Tulsa Public Schools are closed the day of a scheduled class, the GTAR/NORES class is cancelled. It doesn’t matter if it’s a morning or afternoon class. Depending on the type of class being cancelled, the class will either be rescheduled for a future date or a full refund will be issued. Please be sure to check one of the local news channels the night before and/or morning of a scheduled class for school closings.

Remember: GTAR Also Offers CE Classes Online
Whether you’ve waited until the last minute to get your 21 hours of CE for license renewal or just prefer to take classes online on your schedule at your pace, you’re in luck. Through GTAR’s partnership with McKissock Education Online, all the classes you need to fulfill OREC’s CE requirements are available to you 24/7, 365 days a year from any computer with Internet Access. McKissock even offers approved classes for appraisers. All support is handled by McKissock–technical problems, course questions, CE processing with OREC, and certificate issuing. McKissock has an excellent reputation for their course quality and customer service. Check out McKissock by clicking on the following link: GTAR Online Education

NEW! REO Specialist Certification
Tuesday & Wednesday, February 23 & 24
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. in the GTAR Training Center with Marlene Burkhart. In this two-day course you will learn how to become an REO listing agent, how to manage REO properties, how to work with the buyer purchasing an REO property, how to finance your REO property, and much more. Cost is $179. This course is currently pending 12 hours of CE credit with OREC. Click on the following link for detailed course information and registration: REO Specialist Course Details

Has Your Listing’s Flood Zone Changed?
FEMA updated their flood maps 08/03/2009. Click here to check your listings flood zone.

TulsaRealtors.com Web-Email Upgrade
GTAR/NORES is finalizing plans for a TulsaRealtors.com WebE-Mail upgrade. This upgrade should address the Web-Email issues some users have been encountering, and will allow for a more stable email environment and less problems for the user when using TulsaRealtors Web-Email at http://mail.tulsarealtors.com. These changes will not affect users of mail clients such as Outlook or Outlook Express. The current track for this upgrade to be released is early January 2010.

REALTOR® Applications
Comments on the following REALTOR® applicants should be submitted by REALTOR® members to the Membership Committee, c/o GTAR, PO Box 470603, Tulsa, OK 74147.

Tomas Barrientos, TuCasa Realty, LLC (Second Publication)