Monday, September 24, 2012

GTAR Weekly Facts – September 24, 2012

NOTICES:
Plan Ahead for 2013 Dues
2013 local, state, and national dues will be billed during the week of October 8-12, 2012. REALTOR® members budget $484; REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® members budget $454. These amounts are subject to change; the State Association (OAR) has not set their dues amount for 2013 at this time.
We’re Looking for Members to Serve on GTAR and NORES Committees in 2013
Your participation will help make a difference in the Association. Volunteering can help you better understand motivations and deal with difficult situations, as well as increase your knowledge about association and real estate issues. Volunteering also offers you a chance to develop lasting personal and professional relationships. Review the descriptions of each committee in the September GTAR World Newsletter. To sign up click on:  REALTOR® & REALTOR®-Associate Volunteer Form  or Affiliate Volunteer form.
Designer Showcase 2013 – Celebrating 40 Years in Tulsa
The Tulsa Designer Showcase is looking for the perfect house to celebrate the fourth year as a fundraiser in the Tulsa Community. We are looking for a house that is: 4,000-5,000 square feet, and has curb appeal and street parking. This is a perfect opportunity for someone who has just purchased a new house or is selling a home.  Perks for the owners include: design donated by 30 of Tulsa’s top designers, paint donated, painting labor donated, and discounted prices on draperies, furniture, and accessories. If you have a property that you would like us to consider, please call Paula Dellavedova at 918-902-0809. All proceeds benefit The Foundation for Tulsa Schools helping Tulsa build a better community.
EDUCATION & EVENTS:
This Week - September 27
“Living on Tulsa Time” Bus Tour
The tour will focus on new development and “mom and pop” shops in Downtown Tulsa! The first bus (SOLD OUT) will leave at 1:00 p.m., and second bus will leave at 1:30 p.m. We will end the afternoon at OneOK Field (Driller’s Stadium) with Happy Hour hosted by the Young Professionals Network (4:00-6:00 p.m.). Cost is $15 per person. The buses are filling up quickly! Log in to tulsarealtors.com; Member Resources, GTAR Events, Bus Tour. Contact Jennifer Smith at 918-663-7500 or email jsmith@tulsarealtor.com.
October 3
Making MLS Easy for Appraisers & REALTORS®
This new course will provide practical applications for both appraisers and real estate professionals to use to maximize functionality of the NORES MLS system (Fusion) in conjunction with their business. Instructor Polly Choate will demonstrate system functionality on retrieving CMA data; provide information on how to easily locate unique property types (e.g., log homes, a-frame, 2nd house on parcel, etc.); demonstrate the Realist Tax System mapping utilizing the flood zone overlay maps, ZIP Code boundaries, and various other functionality of the tax system related to user needs; and MUCH more! This course is OREC approved for 3 hours elective CE credit AND OREAB approved for 3 hours elective CE credit! Class is 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in the GTAR Training Center; cost is $15 pre-registered or $20 the day of class. For full course details and to register, go to tulsarealtors.com. (If you have a GTAR Class Pass, register by emailing education@tulsarealtors.com or calling 918-663-7500.)
October 3-4
Broker in Charge Course
If your license type is Broker Manager (BM), Proprietor Broker (BP), or Branch Broker (BB), even if only for ONE day during that license term, your OREC CE requirements are no longer the same as those of a sales associate (SA) or broker associate (BA). From now on, to renew your real estate license, you will be required to complete an OREC approved 15-hour Broker in Charge (BIC) class PLUS an additional 6 hours of required subject matter in at least two core courses (BRA, PSC, FHR or HOT). Whether you are a one-person office or a gazillion-person office, residential or commercial—this requirement applies to you!  Class is 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. both days (lunch is provided and break is 30 minutes); cost is $90; class size is limited to 15. For full course details and to register, go to tulsarealtors.com.
October 4
GTAR Edutainment Day!
Don’t miss this popular, fun-filled morning of education and great door prizes brought to you by GTAR’s Sales Associate Committee! It's free and there's no CE, so come and go as you please...start your morning at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast courtesy of Capital Homes. Then at 9:00 a.m. get ready to be edutained! OREC Senior Investigator Sherry Kueffler will tell you “How Not to Lose Your License”; at 10:15 a.m. Axay will share “Tech Treats and More”; at 11:15 a.m. Dafne Basave will show you how to “Dress for Success”; and at 12:00 p.m. Bill Zumwalt will tell you why should “Fear the Taxman.” Drawings for great prizes will be held throughout the morning courtesy of our GTAR Affiliate members. Edutainment Day is free to members but registration is required—log on to tulsarealtors.com; click on the red Education bar, the click Register for Classes.
October 11
TU Football Game Hosted by YPN

Food, fun, and networking!  More details and online registration coming soon!
Save the Date! 
January 24, 2013
Annual GTAR/NORES Installation & Awards Banquet : “Let the Good Times Roll” at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.  Details coming soon!
MLS NOTES:
August 2012 Home Sales Stats are Now Available
Upcoming Computer Classes at GTAR
Pre-registration is required; space is limited to 14 per class. For more information and to enroll: log on to tulsarealtors.com, click the red Education bar on the Member Services page, then click Register for Classes. All classes are held in the GTAR Computer Lab, unless otherwise indicated.
ZipForm Update
ZipForm is one of the member benefits NORES subscribers receive as part of their quarterly fees.  The decision by OAR to discontinue the ZipForm product WILL NOT affect NORES subscribers in any way.  In fact, last month NORES renewed its Zipform agreement for three additional years. NORES supports the OAR decision to discontinue this service from the state association as we feel it is a duplication of services that is not needed or used by the Tulsa membership. 
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE:
Early-bird Savings Ends October 1
SIOR Negotiation Skills Course
Never Hear “No” Again! GTAR’s RCA Committee is hosting the SIOR Negotiation Skills course with William Burgess, CCIM, SIOR, Thursday, October 11, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in the GTAR Training Center. The course offers three phases of the negotiation process that can assist a broker with a commercial lease negotiation. Attend this seminar to refresh your knowledge of negotiation fundamentals and learn new tips and tricks to supplement your negotiation prowess. Whether you’re in your first year in the business or your fiftieth, SIOR designee or not, the Negotiation Skills course from the SIOR Center for Career Advancement can benefit you by increasing your knowledge and enhancing your business skills. Interested in earning the SIOR designation? Visit www.sior.com to learn how. OREC Approved: 3 hours elective CE credit. Register now to take advantage of early-bird savings! Members’ early-bird price is $35 (through October 1); members’ late registration price is $45 (after October 1); non-member price is $50. Click Here for Course Details and Registration Information
FHA Eases Some Condo Loan Limits
FHA is taking steps to ease some of its restrictions on condo financing. Among them is an increase in the number of units in a building investors can buy, up to half of the units, up from just 10 percent before; and FHA will allow financing on projects in which half the space is used for non-residential commercial purposes, up from just a quarter before. Changes to matters relating to HOA dues and board certifications are also designed to ease financing restrictions. Still unchanged, though, are some key restrictions, including owner-occupancy limits, which still prohibit financing unless at least half the units are owner-occupied, and FHA financing limits, which prohibit financing if already half the units in a project have FHA loans. But FHA says it’s working on further changes, so look for more from the agency in the future.
EPA Delays Lead-Paint Rule for Three Years
EPA had been under a deadline to issue a proposed Lead Renovation Repair and Painting rule for exterior renovations to commercial and public buildings by June 15, 2012, but the agency is delaying its rule until July 1, 2015. Should it issue a rule by that date, it's expected that a final rule wouldn't take effect for another year, pushing back the effective date of any rule until Dec. 31, 2016. NAR has been arguing for years that the agency lacks data on the nature and extent of lead-based paint hazards unique to commercial buildings.
Focus on Terrorism Insurance Extension Now
Terrorism insurance, which lenders typically require for commercial real estate loans, has been backstopped by the federal government since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, and that federal support is set to expire in 2014. Given how much the market was unsettled the last time the federal insurance faced expiration, in 2005, it makes sense to start looking at extending the insurance now, a commercial practitioner told a House subcommittee last week on behalf of NAR. Access more on the issue and a video clip of the testimony by Linda St. Peter of Prudential Connecticut Realty in Wallingford. 
GOVERNMENT ISSUES/LEGAL:
House Passes Bill to Help FHA Finances
A bill by Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) to help shore up FHA's financial position passed the House last week. The "FHA Emergency Fiscal Solvency Act of 2012," H.R. 4264, bars unscrupulous lenders from participating in the program, allows FHA to collect losses from lenders who made material errors in underwriting or committed fraud, and strengthens financial oversight and disclosure. The bill also gives FHA flexibility to increase premiums if needed to restore reserve levels. NAR helped lawmakers defeat amendments that could have raised costs to borrow; there is no companion bill in the Senate.
NAR: It’s Loan Standards That Need Attention
It remains unclear how much the Federal Reserve's plan to purchase up to $40 billion in mortgage backed securities a month will boost home sales in light of continued concerns over lenders' tight mortgage underwriting policies, NAR says in a letter. NAR has just released survey results that suggest home sales could see up to 700,000 additional units a year if lenders would return to safe and reasonable loan standards that were in place prior to the housing boom. More.
NAR-backed Visa Bill Headed to President
The House and Senate have passed legislation (S. 3245) to reauthorize for three years EB-5 regional centers, which are overseen by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and make special visas available to households from outside the U.S. that invest in business- and job-building enterprises. NAR supports the regional centers, which have been reauthorized several times since they were created as a pilot program in 1992.
INFORMATION TO USE:
Free Consumer Content: How Gardening Combats Depression
The latest free content for your websites, blogs, social media pages, and print resources from HouseLogic's REALTOR® Content Resource looks at home projects that bring families together.
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION:
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.
REALTOR®:
Clifford Paulick, associated with McGraw, REALTORS® (First Publication)
Firm Affiliate:
Perfectly Posh, Designated Individual Conniee Gibson, Independent Consultant (Second Publication)



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