GTAR Weekly Facts – October 1, 2012

NOTICES:
 

TODAY! October 1

NORES 4^th Quarter Billing

Notices were emailed today, October 1, and payment is due by October 15, 2012, to avoid a $20 late penalty charge on October 16. You can view your invoice and pay online at tulsarealtors.com; from the main Member Services page, click the yellow View/Pay Bill bar, then click NORES Accounts Receivables.

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.

Wanted: Volunteers to Serve on 2013 GTAR and NORES Committees

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. (Deadline to submit form is October 31.)

EDUCATION & EVENTS:

THIS WEEK! 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, 2^nd 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.)

THIS WEEK! October 3-4

Broker in Charge Course

There are still some seats available! 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.

THIS WEEK! 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 you 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 24

Special VIP Opportunity for GTAR Members

Debra Jones, author of “From Thin Air to Millionaire” and marketing expert in real estate and financing has given GTAR the honor of hosting, and GTAR members the honor of attending, for FREE, her four-hour class, “Street Savvy Selling” on Thursday, October 4, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Why can you attend a FREE class with a nationally-renowned speaker which would normally cost thousands of dollars for GTAR to bring in? Because Debra lives in Tulsa, and wants to professionally video-tape her class in front of a great audience!  This special event is by invitation only—you must pre-register to attend—no walk-ins will be allowed! REGISTER NOW online at tulsarealtors.com to reserve your spot—space is limited, and over 50 members have already registered TODAY from one broadcast notice we put out this morning on tulsarealtors.com! Click here for full details!   

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:

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.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE:

TODAY! October 1: Early-bird Savings Ends

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

GOVERNMENT ISSUES/LEGAL:

New Version of 3.8 Percent Tax Rumor Circulating

A viral email continues to circulate indicating that the 3.8 percent tax on some investment income is a tax on all home sales. The newest version suggests that NAR is using its opposition to the tax to try to influence the presidential election. The viral email is wrong on both counts. The tax itself is not a tax on the sale of a home. In addition, neither NAR nor the REALTORS^® Political Action Committee (RPAC) engages in advocacy related to a presidential election, including this one. So, whoever is circulating this information is inappropriately trying to link NAR to erroneous information about the tax and about our political messages. For your primary source of accurate information on the matter, you should continue relying on the videos, Q&A, examples, and other documents at REALTOR.org. Access that information now.

NAR: Need for Action on Credit Standards

After the Federal Reserve last week announced plans to purchase up to $40 billion a month on mortgage-backed securities to help lower interest rates and give home sales a boost, NAR President Moe Veissi in a Sept. 17 letter to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the agency should also focus on underwriting standards. Veissi urged Bernanke to weigh in on three key rule proposals: the qualified mortgage (QM), qualified residential mortgage, and the Basel III capital standards. Although these rules aren’t yet final, they’re already putting a chill in mortgage lending. More. 

Fannie Mae Expands Investor Financing Options

The secondary mortgage market company will allow individual and LLC borrowers to finance up to 20 properties using its HomePath mortgage. NAR has long called for expansion of financing opportunities for investors to increase the absorption of REO properties. Fannie Mae says it will offer flexible lending terms and will not require appraisals of the properties.  

INFORMATION TO USE:

Free Consumer Content: 7 Bath Remodeling Ideas

The latest free content for your websites, blogs, social media pages, and print resources from HouseLogic's REALTOR^® Content Resource looks at bath remodeling strategies.

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^® (Second Publication)