NOTICES:
GTAR/NORES HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
Monday, December 24: Office
closes at 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday, December 25: Office
is closed all day
Monday, December 31: Office closes at 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday, January 1: Office is closed all day
December 26 until
January 2: Board Store Closed for Inventory
The GTAR/NORES Board Store will be closed for inventory Wednesday,
December 26 until noon on Wednesday, January 2, 2013, so please plan ahead.
This will not affect Key and KeyBox purchases.
2012 Annual
Dues are LATE!
If dues are not paid by December 31, 2012,
MLS services will be suspended and keys shut off on January 2, 2013. To
reinstate will require a $40 reinstatement fee and new paperwork from the
broker. REALTOR®
dues and late fee are $504 and REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® dues and late fee
are $474. You can pay by credit card online: Go to Main Menu on tulsarealtors.com, click on the yellow
View/Pay Bill bar, then click GTAR–Accounts Receivable, and follow instructions
to pay. Payment can also be made by calling the GTAR/NORES office, 918-663-7500
or mailing to GTAR, 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.
November
2012 Home Sales Stats Now Available
EDUCATION &
EVENTS:
Don’t Miss Out on the Celebration!
2013
GTAR/NORES Installation & Awards Banquet: Seated dinner will
be Thursday, January 24, 12:00 p.m. at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino; cost is
$25 per person. This year’s theme is Let
the Good Times Roll. Join us in honoring our outgoing presidents, incoming
presidents, officers and 2012 award winners. For banquet details and to make
reservations online with a credit card, log on to tulsarealtors.com; under the
Member Resources tab, click GTAR Events, then 2013 Presidents’ Banquet. Or,
complete the Reservation Form and
fax it to 918-663-8815.
Need CE before the end of 2012?
You can take CE classes online anytime! GTAR is partnered with both
McKissock Education and Barnes Real Estate School to offer you a variety of
online continuing education classes to fulfill your OREC requirements. In addition to CE classes, McKissock offers a variety of classes
for appraisers; Charles Barnes offers the 45 Hour Post License and 90 Hour
Brokers License courses...AND, the 15 hour OREC required Broker in Charge
course is now available online through Charles Barnes. So how does it work? Simply go to
tulsarealtors.com, click on the logos for either school, and follow the
instructions. Any and all classes you take through McKissock and Charles Barnes
are reported directly to OREC.
GOVERNMENT/LEGAL:
Keep Urging
Congress to Do No Harm
The
mortgage interest deduction is vital to the stability of the American housing
market and the broader economy and REALTORS® will remain vigilant in
opposing any plan that modifies or excludes the deductibility of mortgage
interest. That's the message you need to send to Congress, if you haven’t yet.
It just takes a few clicks at the REALTOR®
Action Center in NAR's Call for Action.
NAR Critical of
Higher G-Fee Proposal
The
federal government's proposal to have Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge higher
guarantee fees in states with longer foreclosure times is inconsistent with
other federal foreclosure prevention efforts and needs further study, NAR says
in comments to the proposal. The higher g-fees could
amount to a 15-30 basis point increase in targeted states, NAR tells the
Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Keep MBS
Platform Safe and Transparent, NAR Says
Any
common secondary market securitization platform the federal government develops
to replace the existing structure as part of broader Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
reform should be self-sufficient and provide a safe, sound, and transparent
infrastructure on which insured MBS issues can be packaged and sold, NAR says in comments to the Federal Housing
Finance Agency. Also, NAR recommends the improvement of loan level and mortgage
pool disclosures to market participants to enhance opportunities for private
capital participation.
Online Appeals
for Flood Zone Designations
The
Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) is launching an online way for
people to request a change in a property's flood zone designation. Learn about it.
CFPB Positive on
RESPA/TILA Disclosure Testing
The
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to allow companies to test new
consumer disclosures under RESPA/TILA, as NAR advised it do earlier this year.
If CFPB executes the testing procedure effectively, companies should be able to
avoid significant expense and confusion once a final rule is issued, NAR
analysts say.
INFORMATION
TO USE:
How Do You
Back-up Your Data?
Dropbox,
GoogleDrive, iCloud, and Carbonite are among the ways you can back up your
data. REach, an accelerator program developed by NAR's strategic investment
arm, Second Century Ventures, is interested in what you find useful. Complete
this brief survey and earn a chance to win a
$100 American Express Gift Card.
Great Gift Ideas
from NAR’s REALTOR Benefits® Partners
The
REALTOR Benefits® Program is your source this holiday season for cool gifts and hot deals. Receive 18 percent
off select monthly service plans, and 20 percent off select phone accessories
from Sprint, among other deals. Receive a 5 percent discount when you purchase
a Lowe's® gift card online.
Free Consumer
Content: Spread Tips and Cheer HEADLINE
The
latest free content for your websites, blogs, social media pages, and print
resources from HouseLogic's REALTOR® Content Resource looks at spreading tips and cheer.
