February 16, 2007

 

Our current education schedule is now available. To register for classes online simply visit our Class Listing Page. This is a great opportunity for resident licensees to get their credits early. The Residential Property Management class scheduled for Wednesday, February 21 has been cancelled due to lack of interest.

Non-resident licensees must complete 15 credit hours of continuing education no later than April 30, 2007. Delaware currently accepts elective continuing education credits approved by the Maryland Commission exclusive of any course relating specifically to Maryland laws.

• View our full Education schedule through April and register here >>

To register for any of our classes online, you may also visit our webpage at www.scaor.com. At our website, click on "Members" then "Class/Event Registration" for a complete list of classes.

 
SPANISH COURSE FOR REALTORS^® - In High Demand!

The Spanish course being offered in March is now full. If you would like to be placed on the waiting list, please give the SCAOR office a call at 302-855-2300. SCAOR plans to offer another course in a few months. Look for details in At A Glance.

 

DAR will be offering GRI 501: Professional Development on March 15 & 16 at the Sheraton Dover Hotel from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. This module will cover topics such as the NAR Code of Ethics, Arbitration & Mediation, Diversity, Fair Housing Enforcement, and identifying potential environmental hazards. This course will provide 15 CE credits.

Click here to register.

 

DAR'S annual “Jump in the Ocean” is scheduled for March 2 at the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel beginning at 5:30 p.m. Cost for the event is $25 per person and includes heavy hors d'oeuvres and one free drink ticket. Have fun while contributing to make our voices heard! Click here to register.

 

Delaware Technical & Community College is offering the 99-hour Broker's Course starting March 12. Classes will be held every Monday and Wednesday evening from 6 - 10 p.m. at Cape Henlopen High School. For more information, please call Paula Perez at 854-6966.

 

Each culture has its own customs when it comes to social and business relations. REALTORS^® working in a global market need to make the best impression on potential clients, and that means having at least a basic familiarity with the customs and protocols of the culture. NAR's Library offers an online Field Guide to Business Etiquette which will point you in the right direction for creating lasting partnerships with multicultural clients. Sections include Foreign- Born Clients, Useful Tools, and Books, eBooks & Other Resources, all of which link to a wide variety of online resources. Use of the online research tool, ProQuest, will be required in some instances. REALTORS^® have free access to ProQuest (must be registered and logged into Realtor.org). On the local level - come to the Diversity Mixer on March 8 at the Marvel Museum.

Diver$ity = $ale$ Mixer   Date: Thursday, March 8, 2007   Time: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm   Where: Marvel Museum located at 510 S. Bedford Street, Georgetown. Located near 113 and DMV

 

Pending home sales are up, affirming the stabilization that is occurring in home sales, NAR's Pending Home Sales Index shows. The index, based on contracts signed in December, rose 4.9 percent to an index of 112.4 from an upwardly revised level of 107.2 in November, but is 4.4 percent lower than December 2005. The monthly gain was the biggest increase since March 2004 when the index rose 6.9 percent. "Some of the monthly gain may be weather related, but it appears buyers are becoming more comfortable, sensing the timing is good and that their local market has bottomed out," says NAR Chief Economist David Lereah. "I expect modest sales gains throughout the year, with what I believe are sustainable levels of activity. 2007 promises to be the fourth best year on record." For more info, click here.

 

Do you know the difference between a modular home and manufactured home? Knowing the difference is important to real estate professionals because in early 2004 the federal lending qualifications changed, and homes of manufactured (mobile) construction became ineligible for conventional mortgage rates. While a few lending programs are still available for manufactured homes, the interest rates are higher and usually a shorter-than-30-year-amortization-period is used.

A MODULAR HOME is one that is constructed on a WOOD foundation in a climate-controlled factory: at the factory, the modular unit(s) is/are placed on a truck bed for delivery to the home site. Lenders and appraisers consider modular homes the same as stick-built homes. This type of dwelling is "Single Family" for PROPERTY TYPE when entering it as a listing, and "Modular" for CONSTRUCTION TYPE.

A MANUFACTURED HOME is one that is constructed on a METAL foundation in a climate-controlled factory: at the factory WHEELS/TIRES are attached directly to the metal foundation for delivery of the structure to the home site. When we list such a property, it is entered as "Mobile" for PROPERTY TYPE*, and then it should be indicated that the home is "Manufactured" for the CONSTRUCTION TYPE.

*A manufactured home may be entered as "Single Family" for PROPERTY TYPE, but only if the DMV Title has been surrendered and the Sussex County Assessment Division has recognized the dwelling as a "Class C" property; however, even then it still must be identified as "Manufactured" for the CONSTRUCTION TYPE so the public knows what type of lending programs may be available.

A manufactured home will have a prominent Red HUD plate affixed to the exterior.

 

NAR leadership team sets 2007 federal policy agenda

Developing our 2007 REALTOR^® party policy agenda
Earlier this year the NAR Research staff polled more than 13,000 REALTOR^® Members, Association Executives and industry leaders to determine which federal policy issues were considered to be of paramount importance in 2007...

Click here to read the latest issue of Eye On The Hill!

 

Our membership continues to grow and we are pleased to introduce the newest REALTORS^® to join SCAOR. Hopefully, you will meet someone new during a class, an event, or conference. Many of you know being a successful REALTOR^® is all about making connections. SCAOR strives to provide you with opportunities to make connections with colleagues and strategic alliances. New or veteran REALTORS^®, it is all up to you!

Click here to see our new members!

 

Keeping An Eye On The Exterior - A quick walk around your property could help you catch a number of maintenance problems before they have a chance to become expensive repairs. Here are a few things to keep an eye out for:

• Take a look at your landscaping. Prune back any dense plant growth that could restrict air movement - contribute to moisture or insects - or that might thicken and scrape siding. Also, check for hanging tree branches that could damage roofing or windows.

• Next, inspect outdoor wooden elements for decay. The most vulnerable areas are surfaces subject to frequent moisture, such as wooden siding in contact with the ground and horizontal surfaces that can collect water.

• Finally, check the outside of the house for cracks. Use a caulking gun to seal cracks or joints that might let water infiltrate or warm air escape. Start with the joint between the foundation and the house. Then inspect outer window edges and door casings.

The above tips were offered by home inspection experts at HouseMaster. For more tips, visit www.housemaster.com/homedefects.

 

As of 2/14 we have 38 SentriSecure Offices and the list is growing. A SentriSecure office only utilizes the SentriLock lockbox on listings. Our program has begun to feature the SentriSecure Offices on our www.scaor.com website.

Take a moment to view and thank these brokerages for their accomplishment.

SentriSecure Brokerages as of 2.14.07

According to your lockbox coding on the InnoVia MLS System, we have a total of 836 combination boxes remaining on listings. The following report shows the numbers per office. As you eliminate combination boxes, you will be added to the SentriSecure Office listing.

Brokerages with Combo Boxes as of 2.14.07

 

As per your request, the next time you update your SentriCard, you will notice that the renewal period has been extended from 3 to 5 days. Counting the day you renew your card, the SentriCard will now expire at midnight on the 5th day.

 

February 20 - March 2 Planning Meeting Agendas Posted

Meetings Planned to Help Local Governments Prepare for 2010 Census

The Office of State Planning Coordination and the US Census Bureau will co-host a series of workshops for local government leaders in March. The workshops are designed to help the elected leaders of Delaware's cities and towns ensure that their communities are fully counted in the 2010 Census.

Click here for the full details and contact information for zoning, ending homelessness, highway construction, and other important Planning-related meetings >>

 

Article 5

REALTORS^® shall not undertake to provide professional services concerning a property or its value where they have a present or contemplated interest unless such interest is specifically disclosed to all affected parties.

 

Long Term "Staying in Touch"

After settlement, call your clients the next day to congratulate them once again on their purchase, and ask them if there is anything they might need help with. If you did not give them a housewarming gift at the settlement table, instead of calling the next day, you may want to stop by the house to give them a gift and congratulate them.

Find out more in the Rookie Corner >>

 

 

© Copyright 2007 Sussex County Association of REALTORS^®
23407 Park Ave., Georgetown, DE 19947, USA
Phone (302) 855-2300  ~  Fax (302) 855-2319  ~  info@scaor.com  ~  www.scaor.com