February 14 3:30 pm - 5 pm Women's Council of REALTORS® February 18 OFFICE CLOSED PRESIDENT'S HOLIDAY February 26 3 pm - 4:30 pm Staff training February 27 9 am Commercial Swap February 27 1 pm - 2 pm Class C Homes vs. Mobile Homes February 28 9 am to Noon MLS Orientation March 18 9 am to 4 pm New Member Orientation March 21 OFFICE CLOSED GOOD FRIDAY

 

CLASSES FILLING UP FAST--HURRY AND GRAB YOUR FAVORITES

Virtually all of the February continuing education credit classes are sold out! Make sure you are not caught in a mad, expensive scramble at the end of April.

Go to www.thescaorstore.com to sign up for your classes. Faxing over a class registration does not ensure the class will be available when processed.

See the full schedule of OPEN CLASSES
and Register Today >>

For more information, please contact Lynn King, 202-383-1156.

Sue is planning to travel to Yalta, Ukraine in the Spring as a representative of NAR and will also attend the regional CEREAN real estate annual conference later in the year. She is looking forward to the challenge of this new experience and would like to get the local and State Economic Development Offices involved in some way.

Today, Internet service providers (ISPs), like AOL, work harder to verify that e-mail is legitimate by looking up where it came from. Yet many associations and smaller ISPs do not have a verifiable identity record on their mail servers, which can lead to undelivered mail.

Here are some steps to take to ensure that SCAOR e-mails will be delivered with the fewest difficulties to your mailbox. You may be blocking our association e-mails and not even realize it.

Here are some tips on how to unblock our SCAOR e-mails:

1. Add the association's e-mail address, info@scaor.com, to your e-mail address book.

2. Look for association e-mail in your spam folder and click the "not spam" button.

3. Move your e-mail filter level from high to medium.

4. Make sure your filter is not blocking HTML e-mail or e-mail sent to more than one recipient.

5. Provide your Internet service provider with the association's e-mail (info@scaor.com) and request that it not be blocked. If your ISP has questions concerning unblocking the association's e-mails, please have them contact support@cybernetworkers.com.

 

REALTORS® Please Read This: Are you using the term REALTOR® correctly in communications and advertising? You may visit www.realtor.org website for more information. ("membership mark" is your search word) Want a quick tip to keep you out of hot water? Use the word "member" where you are thinking of using the term REALTOR® in your sentence or phrase. Example #1: Suzy Q is your REALTOR® at the shore is incorrect usage since you would not say, "Suzy Q is your member at the shore." Let's try again... Suzy Q is your real estate agent at the shore and a member of the Sussex County Association of REALTORS®. Now, that is acceptable. Example #2: Farmer Brown, top 1% of REALTORS®, is your top agent on Delmarva. Would you say, "Farmer Brown, top 1% of members, is your top agent on Delmarva?" No, it doesn't make sense and neither does using the term REALTOR® improperly. Final Quiz: Which sample is correct?: Smith, Ltd., REALTORS® Smith REALTORS®, Ltd. "a" is correct.

 
WOMEN'S COUNCIL OF REALTORS^® SUSSEX COUNTY, DELAWARE
Second Meeting on February 14 — Join Us!

On January 23, 2008, twelve Sussex County REALTORS^® met at SCAOR as an exploratory meeting to establish a Local Chapter of the Women's Council of REALTORS^® (WCR). A presentation was made describing "what is" the Women's Council of REALTORS^® and how a Local Chapter is formed. There was overwhelming support and enthusiasm to begin to form a Local Chapter in Sussex County. The next meeting of the WCR will be held on Thursday, February 14, 2008 from 3:30 - 5 pm at SCAOR.

Come to find out what Women's Council is all about and bring a friend. For further information contact Brad Riedle at 302-227-4800 or briedle@remax.net. To register, click on the link below.

Please RSVP Here >>       

Sign up online at www.thescaorstore.com for your classes, and get done before the April madness begins!

 

FEBRUARY CLASSES ARE NOW SELLING OUT See the Full Schedule of Open Classes and Register Today >> $5.00 PRICE INCREASE IN SCAOR CLASSES AS OF MARCH 1 The SCAOR Education Committee has voted to increase the price of education classes. Through February, SCAOR members pay $40.00 per class; non-SCAOR REALTORS®, $45; and non-members/non-REALTORS®, $50.00. In March, prices increase $5.00, so sign up now for February classes, and SAVE! Please note how quickly February classes are selling out. Two upcoming classes with more than 10 seats still open as of today: Risk Reduction for the Real Estate Agent on February 12 approved for 3 hours Legislative Update and taught by Ruth Vella, and Septic Training on February 20 approved for 3 elective hours and taught by Gerry Desmond. BROKER ALERT! — Please look at your calendars and register for your Broker's Core Credits now. The January offering sold out. Please register now while your choice of days is plentiful. DATE TIME CLASS INSTRUCTOR Wednesday, February 13 9 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Broker's Core - 6 hours Class Location - SCAOR Office Vincent White Tuesday, March 4 9 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Broker's Core - 6 hours Class Location - CHEER Center Gene Millman Thursday, March 13 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Broker's Core - 6 hours Class Location - SCAOR Office Vincent White Thursday, April 10 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Broker's Core - 6 hours Class Location - SCAOR Office Vincent White ALL CLASSES WILL BE HELD AT THE SCAOR OFFICE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. Registration will not be taken over the phone. No credits will be issued to late arrivals. Please notify SCAOR of any disabilities requiring special accommodations.

The National Association of REALTORS^® is providing a FREE video series covering the Code of Ethics. Fifteen short video segments cover the Preamble, Articles, and many Standards of Practice. Delivery is a snap through direct video streaming or downloading for use in any classroom or office setting.

Benefits

• Concise Code of Ethics education in short, five-to-seven minute segments
• Perfect for office meetings and training
• Enhances relationships with clients and other real estate professionals
• Serves as an important reminder of the obligations established in the Code
• Gets REALTORS^® talking AND thinking about the Code

The best part is it's available 24/7, FREE at http://Realtor.org/Codevideos, and it's coming soon to YOUR computer screen!

Sussex County Department of Community Development & Housing seeks proposals for its Moderately Priced Housing Program. The timeline for the process is as follows:

• Week of January 22nd - Public Notice of RFP
• February 14th - 10 am - Public workshop for developers (to receive guidelines and application - held in County Council chambers, 2 The Circle, Georgetown)
• March 6th - Request for Proposals due to the Department by 4 pm
• March 18th - Department makes its recommendation report to County Council
• March 25th - County Council will respond with its approval of projects no later than this date

Do Not Fax Rules - Updated

We sure do have a lot of rules. That's right, but that's what keeps us out of trouble. In past columns we have discussed the Do Not Call Registry and the CAN SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003), and today we will focus on the Do Not Fax rules specified by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Click Here to Read More >>

The Rookie Committee is sponsoring an educational talk about Class C homes vs. mobile homes. This informative session will be held at SCAOR from 1 to 2 p.m. on February 27. There will be no cost and you can call or email the staff at SCAOR to register for this open discussion that will clarify this often confusing subject.

If you are working with the Seller or the Buyer of a Manufactured home, you may wish to verify that the home is assessed and classified as Real Estate (Class "C") and not a motor vehicle. The following steps, provided by Sussex County Department of Assessment, explain the process from an owner's point of view.

Click Here to Read the Steps >>

Below is the Hearing Panel's decision from the case interpretation presented in last week's At A Glance.

Case #5-1: Contemplated Interest in Property Appraised
(Revised Case #13-6 May, 1988.
Transferred to Article 4 November, 1994. Revised November, 2001.)

It was concluded by the Hearing Panel that whether or not management of the building was discussed between Buyer B and REALTOR^® C prior to its purchase by Buyer B, REALTOR^® C had a logically contemplated interest in it as a property manager in view of the fact that he had served as property manager for all other properties owned by Buyer B. In view of this contemplated interest, he was bound by the terms of Article 5 to disclose this interest to his appraisal client, Seller A. He had failed to do this, and so was found in violation of Article 5 of the Code of Ethics.

If you are utilizing the police icon on the MLS to send an email to a fellow REALTOR^®, please remember the Golden Rule. Treat others as you wish to be treated. A friendly email asking if something is incorrect is better than a "flaming" email in ALL CAPS!!!, which is considered rude and offensive. Although the sender is anonymous, this does not remove common courtesy as an expected behavior. SCAOR staff is always happy to answer questions about MLS entries, possible errors or omissions. Contact Kristi or TracyLee at 302-855-2300 to clarify before entering, and avoid a compliance email completely.

 
Listing of February 5, 2008 through March 5, 2008
Delaware News & Meetings

COMMERCIAL / RESIDENTIAL USE RULE CHANGE The SCAOR Board has approved a change recommended by the MLS Committee regarding certain commercial properties. Members may now list as commercial and also as residential those properties that are zoned commercial with residential use and on which a home exists.

 
Congratulations to our SentriSecure Offices!

SentriSecure Brokerages as of 2.1.08 >>

Brokerages with Combo Boxes as of 2.1.08 >>