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Sussex County Association of REALTORS®
September 28, 2009
2010 Dues
Annual Auction & Gala Ticket Sales Now Open
SCAOR Community Service Foundation BoD Nominations
Online Voting is Now Open!
Broker's Core
Legislative Watchdog
FREE - DREC Statute Revision Information Session/Leg Update
One Can or One Dollar
Fall into Education Savings
with SCAOR
IDX and RETS
Who's Your Favorite Instructor?
Ronnie REALTOR®
Tips You Can Use
2010 SCAOR Committee Membership
DAR Convention News
Ninja Selling I
Ethically Speaking
FREE MLS Training
Listing Agreement and other Sales Forms
A Look Ahead
September 29
12 - 4 pm
Social Media
WCR Luncheon
October 5
5 pm
SCAOR 2010 Officers & Directors Election Deadline
Classes
Members Only
Member Directory
Quarterly Comp Book
President
Steve Alexander
President-Elect
Judy Dean
1st Vice President
Susan Mills
2nd Vice President
Sandy Greene
Treasurer
Donna Neithardt
Past President
Bill Lucks
D I R E C T O R S
Trina Joyner
Nora Martin
Sharon Palmer
Bruce Plummer
Andrew Ratner
(302) 855-2300
You may reach SCAOR staff
by 3-digit extension:
200 - Gail Shields
Reception, SentriLock, Website
201 - Crystal Hudson
Memberships, Bus Trips
202 - Opal McAdams
MLS / IDX
203 - Ruth Briggs King
Executive Vice President
205 - TracyLee Elmore
Education, Ethics & Events

 
* * * 2010 DUES * * *
Dues notices will be delivered by email only, on October 1.

Renewals are Due by November 1, 2009.
Pay your dues ONLINE ONLY - at www.realtor.org.
You may pay by check or credit card online.

The office will not be accepting payments. All dues payments MUST go through www.realtor.org. You will need your NRDS# to access your bill. This can be found on your REALTOR® magazine label or on your NAR Membership card. If you need assistance with your NRDS# or password contact NAR Info Central at (800) 874-6500. Thank you for your participation!

 
 

 

SCAOR Community Service Foundation BoD Nominations
The Sussex County Association of REALTORS® Community Service Foundation is receiving nominations for their 2010 Board of Directors. If you are interested in becoming a member of this Board, or wish more information about the Community Service Foundation Board, please contact Ruth. The deadline for submitting your name for consideration is Friday, October 9, 2009.

 

Voting Closes Monday, October 5
  Exercise Your Right to Vote!

Click Here to Vote Today!

. . . and encourage office members
to do the same!

All primary REALTOR® members of SCAOR in good standing are authorized to vote.

Click on the candidates' names below to read their biographies. Online voting for your 2010 Officers and Directors will remain open until 5:00 p.m. next Monday, October 5th, 2009.

OFFICERS
President Judy Dean Long & Foster, Rehoboth
President-Elect Sandy Greene ResortQuest, Bethany
1st Vice President Trina Joyner Home Team Realty, Seaford
2nd Vice President Sharon Palmer Coldwell Banker Resort Realty, Rehoboth
 
DIRECTORS
One year Sue Bramhall Callaway, Farnell & Moore, Seaford
Three Year Nora Martin RE/MAX Realty, Rehoboth
Three Year Brad Riedle RE/MAX Realty, Rehoboth
 
NON-BALLOT POSITIONS
Past President Steve Alexander ResortQuest, Bethany
Treasurer Donna Neithardt Home Team Realty, Seaford
Director-two years Bruce Plummer Coldwell Banker Resort Realty, Rehoboth
Director-two years Andrew Ratner Prudential Gallo, Rehoboth

 

Thursday, October 29, 2009
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Association Office

Final broker class this fall.
Save $10 and beat the spring rush!

(Discounted for primary SCAOR members.)

Register here >>

 

Extend and Expand the Homebuyer Tax Credit

ACTION ALERT: Extend the $8k Homebuyers Tax Credit
This tax credit expires December 1. That's about 60 days. Please act NOW to extend and expand the credit through 2010.

Send a strong message to Congress. It's easy.
Take 5 minutes or less to send your message using the REALTOR® Action Center today.

Important proposed real estate licensing changes
Read the proposed changes to Delaware real estate law and licensing at www.dpr.delaware.gov. Attend the FREE 3 CEU DREC Statute Revision Information Session / Legislative Update class on October 9 to learn more (limited seating - advanced registration required).

 
Full Listing of Delaware Planning News & Meetings >>
September 18 DAR Government Affairs Update >>

 
 

Next Friday, October 9, 9:00 a.m. - Noon
3 FREE CE's for Legislative Update
Instructors are Rick Allamong & Andy Staton.

This FREE 3 hour CE course will review proposed DREC statute changes.

Click here to register >>   

 
Many of the recommended changes are based on Sunset Committee recommendations to clean up the statute as well as to clarify provisions and make the act consist with practices today and to best protect the public interest.

Some of the major changes include:

  • clarifying what Property Management Services are covered under the statute
  • having three licenses: Salesperson, Associate Broker and Broker, clearly identifying Broker to mean the managing Broker
  • raising penalties to $5,000 per violation
  • requiring a minimum of three years experience to be the designated on-site supervisor for Brokers with multiple offices
  • clarifying when a licensee may prepare a Comparative Market Analysis
  • eliminating the nonresident license in favor of clarifying reciprocal licenses
  • requiring an office permit for the main office as well as additional offices
  • providing biennial renewal of all offices and the associated fees
  • adding Presumed Statutory Agency and Presumed Dual Agency for 1-4 family residential properties which establishes that Agency relationships would be assumed and not predicated by the signing of a CIS. The CIS would need to be signed prior to entering into a Listing Agreement or Agreement of Sale. The CIS would be signed earlier if a different agency relationship was being established.

Above is just a summary of the highlights. The Delaware Real Estate Commission has released details of their proposed changes of Delaware real estate law at www.dpr.delaware.gov. DREC is currently seeking public input. Please review the proposed changes and attend this free class before DREC makes final recommendations expected to be included in legislation introduced in the upcoming Delaware General Assembly session. Send your responses to SCAOR or directly to the Real Estate Commission (gayle.melvin@state.de.us).

 
    One Can or One Dollar    

Please remember to donate One Can of food or $1 to our Local Food Banks
anytime you attend an event or stop by the SCAOR office.

Fall into Education Savings with SCAOR

Make a day of it, and earn all your elective CE's in 1 day at SCAOR.
Fall discount applies to primary REALTOR® members, for fall classes only!!

Next Tuesday, October 6th, learn Basic Flood Insurance, or How to Run your Real Estate Career as a Business. Stay for Legislative Update: DUCIOA on the new laws concerning condos and HOA's, then wrap up your day with an update on all the latest government financing options available to buyers.

Nine hours too much for one day? Choose two next Tuesday, October 6th, then Staging on Wednesday, October 7th to learn how to make your listed properties stand out.

2010 Delaware license renewals coming soon.
Brokers must take 6 hours Broker Core and 9 hours of electives.
Agents must take 3 hours Real Estate Concepts,
3 hours Legislative Update and 9 hours of electives.

A second Legislative Update course will count towards your electives requirement as long as not taught by the same instructor. Take 2 and learn more about this year's legislative changes impacting real estate.

Friday,
October 2
Stress Management
3 CE course
Managing personal & professional stress during
down cycles in real estate
9 am - noon
Go Green and Earn Green
NEW 3 CE COURSE
1 pm - 4 pm
Monday,
October 5
Real Estate Concepts - 6 seats left
3 CE course, MANDATORY for Agents
9 am - noon
Legislative Update
3 CE course, MANDATORY for Agents
1 pm - 4 pm
Tuesday,
October 6
Running your Real Estate Career as a Business
3 CE course
"Clear, Concise and with good illustrations"
"Lively & engaging"
9 am - noon
Basic Flood Insurance Training
NEW 3 CE COURSE
9 am - noon
Legislative Update: DUCIOA
(Condo / HOA Law Update)

3 CE course, MANDATORY for Agents
1 pm - 4 pm
Increase Sales with Government Financing
NEW 3 CE COURSE
5 pm - 8 pm
Wednesday,
October 7
Staging: Helping Sellers Achieve
Maximum Sales Price (A Marketing Tool)

3 CE course
6 pm - 9 pm
Friday,
October 9
DREC Statute Revision Information
Session / Legislative Update

3 CE course, MANDATORY for Agents
FREE for Primary SCAOR Members
9 am - noon
See the full schedule and register online at www.scaorstore.com Classes!

 

IDX and RETS

An IDX (Internet Data Exchange) Push has been available to subscribers of the MLS. Now RETS (Real Estate Transaction Standard) is also available.

The purpose of both IDX and RETS is to display the contents of our MLS on your personal agent website, enabling visitors to search the entire contents of the MLS from your page.

What is the difference between IDX and RETS? IDX pushes the information from our MLS onto your website once per day. RETS allows for the information to be pulled from the MLS as often as every 15 minutes, which means the information on your website is more current.

The fee for either of these feeds is $200.00 per year. If you are interested in subscribing to one of these, please go onto Innovia and click on "Standard Forms." Then click on "MLS Governance" and fill out the "SCAOR FTP Order Form and Participant Data Access Agreement."

For those of you that already have IDX or RETS, please remember that as per your agreement, it is required that you notify SCAOR if you change website vendors.

For further information, please contact Opal at (302) 855-2300 Extension 202 or opal@scaor.com

 

your favorite instructor Now is the time to show your thanks for those wonderful instructors you know and appreciate. Is there one instructor you always seek out for continuing education classes? Nominate them for the 2009 Educator of the Year award. Show your appreciation in a public way for all the hard work your instructors do to make your credits as fun and interesting as possible. Nominations are due October 30.

The winner will be honored at the 2010 Installation on December 4th.

Click Here for the Nomination Form >>

 

 
 
RONNIE REALTOR®

Tips You Can Use

The market seems to be getting better; we need to sharpen our tools. So let's look at our checklist to turn those lookers into buyers.

Click here to view the checklist >>

 
 
2010 SCAOR COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
2010 is fast approaching, and it is time to establish committees for the upcoming year.

                                      

If you are interested in becoming a member of a committee next year, please return the application form, or apply online. There's a committee for all interests! We will try to accommodate as many requests as possible; however, some committees are limited in size. Volunteer names will be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval.

Education Committee     Government Affairs Committee     Grievance Committee
H O P (Housing Opportunities Partnership) Committee
Multiple Listing Service Committee     Professional Standards Committee
Public Awareness (Public Relations) Committee
Rental Affairs Committee
Risk Reduction / Bylaws Committee
Rookies (REALTOR® for less than 3 years) Committee

Volunteers.....the heart and soul of an active Association.
Volunteer today >>

For a full description of the committees click here >>

 
 

Click here to register for the 2009 DAR Convention today: RACE TO THE FUTURE

2 Days. 12 CEU. Exhibits. Terrific speakers and networking.
Coming to Dover Downs Wednesday & Thursday, October 14 & 15.

Wild Quail Golf & Country Club

Registration is also open for the 2009 DAR Golf Tournament
at Wild Quail Golf & Country Club
Monday, October 12, 2009
Shotgun Start 10:00 a.m.

Enjoy a continental breakfast, a beautiful day of golf, lunch and prizes!
$80 for golfers; $35 for non-golfers >>

A DAR general membership meeting and voting for 2010 Officers and Directors will be held during the 2009 Convention on Thursday, October 15.

DAR 2010 Slate of Officers

President
(automatic)
Kevin Hensley - NCCBOR Director-at-Large Joseph Poole - NCCBOR
President-Elect Bill Lucks - SCAOR NAR Director
(2010-11)
Dick Brogan - KCAR
Vice President Todd Stonesifer - KCAR Past President
(automatic)
Lauren Alberti - SCAOR
Treasurer Geri Parisi - NCCBOR

 

Ninja Selling I at NCCBOR November 5
8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Ninja Selling is a powerful one-day seminar which will teach you the methods and philosophy of one of the most successful real estate companies in the country. They average 44+ annual transactions per agent without "cold calling", working with strangers, expired's or FSBOs, and they help each other become wealthy. For a course fee of $169, learn how to create customers for life, get referrals without asking for them, overcome objections, create personal wealth and a retirement plan, and earn credit toward your CRS and licensing.

Details >>
Registration >>

 
 

ETHICALLY SPEAKING... Our Duties to Clients and Customers

Below is a case interpretation related to Article 7 of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Please read the complaint and make a judgment on how the Professional Standards Panel should rule.

Case #7-1: Acceptance of Compensation from Buyer and Seller

Buyer A engaged REALTOR® B to locate a small commercial property. Buyer A explained his exact specifications indicating that he did not wish to compromise. They agreed that if REALTOR® B could locate such a property within Buyer A's price range, he - the buyer - would pay a finder's fee to REALTOR® B.

Two weeks later, REALTOR® B called Buyer A to advise that Seller C had just listed a property with him that met all of Buyer A's specifications except that the listed price was a bit higher than Buyer A wanted to pay. Buyer A inspected the property and liked it, but said he would adhere to his original price range. REALTOR® B called Buyer A three days later to say that Seller C had agreed to sell at Buyer A's price. The sale was made and REALTOR® B collected a commission from Seller C and a finder's fee from Buyer A which was not disclosed to Seller C, REALTOR® B's client.

Several weeks later, Seller C learned about the finder's fee that REALTOR® B had collected from Buyer A and filed a complaint with the Board of REALTORS® charging REALTOR® B with duplicity and unprofessional conduct. The complaint specified that when REALTOR® B had presented Buyer A's offer at less than the listed price, he, the seller, was reluctant to accept it, but REALTOR® B had convinced him that the offer was a fair one and not likely to be improved upon in the current market; and that REALTOR® B had dwelt at length on certain disadvantageous features of the property in an attempt to promote acceptance of the offer. The complaint charged that REALTOR® B had actually been the agent of the buyer while holding himself out as the agent of the seller. Further, Seller C asserted that REALTOR® B had never mentioned that he was representing the buyer or intended to be compensated by the buyer.

At the hearing, REALTOR® B's defense was that he had served both buyer and seller faithfully; that he had not accepted Seller C's listing until after he had agreed to assist Buyer A in locating a property; and that in his judgment the listed price was excessive and the price actually paid was a fair price.

Based on your understanding of Code of Ethics Article 7, how do you think the Professional Standards Panel ruled?

Find out in next week's At a Glance!

 

Rick Allamong, a former MLS Committee chairman, will instruct attendees on how to utilize the MLS to its maximum potential. This FREE class will be held on Thursday, November 5 from 10 a.m. to Noon.

Register here >>

 
STATEWIDE FORMS UPDATE
Listing Agreement (MS Word) - Modified Aug. 6, 2009
Agreement of Sale for Delaware Residential Property (fillable PDF) - Modified Aug. 6, 2009
Agreement of Sale for Delaware Unimproved Land (fillable PDF) - Modified July 22, 2009
Common Interest Community Resale Certification (fillable PDF) - Modified Aug. 5, 2009
Short Sale Addendum to Listing Agreement (fillable PDF) - Modified Aug. 6, 2009
Short Sale Addendum to Agreement of Sale (fillable PDF) - Modified Aug. 11, 2009

The new Statewide Sales Agreements are available as fillable PDF's. They are conveniently available once logged in to SCAORStore.com Members Only.

 
 
A Look Ahead

O C T O B E R
1 PR Committee Meeting 9:30 - 10:30 am
2 Stress Management - 3 CE course 9 am - noon
Go Green and Earn Green - New 3 CE course 1 - 4 pm
5 Real Estate Concepts - 3 CE course, MANDATORY for Agents 9 am - noon
Legislative Update - 3 CE course, MANDATORY for Agents 1 - 4 pm
2010 Board of Director Voting Closes 5 pm
6 Running your Real Estate Career as a Business - 3 CE course 9 am - noon
Basic Flood Insurance Training - New 3 CE course 9 am - noon
Legislative Update: DUCIOA (Condo / HOA Law Update)
- 3 CE course, MANDATORY for Agents
1 - 4 pm
Increase Sales with Government Financing - New 3 CE course 5 - 8 pm
7 Staging: Helping Sellers Achieve Maximum Sales
Price (A Marketing Tool)
- 3 CE course
6 - 9 pm
8 Affiliate Meeting 9 am
9 FREE - DREC Statute Revision Information Session/Leg Update 9 am - noon
12 DAR Annual Golf Tournament 9 am - 1 pm
13 MLS Committee Meeting 9 - 11 am
Foundation Meeting 9 - 10 am
14 - 15 Delaware Association of REALTORS® 2009 Convention
15 MLS Orientation 9 am - noon
Government Affairs Meeting - cancelled 3 - 5 pm
Title Search - 3 CE course - one seat left 5 - 8 pm
21 DAR Board of Directors Meeting 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
22 SCAOR Community Service Foundation Auction and Gala
Buy your tickets here >
5:30 - 10 pm
27 - 28 Thought Patterns for High Performance in Dover 8 am - 5 pm
29 Broker's Core - 3 CE course, MANDATORY for Brokers 9 am - 4 pm

N O V E M B E R
4 Legislative Update - 3 CE course, MANDATORY for Agents 9 am - noon
Real Estate Concepts - 3 CE course, MANDATORY for Agents 1 - 4 pm
5 Ninja Selling I at NCCBOR 8:30 am - 5 pm
PR Committee Meeting 9:30 - 10:30 am
Maximize the MLS!   Free training 10 am - noon
6 Intro to Commercial Real Estate - 3 CE course 9 am - noon
Intro to Office Leasing - 3 CE course 1 - 4 pm
9 Septic Training - 3 CE course 9 am - noon
At Home with Diversity - 3 CE course 1 - 4 pm
Staging: Helping Sellers Achieve Maximum Sales
Price (A Marketing Tool)
- 3 CE course
6 - 9 pm
10 MLS Committee Meeting 9 - 11 am
12 Title Search - 3 CE course 5 - 8 pm
MLS Orientation 9 - 12 noon
13 - 16 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Diego, California  
17 New Member Orientation 9 am - 4 pm
19 Board of Directors Meeting 9 am - 12 noon
26 - 27 Thanksgiving Holiday - SCAOR and DAR offices closed

D E C E M B E R
4 Installation of 2010 Officers and Directors  

A Look Ahead

© Copyright 2009 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