* * * 2010 DUES REMINDER * * *

Due This Saturday, October 31, 2009 Pay your dues ONLINE at www.realtor.org. You must pay dues online, they are NAR generated. The following options are available online: Electronic Check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express * * * Checks cannot be accepted at the SCAOR office. * * * In order to avoid any late fees pay online no later than this Saturday, October 31, 2009; late fees automatically generate on Sunday morning, November 1, 2009 at 12:01 am.

 
 

Time: 11:30 a.m. mix and mingle, luncheon at Noon Where: S.C.A.O.R. facility Cost: $20 for lunch catered by Nage restaurant and one drink ticket Attire: Casual, beach or Hawaiian No need to dress up. Come relax at the 2010 Installation and enjoy lunch from Nage. Select bar available for a nominal cost. The market is "On the Rise" as we close out a challenging year. SCAOR will install the 2010 Board of Directors, recognize our outgoing committee chairs, learn who the Educator, Rental agent and Rookie agent of 2009 are...and more! Register online at www.scaorstore.com to attend the 2010 Installation. Please consider bringing a canned food item, or $1, towards our ongoing efforts to help area food pantries. If we all give a little, it helps a lot! Click here for a flyer to share >>

You're invited to celebrate Princess "Diana" with us!

Thursday, December 3, 2009
$40 per Adult & $25 per Child (4-12 year old)
7 a.m. departure from SCAOR office
return to SCAOR at 5:30 p.m. (approx.)

Trip includes: Bus transportation, admission to the displays and snacks on the bus.

Registrants can email completed flyer to crystal@scaor.com. The number of seats available is 38.  Click here for the flyer >>

 
 

Valuable Training for FREE From Your Association

Credit Restoration and Education How to repair a buyer's (or your own) credit Next Monday, November 2 1 - 2:30 p.m. at SCAOR Open to REALTORS® and lenders, this free non-CE information session will give you the tools you need to help your buyers repair a battered credit rating. Timely, helpful tools to assist REALTORS®, buyers and lenders. Presented by United Credit Education Services, an affiliate member of SCAOR, to assist REALTORS® in increasing their clients credit scores to bring more buyers to the table. Register here >>    FREE Training — MAXIMIZE THE MLS! Next Thursday, November 5 10 a.m. - Noon at SCAOR There's still room ~ RSVP to this free class while seats still available. Take the time and really learn how to navigate the MLS to maximize your searches. Take this FREE class ~ Register here >>

 

Big Congratulations to our own Bill Lucks for winning Delaware Association of REALTORS® REALTOR® of the Year!

Who will be honored as the 2009 Rookie of the Year? Could it be someone from your office? Might it be you? Submit a nomination to the SCAOR office this week!

Agents who received their real estate license after January 1^st, 2006 are eligible. The honoree will be selected based upon the following achievements:

• Participation in SCAOR Rookie Committee
• Productivity
• Participation in Local, State, National Association Activities
• Education, and
• Civic Activity

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS- Monday, November 2, 2009 NO EXCEPTIONS

Rookie of the Year Nomination Form
Word format   PDF format

Do you know a rental agent who provides exceptional customer service, who is successful in implementing new ideas and has a great team spirit? Fill out the Nomination Form to show your appreciation for that special rental agent.

Submit your Rental Service Agent nomination by November 1^st.
Please fax nomination forms to Opal at (302) 855-2319.

Who is YOUR favorite instructor? Take just a few minutes to nominate them and show your appreciation for all the hard work your instructors do to make your credits as fun and interesting as possible.

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

Click Here for the Nomination Form >>

 
 

2010 SCAOR COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP Call for Volunteers — Final Week

An opportunity for your association and your career. Join a committee for the upcoming year. Time is running out to apply. There's a committee for every interest, or perhaps there's an area you would like to learn more about. Check out the committee descriptions and apply online today. Volunteers.....the heart and soul of an active Association. Volunteer today >>

Register Now for 2009 SCAOR Education Savings Fall discount applies to primary REALTOR® members, for these remaining 2009 classes only!! 2010 Delaware license renewals are a few months away. 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.
Thursday, October 29	Broker's Core - Last mandatory Broker Core class at the discounted fall price! 6 CE course, MANDATORY for Brokers	9 am - 4 pm
Wednesday, November 4	Legislative Update - 8 seats left 3 CE course, MANDATORY for Agents	9 am - noon
	Real Estate Concepts - Sold Out 3 CE course, MANDATORY for Agents	1 pm - 4 pm
	Increase Sales with Government Financing NEW 3 CE COURSE	5 pm - 8 pm
Friday, November 6	Intro to Commercial Real Estate 3 CE course	9 am - noon
	Intro to Office Leasing 3 CE course	1 pm - 4 pm
Monday, November 9	Septic Training 3 CE course	9 am - noon
	At Home with Diversity 3 CE course	1 pm - 4 pm
	Staging: Helping Sellers Achieve Maximum Sales Price (A Marketing Tool) - Sold Out 3 CE course	6 pm - 9 pm
Thursday, November 12	Title Search - Sold Out 3 CE course	5 pm - 8 pm
Register online at www.scaorstore.com Classes!

 

. . . A U C T I O N   R E C A P . . . REALTORS® opened their wallets and their hearts during a challenging market to assist local families in need. The Annual SCAOR Community Service Auction, including the Live, Silent, and Chinese auctions, brought in $29,690 for the evening and $7,560 in donations including a $5,000 sponsorship from SCAOR. Thus the total for 2009 Auction proceeds is $37,250. The SCAOR Community Service Foundation would like to thank everyone who attended our Annual Auction and gave so generously to our cause. Every single donation added to our success and we are extremely grateful for your participation. Watch for next week's At A Glance for the Basket Winners!

 

We are hosting an informal cocktail party to connect Members and Association Leadership. This will be a fun and informative evening and an opportunity to learn more about how we work and how you can participate and help make a difference. Please RSVP to gail@scaor.com by next Monday, November 2. I look forward to seeing you there, Lidia Smith Chairperson, Rookie Society Click here for a flyer to share >>

You are Invited to . . . The Sussex County Chapter Women's Council of REALTORS® 2010 Installation of Officers Thursday, November 19 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Special Guest Speaker: Joe Purzycki, Vice President of Barclay Bank of Delaware Special Guests   Edward Hunt, 2009 Region 6 Regional Vice President, Women's Council of REALTORS® Katie Grove, 2010 Region 6 Regional Vice President, Women's Council of REALTORS® Brenda Murray, Prudential Fox & Roach, Conducting the Installation The Stockley Center, Georgetown, Delaware, President's Charity Sussex Pines Country Club 22426 Sussex Pines Road, Georgetown, Delaware 19947 Cost: $30 per person: Dinner, Cash Bar, and a Silent Auction For further information and directions call Ginny Hysock at 302-229-0703 (cell). Register online at www.scaorstore.com >>

Federal Political Coordinators (FPCs) from twenty-nine states traveled to Washington D.C. last week to lobby members of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees. The FPCs urged Congress to extend and expand the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit before it expires on November 30, 2009.

In addition to the Fly-In, NAR is employing a comprehensive strategy to ensure our burgeoning housing recovery grows strong enough to help pull the economy as a whole out of the recession.

• President Charles McMillan has released a podcast highlighting the tax credit and other NAR initiatives in Congress.
• NAR First Vice-President Ron Phipps testified in front of the Senate Banking Committee to highlight the necessity of extending and expanding the tax credit.
• NAR members have sent more than 450,000 letters to Congress with our Call for Action.
• Additionally NAR has been running print advertising in the influential Capitol Hill Newspapers read by Members of Congress and staff.
• NAR has also been running on-line ads in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post and on Google.

  These on-line ads have been viewed more than 25 million times.

Although the current Call for Action is our most successful grassroots effort in NAR history, we are looking for an additional 40,000 NAR members to respond to the Tax Credit Call for Action. Join in the call for action.

Ask Congress to Extend and Expand the Homebuyers Tax Credit Today >>
More than 170,000 REALTORS^® have already responded to this request. Have you?

 
Proposed Real Estate Licensing Changes
Read the proposed changes to Delaware real estate law and licensing at www.dpr.delaware.gov.

Full Listing of Delaware Planning News & Meetings >>

 
 

Controlling the Listings Market November, the perfect time to start writing your Business Plan for 2010, is just around the corner. Now is the right time to be gathering ideas for your 2010 Plan. How critical will listings be to meeting your 2010 goals? If making the most of listings is important to you, let's get to some tips >>

There is no sample case study for REALTORS^® Code of Ethics Article 9; however, it's an important ethical and business standard to adhere to. Here is the complete Article 9.

Article 9

REALTORS^®, for the protection of all parties, shall assure whenever possible that all agreements related to real estate transactions including, but not limited to, listing and representation agreements, purchase contracts, and leases are in writing in clear and understandable language expressing the specific terms, conditions, obligations and commitments of the parties. A copy of each agreement shall be furnished to each party to such agreements upon their signing or initialing. (Amended 1/04)

• Standard of Practice 9-1

  For the protection of all parties, REALTORS^® shall use reasonable care to ensure that documents pertaining to the purchase, sale, or lease of real estate are kept current through the use of written extensions or amendments. (Amended 1/93)

• Standard of Practice 9-2

  When assisting or enabling a client or customer in establishing a contractual relationship (e.g., listing and representation agreements, purchase agreements, leases, etc.) electronically, REALTORS^® shall make reasonable efforts to explain the nature and disclose the specific terms of the contractual relationship being established prior to it being agreed to by a contracting party. (Adopted 1/07)

Articles 1 - 9 comprise the Code of Ethics portion outlining REALTORS^®' duties to clients and customers. Next week's At a Glance will move on to Article 10, the first dealing with REALTORS^®' duties to the public.

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.

 

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.

 
 

D E C E M B E R
1 - 2	GRI 601: Everything Legal: What You Should Know - 15 CE course at DAR	8 am - 5 pm
3	Princess Diana Bus Trip - Register for Tickets >>	7 am - 5:30 pm
	PR Committee Meeting	9:30 - 10:30 am
	Affiliate Meet and Greet Holiday Mixer	5 - 8 pm
4	Installation of 2010 SCAOR Officers and Directors Register at scaorstore.com >>	11:30 am - 2:30 pm
8	MLS Committee Meeting	9 am - noon
9	NYC Affiliate Bus Trip - Sold Out	6:30 am
11	DAR Installation at White Clay Creek Country Club	11:45 am - 2 pm
12	MLS Orientation	9 am - noon
15	Foundation Meeting	9 - 10 am
24 - 25	Christmas Holiday - SCAOR and DAR Offices Closed