Sussex County Chapter of the Women's Council of REALTORS^®

Lunch and Learn:
Using Technology for Time Management and Social Networking

Bring Your Laptops!

Next Tuesday, March 16
11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
@ Heritage Shores Club
1 Heritage Circle, Bridgeville, DE 19933

Cost: $20 per person

For reservations, contact Linda Morena
at 302-312-8118 or
lmorena@monarchmtg.com.

RSVP and/or Cancel through Linda
no later than
THIS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10.
- NO SHOWS WILL BE BILLED.

Only ONE Broker Core class is offered in March.

Register now >>
Don't wait until
it's too late!

FREE Webinar
Thursday, March 25 at 3 p.m. >>

High numbers of distressed listings can create challenges for homebuyers using the home buyer tax credit before it expires April 30. (Transactions in process by that date have until June 30 to close). This FREE webinar will explore ways to overcome some of the most common hurdles to closing short sales and REO transactions in the remaining months before expiration of the tax credit.

Principal presenter is noted distressed-sale speaker Scott Thompson of ServiceLink and Mortgage Resolution Services.

Register online >>

If you would like to attend the NAR Midyear expo May 12 in Washington D.C., and let SCAOR do the driving, email TracyLee@scaor.com. Please indicate the length of time you would like to attend the expo, which opens daily at 10 a.m. during NAR's Midyear convention.

Join us on a Trip to
New York December 8!
Tour the city or
see a Broadway musical.
Your choice!

Limited Seats Available,
Departure: 6:30 a.m. SHARP!
Register by emailing Crystal@scaor.com
or fax your form to the SCAOR office

Click here for the flyer >>

Two forms have been added and are available at www.delawarerealtor.com/docs and at www.scaorstore.com/members.

• Must Sell Addendum to the Agreement of Sale
• Seller Mortgage Information form

Both can be downloaded for use by DAR REALTOR^® members.

1. Homebuyers Tax Credit
   Promotional Letter
2. Homebuyers Tax Credit
   Comparison Chart
3. Getting It Sold

SCAOR Members! Take advantage of these and the hundreds of other NAR products and resources available FREE or AT-COST through NAR's Right Tools, Right Now initiative. A number of new offers and updates to existing products will be available to help members in the coming year so keep checking www.REALTOR.org/RightTools monthly.

Home buyers who purchase and close on a property listed on HomePath.com between January 28 and April 30, 2010, are being offered a 3.5% incentive from Fannie Mae. They can receive up to 3.5% of the final sales price for:

• Closing costs;
• The purchase of new Whirlpool^® appliances by Fannie Mae; or
• A mix of closing costs and appliances, at the buyer's discretion, up to the maximum 3.5%.

To be eligible for this incentive:

• Offers must be accepted on or after January 28, 2010;
• Property sales must close before May 1, 2010; and
• Buyers must be owner-occupants (investors are excluded).

The incentive reinforces Fannie Mae's commitment to stabilizing communities and assisting buyers. For more information about this incentive, visit www.HomePath.com and read the press release on fanniemae.com.

SentriLock released their BlackBerry SmartCard Reader and Card Utility last Thursday, March 4. SentriLock users will now be able to renew their SentriCards^® using any BlackBerry phone and BlackBerry SmartCard Reader. Users can purchase a BlackBerry Smartcard Reader V2 directly from SentriLock for $199. The SentriLock BlackBerry Card Utility is free.

Purchase your BlackBerry Smartcard Reader, download the BlackBerry Card Utility, and view informative videos and other useful information at www.sentrilock.com/blackberry.
Videos are also available at www.youtube.com/sentrilock1.

March classes are nearly SOLD OUT. Sign up now for remaining classes and don't come up short on CEs for the April 30 re-licensing deadline.

Only ONE Broker Core class is offered in March, on March 23. Register Now!

Click here for elective online classes, offered at The CE Shop.

WINNER! WE HAVE A WINNER!

Out of ALL the students taking online courses through The CE Shop, SCAOR member Joe Gardner of Joe Gardner Realty has won the grand prize drawing. Joe won a Fip Video camcorder!

Cracking the Code of Ethics, offered by the CE Shop, will satisfy an elective for the DE Real Estate Commission if completed before 4/30/10 for re-licensing AND fulfill your NAR Quadrennial requirement, due by 12/31/12. Once you receive your certificate, you will need to fax a copy of your certificate to SCAOR for your NAR record to be updated.

ALL HAFA CHANGES WILL BE IN EFFECT BY APRIL 5
NAR has issued a new brochure to help members understand the new Home Affordable Foreclosure Avoidance Program (HAFA) available to servicers now, and fully taking effect on April 5, 2010. The purpose of the program is to help homeowners, who are unable to retain their homes under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), to exit gracefully through a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure instead of absolute foreclosure.

Foreclosure Alternatives Brochure >>
Short Sales Resources at www.realtor.org/shortsales >>

Full Listing of Delaware Planning
News & Meetings >>

February 26 Government Affairs Update from Delaware Association of REALTORS^® >>

Case #16-15: Cooperating Broker's Compensation Specified on Deposit Receipt

REALTOR^® A filed a written complaint against REALTOR^® B, alleging violation of Article 16 of the Code of Ethics. It was referred to the Grievance Committee and after preliminary review, the Grievance Committee referred it to the Executive Officer with instructions to arrange a hearing before a Hearing Panel of the Professional Standards Committee. After following required procedures, including timely notices to all parties, a Hearing Panel was convened.

REALTOR^® A stated to the Hearing Panel that he and REALTOR^® B were both members of the Board MLS and that, as an MLS Participant, he was required to specify the amount of compensation he was offering on listings filed with the MLS. However, REALTOR^® B had ignored this information as published by the MLS and had, on two separate occasions, brought REALTOR^® A purchase agreements with copies of deposit receipts that provided for a different amount of subagency compensation to be payable to REALTOR^® B. In following this practice, REALTOR^® B was, in effect, presenting a demand for a subagency compensation greater than that which REALTOR^® A, as the listing broker, had specified in the information filed with the Board's Multiple Listing Service.

REALTOR^® A also complained that the language of the deposit receipt was so phrased as to make presentation of the offer conditioned upon REALTOR^® A's agreement to pay a larger subagency commission than he had offered through the MLS. REALTOR^® A said this practice by REALTOR^® B created a dilemma for him as the listing broker of either not submitting the offer to the client or, alternatively, paying an amount of subagency compensation greater than he had offered through the MLS.

REALTOR^® B responded that he had a right to negotiate with REALTOR^® A as to the subagency compensation he would receive for his work, and the amount he had put on the deposit receipt was the compensation for which he was willing to work. REALTOR^® B said that REALTOR^® A would have to make his own decision as to whether he would present the offer or not.

Based on your understanding of the Code of Ethics Article 16, how do you think the Professional Standards Panel ruled?

Find out in next week's At a Glance!