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The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) received the platinum award from the National Association of REALTORS® for its global council program at the 2013 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Francisco. Pictured here are (left to right) SILVAR president Carolyn Miller and executive officer Paul Cardus, who received the award from Nancy Suvarnamani and Furhad Waquad, 2014 and 2013 chair, respectively, of the NAR Global Business and Alliances Committee.
At the 2013 National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Conference & Expo last week, NAR recognized SILVAR with a platinum award for its 2013 Global Business Council Achievement Program. SILVAR was one of a number of groups to be honored as Silver, Gold, and Platinum Councils. Of the over 100 existing global business councils, only five were awarded Platinum Council status, the program’s highest distinction, for having demonstrated exceptional commitment to building members’ awareness of the global and multicultural business opportunities in their local markets.
To help members reach out to a growing number of foreign buyers interested in purchasing property in the region, SILVAR formed a global business council at the beginning of last year. The council chaired by Jennifer Tasto took a lead in planning global programs, hosting global education courses, and building awareness among members of international business opportunities.
In the past year, SILVAR offered two Certified International Property Specialist Institutes attended by REALTORS® across the country. Upon completion of the week-long courses and other requirements, 43 attendees earned their CIPS designation – 32 were SILVAR members. They were recognized at a breakfast ceremony hosted by NAR on Saturday.
California Association of REALTORS® President Kevin Brown announced this morning the successful outcome of C.A.R.’s work with U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to protect distressed homeowners from debt relief income tax associated with a short sale in California. As part of this effort, Senator Boxer requested the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide guidance on whether mortgage debt forgiveness in a lender-approved short sale would be taxable income under federal law, given California’s recent non-recourse laws for short sales, which were hard fought victories by C.A.R.
The IRS has clarified in a letter that California’s troubled homeowners who sell their homes in a short sale are not subject to federal income tax liability on “phantom income” they never received. The IRS recognizes that the debt written off in a short sale does not constitute recourse debt under California law, and thus does not create so-called “cancellation of debt” income to the underwater home seller for federal income tax purposes. This clarification rescues tens of thousands of distressed home sellers from personal liability upon expiration of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 on December 31, 2013.
C.A.R. is seeking a similar ruling from the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), which has been awaiting the IRS action. C.A.R. anticipates the FTB will act promptly. Short sales may raise other tax issues and, as always, homeowners should speak with their tax professional regarding the tax consequences of a short sale.
Event raised over $15,000 for Charity
Team 650, 2013 Day On the Diamond Champions
Over 150 SILVAR members and guests watched Team 650 breeze through the field with hits and runs and ultimately retain their winner’s title at Wednesday’s “Day on the Diamond,” SILVAR’s co-ed REALTOR® softball game.
The winners, REALTORS® from area code 650 – members from the Menlo Park/Atherton, Palo Alto and Los Altos/Mountain View districts, were jubilant. It was a great day for a ball game and everyone – spectators, cheerleaders and players had fun. More important, the event raised over $15,000 for the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation.
Team 650 and Team 408, SILVAR REALTOR® members from the Cupertino/Sunnyvale and Los Gatos/Saratoga districts, have been engaged in friendly softball competition. Team 408 took the title in 2011 in Portola Valley, and last year Team 650 became the winner at the game held in Los Gatos. This year, REALTORS® from SILVAR’s districts to the north were bent on keeping the title and held regular practices weeks before game day. Their practices paid off. Team 650 led throughout the game, amid cheers from their districts’ affiliates.
There were good moments for Team 408, thanks to the quick reflexes and running by outfielder Marc Gallardo, who caught the ball and struck out a few Team 650 players. But it wasn’t enough. Despite Team 408’s efforts, the 650 members succeeded in keeping their trophy, with a score of 23-2.
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has designated September as REALTOR® Safety Month. During this time the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® reminds members to stay safe year-round and share safety tips with their clients.
REALTORS® realize that sellers, too, face some dangers in allowing strangers into their homes or visiting other people’s properties. Here is some valuable advice to protect sellers against crime:
• Remember that strangers will be walking through your home during showings or open houses. Make sure you hide any valuables in a safe place. For security’s sake, remember to remove keys, credit cards, jewelry, crystal, furs and other valuables from the home or lock them away during showings. Also remove prescription drugs.
• DON’T leave personal information like mail or bills out in the open where anyone can see it. Be sure to lock down your computer and lock up your laptop and put away any other expensive, easy-to-pocket electronics, like iPods, before your showing.
• Do not to show your home by yourself. Not all agents, buyers and sellers are who they say they are. Predators come in all shapes and sizes. We tell our children not to talk to strangers. Do not to talk to other agents or buyers. Refer all inquiries to your agent.
• Sellers are responsible for their pets. If possible, animals should be removed during showings. Buyers and agents are sometimes attacked, and the owner will be held liable.
• At an open house, be alert to the pattern of visitors’ arrivals, especially near the end of showing hours. In some areas, a group of thieves will show up together near the end of the open house and, while a string of “potential buyers” distracts the agent or seller, the rest of the group walks through the house, stealing any valuables they come across.
• Finally, when your agent leaves your property, whether after an open house or a standard showing, your agent should make sure that all doors and windows are locked. Thieves commonly use open houses to scout for valuables and possible points of entry, then they return after the agent leaves.
• While your agent will take all of the above safety precautions, when you return home, it is always best to immediately verify that all doors are locked and all valuables accounted for.
This article is part of the National Association of REALTORS®’ REALTOR® Safety Resources Kit. Visit NAR’s REALTOR® Safety website at http://www.REALTOR.org/Safety
C.A.R. 2012 President LeFrancis Arnold
Arnold was a licensed real estate broker for 36 years and a member of organized real estate for the last 35 years. He served as president of the Los Angeles County Board of REALTORS® (LACBOR) in 2008, and was the first appointed large Board National Association of REALTORS® representative for the Rancho Southeast Association of REALTORS® in 2006. He was first appointed C.A.R director in 1994 and was named REALTOR® of the Year by his local association in 1979 and 2008. Arnold served on numerous C.A.R. committees at the leadership level, including the Executive Committee, Strategic Planning and Finance, Housing Opportunity, Housing Affordability Fund, Real Estate Finance, Equal Opportunity and Cultural Diversity, and CREPAC. Active in his community, Arnold served as chairman of the Lynwood Economic Development Committee and was currently on the board of the Los Angeles County Boards of Real Estate.
A former defensive lineman for the Denver Broncos, Arnold followed his mother, Evelyn, into the real estate business in 1976. He became a broker the following year and a general contractor in 1979. Together, Arnold and his mother built Excellence Realty and All Communities Escrow Services, Inc. Most recently, Arnold was a candidate for the California State Assembly 62nd District seat.
Arnold is survived by his wife, Sheryl, and two sons, Jason and LeFrancis II, and two grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Monday, September 9, 10 a.m. at Faithful Central Bible Church, 321 North Eucalyptus Avenue, Inglewood, CA., followed by a celebration of Arnold’s life at The Proud Bird Restaurant, 11022 Aviation Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the C.A.R. Scholarship Foundation or C.A.R. Housing Affordability Fund. Mail checks payable to either fund to C.A.R., 525 S. Virgil Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90020, or to use a credit card, email scholarship@car.org and C.A.R. staff will assist you.
Suzanne Barnett (left), host of “The Better Part” gets ready to interview RSVP co-founder David Barca and RSVP Chair Eileen Giorgi. Watch the feature on RSVP on cablecast and on the Internet next week.
The program about Silicon Valley REALTORS® helping seniors and the homebound with household tasks will telecast September 1 – 7 throughout Silicon Valley on “The Better Part,” a public access television program produced by seniors from the Cupertino Senior Center. In the show, both Barca and Giorgi are interviewed by host Suzanne Barnett.
Each year during a designated week in May, teams of REALTOR® and affiliate volunteers provide senior citizens who are physically or financially challenged free assistance with household tasks they can no longer perform on their own. Such tasks include replacing light bulbs, changing furnace filters, cleaning windows, flipping mattresses, or installing new smoke detector batteries.
“For homeowners or renters who are advanced in years and are physically and financially challenged, some household tasks can pose a major challenge,” said Barca.
Barca, together with members of SILVAR’s Palo Alto and Menlo Park/Atherton districts, started the program in 2001. RSVP was adopted as an official association community outreach project the following year, with REALTORS® and affiliates helping seniors living in SILVAR’s five districts. RSVP has since spread throughout the Peninsula and South Bay, involving members of SILVAR, the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS®, Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS®, and Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS®. Since its inception, RSVP has served over 4,000 seniors. This year 447 RSVP volunteers from these associations helped 297 senior households in their communities; 241 volunteers from SILVAR assisted 118 seniors.
“As REALTORS®, we sell the benefits and aspirations of our communities,” said Giorgi. “We are also neighbors and know about local needs. We share the desire for our communities to be great places to live and are committed to give back to those who have built our communities. This program enables us to help seniors and the homebound enjoy their homes in the community for a longer time.”
Producing the show was an eye-opening experience for Diane Sparks, executive producer of “The Better Part.” “When I learned of the program, I thought it was worthwhile to show our communities that REALTORS® don’t just sell houses; they also do a lot of good work for our communities,” said Sparks. “Filming the volunteers helping the seniors and witnessing the appreciation among the seniors, showed me what a difference the program has made in their lives.”
See the schedule for days, times, cities and channels where the REALTOR® Service Volunteer Program will be televised. The program can also be accessed on YouTube under the topic “Cupertino City Productions” or go to REALTOR® Service Volunteer Program.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) has been appointed the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Ambassador Association to the Philippines. NAR’s Ambassador Association program gives members of the Ambassador Association the opportunity to expand their global business networks and get involved in international real estate activities at the local or state level.
“We are pleased to learn that the National Association of REALTORS® has approved SILVAR’s request to be the Ambassador Association to the Philippines. The program will give our members the opportunity to learn more about real estate in that country and develop ties and business opportunities with real estate professionals in this part of the world,” said SILVAR Executive Officer Paul Cardus.
The Ambassador Association program is part of NAR’s International Ambassador Program, which was developed to accommodate international visitors and to expose them to the range of opportunities available to them throughout NAR. Each year NAR hosts more than 2,000 real estate professionals from around the world. Majority of these international real estate professionals attend the REALTORS® Annual Conference and Expo. There are also a number of delegations and individuals that request meetings with REALTORS® throughout the year for guidance on the industry, to network, and to exchange information about the U.S. and global real estate markets. The Ambassador Association program also presents opportunities for REALTORS® interested in developing international business ties, as a result of the growing CIPS Network and globalization within local real estate markets.
As the Ambassador Association to the Philippines, SILVAR will help facilitate contact between the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Association in the Philippines and any state or local REALTOR® association in the United States that requests assistance. The Ambassador Association works closely with the President’s Liaison assigned to that country and NAR’s Regional Coordinator for that part of the world.
A formal introduction with the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Association will take place at the NAR REALTORS® Conference & Expo, which will be held November 8-11 in San Francisco.
In line with its goal to enhance members’ professional development, the Education & Technology Committee of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) will present an Online Transaction Management Training Series FREE for members beginning in September. The courses will focus on how to create and manage transactions online, including how to use, e-sign, and store forms. Members are invited to sign up for these classes online at ims.silvar.org.
The courses are:
OTM 101: Beginner’s Guide to Creating Stress Free Digital Transactions
September 5 and October 3, 1:30-3:00 PM both days
Instructor: Bryan Robertson
An overview of the online transaction process from beginning to end, including the software and online forms you’ll need, preparing digital forms, getting digital signatures, and sharing and storing your documents. You’ll learn about PRDS/C.A.R. forms, ZipForms, Docusign, Authentisign, CutePDF, PDFEscape, CamScanner, DropBox, and GoogleDrive.
OTM 102: PRDS Forms Online: Using Instanet and Authentisign
September 10, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM; October 8, 2013, 1:30-3:30 PM
Instructor: Robert Johnson, SILVAR IT Administrator
Learn about the new PRDS Forms on the Instanet Solutions platform and be able to access your forms anywhere and anytime, from virtually any Internet-connected computer. The class will demonstrate the procedures to log in, create transactions, fill out the forms online, and then either print or email those forms to a client. Students will get a better understanding of the Instanet Solutions platform, including how to use Authentisign.
OTM 104: A Workshop on Creating an Online Transaction on DocuSign
September 23 and October 22, 1:30-3:00 PM both days
Instructor: Chris Alston
In this hands-on workshop, you will create an online transaction from beginning to end on your laptop. You will prepare one PRDS form (e.g. purchase contract) and one C.A.R. form (e.g. AVID) for e-signature by buyer (fellow student) and yourself. Then you’ll email the signed documents in PDF form to listing agent (fellow student) and store the PDF in the cloud. The class will touch on the basics for doing this on an iPad, but the class is geared toward laptops.
California Association of REALTORS®’ Member Legal Services has received several reports of REALTORS®’s identities being misused without their knowledge. Unscrupulous people are generally impersonating real estate agents to defraud members of the public into paying money for fake real estate transactions, such as buying or leasing homes or timeshares, either within or outside of California. The fraud is generally uncovered when the consumer eventually pays out money, the fraudster severs any further contact, and the consumer, while attempting to locate the fraudster, finds the true agent.
Combating identity theft can be a challenge for REALTORS®, given that your license number and contact information are readily available to the public from the California Bureau of Real Estate (BRE) website. Fraudsters can also easily impersonate you online by creating email addresses and websites containing your name, and setting up phone numbers with your area code.
Here are a few suggestions to help prevent identity theft from C.A.R. that SILVAR would like to pass on to REALTORS® and other members of the public:
• Be Vigilant: Frequently monitor your online presence. Regularly search the Internet to see how your own name and other information are coming up. Search whether anyone has posted advertisements or created websites using your information or engaged in other suspicious activity. Use Google Alerts and other tools that can provide you updates when the Internet has new content about you, your company, your license number, or any other keywords you’ve requested.
• Keep a Strong Online Presence: Establish and maintain a strong online presence both as an individual agent and brokerage. Provide prominent and up-to-date contact information, photographs, videos of yourself, and recent news items on your websites and blogs, so you are easy to identify and contact. Also carefully consider providing some personal information online to send a message to fraudsters that “it’ll be too difficult for you to try to impersonate me.” Suggestions include providing some information about your personal background, affiliations, memberships, achievements, hobbies, or other unique attributes that may deter someone from trying to impersonate you.
• Strengthen Your Reputation: Establish and maintain a strong presence in your community. Not only is name recognition good for your business, but if everyone knows who you are, a fraudster is unlikely to impersonate you or succeed at impersonating you. Keep in mind, however, that a fraudster impersonating you could be targeting people in another community altogether.
• Stay Connected: Communicate with your clientele on a regular basis to help ensure they always have easy access to up-to-date contact information for you.
• Report Suspicious Activity: Immediately report any suspicious activity to the proper authorities. Depending on the circumstances, you can report fraudulent activities to the police, district attorney’s office, FBI, BRE, and other entities.
Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® says ... 