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Each year in September, both the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and SILVAR remind members to keep REALTOR® safety foremost in their mind, especially when hosting an open house and during showings. Open houses can be a great sales tool, but hosting one also exposes you to numerous unfamiliar people for the first time.
There have been cases reported across the nation of REALTORS® who have been harmed or killed when alone during an open house. Take the necessary steps to ensure that your open house will be successful. If possible, always try to have at least one other person working with you at the open house.
1. Check your cell phone’s strength and signal prior to the open house. Have emergency numbers programmed on speed dial.
2. Upon entering a house for the first time, check all rooms and determine several “escape” routes. Make sure all deadbolt locks are unlocked to facilitate a faster escape.
3. Make sure that if you were to escape by the back door, you could escape from the backyard. Frequently, high fences surround yards that contain swimming pools or hot tubs.
4. Have all open house visitors sign in. Ask for full name, address, phone number and email.
5. When showing the house, always walk behind the prospect. Direct them; don’t lead them. Say, for example, “The kitchen is on your left,” and gesture for them to go ahead of you.
6. Avoid attics, basements, and getting trapped in small rooms.
7. Notify someone in your office, your answering service, a friend or a relative that you will be calling in every hour on the hour. And if you don’t call, they are to call you.
8. Inform a neighbor that you will be showing the house and ask if he or she would keep an eye and ear open for anything out of the ordinary.
9. Don’t assume that everyone has left the premises at the end of an open house. Check all of the rooms and the backyard prior to locking the doors. Be prepared to defend yourself, if necessary.
(Sources: Washington Real Estate Safety Council; City of Mesa, Arizona; Nevada County Board of REALTORS®; Georgia Real Estate Commission)
Visit NAR’s REALTOR® Safety website at http://www.REALTOR.org/Safety
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has announced that the new .REALTOR® top-level domain will be available October 23, 2014 to members of NAR and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
With the Internet undergoing vast changes, the creation of over 1,900 new top-level domains, and with nine out of 10 recent buyers beginning their home search online, it has become even more critical for REALTORS® to create a branded space online. The .REALTOR® domain will help REALTORS® stand apart from other real estate professionals, creating a more positive online experience for consumers who are searching for information on buying or selling property. Having a .REALTOR® domain will inform consumers that they are working with a REALTOR®, a trusted real estate professional who subscribes to NAR’s strict Code of Ethics.
The top-level domain will be made available only to real estate professionals who are REALTORS®, members of NAR or CREA. The domain will also be made available to state and local REALTOR® associations, association multiple listing services, affiliated institutes, societies and councils and NAR strategic business partners.
Starting October 23, members will be able to go to http://www.claim.REALTOR to claim their .REALTOR® domain. NAR will provide the first 500,000 members NAR and 10,000 CREA who register for a .REALTOR® domain with a free one-year license. For more information, visit http://www.about.REALTOR.
REALTORS® who are interested in taking their real estate business to the global level are invited to enroll in the Certified International Property Specialist Institute (CIPS) at the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) on November 17-21. The early bird special price for the full-week of courses is $550 and ends on August 1. This special price is open to all members of SILVAR and REALTOR® members of other associations.
The CIPS Institute provides the classroom requirements needed to earn the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) CIPS Designation. Members using Proxio, the newest SILVAR member benefit, may find the CIPS courses very useful in advancing their global real estate business. The CIPS Institute in November will provide training in international business issues, including currency conversion, cultural awareness, legal and tax requirements, ownership and transaction principles of international real estate, and specifics about the real estate markets in Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
The week-long CIPS Institute includes the two required core courses and three elective courses. Students must pass a multiple choice exam at the end of each course. David Wyant, CIPS, ABR, AHWD, ePRO, GRI, TRC, SFR, will be returning to SILVAR to teach the November CIPS Institute. Wyant was named 2012 and 2009 NAR International Instructor of the Year.
Regular cost for the entire CIPS Institute (five courses) is $600. Cost for an individual course is $150. For this limited time through August 1, SILVAR is offering an early bird special of $550 for the entire institute for any AOR member. SILVAR members may enroll online at ims.silvar.org. Non-members may register by calling SILVAR at (408) 200-0100.
Limited sponsorships for the CIPS Institute are available. Each sponsor is given the opportunity to speak about their product or service on an assigned day. For more information about enrolling in the CIPS Institute, or becoming a CIPS Sponsor of the Day, contact SILVAR Public Affairs & Communications Director Rose Meily at rmeily@silvar.org, or call (408) 200-0109.
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is asking members of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® and other members of the national trade association to tweet their Senators to support patent reform. This is NAR’s first ever Twitter Call for Action.
“Patent trolls” are companies that own a large quantity of patents. Often, they do not produce any goods. The business model is to just own patents and sue or threaten to sue anyone who potentially violates the patent. As small business owners, REALTORS® are exposed to these threats of litigation, often for using basic business technology, like drop-down website menus, mapping features, and online checkout carts.
Many small business owners who receive one of these threatening letters will settle the case because that is less expensive than going to court. A number of multiple listing services have been required to pay millions of dollars in licensing fees due to a patent troll suit. Patent trolls sue more non-tech companies than tech companies, and have cost the U.S. economy $80 billion in litigation costs in 2012.
If you are a REALTOR® go to Twitter Call for Action for complete details on connecting to your Senators on Twitter.
For more information about Patent Litigation Reform and why NAR supports this bill, please visit NAR’s Patent Reform Litigation Reform page.
On Dec. 31, 2013 the extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act will expire. Without an extension, homeowners who negotiate a short sale, loan modification (including any principal reduction) or foreclosure will be subject to federal income tax liability on debt written off by lenders as a result of these distressed transactions. REALTORS® say at a time when the housing market is on the mend, now is not a good time to let this important tax relief measure expire.
One of the major successes Congress reached in the “fiscal cliff” negotiations at the end of 2012 was the extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 for another year. Without an extension, homeowners will now be subject to federal income tax liability on debt written off by lenders as a result of these distressed transactions.
“Not having the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Act extended causes uncertainty for homeowners. Homeowners shouldn’t be forced to pay tax on money they’ve lost with cash they never received,” says Carolyn Miller, president of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®.
Since early this year the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has been working with Congress to extend this important real estate tax provision. NAR has aggressively sought co-sponsors for both Senate and House bills, S. 1187 the “Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act” and H.R.2994 “Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act of 2013.” With the U.S. House of Representatives now adjourned, it is unlikely Congress will act before December 31 to extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act. However NAR is confident Congress will most likely address individual tax provisions retroactively in 2014.
As was the case with the previous extension, Congress is expected to retroactively apply mortgage cancellation relief to include transactions between January 1, 2014 and the enactment of the extension. In the meantime, NAR is asking REALTORS® and homeowners to continue to express the importance of this issue to their legislators.
California’s troubled homeowners who sell their homes in a short sale may not have to worry. Both the Internal Revenue Service and California Franchise Tax Board recently clarified that underwater home sellers are not subject to state income tax liability for debt written off by lenders in short sales.
In any issue involving taxes, Miller advises homeowners involved in a distressed transaction, such as short sale, to seek the advice of a tax professional on their particular situation.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® has received an update from the National Association of REALTORS® regarding Mortgage Cancellation Tax Relief, which is set to expire on December 31, 2013. NAR has been working with Congress since early this year to extend this important real estate tax provision. Without an extension, homeowners who have any amount of a mortgage forgiven by a lender either in a short sale or foreclosure would be subject to paying “phantom income tax” on the amount of the forgiveness at the federal level. To this end NAR has aggressively sought co-sponsors for both Senate and House bills, S. 1187 the “Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act” and H.R.2994 “Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act of 2013.”
The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned the first session of the 113th Congress without taking action on H.R. 2994. While Congress will not act before December 31st to extend the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act, Congress will most likely address individual tax provisions retroactively in 2014.
There are still many procedural obstacles to overcome, but NAR is confident Congress will move on an extension of Mortgage Cancellation Tax Relief in 2014. As was the case with a previous extension, Congress is expected to retroactively apply Mortgage Cancellation Tax Relief to include transactions between January 1, 2014 and the enactment of the extension.
In the meantime, NAR is asking its members to continue to express the importance of this issue to your Senators and Members of Congress and how it is causing uncertainty in the market. Homeowners shouldn’t be forced to pay tax on money they’ve already lost with cash they never received – and never will receive.
REALTORS® with clients involved in a distressed transaction, such as short sale, should encourage clients to speak with a tax professional for advice on their particular situation.
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.
Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® says ... 