| I N T H I S I S S U E . . . |
| |
|
|
|
| 2010 - 2011 Board of Directors Election - Voting Ends Tomorrow! |  |  |
Voting for YOUR 2011 Board of Directors is now Open, and will close at midnight tomorrow, Tuesday, September 21. Please click on names below to read your candidates' bios, then click here to vote.
| The 2010 / 2011 Candidates are as follows: |
| President: |
Joanne Darling, Darling Real Estate |
| President-Elect: |
Alease Bowles, RE/MAX Specialists |
| Secretary: |
Anthony Williams, Long and Foster Real Estate |
PGCAR Director Candidates are as follows
(4 to be elected): |
| Directors: |
Cheryl Abrams, RE/MAX Specialists
Sonata Camara, Camara & Company - The Real Estate Group
George Mitchell, Real Estate Around America
Yolanda Muckle, Long and Foster Real Estate
Chris Richardson, RE/MAX Professionals
Willie Rhone, Weichert, REALTORS®
|
Please take a few minutes to support the dedicated and exceptional
volunteer leadership that serves PGCAR and our community so well.
Click here to Vote!
2011 Dues Renewals are Due October 1!
Primary REALTORS®: Paying by Installment?
Second Installment is Due Next Thursday, September 30 |
Don't wait until the last minute to pay this year's dues.
Use our fast and secure Online Dues Payment!
Whether making one complete payment, or paying by installment, paying online is easy, secure, and supplies you with a receipt.
Renew as Easy as 1-2-3:
- Click here
- Log in
- Renew online and receive receipt !
2011 dues are payable no later than next Friday, October 1th, 2010 in order to prevent late charges. Primary REALTOR® members may pay their 2011 dues in installments. Installment payments are due as follows:
| Installment 2: Due September 30 |
$125.75 |
| Installment 3: Due October 31 |
$125.75 |
| Installment 4: Due November 30 |
$125.75 |
Please note: If dues payments are not made online, they may not be reflected in your private, online History portal.
|
| ALERT - Capitol Heights Imposes Sign License Fee |  |  |
The Town of Capitol Heights is beginning to enforce a business license fee law requiring real estate licensees to pay an annual $250 Real Estate Services - Sign Permit. The fine for violating the license requirement is $500.
PGCAR is seeking greater clarification on the ordinance. We will provide further details when we have them. In the meantime please be advised that you may be subject to the ordinance and license fee if you have listings within the town limits.
For information please contact the Town of Capitol Heights at (301) 336-0626.
| REALTOR® Victories in Primary Election | | |
Congratulations to the several PGCAR members who WON their Primary Elections on Tuesday, September 7. We congratulate and applaud ALL of our members who care enough to have filed for candidacy and have run for elective office. We appreciate you!
Here is the list of PGCAR members who won in the Primary Elections:
- Del. Aisha Braveboy, House of Delegates District 25
- Del. Marvin Holmes, House of Delegates District 23B
- Del. Jolene Ivey, House of Delegates District 47
- Toni Jarboe Duley, House of Delegates District 27A
- Casey Lewis, Democratic Central Committee District 23B
- George Mitchell, Board of Education District 9
Again, we urge all members to make every effort to exercise your right to vote in the General Election on November 2nd.
(Please note: PGCAR does not endorse candidates)
| Are You Registered to Vote? |  |  |
You have a voice! Depending upon where you live, vote for your next Maryland County Executive and State Governor, or DC Mayor, in the General Election on Tuesday, November 2. Have you moved since voting? Save time and possible delays on voting day — Please update your registration in advance.
Customer Reminder - Why not send a friendly email or letter to your recent homebuyers, letting them know how to register to vote in their new place of residence? What a great way to keep in touch!
| New Rules Regarding Teams and Groups - Effective October 1 | | |
A new law will take effect on October 1, 2010, which is quite expansive and creates duties and obligations with respect to the operation of teams or groups within a real estate brokerage company.
New, specific requirements of disclosure and document retention should be taken in advance of the October 1 effective date. These new requirements affect all team members and leaders, brokers and managers.
Please login for a detailed article by Al Monshower >
| Send Us Your Customer Success Stories | | |
As you know, the core values of homeownership have come under fire recently from critics that would eliminate or reduce programs and incentives that make owning a home more affordable and accessible to more Americans. To counter these attacks and reinforce the benefits of homeownership for individuals, communities, and the nation's economy, NAR is conducting a comprehensive Value of Homeownership campaign, and we need your help.
NAR is gathering real-life stories from homeowners across the country to put a human face on the true values of owning a home. Do you have customers who benefit from the Mortgage Interest Deduction, and would like to speak on behalf of continued support of the Mortgage Interest Deduction? Click here for a variety of individual and family profiles being sought for interview. NAR is also seeking recent home buyer to discuss their personal experience and the value they see in owning a home. Here are potential profiles for that.
Please send the following information by this Friday, September 24 to awarenesscampaign@realtors.org:
- Homeowner name(s)
- Phone and email
- Brief description of what profile they fit and why they might make a good human-interest story
Members of the NAR Media Team will follow-up and determine which homeowners might work for feature stories in local and national news outlets, with the objective of placing positive articles about the benefits of homeownership and how reducing government support of various programs would affect these people.
Thanks in advance for your help and support - working together, we will ensure that anyone who is able and desires to assume the responsibilities of owning a home has the opportunity to pursue that dream.
| REALTORS® Dental Insurance: Smile Today, Sell Tomorrow | | |
National Association of REALTORS® and REALTORS® Benefits® Program is pleased to introduce REALTORS® Dental Insurance (RDI), an affordable and valuable benefit for NAR members nationwide. RDI offers dental plans designed exclusively for NAR members and their families. Unique benefits include: orthodontia, professional whitening, dental rewards, and more.
| Market Sen$e: Pending Sales Improve, Homebuyers Enjoy Low Rates | | |
Record-breaking mortgage rates are holding very steady, still setting new record lows in 15-year fixed and 1-year ARMs for the week ending September 16. Fixed rates have been consistently under 5% since May 6, 2010. According to Freddie Mac:
- The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.37 percent, up slightly from 4.35 percent a week ago.
- The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.82 percent, down from 3.83 percent.
- The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARM averaged 3.55 percent, down from 3.56 percent.
- The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3.40 percent, down from 3.46 percent.
2010 Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey >>
August local market statistics are now online at pgcar.com REALTOR® Resources >>. Increases were seen from July to August in Condo/Cooperative settlements and Single Family contracts. Condo/Cooperative contracts held steady from July to August. 2010 year-to-date County home (single-family and condo/co-op) contracts and settlements still show significant improvement from 2009 levels.
NAR also reports an increase for Pending Home Sales in Northeast and national levels. Realtor.org article >>
| A Family in Need | | |
One of our REALTOR® Members has told us about a needy family in Hyattsville. The mother is disabled and is limited as to how much work she can do. She has 6 children ranging from 1st grade to 10th grade. Her family member who was her safety net died recently and she is in a very dire position. The REALTOR® has been assisting this family, but they need your additional help.
If you are in a position to help, please make a contribution online at www.pgcar.com.
You may also contribute by writing a check to PGCAR with "Help a Needy Family" in the Memo Field. Please deliver or send check contributions to:
PGCAR
8400 Corporate Drive, Suite 225
Landover MD 20785
We appreciate any assistance you can provide. Thank you.
|
It's Back to School !
SUPPLIES FOR COUNTY CHILDREN
Give a little. Help a lot! Invest in a child's future by helping the PGCAR Community Service Committee collect school supplies for Prince George's County students. If you are able to supply some of the items, you can bring them to the Association office. Some of the most needed items are:
Washable Marker Sets
Composition Books
Zip Pouch Pencil Case |
Crayons
Pencils
Pencil-Top Erasers |
Tissues
Hand Sanitizer
Hand Soap |
We also have one school with students in need of uniform shirts. The shirts are the three button polo-style in black and/or white ranging in sizes from 6-20. The shirts can be purchased online at www.frenchtoast.com or at Kids for Less.
Kids for Less has two locations in Maryland:
|
| Habitat for Humanity Completing Home in Capitol Heights | | |
Help Prince George's County Habitat for Humanity complete their current home being built for a family in Capitol Heights.
Please click here to contribute online - OR - you may mail a check payable to Habitat for Humanity to:
PGCAR
8400 Corporate Drive, Suite 225
Landover MD 20785
Thank you for your generosity!
| REQUIRED TOPICS CEU AND MORE! | | |
Earn ALL of your required Continuing Education hours for Maryland and DC license renewals -- and the SFR and GRI designations -- here at PGCAR.
|
Code of Ethics Case Study:
Case #11-6: Appraiser's Obligation to Consider All Factors of Value
|
 |
Client A owned a commercial property in the path of a proposed street construction project. He was approached by a representative of the city government to open negotiations for its purchase. Client A engaged REALTOR® B to make an appraisal of the property. When Client A received the appraisal report he felt that it was unrealistic and was reluctant to use it in negotiations with the city. He then engaged REALTOR® C to make another appraisal. REALTOR® C's appraisal resulted in a considerably higher value which seemed plausible to Client A, who used it in a satisfactory negotiation with the city, avoiding eminent domain procedures. Following completion of the transaction, Client A filed a complaint with the local Board of REALTORS® charging REALTOR® B with violating Article 11 of the Code of Ethics by not considering all factors affecting the value of property in his appraisal on behalf of Client A. The Grievance Committee reviewed the complaint and forwarded the matter to the professional Standards Committee for a hearing.
At the hearing, REALTOR® B defended himself by stating that he was primarily a residential broker; that he knew comparable market values in the areas by virtue of his activities as a broker; that he considered comparable sales to be the only significant indicator of market value; that the cost approach and the income approach of determining value were academic if the appraiser could produce a valuation in line with the price that a given property would bring at the time in the market; that his valuation had been made accordingly, and that he was willing to stand by it.
In reviewing REALTOR® C's appraisal, the Hearing Panel noted that he had considered Client A's property as an investment property, and had determined not only comparable market values as indicated by recent sales of similar property in similar locations, but also had fully taken into account the current reproduction cost of an investment property of similar nature; that he had capitalized the net investment return of Client A's property, and had arrived at his valuation by giving weight to all three of these basic methods of appraisal. The panel also noted that the appraisal had definitely been a factor in the city's agreement to purchase, although the city was empowered to use eminent domain action if it was judged that the owner's purchase price was excessive. Part of REALTOR® C's appraisal had commented upon relatively low current market values in the area because of adverse environmental circumstances, but balanced this with its analysis of the income return on the property to the investor.
Based on your understanding of the Code of Ethics Article 11, how do you think the Professional Standards Panel ruled?
Find out here >>
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Knowledge is power - and during uncertain economic times, it's the difference between success and muddling through.
So don't just sit and wait for change to come to you this fall - come make it happen for yourself. Let the good times roll for your business at the 2010 REALTORS® Conference & Expo.
For best lodging rates, reserve your hotel room when you register for the Conference & Expo.
Click here for hotels, rates, and a map!
|
