The Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act (RESPA) is the federal law which governs the relationships between settlement service providers in real estate transactions. The Act makes it illegal for settlement service providers to give or receive anything of value in exchange for the referral of business in a real estate transaction. The Act also makes it illegal for settlement service providers to require that a borrower use a particular provider in a real estate transaction and sets forth disclosure guidelines when there is a co-ownership of more than one settlement service provider in a real estate transaction.

The Tucson Association of REALTORS annually hosts a RESPA Roundtable organized by the RESPA Committee where licensees can explore these issues and get answers to the most commonly asked questions. In order to obtain a copy of the frequently asked questions all you need to do is click here or click on the stack of RESPA files to the right.

The questions are divided into categories based on settlement service providers. In order to obtain more information about RESPA and its enforcement you can visit the official RESPA pages at HUD.gov.

Ovation – How to Present Like a Pro
The Reinvention of Adult Education

By Len Elder & Theresa Barnabei

CLICK ON THE BOOK TO ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

A couple of decades ago, Donald Levi, DREI and REEA member authored the book “How to Teach Adults.” The book has been a staple for REEA members and the principles of GAPE and teaching strategies for quite some time. The book was last printed over 15 years ago.

For the past several months, a collaborative team has been working on the creation of a new book, Ovation – How to Present like a Pro. The book provides the insight and commentary of 24 leaders in the adult real estate education field. It is the ONLY BOOK that:

• Communicates the Art & Science of Presenting from Course Creation to Delivery to Testing
• Contains Practical Teaching Tips Based on Solid Educational Theory
• Collaborates the Viewpoints of National Speakers, Trainers, Presenters and Industry Leaders

TO ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY JUST CLICK ON THE BOOK TO THE RIGHT:

Inside you can find out what:

• REEA Executive Director, Joe McClary, has to say to live instructors about competing with distance education;
• National Speaker, Doug Devitre, has to say about 27 ways to fill classroom seats at a REALTOR® event;
• National Author & Columnist, Julie Garton-Good, has to say about building a niche as a speaker and her system for identifying your best area of expertise;
• NCREEA President, Dana Rhodes, has to say about why he loves teaching pre-licensing
• DREI Management Committee Chair, George Bell, has to say about the importance of credentials in teaching;
• REEA President-Elect, Roseann Farrow, has to say about classroom preparation
• And many, many more

If you are wondering what else is in this book that would be helpful to you as an instructor, speaker, trainer or school owner here are some of the other topics covered in detail in this new and exciting addition to the profession of real estate education:
What’s In This Book for YOU?

• Clearly Explained and Applied Generally Accepted Principles of Education (GAPE)
• Opening Strategies You Can Use For Starting Any Presentation
• 10 Tips that will Immediately Improve Your Performance
• A Step by Step Guide to Presentation Development
• Do’s and Don’ts in the First Five Minutes
• How to Effectively Market & Promote Courses
• Pre-Class Tricks & Tools of the Trade
• Practical Ideas for Course Sponsors
• 10 Steps for Writing Effective Test & Quiz Questions
• Innovative Uses of Social Media and Technology in the Classroom
• Insights on Copyrights & Intellectual Property in Education
• Ideas on How to Create New Courses and Get More Business

A special thanks and a standing ovation to all of the following who contributed to this work and publication of the book. Most of these collaborating authors are members of REEA. All of the authors are outstanding at what they do:

Ryan Adair
Dan Adler
Tony Ray Baker
Mark Barker
Lucy Barraza
George Bell
Cindy Chandler
Amy Chorew
Doug Devitre
Roseann Farrow
Bill Gallagher
Julie Garton-Good
Rhonda Hamilton
Joe McClary
Beverly McCormick
Sharon Montague
Annalisa Moreno
Bruce Moyer
Karel Murray
Dana Rhodes
Marcie Roggow
Philip Schoewe
Sharleen Smith
Marie Spodek
Terry Wilson

The new book was unveiled at the North Carolina Real Estate Educators Association (NCREEA) Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 22, 2011. You can find the book on Amazon.Com.

QR (Quick Response) Codes are rapidly becoming all the rage and we get asked questions about them all of the time. The use of QR codes by real estate agents is being discussed lots of places in articles like one entitled “More Real Estate Agents Using QR Codes to Share Information,” recently published in the Southwest Missourian. A QR Code is a type of matrix barcode or two dimensional code designed to be read by smartphones (such as a Droid or iPhone). The codes consist of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. They are simply an easy way to direct an end user to a specific URL (website location) more easily. Previously, for example in the world of real estate, we would have just put our website (Go to www.BuyAHouse) on a FOR SALE sign. Today we have the ability to put a QR code on the sign and when smart phone users scan the image they can be directly to that site automatically. Because the QR code can take the user to any URL that exists on the internet, we could have chosen to redirect the user to just the listing, a virtual tour, a YouTube video or additional homes for sale (any specific page or URL). A video has even been created regarding how to creatively use QR codes. Here is what we need to know:

1. You can generate a QR code for FREE. Use Google’s URL Shortener. On this site for those with a FREE Google account, you simply cut and paste the URL that you would like the QR code to be linked to. The Google tool will generate a shortened URL and if you click on “Details” it wil provide you with a QR code to that site. Simply copy and paste the QR code into any printed material.

2.The other benefit of utilizing a QR code is that it can be tracked. For example, you can return to Google’s URL Shortener site where you created the code and bey clicking on “Details” you will know how many times and on what dates your QR code was scanned by someone. Free sites like Google’s URL Shortener will track the number of scans, but it will not capture the user’s contact information.

3. In order to have a QR code which when scanned captures the user’s information (such as their email or phone number you will have to choose a proprietary system that enables you to do that. Like most free QR codes, Google’s system does not include that feature. If you would like to know more about what those types of services are and how they work, one of the most successful ones is found at ReadMyRear.Com.

4. To use your smartphone to scan a QR code you will have to download an application for your phone that reads these codes. Which one will work for you will depend on the type of phone that you have. Search the code reader for your phone and download the application.

QR codes are being used in a lot of creative and interesting ways. It will benefit all of us to know more about them and the ways people are using them to create more busines.

Last week 24/7 Wall Street posted a blog denoting America’s Ten Sickest Housing Markets. Tucson was ranked #1. Before you buy into all of the negative hype and media information, we think that there are a few additional things that you need to know.

Turns out many of the cities mentioned are up in arms about their rankings and a simple Google search will lead you to a lot of protest comments by the folks in Atlanta, Oklahoma City and elsewhere that were singled out as the sickest markets.

In Tucson, we believe that the analysis, commentary and even the overall message of the post misses the point.

For a more accurate and useful presentation of information…check out the Sound Rebuttal on the link below. This blog post is for anyone who lives, works, plays or invests in Tucson, AZ.  If you agree with the opinions expressed here, please share this article!  Enjoy!

To READ the SOUND REBUTTAL just click here!

For students today who joined us at the Tucson Association of REALTORS for the course; “Commissioners’ Rules Applied to Ethical Practices Today”, here is the link to the advertising article at the Arizona Association of REALTORS written by Tom Adams and Michelle Lind.

Thanks for joining us in class.

What a great story. Bank of America attempted a foreclosure on a Florida couple who didn’t even have a lien on their home. They paid cash. After repeated attempts to get Bank of America to release the lien and the wrongful foreclosure proceeding they sued B of A in court and obtained a judgment which the bank ignored and did not pay.

The attorney for the homeowners did exactly what the bank would have done, he filed the judgment lien against the bank’s property and showed up at Bank of America with movers, sheriff’s deputy’s and an order to seize the desks, computer equipment and cash from the teller’s drawers to satisfy the judgment.

Click Here to See The Full CBS News Story!

Ah…there is justice in the court system.

Those of you who have been in our classes already know the importance of getting up to speed on new internet listing databases in real estate. Last week we had the opportunity to talk with Mark Lampe about his new listing database site MyHomeMatching.Com which has launched nationally.

This site is FREE to real estate professionals and opens a new marketing potential for you. This was site was built by former programmers from Microsoft and its operation is pretty flawless. It has some truly unique features and a much robust search capacity for homeowners than does Realtor.Com, Zillow or Trulia.

Click Here to Watch The YouTube Video About the Site’s Features

It is easy to put your listing information into the site, and unlike other listing databases where your information is canabalized and restructured from internet syndication services such as ListHub or Point2 Agent, this site allow you to remain in total control of your listing information. You can easily upload photos, videos and links. We encourage you to give it a try. We will be mentioning and discussing use of this site in many of our classes. In fact we will discuss it this week in our new class, Get on Board – Trends in Real Estate on the Tucson Association Cruise to Mexico. You got to love it when a new product goes above and beyond.

Our Arizona Association of REALTORS® General Counsel Michelle Lind sums up MARS in an easy to understand article on the AAR website. That article, titled Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (“MARS”) Rule Requirements for Short Sale Brokers, addresses 6 key guidelines which are:

- No Advance Fees
- Disclosures in Advertising
- Disclosure in Communications with Prospective Customers
- Disclosures when Presenting a Short Sale Offer from the Lender or Servicer
- Truth in Advertising Services
- Record Keeping and Monitoring Requirements

The article also contains valuable links to the FTC for even more information! And finally, a link to disclosure forms. We are grateful to Michelle and the Association to provide us with such valuable information!

On Monday, January 31, 2011, Commissioner Lowe traveled to Tucson and delivered a presentation to update members on regulatory changes and new legislation affecting our industry. Commissioner Lowe shared lots of information including:

• New rules pertaining to education instructors and course approval
• Statistics on licensees in our industry
• Insights for completing the Broker Audit Declaration
• Short Sale & Third Party Negotiator Practices Affected by MARS

If you have not heard of MARS, you need to be aware of this important change in federal regulations. MARS stands for Mortgage Assistance Relief Services and is part of a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Rule that bans providers of mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until homeowners have a written offer from their lender or servicer that they decide is acceptable.You can read more about the rule directly on the Federal Trade Commission website. THE FINAL PROVISIONS OF THE RULE BECAME EFFECTIVE JANUARY 31, 2011!

The rule has large ramifications for short sale listing agents who are assisting homeowners with loan modifications. Commissioner Lowe made it very clear that this rule in conjunction with the opinions of the Arizona Department of Real Estate (ADRE), the Arizona Department of Financial Services (DFI), and the Arizona Attorney General that:

1. Listing agents should not participate in loan modification with a lender on behalf of the homeowner unless the licensee has a loan originator license.

2. Licensees are precluded from collecting fees or charging additional amounts for loan modification services.

3. Entities acting as third party negotiators on short sale transactions must possess an Arizona Real Estate License.

The new FTC rule requires new disclosures and contains a number of prohibited claims which must be addressed in all advertising and marketing. Commissioner Lowe indicated that the Department of Real Estate is currently drafting some advisories and disclosures to help licensees deal with the new MARS provision. In the meantime, we encourage you to read the rule referenced above on the Federal Trade Commission website.

Some additional information regarding the impact of the Rule on real estate licensees can be found on the Real Solutions Network blog post.

Thank you Commissioner Lowe for the insight. We appreciate the attention and time you provided to update our industry regarding these important changes.

At a recent presentation of InstaTekkie, Course Creators two day social media certification course we taught for Beverly-Hanks agents in Asheville, North Carolina, we highlighted the online presence of Beverly-Hanks agent, Elisa Lamar.  We pointed to her as an example in class because she had a very prominent presence on social media sites such as Zillow and had over $4 million dollars of listings displayed on the site. Her properties came to the top of the list when we searched “homes for sale” in Asheville.  As a single agent she was controlling 40% of the first ten properties buyers found when they searched for homes in the Asheville area.

At Course Creators we often do this type of in depth research in markets where we teach this class so that we can help agents understand where they currently stand in social media in relationship to their peers and competition.  We applauded Elisa’s efforts.  Recognized the job she had done, even told her company’s owner that he should send her a note commending her efforts.  Elisa was not in our class.  Turns out she had a number of client appointments (Go figure!)

You can see the work Elisa has been doing and view her Zillow profile by clicking on her picture to the left!

Now for Rest of the Story

Elisa heard about our comments in class, and we had an opportunity to talk with her the next day. Here is a short transcript of our conversation:

Elisa “I’m sorry I could not be there, but I was busy working with clients.”

Course Creators “Well, you should know we were recognizing your efforts on sites such as Zillow and showing your fellow REALTORS® how they could get more business doing what you did!”

She proceeded to tell us that she attributed her presence and success with Zillow to our Social Media Keynote presentation that we did a few months before and to the training CD that we gave here for being a volunteer in our class!!

Elisa, our hat is off to you for being one of the students who Got IT! Used IT! and Became more successful because of IT! Thank you for verifying and validating all that we do and teach! We wish you continued success on your use of Zillow as you take your real estate business to the next level.

You can learn more about our video training CD’s by clicking on the Video Training CD to the right!