FaceBiz, the class designed to help everyone maximize the power of facebook, now offers a bonus to licensed real estate agents in the state of Arizona. ADRE has approved FaceBiz for continuing education credits, 3 hours of Agency Law and 3 hours of Commissioner’s Standards!
Effective with the December 14th Tubac event, Course Creators University will begin issuing certificates of achievement for not only taking the course so that you Get It, Use It and Become More Successful Because Of It!, but also for the continuing education credits!
Theresa and Len promise to bring you bigger and better things!!
On Friday, November 26, 2009 the Tucson Association of Realtors announced a new MLS Rule. The Rule reads as follows:
Effective immediately, it is against MLS Rules and Regulations to upload ANY document to MLS that references a proposed change to the stated co-op or commission. It is also a violation to make any remarks in MLS that reference a proposed change to the stated co-op or commission. If you have listings that contain any such documents or remarks, they must be removed within 2 business days, or they will be removed by MLS and subject to a minimum $100 fine per occurrence. If your listings contained any such documents or remarks, it is recommended that you state ‘call before showing’ in the remarks to alert cooperating members that co-op or commission negotiations may occur.
All corrections must be made to our MLS listings immediately and failure to do so will result in MLS removal of the material and a $100 fine. Obviously, the Rule was created to bring a halt to the last minute renegotiation of commissions being forced into transactions by lenders when dealing with a short sale or REO property. We should all be mindful of the new rule and use it to protect our commissions in these types of sales. We would recommend that:
1. At the time of listing, forward your listing contract containing the commission to the lender in both short sale and REO transactions.
2. Reference the new MLS Rule and inform the lender that the property is being marketed subject to these conditions and that no negotiation of the commission may occur after the property has been listed. Start forcing the lenders to make their objections upfront. Your letter or email may even indicate that if the lender does not object to the listing agreement within “x” number of days, that they are consenting to the terms and conditions of the listing agreement.
3. You may also want to reference or include the FNMA policy regarding the non-negotiation of such commissions. Here is the reference for that policy:
No Negotiation of Preforeclosure Sales Commission, Servicing Guide, Part VII, Section 504.02:
Effective March 1, 2009, closing of preforeclosure sales may not be conditioned upon a
reduction of the total commission to be paid to real estate agents to a level below what was
negotiated by the listing agent with the borrower, unless the fee exceeds 6 percent of the sales
price of the property in aggregate. Servicers are reminded that they must continue to obtain
any approvals that may be required by interested third parties in connection with preforeclosure
sales.”
The National Association of Realtors 2009 Conference and Expo in San Diego had a palpable feel in the air. It was bustling, hurried atmosphere. Perhaps part of that was caused by the fact that the Conference this year was twice the size of last year’s in Orlando. Nearly 20,000 gathered together to share insights, information and vision about our industry. But there was something more. A sense that beyond some panic, beyond some shock waves was the industry’s collective effort to move beyond the past, to quit feeling like victims and instead get on with the tasks at hand.
Everyone recognizes that the industry has shifted and morphed into a brave new world, one that is rich in technology and Web 2.0. The only thing missing from the forward movement of our industry has been us. So there was a renewed call to action and new determination to overcome. You could clearly see the application of the presentations done by the likes of:
Sugar Ray Leonard (Click on Sugar Ray’s Picture to Read More About His Presentation)
,
Liz Murray (Click on Liz Murray’s Picture to Find Out More About Her Presentation)
And Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice
The sentiments and changes surrounding our industry were summed up by 2009 President Charles McMillan. You can read more about what he had to say by clicking here.
The presentations matched that tenor and we had the opportunity to hear from Jeff Turner and Darryl Davis:
Liz Murray spoke at the National Association of Realtors 2009 Conference & Expo in San Diego.
Liz Murray shares an incredible story. Having grown up in the Bronx the daughter of drug addicted parents she ended up on the streets of New York City. She eventually graduated from Harvard. She speaks eloquently about the forces that change the direction of someone’s life and what it takes to overcome grand obstacles. Never the victim, but instead focused on what is possible Liz’s story is one you should get to know. It has been made into a Lifetime movie.
At the National Association of Realtors 2009 Conference and Expo 2009 President Charles McMillan had a chance to speak about what is happening in the real estate industry, where we are going and how we get there. Here is what we learned from the Immediate Past President of NAR.
If you want to be in business today you have to be better and faster than you were before. McMillan likens our industry position to that of Rip Van Winkle who refused to take care of responsibilities and went to sleep for twenty years. Now we are all waking up. We assumed that changes in the real estate industry would happen predictably and gradually, but instead they occurred overnight. With the advent of social media, podcasting, blogs and video to name a few.
We have entered a time in our industry when growth and learning are no longer luxuries to turn to in our spare time. They are the hallmarks are shaping the crafting of a new profession. Where we go will be entirely dependent on our imagination, education and willingness to work. It really is a brave new world.
The heart of McMilllan’s remarks are best summed up in a single quote from his presentation. “All Realtors are created equal and some will choose to remain that way.”
At the National Association of Realtors 2009 Conference and Expo in San Diego Sugar Ray Leonard delivered a presentation. The following is what we learned from hearing a true champion speak.
He steps to the microphone weighing 175 pounds at 5’9″ and quietly says, “I know what you are thinking. He ain’t that big, I’ll bet we can take him.” The conversation quickly turns to what makes the average person achieve extraordinary success? What makes average anything but? In the words of Sugar Ray Leonard at NAR it is about frame of mind, goals, vision, determination and P.O.W.E.R. That is his acronym for Prepare, Overcome, Win Every Round.
“Make no mistake about it,” he says, “We are all fighters fighting every day for what we believe in and what we want.” He acknowledges the risk of that task noting that we cannot be afraid to take the risk. You take huge risks every time you step into the ring. It would be safer to sit on the sideline, safer to not have the dream, safer to call off the fight, but without the risk and without the fight the victory will never come. Sugar Ray reminds us that our fear should not lie in taking the risk or in potential failure, but our true fear should lie in doing nothing.
Theresa & Len of Course Creators with Sugar Ray Leonard
So who cares about what the odds are or what the critics say or what will “probably” happen? It is up to us to focus on what is possible. If you want to be better, stronger, faster, then Sugar Ray says it comes down to a single principle. What are you willing to do everyday that the competition is not? He explains that for him it was running extra miles, training longer hours, preparing for longer rounds. Without that determination true talent never develops.
So what are you willing to do today that your competition is not? Is it one more phone call, an extra email, one more hour early in the morning or one more hour before you turn out the light? In that world champions are born.
As you may have heard Congress has voted to extend the First Time HomeBuyers Tax Credit until April 30, 2010. Due to increased affordability in the market and the extension of the tax credit NOW is the best time for homebuyers to purchase a home. We created this independent video that you can distribute to your clients to help make everyone’s holiday season brighter. There are many ways for you to use this video.l
You can copy this link and paste it in an email or feel free to use the link and reference it on your blog posts or on your website.
We have also hung the video on YouTube as an Early Thanksgiving Present. By copying the URL there you can insert it into your favorite social media venues like Twitter and Facebook. We wish you much continued success and happy holidays.
Course Creators is pleased to announce that we have joined forces with Dan Adler. Dan will be working with us to present cutting edge courses for continuing education as well as sales, service and small business development.
Currently Dan is the Team Leader for The Dan Adler Team. He is one of Arizona’s top and most respected real estate brokers, working in Arizona’s largest brokerage firm, Realty Executives. Because Dan is a successful businessman as well as an educator, business coach and motivational speaker, Course Creators feels that he is the perfect fit for us as well as our clients.
You can send Dan a personal message of congratulations by leaving a message here.
In our social media and technology classes we often mention a product called “The Flip” Video camera. It is an amazing piece of technology which will help you take your practice to the next level by making the use of videos easy. It is a very simple and affordable video camera. If you can shoot and point you can use this. The videos are digital in nature, meaning there are no cartridges or film. The camera holds one hour of digital video and is entirely self-contained. No wires, no cords. It has a built in USB port to allow you to upload videos directly to your computer so that they can easily be posted on internet sites, your facebook account and even YouTube. The camera also has built in video management and editing software. Here is a collective response to many of the questions we have received.
2. There are different models. The Ultra was the original version it is a bit thicker, needs batteries to operate and has a toggle switch control on the back of the camera that controls functions.
3. The Mino is the version that Theresa and I use. It is thinner, charges when plugged into your computer (hence no batteries) and has push type button controls on the back which in our opinion make it easier to operate.
4. Theresa and I opted for cameras that hold 60 minutes of video. We do a lot of videoing. It is rare that we have any space issues, because when the camera is full of numerous little clips totaling 60 minutes it is easy to just download it to your computer and start clean. However, you can get models that hold 120 minutes if you desire. For most instances we think that is overkill.
5. There are now HD (High Definition Models). Ours is not. We have looked at the video quality differences between the regular model and high definition and believe that in most applications the difference is negligible. Also, you should understand that just because you shot the video on the camera in high definition, unless the site you are posting the video on has high definition capability, you will not get the improved benefit of high definition.
We couldn’t give a higher recommendation to any technology product. This belongs in your arsenal. Take your business to the next level.
We will even help you use it. We have created a 6 hour hands on workshop called VideoBiz where we teach students how to shoot, edit and post videos to the internet. There are two excellent ways for us to show you how to use the camera, edit the videos, post them on the internet and bring the power of video into your marketing arsenal.
1. Click here to visit the Course Creator Calendar and find out when the next opportunity is for us to fill your mind in VideoBiz. The video below will help you understand just what is possible:
2. If for some reason you cannot come to class, then you will benefit from the VideoBiz Video Training CD which will take you step by step through opening a YouTube account (For Free), editing the videos and posting them online.
If you have been using the Flip camera or videos in your business we would love to hear about your experiences. If you have any questions about the camera or the editing or posting of videos please ask, we are here to make certain that you Get It! Use It! And Become More Successful Because of It!
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