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:

Today you cannot afford to be without the power of social media. It is literally transforming the ways in which we do business, how we interact with our clients and customers and the manner in which we grow our business. Join us for this FREE one hour introduction to the world of social media .

Sponsored By: Title Security Agency of Arizona

Held At: Country Inn Suites – 7411 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson, Arizona

2:00 PM to 3:00 PM – Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Seating is limited. To reserve a seat, call Course Creators at 520.360.0280

Come and learn how to maximize the power of Facebook! You will come away with whole new ways to increase your business and maximize your revenue using this marvelous social media tool. This course is being sponsored and taught at:

Landmark Title

7090 N. Oracle Road, Suite 152, in Tucson, Arizona

9:00 AM to 4:00 PM – Monday, November 9, 2009

Course Creators presents live at the 2009 NAR Conference and Expo!

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.

I ran across this gem in an Indianapolis bookstore and finished it on the plane ride home (understand my ride home compliments of American Airlines included a detour through Little Rock Arkansas and an unplanned stranding in Dallas overnight) . Maestro is one of the best books on leadership I have ever read and chances are that for most of you it comes out of a profession in which many of you have not spent a lot of time.

The author of Maestro, Roger Nierenberg, is a world class conductor. He has had an extremely distinguished career leading prominent orchestras across America. He has participated in the Carnegie Hall Series of Great Orchestras and has recorded with the London Philharmonic. In his recent book Roger takes you inside the art and science of great conducting all the while making clear the analogies between what he has done and leadership in the business world.

As an example he takes a young conductor who accurately leads the orchestra through a technical piece of music by indicating note for note what the musicians should be playing. The impact comes when Niergenberg has the young student turn away from the orchestra and Nierenberg instructs the orchestra to play the piece without his assistance. They do and it is better. Then Nierenberg explains, the musicians, like top executives in a company, do not need you to show them what to do note for note and your micromanagement gets in the way of their creativity and performance. They do need you to set the rhythm, the pace and the emotion of the music. I think you get the point and I also think you will find Nierenberg’s treatment of the concepts fascinating.

Nierenberg has created a very unique leadership training program where he seats executives among the orchesttra and then interwoven with performance pieces takes them through leadership principles. The concept is know as The Music Paradigm and is one of the creative and ingenious teaching concepts I have seen in a long time.

If you have been involved with the Music Paradigm or have read the book I am interested in your comments and insights.

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.

1. You can learn more about The Flip by visiting their website.

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!

Real Estate CE 3 Hrs. RE Legal Issues

Practical issues from the real world of real estate closings. Hear what escrow officers have to say about streamlining your transaction, removing roadblocks and dealing with the requirements page in the preliminary title report. Understand the changes surrounding the new HUD-1 Settlement Statement and avoid the most common issues that delay and frustrate the closing of a real estate transaction.

Title Security Agency of Arizona

6390 E. Tanque Verde, Tucson, Arizona

9:00 PM to 12:00 PM – Monday, November 2, 2009