Legal UpdateFREC Chairperson Darla Furst

Florida Realtors/Florida Bar Residential Contract Subcommittee Chairman Gary Nagel

Florida Realtors Legal Counsels Margy Grant and Marcia Tabak

FREC Chairperson Darla Furst, Florida Realtors/Florida Bar Residential Contract Subcommittee Chairman Gary Nagle and Florida Realtors Legal Counsel Margy Grant and Marcia Tabak spoke largely about escrow accounts and how they are the “red flag” to an audit. How many Brokers’ misuse this account and relayed a story about a Tampa Broker, when using funds from the trust account for personal or other use, told prosecutors that “all brokers” do it.

When using a title company or attorney’s escrow account, the Broker needs to make a written request to the title company or attorney within three days to confirm that escrow was deposited, and then has 10 days to update the seller of escrow deposit.

They then spoke about Listing Agreements and how they have to have a definite expiration date (no notes added to the agreement that specify the listing will go month to month unless the Seller notifies broker). The agreement needs to have an accurate description of the property; a real price (not a “fill in” later on after the broker “decides what to sell it for”) and state all fee and/or commissions. A copy of the listing MUST be returned to the seller within 24 hours.

Any kind of transaction fee, service fee, administration fee is illegal, don’t charge them. Period. If you are adamant about charging one, make sure you speak to an attorney first to get them to back you in the event of a lawsuit. www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200615308.pdfl (A case where customer sued real estate company for RESPA violation.

On that same note, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking into changing the HUD-1:

On Tuesday December 13, 2011, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) debuted two updated versions of a draft replacement for the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. The two forms are five pages long. Each has a cover sheet that matches up closely with the proposed GFE/TIL forms the CFPB has been testing throughout the summer and fall. The next sheets look more like a conventional HUD-1 with minor variations. Of more interest is the latter sheets that continue to imply an intention to continue the policies of the 2009-10 RESPA reform.

The new forms also continue to raise many questions about what will be contained in the underlying regulations governing them. CFPB promises to have its draft rule done on time, by July 2012. The industry must be actively engaged in this process throughout in order to ensure that the outcome is not harmful to consumers and the housing industry that serves them. Even though CFPB's online comment periods have been limited to seven days, the CFPB has expressly stated they will take written comment. (see the Realtor.org website for more info)

The panel also updated us on a lawsuit regarding a Buyer who bought a house, and two years later found material defects (no permits and bad workmanship on a remodel). The new owners sued the original owners saying they knew of the defects and did not disclose them. Initially, the new owners won the lawsuit, but in appeal, the Court decided that the original owners were not responsible because they did not personally know about the defects.

Lastly, we were reminded as Brokers that we should periodically check status’ of all licensee’s on the DBPR website, checking the expiration dates of not only our agents, but also for your company.

Property Management Committee

Chair: Mike Levine

Vice Chair: Jill Boles

Last year was the first year they moved from being a counsel to a committee:• $1,500 budget 90 minute class/lecture time in August

They discussed the frustration they have because neither NAR nor Florida Realtors do not provide any classes for Property Managers.

They voted on having Cynthia DeLuca do a 90 minute class because she incorporates Florida law into her lecture.

They also voted on having dialog with NARPM, an organization that is not affiliated with NAR, only out of frustration of not having any other resources. Cooperating with NARPM is not the ideal, but better than nothing:

This lead to them tasking themselves with possibly developing their own organization.

At the next meeting they will bring information regarding other organizations and suggestions with proposals on how these organizations can help them organize.

Last action from Old Business is that apparently some MLS boards do not meet the need for rentals, and they developed a task force to work on these MLS issues.

Property Management Committee – New Business

Topics for New Business:

1. Develop a Property Management Software platform that is not too expensive; easy to use and Florida Realtors approved

2. Do a Property Management outreach1. How many Realtors do PM?2. NARDS profile should have PM profile3. Create survey to determine who and what type of

properties they are managing

Lastly: The two core values the committee would like to be known to have is Education and Policy Legislation, and for residential-only Realtors to know that they are Realtors, too.

HOW TO SERVE AND EXCEL AT FLORIDA REALTORS AND NARPast NAR President Cathy Whatley, Moderator

Panelists: Moe Veissi, 2012 NAR President Cynthia Shelton, 2012 NAR Region 5 VPPatti Ketcham, 2012 VC Education Carlos Cruz, Industry Data Analysis Board

HOW TO SERVE AND EXCEL AT FLORIDA REALTORS AND NAR

Committee involvement is about making contributions and take action that will benefit members and clients!

(Patti) Visit committees, but watch where you sit! It’s not about you. Florida Realtors looks for geographic members in meetings. You may not be chosen because there are too many other members from your area

(Carlos) Start at the local level – find a mentor – find what interests you – explore different committees

Cathy: What lessons have you learned?

(Patti) As Chair, take “heel diggers” aside and seek them out outside the meeting and hear them out. Sometimes they just want to be heard.

(Carlos) Speak out, get your thoughts on the table

Cathy Whatley: How do you start?

Cathy: Best thing you did?

(Patti) I reached out to committee members for help. How long has it been that you asked someone to help you? Are you asking the Chairman, “How can I help you?”

(Carlos) People who are put in leadership roles are really good at it – so follow them and take notes!

Cathy: What are some qualities needed to actively contribute?

(Patti) Have an engaging personality and getting people involved

(Carlos) Have the ability to see the big picture – and do what’s best for the Association

Cathy: Was there a time you were not chosen for a spot and how did you feel?

(Carlos) Originally, rejected – but it’s not about me

(Patti) As you grow you find out to trust the wisdom of the decision-makers.

Introduced Moe and Cynthia:

(Cynthia) Find your niche and work and mentor to find yourself

(Moe) If you really want to be good at being a Realtor, staying involved will help you stay connected, educated and current. People begin to respect you and you learn to touch people. Without that, it’s hard to serve your customers.

Cathy: How do you sign up with NAR?

(Cynthia) The easy way, the NAR website: attend prior meetings, including state and local first – get to know the Vice Chair, Chair and staff member – approach them, email, follow up and physically apply at website. Make sure you keep your profile on NRDS updated – they research that for members who apply. Opens in March, closes before May, apply to serve! NAR directors have first dibbs.

(Moe) Remember, we look for fair representations – not from president’s state, not our friends, only those who really want to serve. Also, while lobbying, lobby the staff, they have lots of say regarding who could serve best in what area!

(Moe con’t) Remember, 16,000 people go for 2,800 positions. If you really want it, you have to go for it. If you get the opportunity, then you better make sure you produce!

Cathy: You have to step out. It can take one year before you get appointed, then you have to perform. Even the Executive Committee does not get the appointments that they go for or want. You’re not the only “it” in town.

What can the grassroots do today to excel at NAR?

(Moe) The way NAR is structured, the local level is still the strength of the Association. If you can’t recognize how valuable you are as a cog in the wheel, you need to. RPAC investment, Call to Action, things like that are more important than you think – but when you touch 3 or 4 others to get involved, you are excelling. Get involved and everyone will be better for it.

Cathy: When decisions are made when your not involved, it’s harder to accept when the change comes.

Moe: Realize the amount of power you have as a Realtor. Your role is to be an “action driver”. Remember the P P P P P:

Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

Local Board/Association Treasures Information Exchange

Andrew Barbar, Chair

Florida Realtors Treasurer

Local Board/Association Treasures Information Exchange

Andrew Barbar, Chair – Florida Realtors Treasurer

Andrew introduced the candidate for 2014 Treasurer, Mike mcGrew

Mike reminded us that our main asset is our MEMBERS – and we shouldn’t forget it

Florida Realtors has a new relationship with TD Bank: When Wachovia changed to Wells Fargo, they weren’t happy with customer

service, fees, etc., so they went ‘bank hunting’ and found that TD Bank: Want to passionately partner with Florida Realtors and local

associations Had the lowest fee structure than other banks investigated They view Realtor’s as important ‘partners’ The have a program called “Infinity Program” providing benefits like

mortgage discounts to Realtor’s customersAndrew told story of how a New Jersey association got a CE program passed that allowed TD Bank to give a First Time Home Buyer class specifically for Realtors who brought their potential buyer to the class.

Association investment program with NAR – Fees are very low High “overseeing” program You get to say how you want to invest (put my name on a list for more

information)

Some wise advice from other Association Treasurers:

Use NAR credit card processing – and save on processing fees When using payment plans, be careful with what incentives you give One Association earns $45,000 per year renting to a church on Sundays When investing, be careful where you put your money, because you can never

always project where you are going…. Do you have an investment policy? Should you?

Next time you have a budget meeting, chart the last 8 – 10 years and trach where your membership was and your volume sales dollar amount. Usually you can see a trend and there is a 1 – 2 year lag in projections. As we increase in sales, membership will follow in the next 1 – 2 years.

Also – contact local Real Estate schools and see what their attendance is – could be a good barometer to use for the future

And lastly, on the DBPR website, look at the number of licenses in the metro areas; when you see an increase, membership usually follows.

Suggestions on projecting membership:

Public Policy CommitteeChairman, Bob HudgensVice-Chair, Kathleen Gallagher McIverExecutive Committee Liaison, John Sebree

Realtors Property Resource

“RPR”

Kristen Carr

• No public access• No charge to Realtors• Parcel-centric database• Personalized branded reports• Pricing and Research ToolsIt is NOT a MLS or TAX TOOLData includes deed recordings, mortgages, data goes back 10 years

Tracks school zones“heat” map technology

http://blog.narrpr.com/intro-to-rpr/

The above address will take you to the site and explain what they do.

NAR has praised this service (Moe mentioned it at the Board Meeting) and Florida Realtors also sees the advantages to it.

Kristen Carr is the Marketing Director and would love to come and give us a demonstration:

Recently a large REALTOR® association asked us to put together a list of services and products their members could obtain elsewhere, for a fee, which they can get in the Realtors Property Resource (RPR).  This was a fun activity!  RPR is so feature rich, it includes tons of layers of data and has an amazing toolset.  While the system is super easy to use it can seem overwhelming in a quick presentation.  I wanted to share the list with you so you get a good idea of what RPR offers REALTORS® - all through their membership with the National Association of REALTORS®. Affiliate company placementBrokerage brandingBroker Data ToolBroker Chart ServiceCMADemographicsFEMA Flood MapsForeclosure/Distressed infoHistorical listing comparisonsHome remodeling value calculatorIntegrated MLS listings and public recordsInvestment Analysis Tool

Library of ReportsListing Presentation ToolMap SearchMarket Activity & Trending HeatmapsMarket AnalyticsMarket ResearchMLS listing & historical record searchMobile siteMortgageNeighborhood analyticsPoints of Interest MappingProperty enhancement/modification data analysis tool

Property SearchPublic Record DataRealtor Valuation Model (RVM)Sales Meeting contentSchool ZoningSchool Ratings

Orientation for New Florida Realtors Directors

President Summer Green & CEO John Fridlington

To give us a sense of what it’s like to be a Director:• There are 116,000 members• Florida Realtors is the most effective trade association• It’s a culture that takes pride in being open

The Management Team = A staff that’s dedicated to customer service

Strategic Plan – New Pamphlet

Recognize that you are a MEMBER OF 3:Local - State - National

Priority for 2012: REALTOR ADVOCACYo Hired 2 more “Jack’s”

Always remember who you represent when attending local and NAR meetingsDo your homework before the meeting

i.e. If you have an issue, remember there are 13 districts!

Florida Realtors is about legislative affairs! You have to sign up for committees!

We have a $16 million dollar budget – There are benefits in serving!

Problem or issue identified requiring

Association action

Executive Committee

advises Directors of its recommendatio

n

Appropriate leadership

body passes motion to

act

Matter referred to appropriate leadership

body

Executive Committee

concurs, recommends alternative or recommends

defeat

Motion sent to

Executive Committe

e

Motion is presented to

Board of Directors for consideration

Directors may pass, modify or

defeat motion

If passed motion contains policy position, new

policy statement is

issued.

How Association Policy is Made: