This IssueThe Tax Treatment of Cancelled Mortgage DebtThe Tax Treatment of Cancelled Mortgage DebtSpring Meeting UpdatesMembers in the News

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The Pacific Northwest Relocation Council E‐zine

Produced by the Pacific

In This IssueProduced by the Pacific Northwest Relocation Council 

PresidentKari Hamilton

President’s Welcome…………………....3

Sponsorship……………………………….….5

Legislative 6Membership ContactMargot Wetzel

Website and E‐zine ContactBrad Fransen

Legislative ………………………………….…6

Members in the News…………………..7

Social Responsibility ……..……………..8

Do you know someone who would like to receive the PNwRC E‐zine?  Please send their email to us : PNwRC

Snapshots! ……………………………….…..9

PNwRC MissionPNwRC  Mission Statement

In order to help meet the needs ofcorporate transferees and theirf ili th P ifi N th tfamilies, the Pacific NorthwestRelocation Council (a non‐profitorganization) provides a forum forrelocation professionals toexchange information and ideasregarding employee relocation

The PNwRC E‐zine is 

regarding employee relocationpolicies and practices.

It also provides educationalopportunities and the ability toreview common interests and

produced quarterly for members of the PNwRC 

© 2011 PNwRC  

trends, and fosters cooperationwithin the relocation industry.

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President’s Message

Kari HamiltonPNwRC President 

It is with great honor and privilege that Iserve as the PNwRC President during theyear of our Platinum Anniversary. I amequally honored to be part of our newcommunication launch of the 2011 E‐zine.communication launch of the 2011 E zine.

Our 2011 Board is excited about theevents planned for this year and wouldlike to thank each of you for yourcontinued support over the past 20years. In this special year, we want to

As your regional ERC Council, we arecommitted to provide relevant educationalmaterial and opportunities forbenchmarking. We have some powerfulspeakers for our 2011 workshops and will

ti t id i t l frecognize our founding members whotransformed a small monthly brown baglunch into the thriving organization it istoday. We will recognize our 1991 originalmembers at the Fall Workshop onNovember 13th.

continue to provide ongoing teleconferences,brown bag meetings, and support forcorporate members. We will also start a CRP(Certified Relocation Professional), studygroup to assist with earning the highlyregarded designation recommended for all ofthose in the industry dedicated to successful

As we recognize these foundingcorporations, it is interesting to reflectupon the growth and transformation therelocation industry has seen over the past20 years. Many evolving from local startups to worldwide power houses we now

those in the industry dedicated to successfulmobility of employee transferees.

Please be sure to join us for these educationalopportunities. We welcome your feedback orideas of additional resources that might behelpful.ups to worldwide power houses, we now

face challenges unforeseen and look toeach other for ongoing viablesolutions. Relocation professionals todayare in a constant balancing act of evolvingand growing responsibilities. Costcontainment vs. optimal service,

p

As we strive for continued growth, we haveimplemented a new key initiative to increasecorporate member participation. Werecognize budgets are tighter and we hope toalleviate this by waiving the annualcontainment vs. optimal service,

measuring ROI and employee satisfaction,employee reluctance, inventorymanagement, and most recently,employee safety in warring and tragedystricken countries. New challenges andchanging practices continue to shape the

membership fee for our corporate membersin 2011. This is a fantastic opportunity forcorporate employees involved with employeemobility. We hope you will share thisopportunity with other industry professionalsas we work to take our organization to the

t l l (C ti d 4)‘relocation landscape.’ next level. (Continued on page 4)

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Additionally, it is our ongoingcommitment to offer a line up ofunique Seattle venues greatunique Seattle venues, greatnetworking opportunities, excitingspeakers, as well as charitable giving.

Our charitable contributions this yearwill support the American CancerSociety, Union Gospel Mission/Hopey, p / pPlace, and Northwest Harvest.

As we strive for continued growth, wehave implemented a new key initiativeto increase corporate memberparticipation. We recognize budgetsare tighter and we hope to alleviate thisby waiving the annual membership feefor our corporate members in2011. This is a fantastic opportunity forcorporate employees involved withemployee mobility. We hope you willh thi t it ith th

PNwRC  Charities 

share this opportunity with otherindustry professionals as we work totake our organization to the next level.

‐Kari HamiltonPNwRC President

PNwRC Founding Members, 1991

Boeing‐Pete Leslie Westin‐Debi Dopps

Nordstrom‐Kathleen Phillips Microsoft‐John Dyer

Weyerhaeuser‐Nancy Kuehnoel Corporate Moving Systems‐Rick Smith

Prudential‐Patti Ward Washington Mutual‐Margaret Palo

Frank Russell‐Pam Johnson Attachmate

PHH/Cartus‐ Barbara Mitchell Alexander’s Moving & Storage‐Ross BuckleyPHH/Cartus Barbara Mitchell Alexander s Moving & Storage Ross Buckley 

Airborne Express Simpson Timber‐David Splinter

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Sponsorship

Sponsorship Opportunities Abound!!

2011 is here and PNwRC is gearing up for a veryexciting year and looks forward to everyone’sparticipation in upcoming events. Lori Vincent

SponsorshipWe have the following sponsorship opportunitiesavailable in 2011. These are wonderfulopportunities to support the charities and variousendeavors PNwRC is involved with as well asprovide recognition and exposure for yourcompany There are very limited

Sponsorship Chair 

company. There are very limitedsponsorships which are awarded on a first comefirst serve basis.

•Corporate Meeting Sponsor•Website Sponsor•Meeting Centerpiece Sponsorg p p•Golf Tournament Sponsors

Sponsorship costs range from $500 to $5,000,something for all budgets; so don’t be left behind‐ reach out to Lori Vincent at 206.275.6020 orlorivincent@cbbain.com to ensure your

PNwRC Friends!opportunity today.

The PNwRC E‐zine is Sponsored by:

PNwRC Friends! 

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Legislative

Nancy KuehnoelLegislative Public Policy Advisor

Tax Treatment of Cancelled MortgageDebt

Misunderstood by many, cancelled debt hasan impact on a homeowner’s income taxes.

Taxpayers should refer to IRS Form 982 andPublication 4681. Lenders who wrote offdebt will provide the borrower with IRS

Legislative Public Policy AdvisorpThis issue has been overlooked by manyhomeowners who renegotiated theirmortgage, were foreclosed upon or soldtheir home via a short sale. If forgiven,mortgage debt, as well as other debt, isconsidered ordinary income by the IRS. p

Form 1099‐C. It is estimated that 2.8million 1099‐C forms were sent toborrowers from 2010 debt cancellations.This number is debt from all sources.Relocation services suppliers andemployers can help their transferees by

Many homeowners are unaware of this IRSregulation. After living through the shortsale or foreclosure process, homeownersfind this a double punch.

Recently, Congress adopted a specialti t iti t f th bl t referring them to the above IRS form and

publication.

Sources: Kenneth R. Harney, SyndicatedColumnist, The Seattle Times, March 13,2011 & Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press,March 20 2011

exemption to mitigate some of the blow tohomeowners. An IRS guidance outlinesseveral criteria that must be met for ataxpayer to be eligible for the exemption.The first test is that the cancelled debt musthave been used to buy or improve a primaryresidence The second test is that the March 20, 2011

Submitted by: Nancy Kuehnoel,Legislative/Public Policy Advisor, PNwRC,nnkuehnoel@earthlink.net

residence. The second test is that thecancelled debt was originally used to acquireor make capital improvements to theprimary residence. Take out of equity to buya car, pay tuition or to payoff credit carddebt is not covered under the exemption.Converting the primary residence into rentalg p yproperty prior to foreclosure or short salerenders the mortgage debt ineligible for theexemption. Third, mortgage cancellationrelief is capped at $2 million for marriedtaxpayers and $1 million for a singletaxpayer.

PNwRC  Networking Opportunities 

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Members in the News!

Members in the News

Members in the News! 

Ginnie Blaine of Continental Van was recognized for the second year as a member of the Mayflower President’s Club, inner circle for outstanding sales performance.

Locally owned Air Van Moving, transportation specialists in consumer and corporate household goods moving, specialized transportation services, commercial warehousing and fulfillment services, announced that it has hired Vice President Ken Wendland to h d i l l d k ti i iti ti f Ai V ’ W hi t d Ohead regional sales and marketing initiatives for Air Van’s Washington and Oregon divisions. 

The Larkspur Landing Bellevue has recently promoted Anne Roetzer to Director of Sales.  Anne assists and handles the relocation corporate market for this hotel.

Scott M Rudolph joins Crown Moving Company with over 15 years in the real estateScott M. Rudolph joins Crown Moving Company with over 15 years in the real estate and relocation industry, building networks and resources to facilitate executive relocations domestically and globally. Scott resides in West Seattle with his wife and four young children and is an active contributor to the community volunteering as the local Pony Baseball Vice President, Shorewood Christian School Board Member, and Elder of Grace Church Seattle.

Lori Vincent, Relocation Director, is pleased to announce two new Relocation Account Managers, Taylor Wosnig and Jackie Levine, have joined CB Bain|CB Seal.

Seattle Rental Group (formerly Apartment Insider) is excited to announce that they are now offering rental finding tour services and candidate/orientation tour services in Portland, Oregon, operating under the name Northwest Rental Group. 

The Cartus team in Bellevue, WA celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a potluck including all of the traditional Irish fare on March 17th with a fundraising event to support Realogy’s Charitable Foundation for the people of Japan.  In addition to enjoying good food, bingo was played and most importantly they raised $435 to help with the disaster relief in Japan!

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Social Responsibility

Are You In For the Team Fight?!  Join The PNwRC Cancer Snuffers and Fight Back! 

Please join the PNwRC Cancer Snuffer teammembers and their families to fight back Stephanie Quammembers and their families to fight backagainst cancer! The 2011 Relay for Life willbe held at Renton Memorial Stadium onFriday, June 10th starting at 6pm throughSaturday, June 11th till noon and we hope youwill join us!

Do you have meetings or clients to

Stephanie QuamSocial Responsibility Chair

Bring your family/friends/co‐

“FUN”draiser To Raise Money the American Cancer Society

Do you have meetings or clients toentertain? Have your lunch, dinner orappetizer and drinks meetings atCalifornia Pizza Kitchen at South Centeron April 28th, 29th or 30th and 20% of yourcheck will be donated to AmericanCancer Society on behalf of PNwRC

Bring your family/friends/co‐workers/neighbors and your walking shoesfor this inspirational and important event toraise money to help find a cure! We will bestaying all night and hope you will considerjoining us! If you can only join for an hour ortwo, we welcome your support for that too!! y

Cancer Snuffers! Bring your server theflyer as seen here (it can also be found onthe PNwRC website). Please email yourfriends, family and co‐workers so we canraise as much money as possible to put anend to this disease!

If you can’t join us physically but would like tosupport our team and the cause, please clickh O i S hi

, y ppOur “FUN”draising goal this year is $20,000!Although we’ve made great strides, wearen’t there yet and could use your support!

here: Donate OnLine . Sponsorships areavailable if you or your company is interested.Please contact Claudia O’Neill atclaudia.k.oneill@boeing.com . You can signup or find out more information about ourevent and how to support at:

2011 Relay for Life   or contact Stephanie Quam at stephaniequam@pnwrealty.com or Claudia O’Neill.

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Washington National G lf CGolf Course6th Annual Golf  TournamentTournament 

July 13th

Nov 3rdNov 3

PNwRC FallPNwRC Fall Meeting Palace Ballroom

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Snapshots! 

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