i. 5 / vol. I
August 2008 Monthly Newsletter of the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS速
www.samcar.org
In this issue
SAMCAR Board of Directors Candidate Statements pages 1, 2
SAMCAR Golf Tournament page 3 Support the Troops page 3 North Tour 4th of July BBQ page 4 Welcome New Members from April 2008 page 2
Legislative SB1137 helps homeowners keep their properties pages 4
CAR
Point of Sale removed from AB 2678 page 4 CAR Business Meetings page 4
NAR
NAR Settlement with DOJ page 6 Housing Bill Status page 6
MLS
MLSListings, Inc. Updates pages 5, 6
Association News
Monthly Newsletter of The San Mateo County Association of REALTORS®
www.samcar.org tel. (650) 696-8200 fax (650) 342-7509
Board of Directors Board of Directors Election
Board of Directors 2008 President President Elect Region 25 Chair Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Affiliate Director Director Director Director
Sue Walsh Olivia T. Edwards Geoffrey Craighead Tim Auran Eric Berggren John Clifford Nini De La Fuente-Pecson Bobbi Decker Suzan Getchell-Wallace Anne Oliva Jennifer Tasto Edgar Tulcanaza Sue Vaterlaus Marianne Zanone Rush David Zigal
Chief Executive Officer Philip B. Tedesco, RCE, CAE Editorial Team Michon Coleman Director of Public Affairs Dalen Gilbrech Publications Designer Our Vision The Voice for Real Estate Professionals and Property Owners in San Mateo County.
SAMCAR {RE}source is published monthly by the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS®, 850 Woodside Way, San Mateo, CA 94401 and distributed to more than 4,000 recipients. E-mail samcar@samcar.org your questions or comments.
Copyright © 2008
The following members have announced their candidacy for the 3 open Director-at-large positions on the SAMCAR Board of Directors. Three year term, beginning January 1, 2009. Please read through the candidates’ statements and find the ballot online at: http://www.samcar.org (click “Board of Directors Election” under the “Current News” section) Ballots are due by Friday, August 22 at 5 p.m. Only REALTOR® members are eligible to vote in this election. Vote for up to 3 candidates.
Orhan Tolu
Sue Vaterlaus
*** Please attend the August 5th Combined Meeting at the Elks Lodge in San Mateo to hear the Board of Directors candidates deliver their statements live. ***
I would be pleased to represent all of you on the Board of Directors for SAMCAR for 2009 to 2011. As a REALTOR® for the past 18 years I have actively participated on the Board of Directors, Special Events, Legislative, Grievance, REIL Board, CAR Board, NAR Board and the MLS Advisory among other committees. I feel that some of the most valuable things were helping seniors with the RSVP program and being instrumental in helping to start the Pacifica REALTOR® Volunteer Group. In the Volunteer Group we painted a home for a senior citizen, provided 150 complete backpacks to kids who were in need and gave Christmas presents to several families who would have had none. We also donate funds back to the community. My service at SAMCAR and the community earned me the Community Service Award in 2005 and REALTOR® of the Year in 2007. I really enjoy the learning that comes with being a Director and sharing the information with other REALTORS®. I would be interested in helping others to become more involved at the Association level and I think that a Young REALTOR® Group would be an asset to the Association and it’s membership. Thank you and I would appreciate you vote. Feel free to call me anytime with questions at 650-291-0470.
Association News
August 2008
Candidate Statements Phillip Houston
Jorge Franco
Robert Brisbane
I have been passionate about real estate for as long as I can remember. I got my degree from UC Berkeley in Business, Real Estate, and Finance, and havebeenlicensedandpracticing real estate in San Mateo County since 1975. I am currently on two SAMCAR committees and have been a member of several others in the past.
Characteristics • Hard work, strong principles, ethics and disciplines • Only commit to what he can deliver • Strong negotiating attributes • On-going contact, communications with client base • Periodic client reviews for changing status and current industry information • Highly credible reputation in the marketplace; well recognized and respected
*** Please attend the August 5th Combined Meeting at the Elks Lodge in San Mateo to hear the Board of Directors candidates deliver their statements live. ***
After over 30 years, I have seen a lot of changes –including an incredible increase in home prices; interest rates that varied between 4.5% and 22%; several up and down cycles in the market; and numerous changes to the way we, as Realtors, do business. It makes me proud that our association has been a leader in improving the ethics and professionalism of our industry. I am a candidate for the Board of Directors for three reasons: 1) a desire to give back to an association that has served me so well for so many years; 2) a desire to have a voice in the association decisions as we face the many challenges ahead; and 3) because I believe my experience and long term perspective on our business, as well as my analytical nature, would be an asset to the other members of the Board of Directors and a strong voice for all the members of SAMCAR. If you believe I can be an asset to you and the Board of Directors, please support me with your vote.
Professional Experience Jorge has been a successful REALTOR® since 1988 and acquired his Real Estate Broker license in 2003. He started with Trotter Realty (now Prudential) and then was recruited by McGuire Real Estate in 2000 where he earned top agent ranking. Jorge joined Alain Pinel in ’06 and thereafter decided to pursue his own company, Franco Real Estate Group. Affiliations/Memberships Member and Mediation and Arbitration Official with San Mateo County Association of REALTORS® (SAMCAR); Member of the California Association of REALTORS®, National Association of REALTORS® and San Francisco Association of REALTORS®. These associations uphold a strict code of ethics to ensure that members are current with all industry standards, atest marketing techniques and legislation that affect the overall real estate commerce.
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Welcome New Members
The Following Members Joined in July 2008
Realtors Riyad Asfoor, Prudential California Nancy M. Brooks, ZipRealty, Inc. Kenneth R. Conner, Prudential California Hugh Doherty, Doherty Properties Iris Feng, Realty World M. Perez & Assoc. Apinderjit Grewal, Cimpler Real Estate Arvind Gulati, Keller Williams Realty Carol Hall, Coldwell Banker Mary Hoverson, Coldwell Banker Veronica Karns, NBT Realty Services, Inc. Jeff Kockos, Prudential California David Lee, Lee Realty Wilma Lee, Whillamina Realty Sean Lin, ZipRealty, Inc. Richard L. Pierce, Professional Real Estate Brkg. John David Pilling, RE/MAX Today Carmelita L. Reyes, Akimax Realty Janet Taraya, Majestic Realty Group Diana DN Wong, Realty World Advance Grp.
Affiliates
Michael Andreacchi, Junk King Judy Chen, Chase Carolyn Eichenhofer, Luxury Home Magazines Chris Hoch, Chase Eileen Horan, Guarantee Mortgage Corp. Candice Kistner, Candice Kistner State Farm Linda Lenore, Green Chi Designs Holly Macareno, Cornerstone Title Company Brian Reardon, Junk King
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Charitable Events
August 2008
The Annual Golf Tournament was held on Monday, July 21st at the Peninsula Golf & Country Club in San Mateo. A live auction and dinner followed the Tournament. The proceeds from this annual event benefit the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS® Foundation, an autonomous 501(c)3 Public Benefit Corporation. All funds raised will be donated to organizations and programs throughout San Mateo County. Since 2002, the Tournament has raised approximately $160,000. This year, the Tournament raised just over $14,000.
2008 SAMCAR President Sue Walsh (right) with San Mateo Mayor Carole Groom.
SAMCAR CEO, Philip Tedesco noted, “This is a wonderful opportunity for SAMCAR REALTORS® to get out of the office, network with each other, and most importantly, enjoy their day knowing that proceeds from their activities will directly benefit the San Mateo County community.” Hole sponsors were vying for trophies at the event. Winners were (down from top left): Best Food Red Hawke R.E. -Tropical Best Drink Stewart Title - Mexican Most Fun Fidelity National Title - San Francisco Giants Best Costumes/Theme Financial Title - Wedding
First Prize winning team (left to right): Robert Shaw; SAMCAR President Sue Walsh (Cashin Company); Robert Pedro, (Signature Realty & Mortgage); Glenn Sennett (Coldwell Banker) (not pictured: Robert Stuart, Professional Real Estate Brokerage)
Over the past three months, one of SAMCAR’s main charitable efforts, spearheaded by our Affiliate members, has been to raise funds through direct donations from the membership. All funds raised are being used to purchase goods and supplies that will be sent to fellow citizens who are voluntarily putting themselves in harms way throughout the world. To date, close to $5,000 has been raised and the care packages are being prepared to ship to various military bases abroad. Kudos, to all SAMCAR members for so generously contributing to this wonderful cause!
CAR Updates
Point of Sale Provision Removed from AB 2678 Following a Red Alert by C.A.R. and an effective lobbying effort by thousands of REALTORS® during the Association’s Legislative Day in Sacramento June 4, the author of Assembly Bill 2678 has agreed to remove the requirement from the measure that would have, among other things, required homes and commercial property on the market in California to undergo an energy audit at point-of-sale and mandated completion of energy efficiency investments. While C.A.R. appreciates the goal of energy conservation, it strongly opposed the point-of-sale requirements tied to this measure because mandatory retrofits and upgrades carry the potential for adding thousands of dollars to every home-sale transaction and further weakening the housing market in California. These point-of-sale requirements have been removed and the measure was further amended at C.A.R.’s request to ensure that energy audits or improvements are not required as a condition of sale. Now that these changes are in place, C.A.R. supports AB 2678.
CAR Business Meetings There were a number of issues discussed and voted upon at the CAR Business Meetings held in June, in Sacramento. Your SAMCAR CAR Directors have submitted their reports from each committee.
August 2008
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Industry News
Governor signs law to help
California homeowners keep their properties
On July 8th, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1137 into law. This law aims to keep struggling California homeowners from losing their properties to foreclosure. The Governor noted that, “Half a million Californians have subprime loans that will jump to higher rates over the next two years” and “those people need help.” Under the law, mortgage holder will be required (in 60 days) to begin contacting homeowners at least 30 days before issuing a notice of default. Further, the law immediately allows tenants to move out of foreclosed dwellings and immediately authorizes local governments to impose fines as high as $1000 on lenders who do not maintain foreclosed properties.
Please go to this URL to view their reports:
http://www.samcar.org/userfiles/file/20080617_RegionalRepReports.pdf
Please visit the following URL to view CAR’s Summary of Action Items:
http://beta.car.org/meetings/carmeetings/summary-of-action-items/june08summary/
Association Events
August 2008
North Tour 4th of July Barbecue On Tuesday, July 1st, the North Tour held its first annual 4th of July BBQ, at the offices of Marshall Realty in San Bruno. It was open to all SAMCAR REALTORS®, and over 100 members attended the event, enjoying a beautiful day in the sun, with plenty of great food, fun and laughs. Special thanks to Marshall Realty for hosting this wonderful event!
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MLSListings, Inc. UPDATES
August 2008
A message from MLSListings, Inc. CEO Jim Harrison
re: MLSAlliance Dear MLSAlliance User: You recently visited MLSAlliance, an eNeighborhoods product licensed by MLSListings that provides abbreviated listing data for counties outside our service area. Our contract for MLSAlliance expired June 30. Why discontinue MLSAlliance? On average, approximately 1,500 of our nearly 20,000 subscribers (7%) access MLSAlliance each month. At a cost of nearly $20,000 per
Our top priority is completion of our data-share arrangement with SFAR, BAREIS and MetroList that will provide you with full data access to listings in 19 or more Northern California counties, from Mendocino to Monterey and from the Coast to the Nevada state line. month and with such low usage, MLSListings’ Board of Directors decided that the expense of $180,000 for the 9-month contract that was offered was economically unfeasible. MLSAlliance will be replaced shortly across the state by the multiple data-share initiatives that are already underway. Our top priority is completion of our data-share arrangement
Access to East Bay MLS MLSListings along with Bay East, CCAR and EBRD are in discussions to data share with the Quattro Alliance (Metrolist, BAREIS and San Francisco MLS). There have been many calls from MLSListings members who no longer have access to East Bay MLS data through the MLS Alliance. A special program to help agents has been created until there is full data share and MLS access with Quattro and MLSListings. If you wish to continue to access Bay East MLS information please contact Pam Barnes, Bay East Association of REALTORS® Chief Operating Officer, at (925) 730-4074 or email her at pamb@bayeast.org.
with SFAR, BAREIS and MetroList that will provide you with full data access to listings in 19 or more Northern California counties, from Mendocino to Monterey and from the Coast to the Nevada state line. The three East Bay MLS’s have also been invited to join this initiative. This will be completed in early fourth quarter of this year. The new data-share will offer a depth of listing information that far exceeds the relatively few fields of data in MLSAlliance’s read-only software. The consolidated database will include complete listing data and tax data, and you will have the ability to enter listings directly into any of the participating MLS systems free of charge. I apologize for any inconvenience that you may experience in the time period between the end of MLSAlliance and the introduction of the data-share with SFAR, BAREIS, and MetroList (and potentially the East Bay) later this year. We will keep you posted on the progress of this initiative in our DirectConnect newsletter. If you are not receiving DirectConnect, please email us at directconnect@mlslistings.com.
James Harrison, RCE, CAE President & CEO, MLSListings, Inc.
Data-Share Initiative
Does Not Include East Bay at This Time Regarding the data-share initiative underway with SFAR, BAREIS and MetroList, there are some assumptions being made in the marketplace that the East Bay MLS’s will be part of this. They have been invited to join the initiative, but they have not yet fully negotiated an agreement. Should they successfully do so, they will not be included in the initial roll-out this year with the Quattro MLS’s. They do seem to be interested, several meetings have been held, an NDA has been signed and they have received a contract to sign. But, until they actually sign a contract to join this initiative, they have not.
NAR Updates
August 2008
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Housing Bill Status
NAR Settlement with DOJ Video Edition of NAR President’s Podcast on SAMCAR Web Site
NAR reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle the lawsuit over NAR’s Virtual Office Website (VOW) policy. There have been a number of questions from agents and brokers about the settlement, what it means and when it will take effect. NAR has just posted a new video edition of the NAR President’s Podcast that explains the settlement in simple terms, and what you will need to do to comply when the agreement is made final later this summer. Please visit SAMCAR’s web site to view the podcast at this URL: www.realtor.org/about_nar/presidents_report/_podcast_archive/presidents_podcast_doj_20080708
You may also visit www.realtor.org/DOJ for more information about how you can comply.
MLSListings, Inc. UPDATES
Rules Committee
Strong Authentication
Rules Committee Chairman J.R. Rouse is looking for volunteers to fill open positions on the Rules Committee for the remainder of the year. This committee is responsible for making rules-related recommendations to the Board of Directors. Rules committee members must be brokers with 3 years of real estate industry experience.
The Board voted to approve the Finance Committee’s recommendation to proceed with negotiations with Arcot, the Strong Authentication solution vendor selected from a field of 14 potential vendors. Arcot’s software-based solution is similar to that used in online banking, an application that is both unobtrusive and familiar to subscribers. The Arcot solution will not require subscribers to use a hardware device, such as a token. After initial activation, the authentication process will have minimal impact on subscribers on a day-to-day basis.
Volunteers Needed
Moves Ahead
Congress got back to work quickly after the 4th of July recess. The Senate took up the housing bill once again, and passed more amendments. A cloture vote passed on July 10, which means that there are now 30 hours of debate time to wait until the Senate bill can be finalized. However, a deal with the House on a compromise is not yet complete. There are still sticking points such as the amount of the loan limits in high cost areas. NAR is hoping that the House will reject the Senate version and instead ask for a conference to iron out the differences there, but we don’t know what to expect. We will keep you posted on all the details as they develop over the next few days. The NAR Call for Action is now completed. Before it closed, NAR was able to garner quite a few more responses with a resend to all non responders. Just over 91,400 NAR members took action resulting in an 8.7% response rate. The FPC response rate was an all-time high of 94.5%! Thirty nine states had 100% FPC response. These numbers are incredible. NAR wishes to thank all of you who took action on this critical legislation.
August 2008
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New Mapping Software Very Well Received On June 23rd, MLSListings Pro incorporated mapping software from Microsoft Virtual Earth and MapPoint. The software includes new Aerial and Bird’s Eye views and much improved street labels. MLSListings has received a lot of positive feedback from subscribers on this new feature. A key reason for the change to Virtual Earth is the ability to build on this first release later in the year to add polygon and radial map-based searches.
AUGUST 2008 Weekly Education, Events & Tour Calendar
AUGUST 01 – 08 Su 27 03
Mo 28 04
Tu 29 05
We 30 06
Th 31 07
Fr 01 08
Sa 02 09
Classes & Events August 13 2 – 4 p.m.
feng Shui & The Laws of Attraction (frEE class!) Learn how these principles can help you achieve ultimate success in your career and personal life - unlock your potential, set intentions that manifest success in your business! Location: SAMCAR | Instructor: Alexis Summerfield, MA RSVP: Alane Gilbrech - alane@samcar.org or 650-696-8208; or RSVP: Olivia Edwards - olivia@oliviaedwards.com or 650-888-2910 Flyer: http://www.samcar.org/userfiles/file/20080813_FengShuiCLASS.pdf
August 15 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
SAMCAr Blood drive Blood drive for Blood Centers of the Pacific. Location: SAMCAR | Apointments: Beckie Patane, 650-696-8220
August 18 2 p.m.
PrdSforms.com Training Class Location: SAMCAR | Instructor: Bob Johnson Registration: http://www.samcar.org/calendar or 650-696-8200
August 29 101 / 10 – 11:30 a.m. 102 / 1:30 – 3 p.m.
MLS Listings 101 and 102 Seminar Training 101: MLS Essentials; 102: MLS Advanced | Location: SAMCAR Registration: http://www.samcar.org/calendar or 650-696-8200
September 18 5 p.m. Social 6:30 p.m. Dinner
Annual Charity Spaghetti feed & Auction All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Feed, Raffle, Auction & Dance. Location: Peninsula Italian American Social Club, 100 N. B Street, San Mateo Cost: $25 tickets; $50 program advertising Information: http://www.samcar.org/index.cfm/special_events.htm
September 24 1:30 p.m.
duane Gomer’s optional review & Group Testing To test on the 5 three-hour courses on the day of the course you must pick-up home-study materials by Friday, September 19. Location: SAMCAR | Cost: $79 members; $89 non-members Registration: http://www.samcar.org/calendar or 650-696-8200
September 26 102 / 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. 101 / 1:30 – 3 p.m.
MLS Listings 101 and 102 Seminar Training 101: MLS Essentials; 102: MLS Advanced | Location: SAMCAR Registration: http://www.samcar.org/calendar or 650-696-8200
Marketing Meetings Tuesday, August 5 8:30 a.m. June Combined Tour Elks Lodge 229 West 20th Avenue San Mateo Presentation: Board of directors candidates Candidates’ Statements
9 a.m. Half Moon Bay Tour Community Center 535 Kelly Avenue Half Moon Bay
9:30 a.m. Pacifica Tour Community Center 540 Crespi Drive Pacifica
SAMCAR Board of Directors Meetings August 27 8:30 a.m.
SAMCAr Board of directors Meeting Members welcome to attend these monthly meetings. | Location: SAMCAR
Legislative Committee Meetings August 20 9:30 – 11 a.m.
Peninsula NorTh Legislative Committee Meeting Members welcome to attend these monthly meetings. Location: Financial Title Co., 1001 Bayhill Dr., Ste. 185, San Bruno
August 21 9:30 – 11 a.m.
Peninsula SoUTh Legislative Committee Meeting Members welcome to attend these monthly meetings. Location: Coldwell Banker, 580 El Camino, San Carlos
August 7 10 a.m.
PACifiCA Legislative Committee Meeting *SPECiAL LoCATioN* Location: Coldwell Banker Fahey Prop., 446 Old County Road, Pacifica
August 22 10 – 11 a.m.
CoASTSidE Legislative Committee Meeting *SPECiAL dATE* Location: RE/MAX Dolphin Half Moon Bay, Conference Room
MLS Tour Sheet Deadline Reminder Broker/Property tours Tuesdays 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Deadline to add tours in MLS Mondays, 11 a.m. Entry deadlines are subject to change for holidays. Deadline for Monday holidays prior Friday at 11 a.m. View tour sheet by Monday afternoon http://www.samcar.org/index.cfm/tour_information.htm