Nominees wanted for ABoR’s Annual Industry Awards And the winner is…you! The Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) is currently accepting nominations for the 2009 Industry Awards. Every year, six dedicated ABoR members are recognized for their contributions to their industry and their community. Submit your nominations online at https://www.abor.com/events/forms/indy_aw ards_form.cfm by Friday, Sept. 11. Award winners will be honored at the 2010 Installation and Awards
Celebration to be held on Friday, Dec. 11 from 6 p.m. to midnight at the Renaissance Austin Hotel. Awards will be distributed in the following categories: REALTOR® of the Year, Affiliate of the Year, REALTOR Community Service Award, Salesperson of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Cultural Awareness Award. For more information on these awards or the nomination process, contact Rita Barousse at 4547636, ext. 1603 or rbarousse@abor.com.
Upcoming Events: JULY 23 WCR Monthly Networking Meeting/Style Show ABoR Auditorium - 11 a.m.
JULY 25 WCAoR Green Expo 2009 Dell Diamond - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
AUGUST 5 AMBA Monthly Meeting Austin Country Club - 11:30 a.m.
AUGUST 5 HBA 2009 Mid-Year Housing Forecast Phillips Event Center - 11:30 a.m.
AUGUST 19 CRS Quarterly Meeting Westwood Country Club - 11:30 a.m.
AUGUST 21 WCAoR Tech Tune-up Wingate Conference Center - 9 to 5 p.m. www.techtuneup.org
—Associates In— PROGRESS JULY 2009 • VOL. 14 • ISSUE 3
Enjoyable. Entertaining. It’s all About You.
Stay Out of Trouble With Communication, Organization TORS are sued, it is over something serious and complicated but she says it is the simple things that CONTRIBUTING WRITER trip people up most often. She says the best strategy The topic of the speech, “How to Stay Out of to avoid lawsuits is to focus on calm, clear and Trouble,” seemed like a useful one. What REALTOR effective communication. wants to deal with time guzzlers like lawsuits when he “If a client is on fire and you have the choice or she is busy trying to make a living? And the speak- to pour a bucket of gas or water on the situaer, with highly qualified credentials as the vice chair- tion, which would you choose?” she says. man of the Texas Real Estate Commission, seemed like “Proper communication is the best way to just the right person to address such critical issues. defuse a problem.” But soon after Commissioner Avis Wukasch, who Another way REALTORS get into trouble is also a team leader at Keller Williams Realty, is by their tendency to be extra helpful, for approached the podium at the Women’s Council of example by offering too much information to a REALTORS monthly networking meeting, it seller even when they are in a non-appointed became clear that the title of the speech was a bit of intermediary position, where they need to be a misnomer. careful to stay neutral. Wukasch “You can’t stay out of trouble,” she says. “The only described a situation that seemed all way you can do that is to go home, don’t make any too familiar to the audience. calls, don’t show any houses and don’t answer the “We all know occasionally a seller phone. The fact is, there are only two types of REAL- who is a jerk,” she says. “As REALTORS TORS—those who have been sued and those who we want to be helpful, so we give our buyer advice on how to deal with the jerk. It is human nature, but by haven’t been sued yet.” Wukasch says most people think when REAL- doing that we have crossed the line. The jerk deserves fair treatment, even if the buyer is a cute couple with Presorted Standard a baby.” U.S. Postage PAID Wukasch also urged Austin, Texas REALTORS to take care of Paid Permit #715 their paperwork to avoid P.O. Box 81366 trouble. Austin, Texas 78708-1366 “Don’t wait until your license is about to expire tomorrow,” she says. “You have a BlackBerry, a blueberry, or whatever, with all that stuff in it. Find out when your license is about Don’t forget: You can visit us online 24/7 at www.realtylineonline.com to expire, back up 60 days
By Linda McNabb
and put it in your date book. Take care of business.” At the office, the first line of defense is to have a good set of policies to protect against complaints. “Treat everyone consistently and enforce those policies,” she says. “And read your contracts. The paragraphs between the spots for your signature—those have stuff in them that matters.” She also urged REALTORS to remember that all compensation needs to go through their broker. “So if you accept a $3,000 gift card from a builder, what you have done is illegal unless you are the broker or you have your broker's permission to receive this money,” she says. Wukasch also gave the audience a peek into what is in the works at the Commission. A broker responsibility course is under development and Commissioners are considering a requirement for team leaders to have a broker’s license and for branch managers to be brokers. She says the Commission has found real estate applications are down 25 percent and license renewals are down 7 percent, although they are up for brokers. “The profession is shrinking,” she says. “We expect to see our numbers down 30 percent over the next three years.” And those who do get caught in a formal complaint will have company and may have to wait awhile for it to be resolved. Wukasch says there are more than 1,000 pending enforcement cases, one of which is more than seven years old.