House Bill 4123, introduced by Representative Marty Griffin (D-Jackson) will eliminate the requirement for wall licenses. Currently, the Occupational Code requires a real estate broker to display his or her broker's license and the license of each real estate salesperson that he or she employs. The licenses must be displayed in the real estate broker's place of business. The elimination of the requirement is the next step in the progression of licensing standards and keeping up with today’s technology. This issue is something that the MAR has been working hand in hand with the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG) on over the last few years in keeping licensing and regulation codes up with the times.
There was a time when a wall license was a visible verifiable business connection between and agent, broker and client. Nowadays with the technology available to us, people will rarely go into an office off the street to verify that their broker or agent is licensed.
New pocket ID cards are available for all new agents through DELEG that have their credentials on the card. The MAR and DELEG have discussed the possibility of putting magnetic strips on these cards that would contain continuing education information, making it easier to take further credits and verifying information with the swipe of the card.
House Bill 4123 was passed in the House on March 3
rd with bipartisan support, and is currently in Senate Committee on Economic Development and Regulatory Reform. We will keep you updated as this bill progresses through the legislative process.
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) will hold their annual Midyear meetings and Expo May 11-16
th in Washington DC. During the event, legislative “Hill Visits” are scheduled, which provide an opportunity for each state association to meet with their legislators on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.
The MAR Federal Political Coordinators lead the hill visits, and members are encouraged to attend. Top industry priorities on the national level include; access to affordable healthcare, protecting the mortgage interest deduction, and keeping banks out of the real estate arena. The purpose of the meetings is to thank those legislators who have aided in crafting sound legislation to keep the REALTOR® agenda moving forward and to also continue to keep communication lines open regarding critical issues of the real estate community.
To view more information on the Midyear meetings, please visit
NAR’s Web site. To find out if hill visits have been scheduled with your legislator, please visit
MAR's Web site. Don’t forget to check back with the site as more meetings will be added in the coming weeks ahead.
MAR CEO Bill Martin gave a preview of the NAR Right Tools, Right Now initiative at the recent On The MARk meeting. NAR has now officially launched this program, which provides free, or discounted products including online training, educational publications, convention & events, and research and technology tools.
Each month NAR will provide a package of benefits, including a monthly toolkit focused on issues that are affecting our REALTORS® in our industry. This month’s toolkit includes information on FHA, Foreclosures and short sales.
Please join MAR in promoting these tools to our members, so they can fully benefit from the Right Tools. Right Now. program. Visit the
NAR Web site for web site banners, logos, ads and widgets to place on your site. You may also forward your members to the
MAR Web site to learn more about the Right Tools. Right Now. initiative and to receive their benefits.
Visit MAR’s Right Tools. Right Now. Web site
Late last week, MAR CEO Bill Martin created a working group of local association executive officers and asked the group to develop a proposal for an effective means to help Michigan homeowners prevent foreclosure and communities respond to the effects of foreclosure. This program will be funded through a $50k grant set aside by NAR for Michigan. According to the FPR vision statement, REALTORS® are recognized experts at revitalizing the market, improving communities and advancing the dream on homeownership. NAR staff Bill Gilmartin praised Michigan for coordinating its program with local associations. “Ideally, shared resources will expand the program’s impact across the state and increase its success in critical local markets,” commented Martin. Members of the task force are June Clark, Monroe, Kathie Feldpausch, MAR, Dale Smith, WWOCAR, Gary Walter, Southwestern Michigan, and Elaine West, Greater Lansing.
At its initial brainstorming session on Monday, the members met with MSHDA representatives. MSHDA has modified its Save the Dream campaign and created an amazing and comprehensive
Web site with countless resources for homeowners who may be facing foreclosure. Mary Townley, MSHDA Director, Division of Home Ownership, believes REALTORS are an excellent conduit to homeowners across Michigan and encourages our members to become familiar with MSHDA’s resources. Members, in turn, will provide information to homeowners. Over the next several weeks, the task force will fine tune its proposal, which will encourage each local association to increase its response right in the community. To begin with, MSHDA will provide copies of its Save the Dream brochure directly to you and your members for reference or distribution to clients/others.
Also, a reminder MAR has launched its second in a series of six video education sessions. Session 2: Foreclosures & Short Sales, includes information from the 2008 convention legal update session. Encourage your members to tune in as Greg McClelland moves beyond the basics of Foreclosures and Short Sales into the more nuanced issues and recurring themes facing members in an increasingly complex marketplace.
MAR’s annual Broker Summit event will be taking place April 22-23 at the Inn at St John’s in Plymouth. This is the first year MAR is offering an early registration rate for the event, for only $119 before March 26, 2009.
At the last On the MARk meeting, you should have received your MAR Broker Summit promotional CD to help market the event to your members. Please use these web banners on your Web site and ads in your print publications to members, so Broker’s don’t miss this invaluable opportunity.
The speaker lineup this year includes Jeremy Conaway with “Building Profitable and Sustainable Brokerages in the New Market”, Debra Asher, who will be opening the Summit and presenting “Recruitment and Retention”, Greg McClelland & Gail Anderson with Broker Legal Issue, Paul Bishop, NAR’s Managing Director of Real Estate Research and more. Also, Broker’s can benefit from the abundance of networking opportunities including the Welcome Reception and the Best Practices Lunch.
For more information on the Summit, visit the
MAR Web site.
On February 26th MAR hosted an On The MARk meeting which AEs/staff from 27 locals attended. The theme of the meeting was OTM Oscar Red Carpet Event, where the winners were the locals. The agenda covered several areas of interest including: NAR’s “Right Tools. Right Now.” initiative, Achieve survey, MAR’s local assistance programs, membership projections, legislative update, and much more. The OTM meetings offer locals a chance to hear updates from MAR with what’s happening at the state level as well as offering a networking opportunity where locals can meet and share information and ideas.
Click here for a summary of the OTM meeting Click here to view a video from the OTM Red Carpet Event
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