The 5 part video series continues as Greg McClelland covers Seller Financing, Land Contracts and Purchase Agreements. All videos are also available in audio podcast format for faster loading times. Just click the podcast option below each video. Stay tuned as the series concludes in early April.
View current and past videos here
Education and improvement can be tough to achieve in a tight economy with even tighter schedules. Let MAR help; take the time for a positive disruption this April 27 at MAR’s Broker Summit being held at the Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth. You can’t miss this chance for one full day of knowledge sessions that can immediately help your business and top-notch networking with Brokers from around Michigan.
Return to your office with ideas to implement from the following knowledge sessions:
• Short Sales Panel Discussion: With NAR’s Jeff Lischer and Bank of America’s Mark Stevens, partake in this collaborative discussion on the topic that is affecting Brokers and the real estate industry across the state of Michigan; Short Sales.
• Houselogic.com: Attend this session for a broker perspective on NAR's Houselogic.com. Explore this unique REALTOR® value as we start the conversation with the consumer
about Homeownership! Find out how to put Houselogic.com to work for you.
• Top Technology Tools for the Future: Admit it; you just have to have the latest tools and toys – anything with a wow factor. In this fun, fast-paced session, we’ll cover a wide range of tools you can either use or download from the web (and maybe a few other things too). We’ll focus on tools to help you get noticed, get response, or simply to make your world a little better.
• REALTOR® Property Resource Update: Jeff Young, VP of RPR Operations, will give an overview of the RPR initiative, an update on progress since the RPR announcement at the NAR Annual Convention in November, and a live demonstration of the system. The program will include a Q&A session.
•
Broker Legal Issues: This session with MAR's legal counsels Gail Anderson & Greg McClelland will discuss legal issues that brokers are facing in today's market. With a question and answer portion, have your questions addressed in a personal and understanding format.
Take advantage of this $119 value today, and register at the Broker Summit
Web site. Attend the one place where Michigan brokers unite to improve!
Join thousands of REALTORS® around the nation and hold an open house on the weekend of April 10 and 11, 2010! Encourage your buyers to visit and your sellers to participate.
How is this weekend different than any other weekend in April? This is an incredible opportunity for consumers to shop for a new home while:
o Interest rates are still low
o Home prices are lower
o There are a variety of home choices available
o The Expanded First-time Homebuyer’s Federal Tax Credit is still available. Contract has to be in place by April 30, 2010.
Eventually, home prices and interest rates will climb, inventory will become scarce and the tax credit will be gone.
Find out more about this NAR supported grassroots campaign, at
Mirealtors.com
On Friday, March 5th, MAR held its 5
th annual Professional Standards Administrator Workshop. Over 40 association staff responsible for the enforcement of the Code of Ethics and Procedures at local associations across the state attended this day-long training session.
The idea of a special workshop was conceived in March 2006. This annual workshop is facilitated by Pat Kukla, MAR Pro Standards expert and Gail Anderson, MAR legal counsel. The initial idea was to introduce a specified training session for association administrators who handle ethics and procedures, separate from the training provided to grievance committees and association boards. Attention is given to answering questions and providing assistance to both established and newer administrators.
The ultimate goal of the workshop is to network, share ideas, provide support, and to address specific problematic issues. Each year, several local participants are invited to address the group and to highlight key local issues.
This year, the workshop featured speakers Dale Zahn, West Michigan Lakeshore AOR and Paula Novess, Greater Kalamazoo AOR and focused on three specific issues: updates to the Code of Ethics, legal issues involving the enforcement of the Code, and unusual cases and how to handle them.
All REALTORS® follow the Code of Ethics, which sets them apart from licensed sales agents, who are not members of a REALTOR® association and, therefore, do not follow the Code. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has mandated that each member Board shall adopt the Code of Ethics as a part of its governing regulations. Professional Standards procedures of member Boards must reflect substantively the approved due process policies and procedures as outlined by NAR.
With the help of McClelland & Anderson, we are taking the most commonly asked questions from our legal hotline and putting them in E-news. We will be featuring a different question each issue.
QUESTION: I am representing a Buyer who has made an offer on a home. The Seller countered our offer with a clause stating that the Buyer is waiving his right to inspect the property. Is this permissible?
ANSWER: YES. The Seller is free to propose such a clause in a purchase contract and it is up to the Buyer to either agree or reject such a provision.
REALTOR® Magazine is seeking nominations for the eleventh annual
REALTOR® Magazine Good Neighbor Awards. The National Association of REALTORS®’ annual program recognizes REALTORS
® who’ve made an extraordinary commitment to their communities through volunteer work.
Five winners will be announced in the November issue of
REALTOR® Magazine and at the 2010 REALTORS
® Conference & Expo in New Orleans. The winners will receive, among other things, a $10,000 grant for their community cause, national publicity, travel expenses to the convention, and a crystal trophy.
“We created the Good Neighbor Awards to recognize REALTORS
®’ efforts to make their communities a better place to live—whether through affordable housing initiatives, education and child welfare projects, or in any number of other ways,” says Pamela Geurds Kabati,
REALTOR® magazine Editorial Director. “REALTORS
® generally are big-hearted people and many of them get very involved in their communities, but their local efforts are seldom rewarded on a national level.”
Last year’s winners contributed a combined total of nearly 8,000 hours to their causes in one year and drew a standing ovation during NAR’s annual convention in San Diego. They were: Greg Adamson, Prudential Utah Real Estate, American Fork, Utah, Utah Heart 2 Home; Cindy Johnson, Dona Christensen Realty, Woodbury, Minn., The Arc of Minnesota; Helen Marotto, EXIT Homeplace Realty, Hampstead, NC, Cape Fear Guardian Ad Litem Assn.; Regina Ragon, Prudential Realty Center, Flintstone, Ga., Latin American Community Development; and Samuel Thomas, Jr., Imani Realty & Assocs., Willingboro, NJ, QUEST – Community Outreach.
“We hope the magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards will inspire REALTORS
® everywhere—a family of more than one million professionals—to give a little or a lot more to help improve the quality of life in their communities,” says Kabati. “This awards program is fundamentally about recognizing and encouraging the power of one person to really make a difference in the lives of others.”
REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards is sponsored by Lowe’s.
Good Neighbor Award entries must be received by May 21, 2010. For more details and an entry form, go to
http://www.REALTOR.org/realtormag and click on the Good Neighbor logo, call 800-874-6500, or see the ad in the March issue of
REALTOR® magazine.
The Michigan Association of REALTORS® stocks a wide variety of standard real estate forms and publications for members real estate transaction needs. MAR’s real estate forms library contains disclosure statements; agency forms; lead based paint forms; listing agreements; sales contracts; closing statements; and sample language for miscellaneous transactions.
MAR also stocks brochures and publication to keep you and your customers in the know with informative brochures and guides. To view samples or place an order, visit the real estate forms and publication library online at:
http://www.mirealtors.com/content/forms.htm.
What’s New!
Two new short sales forms have been added to the MAR forms database. The first form is
Short Sale Addendum to Listing Contract and the second form is
Short Sale Addendum to Buy and Sell Agreement.
The language for these forms, prompted by member inquiries, was developed by MAR legal counsel McClelland and Anderson. The forms are also available in the members only legal section on Mirealtors.com.
Any changes, adaptations or usage of the form language other than as developed by individual local associations, broker members, or multiple listing arecues should be reviewed by that entity's legal counsel.
What’s Hot!
Form H Seller’s Disclosure Statements
Form I Sales Contract
Form K Disclosure Regarding Real Estate Agency Relationships
Form L-3 Lead Based Paint Seller’s Disclosure Form
Form X Lead Based Paint Pamphlet
MAR’s real estate forms are available in electronic format through ZipLogix. To order electronic versions, please visit:
http://www.zipform.com/; or call 866-MY FORMS (866-693-6767).