MAR’s seventh annual Broker Summit is only two weeks away, and has an agenda that is addressing challenges for brokers in today’s market. Being held April 22-23, at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, the Broker Summit is an event not to be missed by brokers, managers and leaders in the industry who want to stay up to date on the current industry trends, and how to increase success.
The agenda includes:
“A New Generation of Real Estate Professionals” and “90 Day Recruiting Interview” (CE Approved 2.0) with
Debra Asher“Building Profitable and Sustainable Brokerages in the New Market” (CE Approved 2.0) with
Jeremy Conaway“Broker Legal Issues” (CE Approved 1.0) with
Greg McClelland and
Gail Anderson“A National Perspective on Real Estate 2009” with NAR’s
Paul Bishop“Making Sense of Social Media” with
Ellyn DavidsonBe sure to encourage all members, to check out the Broker Summit
Web site and register for the event, to come together as an industry to discover real solutions for real challenges.
Register Today!
By: Brian F. Westrin, J.D., Manager of Legal Affairs
As many of you know, MAR has been working on a voluntary and confidential testing program aimed at Fair Housing education and compliance. The program is founded on a growing partnership with the various Fair Housing Centers across Michigan, fostering trust and the development of educational materials to fight housing discrimination. In conjunction with the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan, MAR set out to create a checklist approach to the most common misconceptions about fair housing law. I’d like to take the time to provide you with the
MAR Fair Housing Checklist as a reference for your membership when working with any customer or client.
Hopefully you will find this checklist helpful to distribute to your membership during this Fair Housing Month. It is our hope that this approach might be used as a daily reminder to keep fair housing compliance a year-round concentration. MAR believes that this checklist approach is helpful to get members thinking about where fair housing violations can evolve from. It is the hope of MAR and the Fair Housing Centers that we can continue to bring sound educational tools to the membership.
On a personal note, please know that I would be happy to come out to your local association and discuss developing trends in fair housing compliance. Just contact me at 800-454-7842 and/or by
e-mail and we can schedule a time. Have a great spring!
Download the MAR Fair Housing Checklist
Before beginning your journey into the social networking world of the wide web, be sure to reference MAR’s
Foundations for Facebook Kit. Get a strong base of knowledge here, on reasons why to create a Facebook presence for your association or business, and the do’s and don’ts of the Facebook after you’ve created an account.
Whether you’re making a personal page for yourself, a business account for your association or company, or creating a group, be sure to be educated before you begin. Included in the Foundations for Facebook Kit are ways to use the site efficiently and effectively, tips on how to use the site’s tools, and articles that will supplement your proper use of the site. If you have any questions concerning the Facebook Kit please contact Courtney Trzos by
e-mail or at 800.454.7842.
With Midyear meetings next month, the Education Directors are setting up one of their meetings to be available via webinar for those who cannot attend this year in person. NAR’s plan is to promote the webinar and invite State and Local Education Directors to join the meeting. However, upon reviewing the various association directories, in many cases, no-one is listed in the Education Director Field. If you, as the AE, or one of your staff have any involvement with the education of members at the local level, please go to your (or your staff) member record and in the “Primary Field of Business” enter 510 for Education Director/VP.
In fact, in order for NAR to communicate to the right people about the right specialties, below is a list of field of business codes specific to association management and staff. Please make sure your staff specialists “Primary Field of Business” fields are coded accordingly:
506 Communications Director/VP
(Use 506 for staff to appear as Communications Staff in realtor.org)
510 Education Director/VP
(use 510 for staff to appear as Education Specialist in realtor.org)
512 Governmental Affairs Director/VP
(Use 512 for staff to appear as Govt Affairs Director in realtor.org)
514 General Counsel (In-House)
(Use 514 for staff to appear as association Attorney in realtor.org)
520 Membership Director/VP
(Use 520 for the staff to appear as Membership Contact in realtor.org)
522 MLS Director/VP
(Use 522 for staff to appear as MLS Director in realtor.org)
524 Political Affairs Director/VP
(Use 524 for staff to appear as Political Affairs Director in realtor.org)
527 Public/Community Affairs Director/VP
(Use 527 for staff to appear as Public Affairs Director in realtor.org)
554 Computer Support/Technical Specialist
(Use 554 for staff to appear as Computer Specialist in realtor.org)
559 Member Services Assistant/Staff
(Use 559 for staff to appear as Member Services Staff in realtor.org)
560 Membership Coordinator/Assistant/Staff
(Use 560 for staff to appear as Membership Coordinator in realtor.org)
561 MLS Coordinator/Specialist/Staff
(Use 561 for staff to appear as MLS Specialist in realtor.org)
569 Web Master
(Use 569 for staff to appear as Web Master in realtor.org)
Take 10% off your entire order at the Realtor.org Store!
The Realtor.org Store has everything you need to enhance your knowledge of the real estate industry. From DVD's to books and brochures, The National Association of REALTORS® provides you with a plethora of resources that cannot be found anywhere else. Above all, the store provides convenient ways to place orders. Visit the store online and make your purchases with the click of a mouse, or simply call and order your product over the phone. Both ways will result in fast shipping, and the option to return.
The Michigan Association of REALTORS® wants to help you save money on the tools you need. As a MAR member, you are entitled to 10 percent off your entire REALTOR.org Store purchase. Simple type in the promotional code Mi2 and the amount will automatically will be discounted. You can also apply the promotional code to phone and fax orders. It really is that easy to save money, and with this simplicity, there is no reason not to use the code and save!
Visit the REALTOR.org Store at
www.realtor.org/store to view available products. Don't forget to use your discount by typing in
Mi2 at checkout!