The Connecticut General Assembly is considering ANOTHER increase in real estate conveyance taxes – this time on homebuyers! Click here for a print ad which provides information on this tax. Local boards and firms are encouraged to repost. You can also listen to radio spots produced by CAR to fight this new tax on homebuyers. The radio ads began airing on May 25th and will run until the end of this legislative session. Call your lawmakers and urge them to vote against Senate Bill 1019, tell them not make it harder to buy a home in Connecticut. 

CAR has experienced intermittent technical difficulties with phone and internet service since Monday, May 23rd. During this time, we've been unable to send or receive phone calls or emails from the office. We are not certain that all emails sent to the CAR account will be restored once the problem is fixed so please follow up if you have sent something and do not get a response at some point. We are working to fix the problem and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused or may cause. Thank you.

If our phones are down your Legal Hotline is still open! Members with questions for the Legal Hotline can fax them to the Legal Department at 860-290-6615. Please include your telephone number - we'll call you back!

The second annual Autumn Wine Tasting will take place on Thursday, September 22, 2011 at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven with wine selections once again hosted by Amity Wine and Spirits. All proceeds from this event will benefit the CAR Foundation. More details will follow soon. Click here for pictures from last year’s event.

Please consider contributing to the 2011 RPAC Fundraising campaign. What better way to participate with your local board/association programs than by supporting your industry with a Fair Share contribution ($15) and getting someone else involved too! From now until the end of June, the board/association who collects the most RPAC dollars will be the Winner of this annual “May and June are RPAC Months” contest…so do not delay, contribute today!

You can look forward to a visit at your office or your local association general membership event from the 2011 RPAC Team, who will answer your questions about “why” your participation with RPAC is important in keeping the real estate industry strong. 

To contribute now using your personal check or credit card, simply, click here. For assistance with your local board/association political fundraising efforts, please contact Holly Reed.

Learn from the pros by watching the world’s best professional golfers at the Travelers Championship! The CAR Foundation is selling discounted tickets for $20 each - that's a $19 discount off of the gate ticket price. Use them yourself or give them away to friends, family and clients. You can’t beat this price!  This year’s tournament will take place June 20-26 at the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell. Every ticket you buy also results in $10 donated to the CAR Charitable Foundation. It’s a win-win for everyone! Last day to order tickets is June 10th. Click here to order tickets or email Abby Krist or call (860) 290-6601 ext. 317.

Many CAR programs/events would not be possible without the continued support of our generous sponsors.  We hope that you will help us thank them for their support by taking a minute to check out the various products and services they have to offer. 

This year we welcome back CAR supporter American Eagle Federal Credit Union who is once again sponsoring the Harry W. Wenz Good Neighbor Award. This prestigious award will be presented during the dinner and awards program at the 10th Annual CT REALTORS® Leadership Conference. American Eagle Federal Credit Union is a full-service financial institution offering products and services to help you achieve your financial goals. They are a not-for-profit cooperative that has served generations of members, who are also its owners, since 1935. AEFCU is currently the largest community credit union in Connecticut with over 100,000 members and $1.1 billion dollars in assets. You can learn more about AEFCU and their mission of being a “progressive financial institution providing quality service and products at the total lowest cost” at http://www.americaneagle.org/.

Another fun filled day has been planned for REALTORS®, their families, friends and clients at Six Flags New England on Saturday, August 13^th. Tickets are just $39.50 each - a savings of over 50% per person - and include all day admission to Six Flags New England and Hurricane Harbor Water Park, an all you can eat buffet lunch and free parking.  This is a great opportunity to meet and network with fellow REALTORS® from across New England! Click here to download the promotional flyer or visit http://www.sfnepicnic.com/car to purchase your tickets online today! All ticket orders must be received by August 5th for discount to apply. 

CAR has been hosting a series of free networking events across the state. The fourth one will be held on Thursday, June 16 in South Windsor from 3:30-5:30 p.m. exclusively for members from Region 3*. For all other members, we hope you attended and enjoyed your region’s networking reception and the opportunity to meet and greet your State Leadership and network with other REALTORS® from your area. 

* REALTORS® who belong to the East Central, Hartford, Mid-State and Tri-County Boards/Associations of REALTORS®, click here to register for the Region 3 Networking Reception today! You must register to attend.  Deadline to register is Wednesday, June 8.

If you answered “yes” to these three questions, be on the lookout for CAR’s Legal Department’s QUIZ QUESTIONS. There will be a new question every two weeks, all correct answers will go into a hat and the lucky name drawn wins a $25 Restaurant.com gift card. Where’s the QUIZ QUESTION? It’s on CAR’s home page under “The Latest From CAR”. 

CONGRATULATIONS to John Zdebski, last week’s winner! Every two weeks, all correct answers will go into a hat and the lucky name drawn wins a $25 Restaurant.com gift card. So, if you want to prove you’re smart and lucky and want to eat out for less, check it out.

• Oppose the Conveyance Tax on Homebuyers!
• Hazards in the Home Booklet
• CAR Office Phone/Internet Issues
• Save the Date for CAR’s Second Annual Autumn Wine Tasting!
• May/June Contest Pushes For RPAC Dollars
• LAST CHANCE! 2011 Travelers Championship - Get Tickets at Nearly 50% Off! 
• SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: American Eagle Federal Credit Union
• 2nd Annual REALTOR® Family Day at Six Flags New England!
• REALTOR® Networking Reception 
• Are You a Gamer? Think You’re Smarter than Your Fellow REALTORS? Want to Eat Out for Less?
• Hotsheet Legal Tip
• Real Estate News
• Member Benefits

Purchase and Sale Contract’s Date

The date of a purchase and sale contract is the date on which the last person signed the offer (usually the seller), or if there was an offer and subsequent counteroffers, the contract date is the date of the last initialing and dating of the agreed to changes. The contract date is important for both parties so they can know when the inspection, financing and other contingencies begin and end.

Fannie Mae’s latest market outlook continues to call for a “modest improvement” in housing activity this year, although the prevalence of distressed properties on the market has led to renewed weakness in home prices and the industry’s shadow inventory looms large. Read more here.

Source: Real Trends

For more interesting real estate news, please visit here. 

Featured Benefits:

REALTORS FCU – Online Banking

REALTORS^® Federal Credit Union has been busy at work this past month launching their new online banking!  Members can re-register for the new online banking by going to their homepage and clicking the register icon.  For a demo, click here, then click on the Video Library tab for videos of some of the great features the new online banking offers! Join online today and enter promo code CT11.

 Fun in the Sun - Six Flags!

CAR members can purchase admission tickets to Six Flags N.E. & Hurricane Harbor at a discount. The tickets are good any day during the 2011 season and are offered at a reduced price of $26 each (regular gate price is $44.99 for adults/$34.99 kids). Kids 2 and under are FREE! This online benefit allows you to "print and go" so you have your ticket in hand when you get to the park with no waiting in line to purchase tickets. To purchase tickets, click here then log into the site with the username: ctrealtors and password: SixFlags2 (Password is Case Sensitive).   

 111 Founders Plaza, Suite 1101
East Hartford, CT 06108
1-800-335-4862
Fax: 860-290-6615
www.ctrealtor.com

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