Join the fun, spread the news! GREAT deals are being made and it all starts here: the first-ever Raymond F. Gates, Jr. Memorial Scholarship online auction. Want to get away? Don't know what to get for that UConn basketball fan in your life?? There is something for everyone with items ranging in value from $50 to $2,500 including tickets to see the lady Huskies take on the defending NCAA Champion Texas A&M Aggies, a long weekend at a lakefront home in the hills of Litchfield County and the opportunity to experience "The Wonder of It All" with an overnight at Foxwoods/MGM Grand. The auction is open to ALL, so be sure to share this with your friends, family and clients. Click here to get in on all the action!

With cooler temps, falling leaves and a forecast of a long, cold winter, now’s the time to do some fall clean-up.  Rake away the misconceptions that short sales are impossible.  Organize your plan of attack on foreclosures.  Fertilize your awareness and gain a competitive advantage that few agents have.  Yes, it’s time to clean up those Short Sale & Foreclosure transactions!  Register for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) Short Sales course scheduled for October 26 at the Midd-Shore Association office in Old Saybrook.  Stop struggling with these transactions and learn the differences in the HAFA programs PLUS satisfy 3 hours elective CE credit for license renewal.   

This one-day class is only $119.  Sign up by clicking here or contact Abby with any questions.

Studies show that REALTORS® with a designation earn more money. Certainly if you get your Broker's license you'll have the ability to work for yourself.  The next GRI Series is scheduled to begin on October 17 in Stamford. Become more profitable by working toward your GRI Designation or satisfy a Broker pre-licensing requirement by attending this 4-day course. As an added bonus, by taking the GRI-3, you will complete 9 hours of elective CE requirements and get a jump on 2012 license renewal! Early bird pricing ends October 3! Click here for all the details and to register securely online. If you have any questions, you can contact Abby.

The early bird registration deadline to be entered to win a FREE overnight room at the Mystic Marriott & Spa for CAR’s Tenth Annual CT REALTORS® Leadership Conference & CE Day is Friday, October 14! Click here for all of the details and to register.

CAR's Annual Membership Meeting is being held on Tuesday, October 18 immediately following the CAR Board of Directors meeting at the Holiday Inn in North Haven (approximately 11:30 am.). This meeting is open to all members. A review of CAR's activities during 2011 will be given. If you are interested in attending this meeting, please contact Alison Hudak.

Don’t miss Connecticut’s largest gathering of affordable housing practitioners and advocates. Housing 2011, the annual conference of the Connecticut Housing Coalition, will be held on Wednesday, October 19 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.  This year’s keynote is Heather McGhee.  In addition, this year’s event promises 16 wide-ranging workshops, inspiring presenters, practical training and valuable networking opportunities. Register by September 30 for early-bird savings. Visit http://www.ct-housing.org/ for additional information.

The Eastern Connecticut Association of REALTORS® invites you to join them on Friday, October 14, 2011 for their Fifth Annual Technology & Trade Show. This year’s event will bring you technology seminars throughout the day, networking and technology advice, plus you'll also have a lot of fun! There are over 40 remarkable prizes up for grabs at this year’s Technology & Trade Show – one of which is a chance to see the 2012 Sailfest Fireworks aboard the Sunbeam. To win this prize, you must register for the event on or before 9/30/2011. Get all the details and more by visiting http://www.ecartechfair.com/. If you have any questions, please email Kathryn O’Leary or call 860-892-2599.

CAR Legal Department’s hottest fun feature, Quiz Question, continues. The prize is a $25 Restaurant.com gift card! It’s easy to play! Just read the question, pick your answer, and submit it. Look for Q² in the Hotsheet every two weeks and at http://www.ctrealtor.com/ under “The Latest from CAR”. All correct answers go into a hat and the winner’s name is drawn.

Amy Kelleher was the winner of last week’s quiz question.  

Here is the link for this week’s quiz.

The Women of FIRE awards are given by The Commercial Record and designed to go to the most talented, the most ambitious, the most innovative and the most philanthropic women of Connecticut's Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (FIRE) sectors. Candace Adams, Barbara Pearce and Mary Ellen Vicino all have received the honor. The full list of winners can be found here.

Each year Workplace Dynamics, a Pennsylvania-based human resources company that consults with leading newspapers around the nation, seeks nominations for the best workplaces to identify exceptional employers and celebrate their best practices. Calcagni Associates ranked second amongst the top small companies in this year’s survey.  

William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance was awarded first place in Fox News and Hartford Courant’s “Top Workplaces in Connecticut” survey. The award was in the large workplaces division of the survey. The full list of winners can be found here.

• Going Once, Going Twice...
• Fall Clean-Up for your Mind
• Enhance your Profitability
• Win a FREE Hotel Room for the 2011 CT REALTORS® Leadership Conference!
• CAR’s Annual Membership Meeting
• Connecticut Housing Coalition Conference
• ECAR Trade Show
• Q²: Game On!
• Adams, Pearce, and Vicino earn Women of FIRE distinction
• Calcagni Associates named a “Top Workplace in 2011” by Workplace Dynamics 
• William Raveis Ranks #1 on Fox News/Hartford Courant’s “Top Workplaces” List
• Hotsheet Legal Tip
• Real Estate News
• Member Benefits 

Legal Tip: Website Advertising

A real estate licensee who advertises real estate listed with a broker with whom the licensee is not affiliated must 1) have the permission of the listing real estate broker to advertise that property and 2) must identify that the real estate being advertised is not the licensee’s listing.

Follow CAR’s Legal Department on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CTRealtorsLegal!

Home Values Up for the First Time in Five Years

It has been five years since home values have increased nationally, according to the Zillow Home Value Index based on median home values, which rose 0.1 percent from June to July and while this slight increase is cause for celebration, home values are still down 28.3 percent from housing’s peak in June 2006 and Zillow says values have dropped to July 2003 levels. Home prices are reportedly five percent below July 2010. To read more click here.

Source: Real Trends

For more interesting real estate news, please visit here. 

SafeShow Inc.

Planet Sign Shop

Planet Sign Shop, home of the largest selection of top quality stock real estate signs available, is offering CAR members discounts ranging from 10-20%. For more details, click here.

ZipForm®

ZipForm® is a powerful, easy-to-use software program that auto-populates all forms. ZipForm® allows you to: increase productivity through a standardized forms process, offer leading-edge technology to your sales staff, present a professional image to your customers, streamline administrative tasks, instantly recall transaction information, e-mail transactions, and save time and money! ZipForm's® family of tech-savvy products have become the recognized industry standard for electronic real estate forms. For more details, click here.