| Homeownership Matters -
Reject Increased Taxes on Real Estate Transactions
|
|
Please take time to call your lawmakers and
express your opposition to bills that if enacted
will increase the cost of purchasing a home,
hinder our economic recovery and result in further
job loss. You can access details and talking
points here. Also, you should have a
received a Call
for Action from CAR in this regard please take
two minutes to participate in that and contact
your legislators. |
| This is
the Last Day to Voice your
Opinion! |
|
The National Association of REALTORS® recently
unveiled The REALTOR® Party Political Survival
Initiative.
In summary, a Supreme Court
ruling last year now allows “soft” (or corporate)
dollars to be used to fund political advocacy
efforts. As a result, NAR has launched The
REALTOR® Party Political Survival Initiative which
includes a proposed dedicated dues increase of $40
beginning in 2012. The dues increase would
be used exclusively to fund political and issues
advocacy efforts.
You should take the time
to learn more about NAR’s rationale for this
initiative.
Click here for the talking
points.
Click here to access the PowerPoint
presentation. When viewing the PowerPoint,
hold your cursor over the note/comment box in the
top left corner of each slide to read the
presentation notes that accompany that particular
slide.
A vote on this proposal will take place at the
Board of Directors meeting during the NAR Midyear
meetings. In preparation for this vote, CAR
emailed out to all members a short survey
providing the opportunity for you to share your
opinion on the Initiative. You are strongly
encouraged to take advantage of this one time
opportunity to respond to the survey that was
emailed to you, sharing with your NAR Directors
what your position is on this Initiative. CAR will
compile the results and share them with the CT NAR
Directors before they head to the NAR Midyear
meetings the week of May 9 where they will be
voting on this issue.
The deadline to respond to this survey
is today! |
| 2011
Travelers Championship - Get Discounted
Tickets |
|
Be part of the action this June when
Connecticut welcomes the world's best golfers and
thousands of energized fans for one week of
dynamic professional golf action. This
year’s tournament will take place June 20-26 at
the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell. The CAR
Foundation is selling discounted tickets for $20
each - that's a $12 discount off of the
gate ticket price. Use them yourself or
give them away to friends, family and
clients. Each ticket you buy
also results in $10 donated to the CAR Charitable
Foundation which includes the
Raymond F. Gates, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund
that has been awarding scholarships to children of
REALTORS® for 35 years now. It’s a win-win
for everyone! Click here to order tickets
or email Abby
Krist or call(860)290-6601 ext. 317. |
| Annual
Mayors Forum on Affordable
Housing |
|
The CMBA Affordable Housing Committee in
partnership with the Connecticut Association
of Realtors®, Connecticut Housing Coalition &
Partnership for a Strong Community Invite you to
this event Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at the Aqua
Turf Country Club, in Plantsville, CT 8am to
noon.
The panel, moderated by The Hartford Courant’s
Rick Green, will include the Mayors of Torrington,
Bridgeport, Middletown, Meriden, the First
Selectman of Old Saybrook, and the Connecticut
Housing Finance Authority’s Chief Housing
Officer.
Click here
for more information. Click here
to register. |
| Donate to
the CAR Foundation Every Time you Search the
Internet or Shop
Online! |
|
Every penny counts – and they add up
quickly! By downloading the
GoodSearch toolbar a Yahoo-powered search engine,
you will get you the same results you get now, and
Goodsearch will donate about a penny with every
qualified search. Download the toolbar today
and start donating with the next click of your
mouse. Click here to start donating and
THANK YOU from the CAR Foundation.
Smart On-line Shopping Gives Money to the
Foundation! Today, smart shoppers are
looking for ways to stretch every dollar.
Now you can buy the things you need, save money
with exclusive iGive coupons and deals, and feel
good knowing that a portion of each purchase
benefits our Foundation. Up to 26% of
each purchase at any of 800+ stores
automatically helps the
Foundation. Go to igive.com at
http://www.iGive.com/CARF,
register and then shop at places like Expedia,
QVC,
Amazon.com,
Staples.com,
JCPenney,
Barnes
& Noble, PETCO,
eBay &
Pottery
Barn! |
| Polish
Your Presentation
Skills |
|
Are you a Real Estate Instructor looking for
that extra edge? Would you like to become an
instructor? Do you present on topics at
office meetings or in other areas of your
professional/personal life and just want to know
how to do it better?
CAR will host a one-day Instructor Training
Workshop on Thursday, June 23rd at the
CAR Office in East Hartford. Facilitated by
national trainer, speaker and instructor Cherolyne
Fogarty, you won’t want to miss this
information-packed program.
You’re already good at what you do – we’ll just
make you great!
Understand different generational motivations
and learn how to customize your presentation based
on learning styles.
Discover tips and tricks to rev up your
presentations.
Learn how to handle problem students and
situations – how to keep everyone fully engaged
whether they are audio, visual or kinesthetic
learners.
This program is required for CAR Instructors
but is open to all! Price is just $199 and
includes continental breakfast and
lunch. Click here for more information and to
register. If you have any questions, email Abby
Krist or call(860)290-6601 ext. 317. |
| Only 3
Weeks Left Until Scholarship Applications Must Be
In! |
|
If your child is planning to apply for the
Raymond F. Gates, Jr. Scholarship act now! Click here to download an
application package from the Members Only Section
of our website. Applications not complete or
received by the Friday,
May 20 deadline will
not be considered. For more information, contact Brett
Moody. |
| Offer a
Higher Level of Professional Service to Your
Clients |
|
The GRI-1 Series, co-sponsored with the Greater
Bridgeport Board of REALTORS®, is scheduled to
begin on May 17th. Start working toward
your GRI Designation or satisfy Broker
pre-licensing requirements. As an added
bonus, by taking the GRI-1 Series, you can
complete six hours of elective CE
requirements and get a jump on 2012 license
renewal! Click here for all the details
and to register securely online. If you have any
questions, you can contact Abby Krist. Put
GRI to work for you! |
| Are You a
Gamer? Think you’re Smarter than Your Fellow
REALTORS? Want to Eat Out for Less?
|
|
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 Diana
LaPine, 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 THIS
OUT! | |
| In This
Issue: |
|
|
| Hotsheet Legal
Tip |
|
Emails and
Confidentiality.
When emailing a cooperating
agent in a transaction, be sure you are not simply
forwarding an e-mail that includes your and your
client’s exchange of information, conversations
and/or strategy. It sounds obvious, but it has
happened. Article 1 of the Code of Ethics states
that a REALTOR®’s primary obligation is to promote
and protect one’s client’s interests, so revealing
confidential information would not be promoting or
protecting a client’s best interests. The safer
route (and in conformance with CGS Sec.
20-325h, Prohibitions on use or
disclosure of confidential information), is
to create and send an email to a cooperating agent
that stands alone, without any possible inclusion
of your and your client’s exchanges of
confidential information. |
| Real Estate
News |
| Existing-Home
Sales Rise in
March
Sales of existing-home
sales rose in March, continuing an uneven recovery
that began after sales bottomed last July,
according to the National Association of
Realtors®.
Existing-home sales, which are
completed transactions that include single-family,
townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 3.7
percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
5.10 million in March from an upwardly revised
4.92 million in February, but are 6.3 percent
below the 5.44 million pace in March 2010. Sales
were at elevated levels from March through June of
2010 in response to the home buyer tax credit. Read more here.
Source: NAR
For more
interesting real estate news, please visit here. |
| Member
Benefits |
|
Featured
Benefits:
BJ's Wholesale Club
- Special Offer
CAR members are
eligible to apply for a BJ's Business Membership
for only $40 - $10 less than the normal annual
membership fee - and you get 14 months instead of
12. A second BJ's Membership Card is provided
FREE. For more details, click
here.
Closing Gift
Ideas
Send a popular
magazine subscription with a 4’’ by 4’’ label that
features your name, contact info, logo, and a
personalized message. This is a great way to say
"thank you" to your client and get referrals at
the same time! Closing Gift Ideas is offering over
25% off. This one year subscription has over 15
titles to choose from, including several perfect
for a new home buyer! For more details, click
here.
ZipForms
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.
|
|
111 Founders Plaza, Suite
1101
East Hartford, CT
06108
1-800-335-4862
Fax:
860-290-6615
www.ctrealtor.com
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my email address!
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