Members who feel certain candidates merit support in any of nine special legislative elections coming up February 22^nd should submit a RPAC Candidate Recommendation using the short form available on CAR’s website here. RPAC is the REALTORS® Political Action Committee. The form should arrive at CAR no later than  February 1. The State Trustees will make the final decision on any endorsement and/or financial support.

Democrats won 100 of the 151 house seats and 23 of the 36 Senate seats back in November, but nine of them have resigned.  Elections will be held in the following towns to fill the seats vacated by the legislators named:  West Hartford:  Rep. David McCluskey; New Britain: Rep. John Geragosian; Essex, Deep River, Chester, Haddam: Rep. James Spallone;  East Haven: Rep. Michael Lawlor; Guilford, Madison: Rep. Deborah Heinrich; Bridgeport: Rep. Christopher Caruso; Farmington, New Britain, Berlin: Sen. Donald DeFronzo; Meriden, Middlefield, Middletown, Cheshire: Sen. Thomas Gaffey; and Stamford, Darien: Sen. Andrew McDonald.  

Make one of your 2011 goals to earn the GRI Designation!  By taking the GRI-2 Series in Waterbury beginning on February 7, you can be well on your way to earning the GRI Designation this year. This course is also approved for 30 hours of elective broker pre-licensing credit as well as 6 elective credits toward license renewal!  Make sure to register by Monday, January 24 and save $25 with early-bird pricing. For more information and to register for this course, click here. For the full 2011 Education schedule click here. If you have any questions, email Abby Krist or call 1-800-335-4862, ext. 308.

On January 12, CAR unveiled the first edition of the e-newsletter “Education GPS - Guide to Personal Success” which will be published twice a year in conjunction with the spring and fall education semesters.  It is intended to put a spotlight on the importance of continuing your real estate education, explaining the variety of courses/designation programs available and will highlight CAR instructors as well as members who have recently completed a designation program. If you missed it, click here.

Be sure to check out the special $20 savings Promo Code in the newsletter that is only good until February 4th. This Promo Code can be combined with Early Bird pricing for a total savings of $45 on almost any classroom course!

zipLogix, creator of zipForm®, the real estate industry's leading forms software, announced they have developed a user interface (UI) feature for Spanish-speaking real estate professionals and their clients. Just released to all zipForm® 6 software users across the country is the ability to change the UI language from English to Spanish by toggling between the two. zipForm® 6 is the first real estate forms software to offer a Spanish language interface feature designed to streamline the contract completion process and simplify navigation for many Spanish-speaking users. 

zipForm® 6 Professional (online) and zipForm® 6 Standard (desktop) versions feature the Spanish language option allowing the user to have a higher sense of transparency with their Spanish-speaking clients and helps clients understand the software interface. The ability to switch between the two languages provides convenience for thousands of Spanish-speaking real estate professionals and their clients during the sometimes confusing transaction process. zipForm along with zipLogix’s transaction management system, relay®, now include a Spanish language interface. 

For more information on solutions for today’s real estate professional, visit http://www.ziplogix.com/ . If you would like to order zipForm, Agents Save $30 by using Promo Code A1094. Brokers Save 10% on already Low Broker Pricing, call 800-383-9805 and mention Promo Code DB74.

CAR is proud to announce the creation of the “Leadership Academy of Connecticut & Rhode Island”!  This dynamic new program, being held in conjunction with the Rhode Island Association, is open to all members…you do not need to be active in your local, state or national associations.  It is designed to identify emerging REALTOR® leaders, motivate them and sharpen their leadership skills so they can have a positive influence not only on our associations, but in their personal and business lives, their communities and our profession as a whole. Click here for more information on this exciting opportunity.  Click here for an application form. The application deadline is Friday, February 18 and participation is extremely limited to enhance and personalize the learning experience.

• Special Legislative Elections: Your Input Invited!
• First GRI Course of the New Year
• Education GPS: Guide to Personal Success
• Announcing Another Industry First from zipForm®: zipLogix Launches zipForm Spanish Language User Interface
• Learn Today to Lead Tomorrow
• Hotsheet Legal Tip
• Real Estate News

You, Your Seller and Technology.

Before you assume your seller client wants you to use today’s technology of photos and virtual tours on-line for giving your client’s property internet exposure, explain that you have no control over who (interested buyers or ne’er-do-wells) sees the photos/virtual tour. Then, if your seller has reservations about revealing his home’s layout and furnishings, he can choose not to use photos and a virtual tour. It’s the seller’s property and the seller’s choice.

A new national survey conducted last month for Reecon Advisors found that investor confidence in real estate is significantly higher than the stock market despite the two-year drop in property values. The survey was the latest measure of investor perception of the comparative merits of real estate and stocks as a long term investment and the most recent conducted since the crisis that struck the nation’s financial system last fall. Read More.

For more interesting real estate news, please visit here.

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

Change my email address!