Board News
July 13, 2010
Dear Fellow REALTORS®:
This is a note to encourage attendance at a couple of events and update you on a few issues.
If you will remember, you, the membership, and your needs have been the focus of the current Board of Directors. One of the items we changed is the way we elect directors and officers. Bylaws were rewritten to make it easier for the membership to submit a nomination and for the nominating committee to include only one director and the balance from the membership. These changes, along with some term limits, should allow for new thoughts and leadership in the years to come. Put on your calendar to attend on Tuesday, July 27, to see this process work and meet those that will be leading us in the next year. I am sure that Rich Davis and his RPAC committee will once again entertain us with an exciting auction (auction items are still needed). We will also have a few politicians joining us.
Have you signed up for Lynn Madison’s “Short Sales and Foreclosures” CE class???? I think that we all have experienced the frustration of short sales. Maybe by learning more about the process and sharing some experiences, we can limit our negative thoughts and better serve our clients. When we attended NAR meetings in Washington, D.C., the economist, bankers and politicians did not seem to have a handle on this issue. The first panel discussion that I attended had a Bank of America executive seated. It did not take more than a few minutes before most of the room was on his case. He was not seen for the rest of the week. Who knows what the true number of foreclosures and short sales the future will bring, but rest assured it would be a significant number that will affect our business. Be prepared! Sign up now for Lynn’s class August 19. Remember you will get CE credit and can apply for SFR Certification.
REALTOR® Night at Rent One Park is not about the ballgame. It is an opportunity for us to get together, meet some fellow agents, and present ourselves to the public. We need to keep the REALTOR® brand in front of the public and let them know what we can and are doing for them. Please consider being part of the event on August 13. There will even be fireworks!
Some issues that you need to be updated about are VOWS, Promatch, lockboxes, contracts and The Southern Illinoisan.
Most of our VOWS policy is in place. We have hired an attorney that specializes in VOWS to advise us. The necessary forms and letters are about to be put in place. We will have a written policy available in the near future. My view is that this is much ado about nothing. However, we have to comply with what the Department of Justice has demanded. As I stated before, NAR, IAR, and most boards across the country still have many unanswered questions.
Promatch has received our information to start the process. September is probably the month to make the conversion. We are number three on their list to install. While in Washington, D.C., Teresa, Rich and I had dinner with Scott from Promatch and three members of a REALTOR® Board in Somerset, Kentucky. They were about to make the conversion from EZ-List to Promatch. As we move forward, they will be a great source of information as to the do’s and don’ts of making the transition.
Once Promatch is in place, we will work with Sentrilock to install the lockboxes throughout our Board. Everything remains the same as what we presented at our last membership meeting. As much as I would like to have seen both Promatch and Sentrilock systems in place earlier than September, I believe it has worked out better that we not try to implement during a busy summer.
Our Board attorney has reviewed proposed contracts. Scott Farmer and his committee will soon present to us new commercial and lots and land contracts.
The Southern Illinoisan will attend our membership meeting. The new venture was mentioned in one of our Board Bulletins. In case you missed the notice, here it is again:
HOMES-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS WEBSITE LAUNCHED!
The Egyptian Board of REALTORS® and EBOR affiliate The Southern Illinoisan is proud to announce the public launch of HOMES-Southern Illinois. HOMES is a comprehensive online real estate portal on www.thesouthern.com -the region's leading news, information and advertising website The Southern Illinoisan. With nearly 200,000 unique visitors every month, the Southern's website exposes EBOR users and their MLS listings to the largest online audience in the region. Combined with the promotional power of The Southern Illinoisan print-edition, this strategic partnership will allow potential homebuyers and home sellers to research the entire Egyptian MLS, directly contact listing agencies and agents, research southern Illinois communities and learn why potential buyers or sellers should use a REALTOR®. This exciting new website will also offer special EBOR member-only featured agent and property packages that provide marquee placement for agents and their key listings. Visit the new HOMES site by going to www.thesouthern.com and clicking on the 'HOMES' link or directly by going to www.thesouthern.com/homes .
You will notice that the Southern has been promoting this site and the REALTOR® brand every Sunday in the paper.
Charay Brewer, our secretary/treasurer, has spent many hours with Teresa and Brenda putting our financial statements in a simple form that we can share with membership. I think that we are almost there.
Remember that the Education Committee has a day planned for us in October.
Teresa and Brenda continue to do a great job in running the office. In addition to all the changes that they have been part of this year, they do the day-to-day things, which is very time consuming by itself.
Thanks again to all of you who have participated this past year.
Dave Thompson, President
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