Slidell Market Center Newsletter for March 27, 2009

NEW NUGGET: “Get Motivated” posted at www.NuggetsForTheNoggin.com

A MESSAGE FOR OUR TIME! I am recommending that everyone go to www.TheScienceofGettingRich.com and down load Wallace Wattles FREE E-book entitled The Science of Getting Rich; it was written in 1910 but given the state of our economy, it is a message for our time, it is about “thinking in a certain way!” While on the site, you can also sign up for a course on the subject but what is neat is you pay ONLY what you think you can afford for the class. This book is all about the principle discussed in The Secret. If you think money is the issue, this is the place to start.

QUOTE: “Management works IN the system; leadership works ON the system.” Stephen Covey. The Keller Williams basic model is based on the premise that INDIVIDUALS work IN the system with EACH working ON the system as leaders. Here is a question for you to ponder: Is what I am about to say or do consistent with being a Market Center Leader? One more question: Did I leave my personal agenda at the front door?

LATEST REAL ESTATE TRENDS Seminar, Baton Rouge, Thursday, April 16. $50.00. Go to www.batonrougetrends.com for more information.

REALTOR CODE OF ETHICS, ARTICLE 3

REALTORS® shall cooperate with other brokers except when cooperation is not in the client’s best interest. The obligation to cooperate does not include the obligation to share commissions, fees, or to otherwise compensate another broker. (Amended 1/95) Gymbeaux Note: The underlined portion of this Article is especially true in commercial listings. The properties may be listed but with no provision for compensation. If that is the case, you need to ascertain, in writing, what your compensation is BEFORE you proceed.

DON’T LIKE WHAT A COOP COMMISSION IS? Before you make a comment to anyone, read this link from the New Orleans Association of Realtors: http://www.nomar.org/pdfs/AntitrustArticle.pdf

ANNUAL REALTOR AWARDS. Have you ever wondered why there are some agents whose names are obviously omitted from a list of Awardees published by the Northshore Area Board of Realtors? The reason is there are two Boards in our area, NABOR, The Northshore Area Board of Realtors and NOMAR, New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors. A Broker may be a member of either or both boards. Agents must be a member of the Primary Board that their Designated Broker designates; in our case NABOR. Agents may elect to be a member of both boards or any other board for that matter. Some Slidell Brokers have chosen to select the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors (NOMAR) as their primary board and as such their agents would qualify for the NOMAR awards and not be listed on the NABOR awards and visa versa. As individual agents, you can choose to join the NOMAR Board if you desire. You can usually participate in NOMAR events and especially training events but may be required to pay a non-member fee if you are not a NOMAR member. Related web sites: NABOR: www.nabor.org; NOMAR: www.nomar.org. Since you are already paying the national NAR dues and the Louisiana dues as a member of NABOR, your dues for also belonging to NOMAR would be $149.00 a year, pro-rated at just $12.41 a month.

BROKER BIT: ARE YOU PAYING SUFFICIENT ATTENTION TO COMPLETING THE REQUIRED INFORMATION ON THE AGREEMENTS TO PURCHASE!

No line should be left blank. Information asked for should be inserted as indicated. Please ask yourself this question BEFORE you sign off that all your paperwork is in order: If someone where to review your folder, could that person (such as a Real Estate Commission Investigator) reconstruct the time line of events and also prove that the Seller signed and initialed every where required and the Buyer signed and initialed every where required? If you are the listing agent, the originals should be in the Market Center's Sales Folder. If you are working from faxed copies, you should follow up by also getting the originals by mail.

There are four sections of the Agreement to Purchase that are being overlooked. The Designated Agent (Listing Agent) MUST sign the receipt for the Agreement to Purchase at the top of the first page of the Agreement. It is specific, it calls for the signature, the DAY, the DATE and AM or PM to be indicated. If you, the Listing Agent are out of town and a Designated Agent is covering for you, a copy of that Designated Agent's Authorization should be included in the folder. You know you have a Designated Agent but no one else does.

You must also sign and TOTALLY complete the section on the last page of the Agreement indicating when the Listing Agent presented the Agreement to the Sellers and/or when the Buyer's Agent presented the Agreement to the Buyers. The same is true for the Counter Offer Form where the Agent MUST sign the Counter.

Just put yourself in the position of an Investigator - could you reconstruct the listing and/or sale process by reviewing the paperwork? When it comes to legal issues, there are no short cuts.

NAR CALL TO ACTION REPORT: Since joining NAR's Broker Participation Program regarding Calls For Action, we as a Market Center have been asked to respond on only one occasion and that was the stimulus bill. 6 responses were submitted from the Slidell Market Center. That represented 6.6% of the roster at the time. REALTORS make up one of the largest if not THE largest organized groups of voters in the country. Not only that, we represent the American Dream.

Congress responds to NUMBERS even thought at times it appears they don't.

When NAR asks for a Call For Action on behalf if its membership I would like to think that PROVIDED you agree with the issue you would respond. I know the stimulus package was a very controversial issue and maybe that kept some from responding and that is encouraged if you do not feel strongly about an issue. But if you DO feel strongly and DON"T respond it is hard to get the attention of Congress. Thought you would all like to know how we as a Market Center responded.

4 HOURS OF REALLY GOOD CE: How to Attract More Buyers & Create More Sales With the Tips & Techniques Taught in Jeff Elias’ 4 Hour CE Course Titled:
“Financing Methods to Provide Better & Clearer Service to Consumers.” Receive 4 hours CE Credit. April 17th, 1:00 to 5:00. See attached registration form or go to www.nomar.org I have been to a Jeff Elias seminar in the past and he is really very good. Gymbeaux

LIFE’S GOALS: Do you have really big goals for your life? Do you have 100 things you want to do, see or participate in? On April 7th I will be fulfilling one of my 100 things I want to do – attend the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. You cannot obtain tickets for the actual tournament that begins on the 8th. You have to literally inherit them; hardest ticket in sports. You can apply for the lottery for a drawing to attend the practice rounds. I have been submitting my name for over 12 years and I won this year. Get a balance on your life; do things other than work. Make a list of at least 20 very special things you want to do and then focus on doing them sooner rather than later.

Chinese Drywall Article: http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2009/03/17/chinese-drywall-controversy-arrives-in-louisiana/

25 STRATEGIC MONEY ACTIVITIES to help secure your financial position. Written by Tamara Lowe, only 2 pages but packed with powerful suggestions. It can be retrieved on www.SlidellCalendar.com. In the document section under the Motivation folder.

SMART AD STRATEGIES FOR A TOUGH MARKET: Article:
http://www.realtor.org/rmobrokers/articles/2009/0904_broker_adstrategies

BUILDING BUSINESS AROUND THE $8000 HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT: Article at: http://www.realtor.org/rmonews_and_commentary/articles/2009/0904_taxcredit

HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, PROPOSED CHANGE: http://www.1012corridor.com/archives/1012-corridor-weekly/latest/

“See" and "Think" before "Do" = Bigger Success Than You Have Now. Article by Jeffrey Gitomer. Good stuff.
http://www.gitomer.com/articles/ViewPublicArticle.html?key=ajcdMibak3PCsbNXZVP3oA%3D%3D

False Hope For Homeowners, an Inman News article worth reading:
http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/marciegeffner/false-hope-homeowners?page=0%2C0

TERRABELLAVILLAGE.COM. There is a Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) under construction just north of Madisonville. You may not be familiar with TNDs; they are very popular in other parts of the country. The nearest one I am familiar with is in Lafayette LA and it is beautiful. A TND encompasses single family, townhomes and condos in addition to a town square and commercial development making it a self-contained community. You can learn more by going to www.terrabellavillage.com or visiting the site as I did this week. Streets are in and there is some construction but the best is obviously yet to come. Check it out.

PLANNING YOUR FUTURE? This is a great 14 minute video that says it all:
http://www.scienceofgettingrich.net/which-card