On September 30, the cost of a mortgage could rise significantly. If this happens, many of your clients run the risk of being priced out of the American Dream of home ownership. Even worse, this could hold back the housing recovery.

Share your market expertise with Congress. Respond to the latest Call for Action from the REALTOR® Action Center and urge your elected representatives to make the current mortgage loan limits for FHA and GSEs permanent. Well-qualified buyers don't need another hurdle to access affordable mortgage financing.      

The final KCRAR RPAC Auction of 2011 is being hosted in the Sunflower Region on Thursday, July 21 at the Overland Park Marriott. In support of our volunteers and the work that RPAC does to support the industry, we would like to encourage your participation in the 2011 RPAC Office Basket Challenge! 

 

We are asking your office to create a themed basket of donated items that will be auctioned off at the July 21 fundraiser. The office basket that raises the most funds for RPAC will be announced at the event and the winning office will receive a complimentary breakfast provided by Janell Enderson of Old Republic Home Warranty!

 

To participate:

 

1. Contact Cristalle Bozarth at 913-266-5908 or cristalleb@kcrar.com to let her know that you plan to participate.  

2. Fill out this item donation form and send it in by the July 14 deadline.

2. Work with a creative member of your office to come up with a great theme.

3. Get your office excited about participating and collect items for the basket.

4. Deliver the completed basket to the event location by 5 p.m. on July 21.

 

Good luck to your office, and we'll see you at the auction! Questions? Contact Cristalle Bozarth at 913-266-5908 or cristalleb@kcrar.com.

Linda Vaughan

The winners have been selected for the Kansas City Business Journal's Women Who Mean Business class of 2011. Congratulations to Linda Vaughan, Reece & Nichols REALTORS®, for her inclusion in this year's roster!

 

The program honors corporate executives, entrepreneurs and professionals who are at the top of their game. To identify potential honorees, the Kansas City Business Journal solicited nominations of women who have made significant contributions to business and industry in the Kansas City area. The nominees submitted detailed applications highlighting challenges they've faced, outstanding business accomplishments, growth plans for their companies, contributions to the community and efforts to improve the climate for women in business.

 

A panel of judges, including prominent business experts and past honorees, spent hours reviewing the applications to identify the 25 women who make up this year's class.

 

Congratulations again to Linda for this honor!

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will offer interest-free loans to aid unemployed borrowers with their mortgage payments in 32 states (including Kansas and Missouri) through its Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program.     

 

Home owners who are eligible for the program will be able to qualify for up to $50,000 in interest-free loans for up to two years. Home owners who have had a drop in income of at least 15 percent from involuntary unemployment or underemployment due to economic conditions or a medical emergency are eligible for the program.     

 

The program will "help families keep their homes while looking for work or recovering from illness," says HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. HUD is providing $1 billion to implement the program. For eligibility requirements, visit the HUD web site.

Effective July 1, 2011, a new Kansas law requires all individuals who perform testing or mitigation for radon gas to obtain a certification from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). As a result, it is important for you to familiarize yourself with this law's provisions and how it will affect your real estate transactions.

 

Get all the details on the new requirements here. Questions? Contact Jeff Carson at 913-266-5916 or jeffc@kcrar.com.

If you are working toward the Missouri GRI designation (or planning to begin it), please take note of the Henry J. Aydt Memorial Scholarship from the Missouri Association of REALTORS®. Henry was a pioneer in ethics education for the Missouri Association of REALTORS®, and he dedicated much of his career as a REALTOR® to bringing the concepts, principles and spirit of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics to the members of the Association throughout the state.

 

Scholarships are awarded to members enrolled in the GRI Ethics Course. To see the criteria and download an application, go here. The application deadline is June 30, 2011, so act fast!

 

While you're there, visit the criteria for MAR's Brady Stevens Award, the Association's top education award given to a previous year (2010) GRI graduate. The application deadline for this is also June 30.