News From MD DC CRS Chapter July 2012 Newsletter

On the morning of August 10, 1813 residents of Saint Michaels having been forewarned of a British attack hoisted lanterns to the masts of ships and in the tops of the trees. The height of light caused cannons to overshoot the town. This first known blackout was effective and only one house was struck and is now known as the "Cannonball House."

Message From The President

Message

From

The President

Summer Greetings,

It's not too late - if you hurry this weekend - to register for the upcoming Chapter luncheon at Mrs. K's and hear the terrific national speaker, Steve Harney, and what he has to say about the market and what we can expect going forward. Click here for the registration form today!

And watch, towards the end of the month, for the election email coming to your inbox, so that you can vote for the incoming 2013 officers.

And as the summer sets in, and your schedules change, don't forget to add in some time for your local CRS Chapter! We're having an All-Call for Volunteers and would warmly welcome your support.

Our goal is to continue growing our Chapter. The best way to do that is to promote the privileges of membership, not just at the National level, but the Chapter level as well. The only way to accomplish goal is to have more people involved. To that end, we are making this "Call for Volunteers" to help with our cause.

Look over the committees listed on the left for further details. What would interest you? What would you like to try out? Who might you like to get to know/work with? Give any of us a call and get involved today!

Sharron

Sharron Dorsey, MD/DC CRS President 2012

Great Value!

The Listing Legends live program is now available in video format. Watch top residential sales professionals deliver a series of panel presentations that guide agents through the entire listing process, from lead generation through closing. As a CRS member, you can purchase each session individually for $20 each or all six as a package for $100. Each video earns one credit toward the CRS Designation. Click here for more info.

TECH TIPS by Jan Brito

Genius Scan

iPhone App - Genius Scan turns your iPhone into a pocket scanner. It enables you to quickly scan documents on the go and email the scans as JPEG or PDF. It's free!

Jan Brito

Watch this corner all year for Jan's great Tech Tips - with a special tech emphasis on what we can do with our iPads!

Upcoming CRS Webinars

Webinar: The Global Financial Crisis: What does the future hold?, with Dale Carlton, CRS, on Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Click here for more info.

Webinar: How to Price a Listing and Sell It Every Time, with Amy Broghamer, CRS, on July 24, 2012. Click here for more info.

Upcoming Events

Friday, July 27, 2012, 11:30 - 3 pm

Luncheon/Meeting & STEVE HARNEY - LIVE!

Mrs. K's Tollhouse Restaurant

9201 Colesville Road, Silver Spring MD

301-589-3500

Registration form here

STEVE HARNEY - Nationally Recognized Speaker

on Real Estate and Leadership in the Industry:

Be Instructed AND Inspired!

Identify significant changes that will impact real estate for the rest of 2012;

Position yourself to take advantage of the opportunities these changes will create;

Effectively communicate what these changes mean to your clients!

A DON'T MISS EVENT!!!

* * * * * *

Monday, September 10, 2012, 12:15pm

Annual General Meeting and Luncheon

Ed Hatch will be our guest speaker!

He will talk about change being inevitable. and how to deal with the ever-changing market.

There are 5 steps to successfully manage that change.

Maryland Association of REALTORS® Annual Conference and Expo

Roland E. Powell Convention Center

Ocean City, Maryland

Registration form here

* * * * * *

Tuesday, October 23, 2012, 8 am - 5:00 pm

The Little EXTRAS... In EXTRAordinary Customer Service

Instructor: Ed Hatch

Maryland Association of REALTORS®

200 Harry S Truman Pkwy

Annapolis, MD 21407

Registration form here

* * * * * *

MD/DC Chapter Consumer Booklets

TERRIFIC HANDOUT FOR YOUR BUYERS & SELLERS!

If you have your CRS Designation and are a member of your Maryland State Chapter, please stop by at our next event and pick up FIVE copies of our Chapter's Consumer Booklet for distribution to your clients. Buyers and Sellers alike will truly appreciate the value you're bringing them when they choose you as their Realtor. Having the value of being a CRS clearly outlined in this high-quality handout is just one more reason to become and remain a Maryland DC CRS Designee. We plan to have the booklets available to hand out to qualified CRSers again at our upcoming events, so use up your FIVE and keep coming back for FIVE MORE!

Pics - 2012 2nd Annual Cruise!

Voting - 2013 Slate of Officers

The Maryland DC CRS Chapter will elect new officers beginning July 25, 2012.

The nominating committee recommends the following to the Board of Directors:

Gretchen Conley - President

Jan Brito - President Elect

Diane Hayes - Treasurer

Sherry Young - Secretary

On line voting will begin Wednesday July 25, 2012 at 12:01am and will end Friday July 27, 2012 at 11:59pm. You will receive an official ballot announcement before the election. You will receive voting instructions prior to the opening of the polls, and a reminder during the polling process.

Gretchen Conley - President

Gretchen Conley, current CRS President-Elect and Communications Committee Chair, has been involved with CRS since her first listings class with Gee Dunsten in 2005, attained her designation in 2007, and has just completed Listing Legends in DC and the online e-Pro class, an avid believer in CRS education! She has been a Realtor since 2001, is a past HCAR Legislative Committee Chair, serves currently on the MAR Legislative Committee, is an HCAR Million Dollar Club lifetime member, and has served the last two years on the National CRS Communications Committee. Gretchen resides in Howard County.

Jan Brito - President-Elect

Jan has been involved with the MD/DC Chapter since even before she earned her CRS designation. She started out serving as Technology Committee Chair, and in 2010 took on that role for a second time. She is the current Secretary for the chapter. Jan is a native Washingtonian, having grown up in the Maryland suburbs. She has called Montgomery County home for the past 20+ years. She came to the real estate field in 2005 after spending 15 years in Information Technology - experience that serves her well in this fast-paced digital age - where more than 85% of consumers begin their search for real estate on the Internet. She uses technology and social networking to keep in touch with clients, promote listings, and answer consumer questions. Jan's thorough follow-up, her strong customer service orientation, and her endless initiative earn a steady stream of referrals from satisfied clients, as well as fellow agents.

Jan is an Associate Broker with Long and Foster Realtors in Bethesda. Her other designations include e-PRO, GREEN, CDPE and Long & Foster's Short Sale Certification.

Secretary - Sherry Young

Although Sherry was born in England, where her parents were stationed while they were both in the Air Force and she has lived in 5 states and Taiwan before moving to Maryland, she has lived in both Maryland (primarily) and D.C. since she was twelve years old. She currently lives in Howard County near Savage Mill. She has participated in CRS events, lunches and classes for many years and saw the value of taking her first CRS courses in 1989. Having grown up in both Washington D.C. and Maryland as well as in a military family Sherry is well positioned to be an asset to her clients as well as her fellow agents in the real estate industry. Sherry belongs to the RE/MAX Hall of Fame, 100% Club.

She is an Associate Broker, an Accredited Buyers Representative, an Accredited Staging Professional, Certified in Auction Sales, A Certified Residential Specialist, a Graduate of the Realtors' Institute, ePro Certified, and Certified by the Distressed Property Institute and is a Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource. Her new office is in Laurel, Maryland.

Treasurer - Diane Hayes

Diane began selling real estate part-time in 1982 in Charles County, MD while working full time for the Census Bureau and also being a single parent of a 4yr-old son. She moved to Montgomery County in 1985 where she began her full-time real estate career. Over the years she has done a lot of volunteer work. She has been a victim advocate for Domestic Violence since 1990 and recently served 2 terms as a member of Montgomery County's "Domestic Violence Coordinating Council". In 2010 she decided it was time to give back to the Real Estate industry which has done so much for her. In 2010 and 2011 she was the Treasurer for the WCR - Greater Capital Area. She received her real estate license in 1982, her broker's license in 1989 and her CRS designation in 1991. Diane is affiliated with Re/Max Premiere Selections in Rockville, MD.

AVP - Area Vice Presidents Committee - Local Events

Local events are being scheduled, and the ones already occurring were very well received. See what's been on the list so far; let your AVP's know what you'd like to see next! We're building up a great network and would love your input!

Howard/Carroll Counties

Linda Kangrga
410-262-2254

Upcoming Event: July 17, Columbia MD - RSVP to Linda for sandwiches fresh from Grace's downstairs. Learn about new issues and revisit old ones with home inspections like signs of there having been a meth lab on the premises, what's new in radon and lead paint, and what you should know about plumbing. Always good to be informed and this is free food and free education thanks to our sponsors. Non-CRS friends are welcome this time, too. Please think about bringing a suit, jacket or something to donate to Dress for Success. Click here for more info.

Frederick/Washington Counties

Mary Richeimer

301-631-0525

Past Event: Arranged a CRS webinar "Becoming Tomorrow's Top Producer Today" at her local board with wine & cheese from sponsors

Harford/Cecil Counties
Louise Costello
443-243-5216
Past Event: Arranged a Pillar to Post class "Meth and Mold" which was very well received by the agents

Anne Arundel/Calvert
Ellie Cerasuolo

443-278-3800

Past Event: May 24 - Lunch and Learn class "What You Can Do to be Successful in Short Sales" sponsored by ATC Financial -- Arnold MD

I am still looking for a few more Area Vice Presidents to work with me and other neighboring areas in Maryland and Washington, D.C. to participate in the Area Vice Presidents Committee. It's great for networking and increasing referral and educational opportunities.

Sincerely,

Linda

Linda Kangrga, Area Vice Presidents Committee Chair

Member Connect - Homeowner Expections Rising

Member Connect News

As Home Prices Rise, So Do Homeowner Expectations

As housing prices have begun rising in many markets in the country, the prospect of a market rebound has prompted many Americans to think big - perhaps a little too big, according to results from a Trulia survey. Six out of 10 Americans believe home prices in their local market will rise in the next year, and 58 percent believe home prices will return to their previous high sometime in the next 10 years.

After steering away from super-sized McMansions during the recession, Americans are growing more enchanted with the idea of larger homes. The number of people who expressed a desire for a home of more than 3,200 square feet nearly doubled from 6 percent in 2011 to 11 percent in 2012. More than one in four Americans (27 percent) say their ideal home size is more than 2,600 square feet, up from 17 percent who said so in 2011.

When asked what amenities would make them fall in love with a home if they were shopping for one, 62 percent of renters mentioned a master bathroom, 56 percent said a walk-in closet and 50 percent said a gourmet kitchen. But only 26 percent of actual first-time homeowners said they had a master bathroom in their first home, while 35 percent had a walk-in closet and 9 percent had a gourmet kitchen.

"Few homebuyers - and even fewer first-timers - can afford 3,000 square feet and a gourmet kitchen," says Jed Kolko, Trulia's chief economist. "Buyers need to take a hard look at what they can actually afford, and give themselves some cushion in case a Euro crisis or federal budget battle pushes us back into recession."

Thu, June 22, 2012

Your Home - CRS Newsletter Article available to you for your SOI Newsletters - go online!

Have you seen this article at www.crs.com? As a Certified Residential Specialist, are you making use of the magazine articles readily available for you to share with your clients? Each month, there's a new two page newsletter full of timely information, waiting for you, one more way CRS is providing value to you, and you can provide value to your clients.

Home Sweet Second Home

Sometimes a vacation can be so good that it makes you want to move to your vacation destination permanently - or at least visit more often. If your recent getaway has you thinking about buying a second home, consider these pointers from Frontdoor.com and CNN Money before taking the plunge.

Ultimately, your lifestyle will determine the kind of second home you buy. How much time will you spend in your second home? A few weeks a year? Are you looking for a weekend getaway? Be realistic: Consider how long it takes to travel there and how often you'll really be using it.

Will you rent it out when you're not there? Homeowners who rent out their home for fewer than 15 days a year don't have to pay taxes on rental income - rental expenses, however, aren't deductible (and vice versa). Whether or not you choose to rent it out, it's important to add in extra costs, such as maintenance and insurance - which will be higher in risky weather areas, such as beach properties - and then decide whether the upkeep and costs still fit within your budget.

Know the rules of renting. Some towns don't allow short-term rentals, so make sure your chosen locale does, and read up on landlord laws for tenants. If your home will be primarily for rental income, opt for a family-friendly home in a popular location with easy access to airports or other modes of transportation for a more desirable rental option.

Last, consider long-term goals when choosing a second home. If you're thinking of the home as a good place to retire, it's important to check out local hospitals and other resources, and factor in costs associated with making a home compatible with senior living.

PLEASE NOTE: The images featured in the Your Home newsletter may only be used within the context of the original article. These images may not be reproduced or republished elsewhere outside of this newsletter format. CRS Members are free to re-use the text of the articles contained in this newsletter, however.

Pillar-to-Post -- Please support our 2011 MD DC CRS Platinum Sponsor!

Complimentary Resource from
Pillar to Post

for YOU to USE in your Client Newsletters/Communications:

SAVE ENERGY AND MORE

WITH SMART APPLIANCE CHOICES

Who hasn't oohed and ahhed when watching home improvement shows or thumbing through the latest home design magazines? Perhaps no room gets more attention than the kitchen, and deservedly so. It's where the family gathers for all kinds of reasons - not just cooking and meals, but homework, bill paying, TV watching, and everyday conversation. But beyond the cosmetic improvements everyone talks about, there is real opportunity in upgrading your kitchen appliances. They'll look great, work better, and save you money and energy over time.

Not only does a new refrigerator or dishwasher change the look of the kitchen, advances in energy saving technology mean that these appliances are more efficient than ever and can save both energy and money. For proven energy efficiency, look for Energy Star rated appliances, which are available at almost all price points. In order to meet Energy Star qualifications, a new refrigerator must use at least 20% less energy than non qualifying units. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, replacing a refrigerator from the 1980s - and yes, there are plenty of those still out there - can result in savings of more than $100 on your utility bill each year. That adds up quickly over just a few years. And while you may be tempted to put that old unit in the garage for extra refrigerating capacity, this defeats the purpose of upgrading the first place. Most appliance retailers will remove and properly dispose of your old refrigerator; in many communities the components are recycled to avoid contributing to landfill mass.

The dishwasher is another appliance that lends itself to upgrading. Newer Energy Star qualified dishwashers not only save energy, but use far less water than their older counterparts. EPA figures show that a dishwasher built before 1994 wastes 10 gallons of water per cycle. Switching to a new dishwasher will help that, but choosing an Energy Star qualified model means use an average of 33% less water than new, non-qualifying dishwashers. Think washing by hand is a better way to go? Consider this: using a fully loaded Energy Star dishwasher instead of hand washing can save more than 5,000 gallons of water each year!

With some research and solid information in hand, you can make smart choices for replacement appliances that will save you time, energy, and money in the long run.

Article courtesy of Pillar To Post Home Inspection - www.pillartopost.com

Chapter Member Referral Ads

Want to advertise in our newsletter? We'd love to have you here, and love for you to get terrific CRS referrals! For the Newsletter Referral Advertising Form, click here.

MISSION STATEMENT:

The MD/DC CRS Chapter will provide its Chapter members superior benefits, to include education and current tools of the industry, to maximize their professional performance

and maintain the highest standards of the NAR Code of Ethics, as well as be a trusted source for the real estate community and the general public.

www.MDDCCRS.com

Get Serious. Get a CRS.

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