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February 8
Lunch & Learn: Gen Y
February 9
COE Tickets go on sale
February 10
Tech 101
February 15
ACAR Board of Directors Meeting
Lunch & Learn: Historic Districts
February 16
1st MATCH Meeting
February 20
President's Day - ACAR Office Closed
February 22
Broker's Only Luncheon
February 23
Core Course
February 24
New Member Orientation & Ethics
February 29
Lunch & Learn: Solving Mysteries of the CMA
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Need a unique closing gift? Try a Homeowner's Book of Records! Visit the ACAR Store - Now open! |
Looking for Affordable Sign Riders? The ACAR Store has more than 18 different ones available - Starting at only $8 each! |
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Greetings!
Appraisals coming in lower than the agreed-upon sales price continue to cause more real estate deals to be cancelled, recent surveys show.
In December, a third of real estate professionals reported they had a real estate contract fall through, up from 9 percent a year earlier.
The National Association of REALTORS®, along with other housing industry groups, point to low appraisals and rejected mortgage applications from a stringent lending environment as the main forces behind the high number of transaction cancellations in recent months. Keep Reading
Appraiser Response:
"Don't shoot the messenger," is the message the Appraisal Institute has for those in the real estate industry. Appraisers have been taking heat the last few months over low home values, with critics arguing that values aren't matching a home listing or contract's price and valuations are unfairly weighing distressed properties into the equation.
"Appraisers don't set the real estate market; they reflect what's happening in the market," Sara W. Stephens, the Appraisal Institute's president, said in the handout. "Obviously, the market is depressed - home prices have fallen far below the values of a few years ago. Many homes simply aren't worth what their owners think they are."
Keep Reading
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Circle of Excellence Tickets
On Sale Thursday!
 Tickets for the 2012 Circle of Excellence event go on sale this Thursday, February 9th at the ACAR Office.
Doors open at 8:30am. Tickets are $39 for one or $390 for ten (a full table).
Get your ticket order form here.
Get your tickets to THE premier event of the year! Together, we'll celebrate "Stayin' Alive!"
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Sales Tax on Services (Commissions)?
It's on the Table.
The Idaho legislature has been addressing major issues including a number of bills related to Health Care Exchanges, tax on services and addressing the issues around this year's primary and reapportionment.
Every year, there seems to be a bill to create more taxes for REALTORS®, which we oppose because you already pay more than your fair share of taxes. This year is no exception; HB354 removes all exemptions and credits from the state income tax. Ultimately, this would create hundreds of millions of dollars in additional taxes to industries who already pay taxes (including real estate services) and would be devastating to a continued economic recovery.
Keep Reading |
Mark Your Calendar: Nationwide Open House Weekend is April 28 & 29
REALTORS across the nation will be  hosting open houses on National Open House Weekend! Join the movement and get that house sold! The association will help you out with promotion and other items - details coming soon!
Check out the Field Guide to Open Houses from Information Central to learn safety tips and how to prepare for and have a successful open house.
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Foreclosure Deal: Closer But Not There Yet
Federal officials and state attorneys general could announce -- perhaps as early as this week -- a deal with some of the nation's largest banks that could yield up to $25 billion for those homeowners. That would be more than any housing relief program has produced since the financial crisis began.
Under the latest draft, about 1 million U.S. homeowners who are "underwater" on their mortgages -- with principal exceeding the home's value -- could be eligible for as much as $20,000 in relief of principal owed, according to U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.
Keep Reading |
Top 10 Turnaround Towns - Boise Made the List!
Boise's economy is an offbeat combination of old and new. The logging industry still pays a lot of the bills in town, but tech jobs have also become increasingly prevalent.
In fact, chip maker Micron Technology is Boise's biggest employer, according to the Boise Valley Economic Partnership. And lately, the food industry has heated up, enabling many of the area's agricultural-based companies to pump out increased profits, according to Clark Krause, the organization's executive director.
Keep Reading |
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If you're using GChat, AOL or another instant-messaging service, it might be time to consider one of the "IM-ing for business" tools, such as Hipchat, Yammer or Chatter (part of Salesforce).
These services are particularly helpful for teams in distributed locations and/or working on multiple projects. Companies can create "rooms" in Hipchat, or "Groups" in Yammer, for various projects, departments or areas of focus, with privacy settings determining who can access the room. Only want to give certain people in the company access to product development details? Make that a private room. Want a room where anyone can offer suggestions? That's doable, too.
By "@mentioning" someone in a discussion, it's easy to pull the right people into a conversation.
Keep Reading |
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