The best is yet to come.

Do you feel like summer passed you by this year? With the long hot dog days of summer winding down, there is crispness in the air that lets us know that we're moving into Fall. Business also seems to be brisk right now and most of the news seems to pointing in a positive direction.

SIBOR is moving into a very busy part of the year as well. Let me brief you on some of the activities.

This week on Thursday, September 20th SIBOR's Annual Golf Outing will be held at the Grand Oaks Country Club. We'll be honoring Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (Raj and Jay) as our SIBOR Affiliate of the Year. There's still time to register to play golf or just attend the dinner. I have instituted a "New and Rusty Golfer" category this year for folks like me who don't play golf, or haven't for a long time, and would like to try. Please come out and join me.

This is also SIBOR and SIMLS election season. The Nominating Committee has completed interviews for SIBOR directors and will be publishing their slate next week. There are opportunities to petition to be added to the slate. Watch for the news in your email.

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In accordance with the Bylaws of the Staten Island Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (SIMLS), four (4) two-year director positions on the 2013 SIMLS Board of Directors must be filled by a vote of the SIMLS Participants in October, 2012.

The 2013 SIMLS Board of Directors will be comprised of the:

- President/CEO

- SIBOR President-Elect - Laird Klein

- Six (6) Designated Directors (based on a transaction formula dictated by the Bylaws)

- Four (4) Returning Elected Directors whose terms expire 12/31/2013

- Four (4) Elected Directors whose terms run 01/01/2013-12/31/2014.

Election Day is Thursday, October 18, 2012

Any MLS Participant who is a member of SIBOR may submit his/her name to fill an Elected Director position. Any qualified person submitting their name will be placed on the ballot. The four (4) persons obtaining the most votes will be appointed Directors for the 2013-2014 term.

All 2013 directors will be required to attend a two-day leadership training program, scheduled from Monday to Tuesday, October 29th and 30th at an offsite meeting facility in New Jersey.

There are 12 regularly scheduled meetings of the SIMLS Board of Directors. Any Director who misses more than three (3) of these meetings is automatically removed and his/her firm may not have a seat on the SIMLS Board of Directors for the remainder of the year and the following year.

YOU MUST SUBMIT your name for the ballot by Thursday, SEPTEMBER 27, 2012. You may submit your name to the SIBOR office by mail, fax or E-mail. Click here for form.

The 2013 Designated Directors, based on a transaction formula dictated by the Bylaws, will be: Robert DeFalco, Robert DeFalco Realty, Mimi Neuhaus, Neuhaus Realty, Wayne Goldstein, Coldwell Banker Hometime Realty, Michael Calabrese, Re/Max Metro, John Saraceno, Vitale Sunshine, and Tom Crimmins, Tom Crimmins Realty.

The returning elected directors are: Michael Dukhovny, United National Realty, Ron Molcho, American Homes of S.I., Betty Pappas, All Shore Realty,and Scott Setaro, Appleseed Homes. Their terms expire 12/31/2013.

The Staten Island Multiple Listing Service, Inc. is wholly-owned by the Staten Island Board of Realtors. The President and CEO is the CEO of the Staten Island Board of Realtors. The SIMLS Board of Directors oversees the operations, selects MLS software, approves system changes, establishes MLS policy and defines modifications to the Rules and Regulations.

Please consider placing your name on the ballot.                          

 

As the school-aged among us work their way back into classrooms across America, we continue to monitor key improvements in the local housing market with a keener eye. With two-thirds of 2012 complete, we're starting to get a sense for how the year will shake out. Headlines include encouraging phrases like "Recovery Takes Hold," "Home Prices on the Rise" and "Situation Eases for Sellers." Local market conditions can vary. Let's see just how much.

New Listings in Staten Island decreased 12.2 percent to 454. Pending Sales were up 13.0 percent to 287. Inventory levels shrank 20.6 percent to 2,930 units.

Prices were mostly stable. The Median Sales Price decreased 1.9 percent to $385,000. Days on Market was up 10.8 percent to 179 days. The supply-demand balance stabilized as Months Supply of Inventory was down 31.7 percent to 12.3 months.

Listingbook grants SIMLS users the ability to automate, track and analyze client and market activity efficiently, with minimal time and effort.

Another successful
 
PACK TO SCHOOL

600 backpacks were distributed to the children of PS 16 on Monday, September 10, 2012. The students received bags filled with essential school supplies. The children were greeted by a SIBOR volunteer, and selected their "favorite color" bag. Each bag had a letter from SIBOR wishing the children a successful school year.

Some members volunteered for the first time, and promised to come back next year. Some worked around the clock shopping, sorting and stuffing the bags. THANK YOU!!!

Job well done. Everyone's commitment helped make this project a success.

THANK YOU to all who donated money or dropped off supplies. A few boxes of crayons, some pencils and notebooks all add up to show our community that realtors care.

Sincerely,

Linda F Smith                
 Click here for NY1   Click here for PHOTOS

The 5th Annual Westerleigh Folk Festival, a free, all-day bazaar of music, arts and crafts, and small-town community fellowship, will be held Saturday, September 22nd from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Westerleigh Park. Rain date is Sunday, September 23rd.

Now in its fifth year, the festival will feature our very own Morty Jacobi with San Jay, Al Sklar, Joanne Gleich and Terry Russo. The festival will include folk, folk-rock, country, blues, traditional and Americana music.
 Morty Jacobi will be performing from 12:30pm - 1:10pm

Westerleigh Park is located at the corner Maine and Neal Dow avenues. Street parking is available. Seating in the park is limited, so bring a blanket or chair.

Cancer is the epidemic of modern times. Unlike other diseases that have plagued people throughout history like tuberculosis and polio, we haven't yet discovered a vaccine against it.

One of the most common manifestations of this disease is breast cancer, which affects not only one in eight women, but also thousands of men in the United States. In fact, only lung cancer is more destructive. And if someone you love gets breast cancer, it will cost more than just their health: treatment typically costs between $50,000 and $100,000, the latter of which is more than twice the annual median U.S. income.

Early detection is the key!

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Article courtesy of Online Nursing Programs

Don't wait until the 11th hour.  
Ethics training must be completed before end of 2012.
 REALTORS® must complete Ethics training every four years to maintain their membership. An online training course at REALTOR.org fulfills the requirement and is free of charge.

Read more...

GoGreen New York is officially a part of Climate Week NYC! Now in its fourth year, Climate Week NYC is an annual summit boasting high-level meetings and an exciting array of public-facing events, focused on tackling climate change and driving a 'clean industrial revolution'.

If you are committed to or interested in making your business as sustainable as possible and ensuring the green line is as relevant as the bottom line - the GoGreen Conference is an opportunity you cannot afford to miss.

NYSAR Quarterly Legal Webinar:
E-Signatures
 

The webinar will conclude with a brief Q & A session.

Presenter: S. Anthony Gatto, Esq., NYSAR Director of Legal Services

New York area residents applying for mortgages to buy a new home or refinance an existing one are bumping up against a new obstacle: flood insurance.

Ever since the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FENA) began redrawing the flood-zone maps in the greater New York region in 2007, some areas that were once considered low-risk have become high-risk. That has prompted banks and other lenders to require borrowers in the high-risk zones to buy insurance against hurricane or flood damage to their homes.

Initially, the new requirements mainly affected owners of single-family homes near coastal areas, including houses in Queens, Staten Island, Long Island and Westchester County.

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Article courtesy of The Wall Street Journal

Zoning laws are found in virtually every municipality in the United States, affecting land use, lot size, building heights, density, setbacks, and other aspects of property use.

The NAR field guide features links to articles, books, and websites that will provide you with information on the concept of zoning, zoning's impacts on property values, and related topics.

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Mortgage rates ticked up from historic lows for the fourth week in a row as the bonds that finance most home loans continue to look overpriced to investors.

Some have speculated that the prospect of rising mortgage rates could spur homebuyers who have been sitting on the fence into action.

Read more...

Article courtesy of Inman News

Small businesses can stand out in a big way with Facebook.

If you're looking for some creative examples of Facebook pages from the small guys, look no further.

More than 1,800 nominations entered a Facebook contest, representing over 500 small businesses. A panel of Facebook experts reviewed the nominees and finalists, analyzing their landing pages, engagement, reader involvement and creative use of promotions (among other things). None of these businesses had huge budgets, yet they all have achieved amazing success.

See the winners of Social Media Examiner's Top 10 Small Business Facebook Pages for 2012

How -- and how not -- to spruce up a home

AOL Real Estate spotlights best and worst home transformations

The keys to REALTOR® Safety are knowledge, awareness, and empowerment. NAR offers tips and tools you can use to keep safety top-of-mind.

Knowledge. Awareness. Empowerment. These are the core components of REALTOR® Safety.

As part of NAR's ongoing efforts to keep members safe, September is dedicated to REALTOR® Safety.

NAR has developed an online REALTOR® Safety Resources Kit and a variety of refreshers throughout the year, including:

• New webinars on REALTOR® Safety, presented by industry experts.
• Quarterly safety messages focusing on seasonal tips for on the job and at home, sent to Associations and brokers to share with members.
• Expansion of client safety materials and resources

Read more...

Article courtesy of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®