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Sussy DeLeon |
 Hello-
For the month of February, the Greater Providence Board of REALTORSŪ is promoting our REALTORŪ Benefits Partnerships. As a REALTORŪ member you have the advantage of belonging to a professional organization that exceeds one million members on the national level. With that bargaining power, we are able to provide substantial discounts to our members through our partnerships with companies including Dell, Hertz, Lenovo, FedEx and Xerox. To find out more about the advantages of your membership, please click here.
The Greater Providence Board has also developed a relationship with Staples to provide our member offices discounts of up to 60% on supplies and products you use every day! Please click here to register for this important benefit! If you would like more information on this partnership, please call the Board office.
We are pleased to explore new ways to assist our members, if you have any suggestions for affinity partners that you would find beneficial to your business kindly let us know!
Keep reading - this edition of our newsletter has important updates and announcements for you!
Respectfully,
Sussy DeLeon
2009 President GPBOR |
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Circle of Sales Excellence Awards Honors 2008 Recipients |
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You are Cordially Invited to Attend
The 2008 Circle of Sales Excellence Awards Reception to be held on
Thursday, March 19, 2009
6 PM-9 PM
The Marriott
1 Orms Street
Providence, RI
Cash Bar ~ Hors d'oeuvres
$30.00 per ticket
or by calling the Board Office at
(401) 274-8383.
To view our 2007 Awardees please click here. |
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News from the RI State House |
2009 Legislation is introduced in General Assembly
The Rhode Island General Assembly is considering legislation that impacts property rights, homeownership rights, and taxation.
H 5115 "AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES"
Introduced By: Representatives Lima, Giannini, E Coderre, Ajello, and Almeida.
This bill would require a financial institution or business that obtains a property by foreclosure on which it holds a mortgage to post a bond equal to 25% of the assessed value of the property and risk forfeiting the bond. This is a revised version of a bill that RIAR opposed last year. The bill originally would have required anyone who purchased a foreclosed property to post a bond. REALTORŪ Position: Oppose.
S 40 "AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE AND SALE" Introduced By: Senators Pichardo, Miller, Metts, Goodwin, and Jabour.
This bill would require a mortgagee to notify tenants of the date, time and place of a foreclosure sale along with contact information for Rhode Island Legal Services and HUD approved counseling agencies in Rhode Island. It would also require that any successor in interest to a foreclosed mortgagor continue to provide essential services such as heat, running water, hot water, electric or gas if the foreclosed mortgagor had provided said services prior to foreclosure. This act would also require a successor in interest to a foreclosed mortgagor to give tenants written notice to quit at least sixty (60) days in advance. REALTORŪ Position: Oppose
Bill TextH5088 "AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS - LOCATION OF GAS REGULATORS AND GAS METERS" Introduced By Representatives Costantino, Fox, Slater, Ajello and Williams.
This bill would establish procedures for the location or relocation of gas regulators and gas meters on residential property by a public utility, and would make additional provisions regarding historic buildings. REALTOR Position: GPBOR recommends suport -will be taken up by RIAR Government Affairs.
H 5092 "AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION" Introduced By: Reps. Carter, and Serpa.
This bill would allow municipalities to create two tiers of property taxpayers and impose higher property taxes to new owners. REALTOR Position: Oppose
Bill Text
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Appraisal Update:
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Adopt Home Valuation Code of Conduct |
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The Home Valuation Code of Conduct is an agreement between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the State Attorney General of New York. The Code was designed to enhance the independence and integrity of the real estate appraisal process. As of May 1, 2009, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not purchase loans originated by sellers who have not adopted the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). Government insured loans (FHA/VA)will remain exempt for the time being.
Appraisers, REALTORSŪ and mortgage professionals can learn more about the implementation by accessing the links below:
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| Technology Tip |
Michael Pereira, Chair
GPBOR Technology Committee
A recent profile of Rhode Island Home Buyers and Sellers was completed by the Research Division of the National Association of REALTORSŪ. Interestingly, the report showed that thirty-seven percent of home buyers use social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and Friendster. In addition, seventy-five percent of home buyers between the ages of 18-24 use social networking sites and half reported that they use them everyday or nearly every day.
These various networking sites give you the opportunity to reach out to a broad network of people you know, professionally and personally. I would urge you to explore the opportunity to increase your online presence with one of these options.
The Greater Providence Board of REALTORSŪ has established a group on Facebook and is expanding a presence on LinkedIn. Our goal is to bring our members valuable information and promote a positive REALTORŪ image in the online community.
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| The Legal Hotline
An Important Member Benefit |
Don't go it Alone! |
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As a REALTORŪ
member, you are entitled to legal assistance from the Legal Hotline. The Legal Hotline, which is adminstered by the RI Association of REALTORSŪ
is offered to members
and their attorneys free-of-charge. If you are faced with legal questions pertaining to your business, turn to the legal hotline to guide you to the answer!
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The Herbert H. Landy Insurance Agency has been a national leader in providing Errors & Omissions insurance to Real Estate Professionals since 1962. Offering experienced underwriting, competitive pricing, and the highest degree of service, we are proud supporters of Real Estate Associations in Rhode Island and throughout the United States. Contact us at 800-336-5422 for E&O insurance plans for Real Estate Agents & Brokers, Real Estate Appraisers, Home Inspectors, Title Agents, Mortgage Brokers, and many other professions. We offer surety bonds for Real Estate Agents and Mortgage Brokers.
Visit our website at www.landy.com to learn more about us.
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| DBR Approved Credits...
From the comfort of your home or office! |
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Click HERE to access Courses! Continuing Ed Express
Offers DBR Approved Courses
Code of Ethics Case Studies
3 CEUs
$29.95
Fulfills the NAR Quadrennial Ethics Training requirement.
3 Core Hours
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| New Laws and Regulations Effective 1/1/09 |
| RI Mortgage Originators to be Licensed
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| Shared Partnership
Agreements -
A Tool for Home Buyers |
Attorney Ken Russo recently appeared before the Directors of the Greater Providence Board of REALTORSŪ to discuss the practice of using a Home Acquisition Partnership Agreement (HAPA). This agreement would allow for two or more parties to purchase a residence or investment with an agreement in place to address many of the legal questions this ownership arrangement creates.
For detailed information please click here. Kenneth Russo, Esq. is an attorney at the firm of LaPlante Sowa Goldman ("LSG") with offices in Providence and Warwick, Rhode Island. Ken is Chair of LSG's Real Estate Title and Closing Group. He can be reached atkrusso@lsglaw.com or 401.273.0200 x 104. |
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| NAR Restates its Percentage of
Non-Deductible Dues for 2008 |
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Important Tax Notice for REALTORSŪ
Please note this change for your tax files about the deductibility of your National Association of REALTORŪ dues, which total $80 for 2008. NAR has restated the amount of its dues that are not deductible for last year because of a significant amount of new programming. The nondeductible dues portion will now be $25 (or 31%).
It was previously $18 (or 22%). Please attach this notice to your 2008 dues invoice as a record of this change.
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| Save the Date |
| Celebrating a Tradition of Excellence since 1907!
Important Dates!
2008 Circle of Sales
Excellence Awards
March 19, 2009
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We are here to provide you with the highest quality professional services at the Greater Providence Board of REALTORSŪ. Contact us at:
(401) 274-8383
Michele Caprio, CEO
Suzanne Silva, CFO
Beth McSherry, Executive Administrator
Keep us up-to-date with your email address... so we can keep you up-to-date! | |
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