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Roanoke Valley REALTOR®
Online
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Greetings!
You are receiving this online newsletter as a benefit of being a member of the Roanoke Valley Association of REALTORS®.
Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year!
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Member Type|Count ------------------- REALTOR® 1,099 Offices 124 Affiliate 141 Click here to see which RVAR members have switched firms, gone inactive, or joined recently. |
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Scholz Named REALTOR® of the Year
Henry Scholz, Director of MKB, REALTORS®' Commercial Division, received RVAR's REALTOR® of the Year award at RVAR's December 13th Installation and Awards Breakfast.
Scholz has been a REALTOR® for 29 years, serving in many volunteer capacities for RVAR, VAR and NAR. Scholz served as RVAR's President in 2000 and chaired RVAR's Building Task for several years, resulting in the purchase and renovation of RVAR's Starkey Road building.
The REALTOR® of the Year award is RVAR's highest honor, recognizing a local REALTOR® who demonstrates outstanding REALTOR® spirit, business accomplishments and community involvement.
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Kingery Installed as RVAR President
Betty Kingery of Mountain to Lake Realty was installed as RVAR's President on December 13th at RVAR's Installation and Awards Breakfast. Also installed were Donna Greer of Long & Foster's Hales Ford Bridge office as President-elect and Vic Coffey of RE/MAX All Stars as Vice President.
Two new Directors were installed: Kathy Chandler of MKB, REALTORS® and Fred Hall of Prudential Premier, REALTORS®. Donna Marie Harris of Long & Foster, REALTORS® and Adam Lynch of Prudential Waterfront Properties were installed for a second term as Directors. Your 2013 Board of Directors stands ready to serve you!
Outgoing President Melissa Morgan recognized Joe Sutliff with the President's Meritorious Award for his multi-year efforts resulting in a successful lockbox exchange last summer.
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Fletcher Receives RVAR Community Service Award
Jeff Fletcher of Prudential Premier, REALTORS® received RVAR's REALTOR® Community Service Award on December 13th at RVAR's Installation and Awards Breakfast.
Fletcher was recognized for his volunteer efforts on behalf of Hunters for the Hungry, a nonprofit organization that processes and distributes deer meat donated by hunters to soup kitchens and food banks throughout the area. In addition to recognizing Fletcher, RVAR made a $1,000 contribution to Hunters for the Hungry in Fletcher's honor.
The REALTOR® Community Service Award recognizes a local REALTOR® who gives of his or her time to an organization that improves the quality of life in the greater Roanoke Valley.
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Affiliates of the Year Awards
Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group was honored with RVAR's 2012 Affiliate Firm of the Year award, presented on December 13th at RVAR's Installation and Awards Breakfast. Atlantic Bay was recognized for its outstanding support exhibited by event attendance, sponsorships and Committee service.
Dave Henry, Regional Director of Business Development for Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group received RVAR's 2012 Affiliate Individual of the Year award. Henry currently serves as Vice Chair of RVAR's Program & Special Events Committee.
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Eight Firms Win Distinguished Service Awards
Each year, RVAR recognizes those firms whose agents have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the real estate profession by attending RVAR educational classes, serving on RVAR/VAR/NAR Committees, earning professional designations, contributing to RPAC and attending RVAR/VAR/NAR events. The Distinguished Service Awards were presented to the following firms at the December 13th RVAR Installation and Awards Breakfast:
Small Firms (1-15 agents)
Lake Team Realty
Mountain to Lake Realty
Park Place Realty, LLC
RE/MAX All Points
Medium Firms (16-35 agents)
Prudential Premier, REALTORS®
RE/MAX All Stars Realty
RE/MAX Valley, REALTORS®
Large Firm (36 or more agents)
MKB, REALTORS®
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2013 RVAR Dues Reminder
The final date for receipt of REALTOR® dues is Monday, January 7th. On Tuesday, January 8th, any REALTOR® whose dues remains unpaid will be dropped from membership. On Wednesday, January 9th, MLS access will be terminated and Supra keys deactivated.
If you need another copy of your dues bill, please contact Susan Edwards at the RVAR office. There are many ways for you to pay: (1) pay online at RVAR's website, (2) Fax completed invoice to (540) 772-8058, (3) Mail completed invoice to Roanoke Valley Association of REALTORS®, 4358 Starkey Road, Roanoke VA 24018, or (4) drop your payment off at the RVAR office between the hours of 8:00AM and 4:30PM (RVAR also has a drop box for after hours payments). If paying by check, please make payable to RVAR.
Once terminated, payment of the annual dues plus a reinstatement fee of $150 shall be required to reinstate membership in RVAR, provided reinstatement is made within 60 days following termination. After that, application as a new member is required to restore membership in the Association.
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2013 RVAR and MLS Budgets: Monthly MLS Fee Increase of $1
The Board of Directors recently approved the 2013 budgets for RVAR and MLS. The Board approved a $1 monthly MLS fee increase, to support the increasing costs of current and planned MLS technology offerings. (There is no increase in the monthly MLS office fee.) Summaries of the RVAR budget and MLS budget are provided.
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Countdown to Ethics Deadline
Are you one of the 146 members who have not yet taken the Code of Ethics training required by NAR? If so, then December 31st is your deadline.
NAR requires all REALTORS® to complete 3 hours of Code of Ethics training every four years. The current four-year cycle ends December 31, 2012.
What are your options?
Option 1: If you take your CE license renewal classes online, then you may very well have already taken the required training at some point in the last 4 years. If you take your online CE through any of the schools listed below, then all you need to do is fax (772-8058) or email your certificate to Susan Edwards. RVAR has already confirmed with each of these schools that the ethics portion of their CE training conforms to NAR's requirements.
Alpha, ICE, McKissock Education, Moseley, Moseley-Flint,
Potomac Real Estate School
NOTE: Moseley-Dickinson Academy of Real Estate shares its CE course rosters with RVAR. RVAR has already given credit to anyone who has taken an ethics CE class from this school.
Option 2: Any member can go to NAR's website and take the required training online for free (though no CE credit is provided.) NAR provides both a residential and a commercial version of this online class.
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2013 Code of Ethics Revision
The National Association of REALTORS® has adopted one revision related to the Code of Ethics which will go into effect January 1st. RVAR.com will include a link to the 2013 Code as soon as it is published by NAR.
Revised Standard of Practice related to Article 12: Article 12 requires REALTORS® to present a 'true picture' in their advertising and marketing. The newly adopted revision expands the 'true picture' mandate to include different types of Internet content and prohibits REALTORS® from presenting content developed by others without attribution or permission.
NOTE: The Code of Ethics celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2013!
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New MLS Fields
Two new optional MLS fields will be added to the MLS, effective January 10th. Water Heater Type will have 4 choices: Tank, Tank-less, Hybrid and Other. Water Heater Energy Source will have 7 choices: Electric, Natural Gas, Propane, Wood, Geothermal, Solar and Other.
These new fields will appear in the MLS, and on the MLS Input Sheets in zipForms®, on January 10th.
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Standard Forms Changes Coming
The Standard Forms Committee and Board of Directors have approved a variety of revisions to RVAR's Standard Clauses Addendum and Subject to Sale, Kick-Out and Subject to Consummation Clauses forms. Click on either form title to see what is being changed.
The revised forms will 'go live' in zipForms® on January 10th. Also, RVAR will introduce a clause library within zipForms®. Every clause in the Standard Clauses Addendum, plus a few additional clauses, will be contained in the clause library for member's use.
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Upcoming Education Offerings
Business Planning Class: Start your year off right by attending RVAR's Business Planning Workshop, Tuesday, January 8th, sponsored by Valley Team Mortgage and RVAR's Education Committee. The half-day Workshop (9AM-Noon) is FREE and will aid you in goal setting and writing your 2013 business plan. Click here for more information or to register.
Meth Labs and Fire Facts: This January 24th class (9-10:30AM) starts with the basics of meth and fire, with a focus on remediation and restoration efforts. Taught by ServPro®, this class is FREE. Click here for more information or to register.
VHDA: The Key to Serving First-time Homebuyers: VHDA is offering this FREE class on February 21st (10AM-Noon) which will focus on VHDA programs best suited for your clients. Attendance will earn you 2 CE credits PLUS enter you into VHDA's Real Estate Agent Connection program (which includes a free listing on VHDA.com.) Registration information will be available soon.
CRS Elective Course: No Bull Selling: LeRoy Houser will be back in Roanoke on March 21st to teach this brand new day-long course. This course will focus on: online marketing techniques; creating a buyer counseling program; three critical fundamentals of successful negotiation and capturing more referrals. Registration information will be available soon.
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Our RVAR Family
Congratulations
Congratulations to Suzi Fortenberry of MKB, REALTORS® who was installed by the Roanoke Regional Home Builders Association as its 2013 Vice President. Suzi is slated to be the first female President of the Home Builders in 2014.
Congratulations also to MKB, REALTORS® for being honored by the Roanoke Regional Home Builders Association for donating the most toys in the Association's annual Toys for Tots campaign.
In Sympathy
Sympathy is expressed to Mary Mann of Lichtenstein Rowan, REALTORS® upon the death of her mother. RVAR also expresses sympathy to G. K. Kinsey of Wainwright & Co. upon the death of his mother.
Let RVAR know if you have news to share. |
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Upcoming Events
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December 24th & 25th
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RVAR Office Closed
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December 31st
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RVAR Office Closed
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January 1st
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RVAR Office Closed
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January 7th
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Final Deadline for Paying 2013 Dues
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Business Planning Workshop
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January 21st
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RVAR Office Closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
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January 24th
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Meth Labs & Fire Facts Class
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Roanoke Valley Association of REALTORS®
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