Gepar Magazine - September 2011

1 • elpasorealtor.com El Paso Realtor Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2011 SEPTEMBER 2011 | El Paso Realtor Magazine elpasorealtor.com • 1

2 • elpasorealtor.com El Paso Realtor Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2011 1 • elpasorealtor.com El Paso Realtor Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2011

Thinking about running for office?

Thinking about running for office?

Don’t miss this opportunity to get a head start.Don’t miss this opportunity to get a head start.

2011 Texas REALTORS® ConventionSo you think you want to run for office?

Saturday, September 109:30–10:30am, Room 17BAustin Convention Center

Learn what it takes to becomea well-prepared and effective candidate and how to execute a winning campaign.

RealtorParty

®

2 • elpasorealtor.com El Paso Realtor Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2011 1 • elpasorealtor.com El Paso Realtor Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2011 SEPTEMBER 2011 | El Paso Realtor Magazine elpasorealtor.com • 1

Is it my imagination or is this year just flying by? It has been an incredibly busy and productive year at the

Association with many programs, speakers and education courses being offered. None of this would be possible without our Committee volunteers who invest so much of their time to further the cause of professionalism in our industry. I am grateful to all of them, including my Committee Chairs, and I am so appreciative of their ef-forts on behalf of the Association.

This month everyone will be receiving their ballots for GEPAR’s slate of Directors and Officers for 2012. These individuals will be guiding our Association during the coming year and not only would I ask everyone to as-sume your responsibility to vote, but please examine the slate of candidates. Take a moment to look at each person’s qualifications and know that your vote counts! Your choice is what will move our Association forward to address the challenges and issues we are faced with.

As we are all aware, school is back in session so I would ask that all of us obey the school zones and remember, no talking on your cell phones while driving through these zones. As parents, our times with our children also seem to fly by. It seems one moment they are babies, and the next, they are leaving to school, and then they are leaving the nest.

The upcoming Texas REALTORS® Convention will be held in Austin, September 12th through the 14th. Come prepared to learn and be amazed at all the education and technology out there. We were fortunate to have TAR’s Chairman of the Board, Dwight Hale, visit our Asso-ciation last week for the purpose of conducting several Focus Group meetings. In addition, he spoke at our monthly meeting on Friday.Don’t forget October 7th. The REALTOR® Convention will be held at the Civic Center and I promise it will be awesome!!! Tickets will be going on sale shortly.

- Linda Bastraw

Monthly Update

+ PRESIDENTS REMARKS L I N D A B A S T R A W

G R E AT E R E L PA S O

A S S O C I AT I O N O F R E A LT O R S

P R E S I D E N T


IMPORTANT REMINDERS

ASSOCIATION OFFICERS- Linda Bastraw [ President ]- Jennifer Stroh [ President- Elect]- Kenny Gross [Secretary/ Treasurer ]- Doug Hamilton [ Immediate Past President ]- Sharron K. Ramirez [ Chief Executive Officer] ASSOCIATION DIRECTORS- Caroline Camfield - Susan Craig - Mackie Sue Gilchrist - Andrew Haggerty - Douglas Van Nortwick

ASSOCIATION DIRECTORS 2011-2012- Timothy Cantrell- Socorro Cochran- Jim Howard- Mickey Molina- Patti Olivas

MLS BOARD OF DIRECTORS- Rick Snow [ President ]- Angel Ochoa [ Vice President ]- Jesus Barraza [ Secretary/ Treasurer ]- David Curiel - Art Moreno- Jim Howard- Robert Lozano- Frances Moran- William R. Stanton

TAR Nominating Committee - Sonja Van Nortwick

NAR DIRECTOR- Michael Bray

TAR DIRECTORS- Linda Bastraw- Doug Hamilton

TAR REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT- R. Scott Kesner

TAR TREPAC TRUSTEE- Elizabeth Leal

POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT COMMITTEE- Al Jurado

COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN- Kenny Gross [ Budget & Finance ]- Steve Carvalho [ Education ]- Alma Miller [ Fair Housing/ Equal Opportunity ]- Al Jurado [ Governmental Affairs ]- Socorro Cochran [ TREPAC ]- Angela Ochoa [ REALTOR / Builder ]

6400 GATEWAY EAST BLVDEL PASO, TX, 79905

(915) 779-3521

GEPAR QUARTERLY BILLING SCHEDULE

3RD QUARTER BILLING

09/01/2011 •Terminationofofficeifmembersarepastduew/active license.

4TH QUARTER BILLING

8/15/2011 •Invoicesposted–emailtoagentsinvoicesreadyto view & pay online8/31/2011 •4thquarterpaymentsdue

10/03/2011 - Suspension and $50.00 reconnect fee11/01/2011 - Suspension of office if members are pastdue w/active license.12/01/2011 - Termination of office if members are pastdue w/active license.

2012 YEARLY DUES WILL BE BILLED THE 1ST WEEK OF NOVEMBER, 2011 AND ARE DUE DECEMBER 31, 2011

E L PA S O R E A LT O R . C O M

The General Membership Meeting will be held October 7, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. at the REALTOR Convention which will be held at the El Paso Convention Center, Hall B. The results of the voting for Officers and Directors will be announced at that time.

Remember, this is your Association! Make sure you vote either by Proxy or by Ballot on or before September 30, 2011 at 5:00 p.m.


> EXPERT ADVISORS

Ethics Article...S

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I recently received a call from an agent who was showing homes to a buyer client and encoun-tered numerous problems with one particular

property. The home, which was new construction, showed that the property was vacant on lockbox with no other notes in the listing. Upon entering, an alarm went off so the agent called the listing agent. With the alarm blaring in the background, the listing agent began to chastise the buyer’s agent telling the agent that he should have never entered the home because the listing said there was an alarm. When he told her the listing contained no such informa-tion, the listing agent proceeded to argue and state there was. Finally, the listing agent gave the agent, who had his clients present, the alarm code which deactivated the alarm. The clients of the buyer’s agent liked the home, which did show PAO in the MLS. The agent called the listing agent and told them that his client’s would like to submit a back up offer. The listing agent told the buyer’s agent that the home was under contract and he could not submit a back up offer. The buyer’s agent then told the listing agent that it was listed as PAO in the MLS, and the listing agent told the buyer’s agent that did not mean he was entitled to submit a back up offer. First, PAO means Pending Accepting Offers which would allow the agent to submit a back up offer, which could also be done even if a property is in a pending status. The agent emailed me a copy of the listing and nowhere in the MLS listing did it state that the home had an alarm that was activated and that special instructions were required to gain access to the property.

To further make matters worse, the clients of the buyer’s agent had seen the home already, and when asked if they had an agent who represented them, they responded that yes, they did have an agent. The listing agent then told the buyers that if they would work with the listing agent, and not their buyer’s agent, the listing agent would “make sure” that

their offer was accepted because the builder would do “anything” the listing agent told the builder to do. It is disheartening in our world of real estate to know that this type of skullduggery (I’ve always loved this word which means “a verbal misrepresen-tation intended to take advantage of you in some way” or “crafty deception, trickery, or a misleading falsehood”) takes place within our own ranks. It is agents, such as these, who give the majority of us who strive for professionalism a bad name. Later in the week, the same buyer’s agent wanted to show a property and followed the instructions in the MLS which said Call _____ @_______ to show. The agent called, received no answer, and then sent a text message identifying himself as an agent with his company name stating his desire to show the property that was listed for sale. Within about 30 minutes, he received a text back that said ”Wrong number. I’m 10 years old.” Obviously, the listing agent had inadvertently transposed some numerals in the phone number.

While we can laugh at the response from the second situation the agent encountered, there is nothing to laugh about with the first instance that involved incompetence or oversight in the submission of the listing into the MLS, incompetence about what PAO means, and the blatant violation of Article 16 of the NAR Code of Ethics which states we cannot interfere with the agency relationship that exists between an agent and their client, and nor can we deceive someone into thinking they will derive benefits from discarding their agent to work with the other agent.

SPECIAL ASSESSMENT/ROLLBACK TAXES

We need to be aware of a policy being enacted by Central Appraisal District in regards to tax exemp-tions. An agent called me and asked me if I knew what a charge on the HUD statement was that was

4• elpasorealtor.com El Paso Realtor Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2011 5 • elpasorealtor.com El Paso Realtor Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2011

Ethics Article Continued...

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entitled “rollback taxes.” I told him it applied to properties with an agriculture exemption on them but he told me this was not the case on his property which involved an elderly woman who had passed away. Evidently the Central Appraisal District is researching all the cases involving probates that are filed, and if the property involves exemptions, such as Over 65 exemptions, the Central Appraisal District is using the date of death as the marker for eliminating the exemption. For a property that sells within a few months of the death occurring, the Title Company would prorate taxes accordingly. The situation I was referring to took months to probate due to the number of heirs involved, and then the home was on the market almost a year before selling resulting in a very steep assessment charged to the seller at closing on a very moderately priced home. On properties in-volving estates with an Over 65 exemption, caution the heirs that there very well might be an additional charge at the time of closing entitled Special Assess-ment/Rollback where the difference between the Over 65 exemption and an assessment based without the exemption will be charged to the estate.

REVISED SELLER’S DISCLOSURE STATEMENT GOES INTO EFFECT ON SEPTEMBER 1ST

Three new items have been added to the revised Seller’s Disclosure Statement which goes into effect September 1st. The three new items involve Liquid Propane Gas, A Single Blockable Main Drain in Pool or Spa, and use of any rainwater harvesting system connected to a property’s public water supply.I welcome your questions and comments to: [email protected] I welcome your comments and questions to

[email protected] E PA R

N E W M E M B E RE T H I C S

I N S T R U C T O R

> EXPERT ADVISORS

4• elpasorealtor.com El Paso Realtor Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2011 5 • elpasorealtor.com El Paso Realtor Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2011 SEPTEMBER 2011 | El Paso Realtor Magazine elpasorealtor.com • 5

> EXPERT ADVISORS

DO YOU WANT TO RECOGNIZE SOMEONE IN THE COMMUNITY? DO YOU WANT TO SHARE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT OR JUST WANT TO GIVE KUDOS?Here’s your chance. We want to publish it!

Every month we want to showcase your accomplishments, share how you are making a difference in the community and show appreciation for all your hard work.

Please submit your kudos to:

Armando RodriguezCommunications/Governmental Affairs [email protected]


> ASSOCIATION EVENTS S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1

“Stories of Success” - Learn. Grow. Succeed.GEPAR welcomed Ginger Kerrick, The first person of Hispanic heritage to lead Mission Control for NASA for this month’s series of “Stories of Success” on August 19, 2011, where she communicated her success story. Lunch was sponsored by ACCENT HOMES of ANTHONY and First American Home Buyers Protection Corporation.

REALTOR® Food Drive.Throughout the month of August our REALTOR® community came out to support those in need. The Greater El Paso As-sociation of REALTORS® would like to thank those REALTORS® who donated to the West Texas Food Bank. Together we raised 792 lbs. of food and contributed $350.00.


> ASSOCIATION EVENTS S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1

Board of Directors Regional MeetingOn August 26, 2011 the Greater El Paso Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors had a Regional Meeting with the Texas Association of REALTORS® Leadership. Dwight Hale, Chairman of the Texas Association of REALTORS® and Michael Detrick, 2nd Vice President of TREPAC gave an update on state issues that affect the REALTOR® community. The Board of Directors also presented the REALTOR® Emeritus award to five recipients: Steve Hicks, Reinaldo Martinez, Patt Robles, Victor Robles and Rudy Quinones.

City Councilman Dr. Michiel R. Noe Check PresentationOn August 17, 2011 members of the Governmental Affairs Committee and the Leadership Team of the Greater El Paso Association of REALTORS® meet with City Councilman Dr. Michiel R. Noe at Amigos Restaurant for his fundraiser.


The Nominating Committee announces the candidates running for GEPAR Officers and Directors. You will be voting for President-Elect & Secretary / Treasurer and for five (5) Directors. You may vote by Proxy and mail it back on or before September 30, 2011 or you may vote by Ballot in person at the Association office the week of September 26, 2011 through September 30,2011. Ballots are available at the Association office. All votes must be in by 5:00 p.m. on September 30, 2011.

Century 21 The Edge

•PresidentElect2011 •Secretary/Treasurer2010•GEPARBoardofDirectors2007-2010 •GovernmentalAffairsCommittee2009-2010•EducationCommittee2007-2009 •TREPACChair2005•SalesmanoftheYear2005•Region16Rep.tothePoliticalInvolvementCommitteeatTAR2009-2010

ERA Prioirty One

•Secretary/Treasurer2011 •MLSPresident2008-2009•MLSBoardofDirectors2007-2009 •GEPARBoardofDirectors2001-2004•President,REALTOR®CommercialAlliance1991

Century 21 Haggerty

•GEPARBoardofDirectors2010-2011 •Budget&FinanceCommittee2009-2011•GovernmentalAffairsCommittee2010-2011 •EducationCommittee2010

ELECTION OF ASSOCIATION OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

2012 PRESIDENT - JENNIFER STROH

2012 PRESIDENT ELECT- KENNY GROSS

2012 SECRETARY/ TREASURER ELECT - ANDREW HAGGERTY


CarolineCamfieldREALTOR®GoldenRealEstate

•GEPARBoardofDirectors2010-2011•TREPACViceChair2011•TREPACCommittee2007-2011•ProfessionalStandardsCmte.2008-2011•TRLPGraduate2011

XiomaraKretschmerREALTOR®ColdwellBankerDeWetterHovious

•ProfessionalStandardsChair2007•ProfessionalStandardsCmte.07-11•GrievanceCommittee

JesusBarrazaBroker/OwnerBarrazaRealty

•MLSSecretary/Treasurer2011•MLSBoardofDirectors2009-2011

ArtMorenoBroker/OwnerTheArtofRealty

•MLSBoardofDirectors2011

RickSnowBroker/OwnerFirstChoiceRealty

•President,MLSBoardofDirectors2011•MLSBoardofDirectors2009-2010•ProfessionalStandardsCommittee•GrievanceCommittee•TRLPInstructor2011

SteveCarvalhoREALTOR®/Co-OwnerRE/MAXRealEstateGroup

•EducationChair2011•EducationViceChair2010•NewMemberEthicsInstructor08-11•SentrilockTaskForce2011•StrategicPlanning

AngelOchoaBroker/OwnerSuccessRealty

•VicePresident,MLSBoardofDirectors2011•Secretary/TreasurerMLSBoardof Directors 2010•GovernmentalAffairsCommittee•YPN2011

BarryKarchBroker/OwnerTheRealEstatePowerHouses

•GrievanceCommittee

AngelOchoaBroker/OwnerSuccessRealty

•VicePresident,MLSBoardofDirectors2011•Secretary/TreasurerMLSBoardofDirectors2010•GovernmentalAffairsCommittee•YPN2011

RamonaMarslenderBroker/Owner

•Mars Appraisal Assoc.

DouglasVanNortwickBroker/OwnerERASellers,Buyers&Associates

•GEPARBoardofDirectors2010-2011•GrievanceCommittee

SusanCraigBroker/OwnerCraigRealty/E-ZApt.Finders •GEPARBoardofDirectors09-11•TRLPGraduate2011•ProfessionalStandardsCmte.08-11•EducationChair2009

DaniiSedilloREALTOR®StantonRealty •EducationCommittee2011•REALTOR®/BuilderCmte.2011•TRLPGraduate2011•StrategicPlanningCmte.2011

The MLS Nominating Committee announces the candidate running for MLS Board of Directors. The MLS participants will be voting for two (2) Directors for the two year position. You may vote by Proxy and mail it back on or before September 30, 2011 or you may vote by Ballot in person at the Association office the week of September 26, 2011 through September 30, 2011. Ballots are available at the Association office.

2012 PRESIDENT - JENNIFER STROH

2012 GEPAR BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINEES

2012 MLS BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINEES2012 PRESIDENT ELECT- KENNY GROSS

2012 SECRETARY/ TREASURER ELECT - ANDREW HAGGERTY


+ NAR SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL H O M E S A L E S R E P O R T

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Real Estate Trend Indicator For July 2011

Board: Greater El Paso Association of REALTORS®

State: Texas

Date of Report: 08/15/11


+ BY THE NUMBERS S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 C O M PA R I S O N

12 • elpasorealtor.com El Paso Realtor Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2011

3 12:30 pm - Toastmasters

4 12:00 pm- CIBA Luncheon 1:30 pm- Education Cmtee. Mtg.

5 8:00 am - Orientation 1:00 am - YPN Meeting

6 8:30 am- RCA Weekly Meeting 1:30 pm - Gov. Affairs Cmtee. Mtg. 2:30 pm - TREPAC Cmtee. Mtg.

7 REALTOR® Convention, Convention Center Office Closed

10 12:30 pm- Toastmasters

11 8:00 am- MCE

12 8:00 am- MCE 9:00 am- Success Realty Meeting

13 8:30 am- RCA Weekly Meeting 12:30 pm- B of A Class

14 11:30 am- Builder University – Desert View

15 WCR Bras for the Cause 17 8:30 am- GRI 3 12:30 pm- Toastmasters

18 8:30 am- GRI 3 19 1:30 pm- Budget & Finance Meeting 2:00 pm- Executive Committee Meeting

20 8:30 am- RCA Weekly Meeting

21 11:30 am- “Stories Of Success” (Tentative)

24 8:30 am- GRI 3 12:30 pm- Toastmasters

25 8:30 am- GRI 3 1:00 pm- CIBA Board of Directors

26 8:30 pm- MLS Board of Directors

27 8:30 am- RCA Weekly Meeting 28 8:30 pm- Board of Directors 11:30 am - “Stories of Success” (Tentative) 29 9:00 am- WCR Board Meeting 12:30 pm- Toastmasters

1 8:30 am- RCA Weekly Meeting 9:00 am- WCR Holiday Inn 1:30 pm- Gov. Affairs Cmtee. Mtg. 2:30 pm- TREPAC Cmtee. Meeting

5 Office Closed

6 1:30 pm - Education Cmtee. Mtg.

7 8:00 am - Orientation 1:00 pm - YPN Meeting

8 8:30 am- RCA Weekly Meeting 9:30 am- Property Taxes Class

9 TAR Convention 12:00 pm- CIBA Luncheon

12 TAR Convention 9:00 am- Appraisals Course 12:30 pm - Toastmasters

13 TAR Convention 8:00 am- MCE

14 TAR Convention 8:00 am- MCE 9:00 am - Success Realty Meeting

15 8:30 am- RCA Weekly Meeting 11:30 am - Builder University

16 8:00 am- Texas REALTORS Leadership Program 19 9:00 am- Accredited Buyer Rep Course 20 9:00 am- Accredited Buyer Rep Course

21 9:00 am- Accredited Buyer Rep Course 12:00 pm - Budget & Finance Meeting 2:00 pm - Executive Cmtee. Meeting 22 8:30 am - RCA Weekly Meeting 8:30 pm - City Hall Visits 2:30 pm - GRI Mixer

26 GEPAR VOTING 9:00 am- WCR Board Meeting 12:30 pm - Toastmasters

27 GEPAR VOTING 1:00 pm- CIBA Board of Directors

28 GEPAR VOTING 8:30 pm- MLS Board of Directors 29 GEPAR VOTING 8:30 am- RCA Weekly Meeting

30 GEPAR VOTING 8:30 pm- Board of Directors 11:30 am - “Stories of Success” (Tentative)

OCTOBER

SEPTEMBER

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Documents

Gepar Magazine - September 2011