By now, you should have received your 2011 membership renewal notice. The 2011 dues total includes local, state, and national dues, as well as special assessments from Florida Realtors® and the National Association of Realtors®. You may also make a $20 voluntary payment to RPAC in your dues payments already included in the total dues balance. Along with your dues invoice, you received a copy of the 2011 Dues Disclosure. Look it over carefully for some tax info and the payment plan schedule. Read it online, as well, so you know exactly where your dues money is going.

You may pay your dues by check or credit card online at ims.ecaor.com or mail a check to ECAR. Payment arrangements are allowed and encouraged in an effort to make this time of year as pain-free as possible.

Pay your dues in full by January 4, to keep the $20 discount already included in the balance. After January 4, the discount is gone. If you do not pay your dues by February 1, your membership will be suspended. If you still haven’t paid by March 1, your membership will be automatically terminated. Don’t let this happen to you! It’s been a difficult year for many Realtors®. If you are struggling to pay your dues, contact Pat Doman in Accounting. We are here for you!

If you receive payment from the emergency real estate fund, consider going ahead and paying your dues. It will be one less thing to worry about before the holiday season.

The ECAR MLS uses the Google Map system to display or locate a property on a map. This map system has a zoom feature that will allow you to zoom out far enough to see the entire county or the entire southwest US. It will also zoom in enough to see parcel lines.

If you would like to make sure the house marker is in the right location, you can zoom in to get it exactly right. This is useful not only to make sure the map location is right, but it also helps those agents or appraisers who need to find properties within a certain distance from another location. If your map location is not correct, your listing will not appear on the right reports, or it will appear on the wrong reports.

To fine tune the map location on your listing, go to Maintenance, enter the MLS number, and click Adjust Map Location. You can also go into your inventory, find the listing, and click the “map it” link at the end of the address.

Please see tip # 33 if you don’t see the house marker when you go into Adjust Map Location.

Find the Zoom option on the left side of the map.

As you click the Plus symbol, the map will show more and more details of the area.

NOTE: Be sure to always keep the house marker within view while adjusting the zoom. If you need to change the location of the house marker, it must be within the view of the map to be moved.

A saved location may look accurate from a distance, but once the view is zoomed in, it could be blocks away from the actual location. By zooming in, you can be sure the location is as accurate as possible.

If you have any questions about adjusting the map location of your listings, or anything else in the MLS, please call 850-244-2411, or email susan@ecaor.com.

The Fair Housing Act, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibits discrimination in housing because of sex, race, national origin, religion or familial status. Violations are investigated and enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

The power of the Realtor® Party was in effect during the 2010 Florida Realtors® Convention in Orlando. The Legislative and Political Forum committee at Florida Realtors®, whose Vice Chair is ECAR Director Bob Hudgens, managed to secure visits from 5 major political candidates: Gubernatorial candidates Florida CFO Alex Sink (D) and businessman Rick Scott (R), and US Senate candidates Governor Charlie Crist (I), Congressman Kendrick Meek (D), and Former House Speaker Marco Rubio (R). State and national media covered their speeches. ECAR also recorded the candidates, and the videos are now available for you to view.

Florida Realtors® is not making any recommendations in the races for Governor or US Senator. Watch the candidates and decide for yourself.

Candidates for Governor:

CFO Alex Sink - Democrat

Rick Scott, businessman – Republican

Candidates for US Senate:

Gov. Charlie Crist - Independent

Congressman Kendrick Meek – Democrat

Former House Speaker Marco Rubio – Republican

Election Day is Tuesday, November 2.

If you have any questions about Realtor® involvement in politics, contact ECAR Government Affairs Director Cliff Long

On Tuesday, August 31 the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s office received two calls from two different Realtors® who had been contacted in the last several days by Patrick Connelly. Connelly is a registered sexual offender currently residing in Santa Rosa County. Connelly had one Realtor® show him a property this afternoon at Portifino on Pensacola Beach. He had also asked the other Realtor® to show him a property on Pensacola Beach at 1:30 this afternoon but this Realtor® became suspicious after he asked her personal questions that made her feel uncomfortable. Connelly did not tell them he was a registered sexual offender. He did however tell both of them that he was looking for property around $700,000 and was going to pay cash. He also told them that he was a doctor at Andrews Institute, which he is not. Connelly is currently on disability and unemployed. If you should have a request to show Connelly property, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s office strongly urges you to meet him at the property and have someone with you. If any other Realtors® have been contacted by Connelly, please contact me. Also for future reference, if you ask for their driver’s license or identification card and there is a statute number in the bottom right hand corner of either 943.0435 (sexual offender) or 775.21 (sexual predator), that means they are a registered sexual offender or predator.

Public flyer pertaining to Patrick Connelly’s sexual offender designation

Example of a sexual offender or predator’s driver’s license or identification card with the statute number

The Emerald Coast Association of REALTORS® will close at 1:00 p.m. Friday, September 3 and will be closed Monday, September 6, 2010, in observance of Labor Day. Over the long weekend, emergency MLS and Supra support will be available by calling 850-244-2411. Offices will reopen at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

ECAR offers our deepest sympathies to Brenda Parish on the death of her son who passed away Monday, August 30, 2010. Brenda has been an ECAR member since 2003 and is currently with Rosewood Realty in Fort Walton Beach.

Services will be conducted Saturday, September 4 at 11:00 a.m. at Dillard Funeral Home, 431 US 231, Troy, AL 36079 334-566-1720. http://www.dillardfh.com/.

The claims process changed hands Monday, August 23, 2010, and BP is no longer in control of paying claims. The BP claims process was replaced by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, headed up by Kenneth Feinberg who is control of the $20 billion trust to pay claims. In addition to the trust, Feinberg also set aside a $60 million emergency fund for real estate professionals who experienced losses from the oil spill; Florida received $16 million from the emergency fund. This fund is designed to give real estate licensees emergency financial help.

Florida Realtors® (your state association) is the administrator of the $25 million emergency fund for Florida and has hired an outside company, NCA, to handle the claims process. NCA claims adjustors are sitting here at ECAR waiting to help real estate professionals who lost transactions and/or income due to the oil spill. They will pay claims directly from the emergency fund. A maximum of $12,000 is being paid out to individuals who can show loss – and not just within one mile of the beach. If you think you don’t have a claim because BP said so, file anyway.

Even if you’ve filed a claim with BP and have been paid or are still waiting for payment, you can still file a claim through the emergency real estate fund.

Below is the documentation required for filing claims:

LOSS OF INCOME CLAIMS:

• Signed Tax Returns for 2007, 2008 and 2009.
• Commission Statements for 2007, 2008, 2009 and especially 2010 to date showing the property sold, amount of commission and dates the commissions were paid. Typically the broker can generate this document. Otherwise bring pay stubs or create a spreadsheet with this information.
• Driver’s License
• Your Real Estate Agent license. (If you are a broker, bring broker’s license and brokerage license)
• Hardship letter
• Map of sold OR listed properties to show locations in relation to the Gulf.
• Copy of letter from BP that accompanied any funds received from BP

LOSS OF SPECIFIC TRANSACTION: (MUST BE FILED BY THE BROKER)

• Listing Agreement
• MLS information reflecting offer of compensation or any other commission agreements or other commission communications.
• Independent Contractor Agreement or other documentation reflecting split between broker and sales associate.
• Cancellation information, letters, and all relevant communication regarding lost transaction due to oil spill as cause of collapse of transaction.
• Documents providing details on efforts to mitigate losses or why no efforts were taken.
• Documentation of payments received from private insurance
• A detailed explanation of economic need for this emergency payment.
• Copy of Florida broker’s license.
• Other proof, if applicable.

Below are the requirements for filing a real estate claim under the emergency fund:

• Claimants must hold a current Florida real estate license and have been actively licensed in Florida at the time the loss of income was incurred.
• The only claims allowed under this emergency fund are for those based on loss of income, as a result of the spill.
• All claims based on a loss of commission for a specific transaction for the sale of real estate may only be filed by a broker or brokerage firm.
• Commissions lost on both residential and commercial sales are eligible.
• Both brokers and sales associates may file individually for a loss of income.
• Claims that are not eligible: commercial real estate income, rental income, rental commissions and claims resulting from property damage or other personal claims. These claims should be filed with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility directly.
• Claims will be limited to $12,000 per claimant for all losses. As this is an emergency fund, it is not designed to fully reimburse losses.
• Initial claims are restricted to loss of income from April 20, 2010 through July 31, 2010. Subsequent claims may be filed for loss of income from August 1, 2010 through October, 31, 2010, depending on fund availability. A separate claim will be required for each corresponding time period. Maximum payment to any individual claimant, in aggregate, shall not exceed $12,000.

Decision making process:

· If the claim is approved, a check or payment will be made immediately.

· If the claim is deemed not in compliance with the program, it will be sent to Florida Realtors® for a preliminary review prior to a denial being issued.

· If the claim is denied, the claimant may file an appeal.

Go to http://www.fl.gulfreclaims.com/ or call 1-888-498-6944 to file your claim or for more information on what you need to file your claim.

If you had a claim number with BP, you will need to re-file with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility at http://www.gulfcoastclaimsfacility.com/. All of your documentation should transfer over, but contact the facility to be sure. Filing a claim through the emergency fund does not mean you cannot file a claim with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

ECAR offers our deepest sympathies to Kitty Powl on the death of her husband, Mike Powl who passed away Sunday, July 25, 2010. Mike was with Pelican Real Estate and had been an ECAR member since 2003. Kitty was also an ECAR member from 2003 until earlier this year and was most recently with Pelican Real Estate.

Kitty Powl and friends will gather to celebrate Mike’s life at Helen Back on Okaloosa Island, Sunday, September 5 beginning at 4:00 p.m.

The 2010 Florida Realtors® Convention and Trade Show conducted August 25 – 29, 2010 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, FL was a great success! This was an opportunity for Realtors® from across the state to conduct Florida Realtors® business, become more educated, and network with hundreds of other Realtors®. Over 50 ECAR members attended as well as 5 members of the ECAR staff. Members of staff have provided reports of news they learned during the meetings.

CEO Report – Barry Stafford

Education Report – Paula Bailey

Government Affairs Report – Cliff Long

Technology Report –Geoff Gurney

Talk to ECAR members who attended, read the reports from staff, watch the videos on YouTube, and check out the information posted in MLS. If you find information that is useful to you and your business, or if it just looks like a lot of fun, consider attending the 2011 Florida Realtors® Convention August 24 – 28, 2011.

The November elections are approaching, and Realtors® and business leaders statewide are united squarely against Amendment 4 which will appear on the November ballot. Please help us get the word out. Vote NO on 4 yard signs are now available on a first come first serve basis at ECAR. Please stop by and pick up your sign today. They are expected to go fast!

For more information on the fight against Amendment 4 please visit: http://www.florida2010.org/

View the 2010 Proposed Amendments to read more about the Amendments on the ballot in November.