The National Association of REALTORS® Midyear meetings are in full swing, with REALTORS® from across the country meeting in Washington, D.C. this week. Your ECAR leadership is attending NAR committee meetings and meeting with the entire Florida congressional delegation.

This year, for the first time ever, NAR President Moe Veissi has organized a rally to "Protect the American Dream." Florida REALTORS® will be well represented at this rally at the National Mall on Thursday, May 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. EST. Starting Wednesday afternoon, the REALTOR® Rally website will morph into a Virtual Rally site for all REALTORS® who can't be in Washington for this historic event.

You can show your support and participate online by clicking here: http://mail.ecaor.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.realtoractioncenter.com/realtor-rally/ starting during the afternoon of May 16.

Save a search, save to prospect, what's the difference? What does each one do? Aren't they the same thing? The answers: big, something completely different, and no.

Let's start with Save a Search. This is the one you want to do to save the search criteria for a prospect, or for any time you want easy access to specific search criteria. The search criteria is the list of fields that will give list the properties that match: status, area, bedrooms, bathrooms, features, etc. There's a Save Search option on the Quick Search screen, ProSearch screen, and even on the Search Results screen. Personally I like the one on the ProSearch screen the most (it's easiest), but any of them will get the job done.

Confusion can set in if you wait until the Search Results page to save your search criteria. On that screen are two options for saving: the Save icon (looks like the old fashioned floppy disk), and the Save to Prospect button.

Save to Prospect is an option that allows you to save a list of properties to a particular prospect. To use this, you have to have the prospect record already set up and saved. Check mark the listings you want, then click the Save to Prospect icon. Highlight the prospect's name, and click the Save button. The system will hold those listings in the # Properties column on the prospect's record.

So, the big difference between Save and Save to Prospect is what's being saved. The Save option saves the search criteria. Save to Prospect saves a list of properties to the prospect.

If you have any questions, please call us at 850-244-2411, or email susan@ecaor.com.

Susan Beck, MLS Director
Emerald Coast Association of REALTORS
Fort Walton Beach, FL

Coldwell Banker United, Realtors will host a garage sale Saturday, May 19 to support Donations 4 Danny, a charity set up to assist Realtor and fireman Danny Margagliano, Keller Williams Realty. Sale proceeds will go to support Danny, whose medical costs and expenses will continue to grow.

On Saturday, April 14, Danny was involved in a diving accident which paralyzed him. Although it is not known if his paralysis is permanent, this injury has been devastating to Danny, his family, and his friends. His recovery will be extensive.

The garage sale will be Saturday, May 19 from 7:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at Coldwell Banker United, Kelly Plantation Office located at 4393 Commons Drive East.

Contact Laura Gerard at 850-376-4921 or laura.gerard@cbunited.com if you would like to donate any items to the garage sale or if you need more information.

Participate in the Great Emerald Coast Open House Sunday, May 20! Encourage your sellers to allow you to make their homes available for viewing by the general public from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Special Emerald Coast Open House signs are available for sale from the ECAR Realtor Store. Contact Michelle at 850-243-6145 to purchase signs. The public is being directed to http://emeraldcoastopenhouse.com/ to search for Open Houses on the third Sunday of each month.

Add your open houses to the web site by using the Open House feature on the Maintenance menu in MLS. Here’s how:

· Go to ECAR MLS

· Go to Search Menu

· Go to Inventory

· Choose “Active” and click Accept

· Find the listing you want included on the Open House website

· Click the Status link – This takes you to Maintenance

· Scroll to the bottom of the action list

· Click Open House

· Enter the date (March 18) and the times of your open house (ECAR recommends 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.). You can also add a note.

· Click Add New

· Another Open House block will appear with your previous entry above it. If you want to add another open house for that listing, enter the information. If not, close the tab/window and you’re done.

The Chipola Area Board (CABR) no longer shares the MLS database with the Realtor Association of Franklin and Gulf Counties (RAFGC). They have selected a different MLS system, NAVICA and have moved their inventory over to their new MLS.

ECAR has a data sharing agreement with both CABR and RAFGC, available through the Other MLS’s link on the Search menu. Through this agreement, we are able to link into their previously joined database to search their listings. At this time the Chipola area data is no longer in the RAFGC MLS.

CABR is working with NAVICA to restore the data sharing links to all of their reciprocal partners and for themselves to access our data, but as of yet there is no timeline for implementation. We will make a link available to their new MLS system as soon as we have the access.

ECAR members are among the best around, and we want you to be recognized among your peers across the state. Florida Realtors® is accepting nominations for their 2012 Awards. If you know of someone who fits any of these categories, submit their name to ECAR so we can help them be recognized by Florida Realtors® for their contributions. *Self-nominations are encouraged, too.*

Individual Education Achievement Award – Individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the educational needs of Association members at the local, district, state, and national levels for the past five years. Awarded by Florida Realtors at Florida Realtors Convention in August.

Realtor® Environmental Award (ENVY) – Showcases residential OR commercial developments that celebrate Florida’s natural quality of life; residential developments must have a minimum of 30 units located in Florida and be available for marketing with a model home. Awarded by Florida Realtors at Florida Realtors Convention in August.

Newcomer Award – Newcomers have been Realtor® members for 3 years or less (as of May 31, 2012) with contributions at the state association; a high level of ethics and spirit of cooperation; community service; and a commitment to professional development. Awarded by Florida Realtors at Florida Realtors Convention in August.

Humanitarian Award – The Humanitarian Award focuses on Realtor® contributions through volunteerism within the community; honorees typically dedicate their time to one project or organization. Awarded by Florida Realtors at Florida Realtors Convention in August.

Realtor® Achievement Award – Honoring the one Realtor® (broker of record, manager, or officer of a company) who contributed the most to their community, local association, state association, and national association over the past three years. Awarded by Florida Realtors at Florida Realtors Convention in August.

Commercial Realtor® Achievement – Honoring a Realtor®, based on lifetime contributions to the commercial activities of their local association, state association, national association, and contributions to the community. Awarded by Florida Realtors at Florida Realtors Convention in August.

Associate Realtor® of the Year – Honoring an Associate Realtor® (serving their company as a salesperson) based on the nominee’s lifetime contributions to the local association, state association, national association, and community. Awarded by Florida Realtors at Florida Realtors Convention in August.

Realtor® of the Year – Honoring a Realtor®, based on the nominee’s lifetime contributions to their local association, state association, national association, and community. Awarded by Florida Realtors at Florida Realtors Convention in August.

Let us know who you think qualifies for any of these awards. Submit your nominations to Michaela at michaela@ecaor.com or 850-243-6145 by June 1, 2012.

Make plans today for the next Broker Breakfast on Friday, May 25, 2012atECAR! This is a special Memorial Day Broker Breakfast, and we will honor our members who have served our country.

Hear from different ECAR Committee Chairs as they discuss what they’ve done for ECAR’s members this year, and what they’re working on!

Breakfast is FREE and door prizes will be given away thanks to our great sponsors: National Property Inspections, Real Estate CareerQuest, and University Lending! The breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m.

Sign up online or contact Michaela at michaela@ecaor.com or 850-243-6145 to register!