Your Membership, Your Way

SAVING YOU TIME
Our car.org calendar is your quick reference for upcoming events. We’ve made it easy to find out what’s happening in your area. The calendar, located on the bottom right of the car.org homepage, is your member resource for education course dates, industry events, and local association meetings. Simply click on the date of interest to view the list of upcoming events, along with more information and links for registration and/or sign up. You even can sort your search by type of event. Click here to see activities in your area.

SAVING YOU MONEY
C.A.R. Member Advantage Program introduces new savings with the C.A.R. Private Print Shop. We’ve partnered with Printingforless.com to meet your printing needs. Designed with REALTORS® in mind, the C.A.R. Private Print Shop is your source for top quality marketing materials, including business cards, postcards, letterhead, and envelopes – all at a 10 percent savings. Printingforless.com has designed several theme options available. Ordering is simple and only takes a few minutes: Pick a theme, personalize with your photo, logo, and contact information, and enter your quantities. You’ll choose from professionally designed products that quickly can be customized to fit your business needs. Click here to get started.

SAVING YOUR SANITY
Have you completed your DRE-required course in risk management yet? You now are required to complete a DRE-approved three-hour course in risk management as part of your mandatory continuing education requirements to renew your license. The continuing education requirement for all salespersons completing their first renewal is now 15 hours with the addition of a risk management course. All other salespersons, and all brokers, are required to complete a course in risk management as part of their 45-hour continuing education requirement. Click here for more information or to sign up.

Are “social media” tools boosting your business? Tech Tuesday takes place the day before CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2009 on Oct. 6 at the San Jose Convention Center and offers a full-day of comprehensive tech training specifically designed for you. From the ins and outs of social media to the latest must-have smartphone apps – it’s all at Tech Tuesday. Are you registered? Don’t miss your chance to keep up with the latest tech trends. Register before Oct. 5 to save money. Click here to register today.

Help us make car.org even better and win a free Flip Video™. Tell us what you think about car.org by participating in our Web Site Usability Survey. Your input is important to us, and providing your feedback will help us learn more about how you use car.org as a resource, and what enhancements you would like to see. Complete the survey by Oct. 15, 2009, and you could win a FREE Flip Video™ handheld video camera. Click here for more information and full contest rules.

SAVING YOUR TRANSACTION
Stay SMART—brush up on your referral fee facts. Referrals can be a crucial part of your business, but are you up to speed on the legal implications of giving or accepting payment in exchange for a referral? We want to ensure you have all the facts, so we’ve added a legal Q&A in the Market Response Center that provides general guidance on referral arrangements, including the associated federal and state laws and tips on how to handle common referral scenarios. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the laws surrounding referrals so that you can avoid potential pitfalls and optimize your business opportunities with confidence. Click here to access the Q&A.

Are you ready for a software upgrade that will make completing transactions even easier? This fall, WINForms® is becoming zipForm® 6. It’s the same great product with user-friendly enhancements. The new application features easy-to-use navigation that lets you move quickly through documents. With zipForm® 6, you can complete and e-mail/print forms without first creating a transaction, apply one or multiple templates at any point in the transaction, use drag and drop options for forms, and automatically save your work, as you work. The software is platform independent, meaning it runs on PC or MAC, and also is compatible with Windows Vista®. What’s not to love? To help smooth the transition, we are offering free webinars to help familiarize you with the new software. Click here to learn more about zipForm® 6 or to sign up for a webinar.