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 Charles McMillan  Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 TO: All REALTORS®
FROM: NAR
RE: Valuable Information to Help You Succeed in 2010
*Right Tools, Right Now’ Initiative Extended to 2010*
NAR is proud to announce that the ‘Right Tools, Right Now’ initiative has been extended to 2010. NAR members can continue to take advantage of hundreds of NAR products and resources that can help their business now for FREE or AT-COST. Be sure to watch for new offers in the coming year.
Visit the ‘Right Tools, Right Now’ homepage to see all FREE and AT-COST products and resources that are part of NAR’s ‘Right Tools, Right Now’ initiative, established by NAR to support its members. Listings are updated monthly, so check back often!
These special product prices are exclusively available to REALTORS®. To access these and the hundreds of other downloadable products for FREE, member login is required at the REALTOR.org website.
Continue reading: Valuable Information to Help You Succeed in 2010
Charles McMillan Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
If you’re like most REALTORS®, you put a great deal of thought and effort into your marketing materials, including advertisements, signs and business cards. You want to make every dollar count—but how much consideration do you give to the safety afforded by these communications? How much information are you giving the public that many [...]
Charles McMillan Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
To: All REALTORS®
From: Charles McMillan, 2009 NAR President
Re: Tax Credit Extension/Expansion Gains Momentum
Dear Fellow REALTOR®,
With Congress moving quickly on a number of key issues, I wanted share some important news that you won’t read in the newspapers.
In my latest podcast, I explain why momentum is building – both in Congress and the Administration – in support of extending and possibly expanding the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.
http://www.realtor.org/about_nar/presidents_report/_podcast_archive/mcmillan_credithealthreform_20091020
My podcast also provides updates on other important activities in Washington, D.C., this week:
- First, NAR’s federal political coordinators are in town to urge Congress to act now on the tax credit. If you haven’t yet sent a letter to your Representatives and Senators, please go to the REALTOR® Action Center now and answer the call. We are so close – please keep pushing!
Continue reading: NAR Update – Tax Credit Extension/Expansion Gains Momentum
Charles McMillan Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and this organization have worked hard to keep REALTOR® Safety foremost in everyone’s minds. But what about your clients? They, too, face some dangers in allowing strangers into their homes or visiting other people’s properties.
Share this valuable advice with everyone, and you’ll help them learn to protect themselves against crime:
- Remind sellers that strangers will be walking through their home during showings or open houses. Tell them to hide any valuables in a safe place, including prescription medications and alcohol, as well as personal information such as bank statements that could be used for identity theft.
- Warn your clients that not all agents, buyers and sellers are who they say they are. Strangers who stop by a listing unannounced should be asked to make an appointment with the listing agent. Stress that your clients should never to show a home without an agent present.
- Inform your clients that they are responsible for their pets. If possible, animals should be removed during showings. Make clients aware that buyers and agents are sometimes attacked, and the owner will be held liable.
Continue reading: Clients Need Safety Tips, Too!
Charles McMillan Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
Consider these tips in preparing or updating the information you use to get business:
- All of your marketing materials should be polished and professional. Don’t use alluring
or provocative photography in advertising, on the Web or on your business cards. There
are many documented cases of criminals actually circling photographs of their would-be
victims in newspaper advertisements. These victims were targeted because of their appearance
in the photograph.
- Limit the amount of personal information you share. Don’t use your full name with middle
name or initial. Use your office address rather than your home address—or list no address
at all. Giving out too much of the wrong information can make you a target.
- Concentrate on your professional proficiency rather than personal information in newspapers,
resumes and business cards.
- Be careful how much personal information you give verbally as well. Getting to know
your client does not need to include personal information about your children, where you
live and who you live with.
- All agents in your office should use only their first initial and last name on their “For Sale”
signs to conceal gender and prevent anyone other than a personal acquaintance or current
client asking for you by name.
Continue reading: Protect Yourself with Smart Marketing Materials
Charles McMillan Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Tell Congress: Extend and Expand the Homebuyer Tax Credit
We have all seen first-hand the positive impact the first-time homebuyer tax credit is having on the real estate market recovery. As the expiration date for this successful program looms, we ALL need to make sure that Congress hears from us about the positive impact this program has had and ask them to extend it, and expand it, so that we can continue to see our markets fully recover.
Please watch this video of your fellow REALTORS®, along with President Charles McMillan explaining how the credit is helping and urging both you and Congress to take action NOW.
Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Your Congressperson
Your Senators
Continue reading: Call for Action: Extend and Expand the Homebuyer Tax Credit
Charles McMillan Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
How, when and where you meet a client for the first time is a crucial turning point in ensuring your personal safety. For example, you should never, ever meet someone for the first time at a property—this leaves you vulnerable. Instead, take these 10 easy steps to help empower you:
- Make sure you are not alone in the office when meeting someone. If you are alone, call a friend or colleague before the client is due to arrive and ask them to call and check on you 15 minutes into the visit. Then call them back when the person has left your office.
- Ask every prospect or new client to stop by your office to complete a Prospect Identification Form (an example of this form is online at www.REALTOR.org/Safety), preferably in the presence of an associate.
- Use a registration book for all clients and other visitors. Be careful to make sure that everyone signs in.
- Introduce the prospect to someone in your office. A would-be assailant does not like to be noticed or receive exposure, knowing a person could pick him/her out of a police lineup.
- Get the client’s car make and license number. Check this information yourself—don’t just take their word for it. You can do this discreetly by watching them drive up, glancing out at their car, or checking it when you leave the office.
Continue reading: Your First Safety Step: Meeting a New Client
Charles McMillan Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Identity theft is a serious and costly crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans, housing or cars, or even get arrested for crimes they didn’t commit.
The following tips can help you lower your risk of becoming a victim.
1. Protect your accounts against fraud.
Contact the fraud department of any of the three consumer reporting companies— Equifax®, ExperianSM and Trans Union®—to place a fraud alert on your credit report. The fraud alert automatically lets credit card companies and other creditors know they must contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts.
Continue reading: Top 10 Tips for Identity Theft Prevention
Charles McMillan Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
Knowledge. Awareness. Empowerment. These are the core components of REALTOR® Safety. And helping our members understand the risks they face can mean the difference between life and death.
As part of NAR’s ongoing efforts to keep our members safe, we’re kicking off a year long focus on this issue of safety with the 6th annual observance of REALTOR® Safety Week, September 13-19, 2009. But this is just the start of our commitment to empowering our members.
Make Safety a Year-Round Priority
REALTOR® Safety Week is a great time to remind all of us to know the dangers we face everyday, to be aware of our surroundings, and empower ourselves with precautions and preparations so that we can avoid risky situations. I am asking Associations and brokers to make this a year-round commitment. To help, we’ve revamped the REALTOR® Safety Resources Kit and have planned a variety of refreshers for the coming year, including:
Continue reading: Promote the Keys to REALTOR® Safety: Knowledge, Awareness and Empowerment
Charles McMillan Friday, July 24th, 2009
To: All REALTORS®
From: Charles McMillan, 2009 NAR President
Re: UPDATE: FHFA and GSEs Act on HVCC Concerns
Dear Fellow REALTOR®,
I am writing to you with an important update on NAR’s efforts to address ongoing problems with recent changes to appraisal rules.
As a direct result of my recent meetings with the New York Attorney General’s office, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Fannie Mae, both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae this week issued new guidance to all lenders on the Home Valuation Code of Conduct.
The alert clarifies two very important points that we raised in our meetings with officials. First, it states that lenders should use appraisers who have clear experience in the geographic area. Second, it clarifies that appraisers are not prohibited from talking to real estate agents.
Continue reading: NAR Update: Fannie, Freddie Act on Appraisal Concerns
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