BROKERS NEED TO KNOW
OCTOBER 2015
PLEASE VOTE!
Please remind every member of your team to
vote! Ballots were mailed to every one of Spokane
County’s 280,000 voters this week. To count, all
ballots must be returned by close-of-business on
Tuesday, November 3rd.
Your SAR Government Affairs Committee strongly
recommends a NO vote on Proposition 1 in the
City of Spokane.
Read more about Proposition 1 (a City Charter
Amendment to establish a Worker Bill of Rights)
online here:
https://greaterspokane.org/blog/2015/09/protect-spokane-jobs-vote-no-on-prop-1/
See one of the 30-second informational spots about this issue online here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17Xl7LSnatg
Your SAR Government Affairs Committee endorses these candidates for the upcoming
November General Election:
David Condon, Mayor, City of Spokane
Mike Fagan,
Spokane City Council, Position 1
Evan Verduin, Spokane City Council, Position 3
The
names of two SAR members will be on your General Election ballot in the City of Spokane
Valley. Your SAR endorses these candidates:
Arne Woodard, City of Spokane Valley,
Position 3
Sam Wood, City of Spokane Valley, Position 6.
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CALL FOR ACTION
Congress is considering a proposal that would create
a tax on all potential homeowners and consumers
looking to purchase or refinance a mortgage.
By increasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s credit
risk guarantee fees (g-fees) to fund transportation
programs, Congress would disturb the housing
recovery. Now is not the time to raise the cost to purchase or refinance a home.
NAR strongly believes that taxing homeowners to pay for transportation programs places
an unnecessary long-term burden on consumers and this action will disproportionately
impact low and moderate income borrowers, as well as first-time homebuyers.
Tell Congress to stop taxing homeowners to fund transportation projects:
http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=n-msn2GJK9hRbMPyfAwZ5Q
NEW FORMS
Your association Board of Directors has approved
revisions to the following forms – see the redline
copies of each form (offered among the supporting
documents to this newsletter) to easily see the
changes:
SAR-ELA - Exclusive Right to Sell - Redline Version
SAR-BR - Buyer Representation Agreement - Redline Version
Form 4145 - Termination/Temporary Suspension of Listing Agreement - Redline
Version
ZipForm and Express Form platforms have already posted the revisions.
Please remember that if you have templates with any of these forms, you will want to
remove them from the template and re-add them to have the current version.
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TRANSACTIONDESK UPDATE
TransactionDesk is the new Forms solution that will
be replacing zipForm. (Please see the FAQs below for
more information).
The SAR has beta-test trainings and some preliminary
training sessions that have been filled.
November.
Our timeline is to complete testing and setup and
integration by the end of October and announce a full
launch schedule for members the first week of
During this launch week, we will be offering many more live training opportunities. Please
see below for a chart of the classes and dates. (See a larger version of this chart among
the supporting documents to this newsletter). Registration for these sessions will be
available online beginning Monday, October 19th, through the SAR Education portal.
Later in November, there will be an opportunity to attend clock hour trainings on this new
platform!
Please watch the Weekly Notices for more updates.
See the Broker FAQ and Managing Broker FAQ among the supporting documents to this
newsletter.
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2016 SAR LEADERSHIP CANDIDATES
Your SAR Nominating Committee is pleased to announce
its slate of candidates for 2016 SAR leadership:
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Ken Sax, Keller Williams Spokane - Main
Jennifer Valerien, RE/MAX Inland Empire
TREASURER
Chris Bornhoft, Windermere Manito
Doug Hagood, Hagood Real Estate and Mortgage
SECRETARY
Tom LaLone, John L. Scott Spokane, Inc.
DIRECTORS
Michael Baker,
Century 21 Beutler & Associates Spokane
Bart Cloninger, Windermere Manito
Eric Etzel, Choice Realty
Ken Garceau, Windermere Manito
Steve Hagen, Keller Williams Spokane - Main
Wendy Kennedy, Windermere North
Karene Loman, Keller Williams
Ron McIntire, Choice Realty
Gina Mosey, John L. Scott Spokane, Inc.
In accordance with Article XV, Section 15.2 of the Association Bylaws, additional candidates
may be nominated by the REALTOR® members.
For those wishing to nominate a REALTOR® member for an Association Officer or Director
position, Nominating Petitions will be available from the Association office Tuesday,
October 6th through Tuesday, October 27th. Deadline to return petition is Tuesday,
October 27th!
ALL VOTING WILL BE DONE ELECTRONICALLY!!
You will receive Notice on Friday, October 30th of the "Final Slate of Candidates". Voting
also begins on Monday, November 2nd. You will receive an email invitation to vote. When
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you click on the link for the ballot, it will take you to the Member Portal. You will need to
sign in with your user name and password and then it will take you to the ballot.
Deadline to fill out ballots will be Wednesday, November 18th, 4:30 p.m.
Our new leaders will be announced at our Annual Membership Meeting on Thursday,
November 19th at CenterPlace.
See a printable list of our 2016 candidates among the supporting documents to this
newsletter.
REAL ESTATE IN A DIGITAL AGE
House-hunters are increasingly turning to the
Internet for their home search, but they still say they
need a real estate agent's expertise, according to the
National Association of REALTORS® Real Estate in a
Digital Age report.
estate agent.
Forty percent of buyers surveyed said they looked for
properties online as the first step in their house-hunt,
according to NAR. But 88 percent of buyers last year
purchased their home with the assistance of a real
As consumers get more tech-savvy, real estate professionals say they are too. 80% of
REALTORS® surveyed now say they use the social media platform Facebook. 93% say
they prefer to communicate with their clients via email.
See the entire report online here:
http://www.realtor.org/reports/real-estate-in-a-digital-age
D.A.N.G.E.R. REPORT
Washington REALTORS® may now download one of
the most talked-about reports NAR has produced.
Take a quick look at what the DANGER Report is all
about.
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See the three-minute video online here:
https://www.warealtor.org/leadership-survey
Visit the D.A.N.G.E.R. Report website, online here:
http://dangerreport.com/
YOU BE THE JUDGE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
Here is the You Be The Judge for September/October: Case
#1-10: Obligations Under Exclusive Listing.
Those who decide correctly will be entered in a drawing for a
Starbucks coffee card!
The winner will be announced next month.
Read the case and submit your judgment online here:
http://www.spokanerealtor.com/information-center/code-of-ethics-/you-be-thejudge
Congratulations Mary Guderjohn, Exit Real Estate North, our July/August Starbucks card
winner!
JULY/AUGUST ANSWER
The Hearing Panel disagreed with Seller S's contentions. It noted that while REALTORS®
do, in fact, have an obligation to preserve confidential information gained in the course of
any relationship with the client, Standard of Practice 1-9 specifically provides that latent
material defects are not considered "confidential information" under the Code of Ethics.
Consequently, REALTOR® A's disclosure did not violate Article 1 of the Code of Ethics.
From Case #1-25: Disclosure of Latent Defects
Last month's case is online here:
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http://www.spokanerealtor.com/information-center/code-of-ethics-/prior-monthyou-be-the-judge
LEADERSHIP SURVEY
Your REALTOR® Association is the largest, most
influential trade organization in Washington State. We
are governed and directed by REALTORS® just like
you.
We have new committees and short-term advisory
groups where you can make an impact and have your
voice heard. You can help direct the Association and benefit while doing so:



Getting involved in your REALTOR® Association is a pathway to a better
understanding of real estate issues impacting your business.
You will have an opportunity to utilize your leadership skills and to develop new
skills.
You will network with other leaders and expand your referral base.
Interested? Take the first step by registering for a leadership role & answering 10
questions about your skills and background.
Find the Leadership Survey online here:
https://www.warealtor.org/leadership-survey
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PACK THE PANTRY
Your SAR placed this display ad in The Spokesman-Review this past Sunday.
Thank you to our great member volunteers for making this event possible!
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SEPTEMBER MARKET STATISTICS
This is an excerpt of the Spokane Association of REALTORS® July 2015 Residential Market
Activity Report. Access to the full report each month is a benefit of your association
membership. See the full report online here (after you log in to the member portal):
https://www.spokanerealtor.com/Market%20Activity/Market%20Activity%20051
5.pdf
SEPTEMBER LOCKBOX STATISTICS
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