Karen Hankins, Business Development Manager for Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group, received RVAR's 2017 Affiliate Individual of the Year award. This award was presented on October 17th at RVAR's Affiliate and REALTOR® Night.
 
Freedom First Credit Union was honored with RVAR's 2017 Affiliate Company of the Year award.
 
Both awards were given in recognition of outstanding support of RVAR, as exhibited by event attendance, sponsorships and volunteer efforts.

Mark your calendar now and make plans to join us as we celebrate the many successes of 2017 and install our 2018 Officers and Directors including our 2018 RVAR President, Connie Hash. Our Installation & Awards breakfast will be held on Friday, December 8th at the Sheraton Hotel Roanoke from 8:30 until 10:30 AM. The cost is $15 to attend which includes breakfast. We will also be giving special recognition to our REALTOR® of the Year, and the Community Service and Distinguished Service Award recipients. More details and online registration will be available soon.

MLS Updates 

 

MLS Changes in November: A variety of MLS changes will be made in November (current target date is November 15th). A new field will be added for Leased Equipment. Additional options are being added - such as another Lockbox option for Private Box, See Remarks. Click here for a summary of the November changes. Watch the MLS Bulletin Board for an announcement of the exact date these changes will go live.

 

SQFT Guidelines: In April, square footage in the MLS was separated into Above Grade and Below Grade, with fields provided per level. Click here for guidelines on the SQFT per level for each style of home in the MLS.

 

Advertising Listings: Advertising listings online is easier than ever, with 'share' features that make it easy to share a listing on Facebook, for example. The MLS Policy Committee reminds you that advertising the listing of another agent requires you to obtain permission from the listing agent, per the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.

Always dream of being a PINBALL WIZARD? Here's Your Chance! Loosen up those fingers and join us for REALTOR® After Hours, Thursday, November 16 - 5:30 'til 7:30 pm @ Roanoke Pinball Museum, Center in the Square, 1 Market Square, SE,Roanoke, VA 24011

  Click here to register or print out a fax-in registration form.  For info contact: Jim@rvar.com

Our next Speakers Forum will welcome Salem City Manager, Kevin Boggess and Vice Mayor Bill Jones.  Salem is doing some major improvements to the downtown area and working to attract new businesses.  Mr. Boggess and Vice Mayor Jones will give us an update on the progress and future plans for Salem.
 
The Forum will be held on Wednesday, November 15th at the RVAR office. We will start at 8:30AM with coffee, juice and pastries provided.  From 8:45 - 9:45AM we will have a brief welcome followed by Mr. Boggess' and Vice Mayor Jones' presentation with time for questions.  There is NO CHARGE to attend this event, but seating is limited.  Click here to register or contact the RVAR office.  

The Speakers Forum helps to provide local, informative presentations regarding topics that affect our businesses. The Forum welcomes all REALTOR® and Affiliate members and there is no charge to attend. 

NAR's REALTOR® Emeritus program recognizes those members who have been REALTORS® for 40 or more years PLUS have volunteered their service for at least one year at the local, state or national level. Congratulations to the following recipients of the REALTOR® Emeritus designation:

Friday, November 17th is the deadline for two important RVAR awards. Both  awards have the same deadline - and will be presented at the December 8th Installation and Awards Breakfast.
   
REALTOR® of the Year: If you can think of a fellow REALTOR® who is well respected, known for professionalism, volunteers time to RVAR and/or the community, then you should take a moment to nominate that deserving colleague for RVAR's most prestigious award. The nomination process is as simple as writing a letter to RVAR's CEO Laura Benjamin explaining whom you want to nominate and why. RVAR will contact all nominees to obtain their resumes. The winner will be selected by the past five recipients of this award. Click here to see who has already won this prestigious award.

The Distinguished Service Award is presented each year by RVAR to those firms whose agents have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the Association through Committee service and attendance at RVAR classes and events. The deadline for Brokers to submit an award application is Friday, November 17th, for the award period November 1, 2016 through October 31, 2017.   Click here for the application form. RVAR will be able to provide firm attendance/Committee service/RPAC records during the award period by November 2nd. Contact Laura Benjamin at RVAR with any questions about this award. 

The Virginia Real Estate Board (VREB) has just implemented a continuing education (CE) credit carryover process, beginning with licenses that expire on November 30, 2017. Real estate licensees who have completed all of their required CE credit hours - 16 for a Salesperson and 24 for a Broker - in the previous licensure term and who have completed extra credit hours in the last six months of that same licensure period may qualify to carry over extra CE credit hours and apply them to their current licensure period.

In order to take advantage of this new carryover process, a licensee must submit a worksheet to VREB staff since the VREB computer system is not capable of automatically calculating the amount of CE eligible for carryover. VREB staff will evaluate the information submitted to ascertain if the licensee qualifies for CE carryover. If the licensee has eligible CE credits, staff will enter those credits into the licensing database and the CE credits will appear on the License Lookup webpage. Click here for VREB's description of the process, including a link to the required worksheet.