GSAR Hot News - Don't miss Raising the Bar#4 on April 21

Top Headlines for April 16

Don't miss Raising the Bar#4 on April 21 featuring Yvonne Conte

GSAR's Raising the Bar #4 will feature Yvonne Conte on April 21 at 10 a.m. via Zoom She will present "7 Habits of Supremely Happy People." Conte is a motivational humorist, and stress reduction expert. She is the author of "One Word," "Serious Laughter," "Frankie Wonders" and several other books. She is the founder and director of Day of Joy, Inc., a 501c3 organization contributing thousands of dollars to local charities annually.

Don't forget that if you attend four Raising the Bar sessions or three of them and Community Day, you will be eligible for a 20-percent discount on your local dues for 2022! Register here by 4 p.m. on April 20.

Thank you to our sponsor Tompkins Trust.

Fannie Mae index shows uptick in seller optimism

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) increased in March by 5.2 points to 81.7. "The significant increase in the HPSI in March reflects consumer optimism toward the housing market and larger economy as vaccinations continue to roll out, a third round of stimulus checks was distributed, and the spring homebuying season began – perhaps with even more intensity this year, since 2020’s spring homebuying season was limited by virus-related lockdowns,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “Home-selling sentiment experienced positive momentum across most consumer segments – nearly reaching pre-pandemic levels and generally indicative of a strong seller’s market. Consumers once again cited high home prices and tight inventory as primary reasons why it’s a good time to sell. Read more.

GSAR and the Oswego Chapter receive honors for PATH fundraiser

Oswego County Opportunities presented GSAR and the Oswego Chapter with a "Special Donor Recognition" award early this week. The not-for-profit human services agency presented the honor to GSAR and the Oswego Chapter for its annual PATH Auction, which " has raised an extremely generous amount of donations over the years that have provided gifts of essential items, such as hats and gloves, for hundreds of homeless youth." The annual auction has raised more than $300,000 during the past 20 years. Congratulations to all the members who contributed to the success of the auction.

NYSAR prevails in lawsuit against DOS

NYSAR prevailed in it's lawsuit against the New York State Department of State on April 9. The state Supreme Court ruled in favor of NYSAR’s position that the Tenant Protection Act (TPA) does not apply to a landlord’s agent being paid commission by a tenant. As such, a landlord’s agent may continue to collect commissions from the tenant. Read more .

MLS Tips

MLS Tip: Clients can opt back into emails

This week's MLS tip focuses on how to help your clients opt back in to receiving Matrix emails.

If your client clicks the link the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of an email sent from Matrix, it will disable their auto email search. These are the steps to re-enable their auto email:

1. Your client must send a blank email to optin.NYS@matrixemailer.com from the email address they used when they unsubscribed. **They do not have to fill in a subject line or type a message.**

2. You must go to My Matrix, choose "Auto Emails." Click on the name of the auto email (under Subject column) or the corresponding downward-pointing arrow to open the full options; then click "Settings."

3. On the settings screen, under your message, change the auto email to "Enabled" and click save.

Your client should now be able to receive emails from Matrix.

Virtual Broker Opens program suspended

The Virtual Broker Open program, created to assist members during the height of the pandemic, is being suspended due to lack of participation..

Education

GSAR April classes cover fair housing, disclosures and agency

GSAR's April education classes will provide the opportunity to learn more about fair housing laws, disclosures and agency.

Did You Disclose…?

Instructor: Mike Smith

April 20 from 9 a.m. – Noon

Disclose, disclose, disclose...words every REALTOR® has heard. But what information must you disclose? Disclosure forms (agency, property condition, etc.) will be reviewed and common agent mistakes will be discussed. 3 hours CE Register here.

Stay Inside Fair Housing Laws to Stay Outside of Jail

Instructor: Randy Templeman

April 20 from 1 - 4 p.m.

Federal, state and local laws have been enacted to protect individuals from discriminatory practices in their pursuit of housing, whether renting or buying. Real estate licensees should understand these laws to ensure that no one is denied their real property rights. Do you understand what the laws are, who is protected, what is prohibited and how the laws are enforced? This course will help you to avoid discriminatory activities and the resulting consequences for non-compliance with fair housing laws. Failure to comply with the laws, not only exposes you to criminal charges, but may also be grounds for civil and/or disciplinary action. 3 hours CE Register here. NOTE: If you are registered and have not responded to the email about the change, please email the Education Department to confirm your attendance.

Dual Agency: Both Sides Now

Instructor: Mike Smith

April 29 from 9 a.m. – Noon

Are In-house transactions causing confusion? Not sure what to say when a friend wants to buy your listing? Is your team working from the same playbook as the DOS? Dual agency is sometimes confusing for consumers and licensees. Get grounded in all the yeses, noes, and maybes, with a side order of “always” and “never,” while satisfying your agency education for license renewal. At the end of the course, you will have a better understanding of how dual agency situations arise, how to explain dual agency to the consumer, and how to handle in-house transactions. This course satisfies 2 hours of Law of Agency.Register here.

Upcoming virtual continuing education

• Did You Disclose…?

Instructor: Mike Smith

April 20 from 9 a.m. – Noon

3 hours CE

• NEW DATE/TIME Stay Inside Fair Housing Laws to Stay Outside of Jail

Instructor: Randy Templeman

April 20 from 1- 4 p.m.

3 hours CE

• Dual Agency: Both Sides Now

Instructor: Mike Smith

April 29 from 9 a.m. – Noon

3 hours CE

Education links

Weekly webinars and classes weekly calendar on members' side of cnyrealtor.com

Attention REALTOR members! Your NAR Code of Ethics training cycle is coming to an end on December 21, 2021. Please remember to email your Ethics Certificates to education@cnyrealtor.com if you’ve taken the class already.

The Spring Sales Course is open for registration!

Brokers and agents, do you know of anyone looking for an exciting career in real estate? Let them know our live virtual 75-hour Salesperson Licensing Course begins on May 5, 2021!

This is an evening/weekend class, please see https://www.cnyrealtor.com/education/salesperson-course / for more information.

NAR offers free one-hour fair housing course to NY REALTORS

The National Association of REALTORS®, in partnership with the Perception Institute, will be offering "Implicit Bias: Overcoming Barriers to Fair Housing" for free to REALTORS® in New York State. The one-hour, Zoom-delivered course will take place on May 3 from 9 a.m. to noon. The Perception Institute’s foundational mind science workshops focus on increasing comfort level with navigating identity differences, explaining the science of identity, and engaging the use of interactive exercises to build new muscles of equitable behavior. Register here.

Thanks to our sponsors

Member Benefits and Events

April 19 T3 to focus on photo editing for real estate professionals

GSAR's T3 webinar on April 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. will provide introductory instruction for real estate professionals on editing images intended for marketing purposes. Cameras are limited in their abilities to capture the full range of visual information relative to that which normal eyesight provides when viewing properties. Understanding what may be done using photo editing processing is important as it directly influences how to best take photographs that may be more closely to aligned with normal eyesight.

Basic editing software and techniques will be shown demonstrating these points. The class will be interactive. An outline will be sent to all participants prior to the session. Class size will be limited to 20. Register here by 4 p.m. on April 18.

Thank you to our sponsor AmeriCU Credit Union.

May T3 to focus on drone photos and videos

GSAR's T3 webinar, Drone Photos and Videos for Real Estate, on May 24 from 1 to 3 p.m. will cover what real estate professionals will need to know to do their own drone photography and how to hire the right professional.

This introductory course will cover some of the key rules the FAA is enforcing, a basic understanding of drone technology, and what it takes to make and save drone photos and videos.Register here by 4 p.m. on May 23.

Thank you to our sponsor Tompkins Trust.