Your Latest REALTOR® News

NEWS & UPDATES

March 13, 2020

President's Message

Congratulations--you've almost made it through winter! We've seen plenty of activity during this unusually mild season: launching SentriLock , welcoming more than 50 new members, and hosting a robust roster of continuing education classes to help many of our members prepare for RI license renewal.

I'm delighted to announce that our annual President's Charity event has been scheduled for June 25, 2020. It'll be a fun-for-all family outing at Yawgoo Bakes and Barbecues in Exeter. Plan to join us for great food, networking and a little friendly outdoor competition.

Please be sure to read today's Members Corner for REALTOR ® best practices during the Coronavirus pandemic. If you've registered for CE classes in March or still need a few more for your license renewal, check our Education update.

Mary Coutu, President

KWAOR Members Corner

Coronavirus: A Guide for REALTORS®

Coronavirus (Covid 19) is highly contagious and can pose a serious threat to adults with a weak immune system. Can you ask a potential client whether she has recently visited a country or area that is at high risk for the virus? Should you still hold an open house or drive clients to see a property? The National Association of REALTORS® has created a guide to address these and other questions relating to your business during this challenging time. https://www.nar.realtor/coronavirus-a-guide-for-realtors Questions? Please contact the RIAR Legal Department at 401-432-6945 or email monica@rirealtors.org

Your KWAOR staff and leadership are closely monitoring NAR and RIAR recommendations for associations' response to the pandemic. In response to the growing concerns about COVID-19, NAR has cancelled several conferences and events. NAR is providing ongoing guidance to help REALTOR ® associations respond to the virus' potential impact.

The Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® & State-Wide MLS is taking the precautionary step of cancelling all in-person professional development classes onsite through Tuesday, March 31 ^st . If you are currently scheduled to attend or have a RIAR Co-op Class at your local association or brokerage during this timeframe, you will be hearing directly from RIAR Professional Development staff with options.

Local and State Assocation Committee and Task Force members should watch for emails regarding scheduled meetings for ways to participate online.

LICENSE RENEWAL UPDATE-SEVEN WEEKS TO MEET THE DEADLINE

Rhode Island Real Estate Agent license renewals are due April 30, 2020

You can now renew ONLINE by utilizing the Quick Renewal tab at: https://elicensing.ri.gov. You must use the personal login info sent via US Mail in a letter from DBR on January 23, 2020. Unable to find your letter from the DBR or can't access your eLicensing account?

Call (401) 462-9512 or email dbr.elicensing@dbr.ri.gov for assistance.

The Department of Business Regulation will be processing online renewals first; once an online renewal is complete, your new license will be emailed the following Friday.

There's a great FAQ page at the RIAR website. Unable to find your CE class certificates? If you took a class here at KWAOR, the certificate will have come from either RIAR or the Rhode Island School of Real Estate.

MEMBER SAFETY TIP!

Before meeting with a roofer or contractor (not previously known to you) who is claiming to be working on one of your listings, always check that the person calling is a licensed contractor. In Rhode Island, use this link for a list of contractors and roofers licensed by the state Department of Business Regulation.

RIAR News

RI Legislative Update

Click here for RIAR positions on current bills relevant to our industry, and links to bill details. Questions? Contact RIAR Government Affairs Director David Salvatore: governmentaffairs@rirealtors.org

Want to get more involved at the local level ? Contact KWAOR's Government Affairs Committee Chair Mark McHugh: mark@clearmarkre.com .

Education Opportunities

CONTINUING EDUCATION at KWAOR

Our March 24th CE Class, How Are You Going To Pay For This? Home Financing taught by Cherie Roach of Rhode Island School of Real Estate (RISRE), has not yet been cancelled. Please read the RISRE cancellation policy if you are registered for this course. Registrations are still being accepted at this time.

Click here for the updated Spring 2020 of Continuing Education offerings in your KWAOR classroom. Please be sure to register in advance--in this license renewal year, classes are filling rapidly!

CANCELLED: RIAR Class #428 - A Realtors Guide To Social Media , March 25th

RIAR Education Deptartment staff will be in touch with registrants to provide further options.

ONLINE CLASSES WITH CE SHOP

You can also access classes online through CE Shop , with special discounts for KWAOR members. Use the Promo Code RE25 when you purchase classes from CE Shop in March.

Get Acquainted with NAR's Clear Cooperation Policy

Effective May 1st, State-Wide MLS will

implement NAR’s new Clear Cooperation Policy. Come hear from an expert panel on how this change will impact the way you file listings with State-Wide MLS! Learn More about the Clear Cooperation Policy here .

The below FREE class is being offered by RIAR and MLS to help ensure your compliance with this policy.

Thursday, April 16 ^th 10-11:30 AM at

RIAR 100 Bignall Street Warwick, RI

FREE - Register Now

Vice President of MLS, John Breault will be joined by RIAR/MLS General Counsel Monica Staff and Director of MLS and Member Services Donna McGinn to discuss what this policy means to Coming Soon, Non-MLS and Delayed Listings. Also find out how the dates you enter on your Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Agreements impact your listing submission obligations.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about the new policy and ask questions before the May 1st policy effective date!

Your 2020 Lockbox Benefit

LOCKBOXES ARE HERE - MORE TRAINING COMING SOON

To date more than 320 KWAOR members have acquired the SentriKey app and over 70 offices have purchased lockboxes.

Your 2020 SentriLock benefit includes:

Free use of the SentriKey app (for smartphone or tablet) - a monthly benefit of $8
Free training for use of the app and lockboxes
Half-Price Lockboxes ($50 each)

Call us to activate your SentriLock account and receive an activation email with instructions on downloading the app. It only takes a minute. (401) 885-9300.

SentriLock Question of the Week: Your MLS listings are regularly feeding to SentriLock so you can easily connect a lockbox with a property. But what about rentals or other non-MLS listings? You can manually add them, and there is no time limit for such listings. Log in to SentriLock ( https://lb.sentrilock.com/lbs/index/) from your office computer or laptop (NOT your phone). At the Main Menu on the left side of the screen, click the Add Listing button and fill in the form. Once this is one you can select this listing for any of your SentriLock lockboxes.

Ready to order a lockbox? Use this form.

And, check out our KWAOR SentriLock Member Benefit FAQs and Answers.

KWAOR Committees In Action

KWAOR CEO Linda Arcouette was the invited guest speaker at a lunch for participants in the Habitat For Humanity International Women's Build Week (March 1-7) Celebration in South Kingstown on March 5th. Habitat South County's Director of Development & Marketing Cliff Tyler wrote: "Thanks again for your time yesterday and all that you and the members of your association do to support our mission of providing safe, decent and affordable housing to area families in need."

Did you know that since 1999, KWAOR has contributed over $140,000 to RI Habitat chapters? We are scheduled to help staff Habitat builds in June and September--all KWAOR Members are invited to participate. Watch this space for details!

Save The Bay shoreline cleanup at Conimicut Point Park in Warwick

Saturday April 25th - 10 AM to 12 Noon

All KWAOR members are invited to join our Community Outreach Committee to help clear the beach of trash and keep the shoreline unsafe for our wildlife.

Call the KWAOR office to sign up.

Pictured above: View of the lighthouse from Conimicut Point Park.

Come out and help us get this Warwick treasure ready

for our community to enjoy this summer!