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President's Message
Sharon Virgin
President,
GFAR Board of Directors
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I recently read an article that inspired me to share some thoughts. What is a real estate company? What would it be if it were operated by computers? It would definitely lack the human factor. Mr. Simon Sinek's expression, "humans are social animals", grabbed my attention recently. The amount of time people spend on technology and data, we have forgotten that humans have something far beyond technology. We have feelings, needs, wants, and the one-on-one relationship is extremely important in establishing empathy and rapport with our clients. We live in an era of competition and dependence on technology, that people have forgotten what is most important. If you want a genuine relationship, you must build it with your spoken words, caring when they request something from you, interest in the areas that they need assistance, etc. We go far beyond the capacity of a computer, smartphone, or the like.
It never ceases to amaze me when I attend education classes, meetings, or go to a restaurant the amount of people looking downward. They are looking at their computers or mobile devices and not engaging with anyone around them. On a break or while waiting their turn, instead of starting a conversation with those around them, they continue to look at their device as to say, “don’t talk or bother me, I’m too busy”. Everyone has lots going on in their home lives or in their business. Our fellow industry members and our clients need us to communicate verbally with them. We need to do our best to give our clients or fellow Realtors a human touch and establish a relationship. There are too many people who see a transaction only as a deal, and they have almost removed the personal touch to any part of the transaction by relying solely on technology. It’s not just about the money, it’s about the relationships we build that keeps us relevant in a real estate transaction! So I ask you to look up, look around and go the extra mile, believe me, it is worth all the time invested. What you gain is self-satisfaction that nothing electronic can give you and that's what relationships and Realtors are all about.
April was another whirlwind for our staff and May is shaping up to be the same! We recently had a great turnout again at State meetings, your fellow Great Falls Realtors are showing up in force and it is being noticed, thank you to all those that have attended. I also want to give a shout out to Marie Willson and the local GRI Committee, GRI was such a success! Thank you to the committee for all that you did this year and thank you for raising the bar!
There are many decisions that will need to be made in our Association in 2018, would you like to be involved in the conversation? Contact Terry or myself to find out which committee would be the best fit for you!
Did you know in April we took 281 NEW listings and 187 properties went under contract? It’s shaping up to be another solid year in real estate for our area!
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Study:
May Is Luckiest Month for Sellers
DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018
May is the best month to sell a home nationwide, according to a new analysis by ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm.
Researchers evaluated the sales of 14.7 million homes from 2011 to 2017 to pinpoint the month or date that offered the highest sales prices.
May saw the largest premiums above the estimated market value of 5.9 percent, on average—higher than any other month during the year.
Mark your calendars:
The best day of the year to sell a home, however, is
June 28
.
That is the date when the average seller premium jumped to 9.1 percent, according to the analysis.
The best month to sell can vary from market to market. Warmer weather markets may find the winter months offer the best chances for sellers. For example, Miami often posts its best month in January and Phoenix in November.
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Keep your information
up-to-date in the National REALTOR
®
Database System (NRDS)
Want to be certain that your info in the National REALTOR® Database System (NRDS) is current?
You can change your information as often as you’d like. Make sure you are receiving all the information from NAR and MAR, your local boards AND be certain that prospective clients searching for a REALTOR® through
REALTOR.org
can find you.
Just follow these easy steps!
·
Go to realtor.org, select
My Account
I the upper right of the page and click on
Manage Account.
· Sign in using your username and password.
· If not already registered, click the
Register tab
and follow the registration instructions.
· Under the “
My Account
” profile, look for "
Update Other NAR Accounts"
· Select “
Change your member data profile (NRDS)
”
· Make any changes and click “
Save Changes
”
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VOTE
ACT
Join the Government Affairs Committee. Attend community meetings. Be actively engaged in what’s happening with local development, housing, property rights and your tax dollars!
INVEST
"If real estate is your profession then politics is your business."
Contribute to RPAC and IMF.
The purpose of RPAC is clear: REALTORS® raise and spend money to elect candidates who understand and support their interests. Investments in the REALTORS® Political Action Committee allow everyone to participate in government.
Sign Up for REALTOR® Party Mobile Alerts:
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PineappBOWL
2018
I
MF Bowling
Fundraiser a Big Success!
There were costumes, there were hilarious team names, there were lei's and there was a
LOT
of
FUN
at the event!
*********
We Raised Over
$4500
for IMF
*********
Some of the Contest Results:
Best Team Name:
Kona Krushers (ERA)
Best Team Costume:
Pineapple Express
(First American Title Company)
Top 3 Teams:
- Lifestyle Island Hoppers (Lifestyle Real Estate Firm)
- Pin Reefers (Dahlquist Realtors)
- Tropic Like It's Hot (Prairie Mountain Bank)
Individual Awards:
High Male
- Mike Anderegg
High Female
- Madyson Oakes
Lowest Individual (a tie)
- Barb Mullens & Melissa Robbins
A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SPONSORS!!
Without your help, this event wouldn't have been a success!
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GFAR NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION
Are you a new agent?
If so, you need to attend the new member orientation before you can be inducted into the
Great Falls Association of REALTORS®
Next orientation:
Thursday, June 7th 10am - 4pm
Friday, June 8th 9am - 3pm
* Both days required
Call the GFAR office to register or kristine@gtfar.com
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How to Use the Code of Ethics to Win More Listings
Taught By Leigh Brown
June 27th 11:00am - 2:00pm at GFAR
Are you ready to participate in a required class in a fun and non-traditional way? Class taught by world-renowned speaker and coach, Leigh Brown
via a webinar format
. This course meets the NAR code of ethics requirement for the current cycle.
Register Here!
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May Calendar
May 16th - 8:30am
Board of Directors
May 17th - 9:00am
Member Meeting
-
Jesse Slaughter - Candidate for Sheriff
May 21st - 5:00pm
Member Mixer - ROTY/Rookie Awards
May 23rd - 10:00am
Education
- Hacked & the Money's Gone: What's My Liability?
(2 Hours CE)
May 24th - 9:00am
Member Meeting
-
Steven Galloway & Lola Sheldon-Galloway, House district #12 & #22
May 24th - 4:00pm
Flag Committee
May 28th - All Day
Memorial Day
-
GFAR Closed
May 30th - 9:00am
Gov't Affairs
May 31st - 9:00am
Member Meeting
- Samantha Shinaberger of the Great Falls Clinic Legacy Foundation
Subscribe to Stanza below to stay up to date on all GFAR Events!
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May 21
ROTY/Rookie Awards
Member Mixer
BAR S Supper Club
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
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June 14
FLAG DAY
8:00am
Overlook Park
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May 23 - Wednesday
10:00am - 12:00pm
Hacked & the Money's Gone: What's My Liability? (2 Hours CE)
Taught by: MT Land Title Association
To register for classes:
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I
t's that time...time for REALTOR® and Rookie of the Year awards!
The committee has selected this year's winners. Come join us to find out who wins!
Awards:
May 21st
5:00 pm
Bar S Supper Club
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ROOKIE COURSES
May 22-23:
Rookie Course
,
Kalispell
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SUPERVISING BROKER
PRE-ENDORSEMENT CLASS
*Note: Great Falls will not be having another Supervising Broker class this year
A supervising Broker Endorsement is required to supervise salespeople in Montana. In order to obtain the Supervising Broker Endorsement, you must be licensed in Montana as a broker and complete an 8-hour Supervising Broker Pre-Endorsement Course.
WEDNESDAY
MAY 23, 2018, KALISPELL
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Montana
Fair Housing CLASS
TUESDAY
SEPTEMBER 11, 2018, AT GFAR
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You may have noticed registering for Education & Events isn't quite the same as it was before! In addition to our new website, we have transitioned to using Eventbrite for all of our events. This FREE service is easy to use and keeps you up to date on what you've registered for! Want to see everything we have coming up? Visit our
website, or head straight to our
Event Page!
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No cell coverage? No problem!
The SentriSmart™ App can connect with a Bluetooth® Lockbox to open the key compartment & release the shackle without cell coverage.
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