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SPAAR REALTORS® Charitable Foundation grant presentation to benefit two local organizations
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SPAAR members are welcome to attend a grant presentation in which the local media will be invited as SPAAR's REALTORS
® Charitable Foundation will present $100,000 to two community groups on behalf of SPAAR members.
The recipients of $50,000 each are Great River Greening and Rondo Avenue, Inc. Come hear directly from leaders within the organizations on Thursday, September 19, at 11:30am at SPAAR's 325 Roselawn Avenue East location.
Register here to attend
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Fourth quarter MLS invoices are due September 30
Fourth quarter MLS billing notices were sent by email on September 4 from
billing@spaar.com
. If you do not see the notice in your Inbox, please check your spam or junk folders.
As a reminder, payment must be received on or before September 30 to avoid suspension of MLS access. If not paid on or before September 30, you will incur a $25 reinstatement fee.
To access your portal account,
please
click here
. If you have questions regarding your fourth quarter MLS fees, please contact the association at 651-776-6000.
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Last call for SPAAR Board of Director nominees for 2020
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The 2019 Nominating Committee has completed the selection process to fill open positions for the 2020 Board of Directors. The new directors, as named, are Robbie Grossman, Brianne Lawrence and Enrique Ramos.
Per the Association bylaws, on or before September 1, the final report of the Nominating Committee shall be delivered either electronically or by mail to each REALTOR® member. Additional candidates may be nominated by petition signed by at least 75 REALTOR® members and directed to Tracey Douglas at SPAAR at
tdouglas@spaar.com
no later than September 15, 2019. Any nominations so made shall be added to the list of nominees selected by the Nominating Committee and all such nominees shall appear on a ballot to be voted on by REALTOR® members.
Installation of the elected Officers and Directors shall take place during the annual meeting in January 2020. This notice serves as the delivery of the Nominating Committee report.
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2020 Membership Renewals due November 30
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SPAAR 2020 membership renewals are due on or before November 30, 2019. Please review your invoice and log into your portal account no later than September 25 to take advantage of the flexible dues billing payment option, which is available only to primary REALTOR® members and does not apply to MLS-only members, affiliates, secondary members, unlicensed REALTOR® assistants and new REALTOR® members.
Click
here
for additional information regarding 2020 membership dues. Questions? Contact SPAAR at 651-776-6000.
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Weekly safety tips as provided by SPAAR and its members
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SPAARky says:
Don't change the negative review.
Some scammers claim they can replace negative reviews of your service or boost your scores on ratings sites; however, posting fake or altered reviews is illegal. FTC guidelines say endorsements, including reviews, must reflect the honest opinions and experiences of the endorser. (www.ftc.gov).
We like hearing what tips SPAAR members have to share, too, such as:
For many, fall is a time of year when people prepare their homes for the winter months. When working with ladders, be sure to take a couple extra looks, tests and seconds to make sure the ladder is secure before starting to climb. If you do not take the extra precaution, you may end up like me with a compression fracture in your spine from the fall. Believe me, the extra few seconds to test the ladder is far less than a lifetime with a compression fracture and the pain it causes.
Throughout Safety Month in September be sure to pick up a free key chain, complete with a safety alert, from one of the SPAAR offices while supplies last.
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What is your #1 safety tip to share?
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Please share your safety tip and provide your name and email by sending an email to Jennifer at jkovacich@spaar.com. Members who submit safety tips have their names entered into a monthly drawing for a prize. Furthermore, safety tips will be shared in future issues of eNews. Thank you to all who have submitted one or more safety tips already. Keep them coming!
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Housing Market Statistics
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Get up-to-date housing market information here. SPAAR provides four different types of reports so you can offer your clients the most accurate housing data available. Click below to see how the market is doing:
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New condo rule opens door to homeownership
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NAR reported in August on the new Federal Housing Administration condominium loan policies. Many of the changes have been policies for which NAR has advocated be included for more than a decade. It is believed this will open the door for thousands of new homeownership opportunities.
NAR stated that “the new guidance extends certifications from two years to three, allows for single-unit mortgage approvals, provides more flexibility with owner/occupancy ratios, and increases the allowable number of FHA loans in a single project.” It is also stated that the rule will go into effect mid-October.
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Committee members sought for 2020 Advocacy at the State level
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Interested
in advocacy? MN Realtors® is taking applications for the 2020 Public Advocacy Committee.
This Committee coordinates, reviews and recommends all Minnesota proposals for NAR's REALTOR® Party funding. They look for uniformity in messaging and members' maximization of REALTOR® Party funds. The Committee is a grant review board that does not meet in person. Grants are reviewed and voted upon electronically.
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Help wanted for a playset surprise
SPAAR members are invited to help build a surprise playset for Westin, a four-year-old boy with a brain tumor who loves pizza, Starbucks chai tea and Mickey Mouse. SPAAR was approached for a handful of volunteers to help make this playset possible.
The playset build is this Friday, September 13 from 8am to 1pm in Lakeville as part of Roc Solid’s Play It Forward initiative to build custom playsets in the backyards of kids fighting cancer.
Westin’s family will be away during the build and will return home at 12:30pm for the big reveal and a pizza party. Interested in volunteering? Contact Jennifer Kovacich at jkovacich@spaar.com or call (651) 287-3922. This is a first come, first served event based on volunteer need.
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SPAAR’s Community Engagement Committee needs your ideas! The committee has funds remaining in its 2019 budget for Community Partnerships. These are strategic opportunities for SPAAR and its members to align with community-based organizations, creating media and publicity opportunities.
For example, in 2019, the Committee sponsored the River Rally, a community service project that puts volunteers to work to clean up the St. Croix River. River Rally is a project of nonprofit Community Thread, based in Stillwater. Community Partnerships are suggested by SPAAR’s members, by the committee or by SPAAR staff.
Is there a nonprofit in your community you would like the committee to consider partnering with?
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Leadership Panel Discussion provides overview of opportunities within SPAAR and beyond
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SPAAR will host a Leadership Panel Discussion on Monday, September 30, beginning with a networking breakfast at 8:30am; the panel discussion will take place from 9-10am and the panel participants will be Justin Fox, Jason Gorman and Jennifer Livingston who will share their leadership paths in real estate and within the Association. This is a great session for anyone interested in getting involved in local, state or national Association opportunities now or in the future.
A free CE class on Safety Matters will take place from 10:15 to 11:15am immediately following the Leadership Panel Discussion.
There is no cost to attend the Leadership Panel Discussion, but registration is required as breakfast will be provided. Questions? Contact Jennifer at jkovacich@spaar.com or
(651) 287-3922.
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SPAAR's Toastmasters seeks to be official chapter by October
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Interested in improving your public speaking? Interested in personal and professional growth development? Come check out SPAAR's Toastmasters chapter, which kicked off in January and has continued to grow with members meeting the first and third Tuesday of each month from 1-2pm.
Joining Toastmasters now will allow members to be a part of the inaugural group with a goal to have 20-plus members by October 1, 2019. According to member Cindy Koebele, "it's a great benefit to be in a specialized group with like-minded industry members who have the same goals of fine-tuning our speaking skills."
SPAAR's Toastmasters' next meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 17, from 1-2pm at SPAAR's 325 Roselawn Avenue East location. Interested in attending or learning more? Contact Jennifer at (651) 287-3922 or jkovacich@spaar.com.
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Congrats to newest C2EX endorsee
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Congratulations to Amy Peterson, SPAAR's newest member to earn the National Association of REALTORS®' Commitment to Excellence (C2EX) Program honor.
Amy is just one of SPAAR's members who has completed C2EX since it launched in November 2018. The C2EX program is a self-guided assessment that generates customized learning paths in 10 competencies including the areas of data security, technology, client service and professional reputation, among others, that lead to an endorsement from NAR that members use to show peers and clients they maintain the highest professional standard in the business.
Amy is one of more than 1,700 members who have earned the endorsement nationwide. Congratulations, Amy! To learn more or earn your C2EX Endorsement,
sign in here
.
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Welcome to SPAAR! We're glad you're here!
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Jason Artola Coldwell Banker Burnet
Bennett Counters Keller Williams Preferred Realty
Svetlana Dahlgren Prudden & Company
Marcus Graham Keller Williams Integrity RE
Tyler Isaac Results Support Services, Inc.
Corey Johnson SIlver Creek Properties, Inc.
Rory Lentsch Lentsch Company
Bee Lim-Albright Realty Executives Results
Hu Liu Marathon Realty
Lisa Miles Latitude Realty, LLC
David Monjeau Timber Ghost Realty, LLC
Shari Orstad Realty Group, Inc.
Iman Osman Keller Williams Integrity RE
Areianna Patterson Coldwell Banker Burnet
Jaden Peloquin Keller Williams Classic Realty
Andrea Ruddy Keller Williams Integrity Realty
Leo Schuch Re/Max Newport Elite
Jodi Sund Coldwell Banker Burnet
Mitchell Waitman Equity Source Mortgage, Inc.
Wright Warkies Fish MLS Realty
Hussein Warsame Bridge Realty, LLC
Brandon Weiler Realty Group, Inc.
Molly Wick eXp Realty
Kayla Wiebe Edina Realty, Inc.
Jeffrey Wilson RC Fields
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See SPAAR in the news? We'd love to know about it! If you see articles in your local paper about SPAAR members, events or other news, please send an email to
jkovacich@spaar.com
or mail to Jennifer Kovacich at SPAAR (325 Roselawn Ave E, St. Paul, MN 55117) or simply call (651) 287-3922 with the station or publication information. Thank you!
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