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This Month's Sponsor: American Pacific Mortgage
This month’s REALTOR
®
Review is presented by Affiliate Member, American Pacific Mortgage. Click
HERE
to find out more!
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IMPORTANT COVID-19 UPDATES
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The last few days have been extremely trying and chaotic for so many of you. We recognize that you are all under a lot of stress and anxiety - your family, your associates, your staff, and your clients. Trying to help your clients during a pandemic is probably one of the greatest challenges we’ll ever face.
I wanted to let you know how incredibly hard your association is working on your behalf and how we’re continuing to advocate for homeownership at all levels of our organization.
I would just like to highlight a few key COVID-19 related resources available to you to help navigate these challenging times:
We have cancelled or postponed most events through April 24. We have converted many events and educational programming to webinars and are now offering CE via webinar. While our physical headquarters is not open, staff is working very hard behind the scenes to continue to provide services to our members.
If you need us please reach out to us. We would encourage emails but we are taking phone calls, as well. You can reach our staff during regular business hours: Monday – Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. through the following channels:
Related services:
Dan Sale
CEO
St. Louis REALTORS
®
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IMPORTANT RELIEF AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL
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Unemployment Benefits for Self Employed:
The CARES Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump, creates a temporary “Pandemic Unemployment Assistance” program that extends unemployment benefits to those not traditionally eligible, including self-employed individuals. NAR has created this
Unemployment Benefits FAQ;
and here is the link to
File for Unemployment Benefits in Missouri
.
Paycheck Protection Program/SBA Loans
:
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocated $350 billion to help small businesses keep workers employed amid the pandemic and economic downturn. Known as the Paycheck Protection Program, the initiative provides 100% federally guaranteed loans to small businesses that maintain their payroll during this emergency. On March 31, the Treasury Department released the
application for the SBA 7(a) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, which you can access here
.
[
If that link is not working, please check back – it can be overwhelmed]
Treasury also released a
summary guide of the program for borrowers,
HERE
. NAR has created this helpful
SBA CARES Act FAQs
.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Small businesses and sole proprietors can apply beginning
April 3
; independent contractors and the self-employed can apply beginning
Friday, April 10
. Applications go directly to SBA lenders, which you can find through
the SBA site
HERE
.
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COVID-19 Hold Harmless Agreement
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A small Task Force of the Contract & Forms Committee has created a hold harmless agreement for interested parties to sign that will release the brokerage, its agents, employees, officers, and vendors from and against all claims for damages and liability resulting from exposure to COVID-19, associated with viewing and/or inspecting property owned or occupied by others, or allowing others to enter property.
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April is Fair Housing Month
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Fair Housing Month is celebrated each April to commemorate the landmark 1968 Fair Housing Act, in which U.S. law was established that prohibited discrimination in housing. Show you support equal opportunity in housing by downloading and displaying this declaration of following fair housing laws and your commitment to provide professional service with the
REALTOR® Fair Housing Declaration
.
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TechHelpline -
Expert T
ech Support Services
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Don’t forget, to take advantage of this
free member benefit
! Distribute
these flyers
around your office to share how TechHelpline can help you with quick, efficient solutions.
Interested in learning more about about TechHelpline and what it can offer for you?
Click here
!
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REALTOR
®
Party Mobile Alerts
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REALTOR
®
Party Mobile Alerts, NAR’s advocacy texting platform, offers REALTOR
®
Associations and REALTORS
®
a way to stay connected directly from their cell phone or tablet. When a national or state legislative call for action is launched, subscribers get a short text message, containing information to take action. Learn more
HERE
.
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2020 Census Determines Your Representation & Community Assets
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The once a decade survey is just around the corner, beginning mid-March 2020. While this is seen as a hassle to some, REALTORS
®
actually benefit from the constitutional mandate because over a trillion dollars go directly to fund local communities and programs that homeowners and businesses alike benefit from. Those allocated dollars could mean the difference in folks staying or moving to neighboring cities and counties.
Significantly, the Census is for fair representation benefiting necessary public services like schools, hospitals, roads and public works. When we all respond, Missouri gets more money to pave our roads and rebuild bridges. When we don’t respond, our political representation is in jeopardy. In 2010, Missouri lost a seat in Congress because not everyone was counted. We can’t risk losing another voice for Missouri in Washington, D.C.
Another key point is the census data acquired helps not only the federal government but helps “the
National Association of REALTORS
®
understand housing needs, demand, and trends.” As a result, these insights can assist in your businesses message, be used as a resource to meet your target markets, and prepare for the future.
Now for the first time the Census Bureau allows for online submission, along with responses through phone and mail. We encourage you as a REALTOR
®
to participate and urge those around you to join the 1.4 million REALTORS
®
nationwide to pass on the word to clients and your community the importance of the census and its impact on community interests.
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2020 Continuing Education Changes
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The Missouri Real Estate Commission met on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 and the following decisions were made affecting real estate renewals and continuing education requirements for 2020:
Renewals:
- Broker expiration dates will be extended from June 30, 2020 until August 31, 2020.
- Salesperson expiration dates will be extended from September 30, 2020 until October 31, 2020.
Continuing Education:
- Meeting CE requirements for Brokers has been extended from June 30, 2020 until August 31, 2020.
- Meeting CE requirements for Salespersons has been extended from September 30, 2020 until October 31, 2020.
- The one Core course in Real Estate Ethics will still be required.
- CE hours for Brokers completed after June 30, 2020 and before the license is renewed cannot also be used for 2022 renewals.
- CE hours for Salesperson completed after September 30, 2020 and before the license is renewed cannot also be used for 2022 renewal.
St. Louis REALTORS
®
is developing webinar CE classes on a weekly basis, that started on March 30, and will be posted on our website, in education email blasts, social media, and MARIS.
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Want to learn more about our educational events & classes, click
H
E
RE
.
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REALTORS
®
Housing Assistance Fund
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At a recent meeting of the Foundation Board of Directors, the decision was made to revert back to using the legal name of the foundation (REALTORS
®
Housing Assistance Fund) and to cease use of its DBA (St. Louis REALTORS
®
Foundation). The reasoning for this change is that the original name better describes the mission of the foundation.
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REALTORS
® Housing Assistance Fund
is a 501(c)(3) Organization. The RHAF was DBA as the St. Louis REALTORS
®
Foundation.
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HAPPENING AT ST. LOUIS REALTORS
®
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