Weekly Notices - April 1, 2022

The Spokane Association of REALTORS®:

ENGAGES its members, ENCOURAGES professional excellence and cooperation,

ADVOCATES for real property rights, and PROMOTES strong, sustainable communities.

Weekly Notices

April 1, 2022

April is Fair Housing Month!

2022 Fair Housing Toolkit

Fair Housing Month is observed each April to commemorate the landmark 1968 Fair Housing Act in which U.S. law was established that prohibited discrimination in housing.

Annually, NAR creates a poster (pictured) to promote the REALTOR® commitment to Fair Housing.

As a member, you are authorized to print, post, and share this Fair Housing Month Poster.

It can be printed 18 x 24 or 9 x 12.

Find the poster, and other Fair Housing graphics, on NAR's 2022 Fair Housing Toolkit page.

Fair Housing Toolkit.

Submit your Fair Housing Story.

April is Fair Housing Month!

To celebrate, Washington REALTORS® would like to share real life stories from our members on Fair Housing wins you have been a part of, or Fair Housing challenges that you have had to negotiate.

Please share your story to be featured during Fair Housing Month.

SAR Launches New Member Benefit:

Domus Analytics

Spokane Association of REALTORS® members now enjoy full use of Domus Analytics at no additional member cost.

The new service was announced at the Quarterly Membership meeting last week.

"It's always a pleasure to give members more value for their money," says 2022 SAR President Eric Etzel. "Association leadership has been testing this service for some time. It is an incredibly powerful tool and, we trust, a valuable addition to the Spokane REALTOR® toolbox."

See a sample screen online here.

From the company:

In today's competitive market, it's essential for REALTORS® to show the value they bring to every transaction through subject matter expertise.

Your knowledge needs to be a mile wide and at least a foot deep. And that's a lot. Let us make your job easier.

Domus Analytics dashboards are the most powerful, accurate and easy to use market stats tools available today.

We do all the heavy lifting so that you can quickly zero in on your client's concerns, and be the expert they need.

New!

Domus Analytics Training

In-person / Virtual Lunch & Learns

Your SAR will be offering two Domus Analytics training sessions in coming weeks, both in a "lunch & learn" format.

You may participate in these either in-person (limited to 20 students per session) or virtually via Zoom (unlimited), as you choose. NOTE: Lunch is not included in any of these sessions; you may bring your own.

Domus Analytics will be offering its online training later this month - dates and times will be announced soon.

Wednesday 4/13 Noon-1:00pm

Wednesday 5/25 Noon-1:00pm

Washington Legislature Recap

The 2022 Washington Legislative Session is over, with lawmakers considering everything from “Love Letters” to “Pet Damages in the Seller Disclosure forms.

The sessions also saw the introduction of several housing related bills that would have opened the door to more housing supply and opportunity.

Unfortunately, nearly all of these would not pass.

Read more on this year's session.

Fully nominate someone (more than just a name, must include reasons) for a 2022 SAR REALTOR® Award and qualify for a drawing to receive complimentary MLS fees for one quarter!

Watch this two-minute video to learn more:

2022 SAR REALTOR® Awards

Accepting Nominations Now!

Deadline: Friday, April 15

Applications are now being accepted for all 2022 SAR REALTOR® Awards!

You and your REALTOR® colleagues will decide who will be our honorees for:

2022 REALTOR ® of the Year

Steve Flinn REALTOR ® Achievement

REALTOR ® Community Service

Affiliate of the Year

Partner of the Year

Spokane's Citizen of the Year

The deadline by which you must submit nominations to the SAR for them to be considered is Friday, April 15th.

The 2022 SAR REALTOR® Awards will be announced and presented on Thursday, May 19th, at the SAR's annual REALTOR® Awards Luncheon at Ruby River Hotel

Get the Nomination Form.

2022 SAR Legacy of Service Award

Deadline: April 15th

Your SAR is now accepting nominations for its 2022 SAR Legacy of Service Award.

This award is created as a "Lifetime Achievement" award to honor those REALTOR® members who are respected in our profession by colleagues and serve our profession through various Association committees.

Additionally, this award honors those who spend the majority of their years as active REALTORS® mentoring newer members, helping to define regulations within our field, all the while giving back to the community.

Nominations are due Friday, April 15th.

The 2022 SAR Legacy of Service Award will be presented at the SAR Awards Luncheon on Thursday, May 19th.

Get the Nomination Form.

2022 Gary Fox Memorial Award

Deadline: April 15th

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2022 Gary Fox Memorial Designated/Managing Broker Award.

This award recognizes a Designated Broker or Managing Broker who serves as an example of loyalty, ethical behavior, and leadership in the real estate profession.

Nominations are due Friday, April 15th.

The 2022 Gary Fox Memorial Designated/Managing Broker Award will be presented at the SAR Awards Luncheon on Thursday, May 19th.

Next Week!

WCR April Event:

Friday, April 8th / Noon to 4 p.m.

Come join us at Prohibition Gastropub to hear top leaders in our industry discuss the relevant topic Landlord Tenant Laws & Early Possession.

We are so excited to bring you Dezda Finn - Broker/Owner at Dezda Finn Properties , Ken Sax - WA Designated Broker at Professional Realty Services & Tyson A. Carson, J.D. Attorney-at-law at Law Office of Tyson A. Carman, Esq as our panel speakers.

There will be heavy apps & great networking!

Tell me more.

New!

4 Ways to Prep

for the Spring Real Estate Market

First off, our title is a tad misleading.

Prepping for the spring “selling” season might actually be a thing of the past.

The demand for inventory combined with rising interest rates, means spring may have already spring (sorry Punxsutawney Phil!).

That means to stay competitive, you need to plan and prep for February and March, not April and May.

And to help you do that, RPR (Realtors Property Resource) is teeing up four ways for you to get going and get clients in 2022.

Upcoming events from Realtor.com^® Industry Relations for REALTOR^® members

These webinars are offered at several times on various dates to fit your busy schedule.

Click on any topic that interests you for details:

Successfully Leveraging Video

Click to register

Dos and Don'ts of Social Media in Real Estate

Click to register

Local Expert Best Practices

Click to register

Achieve Omnipresence and Master Your Hyperlocal Market

Click to register

Technology that Boosts Productivity and Saves Time

Click to register

Save the Date

Washington REALTORS®

Spring Business Conference

April 20-22 at Suncadia in Cle Elum!

Washington REALTORS® is excited to announce that the Board of Directors meeting, the Core Committee meetings, and several other events at The Washington REALTORS® Spring Business Conference WILL BE LIVE AND IN PERSON!

Mark your calendars to join us at the beautiful Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum from April 20-22, 2022.

You're not going to want to miss this event.

We'll be offering a fun - and long overdue - Opening Night Celebration & Dinner, an Awards Luncheon, Candidate Forum, and a Guest Speaker/Town Hall during the in-person event.

Come be part of the conversation, help shape your association, and have a little (or a lot of) fun while doing it!

Washington DC

reopens in time for 2022

REALTORS® Legislative Meetings

After being shut down to the public for the past two years, Washington D.C. has officially reopened to the public, just in time for the annual REALTORS® Hill Day.

Learn more here.

New!

Attention:

New Real Estate Fraud Alert!

with Washington REALTORS®

Legal Hotline Attorney

Annie Fitzsimmons

There is a new fraud scheme that is finding its way through the real estate industry.

This fraud scheme was brought to Annie's attention by Washington REALTORS® members up in Whatcom County, near the Canadian border.

If it's starting here, it could go anywhere.

Watch now for details on this scheme and how to prevent yourself and your brokerage from becoming a victim.

The video runs about six-minutes.

April 11 & 12

Have you been to law school?

Probably not… yet you are expected to draft and use purchase agreements with the same expertise as a lawyer when preparing and using real estate forms to create contracts between buyers and sellers.

Complicating that task, you have over a hundred forms at your disposal through the statewide forms system and you must be able to navigate the forms and know which form to use when and how one form impacts another.

Enjoy Draft Like a Lawyer in person over two days in Kennewick, WA.

Draft Like a Lawyer

Back Live and In-person!

Featuring a curriculum that teaches drafting skills and integrated use of the most popular statewide forms, this class offers 16 clock hours to students as they learn about real estate forms and how to use them in their business.

Draft Like a Lawyer allows for students to catch up on high demand topics taught by the Legal Hotline Lawyer, Annie Fitzsimmons!

We highly recommend you attend both days, the curriculum is integrated together over two days and if you only attend one, you may get lost.

REALTORS® know the importance of adapting and remaining relevant in today’s marketplace. By developing a business practice rooted in inclusion and equality, REALTORS® can help buyers of all cultural backgrounds achieve the dream of home-ownership.

FREE!

At Home with Diversity with

WR Past-president Margo Wheeler

April 14th & 15th 9-12 via Zoom

6.0 CE

New!

Busting Myths about VA Home Loans

Veterans make up 9% of the population in Washington State and we are ranked #13 in the US for Veteran's home of record.

There are many misconceptions about VA loans, so The National Association of REALTORS® and the Department of Veterans Affairs launched a joint video series, this month, for REALTORS® to help more veterans and active-duty buyers purchase a home using VA loans.

The two-part series aims to dispel misconceptions about the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program and guide REALTORS® and home buyers through the process.

Your SAR also created a video to encourage member support of VA Loans - we share a link to that video, too.

The SAR shares condolences with the family and friends of Patricia Ann Burns (pictured) who peacefully joined God March 22, 2022.

She was born in May of 1934 in Peoria Ill.

Pat met and married Charles B. Burns Jr. (Chuck), in 1954. Together they had three children during their 62 year marriage.

Chuck and Pat lived in many cities and on many Air Force Bases, until their final move to Spokane in 1973.

After several successful careers while supporting her family as a military wife and busy mother, both Pat and Chuck began their Real Estate Careers with James S. Black Real Estate Co. Years later they would then join Tomlinson Black Real Estate Company until retirement.

Pat was a very kind and successful realtor, receiving many top producing awards. She served on the Spokane Board of Realtors for years, and was a member of the Voices of Tomlinson Black singing group. Pat loved to sing and performed with the group for local hospitals and assisted living patients . Pat mentored others that looked up to and sought her counsel. After retiring, Pat maintained her many friendships, and family that had grown with the addition of two sets of twin grandsons born within three weeks of one another.

Always the entertainer, and wanting to make others feel welcome, Pat's motto was "I do not want to make reasons for you to stay, only reasons for you to return".

Pat was a friend to many and will be greatly missed.

Read more about Pat's life online here.

Funeral services for Pat will be held on April 9th at 2 p.m. at Audubon Park United Methodist Church: 3908 N Driscoll Blvd, Spokane.

Gustafson Law

Announces Name Change to

G&R Law Group

Gustafson Law, founded in 2002, is excited to announce that it has changed its name to G&R Law Group.

G&R Law Group is a locally owned and operated law firm specializing in serving the real estate needs of our community.

The firm offers a wide range of real estate related services, including: landlord tenant law, short sale negotiation, drafting of easements, deeds between family members and businesses, drafting of covenants and private lending services, to name just a few.

Get the flyer.

Member 2 Member is a complimentary service available to SAR members to announce a new firm, new partners/staff, new address or other one-time information to all members here in the Weekly Notices.

Professional Development

The SAR offers a full schedule of virtual classes to help members satisfy their professional development requirements to keep their REALTOR® status current.

Please be in touch with Tami at the SAR if you have any questions about classes or your license education requirements, by phone at 326-9222 or by email.

NEXT WEEK!

Code of Ethics & Fair Housing

with Karene Loman

Tuesday 4/5 8:30am-5pm

This is our first scheduled hybrid class. You can sign up to take this class in-person at the SAR or you can zoom in for this full day class.

This class is required for all NEW Brokers.

7.5 clock hours

Why Ethics?

Professionalism means conducting yourself ethically and with integrity and competence.

It results in satisfied clients and customers.

It's good business!

You will gain knowledge of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics that will help you . . .

· Fulfill your essential responsibilities as a REALTOR®

· Enjoy a successful career based on the highest principles of your profession, and

· Develop appropriate responses and solutions to the most pressing dilemmas you will face as a REALTOR®.

New!

Purchase & Sale with Sabrina Jones Schroeder

Tuesday 4/12 8:30am-5pm

You can sign up to take this class in-person at the SAR or you can zoom in for this full day class.

7.5 clock hours

This mandatory course will include: An introduction and discussion of intentions, goals, and purposes in properly completing the new Purchase & Sale Agreement; the deposit, parties and property; financing and the financing contingencies, title insurance and transfer and inspections; representations and disclosure; and remaining provisions.

This class must be taken once every four years.

New!

TransactionDesk Class

In-person with Eric Johnson

Monday 4/18 1:00-4:00pm

3.0 clock hours

Eric Johnson will be teaching his TransactionDesk on Basic Sale/Listing Creation.

You won't want to miss this class!

You'll learn all you need to know about the TransactionDesk.

Here are some of the highlights he'll cover in class: Introduction to key features and how to become a paperless office, System Navigation, Settings & Templates, Creating a Sale Transaction, Uploading Signed Documents, Creating an Authentisign Electronic Signing, Archiving Transactions and Receiving & Counter offering an offer.