Weekly Notices
October 8, 2021
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The Counselors of Real Estate and local partners pose for a post-event photo in the SAR classroom, this past Friday.
(Left to right): Isaiah Paine, Governmental Affairs Director, Spokane Homebuilders Association; Rob Higgins, Executive Vice-president, Spokane Association of REALTORS®; Stan Sidor, CRE; Joel White, Executive Officer, Spokane Homebuilders Association; Paige Mueller, CRE; Eric Etzel, President-elect, Spokane Association of REALTORS®; Jackie Buhn, CRE; Darin Watkins, Governmental Affairs Director, Spokane Association of REALTORS®.
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The Counselors of Real Estate held a news conference at the SAR (pictured above) to announce their preliminary findings. It was transmitted live on the SAR Facebook channel as it happened Friday.
You can watch a recording of that event on the SAR Facebook channel - online here:
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NEW!
Counselors of Real Estate
Spend a Week in Spokane; See
"Tremendous Opportunity Here."
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Four members of the Counselors of Real Estate’s CRE® Consulting Corps spent last week here interviewing policy makers, developers, and civic leaders across Spokane about the region's housing crisis.
The team was brought to Spokane in collaboration with the Spokane Association of REALTORS®, Washington REALTORS®, and The Spokane Home Builders Association.
“We see tremendous opportunity here,” said team leader Jackie Buhn, (CRE®) with The Counselors of Real Estate. “And we’d like to refocus the conversation towards building communities and a more vibrant neighborhoods of which housing must be a key component.”
The goal of the CRE® Consulting Corps is to bring innovative and proven solutions from similar cities across the country, develop an unbiased, objective review of relevant demographic and housing data, examine barriers to development, share best practices, and present implementable solutions to increase housing options that will meet the full range of the city’s housing needs.
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See the CRE Consulting Corps Exit Briefing (pictured above) online here:
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Reporter Amy Edelen with The Spokesman-Review attended the Counselors of Real Estate news conference at the SAR, last week.
Here is her article:
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There is “tremendous opportunity” to meet a growing need for housing in Spokane County by changing local government policies to spur development and create vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods, according to a preliminary finding by consultants from the Counselors of Real Estate’s CRE Consulting Corps. |
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Did you know only 1 in 7 houses in Spokane County is considered “affordable”?
Spokane County is being priced out of reach for Spokane residents.
SAR Members, help us build awareness and begin to drive change.
Utilize the latest Marketing Kit Materials to get the word out: online here.
#SpokaneTogetherStronger
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Spokane County’s frenzied housing market shows slight cool-down in September as median price drops to $380,000 |
Spokane County’s housing market is showing signs of cooling down after more than a year of escalating prices and bidding wars on homes.
The county’s median home closing price in September was $380,000, compared to $389,728 in August and a record-breaking peak of $395,000 in July, according to data from the Spokane Association of Realtors.
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New Construction Valuation
in Spokane County
at All-time High
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The Spokane County Assessor’s office shares word it has just finished adding $1,338,116,330 in taxable new construction to the tax rolls, which will be payable in 2022.
This is the highest amount ever added to the county’s tax roll in a year.
So, what does this number mean to Spokane County property owners?
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2021 SAR President Eric Johnson (above, right) asked that question to Spokane County Assessor Tom Konis (above, left) as the two met at an active new construction site on the city's north side.
The answer takes a little explanation so we rolled video on their conversation and are pleased to share it with you here.
The video runs about six minutes.
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Read the county's news release, received at the SAR (pictured above), online here.
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Spokane County set a record this year with $1.3 billion in new construction. But builders say you have to look deeper to understand the whole story.
“Building permits haven’t gone up,” said Joel White, executive officer of the Spokane Home Builders Association. “It’s really the cost of homes that has gone up.”
In other words: The value of new construction hit an all-time high because building a home has never been more expensive. But the number of new projects wasn’t unprecedented – although the last year has been one of the biggest construction years in county history.
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Final Taco Tuesday for 2021 |
The SAR held its fourth and final Taco Tuesday event of the year, this week - on a gorgeous early fall - sunshine-and-76- degrees - day.
This four-week series of events was planned and supported by members of your SAR Communications Committee, chaired by Broker Member Katie McDaris Marks.
SAR leadership rotated through all four Tuesdays to meet and talk with new and continuing members. The events attracted about 300 members across all four weeks.
This week's lunch was expertly catered by Cochinito Taqueria, offering local & responsibly sourced ingredients prepared with fine-dining techniques.
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2022 SAR Initial Slate of Candidates |
Your SAR Nominating Committee is pleased to announce its initial slate of candidates for 2022 SAR leadership:
PRESIDENT-ELECT:
· Tom Hormel, RE/MAX of Spokane
TREASURER:
· Kristy Hamby, Windermere West Plains
SECRETARY:
· Ron McIntire, Choice Realty
DIRECTORS:
· Bree Campana, 4 Degrees Real Estate
· Judy Flemmer, EXIT Real Estate Professionals
· Britney Inglis, Real Estate Marketplace NW, Inc.
· Katie McDaris Marks, EXIT Real Estate Professionals
· Ron McIntire, Choice Realty
· Barb Pielli, Professional Realty Services
· Matt Side, Realty One Group Eclipse
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Additional Candidates
In accordance with Article XIII, Section 13.2 of the Association Bylaws, additional candidates may be nominated by the REALTOR® members.
For those wishing to nominate a REALTOR® member for an Association Officer or Director position that is not on the initial Slate of Candidates, Nominating Petitions will be available from the Association office Monday, November 8th through Monday, November 22nd.
Deadline to return petitions is end of business day Monday, November 22nd.
ALL VOTING WILL BE DONE ELECTRONICALLY!
You will receive Notice on Wednesday, November 24th of the "Final Slate of Candidates".
Voting begins on Monday, November 29th. You will receive your ballot via email.
Deadline to submit ballots will be Wednesday, December 15th, 4:30 p.m.
Our new leaders will be announced at our Annual Membership Meeting on Thursday, December 16th, at CenterPlace Regional Event Center.
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ENDS NEXT WEEK!
Friday, October 15th
The SAR annual food drive to benefit Second Harvest is happening now!
This year, since we won't be able to host tables at our local grocery stores, we're holding our event online as a challenge between offices/brokerages in a "Friendly, Fun, Food Fight!"
NOTE: No tomatoes were destroyed in the making of this flyer.
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NEW!
Annie's Mailbag: Can my Firm give a Referral Fee to an Unlicensed Person?
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From the Mailbag:
"An unlicensed person produced a buyer and seeks payment of a 'Finder's Fee'. Can my real estate firm pay that fee to this unlicensed person? Follow up question - what if I just pay the referral fee myself as a real estate broker?"
Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons answers in this new five-minute video:
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NEXT WEEK!
Battle of the Barristers
Hosted by Seattle King County REALTORS®
Thursday, October 7, 2021 @ 9 AM – 12 PM
Virtual via Zoom
Protect yourself and learn the best practices in today’s extraordinary market at Seattle King County REALTORS®' virtual Battle of the Barristers, featuring our WR Legal Hotline lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons!
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Reduce your Legal Liability
3 Clock Hours!
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Enjoy five entertaining scenarios on relevant topics: Earnest Money Deposits, Brokers Contributing to Seller’s Remodeling Costs, Proof of Funds Issues, Listing Properties under value to encourage a bidding war, Dealing with Sellers who do not cooperate.
All proceeds from this event goes to the Seattle King County REALTORS® Scholarship program benefiting REALTORS® and their family members.
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Draft Like a Lawyer:
What do Forms Say/How to Use Them
15 CE Hours
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Enjoy Draft Like a Lawyer virtually, and in shorter four-hour sessions spread out over four days total!
Featuring a combined curriculum of two popular classes (Statewide Forms and Put a S.O.C. In It: Standard of Care of a Lawyer), this class offers 15 clock hours to students as they learn about real estate forms and how to use them in their business.
This virtual class allows for students to catch up on high demand topics taught by the Legal Hotline Lawyer, Annie Fitzsimmons!
What to Expect:
This class will be very interactive and each session will build on the previous session – so please plan on attending all four sessions (attendance in all four sessions is required to get 15 clock hours).
Come prepared to ask questions and share your thoughts.
We look forward to seeing you in class!
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM Each Day
Session 1: October 25th
Session 2: October 26th
Session 3: October 28th
Session 4: October 29th
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NEW!
Enroll today to get your coverage in place for Fall
Group dental plans exclusively for NAR members and their families. Three plans to choose from, each with 100% in-network preventative coverage for:
Cleanings
X-rays
Exams
Learn More And Get A Quote In Minutes When You Click Here:
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NEW!
Enroll today to get your coverage in place for Fall
REALTORS® Vision plans feature group rates and, as always, great customer service. These are the ONLY vision plans designed exclusively for REALTORS®, and plans start for as little as $12.70 per month.
Want to learn more?
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NEW!
Click on the ones that interest you
for more information:
04 OCT
12 OCT
13 OCT
14 OCT
20 OCT
21 OCT
26 OCT
27 OCT
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The 5 Best PDF Hacks for Agents |
The Portable Document Format or PDF was created by Adobe in 1993. Adobe officials estimate that there are some 2.5 trillion PDF documents in the world. And PDFs have become a mainstay for real estate, empowering the digitalization of today’s transactions.
Adobe offers free versions of its Adobe Reader DC (Document Cloud) for Windows and Mac personal computers (here). With this basic Adobe Acrobat Reader version, you can open, read and print PDFs.
But if you want to edit a PDF, convert a document to a PDF or do more complex tasks, such as sign or annotate a form, Adobe wants you to subscribe to access Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. A monthly subscription will set you back at least $12.99 a month!
Fortunately, we have some PDF hacks to help you accomplish more with a PDF without the Adobe monthly subscription. Because as a real estate agent, sometimes you want to do more with a PDF than just read it or print it out.
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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.
Code of Ethics cycle ends
December 31, 2021
Your Code of Ethics status will appear in the top-left corner on your home screen if you've completed the class.
All brokers must take this class once every three years.
We're currently in the cycle 1/1/2019-12/31/2021.
Please note for new agents, completing your first two-year renewal, you must first take the 7.5-hour Code of Ethics and Fair Housing class, within 3 months of joining the SAR, and then you will be eligible for ethics training of not less than three hours of instructional time during the next two-year cycle.
The NAR Code of Ethics Class offered at the SAR is a 3.5-hour class called "Code of Ethics for Real Estate Professionals".
Your membership will be suspended, until the class is completed, if this requirement is not met.
Please call Tami at 326-9222 with any questions.
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NEXT WEEK!
Code of Ethics & Fair Housing
with Mike Crowley
Tuesday 10/12 - 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
&
Thursday 10/14 - 8:30 a.m. to Noon
THIS IS A 2-DAY ZOOM CLASS. REQUIRES A SPEAKER & YOU TO BE ON CAMERA.
BE PREPARED!
This class is required for all NEW Brokers.
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®.
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NEXT WEEK!
FREE CLASS!
Red Flag
Managing the Home Inspection
with Vince Vargas
from Vargas Inspections
Tuesday 10/12 - 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
ZOOM CLASS
The home inspection is one of the most crucial parts of the home buying process. You can ease some of your clients' anxieties by helping them be educated and prepared for the home inspection process. A good home inspection should be thorough so that all parties have confidence when completing the home buying process.
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NEW!
Code of Ethics -
Our Promise to Professionalism with Mike Crowley
(Zoom class)
Tuesday, October 19th
9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
3.5 clock hours
This half-day Ethics class is for those that are past their first license renewal.
Remember, you must take a Code of Ethics class once between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2021.
This class meets those requirements.
New members must first take a 7.5 hour Code of Ethics class before taking this 3.5 hr class.
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The SAR extends its condolences to the friends and family of Jacque Eide, formerly of Windermere Valley. Jackie passed away over the weekend at the age of 91. Information regarding services will be provided when available.
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MLS Weekly News and Information |
Keep up with rule changes, get tips and tricks and see the monthly MLS totals.
Don’t forget to check this valuable resource!
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Current Market and Membership Information from your Association: |
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NEW!
September 2021
Market Snapshot Report
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NEW!
Year-to-date
Market Snapshot Report
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NEW!
September
Member Roster Update
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See the full member-exclusive Market Activity Report online here.
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SAR Leadership Information |
The 2021 Leadership Directory for your association is online here.
This document contains names and contact info for your elected officers and directors.
Please be in touch any time you have a comment or question about your association.
Thank you for being a member of the Spokane Association of REALTORS®!
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SAR and Community Calendars: |
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Connect with us any time on these social media channels: |
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