SMTAR Bits and Pieces http://www.SMTAR.com News and Important Info from the Southern Middle Tennessee Association of REALTORS en-us FEBRUARY 2010 BITS AND PIECES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT'S INSIDE THIS EDITION
  1. WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
  2. FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
  3. SENTRILOCK USER FEES DUE FEBRUARY 28
  4. USE OF NAR TRADEMARKS IN USERNAMES
  5. NAR BROKER INVOLVEMENT PROGRAM
  6. Q & A OF THE MONTH
  7. UPCOMING EDUCATION
  8. DATES TO REMEMBER
  9. IMPORTANT CONTACTS
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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

SMTAR is pleased to present new members for the month of January:

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FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

We are off to a great start at SMTAR! We feel good about our membership numbers. We have made the projected dues collection already!

We had good attendance at our Broker/Owner meeting February 4th. We enjoyed a light breakfast, and Sheila Frisbee with Title & Escrow of Lawrence County gave a very informative program on the new law which went into effect on January 1 regarding the changes to the Good Faith Estimate and HUD 1 Forms. One other item of interest was a reminder that TREC is imposing penalties on the agents and their Brokers for lasped errors & omissions insurance. It would be a good idea to double check this.

Jason, Mary, Jimmy Dugger & myself attended the Information Exchange Forum in Murfreesboro February 9th, which was an exchange of ideas and information with our neighboring Boards and TAR officers. It was good to hear what was working in other places.

There are two important events coming up that you need to mark your calendars for. The MAIN one being our first Business Luncheon (General Membership Meeting) of the year to be held in Fayetteville on March 3rd. Please make a concerted effort to attend this meeting. The other meeting is TAR Spring Conference March 8-10 to be held at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro. You have until February 22 to register. There are 3 very good educational courses being offered for which you can receive CE credit.

Any suggestions or comments you have for our Board will be welcomed!

Fay Robinson
President

More information on the General Membership Meeting in Fayetteville is available HERE. Sheila Frisbee will present an abbreviated version of her program on the changes to the Good Faith Estimate and HUD 1 Forms.

For information on the TAR Spring Conference, please visit the TAR WEBSITE.

SMTAR's Facebook link (Be sure to copy and paste the entire link into your browser if you are unable to click!):
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Columbia-TN/Southern-Middle-Tennessee-Association-of-REALTORS/38462364810

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SENTRILOCK USER FEES DUE FEBRUARY 28

Agents who currently use a RealTracs Sentricard will need to renew their annual lease by February 28th to ensure that their card will continue to work for the next year. The annual fee for REALTORS(r) and any assistants who hold a card is $120. For our Affiliate Members who hold a card, the fee is $249.

REALTORS(r) can pay their annual fee by logging in to RealTracs, clicking on "My Page" and then on "My Account". Additional instructions will be provided from the "My Account" page.

Agents who fail to pay by the February 28th deadline will have their Sentricards terminated on March 1st.

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USE OF NAR TRADEMARKS IN USERNAMES

By Katherine Raynolds, NAR Staff Attorney

Reprinted with permission of the National Association of REALTORS(r)

Choose a user name or ID. This is what you have to do upon registering for most social networking sites, blogs, and elsewhere on the Web. [Association] members strive to be unique and clever with their usernames, which also serve to identify them publicly to others viewing the site. Perhaps they choose number1realtor or yourMichiganrealty or janechicagorealtor. But all of these usernames violate the National Association of REALTORS trademark usage rules. Read More

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NAR BROKER INVOLVEMENT PROGRAM

The National Association of REALTORS(r) and STMAR recognize that the Principle Broker of each member firm is a vital contact for disseminating important information to its members. Because we are "Your Voice for Real Estate", it is important that you know what we are saying on your behalf, and that you help enforce our voice with your own whenever possible. The REALTOR Action Center is a universal means of strengthening the REALTOR voice in the ears of our lawmakers.

The REALTOR(r) Action Center provides a means for every REALTOR(r) to find out about important upcoming legislative action, and to communicate their views with the appropriate lawmakers of their area through the "Call to Action" initiative. To further the efforts of the "REALTOR(r) Party", NAR has created the "Broker Involvement Program".

When Principle Brokers join the Broker Involvement Program, they will be able to review and approve the calls to action and then distribute the notice to the agents in their office. More information on the Broker Involvement Program will be available as SMTAR leadership tours our region in 2010. Be sure you are available to meet with us when we are scheduled to be in your area.

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Q & A OF THE MONTH

Q: What does this field on the TAR Form mean?

A: SMTAR receives numerous inquiries about the proper way to complete various forms that are available in the TAR Forms package. Unfortunately, we often find that this task is as difficult for us as it is for you. To help resolve member questions about the forms, TAR has created the "inForm Tool" available in your Member Login at TARNET.com. The inForm Tool will provide answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding the forms. It will also recommend other forms that might be used in conjunction with a particular form. This wonderful tool will also provide definitions for legal terms that may leave some of you scratching your head. To access the tool, just visit TARNET.com, click on "Member Login" to log in, and then click on "inForm Tool".

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UPCOMING EDUCATION


  • CORE 09/10
    Tuesday, March 2, 2010
    1:00PM - 5:00PM 4 Hourse of CE
    Cost is $55, DISCOUNTS are available. Register online with this REGISTRATION FORM or call 931.381.5556 for registration information, or e-mail SMTAR@RealTracs.com.

  • Ethics
    Wednesday, March 17, 2010
    9:00AM - 12:00 PM 3 Hours of CE
    Cost is $40, DISCOUNTS are available. Register online with this REGISTRATION FORM or call 931.381.5556 for registration information, or e-mail SMTAR@RealTracs.com.

  • RealTracs Training
    Thursday, March 18, 2010
    Two Sessions Available: RealTracs 2 and/or Statistics
    You must have an MLS User ID to attend. Please use the following procedure to register:
    1. Open your web browser and log in to RealTracs.net
    2. Click the following link or type it into your browser address bar AFTER you have logged in to RealTracs: http://www.realtracs.net/MemberInfo/Training.aspx?tab=0

      1. DON'T FORGET OUR ONLINE COURSES AT WWW.SMTAR.COM!!!!

        2. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        DATES TO REMEMBER

        General Membership Meeting, March 3 in Fayetteville
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        IMPORTANT CONTACTS

        Association Office   931.381.5556
             Mary Scott, Association Executive scottm@realtracs.com
             Rebecca Head, Office Manager rebeccah@realtracs.com
             Tammy Brown, Administrative Assistant tammyb@realtracs.com
             
        SMTAR 2010 President    
             Fay Robinson   931.363.7515
             robinfay@realtracs.com    
             
        RealTracs (Middle Tennessee Regional MLS)   800.397.9282
             Member Login: www.RealTracs.net    
             Public Login: www.RealTracs.com    
             
        2010 MLS Director    
             Matt Collins   931.359.6231
             matt@grovercollins.com    
             
        Tennessee Association of REALTORS(r)   615.321.1477
             www.TARNET.com    
             
        Tennessee Real Estate Commission   800.342.4031
             www.state.tn.us/commerce/boards/trec    
             
        National Association of REALTORS(r)   800.874.6500
             www.REALTOR.org    
        ]]> 15 Feb 2010