Agent Newsletter | August 20th
 Weekly Calendar

Tuesday, 9AM-10AM: Tuesday's with Bobbie, Vero
Wednesday, 10AM-11AM: Wednesday's with Bobbie, Melbourne
Wednesday, 1PM-2PM: Where are the Listings?, Melbourne



Bobbie's Corner

  • In July, retail sales recorded their biggest increase in 7 months.
  • Consumer spending rose at a 2.8% annualized rate in the second quarter.
  • Regardless of the strong data, inflation continues to be soft, a concern to Fed members.
  • Weak inflation supports low rates, including mortgage rates.
  • Minutes released from the Fed's last FOMC meeting show members are concerned about the lack of inflation, making a near-term rate increase unlikely.
  • Rising demand for new homes drives builder confidence.
  • Home-builder sentiment rose 4 points to 68 in August, its highest level since May. Although demand was higher, construction of new homes fell 4.8% in July.
  • Building permit numbers were also down, as labor and material prices increase.
  • Home prices keep rising.
  • Median prices in the 2nd quarter eclipsed a record high set in 2016.
  • Prices for single family homes rose in 87% of national markets.
Know Your Industry-
Get on the Ominbus

  • Every five years, Congress must reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program to continue selling flood insurance; the next deadline for Congress to act is September 30, of this year, or the program shuts down.
  • The NFIP was created in 1968 following Hurricane Betsy, which became known as “Billion Dollar Betsy” because it was the first storm to cost more than $1 billion in damage.
  • The NFIP chugged along smoothly for nearly 40 years before it started to get into debt when flooding incidents increased and costs began to rise beyond the point of funds available in the program.
  • In 2008, the NFIP was $18 billion in debt and Congress debated how to reform the NFIP without consensus. There were a series of 18 short-term extensions and four program lapses between 2008 and 2012.
  • In 2012, Congress came to an agreement known as the Biggert-Waters Reform Act. It reauthorized the NFIP for five more years and addressed the program’s fiscal solvency.
  • However, a bunch of unintended consequences arose from Biggert-Waters. Subsidies were eliminated when properties built before the creation of flood maps were purchased. Homebuyers were quoted a grandfathered rate and then two weeks before closing were told that would increase by five times the price, and had to walk away.
  • In 2014, the Grimm-Waters Act, also known as the Homeowner Affordability Insurance Relief Act, was passed. It restored grandfathering, capped rate increases and eliminated the point of sale increases.
  • Now, in 2017, the NFIP is $25 billion in debt and repeatedly flooding properties account for 1 percent of NFIP policies but 30% of all claims.
  • The House Financial Services Committee passed seven bills addressing the NFIP in June addressing things such as private flood insurance, changes to the claims process and new flood mapping procedures.
  • House leadership has not scheduled a vote but is expected to combine all seven bills into one bill, with modifications, before the full House of Representations can consider the omnibus measure.

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) supports the legislation, including:

  1. A new five-year reauthorization through 2022.
  2. The Ross-Castor Private Flood Bill that allows for a growing private flood insurance market and provides individual property owners with the same amount of coverage at the least amount of cost.
  3. Strengthens the NFIP solvency.
  4. Allows for $1 billion in property mitigation grants that will help lessen the sting of rate increases for property owners.
  5. Doubles the increased cost of compliance and allows for pre-flood insurance rates.
  6. Improves the rate fairness of the NFIP.
  7. Caps NFIP rates for the first time ever at $10,000
  8. Streamlines the community map appeals process.

Flood-risk disclosure:  In order to protect homebuyers and renters,  H.R. 2874  The 21 st Century Flood Reform Act as amended would require property owners to disclose what they know about a property’s  flood history and risk . The bill would require that states enact flood disclosure laws by 2022. This would ensure that all of the relevant information is shared before individuals commit to buying or renting a home. Results from the same Pew poll found that 81 percent of respondents support a single national standard to disclose a property’s flood risk. ***This is already required for home sales in Miami-Dade county**

MLS Consolidation and the Role of CMLS in Creating Policy - with Bob Goldberg, CEO of the National Association of Realtors®
A few of your very happy clients! We consistently receive wonderful testimonials about how much you care about your clients, and how knowledgeable you are as agents. Congratulations on all these smiles!
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Place your photos of your happy clients in your One Drive if you would like to use them with marketing! Don't forget to include a checkbox on your closing activity list for your Real Satisfied review. Use the Marketing Materials request to have staff send the request, and log directly in to your Real Satisfied portal to approve testimonials and share on social media.

Recent amazing review left on our Melbourne Google Business page for Tammy!

Wayne Snyder RatingReview posted on
Aug 17, 2017
"I've recently purchased a home in Sebastian and am looking for an investment property. I happened upon Tammy Nelson at a local Italian restaurant and first of all I haven't run into a personalty this large in a long time. Tammy showed me an investment I am pursuing but I wanted to see more. Tammy knew there were some very unique properties on Grant Island aka VIP Island. This being a very short notice showing it was trying at best to find transportation to the island. I suggested we swim @1/2 mile. Tammy produced two inflatable floats and to make a long story short we got our cardio for the next year. The residents were in awe of her willingness to do whatever it takes to find me exactly what I was looking for. We also swam back. Very impressive Sea Turtle for recognizing the talent. Man my arms are sore. LOL ."
Make requesting a review with our RealSatisfied service part of your closing routine. Click the link above to see our office page. You will have an individual page when you utilize. Use the marketing materials request and include your client name, email address, property address, and your agency (listing, selling, transactional). You can also ask for peer reviews from the title company, lender or other agent involved to build your online reputation.

Your testimonials become a search engine result for you. For example, searching "Jessica Franco Realtor" yields her recent testimonials on the first page of Google returns.
Update appFiles Request
1. Please add closing dates to your appFiles. 4th line down, just under Buyer name. 

2. Please change your appFile statuses when properties go under contract to NEW PENDING . 
First agent to text me they have added a closing date or changed a file status to New Pending in appFiles will get half off their monthly tech fee in September.
Brevard Agents

Supra  Mandatory  Upgrade Event
Week of August 28th at the Melbourne Hilton Rialto

During the week of Aug. 28, Supra will hold an upgrade event at the Hilton Melbourne Rialto so that all members are operating from a single code system.
 
Members from the Melbourne system will be required to bring in their iBOX BT LE lockboxes and have them recoded. All Melbourne system eKEYs will be reprogrammed and Active Keys will be upgraded to the new XpressKEY or switched to the eKEY.
 
Members from the Space Coast system will be required to upgrade Active Keys to the XpressKEY or switch to the eKEY.
 
Active Keys are going to be obsolete so it is imperative that these keys be upgraded during the Supra Upgrade event.
 
Below are your scheduled appointment times per Supra.
 
Active Key Exchange Appointment Times
 
Lockbox Exchange Appointment Times
 
 
Supra Upgrade Event Location
Hilton Melbourne Rialto
200 Rialto Pl.
Melbourne, FL 32901

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