LETTER FROM THE CHAIRWOMAN
As I sit down to write the November letter, I am winding down on my wonderful year as your chairwoman. And an amazing year it was! Reflecting upon the Thanksgiving Holiday, I am grateful for the people who serve our association, our staff, leadership team, and especially YOU! To the REALTORS® and affiliates who make up our board, thank you for your help, professionalism and kind words this year.
 
The GMAR Executive Committee has just returned from the NAR Convention in San Francisco where Kel Svoboda and I were able to vote on some important issues facing all of us, including a National Pocket listing policy, ethics training, Fair Housing issues and more. It is amazing to see 700 engaged REALTORS® making a difference for homeowners and our Real Estate businesses, and the opportunity to represent our members.
 
The strategic plan that we have been working on, with your help, is in the final phase and will be brought to the Board of Directors for a vote at the next meeting.
 
Finally, please join me on December 4 th  for the GMAR Holiday Gala. Enjoy food, drink and camaraderie. We will be celebrating the successes of this past year with awards and looking forward to the coming year as the next group of leaders are sworn in.
 
Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving,
Amy Curler
Christopher Carrillo Named Peter Shuttleworth MLS Executive Award of Excellence Recipient
The Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS) named Christopher Carrillo, president and CEO of Metro MLS, the fifth recipient of the Peter Shuttleworth MLS Executive Award of Excellence at the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Multiple Listing Service Association Executive Session on Nov. 8, 2019. Carrie Kendall, CMLS director and general manager of IRMLS, introduced the award while Merri Jo Cowen, CMLS director, CEO of Stellar MLS and the 2018 Shuttleworth Award recipient, made the announcement.

REVISIONS TO THE GMAR ADDENDUM A
Some significant changes were recently made to the GMAR’s Addendum A, due to the update of the WB-11 Residential Offer to Purchase (2020 WB-11).
 
Below are some of the changes made to the GMAR Addendum A:
 
  • The GMAR Addendum A includes a suggested use date of 12/1/19
 
  • The GMAR Addendum A no longer includes a Radon Test Contingency because the 2020 WB-11 now includes one. However, keep in mind if you are drafting an offer on any other type of property, for example a WB-14 Residential Condominium Offer to Purchase, a radon testing contingency would need to be added.
 
  • The GMAR Addendum A now includes a VA Mortgage Wood Destroying Insect Inspection provision. This was added to help address that in some counties a VA loan requires inspection for wood destroying insects.
 
  • The definition of Actual Receipt has been removed from the GMAR Addendum A. Therefore, by the GMAR Addendum A being incorporated by reference into the 2020 WB-11, the definition of Actual Receipt in the GMAR Addendum A defaults to the definition in the 2020 WB-11 on lines 436-438.
 
  • Sections of the GMAR Addendum A have been moved around. For example, previously seller contributions and home warranty were on page 4 and now are on page 1 of the GMAR Addendum A.
 
The link below is a PDF of the revised GMAR Addendum A for your review. The highlighted areas have been included to show the most substantial additions or changes.
 
For more information about the 2020 WB-11 Residential Offer to Purchase changes, CLICK HERE .

Dave Delahunt and Dana Keegan
ONE OF THE GMAR'S OWN TRAVELS ON RECENT HONOR FLIGHT
Look who was one of the recent 176 Vets who traveled to Washington DC from Milwaukee on an Honor Flight! Thank you distinguished Veteran Dave Delahunt Sr. (who was accompanied by Dana Keegan acting as SSHF Guardian) for your service.

Check Out More on the Honor Flights Program
at the Link Below
STORIES OF REALTORS ® LEADING BY EXAMPLE
In last week's edition of Ethics Exchange, we asked GMAR members to share their stories about the positive experiences they have had working with other agents. Here is one recently submitted story:

Alex Anderson, Powers Realty Group (Submitted by Beth Savas, Stefaniak Group, LLC)
In 2019, I had a transaction with Alex Anderson with Powers Realty Group; he represented the buyers for a listing I had. The background around this story is that my seller had been a FSBO prior to my listing and didn’t have much faith in REALTORS. She thought the process of selling was easy, REALTORS didn’t do much for the fees they charged, and she thought her house was in perfect condition so she didn’t really need a REALTOR in this strong market. Even though I was able to list her property, I expected that this transaction would not be easy. The seller also had some specific terms she needed to have which contributed to the challenge. Nevertheless Alex’s buyers agreed to the special terms and my seller accepted the offer. On the day of the buyer’s home inspection, my seller was leaving the house when she realized she had a flat tire. She was very distraught as she was recently widowed, couldn’t reach her son, and didn’t know where the spare tire was located. Alex and his buyers had just arrived and they offered to change her flat tire. So there was Alex, dressed in a suit on a very warm day, crawling under my seller’s car to fix her flat tire! Alex never mentioned this to me; I only found out about it through my seller when I called her about the inspection results several days later. The inspection report uncovered a lot of issues with the house which upset my seller. However, it was clear that when I received the inspection amendment that Alex had educated his buyers on the strict definition of “defect” in the offer so my seller was not burdened with a lot of ridiculous maintenance issues which didn’t meet the true meaning of a defect. I really valued Alex’s expertise, his professionalism, and his knowledge of the offer to purchase in this transaction. The end result was that my seller, a former FSBO who initially didn’t believe REALTORS offered value for her, ended up so happy that she did enlist the services of a REALTOR, and that we made the process of selling her home of 40 years such a pleasant experience. She has continually expressed her gratitude since the closing. It’s always great when a cooperating broker makes us REALTORS look good to the public! At the end of the day, perhaps all we REALTORS really have is our reputation. Sometimes we do so much for our clients and it is not appreciated. This transaction could have gone very differently, but having a knowledgeable cooperating agent like Alex made such a big difference!

Is there a REALTOR who you enjoy working with because they know how to problem solve and make transactions go smoother? Would you like to share an inspirational story about a competitor? We can all learn from those who lead by example. Submit your positive industry-related stories to Scott Bush via e-mail at scott@gmar.ws.
THURSDAY TAKEAWAY VIDEO SERIES
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Earning Your Stripes - Real Estate Designations
GMAR HOLIDAY GALA QUICKLY APPROACHING - RSVP TODAY
Haven't submitted your registration for the 2019 GMAR Holiday Gala yet and still hoping to attend? The event is approaching quickly, December 4 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Downtown Milwaukee and there is still a short window to register. Click below to RSVP and submit your list of attendees by November 25th!

ADVERTISE IN THE JOURNAL SENTINEL HOME & GARDEN SHOW GUIDE - LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE
Take advantage of this once-a-year advertising opportunity organized in conjunction with the Home & Garden Show Guide scheduled to mail with the Sunday, March 15th issue of the Journal Sentinel . Limited ad spaces are available. All space will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.

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MILWAUKEE HOMELESS VETERANS INITIATIVE DONATIONS
Milwaukee Homeless Veterans Initiative is in need of our donations. In addition to the list of items included on the attachment below, please consider a donation of the following important items in preparation for the winter season. Donations can be made at the GMAR office (12300 W. Center Street in Wauwatosa).

Children's Winter Hats, Scarves and Gloves

REAL ESTATE SUPPLY STORE NOW AT MINUTEMAN PRESS - BROOKFIELD
The real estate supply store is now located ONLY at Minuteman Press - Brookfield location (13680 W. Capitol Drive). Store hours are M-F from 8am to 5pm. Contact Minuteman Press-Brookfield for more info, (262) 781-9622!
HOW-TO VIDEO SERIES
SentriLock has a great set of “How To” videos which are good refreshers if
you need them. Click below to
access the full library of videos.
FAQs
SentriLock has compiled a list of frequently asked questions which can be viewed by clicking on the button below.
ASSISTANT ACCESS THROUGH SentriKey REAL ESTATE APP
Licensed and unlicensed assistants now have the ability to access their team’s lockboxes by using the SentriKey app. This allows them to release the shackle, open the key compartment among other functions for their team’s lockboxes.

Comments, Suggestions or Questions?...
Let us know how the GMAR can improve what we offer to you as members of our organization. Your feedback helps us to make quality improvements to our programs and benefits, so we appreciate it! Click here to e-mail your feedback to the GMAR .