NOVEMBER 22, 2019 


Roanoke Valley Associathion of REALTORS  
    R OANOKE VALLEY REALTOR® ONLINE   

   You are receiving this online enewsletter as a benefit of being a member of the Roanoke Valley Association of REALTORS®.
 
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MEMBER TYPE / COUNT
REALTOR®            1372 Membership Update Logo
Offices                    135
Affiliate                   324
 
Click here to see which RVAR members have switched firms, gone inactive, or joined recently.
BOD Election Resultselect
Congratulations to the following winners of the election for the 2020-2021 RVAR Board of Directors. 416 votes were cast in the election. 
  • Barry Bridges (Weichert, REALTORS® Bridges & Co.)
  • Shannon Hines (Long & Foster, REALTORS®)
  • Rob Logan (The Real Estate Group)
Congratulations also to Ashley Donahue of Wainwright & Co. who has been elected to serve as the 2020 President-elect and Meg Smith of MKB, REALTORS® who will serve as 2020 Vice President, since no additional candidate applications were received for these positions.
 
Continuing their service on the 2020 Board will be: President Walter Grewe (Wainwright & Co.); Immediate Past President Neil Conner (The Real Estate Group); and Directors Dana Berenbaum (MKB); Jay Kilby (RE/MAX All Stars); and Julie Kingery (RE/MAX Mountain to Lake). Vic Coffey (RE/MAX All Stars) will serve as the Broker representative on the 2020 Board. 
Bylaws Revisions Approved at Membership Meetingbylaws
Thank you to the 189 Realtors who attended the November 21st Membership Meeting to consider proposed revisions to the RVAR Bylaws related to the composition and authority of the MLS Board of Directors. The proposed revisions were approved by a vote of 156 in favor and 33 opposed. The newly approved revisions will go into effect January 15, 2020. The new MLS BOD will also be appointed by January 15, 2020.
2019 Installation & Awards Breakfastawards
Make plans to join us as we celebrate the many successes of 2019 and install our 2020 Officers and Directors including our 2020 RVAR President, Walter Grewe. Our Installation & Awards Breakfast will be held on Friday, December 13th at The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center from 8:30 until 10:30 AM. The cost is $15 to attend which includes a deluxe breakfast. Special awards will also be presented. Click here to register.
October Homes Sales Break MLS Recordsoct
The 524 homes sold through the MLS during the month of October, 2019 and the 524 homes placed under contract in October represent the highest October numbers on record at the MLS.

A link to the October home sales statistics, including a 4-year comparison, is provided on the front page of RVAR.com. The MLS releases its monthly home sales statistics around the 15th of the following month.     
Dues Reminderdiscount 
To date, 763 members have already paid their 2020 REALTOR® dues (which includes dues to RVAR, VAR and NAR.) The final date to pay 2020 dues is Monday, January 13th. Simply go to www.RVAR.com and click on User Login (upper right hand corner). Follow the instructions to log in to access and pay your dues bill online. Any member may contact Susan Edwards to request a dues bill via email or mail.  
Community Christmas Storedays
The 2019 Community Service Committee needs your help by volunteering just a little of your time during the holiday season!   

The Community Service Committee will again be volunteering with the Community Christmas Store. The dates for this year's Christmas Store are Thursday, December 12 (Open House), Friday, December 13 and Saturday, December 14.  
 
We will have three opportunities to volunteer - Monday, December 9th from 5:30PM to 8:00PM to help sort donations and set up and/or Friday, December 13th from 12PM to 3PM and/or 3PM to 6PM to assist with the guests as they "shop" in the store. The site of this year's Community Christmas Store is 4721 Starkey Road in Roanoke.

The Community Christmas Store serves families in Roanoke County, Vinton, Salem and Craig County and its mission is to assist families in need in a dignified manner during the holiday season.  In 2018, over 1000 people were served during the two days of the store operation and it is operated solely by volunteers.

Join in and help make a difference by donating just a few hours of your time at any of volunteer opportunities. Please click here to sign up for Monday, December 9th.  Please click here to sign up for December 13th Noon shift or click here for December 13th 3PM shift. Or call RVAR to have us register you.      
On Wedesday, November 20th, FlexMLS added a 50-character Room Remarks field for each Room Type in the Residential, Farms and Rentals property types. The Room Remarks field allows the listing agent to enter extra comments (e.g., new granite countertops). Also, the Master Bedroom 1 and Master Bedroom 2 Room Types will be combined into Master Bedroom. FlexMLS also updated the default Detailed Report (1 Full Report Updated) in order to display the information entered in the Room Remarks field.
Advocacy @ Workadvocacy    
Advocacy @ Work is an article aimed at updating members on what is happening in our region regarding Economic Development and/or Governmental Affairs.
 
Flood Insurance Update: Congress has just approved another short-term extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that will go until December 20th. While this marks the 14th extension in just 2 years, we are glad there was no lapse.  
 
While at the National Association of REALTORS® Convention last week, I was able to speak with our NAR Political Advocacy Representative about the program. While you never know exactly what Congress will or will not do, he felt confident that we will see the NFIP face a few more of these short-term extensions. It is still perceived that given the continued priority on budget issues and the impeachment inquiry that a compromise bill will not move forward until next year.  
 
NAR is continuing to keep this issue in front of Congress and pushing for a long-term extension for the NFIP. I will continue to monitor this important program and alert members if a Call for Action is needed in the future. As stated before, please stay tuned to this ongoing issue! 
 
Local Elections Update: RVAR wants to congratulate Paul Mahoney on his election to the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors - Cave Spring District seat. This was a contested race and the RVAR's Board of Directors endorsed Mr. Mahoney's campaign for this race. We also congratulate REALTOR® members David Radford (Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Premier, REALTORS®) on his election to the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors - Windsor Hills District seat and to Chris Booth (MKB, REALTORS®) for being elected as the Botetourt County Commissioner of Revenue. While David and Chris were uncontested in the general election, they both had won contested primary elections earlier in the year. We congratulate Paul, David & Chris!    
Article provided by Joe Sutliff, RVAR Director of Economic & Governmental Affairs. 
NAR 2019 Remodeling ReportNAR 
Homeowners who decide to undergo a home improvement project, whether it be interior or exterior modifications, often find the task was worth the investment and time, according to a new report from the National Association of REALTORS®, with insights from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).  

The 2019 Remodeling Impact Report examined 20 projects, surveying REALTORS®, consumers and NARI remodelers. NAR calculated what it calls a "Joy Score" for each project. The score is based on the happiness homeowners reported with their renovations; the more pleased with a given project, the better the Joy Score.

Interior projects that received some of the higher Joy Scores are complete kitchen renovations, closet renovations, full interior and individual room paint jobs, kitchen upgrades and basement conversions to living areas. Exterior jobs with the highest Joy Score were new fiberglass or steel front doors, new vinyl and wood windows and new roofing.

Remodelers often take on projects with resale in mind. The report found the top projects for recovering cost are new roofing, hardwood floor refinishing and new hardwood floor installation.   
numbers 
Save the Date...RVAR's Family Fun Night on the Iceice   
 
Join us for a night of fun and fast paced hockey with the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs on Friday, February 21st.   

Invite your family & friends for a fun, exciting evening at the Berglund Center!!  The puck drops at 7:05PM. 
 
Tickets go on sale in December. 
REALTORS®: Do You Know How to Use This Trademark?trade  
Test your knowledge by taking NAR's quiz.       
 
Which of the following are incorrect uses of the term REALTOR® (answers appear below):
        Jones REALTORS® Inc.
        Realtor
        Franklin County REALTOR®
        @botetourtrealtor

Trademarks are unique terms and/or symbols that communicate a specific message to the public. The term "COKE", for example, is a trademark which identifies a specific soft drink produced by The Coca-Cola Company. History teaches that trademarks not properly protected can be lost forever. The words "escalator" and "aspirin" were once trademarks, but for lack of protection and promotion are now words of ordinary use.

The National Association of REALTORS® aggressively protects and promotes the REALTOR® trademark, first coined in 1916, which signifies membership in the National Association. NAR requires the following when using the REALTOR® trademark: (1) all capital letters, (2) separating punctuation where necessary and (3) the use of the federal registration symbol "®".

NAR has adopted two exceptions when using the REALTOR® marks on the Internet. First, because the public has adopted the use of all lower-case letters in domain names and email addresses, the requirements to use capitalization and the registration symbol are relaxed. And second, no punctuation is required to separate the member or firm name from the term REALTOR® in a domain name or email address.

As for the examples above, all are incorrect.   
 
1. Jones, Inc., REALTORS® is an example of proper usage. The terms REALTOR® or REALTORS® cannot be incorporated within a firm name, but may appear adjacent to a firm name, separated by punctuation.
 
2. REALTOR® is proper usage of the term. 
 
3. No descriptive words may be used with the term REALTOR®. This applies to website addresses, email addresses, twitter accounts etc. 
 
Click here for NAR guidelines on using the REALTOR® trademark. Questions? Contact NAR at trademark@realtors.org
Our RVAR Family family
Congratulations 
RVAR congratulates Kit Hale of MKB, REALTORS® who is the newest recipient of NAR's Distinguished Service Award, which is presented annually to no more than 2 of NAR's 1.4 million members. Steve Hoover of MKB, REALTORS® also received this NAR award in 2004. RVAR is one of only 5 local Associations in the country with 2 Distinguished Service Award winners.
 
RVAR congratulates David Sutterlein of MKB, REALTORS® upon his re-election to the Virginia Senate representing District 19.

RVAR congratulates Chris Booth of MKB, REALTORS® upon his election as Commissioner of Revenue for Botetourt County.

RVAR also congratulates David Radford of BHHS Premier upon his election to serve on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors representing the Windsor Hills District.

RVAR congratulates those who will serve on VAR Committees in 2020:

Laura Benjamin - Risk Management Committee
Vic Coffey - Risk Management Committee, Vice Chair of Standard Forms Subcommittee
Mary Dykstra - Investment Management Committee, RPAC Trustees, 100 Year Anniversary Work Group
Bill Gearhart - Public Policy Committee, Strategic Funding Committee
Donna Marie Harris - Member Communications Committee
Connie Hash - Professional Development Committee
Steve Hoover - 100 Year Anniversary Work Group
Betty Kingery - Professional Development Committee
Adam Lynch - Public Policy Committee
Kelly Soriano - Professional Development Committee 
Joe Sutliff - Economic Advisory Board  
 
Sympathy
RVAR offers condolences to Mike Mann of Long & Foster Smith Mountain Lake upon the death of his mother; to Roger Barnhart of Mountain to Lake Appraisal upon the death of his mother; and to Eric Thomas of Mountain View Real Estate upon the death of his brother. 
 
Let RVAR know if you have news to share. 
Upcoming Events & Deadlines Upcoming
                                                  
November 28th - 29th
RVAR Office Closed for Thanksgiving
December 13th
Installation & Awards Breakfast, Hotel Roanoke
December 24th
RVAR Office Closes at Noon
December 25th
RVAR Office Closed
December 31st
RVAR Office Closes at Noon
January 1st
RVAR Office Closed
January 13th
Deadline to pay 2020 dues
February 21st
RVAR Hockey Night
  
 
Contact:

ROANOKE VALLEY
ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
  |  540.772.0526