2019 President - Nan Wimmers
This is my last month as your 2019 President of OAR. It has been a whirlwind year, full of fun and hard work.
This year my focus was to engage with members that are not involved with OAR. OAR is not just about Advocacy or Education, it's about bringing our industry together to solve the problems that our clients and members are dealing with on a daily basis. Whether it be a change in legislation or a heads-up on current trends, we have members passionate in every area working to address the issues. I encourage you to get involved, it benefits all of us.
My biggest goal as your OAR President was to provide transparent and easy to understand financials to the Board of Directors on a quarterly basis. This was accomplished with the leadership of our CEO Jenny Pakula and CFO Erin Murphy. I am very pleased to announce we should be well under budget on expenses this year, which will allow us to replenish the reserve fund.
As we transition to a new leader, know that our Association is in good hands with Lori Palermo as your 2020 President, and Drew Coleman as President-Elect. It will be exciting to see how OAR continues to address member need.
I would like to thank all the volunteer REALTORS® who spent hours working behind-the-scenes to make the Association better for all of us.
Thank you!
Nan Wimmers- 2019 OAR President
NAR Fall Conference & Expo is Next Week: Nov 8-11!

The National Association of REALTORS® Annual Conference & Expo in San Fransisco is next week! This years theme, "Imagine the Possibilities," connects with the culture of the city and what attendees can expect at the largest annual event for the most successful real estate professionals.  Learn more about the event and register online.
Special Events:
Oregon Reception :
Friday, November 8, 2019 6:30-8:00PM

RPAC Investor Evening : Major Investors Only
Saturday, November 9, 2019 7:00-10:00P

Oregon REALTORS® State Caucus :
Sunday, November 10, 2019 2:30-3:30PM All Oregon attendees are welcome!
Oregon Reception 2019
For those attending the NAR 2019 Conference & Expo, don't miss out on networking and meeting other Oregon REALTORS®.

Come to Oregon Reception 2019 night, and enjoy appetizers, cocktails and mingle with fellow Oregonians!

Friday, Nov 8, 2019
6:30PM - 8:00PM
Location: International Smoke
301 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
CONGRATS TO 2020 NAR COMMITTEE APPOINTEES!
Congratulations to the following Oregon Association of REALTOR® members who will serve on the 2020 National Association of REALTORS® Committees. These REALTORS® and Association staff will be representing our state and helping steer the direction of the National Association. View all the  OAR Members NAR Committees.  
SAVE THE DATE

Mark your calendars for the Professional Standards Academy (PSA) on March 24-26 in Bend, OR.

Who should attend?

  • Professional Standards Committee Members
  • Grievance Committee Members
  • Local Board of Directors
  • Members aspiring to serve

Attend one or all three days. More info to come soon! Any questions email Kelly Barker
New Membership
Benefits Brochure
At OAR we believe our industry is successful when you get involved. In this new digital brochure you will learn more about the Association and find resources and tools to help you be successful in your business. Please take a few moments to learn more.

First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account

Did you know, there are more than six banks and credit unions offering the new program?

Oregon’s First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account program allows Oregon residents to save money for first-time homeownership. They can use the savings to cover several expenses associated with buying a home, including:

• Down payment
• Closing costs
• REALTOR® fees
• Appraisal costs
• Loan Origination fees

Learn more about the program and share with your clients by visiting OAR's website.

Looking for Dental or Vision coverage?

 Caring for you and your loved ones’ can be expensive. You can offset these expenses by taking advantage of the benefits offered through your OAR membership. OAR partners with Johnson Benefit Group to provide you with affordable options for Dental, Vision and Medical. You can contact them directly or visit our website to learn more about our partner plans. Open enrollment begins now! Be sure to take advantage no increase in premiums for 2020.

OAR Online Forms:

Johnson Benefit Group, Inc at 503-656-3232 or email Dave at:  dave@jbg-inc.com  or KristelBell at:  support@jbg-inc.com
Oregon Principal
Broker Academy
We want to congratulate our 2019, first round of Principal Broker Academy Graduates! Way to go!

This comprehensive program is like no other. It is designed to provide professional development for any Principal Broker, whether new, seasoned or aspiring. If you are looking to raise the bar on your professional development, please join us and register for one of the following sessions:

  • Thursday, January 23, 2020 to Friday, January 24, 2020

Congratulations to our 2019 Principal Broker Graduates!
Buyer & Seller Advisories
Did you know the most utilized online member resource is the Buyer Advisory and Seller Advisory? These documents help guide your clients through the home buying and selling process. We recently updated all the links, added a new cover and directory. This is 20+ pages of great information! Please go on our website and see if it can help you too! 
Opportunity Zone Forum

Opportunity Zones were created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Investments in Opportunity Zones offer substantial tax advantages for investors while helping to transform low-income communities. Over 300 million dollars have already been invested in Oregon's Opportunity Zones. Are you and your clients ready to learn how to take advantage of this new opportunity?

Join OAR , COAR and the Community Development Corporation of Oregon to review the new opportunities.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Central Oregon Association of REALTORS® - Bend, Oregon
10:00am-2:30pm - Forum
2:30-4:00pm - Tour Bend’s Opportunity Zones  

Thanks to a generous grant from NAR, the event will be free of charge for REALTORS®.
Oregon Housing
Economic Summit
Join us for the Oregon Housing Economic Summit fueled by Builders, Bankers and REALTORS®!

Engage with leading industry experts and help enact change through your involvement!

January 16th, 2020
Salem Convention Center
1:00PM - 6:00PM
$49 per person
Did you miss the 2019 Legislative Recap webinar? It is now live on the OAR OnlineEd catalog for FREE and it is 1.5 hours of CE.
2019 Oregon Legislative
Session Report
The 2019 Legislative session was one of the most consequential sessions in decades with major legislation affecting business taxation, private property rights and housing supply, among other issues. 

In the 2019 Legislative Session Report we review the bills passed—and those that failed—that had an impact on REALTORS® and Oregon’s Real Estate Industry. The report also discusses ways that you can become more involved in influencing important legislation in Salem. 

Legal Hotline Q&A
Question:  I am currently representing the seller and would like some clarification on an issue that frequently surfaces during negotiations. The buyer’s agent is saying the buyer gets to choose the escrow/title company. I have always thought the seller could designate the escrow/title company since they are paying for title. I was told once that if the loan is FHA or VA the buyer could choose escrow, but the seller could choose title. It is confusing here in Oregon! Is there a rule addressing this issue?

Answer:  There is no “rule,” though a lot of people think there is one. RESPA says a seller cannot make the buyer purchase title insurance from a particular company as a term or condition of the sale. That is a really narrow prohibition because in most sales the buyer doesn’t purchase any title insurance, the seller does. Even if they did, there are no sale agreements (that I’ve seen) in Oregon that say anything about buyer purchased title insurance. The RESPA title insurance rule is also misunderstood because the title companies are the escrow companies in Oregon. There is, however, no rule, RESPA or otherwise, about choosing escrow. It is just a term of the purchase contract like an other term of the sale contract. That being the case, asking who chooses escrow is like asking who chooses the purchase price. It’s a negotiated term. I don’t know if FHA or VA weigh in on escrow but if they do, it is as a condition of qualifying for the loan, not the law.
Legal Hotline Subscription
The cost for a one year Legal Hotline subscription is $125 per individual subscription. The Legal Hotline is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (except on holidays and during NAR and OAR conventions). Subscribers may e-mail questions to the Legal Hotline at any time and can expect an answer within 24 hours (excluding weekends and holidays). Changing brokerages or type of license will not affect an individual’s subscription or access to the Legal Hotline.
A Must-Read Guide on How to Sell Your House 

Looking for a simple way to explain to your customers how the process of selling their home will go? Check out this helpful and easy guide provided from NAR.

This step-by-step guide helps consumers understand how the process of selling a home works.

When customers feel confident in selling their homes, it can lead to a more successful sale for you and your customer.

Wait! That’s My Listing Photo!
In the world of real estate photography, image quality isn’t the only thing that counts. To ensure you’re doing right by your clients and your company, you need to understand and follow best practices in real estate photography law and technology.

OAR provides a guide to help Brokers comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This guide informs members of the steps they can take today to protect themselves.

CE Class Bundles

27 Hour Continuing Education Bundle:
24 courses contains 27 hours of Oregon real estate licensee continuing education. A 3-hour Law and Rule Required Course (LARRC) can be obtained separately to complete a licensee's 30 hours of required continuing education needed for license renewal.
Price $250
Purchase here

Our OAR 2019 Fall Convention package :
Special package contains recorded videos of the six panels presented during the Oregon Association of REALTORS 2019 Fall Convention.
Price $80
Purchase here
MRP Certificate
The Military Relocation Professional (MRP) certification is for real estate professionals who want to work with current and former military service members. The MRP certification program educates REALTORS® about working with U.S. service members and their families and veterans to find the housing solutions that best suit their needs and to take full advantage of available benefits and support.

Friday, November 15, 2019
6 CE Hours
Salem, OR
GRI CLASSES
November 21 GRI Finance
6 CE Hours | Eugene
December 20 GRI Sellers
6 CE hrs. Dundee
November 15 GRI Transactions
6 CE Hours | Medford
December 5 GRI Contracts
6 CE Hours | Salem
WEBINARS
2020 OREF Form
Changes Webinar

Be one of the first in the industry to learn about the changes coming to the OREF forms in 2020. Sign-up for this webinar today!

December 3, 2019
9:30 - 10:30AM
2 Hour of CE
$29 Per Person
Real Estate Investing for REALTORS®

The seminar will be on investing in rental real estate for Realtors®. Special tax considerations, investment goals and utilizing current assets to get the downpayment.

December 11, 2019
9:30 - 10:30AM
1 Hour of CE
$10 Per Person
Buckets of Money Webinar

J oin Fluent Mortgage Owner, Chris Bettis, for an engaging webinar on the principals of using finance strategy to close more transactions. Chris will discuss the different channels (buckets) of money available to consumers and how to strategically select referral sources, all with the end goal of closing more transactions.

December 12, 2019
9:30 - 10:30AM
1 Hour of CE
$10 Per Person
Michael Kessinger , from Emerald Coast Realty in Depoe Bay, Oregon. (Also in photo, Willis)
"I'm very grateful for the opportunities Real Estate has given." Just remember, "You get what you put into it."
Member Feature:
Michael Kessinger
This month we spotlight OAR member Michael Kessinger from Emerald Coast Realty in Depoe Bay, Oregon. Being part of the real estate business for 6 years, he continues to enjoy the work. "I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and help people in the process."

Since 2003, Michael has been advancing his skills and expanding his role into other opportunities in the Real Estate business, getting a home inspectors license and running the Blue Badge Home Inspections. His advice to someone just starting out? "You get what you put into it." He understands its hard work; he says he is "always grateful for the opportunities Real Estate has given him."

Michael is c urrently the Lincoln County MLS RPAC President and is on the scholarship committee and the community outreach committee. He's organized two bowling events that helped raise over $6,500 for local homeless students and also arranged an RPAC dinner which raised almost $3,000.

Michael spends his free time attending Blazer and 49er's games, camping, and spending time at the lake and beach with his german shepard, Willis. His bucket list includes traveling to Australia, having a vacation home in Maui, and doing open mic for stand-up comedy. Here's to one day breaking a leg at the comedy club, Michael!
HOME Foundation Grants Now Open
Another year of successful fundraising has allowed the Oregon Association of REALTORS ®  HOME Foundation Board of Directors to make available grants of up to $5,000 to qualified recipients, to be initially selected by local Associations/Boards. Grant applications are due by December 2, 2019. grants will be awarded and distributed by mid-December.

Since it’s beginning in 2004, the HOME Foundation has been collaborating with organizations intent on helping Oregonians achieve the dream of owning their own home and have contributed over $1.5M!

Mapel Boutique Gives Back
 
On December 11, 2019 Mapel Boutique in Lake Oswego will be donating 20% of all sales to the HOME Foundation. They will be providing drinks, sweets and a gift if you spend over $75. Please mention Oregon REALTORS® when you shop at the store or online! 
 
390 N State Street Suite 124, Lake Oswego, OR 97034 | 971-808-8650
Retail Discounts
Every Wednesday OAR members are invited to the Columbia Employee Store. Simply show your business card and begin shopping!
From Nov 1st- 30th, visit the Nike Company store. Bring your NAR card and start shopping! Don't have one? Get it here!
Oregon Association of REALTORS ®
2110 Mission Street SE, #230 Salem, OR 97302
503.362.3645 | www.oregonrealtors.org