RVAR - The Roanoke Valley REALTOR Online

November 16, 2016

ROANOKE VALLEY REALTOR®                 
        Online  

You are receiving this online newsletter as a benefit of being a member of the Roanoke Valley Association of REALTORS®.

CONTACT RVAR

Member Type | Count

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REALTOR@ 1,180

Offices 130

Affiliate 234

Click here to see which RVAR members have switched firms, gone inactive, or joined recently.

IN THIS ISSUE

BOD Election Results

2017 Installation & Awards Breakfast

2016 Profile of Buyers and Sellers

2017 Dues Reminder

NAR Requires Ethics Training

RVAR NEEDS YOU in 2017

Awards for Outstanding REALTORS®

Distinguished Service Awards

25 Most Common Legal Hotline Q&A

RVAR Community Service Days

Do You Speak A Foreign Language

Upcoming Education

Our RVAR Family

Upcoming Events & Deadlines

BOD Election Results

Congratulations to the following winners of the election for the 2017-2018 RVAR Board of Directors. 337 votes were cast in the election.

   Bitsy Davis, Long & Foster, REALTORS®
   Becky Fields, BHHS Premier, REALTORS®
   Jeff Fletcher, BHHS Premier, REALTORS®
   Renee Wiggins, RE/MAX All Stars

Previously elected to serve on the 2017 Board are: President Kathy Chandler (MKB), President-elect Connie Hash (MKB), Immediate Past President Donna Marie Harris (Long & Foster), Directors Jerry Cohen (Park Place), Neil Conner (The Real Estate Group) and Walter Grewe (Long & Foster). NOTE: The Broker Council will announce its appointment to the 2017 Board later this month.

2017 Installation & Awards Breakfast

Make plans to join us as we celebrate the many successes of 2016 and install our 2017 Officers and Directors including our 2017 RVAR President, Kathy Chandler. Our Installation & Awards Breakfast will be held on Friday, December 9th at the Sheraton Hotel Roanoke from 8:30 until 10:30 AM. The cost is $15 to attend which includes a deluxe breakfast. We will also be giving special recognition to our REALTOR® of the Year, and the Community Service and Distinguished Service Award recipients. Click here to register.

2016 Profile of Buyers and Sellers

Each year, the National Association of REALTORS® gathers detailed information about the buying and selling experience nationwide. How does your experience compare with the national average? Did you know that . . .

The typical homebuyer searched for 10 weeks, and viewed 10 homes before purchasing.
Typically homes sold for 98% of the final listing price, after a median of 4 weeks on the market.
89% of sellers used a real estate agent to sell their home; 88% of buyers used an agent to purchase their home.
Approximately 70% of Buyers and Sellers contacted only one agent before selecting the agent they worked with.

Click here for a one-page summary of NAR's profile.

2017 Dues Reminder

To date, 685 members have already paid their 2017 dues (which includes dues to RVAR, VAR and NAR.) The final date to pay 2017 dues is Thursday, January 12th.

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.

Dues bills were NOT mailed to offices this year. However, any member may contact Susan Edwards to request a dues bill via email or mail.

NAR Requires Ethics Training by December 31st..

Don't let your time run out . . . this is an NAR requirement! According to RVAR records, 350 members still need to take this training!

NAR requires all REALTORS® to complete 3 hours of REALTOR® Code of Ethics training every four years. The current four-year cycle will end 12/31/2016. Failure to meet the requirement is a violation of NAR's membership requirements and will result in suspension of membership until the requirement is met or until membership is automatically terminated.

If you have already completed the REALTOR® Code of Ethics training for your license renewal, just send a copy of the certificate of completion to Susan Edwards. If you have joined within the last 6 months and have not yet attended New Member Orientation, you will receive ethics training credit at Orientation.

RVAR will hold its final class on December 14th, 1:00-4:00PM. Click here to register.

Also, you can go to NAR's website for this class! NAR provides two options -- either with CE credits or without (which is free and only meets NAR's requirements.) Click here to access NAR's ethics training options.

RVAR NEEDS YOU in 2017

When you volunteer for one of RVAR's Committees, you serve not only your Association but yourself as well! Research shows that members who work on Association committees are:

1. Better informed (that's good for business)
2. Better networked (ditto)
3. Better prepared to act on trends and regulations impacting their business

Join a Committee and let RVAR help improve your business! Both REALTORS® and Affiliate members are welcome to serve. Click here to volunteer for a Committee, plus review a description of each Committee's purpose and how often it meets. Please submit your request by Thursday, December 1st!

Awards for Outstanding REALTORS®

Monday, November 21st is the deadline for three important RVAR awards. All three awards have the same deadline - and will be presented at the December 9th Installation and Awards Breakfast.

REALTOR® of the Year : If you can think of a fellow REALTOR® who is well respected, known for professionalism, volunteers time to RVAR and/or the community, then you should take a moment to nominate that deserving colleague for RVAR's most prestigious award. The nomination process is as simple as writing a letter to RVAR's CEO Laura Benjamin explaining whom you want to nominate and why. RVAR will contact all nominees to obtain their resumes. The winner will be selected by the past five recipients of this award. Click here to see who has already won this prestigious award.

Community Service Award : RVAR created this award in 2005 to honor one REALTOR® each year who has contributed to improving our community by volunteer service to a local program or organization (not necessarily related to housing). The nomination process is simple - just write a letter to Joe Sutliff at RVAR explaining whom you want to nominate and why. RVAR will contact all nominees to collect the necessary information. RVAR will donate $1,000 to the award recipient's charity of choice. Click here to see who has already won this award.

Longevity Award: RVAR presents this award to REALTORS® who have served the real estate industry and RVAR for 50 or more years. Just send a letter to RVAR's CEO Laura Benjamin. The previous recipients of this award are: Luke Waldrop (Waldrop Realty), Elwood Norris (Long & Foster), Dewey Robertson (Dewey Robertson Realty), A. Byron Smith (A. Byron Smith Real Estate) and Dale Poe (Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group.)

Brokers: Distinguished Service Awards

The Distinguished Service Award is presented each year by RVAR to those firms whose agents have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the Association through Committee service and attendance at RVAR classes and events. The deadline for Brokers to submit an award application is Monday, November 21st, for the award period November 1, 2015 through October 31, 2016. Click here for the application form. RVAR will be able to provide firm attendance/Committee service/RPAC records during the award period upon request. Contact Laura Benjamin at RVAR with any questions about this award.

25 Most Common Legal Hotline Questions and Answers

The attorneys at the Virginia Association of REALTORS® have taken almost 1,000 phone calls from Virginia Brokers so far this year. Click here to see VAR's updated brochure listing the 25 most common questions on topics ranging from advertising to commissions to POAs.

The VAR Legal Hotline is a free, members-only benefit for Brokers and Managers, providing legal information, not legal services.

RVAR Community Service Days
Community Christmas Store

The 2016 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 which will be located at 5384 Peters Creek Road, Roanoke 24019 (former Sunbelt Rentals - corner of Wood Haven Road & Peters Creek). We will have two opportunities to volunteer - Monday, December 5th from 5:30PM to 8:00PM to help sort donations and set up and/or Friday, December 9th from 1:00PM to 6:30PM to assist with the guests as they "shop" in the store.

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 2015, 1075 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 one or both volunteer opportunities. Please click here to sign up for Monday, December 5th. Please click here to sign up for December 9th. Or call RVAR to have us register you.

Do You Speak A Foreign Language?

VAR is often asked whether there are REALTORS® who speak a certain language. Sometimes the public asks the question -- other times it is other REALTORS®.

If you speak a foreign language, add that information to your RVAR Member Profile. Not only will RVAR have access to that information, but the public will be able to search on RVAR.com for REALTORS® by languages spoken.

It's simple. Go to RVAR.com -- in the upper right hand corner, click on User Login. After logging in, look for the blue member profile box and click on Update Your Member Profile. Click on Personal Information. Select the foreign languages you speak and Save.

Upcoming Education

Code of Ethics -- This Wednesday, December 14th (1-4PM) class, taught by John Dickinson, not only provides 3 hours of CE credit for license renewal, but also meets NAR's ethics training requirement. NAR requires all REALTORS® to complete 3 hours of Code of Ethics training every four years. The current four-year cycle ends December 31, 2016. Click here to register.

Our RVAR Family

Congratulations

RVAR congratulates Karen Hankins of Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group who has been named the 2017 President of the Virginia Mortgage Lenders Association Blue Ridge Chapter.

RVAR also congratulates Patti Dickerson of Virginia Title Center upon being recognized at the recent Virginia Mortgage Lenders Association Annual Conference with the 2016 Alex McCrone Member of the Year Award.

Sympathy

RVAR expresses sympathy to Bonnie Cecil of Long & Foster, REALTORS® upon the death of her father.

Let RVAR know if you have news to share.

Upcoming Events & Deadlines

November 21st	Awards Deadline
November 24th-25th	RVAR Office Closed for Holiday
December 1st	Committee Appointment Deadline
December 9th	Installation and Awards Breakfast
December 14th	Code of Ethics Training
December 23rd	RVAR Office Closes at Noon
December 26th	RVAR Office Closed for Holiday
December 30th	RVAR Office Closes at Noon
January 2nd	RVAR Office Closed for Holiday
January 12th	Final Date to Pay 2017 Dues