New Landlord/Tenant legislation recently changed as a result of House Bill 1013 effective July 1, 2002. Click here to view this new law.

IT'S DUES BILLING TIME AGAIN

It's Annual Dues Billing time again. The 2003 Dues statements have been mailed to your Broker. The 2003 dues are due by October 1, 2002. The dues that have been sent out cover the period from January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003. Members who pay their dues but decide not to continue their membership have the opportunity for a refund. Please see your Broker for details. The Board office accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.

INTERNET CRUSADE SEMINAR UPDATE

If you were one of the many attendees who felt a lot of information was swirling around and couldn't quite grasp all of it....don't despair, the Board office will be putting out some helpful hints in the next couple of issues. Step by step... slowly but surely we will make it.

How to Add or Edit the Signature line in your e-mail:

Click on Outlook e-mail Click - Tools Click - Options Click on Signature Picker Click New Type in info (suggested): Name Office Address Mail to: e-mail address Visit our website at www.yourwebsite.com Work phone # Fax # Type any notices, etc. Click OK Click OK Click OK

If you need to change your signature, follow above process, but select Edit instead of New after selecting Signature Picker.

You may make many different signatures. However, try one and see how it goes. You can also check the box that will include the signature line in replies as well as new messages.

Avoiding Antitrust Risks

For more than 100 years, federal antitrust laws have existed as a way to promote competition and prevent monopolies in business operations. Because real estate brokers and salespeople frequently cooperate with one another in the sale of properties, they have numerous opportunities to engage in conduct that might be construed as violations of the antitrust laws, says Ralph Holmen, associate general counsel for the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Four Antitrust Traps to Avoid
Although the subject of avoiding possible antitrust violations covers many areas, a few of the most sensitive antitrust concerns include:

1. Price/term fixing. In most businesses, including real estate, many competitors may charge similar prices for the same services. This isn't illegal as long as each competitor sets prices independently. An antitrust violation occurs when you discuss and actually agree to charge the same prices or offer exactly the same terms as one or more of your competitors.

Avoid problems by establishing your company's fees, commission splits, and listing terms independently and without any discussion with competitors, Even informal conversations where you have no intention of actually setting prices could be misinterpreted as the basis of a price-fixing agreement.

TIP: An agreement to set fees doesn't have to be formal or even intentional; a casual conversation among competitors could constitute a conspiracy. In Maryland, for example, six corporate and three individual defendants were convicted of conspiracy to fix real estate commissions in Montgomery County based on a conversation they had at a private dinner party. - Washington Area REALTOR®, June 1989

2. Territorial assignments. Agreements between competitors to divide the market geographically, by price range, type of property, or some other segmentation are considered anticompetitive because they conspire to establish dominance in a particular market. This isn't the same as an individual company's practice of specializing in certain properties such as historic buildings or custom-built housing.

Avoid problems by: Documenting your decisions to focus on certain property types with marketing and demographic studies.

3. Boycotts. Boycotts occur when a group of businesses agree not to do business with a particular party. A typical group boycott allegation in the real estate brokerage business involves a claim that two or more brokerages have agreed to refuse to cooperate, or to cooperate on less favorable terms, with a third brokerage company. The intent is to eliminate that company as a competitor or to force it to abandon certain practices. Another form of boycott would occur if several companies collectively determined not to use a particular service provider, such as a certain newspaper.

Avoid problems by: Making decisions on whether to be business with other real estate companies or service providers based on your company's own judgments, goals and experiences.

4. Association meetings. Associations are groups of competitors who come together to promote their common business interests. As such, they are vulnerable to allegations that agreements by members to use identical business practices are illegal conspiracies.

Avoid problems by remaining alert to discussions at meetings relating to commission rates, pricing structures, listing policies, or marketing practices of other brokers.

Portions adapted from Real Estate Brokerage, 5th edition, Cyr. Sobeck,
and McAdams Dearborn Financial Publishing, 1999.

TIP: Any business or marketing plan's principal goal that adversely affect a competitor could be considered a violation of antitrust law. - Jodi Tuttle, "What You Don't Know About Antitrust Can Ruin You," Indiana REALTOR®, May 2001

Source: NAR REALTOR, Magazine

Office Visits are starting - Call today to schedule Yours!

Available topics:

Lock Box Key Conversion
Board Forms
MLS Computer Projects
Tailor your visit to anything your office is interest in!
We also have a computer lab that your office can reserve and staff will do MLS training or any type of computer training we have knowledge of.

Call the Board office to schedule today - (574) 875-3283.

WHAT'S YOUR DESIGNATION

The National Association of REALTORS® has nine affiliated institutes, Societies, and Councils that provide a wide-ranging menu of programs and services that assist members in increasing skills, productivity and knowledge. Designations acknowledging experience and expertise in various real estate sectors are awarded by each Affiliated group upon completion of required courses. In addition, NAR offers two certification programs to its members. We will be running a series of designations in our newsletter to help you become more familiar with what is available. The spotlight for this month will focus on CRB, GRI, and GAA.

CRB, Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager
The Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager (CRB) designation is recognized industry-wide as the symbol of excellence in brokerage management. The CRB designation signifies a leader in the industry and the highest level of professional achievement and recognition in the specialized field of brokerage management. Now is the time to enroll as a Candidate in the CRB Management Certification Program and begin the process of earning your Degree of Excellence, the CRB Designation.

REALTORS® National Marketing Institute Real Estate Brokerage Managers Council: Call 1-800-621-8738, or visit their website at http://www.crb.com for more information.

 

GRI, Graduate, REALTOR® Institute
REALTOR® Institute Members involved in residential real estate who want a solid base of information for their practice will want to participate in the REALTOR® Institute program and earn the GRI designation. NATIONAL Association of REALTORS®: Call Fax-on-Demand at 402-351-9935 and request Document #9, or contact your State REALTOR® Association for course dates and locations. A listing of the State REALTOR® associations is available at http://www.realtor.com/ASPContent/NAR/Statelocal.asp.

 

GAA, General Accredited Appraiser
Certified General Appraisers wishing to increase their visibility should consider pursuing the GAA designation. The GAA designation is awarded to appraisers whose education and experience exceed state appraisal certification requirements and is supported by the National Association of REALTORS®.

National Association of REALTORS: Call 1-800-354-2397. Visit their website at http://www.narappraisalsource.com, or call Fax-on-Demand at 402-351-9935 and request Document #13.

Reprinted from National Association of REALTORS®