September 2005 Issue
Page 2

REMINDER - FREE TECHNOLOGY HOTLINE!!!

We have recently had some great feedback regarding this service available to you - FREE !! Here is the information again:

1-866-232-1833
Monday-Friday
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Eastern

Information to have on hand when you call:

• Name
• Office Phone
• NRDS Number
• Indiana ID Number

Coverage Points:

• Operating Systems: Windows®, MacIntosh® or Palm Pilot®
• Real Estate-specific software such as Top Producer®
• Office management staples, such as Microsoft Office®
• Internet: Netscape Navigator® and Internet Explorer®, as well a s Microsoft FrontPage® and major web design software
• Hardware: PC & MacIntosh
• The Living Network and Planet Realtor®

2005 CONTINUING EDUCATION CLASSES SET FOR
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005 AND FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2005

The 2005 Continuing Education classes have been scheduled for November 17 & 18, 2005. The speaker and the course content have been confirmed. We will offer technology classes on Thursday to cover the elective course content and on Friday Anti-Trust, License Law and the Code of Ethics for the mandatory classes. The cost will not increase from the last several years, $20.00 per hour for members or $125.00 for all 16 hours. The location has not yet been determined. A flyer will be sent to all members when the details have been confirmed.

NAR WELL POSITIONED ON ISSUES WHEN CONGRESS RECONVENES IN SEPTEMBER

After successfully advocating for legislation benefiting REALTORS® and their clients in the first half of 2005, NAR says it is well-positioned for continued success on key priority issues when Congress returns in September.

So far in 2005, NAR pushed to enact do-not-fax legislation protecting REALTORS® from unfair and costly changes to their marketing practices, prevailed on legislation safeguarding property owners and real estate from bankruptcy code abuses, and was instrumental in successfully encouraging Congress to enact transportation policies vital to real estate interests.

In the fall, NAR will push Congress to ensure banks are prohibited from engaging in real estate activities, pass the Small Business Health Plan bill, and draft GSE reform legislation that promotes safety and soundness of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but preserves their important housing mission. For more on these and other issues, go to realtor.org

NAR UPDATE
Message from Bob Snowden, Chair
REALTORS® Political Involvement Committee regarding NAR'S Call to Action

NAR is upgrading the Political Action Center to better serve the needs of all our members in advocating on behalf of real estate. It also has prompted an important policy change that was recommended by the recent Presidential Advisory Group (PAG) on Enhancing REALTOR® Political Effectiveness.

NAR is now automatically enrolling all active REALTORS® into the NAR Action Center . As a result, our focus will no longer be on getting REALTORS® registered in the Action Center . The new system is integrated with NRDS, and will automatically pre-register every REALTOR® in NRDS that has a working email address. Essentially, the Action Center will switch from an "opt-in" to an "opt-out" system.

With that fundamental change, our energy will shift to getting REALTORS® to respond to every Call for Action they receive. We want to get the overall Call For Action response rate (currently less that 3% of all REALTORS® nationally) to someday be on a par with RPAC participation rates (currently about 45% of all REALTORS® nationally). The collective voice of REALTORS® can make a difference in Washington , DC but only if members respond to Calls for Action.

With nearly 1.2 million members, NAR now has the opportunity to be heard louder, clearer, and more persuasively on Capitol Hill than ever before. We are also excited about the new Action Center software that we are in the process of installing, which you'll be hearing more about later. For now, we wanted to provide you with this important policy update.

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