July 2012

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The Realtors® Association of Citrus County, Inc. exists to inform, educate and uphold the high standards set forth in the REALTOR® Code of Ethics enhancing our members professionalism and image while fostering cooperation among our members and serving our communities. We provide education and leading-edge technology to better safeguard private property rights and promote equal housing opportunity.

July 2012 Realtors®Association of Citrus County Volume X , Issue 7

WOW its July. Thank God we survived the rain storms from hurricane Debbie! As in life - storms come and storms go - buyers come and buyers go - sellers come and sellers go - yep money comes (and in a flash) money goes. But that is the business we all chose. Knowing how to handle it all professionally is the true test! Sure, old school teaches you to quickly go from one transaction to the next. Now, reports show, it's all about the relationship. When clients and cooperating agents are treated with respect and professionalism....guess what? They come back and want to work with you again! I don't know about the rest of you but I rely on loyal, happy clients and agents whom I respect and show respect back. I am proud to say our members are outstanding and some of the best in Florida! Thank you to everyone out there. proud to be a REALTOR® and sure that you are also.

We are getting ready to nominate the 2013 slate of Officers and Directors. After the election in September the committee chairpersons and committee members will be chosen. Watch for Bonnie's emails and respond if you are looking to serve our leadership team or be a committee member. Remember you are welcome to serve on more than one committee. Not all positions are open, but there is something there for everyone who wants to serve! Volunteers play an integral part in our association, and they are very much appreciated. Because of you we can give thousands of dollars to our local charities, bring you great education, enhance the MLS and property management and watch your back on the legislative issues.

Leave the evening of August 7th open. That is our "Meet and Greet". Come, have a bite to eat, meet, question and rub elbows with all of our incoming politicians. Our goal is to keep you informed and ready to vote for those men and women who keep our ideals and business needs in mind.

Sorry to say our single log in is taking longer than thought.....hang in there! Greg is working diligently on the new input sheets also.

Whether going on vacation or doing a "staycation" this year -- be safe, relax and enjoy your loved ones!

Sincerely and Humbly your President,

Sarah

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June General Membership Meeting Tony Palumbo, CEO of Hospice. He told the

members that Hospice serves 12 counties and more than 400 patients and families in Citrus County. Did you know that even if your family member was not a patient of Hospice, they will still help you with the grieving process? Tony also stated Hospice is the largest not for profit in Citrus and 85% of income comes from Medicare. Of course they are always in need of volunteers so if you would like to donate your time call 527-2020 and ask for the volunteer department.

Vince Cautero, director of Planning and Development for Citrus County once again updated the members on current issues. Vince stated that the sidewalks on 44 are a state project and the rationale is due to the fact after development of the highway, some areas could be very dangerous for bikers and walkers. The sidewalks are maintained by state, but ultimately come down to the county. We also learned that the new Wal-Mart will open on black Friday and will not have an auto center. There are seven out-parcels that are looking for second tier establishments.

Vince also stated that the Land Development Code was changed on Tuesday June 12th and being implemented now. If someone has an application pending, they have 30 days to tell the County if they prefer the old code or the new code. The Association will be receiving a disk with the new codes.

The county has also streamlined the process of the new building codes which was written in 2010, but did not go in effect until March 15th, 2012. The flood plain managements falls under the local code and will be available online and the new website features and FAQ section.

Chairman reports:

Education Committee: There are 8 CE Hours being offered this month and on Sept. 20th from 9-11 there will be a Professional Standards class.

Legislative Committee: Cheryl Lambert is part of history being made this year with Realtor Rally Day Homeowner-ship Matters. Over 13,000 members were present. Peggy Taylor and Debbie Scott will be calling members that are not registered to vote.

There will be 2 meet and greets: The first one will be August 7th.

continued

Tony Palumbo

Cheryl Lambert

Debbie Scott

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RPAC: Cheryl Nadal presented Gitta Barth with a Capital Club Plaque. Citrus County has raised $12,818.57 and is at 174% of goal.

Affordable Housing: The committee is looking for donations of bottles of liquor. The Habitat restores will be selling tickets. The annual golf tournament will be October 1st at Southern Woods, and the committee would like all members to get involved by either playing or sponsoring.

Tech Committee: The single login is close to being completed. Supervisor of Elections office on association website.

Jacqui Watkins won $92

The following members won homemade jam as a door prize: Gary Altman, Greg Younger, Coleen Fatone-Anderson, Beverly Isabelle, John Finley, Karen & Gary Baxley, Sally Wade, Lynn Garrison, Sherri Parker, Linda Cridland, Kim DeVane and Steve Varnadoe. Evelyn Surrency was the lucky winner of the gift basket. Thank you Jacqui Watkins of John C Meyer Sr Locksmith for being the Business Partner of the month and donating all the door prizes.

had a chance to draw for the Queen of Hearts, which she did not pick but will receive a free meeting in July.

Steve Varnadoe Evelyn Surrency Karen Baxley

Sarah Spencer, Barbara Banks Rob Tessmer Jr. Gary Altman

Cheryl Nadnal, Sarah Spencer, Gitta Barth

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RPAC NEWS OF THE MONTH!

And all because of you, the GREATEST Realtor Board Membership on the PLANET! As of today, we are at 174% of goal with 53.5% participation. That is just wild! Just 26% more to go to reach that lofty goal! This equates to 32 more members to invest with their $99. OR, for some current 99 Club members to increase their status to the Capitol Club level of $250.00. Or for that matter, you Capitol Club members to reach the Statesman level of $500. If you would like to know how close you are to either the 99 or Capitol Club levels, or Statesman, please feel free to email me at [email protected], and I will be happy to give you that

-off bills paid.

Once again, RACC rocks and thank you all for your invaluable participation.

Investor pin, please stop by the Board office to pick it up.

ANNE ADAMS JORGE ALMEIDA TRISH ANTONETTI ISAAC BAYLON SANDRA BECK LAURA BICKFORD TERRY BLANCO BEN BRANCH JERRY BRINKMAN BRENDA BUTA LINDA CALEBRO-KUDER JOHN CONROY BARRY COOK AVIS CRAIG LINDA CRIDLAND LYNN CZAJOWSKI DARLENE DAVENPORT JACKIE DAVIS BOB DAVIS KIM DeVANE RICHARD DeVITA JERI DIEHL JENNIFER DUCA TONI DUNHAM LANSE FERO TRACY FERO JOHN FINLEY SARAH FITTS ANITA FUSS

JASON GAFFNEY SUSAN GATTO GEOFFREY GREENE MARY GULLING MELONIE HAAG ERIN JONES RICHARD KIEFER SCOTT KIEFER ELIAS KIRALLAH RHONDA LESTINSKY DENNIS LOGER JOHN MAISEL GWEN MARTONE TAMARA MAYER DENISE McKEEVER TOM McMURRAY BERT MEADOWS SHERRI MEADOWS BARBARA MILLS JUSTIN MONAHAN KAREN MORTON DEDE MOYER BECKY NORMAN MELISSA OLBEK THERESA PADUANO ANTONIUS PAULSEN KELLEY PAUL CANDY PHILLIPS BERNADETTE POORMAN

BETTY POWELL PEGGY PRICE DEBBIE RECTOR BOB RINGO JULIE ROITHMEIER KAREN ROPES AMANDA ROWTHORN JAFAR RUBAII CINDA RUIZ MONICA SALDARRIAGA CHARLENE SISTO RICK SNELL SARAH SPENCER GAIL SPINKA BARRY STAFFORD JENNIFER STOLTZ ERIC SWART PEGGY TAYLOR ROB TESSMER, SR ROB TESSMER, JR STEVE VARNADOE GENE WADE JIM WADE JACQUI WATKINS GREG YOUNGER BEVERLY YUELLING FRANK YUELLING

HAVE A FUN, SAFE AND HAPPY 4th OF JULY

Cheryl Nadal RPAC Chair

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WANT TO WIN A FREE MEMBERSHIP MEETING MEAL?

To the first member to email [email protected] the answer to question below.

What is the last day to register to vote in primary election? .

Congradulations to Realtor® Karen Ropes on the birth of her daughter on 6/26/12

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Communicate that reminds me, after we close a transaction, do we ever communicate again with our clients and customers? If you are like me, I admit, I sometimes forget. Throughout

finally closed and over, we move on, in search of our next customers or clients.

Do we ever speak, communicate or buy with someone else? Communicate

and sellers. New buyers and sellers who have to be convinced of our value to them, our value to their purchase or sale. If every customer or client we ever had referred a minimum of 2 people to us, we would have more business than we would know what to do with. good-bye and good luck, just say, I will be calling you from time to time to see how you are, or emailing you or sending you a card or short note.

Communicate

Matey, Veissi/Florida Realtors®Secretary

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Voting is as Easy as 1-2-3! Register by July 16, 2012

PRIMARY ELECTION: August 14, 2012

Register by October 9, 2012

GENERAL ELECTION: November 6, 2012

Voting Requirement: Voters will be required to show photo identification in order to vote in elections.

101.043 Identification required at polls. (1) The precinct register, as prescribed in s. 98.461, shall be used at the polls for the purpose of identifying the elector at the polls prior to allowing him or her to vote. The clerk or in-spector shall require each elector, upon entering the polling place, to present one of the following current and valid picture identifications:

(b) Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

(c) United States passport.

(d) Debit or credit card.

(e) Military identification.

(f) Student identification.

(g) Retirement center identification.

(h) Neighborhood association identification.

(i) Public assistance identification. (2) If the elector fails to furnish the required identification, the elector shall be allowed to vote a provisional bal-lot. The canvassing board shall determine the validity of the ballot pursuant to s. 101.048(2).

Primary Early Voting: Starts: August 4, 2012 Ends: August 11, 2012

General Early Voting Starts: October 27, 2012 Ends: November 3, 2012

For questions please call the Supervisor of Elections (352) 341-6740

or email [email protected] Web address is: www.votecitrus.com

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5 Projections of Where the Housing Market's Headed Daily Real Estate News | Monday, June 25, 2012

Real estate markets across the country are inching their way to a slow recovery after bottoming out, according to several real estate economists who spoke at a forum hosted by the National Association of Real Estate Editors.

and National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist David Crowe shared their views on the direction of the housing market during the forum.

"Last year was the worst year on record for [new] house sales, for 60 years of housing-sale info," Crowe said.

But things are picking up, the economists note, despite several challenges still threatening that recovery. Yun

underwriting standards are likely holding back another 15 to 20 percent of potential home deals.

1. New-home market: The NAHB predicts a 19 percent increase in single-family housing starts this year over last (from 434,000 last year to a projected 516,000 this year).

2. Single-family rental market: This could be the next housing market bubble, Humphries warns. He expects this sector to cool as rental rates continue to increase and as home ownership looks more attractive to the public again.

3. Distressed home sales: The percentage of distressed homes sales is projected to drop by 25 percent in 2012 and 15 percent in 2013, Yun says.

4. Home price appreciation: -price appreciation next year due to an increase in demand, or a 60 to 70 percent increase in housing starts. Yun argues

agreement once again on the looming debt-ceiling deadline.

About a third of home owners are underwater, owing more on their

Humphries says. He says home owners with negative equity will gradually begin to list their homes as they see prices inch up, but when they do, that may temporarily swell the housing supply and cause a brief pause to the recovery.

Economists: 2012 Marks the End of a Long Bottom

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ARE YOU INTERESTED IN THE MARKET ACTIVITY DATA?

Here is another Florida Realtor® benefit.

You have been receiving via email the market reports for Citrus County. Did you know that the Flor-ida Realtors® provide this information to all members on a statewide basis? All you need to do is:

Login to floridarealtors.org

Go to Research Tab on left side

Then you can search on statewide or county

WILLIAM BERNDSEN Earns Short Sales and Foreclosure Certification William Berndsen with Tropic Shores Realty has earned the nationally recognized Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource certification. The National Association of REALTORS® offers the SFR certification to REALTORS® who want to help both buyers and sellers navigate these complicated transactions, as demand for professional expertise with distressed sales grows.

According to a recent NAR survey, nearly one-third of all existing homes sold recently were either short sales or foreclosures. For many real estate professionals, short sales and foreclosures are the new

® who have earned the SFR certification know how to help sellers maneuver the complexities of short sales as well as help buyers pursue short sale and foreclosure opportunities.

The certification program includes training on how to qualify sellers for short sales, negotiate with lenders, protect buyers, and limit risk, and provides resources to help REALTORS® stay current on national and state-specific information as the market for these distressed properties evolves. To earn the SFR certification, REALTORSÒ are required to take one core course and three Webinars. For more information about the SFR certification, visit www.REALTORSFR.org or call 1-877-510-7855.

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LEGAL Q&A ESCROW

maintain all the escrow funds. Is a real estate brokerage company required to have an escrow account?

A: No. There is no legal requirement for a real estate brokerage company to have an escrow account if the brokerage is not maintaining any escrow funds.

Q: I represent a prospective buyer. The seller is demanding that his attorney be the escrow agent. May the seller make such a demand?

A: Like any other contract term or condition, the choice of an escrow agent is a negotiable item between the parties.

Q: I represent the buyer. The transaction failed, and the seller refuses to release the escrow deposit to my buyer. The seller put the property back on the market. Is the seller permitted to advertise and sell the property when

A: Yes. An escrow dispute, in itself, does not prevent the seller from advertising or selling the property.

in the property management escrow account. Is this allowed? A: Yes. Rule 61J2-14.010(2), Florida Administrative Code, allows a broker to place and maintain up to $5,000 of personal or brokerage funds in each property management escrow account. However, a broker may place and maintain only up to $1,000 of personal or brokerage funds in each sales escrow account.

A: Yes. The escrow holder is negotiable between the parties.

Q: I am a broker and want to provide property management services to a landlord. Must I have an escrow account?

security deposit (Section 83.49, Florida Statutes).

Commission (FREC). The seller is now suing the buyer for the money. What should I do? A: Notify FREC in writing. Rule 61J2-10.032(2)(c), Florida Administrative Code, provides that "if the broker has requested an EDO and the dispute is subsequently settled or goes to court before the order is issued, the broker

Q: I represent a seller who entered into a contract for sale/purchase with a buyer about a month ago. The contract just fell through and both the seller and the buyer have placed demands on the earnest money deposit,

funds in escrow, do I have to notify the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) of the dispute?

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Legal Q&A - ESCROW

company does with the funds. A title company faced with conflicting demands as described above is likely to maintain the funds in escrow until the buyer and seller resolve their dispute or file an interpleader action.

boyfriend is demanding that we return the deposit to him since he wrote the check. To whom should my brokerage firm disburse the deposit? A: The seller. Unless the boyfriend was a party to the contract, you should disburse the escrow according to

statements to FREC. Am I required to do so? A: No. There is no requirement to send FREC the monthly escrow reconciliation statements. Rule 61J2-14.012, Florida Administrative Code, requires that each escrow account be reconciled in writing at least once monthly but does not state that those monthly escrow reconciliation statements must be sent to FREC.

me money to hire a lawn maintenance company and a pool cleaning service while he is away. Should I put this money in my escrow account? A: Yes. Whenever you receive funds in connection with a real estate transaction belonging to someone else you must deposit and hold the money in an escrow account until you have proper authorization from the owner for release.

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The prestigious term REALTOR®, a mark

logo and the term Realtor® identify you to the public as a person of competency and integrity who abides by the Code of Ethics.

Educational Opportunities including technology, Continuing Education Credit and many free informational classes.

MLS System, including Realist, ListHub & MLS Advantage. Lockboxes available no charge to brokers (inventory required).

Educational Library (books & DVD available for training).

REALTOR® Store. Large inventory of RE materials at low prices.

Email blasts to keep members continually informed about association activities, legislation, law changes & other I ndustry news.

Networking Opportunities

Knowledgeable & friendly staff always available Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm.

REALTOR® alerts to keep you informed in times of potential danger to you and/or your c lients & Customers

Positive community im-age. Organized, ongoing activities within the com-munity Habitat for Hu-manity; ROCC Real-tors® Outreach of Citrus County including ACS Relay for Life; Big Broth-ers/Big Sisters; and Fam-ily Resource Center creates public respect for REALTORS®.

Mediation & Arbitration

Enforcement of the Code of Ethics

Online Monthly Newsletter to help keep you up-to-date on Association activities.

Monthly meetings featuring programs designed to increase your professionalism and to keep you informed.

Florida Realtors® Legal Hotline (407) 438-1409 for immediate access to an attorney.

Florida Realtors® Tech Helpline (407) 587-1450 will help you with any type computer hardware, software, peripheral, and smartphone issues. Also visit REALTOR.org for widgets to add to your websites and emails.

Subscriptions to the State and National publications mailed to your home.

facility is just a phone call away. A workstation is also available for your use if you are in the area.

WHAT DO I GET FROM MY MEMBERSHIP IN RACC?

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NEW MEMBERS

AGENTS No Longer With Now With

Wilhlemus Berndsen Weston Properties Tropic Shores Realty

Michael Laughlin Real Living Cridland RE Only Way Realty

Doug Lindsey ERA American Tropic Shores Realty

Larry Scinta Las Palmas Realty Only Way Realty

Gail Stearns Keller Williams of CC Tropic Shores Realty

NEW MEMBER OFFICES

Inactives with REALTORS® ASSOCIATION OF CITRUS COUNTY James Moore

Cadence Bank Virgilio Insurance Services Jim Fort Arnold Virgilio 1932 Bruce B Downs Blvd 906 S Sweet Pine Pt Wesley Chapel, FL 33543 Inverness, FL 34452 (813) 907-8841 (352) 726-0040 [email protected] [email protected]

Charlene Pilgrim ERA Suncoast Realty Timothy Pitts American Real Estate & Dev

BUSINESS PARTNERS

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JULY 2012

July 2012

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 MLS Bd Mgrs 3:30pm

4 Closed

5 Bd of Directors 8:30am

6 7

8 9 10 Nominations Committee 9:00am Orientation 8:00 - 4:00 Ed Comm 8:30

11 Tech Comm 1:30 Leg Comm ERA/Inv 1:30 Contract to Close 9:00 - 10:30

12 Family Picnic 5:30

13 ATE Brad Thorpe Port Citrus 9:00am

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15 16 Candidate Screening

17 Candidate Screening

18 Reverse Mortgage 9-11:00

19 Property Management 10:00am TECH TALK 1:00-3:00 Social Media

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22 23 24 Neighbor-hood Stabilization Program 1:00-3:00

25 Broker Meeting 10:00

26 27 ICE 9:00-12:00 FL Apprais & State Law Update

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29 30 31 MLS Bd Mgrs 3:30

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These statistics were taken from the MLS on These statistics were taken from the MLS on

May 31, 2012 June 29, 2012

RESIDENTIAL VACANT LAND RESIDENTIAL VACANT LAND

Active 1585 Active 1905 Active 1605 Active 1902

New 271 New 125 New 308 New 104

Closed 177 Closed 45 Closed 156 Closed 37

Pending 248 Pending 61 Pending 190 Pending 37

BOM 146 BOM 64 BOM 123 BOM 45

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1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

Single FamilyCondoMobileVacant

Realtors Association of Citrus County 714 S Scarboro Ave Lecanto, FL 34461 Phone: 352-746-7550 Fax: 352-746-3223 email: [email protected] Web: http://www.raccfl.com

Chart displays Closed listings

MLS TIDBIT:

PHOTOS IN MLS Your listings should always have photos that YOU have taken, but if you are going to use a photo from a previous listing you MUST GET PERMISSION to use them. The photos should also present