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August 10-11: NAR Leadership Summit (Chicago, IL) August 12: CPAR General Membership Meeting (11:30 a.m.—1:30 p.m., Location TBA)
August 19-23: Florida Realtors® Annual Conference & Trade Expo (Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando)
CPAR Board of Directors
July 2015
Independence Day
CPAR Mee ng 11:30 a.m.—1:30 p.m. Pebble Creek Golf Club
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CPAR Office Closed
New Member Orienta on 1:00—4:00 p.m. CPAR Office
a word from the PREZ... The first six months of this year have been exciting times for CPAR. Some of our accomplishments have included: Receiving an NAR Award for Outstanding Generosity and Dedication to Democracy in Housing by offering Employer-Assisted Housing and Expanding Housing Opportunities classes. Thank you Dwight McDonald for organizing them so that we could receive this award. Our website and social media presence have been updated and we have become affiliated with two online schools. We also offered Spanish for Realtors® and partnered with the EPAR Association to host RPR training.
Outstanding Speakers included our Association Attorney Mercedes Gonzalez-Hale on staying out of Real Estate trouble and Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey on the Future of Pasco County.
Led by Louise Richardson, Ruth Peeples and the CPAR Outreach Committee, CPAR participated in feeding the homeless and hungry at the Trinity Café.
Three sessions on the CFPB and the changes effective August 1 were hosted by Ruth Peeples of First American Title. The workbooks are an invaluable reference guide.
Pat yourself on the back - CPAR met the NAR Core Standards and our Charter was renewed. On July 1, we start all over again. Please volunteer to help with just one small part so that we will meet the standards for 2016.
Thanks to the Events Committee, chaired by Ruth Peeples, CPAR had a successful golf tournament at TopGolf and a couple of CPAR-tee social mixers.
Your Board of Directors now includes two new members – Rob Kane (Director, RPAC Chairperson) and Adam Jonas (Secretary). Please welcome them.
With your help, our goals over the next six months include: Creating and establishing a personal mentoring program for new leadership and those that have an
interest in leading the Association forward. Advocacy – Director Rob Kane will be in touch with you to assist in increasing our advocacy efforts. President-Elect Dwight McDonald needs you to volunteer to help host a Central Pasco Home Show and
Business Partner Trade Show. Do you have a photo and a story you could tell us at our July 8th Military-Americana Celebration? We will have items on display, a slide show, patriotic music, and a very special speaker. Looking forward to seeing you there,
Lynn
Lynn Mooney
From your President
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Elite My Florida Regional ~ Merri Jo Cowen
Platinum Embrace Home Loans ~ Tyler Cain and Scott Slone
First American Title ~ Ruth Peeples
Gold IERNA’s Heating & Cooling ~ Julie Rinaldi
National Property Inspections ~ Lynne Tonte Sandon Mortgage ~ Rick Sandon
Security National Mortgage ~ Ray Williams WCR Tampa Chapter ~ April Gayle Gausman
Thank you to our 2015 Sponsors Silver
Eagle Mortgage ~ Karen Calhoun Herbert H Landy Insurance ~ Joe Flynn
Hillsborough Title ~ Joellyn Robles Market Prime Mortgage ~ John Farris
Mason Title ~ Mary Turner Peeples Maintenance Repairs ~ Ron Peeples
Prime Protection ~ Joed Hassani Rainbow International Restoration ~ Steve Dumas
Tampa Home Inspection ~ Bobb Courtman Two Men and a Truck ~ Eugenia Parlow
Louise Richardson
Vanessa Frost
AE Corner
November 30, 2015
Realtor® Membership Dues
Primary CPAR $100
Florida Realtors® $126
National Assoc. of Realtors® $155
Secondary CPAR $100
What’s Due Next?
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September 2015
Supra Active Key Renewals
Active Key Dues 2015 dues were $173.40; 2016 dues TBA
Optional Insurance $25
CPAR Business Partner Dues
Primary $125
$35 Secondary
If you need to contact your AE, email me at [email protected] or call me at 813-406-6081. General Office Hours are Monday—Friday from 10 a.m.—2 p.m.
Have you visited the CPAR website lately? The site has been revamped with a fresh look and more information than ever at your fingertips. Head over to www.cparfl.com and check it out!
There are three director positions to be filled (two-year term). CPAR Realtor® members will be instructed to vote for up to four directors from the slate submitted. The three receiving the highest votes will be elected, and the next highest will become an alternate for any vacancies during the term.
If you would like a position description, please send an email to [email protected]. If you have any questions, please contact
The forms must be submitted by July 30, 2014. The election of officers and directors will take place in September (details to follow).
Head to www.cparfl.com/leadership for the “Consent to Serve” form and qualifications.
We are looking for new members to take the wheel! The CPAR Nominating Committee is in the process of selecting members to serve as Officers and Directors in 2016.
We are accepting “Consent to Serve” forms for President-Elect, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Directors. Members interested in being considered for nomination must submit a “Consent to Serve” form, which can be found on our website under the Leadership tab.
Hello CPAR members. I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself. I'm Rob Kane and I'm your Government Affairs Director for RPAC. For those of you that don't know what RPAC is, here's a short overview:
The REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) is the best way a Realtor®
can protect his/her business. RPAC is the only grassroots and issues-mobilizing force that exists to protect and promote the tradition of home ownership and real estate investment.
Since 1969, the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) has promoted the election of pro-Realtor® candidates across the United States. The purpose of RPAC is clear: Realtors® raise and spend money to elect candidates who understand and support their interests. The money to accomplish this comes from voluntary contributions made by Realtors®. These are not members’ dues; this is money given freely by Realtors® in recognition of how important campaign fundraising is to the political process. RPAC doesn’t buy votes. RPAC enables Realtors® to support candidates that support the issues that are important to their profession and livelihood. (source:http://www.realtoractioncenter.com/rpac/)
CPAR also will be doing community fundraising and outreach to raise funds to support RPAC. I am currently looking for three committee members to help with these endeavors. If you are interested in becoming a committee member, please contact me at 813-340-5166 or [email protected].
Volunteers Needed for RPAC Committee
Rob Kane
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PASCO COUNTY --- Pasco County Government’s new mobile application (APP) for smart phone users is now available online. The new APP is designed for Android, Apple, Blackberry, and Windows mobile products.
The APP is called "MyPasco," selected after more than 250 people participated in a social media contest to come up with a name for the new APP. In
May, Pasco County Government announced that three individuals came up with the winning entry and received a small prize package for their help. The APP will have a variety of features including the ability to view County Commission meetings, press releases, National Weather Service alerts, parks information, library locator, emergency management information, pet adoption services, and commuter information. "The MyPasco APP unveiled today is just the start," said Doug Tobin, Public Information Officer for Pasco County Government. "We plan on rolling out new features and it will be updated automatically on each smart phone." "There has been a lot of excitement with this new APP," said Todd Bayley, Pasco County’s Chief Information Technology Officer. "As we were testing this APP citizens were finding us online, we had a park reservation before we even announced it to the public." In the near future the APP will have the ability for citizens to pay their utility bills, report a pothole directly to road and bridge and watch Pasco County Television. "We could also look at the APP as a way of communicating with all 2,000 County employees in the future," said County Administrator Michele Baker. "This would be especially beneficial to employees who don’t have easy access to a computer and spend much of their time in the field. The possibilities are endless for both employees and Pasco Citizens."
(source: http://www.pascocountyfl.net/)
New “MyPasco” App Launched
Closed Sales
Cash Sales
New Pending Sales
New Listings
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Produced by Florida REALTORS® with data provided by Florida's multiple listing services. Statistics for each month compiled from MLS feeds on the 15th day of the following month.
Data released on Monday, May 11, 2015. Next quarterly data release is Tuesday, August 11, 2015.
Produced by Florida REALTORS® with data provided by Florida's multiple listing services. Statistics for each month compiled from MLS feeds on the 15th day of the following month.
Data released on Monday, May 11, 2015. Next quarterly data release is Tuesday, August 11, 2015.
NAR won a trademark dispute against a member’s trademark application for “REALT OR REALTY”. The decision in NAR’s favor found that applied-for mark “REALT OR REALTY” is confusingly similar to NAR’s REALTOR® trademarks.
The proceeding was before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”), the adjudication arm of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Board’s operations cover deciding inter partes disputes, including oppositions against trademark applications. Oppositions are often brought by trademark owners alleging a likelihood of confusion, and the proceeding focuses on whether the applied-for mark is too similar to the trademark owner’s, potentially causing consumer confusion. The Board considers a variety of factors when deciding the dispute, including the similarity of the trademarks, the products or services provided by the parties under their trademarks, and the trade channels for the parties’ products and services.
In this case, NAR opposed a member’s trademark application for REALT OR REALTY based on a likelihood of confusion with NAR’s REALTOR® trademarks. The member at issue joined NAR in 2001, owns his real estate firm, and requires that his agents similarly join NAR. His company’s advertising materials highlight the distinction between member and non-member real estate professionals and promote that members have higher ethical obligations to consumers than non-members. The member originally applied for “REALTORREALTY” in connection with “business networking services for licensed and unlicensed real estate investors and service providers.” The USPTO rejected the mark as confusingly similar to NAR’s REALTOR® Marks, and the member subsequently amended his application to include the spaces in “REALT OR REALTY”.
NAR opposed the application on February 15, 2013. The Notice of Opposition argued that “REALT OR REALTY” is confusingly similar to NAR’s REALTOR® trademarks because (1) it incorporates the REALTOR® mark in its entirety and shares a close phonetic similarity; (2) the parties’ respective services and trade channels overlap; and (3) NAR’s REALTOR®Marks are entitled to broad protection given their strength and NAR’s extensive use.
The Board agreed with NAR’s arguments. The Board found that the space between the syllables “REALT” and “OR” in “REALT OR REALTY” did not diminish the visual and phonetic similarity to REALTOR®. Moreover, the term “REALTY” in “REALT OR REALTY” is indistinctive because the term generically describes the parties’ real estate services. The Board further found that the parties’ services overlap and target the same consumers, as NAR also offers networking opportunities related to real estate investment and both parties target licensed real estate professionals. Ultimately, the Board decided that the record on whole established a likelihood of confusion between “REALT OR REALTY” and NAR’s REALTOR® trademarks.
Note: This opinion is not a precedent of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Please consult counsel before relying on this opinion.
National Association of REALTORS® v. Nelis, Opp . No. 91209482 (TTAB May 13, 2015).
(Source: www.realtor.org)
NAR Wins Trademark Dispute
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(Originally Case #7-1. Revised May, 1988. Transferred to Article 1 November, 1994.)
Client A complained to a Board of REALTORS® that two of its members, REALTORS® B and his sales associate, REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® C, had failed to represent the client’s interests faithfully by proposing to various prospective buyers that
a price less than the listed price of a house be offered. His complaint specified that REALTOR® B, in consultation with him, had agreed that $137,900 would be a fair price for the house, and it had been listed at that figure. The complaint also named three different prospective buyers who had told Client A that while looking at the property, REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® C, representing REALTOR® B, when asked the price had said, “It’s listed at $137,900, but I’m pretty sure that an offer of $130,000 will be accepted.”
REALTOR® B and REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® C were notified of the complaint and requested to be present at a hearing on the matter scheduled before a Hearing Panel of the Board’s Professional Standards Committee.
During the hearing, REALTOR® B confirmed that he had agreed with Client A that $137,900 was a fair price for the house, and that it was listed at that figure. He added that he had asked for a 90 day listing contract as some time might be required in securing the full market value. Client A had agreed to do this but had indicated that he was interested in selling within a month even if it meant making some concession on the price. The discussion concluded with an agreement on listing at $137,900 and with REALTOR® B agreeing to make every effort to get that price for Client A.
REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® C said in the hearing that REALTOR® B had repeated these comments of Client A and he, REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® C, had interpreted them as meaning that an early offer of about 10 percent less than the listed price would be acceptable to the seller, Client A. Questioning by the Hearing Panel established that neither REALTOR® B nor REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® C had been authorized to quote a price other than $137,900.
It was the Hearing Panel’s conclusion that REALTOR® B was not in violation of Article 1 since he had no reason to know of REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® C’s actions. The panel did find REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® C in violation of Article 1 for divulging his knowledge that the client was desirous of a rapid sale even if it meant accepting less than the asking price. The panel noted that such a disclosure was not in the client’s best interest and should never be made without the client’s knowledge and consent. (Source: www.realtor.org)
Code of Ethics Case Review
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Photography was invented around 1800 and really, has anything changed since then? For starters, our dusty ancestors stood really still for those early cameras. Now, no one is standing still; smiling friends, pool parties, sunsets and beer bongs. Your pictures should be able to keep up.
Enter PHHHOTO. PHHHOTO brings your pictures to life. Just like a photograph, press a button and you’re capturing a moment. But with PHHHOTO, you’re really capturing a few moments and instantly rolling them into a never-ending vision of whatever you see. Hot dogs blistering on the grill. Flags soaring in the wind. Fireworks cracking in the sky. Over and over. Don’t waste your summer shooting still pictures — these animated loops will make your memories so much better.