Capital Area REALTOR® Jan/Feb 2017

R E A LTOR

CAPITAL AREA

®

gcaar.com

Official publication for the Greater Capital Area Assocation of REALTORS®

jan/feb 2017

NEW YEAR – NEW LEADERSHIP GCAAR Cares Highlights - page 12 2016 Y ear In Revi ew - page 14 Legislative Highlights - page 20

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014

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CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014

president’s note IT’S A NEW YEAR

R E ALTOR

CAPITAL AREA

®

Capital Area REALTOR® (USPS 017-467) is published five times a year by the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS®, 15201 Diamondback Drive, Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20850.

Periodicals postage paid at Rockville, MD. Member subscriptions account for $10 of each member’s annual dues. Annual subscriptions are available to non-members for $25. Subscription inquiries may be sent to Capital Area REALTOR® at the above address.

Welcome to a new year of Capital Area REALTOR®, GCAAR’s print publication published five times per year. Our goal is to provide valuable content to help you in your real estate business while sharing what’s happening at GCAAR, so your suggestions are always welcome.

It’s a new year, and with it comes new leadership, so I’m proud to introduce the 2017 Board of Directors and Officers, with a few pics from the December installation. I’m excited about taking the helm this year, and I’ll share my thoughts on my two areas of focus, Embracing Change and Service, in this issue.

In addition, we are doing a “Year in Review,” a recap of some of our 2016 highlights, as well as a summary of the 2016 housing market in DC and Montgomery County.

Last year we added a few new features: Agent Spotlight, Coaches’ Corner and a listing of our Affiliate and new members. Make sure to check out our REALTOR® Tool Box, which will continue to provide resources to help you and your clients.

You can check out Capital Area REALTOR® online via GCAAR.com, so please do and please share. Remember, if you have ideas, comments, or suggestions, feel free to contact us at communications@gcaar.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Capital Area REALTOR®, ATTN: GCAAR, 15201 Diamondback Drive, Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20850.

The Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® makes no warranties and assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained herein. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the officers, directors, or staff of the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS®.

The Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® accepts submissions of articles and photographs and the items become the property of the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS®.

The publisher reserves the right of full editorial authority and to decline publication of any article not deemed proper. Deadline for submissions, including camera-ready advertising, is the first of the month prior to publication. Reprint with permission only. Reprints may be obtained by contacting the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® at 301.590.2000; via fax at 301.590.2248; or send an e-mail to bbanks@gcaar.com.

REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies and may be used only by real estate professionals who are members of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribe to its Code of Ethics.

Copyright ©2017 by the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS®.

All rights reserved.

Regards,

Jamie Coley 2017 GCAAR President

Email us!

Comments, questions, ideas?

Send them our way.

STAY IN TOUCH

15201 Diamondback Drive, Suite 100 I Rockville, MD 20850 Phone: 301.590.2000 I Fax: 301.590.2248 I gcaar.com

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014

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R E ALTOR

CAPITAL AREA

®

GCAAR’s New Leadership – p. 8

jan/feb 2017

GCAAR Cares Year in Review – p. 12

Realtor Toolbox - p. 38

features

in every issue

4

Don’t Let This Happen to You

3

Ask the President

5

Association News

7

Affiliate Spotlight

6

Embracing Change: Message From President Jamie Coley

17

NAR Director’s Report

18

Bright MLS

8

GCAAR Installs 2017 Board of Directors

19

Membership Corner

11

Meet Your GCAAR Committees

20

Public Policy

12

GCAAR Cares Year in Review

26 RPAC

24

Coaches’ Corner

28

Housing Statistics

27

Agent Spotlight

33

Legal Hotline

40

Affiliate Directory

34

Education Schedule

41

RPAC President’s Circle

37

GCAAR in the News

43

Welcome New Members!

and Events Calendar

46

Design Trends

38

REALTOR ® Toolbox

48

The Back Porch

BRIGHT MLS – IT’S NEW!

Now made up of nine MLSs, including MRIS, in the Mid-Atlantic region Read more on page 18

2

Coaches’ Corner – p. 24

® CAPITAL AREA 2014 2017 2 CAPITAL AREAREALTOR REALTOR• ®May/Jun — Jan/Feb

board of directors

ask the president Q: I’ve heard that MRIS is merging with another MLS to

form a mega MLS in our area called Bright. When will the switch over be official and how will it affect me? Will it affect any of the services I get at GCAAR? President-Elect Tom Daley

President Jamie Coley

A: It’s a very exciting time to be a REALTOR® in our area! While changes are coming to our MLS, it’s essential to remember that MRIS and GCAAR are separate entities. GCAAR will continue to be a shareholder in Bright MLS (as we have been at MRIS) but the merger will have no effect on your services from GCAAR. For the next several months not much will be different and you will keep your current daily MLS routine. You will continue to use MRIS to enter, update and search for listings, and contact them for support, compliance, and training inquiries.

Secretary Koki Adasi

Check out the MRIS/Bright article in this issue of Capital Area REALTOR® to learn more about the changeover progression.

You can also stay in the know by following the Bright MLS blog: http://www.brightmls.com/index.php/category/news/

Treasurer Thom Brockett

Q: My DC license needs to be renewed this year and I

don’t even know what I need to take! Where can I find this information and take the classes I need?

Immediate Past President Peg Mancuso

Chief Executive Officer Mike Moran

Directors

Katrina Schymik Abjornson Jan Brito Jody Goren Brandon Green Jacque Grenning Susann Haskins

Hildy Pollard Andres Serafini Jason Sherman Danai Mattison Sky Frank Snodgrass Pat Weed

R E A LTOR

CAPITAL AREA

®

Managing Editor Bobette Banks

A: All DC licensees need to renew their licenses this year. Broker licenses expire on February 28, 2017 and sales licenses expire on August 31, 2017. If you’re not sure which classes are required for renewal, check out the licensing requirements page on GCAAR’s website under “Classes/Events.” If you want someone to walk you through the requirements, give GCAAR’s Education Department a call.

If you’ve taken classes at GCAAR, the Education Department can also help you figure out which ones you are missing and help you schedule classes here. If you’ve taken classes at a different school, you’ll need to check your continuing education record on the real estate commission website to see what has been banked for you.

(Your real estate license is issued and renewed by the real estate commission, which is part of the DC government, not by GCAAR or DCAR.) GCAAR offers a slew of DC renewal classes in DC, Rockville, and online. Check out the full schedule on gcaar.com under “Classes/ Events.”

Design & Layout Carla Conway, Uncommon Design

Advertising Representatives Bob Silverstein Arlene Braithwaite

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CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 3

Don’t Let This Happen to You! Joy Liberti, 2015 Chair, Professional Standards Committee

REALTOR’S® Obligation to Disclose True Nature of Listing Agreement Familiarity with the NAR Code of Ethics (COE) is vital to your performance as an educated and informed agent. But sometimes we need to look a little further than just compliance with the basic Articles. For example, Article 3 states that “REALTORS® shall cooperate with other brokers except when cooperation is not in the client’s best interest. The obligation to cooperate does not include the obligation to share commissions, fees, or to otherwise compensate another broker.” Pretty simple, right? How does this relate to your obligation to disclose variable rate commissions? In order to truly be informed, you must also be familiar with the Interpretations of the Code of Ethics also known as Standards of Practice, to help you, as REALTORS®, understand the ethical obligations established by the COE. Standard of Practice 3-4 specifically addresses variable rate commissions: REALTORS®, acting as listing brokers, have an affirmative obligation.

REALTORS®, acting as listing brokers, have an affirmative obligation to disclose the existence of dual or variable rate commission arrangements (i.e., listings where one amount of commission is payable if the listing broker’s firm is the procuring cause of sale/lease and a different amount of commission is payable if the sale/lease results through the efforts of the seller/ landlord or a cooperating broker). The listing broker shall, as soon as practical, disclose the existence.of such arrangements to potential cooperating brokers and shall, in response to inquiries from cooperating brokers, disclose the differential that would result in a cooperative transaction or in a sale/lease that results through the efforts of the seller/landlord. If the cooperating broker is a buyer/tenant representative, the buyer/tenant representative must disclose such information to their client before the client makes an offer to purchase or lease.

(Amended 1/02)

Case #3-8 shows what can happen if you fail to comply with Standard of Practice 3-4: REALTOR’S® Obligation to Disclose Dual Commission Arrangements.

REALTORS A and B were members of the same Board and participants in the Multiple Listing Service. REALTOR® A, cooperating with REALTOR® B on REALTOR® B’s listing, presented an offer to purchase signed by buyers offering the listed price, and a check for earnest money. The only contingency was a mortgage contingency, and REALTOR® A shared with REALTOR® B qualifying information about the buyers indicating there should be no problem securing a mortgage. The following day, REALTOR® B returned the offer to REALTOR® A with REJECTED written on it initialed by the seller and explained the seller had accepted another offer secured by one of REALTOR® B’s sales associates. REALTOR® A inquired about the seller’s reason for rejecting the full price offer with only a mortgage contingency, and what had caused the seller to accept the other offer. REALTOR® B responded that he did not know, but with equal offers, he supposed the seller would favor the offer served by the listing broker.

Later, REALTOR® A met the seller at a social event. The seller thanked him for his efforts in connection with the recent sale of the seller’s home. The seller hoped REALTOR® A understood there was nothing personal in his decision, adding that the money he saved through his “special agreement” with REALTOR® B had been the deciding factor. When REALTOR® A asked about the “special agreement,” the seller explained he had signed a listing agreement for the sale of his property which authorized the submission continued on page 45 4 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017

association news IN MEMORIAM Passing of DCAR CEO Chuck Ebert Chuck Ebert, long-time staff member and CEO of the District of Columbia Association of REALTORS® (DCAR), recently passed away at his home in Florida.

Chuck began his career in the REALTOR® associations in 1984 as Director of Education with the Montgomery County Association of REALTORS® (MCAR). In 1990 he moved to DCAR, then known as the Washington, DC Association of REALTORS® (WDCAR). When WDCAR and MCAR merged to form the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® (GCAAR) in 1998, Chuck was appointed to the position of Vice President of Member Services.

In the early 2000s, Chuck was named the CEO of WDCAR, and the Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS®. Chuck also served as the CEO of the Coastal Association of REALTORS® under a management services agreement with GCAAR. He retired in 2007.

Chuck was a trusted and valued association business partner to many WDCAR and GWCAR leaders and a mentor to his many work associates. His positive outlook and fun-loving disposition will be missed by all.

DCAR REALTOR® OF THE YEAR NATHAN CARNES Congratulations to Nathan Carnes, who was named the District of Columbia Association of REALTORS® (DCAR)

2016 REALTOR® of the Year. Nathan is an active member of GCAAR as well as DCAR and was the 2009 DCAR President. He has been the managing Broker of W.C. & A.N.

Miller’s, A Long and Foster company, Chevy Chase Office for the past 16 years – prior to that, he managed the

Cleveland Park office of Weichert REALTORS®. Born and

raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Nathan graduated from UNC in 1985, moved to Washington, and got mar-

ried. He immediately got his real estate license and has been actively involved in the DC market for the past 31

years. Nathan can be seen at the District office building and up on Capitol Hill speaking on issues that promote the REALTOR® community.

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 5

An Inside Look

Embracing Change and Service

GCAAR President Jamie Coley Shares His Vision for 2017

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® (CAR):

Congratulations on your installation as 2017 GCAAR President. It seems everyone had a great time at the installation and holiday party on December 7.

JAMIE: Thank you! It was a great eve-

ning and I was very fortunate to have so many come out to support me and our 2017 Board of Directors.

CAR: In your installation remarks, you

said you had identified two areas of focus this year, Embracing Change and Service.

Can you tell us why you chose them?

JAMIE: Let’s talk about embracing

change. For the most part, the days of high demand and low inventory are shifting. In a strong seller’s market, speakers I’ve listened to claim that “you don’t need to know how to sell real estate; you just have to be lucky.” Luck has nothing to do with it. As demand is slowing and supply is higher, buyers think they have all the power, and many sellers have not yet received a reality check. Now, more than ever, we need to be educators, negotiators, and most importantly, professionals!

We can’t sit back and wait for the phone to ring; we need to do something to make it ring. We need to embrace the current real estate climate, and figure out what we can do to use it to our advantage, even if the rewards are months and months away. We need to put a positive spin on the face of the real estate market in our metropolitan area.

I think we can look at professional athletes for inspiration. They have a work season and an “off ” season. What is the main thing athletes do during

6 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017

the “off ” season? They train! Why do they train? So they can continue to work at peak performance during their on season. Another practice among many athletes is to volunteer their time to charitable work.

So, in your “off ” season, take a tip from an athlete. Take this time to train, hone your skills, and take your continuing education classes at GCAAR. Listen to motivational speakers, become more internet and social media savvy, and earn a new designation. Start a farm area, go out and “pound the pavement,” make those warm calls, and reacquaint yourself with your past clients, friends, and neighbors.

If you prefer community service, join a club, Rotary, or chamber group. Take your business cards with you everywhere you go! Try something new and different, but make sure you stay in the public eye. Now is NOT the time to be a “secret agent.”

We sometimes forget what a great profession we are in. We can never be laid-off and rarely fired. Our job success is not dependent on gender, age, or even level of fitness. Our job will always be in demand because people will always need a home! Remember, “change” is inevitable and we need to embrace it!

CAR: Service is your second area of focus this year. What would you like to see members do in this area?

JAMIE: I want to encourage more of our members to step up and volunteer at GCAAR. Whether you’re new in the business or a 20-year veteran, we need more folks to step up to make a difference. GCAAR has several outstanding committees including Public Policy, Grievance, Professional Standards, Forms, Communications, Community

Be involved, be engaged . . .

Service, Education, Events, Property Management, and the Young Professionals Network (YPN).

Our YPN is already grown to be an awesome bunch of folks and I want to help them thrive even more in order to engage our young (and older) members to become more involved, successful, and grow to be industry leaders. I guarantee that it will add to your sense of accomplishment in your real estate career. If you are not able to join a committee for now, then please attend our events and take advantage of GCAAR and its member benefits!

CAR: If someone was to ask you: “what

by Michele Lerner can I do in 2017 to support GCAAR and/ or our state associations?” what would your advice be?

JAMIE: Be involved, be engaged, and have a passion for what we do as REALTORS®.

Encourage those around you to be involved, champion our values, and use the education resources that we provide. Be grateful for all that we have been given by those before us, and above all, take this all very personally. We will have our work cut out for us with the changing market in 2017 and in the years to come.

We will thrive because we are the best, the most talented, and the most tenacious group of individuals.

FAST-MOVING MARKETS The inventory of homes

available for sale is currently

down an average of 11% year over year in the top 100 U.S. metropolitan markets—and

Gregory E. Flynn Settlement Attorney Flynn Title

the conditions limiting home supply are not expected to

change in 2017. The median age of inventory, or the time it takes a home to sell, is

currently 68 days in the top

How long have you been an Affiliate with GCAAR?

I have been an Affiliate member of GCAAR for many years.

I began my affiliation shortly after becoming a settlement attorney and have been actively involved ever since.

100 metros, which is 14%, or 11 days, faster than the national average.

What are some of the events you support?

We support many of GCAAR’s events. We have taught and developed over 12 continuing education (CE) classes. In addition, we have supported REALTOR® Fest and taught the very first GCAAR CE class in Virginia.

Why do you continue to support GCAAR as an Affiliate?

Serving on committees and teaching CE classes helps us to stay active, informed and engaged regarding issues affecting our real estate community.

What would you say to people considering becoming an Affiliate?

Do it now and give more than you ever expect to receive. The more you give, the more you receive.

Why do you think being a member of GCAAR is important?

GCAAR is a wonderful association and really strives to have strong member and affiliate involvement. This collaboration provides a critical link towards satisfying our obligation of staying informed not only as it relates to the market but also as it relates to laws and pending legislation.

Millennials and baby boomers, the two largest American generations in history, are both approaching life stages that typically motivate people to buy a home: marriage, having children, retirement, and becoming empty nesters.

Trends That Will Shape 2017

FEWER HOMES,

— Cicely Wedgeworth, realtor.com

WHO ARE THE MILLENNIALS? The millennial generation is a term for people born between 1980 and 1999.

Source: The 5 Real Estate Trends That Will Shape 2017

By Cicely Wedgeworth, November 30, 2016 Check out more trends at realtor.com CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 7

association news Jamie Coley Installed as 2017 GCAAR President The Columbia Country Club was the location for this year’s Annual Meeting, Holiday Party, and Installation of the 2017 officers and Board members on December 7, and provided an elegant and festive backdrop as Jamie Coley was installed as 2017 GCAAR President.

Awards were given to the 2016 Affiliate of the Year Sara Demb Goldstein, Rookie of the Year Angela Hoyos, and REALTOR® of the Year Peg Mancuso. Attendees included Maryland Association of REALTORS® (MAR) President Shelly Murray, MAR CEO Chuck Kasky, MAR Immediate Past President Bonnie Casper, GCAAR and MCAR past presidents, and a host of attendees from fellow Associations. GCAAR members enthusiastically supported Interfaith Works again this year, with a generous contribution of winter coats.

MAR Immediate Past President Bonnie Casper swears in newly-elected 2017 GCAAR President Jamie Coley.

OUR NEW DIRECTORS

Katrina Schymik Abjornson

Jan Brito

Jody Goren

Brandon Green

Jacque Grenning

Susann Haskins

Hildy Pollard

Andres Serafini

Jason Sherman

Danai Mattison Sky

Frank Snodgrass

Pat Weed

8 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEW 2017 GCAAR BOARD!

Columbia Country Club lobby decorated and ready for guests.

L-R: MAR Treasurer Dee Dee Miller, MAR Immediate Past President Bonnie Casper, GCAAR President Jamie Coley, MAR President-Elect Boyd Campbell.

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L-R: GCAAR Board Member Frank Snodgrass, 2013 GCAAR President Michael McGreevy, 2017 GCAAR President Jamie Coley, 2017 GCAAR President-Elect Tom Daley.

OUR NEW OFFICERS President: Jamie Coley, President Elect: Tom Daley Immediate Past President: Peg Mancuso, Secretary: Koki Adasi, Treasurer: Thom Brockett

L-R: Alan Ingraham, CEO, Baltimore Association of REALTORS®; JoAnne Poole, MAR Past President and Former NAR Region 3 Vice President; Dale Ross, CEO RPR; Carole Maclure, Past MAR President; Harold Huggins; Former MCAR President; Mike Moran, GCAAR CEO.

MAR Immediate Past President Bonnie Casper with newly-elected 2017 GCAAR President Jamie Coley.

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gcaar.com • May/June 2016 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 9

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association news

L-R: Jen Ward, RVP, MD CRS; Danai Mattison Sky, 2017 GCAAR Board Member; Dale Mattison, 2002 GCAAR President; and Jan Brito, 2017 GCAAR Board Member.

GCAAR INSTALLATION

GCAAR CEO Mike Moran with REALTOR® of the Year Peg Mancuso.

Bill Rozek accepts Affiliate of the Year award for Sara Demb Goldstein.

Rookie of the Year Angela Hoyos with 2017 2017 DCAR President Colin Johnson with President Jamie Coley.

GCAAR President Jamie Coley.

2017 Executive Officers: L-R: Treasurer, Thom Brockett; President-Elect, Tom Daley; Immediate Past President, Peg Mancuso; Secretary, Koki Adasi.

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® CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR 2014 2017 10 CAPITAL REALTOR•®May/Jun — Jan/Feb

REALTOR® of the Year Peg Mancuso with Jamie Coley and 2017 GCAAR President-Elect Tom Daley.

DCAR CEO Ed Krauze with GCAAR CEO Mike Moran.

Meet Your GCAAR Committees Community Service Committee

Education Committee

The Community Service Committee, GCAAR Cares, gives REALTORS® the opportunity to meet, network, and work together on projects that benefit the greater community. The committee raises money for the GCAAR Cares fund, runs the charitable grant program, and recognizes members who contribute to the community.

The Education Committee provides members with the resources, education, and training necessary to advance the careers of REALTORS® by suggesting topics and speakers for continuing education and professional development classes.

Chair: Dana Hollish Hill, Vice Chair: Chad Older Staff liaison: Mark Glazer

Chair: JD Teitelman, Vice Chair: Samantha Damato Staff liaisons: Bill Highsmith, Jina Myers

Community Service Committee First Row L-R: Deneira Owens, JD Teitelman, Chair; Samantha Damato, Vice Chair. Second Row L-R: Pamela Ball, Bill Highsmith, VP & COO; Anjolene Smack-Whaley, Jina Myers, GCAAR Programs Associate; Robert Whaley, Betty Pelzer-Sharper, Marlene Trimble, Kirby Mitchell, Karl Operle, Madrienne Shamley, Hildy Pollard, Board Liaison; Karen Friedman.

Not pictured: Tatiana Bowie, Janet Lugo, Justine Mitchell, Janet Nettles, Ellie Shorb, Michelle Simmons, Connie Vanderpool

Education Committee First Row L-R: Bill Highsmith, COO; Dana Hollish Hill, Chair; Chad Older, Vice Chair. Next Row L-R: Karen Hoffman (white sweater), Carmen Murphy, Vimal Kapoor, Carole Maclure, Jessica Olevsky, Abeer Abou Elmakarem, Harold Levy, Suzanne Parmet, Deidre Brown, Sandra Sugar, Jacque Grenning, Board Liaison.

Last Row L-R: Phil Dickson, Brian Willingham, Carlos Evans, Bruce Cotting, Robert Moses, Kwame Joseph, Mark Glazer, Staff Liaison. .

Not pictured: Steve Buckman, Joseph Cauthorn, Daniel Deist, Fred Malek and Sandra Stewart

Members: Pamela Ball Karen Friedman Kirby Mitchell Karl Operle Deneira Owens Betty Pelzer-Sharper Hildy Pollard, Board Liaison Madrienne Shamley Anjolene Smack-Whaley Marlene Trimble Robert Whaley

Members: Jacqueline Grenning, Board Liaison Abeer Abou Elmakarem Deirdre Brown Steven Buckman Joseph Cauthorn Bruce Cotting Daniel Deist Philip Dickson Carlos Evans Karen Hoffman Kwame Joseph

Vimal Kapoor Harold Levy Carole Maclure Fred Malek Robert Moses Carmen Murphy Jessica Olevsky Suzanne Parmet Sandra Stewart Sandra Sugar

We appreciate your s erv i c e

We are grateful for your commitment to serve.

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gcaar.com • May/June 2016 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 11

GCAAR Cares Year in Review

GCAAR Cares presents check to 2016 Grant Recipient, District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH)

GCAAR Cares is pleased to announce the 2016 grant recipients:

• • • • • • • • •

Calvary Women’s Services District Alliance for Safe Housing (“DASH”) Hope and a Home Friendship Place Pathways to Housing DC Montgomery Coalition for the Homeless Interfaith Works The Dwelling Place The ARC-Montgomery

GCAAR Cares presents check to 2016 Grant Recipient, Montgomery Coalition for the Homeless.

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® CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR 2014 2017 12 CAPITAL REALTOR•®May/Jun — Jan/Feb

Annual Silent Auction GCAAR Cares raised over $8,000 at the 7th Annual REALTOR® Fest Silent Auction for the 2016 Grants Program.

Our Education Department designated five classes in 2016 raising over $1,300 for the GCAAR REALTORS® CARE Fund.

This year’s recipients are leaders who endeavor to make the world a better place. GCAAR salutes you.

Rebuilding Together®

Over 40 volunteers came out to support this year’s Washington, DC Rebuilding Together® project.

Thank you to all our volunteers You really made a difference!

2016: YEAR IN REVEIW It was a another busy and productive year at GCAAR and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Here are some highlights:

WE EDUCATED Over ___CE credits awarded 6 Broker/Manager Forums 30 Lunch & Learns

WE LOWERED THE PRICES OF CE CLASSES! $10 – in advance $25 – day of class

WE HOSTED FUN EVENTS We hosted fun events like our GCAAR Night at the Nats and the Halloween “BooLing” party.

Fair Housing Poster Contest Karina Lum Loc of Gaithersburg Middle School was GCAAR’s 2017 Fair Housing Poster Contest winner.

Blood Drive GCAAR held its 3rd annual blood drive.

Now that’s a good deal!

YPN: YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWORK YPN held five events, increased membership and sponsorships, and stayed committed to supporting younger REALTORS® and supporting community nonprofits.

Fundraiser WE SCORED POLITICAL Greene Turtle fundraiser supported victims of WINS the Long Branch Apartments ON REALTOR ISSUES .

• We successfully lobbied fire in Silver Spring. for reduced recordation ®

taxes for DC first-time homebuyers.

• We fought back the Montgomery County sign ban.

WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF REALTORS ®

Our Greater Capital Area Chapter continued to provide informative programming with speakers like NAR Economist Lawrence Yun.

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CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 13 HERE’S A STAT BOX

WE EDUCATED • Over 4,000 CE credits awarded • Six Broker/Manager Forums • Over 400 CE classes offered

WE HAD FUN We hosted events like our GCAAR Night at the Nats and the Halloween “Boo-Ling” party.

REALTOR® FEST 2016:

2016: YEAR It was another busy and productive year at GCAAR and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Here are some highlights: SUCCESSFUL LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST We held another wellattended Legislative Breakfast with newlyelected U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Jamie Raskin among the speakers.

Over 800 attendees and over 110 exhibitors!

WE RAISED ISSUES WE SCORED POLITICAL WINS ON REALTOR® ISSUES • We successfully lobbied for reduced recordation taxes for DC first-time homebuyers.

We fought mandatory radon testing in Montgomery County, recordation tax increases, and vacant property registration.

• We fought back the Montgomery County sign ban.

Send ideas to communications@gcaar.com

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CAPITALAREA AREAREALTOR REALTOR®®• — Jan/Feb 20162016 12 Winter 14 CAPITAL Jan/Feb 2017

R IN REVIEW

GCAAR REALTORS® CARE See page 12 for 2016 highlights from our Community Service Committee, GCAAR Cares.

YPN: YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWORK YPN held five events, increased membership and sponsorships, and stayed committed to supporting younger REALTORS®.

WE LOWERED THE PRICES OF CE CLASSES! $10 – in advance $25 – day of class Now that’s a good deal!

WE ARE OVER 10,000 MEMBERS STRONG! WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF REALTORS ®

t

Our Greater Capital Area Chapter continued to provide informative programming with speakers like NAR Economist Lawrence Yun.

Thank you for a great 2016!

Let’s work together to make 2017 even better!

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 15

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We hope to show you enough goodwill that you will consider our in-house Lender & Title company.

SERVICES FOR ALL REALTORS®

• FREE: E&O Insurance

• FREE: 30 – 4-page COLOR LISTING BROCHURES, Printing & Delivery • FREE: ALL Samson listings are now “Featured Properties Listings” on “Listingbook” EVERYDAY your listing is on the market (normally $24.95 per week per listing) • FREE: Unlimited “Listingbook Open House Flyers” ($24.95 Value per Open House) • FREE: Copies: color & black & white (listing flyers & small jobs) large color jobs at 10¢ each (promotion, farming, etc.)

• FREE: 70 Marketing Dollars Per Million Closed Monthly • FREE: 300 large color postcards mailed to renters for Open Houses • FREE: Electronic Newsletter • FREE: Drop-in desks & printers available for use • FREE: Runners for helping with errands, deliveries • FREE: 1-on-1 business development planning (11:45am) • FREE: Customized Listing Presentation • FREE: Over 200 hours of online video training on sales contracts and technology training - Learn at your own pace

Over 1,400 Professional Agents Licensed in VA, MD & DC

• FREE: $1,000 recruiting bonus • FREE: Electronic file submission

Call Danny Samson Today

703-896-5869 dsamson@samsonproperties.net www.SamsonProperties.net ®

14 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR — Jan/Feb 2017

Full Management and Broker support at all times Private offices available from $200 per month © 2017 All Rights Reserved, Samson Properties, Samson Companies LLC

NAR Director’s Report Jamie Coley 2017 GCAAR President, NAR Director

How Will the New Administration Change Housing?

NAR is gearing up for what is expected to be a busy first three months of the legislative season as a new Congress and new Administration tackle a number of priorities that affect real estate. Tax reform, the Affordable Care Act, regulatory reform, reauthorization of federal flood insurance, and what to do about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are all high on the list of issues being watched.

One of the first moves of the new administration was HUD’s indefinite suspension of the FHA premium rate cut that was expected to take effect January 27. NAR estimates the reduced premium would have saved the average FHA borrower $500 a year in insurance costs, and 30,000 to 40,000 new homebuyers will be left on the sidelines in 2017 without the cut. “We’re disappointed in the decision,” said NAR President Bill Brown, “but will continue making the case to reinstate the cut in the months ahead.”

This will be an extremely important year to make your voice heard. If you haven’t invested in RPAC for 2017, now is the time to do it. RPAC supports the issues, like the FHA premium rate cut, that contribute to a healthy real estate industry. You can invest anytime at GCAAR.com. As we move through the year watch your email for legislative updates and calls for action from NAR and GCAAR on issues that will affect your clients and your business.

Benefits for Your Business Did you know that your NAR membership includes discounts on a variety of business services? Highlighted here are just a couple that could help you in the next few months.

It’s tax time again, and NAR has exclusive discounts for members on QuickBooks® Self-Employed and TurboTax® products from Intuit®. With TurboTax, REALTORS® can choose the version that’s right for them—Deluxe, Premier or Self-Employed.

Intuit, the leader in financial management software, is a partner in the REALTOR Benefits® Program.

For details on NAR Benefits Programs – visit: https://www.nar.realtor/programs/realtorbenefits-program

FedEx is another proud participant in NAR’s REALTOR Benefits® Program, offering REALTORS® discounts on FedEx® shipping solutions and FedEx Office® products and services.

NAR Member Discounts include: • • • •

FedEx Express: up to 26% on select services FedEx Office: up to 20% on select services FedEx Ground: up to 12% on select services FedEx international shipments: up to 20% on select services

Enrollment is free and there are no minimum requirements.

From now until March 3, FedEx is giving members a chance to win up to $10,000, plus one of over 100 other prizes, in the $25,000 Get Ready Sweepstakes.

Simply enroll in the discount program at FedEx.com/narsavings with passcode LCRSp801 by March 3, and you’ll be automatically entered in the sweepstakes.

DOWNLOAD & SHARE

Download or print the catalog today

NAR.REALTOR 17

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 17

MRIS transforms into Bright: What does this mean for you?

Real estate organizations from neighboring areas in the Mid-Atlantic region have united as Bright MLS. The creation of this new organization is a direct response to your demands that the MLS break down market barriers and provide real estate professionals with expanded property information that exceeds what consumers can get from publicly available websites.

For now, not much will change for you

With Bright, you will get access to more information, more products and more areas to explore and expand— that’s the power of us.

For the next several months, you will keep your current daily MLS routine. You will continue to: • Use MRIS to enter, update and search for listings

The Bright Service Area

Bright MLS is made up of nine forward thinking MLSs (43 Associations) in the Mid-Atlantic region who put aside their differences and came together with a shared vision to help solve MLS market overlap and empower everyone to get more out of the MLS. Bright will serve parts of 6 states plus Washington, DC encompassing 85,000 real estate professionals who serve over 20 million consumers and facilitate approximately 250,000 transactions a year that are valued at more than $85 billion.

• Contact MRIS for support, compliance, and train ing inquiries.

• The system will not change at this time. Searching, reporting, emailing, and entering listings will be the same tools and processes they are today.

Even though little is changing at this time, MRIS is now a part of Bright MLS. To introduce you to this new organization, we will include the Bright MLS name and logo on the MRIS website, in email, and on social media.

Bright is a consolidation of the MLSs of these organizations: • Coastal Association of REALTORS® (Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties, MD) • Cumberland County Board of REALTORS®

• Tom Phillips, previously President and Chief Executive Officer of TREND MLS, is the President and CEO of Bright MLS.

• Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS® (Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties, PA)

• David Charron, previously the President and CEO of MRIS, is the Chief Strategy Officer of Bright MLS.

• Lancaster Association of REALTORS®

• Brian Donnellan, former MRIS Chief Operating Officer, will serve as COO of Bright MLS.

• Lebanon County Association of REALTORS® • MRIS (MLS covering parts of MD, PA, VA, WV, and Washington, DC) • REALTORS® Association of York and Adams Counties (PA) • Sussex County Association of REALTORS® • TREND (MLS covering the Philadelphia metro- politan region, including southeastern PA, north ern Delaware, and parts of southern New Jersey)

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Industry Veterans from TREND and MRIS will lead the new organization

® CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR 2014 2017 18 CAPITAL REALTOR•®May/Jun — Jan/Feb

More will be revealed soon…

You likely have more questions about how this change will affect you. We’ll keep you posted when there’s new information available. You can also visit www.brightmls. com for more information.

Visit www.brightmls.com for more information and all the latest news.

MRIS

Compliance Refresher

By Michelle Yam, Bright MLS Compliance Department Manager

Cold Calling Listings While it’s okay to cold call sellers of listings in Expired or Withdrawn status, it’s not ok to do so when the listing in in Temp Off status. Temp Off status is used when a property is not available for showing due to some unforeseen circumstance such as repairs, an unexpected illness or family emergency.

Since the broker has an active listing agreement with the seller when the property is in Temp Off Status, cold calling that seller may put you in violation of MRIS Rules and Regulations, the Code of Ethics, and state licensing law which prohibits any actions that are inconsistent with exclusive representation or brokerage agreements recognized by law that subscribers have with their clients.

Whether you have created search criteria in Matrix or use a service to locate off market properties, please do not call the seller of any property in Temp Off status.

Learn more compliance tips at: mris.com/compliance.

brightmls.com | brightmlsblog.com | facebook.com/MRISonFB | twitter.com/mris_real_news

membership corner Reminder from SentriLock MAKE SURE YOU’VE GOT SENTRILOCK ACCESS

Licensed in a new state? Be sure to contact GCAAR at 301-590-2000 or email us at memberservices@gcaar.com to make those areas are accessible on your Sentrilock card.

Please note: with the exception of the Dulles and Northern Virginia areas, allow up to three business days for Virginia access to be added to the verification process. It’s that easy.

FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT SENTRILOCK SERVICE –

Call SentriLock Support at (877) 736.8745 or send an e-mail to Support@SentriLock.com.

CAPITAL CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR REALTOR®® —— Nov/Dec Jan/Feb 2016 2017 19

public policy Montgomery County GCAAR 2016 Legislative & Regulatory Accomplishments

Sign Ban – Defeated GCAAR successfully defeated legislation that would have banned all signs in the public right of way, including real estate signs. For current regulations members should refer to:

permittingservices.mongtomerycountymd.gov

Recordation Tax Increase – Modified GCAAR led vehement opposition to the raising of recordation taxes with grand scale grassroots mobilization and an advocacy campaign. GCAAR members made hundreds of calls and sent emails to the Council communicating our position. We gained significant coverage from numerous news outlets including The Washington Post, My Montgomery Media, and Bethesda Magazine. Our public outreach stressed the negative ramifications of increasing already high recordation taxes. While our massive advocacy efforts made a significant impact on the media and forced the Council to reexamine its proposal, the Council passed the recordation tax rate increase with some of our amendments.

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® CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR 2014 2017 20 CAPITAL REALTOR•®May/Jun — Jan/Feb

Mandatory Radon Testing – Modified GCAAR opposed mandatory testing for radon, as it creates yet another barrier to homeownership in the County. When it was clear a mandatory test would pass, we worked with regulators to ensure that the provision could be implemented effectively. Modifications we supported include clarifying when radon test results must be disclosed, ensuring that consumer accessible radon test kits would be accepted, and creating a guide to help buyers and sellers understand the requirements of the law.

Vacant Property Registration – Pending When we heard that County Council was considering a vacant property registry, we stepped up to ensure that only properties meeting a number of ‘blighted’ property conditions, including past due utilities, boarded up property, and deferred maintenance, be required to register. With these amendments in place, we testified in support of the legislation and anticipate passage in early 2017.

Landlord-Tenant Obligations – Modified With our input, the County’s rent control legislation, which would have been financially and logistically detrimental to small housing providers, was significantly scaled back.

Removed from the Bill were: 1) a provision banning housing providers from charging higher rent for month-to-month leases; 2) public notice requirements for all rental increases; and 3) a provision allowing tenants to broadly rescind their leases after signing.

Additional amendments included replacing a mandatory standard lease with a model lease provision, and scaling down a provision allowing tenants to make wholescale repairs.

Deed Filing Requirements for Foreclosures – Pending GCAAR moved legislation to encourage banks to file deeds for foreclosed properties. GCAAR testified in support of this practical measure and anticipates its passage, which will put these properties back into the housing market.

public policy Montgomery County GCAAR Legislative Breakfast Draws Federal, State, and County Officials Over 100 attendees gathered to hear newly-elected U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Jamie Raskin, along with Congressman John Delaney discuss the issues affecting Maryland and Montgomery County real estate at GCAAR’s annual Legislative Breakfast on December 12. Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and County Council President Roger Berliner also discussed the upcoming changes and challenges facing the County including transportation, job grants, and regional competitiveness. GCAAR will continue working with all our elected officials First Row L-R: MAR Immediate Past President Bonnie Casper; Congressman Jamie Raskin, State Delegates Marice’ Morales, Susan Lee, Bonnie Cullison, Chares Barkley, and Aruna Miller. to ensure the real estate community Second Row L-R: 2017 GCAAR President Jamie Coley, State Delegate Charles Sydnor III, State remains a top priority.

Delegate Richard Gilchrist, State Senator Brian Feldman, Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich, State Senator Richard Madaleno Jr., Montgomery County Councilmember Tom Hucker, 2017 GCAAR President-Elect, Tom Daley.

L-R: Senator Chris Van Hollen, Congressman Jamie Raskin, and Congressman John Delaney.

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett with State Delegate Charles Sydnor III.

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen with 2017 GCAAR President Jamie Coley.

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CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 21

public policy Maryland GCAAR Joins MAR for Lobby Day in Annapolis GCAAR members met in Annapolis on January 24 to attend the Maryland Association of REALTORS®’ (MAR) Annual Lobby Day. The event provided an opportunity for REALTORS® across the state to meet with their State Senators and Delegates on critical issues affecting the real estate industry and homeowners.

The Montgomery Delegation is the largest in the General Assembly, with key positions on nearly all of the House and Senate’s standing committees. GCAAR looks forward to working with MAR and other local Maryland REALTOR® associations during the General Assembly session.

Above, L-R, Stephen Stegman, Cheryl Toscano, State Senator Craig Zucker.

Left– MAR President Shelly Murray with GCAAR President Jamie Coley, GCAAR V.P. of Government Affairs, Ed Krauze, in background.

Right– L-R: Tim Knobloch, Chair, MAR Legislative Committee; Dick Stoner, Scott Goldberg.

Stay up to date on legislation and events at: www.mdrealtor.org.

Top Priorities for REALTORS® in 2017 Maryland General Assembly Open Houses REALTORS® support legislation that would allow an agent sitting at an open house to discuss other properties with consumers if they are not interested in the open house property and the agents have the consent of the seller.

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® CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR 2014 2017 22 CAPITAL REALTOR•® May/Jun — Jan/Feb

First-Time Homebuyer Savings Account REALTORS® support tax-free homebuyer savings accounts that allow firsttime homebuyers to deposit money in an investment account without paying state taxes. The interest earned in that account would also be exempt from state taxes if the money is used in the first-time purchase of a Maryland home.

Septic Tanks REALTORS® oppose legislation to reinstate a Best Available Technology (BAT) system requirement for new construction outside of Maryland’s Critical Areas.

Current regulations limit the requirement for BAT septic systems to Maryland’s Critical Areas (land that is within 1,000 feet of tidally influenced water). Previously, BAT systems were mandated for most new construction.

Fire Sprinklers The Legislature will be considering a grant program to ease the financial burden of current fire sprinkler mandates. GCAAR supports these efforts to lower housing costs.

public policy District of Columbia The District of Columbia Association of REALTORS® (DCAR) is charged with REALTOR® advocacy efforts in the District of Columbia. The following are some key legislative accomplishments affecting GCAAR members.

Lower Recordation Taxes for First-Time District Homebuyers – Passed DC passed historic legislation lowering recordation taxes by half for first-time District homebuyers earning 180% of the Area Median Income or less. The bill must still be funded in the District’s Budget, which DCAR will continue to advocate for in 2017. DC residency is also a requirement to benefit from the incentive.

TOPA Reform – Ongoing Significantly moved forward our efforts to modernize and improve TOPA: • Garnered NAR research grants for a comprehensive analysis of recommendations.

• Created a “TOPA Recommendation Guiding Document” and kept our recommendations in front of the DC Council.

• Currently drafting legislation to address the concerns of our members.

Vacant and Blighted Property Legislative Improvements DCAR significantly amended legislation that would have limited exemptions for vacant properties and put additional requirements on residents seeking legitimate exemptions because they are selling or renting their homes.

We also moved forward legislation that puts additional requirements on non-owners reporting vacant properties and eases certain business licensing requirements.

Rental Regulations We significantly scaled back rent control related legislation that would have been financially detrimental to small housing providers. Removed entirely was a provision prohibiting housing providers from selling a unit within 12 months after recovering possession without offering tenants an opportunity to purchase the unit (TOPA). Other provisions were amended to clarify language in favor of small housing providers.

Another Bill that we prevented from moving forward as introduced would have imposed extremely stringent mandates on late fees that can be charged by housing providers. Instead, the Bill passed closer to GCAAR’s current standard lease requirements.

Condominium Owner Bill of Rights Amendment Act - Modified Worked with coalition partners to scale back legislation that would have made the already difficult process of foreclosure more onerous for condominium associations. Amendments included cutting mediation requirements for condo associations dealing with owners delinquent on their condo dues/ fees, ensuring that the new Condo Bill of Rights would be part of the current condo disclosures already provided to purchasers, and clarifying language.

More Red Tape in Construction

ED T A E DEF

Through advocacy efforts, DCAR stopped regulators from moving forward legislation that would have created serious regulatory burdens on residential construction projects. While the Bill was aimed at addressing illegal construction, it would have had unintended consequences. We continue to work with DCRA on practical alternatives.

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CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 23

COACHES’ CORNER We’ve asked two of the top real estate coaches the following question — take a look at what they have to say.

Q:

I am a new agent and haven’t selected a brokerage to affiliate with yet. What qualities should I look for when selecting a broker?

JULIE YOUNGBLOOD Julie was born and raised in Southern

Nevada and comes from a family that has been in the real estate industry for over 35 years. At an early age, Julie knew real estate was her passion. She has been engaged with her local association through various committees including, Community Outreach, Grievance, Professional Standards, YPN, Finance, Faculty, has served on the Board of Directors, and is a Trustee for the Nevada Association of REALTORS®’ Leadership Program. She runs Youngblood Coaching & Consulting, a coaching firm for real estate professionals. The objective is to give agents the tools they need to hit their goals. Julie was recently recognized nationally by Inman News as one of the “25 Best Real Estate Coaches in 2016.”

Being a new agent can be overwhelming. Let me correct that, it IS overwhelming. Training, testing, and associating with the local REALTOR® organization layered on top of choosing the right brokerage. A daunting task to say the least, and what I’ve found is newer agents just don’t know what they don’t know. Here are a couple of items to consider when choosing a brokerage. #1: Interview SEVERAL companies. It’s almost scary to me how many newer agents I meet with who affiliated with whatever broker showed up and bought lunch for their real estate class. Those brokerages can be a great option, yet, we’re talking about your CAREER, so you owe it to yourself to interview several companies. #2: Ask GREAT questions. They are going to tell you all about the education and support you will receive. Most brokers will offer training and support because it’s the number one thing new agents ask about.

If you’re going to soar in real estate, you’ve got to know who you’ll be surrounding yourself with. Ask how quickly the last “new” agent opened their first escrow. Ask about the production of the top producers in the office. Selecting an office isn’t just about the new agent training program, it’s about the circles you will run in and learn from. #3: TOUR the office. It’s usually part of the recruiting process. How does it make you feel? Are people around? Is lead generation happening? Is there a space for a newer agent to work in? The way your office

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® ® CAPITAL AREAREALTOR REALTOR Sept/Oct 2016 CAPITAL AREA AREA • May/Jun 2014 2017 24 CAPITAL REALTOR —• Jan/Feb ®

Choosing the right brokerage should be fun. Happy Hunting! makes you feel will have a lot to do with how often you go there. We know that agents who show up are more likely to be successful. We know you’ll learn more about selling real estate IN a real estate office than you will “working from home,” so make sure to select a space that allows you to be a sponge. #4: The MONEY talk. Yes, it’s going to happen. Don’t let splits and fees become the main reason you do or don’t join a company.

Understanding compensation models can be tricky, so GET CLEAR on what exactly your bottom line is going to look like. Have the broker do a mock up of what your first check will look like based on their split and/or fees. Too many times we see newer agents get their first check and because they didn’t have a clear understanding of ALL the fees, etc. they are left in shock and disappointment. The math just didn’t add up.

BONUS! #5: This one will take a little more research on your part; that’s why it’s a bonus. Find an agent in your area who is willing to have a sit down with you about the business. Someone who is successful in your opinion. Ask them where they started and why. Find out why that was a good decision and what they would have done differently. Conduct a mini-interview with a few of these agents; you’ll begin to get a feel for what worked and what didn’t.

t

Got a question for our coaches?

Send it to: communications@gcaar. com and it may be featured in an issue of Capital Area REALTOR®

Q:

I am a new agent and haven’t selected a brokerage to affiliate with yet. What qualities should I look for when selecting a broker?

CANDY MILES-CROCKER “The Real-Life REALTOR®,“

coaches, mentors and trains new and experienced real estate agents to transform their business by mastering her proven systems for success. She is a firm believer in managing expectations and her goal is to elevate the perception of real estate agents among the general public through education so every client has an amazing real estate experience. Candy’s unique training methods have shown agents what it takes to be successful! Inman News selected Candy as one of the Top 25 Real Estate Coaches in 2016. Learn more at www.

RLRETraining.com.

Deciding where to “hang” your real estate license should not be a rash decision. Remember, you are on the verge of creating a business. It’s easy to think that you will affiliate with the brokerage closest to where you live. But when was the last time you selected a job just because it was close to home?

You may also be tempted to go with the brokerage that offers you the highest split. However, it’s important to remember that your first year as a real estate agent is probably not going to be your best year as a real estate agent. If you’re offered 100% and you don’t sell anything what have you gained?

Before scheduling appointments do your research to get a feel for their reputation in the market. What is their market share? How many agents do they have? How are they using technology? Do their values align with yours? What fees do they charge? When interviewing brokerages there are two important factors to consider.

If you don’t get a good vibe from them or don’t feel excited about working with them, you probably need to move on.

So what should you look for when looking to affiliate with a broker?

First and foremost you want to look for a brokerage that offers training, and lots of it. Your pre-licensing class was the tip of the iceberg. The pre-licensing class teaches you very little about how to get a client, what to do when you get a client, and what happens during the transaction. Training is critical at this stage of your career because you don’t know what you don’t know. You need someone to help you navigate through the nuances of the real estate business. You need someone to tell and show you what you should be doing to set up systems and establish your business.

Next, you want to affiliate with a brokerage where the manager is accessible. You will have lots of questions, fears, and doubts. You will need an expert who is on site that you can meet with on a regular basis. Consider whether or not you would work well under their leadership. If you don’t get a good vibe from them or don’t feel excited about working with them, you probably need to move on.

Selecting a brokerage is like any other job interview. You want to speak with a few to compare their offerings and to see where you feel you would have the best opportunity to succeed.

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Realtor Party ®

Thank You 2017 RPAC Investors Platinum “R”

Golden “R”

Crystal “R”

Dale Ross

Ed Krauze

Jamie Coley

Carole Maclure Christopher Suranna

Sterling “R” Wendy Banner

Anne Killeen

Andres Serafini

Frederic Bates

Tim Knobloch

Dianah Shaw

Harrison Beacher

Kymber Lovett-Menkiti

Frank Snodgrass

Jan Brito

Danai Mattison Sky

Patrick Weed

Charles Burger

Michael Moran

Edward Wood

Colin Johnson

Bonnie Roberts-Burke

Angela Jones

Jacob Ryan

Capital Club ($250-$999)

RPAC is your ‘political E&O insurance’ Join with thousands of your fellow REALTORS® by making the investment today! You can invest online at gcaar.com.

Abeer Abou Elmakarem

Jackie Grenning

Brittany Allison

Susann Haskins

Christy Bakaly

Gwen Henderson

M. Jacqueline Bennett

Dana Hill

Anita Centofanti

Harold Levy

Lori Connor

Katie Maclure

Christopher Darby

Ann McClure

Joe Detrick

John Peters

Anthony DeVol

Constance Rader

Michael Fowler

Daniel Schuler

Mark Glazer

Katrina Schymik Abjornson

Scott Goldberg

P. Joy Siegel

Lee Goldstein

Seth Turner

Todd Greenbaum

Kirsten Williams

*As of February 1, 2017

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® CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR 2014 2017 26 CAPITAL REALTOR•® May/Jun — Jan/Feb

Thank you to the many members who already support RPAC!

Agent Spotlight M E E T D I C K S TO N E R COMMIT TED TO RO CKVILLE’ S HISTORIC PROPERTIES GCAAR member Dick Stoner manages Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation, Ltd., and Rockville Cemetery Association, Inc., both non-profits which own older historic homes in Rockville. Dick managed the restoration of Frieda’s Cottage at Chestnut Lodge (500 West Montgomery Avenue) through funding from the Maryland Historical Trust with Eileen McGuckian, then Executive Director.

The Chestnut Lodge building burned in 2010 and was leveled, but in the new Chestnut Lodge neighborhood (Bullard Circle- at the light on West Montgomery Avenue across from Lucketts Street), residents and visitors enjoy the view of Frieda’s Cottage as they come and go.

For the Rockville Cemetery, he managed the 1880s Caretaker’s Cottage by doing an assessment and then finding the right tenants. This year he will help manage the historic components while Baltimore Road is upgraded by the City of Rockville. He also serves on the King Farm Advisory Committee, which is assessing the six-acre King Farm homestead to consider future uses of the barns and home. All of this is being done on a purely volunteer basis.

Another historic property is the Dawson house, which Dawson’s Market in Rockville chose as its name to honor Rockville’s farming past. This home is located on its original 1880s site, and is next to the larger 1920s Dawson home, near the Jefferson Square townhome community just off Rockville Pike. The house is owned by Peerless Rockville and provides an affordable rental home for visiting professionals in Montgomery County. “I always hope people enjoy learning about the historic properties in this area,” Dick says.

Richard (Dick) Stoner, Reist Corporation

Frieda’s Cottage Dawson Farmhouse Cemetery’s Caretakers’ Cottage

HAVE A STORY YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE? Send it to: communications@gcaar.com.

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housing statistics

by Fred Flick, PhD, Consultant and Housing Economist

2016 Recap

MONTGOMERY COUNTY The December sales market rose slightly from December 2015.

The total sold dollar volume was over $490.9 million – an increase of 2.6% from a year before. There were 953 closed sales, and these jumped 7.1%. The average sold price in December was $515,130 – up 4.9% from a year before; and, the median sold price came in at $414,000 rising 6.4%. Average days on market totaled 61, down a significant 13% from a year ago; the median number of 37 days dropped 16% from a year ago.

New pendings for December rose from 787 to 816 properties, a 3.6% increase. However, on an end-of-year (to-date) basis, all pendings were down from 1,422 to 1,327 properties – a 6.7% decline.

Charts of statistics for single-family homes and condominiums and co-ops over the past year are presented below.

Single-Family Homes

MontgomeryCounty County Average Days on the - 2016 Montgomery Average Days on Market Market2015 2015-2016 2015 70 61

57

December

55

Year-to-Date

For all Montgomery County properties, in December the Average Days on Market dropped by 13% from 70 in 2015 to 61 in 2016.

For the whole year, days on market decreased from 57 in 2015 to 55 in 2016. That is a decrease of 3.5% over the year. Recent figure is consistent with the rates for spring and summer.

Montgomery County Pendings 2015 - 2016 Montgomery County Pendings 2015-2016 2015 1,600 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0

28

Single-Family Contract and Settlements 12/15 - 12/16 Single-Family Contracts and Settlements 12/15 - 12/16 Single-Family Contracts and Settlements 12/15 - 12/16

2016

1400 1400 1200 1200 1000 1000 800 800 600 600 400 400 200 200 0 0

J J

F F

M A M M Contracts A M Contracts

O O

N N

D D

Single-Family Listings and Inventory 12/15-12/16 - 12/16 Single-Family Listings and Inventory 12/15 2500 1500

1327

816

1000 500 D

J

F

M

A

M Listings

® CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR 2014 2017 28 CAPITAL REALTOR•®May/Jun — Jan/Feb

S S

December contracts (578) rose 2.3% from a year ago. For the year, they totaled 9,989 homes, up 2.9% from last year. Settlements hit 739 units in December – down almost 7% from last December.

Year-to-date they totaled 9,858 homes – up 5.5%.

0

December-New

J J A JSettlements J A Settlements

2000

2016 1422

787

D D

December-YTD

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

Inventory

December new listings totaled 458 homes, down 10.5% from December 2015. Total actives came in at 1,368, and were almost 22% below those of a year before. The five-month average for total actives was 1,938.2 homes.

housing statistics MONTGOMERY COUNTY Condominiums and Cooperatives

Montgomery CountySingle-Family Single-Family Month's Montgomery County Month’sSupply Supply 3.5 3.0

Condo/Co-op Contracts and Settlements 12/15 - 12/16

Condo/Coop Contracts and Settlements 12/15 - 12/16

Montgomery County Single-Family Month’s Supply 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0

D

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

J

F

M

D

At the December contracts pace, there was only a 2.4-months supply of actives. A year before, the supply had been 3.1 months -- a 24% decline in the supply over the year.

A

M

J

Contracts

J

A

S

O

N

D

Settlements

December contracts (224) were up 6% from a year ago; for all of 2016 they totaled 3,080 homes, up 5% from last year. December settlements were 215 units – down almost 5% from a year before.

For 2016 they totaled 3,025 units – up 7% from 2015.

Montgomery County Single-Family Prices: 2007 - 2016 Montgomery County Single-Family Prices: 20072016

Condo/Co-op Listings and Inventory 12/15 - 12/16 Condo/Coop Listings and Inventory 12/15 - 12/16

$650,000 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0

$600,000 $550,000 $500,000 $450,000 $400,000 $350,000 $300,000

D

J

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M Listings

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Average

2012

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2014

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Inventory

2016

Median

Average single-family prices over the year rose by 0.7% (less than 1%) while the median price moved up 2%.

December listings totaled 175 units, dropping almost 10% over the year. Total actives were 495 units and they were down almost 10% as well. The five-month average for total actives was 623.4 properties.

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CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 29

housing statistics 2016 Recap

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

WASHINGTON, DC The District of Columbia’s December market slipped a bit from a year ago. The total dollar volume of over $419 million was down 6% from December 2015. Total closed sales came in at 632 units and they dropped 10%. However, the average sold price of $663,124 rose 4.3% and the median sold price of $550,000 was up 7.7% from 2015. Properties turned over faster compared to 2015.

The average 37 days on the market dropped 14%; and, the median figure of only 14 days fell 18%.

Montgomery County Condo/Co-op Month’s Supply Montgomery County Condo/Coop Month's Supply 3.5 3.0

Montgomery County Single-Family Month’s Supply

2.5 2.0 1.5

DC Days on on the Market Market 2015 DCAverage Average Days 2015- -2016 2016

1.0

2015

0.5 0.0

2016

43

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Based on the December contracts pace, there was a 2.2-months supply of listings. For most of 2016, inventory could not break the 2.5-month barrier, and only hit three months or better in January and November.

Montgomery CountyCounty Condo/Co-op Prices: 2007 Montgomery Condo/Coop Prices: 2007- -2016 2016 $335,000 $315,000 $295,000 $275,000

37

December

37

Year-to-Date

For all DC properties, in December, the average Days on Market dropped by 14% from 43 in 2015 to 37 in 2016. For the whole year, the average days the market remained unchanged at 37 for both 2016 and 2015.

DC Pendings 2015 - 2016

$255,000

DC Pendings 2015 - 2016

$235,000

2015

$215,000

2016

1,200

$195,000 $175,000

37

1,000 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Average

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Median

County condo/co-op prices continued to rise. The average price of $283,873 rose 3% and the $227,500 median was up 2.5%.

800 600 400 200 0

December-New

December-YTD

New pendings for December rose from 548 to 594 properties, an 8.3% increase. And, on an end-of-year (to-date) basis, all pendings rose from 1,024 to 1,053 properties – a 2.8% increase.

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® CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR 2014 2017 30 CAPITAL REALTOR•®May/Jun — Jan/Feb

WASHINGTON, DC Single-Family Homes DC DCSingle-Family Single-FamilyMonth’s Month's Supply Supply

Single-Family Contracts andand Settlements 12/15 - 12/16 Single-Family Contracts Settlements 12/15 - 12/16 2.5

600 500

2.0

400 300

1.5

200 1.0

100 0

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Contracts

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Settlements

DC single-family contracts for December totaled 321 homes – up 12.6% from a year before. For the year, there were 4,552 contracts and they rose 3.4% from 2015. The picture for settlements was similar. In December there were 347 settled sales, down almost 4% from a year before. The total number of settled sales for the year, 4,385 was up 4% from 2015.

Single-Family Listings and Inventory 12/15- 12/16 - 12/16 Single-Family Listings and Inventory 12/15 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0

0.5 0.0

D

J

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A

M

J

J

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Single-family month’s supply at the December contracts pace was 1.8 months. This was down 8.6% from a year before.

District ofDistrict Columbia Single-Family Prices: of Columbia Single-Family Prices:2007 2007 -- 2016 2016 $900,000 $900,000

District of Columbia Single-Family Prices: 2007 - 2016

$800,000 $800,000 $700,000 $700,000 $600,000 $600,000

Need original Chart - not in Excel file

D

J

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A

M

J

J

A

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O

$500,000 $500,000

N

D

$400,000 $400,000 $300,000 $300,000

Listings

Inventory

December new listings came in at 315 properties, up 7% from a year before. The inventory of total actives was 563 homes. These were up almost 3% from a year before.

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Average Average

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Median Median

Single-family prices for 2016 came in at $795,501 for the average and $675,000 for the median. They were up 1.2% and 2% respectively, from 2015. Examination of the chart shows that the rates of increase of prices are flattening out from earlier years.

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CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 31

housing statistics 2016 Recap

WASHINGTON, DC Condominiums and Cooperatives Condo/CoopContracts Contractsand andSettlements Settlements12/15 12/15- 12/16 - 12/16 Condo/Co-op Condo/Coop Contracts and Settlements 12/15 - 12/16

500 500

3.0

400 400

2.5 2.0

300 300

1.5

200 200

1.0

100 100 0 0

0.5

D J D J

F M A M J J A S O N D F Contracts M A M Settlements J J A S O N D Contracts Settlements

DC condo/coop contracts came in at 264 units in December – up almost 5% from the previous December. Performance in 2016 hit 4,199 units -- up 2% from 2015. Settled sales for December came in at 285 units, but they were down almost 15% from December 2015. For all of 2016, settlements totaled 4,117 units – up 3.5% from 2015.

Condo/Coop Condo/Coop Listings Listings and and Inventory Inventory 12/15 12/15 -12/16

Condo/Co-op Listings and Inventory 12/15 - 12/16 12/16

1000 1000 750 750 500 500 250 250 00

D D

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Listings Listings

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® CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR 2014 2017 32 CAPITAL REALTOR•®May/Jun — Jan/Feb

0.0

D

J

F

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M

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A

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D

The month’s supply figure was 2.2 by the end of 2016, and it had been 2.0 a year before. The highest point was in November when it hit 2.5 months.

District of Columbia Condo/Co-op Prices: 2007 - 2016

Single-Family Listings and Inventory District of Columbia Condo/Coop Prices: 2007 12/15 - 2016 - 12/16

$525,000 $500,000

800 $475,000 700 $450,000 600 $425,000 500 $400,000 400 $375,000 300 200 $350,000 100 $325,000 0 $300,000 D D D J

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 F M A Average M J Median J A S O N

Inventory Inventory

December saw 251 new listings, up 10.6% from December 2015.

The total actives inventory was 569, and they were up 11.1% from the end of 2015. The 5-month average for total actives was 655.6 properties per month.

32

DC Condo/Co-op Supply DC Condo/CoopMonth’s Month's Supply

DC condo/co-op prices averaged $497,844 for 2016, with the meListings Inventory dian at $449,000. For all of 2015 they were $490,976 and $435,000 respectively. Average price appreciation rate was 1.3% with the median price rising 3.2%.

D

legal hotline

By Chris Darby, Tom Muldoon, and John Nalls of Counselors Title, LLC, and Pardo & Drazin, LLC, General Counsel

QUESTION: In a conversation with a colleague they indicated that multiple contracts can be ratified on a short sale because the contract is not enforceable until a 3rd party, i.e. the short sale lender, approves or accepts one of the contracts. Is that correct?

ANSWER: This line of thinking is incorrect. When dealing with a short sale, while it is required that the lender who holds the note accept less money than is actually owed in order to release the lien, they are not a party to the contract. In other words, the contract is contingent on the lender’s acceptance of a lower payoff amount but the parties are bound under the agreement once it is fully executed. If multiple contracts are ratified then the Seller is bound to sell it to more than one buyer.

QUESTION: I am representing a buyer who ratified a contract to purchase a condominium in Maryland which included a Home Inspection Contingency. After conducting the inspection and requesting minor repairs, the buyer was provided the condominium disclosure package. After reviewing the condominium disclosure, the buyer elected to void the contract. The Listing Agent is now demanding that I or my buyer pay him $600 for “damages” since they have now finished the repairs pursuant to the home inspection. Is there any such claim?

ANSWER: No. Pursuant to Section 11-135(f) of the Real Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, a purchaser may at any time within 7 days following receipt of the condominium disclosures rescind the contract of sale “without stating any reason and without any liability on his part”. Neither the seller nor the seller’s agent has a right to claim contractual “damages” if the contract is voided pursuant to this section.

QUESTION: I am representing a buyer who has a ratified GCAAR Contract. At the time of ratification, a Buyer’s Agent commission of 2.5% was offered to Buyer Agents. I just received and addendum from the Listing Agent asking that I reduce the commission. Do I have to agree to this?

ANSWER: No. Paragraph 20 of the GCAAR Sales Contract (GCAAR Form 1301) provides as follows: 20. BROKER’S FEE: Seller irrevocably instructs the Settlement Agent to pay the Broker compensation (“Broker’s Fee”) at Settlement as set forth in the listing agreement and to disburse the Broker’s Fee offered by the Listing Company to the Selling Company as set forth in the multiple listing service as of the Date of Offer, and any remaining amount of Broker’s Fee to the Listing Company.

Therefore, the offer of compensation as of the date your buyer submitted the offer is the compensation which was agreed upon and there is no requirement to agree to change it.

QUESTION: As a real estate agent purchasing a property what/ how do I disclose my relationship to the transaction?

ANSWER: Article 4 of the Code of Ethics, as interpreted by Standard of Practice 4-1, requires written disclosure prior to the signing of any contract as follows: Article 4 REALTORS® shall not acquire an interest in or buy or present offers from themselves, any member of their immediate families, their firms or any member thereof, or any entities in which they have any ownership interest, any real property without making their true position known to the owner or the owner’s agent or broker.

In selling property they own, or in which they have any interest, REALTORS® shall reveal their ownership or interest in writing to the purchaser or the purchaser’s representative. (Amended 1/00) Standard of Practice 4-1 For the protection of all parties, the disclosures required by Article 4 shall be in writing and provided by REALTORS® prior to the signing of any contract. (Adopted 2/86) This written disclosure can be accomplished by filling out Paragraph 10 of the Addendum of Clauses - A (GCAAR Form 1332) “Licensee Relationship Disclosure”.

Disclaimer: The answers provided here are the opinions of the authors, are for informational purposes, and are only for GCAAR members. Neither Counselors Title, LLC, nor Pardo & Drazin, LLC is providing legal advice, but rather providing a general statement of law. No lawyer/client relationship is – or will be – established as a result of this material. Readers are encouraged to retain their own counsel for their specific questions. Answers may have been edited for formatting purposes.

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CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 33

2017 EDUCATION SCHEDULE

march March 1, 2017 Contract, Settlement Procedures and Disclosures CEU: 3 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Randy Rothstein Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 1, 2017 FHA Financing CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Russell Rothstein Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

March 2, 2017 Mortgage Basics CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Jamica Browne Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 2, 2017 New Member Orientation CEU: No CE Instructor: Ned Rich Time: 10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. * NAR Building/2nd Floor March 2, 2017 Maryland Code of Ethics and Predatory Lending CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Ned Rich Time: 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. * NAR Building/2nd Floor March 2, 2017 Home Automation CEU: 1.5 hours MD (elective) Instructor: Cynthia Adams Time: 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

March 2, 2017 The Ins and Outs of Contracts CEU: 1.5 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Thomas Rodden Time: 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.

34

® CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR 2014 2017 34 CAPITAL REALTOR•®May/Jun — Jan/Feb

March 3, 2017 Understanding Contract Components CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Brian Gormley Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 6, 2017 Comparison Between the GCAAR and NVAR Contracts CEU: 2 hours DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Andrew DiPaola Time: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. * NAR Building/3rd Floor

March 9, 2017 DC Fair Housing CEU: 3 hours DC (required) Instructor: Tara Houston Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. * NAR Building/2nd Floor March 9, 2017 Architecture: Styles, Building Nomenclature and Materials CEU: 3 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Vimal Kapoor Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

March 3, 2017 Lease Contract Options CEU: 1.5 hours MD and DC (elective) AND 1 hour VA (elective) Instructor: Brian Gormley Time: 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

March 7, 2017 Financing Issues/Update CEU: 3 hours DC (required) and MD (elective) Instructor: Brian Willingham Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

March 4, 2017 MREC Agency - Residential CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Thom Brockett Time: 9:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

March 8, 2017 Getting from the Sale to the Settlement Table CEU: 2 hours MD (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.

March 9, 2017 Financing Issues/Update CEU: 3 hours DC (required) and MD (elective) Instructor: Jamica Browne Time: 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. * NAR Building/2nd Floor

March 4, 2017 Strategies in a Multiple Offer Market CEU: 1.5 hours MD and DC (elective) AND 1 hour VA (elective) Instructor: Thom Brockett Time: 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

March 8, 2017 DC Legislative Update CEU: 3 hours DC (required) Instructor: Stu Reynolds Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. * NAR Building/3rd Floor

March 10, 2017 Foreclosures CEU: 3 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Tim Sessing Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 8, 2017 Broker Manager Forum: Objection Handling CEU: No CE Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.

March 10, 2017 203K CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Cedric Johnson Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. * NAR Building/3rd Floor

March 6, 2017 DC Fair Housing CEU: 3 hours DC (required) Instructor: Ned Rich Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 6, 2017 Title Insurance CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Diana Khan Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. * NAR Building/3rd Floor March 6, 2017 2011-2015 Maryland Legislative Update CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Maria Deligiorgis, Esq. Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

March 8, 2017 Understanding the Appraisal Process CEU: 3 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Stu Reynolds Time: 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. * NAR Building/3rd Floor March 8, 2017 MREC Required Supervision CEU: 3 hours MD (required for brokers) AND DC (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 2:30 – 5:30 p.m.

March 9, 2017 Home Innovations and Trends CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Vimal Kapoor Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

GCAAR

March 10, 2017 Maryland Fair Housing CEU: 1.5 hours MD (required) AND DC (elective) Instructor: David Politzer Time: 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

March 11, 2017 Maryland Code of Ethics and Predatory Lending CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Thom Brockett Time: 9:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

March 11, 2017 Agency Disclosure in the Real World CEU: 1.5 hours MD and DC (elective) and 1 hour VA (elective) Instructor: Thom Brockett Time: 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

NOTE: All classes are held at GCAAR’s Rockville office unless otherwise noted.

March 13, 2017 DC Legislative Update CEU: 3 hours DC (required) Instructor: Thom Brockett Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 13, 2017 MREC Agency - Residential CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Marj Rosner Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. * NAR Building/3rd Floor March 13, 2017 VA Financing CEU: 3 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: David Toaff Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

CARES

March 13, 2017 2011-2015 Maryland Legislative Update CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Maria Deligirogis, Esq. Time: 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. * NAR Building/3rd Floor March 14, 2017 DC Fair Housing CEU: 3 hours DC (required) Instructor: Dana Hollish Hill Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

March 15, 2017 Maryland Fair Housing CEU: 1.5 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Thom Brockett Time: 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

March 15, 2017 New Member Orientation CEU: No CE Instructor: Thom Brockett Time: 10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

March 15, 2017 Maryland Code of Ethics and Predatory Lending CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Thom Brockett Time: 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

2017 EDUCATION SCHEDULE

March 15, 2017 MREC Agency - Residential CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Sandra Stewart Time: 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

March 20, 2017 MREC Required Supervision CEU: 3 hours MD (required for brokers) and DC (elective) Instructor: Thom Brockett Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 22, 2017 Presenting Multiple Offers CEU: 3 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Carole Maclure Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 16, 2017 Radon and Its Effect on Real Estate CEU: 2 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Robert Tsas Time: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.

March 20, 2017 How to Keep Your Clients (and You) Out of Court CEU: 3 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Gary Hardy Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. * NAR Building/3rd Floor

March 22, 2017 Risk Management CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Bob Moses Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

March 16, 2017 Anti-Trust CEU: 1.5 hours MD and DC (elective) and 1 hour VA (elective) Instructor: Maria Deligiorgis, Esq. Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

March 20, 2017 Advertising Compliance CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Thom Brockett Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

March 16, 2017 Credit Score and Its Effect on Your Clients CEU: 2 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Derek Harman Time: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

March 20, 2017 Working with Buyers CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Dana Hollish Hill Time: 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. * NAR Building/3rd Floor

March 17, 2017 Title Insurance CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Diana Khan Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 21, 2017 Understanding Basic Environmental Issues CEU: 2 hours MD (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.

March 17, 2017 Working with Investors CEU: 1.5 hours MD and DC (elective) and 1 hour VA (elective) Instructor: Chad Older Time: 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

March 21, 2017 Maryland Law Prep Course CEU: No CE Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.

March 18, 2017 2011-2015 Maryland Legislative Update CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 9:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

March 18, 2017 Comparative Difference Between the GCAAR & MAR Contracts CEU: 1.5 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

March 21, 2017 New Member Orientation CEU: No CE Instructor: Sandra Stewart Time: 4:00 – 9:00 p.m.

March 21, 2017 Maryland Code of Ethics and Predatory Lending CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Sandra Stewart Time: 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

March 23, 2017 Evolution of Reverse Mortgage for Purchase CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: Eric Rittmeyer Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 23, 2017 Introduction to Commercial Real Estate CEU: 3 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Lorenzo Wooten, Jr. Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

March 24, 2017 How to Do a 1031 Like-Kind Exchange CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: William Horan Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 24, 2017 Introduction to Septic Systems CEU: 1.5 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Eric Garrett Time: 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

March 25, 2017 Maryland Fair Housing CEU: 1.5 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

March 27, 2017 Virginia Ethics CEU: 3 hours VA (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Continued on page 38

35

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 35

2017 EDUCATION SCHEDULE

march

March 27, 2017 Maryland Code of Ethics and Predatory Lending CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Ned Rich Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. * NAR Building/3rd Floor March 27, 2017 Virginia Mandatory Contract Review CEU: 1 hour VA (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

March 27, 2017 Maryland Fair Housing CEU: 1.5 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Stu Reynolds Time: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. * NAR Building/3rd Floor March 27, 2017 Virginia Mandatory Agency CEU: 1 hour VA (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

March 27, 2017 Virginia Legal Update CEU: 1 hour VA (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

March 27, 2017 Virginia Fair Housing CEU: 2 hours VA (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

March 28, 2017 DC Legislative Update CEU: 3 hours DC (required) Instructor: Stu Reynolds Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

March 29, 2017 MREC Agency - Residential CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Al Monshower Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

36

® CAPITAL AREA AREA REALTOR 2014 2017 36 CAPITAL REALTOR•®May/Jun — Jan/Feb

March 29, 2017 GCAAR @ NVAR: MREC Agency - Residential CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Harry Yazbek Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. * NVAR – Fairfax (8407 Pennell Street)

april

April 1, 2017 New Member Orientation CEU: No CE Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

April 1, 2017 Maryland Code of Ethics and Predatory Lending CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Mary Chieppa Time: 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.

March 29, 2017 GCAAR @ NVAR: Transaction Red Flags CEU: 1.5 hours MD and DC (elective) Instructor: Harry Yazbek Time: 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. * NVAR – Fairfax (8407 Pennell Street) March 29, 2017 Maryland Legal and Legislative Update CEU: 3 hours MD (required) and DC (elective) Instructor: Al Monshower Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

NOTE: All classes are held at GCAAR’s Rockville office unless otherwise noted.

March 30, 2017 Financing Issues/Update CEU: 3 hours DC (required) and MD (elective) Instructor: James Semeyn Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 30, 2017 Understanding Credit Reports, Scoring Models and How to Improve Credit Score CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: James Semeyn Time: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

March 31, 2017 Cash Flow Planning for Real Estate Investors CEU: 3 hours MD, DC and VA (elective) Instructor: John White Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

March 31, 2017 Ethical Real Estate Investing CEU: 1.5 hours MD and DC (elective) AND 1 hour VA (elective) Instructor: Brian Gormley Time: 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

Since 1990 the Preferred Qualified Intermediary for 1031 Exchanges!

Your Preferred Local Qualified Intermediary for 1031 Exchanges Contact us for free consultations & information Bill Horan, CES® bill@1031.us

Certified Exchange Specialist®

7400 Heritage Village Plaza #102 Gainesville, VA 20155 800-795-0769 www.1031.us

GCAAR in the news Supply Beginning to Outpace Demand in DC’s Hot Rental Market Construction Dive February 7, 2017

– GCAAR’s rental stats referenced Half a Million Dollars Buys Just an Average DC Home WTOP Radio January 13, 2017

– GCAAR December 2016 housing stats quoted

Trump’s Wealthy Team Spurs DC Real Estate Agents to Think Big Bloomberg News December 19, 2016 “If Secretary Clinton had won, it would be less of a transition; a lot of her people were already here.

With the Trump administration, we’re getting a whole new breed of people coming in.”

– Tom Daley, 2017 GCAAR President-Elect

DC Residential Construction Boom Puts Pressure on Affordable Housing Construction Dive January 4, 2017

– GCAAR November 2016 housing stats quoted

association news 2017 GCAAR Broker/Manager Forums – SAVE THE DATES! March 8 Objection Handling Mary Chieppa

April 19 The Most Common Mistakes Agents Make that Delay Settlement and How to Avoid Them

June 7

The Most Common Complaints Received by the Real Estate Commission Kathy Connelly Maryland Real Estate Commission Leon Lewis, District of Columbia Real Estate Commission

Andrew DiPaola

September 20

May 24

GCAAR and MAR Contract Forms Update

7 Financial Habits of Highly Successful Real Estate Professionals Lori Day

Susann Haskins

Designed for brokers and office managers, Broker/Manager Forums are held throughout the year and feature topics on timely issues to help you manage your office more efficiently.

October 18 Regional Economic Outlook and Area Housing Market Conditions Jessica Lautz

All of these sessions are held from 12:00 until 2:00 p.m. at GCAAR’s Rockville office.

You must be a Broker, Associate Broker, or Office Manager to attend.

Visit gcaar.com to learn more and register for these FREE programs.

The events are free, but advance registration is required. Lunch is provided.

37

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR® • May/Jun 2014 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 37

REALTOR Toolbox ®

By Erica Christoffer

Be More Useful Than A

FACEBOOK GROUP LEARN HOW BROKERS AN D AGENTS CAN BE THE CHOCOLATE IN A SEA OF VANILLA WHEN IT COMES TO ONLINE MARKETING If you or your agents are still using the “sell, sell, sell” approach on social media, clients have already stopped listening. It’s time to do something different, says Nobu Hata, NAR’s director of member engagement, who presented during the Broker Ideas Exchange Council during the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla. 38 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017

RE M E M B E R Also, brokers need to be as useful to their agents as they are to clients. Start by finding out where agents are getting their information from if it’s not from you. Hata says too many agents are using private real estate groups to ask for advice on their current

“ The sa t ura t i o n of s ameness i n rea l e st a t e marketing righ t n ow i s a t a n a ll-time h igh ,” — Nobu Hata H a t a s ugges t s y ou get you an d yo ur a gent s o ut of the advert i si n g rut by be in g more u sefu l t o buy e rs a nd s eller s.

transactions. “Answer their questions better,” Hata advises brokers.

“Be more useful than a Facebook group.”

3. TARGE T YO UR ADS O R L ISTIN GS, B UT GE T C RE AT I VE ABOUT I T.

H e re a re t hree id eas:

Hata’s wife Shay, who is a sales agent in

1. F OCUS YOUR MARK ETING

Chicago, recently took on a listing three

on the quality of life aspects of the neigh-

blocks from Wrigley Field. She decided to

borhoods you service rather than offering to

target a Facebook ad to people who like

tell prospects what their home is worth. They

the Chicago Cubs page. The response was

can find that out on their own, Hata says, but

tremendous, Hata says. Facebook ad target-

you are a true neighborhood expert. Tell the

ing can be helpful if you use it in a smart

story of your market using videos, photos,

way, but agents should tread carefully when

tips, and event calendars. Post these pieces

using demographic targeting to avoid

on your website or blog, YouTube channel,

violating Fair Housing laws. That means

and social pages.

no ad targeting based on protected classes including, race, color, ethnicity, religion,

2. OF F E R A “F I V E REASONS

age, sex, or disability.

your home didn’t sell” list on your site, share it on social, and send it to expired listings.

Include home improvement and staging tips. Talk about realistic pricing. Be honest about why properties, in general, don’t sell in your market and how you or your agents can help improve the circumstances for the seller. But don’t identify specific properties as to not embarrass those sellers.

Erica Christoffer is a consulting editor for REALTOR® Magazine.

Contact her at echristoffer@realtors.org.

Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online, November 2016, with permission of the National Association of REALTORS®.

Copywright 2016. All rights reserved.

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 39

AFFILIATES Agent Services

Beta Solutions F&BC Kevin Matthews 301-787-0782 Home Staging Vivian Gilbert

301-802-5166

Appraisals

Anne M. Powell Appraisals Anne Powell 410-721-7505 Brett Bessell Brett Bessell

301-208-0330

Chase Commercial Appraisal Division Chad Harris 202-312-1160 Carlos Ortiz 202-312-1160

Attorneys

Lasso & Lasso PC Ricardo Lasso

202-537-0343

Law Office of Arthur Konopka Arthur Konopka 202-686-0600 Law Office of Mark A. Bayer Mark Bayer 202-466-4747 Law Offices of David P. Modell David P Modell 301-634-9820 Law Offices of Michael Frissel/Wolf Title Michael Frissell 301-951-0940 Law Offices of Quinn O’Connell Jr. Quinn O’Connell Jr. 202-537-1820

Foremost Appraisals & Realty Folusho Bello 240-304-7782

Lynn Candle Boynton Esq. Lynn Boynton 240-499-7465

J. Hansen Appraisal Assocs. LLC John Hansen 301-464-2878

Miles & Stockbridge PC Casey Cirner 301-762-1600

James Blaine Miller Jr. James Miller Jr. 301-933-9881

Paley Rothman Katherine Palumbo 301-951-9362

Roxann Novel Appraiser Roxann Novel 800-232-7196

Richard W. Lawlor PA Richard Lawlor 301-340-2400

Attorneys

Samuelson Law Offices LLC Kenneth Samuelson 202-494-0848

Adams, Morris & Sessing Michelle Adams 301-637-0143 Andrew FitzGerald Attorney at Law Andrew FitzGerald 301-933-6550

Shaner & Helf LLC Thomas Helf 301-913-9306

Bregman Berbert Schwartz Gilday LLC Wendy Pullano 301-656-2707

Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy Matthew Alegi 301-230-5200

Law Offices of Jill Pogach Michaels Jill Michaels 240-425-0008

Bromberg Rosenthal LLP Jonathan Bromberg 301-251-6200

The Sacks Law Firm PLLC Michael Sacks 301-948-2300

Glazer Winston Honigman Ellick L. Mark Winston 202-537-5500

Vaughn W. Royal Attorney at Law Vaughn Royal 202-895-1530

Greenstein DeLorme & Luchs PC Richard Luchs 202-452-1400

Jackson & Campbell PC Roy Kaufmann 202-457-6710

Jacobs & Associates Harvey Jacobs 301-300-6252

Kase & Associates Sadaf Saberi 703-444-4100

Kass Mitek & Kass PLLC Benny Kass 202-659-6500 KVS Law Marty Stanton

301-605-1420

40 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017

Credit Unions

Capital Area REALTORS FCU Tony Launi 240-314-0734 ®

Home Improvement Floormax Rafie Ansari

301-206-2200

Home Inspection Companies

Home Inspection Companies Pearl Certification Cynthia Adams

888-557-5543

Building Inspector of America Vimal Kapoor 301-916-0300

First Home Mortgage Zachary Bodine 301-656-4388 Meghan McDonald 703-840-4202 David Toaff 301-657-1003 Jacob Ryan 301-220-0999

Green Home Solutions of MD Jennifer Sherwood 301-591-2470

First Savings Mortgage Deborah Benkert 240-223-1558 Travis Vollmerhausen 301-562-9540

Top to Bottom Services Daniel Deist 301-938-9100

First Washington Mortgage Chanin Wisler 301-526-0020

Home Land Septic Consulting Eric Garrett 443-995-5385

InterCoastal Mortgage Co. Alexander Norcini 571-298-8166

Capital Environmental Testing Bryan Hix 202-257-9291

McLean Mortgage Corp.

Alex Peters 240-800-4502

Old Republic Home Protection Terry Crawford 925-866-1500

Prospect Mortgage Cedric Johnson 540-882-4176

Housing Interests

Sandy Spring Bank Guy Silas 301-617-4233

Homesnap Stephanie Rall

202-999-2903

Tidewater Mortgage Services Max Sandler 571-297-3981

703-349-6405

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Paul Nowacek 301-956-1573

The Greentree Group Julio Gonzalez Del Solar 301-960-1341

Wells Fargo Private Mortgage James Semeyn 410-573-6411

Moneycorp Spencer Holmes

Moving Companies

JCAMS Jimmy Cullum

Miscellaneous

202-706-3550

Mortgage Companies

AnnieMac Home Mortgage John White, Jr. 866-312-6682 BB & T Mortgage Daniel Shea 301-493-8917 Patricia Widerman 301-590-2382

Caliber Home Loans Robert Kirchner 301-660-3292

123 Junk Kevin Wheeler

703-400-7645

Perry Moving & Storage Alvin Lewis 410-799-0022

Pest Control Companies

Capitol Termite & Pest Control Julio Gonzalez 301-657-4480

Property Management Companies

Corridor Mortgage Group Inc. Sara Lenes 301-443-5749

Columbia Property Management Scott Bloom 888-857-6594

EagleBank Corp.

Deborah Levy

Transwestern Donald Wilson

202-292-1581

Embrace Home Loans Tina Del Casale 800-333-3004 Fidelis Mortgage Eric Rittmeyer 410-668-6501

Anderson Inspection Consultants Inc. Gary Anderson 301-855-3337

Mid-Atlantic Inspection Srvcs.

Alan Beal 202-607-4153

Mortgage Companies

Fidelity Direct Mortgage Syed Ahmad 301-869-6000 William Benner 301-869-6000

301-896-9000

Tax Consultants

Exchange Solutions Group LLC William Gessner 703-787-3893

Tax-Masters Inc. Linda de Marlor 301-230-0200

GCAAR brings you a complete listing of our Affiliates in every issue

AFFILIATES Title Insurance/Settlement Companies

Atlantic Closing & Escrow Isadora Connor 202-730-2635 Avenue Title Group David Helfrich 202-296-4500 Capitol Title Insurance Agency Stanley Goldstein 301-231-7250 Classic Settlements Mary Papagjika 301-921-2667 Confidence Title & Escrow Vittorio Muzzatti 301-740-1880 Counselors Title LLC Colleen Smyth Cogan 301-670-0100 Christoper Darby 202-686-0100 District Title A Corp.

Steven Sushner 202-518-9300 Federal Title & Escrow Co. Todd Ewing 202-362-1500 Fenton Title Co. Louis Pettey

301-590-0220

First Class Title Inc. Daniel Kotz 301-770-4107 First Savings Mortgage Corp.

J D Teitelman 703-564-1746 Flynn Title Gregory Flynn

301-545-0150

GPN Title Inc. George Glekas

301-294-4055

Hutton Patt Title John Hutton

240-575-6333

Logan Title Patrick Tangney

202-244-3200

M Title Maria Deligiorgis

703-216-4875

Main Street Settlements Inc. John Ferguson 301-570-3600 MBH Settlement Group LLC Jill Messier 703-277-6800 Michaels Title & Escrow LLC Jill Pogach Michaels 240-425-0008 Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services Joseph Russo 410-252-1208 Monarch Title Inc.

Katherine Brewer

President’s Circle 202-546-3100

Title Insurance/Settlement Companies

The President’s Circle is an influential group of REALTORS® who contribute directly to REALTOR®-friendly candidates

Moses & Aiken /Home Team Title Robert Moses 301-468-0080

at the federal level. Political Action Com-

New World Title & Escrow Morgan Swersey 703-691-4330

Palisades Title Company Steven Buckman 202-351-6100

Action Committee (RPAC), can only legally

Paragon Title & Escrow Co. Randy Rothstein 301-986-1114

mittees, like our REALTORS® Political contribute $10,000 per election cycle to a Member of Congress. The President’s Circle Program supports REALTOR® Party Champions – Members of Congress who

Pinnacle Settlement Services Scott Goldschein 866-441-4666

Pinnacle Title & Escrow Inc. Marci Maged 301-332-6303

have made significant achievements in

Pride Settlement & Escrow LLC Jay Brody 888-729-0145

Pride Settlement & Escrow LLC D. Leigh Hewartson 888-729-0145

RPAC dollars and increase the strength of

RGS Title Thomas R Rodden Helen Dankos

the following 2016 President’s Circle

301-680-0200 301-230-0700

RGS Title LLC Suzanne Feinstein Esq.301-230-0700 Helen Dankos 301-230-0700 RGS Title/Tradition Title Anthony DeVol 301-654-9800

advancing the REALTOR® public policy agenda. The President’s Circle Program allows REALTORS® to contribute beyond the REALTOR® voice on Capitol Hill.

GCAAR would like to recognize members: Rick Brown Bonnie Casper Harold Huggins

Sage Title Group LLC Bobby Lee 301-654-2560 Joseph Hansen 301-670-2812

Angela Jones

Settlement Ink P. Joy Siegel 301-907-8808

Settlement Professionals LLC Carol Calomiris 202-363-1870

Ed Krauze

Settlement Corp.

David Deckelbaum

202-537-0005

Stewart Title Group R. Bradley Runyan 202-349-0220 Title Town Settlements Todd Greenbaum 301-580-2850 Village Settlements Inc. David Hahn 301-486-0799 James Savitz 301-590-9300

Fred Kendrick

Carole Maclure Peg Mancuso Bo Menkiti Michael Moran Shelly Murray Bonnie Roberts-Burke Dale Ross Christopher Suranna

As of January 23, 2017

If you are interested in becoming a GCAAR Affiliate or have a correction to this list, please contact us at: communications@gcaar.com

Realtor Party ®

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 41

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Stay connected at gcaar.com

WELCOME to the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS®.

We are pleased that you have chosen to join our organization. GCAAR is your voice for real estate issues in DC and Montgomery County, MD. It offers venues for networking and allows you to connect with your peers and exchange best practices. We invite you to take full advantage of your benefits as a member.

NEW MEMBERS

NOVEMBER Michael Di Renzo Di Renzo Realty Kevin Friend TTR Sotheby’s International Realty Mingfei Ha Taylor Properties Tiffany Hubb Long & Foster Real Estate Chelsea Kuhn Keller Williams Capital Properties Lisa Markovich Keller Williams Capital Properties Michael Miller Keller Williams Capital Properties Corwin Nicholson Exit Deluxe Realty Thomas Rozario Fairfax Realty Ronald Van Bellen Capital Park Realty Jorge Velarde Coldwell Banker Residential

DECEMBER

Constance Anderson Century 21 The Real Estate Centre Catherine Baum Washington Fine Properties Lamar Braithwaite Coldwell Banker Residential John Brockriede Winston Real Estate Matthew Burdeshaw Long & Foster Real Estate Rhonda Carroll Prestige R E & Investment Co. Jason Chen Libra Realty

Jaime Cortes Long & Foster Real Estate

Kevin McCallum Carrington Real Estate Services

Melanie Tu H. A. Gill & Son

Chad Cunha City Chic Real Estate

Terri Miller-Vaughn Redfin Corporation

Hung Tung Douglas Realty

Ashley Davis Redfin Corporation

John Moody Waggaman Corporation

Lonnie Walker Keller Williams Capital Properties

Stephen Donahoe Keller Williams Capital Properties

Zalika Murray Long & Foster Real Estate

Zhuo Wang Long & Foster Real Estate

Julie Donatelli TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Matthew Olin TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Anthony Williams New Beginning Realty Group

Alexander Edwards Long & Foster Real Estate

Humberto Olivero Smart Realty

Layton Wilson The Real Estate Experts

Olakunle Elujoba Paragon REALTORS®

Franklyn Palau Coldwell Banker Residential

JANUARY

Jami Everton Keller Williams Realty Centre

JonathanPark RE/MAX Success

Sara Fabian Winston Real Estate

Lisa Pavis Coldwell Banker Residential

Vellissa Gamble Carrington Real Estate Service

Samiirah Ruhomutally Redfin Corporation

Yaritza Garay Torres Keller Williams Capital Properties

Alan Seldin TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Michelle Grunberg Keller Williams Realty Centre

Michael Sherman Pepper & Hobbes Realty

Gina Hayes BSharper Real Estate

Abraham Shiferaw Weichert REALTORS®

Holli Hodges City Chic Real Estate

Danielle Silverstone Weichert REALTORS®

LaTaunya Howard Long & Foster Real Estate

Colby Smyth Samson Properties

Lilliam Ibrahim Realty Executives Premier

Valeriia Solodka Redfin Corporation

Cary Johnson Long & Foster Real

Jessamyn Spain RE/MAX 100

Angad Kakar Long & Foster Real Estate

Daniel Tang Washington Real Estate

Nicolas Liu Long & Foster Real Estate

Angelic Thompson Exit Bennett Realty

Mark Ackermann Weichert REALTORS® Wayne Adams TriStar Realty Beniam Ado Coldwell Banker Residential Oladele Akanbi Keller Williams Capital Properties Jennell Alexander Heymann Realty Giuliana Aliaga Romero Keller Williams Capital Properties Marissa Analouei Long & Foster Real Estate Stephanie Anderson Weichert REALTORS® Caroline Aslan Long & Foster Real Estate Jared Atkinson Keller Williams Capital Properties Arpie Avanessi Weichert REALTORS® Shawn Barsness George Mason Mortgage

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 43

NEW MEMBERS

JANUARY

Jonathan Bartlett Greenline Real Estate Marques Bigelow Keller Williams Capital Properties Shelby Blake Keller Williams Capital Properties Janice Blassingame Weichert REALTORS® Angie Borkat RE/MAX Realty Group Kathryn Boyce Long & Foster Real Estate Jessica Brosey TTR Sotheby’s International Realty Hiep Bui Redfin Corporation Janet Burch RE/MAX PROS David Burns Keller Williams Capital Properties Nadine Butler Sourceone Realty Catherine Butterworth Keller Williams Capital Properties Raymond Caden Shapiro & Company Daniel Chalk Weichert REALTORS® Tech Cheng Coldwell Banker Residential Alexander Cholet Robert Hashem Sean Chreky Keller Williams Capital Properties Lisa Clarke Coldwell Banker Residential Bonnie Cosby Long & Foster Real Estate Kacey Cox Long & Foster Real Estate Sally Croarkin Tower Hill Realty Sjontelle Crocker W C & A N Miller REALTORS® 44 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017

Carolyn Damare Weichert REALTORS®

Paul Higgins DCRE Residential

Alfredo Martell Smart Realty

Kurt Damare Weichert REALTORS®

Luchiea Hinnant Greenline Real Estate

Martha Martinez Long & Foster Real Estate

Michael Davila Redfin Corporation

Arastou Javid Coldwell Banker Residential

Meghan McDonald First Home Mortgage

Nicholas Despotidis Keller Williams Capital Properties

Glenn Jones The Real Estate Experts

Pedro Mendez Long & Foster Real Estate

Lesli Dixon Keller Williams Capital Properties

Maneesh Josse Long & Foster Real Estate

Robin Moreau Forum Properties

Patrick Doherty Weichert REALTORS®

Jacqueline Karpel Douglas Realty

Emily Moritt Long & Foster Real Estate

Tagreed Dubbaneh A-K Real Estate

Gitika Kaul Wydler Brothers

Seyed Mowlana Long & Foster Real Estate

Thomas Elie Rory S. Coakley Realty Inc.

Alfred Keen Douglas Realty

Asoke Mukherjee Long & Foster Real Estate

Meaghan Ford Coldwell Banker Residential

Rebecca Kim W C & A N Miller REALTORS®

Lan Nguyen Real Living at Home

Samuel Foster Long & Foster Real Estate

Hee Kim Keller Williams Capital Properties

Danielle Nicol Taylor Properties

Sara Foulkes Long & Foster Real Estate

Carole Kunze Weichert REALTORS®

Stephen Nixon Carrington Real Estate Services

Vanessa Franz Keller Williams Capital Properties

Nicholas LaPenna Keller Williams Capital Properties

David Nocket RE/MAX Town Center

Andre Galery Carrington Real Estate Services

Floretta Lawson eXp Realty

Sylvia Nyamira Gordon James Brokerage

Bobak Ghadery Coldwell Banker Residential

Romain Layour McEnearney Associates

Fergus O’Brien TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Amanda Ghezzi Century 21 New Millennium

Sandra LeBlanc Coldwell Banker Residential

Myra Mae Olarte RE/MAX Success

Ony Ghonda Long & Foster Real Estate

Chan Hwi Lee Gordon James Brokerage

Franklin Owens Home Buyers Marketing II

John Goodloe Realty Executives Premier

Karen Lips McEnearney Associates

Olufemi Padonu TriStar Realty Inc.

Geraldine Gretschel McEnearney Associates

Roxana Lopez Long & Foster Real Estate

Douglas Parker Coldwell Banker Residential

Brittani Griffith Long & Foster Real Estate

William Lukens Keller Williams Capital Properties

Jelani Perry A-K Real Estate

Anatoly Grinev Coldwell Banker Residential

Garrick Lumsden Long & Foster Real Estate

Divina Peters Sourceone Realty

Rita Hardy Metropolitan Properties

Raul Maita Weichert REALTORS®

Chaliss Pulliam Sourceone Realty

Joshah Hedrington Berkshire Hathaway Home Services PenFed

Victor Maldonado Coldwell Banker Residential

Tommie Reeves Exit Bennett Realty

Don’t Let This Happen to You! Veronica Rwetsiba Keller Williams Capital Properties Waleed Sabri Sabrii Realty Georgia Sambunaris Long & Foster Real Estate Nazereth Samuel Keller Williams Capital Properties Cielo Santa-Cruz Coldwell Banker Residential Lewis Shapiro Shapiro & Company Jenna Sinise Gordon James Brokerage Patricia Spigner Century 21 New Millennium Lauren Stafford DCRE Residential Regina Stokes Sourceone Realty Deidra Stubbs Coldwell Banker Residential Yuchuan Sun Evergreen Properties Dinesh Tharmalingam Long & Foster Real Estate John Thompson Scout Properties Claudia Tillery Keller Williams Capital Properties Yizreel Urquijo Torres Keller Williams Capital Properties Alexander Vogel Realtyka Douglas Worthy Long & Foster Real Estate Kirby York Realtyka Ruojun Zhang Evergreen Properties

As of January 23, 2017

REALTOR’S® Obligation to Disclose True Nature of Listing Agreement continued from page 4 of the listing to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and specified a certain amount of compensation. However, the seller stated that he had also signed an addendum to the listing agreement specifying that if REALTOR® B sold the listing through his own office, a percentage of the agreed compensation would be discounted to the seller’s credit, resulting in a lower commission payable by the seller.

REALTOR® A filed a written complaint with the Board of REALTORS® against REALTOR® B, alleging a violation of Article 3. After its review of the complaint, the Grievance Committee requested that an ethics hearing be arranged.

REALTOR® A, in restating his complaint to the Hearing Panel, said that REALTOR® B’s failure to disclose the actual terms and conditions of the compensation offered through the Board MLS resulted in concealment and misrepresentation of pertinent facts to REALTOR® A and to the prospective buyers served by REALTOR® A who had, in good faith, offered to purchase the property at the listed price with only a mortgage contingency. REALTOR® A told the Hearing Panel that if he had known the facts which were not disclosed by REALTOR® B, he could have fully and accurately informed the buyers who could have taken those facts into consideration when making their offer.

REALTOR® B stated that it was his business what he charged and the Board or MLS could not·regulate his charges for his services. If he wished to establish a dual commission charge by agreement with his client, that was his right, and there was no need or right of the Board or MLS to interfere.

The Hearing Panel agreed that it was REALTOR® B’s right to establish his fees and charges as he saw fit, and that the Board or MLS could not and would not interfere.

However, the Hearing Panel noted that his complete freedom to establish charges for his services did not relieve him of his obligation to fully disclose the real terms and conditions of the compensation offered to the other participants of the Multiple Listing Service, and did not justify his failure to disclose the dual commission arrangement. In the case of a dual commission arrangement, the listing broker must disclose not only the existence of the “special arrangement” but also must disclose, in response to an inquiry from a potential cooperating broker, the differential that would result in the total commission in a cooperative transaction. The Hearing Panel concluded that by submitting a listing to the MLS indicating that he was offering a certain amount of compensation to cooperating brokers while other relevant terms and conditions were not disclosed to the other MLS participants, he had concealed and misrepresented real facts and was in violation of Article 3 of the Code of Ethics.

As it was, said REALTOR® A, the buyers acting in good faith were deceived by facts unknown to them because they were unknown to REALTOR® A. Further, REALTOR A® said that REALTOR® B’s failure to fully disclose the true terms and conditions relating to compensation made it impossible to have a responsible relationship with REALTOR® B and make proper value judgments as to accepting the offer of compensation.

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 45

design trends DECORATE YOUR MANTEL FOR WINTER

BY: ALYSON MCNUTT ENGLISH AND JESSICA YONKER

Use Warm Textures You can easily transform your everyday decor into a winter wonderland using neutral elements.

Warm things up by covering glass vases with remnants from old sweaters, and implement rustic decor pieces like antlers for a seasonal touch.

Photo by Cassue Freeman

Modern + Graphic Evoke Scandinavian style in your home this winter with an all-white, minimalist display. Cassie Freeman of Hi Sugarplum! accented her white fireplace with a geometric mirror, silver candlesticks, white reindeer and a vase of magnolia leaves from her yard. A flokati rug draped over the base of the fireplace adds warmth and coziness.

Find Winter-spiration Photo by Leanne Jacobs

The soft creams and browns in this picture of Salt Lake Temple reminded Leanne Jacobs of winter, providing the basis for her winter mantel. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, Leanne wanted a simple, toned-down display, so she paired a few silver candlesticks with ornaments and a glittery bird. Glittering snowflakes hung with clothespins on baker’s twine create a sparkling banner that adds shine to the muted mantel.

46 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017

N E W T RE N DS — B UN DLE UP YOUR HOME F O R W I N T E R W I T H SOM E O F TH E S E HOT DE CO RAT I N G I DEA S Source: hgtv.com – Search Design Trends

Work with a REALTOR® to help you find more HOME DÉCOR TRE NDS.

Sleek, Shiny and Silver

Photo - Courtesy of Pottery Barn

Silver often plays second fiddle to its more audacious golden cousin when it’s time to break out the holiday decor, but don’t overlook this shining shade. In this display from Pottery Barn, just a few candles are enough to create a gauzy glow, thanks to silver’s reflective sheen. It’s all about brightness here: Crystal spheres, shimmering snowflakes and delicate white flowers shooting from etched-silver pots add up to create a warm and wintry fireplace focal point.

Keep It Cozy

Photo by Erin Cook

Vase “sweaters” made from an old pair of socks, gold poinsettias and a cute “Brrr” printout set the perfect mood for curling up in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa.

Beaded icicle garland and snowflake ornaments add cool whimsical touches to this warm display.

Design by Erin Cook

Photo by Jessica Wangelin

Borrow From Nature

Decor Adventures’ Jessica Wangelin dreamed of lush greenery, so she adorned her mantel with thick pieces of faux garland layered with real evergreen branches and glitter-tipped pinecones. Instead of buying the antiqued mirror, she made one by cutting a door mirror, distressing it and then piecing it back together inside a poster frame.

CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017 47

BACKPorch TRIVIA FINDS FACTS

Utah has been giving FREE HOMES TO HOMELESS PEOPLE since 2005 which since then made it more cost efficient to help the homeless and cut the

chronic homelessness

t

in Utah by 74%.

Did you know?

Source: The Lighter Side of Real Estate

The landmark “Hollywood” sign originally read “Hollywoodland” and was constructed in 1923 as a publicity stunt to sell

real estate.

Where’s the country’s most expensive new listing?

Bruce Makowsky’s brand-new estate in posh Bel Air, CA. It went on the market January 18 for an eye-popping $250 million. The sky-high asking price sets a record for the country’s most expensive home ever listed for sale.

Source: realtor.com ($250M?! 6 Crucial Facts About the Country’s Most Expensive New Listing) Photo courtesy of Bruce Makowsky/BAM Luxury Development

Trinity Church (on Wall Street) owns 14 acres of Manhattan real estate with a net income of $38 million, making it the wealthiest individual parish in the world.

Think your home is too small?

The average home in developing countries is 75 square feet.

AVERAGE HOUSE SIZE BY COUNTRY Australia - 2310 sq ft, 2.56 pph USA - 2170 sq ft, 2.6 pph New Zealand - 2112 sq ft, 2.6 pph Canada - 1950 sq ft, 2.5 pph Japan - 1420 sq ft, this year the pph in Tokyo dropped below 2 for the first time (1.99) UK - 818 sq ft, 2.1 pph pph - people per household Source: http://notbuyinganything.blogspot.com

48 CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — Jan/Feb 2017

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