KYREALTORSpring09

Kentucky

REALTOR 速

SPRING 2009

A publication of the Kentucky Association of REALTORS速

Seven Ways to Green Your Real Estate Marketing Electronically (Decrease Your Carbon Footprint) Homebuyer Tax Credit Online Surveys 2008 RPAC Donors

Contents

Volume 2, Number 3, Spring 2009

IN THIS ISSUE KAR Bylaws Amendment A publication of the Kentucky Association of REALTORS®

President Jeffrey L. Smith Northern Kentucky Association of REALTORS® President-Elect John W. Smither, GRI Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS® Treasurer Kevin Farris Heart of Kentucky Association of REALTORS® Treasurer-Elect Ronald E. Hughes, ABR, CRS, GRI Paducah Board of REALTORS® Executive Vice President Susan W. Helm, RCE susiehelm@kar.com Marketing/Communications Director Hunt Cooper hcooper@kar.com Address letters and inquiries to: Kentucky REALTOR® 161 Prosperous Place Lexington, KY 40509 TF 800.264.2185 T 859.263.7377 F 859.263.7565 www.kar.com email: hcooper@kar.com KAR members should always send address changes to their local board/association first.

Subscription rates: $10 per year (included in dues) for members, $25 per year for nonmembers.

Kentucky REALTOR® (USPS 024-933) is published quarterly (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) by the Kentucky Association of REALTORS®, 161 Prosperous Place, Lexington, KY 40509.

Periodicals postage paid at Lexington, KY. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Kentucky REALTOR®, 161 Prosperous Place, Lexington, KY 40509.

All articles represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Kentucky REALTOR® or KAR and should not be construed as a recommendation for any course of action regarding financial, legal or accounting matters by KAR or Kentucky REALTOR® and its authors.

Reproduction prohibited without permission.

Copyright © 2009 Kentucky Association of REALTORS®, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Green Marketing

10

Home Buyer Tax Credit

14

Education

19

Online Surveys

20

REGULAR FEATURES President’s Message

5

Tools You Can Use

6

Legal Update

8

RPAC

16

KREC Information

18

Local Association News

22

Housing Stats

25

Community Profile

26

From the Helm

28

Up to Code

29

A Day in the Life of...

30

WINTER 2008 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 3

KAR News the middle of the home page that will point to current issues in the real estate industry and at the association.

Social networking has also been incorporated at the bottom of the page with links to KAR groups.

Take a minute (or more) to explore the new site and let us know what you think. If you have suggestions, comments or other information you would like to share, please send to hcooper@kar.com. KAR appreciates feedback from our members as we want to provide you with the most beneficial online resource possible.

KAR Calls for 2009 Award Nominations Distinguished Service Award Deadline: Friday, June 12, 2009 REALTOR® of the Year Award Deadline: Monday, June 1, 2009 Nat Sanders Education Award Deadline: Saturday, August 15, 2009 REALTOR® Community Service Award Deadline: Saturday, August 15, 2009

KAR Unveils New Web Site The Kentucky Association of REALTORS® recently launched its new Web site at www.kar.com. The site is part of the overall strategic plan to bring consistency to the Association and was the next step in the process following the logo redesign and introduction of the Kentucky REALTOR® magazine, the publication you are reading.

The new site is more aesthetically pleasing using the official Association colors and branding while it offers cleaner navigation and a more simple design for users.

Members can instantly find continuing education, events and other KAR happenings on the homepage using the calendar feature. Quick links have been added to simplify the search process and main navigation headings – relating to KAR’s primary services – direct users to important information such as legislative issues, professional standards, housing statistics and information for both members and consumers. Important updates are found in

Please visit the KAR Web site (www.kar.com) for nomination forms and more information about each of these awards.

Join KAR on Facebook, LinkedIn and ActiveRain Join now and become a member of the KAR groups! KAR has added additional sites to its list of social networking outlets.

If you are not currently on these sites, getting started is easy. Just log on to www.facebook.com, www.linkedin.com or www.activerain.com and set up a profile.

Joining is free and once you become a member, you can request to be added to the KAR groups. That’s all there is to it.

To locate the KAR groups, use the site’s search feature or go directly to the group: Facebook www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9244727021 LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1323837 ActiveRain activerain.com/groups/kar

KAR Bylaws Amendment This serves as official notice of proposed Bylaws amendments to be voted on by the general membership of the Kentucky Association of REALTORS® at the membership meeting to be held at Lake Barkley on June 19, 2009 immediately following the Delegate Body meeting (see www.kar.com for meeting details). The following are the substantive changes to the Bylaws for the general membership’s consideration: Underline text indicates text to be added. Strikethrough text indicates text to be deleted.

The Committee recommends the addition of the following language to Article 5, section 2, part (C) of the Bylaws: Article V: Delegate Body, Section 2 (C)

Any member of KAR who serves as a director or officer of NAR elected by the Delegate Body of KAR shall also serve as a delegate for a concurrent term to KAR's Delegate Body;

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President’s Message Now is the Time to Keep On Keepin’ On

A

s we all look forward to the spring real estate market here in the Commonwealth, I could not help reflecting back to the annual meeting in 2007 when your leadership elected me to be your 2009 President.

Let’s take a quick look back at what has transpired since that date: • the real estate market has declined at an alarming rate; • KAR membership has fallen to levels last seen in 2003-2004; • Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.....hmmm?

• the large three automakers flew into Washington on their hands and knees for a hand out; • AIG, Countrywide, Wachovia, Citicorp, Bear Sterns, the whole Dow Jones thing; • my 401K turned into a 104K; • Al Gore won the Nobel Prize; • Fidel Castro resigned as president of Cuba; and • America elected the son of a Kenyan as the 44th president of the United States (even I had a 20 point lead on Barack Obama in the spring of 2007) It reminds me of the great Hall of Fame football coach, Vince Lombardi, when he was quoted as saying "What the Hell is going on out there?"

Members of KAR are standing tall. We, as REALTORS®, have been through tough times before.

No funds and double digit interest rates for the first time ever in the 1970s, the 18 percent mortgage rates and the savings and loan crisis of the ‘80s, the corrections of the ‘90s and now, the most challenging times of all, a declining market that we all hope has hit bottom. If you ask me if I think we have hit bottom, I would say, at this time, I do and think we will drag along at this level until mid-summer or early fall when we will finally see a return to better times.

Two hundred of my closest friends and I just returned from another successful Legislative and Business Meeting in Frankfort where many of us met with our friends on the Hill. These legislators help us stand up for what is best for consumers and the entire real estate industry. Since (and even before) the closure of the meeting, we appointed many REALTORS® as State Political Coordinators – those who have a personal

Jeff Smith, 2009 KAR President

relationship with House and Senate members. Do you qualify? If so, download a form at www.kar.com under Government Affairs or contact me to join one of these great teams.

At press time for this article, KAR, along with the rest of the country, had just learned the aspects of President Obama’s plan to stimulate the real estate market with an $8,000.00 tax credit (read: free money) for first-time home buyers. Yours truly, along with 49 other state association presidents, NAR representatives, fellow REALTORS® and several other organizations, lobbied hard for this plan to include ALL home buyers.

Although we were unsuccessful this time around, we won’t quit fighting. Next up, stop the administration’s budget plan that would reduce the mortgage interest deduction for those making over $250,000 per year.

And one more thing - please mark your calendars for June 17-19 when we travel to Lake Barkley for the Summer Business Meeting. This is a great chance for you to meet your fellow members in a relaxed (but highly productive) atmosphere.

Jeff Smith 2009 KAR President

SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 5

Tools You Can Use Marketing Minute

Twitter (www.twitter.com) is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send and read other users' updates a.k.a tweets, which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. This web-based service has, in the past several months, emerged as a powerful tool for communicating and networking as many businesses discover its usefulness. In fact, Twitter has made Dell $1 million in revenue through sales alert postings over the past year, according to eWeek magazine.

Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users, known as followers, who have signed up to receive them. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or deliver to everyone. Users can receive updates via the Twitter Web site, SMS (text), RSS or email, or through applications such as Tweetie, Twinkle, TwitterFox, Twitterrific, Feedalizr and Facebook.

How to get started Go to Twitter.com and click "Join for free." For best results, use your real name or something extremely identifiable when signing up; otherwise your friends won't be able to find you easily. It's also helpful to upload a picture. If you select the "Protect my updates" box, people won't be able to read your Tweets unless you authorize them. It will be more fun if you leave this box unchecked so everyone interested can read your “tweets” and become a follower.

Now that you have a Twitter account, tell your friends your username or send them the link to your Twitter page. Each user has his/her own page, in the form of twitter.com/username. (Example: NAR’s Twitter page is twitter.com/realtors) For a quick tutorial on Twitter, check http://news.cnet.com/newbies-guide-to-twitter.

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Consolidate Multiple E-Mail Addresses with Gmail You have more e-mail addresses than you do pairs of socks – so it makes sense to keep them all in one drawer. If you have mail coming to your ISP's account, your work address, your old work address and your personal email account from Yahoo, Hotmail or one of several other options, and you're having difficulty juggling everything, it's time to consolidate all those messages into one inbox.

Google's free Web-based Gmail service is both an email host and an e-mail client. Use Gmail's built-in Mail Fetcher to retrieve messages from up to five external email accounts.

In Gmail's Settings area, visit the Accounts tab to set up your external e-mail addresses, and you'll then receive all your mail in one roomy inbox. You can even send mail from your non-Gmail addresses via Gmail's Compose screen, too.

Xobni www.xobni.com Xobni, the word “inbox” spelled backwards, has created a new way to look at your email by taking the effort out of organizing, searching, and navigating your messages in Microsoft Outlook. In fact, last year Bill Gates called the application “very, very, cool.”

Xobni creates an information profile for each person you interact with, and surfaces historical information that is relevant to what you are working on.

Xobni displays contact information, threaded conversations, attachments, related people, email usage statistics and information from the web. Xobni is integrated with LinkedIn, Facebook, Skype and other well known networks.

A quick download is available and takes only minutes to install and index files.

FaxZero faxzero.com FaxZero lets you send a fax to any fax machine in the United States (including Puerto Rico) or Canada for free. You don't need a fax machine yourself, but you do need a valid e-mail address. A premium service is available for a small charge.

To use FaxZero, you have a few options – type the text of your fax or attach a file (Word documents, Excel spreadsheets or pdfs are accepted), then click the Send Free Fax Now button. A confirmation message will be sent to your e-mail address. Click the URL in that message. Your fax won't be transmitted until you do.

You'll receive an e-mail message to let you know when it's delivered. Or if it can't be transmitted for some reason, an e-mail message will tell you that as well.

Find Commercial Property CommercialSource.com has been created by NAR to serve as a comprehensive Web site for all things pertaining to commercial real estate. Covering all fifty states, the main feature of the site is the commercial real estate marketplace, where commercial property listings are aggregated from local CIE’s and practitioners from all over the country. In addition, CommercialSource.com features the Online Convention and Tradeshow, research and education, industry news and other resources. The REALTORS® Commercial Alliance (RCA) is the commercial division of the National Association of REALTORS®.

Windows Live SkyDrive skydrive.live.com Windows Live SkyDrive is like a USB drive, but completely internet based. Simply put, you can upload your documents and download them on any computer that has access to the Internet. You will need to set-up a Windows Live ID if you don’t already have one.

Here are some of the features and benefits: • 25 GB of free storage on Windows Live • Store and share your files and photos with almost anyone • Anywhere access • Get to your online files from home, work, or on the road • Password-protected • Keep your files to yourself, or share them with anyone you want • Drag files into your online folders, just like on your PC

Bits and Bytes Upgrade Your iPhone Application Pinger (www.pinger.com) has recently announced a free mobile phone application for managing and communicating with phone contacts as well as with friends on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. The application is currently available for the iPhone and iPod Touch with plans to add support for BlackBerry, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Palm and Symbian.

Users can see IM status in their contacts and elect to call, text, instant message, email or even send a Facebook, MySpace or Twitter message, all from one simple menu. Users now can communicate with friends without moving back and forth between applications. A voice messaging feature is also available that lets you trade voice messages with anyone's mobile phone in 20 countries.

Pinger Phone also logs all of your communication history so you can review what was said to a specific person. It also features a horizontal keyboard for those who find it easier to use this type functionality.

So, in a list, Pinger accomplishes three things for users: • A dialer app ∑ • A social media status aggregator ∑ • An IM client One user commented on a blog post that Pinger’s simple dial pad was enough to make this application a must-have on a phone.

SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 7

Legal Update Overview of 2008 Kentucky Court Decisions

by Doug Martin

T

his legal update for the Kentucky REALTOR® reviews a number of Kentucky court decisions from 2008 that may be of interest to Kentucky REALTORS®.

Wrenn v. S. States Lexington Coop., Inc. In an unpublished opinion, the Kentucky Court of Appeals reviewed whether a real estate broker could claim a commission from a listing agreement when he went to work for the potential buyer of the property.

The owner had listed for sale with the real estate broker 10 acres of land for $200,000. The listing agreement specified that the broker would receive a certain commission if he located a buyer who was “ready, willing, and able to complete the purchase on the terms.”

Over a five year period, the agreement was extended seven times. In 2005, the buyer made an offer to purchase the property. At the time of the offer, the broker disclosed to the owner that he was about to become a partner of the buyer. The owner rejected all of the buyer’s offers, including a full price offer. Following the rejection of the buyer’s offers, the owner had the property appraised and the appraiser valued the property at $300,000.

The broker sought payment of his brokerage fees for obtaining a full price offer, but the owner refused to pay him. The broker filed a broker’s lien against the property. (Broker lien laws generally allow a broker to claim an unpaid commission from commercial transaction if or when a property is sold or leased.)

The broker filed a lawsuit seeking to collect his commission. The trial court ruled in favor of the owner, and the Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed. On appeal, the broker argued that he was entitled to the commission because he fulfilled the terms of the listing agreement by producing a full-price offer. He also argued that he had a contractual right to the commission and the broker’s lien entitled him to the commission.

Kentucky law allows brokers to make offers and to purchase property that the broker has listed for sale.

However, the transaction can only take place after the broker has fully disclosed all relevant facts to the owner and the owner has consented to the transaction. The

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broker argued that the owner’s consent was not necessary because the buyer had made a full-price offer for the property, fulfilling the terms of the listing agreement and entitling him to a commission.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals rejected the broker’s argument and ruled that the owner had never consented to the broker’s conflict of interest by rejecting the buyer’s offers for the property. Because the broker had conflicting interests, the only way he could receive a commission would be if the owner decided to waive the conflicts.

The Court of Appeals found there was no evidence that the broker had attempted to mislead the owner as to the $200,000 listing price, and that there was also no evidence that the owner had rejected the buyer’s offers in order to avoid paying the commission. The Court of Appeals ruled, however, that the broker had no right to claim the commission because the owner had never consented to the broker’s conflict of interest.

The Court of Appeals found that the broker lien claims were irrelevant because the broker had no right to receive a commission.

Kentucky Real Estate Commission v. Hilliard Financial The Kentucky Court of Appeals examined whether a company’s commission advance business model violated the Kentucky Real Estate Code.

The Kentucky Real Estate Commission (“KREC”) brought a declaratory judgment action against a cash advance company (“Company”) in Jefferson Circuit Court to determine whether the Company’s cash advance business violated the Kentucky Real Estate Code. The Company was in the business of providing cash advances to real estate agents who have commissions pending from real estate transactions. In return for the advance, the Company took an assignment of the agent’s pending commission as well as a percentage of that commission.

KREC argued that the Company’s business model violated a provision in KRS Chapter 324 that prohibits licensees from splitting commissions. Second, KREC argued that Kentucky law prohibits licensees from accepting payments for licensed activities from any

person other than the licensee’s principal broker.

The Jefferson Circuit Court ruled in favor of the Company on both issues, and the Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed.

According to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the Company receives an assignment of a pending commission in consideration of its own cash advance to a real estate agent, who in turn receives the commission in consideration of his own services rendered as a real estate agent. The Court of Appeals found that because both the earning of the commission and its assignment are supported by discrete and valuable consideration, the Company’s business model does not entail commission splitting.

The Court of Appeals also found that the Company’s business model does not constitute “accepting valuable consideration” for licensed activities from any person other than the licensee’s principal broker. Although an agent receives a cash advance from the Company under its business model, that cash advance is not received “in consideration for the performance of any acts” specified in the Kentucky Real Estate Code, but rather is more akin to a consumer loan.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals declined to address whether or not the Company’s business model violates other applicable lending laws, or whether the Company’s business model was protected by the Uniform Commercial Code.

which the Circuit Court determined was enforceable.

The Complaint alleged that the buyers were fraudulently induced to enter into the purchase contract, but not that the buyers were fraudulently induced to enter into the specific arbitration agreement contained in the purchase contract.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals found that under Kentucky law, fraudulent acts inducing one to enter into a contract are not a basis for avoiding an arbitration clause. To avoid the arbitration clause on the basis of fraud, the fraudulent inducement must relate specifically to the arbitration clause itself. The underlying notion is that the Arbitrator is capable of evaluating and issuing a ruling upon allegations relating to fraud in the inducement vis-á-vis the underlying contract.

The previous discussion should not be viewed as legal advice. Please consult your attorney.

Dutschke v. Jim Russell REALTORS, Inc. The Kentucky Court of Appeals reviewed whether a party to a contract containing an arbitration clause could avoid arbitration where the alleged fraud was limited to acts inducing the party to enter into the underlying contract alone, rather than allegations of fraud that went to the making of the arbitration clause.

A buyer brought suit based upon the perceived extensive lack of disclosure concerning the condition of the purchased dwelling, involving allegations of a leaky basement following heavy rainfall, defective plumbing, basement plumbing that was not hooked up to the municipal sewer system, window rot, and the discovery that the home was located in a flood plain. The real estate purchase contract contained an arbitration clause,

Doug Martin is Legal Counsel for the Kentucky Association of REALTORS® and is a member of Murphy & Martin, PLC in Lexington, KY.

SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 9

Feature Story

Seven Ways to

@

GREEN Electronically

Your Real Estate Marketing

by Doug Devitre

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lients and consumers who live by a green philosophy search for real estate professionals who are prepared, knowledgeable and walk the talk in their green practices. Going GREEN must become a lifestyle, a standard of practice, a way of means for a real estate professional to engage socially responsible behaviors in their marketing which limit their impact on the environment. Agents who adapt and implement green practices as habit build trust, loyalty and more referrals within the green community than those who have only a factual knowledge base.

How GREEN is your Marketing?

In marketing alone, nonrenewable resources such as ink, paper, cardstock, production time and extra energy to replicate can be eliminated by incorporating free technologies to serve your clientele. Here are 7 ways to GREEN your real estate marketing: 1.

Begin blogging. Inventory levels change regularly, new legislation passes frequently and local economy factors evolve on a regular basis. Instead of printing out letters, affixing postage and mailing out press releases, start a blog. Think of your blog as your online real estate newspaper that rotates articles as often as you write to it. Blogs contain pictures, audio, video, multimedia and are stored forever whereas the half life of a mailing is 10 seconds at best. Each entry is its own Web site. Conserve

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energy retyping long answers to questions that you have already posted to your blog. Copy and paste the hyperlink of the blog entry into an email piece.

This will save time, the most important nonrenewable resource.

2.

Email newsletters. Printed post cards consume nonrenewable energy by designing, printing, cutting, affixing postage, sorting, labeling and mailing out each batch. Instead of gathering mail

“Agents who adapt and implement green practices as habit build trust, loyalty and more referrals within the green community than those who have only a factual knowledge base.” addresses, collect email addresses. Use blog articles, new listings and client services in an email marketing piece. My favorite email marketing software is www.iContact.com which tracks conversion from most opened, most clicked links, click by dates and by recipients. No need to print out reports when lists can be exported, imported and results optimized to increase email conversion rates.

3.

4.

PDF presentation packets. Take every piece of your listing presentation or buyer presentation and convert it to a PDF document. Use free software from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator to create PDF documents for free. The software is installed as a printer on your computer and can print PDF documents from any program. The Adobe version is $299 but has more editing and publishing options and can merge multiple PDFs into one. Create an online profile at www.Box.net to store all of your PDF documents online. Box.net will give you a hyperlink for each PDF document and a widget to insert onto your website to store all of your documents within small section of the screen.

Shared PowerPoint presentations. Sales presentations to position yourself or company as an expert can easily be shared online using www.SlideShare.net. This Web site will host your PowerPoint presentations online and will share them via email, Facebook, Twitter or they can be embedded into a Web site or blog. This will save printing costs on the document and travel time meeting the client face to face in order to deliver your value proposition. Also, voice-over PowerPoint (Slidecast) presentations are available for maximum effect.

5.

6.

Video tours. Save time, gas money and printing costs by giving video tours.

Invest in the new Flip Video Mino (www.FlipVideo.com) to record video tours of listing inventory, neighborhoods or your office. Now potential prospects can not only see what you have to offer but they can listen to your expertise while you explain the features and benefits of a property, the history of a neighborhood or why your company is the best to work with in town. Upload them to YouTube for free and then share them by email, or embed into Web site or blog. This way they can get to know you better rather than just looking at a static photo or reading a resume online.

Virtual flyers. www.vFlyer.com and www.Postlets.com are great Web sites to create virtual flyers for pennies on the dollar. These are far more effective than paper copies since multiple pictures are displayed, unlimited descriptions highlight key features, and they can be distributed to multiple listing sites using RSS (real simple syndication) with one click of the button. Three dimensional flyers are much more visual and environmentally friendly than a piece of paper.

Companies like www.Obeo.com allow customers to view room sizes, material changes and what upgrades would look like before even stepping foot into the home.

(Continued on page 12) SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 11

Feature Story

7.

Virtual home buyer seminars. Live seminars take extensive planning, insist printing of multiple documents and a physical location where everyone must drive to attend. Room rentals and logistics alone will suck the life out of a presentation.

Instead, host the entire event online using a free service at www.StickAm.com. Hook up a webcam (www.Logitech.com) to your laptop and stream your entire presentation live where they can see, hear and watch you present how to get financing, steps to buying a home and/or how to get your keys on the day of closing. Send out an email announcement of the date, time and Web site URL of your streaming session and prospective home buyers can ask you questions by instant messaging.

These are just seven ways to GREEN your marketing and take a bite out of your expenses. With more creative thoughts and ideas, you can discover more ways to lower your costs while making a lasting impression on your clients.

Doug Devitre delivers low budget, high impact technology solutions for real estate professionals and associations to maximize return on investment for both money and time.

Doug’s articles have been published in Broker Agent News, RealTown online communities, the local REALTOR® Report for the St. Louis Association of REALTORS® and other national media. His innovative ideas have been featured in REALTOR® Magazine three times and named Top 50 REALTORS® on the Rise by RISMedia.

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Thinking Outside the GREEN Box In one of the most competitive real estate markets in North America, Vancouver, one REALTOR® pushed the envelope with a new media marketing approach to sell a downtown luxury condo.

Kye Grace hosted a marathon open house – 3 continuous days, embedding himself in the condo and conducting the open house entirely online (potential buyers could stop by at anytime, day or night, to see the place though).

Grace live-streamed his entire 72 hours over the internet from his Web site – 72houropenhouse.com. He used the video streaming service Ustream.tv (and received over 1,300 unique viewers) to connect with potential buyers through the embedded chat window and fielded questions through other social media tools like Facebook and Twitter.

He also received an abundance of media attention – all types of outlets picked up the story, from TV and radio to real estate blogs and video chat rooms. He even turned the idea into a revenue generator by selling sponsorship opportunities to local vendors and allowing them to stop by and talk about their products and services.

Although he hadn’t sold the property at press time, he did generate several new listings and created a tremendous amount of exposure for himself. And those were two of his three goals in doing this.

Government Affairs Calls for Action: Take Time to Participate 2008 RPAC AWARDS HIGHEST MEMBER PARTICIPATION Cumberland Valley Board of REALTORS® (81%) PACESETTER (FIRST TO ACHIEVE GOAL) Madisonville Hopkins County Board of REALTORS® MOST CONTRIBUTIONS RAISED (OVERALL) Greater Louisville Association of REALTORS® ($55,404.50) LARGEST PERCENTAGE OVER GOAL Small Board Division Hopkinsville-Christian County Board of REALTORS® (202%) Medium Board Division Paducah Board of REALTORS® (163%) Large Board Division Northern Kentucky Association of REALTORS® (110%)

N

ow more than ever, it is critical for REALTORS® across America to come together and speak with one voice about the stability a sound and dynamic real estate market brings to this country of ours. From city hall to the state house to the US Capitol, our elected officials are making decisions that have a huge impact on the bottom line of REALTORS® and their customers. Through the support of our members, the REALTOR® Party will continue to be there representing your interests. The easiest way to influence a member of Congress on the national level is to participate in a Call for Action (CFA), issued by NAR at critical times for key legislative issues.

To participate in a Call for Action, check your inbox for an email from NAR or KAR. The message will contain a link that will take you to a page that contains the following: where the legislation stands, a contact letter, who you need to contact and helpful talking points. The contact letter on the page is already personalized – all you have to do is click “send” and it is automatically sent to your legislators. The entire process takes only two clicks and a few seconds. You can also visit www.naractioncenter.com to learn more.

By responding to NAR's Calls for Action, we can shine a bright light in Congress on important real estate issues. The more REALTORS® that take action, the more Congress will know the voice of the REALTOR® Party and will respond to our industry's needs.

CFA STATISTICS: Kentucky response rate in 2007: 4.7% Kentucky response rate in 2008: 6.5% Kentucky’s response rate to NAR’s CFA regarding the four point plan: 10.8% NAR response rate in 2008: 9.2% NAR target response rate in 2009: 15%+

Members of the Cumberland Valley Board of REALTORS receive their RPAC Award for "Highest Member Participation" from Dot Miller, 2009 RPAC Chair.

Members wait outside the entrance to the Kentucky House of Representatives during the KAR Hill Visits.

SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 13

Government Affairs Housing industry receives support through government actions

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he housing industry received some necessary provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the federal government’s stimulus package. The main facets of the legislation relating to housing will directly help homeowners and new home buyers by giving them financial incentives but it also assists states and local governments with grants and other programs. Below are some ways the stimulus plan will help the real estate market: Home Buyer Tax Credit. The bill provides an $8,000 tax credit that will be available to first-time home buyers for the purchase of a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. The credit does not require repayment, buyer must not have owned a home in the previous three years and they must live in the residence for three years to avoid recapture. Income limits do apply.

FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Loan Limits. The bill reinstates last year's 2008 loan limits for FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae loans. These limits were equal to the greater of 125% of the 2008 local area median home price or $271,050 for FHA and $417,000 for Fannie and Freddie, with an overall maximum cap of $729,750.

Energy Efficient Housing Tax Credits & Grants. The bill provides state and local governments with $6 billion in energy efficiency and conservation grants for energy audits, retrofits and financial incentives. Through 2010, homeowners will be able to claim a 30% tax credit (up from 10%) for purchases of new furnaces, windows and insulation.

Neighborhood Stabilization. The bill provides $2 billion in additional funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to states and localities. The funds can be used to purchase, manage, repair and resell foreclosed and abandoned properties.

Other areas with an emphasis are rural housing programs, low income housing grants, tax-exempt housing bonds, investments in transportation and deployments in broadband.

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In addition to the bill announced above, President Obama followed up with his Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan the next day. The plan is designed to help up to 7-9 million families avoid foreclosure by restructuring or refinancing their mortgages. In doing so, the plan not only helps responsible homeowners behind on their payments or at risk of defaulting, but prevents neighborhoods and communities from being pulled over the edge too, as defaults and foreclosures contribute to falling home values, failing local businesses, and lost jobs.

The three key elements of the plan are: 1.

Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) refinancing for up to 4 to 5 million responsible homeowners with GSE loans to make their mortgages more affordable.

2.

A $75 billion Homeowner Stability Initiative to reach up to 3 to 4 million at-risk homeowners.

3.

Supporting low mortgage rates by strengthening confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Kentucky has its share of foreclosures (up 42% in 2008 compared to 2007), however it ranked 42nd last year in the total number of homes facing foreclosure, putting Kentucky in the bottom tier of states battling this problem. The national picture showed an increase of 81% in 2008 over 2007.

“We did not see the exorbitant appreciation from the past boom market,” said Jeff Smith, 2009 president of the Kentucky Association of REALTORS®.

“Therefore, we are not experiencing the large price declines that other areas are facing. That, I believe, helped us, for the most part, from the major foreclosure issue that is really hurting a tremendous number of homeowners in other states.”

For more information on the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, visit http://tinyurl.com/aamxfj For more information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, visit http://tinyurl.com/brznfe

MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION President Obama released his budget proposal which includes a small section that has the potential to become a major impediment to a recovery in real estate markets across the nation. NAR is 100% opposed to the provision that modifies the Mortgage Interest Deduction.

As currently drafted, the plan changes the Mortgage Interest Deduction by reducing the amount of mortgage deductibility on families earning over $250,000. This proposed change in the Mortgage Interest Deduction will result in further erosion of home prices and home values. If this proposal is enacted it will set of a new round of price depreciation, will cause greater distress on the balance sheets of banks as the collateral value of mortgage backed securities declines. A second credit crisis could emerge before the first one is resolved.

NAR is putting into motion an array of resources against its enactment. Members may be asked to respond to a Call for Action in the near future.

Region 4 Vice President and Charlie Murphy discuss local issues with Rep. Carl Rollins (left).

Tony Clark and KAR President-Elect John Smither talk real estate with Rep. Tommy Thompson.

Kentucky Legislative Bill Tracking At the recent KAR Legislative & Business Meeting, several pieces of legislation were discussed that could affect you and your real estate business. Here are the latest bills KAR has been tracking: HB 26 – Income Tax Credit for Small Business HB 51 – Taxation Commercial Real Estate HB 184 – Real Estate Appraisals HB 401 – Real Estate Brokerage HB 229 – Economic Development HB 300 – Human Rights (Fair Housing) HB 310 – Mold Remediation Standards HB 393 – Tax Liability HB 405 – Landlords and Tenants HCR 135 – Concurrent Resolution Occupational Licensing

KAR President Jeff Smith and 2008 DSA recipient Dave Schoepf with Secretary of State Trey Grayson (center).

To view an extended description of each of these bills, please visit the Legislative Research Commission’s Web site at www.lrc.ky.gov.

Please contact Anetha Dunn, KAR’s Governmental Affairs Director, at anethad@kar.com at any time if you have questions or comments regarding these bills or other legislation.

SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 15

RPAC In 2008, the following REALTORS® contributed to the REALTOR® Political Action Committee (RPAC) at the major designated levels. By contributing to RPAC, you are able to support REALTOR®-friendly legislators who believe in our industry and protecting private property rights, preserving the American dream of home ownership, fighting for tax reforms and reducing burdensome regulations on our business. For more information on the value of RPAC and how it works for you, contact Anetha Dunn, Governmental Affairs Director, at anethad@kar.com or 800.264.2185.

Hall of Fame members (listed in color) have contributed to RPAC a cumulative amount exceeding $25,000.

"Big Blue R ($1,500 and up)" Betty Schutte William Snyder Harrell Tague John Weikel "Sterling R ($1,000 - $1,499)" Dennis Anderson James Bramblett Steve Cline Nelson Collins Carolyn Edwards Kevin Farris Susan Helm Todd Hyatt Ann McDonald Rue McFarland Jerry McMahan Guy Montgomery Charlie Murphy Carl Tackett Danny Willis Thoroughbred R ($500 to $999) Gary Barlow Santosh Bhatt Alfred Blevins Linda Gibson Cecil Judy Craft Ray DeSloover Brad DeVries Lois Ann Disponett Donna Ensminger Brenda Gooslin Leslie Heath John Hodge Bobbie Johnson Donald Kepple Constance Lawson William Leslie Dot Miller John Miranda Karen Mundy Charles Nichols Mike Parker Lisa Presley-McGrew Jim Schack Don Sebastian Joseph Simms John Smither Richard Vreeland Kenneth Warden Pearl R ($250 to $499) Carl Adams C. Gary Adkinson Gina Allen Amy Arnsperger Mary Ballard J. Charles Ballard

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Rick Baumgardner Michael Becker Marlene Broering Tony Clark Ryan Clendenin Jerry Clendenin Kimberly Cole Bridgett Collier Harriet Conely Whit Courtenay Jayne Cox Barbara Curtis Kent Dailey James Davila David Davis Donald Davis Diana Davis Sharon Dickman Lydia Drexler Patricia Edison John Fischbach Barbara Flannery Robert Ford Charles Ford Debra Fox Connie Fryer C Gale Fulton Rodney Fussinger Donna Gordon-Willoughby John Groft Erika Gudenkauf Chuck Hendricks Alma Hopkins Vickie House James Huff Ronald Hughes Debra Humes Sandy Huwel Kathy Jennings Gerri Jones Jacqueline Klein Frederick Koller Mary Ann Krumpelman Evelyn Lacey Nancy Lage Brenda Loyal Cheery Malone Melody Malone Barbara Massman Sue McKinney Mike Melton Louise Miller Lynda Minzenberger Jonah Mitchell Elizabeth Monarch Betty Musselman Lenora Paradis Pat Parks Janet Perkins Delbert Perry

R. “Rip" Phillips Lisa Presley-McGrew Stephen Priest Russell Quick Nelson Rennekamp Janet Robinson David Schoepf Jan Scholtz Catherine Schramm Jeff Sherry Jeffrey Smith Doug Smith Patsy Smith John Stephenson Don Sullivan Greg Taylor Maggie Taylor Tom Thieneman Glenn Thomas Peggy Thurza Rebecca Trout John Vince Colleen Walker Obey Wallen Nelson Weaver Mike Wheatley Joan Whitman Linda Wiley Debbie Williams Ed Williamson Janie Wilson Ray Wilson Beverly Withers Amy Zimmerman Commonwealth Club ($99 to $249) Dianna Ackerman Lucy Ackerson Garrett Ackles Buddy Adams Norma Adams Connie Albrecht Cynthia Albright-Parrish Marilyn Alford Chris Allen Neleda Allen Mary Allhoff Joy Amann Dana Anderson Sharon Angermeier Deborah Back Sarah Bailey Matthew Ballard Mike Ballard Connie Barnett Ruth Baumrucker Lin Bell David Bell Ruth Bennett Colleen Berger Karen Bhatt David Bischof Jo Bishop Nancy Black Shirley Blackburn Mary Lou Blount John Bohn Marsha Booth Pat Borg Ruth Ann Bowen Julie Bradford Jenny Bradley David Bray Ted Bray C. Lamont Breland Michael Brewer

Brian Brockman Connie Brooks Cindy Brouillette Freddie Brown Jewel Buckley Pete Buhl Pitsy Buren Thomas Burke John Burns Cherie Butler Wm. Buzan Connie Byers Patricia Byrd Cindy Cahill Cindi Calvert Susie Carter Doris Carver Jesse Case Steve Cassin Pam Catlett Lynn Caudill Karen Cecil Brian Chase Ellen Christian Donna Clark Suzy Clark Jim Claxton Jerry Cleland Marilyn Cleland Lee Clore Ray Cobb Myrtle Coffman Jack Colley Charles Collier James Collier Russ Connors James Cook Chris Coury Margie Cox Sharon Craft Linzie Craig John Cramer Martin Crane Shari Crisp Pamela Crockarell Michael Culotta Shirley Culton Marilyn Cundiff Rick Curby William Curtis Joe Cusick Robert Damron Garlene Daniel Lynn Davenport John Davis Joan Davis P. Diane Davis Sandie Davis-Klemenz Shirley DeBoor Darrell Defler Alfred Dent Diana DeVore Mark Dexter Jenny Dickson Betty Dils Camilla Diuguid J. Ray Diuguid Suzanne Duncan Dennis Dutton David AlanEarls Joy Eberenz Glenn Edelen Louise Edelen Mike Edrington Tim Eickhoff Sidney Eline

Ann Elliott Steven Elmore David Engel Susa England Fischer Linda English Sue Ernst Marcie Estepp Mary Ezell John Falvey Jason Farabee Helen Fardo Michael Farrar Carol Fening Stacey Fergerson Debra Fitzgerald Frank Fleck David Fleischaker Sandy Foellger Chip Foley Danny Ford George Foree Donna Foster Paul Fox Karen Fox Leo Frank Gary Frazier Larry Freels Connie French Sandra Gaither James Gambill Lonnie Gann Jeffrey Gapen Douglas Garner Larry Gatti Linda K Gay Elizabeth Gibson Sue Gill Larry Gillette Don Gilmour Aaron Givhan Maria Gnas Paige Good Tonita Goodwin Richard Grammer Glenn Green Donna Gregorich David Gribben Joe Gribbins Paul Grisanti Kevin Grove Benjamin Guerrant Sandy Gulick Sherrye Guthrie Cindy Hack Debra Haddad Pat Hagan Ann Hager Jim Halfhill Steve Hall Betty Hall Barbara Hamilton Joseph Hampton Elaine Hangis Elayne Harkness William Harned Dorothy Harris Ellen Harris Kenneth Harrison Mark Hass Jennifer Haubner-Vories Laura Hayden Pat Hayden Tom Hebert Ruby Heisler Mark Helm Marilyn Helvey

Alan Hensley Bob Heuglin Mica Hider Arthur Higdon Andrea Higdon-Lane Dianna Higgins Sharon Hilinski Linda Hill Donna Hoffman Melody Holder Tim Holland Sue Holloway Lamont Hornback Lynda Houck Jerldean Howard Robert Howard Sherry Howes Mary Tim Hubbs Susan Huff Debbie Huff-Weiss John Huggins Thomas Hughes Gerald Jansen Roxie Jarvis Loretta Jobs Kelly Johnson Paula Johnston Kenneth Jones Norman Jones Shelia Jones Rhonda Karageorge Cindy Kelly Donna Kelly Susan Kemper Kathy Kimbel Nina Kirkland Marsha Kirven Larry Kleem Chuck Koller William Kopperud Angie Koss Karen Kraft Kurt Krug Brenda Lady Judy Lambert Barbara Lavender Kathy Lewis Maxine Littrell Laurie Logan John Lorms Charles Lotze Pearl Luttrell Meg Manning Robert Marrett Gertrude Martin Mary Martin Roy Martin Jennifer Mateyoke Dave Mattingly David Mattingly Mina Mattone Jim Mayberry Bonnie Mays Floyd Mc Carty Sandra McMillan-White Roger Meade Wendy Meadows Randi Means Joan Melloan John Melloan Jesus Menendez Sandra Metts Mimi Middleton-Osborn Sandra Mills Barbara Miranda Jennifer Misener

Rebecca Mobley Donna Moore Lou Ann Moore Steve Moorhead Christine Morgan Teresa Morgan Janice Mueller Becky Murphy Toshie Murrell Douglas Myers Joyce Nay William Nevitt Ivan 'Z' Newell Mary Nichols Patricia Nuccitelli Deborah Nunley Laura Oatley Brian O'Banion Pau Ogden Ephraim Osborne Pamula Owens Evelyn C Page Scott Panella Karen Pannell Ashley Parker Gwen Paul Delma Peercy Vance Peers Johnda Pelphrey Kathryn Pendleton Carol Pike John Pirtle Jeffrey Pitts David Powell Katy Prather Pat Pride Brandon Priest Lawrence Profumo September Puckett Evelyn Pusateri J. Richard Queen Patricia Radcliff Rick Rand Terri Raney Joann Rankin Norma Rapier Dottie Ray Theresa Reekers Luly Reinhardt Kenneth Reutlinger Scott Rhodes Michael Ridge Joann Risner Gay Rittenberry Donnie Roberts Stephen Robinson Peter Rodish Grace Rucker William Rudd Bill Russell Leon Russell Kathryn Rutherford Frank Sadler Lester Sanders Milissa Schack Mark Schaffer Judy Scherer Andrea Scholtz Sharon Schomaker Mary Jo Schuerman Annetta Scott Chuck Scott Kathy Sears Trish Segrest Cindy Shannon Curtis Sharff

P. Diane Shrewsberry Donald Sims Mike Skelton Toni Skiles Rodney Skoog Rex Slinker Sharon Smith Jeff Smith Colleen Smith Steve Smith Torrey Smith Sherry Spanyer Linda Sparrow Joyce St. Clair Stephanie Steffen Tammy Stegemiller Deborah Stephens Lisa Stephenson David Stewart Melissa Stinnett Sam Stockard Brian Stocker Rich Streicher Cindy Stuart David Sturges Linda Tackett Terri Tackett Libbi Taylor Shannon Tekelenburg William Terlau Phil Terry Jessica Thomas James Tinsley Peggie Tisch Judith Todd Marcelina Tomlinson Sharon Toms Van Tran Ashley Trautner Debbie Travis Sharon Tryon Lisa Tyler Betsey Vaughan Kathryn E.S. Vaughn Lois Wagner Walter Wagner Tom Wakefield Linda Waldroop-Lewis Mary Walkiewicz Rick Walters Cindy Waterman David Waterman Barbara Wathen Suzy Watkins Dean Wegley Ronald Weisberg Carolyn Wheeler Thomas White Stan White Jana White Shawn Willard Keith Williams George Williamson Susan Wilson Betsy Wilson V. Keith Wilson Harold Wimsett Stacie Wimsett Louis Winkler Wayne Wohlbold Amber Wood Earleene Woods Jo Wright

SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR速 17

KREC Information New Commercial Laws in Kentucky

By Lee B. Harris, General Counsel, and Kristen L. Reese, Staff Attorney, KREC

O

n July 15, 2008, four new commercial statutes went into effect. These new laws, KRS 324.235KRS 324.238, now permit an out-of-state broker or outof-state licensee to practice commercial real estate in Kentucky, so long as they comply with the requirements outlined in this article. It is important to remember that these statutes apply to commercial real estate only; anyone engaging in residential real estate brokerage in Kentucky must still be actively licensed by the Kentucky Real Estate Commission.

Kentucky modeled its version of the new law after Ohio’s current commercial brokerage laws. Kentucky is now considered a “physical location state,” rather than a “turf state.” Under these new regulations, the out-ofstate licensee must work under direct supervision of an out-of-state principal broker, and the out-of-state principal broker must enter into a written cooperation agreement with a Kentucky cooperating broker. These two brokers can negotiate the fee that will be shared for this cooperative agreement. There are now sample forms, which were developed by the Kentucky Association of REALTORS®, on the KAR Web site under the Members Only section or on our new Web site at www.krec.ky.gov.

In order to comply with these new laws, the out-ofstate licensee or out-of-state broker must: 1) work with a Kentucky cooperating broker; 2) limit their brokerage activities to those outlined in the cooperation agreement; 3) hold escrow funds inside this state; and 4) keep the Kentucky cooperating broker informed of their activities in this state. The out-of-state principal broker is also required to file a Notice of Affiliation, which must contain the out-of-state principal broker's or licensee’s: 1) name; 2) firm name; 3) firm address; and 4) telephone number, along with the other terms specifically outlined in KRS 324.237. The Notice must also give irrevocable consent to lawsuits being filed against the out-of-state licensee or broker and consent to service. Finally, the Notice must include a statement that the out-of-state principal broker or out-of-state licensee has not been subject to disciplinary action by their other states of licensure or convicted of a felony during the previous five years.

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Kentucky is now considered a “physical location state,” rather than a “turf state.”

There are steep penalties for violating the new commercial laws, and the Commission may levy sanctions against an out-of-state broker or out-of-state licensee who violates these laws. These sanctions may include: 1) levying a $1000.00 fine; 2) issuing a formal or informal reprimand; 3) reporting the violations to the out-of-state licensee’s or out-of-state broker’s other states of licensure; 4) revoking the authority to broker commercial real estate in Kentucky; 5) publishing the sanctions imposed; and 6) reporting suspected violations to the Commonwealth Attorney's office. If you are approached by an out-of-state licensee or broker about entering into a cooperation agreement, please feel free to contact the Commission’s Legal Department with any questions or concerns.

Lee Harris

Kristen L. Reese

Keep it in the Family Now there’s one place to go to find all the official REALTOR® classes, seminars and online education information. Visit www.REALTOR.org/edmatrix.

With the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and its Institutes, Societies and Councils you have the opportunity to earn valuable certifications and designations that can: I Increase your income* Build your skills to provide specialized expertise I Add prestige to enhance your professional image Increase your marketability, proficiency and productivity I

I

Find out more about the official NAR family of designations and certifications at www.REALTOR.org/education.

Earn An Official REALTOR® Designation or Certification

Official NAR Designations: ABR®, Accredited Buyer’s Representative, Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC), 1-800-648-6224, www.REBAC.net

GAASM, General Accredited Appraiser, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 1-800-874-6500, ext. 8393, www.REALTOR.org/appraisal

ABRMSM, Accredited Buyer’s Representative Manager, Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC), 1-800-648-6224, www.REBAC.net ALCSM, Accredited Land Consultant, REALTORS® Land Institute (RLI), 1-800-441-LAND (5263), www.RLILand.com

Graduate REALTOR® Institute

CCIMSM, Certified Commercial Investment Member, CCIM Institute, 1-800-621-7027, www.ccim.com CIPS®, Certified International Property Specialist, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 1-800-874-6500, ext. 8412, www.REALTOR.org/international CPM®, Certified Property Manager, Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®), 1-800-837-0706, ext. 4650, www.irem.org CRBSM, Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager, Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers, 1-800-621-8738, www.CRB.com

Official NAR Certifications: At Home with Diversity , NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS , 1-800-874-6500, ext. 1201, www.REALTOR.org/diversity

REPASM, Real Estate Professional Assistant, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 1-800-648-6224, www.professional-assistant.com

PMNSM, Performance Management Network, Women’s Council of REALTORS®,1-800-245-8512, www.WCR.org RAASM, Residential Accredited Appraiser, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 1-800-874-6500, ext. 8393, www.REALTOR.org/appraisal RCESM, REALTOR® association Certified Executive, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 1-800-874-6500, ext. 8545, www.REALTOR.org/rce

SRES®, Seniors Real Estate Specialist®, SRES® Council, 1-800-500-4564, www.SRES.org

CRE®, Counselor of Real Estate, The Counselors of Real Estate, 1-800-874-6500, ext. 8427, www.cre.org

e-PRO®, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 1-866-377-0627, www.eProNAR.com

GRISM, Graduate, REALTOR® Institute, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 1-800-874-6500, ext. 8215, www.REALTOR.org/gri

SIOR®, Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS®, 1-202-449-8200, www.sior.com

CRS®, Certified Residential Specialist, Council of Residential Specialists, 1-800-462-8841, www.crs.com

®

GREEN, NAR’s Green Designation, Green REsource Council, 1-800-498-9422, www.greenresourcecouncil.org

®

RSPS, Resort & Second-Home Property Specialist, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 1-800-874-6500, ext. 8393, www.REALTOR.org/resorts TRC, Transnational Referral Certification, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 1-800-874-6500, ext. 8376, www.REALTOR.org/international * Based on 2008 survey data, the median income of REALTORS® without a designation was

$33,200, and the median income of those with at least one designation was $67,900. The difference between the two is $34,700.

Industry Issues

Measuring Success with online Sur eys 4 H ow do you know you’re doing your job well?

How do you measure your success serving your clients? Well, you would probably have to ask them to find out, right? Think about it; you can’t improve unless you first know what you’re not doing well. To that end, how many agents send out satisfaction surveys after closing a deal? How many brokers survey clients to assess an agent’s performance?

The Internet age has brought a myriad of ways to reach out to people using new tools like social networking Web sites as well as tried-and-true methods like surveys. Despite the unglamorous nature of a survey, it’s still an effective way of getting feedback on your performance and improving upon that data. There are many tools for online surveys and we’ll look at a few free and inexpensive options that can help you gain valuable insight for your business.

There are two main distinctions between online survey tools; those that people fill out on a third party’s or vendor’s Web site and those you can ‘embed’ on your own Web site. All offer a free trial period to get a feel for the service, easy methods for building and sending surveys and data analysis of the survey results with easy-to-read charts, graphs, cross-tabulation and more. Let’s review them.

Zoomerang One of the oldest and most prominent online survey tools, Zoomerang offers the bread and butter of online surveys. Although they have fallen behind as of late in terms of the features they offer, Zoomerang still has a compelling product. They are one of the few that offer phone-based support in case of problems.

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by Mike Cutlip

Although all surveys must be taken by visiting the Zoomerang Web site, they do allow you to distribute a survey via mobile phones (only available in Premium package). They offer many predefined survey templates but do not give many options for styling your own survey (beyond adding your logo) with custom colors and layouts to match your existing branding. A new feature allows you to import an existing survey from the next vendor in our roundup, SurveyMonkey.

SurveyMonkey Offering a few more question types and language options for the same price as Zoomerang, SurveyMonkey is a prime vendor for online surveys.

They offer integration with MailChimp, a powerful bulk email marketer, to easily deliver and track survey responses. Online video tutorials can get you up and running quickly, and the simple yet powerful interface makes creating surveys a breeze. Although surveys must be taken on the SurveyMonkey Web site, you have options to add custom logos, colors and fonts to help match the branding of your own site. SurveyMonkey is an excellent choice for those needing more customization than Zoomerang.

Wufoo If you’d rather keep visitors on your own site you should check out Wufoo. This survey tool allows you to seamlessly embed a completed survey on your own Web site to retain your company’s look and feel. They also offer a vast amount of customizable features to match the look of a survey to your company branding, although it may take some HTML and design savvy to take advantage of the more advanced options. Wufoo can also integrate with Paypal to act as a secure online checkout for products and services. All-in-all, Wufoo offers enough ease of use to be great for the novice and enough advanced features to keep even the most techsavvy user entertained.

PollDaddy Although PollDaddy offers larger, more complex surveys along the same lines as Zoomerang, SurveyMonkey and Wufoo, they really shine in their micropolls. A micropoll is basically a small (usually single-question) survey that can be embedded seamlessly on your own Web site. It’s a great way to solicit feedback from visitors who wouldn’t otherwise take the time to fill out an entire survey. For an example of a micropoll in action, check out the homepage of BayStateRealtor.com and scroll down to the “REALTOR® on the Street” section on the left.

PollDaddy also has integrations with Wordpress to easily add micropolls to your blog. PollDaddy offers basic features for free, including their micropolls, but you can’t analyze the results unless you purchase a Pro package.

Despite the unglamorous nature of a survey, it’s still an effective way of getting feedback on your performance and improving upon that data.

Engaging your online visitors is one of the cornerstones of any successful social networking and Web site strategy. Not only does it give visitors to your site a sense that their views are heard and valued, but the information they provide can be critically important toward defining future goals for success in any industry.

And here’s a tip to get more responses; let clients know you want their opinion to help improve your services.

You might be surprised how candid people will be, and if clients know you’re trying to improve yourself they will respect you even more as a true professional.

Mike Cutlip is the Director of Technology Services for the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®.

He has a broad knowledge of online media and understands how to mix and match a variety of technologies to effectively market both people and businesses.

SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 21

Local Association News Local boards/associations are encouraged to submit information for this section.

Pictures must be at least 300dpi. Send all association news to hcooper@kar.com.

Greater Louisville Association of REALTORS® In an effort to help members be more productive and successful in their business, GLAR President Jan Scholtz and the Board of Directors developed a new program called Be Fine in ’09 – the 59 1⁄2 Minute Sales Meeting.

These sessions are designed to 1) educate members on the latest information, 2) offer members value-added discounts, and 3) wrap-up with a motivational session. The meetings are a great forum for questions and answers, as well as monthly updates on subjects that are helpful to our members and their clients. GLAR is scheduling these sales meetings once a month and have already had to repeat the very first session to accommodate everyone that wanted to attend!

Northern Kentucky Association of REALTORS® The Northern Kentucky Association of REALTORS® recently opened their new and improved REALTOR® Store and brought on board a new store manager, Pete Montgomery. The Association opened its newly built Headquarters in Florence, KY late last year and its tiny REALTOR® Store was able to expand to three times its previous size, selling everything a REALTOR® needs, including forms and closing gifts to custom signs, riders and listing lights, all with a 24 hour turn around.

As a special incentive to statewide REALTORS®, NKAR would like to offer 10% off your entire purchase through April 30, 2009 (instore and online purchases). If you have any questions or are in need of a special Art Reed (center), displays the SRES DSA Award with Jim Huff (left) and Ken Perry (right), KREC Commissioners. item, please contact

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Pete Montgomery at 859-547-1358 or pmontgomery@nkar.com.

Art Reed, NKAR member, was awarded the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the SRES® Council (Seniors Real Estate Specialist) of NAR. Reed was chosen for his extraordinary performance in his local senior community.

Lake Cumberland Somerset Board of REALTORS® For several years, REALTORS® from the Lake Cumberland Somerset Board have supported God’s Food Pantry with monthly donations of canned food and boxed food products. In today’s rough economic times, residents need just a little extra help to get them through a month and the program will be continued throughout 2009.

Kathy Sears, member of Lake Cumberland Somerset Board, was appointed Federal Political Coordinator for the Kentucky Association of REALTORS® in 2008. Kathy attended the NAR’s 2008 FPC Conference and Federal Policy Meeting in Washington, DC. The concerns Kathy shared with lawmakers will help them make more informed decisions regarding issues that affect the lives and homes of Kentuckians.

Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS® Searching for properties and REALTORS® in Central Kentucky just got one step easier. The Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS® has launched a version of the popular LBAR.com property and REALTOR® search for mobile phones. LBAR President Gale Fulton said, “We are constantly adding new features to our Web site and are very excited to offer a mobile property search.”

Need to look for a property on the go? Just visit www.lbar.com on a mobile phone. The mobile version of the property search allows you to easily search for all property types from a cellular phone. Search is available by address, MLS number, price range or zip code and county and property type can be selected as well as find a REALTORS’® contact information.

Lexington Named One of the Best Places to Raise Kids for 2009 According to BusinessWeek's second annual roundup of the best places to raise your kids, Lexington tops the state in the category.

BusinessWeek selected towns on a state by state basis with at least 50,000 residents and a median family income between $40,000 and $100,000. The list was narrowed to towns using the following weighted criteria: school performance; number of schools; household expenditures; crime rates; air quality; job growth; family income; museums, parks, theaters, and other amenities; and diversity. We weighted school performance and safety most heavily, but also gave strong weight to amenities and affordability.

Runners-up were Louisville and Owensboro.

Louisville Ranked Top Spot for Business The results from MarketWatch's second ranking of the best U.S. metro areas for business places Louisville in the top 50. Ranked in the 32nd spot, Louisville was one of the cities, for various reasons, that made some of the biggest moves.

This year's ranking of the best cities for business looked at several small-business categories instead of just the one examined a year ago. As with last year, the rankings are purely result-oriented and are based on available data in eight categories from various government agencies and financial organizations, as well as two business publications: Fortune and Forbes. No subjective criteria such as "quality of life" are included; the rankings are purely by the numbers.

Louisville wins nearly $7 million in federal housing aid Louisville received a $6.9 million grant from the federal Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. It is the only city in Kentucky to receive a program grant.

The grant will be used to buy, rehabilitate and/or demolish foreclosed homes and decrepit buildings and to develop new homes and vacant properties in five areas across the city.

Deepest Sympathies To Joseph E. Porter who passed away on December 30, 2008. He was past president of the Ashland Association of REALTORS®, owned his own realty company for more than 20 years and was a KAR member for 27 years.

Local REALTORS® of the Year for 2008 Becky Johnson Hopkinsville-Christian Board of REALTORS® Diana Stubblefield Kentucky-Barkley Lakes Board of REALTORS® Melissa Poynter Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS® Gale Lutz Madisonville-Hopkins County Board of REALTORS® Kathy Kopperud Murray Calloway County Board of REALTORS® Carl Adams Paducah Board of REALTORS® Jennifer Misener REALTOR® Association of Southern Kentucky Kathy Sears Somerset-Lake Cumberland Board of REALTORS® Marcie Estepp Eastern Kentucky Association of REALTORS® Barbara Massman Northern Kentucky Association of REALTORS® Kelly B. Mitchell Pennyrile Board of REALTORS® Dave Smith Ashland Area Board of REALTORS® Joe Simms Greater Louisville Association of REALTORS® Tish Hopkins Cumberland Valley Board of REALTORS® Erika Gudenkauf Heart of Kentucky Association of REALTORS® Linda White Henderson-Audubon Board of REALTORS® Pam Tournaud Shelbyville Board of REALTORS® Joann Risner Owensboro Board of REALTORS® Sharon Stubblefield Madison County Board of REALTORS® Nitze Stinnett Central Kentucky Association of REALTORS®

SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 23

By The Numbers

2,438

The average size of homes started in the third quarter of 2008, down from 2,629 square feet in the second quarter, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Similarly, the median size of homes started in the third quarter was 2,090, down from 2,291.

According to the 2008 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the percent of buyers that said what they wanted most was "help finding the right home to purchase" and 92% said that knowledge of the real estate market was a very important quality for an agent to have.

48%

36%

The percent of buyers and sellers in the 2008 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers who said the most important factor in choosing a seller’s agent was reputation. Sure, it’s nice to have a track record of sales activity, but there are other aspects to reputation as well. 23% of sellers said that honesty and trustworthiness were the most important factors in considering an agent.

50.5%

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, since 2000 Hispanics have accounted for this percent of the overall population growth in the United States. What does this mean to real estate professionals? Over the next five-year period, total households are forecasted to grow about 5%, which will add about 5 million new households. The Hispanic market homebuyers will make up a majority of this growth. For example: Hispanics, the largest segment, is expected to grow about 17%, resulting in roughly 1.5 million new households, which constitutes about 28% of the total five-year growth estimate according to the Gonzales Group.

In an Inman survey, the number of respondents who expect home prices to remain flat in their market in 2009, while 43.3 percent expect prices to decrease. Only 9.2 percent foresee prices in their market going up this year.

However, REALTORS® tend to be more optimistic about their own local market than the national housing market. Over 58 percent expected lower sales in the national housing

48.4%

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65%

market in 2009, while only 37.8 percent said the same about their local market.

According to HouseHunt, the percentage of first-time buyers for existing home sales for the fourth quarter of 2008, up from 46% in the first quarter of 2008.

% 40

In 2008, the percentage of the respondents who said they got most of their national and international news from the Internet, versus 35% for newspapers according to the Pew Research Center. The Internet's share is up from 24% in 2007, while newspapers also increased slightly, from 34%

According to a survey, by The Real Estate Book, sales associates dedicated this percent of their marketing spending to specialty print, personal Web sites and Internet marketing. Surprisingly, the study shows that agents spread their marketing budget among these three categories evenly. Categories that were given lowest marks for value were traditional mass media like newspapers and radio.

75% Other findings:

• 57 percent spend more than $500 in a typical month on advertising, marketing, branding and promotion.

• About 25 percent of their total media spend was on specialty print, Internet marketing and the broker's own Web site.

• The median amount spent on Internet marketing is $196 each month.

• In the current economy, the most important goal, according to those surveyed, is finding more buyers, followed by showing current customers you're working for them and getting more listings.

Nine in 10

Number of Inman News online survey respondents who expect the number of REALTORS® to decline to 1 million or less by the end of 2010, down 19 percent from the 1.24 million NAR estimated were active as of October 2008. Only one in 10 said they expect the ranks

Housing Stats

E

xperts, both inside and outside the real estate industry, have stated that now is a good time to buy. This statement is usually prefaced by the line, “under the right circumstances.” And what exactly are those circumstances?

First off, buyers, now more than ever, must actually qualify for a loan. A downpayment is needed in many cases and, personally, they must be mentally prepared for homeownership. If all things are a go, there are lenders out there who are ready, willing and able to lend money at very attractive rates - some of the lowest levels ever seen.

KAR President Jeff Smith agrees with the experts. “It's a great buyers’ market and a safe financial decision for anyone who intends to stay in the house for more than a few years but make sure the buyer is ready to take this huge step.”

Housing inventory is up and prices have leveled off. In many areas across the Commonwealth, buyers don’t have to rush to get into a home that is not right for them. They can take their time, choose from a wide selection of properties and pick the one that best fits their needs. Prices in the state were about even in 2008 versus 2007. Kentucky hasn’t seen the tremendous ups and downs that have battered other areas of the country so buyers need to realize that housing remains a solid, dependable long-term investment.

Sellers, on the other hand, are motivated to make something happen. In Kentucky, home sales were down close to 19% in 2008 versus 2007. With the economy still lingering in a decline, those who must sell are making concessions on homes. Negotiations tend to favor the buyer in many cases, however, once the national picture shapes up, Kentucky may follow and the market may shift back to the seller.

First-time buyers can also get an $8,000 nonrepayable tax credit in 2009 (see page 14). As part of the recent stimulus package, this incentive is a great way for new buyers to put money in their pockets if they act before December 1 of this year. Although there are qualifications a buyer must meet, the credit may help push some off the fence.

It’s time to buy – especially in Kentucky Tax credit leads the way

2008 vs. 2007 Board/Association

# Sold 2008

# Sold 2007

Henderson-Audubon BOR

325

386

Hopkinsville-Christian BOR

345

555

Kentucky-Barkley Lakes BOR

277

354

# Sold %

Median Price 2008

Median Price 2007

Median Price %

89325

103328

-13.55%

-37.84%

105350

103701

1.59%

-21.75%

105981

88959

19.13%

Region One -15.80%

Madisonville-Hopkins BOR

392

452

-13.27%

94750

92503

2.43%

Mayfield-Graves BOR

276

313

-11.82%

76375

67850

12.56%

Murray Calloway County BOR

234

244

-4.10%

119975

133793

-10.33%

1062

1278

-16.90%

112203

101500

10.54%

Paducah BOR

639

854

-25.18%

123305

128500

-4.04%

Pennyrile BOR

374

438

-14.61%

108875

98950

10.03%

Central Kentucky AOR

508

625

-18.72%

109125

116575

-6.39%

Heart of Kentucky AOR

1557

1855

-16.06%

133450

130925

1.93%

Old Kentucky Home BOR

438

565

-22.48%

113975

111665

2.07%

REALTOR® Assn of SKY

1704

2132

-20.08%

125000

122950

1.67%

Russellville-Logan BOR

168

187

-10.16%

93881

88400

6.20%

Shelbyville BOR

372

531

-29.94%

148944

157625

-5.51%

South Central Kentucky AOR

260

327

-20.49%

106450

109000

-2.34%

11375

14862

-23.46%

137750

141625

-2.74%

8169

9548

-14.44%

146400

147200

-0.54%

4972

5895

-15.70%

136098.5

139850

-2.68%

765

933

-18.01%

95375

93800

1.68%

Owensboro BOR

Region Two

Region Three Greater Louisville AOR Region Four Lexington Bluegrass AOR Region Five Northern Kentucky AOR Region Six Ashland Area BOR Cave Run AOR

105

NA

Cumberland Valley BOR

555

716

NA -22.49%

92464

NA

NA

102842

111150

-7.48%

Eastern Kentucky AOR

437

522

-16.28%

102500

104453

-1.87%

Madison County BOR

2305

2574

-10.45%

133975

137258

-2.39%

Pioneer Trace BOR

195

359

-45.68%

82250

95750

-14.10%

Somerset-Lake Cumberland BOR

643

704

-8.66%

112500

121000

-7.02%

38452

47212

-18.55%

109000

110075

-0.98%

Totals

* Cave Run Association of REALTORS® was formed in November 2007, there are no records prior to that date. ** Statistics for Cynthiana-Harrison and Dix River are not available.

Based on information from local REALTOR® associations/MLSs for the periods of January 1 – December 31, 2007 and 2008.

SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 25

Community Profile A Spotlight on ... Bardstown

by Hunt Cooper

K

nown as the Bourbon Capital of the World, Bardstown’s historical roots date back much further than that of its more recent moniker.

Bardstown, the second oldest city in Kentucky, was originally to be called Salem when it was first settled in 1780 by 33 people, on land given to John Owings and David Bard by Virginia governor Patrick Henry. Bard sent his brother William Bard to manage the holdings, survey the land and lay out the town. And with William donating two of the acres for a courthouse, the town was appropriately renamed Bardstown. In 1789 alone, 150 log houses were built in the district and in 1790, Bardstown received its charter.

The downtown center of Bardstown is a historic district registered on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district consists of twenty-six blocks with a total of 279 properties. Over one third of the buildings are Federal or Georgian architecture dating from the 1780s to 1850 and twenty-four of the original 26 blocks are in the initial grid pattern used to lay out the town's lots by William Bard.

In every direction, prominent architecture of the times can be seen including the Cobblestone Path, Nelson County Jail, Old L & N Station and Spalding Hall, all individually listed on the National Register. The historic Old Talbott Tavern Nelson County Courthouse, built in 1892 at a cost of $30,000, is a great example of the period architecture found in the downtown area.

The Courthouse now serves as the Bardstown Visitor Center.

Another great downtown structure with a storied past is the Old Talbott Tavern. Built in 1779, a year prior to the settlement of Bardstown, the tavern is strategically located near the end of the stagecoach road that once led east to Philadelphia and Virginia, making it the "oldest western stagecoach stop" still in operation.

Visitors of the tavern include a who’s who of American history such as Daniel Boone, presidents Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison and Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay, John Fitch, George Rogers Clark, who used it as a resource base during the end of the

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The historic Nelson County Courthouse now serves as the Bardstown Visitor Center.

American Revolutionary War, and Jesse James, who is said to have been the cause of several bullet holes in the murals. It has been described as having "slightly spooky charm" and was once ranked as the 13th most haunted inn in the United States.

The town, however, doesn’t rest on its historical laurels as it has experienced tremendous growth in retail and industry over the past decade. According to Mike Ballard, president of the Old Kentucky Home Board of REALTORS®, even through the expansion, the community has not lost its small town charm or feel. In fact, he says, various community organizations and the Planning & Zoning Commission have worked tirelessly to protect the historical integrity of Bardstown.

My Old Kentucky Home State Park is a state park that consists of Federal Hill, a historic Federal style home and former 235 acre plantation owned by Judge John Rowan. The home was built in the 1790’s, but it was a visit to the site in 1852 that is rumored to have inspired Stephen Foster, a cousin to John Rowan, to write his famous song, My Old Kentucky Home. In fact, the mansion is featured on the back of the Kentucky State Quarter after being chosen as the official icon along with another notable image for Kentucky, a thoroughbred.

There are several museums located in and around Bardstown commemorating its place in history,

including the fourth-largest Civil War Museum in the United States, however, the majority of attractions focus around what the area is now known for – bourbon.

Each of the four distilleries located near Bardstown on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail (there are eight total) – Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark and Barton Brands (Constellation Brands) – have their own tribute to the spirit that makes this area famous. Tours of the popular distilleries are available throughout the year and even more information can be found at the Bourbon Heritage Center, a site that pays homage to the pioneers of the bourbon making process. Even the BardstownNelson County Tourist & Convention Commission plays up the importance of bourbon with a slogan that reads Sample Our Spirit.

Bourbon, which has been around long before any of the more modern distilleries were born, took hold in Kentucky because of the climate and natural resources needed in the distilling process – the oak used in the barrels, the limestone water beds that flow underground and remove minerals that would adversely affect the taste and the corn and other grains that are native to the region. All of these together make bourbon a truly unique blend of flavors. And to celebrate bourbon, Bardstown hosts the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival, a five-day event held in September that draws 55,000 people from 40 states and 14 countries.

As a way to truly get a feel of the area, experience the Bardstown scenery and sample some of the finest bourbon, there exists My Old Kentucky Home Dinner Train. The train travels over a route that passes sprawling tobacco farms and storage warehouses for Jim Beam, the world’s largest bourbon distiller. Three- and four-course gourmet meals are served in vintage dining cars that have been restored to original condition, and the tables are set with traditional linens and fine china.

Bardstown has much to offer outside of its bourbon rich history. Throughout the year, various events are held within the region. Some at the Blue Grass Entertainment & Expo Complex and others in the summer with the Live at the Park concert series.

Festivals, tours and even a downtown ghost trek make up more of what the area has to offer.

Visit for the bourbon or the southern hospitality and find out why this 225 year old city has been named one of the best small towns in America and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail was featured in the New York Times bestseller 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

BOURBON FACTS More than 95% of the world’s Bourbon is distilled and aged in Kentucky. That’s because Kentucky has the perfect mix of climate and resources.

In 1964, a resolution of the U.S. Congress declared bourbon to be a "distinctive product of the United States.”

All bourbons are whiskeys, but not all whiskeys are bourbons. Bourbon must be made with a minimum of 51% corn, and secondary grains consisting of rye or wheat and malted barley.

By law, Bourbon must be distilled at not more than 160 proof (80% alcohol).

Bourbon must be aged in new oak (most often, locally grown white oak) barrels, according to U.S. law. The inside of the barrel is charred, creating a caramelized layer of wood, which mellows the flavors and imparts the amber color of bourbon.

Most used barrels are sold to distillers in Scotland, Ireland, Canada and many other countries, for aging their whiskeys and other alcoholic beverages.

SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 27

From the Helm Lessons From Literature Apply Today

by Susan W. Helm

W

e can all learn lessons from the pages of literature.

Although he wrote over 400 years ago, the stories and plays of William Shakespeare hold relevance even today. Plays such as Romeo and Juliet have spawned stories of star crossed lovers, the most famous of these being the musical West Side Story. But a few lines in Shakespeare’s play Richard the Third displays relevance to what our nation, our state and our industry is going through today and its hope for a bright future just around the corner. In the first scene of the first act of the play Richard exclaims: “Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious by this son of York; And all the clouds that lowered upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.”

In the play, Richard is talking about the improvement in his family’s fortunes now that his brother is King. Was 2009 our winter of discontent?

Kentucky had a rougher than normal winter, with ice storms, snow, cold, power outages and cancellations.

Then, the state budget woes due to the economy brought more worries, in addition to the economic conditions that have affected our nation, state and industry. Even some of our traditionally winning sports teams aren’t faring so well. But, Hope Springs Eternal(1) and soon we will be “blest” with the warmer weather, flowers and horse racing, we can look forward to improvement in our economy and industry, too. Then, we can bury the feelings of discontentedness.

Although written 150 years ago, words from another famous literary work are also relevant today.

Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, written in 1859, depicts the plight of the French proletariat under the brutal oppression of the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the French Revolution and the brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution. The first words of the novel have the famous phrase, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” Today, our “two cities” are represented by Wall Street and Main Street. We see the worst of times in how the economy affects us. On Wall

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Street, at the first disclosure of bad sales or unemployment news, the stock markets take a drastic tumble. Main Street sees the bad news represented by people losing their jobs, businesses closing and people unable to pay their bills, including their mortgage, causing family distress. But Main Street also has something Wall Street lacks – Wall Street is dominated by people who measure doom and gloom by daily or even hourly reports of economic predictions; but on Main Street, there is still a spirit of hope and optimism.

Even in the worst of times, Main Street still reflects the best of times in the ingenuity and resiliency of people who remain positive that better days are ahead. Main Street knows it won’t let the pessimists on Wall Street permeate them. Main Street has the “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…”(2) attitude, until It Does.

And so it is with our profession. We need to realize the best of times still resonate and will blossom again when the worst of times are over.

So let us all believe “the winter of our discontent” is about over and the “best of times” and “glorious summer” will soon be here.

We will all look forward to it.

Susan W. Helm, RCE (1)

Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never Is, but always To be blest: The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home, Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

-Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733

(2) The Little Engine that Could, also known as The Pony Engine, is a moralistic children's story that appeared in the United States of America.

The book is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work.

Some critics would contend that the book is a metaphor for the American dream. Source: Wikipedia

Susan W. Helm is the Executive Vice President of the Kentucky Association of REALTORS®

Up to Code Disclosure of Offer Sources: A Standards of Practice Update

by Julie Johnson

A

common misinterpretation is that a REALTOR® may be found in violation of a Standard of Practice. In fact, a REALTOR® may only be found in violation of one (or more) of the Articles of the Code of Ethics, however, the Standards of Practice may be cited in a complaint to further illustrate a concept introduced in one of the Articles of the Code of Ethics.

Based on a recommendation from the Interpretations and Procedures Subcommittee, the NAR Board of Directors approved a revision to Standard of Practice 1-15 of the Code of Ethics for 2009. No changes were made to the main part of Article 1.

Standard of practice 1-15 has to do with disclosing the source of offers. The following is the old version, which was in place for 2008, for Standard of Practice 1-15: REALTORS®, in response to inquiries from buyers or cooperating brokers shall, with the sellers’ approval, disclose the existence of offers on the property. Where disclosure is authorized, REALTORS® shall also disclose whether offers were obtained by the listing licensee, another licensee in the listing firm, or by a cooperating broker. (Adopted 1/03, Amended 1/06) Diane Mosley, Manager of Policy Resources in the Member Policy Department, tells me that questions have arisen with respect to the second sentence which provides, “Where disclosure is authorized, REALTORS® shall also disclose whether offers were obtained by the listing licensee, another licensee in the listing firm, or by a cooperating broker.” Specifically, the question has been asked whether the obligation to disclose the source of other offers is automatically triggered by a buyer’s or a cooperating broker’s question about whether there are other offers on a particular property. Put another way, if a potential purchaser asks a listing broker whether there is another offer on a property, must the listing broker (assuming the seller has consented to disclosure), in addition to responding truthfully to the question, also volunteer the source(s) of other offers? Or, is it intended that the source of other offers (assuming there are other offers)

will be disclosed, but only in response to a request for that specific information?

At the September 2008 meeting, the Interpretations and Procedures Subcommittee considered the appropriate interpretation of the second sentence of Standard of Practice 1-15. If the Standard is intended to be read as requiring automatic disclosure of the source of other offers in every instance where the existence of other offers is inquired about, it was suggested that clarifying language should be added to the sentence. If, on the other hand, the second sentence is intended to require disclosure of the source of other offers, but only when information about the source of other offers is specifically asked for, it was suggested that consideration be given to adding the words “if asked” to the middle of the sentence so it would read, “Where disclosure is authorized, REALTORS® shall also disclose, if asked, whether offers were obtained by the listing licensee, another licensee in the listing firm, or by a cooperating broker.”

The Subcommittee agreed the latter was the intended interpretation. The Board adopted the version that appears below (underscoring indicates additions): REALTORS®, in response to inquiries from buyers or cooperating brokers shall, with the sellers’ approval, disclose the existence of offers on the property. Where disclosure is authorized, REALTORS® shall also disclose, if asked, whether offers were obtained by the listing licensee, another licensee in the listing firm, or by a cooperating broker. (Adopted 1/03, Amended 1/06)

Julie johnson is the Professional Standards Director of the Kentucky Association of REALTORS®

SPRING 2009 KENTUCKY REALTOR® 29

A Day in the Life of...

A Kentucky Real Estate Appraiser Woodrow Wilson, Appraiser Harrodsburg, Kentucky How many years have you been an Appraiser: at least 30

How did you get involved with real estate and appraising?

A construction business and a real estate sales license lead me to closings in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. The appraiser was walking away from the table with more money than the builder and fees were $125 to $150 dollars.

What type of training is required to become an appraiser and is continuing education necessary?

The Federal Government has established the standards since the FIRREA act of 1989 and the current version, known as the ‘2008 Criteria’ requires three things: 1) a very specific education content (200 hours for Residential Certification and 300 hours for the broad scope General Certification), 2) a period of apprenticeship under a Certified appraiser which takes, at minimum, two years (although practically almost no one is able to do it that fast) and 3) a test at the end of the apprenticeship period.

The Kentucky Real Estate Appraisal Board has an exhaustive, very readable document which addresses all the issues available on the web at www.kreab.ky.gov (Q and A – How to Become an Appraiser 2008 Criteria).

What are some of your more important affiliations?

I have been or am currently affiliated with most of the major ‘appraisal organizations’ but I still consider my base affiliation to be with NAR and my two local board memberships at the Lexington-Bluegrass Association and the Central Kentucky Association. I currently hold both of the NAR designations and I am a member at REEA as an educator.

What are some of the challenges you face as an appraiser?

The evolving market and changing regulatory standards are the most challenging facets of our profession. Fannie Mae is trying to recreate itself in light of the excesses of the early part of this decade and the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, which is the result of New York State litigation against both Fannie and Freddie Mac. Commercial banks are also seeing significant changes in oversight requirements with the 2009 Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines.

Are their new or upcoming changes for the appraisal industry?

The regulatory changes including the addition of a new appraisal form for every secondary market appraisal, the

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1004MC or Market Conditions Study, will slow the process some. In more urban areas where MLS penetration is good, the data will be available. In the rural areas of Kentucky, the form and analysis requirements will be very difficult to deal with.

What is the most important aspect of appraising that a real estate agent should be aware?

Right now, the real estate agent should be aware that the appraiser is facing new and challenging requirements which may result in a somewhat slowed process and occasional phone calls asking new and, what appear to be, irrelevant questions. Especially, where MLS data is sparse or sketchy, the agent will be the best and maybe only source of the required data for secondary market appraisals.

From the perspective of an appraiser, what advice would give a real estate agent?

Be patient and cooperative. The professional appraisers (which is most of them) will survive the transition to the new regulations, requirements, and forms but only to the extent that they have a good working relationship with the real estate sales community.

What is the most humorous situation you have encountered during an appraisal?

Weird people, unbelievable decoration and improbable circumstances sum it up. The home owner who had a barrel full of rattlesnakes. The older lady who had a wooden casket in her crawl space (I didn’t ask). The sleeping 8 foot boa constrictor in the back bedroom (I had my picture taken with the snake). The government agent who asked if I could do an inspection the next day when the agency would be there, have ‘sufficient force’ and a Kevlar jacket for me (we don’t get paid well enough).

Outside of your business, what is your biggest hobby?

Grandkids, the farm and an occasional largemouth bass.

Last question, what is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Keep your priorities straight (God, family and business, in that order) and never take yourself seriously; seek the wisdom of older folks; and, don’t automatically believe the judgmental opinions of the ‘talking heads’ about your life, your real estate market or your money.