The Communicator

AUGUST 2011

Issue 8

CALENDAR

To kick off REALTOR® Safety month, we would like to invite you and everyone you know to a free seminar with current, critical safety information.

OCTOBER 31 Chapter Plan Report Due

Florida REALTORS® presents the Guinness World Record attempt

NOVEMBER 9-13 NAR/WCR Annual Governance Meetings, Conference & Expo Hyatt Regency Orange County Anaheim, CA

"A Day of Safety" with Andrew Wooten

DECEMBER 15 Chapter Plan Report Due Locate other WCR Events on the calendar www.wcrfl.org

JANUARY 11-15, 2012 FR/WCR MidWinter Meetings Orlando,FL FEBRUARY 14-15, 2012 Great American Realtor Days Tallahassee, FL

**SEE FORM ON WCRFL.ORG** Add chapter events to the calendar send to Lynn@LynnMooney.com

EVENTS, ARTICLES & INFORMATION FOR THE NEWSLETTER CONTACT: Kim@KimSlade.com th

Please submit articles by the 15 of each month, in a Word document (if possible) and Arial font

EVERYONE IS INVITED TO THIS FREE SEMINAR!!!

Click here to view a short video about the seminar.

Friday, September 9, 2011 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Attend at your local board Participants with active real estate licenses will receive 3-hours of CE credit towards license renewal.

Click here to register.

This program is for real estate professionals and their parents, children, spouse, friends, sisters, brothers, EVERYONE! In today's ever changing economic times safety must come first. So, come learn the most up-to-date safety tips and techniques to protect yourself and your family.

You'll learn safety tips and techniques for 

Your children, home and office

Bonita-Estero Chapter Golf Tournament Friday, September 16, 2011

Schedule: 7:30am - Continental Breakfast/Registration 8:00am - Free golf clinic courtesy of Planning Partners Financial Group 8:30am - Shotgun start 1:00pm - Lunch, Networking, Silent Auction & Live Entertainment Cost: $60 for Breakfast, Golf and Lunch/Party, $20 for Lunch/Party only

at the Brook 23101 Copperleaf Blvd., Bonita Springs, FL 34135 Sponsorship opportunities include: Tournament: $500, Entertainment: $250 Lunch: $250, Low Gross: $200 Low Net: $200 Men, Longest Drive: $75 Women, Longest Drive: $75 Men, Closest to pin: $75, Women, Closest to pin: $75 Manned hole sponsor: $125 Unmanned hole sponsor: $75

Contact Information Event email signup: Adam Dalton, A&E Home Management Services, adam.dalton@aehms.com or 239.860.2323. If you're golfing, include your name and handicap.

Auction items donation: Emily Ross-Campos, 239-560-5503 or emilyestero@comcast.net Sponsorship sign-up: Jackie Nary, Downing-Frye, jmnary@gmail.com or 239.218.0328 General questions: Jason Lane, Lane Insurance Group, jason@laneinsurancegroup.com or 239.947.7474

Presented by:

What does Labor Day mean to us?

by Howard Lestrud ECM Online Managing Editor What does Labor Day mean to us? To many, it means the end of summer. To others, it means the beginning of school. Those are accurate assumptions but Labor Day is really much more. Labor Day 2011 will be observed on Monday, Sept. 5.

By going to the Web, we can find out more about the history of Labor Day and understand its true meanings. Let’s take a look at a capsule of Labor Day information as recorded on the United States Department of Labor website. Go to http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

INTERNATIONAL Ways to reach Global Buyers and Investors from Germany I am the NAR’s President’s Liaison to Germany and would like to share how to expand the global reach to work with buyers in Germany. You do not have to speak German, since most Germans are fluent in English, but you should have a German speaking lender, attorney, home inspector and/or insurance representative on hand in case of a legal questions or need for an explanation. Your buyer/investor will appreciate it!

You should make yourself familiar with the different customs: do not ask your German client how much money he/she earns, give them time to decide on the offer, (they typically buy one house in their lifetime and the house will go to their children), understand that in Germany the Immobilienmakler (Real estate practitioner) does not co op, do not assume that the foreign buyer knows how real estate works in US! Whether it is Germany or any other country – find your niche and make yourself familiar with the customs.

Invest in the book: “Kiss, Bow or shake Hands” or go on the many links at NAR global!

Event though you are not giving tax or legal advice, you should know the implications of the tax law for foreigners as well as your responsibility regarding the Patriot Act! The German IVD (like NAR) has created an International membership opportunity for €75 ($100) per year – this is one way to get to know your fellow real estate practitioners in Germany, invite them to become friends on facebook, if you have a German American Club, Chamber of Commerce or Consulate close by, join it! Attend NAR International meetings – every year there are more and more International attendees – join the events and network!

Very important is for you to be able to convert square feet to square meter (a little hint: divide by 10 it will be very close! The exact conversion is 9 square feet = 1 square meter) – and Euro to Dollar! If the house is listed for $135,000 – it sounds so much better if you tell them that the property is listed for €100,000!

A last thing: feel free to contact me with any questions about your German client! I am here to help!

Christel Silver, Broker/Owner, Silver International Realty (chs@silverhouses.com)

SUGGESTED APP’S & TIPS FROM YOUR 2011 WCR TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE Swipe Evernote Esign Youstream Jotdropbox

voingo dragging dictation mymoby.com/safeandrewwooten Jing 4shared docusign (free 1st month) Heytell neu.annotate signmypad Snagit Pdfexpert (fee) googlebox Change word document to PDF(free) http://get.adobe.com/reader/?promoid=BUIGO

Testimonials It was very nice meeting and participating with you and the others in the WCR State Ways and Means Committee Meeting. I am so glad to be helping out, doing my part, sharing ideas, etc. with this FABULOUS "WCR Rocks" Committee!

Enthusiastically, Gina Blanco, CRS, GRI, RSPS, TRC, AHWD, ASP, BROKER-ASSOCIATE WOMENS’ COUNCIL OF REALTORS® 2011 Miami-Dade Chapter President-Elect

Will Rogers once said, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there”. Keeping that in mind I decided to attend the 2011 WCR/Florida realtor convention and trade show. If you couldn’t find something that interest you there you should consider retiring. Two of my personal favorites were Creating Career Karma with Melynn Sight and the Social Media panel discussion. Later that evening I attended the WCR awards banquet. Congrats to Kim Slade for receiving an award and appointment to governor. And just for fun the evening ended with a 1964 Tribute to the Beatles. I am proud to associate myself with such an upbeat group of professionals and encourage make the opportunity to attend.

JoanMcMahon - Venice on the Gulf Chapter

Fraud with a Smartphone The Florida Land Title Association recently reported an incident to its members where a title agent fell victim to a fraud scheme involving a Smartphone and a new app that allows a check to be deposited by using the Smartphone's camera to take a picture of the front and back of the check.

A couple was issued a check for closing proceeds. They then left the agent's office but returned several hours later and asked the agent to wire the proceeds instead. The agent took the check back, voided it (rather than stopping payment on it) and wired the proceeds to the couple's account. The agent did not realize that the couple had already deposited the check using a Smartphone, causing a shortage in the trust account.

More and more banks, and even online payment sites like PayPal, offer downloadable applications for Smartphones that use the phone's camera feature to take a picture of the front and back of a check and deposit it into the payee's account. The real danger in this technology is there are no markings on the check indicating whether it has been processed because the image is only scanned and not run through a machine as it would have been had it been deposited at an ATM or with a bank teller.

The key to preventing such a scam is to protect your checks as if they were cash while they are in your office and also to refuse to exchange them for other forms of payment after they have left your office. Also, keep signed checks within your sight during the closing. Leaving signed checks on the closing table while you leave for a moment may allow a party to take a picture of the front and back of the check with a Smartphone and deposit it. Upon returning to the room, you might then be asked to wire the proceeds instead. This scam may not be caught until it is too late because the check will have been deposited without being removed from the closing room.

Please check with your title underwriter or the Florida Land Title Association for more information about fraud prevention related to closing transactions.

Where are home prices headed?

Compliments of Georges Lussier ANSWER: Home prices are being watched closely these days. Homeowners keep an eye on the price of their own investment while potential new homeowners look for the best prices to purchase a home. And market experts monitor the housing market to see if the economic recovery is taking hold.

Just the other day, the latest numbers for the Case-Shiller Index were released showing that the average home price climbed for the third straight month. Some of the gains may be seasonal, but the news is good for now especially since 19 of the 20 cities in the Index showed increases. The map below shows you which cities showed the biggest gains and allows you to see where home prices are headed in different regions.

Google+ tops 20 million visitors SEATTLE – July 27, 2011 – In just three weeks since its launch, Google+ has boasted 20 million unique visitors worldwide – more than 5 million in the United States alone – that has many saying it’s poised to be Facebook’s biggest competitor.

Google Inc.’s new social networking site has particularly impressed observers since access to it is still by invitation only, which means a current member has to send you an invitation in order for you to join. Google hasn’t yet unleashed Google+ to its more than 1 billion monthly visitors who use its search engine, Gmail, and other services.

Still, analysts acknowledge that Google+ has a long way to go before reaching Facebook’s 750 million users and even Twitter’s 200 million, but many are expecting it to give steep competition to both.

“I’ve never seen anything grow this quickly,” Andrew Lipsman, vice president of industry analysis at comScore, told The Wall Street Journal. While Twitter in 2009 was also able to capture as many new visitors, Lipsman said it happened over several months – not three weeks.

Google+ allows you to build a social “circle” of friends, easily separating out family and friends from work contacts, and then lets you share comments, articles, photos and videos with your designated “circle” of friends or even the public. Google+ also boasts a “hangout” feature that lets you do video chats to several contacts simultaneously.

Google+ features will eventually be incorporated into services like YouTube and in Google’s suite of online software for businesses.

Source: “Google+ Pulls in 20 Million in 3 Weeks,” The Wall Street Journal (July 22, 2011) © Copyright 2011 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD

A Woman’s Definition of Success Women are redefining the meaning of success – on their terms. They’re giving it a much needed makeover. Well-defined success factors or keys to success are important to a woman’s identity, to her sense of accomplishment and to her total acceptance of her success.

Women have defined success, particularly business success, according to other people’s rules.

They are challenging the “This-is-my-measuring-stick-and-it-can’t-be-broken,” mentality that women have lived with for too long. They’re breaking the stick. No longer do you have to accept success as a financial number, a career position or a number of years on the job.

The process of defining success can be a rich journey, or it can be a path laden with indecision and uncertainty.

Success for women is a journey with peaks and valleys, setbacks and mistakes, achievement and disappointment.

How you define success is actually your key to success. Here is a process to help you reach clarity on your definition of success.

Find Your Balance. Anything in excess is not a good thing. Too much money, power, and sugar can result in a huge ego, unfounded expectations, or high blood pressure. In creating your success definition, remember that there is always a payoff.

In starting and building your business from the ground up, are you willing to sacrifice the time away from your family required to do it? Will you lose sight of your goal because of deficits in another area of your life?

Know Your Altruistic Values. What is important to you outside of yourself? How will your actions affect your friends, the community, and the world beyond? Is what you are doing or who you are contributing to others? Is it moral? Is it righteous?

If you are willing to sacrifice your integrity to attain a goal, you might achieve your goal, but you will not be a success.

Keep in mind that at different times in your life, you will have different definitions of success. Sometimes women get caught up in one goal and define their life around that goal when there are really multiple stages of success throughout your life.

What you found to be a feeling of great success while attending college may not be the same as when you are holding your granddaughter.

Success is a determination of what you value at a certain time in your life. It’s evident in how you think, feel and breathe. Are your desires in the forefront, or do you help for the sake of helping, regardless of great personal sacrifice? The only gauge of that is in your soul.

Develop Your Character. What you speak comes from your heart. It’s your internal qualities that drive real success. If you are deplete, not possessing a honorable, high-quality character built on integrity, honesty and selflessness, you will never attain the true success that could be yours.

A dictionary can give you a definition of success, but real success is only determined by you – based on your needs, wants, integrity, values and beliefs. A woman’s definition of success begins with her character. Being authentic is being true to your belief system and your guiding principles.

What will your definition of success be? It could be a money goal, lifestyle change, good health, or use of time. It can be just about anything, but you will need to dig deep and do some serious soul searching to discover what success means to you.

About the Author: Karen Keller Influence and persuasion expert, Karen Keller, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and Master Certified Coach with over 25 years of experience. She focuses on women’s leadership and empowerment as well as executive, personal, relationship and life coaching. She is also a successful entrepreneur and author. Her other areas of specialization include mentoring, sales techniques, success skills, intuition, body language, management development training, motivational speaking, and corporate training. Discover Influence It! Real POWER for Women now! For your free subscription visit http://www.karen-keller.com.

Are You Planning on Attending The Anaheim Convention? http://www.realtor.org/convention.nsf/pages/registration?opendocument&cid=ce018&cid=WR06222011:21779&ed_ri d=541474

Special thanks to our Strategic Business Affiliates for their generous support OUR 2011 FLORIDA STATE CHAPTER WOMEN'S COUNCIL OF REALTORS SPONSORS:

Refer to them often!

PLATINUM: HomeTeam Inspection Service, North American Title Company & Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Two Men and a Truck GOLD: REALTOR Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, Inc SILVER: Audrey Lackie - Watson Realty, Bristol Properties International/Bristol Auctions, Naples on the Gulf Women's Council of Realtors, Paul Homes of Florida, LLC

Mission of Women’s Council of Realtors We are a network of successful REALTORS® empowering women to exercise their potential as entrepreneurs and industry leaders.

Vision of Women’s Council of Realtors Through our influence as successful business professionals, women will effect positive change in the profession and in the broader community.

2011 Women’s Council of Realtors Line Officers

PRESIDENT Robin McKeever

PRESIDENT-ELECT VICE PRESIDENT Diane McCombs

Amy Worth Paul

TREASURER

SECRETARY

Penny Ericksen

Pamela Banks

REMINDER: Check to make sure your information is correct on the www.WCR.org website Log onto www.WCRFL.org often to stay updated on what is going on in other Chapters in Florida. Add to the Blog – send to Lynn@LynnMooney.com Do you have an article or useful information about our industry that you would like to share with others th throughout Women’s Council in the state of Florida? Send to Kim@KimSlade.com by the 15 of each month.

Newsletter compiled, edited and formatted by Kimberlie Slade, Venice Chapter & District V Vice President