Designated Realtor - October 2018 by New Jersey Realtor®

DESIGNATED

REALTOR

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ISSUE 5: October 2018

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NJREALTOR.COM

OPENING KEYNOTE Jared James CLOSING KEYNOTE Leigh Brown

DESIGNATION COURSES on Monday

December 3-6, 2018 Atlantic City Convention Center

FOUR DAYS OF CE AND NON-CE CLASSES

110 UNIQUE SESSIONS

ICEBREAKER RECEPTION with live music

TRADE EXPO WITH 250+ EXHIBITORS

STATE-HOSTED EVENTS

VARIETY OF ONE, TWO AND THREE-HOUR SESSIONS

DAILY COFFEE BREAK & AFTERNOON SNACKS in the Trade Expo

KICKOFF PARTY (hosted by the tri-state YPNs) TRIPLE PLAY MOBILE APP

60+ SPEAKERS Industry favorites & rising stars 20 REPEATED SESSIONS

REACH UP. BRANCH OUT. VISIT REALTORSTriplePlay.com Register early to pay just $89*!

Play Along! #TP18

*When you register online by October 15, 2018. Hosted by the New Jersey, New York State and Pennsylvania associations of REALTORS®

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I M P O R TA N T D AT E S

OCTOBER 2 29

Realtor® Emeritus Applications Due

DECEMBER 3-6

Triple Play Realtor® Convention & Trade Expo Atlantic City, N.J.

NJ Realtors® Office Closed Christmas Day

NJ Realtors® Committee Applications Due

NOVEMBER 12

Realtors® Conference & Expo Boston, Mass.

Region 3 Town Hall Meeting Manalapan, N.J.

22 23

NJ Realtors® Office Closed Thanksgiving Day observed

Code of Ethics training requirement deadline

REMINDER: The General Election is Nov. 6. The voter registration deadline is Oct. 16. Register to vote here!

What’s Buzzing in Real Estate

Takeaways from Innovation, Opportunity & Investment Summit Real estate and tech professionals attended the firstever Innovation, Opportunity & Investment Summit in San Francisco in late August to discuss the negative and positive impacts technology has on different markets. Leveraging analytics to market potential clients, capturing and marketing home data, and video messages were some of the topics discussed. Click here for more.

Revisions to MLS Policy The NAR leadership team added additional revisions to MLS Policy Statements 7.42 and 7.43, which were revised in Nov. 2017 and implemented in July 2018 to give licensees more flexibility when they subscribe to MLS. New updates apply to specific waiver forms and the process used to approve them. Full revisions available here.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac End Single-Family Rental Pilot Programs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are terminating their single-family rental pilot programs after two years of operation. “The larger single-family rental investor market continues to perform successfully without the liquidity provided by the enterprises,” said FHFA Director Melvin Watt. Click here for more.

New Jersey Part of Eight States to Lose Billions in Potential Home Values Flooding has caused nearly $14.1 billion in lost value to homeowners in eight states, including New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, according to a new study by the First Street Foundation. Of all areas affected, Ocean City, N.J. was the hardest hit city, even surpassing Miami Beach. Researchers say the tri-state area’s pricey real estate is a contributing factor – read more here.

Resolution Close for MLS Copyright Debate The U.S. Copyright Office indicated it will accept listing databases as copyrightable “if they are sufficiently creative.” NAR has been fighting for the right for MLSs to obtain copyrights for their databases. Learn more here.

Realtors® Conference & Expo Nov. 2-5 An estimated 20,000 Realtors® and guests are expected to attend the 2018 Realtors® Conference & Expo in Boston. During the four-day event, 100 education sessions, 400 exhibitors, and numerous networking events will be available for attendees. Don’t miss the Realtors® Relief Run on Nov. 3, where NJ Realtors® will have a team participating in the 5K event. Join the team.

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Protect Your Clients From Wire Fraud NJ Realtors® has developed a Wire Fraud Notice that you can use to educate clients about the serious risks of wire fraud in real estate transactions. Because transactions are done mostly electronically and criminals are increasingly more sophisticated, it is imperative that you and your clients are educated about these risks – in 2017 alone, Internet crime victims reported more than $1.4 billion in losses, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Typically, wire fraud criminals cyber stalk all electronic communications regarding real estate transactions, particularly emails and social media. This allows the hacker(s) to study the language and personal details of those involved in the transaction, such as the real estate broker, agent, mortgage broker, financial institution, attorney, title company, etc. Hackers will even impersonate family members and appear as if these emails are from someone familiar and legitimate in the transaction.

What’s the best piece advice for Realtors® and clients? Remain educated about wire fraud and personally speak with all parties in the real estate transaction. To help with educating clients, NJ Realtors® developed a wire fraud notice for you to give to your clients in a real estate transaction. This notice can be used with the NJ Realtors® Standard Form of Real Estate Sales Contract, Form #118 or the Residential Lease Agreement, and Form #125 to alert sellers/landlords and buyers/tenants. The form now prints automatically as the last page of the Contract and Lease Agreement. The NJ Realtors® Library of Forms can be found through ZipForm Plus, which is a free service for NJ Realtors®. Form Simplicity is also available for purchase for members here. For more resources about wire fraud and other risk mangement topics, visit our Risk Managment Page.

Housing Discrimination Law Update The New Jersey Attorney General updated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination memorandum to ensure every person has equal housing opportunities. New Jersey property owners need to be aware of the federal and state laws against discrimination, regardless of residential or commercial purposes. This updated document provides clear, current information on housing discrimination laws and highlights key aspects of the state Law Against Discrimination (LAD) and the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act. The law requires that at the time of taking any listing of real estate property, a licensee shall provide the owner with a copy of a summary of the New Jersey Law Against Designated REALTOR® | October 2018 | 3

Discrimination N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq. — commonly known as the Attorney General’s memorandum. The purpose of the memorandum is to help owners, as well as licensees, comply with the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and federal laws that prohibit discrimination in the sale or rental of real estate. The memorandum explains how the state and federal fair housing laws should be complied in advertisements, sales, rentals, leases, subleases, assignments and showing of properties, including open land. To ensure you are using the updated memorandum, click here for a copy in English or Spanish.

ore than 200 New Jersey Realtors® descended upon Trenton last Friday, Sept. 21 for the first-ever Realtor®Palooza—a gathering of Realtors® for education, food and fun. Tickets to attend were priced at $15 and benefited the NJ Realtors® Educational Foundation—a nonprofit organization established to foster education, promote knowledge, conduct research and assist in the education of students pursuing a college or university degree.

NJ Realtors® President Christian Schlueter; and the keynote event given by real estate tech guru Craig Grant. Incoming National Association of Realtors® First Vice President Charlie Oppler was on hand to introduce the keynote, and announce the winners of the door prizes.

Corn Hole Tournament

The afternoon was capped off with a friendly tournament of corn hole, hosted by the NJ Realtors® Young Professionals Network. More than 20 teams gathered in the parking lot to try their hand at the bracket-style tournament. The final two teams (NJ Realtors® CEO Jarrod Grasso and NJ Realtors® Director of Government Affairs Doug Tomson versus Heather Tindall and Scott Lauri from ERA Central) battled for the coveted trophy, with Grasso and Tomson taking the win in a heated last round.

NJ Realtors® President Christian Schlueter, Rose La Pira, NJ Realtors® President-Elect Ilene Horowitz, Kathleen Morin, NJ Realtors® First Vice President Angela Sicoli, and NJ Realtors® CEO Jarrod Grasso.

Lunch & Learn

Attendees were able to take part in continuing education classes, meet and greets with state leadership, mentoring from association Past Presidents, free headshots and promo reel shoots, a walking tour of Trenton led by John Hatch of Clarke, Caton & Hintz, and lunch from food trucks (DeLorenzo’s On-The-Go, Rolling Pita, Chick Wings & Things and elemeN7ts by NitroGirl) as well as additional food and craft beer from Trenton Social. In the courtyard, members enjoyed live performances from the New Jerseybased band, Des and the Swagmatics. There were several continuing education sessions offered during the day — a New Jersey Legal Update with Barry Goodman, Esq.; a Realtor® Safety course taught by current

Thank you to our amazing sponsors: • Mercer County Improvement Authority, craft beer sponsor • EXP Realty, food truck sponsor • NJ Lenders, YPN Corn Hole Tournament sponsor • Paradigm Title, lanyard sponsor • Women’s Council of Realtors®, breakfast sponsor • RE/MAX, LTD., breakfast sponsor

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Have Clients Struggling with a Down Payment? T

here are many hurdles that prevent potential first-time homebuyers from taking the leap into homeownership. Affording the down payment is often on the top of the list. The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency has recently expanded their Down Payment Assistance Program, which grants qualified participants up to $10,000 toward down payments and closing costs. So, how does the DPA program work? Only participants in NJHMFA’s first mortgage lending programs qualify. The interest rate on the NJHMFA DPA program second mortgage is zero percent and if the borrower continuously resides in the premises as his or her principal residence for five years from the loan closing date, the DPA second mortgage will have been deemed satisfied. WHAT MAKES A BORROWER ELIGIBLE • Borrower(s) must purchase and occupy a residential home in New Jersey. • Borrower(s) must qualify and meet all requirements for an NJHMFA first mortgage loan originated through a participating lender. • Borrower(s) must be a first-time homebuyer, defined as someone who has not had an ownership interest in their primary residence during the previous three years. • Borrower(s) must have a FICO score of 620 or greater and

must meet debt-to-income requirements. • Borrower(s) may not possess enough liquid assets to close a mortgage loan at 80 percent loan-to-value or less. INCOME LIMITS Income limit is based on household size, location of the property and the funding source of the first mortgage. In no event will the maximum allowable household income exceed 140 percent of area median income. PROPERTY ELIGIBILITY • Must be a single-family home, condominium, townhome, manufactured or mobile home, which is permanently affixed to real property owned by the Borrower. • Two-to four-family dwellings are eligible if one unit is occupied by the Borrower as his or her primary residence. • Property is subject to purchase price limits, which are based on family size and location. Please see the statewide limit charts here. • The property must meet the respective guidelines for the NJHMFA’s first mortgage loan originated through a participating lender. For more information or to apply, go to theroadhomenj.com or call 1-800-NJ-HOUSE.

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Invaluable Independence

REALTOR® Annette Evans unlocks opportunities for developmentally disabled adults. BY LAUREN TUSSEY

ike most young adults, Ari Levinson was eager to leave his parents’ nest. Today, he is proud of his South Orange, N.J., apartment and his job at the local Veterans Affairs hospital. While Ari appreciates when his parents invite him for dinner, his active social life and participation in sports teams—soccer, basketball, and softball—often make that difficult. “I have a life,” he quips. That most common trajectory toward adulthood was impossible for his parents Michael and Jackie to imagine when Ari, now 43, was a child. He was just 2 when doctors confirmed that Ari had special needs that would almost certainly prevent him from living independently. They expected he’d eventually need to be institutionalized while his parents faced uneasy questions: Where is my child going to live when he’s older? What will happen to him when we’re gone? A House Nearby The Levinsons worked tirelessly to secure a plan for their son. Using their community’s network of other parents with developmentally disabled kids, the Levinsons sought to find schooling that could foster Ari’s social skills and independence. When they found out about JESPY House, a local nonprofit that helps adults with similar disabilities live independently, the couple learned that they’d need to spend the next decade preparing their son for the program. Meeting REALTOR Annette Evans at JESPY House gave them an immediate support system that seemed to alleviate all of their worries about Ari’s future. Evans’ involvement in JESPY grew from the caregiving role she had with her son, who became a JESPY client 30 years ago. ®

In her 30 years as a volunteer board member for JESPY, Evans, now a sales associate with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New Jersey Properties in Livingston, N.J, has filled many roles. “She doesn’t just sit at a board meeting,” says Michael, who serves on JESPY’s parent committee with Evans. “She is at every fundraising event, every seminar, every talk and discussion. She calls, emails, and writes to get more participation from parents so that JESPY raises money that it really, really needs.” Separate from JESPY House, she also staffs a parent helpline called Designated REALTOR® | October 2018 | 7

Mom2Mom that provides peer support for families with children with special needs struggling to find resources and hope. The Gems of JESPY Evans’ voice grows warmer when she starts talking about the people who live in JESPY’s seven residential properties. She seeks to shine a light on all the ways the residents contribute to society. Before working in real estate, Evans was an administration manager and business control consultant at IBM and says she would have loved to have had developmentally disabled adults working on her team. They are efficient and excel at their jobs, she says. They can also advocate for themselves, she says, noting that some JESPY clients get involved in politics to make sure their voices are heard.

“Developmentally disabled people kind of get overlooked. And they have so much to offer. [JESPY] helps them to be well-rounded, happy, productive members of society, which is all they want to be.” —Annette Evans “In New Jersey, they’ve been taking funding away from developmentally disabled people. Our clients are going to political meetings and fighting for their rights,” Evans says. “They get up to speak and say, ‘I’m living this life, and it’s happy and productive, and you’re trying to take it away from me and that’s not right.’ It can teach us all something.” Most of the people JESPY serves are leading full lives as employed, taxpaying citizens. Clients like Ari Levinson, who moved into his first JESPY residence at 21, receive transportation services at JESPY to get to work, run errands, and attend social outings. Case managers help JESPY clients maintain a budget and ensure they pay their bills. JESPY residents also help each other through the everyday struggles that come with having intellectual and physical disabilities.

“If more people were as kind as those who have developmental disabilities, I think it’d be a better world,” Evans says. “All they want to do is help, not hurt.” Funds for the Future Evans, co-chair of this year’s major fundraising campaign gala, helped the group raise more than $200,000, roughly double the total raised in 2017. These funds go toward housing, recreational programming, events for clients and parents, job sourcing, counselors, and more. In addition, Evans organizes workshops and brings in outof-state academics who teach parents and caregivers how to prepare themselves for their loved ones to age in place at JESPY residences, which has become a top priority of the organization. As clients’ needs evolve, Evans’ efforts have helped maintain JESPY House as a strong, adaptable program that currently serves 250 clients ranging from ages 18 to 70. As Tara Roberts, JESPY’s head of community relations, noted, some people are thinkers while others are doers—

and Evans is a doer. “I think she does it for the people— she believes in the mission of the agency,” Roberts says, adding that advocates like Evans make sure no one’s needs go unmet. Her demanding work and volunteer schedule means Evans is rarely home, but she has no complaints. “I do believe there’s much happiness in giving,” Evans says. “Some people get so busy with their lives, they don’t make time to volunteer, to help someone. I believe when I help other people, I get more back than I give. I truly, truly feel that.” Polls for REALTOR® Magazine’s Top Ten Good Neighbor finalists closed Friday, Sept. 28. Winners will be announced in October. Contact Annette Evans at annette.evans@bhhsnj.com and learn more about JESPY House at jespyhouse.org. Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the National Association of REALTORS®. Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.

Join NJ Realtors® in Boston for the Realtors® Relief Run www.ReliefRun.Realtor

NOV. 3 8 a.m. Designated REALTOR® | October 2018 | 8

READY READY

S E T S E T BOSTON!

BOS TON!

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