April 2023 Newsletter

MEMBERS FIRST NEWSLETTER

Big News! Our 3rd Annual PAWSCAR Awards just got even more exciting! We are excited to announce that one lucky PAWSCARS nominee will be named the Osceola County Association of REALTORS® Mascot for 2023! We need your help in deciding who should be chosen as the Association’s first ever Mascot. Starting on April 5 at 8 am, visit OsceolaRealtors. Org/PAWSCARS and place your votes for your favorite pets. Each category will receive a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner.

The pet who raises the most money in their indivdual category will be awarded the title of “2023 Association Mascot!” The new mascot will be featured in various Association publications and social media posts throughout the year. Even better—every dollar you spend during the voting time frame will be added to your overall RPAC investment total. Voting will end on April 11 at 5 pm and all of our winners will be announced on Thursday, April 14 at 3 pm during a very special Facebook Live! See you then!

Imran Mohamed

CEO

Message

Discrimination in the real estate industry is real and ongoing. As community leaders and real estate professionals, we have an opportunity to be a part of equitable and inclusive change.

TWIS LIZASUAIN CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Every April, REALTORS® commemorate the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and reflect on housing discrimination and segregation, past and present. Fair Housing Month signifies a recommitment to advancing equitable opportunities and expanding homeownership.

Reflect. Repair. Renew. Because That’s Who We R®.

Have You Visited Fairhaven? Fairhaven is a fair housing simulation training for REALTORS® that uses the power of storytelling to help members identify, prevent, and address discriminatory practices in real estate.

Inspired by real stories, this innovative online experience has agents work against the clock to sell homes in the fictional town of Fairhaven, while confronting discrimination in the homebuying process. Learners will also walk in the shoes of a homebuyer facing discrimination.

Get started by visiting fairhaven. realtor to explore the fictional town of Fairhaven and assess how well you are adhering to fair housing principles.

IN THIS ISSUE

• 2023 Association Mascot

• Fair Housing Month

• Welcome New VIPs

• RPAC Committee

• Osceola Brokers Committee

• Realtors® Care Committee

• NAR Benefit

• Commercial Alliance Committee

• Toiletry Drive

• February Market Statistics

• April Class Calendar

• Vital Industry Partner Directory

• Welcome New Members

New VIPs

Zean Verdesoto

HouseMaster Home Inspections

Edwin Vazquez

Jesus Oliveras Sr.

Jorge Guarin Loan Depot

Greetings from the RPAC Committee!

Thank you for your contributions in 2022. Your dedication to advocacy continues to help us reach our lofty goals for this year. A sincere THANK YOU to all those that invested!

We truly appreciate your continued support for RPAC this year. Last week, 29 OSCAR members served as delegates for the Association at the Florida Realtors’ Great American Realtor® Days. It was a great time in Tallahassee meeting with lawmakers and advocating for our profession.

Linton

Adrian Colon

Adrian Colon Home Inspection

Looking to get involved or increase your RPAC investment AND have fun? Check out these upcoming events that are right around the corner! In May, we are hosting an International Food and Wine Festival which will include a silent and live auction, cornhole competition, and our famous “Fling the Ring” game. This has been one of our more popular events so be sure to get signed up soon if you haven’t already! We are also participating in a District 12 event, Cars & Coffee, which is scheduled for June 24 and will be hosted by the current Florida Realtors® President, Mike McGraw. Please be sure to check your latest Realtor® Resouce for more details on these events and more.

Osceola Brokers Committee

Greetings fellow brokers! You did it! You made it through the first quarter of 2023 in what has undoubtedly been a very challenging market.

As Brokers and leaders, we must identify the challenges and find solutions to help us move our agents and their businesses forward. Here are some tips to help guide you in the right direction:

1. Stay positive. Keeping a positive mindset is essential to your success!

2. Re-evaluate how you can automate tasks and simplify your day-to-day.

SHARON COLLADO

OSCEOLA BROKERS COMMITTEE CHAIR

3. Find ways to reduce expenses

4. Provide more “agent centric” trainings with focus on the development of the skills, technology, automation & conversations that set them up for success.

5. Spot trends early and make the most of them.

6. Keep track of progress with current goals.

I hope that these tips encourage and inspire you to make 2023 your strongest year yet. Lastly, we hope to see you all OSCAR Broker-Owners at our first FREE Lunch & Learn on Tuesday, April 4 at 11:00 a.m. where we will be covering all things compliance.

JOE JOHNSON RPAC COMMITTEE CHAIR

Victoria

Mutual of Omaha Mortgage

REALTORS® CARE Committee

PAULA BUI

REALTORS® CARE COMMITTEE CHAIR

Happy Spring, OSCAR members! It’s chapter 4 of 12, already. Can you believe it? A new season typically ushers in a renewed sense of purpose, energy and focus for so many, and the REALTORS® CARE Committee is no exception. We are poised and ready to spring into action to keep making a difference in our community!

Last month, several members and staff participated in the Osceola Council on Aging’s March for Meals 5K at the Kissimmee Lakefront. We appreciate you all coming out and supporting the mission to end senior hunger in Osceola County.

Thank you to the members who have already contributed to our Toiletry Drive benefitting Clarita’s House. Let’s keep the donations coming in! Donations may be dropped off in the collection boxes located in the OSCAR lobby, classroom, and at the OSCAR International Food & Wine Festival on May 18. And, don’t miss this special offer! For a donation of $15 worth of toiletries, you will receive one free drink ticket for the International Food & Wine Festival AND your name will be placed into a drawing for a $50 gift card. Giving is easy, and the lives you touch through your generosity means so much to those in need.

April Member Benefits Guide

Save Time with Free Online Repair Estimates

Need repair pricing after the home inspection? Now, you can get it within a day without calling and meeting with contractors!

Next-day online delivery, with repairs prioritized by urgency and accuracy based on local labor rates and live materials pricing. It’s perfect for quick negotiations and planning.

Exclusive Member Benefit: NAR members and their buyer and seller clients nationwide can get a FREE estimate for all of the inspector’s recommended fixes simply by uploading their inspection report PDF at punchlistusa.com/nar.

Also, if you’re located in one of PunchListUSA’s service areas, you can book their contractors at a 5% NAR Member discount to complete your project before or after closing!

Commercial Alliance Committee

AMY NOBLE COMMERCIAL ALLIANCE COMMMITTEE CHAIR

We had a great turnout for our recent Land Development Code class —nearly 60 members attended! Our speakers, Ken Brown, Osceola County Community Development Deputy Administrator, and Jane Adams, Osceola County Development Review Manager shared great presentations on the purpose of the land development code, guidelines, and projects to keep an eye on in Osceola County. We appreciate them sharing their time, beneficial information, and tools to assist our members as they grow their businesses! Don’t forget about these two upcoming events for our commercial members! Both are great opporunities to connect and learn!

• April 4, 2023 | 9 am: Commercial Exchange; OSCAR Boardroom

• April 5, 2023 | 8 am: Osceola County Growth Update; Florida CCIM Chapter Central District -

The OC Building - 194 Neocity Way, Kissimmee, Florida 34744 | District Members: $20 ; Non-Members: $35 Register at www.flccim.com/osceolaupdate

REALTORS® CARE TOILETRY DRIVE

APRIL CLASS CALENDAR

Body Language &

Negotiation Skills - ZOOM Only - Chuck Bonamer

The best agents know how to read body language. Body language screams but do you know how to hear it? We’ll show you. We’ll unite them both - body language and negotiation skills for every real estate agent.

in the Appraisal Process - ZOOM Only - Kim Bell

The appraisal process can get confusing, and you may have several questions. You can better serve your clients if you know if an appraisal is an inspection, if the taxable value is the same as the current market value, if the square footage on county records is correct, or the important aspects of FHA appraisals. This class can give you the answers to such questions, among others! Six Layer

Effective Social Media Content - ZOOM Only - Elysia Stobbe

The impact of the tech industry has affected nearly every sector of our lives. This includes the way you communicate with consumers about your business. Your communication needs to be current and readily available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Millennial Facts - Classroom Only - Carrie Prieto

As home ownership rates have been declining, this course is designed to assist you to gain transactions and help family and friends purchase their first home. You will leave this course armed with the “What to Say” and “How to Say it” to reach those Millennial customers and become THE expert for first time homebuyers. Handling

The Vacant Land Contracts - Classroom Only - Nishad Khan

This course will discuss the nuances of buying or selling vacant land. We will touch on the differences between vacant land and other real property and discuss how to properly prepare a vacant land contract.

Classroom Only - John Johnson

Grab a calculator and get ready to master the particulars of loan qualification. New and seasoned Realtors alike will find value in this Loan Qualification Workshop, designed to continue educating Realtors who already have a working knowledge of the fundamentals of mortgage finance and general lending policy and practices.

Classroom Only - Nishad Khan

Every Realtor deals with Short Sales and enrolling in this course will help agents work through the unique difficulties they can create and come out successful on the other side.

Classroom Only - Richard Fryer

Mandatory ethics training requirements for new and continuing Realtor members was established by the National Association’s Board of Directors. The policy dictates that all active members must take a code of ethics class once every three years. The applicable dates are the same for all Realtors irrespective of when they join. The current cycle began January 1, 2022 and ends December 31, 2024.

Classroom Only - Richard Fryer

Understanding real estate law is part of every real estate licensee’s business. The more a licensee knows, the better he or she can work with customers and safeguard them from legal complications. This material will provide a “red flag notice” of when participants are potentially going into a danger zone—the unlicensed practice of law.

A Guide to Wills, Trusts & Probate - Classroom Only - Charles Castellon

Chances are if you haven’t experienced a seller who is getting a divorce, recently passed away, or has their ownership in a trust, you will soon. At the end of this course, the student will be able to:

- Identify how to handle conveying a property when a seller has recently passed away.

- List the timeliness and requirements of probate.

- Determine which person has the legal right to represent the deceased person in a probate estate. - And, more!

If You Can’t List, You Can’t Last

ZOOM Only - Jay Quigley

This course provides practical listing techniques to list more and list more easily. By following the suggestions in this course, you will accelerate yourself to a “Listing Specialist!”

Classroom Only -Nishad Khan

This course explains how to interpret a property tax bill, the difference between ad valorem and non ad valorem taxes, and how to properly interpret a tax bill.

Wealth Building Made Simple

ZOOM Only -Elysia Stobbe

Real estate can be a wonderful way to build wealth, but where do you begin? For those looking for a beginner’s course on how to start generating wealth through real estate investing, this is the course for you!

VITAL INDUSTRY PARTNERS

2020 Inspection Solutions

A Clear Choice Title & Escrow

A.C.F. Home Inspections, Inc.

Acosta, Moore & Shrader, PLLC

Adrian Colon Home Inspection

American Ad Specialties, Inc.

Americas Homes Inc.

ANB Inspection Services, Inc.

ARB Home Inspections, Inc.

Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group

A-Z Team Title, LLC

Budget Professional Services

Butler Mortgage

Cardel Homes

Celebration Title Group

Chief Inspection Services

Choice Home Warranty

Closer Look Inspections, Inc.

Collaborative Wealth Lake

Nona

Cunningham’s Inc.

Cutco Closing Gifts

David Allen Productions

Double S Home Inspection

Farmers Insurance

Florida TitlePros, LLC

Frank’s Home Inspection, LLC

Gold Coast Schools

Harding Bell International

Home 1st Lending

Home Team Mortgage

powered by Absolute Home Mortgage

Homebridge Financial Services, Inc.

Housemaster Home Inspections

Infill Consulting

Land Title Professionals, LLC

loanDepot

Luis A Martin’s Home Inspections

Magnolia Title Florida

Max Protection Group LLC

Moneycorp, Inc.

Mutual of Omaha Mortgage

My Florida Mortgage Solutions

Navy Federal Credit Union

New American Funding

Notary Hive

Notary Service Professional

Old Republic Home Protection

On Point Inspections LLC

Osceola County Property

Appraiser

Patricia L. Daugherty, Atty. At Law

Photography by Skip Stowers

Pillar to Post Home Inspectors

Planet Home Lending

Pro-Master Home Inspection

RBC Bank USA

Red Door Title Group

RiteStart Home Inspections, Inc.

SBS Inspections, LLC

Smart International Title

SnapHouss - Orlando

Solano Home Inspections Inc.

SouthState Bank

Stewart Title Company

Storm Recovery Experts

SunWest Mortgage

Systeco Services, Inc.

The Grove Resort & Water Park

TrustCo Bank

Two Men and a Truck

US Mortgage

ValueCast, Inc.

VHC Hospitality LLC

Widerman Malek PL

VITAL INDUSTRY PARTNERS

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Lizbet Acevedo Hilario-La Rosa Realty

Efren Aguila-Naim Real Estate LLC

Scott Alexander-Charles Rutenberg Realty Orlan

Jennifer Arango-Century 21 Carioti

Silvia Beltre-Top 7 Realty LLC

Maria Castro-La Rosa Realty Kissimmee

Wanda Cintron-Keller Williams Legacy Realty

Jhonatan Cristancho Angarita-LPT Realty

Migdalia De Jesus-La Rosa Realty Orlando LLC

Carolina De Soto Billini-La Rosa Realty Lake Nona INC

Esther Delgado-REMAX PIONEER

Juan Delgado-La Rosa Realty Internacional LLC

Matthew Dugas-Premium Properties R.E Service

Anthony Esquivel-EXP Realty LLC

Karen Ferreira-Keller Williams Advantage III

Eddy Gallardo Pauker-Valstar Realty LLC

Carolyn Garcia-IPG Realty LLC

Yessica Garcia Gomez-Empire Network Realty

Lemuel George-LPT Realty

Dariadne Gonzalez Hernandez-Athens Realty Professionals In

Monica Guajardo Garza-La Rosa Realty Lake Nona INC

Yosty Guerrero-Keller Williams Legacy Realty

Merida Herasme-Charles Rutenberg Realty Orlando

Daneibis Hernandez Garcia-Golden Key Homes Realty INC

Andres Jara-Keller Williams Legacy Realty

Paola Jimenez-The Property Pros Real Estate, Inc

Martrez Kendell-EXP Realty LLC

Ella Leontyev-Keller Williams Realty at The Lakes

Andrea Lester-Keller Williams Advantage III

Zheng Li-Freeman Realty Solutions LLC

Alanna Linares-La Rosa Realty, LLC

Sandra Lopera-La Rosa Realty Kissimmee

Wanda Lopez Rodriguez-HomeTrust Realty Group

Jessica Lorenzo-Coldwell Banker Solomon

Lisandra Maceo-Keller Williams Legacy Realty

Sandra Marcano De Bermudez-Athens Realty Professionals In

Deyanira Marquez Perez-My Realty Group, LLC.

Elizibeth Medina Ramirez-La Rosa Realty Kissimmee

Mayerling Mejia-LPT Realty

Erick Melendez Gonzalez-EXP Realty LLC

Cyndy Mercado Lopez-LPT Realty

Ezequiel Miranda Rodriguez-La Rosa Realty Kissimmee

Christian Moran-EXP Realty LLC

Woranuch Muller-La Rosa Realty, LLC

Vanessa Naim-Naim Real Estate LLC

Adriel Nunez Gomez-LPT Realty

Gardy Orona Cortes-LPT Realty

Bonita Ortegon-Keller Williams Realty at The Lakes

Claudia Ortiz-My Realty Group, LLC.

Nora Perez-La Rosa Realty Kissimmee Georgette Pinango-REMAX Premier Properties

Angel Pita-Agent Trust Realty Corporation

Maryoris Portillo Lopez-LPT Realty

Deeptha Rao-Folio Realty LLC

Alex Reili-Keller Williams Realty at The Lakes

Leon Restrepo-EXP Realty LLC

Vicente Rutigliano Arocha-Altis Realty

Betzy Salazar Moreno-Keller Williams Legacy Realty

Joanne Sanchez-Athens Realty Professionals In

Eddie Santiago-Lifestyle Int. Realty

Jacob Schwing-EXP Realty LLC

Raymaiah Scott-Fowlkes Realty Co

Neel Sheth-Central Florida Realty Management LLC

Nelson Soto Mugarra-LPT Realty

Imane Taleb-La Rosa Realty Kissimmee

Jennifel Trujillo Ramirez-Roman’s Pro Realty LLC

Jean Urena-EXP Realty LLC

Sandra Vargas Valdeleon-LPT Realty

Emina Vasquez-Century 21 Wolf’s Crossing Realty

Jonathan Vazquez Resto-HomeTrust Realty Group

Diana Kather Vitorino-The Firm RE

Jerfrid Volny-Double Doors Realty Inc

Brianna Williams-EXP Realty LLC

Joshua Winkfield-Compass Florida, LLC