2020 January Newsletter

January 2020

MEMBERS FIRST

NEWSLETTER IN THIS ISSUE •

Thank you for Your Membership

•

President’s Message

•

2020 Board of Directors

•

2019 Award Winners

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GARD 2020

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Groundbreaking Ceremony

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Realtors Care

•

Sponsorship Opportunities

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Global Alliance Committee Luncheon

•

Osceola County Legislative Update

•

Code of Ethics Update

•

2020 Census

•

RPAC Recap

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January Class Schedule

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Affiliate Business Partners

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New Member Welcome

Thank you for your Membership!

We’d like to wish you a Happy New Year! Thank you for choosing us as your Association. Our members are the foundation of this Association and we’re so fortunate to have you as part of our organization!

As we move forward into 2020, we encourage our members to Be The Difference in their work, home and personal lives.

We will continue to provide excellent service, advocacy, and resources for Realtors® in Central Florida.

194 NEOCITY WAY, SUITE 400, KISSIMMEE, FL 34744

Joe Johnson 2020 President PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Happy New Year to our membership! Thank you so much for being part of this Association and I wish you all a happy and successful new year.

It is truly an honor to serve as your president this year. I will do my best to serve our members and the community to better the Association and uphold our mission. We have some exciting events to look forward to and a new building for the Association. This project will make a huge impact for us and make room for growth in the coming years.

We are very fortunate to have an outstanding group of leaders serving on our Board of Directors and Executive Committee. With their guidance and experience, our membership will have the support and resources needed to succeed. Let’s make this a great year and remember, Be The Difference!

2020 Board of Directors

Donnie Martinez President-Elect

Jose Alvarez

Imran Mohamed

Danny Hernandez Past President

Ben Robles, Jr. Treasurer

Norkis Fernandez-Valdez Maria Flores-Garcia

Jose Ortiz

Teresa Reilly-O’Doherty

Twis Lizasuain Alexandra Arena-Gil Chief Executive Officer Secretary

James K. Lowe

Gladys Thayer

Be the Difference

Kelvis Melo

Tim Weisheyer

2019 Award Winners

Linda Goodwin-Nichols Lifetime Achievement Award

Gladys Thayer RealtorÂŽ Rising Star of the Year

Leslie Hanna Affiliate Member of the Year

Sue Vasquez RealtorÂŽ of the Year

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Results Realty Real Estate Office of the Year

Freedom Mortgage Corporation Affiliate Office of the Year

Congratulations to all the award winners! We appreciate all that you do for the Association. For more pictures, please visit our Facebook Page at www.Facebook.com/OsceolaRealtors.

New Year, New Building!

Thank you for your membership! As we kick off the new year, I’d like to thank our members for an amazing 2019. We made a lot of strides both as an Association and as a resource for Realtors®. Let’s keep this momentum in 2020 and Be The Difference!

Last Friday, we broke ground for our new facility which will be located on our current site. Our board leadership, members, elected officials and community partners celebrated this momentous occasion with us.

The new building is projected to open in late 2020 and will have the new address of 1105 Cross Prairie Parkway, Kissimmee, FL 34744. The building will be three times the size of the current facility.

TWIS LIZASUAIN

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Coming in 2020!

New Building Stats: • 8,920 Square feet • 119 Parking Spaces • 200 Capacity for Classes • Arnco Construction, General Contractor • Financed by CenterState Bank • 1st Floor: Offices, Board Room, Realtors® Store • 2nd Floor: Classrooms/Multi-purpose room (available for event rentals) • Multi-purpose room available for event rentals • Bike Rack Available • Shared Driveway with Valencia College

Remember When?

Our first Association office broke ground in 1984 and officially opened for members in 1985. The building was 2,450 square feet with a capacity of 60 in the classroom.

In the News:

Christmas Angels The REALTORS® Care Committee partnered with Guardian Ad Litem Osceola to bring a Merry Christmas to foster children across our community. With the help of Association membership, staff and members of the community, the REALTORS® Care Committee was able to collect gifts for 91 children in our community. This amazing accomplishment was featured in our local newspapers, Osceola News Gazette and Osceola Community Newspaper.

The Florida Guardian ad Litem Program is a partnership of community advocates and professional staff providing a powerful voice for children. They advocate for the best interests of children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment.

“We adopted 91 angels for the foster children in our community and were happy to bring joy this holiday season. We would like to thank everyone who participated and helped so many deserving children enjoy a brighter holiday,” stated 2019 President Danny Hernandez.

Sponsorship Opportunities Do you know any businesses that would benefit from joining our membership? We are looking for companies that provide products or services to the real estate industry. As part of our membership, Affiliates receive many benefits including: • Free Advertisement. Our Affiliate roster is included in our New Member packets and our monthly newsletter. Both of these publications put your contact information into the hands of every new member joining the Association. Paid advertisements are also available. Contact us at 407-846-0117, Membership@osceola-realtors.com, or visit www.OsceolaRealtors.com/affiliates-2/ for more information.

• Sponsorship Opportunities. Affiliates are given the opportunity to sponsor educational classes, luncheons, and events. Sponsorships include logo placement on all promotional materials, social media marketing, recognition during the event/class, and the ability to distribute promotional material regarding your company. If you’d like to be a sponsor please contact Nancy Hubbard at 407-846-0117 or nhubbard@Osceola-realtors.com.

• Relationship Building. Affiliates may join certain committees as a non-voting member to assist with Association activities, give back to our community, and build relationships with our members. Being involved in the Association activities will lead to an increase of our members recognition of your company.

To apply as an Affiliate member, please visit our website at www.Osceolarealtors. com/affiliate-members-application, contact us at 407-846-0117 or memberships@ osceola.com. Becoming an Affiliate is an excellent opportunity to get your company’s name out to individuals that can directly benefit from your products and/or services.

Federal Legislative Update Sean Whyard Government Affairs Coordinator

Federal Funding Bill Included Multiple Realtor® Wins The 1.4 trillion-dollar spending bill that was signed by the President included multiple Realtor® victories.

• National Flood Insurance Program: A ninemonth extension of NFIP’s authority will ensure policies can be issued and renewed through September 30, 2020.

• Terrorism Risk Insurance Program: Seven-year reauthorization gives commercial members a victory as the year ends.

• Tax Extenders: Included in the package are temporary extensions of three tax provisions directly impacting the real estate industry: • T he exclusion of forgiven mortgage debt from gross income, meaning that owners of primary residences who sold them short and had part of their mortgage debt written off will not have to pay tax on the amount forgiven.

• The deductibility of premiums for mortgage insurance.

• The deduction of the cost of improvements to commercial buildings that make them energy efficient. These provisions had all expired at the end of 2017, but the bill extends them, retroactive to the beginning of 2018, and through the end of 2020.

Osceola Count y Legislative Update Osceola County Approves Osceola Parkway Extension Route This route is considered the “Split Oak Minimization Route” because it cuts through the southern portion of Split Oak Forest. Since both Osceola County and Orange County approved the route, this paves the way for Osceola Parkway to be extended by nine miles, connecting State Road 417 to new and planned developments, including Tavistock’s Sunbridge development. Both the developers and Osceola County believe this will provide much needed transportation infrastructure for the region of the county.

Multiple state agencies will need to sign off on this before the project moves forward.

UPDATE: Code of Ethics Extended to 3 Years The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Board of Directors recently made changes regarding the Code of Ethics (COE) course requirement and tracking.

We are still in Cycle 6. The change was that the 2 year cycle, originally to run 2019-2020, has been extended to 3 years.

So, our current Cycle 6 runs through December 31, 2021. Thereafter, the COE cycle becomes a 3 year cycle. Cycle 7 which will start 1/1/2022, will run through 12/31/2024.

The NAR online COE course remains on nar.realtor and includes the free course. Please be aware that C2EX is not eligible for CE credit, even in the case where the member uses the C2EX to meet the NAR COE cycle course requirement.

If you need more information on the Commitment to Excellence Program, please visit https://www.nar.realtor/commitment-to-excellence.

CENTER FOR REALTOR® DEVELOPMENT

JANUARY PROMOTIONS

To register for Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) Designation Courses, visit: http://bit.ly/2u7C1HP To register for e-PRO® Certification Courses, visit: http://bit.ly/2Fasv9n This offer is valid from January 1st through January 31st.

All courses and bundles expire one year from date of purchase.

January Calendar

Code of Ethics

1/7/2020

REDEEM YOUR EDUCATION VOUCHERS BEFORE 12/31/2020

9:00 am-12:00 pm

3CE

Mandatory ethics training requirements for new and continuing Realtor members was established by the National Association’s Board of Directors at the 1999 Annual Convention and went into effect for all active Realtor members January 1, 2001. The policy dictates that all active members must take a code of ethics class once every two years. The applicable dates are the same for all Realtors irrespective of when they join. The current cycle begins January 1, 2019 and ends December 31, 2021.

Core Law 1/7/2020 1:00 pm-4:00 pm 3CE Laws governing real estate are complex and varied. This course provides an advanced look into real estate law beyond the basic sales associates’ course. This course is not designed to make participants legal experts, but rahter to help them identify and understand legal issues that arise.

The more a licensee knows, the better he or she can work with customers and safeguard them from legal complications. This understanding will also help licensees avoid serious complications and minimize risk for themselves and their brokers.

MLS Basic 1/8/2020 9:00 am-12:00 pm 0CE This class introduces you to the Matrix MLS system and shows you how to use it for your business. Learn about: personalizing your settings in Matrix; exploring market areas; searching by criteria and location; and managing the emails your contacts receive from you. REGISTER: STELLARMLS.COM

MLS Compliance 101

1/8/2020

1:00 pm-2:15 pm

0CE

To ensure the integrity of listing information and to protect the cooperative nature of the MLS, rules and regulations are in place for how to enter listings and use MLS information. This class will walk you through the rules, to ensure the best possible MLS experience for all subscribers.

REGISTER: STELLARMLS.COM

MLS Adding and Editing Listings 1/8/2020

2:30 pm-3:45 pm

0CE

This class shows you how to enter listings into the MLS. Topics include: types of listings; required paperwork for entering a listing; key fields on the listing entry form; adding photos and attachments; listing remarks; sending listings to various portals and websites; and making changes to a listing. REGISTER: STELLARMLS.COM

iCE Topic: Code of Ethics

1/9/2020

1:00 pm-4:00 pm

3CE

Mandatory ethics training requirements for new and continuing Realtor members was established by the National Association’s Board of Directors at the 1999 Annual Convention and went into effect for all active Realtor members January 1, 2001. The policy dictates that all active members must take a code of ethics class once every two years. The applicable dates are the same for all Realtors irrespective of when they join. The current cycle begins January 1, 2019 and ends December 31, 2021.

Choosing & Writing a Successful 1/10/2020 Contract

9:00 am-5:00 pm

7CE

The purpose of this class is to assist you in competently preparing a purchase and sale contract for residential real estate. You will likely be nervous the first couple of times you prepare one, and that’s normal.

However, that nervous anxiety should not be due to a lack of competence.

Rather, you’re anxious because you want to do it right!

Code of Ethics (Spanish)

1/21/2020

1:00 pm-4:00 pm

3CE

Mandatory ethics training requirements for new and continuing Realtor® members was established by the National Association’s Board of Directors at the 1999 Annual Convention and went into effect for all active Realtor® members January 1, 2001. The policy dictates that all active members must take a code of ethics class once every two years. The applicable dates are the same for all Realtors irrespective of when they join. The current cycle begins January 1, 2019 and ends December 31, 2021.

Data Driven Marketing Through

1/22/2020

1:00 pm-3:00 pm

0CE

Remine If you spend time online these days, you have probably received a targeted ad with the right product for you at just the right time! What if you could take a similar approach to your real estate marketing? Rather than spending money advertising to people who are not a good match for your services, through Remine, you can use a variety of data and predictive analytics to hone in on individuals most likely to buy or sell. You can have tools to quickly engage with those individuals, such as the ability to build lists, export data, create labels and send mailers. Remine also offers many third-party integrations to make your life easier. REGISTER: STELLARMLS.COM

GRI 101 Professional Standards

1/29-30, 2020

8:00 am-5:00 pm

Standards of Practice (Course 1): GRI 101, 102, and 103 are each a 15-hour course with a 1.5-hour exam approved for 8 hours of continuing education specialty credit or 15 hours of sales associate post licensing credit per module.

Module GRI 101 carries 3 hours of Core Law credit, 3 hours of Ethics & Business Practices credit and meets the NAR Code of Ethics requirement.

14CE

$129

IMPORTANT: REGISTERING FOR CLASS Many of our classes, particularly CRP™ classes, fill quickly. We offer each CRP™ class two times during the year. Please check for the second date if the first date is full. Please enroll in any of the classes offered at the Association online on the Members Portal at www.osceolarealtors.com or by calling Membership Services.

As many of you are aware, classes, membership and committee activities are being held at our new (temporary) office located at 194 NeoCity Way, Suite 400, Kissimmee, FL 34744. Please be aware that there are multiple buildings on site, the parking lot is larger so you may walk further, you will be required to check in with security on the first floor and, our office is on the fourth floor which may require a wait time for the elevator. Therefore, it may take a little longer to arrive at class. Please plan accordingly. We are encouraging all participants to arrive at least 30 minutes before class time. Class will start promptly at the scheduled time and those who arrive late will not be guaranteed entry once class starts.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

AFFILIATE BUSINESS COMMUNITY A Clear Choice Title & Escrow A.C.F. Home Inspections, Inc. Advertising Mania Adames Pest Solutions, Inc. ANB Inspection Services, Inc. Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group A-Z Team Title, LLC Bay Equity Home Loans BPG Inspection, LLC Brightway Insurance Budget Professional Services Butler Mortgage Celebration Title Group Centennial Bank CenterState Bank of Florida, N.A. Chief Inspection Services Closer Look Inspections, Inc. Cross Country Mortgage Cunningham’s Inc. Double S Home Inspection Edward Lian Photography Esquire Home Inspection, LLC First American Title Freedom Mortgage Corporation Globe Home Protection Hamilton Group Funding Hanover Family Builders Home Warranty of America Homebridge Financial Services, Inc. Housemaster Home Inspections Howell International Tax IFREC Real Estate Schools Inspect Central Florida Integrity First Title K. Hovnanian Homes Land Title Professionals, LLC Law Office of Daniel Villazon

Luis A Martin’s Home Inspections Maronda Homes Mattamy Homes Moneycorp, Inc. My Florida Mortgage Solutions New American Funding Oliver Title Law Olympus Insurance Company Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. Patricia L. Daugherty, Atty. At Law Photography by Skip Stowers Pillar to Post Home Inspections Platinum Title of Central Florida Prodigal Homes Inspection & Consulting RBC Bank Reach Reliable Building Inspections Roland H. Acosta & Associates, P.A. SBC–CPA Sihle Insurance Group Smart International Title, LLC Solano Home Inspections Inc. Stewart Title Company SunTrust Mortgage Systeco The AlfaOmega Financial Group The Grove Resort & Water Park The Mortgage Firm TrustCo Bank Two Men and a Truck Uniform Cottage ValueCast, Inc. Varep Central Florida Chapter Wayne’s Home Inspections, LLC Widerman Malek PL Windsor at Celebration

AFFILIATE BUSINESS COMMUNITY Gold Affiliate Sponsor

Edward Lian Photography

Bronze Affiliate Sponsor

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Deisi Del Toro – EXP Realty, LLC

Monica Olivera – Zea Realty & Associates

Michael McNamara – Keller Williams at The Lakes Jayne Carl – The Property Pros Real Estate, Inc.

Janirette Carrasquillo Aponte – The Property Pros Real Estate, Inc.

Sherry Woltering – Ackley Florida Property Manage

Ashley Hellesvig – Keller Williams at The Lakes Decoda Roberts – Keller Williams at The Lakes

Erica Lomax – Century 21 Carioti

Gustavo Vazquez – Roman’s Pro Realty LLC

Luis Garcia – Keller Williams Legacy Realty

Fe Irodita De Leon – Agent Trust Realty Corporation

Maria Boscan Devis – La Rosa Realty Lake Nona Inc.

Michelle Lyston – First American Real Estate

Mathew Martell – Keller Williams at The Lakes

Liset Molina Pina – La Rosa Realty Kissimmee

Monica Salas – La Rosa Realty Kissimmee

Ana Barreto Clavijo – EXP Realty, LLC

Monica Vega Stiskin – 407Hub Real Estate LLC

Thomas Neuman – Watson Realty Corp.

Maglinger Boscan – La Rosa Realty Internacional LLC

Ana Garcia – Keller Williams at The Lakes

Richard Valdez – EXP Realty, LLC

Nivanny Liz Urbina – Magic Realty LLC

Dean Preite – Global Real Estate Services IN Adriana Monroy – Exit Realty Champions

Yohanna Cruz – Crosby and Associates INC Debbie Hapheez – Weichert Realtors Hallmark Pro

Javier Rodriguez Santiago – Keller Williams at The Lakes

Trevor Lakin – Florida Real Estate Wizards Inc

Jessica Maldonado – La Rosa Realty, LLC

Stephanie Abreu – HomeTrust Realty Group

Oliver Castro – Century 21 Carioti Martha Zuniga Caiceda – Athens Realty Professionals Inc. Sonia Chacon – Keller Williams Legacy Realty Sandrina Thomas – La Rosa Realty Orlando LLC Cristal Bydlik – Odry Vargas Realty Group LLC Ana Bejar – La Rosa Realty Internacional LLC Diana Ariza Cabrera – Keller Williams Legacy Realty Martha L Camargo – La Rosa Realty Kissimmee Diana El Jurdi Yordi – My Florida Real Estate Group LLC Todd Pacheco – Keller Williams Advantage III Mariana Azuaje Baralt – Agent Trust Realty Corporation

Diana Montilla – La Rosa Realty Kissimmee Daniel Forero – Young Real Estate Hannah Ruddy – The Corcoran Connection LLC Rahmani Hooshang – Keller Williams Legacy Realty Ricardo Rivera – La Rosa Realty Kissimmee Jorgelina Vitturi – AmeriTeam Realty Inc. Sandra P Lugo Marin – Athens Realty Professionals Inc Julio Gloria – 407Hub Real Estate LLC Christian Dell Olio – Agent Trust Realty Corporation