MEMBERS FIRST
NEWSLETTER
IN THIS ISSUE •
President’s Message
•
2020 Committee Information Sessions
•
RPAC Committee
•
KaBOOM Playground Build Day
•
Realtors® Care Committee
•
#FallinLoveWithGlobal
•
Osceola County Legislative Update
•
Instagram Highlights & Stories
•
September Class Schedule
•
Affiliate Business Partners
•
New Member Welcome
SEPTEMBER 2019
It’s that time of the year! Do you know a member who goes above and beyond for the Association? Nominate a fellow professional, colleague, or even yourself for one of our 2019 Annual Realtor® Awards! Nominations officially open on September 16. Stay tuned for an email with more information.
DANNY HERNANDEZ 2019 President
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Our Association continues to get involved in opportunities that have made us stronger than ever. In August, the Association attended the Florida Realtors® Annual Convention and Trade Expo at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. During the event, we offered our members VIP access to an executive suite. In between attending meetings and sessions, our members were able to get work done, relax, and interact with other OSCAR members in a quiet suite. I’d like to thank our staff for setting up the room and making everyone feel at home. During the final day of the convention, the Association Leadership Team attended the Board of Directors Meeting where the 2020 Florida Realtors® Board of Directors was elected. Our very own Veronica Malolos, member and Past President, ran for Secretary. Although she did not prevail, we couldn’t be more proud of her. She worked extremely hard and would have made an excellent secretary. On behalf of the Association Leadership Team, I can say that the knowledge gained from this annual convention is unmatched! We all walked away with tools and techniques that will allow us to better serve our membership. We are very fortunate that it is in our very own back yard. I encourage all of our members to attend the next Florida Realtors® Convention. Attending events such as this that offer learning opportunities will help not only your individual growth but the growth of your business.
September 2019 It’s back to school time. Tell us what lessons you have learned from your clients. Tell your story at www.ThatsWhoWeR.realtor
SEEKING! 2020 Committee Members
Are you interested in taking an active role in our Association? We’re looking for members who have a passion for leadership to take part in our committees and task forces. Through our committees, we can engage with our community, plan annual budgets, create policies and bylaws, and more! Our committees help build our success as an Association. We understand that many of you are new members, so for your convenience, we are hosting two committee information sessions from 9-11 am and 3-5 pm on September 11. Members who attend a session will have an opportunity to meet current committee members and get a first-hand view of what our committees have to offer. To register for a session, please visit http://bit.ly/oscarcommitteesessions. If you feel you would be a good fit, please visit bit.ly/2020oscarcommittees to access the application. Submit your completed form to me at tlizasuain@osceola-realtors.com by October 31.
2020
TWIS LIZASUAIN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Submission Deadline October 31
COMMITTEE SIGN UP
We are looking for members who want to get involved in our Association. Applications are being accepted for the following committees: Awards Task Force Bylaws and Policies Committee Commercial Alliance Task Force Global Alliance Committee Grievance Committee Osceola Brokers Committee Professional Development Task Force Professional Standards Committee Public Policy Committee Realtors® Care Committee Realtor® Political Action Committee (RPAC) Stellar MLS Task Force Please download the application form at bit. ly/2020oscarcommittees and submit it to Twis Lizasuain at tlizasuain@osceola-realtors.com.
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Attend a committee information session on September 11, 2019 from 9-11 AM or 3-5 PM Optional, Not Required
RPAC Committee It’s been a great year of raising awareness and fundraising. Every month we have gotten closer and closer to our RPAC goal of 81K. By the beginning of August, we had raised $58,777, which is 71% of our goal with a member participation rate of about 35%. We are so proud to see the participation rate increase and want to say thank you to our members for their continued support. Our most recent fundraising effort was at the Florida TINA CAMPBELL Realtors® RPAC Jamboree. The RPAC COMMITTEE CHAIR event was held during their annual convention at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort this past month. All of the Florida Associations had an opportunity to include items in the auction for all to bid on. Our items included from jewelry, household items, and travel packages. Participating in this auction was a great opportunity for us to raise money on a statewide level. We were credited with the funds if our members or non-members bid on our items. We are proud to announce that 39 of our 41 items were sold, raising more than $14,000! Becoming an RPAC Major Investor not only supports our industry, but it also comes with different benefits from our Association, Florida Realtors®, and NAR. In addition to a fun RPAC auction, the convention offered events for major investors. During the Capitol Club luncheon, we were joined by Governor Ron DeSantis. He addressed the room by stating he has continued to focus on advancing policies that will support issues that affect the real estate industry such as a healthy economy, low taxes, and the protection of our environment and water quality. The convention also included a Major Investor outing at Andretti Indoor Karting & Games. The private event featured racing, free games, bowling, food, drinks, and so much more! Everyone got a chance to relax and act like kids. Realtors® work hard and play hard! We appreciate your efforts and want to continue to spread the word that RPAC is the driving force that supports our business and the communities we serve.
r u o y k r Ma ndars! Cale
October 9, 2019: Deadline for RPAC contributions for NAR recognition. November 30, 2019: Deadline for RPAC contributions
Build it with #playmatters KaBOOM.org
Prep Day 1:
Saturday September 21
Prep Day 2:
Monday September 23
Build Day:
Tuesday September 24
Playground Opening: Saturday September 28
KaBOOM! is a national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids, especially those living in poverty, great, safe places to play. These community-built playgrounds generate tangible, achievable wins for communities, transforming everyday spaces into a great place to play for kids and families.
Location: 994 W. Tropicana Ct., Kissimmee, FL 34741
The Realtors® Care Committee is asking members to join them in participating in the KaBOOM! Playground Build Day on Tuesday, September 24 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Nancy Hubbard at 407-8460117 or nhubbard@osceola-realtors.com. Volunteers must be 18 years or older.
SUE VASQUEZ REALTORS® CARE COMMITTEE CHAIR The Realtors® Care Committee continues to grow and we welcome our new members. Monday mornings are still reserved for Meals on Wheels from the Council on Aging. If you have not yet volunteered, please get in touch so we can get you signed up. We will be participating in a KaBoom! Playground Build on September 24. KaBOOM! is a national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids, especially those living in poverty, great, safe places to play. This is your Association. Please get involved and let us know if you have a great community project in mind.
#FallInLoveWithGlobal Global Alliance Committee Symposium
September 10, 2019 | 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Osceola Council on Aging 700 Generation Point, Kissimmee, FL 34744
Admission Cost: $30 Admission at the Door: $35 Register: Osceolarealtors.com
Featured Speakers
Michael Cobb ECI Development
Salvatore Picataggio
American Immigration Associates
Special Panel Discussion with
Kelly Cutchin MoneyCorp
Stephen Bell, Jr.
Harding Bell International
Nena Mahlum
Harding Bell International
Nobu Hata
National Association of Realtors®
Odette Aliaga-Tua Paramount Residential Mortgage Group
REAL ESTATE STAR STUDDED LINE-UP SECURED FOR SYMPOSIUM The Global Alliance Committee will be hosting a symposium on September 10, 2019 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Osceola Council on Aging. Preparations have been completed and a real estate star studded line-up of featured speakers has been secured. Speakers include, MICHAEL COBB, co-founder of ECI Development and regular speaker at “Offshore Wealth Summit”, SALVATORE PICATAGGIO, EB-5 Immigration Attorney, NOBU HATA, communication trends and social media. In addition, there will be a professional real estate panel which will interact with the audience. Panelists include: KELLY CUTCHIN, Moneycorp, STEPHEN BELL JR., Harding Bell International, NENA MAHLUM, Harding Bell International, and ODETTE ALIAGA-TUA, Paramount Residential Mortgage Group. This is a must attend event for real estate practitioners at any level engaged, or wishing to engage in global real estate. Secure your spot and register today at http://bit. ly/2019globalsymposium.
KELVIS MELO
GLOBAL ALLIANCE COMMITTEE CHAIR
Osceola County Legislative Update
SEAN WHYARD GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COORDINATOR
Buenaventura Lakes To Add Townhomes and Apartments As part of an amendment to the Buenaventura Lakes (BVL) Planned Development, apartments and townhome additions were approved by the Osceola County Board of County Commissioners. There will be a maximum of 64 townhome units built on the former golf course fairway (hole #9) fronting Bueneventrua Boulevard just east of the intersection of Buttonwood Drive. 216 units of market-rate apartments will be constructed adjacent to the L.A. Fitness shopping plaza to the north. The apartment buildings will consist of 2 and 3-story buildings.
HUD Finalizes New FHA Condominium Loan Policies The new policies are as follows:
• Extends certifications from two years to three, allows for singleunit mortgage approvals, provides more flexibility with owner/ occupancy ratios, and increases the allowable number of FHA loans in a single project. • The rule will go into effect in mid-October. HUD believes the changes will extend critical benefits to aspiring homeowners and confirm the agency is properly serving the public
Follow, Like, Comment, and Tag Us On INSTAGRAM! Stay connected with us through social media! We are proud of our membership and want to share your accomplishments with the world! We are utilizing the highlight feature on Instagram to shine a light on our members. Next time you’re out doing community service or closing a deal, snap a picture and share it with us! Use the hashtag #OscarRealtor or tag us at @Osceolarealtors and we will feature you in our daily story and our “Members” highlight.
SEPTEMBER CALENDAR
REDEEM YOUR EDUCATION VOUCHERS BEFORE 12/31/19
MLS Basic (Spanish)
9/04/2019
9:00 am-12:00 pm
0CE
MLS Compliance 101 (Spanish)
9/04/2019
1:00 pm-2:15 pm
0CE
MLS Adding & Editing Listings (Spanish)
9/04/2019
2:30 pm-3:45 pm
0CE
Data Driven Marketing Through Remine
9/05/2019
Preparing and Navigating a Listing Contract
9/09/2019
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 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
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
10:00 am-12:00 pm
0CE
If you spend time online these days, you have probably received a targeted add 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 then 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
1:00 pm-5:00 pm
Listing Contracts are an important part of the real estate business. They effectively communicate who is responsible to do what, give a time for those items to be performed, and guarantee the listing broker to be paid for these services. Although it’s not required to be in writing that you will perform some of these services, to assure the broker will be paid for these services means you need a written agreement for your compensation.
4CE
September
Calendar Effective Risk Reduction
9/10/2019
1:00 pm-4:00 pm
3CE
Real Estate Safety Matters
9/11/2019
1:00 pm-4:00 pm
3CE
Demystifying the Appraisal Process
9/16/2019
1:00 pm-4:00 pm
3CE
In this interactive program, we’ll look and case studies that address the very issues REALTORS® face on a daily basis. We’ll also present several recommendations, not to be construed as the final word on risk management, but as suggestions based on first-hand experience of your course author. Your job is to understand the risks, prepare for them, and avoid the creation of unnecessary risk.
The goal of this course is to instill safety awareness and habits as second nature so that real estate professionals--as well as their clients and customers--know how to avert or respond to dangerous situations and avoid harm as they practice their profession.
This program is educates today’s real estate consumer on the appraisal process, through the Realtor. With so many short sales and foreclosures, today’s appraisal values (and consumer tempers) can be all over the place. Consumers want to make sure they are getting “a good deal” and may sometimes feel that they should be paying less than a listed price, or wonder why their “low ball” offer on the short sale wasn’t accepted. This course provides the Realtor with the insight and expertise to work with their customer in understanding a home’s appraised value in today’s market.
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. Due to construction near our office, we have moved our education classes to a Satellite Classroom located at 2262 E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, This course introduces real estate to the and Kissimmee, FL 34744 (onlyprofessionals 0.5 miles down thebasic roadskills from our office). All other knowledge necessary to facilitate international real estate transactions. This on Shady membership and committee activities will be held at our office course will teach you how to develop a network of contacts that amenities can lead are limited at Lane. Our office hours will also remain the same. The to referral business, recognize visa statuses for to foreign real beverages, estate the temporary locationavailable and we may be unable provide but you mayclients bring and yourcustomers own. owners and investors, and guide foreign to seek expert advice.
Affiliate Business Community A Clear Choice Title & Escrow A.C.F. Home Inspections, Inc. Adames Pest Solutions, Inc. ANB Inspection Services, Inc. Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group A-Z Team Title, LLC Bay Equity Home Loans Best Home Inspections of Florida, Inc. BPG Inspection, LLC Budget Professional Service Butler Mortgage Brightway Insurance 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 Headquarters Home Warranty of America Homebridge Financial Services, Inc. Housemaster Home Inspections Howell International Tax IFREC Real Estate Schools Inspect Central Florida 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 Prodigal Homes Inspection & Consulting Reliable Building Inspections RBC Bank Roland H. Acosta & Associates, P.A. Searl Home Inspections Smart International Title, LLC Solano Home Inspections Inc. Stewart Title Company Suntrust Mortgage The AlfaOmega Financial Group The Grove Resort & Water Park The Headquarters Building The Mortgage Firm Trustco Bank Two Men and Truck Uniform Cottage ValueCast, Inc. Varep Central Florida Chapter Victoria Real Estate Academy Wayne’s Home Inspections, LLC Widerman Malek PL Windsor at Celebration
Affiliate Business Community
Edward Lian Photography
Welcome New
Members
Ivan Acebo - Keller Williams Advantage III
John Montenegro - La Rosa Realty, LLC
Amanda Acosta - Cerramar Realty Corp
Daven Nguyen - Premium Properties R.E Service
Ayesha Bham - Professional Real Estate Team
Yolanda Ortiz Garcia - Roman’s Pro Realty, LLC
Gabriela Bozoova - Bridge Realty Group
Juan Ortiz - Urban Square Realty, Inc.
Bonnie Brasson - Century 21 Carioti
Jose Pagan Arroyo - Watson Realty Corp
Andrew Cange - Keller Williams at The Lakes
Vivian Pascual - La Rosa Realty, LLC
Kaydrain Clemmings - Keller Williams at The Lakes
Kevan Patel - Central Florida Realty Experts
Andres Coral - HomeTrust Realty Group
Patricia Pedraza - Agent Trust Realty Corporation
Maria Corona - Robert Slack, LLC
Asif Quddussi - Watson Realty Corp
Evelyn Cruz - Odry Vargas Realty Group, LLC
Alberto Rivera Gonzalez - Agent Trust Realty Corporation
Michael Cruz - Odry Vargas Realty Group, LLC Annette Danholm - MAXIM Realty Orlando Luisa Davis - Agent Trust Realty Corporation Brenda De Hostos - La Rosa Realty Lake Nona, Inc. Sachy Diaz Cruz - Transcontinental Realty Group, John Edmonds - First International Real Estate Corp Manuel Ferreira Mendez - Agent Trust Realty Corporation Josue Ferreira - Agent Trust Realty Corporation Danette Flores - Keller Williams Legacy Realty Luz Garcia Marquez - Agent Trust Realty Corporation Carmen Garcia - Watson Realty Corp Jose Garzon Noguera - Agent Trust Realty Corporation
Liabell Rivera - Holding Golden Real Estate Inc Disney Roca - Keller Williams at The Lakes Huberon Rodrigues - Keller Williams Legacy Realty Awilda Rodriguez - Century 21 Carioti Laura Salas - Glasbridge, LLC Liza Santiago - The Property Pros Real Estate, Inc. Benny Santos - La Rosa Realty Lake Nona, Inc. James Sjostrom - DeNike Realty and Property Management, LLC Laura Teixeira - Casa Orlando Properties Denisse Torres - Century 21 All Homes & Property Jose Tovar - Century 21 Homes Realty Sheila Vargas Santiago - Empire Network Realty
Drew Herrin - BHHS Results Realty
Cloverne Volcy - La Rosa Realty, LLC
Gabriela Johnston Kruger - Top Villas Realty, LLC
Stanley Watts - Century 21 Homs Realty
Cynthia Kane - ReMax Marketplace
Lamar Wright - Keller Williams at The Lakes
Christopher Krug - Keller Williams at The Lakes Mohamed Lamrini - Florida Realty Investments Heisy Ledesma Soto - Odry Vargas Realty Group, LLC Jing Liu - Keller Williams at The Lakes Pedro Malaret - Luxury Realty, Inc. Jennifer Merchant - Rental and Realty Group Aurelio - Montenegro - V Properties, Inc.
AND AFFILIATES •
Gilda Chavarria - Two Men and A Truck
•
Daniel Beard – Searl Home Inspections
•
Kelly Beard – Searl Home Inspections
•
Blake Denz - Two Men and A Truck
•
Evelyn Ramos - My Florida Mortgage Solutions