11 minute read
Publisher’s Desk
People First—Now and Always
While the pandemic has kept people physically apart, many in the industry have worked hard to put people front and center, nonetheless.
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At Homes.com, where the No. 1 core value is “Humanity,” putting people first in the face of crisis was a natural reaction. In this month’s cover story (page 26), you’ll find a detailed account of how Dave Mele and the Homes.com team went to work to prioritize both their employees and their industry partners when coronavirus struck.
As the market continues to enjoy a bounce-back after a rough spring, putting people first has never been more critical for real estate professionals. That’s why during his tenure as president of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) in 2021, Charlie Oppler will focus on strengthening the REALTOR®’s relationship with consumers. “(NAR) worked with a research firm to find out if, during the pandemic, buyers and sellers were relying on a real estate professional,” says Oppler in our interview with him this month (page 32). “We found out that working with a REALTOR® is much more important to them than it was before.” At RISMedia, our mission has always been to put the people who compose the real estate industry first, and we’re excited to announce that we’re advancing that mission in two new ways: RISMedia’s RealEdge podcast, and our “Real Estate’s Rocking in the New Year” event on Jan. 7, 2021. RealEdge brings you in-depth, candid conversations with real estate leaders who share business-building insights to help you succeed. Visit rismedia.com to subscribe and listen to one-onones with Kofi Nartey, Chris Stuart, Helen Hanna Casey, Sue Yannacone and many more. And our “Real Estate’s Rocking in the New Year” virtual event, co-presented by the National Association of REALTORS®, and featuring Brian Buffini and NAR’s Lawrence Yun, will provide both brokers and agents with a full day of action steps for maximizing business in 2021. In the meantime, I hope to “see” you on Nov. 16 from 12:30 1:15 p.m. CT for our annual Power Broker Forum at the NAR Annual Conference. You won’t want to miss this group of top brokers discussing strategies for building a resilient real estate company. Visit conference.realtor for information on attending. Wishing you continued success,
John E. Featherston CEO & Publisher
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Buyers Can Now Access Flood Data on Realtor.com®
This column is brought to you by the NAR Real Estate Services group.
by Austin Perez
Last August, realtor.com® began displaying flood risk information on forsale properties across the United States. The data comes from two sources: FEMA and the nonprofit tech group First Street Foundation, and together, covers all of the nation’s waters as well as areas inland where heavy rainfall can cause flooding. Consumers can now see the FEMA flood zone for each listing and a Flood Factor rating between 1 (minimal risk) and 10 (extreme risk). Overall, the combined data shows that nearly 15 million homes and commercial properties nationwide are at high risk for flooding—many more than the FEMA maps show alone.
As the Flood Factor data becomes more widely known, some buyers may have questions about the flood risk information. Real estate agents and brokers are an information source, not flood experts. You can provide the facts that every home in America has some flood risk, and diagnostic tools like the ones at realtor.com® can help determine if it makes sense to schedule a home inspection from a qualified flood risk professional. You can also be ready with contact information for the local floodplain manager, a few licensed surveyors and/or profes-
sional engineers who can answer property-specific questions and offer options to mitigate flood risk.
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) policy supports realtor.com®’ s decision to promote full transparency, disclosure and mapping of the flood risk, as it will lead to better informed real estate decisions. By displaying flood data upfront on listings, realtor.com® can help consumers and their agents avoid buyer’s remorse or even litigation while increasing confidence in their home purchases.
Homebuyers should also talk with their insurance agent about flood insurance options. Even if a lender doesn’t require flood insurance, that doesn’t mean buyers don’t need it. One-third of federal disaster aid goes to “low-risk” properties outside of FEMA zones and usually means an SBA loan needs to be repaid with the mortgage. Flood damage is almost never covered in standard homeowner insurance policies and requires homeowners to get supplemental insurance either from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or private insurance brokers. NAR created a brochure in collaboration with FEMA, “A Real Estate Professional’s Guide to Discussing Flood Insurance,” that provides tips on how to talk to buyers about flood insurance so they can make informed decisions about it. Please be ready to identify insurance agents who can help with flood insurance.
Real estate professionals also have several legal and ethical obligations when it comes to flood-related disclosures in a transaction. NAR recently commissioned a Legal Research Center study, which found a number of lawsuits against real estate professionals for not taking more steps to disclose flood risk. Watch the video on flooding from NAR’s Window to the Law series, available on YouTube, featuring Deanne Rymarowicz, NAR associate counsel, to learn more about your disclosure and obligations in discussing flood risks with your clients. For more information about Flood Factor or other flood-related policy issues, please go to https://www. nar.realtor/floodinsurance. RE
Austin Perez is NAR’s senior policy representative on Insurance Issues.
Meet Charlie Oppler: 2021 NAR President
PARTICIPANTS:
John P. Horning
Executive Vice President, Shorewest REALTORS®, Milwaukee, Wis.; Liaison for Large Firms & Industry Relations, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)
Charlie Oppler
COO, Prominent Properties Sotheby’s Intl. Realty; 2020 NAR President-Elect
The Power Broker Roundtable is brought to you by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and John P. Horning, NAR’s liaison for Large Firms & Industry Relations. Watch for this column each month, where we address broker issues, concerns and milestones.
John Horning: Approaching his 40th year in the real estate business, Charlie Oppler is no stranger to NAR and to top brokers across the country. His unique combination of long-term association involvement and hands-on leadership at one of the nation’s top brokerage firms gives him a much-needed perspective as he prepares to take the helm at NAR next year. We’re excited to have you step into the president’s role, Charlie. Can you start by sharing a little about the pandemic’s impact on your New Jersey-based firm and its agents?
Charlie Oppler: Thanks, John! I’m excited as well. New Jersey was hit hard by the pandemic. I think we were all blindsided by the severity of what was happening. We realized we had to make sure we communicated with our managers and agents. New Jersey was declared essential, so real estate closings were still happening. We had speakers and did a lot of things to keep the agents engaged. Now, our staff is back full swing. But it’s different. Anyone who tells you it’s not different, I think they’re not being honest.
JH: What has been your main message to agents during this health crisis? CO: Make sure you check on your customers and your clients, not about real estate, but to see if they need anything. Understand that your sphere of influence is your sphere of influence for a reason... because you have relationships with them. They’re not a searchengine lead that you never met... they’re the person who helped you grow your business.
JH: What are some of the biggest challenges facing brokers in the year ahead? CO: Adapting physical space for social distancing is one. Many of us have scaled down the size of our offices with many people now working from home. But what do we do when they want to come in? Adaptability of physical space is one challenge, both for functionality now and financial viability down the road.
Another concern of mine is how do our agents build relationships with brokers in areas they didn’t think they’d be referring to? For instance, we were fortunate enough to refer a client from Ridgewood, N.J., to Maine; they were looking to get away from the hustle and bustle since they could now work from home. So another challenge is finding ways to build relationships in new regions.
Multiple-offer situations present another challenge. When somebody loses four or five houses, how do you keep them going? We’ve had buyers say ‘I’m going to waive an inspection,’ but that might not be in their best interest. We have to make sure we don’t drift away from what needs to be done the right way, and we have to make sure our “We have to make sure we don’t drift away from what needs to be done the right way, and we have to make sure our brokerage community collaborates and stays cooperative.”
- CHARLIE OPPLER COO, Prominent Properties Sotheby’s Intl. Realty; 2020 NAR President-Elect
brokerage community collaborates and stays cooperative.
JH: How can brokers continue to lead and support REALTORS® in the months ahead? CO: Brokers can still provide support and learning. We have to continue to meet that challenge, whether it’s one-on-one with agents in a Zoom environment or in person while socially distanced over a cup of coffee.
Brokers should also urge their REALTORS® to take advantage of NAR’s Right Tools, Right Now program. We’re going to bring in more online learning for our members in order to create value for you as their broker.
JH: Finally, Charlie, how might the real estate business change permanently, post-pandemic? CO: I think a lot of things for the foreseeable future will be about process and efficiency. We’ve talked about that forever, but now, because of the pandemic, we see it on a different level because the consumer’s driving it. The real estate professionals who know how to package things better will continue to take greater marketshare. RE
8For an expanded version of this article and other NAR Power Broker Roundtable topics, please visit www.rismedia.com.
