MARCH REALTORS® REPORT

KAAR Mission Statement
The purpose of the Knoxville Area Association of REALTORS® is to unite and serve its members and to enhance the ability and opportunity of its members to conduct their business ethically, professionally, and successfully and to promote the preservation of the right to own, transfer and use real property.

NAR Ethics Classes Are Due Soon
The four-year period to be in compliance with the Quadrennial Ethics Education is from 2005-2008.  If you have not had your course yet, you will need to have completed it in one of these four years, but must be completed by December 31, 2008.

If you have taken the GRI 1 in one of these years, we will need that verification as you easily spend three-hours of the 16 studying the Code of Ethics.  Just send us a copy of the email or letter that you completed and passed this course in 2005-2008, and we’ll be sure to mark your requirement as completed.  If you can’t find your email/notification, then you can either have TAR (Sally Cummings – 877-321-1477) send Wendy an email, or you can fax us a copy of your TREC record that shows the course GRI I on it for the years of 2005-2008.

If you joined the KAAR in 2005-2008, you will have already met this qualification for continued membership, and we will have a record of that already on file.

You can also take the course online at NAR.  There is no cost, but there is also no continuing education credit for that course.  There is a CE course offered through America’s Best On Line Education for a nominal fee and you can access that information through our website.  You will need to notify us when you receive an email and/or certificate of completion.

The KAAR schedule has already been posted on our website so you can sign up for a course now!  Don’t wait till the last minute to be sure that you accomplish this, as your membership in all three levels of the REALTOR® Association is contingent upon your completion!

Have All the Hot Water You and Your Teenagers Want and Save Money!

Who hasn’t run out of hot water at just the worst time? Thanks to greatly improved “on demand” or instantaneous water heaters, those days are over. These great new models deliver unlimited hot water while they save money and space in your home. Use your e-mail or newsletter to tell your sphere of contacts how to take advantage of this convenience by directing them to: http://www.ecobroker.com/misc/articleview.aspx?ArticleID=9. They will think of you as they enjoy a hot bath instead of when the old tank fails.

This reliable green information is brought to you courtesy of the EcoBroker Certified(R) professional designation, currently offered at $50 off the standard price by the Knoxville Area Association of REALTORS. Find out more at http://www.ecobroker.com/director.aspx?code=KAAR100

Mark Your Calendars  --   The Trade Show is Coming on April 23, 2008

KAAR’s annual trade show will be held on April 23, 2008 at the Knoxville Expo Center from Noon-3:00 PM.  We cut the show back by one hour this year as we found a drastic drop-off at 3:00, and wanted to be fair to our exhibitors.

Lunch will again be included that day and we hope to see you all there.  We are currently getting the booth space registrations under way, but if you know of anyone who might want to display, please have them email Helen at mailto:Helen@kaarmls and she’ll get an email right off to them so they can get registered.

This is always a really fun event thanks to our booth sponsors who not only bring you great information, but usually have fun things for you to do or to take home with you.

Mark your calendars now.

TAR Forms – New Purchase & Sales Agreement

February 16, 2008

This is being reprinted from the TAR Forms List Serv.  Please throw away any copies of the Purchase & Sales Agreements Forms that are dated prior to February 16, 2008!!
--------------------------------------------------------------
1. Purchase and Sale Agreements have been modified as of 2/16/08
--------------------------------------------------------------

As of 2/16/2008 ---Rule 1260-2-.37 has been added by the TN Real Estate Commission (TREC) as a NEW rule.  This rule applies to Septic System Inspection Letters.  THIS RULE HAS REQUIRED A CHANGE TO ALL PURCHASE AND SALES AGREEMENTS – both residential and commercial. F9, F10, F57, F60 and F65 have all been changed to reflect the addition of this new rule. The form modification dates are now 2/16/2008.

In addition, there were four other forms that have been modified as well due to typographical errors  -- F33, F87, F89, and F90. The modification dates of these forms are also dated 2/16/2008.

Forms on the Fly has been changed to reflect the correct version of these particular forms.

EXPLANATION OF THE CHANGE:

The rule states that if a licensee is preparing an offer to purchase property, then they will make the buyer aware that the buyer can purchase, for a fee, a septic inspection letter from the Division of Ground Water Protection of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.  This information is also required to be in the offer itself.  In the residential Purchase and Sales Agreement (F9) and the residential Purchase and Sales Agreement for Lease Purchase (F 57), this language will be included in Section 16, Buyer’s Additional Due Diligence.  In the Lot/Land Purchase and Sales Agreement (F10), the new language will appear in section 12.  In the New Construction Purchase and Sales Agreement (F19) the new language will appear in section 19.  Commercial forms will also require this language and it will appear in section 4 of the Commercial Purchase and Sales Agreement (F65).

THIS NEW RULE WILL REQUIRE THAT ALL AGENTS PRINT OUT AND USE THE NEW FORMS, DUE TO THE REQUIREMENT OF THE NEW LANGUAGE.

For any offers which were submitted prior to February 16, this new language is not required.  However, the TAR Legal Hotline advises that you should tell your clients that this is now available.  If your client is interested in receiving one of these letters, then they can call a toll free number at 888-981-8332.

This is the number for the Ground Water Division of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.  Please bear in mind that different counties handle these letters in different ways.  Some are handled by this office and some are contracted out to the local health departments.  By calling this number, they will refer the buyer to the correct department for that particular county.  In addition, please bear in mind that this letter does not take the place of a thorough inspection of the septic system through a dye test or some other indication as to how the septic system is functioning.  The buyer may wish to consider additional or other tests on the septic system.  This is NOT a required test, but pursuant to the TREC regulations, all agents must advise their buyers that this is an option if they wish to purchase this letter of inspection.

GRI 3 Held at KAAR Offices
March 25-26, 2008

It’s time to get that GRI designation and really benefit from these great courses.  GRI 3 will be held in the Barney Thompson Education Center (previously called the Education Room) at KAAR on March 25-26.  Registration is available now by going to the Education tab at http://kaarmls.com.  GRI 3 is “Financing the Successful Transaction.”  Don’t wait to get started!

The 2-3-4 Financial Concept Class
There will be a financial workshop for KAAR members at the Association office on Monday, April 1^st . (And no we are not fooling!) The workshop will begin with lunch being served at 11:30 am. You’ll be back in the field by 1:00 pm.

The workshop will be presented by Richard Imbrey, CFP®, CLU, ChFC and David Jeffries of Imbrey & Associates. Imbrey & Associates presented “Roadmap to Retirement” in two well attended and very positively received sessions last November.   If you want to get some valuable insight on ways to keep more of your hard earned income in your pocket than in Uncle Sam’s, then this will be an informative workshop for you.  You will also get some great last minute ideas on ways to get a good tax deduction for not only this year, but for many years to come.

Be sure to make your reservation on the KAAR web site for “The 2-3-4 Financial Concept “.  Seating is limited to 50 people

Local Leaders Needed for 2009 Leadership Academy

NAR has created a Leadership Academy to help prepare up-and-coming leaders with the institutional knowledge to lead at the National level.  Anything you learn there will benefit you on both the State and Local levels as well.

The registration for the new Academy Team will begin at the end of March.  You will be able to access the online application at:

http://www.realtor.org/AESubs.nsf/pages/LeadAcademy

You may also contact Bobbie Albrecht at 312-329-8464 for more information.

TAR Digest & the Legal Hotline
(Posted from the February 12, 2008 Digest)

HOT LINE: Filling In The Blanks

        QUESTION: Should we fill in all the blanks on the contract with something (for example, sometimes we might just put "NA" for "not applicable"), or is it okay to leave completely blank lines? What about Loans to be obtained, line 71--does that one need to be filled in if the buyer is checking "B"?

        ANSWER: It is our STRONG recommendation that ALL blanks be completed when drafting an offer. Some things may not be applicable to your situation.  In that case, it is permissible to put "N/A" in the blank. However, if the blank is asking for a monetary amount, put in $0.00.  "N/A" will not work in that situation. Also, in the event that there is a choice (for instance A or B where the one not checked is not part of the agreement), you are only required to complete the lines for the option checked.

        Failure to complete all lines could potentially cause problems down the road. In order for there to be a binding contract, all material issues in the contract must be decided. If the parties cannot agree on these material issues, then a judge could rule that there is no contract.

        [SOURCE: TAR's Legal & Ethics Hot Line Attorneys]

Membership Notes

Congratulations to Richard Barbee for being selected into the 2008 TAR Leadership Class!

We’re glad that Jerry Daves is home from Vanderbilt and proceeding very well in his rehab and recovery following surgery.  Keep Jerry and his family in your prayers, please.

Condolences to Jewell McKinney, the immediate past president of TAR, in the recent passing of her husband Clayton in a bad car accident in mid-February.  Jewell is a very special person to the REALTOR® community and our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her sons.

THANKS to Randy Susong for being the fine artist who provided us with a great painting of what we’re all about.  Look for it in the Barney Thompson Education Center!

Congratulations to Lee Mrazek who was recently nominated to be the first alternate NAR Director from TAR for terms beginning in 2009.  The final vote will be held during the March TAR meetings.