July Newsletter - The Water Wonderland Board of Realtors

122 S. Otsego Avenue, Gaylord, MI 49735 Phone: (989) 732-8226 Fax: (989) 732-8231
E-mail board@waterwonderlandboard.com & mls@waterwonderlandboard.com Website: http://www.waterwonderlandboard.com
Issue No. 7
2016
Board of
Directors
Carol Steiger
President
Corey McMurphy
Vice President
Peter (Bill) Whyte
Secretary/Treasurer
Roger Kopernik
Director
Donna Stubenvoll
Director
Cheryl Schlehuber
Professionals Dedicated to Progress
NEW MEMBER APPLICATIONS:
Jessica Gentile – Mackinac Properties
Marilyn Maness – Banner Realty
Chelsea Partello – Re/Max of Grayling
Rebecca Tulgetska – Re/Max New Horizons
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS:
Dale Adrian – Lakeshore Realty
Chris Hempel – REO Alpena
Meghan Lawton – Michigan Network
Jonna Radle – Hometown Realty
Steven Shampine – Re/Max North
Derrick Volchoff – Trophy Class Real Estate
Ludington
Lori Walton – Premier Waterfront Realty
United Country Great Lakes Realty & Auction
DROPS:
Ashley Baynham – Re/Max of Grayling
OMPH LLC
Steven Fase – OMPH LLC
Director
Director
Diane Ives
Director
BOARD STAFF
Jeannie Rizzardi
Association Executive
Gracie Goddard
Executive Assistant
Julie Hull
MLS Specialist
The Water Wonderland Board of REALTORS and
MLS to charge a $20 no show fee for all individuals
making reservations for an event that involves food
and/or a speaker, unless a written or e-mailed
cancellation is received in the WWBR office not
later 48 hours prior the event. The WWBR is
required by contract to notify the facility manager or
caterer of the number of attendees. The
WWBR/MLS is required to pay for the number
contracted regardless of whether all attend.
ACCEPTING GOLF OUTING HOLE SPONSORSHIPS
WWBR ANNUAL GOLF OUTING SEPTEMBER 15
 Proximity Hole Sponsor = $150.00
Includes: Dinner, Hole Signage, Vendor
Table at Sponsored Hole (Optional).
th
Hole Sponsor = $100.00
Includes: Hole Signage
HOLIDAY HOURS
Director
Denny Tryban
NEW EVENT RESERVATIONS/CANCELLATIONS
POLICY
Effective June 27, 2016

Lori Stephan
June 28, 2016
In observance of Independence Day,
the WW Board office will be closed
Monday, July 4th. We will reopen on
Tuesday, July 5th with normal
business hours (9am-5pm).
SPONSOR FORM
FLEX UPDATES

New Status: Active w/Contingencies: Go
to Add/Change screen, Select Add/Remove
Contingency. Please note this status will
expire as does active listings. This is also
where one can remove this status and put
back as active if the contingency is not met.

Unlimited Photos: The MLS photo
requirement has been expanded from 36 to
unlimited.

Listing Type: When adding a new listing,
you will be prompted to select one of the
following as the “Listing Type”: 1) Exclusive
Right to Sell, 2) Limited Service, 3) One
Party, 4) Created Sale, or 5) Transaction
Coordinator. (will be live by the end of the
week.)
Affiliate of the Year & REALTOR® of the
Year Nominations DUE FRIDAY, JULY 15th!


Affiliate of the Year Nomination
Form
REALTOR® of the Year Nomination
Form
Send Nominations to Jeannie:
board@waterwonderlandboard.com
Flex Form Adds/Changes Requests
Send your requests to
board@waterwonderlandboard.com by
th
Friday, July 15 , 2016.
Thank you for your cooperation and patience
throughout these new and upcoming changes!
Page 2
WWBR NEWS & VIEWS
2017 REALTOR® DUES BREAKOUT
As was communicated back in October to the membership, Michigan
REALTORS® passed at their Delegate Body Meeting to raise the Issues
Mobilization Fund (IMF) from $3 to $40 for the 2017 Bill Cycle. So for our Dues
st
Billing which are sent out at the end of August and due October 1 of this year,
you will see a Dues Increase of $37.00 from last year. I have broken out each
line item for the entire dues below:
2017 DUES
Local (WWBR Dues) $120.00
Michigan Realtors® Dues - $150.00
Issues Mobilization Fund - $40.00
Legal Action Fund $3.00
NAR Dues $120.00
NAR Consumer Advertising
Campaign Assessment $35.00
RPAC Contribution
$40.00
TOTAL
$508.00
WHAT IS THE IMF USED FOR?
The Issues Mobilization Fund (IMF) has evolved into one of the most versatile
and important advocacy tools at your disposal. Since
2006, the Michigan Realtors® Board of Directors has utilized the IMF to pass
two statewide ballot proposals. These victories strengthened Michigan’s eminent
domain protection and modernized business taxes by eliminating the job-killing
personal property tax. The IMF has also been used to successfully fight for our
local associations against ordinances that would have a detrimental impact on
the day to day business activities of our membership and to develop legislation
to help the industry such as the Commercial Broker Lien Act (Public Act 201 of
2010) and the Agency Responsibility Act (Public Act 91 of 2008). Additionally,
the IMF is used for independent expenditure campaigns to advocate for the
election of Realtor® champion candidates. IE campaigns have been successful
in electing four Supreme Court justices and two Realtors® to the State
legislature.
What is the difference between IMF and RPAC?
RPAC investments are used for the direct support of candidates for public office
and Michigan Realtors® remains one of the top PACs in Michigan. The Citizens
United decision opened up new avenues of financial support for candidates and
issues. This required us to look beyond the traditional RPAC funds in order to
keep our strong voice in Lansing.
IMF funds can only be used for Ballot Proposals and Independent Expenditure
races in addition to local and state issues research and advocacy. An
Independent Expenditure campaign is when funds are allocated to support or
oppose a candidate or issue. There are strict controls on the Association not
coordinating with a candidate or candidate committee. The $40 dedicated IMF
assessment will ensure that we remain strong into the future and ready to
protect the real estate industry against a proliferation of well-funded threats.
Commercial Drone Use Set to Take Flight with
Release of FAA Rule
Commercial drone use in the real estate business got a
boost with the release of the Federal Aviation
Administration's final rule governing small unmanned
aerial systems, or UASs, in the national air space.
Drones are increasingly being used in commercial
applications, but federal regulations have required
commercial drone operators to apply for a "Section
333" waiver from the FAA before they can fly. Over
5,000 waivers were issued to commercial entities, a
significant portion of which were used for the real
estate business, but only licensed pilots were eligible
to fly commercially.
FAA rules released create a clearer pathway for real
estate professionals to use drones for commercial
purposes.
The FAA's announcement marks a long-fought victory
for the National Association of Realtors®. Since early
2014, NAR has worked with the FAA and industry
partners to integrate drones into the national airspace
for commercial use. NAR wrote to the FAA on
numerous occasions to weigh in on the final Small UAS
Rule, and testified before Congress to support the use
of drones in real estate.
Despite eliminating the requirement that operators
hold a pilot's license, anyone looking to fly drones
commercially will still have to comply with strict
requirements designed to protect people on the
ground.
Drones are useful in a number of real estate-related
applications, including marketing properties, assisting
with appraisals, facilitating insurance claims and
overseeing utility work. While many real estate
professionals with pilot's licenses have already put
drones to use in these arenas, the new rules are
expected to open the door for additional operators to
do the same.
Despite the significant progress made in the FAA's
final rule, NAR's work on this issue will continue. NAR
is calling for eased restrictions on a "micro" category
of drones; drones in this category weigh less than four
pounds and present a much smaller safety risk than
certain drones in the under-55 pound category
covered by the rule released today.
READ MORE HERE!
CALL FOR ACTION: H.R. 3700
This legislation provides significant benefits to taxpayers, homebuyers and the real estate market by:

Removing a burdensome and expensive FHA Condo approval process.

Reducing FHA restrictions on the number of condos available to homebuyers.

Permanently streamlining Rural Housing Service loan processing.
TAKE ACTION: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/passhr3700