Are you in Compliance?
Transcription
Are you in Compliance?
VOLUME: 7 • ISSUE 54 • dEcEMbEr 2013 Are you in Compliance? In our last office meeting we discussed the topic of advertising specific to the requirements mandated by the Arizona Department of Real Estate. To reiterate, ALL advertising must be approved by the broker’s office prior to printing. If you are using a template or a RE/MAX approved supplier, we only need to approve that piece one time. Please send all ads to be proofed to this email: adproofs@rmxprofessionals.com. As you all know there are guidelines and rules as to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in the advertising arena. We have recently updated our understanding with ADRE as to what the requirements are. Below are the actual requirements taken from the ADRE statute: R4-28-502. Advertising by a Licensee A. A salesperson or broker acting as an agent shall not advertise property in a manner that implies that no salesperson or broker is taking part in the offer for sale, lease, or exchange. B. Any salesperson or broker advertising the salesperson’s or broker’s own property for sale, lease, or exchange shall disclose the salesperson’s or broker’s status as a salesperson or broker, and as the property owner by placing the words “owner/agent” in the advertisement. C. A salesperson or broker shall ensure that all advertising contains accurate claims and representations, and fully states factual material relating to the information advertised. A salesperson or broker shall not misrepresent the facts or create misleading impressions. D. A school shall include its name, address and telephone number in all advertising of Department - approved courses. The school owner, director, or administrator shall supervise all advertising. The school owner shall ensure that the school’s advertising is accurate. E. A salesperson or broker shall ensure that all advertising identifies in a clear and prominent manner the employing broker’s legal name or the DBA name contained on the employing broker's license certificate. Frank Russo Designated Broker F. A licensee who advertises property that is the subject of another person’s real estate employment agreement shall display the name of the listing broker in a clear and prominent manner. G. The designated broker shall supervise all advertising, for real estate, cemetery, or membership camping brokerage services. H. A licensee shall not use the term “acre,” either alone or modified, unless referring to an area of land representing 43,560 square feet. I. Before placing or erecting a sign giving notice that specific property is being offered for sale, lease, rent, or exchange, a salesperson or broker shall secure the written consent of the property owner, and the sign shall be promptly removed upon request of the property owner. J. The provisions of subsections (E) and (G) do not apply to advertising that does not refer to specific property. K. Trade Names. 1. Any broker using a trade name owned by another person on signs displayed at the place of business shall place the broker’s name, as licensed by the Department on the signs; 2. The broker shall include the following legend, “Each (TRADE NAME or FRANCHISE) office is independently owned and operated,” or a similar legend approved by the Commissioner, in a manner to attract the attention of the public. L. The use of an electronic medium, such as the Internet or website technology, that targets residents of this state with the offering of a property interest or real estate brokerage services pertaining to property located in this state constitutes the dissemination of advertising as defined in A.R.S. § 32-2101 Section R4-28-502. Please read this carefully and realize that we are all responsible for what we put out to the public. To summarize: when you advertise, you MUST display RE/MAX Professionals in a “clear and prominent manner” on the cover page. If it is a multiple page piece, you do not need to have the brokerage name on every page, unless they are tear off pages. On your website, the brokerage again, must be “clear and prominent” and must come up on the first page without having to scroll down. If you have any doubts, please ask before you spend money on printed materials that are not in compliance. Have a good month! - Frank Russo 7111 W. Bell Rd. Suite 101 | Glendale, AZ | 85308 Melanie Bounds Carol Curns Irene Green Barbara Meijome Courtney Bourland Brandi Martinez Lea Archer Jay Otlewski Nate Martinez Diane Barnes Lee Moore 12/2 12/4 12/5 12/7 12/14 12/15 12/16 12/18 12/25 12/25 12/30 SW Valley NW Valley Arrowhead North Mesa SW Valley Arrowhead South Sun City West Sun City West Arrowhead South Sun City West Arrowhead North Alex Robayo Cindy Clark Faye Merritt Lee Moore Bill Rehwalt Frank May Sharon Mason Tiger Myers Marcy Minchella Lisa Bray Kristine Seemiller Stephanie Rogers Stacey Ogg Ryan Hightower 20 years 19 years 18 years 17 years 15 years 10 years 9 years 9 years 8 years 8 years 5 years 4 years 1 year 1 year Arrowhead North Arrowhead North SW Valley Arrowhead North Anthem Arrowhead South Sun City West NW Valley Sun City West SW Valley Arrowhead South Arrowhead North Sun City West Arrowhead South West Valley Market Update At the end of 2013, after a decade of wild swings, the market is finally close to normal. We can see this in the Listing Success Rate, which is much lower now than over the last few years, but is in fact close to the long term average. For normal listings we are seeing a 66% success rate. The long term average is 65% but 80% was typical over the last few years. Each area of the Valley has a unique market, so expect to find some areas with strong seller’s markets (55+ areas) and other areas with strong buyer’s markets (Maricopa, Queen Creek). The 55+ areas and the luxury market were affected much later than the rest of the market and demand has only recently started to drop in these segments. As a result of their late entry, we would expect them to take longer to stabilize. Now for a West Valley snapshot: Despite the balanced state of the market, momentum is still carrying sales prices slightly higher through the end of the year. Expect that upward pressure on prices to ease in the New Year. On the other hand, if both buyer sentiment and the ability to buy improve in the New Year, then demand could quickly recover to overwhelm what is still fairly low supply. *Anniversary years are based upon information received from RE/MAX, LLC Membership Services Dept. Ellen Baker Sean Rubek Frank Fox Rebecca Boggs Melanie Bounds Patti Gorski Claudia Artz Faye Merritt 1 1 1 2 1 1 4 3 Steve Padilla Lee Moore Jr Paula Farace Bill Campbell Candy Klackle Lisa Bray Karen Grieser Anne Mehedinti 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 Chuck Bills Marsha Muth Lisa Groth Tim Rubley Debbie Benitez Suzanne Rowe Tina Paulsen 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Contact me today for more information about accessing the most up-to-date data for your marketplace and to find out about the Cromford Report Website, where you can access a subscription through Fidelity and pull customized reports DAILY. 7th Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest Congratulations to the top 3 winning teams of the 7th Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest! REALtoR on Call leads received September 2013 *A RoC Star is an agent who successfully closes a “Realtor on Call” lead. 1st Place Winner: Tribute to the Yarnell 19 designed by Nate Martinez & Team 3rd Place Winner: Super Heros by Shelby DiBaise & Team 2nd Place Winner: Breaking Bad & Cast by Frank Russo & Team The winter holidays are traditionally filled with a lot of travel. Whether you're on the road or you have folks traveling to visit you, it can be a time of added stress rather than celebration if you're also trying to juggle work responsibilities at the same time without proper preparation. Here are a few tips that should both help keep you productive and reduce some stress. 1. Stay ConneCted. Most of our services and data these days is available in the cloud, so long as you can get to it! A lousy internet connection can often be more troublesome that no connection at all, and unless you're planning on taking your holidays on a remote island hideaway isolated from the rest of the world, chances are that you expect to do at least some workrelated items while you're away. Check ahead and see what your access options are. Most places you'll stay (including friends and relatives' houses) will have WiFi available to you, but it might still be a good idea to hedge your bets and bring along a portable hotspot like a MiFi device or even just familiarize yourself with how to use the mobile WiFi hotspot function that your smartphone probably has built in. Those mobile data access options also come in handy during the travel itself - the free WiFi at airports and other travel centers are often over-used and slow during peak travel times. Likewise, if you have guests coming in to town who you've offered your own WiFi to, do them a favor and make sure you remember what the password is so you're not caught digging around for notes on how to get a new device connected when they arrive! 2. Stay PoWered. A great data connection isn't worth much if your devices have dead batteries. Consider bringing along spare batteries or mobile battery pack chargers to keep everything running as you make your way to your destination. It's also helpful to have that backup power source once you arrive as most folks actually tend to charge their devices less often than they normally would when they're in unfamiliar territory because it disrupts their usual plug-in-to-top-off routine. Especially for those of us who use our phones as our main cameras, it's nice to know you've got another full charge handy when you suddenly notice you're down to 3% power in the middle of shooting some impromptu home video footage. If you'll be somewhere more remote, there are relatively inexpensive solar charging devices readily available that you can leave in the sun all day to charge their own battery packs, then charge your device(s) from them when it's convenient. For visitors on your own turf, consider setting up a "charging station" somewhere; just add an easily accessible power strip on a hall table or desk in the den, etc., to provide a convenient place for guests to plug in and park all their devices while charging. That has the added benefit of keeping random chargers and devices from floating all over the house during their stay as well as limiting the likelihood that you'll need to mail back forgotten power cables to people after they've left. 3. Set exPeCtationS. Whether you're traveling, receiving guests at home, or even just planning to go about your usual routine with a little holiday prep thrown in, there's usually more distraction and disruption to workflow than we realize during this time of year. Let people know about your plans ahead of time so they're not caught off-guard, and if you will be out of town or taking time off, remember to set up an email auto-responder and change your voicemail message to indicate your more limited availability and ideally also provide an alternate contact person for more urgent needs. The difference in perception it can make for your clients is amazing; rather than being upset in a delay of perhaps 4 or 5 hours to return a call or email, they may instead be quite happy that you got back to them at all during your vacation. Not only does taking that time to properly set their expectation give you the opportunity to under-promise and over-deliver, it should also put you at ease knowing you can safely ignore your inbox for a while and just enjoy the holiday instead. -Mike DeRosa Mag’s Mail PRINT & DIRECT MAIL SPECIALISTS Newsletters Sell Sheets Postcards EDDM Business Cards & More Tutti Santi's December 17th Appetizers & Drinks Starting 5:30 pm Call Barry at 623.363.9683 or email barry@magsmail.com ANTHEM ARROWHEAD SOUTH NORTHWEST VALLEY SOUTHWEST VALLEY 39504 N Daisy Mtn Dr Suite #106 Anthem, AZ 85086 623.465.2300 7111 W Bell Rd Suite #101 Glendale, AZ 85308 623.643.1000 15003 W Bell Rd Suite #100 Surprise, AZ 85374 623.533.3100 10320 W McDowell Rd Building B, #2005 Avondale, AZ 85392 623.344.7300 ARROWHEAD NORTH SUN CITY WEST MESA 20241 N 67th Ave 13940 Meeker Blvd 1745 S Alma School Rd Suite #A-1 Suite #119 Suite #146 Glendale, AZ 85308 Sun City West, AZ 85375 Mesa, AZ 85210 623.362.3000 623.214.3340 480.270.5200 If you find yourself in a financial struggle, don’t stress. We are here to help you! Gilmore Graphics • Tammy Eggiman 623-640-6617 As an added benefit of services to our agents, RE/MAX Professionals would like to remind you that we offer a competitive Commission Advance Program to help our agents when transactions may not close on time. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the office manager at your respective office.