UPDATES. News and Current Events We are the trusted voice in real estate, united in providing value to the members and communities we serve.

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1 UPDATES News and Current Events We are the trusted voice in real estate, united in providing value to the members and communities we serve. January 2016 RPAC Auction Scheduled for February 25th, 2016 Mark your calendars for the first ever RPAC Auction! Thursday, February 25th, at Horizons Banquet Hall & Lounge. Join us for a fun filled evening with a live auctioneer! Support RPAC and have fun doing it! Mark your calendars for REALTOR & Government Day 2016 on March 2, Don t miss this chance to gather with Wisconsin REALTORS and to meet with our Legislators to discuss important housing issues that affect our pocketbook. In this Addition Christmas Party.1 We had about 140 people who enjoyed All Dolled Up Roaring 20 s RANWW Christmas Party on December 4, at Horizons Lounge. Thanks to Jenny Ebert and her committee for an outstanding job organizing and planning the event. A Big THANK YOU to these generous sponsors as they made the party possible. Please show your appreciation by making them your first business contact whenever possible! New Members...2 NAR Safety Alert...2 Education Opportunities..3 MLS Updates...4 Addendums...5 Licensing Questions....6 Legislative Updates Calendar Updates...8 RPAC Auction Info...9 Auction Donation Form...10 Winter Convention Registration..11 All Title Services American Realty Partner Associate Title Co Associated Bank Bank Mutual Bremer Bank C & M Realty Century 21 Metro Charter Bank Chippewa County Abstract Chippewa Valley Home Inspections Dunn County Title Services Eau Claire Realty Flagstar Bank Hometown Title Kleven Real Estate 1 Legends Title Merchants Bank My Next Home Peoples Bank RCU Re/Max Real Estate Solutions Scheppke Real Estate Security Financial Bank Silver Springs Six Lakes Realty The Title Company US Bank Vinopal Title Wells Fargo Woods and Water Realty

2 In accordance with our bylaws, notice is hereby given that the following individuals have applied for RANWW membership; written comment, which shall be kept confidential, is invited. RANWW Officers Joe Germain - President joegermain8@gmail.com Marty Tauger - President Elect taugers@gmail.com Stacey McKinney - Treasurer stacey@mckinneyrealty.net Tina Theisen - Imm Past President tinatheisen@remax.net RANWW Directors Mary Jo Bowe Paul Canfield John Flor Deborah Hanson Sue Hesketh Shannyn Pinkert Ben Rivard Aaron Tiry Terry Weld The purpose of this publication is to inform Members of events, issues and accomplishments pertaining to the REALTORS Association of Northwestern Wisconsin. If you would like to submit information, ideas or articles to this publication please contact Brenda Barnhardt at; brenda@ranww.org Richard Barbour - Barbour Realtors Julie Freiburger - Coldwell Banker River Valley Teresa Lyall - Andale Real Estate Robert McGrane - Woods & Water/Bloomer Danielle Miller - Coldwell Banker East/West Paul Mirr - Ruder Ware, LLC Clint Richardson - RCU~Chippewa Falls/Woodward Ave. Laura Rosecrance - All Property, LLC Jennifer Stachura - Edina Realty Chippewa Valley Travis Tuma - Edina Realty Chippewa Valley Angela Welch - Woods & Water/Eau Claire Jacob Winter - Kleven Real Estate Urgent Alert: Sophisticated Scams Targeting the Real Estate Industry: Criminals are hacking into the accounts of real estate agents or other persons involved in a real estate transaction and using information gained from the hack to dupe a party into a fraudulent wire transfer. The hackers often send an that appears to be from an individual legitimately involved in the transaction, informing the recipient, often the buyer, that there has been a last minute change to the wiring instructions. Following the new instructions, the recipient will wire funds directly to the hacker s account, which will be cleared out in a matter of minutes. The money is almost always lost forever. In the next two weeks, real estate professionals will be contending with high transactional volumes during year-end closings. This is a busy and hectic time for real estate professionals, and many millions of dollars will be sent and received via wire before the end of the year. This is exactly the environment in which online criminals seek to operate. The National Association of REALTORS urges its members and state and local REALTOR associations to be on high alert for and online fraud. In May 2015, NAR issued an alert regarding a sophisticated wire fraud hitting the real estate industry. Since then, the incidents of online scams targeting practitioners have continued to rise but the advice is the same. Bottom line: Do not let your guard down. Start from the assumption that any in your in-box could be a targeted attack from a criminal. To read the entire alert click here 2

3 TRID SUGGESTION The RANWW/MLS office has received calls wondering if the MLS will add data fields for agent license numbers and firm numbers information needed for TRID transactions. At this time, there are no plans to add data fields for a few reasons, most notably that not all real estate licensees are RANWW members, license numbers issued by the State of Wisconsin may change, and there s hesitation to add new data fields during an MLS conversion. However, please feel free to use Agent Remarks to note the Listing Agent s license and firm numbers to make them easily available to other members, or create an in-house database for your company s use or to share with other cooperating brokers. Sharpen your skills in 2016! Take a course at NAR s Center for REALTOR Development they have many new courses available and most are accessible online.meaning you never have to leave your office! For example the all new Safety First Course: Real Estate Safety Matters, Safe Business = Smart Business! Developed in partnership with NAR s REALTOR Safety Program, this online threehour course teaches real estate professionals how to limit risk and increase safety for themselves and their clients. Students will learn how to assess potential risks and develop safety protocols for client meetings, open houses, showings, online interactions, and other business activities. The course will guide students through strategies for data security, including protecting personal and electronic information for real estate professionals and the clients they serve. As a practical resource, this course offers easy-to-remember strategies for responding to threats and attacks and when facing potentially dangerous situations. To register for this course or other courses click here There s An App for That! Dragon Dictation Do you spend a lot of time texting, composing s, and posting to social media sites for your real estate business? If so, and you own an Apple device (as of this writing the app is not yet available for Android devices) check out Dragon Dictation. This app uses voice recognition to transcribe your words instantly into text format. Speak into your device and the words appear on your screen. Speak your messages directly into your social networking, or text apps; or dictate into Dragon Dictation and copy/paste your message wherever you want it! To learn more click here: "For safety is not a gadget but a state of mind." Eleanor Everet The Winter Convention at Lake of the Torches January is a great way to begin 2016! The convention offers nationally known speakers, continuing education classes, technology workshops plus networking opportunities. Register by January 8 for a discounted registration fee. See the registration form in this newsletter, or go to wra.org for online registration and more information. It s Open Enrollment Season Don t miss the chance to review your current health insurance policy during this time. Once Open Enrollment ends Jan 31, 2016, you won t be able to enroll in a health plan again until Nov 2016 unless you experience a qualifying life event such as job loss, divorce, birth of a child, relocation, etc. NAR offers assistance in helping you select the right plan for you! Check out your Realtor Benefits by clicking here Source: WI Real Estate Magazine Nov

4 YOU ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO DISCLOSE YOUR REAL ESTATE LICENSE NOTE: Please remember that you have a WI State Licensing Law obligation to disclose your professional status in the listing data s public REMARKS in the MLS if you are the owner or have an interest in a property you are offering for sale. The following Q&A appeared in the WRA Legal Hottips, Dec 14, 2015 QUESTION: 1) Does a selling agent have to disclose he or she is a buyer's agent at any time prior to submitting an offer and/or a second showing on a co-broke or is that rule no longer in place? 2) If the selling agent is a buyer's broker and the buyer he or she is representing is a close relative does the agent still need to disclose the family relationship in the offer to purchase? ANSWER: 1) A buyer's agent is required to disclose buyer agency at the earlier of either first contact with the seller or listing broker, at a showing or other negotiations. This obligation is stated in Wis. Admin. Code REEB 24.07(8)(a)(2): (8) Disclosure of agency. (a) General requirements. 2. Licensees acting as agents of potential buyers of real estate that is used or intended to be used principally for one to 4 family residential purposes, who are negotiating directly with the seller or who are aware that the owner of the real estate has granted a listing broker the exclusive right to sell, shall notify the seller or the listing broker, as applicable, of the licensee's buyer agency relationship at the earlier of all of the following: a. The first contact with the seller or the listing broker where information regarding the seller or transaction is being exchanged. b. A showing of the property. c. Any other negotiation with the seller or the listing broker. 2) Licensees are required to obtain written consent when working with immediate family according to Wis. Admin. Code REEB 24.05(2) and the REEB definition. The fact a licensee is a buyer's agent does not waive this obligation: Wis. Admin. Code REEB 17.01(3g) "Immediate family" means any of the following: (a) Parents, stepparents, grandparents, foster parents, children, stepchildren, grandchildren, foster children, brothers and their spouses, sisters and their spouses, of a licensee or a licensee's spouse. (b) The spouse of a licensee. (c) Aunts and uncles, sons-in law or daughters-in-law of a licensee or a licensee's spouse. Wis. Admin. Code REEB 24.05(2): "Disclosure of interest. A licensee acting as an agent in a real estate or business opportunity transaction may not act in the transaction on the licensee's own behalf, on behalf of the licensee's immediate family or firm, or on behalf of any other organization or business entity in which the licensee has an interest without the prior written consent of all parties to the transaction. For the purpose of this subsection, a licensee shall obtain the written consent in the offer to purchase, option, lease or other transaction contract." READ MORE ABOUT IT: For more information about disclosure obligations, see June 2012 Legal Update, "REEB 24 Regulatory Revisions," at 4

5 Which, oh Which Addenda Do I Use? Standard Wisconsin real estate forms, required for use by Wisconsin real estate licensees and may be used as well by unrepresented parties and attorneys are easily identified in the upper left corner with the WB label. Although the forms cover many of the basic needs of a transaction, from time to time the use of an Addenda may be needed. Following is a brief description of each: Addendum A radon testing, hazardous substances, underground storage tanks, insurance issues, zoning or building restrictions, etc Addendum B well, water, septic for properties with wells or septic systems or are not served by municipal water supplies or sewer systems Addendum D originally used for electronic consent which is now included in the Offer to Purchase Addendum L and Addendum S lead-based paint for the rental or sale of a property Addendum Lead/Arsenic Pesticide for properties where pesticides (ie: fruit orchards) may have been used for pest control Addendum O manages relationship between seller and buyer when the seller may remain on the property after closing or the buyer occupies property prior to closing Addendum W for properties that contain or may contain wetlands Addendum R for the sale of residential rental properties regardless of number of units involved Addendum TR designed to facilitate TRID-covered transactions Source: Excerpted from Nov 2015 Wisconsin Real Estate Magazine. INACCURATE & PROHIBITED MLS DATA We need your help! We re seeing an increase of inaccurate and/or prohibited data entered into the MLS - no doubt the result of more agents, new agents, agents beginning to enter and maintain their own listing data, and/or a change of staff. The following three areas seem to be the most problematic: Branded Virtual Tours MLS Areas Square Footage Please see additional information on Page 5 for further explanations of the above definitions and policy/fine procedures for each. Feel free to copy and distribute. For additional information see the following, available on under MLS Resources. MLS Rules & Regs: MLS Areas Defined: Square Footage Defined: Listing Add/Edit Manual: 5

6 Please copy and distribute to anyone who enters or maintain listing data in the MLS. 6

7 RPAC Report & Legislative Updates The history of REALTOR and Government Day in Wisconsin originated in By this time having a REALTOR and Government day at the state capitols was a common event for most REALTOR Associations around the country especially by the larger trade groups. Wisconsin s REALTOR and Government day came in the wake of other Great Lake States creating similar events where they would have their members interact face-to-face with their legislatures rather than the same lobbyist occupying the corridors of their respective capitol. As the REALTOR Political Action Committee (RPAC) entered its 8 th year of existence, Bill Malkasian, the former governmental affairs director of the Wisconsin Realtors Association from 1975 to 1979 and Executive Director of WRA from 1979 to 2011 recognized the success of this event in other states and brought the idea to Wisconsin; in conjunction with his counterparts he began planning the first R&G day. Malkasian and company brought in a speaker from the East Coast to speak to the members on the value of political involvement at a cost of $500 which Malkasian recalls, caused his boss to figuratively have a heart attack! The Chairman of the Governmental Affairs committee, Dave Galecke from Stevens Point, Wisconsin sponsored the first REALTOR and Government Day. With a speaker and sponsor locked in, the very first REALTOR and Government Day took place at Park Motor Inn in Madison, The mindset of the day was to have members talk directly to their elected officials on real estate issues while visiting the state capitol. Concerning the members, the day had a twofold purpose: exposure to property issues and exposure to grass roots lobbying directly with elected officials. Furthermore, to ensure a more successful turnout, the event was coupled with WRA s Board of Directors meeting. In the evening, the association hosted a reception for the legislatures at the Park Hotel as this was a common practice among trade associations. The 1978 REALTOR and Government Day was an overall success with roughly 200 members in attendance and was the beginning of a successful annual event. Joe Murray, WRA s current Director of Political and Governmental Affairs, acknowledges the importance of the fundamentally grassroots purpose of the day and the success that comes with the actual members both learning about current property and real estate issues as well as advocating for the legislation they would like to see implemented and could directly affect their careers. It is the one day that allows for a different voice, that of the REALTORS, to express their opinions concerning property legislation rather than the same lobbyists who are there the other 364 days. Mike Theo, the current WRA President & CEO, further emphasizes the importance of the day for the REALTORS to learn about pending issues, listening to the keynote speakers, and most importantly to tell their story to the legislature. What story does Theo speak of? He says these stories are of how pending legislation will impact the real lives of REAL- TORS, homeowners and property owners back home in the districts that the lawmakers represent. While the WRA employs an impressively educated and experienced team of legal and political experts that understand the legislative process as well as the needs and wants of legislatures, there is a something missing. It is the story of REALTORS and how the legislation will have a practical impact on their lives. Simply put, REALTOR and Government Day allows for the REALTORS to apply an emotional and real-life aspect to the monotonous legislation. Theo notices the impact of the REALTORS on the legislatures and who appreciate the efforts of the REALTORS to make the trip to Madison and tell those stories of how the proposed law will have an impact on real people. This year will be the 38 th Wisconsin REALTOR and Government Day and with your help we can continue our success with an even bigger presence with more REALTORS to discuss those pertinent issues that face our members today. -Beau Krueger, Government Affair Intern Special thanks to Bill Malkasian, Joe Murray, and Mike Theo for their historical assistance March 2nd, 2016 REALTOR and Government Day Are you going? Come ride the bus with us and spend the day advocating for your business! Busses will be stopping in Rice Lake & Eau Claire to pick up members. Contact Bruce King for more information: bruce@ranww.org 7

8 January 2016 Sun Mo Tue We Thu Fri Sat st - Office Closed (New Year s Day) 8th - MLS Board Meeting (Rice Lake) 11th - RANWW Board Meeting 12th - PR Committee at Reds in Chetek February 2016 Sun Mo Tue We Thu Fri Sat nd - Pro Standards Training 11th -New Member Orientation 25th - RANWW RPAC Auction 20th - Foundation Meeting 21st - 22nd WRA BOD Meeting 26th - 28th Winter Convention March 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat nd - REALTOR & Government Day 4th MLS Board Meeting April 2016 Sun Mon Tue We Thu Fri Sat th Affiliate Round Table 29th MLS Board Meeting 7th -RANWW Board Meeting 25th -RANWW Office closes at noon 8

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