Posts belonging to Category Membership

There probably is not a charity, nor non-profit, in Tallahassee that doesn’t receive support from a Tallahassee REALTOR®. We tend to be generous with our time, as well as our monetary support. But in addition to individual efforts to give and even to promote ourselves, did you know that TBR also supports and promotes REALTORS® as professionals through its annual public relations campaign?

The Communications Committee at its March meeting approved the media buy for 2013 to give us more exposure to the public, to promote REALTORS® and Affiliates as the experts in our fields. Our media schedule for this year includes the following:

1. Clear Channel to support FSU baseball from February through June on their radio schedule;
2. Fox 49 will run TBR ads during the morning news, Daily Buzz, and Fox 49 News at Ten in August and September—to  include hurricane season and the  beginning of the school year to ensure greater viewer exposure;
3. NPR WFSU radio during drive-time hours in May and June;
4. Comcast Spotlight TBR-branded commercials, which will air in April, May, and June, targeting programs with higher viewer ratings;
5. WTXL 27 “first week of the month” commercial package in August and September; and
6. Cumulus Radio will feature ads during FAMU’s seven football games.

Our public relations campaign is designed to encourage the public to use professional REALTORS® when buying, selling or leasing real property. This is just another way that YOUR Board of REALTORS® is using your dues to promote you!

Ann Cleare
Capital Property Consultants

Every year TBR members want to know, “How were the dues renewals?”  Or, “How many members did you cut off?” To review, TBR mailed all its members a dues renewal invoice on November 1, 2012 and dues renewals were due on January 1, 2013. Members could still pay without penalty until January 31, 2013. As an added incentive, the Board of Directors instituted early payment discounts for most of the members (92% of the members were eligible). In just our second year of those discounts, more than half of all members (53.5%) paid early. Before offering the discount, only about one-third of the members paid in advance. Thank you goes to the Finance Committee for having the foresight to institute these member incentives.

Okay, on with the numbers: 

On November 1, 2012 we billed 1,389 members; included in that were 1,088 REALTORS®, 208 Affiliates, and 80 brokers and sales associates that only subscribe to the MLS. Through January 31, 2013, 89% of members had renewed compared to 85.6% in 2012. In fact 2013 renewals represent the best percentage renewed since 2005—see the chart below:

So what do we take from these renewals? Current members are a good barometer of the area’s real estate market. Members will not renew (see 2006 – 2011) when they do not think they can be successful in the real estate business. My take-away is that it’s positive for your business. Another indication is the new agents and Affiliates coming into the Board. Entrepreneurs see opportunity in the real estate industry and that speaks well for everyone. Of course, only time will tell if this is a trend or just a blip, but the evidence points to a recovery in our area. I know you all hope I am correct.

I welcome your opinion on this information, and hope you comment, below.

Steven Louchheim
Executive Director
Tallahassee Board of REALTORS®

Adding to the clutter in your Inbox:

• Several emails from TBR REALTORS® about new listings and/or open houses
• An email from a member office welcoming a new agent
• Emails from TBR announcing a socials/events/classes
• An email from TBR informing you about a county commission meeting
• And TBR’s weekly eBoard Briefs newsletter.

Whew! That’s a lot of email in the course of one week, generated from your TBR membership. But is it spam?

If you’re reading this (and you’re a TBR member), you’re a REALTOR® or an Affiliate. You’ve likely become a member for at least one or maybe a variety of reasons—which are benefits exclusive to TBR members:

(1) Networking;

(2) Marketing;

(3) MLS;

(4) Education;

(5) Advocacy

…etc.

As a TBR member, you’ve paid yearly dues for these membership benefits. You’ve paid for access to other members—networking opportunities and contact lists—that the public cannot receive. You’ve paid for access to TBR’s MLS (if you’re a REALTOR® member), and for education and advocacy—and to be kept informed about any changes or updates to any of these services as they happen.    

My point? Each of the emails mentioned in the first paragraph falls under the “membership benefits” categories listed in the second:

• Several emails from TBR REALTORS® about new listings and/or open houses = Networking. Marketing. MLS.
• An email from a member office welcoming a new agent = Networking. Marketing.
• Emails from TBR announcing socials/events/classes = Networking. Education.
• An email from TBR informing you about a county commission meeting = Advocacy.
• And TBR’s weekly eBoard Briefs newsletter = Networking. Marketing. MLS. Education. Advocacy.

TBR strives to provide you with great member benefits and opportunities, and to keep you informed—that’s why we exist as an association, and why you joined! We respect your time and certainly understand if you don’t want to be included on the TBR roster that’s distributed to other members, and if you want to unsubscribe from TBR communications like advocacy messages and eBoard Briefs. But I urge you to reconsider. Sure, your Inbox can get pretty cluttered. I love my BlackBerry because I can “delete” before I ever sit at my desktop, so it’s not so overwhelming once I sit down to work. “Delete” is an option, short of “unsubscribe,” that’s easy for me to take advantage of—but I won’t miss messages that are important to me.

So I’ve tried to explain the why’s of what we do—including sending out email blasts and rosters. If you unsubscribe from a TBR list, or ask to be removed from the roster, we honor your request. We do try to limit the messages we send to you from the association, beyond the weekly eBoard Briefs newsletter. When we send an email from TBR, the subject line will always reflect what’s in the message—so you can easily see if it pertains to you; if not, “delete.” After all, we don’t want to bother you or for the message to get lost in your Inbox (but we do want to keep you informed—a delicate balance, I can assure you).

Members, if you use the TBR roster to send out emails, and someone asks to be removed from your list, honor their request—it’s the law (CAN-SPAM) and common courtesy (the Golden Rule). When you do send out emails, clearly identify your message in the subject line, thoughtfully consider your email marketing strategy, and limit the amount of emails you’re sending so as not to dilute your message (or annoy others to the point that they unsubscribe).

I’d like to hear what you think about mass email communications from members and association: Is it spam?

Susan

We appreciate all that our Affiliate members do for us and we hope that you use and enjoy all the benefits that Affiliate membership provides.

I wanted to remind you that your company’s Affiliate membership provides the opportunity to add as many additional members as you wish for only $35 each. Each additional member would be able to take part in all the benefits that Affiliate membership offers. Everyone in your office could have their individual information listed in the Affiliate Services Directory to get their name out there to the general public. Everyone could network at marketing meetings, business meetings and socials, and take advantage of the many technology and education opportunities the Board offers.

We hope you will encourage everyone in your office to take advantage of all the benefits Affiliate membership with the Tallahassee Board of REALTORS® offers and join us for 2011.

You can find an Affiliate Application on our website, for use in adding additional members to your company, by clicking on Members/Membership/Affiliate Application (or just Click Here). Please contact me if you have any questions or need any additional information, at 224-7713 or Jo-Anna@TBRnet.org.

Jo-Anna

A couple of days ago a REALTOR® was telling me a story and kept referring to a broker as a “REALTOR® that was not a member of TBR.” Of course there are plenty of REALTORS® that are not members of TBR (about 1.1 million); but I had the feeling that this person was not a REALTOR®. I checked it out and sure enough he is a broker in Florida, but not a REALTOR®. That is an important distinction to me. Not all real estate licensees are REALTORS®. REALTORS® adhere to a code of ethics as promulgated by the National Association of REALTORS®. The Marks are collective membership marks which serve to identify members of the National Association and distinguish them from non-members.

Knowing the trademark rules is vital to keeping the term REALTOR® specific to members and not letting it become a generic term of a licensee. Check out this short video from NAR that will further explain. For comprehensive guidelines on using the term REALTOR®:

• As part of your name
• With your firm name
• On the Internet

It is in everyone’s best interest to protect and preserve the REALTOR® trademarks; make sure you do your part by keeping your use in compliance, assisting others, and reporting use by non-members to the Tallahassee Board of REALTORS®.

Steven

Just a reminder regarding NAR Compliance. NAR compliance requires that the Designated REALTOR® is responsible for the dues of all licensees affiliated or employed by him/her in all the brokerage offices within the jurisdiction of the Board. If a broker is found in non-compliance, the broker will be fined $500 per agent. My last audit found 54 offices in non-compliance. 

I am beginning the second round of auditing each office in TBR. Please login to DBPR and check that everyone licensed in your office in DBPR is also a current member of TBR or another board that you are a member of, and NAR and Florida REALTORS®.

Please also verify that their licenses are current/active. My last audit found many inactive and null/void licenses. Remember, not only is it a felony to practice real estate without a current/active license, but TBR and CATRS MLS  require that all licenses show as current/active in order to continue membership.

Since everyone will be paying their 2011 dues by January 31, 2011, this is a good time to verify on February 1 that everyone in your office has renewed their membership and are therefore current members of TBR. As a broker you can login to the TBR Member Login to view your office accounts receivable and see any outstanding dues invoices that have not been paid by agents in your office.

Jo-Anna

It’s important to know when adding or deleting agents in your office, a few simple steps will help to put everyone on the same page at the same time and make joining or transferring offices work smoothly for everyone.

DELETING AGENTS

When removing an agent from your office you should login to your account in DBPR and delete that license from your responsibility online. (Directions for this can be found on our website by clicking on Members/Membership/DBPR Online Maintenance.)When you remove someone in DBPR, it is also important to notify me so that I can remove them from your office record. DBPR does NOT notify TBR automatically when you make a change in your office record. MLS bills are sent out on the 20th of each month for the following month, so removing someone prior to the 19th of the month will ensure that your office is not billed for that person for the following month. Once an MLS bill is generated it cannot be credited, so even if someone is leaving your office, if you have been billed for them, you must collect that fee from them before they go.

If someone leaving your office is moving to another office they must contact me and pay a $100 office transfer fee and I must receive permission from you, the broker they are leaving, to take any listings with them. They must be showing licensed with their new broker in DBPR before I can move them in the TBR system.

ADDING NEW AGENTS

Current Members of TBR Transferring from Another Office

Login to your account with DBPR and add that agent to your office. (Directions for this can be found on our website by clicking on Members/Membership/DBPR Online Maintenance)  Send a copy of your confirmation from DBPR to me at Jo-Anna@TBRnet.org. Instruct the agent that they must contact me to pay a $100 office transfer. If they are taking any listings with them, I must have permission from the broker that they are leaving to move listings with them. It is best that the agent moves with his/her listings for continued access to them.

Adding New Members to Your Office Who Must Join TBR

Remember, that for NAR compliance any agent that you add as a license in your office has thirty days from the day you add them in DBPR to join TBR. You should add new agents online using the steps above. Once you have added someone to your office, please instruct them to call TBR @ (850) 224-7713 and set up a new member appointment. New member appointments are offered at 2 p.m. Monday through Friday or 10 a.m. Monday and Wednesday through Friday. A new member appointment takes about thirty minutes. A new member should visit our website at www.TBRnet.org and click on Members/Membership/Joining a Company for complete instructions and applicable paperwork. For any questions or concerns please call me, Jo-Anna at 850-224-7713 or email at Jo-Anna@TBRnet.org.

Jo-Anna

During the course of auditing for NAR compliance, I found many inactive licenses that people were unaware of. Some of these were errors on the part of the individual, and some errors on the part of DBPR. Most were able to be corrected very quickly with a phone call or visit to DBPR. These included broker licenses, salesperson licenses, and office licenses. If your license shows inactive, your TBR and CATRS MLS membership must be suspended until such time as it is showing current and active again in DBPR. 

I encourage all TBR members to login to the DBPR website https://www.myfloridalicense.com on a regular basis to verify that any license that you hold is showing current and active. Remember, it is a felony to perform real estate services without a current, active real estate license. Remember, also, that anyone in the general public can login to this website to verify the status of a license. It would be a shame to lose a client because, after considering using your services, they logged in to find that your license or your company license was showing inactive. 

 Jo-Anna

Remember that MLS bills are generated on the 20^th of every month for the following month. The office an agent is active in on the 20^th of the month is the office that will be charged for that agent’s MLS fees for the following month. If you are deleting an agent from your office be sure to do that with DBPR and TBR by the 19^th of the month to avoid that person’s MLS fees being charged to your office.

 Jo-Anna

I have just completed auditing each office in the Tallahassee Board of REALTORS® for NAR compliance. NAR compliance requires that the Designated REALTOR® is responsible for the dues of all licensees affiliated or employed by him/her in all the brokerage offices within the jurisdiction of the Board. If a broker is found in non-compliance, the broker will be fined $500 per agent.  I will begin to audit each office again in a few weeks.   

So…this is just a reminder to brokers to regularly login to the DBPR website https://www.myfloridalicense.com to check on all the people licensed in your office. Then, check to make sure that they are current members of the TBR or another board that you are a member of. Also, verify that their license is showing current and active in DBPR. If people join your office make sure that you add them to your record in DBPR online and then forward that information to the Board. If they are new members they need to set up an appointment to join TBR within 30 days of being added to your office. If they are transferring into your office, there is a $100 office transfer fee and they will need the permission of the broker they are leaving to take any listings with them. It is also a good idea on February 1 of each year to check to see that everyone in your office has paid their annual dues—and are therefore current members of TBR.

Please help me keep everyone in compliance with the NAR rules without issuing any fines! I enjoy the part of my job that helps people keep in compliance.  I don’t like the part of my job that issues fines for those in non-compliance.

Jo-Anna Dolloff, Membership Coordinator