GHAR IS NOW ACCEPTING AMERICAN EXPRESS
Great news, GHAR is now accepting the American Express card as a payment option along with Visa, MasterCard, cash or check. Please remember credit card payment can only be processed with a minimum of $20.00 or more. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Association office at 364-3200.

AWARDS NIGHT - TONIGHT- Theme is Lucky Stars
Awards Night 2008 is TONIGHT
Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey (formerly the Wyndham and the Marriott).
Reception starts at 6:00 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m.
Formal attire is encouraged but not required for Lucky Stars Awards Night.

Awards Night Sponsors:
Thank you to our Platinum Sponsors: Central Penn Multi-List, Inc., Cody Financial Mortgage Services, Inc., First Horizon Home Loans, The Patriot-News Company
Thank you to our Gold Sponsors: A' n S Company, Inc., Jack Gaughen REALTOR^® ERA, Peter Jones of Countrywide Home Loans, RE/MAX Realty Professionals, Inc., Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Thank you to our Silver Sponsors: B & T Inspections, Inc., Lawyers Realty, LLC, Montour Home Comfort Services, National City Mortgage, Orrstown Bank, Salzmann Hughes, PC, Sovereign Bank

GHAR OFFICE CLOSES AT NOON TODAY
The GHAR office closes at noon today so staff can make the final preparations for Awards Night. Thank you for your understanding. See you at Awards Night!

MANAGEMENT ISSUES BREAKFAST - April 4
The Management Issues Committee has finalized plans for its first educational event of the year. The Management Issues Breakfast, featuring a panel discussion on Advertising Issues on the Internet, is scheduled on April 4. The panelists include Robbin Crossley, CPML; Stan Laskowski. Caldwell & Kearns and Legal Counsel for CPML and Marty Manion, Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS^®. They will be discussing Craigslist, MySpace.com, where do listings go, and how can you minimize your liability when advertising on the internet. In addition to the program, the Foundation will be distributing information on the Capital Campaign.

The breakfast will be held in Keystone Room C of the Radisson Penn Harris Convention Center, Camp Hill. Registration opens at 8:15 am, breakfast and the program starts at 8:30 am. Cost is $20. Brokers and managers may register by contacting Cindy Cuddeford at cindy@ghar.info or by calling 364-3200. Reservation deadline is noon on April 1.

ORIENTATION
Orientation is required for all new REALTOR^® members. You must meet this requirement within the first two offerings of applying for membership. Learn what it means to be a REALTOR^®, your obligation to abide by our Code of Ethics, and the many benefits and services that the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS^®has to offer. A boxed meal is provided by the sponsor of the orientation.

Orientation will be held on the following dates and times:
April 24, 2008 from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. sponsored by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
(Registration begins at 10:45 a.m.)

Remember failure to attend orientation as required may result in paying an additional application fee.

REMINDER FROM THE PA TREASURY DEPARTMENT
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Treasury Department has asked GHAR to remind all our members that the deadline for filing unclaimed property reports is April 15, 2008. According to information provided by the Treasury Department, "unclaimed property is any financial asset left with a holder without activity or contact for a period of five years (with exceptions)." The Department's information also says that "state law requires that all financial institutions, government agencies or other businesses, organizations and entities, also known as holders, must file unclaimed property reports and turn over unclaimed property to the Treasury Department annually for the prior year. If, however, holders do not have any unclaimed property to report, they should file a none report by April 15 to be in compliance with the law. Currently, trusts, estates, sole proprietorships and organizations with 501 C(3) status are exempt from filing negative reports if they have no reportable unclaimed property." For more information on this issue, please contact the Association.

ICI Breakfast - April 3
The April ICI Breakfast is sponsored by DeSanto Realty Group. The breakfast will be held at the Crums Mill Road Corporate Center. Josh Vail, Director of Business Development for Welton Street Investments, will be speaking on the topic "NAR Exemption for Compensation of Commercial Brokers and Agents and Tenant-in-Common Investors". Registration is at 7:50 a.m. Breakfast begins at 8:00 a.m. Reservations are required by noon on Wednesday, April 2. Register online at www.ghar.info or call 364-3200.

Registration Open for the ICI Happy Hour on Thursday, April 17!
On Thursday, April 17, the ICI Board of Directors will be hosting the spring 2008 ICI Happy Hour! The event will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Dorado in Camp Hill. Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, the event is FREE for all ICI members. Space is limited, however, and pre-registration is REQUIRED. The registration deadline is Friday, April 11. You can register online at www.ghar.info or call 364-3200.

To view a copy of the event flyer, click here. A special thank you to our event sponsors: BL Companies, First Industrial Realty Trust, Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC, Reager & Adler, PC, and Susquehanna Bank.

GREATER HARRISBURG REALTORS^® INSTITUTE

GHRI BI-WEEKLY EMAIL
To help decrease the size and scope of the weekly email, the Association has decided to send out a separate email highlighting upcoming classes held at the Greater Harrisburg REALTORS^® Institute. Look for the email to be sent out the second and fourth Mondays of each month.

CE DEADLINE - May 31, 2008
All licensees licensed prior to December 1, 2007, are required to take 14 hours of continuing education by May 31, 2008.

NAR QUADRENNIAL ETHICS DEADLINE - December 31, 2008
All REALTORS^® are required to take 2 1/2 hours of ethics training between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2008. GHAR will be tracking that everyone meets the deadline. For more information on the quadrennial ethics deadline and which classes are approved, please see the GHRI Bi-Weekly Email or call the Association at 364-3200.

Upcoming Foundation Events!
Keep an eye out for upcoming Foundation events this spring and summer. Look for the Annual Miniature Golf Tournament in the month of May and the Annual Golf Tournament in June. As with all foundation events sponsorships are available. If you are interested in being a sponsor for an upcoming Foundation event email Sara Bloss, at sara@ghar.info or call the Association at 717-364-3200.

The official registration and financial information of the Greater Harrisburg REALTORS Foundation may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

TRAINING FOR THE REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL WITH DICK BETTS!
CPML is presenting 2 days of seminars on getting the most out of your Smart Phone. Classes will be held in the GHAR building, 424 N. Enola Dr, Enola. Call CPML at 761-8440 to register.

Thursday, April 17
9 am – 10:30               Everywhere is My Office
10:30 – Noon               Newest/Latest/Greatest Technology Out There
1 – 4 pm                       Real Estate Fundamentals
4 – 4:45 pm                  FREE e-PRO Workshop (with details of the on-line course and CE credit available)

Friday, April 18
9 am – noon                 Beyond Fundamentals
1 – 4 pm                      Smartphones for REALTORS^®

$25 for one class ~     $40 for 2        ~ $75 for all classes

PARAGON TRAINING SCHEDULE
Training classes have been scheduled on the following dates for the PARAGON system:
                            April 10
                            May 29
                            June 5

Basic class will be held at 9:00 am. The Basic Class covers simple searches, descriptions of terms used in the PARAGON system, introduction to input sheets, CPML input rules for paragon as well as system requirements. The Basic Class also provides a brief look at the financial program.

Advanced class will be held at 1:00 pm. The Advanced Class covers creating CMA's and using the Contact Manager to manage clients as well as send automatic emails.

You need only attend one day, but you may attend more than one class if you choose. Please call the CPML office at 761-8440 to reserve a time. Classes are held at the new GHAR office at 424 N. Enola Drive, Enola, PA 17025.

PAR Excellence Club Award
Are you a star in the field of real estate? Then PAR is looking for you! The PAR Excellence Club Award honors REALTORS^® who have shown a high standard of excellence through professional and community involvement, sale activity and education. Visit the PAR web site at www.parealtor.org to obtain an application form or call 1-800-555-3390 today for more information about the Club Award.

EPA SEEKS COMMENTS ON TMDLS PROPOSAL FOR PAXTON CREEK Watershed
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comments on a proposal to establish Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for the Paxton Creek Watershed. Anyone interested in reviewing the proposal and/or submitting comments should visit the EPA’s Web site to review a copy of the proposal. The comment period for this proposal is March 4 through April 3, 2008. The EPA also intends to hold a public meeting regarding this proposal on March 19, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., at the Lower Paxton Township Municipal Building, 425 Prince Street, Harrisburg. Please contact Sherri Pursel for more information on this issue.

HUD Announces NEW FHA AND Conforming loan limits
On March 6, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published new FHA and conforming loan limits, based on median home prices as mandated by the Economic Stimulus Act signed by President Bush in February. According to a report from the National Association of REALTORS^®(NAR), new loan limits for FHA and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now calculated at 125 percent of the HUD published median prices, with a floor of $271,050 and $417,000, respectively, not to exceed $729,750. The new FHA loan limits can be accessed online. To find the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loan limits, on the HUD site choose "Fannie/Freddie" in the drop-down menu called "Limit Type."

NAR Quickfacts (as published in the NAR Internal News Service e-publication):

What This Means for Housing, REALTORS®, and the Economy
NAR research points out that increasing FHA loan limits will help an additional 138,000 Americans achieve the dream of home ownership and will allow nearly 200,000 homeowners to refinance and potentially keep their home. In addition, NAR believes that increasing the loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will bolster the housing finance market, which continues to be severely stressed, by providing an immediate infusion of much needed liquidity to the nation’s mortgage market.

An economic impact study conducted by NAR in January 2008 estimated that increasing the GSEs’ conforming loan limits would result in as many as 500,000 refinanced loans and could help reduce foreclosures by as much as 210,000. In addition, over 300,000 additional home sales could be generated, housing inventory would be reduced and home prices would be strengthened by two to three percentage points.

Why HUD Took This Action
HUD was mandated in the Economic Stimulus Act to publish new loan limits within 30 days of the bill's signing by President Bush on February 13.

How HUD Calculates Its Median Home Prices
HUD median home prices differ from those published by NAR. That is because HUD uses a variety of sources and different areas to calculate the median home price.

Who Will be Affected
Increased loan limits will have a wide impact. The added liquidity in the mortgage market will help to make mortgages more easily available. Receiving direct helped will be borrowers in high cost areas who previously had no recourse except high- cost jumbo loans, and those with high-cost loans who can refinance into lower interest rate loans.

PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNS ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE INTO LAW
On February 13, President George W. Bush signed the economic stimulus package into law. The legislation, which was approved overwhelmingly by Congress last week, will provide monetary payments to most American households and also provide grant tax incentives for business investment. Along with these major components, the bill also includes the National Association of REALTORS^® request for GSE and FHA loan limit increases. NAR strongly supported these increases in order to assist the national housing market. For more information, please visit the NAR Web site.

GOV. RENDELL’S BUDGET PROPOSAL INCLUDES EXTENSION OF KOZ PROGRAM
In early February, Governor Ed Rendell presented is 2008-2009 budget proposal to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Included in that proposal was an extension of the Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) program. Currently, the tax benefits associated with the KOZ program are set to run out in 2010. The budget proposal does not specifically state how long the extension would last. However, a report from the Central Penn Business Journal indicates that the Governor is working with his Cabinet and legislators to agree on a specific extension. The 2008-2009 budget must be approved by the General Assembly and the Governor by June 30, 2008. Please watch for more information on this issue, and please contact Sherri Pursel with any questions.

SIGN-UP to be a MUNICIPAL Political CONTACT!
The GHAR Municipal Political Contacts Task Force (MCTF) is still searching for volunteers to be Municipal Political Contacts. As a Political Contact, GHAR will work with you when issues impacting REALTORS^® and the real estate industry arise in your municipality. The Task Force’s goal is to identify REALTORS^® from each municipality in our tri-county area to be Political Contacts. We are still in need of contacts for the following municipalities:

If you are interested in participating in this vital program, please contact Sherri Pursel.

CONDOLENCES
To Gary Voegele and his family on the passing of his wife Nancy on March 9, 2008. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 15, in Verona, New York. In lieu of flowers, cards and other correspondences may be sent to 6381 Happy Valley Road, Verona, NY, 13478. Gary is an agent with Dugan Realty Group in Mechancisburg.

In this Email: