GHAR Weekly E-mail

The 2011 dues are $346.00. The Greater Harrisburg Association REALTORS^®, Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS^®, National Association of REALTORS^® and Public Awareness Assessment dues remains the same as the previous year.

PLEASE NOTE: Next year the dues bill will be sent electronically.

Questions regarding dues should be directed to Martha Cuneo at martha@ghar.info or Kathy Ludwig at kathy@ghar.info.

2011 AFFILIATE SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES - PLEASE RETURN YOUR COMPLETED FORM!
All Affiliates should have received their 2011 Sponsorship Opportunities Form. Please review the opportunities and indicate your initial interest in sponsoring the events listed and return your form to the Association office by January 3, 2011. All requests are granted on a first come first serve basis.

If you are a GHAR Affiliate Member and have not received your Sponsorship Opportunities Form, please e-mail Sara Bradnick, Member Services Manager at sara@ghar.info.

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 lunch is provided by the sponsor of the orientation.

Orientation will be held on the following dates and times: (Registration begins at 9:45 a.m.)

December 6, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. sponsored by Mid Penn Bank
January 19, 2011 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. sponsored by Members 1st Federal Credit Union

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

SAVE THE DATE - FEBRUARY ICI BREAKFAST & MARKETING EXCHANGE - FEBRUARY 3, 2011
The February ICI Breakfast is sponsored by the Hershey Center for Applied Research. Please watch for more information in future Weekly E-mails. Commercial REALTORS^®: the deadline to submit PowerPoint slides for the ICI Listings Slideshow is Monday, January 31, 2011.

GREATER HARRISBURG REALTORS^® INSTITUTE

GHRI E-MAIL IS SENT THE SECOND AND FOURTH MONDAYS OF THE MONTH
To help decrease the size and scope of the weekly email, the Association has decided to send out a separate e-mail highlighting upcoming classes held at the Greater Harrisburg REALTORS^® Institute.

REQUIRED COURSE FOR NEW LICENSEES
GHRI will offer the General Module, Commercial Module and the Residential Module, the courses required for new licensees, again in the spring. Watch for more details.

THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE UPDATE - THANKS TO ALL FOR ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR!
Thank you to everyone who generously donated to the 2010 Thanksgiving Food Drive. Thanks to the combined efforts of REALTOR^® members, affiliate members, and family and friends of the Foundation, the 2010 Food Drive was the most successful year ever! Through your generosity, 655 families received a turkey and a Giant Foods gift card for purchasing the remaining meal items for a Thanksgiving Dinner. Again thank you for your kindness - we couldn't have done it without you! Please note, we are still accepting your donations. Please contact Cindy Cuddeford if you wish to make a donation.

PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR DONATION IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

Note: The official registration and financial information of the Greater Harrisburg Association of 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.

P5 AVAILABLE
Effective Monday, November 15, 2010 Paragon 5 (P5) will be available to all agents. The URL to access P5 is http://cpml.fnismls.com/ParagonLS/Default.mvc/Login and there will also be a link on the homepage of Paragon 4 on that date. Your Login and Password will be the same in P5. The data remains the same, the difference is only in how it is accessed. All contacts, auto emails etc will be in P5.

P5 is still a beta site and everything is not working 100%, however I want all agents to have the opportunity to see what is new and what improvements have been made. One of the biggest changes is the fact that P5 is now compatible with your MAC.

I will be offering a “Sneak Peek” at P5 on Friday November 12^th and Tuesday November 16^th. These will be a short 2 hour session designed to show you the new features and changes in P5. Demo times on both days will be 9:00 am, 11:30 am (feel free to bring your lunch) and 2:00 pm. Please call the CPML office at (717) 761-8440 to register. I will not be doing any detail training on using the Paragon system. Beginning with the Paragon training on November 18, 2010, all training will be done in P5.

Paragon 4 will remain active until P5 is 100% complete. At that time, I will announce a cutoff date that Paragon will be turned off.

FREE WEBINAR TRAINING
Webinars have started for training on P5 (Paragon 5). For a short period of time the webinars will be held 3 times a week and twice a day. The topics will include:

P5 Essentials-Learn Navigation, Multi-Tasking, Inline Auto Complete. Customizing Searches, Emailing, Printing, Customizing Reports, Mailing Labels and Browsers.

Contact Manager and Client Connect - Learn Contact manager Wizard, Saving Searches to Client, Client Connect Customer View, Client Connect Set-up, Agent Notification.

CMA - Learn CMA Wizard, New Themes, CMA Setup and Navigation.

Listing Input - Learn Bulk Photo Upload, Inline Auto Complete, Features and Geo Coding

Preferences - Learn how to Upload Photos and Logos, Client Connect Preferences, E-card, Market Monitor Customization and CMA Customization.

For complete schedule and registration, please see link on home page in Paragon.

PARAGON TRAINING SCHEDULE
Training classes have been scheduled on the following dates for the PARAGON system:
         December 9, 2010
         January 13, 2011
         February 24, 2011

Basic class will be held at 9:00 a.m. 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 p.m. 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 (717) 761-8440 to reserve a time. Classes are held at the GHAR Office at 424 N. Enola Drive, Enola, PA 17025.

CPML OPEN HOUSE WEB SITE
Are you advertising your open houses on the web site? Are you advertising the Open House web site on your web sites? Consider adding the Open House web site to your ads when you advertise the open house. The consumers are using this web site; don’t let your Open House be missed because you are not on our site.

Open Houses on the Centralpennopenhouse.com web site now appear on an interactive map. The home page of the web site shows all available open houses marked by a balloon. Click on the balloon and see the property information. Zoom-in, Zoom-out or change area of map you wish to view. Consumers can still enter search parameters and the map will show only the properties that belong to the search. The map will then display the 8 properties on each page.

It is important now that your Open House information be entered into the Paragon system. You can find instructions on entering your open house data under MLS DOCS in the Paragon System. Open Houses entered into the Paragon system will appear on the web site in about 4 hours.

We are promoting the site with radio and newspaper ads; we need you to promote this site to your clients and potential clients through your web sites.

We have added our affiliate members to the Open House site. Our affiliate members have the ability to add a link to their name; this will allow the consumer to learn more about their company. Do you use a particular home inspector, lender or pest control company? Encourage them to add their link to our site.

PAR OFFERS REALTORS^® FREE SEMINAR ON FORECLOSURE IN HARRISBURG
Our state association is offering a free seminar designed to educate REALTORS^® on the issues surrounding foreclosure. PAR’s REALTOR^® Seminar, What Every REALTOR^® Needs to Know About Foreclosure, highlights information about consumer programs, loan modification and short sales. This seminar is not for consumers. The seminar gives REALTORS^® insight into the complex foreclosure and short sale processes.

The panel discussion will be moderated by PAR President Don Roth and includes Lori Toia with the PA Housing Finance Agency (PHFA), PA Department of Banking Deputy Secretary David Bleicken and REALTOR^® and Short Sale Educator Courtney Franklin.

The REALTOR^® seminar is the first of several statewide. The 90-minute session will be held Harrisburg on Wednesday, Dec. 15, from 9:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey on Lindle Road.

Free admission includes a continental breakfast and seating is limited.
Register today at http://www.parealtor.org/content/foreclosure_seminar.htm.

JOIN JUSTLISTED.COM TODAY!
PARJustListed.com from the PA Association of REALTORS^® has all the news you need to get your day started, with economic and industry news and weekly podcasts. This is such a great source of industry information and we hope you are taking advantage of it. If you haven’t registered for PARJustListed.com’s free daily e-news, visit the link below to register. Each weekday morning you will get updated real estate industry news in your inbox or mobile phone.

http://tinyurl.com/parjl-email

JOIN THE PAR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWORK (YPN)
We are looking for members who would like to join as Charter Members of the PA chapter of the Young Professionals Network! REALTOR^® Magazine launched the Young Professional Network in 2006 as a way to help the younger generation of REALTORS^® build a stronger link with the magazine and the real estate industry, in general. There is a lively blog, YPN website and social events that are designed to give its members the tools they need to advance their careers – and have fun in the process!

NAR approved Pennsylvania's Chapter on October 19, 2009. YPN is a member-driven organization that helps young real estate professionals excel in their careers by giving them the tools and encouragement to become involved in four core areas:

REALTOR^® Associations. Attend REALTOR^® conferences and pursue leadership roles with their local, state and national associations.
Real estate industry. Take an active role in policy discussions and advocacy issues; be informed about the latest industry news and trends.
Peers. Network and learn from one another by attending events, participating in online communication and seeking out mentoring opportunities.

Benefits of Membership

Exclusive invitations to YPN events.
Stay abreast of industry happenings. Through the blog on the YPN national site members stay in the loop on hot issues. YPN also has special educational sessions at REALTOR^® conferences that address strategies for success in real estate. The PA chapter has a group on Facebook.
Get involved. Many people who are new to the industry want to get involved with their local, state or national association but either don’t know how to go about it or they find it too intimidating. YPN encourages members to explore leadership opportunities at all levels.

How to Become a Member
Contact Adrienne Loughery (E-mail | Facebook) or PAR staff liaison to YPN, Brenda Florida, if you are interested in being a member or if you have any questions.

PAR SOLICITING QUESTIONS FOR REAL ESTATE COMMISSION AND APPRAISER BOARD FORUM
During the January Business Meetings, PAR will hold a forum with representatives of the State Real Estate Commission and State Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers to answer questions from REALTORS^®. If you have a question that you would like answered by either the Commission or Board, please submit it to PAR using the Q&A form no later than Wednesday, December 22. Questions are limited to 500 characters. Please note that due to time constraints and the large number of questions received, not every question can be forwarded for a Commission or Board response. PAR reserves the right to use its discretion to edit questions for clarity and to select which questions are ultimately submitted to the Commission and Board.

PAR ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR PENNSYLVANIA BOARDS
PAR currently is taking applications for vacancies on several Pennsylvania Boards including the State Real Estate Commission, the Housing Alliance of PA, and the Federal Home Loan Bank. Members interested in serving on these Boards should apply to PAR. PAR then will select applicants to "recommend" to serve on these boards. Click here for a complete overview of the process and a list of Pennsylvania Boards. Click here to submit an application.

REALTORS^® FEDERAL CREDIT UNION - JOIN TODAY!
REALTORS^® Federal Credit Union is proud to be a REALTOR Benefits^® Program Partner! NAR has partnered with industry leaders to provide REALTORS^® with value-added offers and significant savings on products and services they use every day. Through unique understanding and real partnership, we guide members to securing their financial independence, while supporting NAR's mission and benefiting the greater community.

REALTORS^® FCU Now Offers:
·         Highly Competitive Interest & Dividend Rates
·         Traditional & Money Market Savings
·         Traditional, Roth & SEP Individual Retirement (IRA) Savings and Certificate Accounts
·         Free eChecking with MasterCard Debit Card
·         Surcharge-Free ATM Transactions at Thousands of CO-OP Network & CU24 Network ATMs
·         Your own Virtual Branch
        o        Remote Check Deposit, Online Bill Pay Online Statements, Electronic Statements, Alerts, Messaging and more
                    o        myMortgage Center
·         Personal Loans & Credit Lines
·         New & Used Vehicle, Boat & RV Loans
·         Home Loan Financing
·         Certificate Investments
·         Business Savings & Money Market Accounts

As a REALTORS^® Federal Credit Union member, you have access to our diverse portfolio of products and services. Our cooperative approach to financial services allows us to provide you with great rates and fewer fees. Eligible members include anyone who is a member of or works with the NAR as well as their immediate family or household members. You can become a member of REALTORS^® Federal Credit Union as early as your first day of membership or relevant affiliation with the National Association of REALTORS^® or any time afterward. Join today!

NAR LAUNCHES CALL-FOR-ACTION! CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSMAN ABOUT THE MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION
On November 30, the bipartisan Deficit Reduction Commission posted its final report. In this report, the Commission calls for changes to the mortgage interest deduction (MID), including the potential elimination of this tax benefit. The Commission is expected to vote on this final report on December 3. NAR strongly opposes any tax reform plan that does not retain the deductibility of mortgage interest, and it also opposes any effort to convert the MID from a deduction to a tax credit. NAR launched a member-wide Call-for-Action (CFA) on December 2. NAR is asking members to contact their Congressman to ask him/her to oppose any changes to the MID. Click here to participate in this CFA and for more information on the NAR Web site.

INACCURATE E-MAILS CIRCULATING ABOUT HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION AND A 3.8% TAX
In recent months, and e-mail forward has been making its way around the Internet stating that the recently passed health care legislation will impose a 3.8% Medicare tax on property transfers beginning in 2013. This statement is very misleading. While the tax is part of the health care legislation, the tax will only impact a select number of individuals under specific circumstances. The tax does NOT apply to ALL property transfers. According to NAR, the new 3.8% tax would only potentially apply to households with Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) over $200,000 (single filer)/$250,000 (married filers). Even if AGI is met, certain net investment gains need to be met in order to trigger the tax. Click here for a more detailed overview from the NAR Web site.

CONTACT GHAR TO SCHEDULE A GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS OFFICE VISIT!
Is your office interested in a government affairs update during one of your sales meetings? Are you looking for more information about what is going on at the local, state, and national level? If so, please contact Sherri Pursel at the Association to schedule a Government Affairs Office Visit. Sherri will come to your office during one of your sales meetings and make a 15 to 20 minutes presentation about government affairs and the important issues facing REALTORS^® at all three levels of government. It is a great opportunity to learn more about legislative “hot topics” and what is happening in government affairs! Feel free to contact Sherri at sherri@ghar.info or by calling (717) 364-3200.

SIGN-UP to be a MUNICIPAL Political CONTACT!
GHAR 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. GHAR’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.

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