GHAR Weekly E-mail

JOIN US FOR REALTORS^® TAKE TIME "OUT" ON NOVEMBER 10! - REGISTER TODAY FOR THIS FREE EVENT!
Hosted at Nolo's Bar & Restaurant at Rich Valley Golf Course on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, this event is for GHAR REALTOR^® members as an after hours social. Network, Mix, Mingle and just “Take Time Out”!

A cash bar and light hors d’ oeuvres will be available from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. REALTOR^® Members may register online at www.ghar.info through the Members Only section or call the Association Office at (717) 364-3200. Pre-Registration deadline is Monday, November 2, 2010. This is a REALTOR^® Members Only Event. Only Pre-Registered REALTOR^® members are eligible for door prizes and must be present to win.

Thank you to the following sponsors of this event:
Gainer Home Inspections, LLC
Members 1st Federal Credit Union
Landmark Homes

This event is brought to you by the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS^®as a venue to meet and socialize with colleagues. Overt and direct recruiting practices during these events are not acceptable. The Association requests that all attendees drink responsibly. Payments to the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS^® are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal Tax purposes; however, such payments may be deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses.

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

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

GHAR CELEBRATES REALTORS^® REACH OUT 2010!
On Friday, October 22, GHAR members took part in community service events to celebrate REALTORS^® Reach Out 2010. This event was part of a statewide campaign that showcases REALTORS^® and the contributions they make to their local communities. The statewide campaign was created by the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS^® and officially runs throughout the month of October.

To celebrate this campaign, GHAR worked with several local organizations on a community service "work day" and also collected items for eight different organizations. More than 50 people worked on a variety of service projects including painting, landscaping, meal preparation, general clean-up, and more. Volunteers also helped deliver all of our "Fill the House" Collection Drive items to the organizations. Please watch for more information and pictures from the day in the next REALTOR^® Newsletter. For more information, please contact Sherri Pursel or Sara Bradnick.

NOVEMBER ICI BREAKFAST - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4
The November ICI Breakfast is sponsored by High Associates Ltd. The breakfast will be held at 5040 Louise Drive, Suite 106, in Mechanicsburg (Rossmoyne Business Center). A speaker from Dale Carnegie Training will be speaking on the topic: “The Importance of Enthusiasm to Accomplish Your Goals and Vision.” Attendees are encouraged to bring marketing materials to the meeting and to utilize the Marketing Exchange Table. Registration is at 7:50 a.m. Breakfast begins at 8:00 a.m. Reservations are required by noon on Wednesday, November 3. Register online at www.ghar.info or call (717) 364-3200. Commercial REALTORS^®: the deadline to submit PowerPoint slides for the ICI Listings Slideshow is Monday, November 1, at 4:00 p.m.

DECEMBER ICI HOLIDAY LUNCH - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2
The December ICI Holiday Lunch is sponsored by Carrow Real Estate Services. The Holiday Lunch will be held at 150 Corporate Center Drive in Camp Hill. This event will follow the networking format. We once again will be collecting new, unwrapped toys for the U.S. Marine Corp’s Toys for Tots Campaign. Please consider bringing a new, unwrapped toy to the lunch. Attendees also are encouraged to bring marketing materials to the meeting and to utilize the Marketing Exchange Table. Registration is at 11:45 a.m. The lunch begins at 12:00 noon. Reservations are required by noon on Wednesday, December 1. Register online at www.ghar.info or call (717) 364-3200. Commercial REALTORS^®: the deadline to submit PowerPoint slides for the ICI Listing Slideshow is Monday, November 29, at 4:00 p.m.

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. During the summer months, the GHRI E-mail will only be sent once a month.

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 fall. Watch for more details.

24th ANNUAL THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE - DONATIONS DUE TODAY!
Important: Food Drive Donations are due to the GHAR Office by: OCTOBER 29, 2010 or check with your office on how they are collecting. Make Checks Payable to: Greater Harrisburg REALTORS^® Foundation and send to: 424 N. Enola Drive, Suite 1, Enola 17025.

This year we are celebrating The Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS^® Foundation 24th Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. Last year, we successfully helped 646 local families enjoy a Thanksgiving Day meal. This year the goal is to EXCEED THAT NUMBER with your help.

We’re simply asking for each REALTOR^® to make a suggested contribution of $25. The Foundation will do the rest! Through your generosity, each family will receive a turkey and a Giant gift card for purchasing the remaining meal items.

Or, you can sponsor an entire family! The cost to sponsor one family with a turkey and Giant gift card is $40. Please give what you can. Make Checks Payable to: The Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS^® Foundation

**New for 2010 - Closing Gifts! As a closing gift, please consider sponsoring an entire family ($40) in honor of your client(s).
It is as easy as 1, 2, 3 to participate!

Contact Cindy Cuddeford at the Association office to order your note cards(s).
Pick up the note card(s) at the Association during regular business hours. Payment is required at the time of pick-up.
Give the note card(s) to your client(s) at settlement.

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.

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:
November 18, 2010 December 9, 2010

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.

TRIPLE PLAY REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
Real estate professionals from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and surrounding states attend the annual Triple Play REALTOR^® Convention & Trade Expo in Atlantic City for a unique opportunity to attend professional development courses presented by nationally recognized speakers and maximize their business potential through networking with colleagues from across the tri-state area and beyond.

This year's Triple Play will be held from December 7-9, 2010 and will feature a variety of quality workshops, keynote speeches, exciting social events and more. For details on how you can register, click here.

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.

JOIN THE REAL ESTATE CELEBRATION AT NARdiGRAS!
The 2010 REALTORS^® Conference & Expo is back in New Orleans (November 5-8) and you won’t want to miss this party. NAR has planned another great event for REALTORS^® and guests, including over 125 education sessions, the largest real estate expo, and lots of opportunities to expand your network. This year’s program highlights include: Mary Lou Retton, Earth Wind & Fire, Rich Karlgaard.

More Value for Your Money in 2010!
Now you can attend education sessions of your choice at the conference and download the rest of the programs at home for continued learning throughout the year. That’s double your registration value for nearly 100 sessions, and it’s a great way to make sure you don’t miss a thing. Just be sure to register for a full conference pass ($350 before August 15, $380 after August 15).Thanks to sponsor Bank of America for making this possible.

Come make the good times roll for your business at NARdiGras 2010, November 5-8. Registration is Now Open!

Visit: http://www.realtor.org/convention.nsf/

PAR LAUNCHES CALL-TO-ACTION FOR PRIVATE TRANSFER FEES LEGISLATION!
On October 27, the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS^® launched a Call-to-Action for Senate Bill 1481, legislation that will ban private transfer fees (PTFs) in Pennsylvania. A PTF is a covenant attached to the deed that forces the seller to pay 1% of the purchase price to a private third party corporation for 99 years. PAR has been working to advance this legislation over the last several weeks. SB 1481 previously passed the Pennsylvania Senate on October 14. PAR is asking for your help to move this legislation through the Pennsylvania House of Representatives!

Click here to read more about this issue on PARJustListed.com. For additional information, please contact Sherri Pursel.

ELECTION DAY! TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2
Tuesday, November 2, is Election Day across the country. Pennsylvanians are going to the polls to elect candidates for a wide variety of national and state offices, including U.S. Senate, U.S. Congressman, Pennsylvania Governor, and Pennsylvania Senator and Representatives. Polls are open today between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Don’t forget to go to the polls and to cast your vote! Click here to read more about this issue on the GHAR 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.

H.R. 5297: NEW REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR LANDLORDS
According to NAR, the Small Business legislation (H.R. 5297) recently signed into law includes a new revenue provision that will create additional burdens for anyone who receives rental income. Under current law, property managers are generally required to provide Form 1099 on many of the expenditures they incur as part of their management of rental property. The new law expands this rule so that ANY person who receives rental income (not just property managers) will be required to report all expenditures of more than $600 to anyone from whom they purchase services. NAR opposed this provision in the bill. Click here to read more about this issue on the NAR Web site.

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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