Great Realtor Job Opportunity

Please contact Fred Underwood for the brochure. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has partnered with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies to develop three real estate policy fellowships in Washington, DC. Each fellow works full time in the office of a Member of Congress for the academic year and receives a small stipend to help with living expenses. This year, fellows we fund are working in the offices of Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), Representative Al Green (D-TX), and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ). We would like to involve REALTORS® more in this program in two ways: 1). We would like to promote this program to young REALTORS® who may be interested in pursuing their interest in public policy, and 2). Promoting this program to local universities and colleges teaching real estate, urban planning and other fields can help build a local REALTOR® Association's relationships in the community. Last November, the Equal Opportunity Cultural Diversity Committee reviewed methods to promote this program. Discussions with each Caucus Institute or Foundation led to the development of the enclosed brochure. Each Caucus Foundation or Institute administers its program and selects fellows independently. Please note that the application deadline for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) is the earliest, March 6, one that we are unable to extend beyond that date. The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation deadline is April 16 and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies deadline is May 31. Fellowships begin in late August and early September. We hope you will be able to use this brochure to promote the program in your communities. Please forward this brochure to any contacts you have that can help reach potential applicants. For example, colleges with real estate programs have students looking for fellowship opportunities for their graduate students. If your local association has a young professionals network, this information could be distributed to encourage REALTORS® to consider the program. If you have any questions please call me. I will also be happy to send you printed copies of the brochures later this week. Sincerely, Fred Underwood, RCE Director, Diversity and Community Outreach Programs Community and Political Affairs NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS Phone: 202-383-1132 Cell phone: 202-320-5401 e-mail: funderwood@realtors.org

Young Professionals: Save the Date!

Attention, young real estate professions: Don't miss out on this great event to expand your network and start raising your profile in the business. REALTOR magazine's Young Professionals Network will be hosting its third annual networking event on Nov. 9 during the REALTOR&#174 Conference & Expo in Orlando. RSVPs are required to attend this complimentary event. Visit the YPN Web site (www.realtor.org/ypn) for more information and to RSVP -- before it's sold out! This event is sponsored by NAR's Community Outreach & Diversity, Intel, the REALTORS&#174 Commercial Alliance, and the Center for REALTOR&#174 Technology. Read more...http://www.realtor.org/rmohome/ypnreception08?&WT.mc_id=LS100108&CAT=Sales

VOTE!

My kids and I will be on the corner of 41 and Bee Ridge today to support Bill Furst for Sarasota County Property Appraiser! To learn more about Bill, visit: http://www.furstforfairness.com/. Remember to get out and VOTE! It's your right as a US citizen. Don't take it for granted.

Show You Care: Clean the Coast!

Come clean up the coastline with me, my kids and a bunch of great volunteers from the Sarasota Association of Realtor's GRAS (Green Realtor Alliance of Sarasota) Saturday September 20 at 8 am around John Ringling Causeway. Follow this link for more details and the registration form: http://www.sarasotarealtors.com/about/event.cfm?eveID=74. Hope to see you there!

Shoes For Kids Please

My office, RE/MAX Alliance Group, is collecting new shoes for school kids to distribute in the Charlotte County Public school system. Sizes 4 youth and 6 adult are needed the most but we have requests for 7 toddlers up to 11 adult female and 13 adult male. If you'd like to help out, drop the new shoes by our office on Webber and 41 or the ones located in Englewood and North Port--or email me at Christina@YourHometownConsultant.com and I'll pick them up and deliver them for you.

Sarasota Young Realtors® 2008 Schedule of Events

MEETINGS - Location: SAR Auditorium - 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

• Friday, August 15 – Internet Marketing
• Friday, September 26 - “2008 Economic Summit”
• Friday, October 10- Short Sales – Bankruptcy, Foreclosure
• Friday, November 14- Fraud in Real Estate

Method of registration and payment is to visit our website at www.sarasotarealtors.com, click on Education Registration, then Membership Meeting. Pay by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Debit Cards. SOCIAL EVENTS – 5:30 pm

• Friday, July 25 – REALTOR DAY BOWLING - Sarasota Lanes
• Wednesday, August 27- Evie’s
• Wednesday, September 24 - Evie’s
• Wednesday, October 22- Evie’s
• Wednesday, November 26 – Evie’s
• Wednesday, December 17 - Christmas Party - Evie’s

Evie’s Tavern is located at 1989 Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota The social events are open to everyone, of all ages. No registration is required. For future Social Event locations or for more information, please watch for emails, check the SAR Magazine, or contact Peggy Beiling at the Association at peggy@sarasotarealtors.com.

Calling Our Bluff

\(;harles added a post to the Sarasota County Voices blog late last night titled, "Where Are Those 'Young Professionals' When You Need Them?" in which he challenges young professionals to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty--and even provided a list of opportunities through Habitat For Humanity Sarasota. I just signed up for the Habitat email newsletter and plan to see you at a construction site nearby soon. Young professionals, are you with me? For more details, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SarasotaVoices/message/12273.

Green Features on MFRMLS

SAR's Green Realtor Alliance of Sarasota was amazingly able to have 4 green features added to our new MFRMLS system's listing form. Yet another achievement to set us apart of most Realtor Association and MLS systems across the country! Check it out at www.mfrmls.com. Under the tab “Resources,” then Listing Forms, then check out Residential Listing form. You will not need to log in to see the form. It’s on page one on the left hand side towards the bottom. Thanks for all the hard work, GRAS!

Diversity Certification

The At Home With Diversity certification course is coming to SAR August 20th from 9 to 4 pm.

Created by NAR in collaboration with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the goal of the course upon completion is for you to develop and implement at least one new diversity-based strategy for your business plan that will increase your profit! The course costs $75 and will provide you with 6 continuing education credits. Charles S Bonamer CRB will be the instructor.

"As America becomes more diverse, the top goal of immigrants is to own their own home. REALTORS® can help buyers of any cultural background achieve the American dream of homeownership. Knowing how to work effectively with diverse populations can help you build business success in today's multicultural real estate market." NAR

To learn more about NAR's Equal Opportunity and Cultural Diversity Program, visit http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/diversity.

To learn more about why "Diversity Is Good Business," visit http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/diversity/divgood.

To register for the local At Home With Diversity course, visit https://ecom.director.firstamericanmls.com/sarasotass/edu/scripts/itemlookup.pl.

A great way to spend the day: better yourself, your purse or pocket, your community and the world!

Get Involved, Get Experience

The Florida Association of Realtors is currently accepting applications for committee involvement through July 31st. Word on the street is that volunteering on the state level is a mind-opening experience you'll never forget--and a great way to network outside of your sphere of influence and comfort zone.

To learn more and register, visit http://www.floridarealtors.org/FARBusiness/FARDocuments/Comm-Request-form.cfm.

June 13th Meeting

International Marketing by Pat Tan

The Sarasota Young Realtors welcome Patricia Tan for their June meeting on the topic of International Marketing. Patricia Tan has teamed up with Carla Rayman to head a team of experienced professionals qualified to conduct international business, listing and selling commercial properties, land and residential homes.

The team already represents international listings here and in other countries, including Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Argentina, the Caribbean and Malaysia. They have also been recognized in the United Kingdom and have been quoted in various real estate publications.

For the past three years, the pair has attended international property shows, and held real estate seminars locally and in other countries that target end users as well as other real estate professionals.

Join Us Friday, June 13th

DATE: 6/13/2008
TIME: 12:00pm - 12:30pm -- Luncheon
12:30pm - 1:30pm -- Meeting
COST: $5.00
LOCATION: Conference Room A
RSVP: RSVP with teri@sarasotarealtors.com

Please pre-register online at www.sarasotarealtors.com, click on Education, then register for classes.

or email your credit card information, expiration date, along with the name(s) of people attending to teri@sarasotarealtors.com.

Sincerely,
Anthony Homer

Friday March 7th, Personal Marketing Strategies

SARASOTA YOUNG REALTORS present Personal Marketing for You & Your Business

24hr Marketing

Christina Pitchford eats, sleeps and breathes her business and it shows. Opportunities come up at different times, be ready to take them with this crash course in 24 hr marketing.

Internet Do's and Dont's

The internet is a tool like everything else and some things work and others can be a nuisance or worse. Kevin Milner and Cor Donovan talk about internet marketing strategies that work and others to avoid.

Building Your Network

A personal network can be the most valuable thing you cultivate in any career, see how Brad Kayser uses networking to increase his circle of influence and how it's making him money.

Property Pitch

Bring your flyers, we will have a property pitch session at the end, be sure to sign up for it at the door! In 60 seconds, tell us why your property is priced right, presents a great value and we should sell it to our clients.

Friday, March 7th

DATE: 3/7/2008

TIME: 12:00pm - 12:30pm -- Luncheon

12:30pm - 1:30pm -- Meeting

COST: $5.00

LOCATION: Conference Room A

RSVP: RSVP with teri@sarasotarealtors.com

Please pre-register online at www.sarasotarealtors.com, click on Education, then register for classes or email your credit card information, expiration date, along with the name(s) of people attending to teri@sarasotarealtors.com.

New Find: YPN Lounge

Check out Realtor Magazine's Young Professional Network Blog: http://narblog1.realtors.org/mvtype/ypn/. New as of December, some pretty pertinent topics have already been posted--and you can find links to register for the 30 Under 30. Anyone who's eligible should apply. You never know unless you try....

SYR: A Reason To Believe

---

The Sarasota Young Realtors gladly added another first to their list of achievements this year: a charitable donation to Agape Corner Boarding School, a safe home and school for 16 kids who are always in need. The Sarasota Young Realtors, receiving no funding from SAR's budget, successfully raised almost $2,000 through monthly educational luncheons held at SAR. 100% of the funds raised by the group were donated right back to the community.

On Friday, December 7th, a 21.8 cubic foot side-by-side refrigerator with an in-door water and ice dispenser was delivered amid much excitement, and then the Young Realtors handed out to each child Christmas gift bags, including candy canes, chocolates, holiday cakes, Santa hats and $20 gift cards for each child, aged 18 months to 16 years, to spend as they wish. In addition, Pastor Marko, the director of Agape Corner, was given $250 to spend on meats, cheese and other nutritious but perishable items typically not found in the donation boxes they rely on from All Faiths Food Bank.

If you would like to make a donation, please visit AgapeCornerFlorida.com. The next big wish for Agape Corner is a 10,000 square foot house, large enough to care for 30 children; however, they are always in need of day-to-day essentials. Please contact Christina Pitchford Perez, 941-350-4411, for a list of clothing and shoes sizes or more information.

2007 Christmas Party

Music, Drinks & Appetizers December 12th at 5:30 PM Siesta Key Oyster Bar Call Teri Hartley to register: 941.923.2315 Or register online View Larger Map

State of the Market: Economic Summit

Thank you to everyone who attended our very first annual Economic Summit at the Sarasota Board of Realtors today. A special "Thank You" to all of our panelists for participating in the discussion today. Your input made the conversation valuable and insightful and we couldn't have done it without you! We certainly look forward to building off of the momentum created here and hope to have an even bigger and better event next year. Please be sure to join us for our next social at Cafe Bacci for drinks and deals.

Valuing Property

Thanks to everyone who came out last Friday for our Sarasota Young Realtors group meeting. We talked about the pressure to value property accurately from both the listing and buying perspective. I appreciated the great feedback and for the couple of brave Realtors who let me use their work as an example!

I hope everyone came away with at least one helpful insight, and I’ve uploaded the Powerpoint if you’d like to have it. Here’s the Powerpoint for Office 97-2003 Versions and here’s the Outline for Valuing Properties.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments, I hope to see you at our next social. Wednesday, 8/22/7, at the Cork on St. Armand’s Cirlce. (www.corkonthecircle.com )

First Annual 2007 Economic Summit

The Sarasota Young Realtors is proud to announce it’s First Annual Economic Summit. Slated for September 7th, the event will be hosted at the SAR Auditorium at 3590 S. Tuttle Ave. Our committee is assembling a panel of market leaders who are thriving in this market to gain long range perspective on changes in our economy and their impact on real estate. We are going to have developers, bankers, brokers, politicians and the movers and shakers all together. Don’t miss this chance to pick their brains and network with some of Sarasota’s movers and shakers.

This event is sponsored by the Entrust of Tampa Bay. They are providing lunch at 12 pm, with the panel discussion going from 12:30 - 1:30.

The event costs $15, and you can register online at sarasotarealtors.com. Click on Education Registration, log in and then follow the links from Register/View Education Course to Membership Meeting and select Sarasota Young Realtors Meeting. Or email your credit card # and expiration date to Teri@SarasotaRealtors.com.

Best In Client Satisfaction!

Congrats to Dave Beachy, Ryan Billib and Christina Pitchford Perez for winning Sarasota Magazine's coveted Five Star Real Estate Agents Best In Client Satisfaction Award!!!

If you were a winner too, please add your name via a comment to this blog and let us know.

Good job, y'all!

Young Realtors Serve Generation X and Y Consumers by Bringing SPECIAL skills to Buyers and Sellers

I just happened to come across this awesome editorial while visiting REALTOR.org.

"As new generations enter the housing market, the real estate industry must adapt to meet changing needs and ways of doing business," said Thomas M. Stevens, 2006 National Association of Realtors® president from Vienna, Va., and senior vice president of NRT Inc.

"Many of our younger members add value to their clients' real estate transactions through their generational sensitivities and diverse skill sets. They don't know a real estate industry without the Internet, technology is second-nature to them, and they speak their clients' language, often both literally and figuratively."

To read the rest of this article by Stephanie Singer, please visit:

www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2006/youngrealtorsservegenxandy.html