REALTOR® Rally! On May 17th, BRAR Members boarded a bus in Winchester, Virginia and t rave led t o Washington DC for one purpose, to stand with 15,000 other REALTORS® to make Congress understand that “we are the

architects of the American Dream” and that the dream of

home ownership is only that, a dream, unless they work with us to preserve t h e d r e a m through legisla-tive action. We were joined by another 14,000

who participated online, 12

members of Congress, and our message about supporting property rights and housing was heard through 10.5 million media impressions, including coverage on CNN, CNBC, and more. To view photos and videos of the event, please c l i c k h e r e : http://www.realtoractioncenter.com/realtor-rally/rally-photo-gallery/

REAL SHOW 2012

Registration Now Open

The Real Show 2012: VAR's Convention & Expo is back for

another great year of education,

networking, and fun! With LOW PRICING, TOP-NAME

SPEAKERS, and a GREAT VENUE, you won't want to

wait to register. Join hundreds

of Realtors, brokers, appraisers, property managers, and other

professionals from every corner of the Commonwealth. Also,

the beautiful Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotel is the

Headquarters hotel.

REGISTER NOW!

Keynote Speaker: Reality televi-sion star, entrepreneur, and best-

selling author Bill Rancic was the first winner of Donald

Trump’s reality show “The Ap-

prentice” — which he has since parlayed into a successful career

as a television personality and lifestyle guru. Rancic is cur-

rently co-host of A&E’s “We Mean Business.” Also, a pub-

lished author, he wrote You're Hired: How to Succeed in Business

and Life from the Winner of The Apprentice.

Pending Home Sales Decline in

April but Up Strongly From a

Year Ago

Pending home sales retrenched in April following three con-

secutive monthly gains, but are notably higher than a year ago,

according to the National Asso-ciation of Realtors®. More...

NAR Tech Edge Helps REAL-

TORS® Expand, Develop

Their Tech Use Technology has transformed the

way Realtors® do business, and the National Association of

Realtors® is helping members

keep up with the latest trends that can enhance business and

client relations. NAR Tech Edge, a new one-day technology

conference hosted by NAR will give attendees the chance to

learn about cutting edge tech-

nologies that are changing the real estate industry. More...

REALTORS® Offer Support

for Bill to Help Responsible

Homeowners Refinance

A proposed bill to streamline

and align the refinance processes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

may soon make it easier for homeowners who are current on

their mortgage payments but

who have been previously un-able to refinance to finally take

advantage of record low interest rates. More...

All Commercial Real Estate

Sectors Continue to Improve,

Multifamily Strong Shaking off a prolonged impact

from the recession, fundamen-

tals are gradually improving in all of the major commercial real

estate sectors, according to the National Association of Real-

tors® quarterly commercial real estate forecast. The apartment

rental sector has fully recovered

and is growing. More…

Future of US Housing Markets

Depends Largely on Echo

Boomers

There are approximately 62

million echo boomers in the U.S. Also called "millennials,"

echo boomers are currently ages 17-31. According to the 2011

National Association of Real-tors® Profile of Home Buyers

and Sellers, younger home buy-

ers - those ages 18-34 - represent 31 percent of all recent home

purchases. More...

Latest News 1

News from NAR/VAR 1

Upcoming Events 2

Education 2

Congratulations! 2

Movers & Shakers 3

BRAR Stat Report 3

Affiliate Spotlight 4

Wine Tasting Event 4

Inside this issue:

June 2012 Volume 1, Issue 12

‘The premier authority for real estate in the Northern Shenandoah

Latest News

News from NAR / VAR

KEEP IT ETHICAL

R E A L T O R S ® s h a l l n o t

recommend or suggest to a

client or a customer the use

o f s e r v i c e s o f a n o t h e r

organ izat ion or bus iness

entity in which they have a

d i r e c t i n t e r e s t w i t h o u t

disclosing such interest at

t h e t i m e o f t h e

r e c o m m e n d a t i o n o r

suggestion. (Amended 5/88)

Standard of Practice 6-1

and educational activi-ties of the local, state and national REAL-TOR® o rgan iza-tions. For more infor-mation about VAR’s Award Program, please go to: http://

www.varealtor.com/awards. Congratula-tions Craig and Katrina! Skyline Team turns 4! Skyline Team in Strasburg, Virginia just celebrated it’s 4th year in business in April. We would like to congratulate the broker, Robin Gochenour and associate

broker, Wendy Conner! New RPAC Contributors! Wendy Thrane and Beth Waller, both of Weichert, REALTORS® recently joined the RPAC $99 Club. To join the $99 Club, a member must contribute between $99—$249 within a year. Congratulations Wendy and Beth! Blue Ridge Association of REALTORS® just recently became a Sterling R Mem-ber. To become a Sterling R Member, a member must contribute between $1,000—$1,499 within a year. Congratu-lations BRAR!

Congratulations Award Winners! Suzette Neff, broker of ERA OakCrest Realty, accepted the Five Star Award at the Cartus International Business Confer-ence in Orlando, Florida. This award is given to brokers who achieve their outgo-ing referral goals for the previous year. Congratulations ERA OakCrest! Craig Alexander of Weichert, REAL-TORS® and Katrina Smith of Long & Fos-ter/Webber & Associates were inducted this year into the 2011 Honor Society of the Virginia Association of REAL-TORS®. The VAR Honor Society rewards and encourages participation in leadership

Page 2 Blue Ridge News

Education

Upcoming Events

An Evening at the DC Improv—June 16th, meet at BRAR Office

Loans for Repairs After Closing! —June 20th, BRAR Office

Tech Workshop: What’s New at MRIS? - June 21st, BRAR Office

BRAR Office closed 1/2 Day—June 22, 12:00pm

GRI Module 405 — June 27th, BRAR Office

Economic Meeting —June 28th, BRAR Office

BRAR Office Closed—July 4th

Ethics and Standards of Conduct—July 6th, BRAR Office

Residential Standard Agency Class—July 24th, BRAR Office

Education Day—August 14th, BRAR Office

Save the date! - Murder Mystery Dinner—September 20th

Annual Meeting with Terry Watson—October 11th

*Check out our website http://www.blueridgerealtors.com for future upcoming events!

4 Code of Ethics Changes You Need to

Know for 2012 By Robert Freeman

The National Association of REALTORS®’

Board of Directors last year made several enhancements to the NAR Code of Ethics

that take effect this year to help ensure the Code remains up-to-date as practitioners

confront new situations. Here are four

changes you’ll want to make note of.

1. Authorized use of property

The duty of fidelity to clients’ interests was advanced through a new Standard of Prac-

tice interpreting Article 1 as prohibiting members form accessing or using, or permit-

ting others to access or use, listed or man-

aged property on terms or conditions other than those authorized by the owner or

seller.

2. False statements against othersArticle

15’s obligation to refrain from knowingly or

recklessly making false or misleading state-ments was expanded to cover “other real

estate professionals, their businesses, and their business practices.” These changes are

also reflected in Standards of Practice 15-2

and 15-3.

3. Mediating disputes The dispute resolution scope of Article 17

was enhanced to include the duty to medi-

ate otherwise-arbitrable disputes in cases where the association of REALTORS® has

established a duty to mediate.

4. Waiving mediation and arbitration

Standard of Practice 17-2 (which interprets and explains Article 17) was

amended to make it clear that REAL-TORS® are not obligated to mediate or

arbitrate in cases where all parties to the

dispute choose not to have it mediated or arbitrated through the association.

Don’t Wait Until the 11th Hour... Dec. 31, 2012, is the deadline for complet-ing your NAR Code of Ethics training. All REALTORS® must complete the training every four years to maintain their mem-bership. Please contact the BRAR Office to register for their upcoming Code of Eth-ics training classes. They are held the first Friday of every month. The cost is $25. Also, an online training course at REALTOR.org fulfills the requirement and is free of charge. Go to REALTOR.org/COETraining

Congratulations!

Volume 1, Issue 12 Page 3

Movers and Shakers

Members Transferring Offices

Wanda Miller — from Miller & Associates to Sager Real Estate Vickie Henry — from Miller & Associates to Sager Real Estate Avis Drummond—from MarketPlace Realty to Century 21 Braddock Realty Andi Robinson—from Miller & Associates to Weichert, REALTORS®

New REALTORS®

Tyler Thompson—Prudential PenFed Realty Tina Pisauro—ReMax Roots HR Sprouse—Goldizen Riley & Co Real Estate Rebecca Sjorup—Weichert, REALTORS® Amanda Slate—ERA Brown & Rutherford Realty Samuel Ensogna—Re/Max Team Realty Lester Clatterbuck—ERA Brown & Rutherford Realty Rick Cockrill—Keller Williams, Leesburg Shawn Milletary—Century 21 Redwood Realty LeeAnn Porter—Century 21 Redwood Realty Billie Young—MarketPlace Realty Carol Gilbert—Prudential PenFed Realty

BRAR Stat Report

New Offices

Century 21 Redwood Realty—Shawn Milletary, Broker Keller Williams, Leesburg—Rick Cockrill, Broker

New Affiliates

Lester Buildings White Signature Homes Final Yard Home Fabrics & Décor Law Office of Joan K Fine Secure Home Inspection

For May 2012 Association Stat Report, click the link below. http://173.203.90.142/get_report.php?action=pdf&loc_type=3&loc_id=1012&time_period=201205&x=12&y=16

181 Garber Lane

Winchester, VA 22602

Phone: 540-667-2606

Fax: 540-662-5986

E-mail: shiggins@brarva.com

‘The premier authority for real estate in the Northern Shenandoah Valley.’

Affiliate Spotlight

B l u e R i d g e A s s o c i a t i o n o f R E A L T O R S ®

“Please thank the affiliate committee for putting on the wine tasting event. Shuttling people to and from the winery was a great idea and the location was awesome. I ended up buying 4 bottles of wine lol. It was good to see and talk with some agents I only get to see once in a while usually. If they do it again I will be there.”

~Andy Waldo Broker, Team Waldo Realty

Affiliate Wine Tasting Event...

Introducing our new Affiliates!!!

Lester Buildings P.O. Box 129, Clearbrook, VA bshopf@lesterbuildings.com http://www.lesterbuildings.com/ “We specialize in post frame construction of equine, commercial, office, warehouse and retail space.” White Signature Homes 306 Borum Street, Strasburg, VA signatureh@aol.com http://www.whitesignaturehomes.com/ “We design and build many different styles of new homes. We also service Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac properties for several REAL-TORS® in town. We have a full service remodeling division and we are licensed and insured in both Virginia and West Virginia.” Final Yard Home Fabrics & Décor 33 East Gerrard Street, Winchester, VA 540-678-0085 info@thefinalyard.com http://www.thefinalyard.com/ “We specialize in designer fabrics and trims, unique decorative accessories, custom home furnishings, lamps, bedding, pillows, drap-ery hardware and all the quality home furnishings that don’t have to cost a fortune.” Law Office of Joan K Fine, PLC 302 W Boscawen St, Winchester, VA 540-722-6800 jfine@joanfinelaw.com http://www.joanfinelaw.com/website/ “My office represents clients in real estate matters including leases, Landlord / Tenant, construction contracts, zoning variances, com-mercial closings and civil litigation; corporate and business law including formation , sales and acquisitions, commercial lending, con-tracts and civil litigation; and trusts and estate including wills, trusts, powers of attorney and estate administration.” Secure Home Inspection, LLC PO Box 12, Luray, VA 540-860-0744 info@securehomeinsp.com http://www.securehomeinsp.com/ “We provide prompt, professional & dependable inspections for the home buyer or seller. Our inspections are performed to ASHI and VAREI Professional standards. We can provide a computer generated report through mail, or email within 24 hours. Our Inspections are not just limited to the home buyer, we can also assist the home seller in preparing their property for sale. Partial inspections are also available. Our Radon test results are typically within 24 hours, if not the same day of completion of the test. In addition, SHI pro-vides a free 90 Warranty with each full home inspection – providing our clients with peace of mind. Re Call Chek is another benefit SHI provides free with our full home inspection.”

Thank you to those who came out and supported BRAR’s Affiliates for the Wine Tasting Event on May 10!