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The Realtors® Association of Citrus County, Inc. exists to inform, educate and uphold the high standards set forth in the REALTOR® Code of Ethics enhancing our members professionalism and image while fostering cooperation among our members and serving our communities. We provide education and leading-edge technology to better safeguard private property rights and promote equal housing opportunity.

MAY, 2012 Realtors®Association of Citrus County Volume X , Issue 5

Ah Sweet Spring...Hello Everyone!

Sitting at my desk and writing this and the weather is sunny today with low humidity- not hot, not cold....NICE Citrus County weather! Of course I'm not fool-ing myself up north where the weather being so unpredictable is still cold!

Sitting here I realized Real Estate is just like the weather. One day comfortable and the next hot and sticky (mortgages). Sunny one minute and quick summer shower soaking you the next (sellers). I would relate buyers with the local weather man... (telling you what they think you want to hear :)....but the best is my favorite day...sunny about 80-85 degrees with a slight breeze. I am either playing a round of golf or sitting on the beach at the gulf. To me that is the cash buyer with quick close and minor inspections!!!! Those are the kind of days that helps us remember why we not only live in Florida, but why we live here and sell Real Estate! I hope you all are having more of the perfect days than the

unpredictable ones! In this newsletter is an article "Perfect Loan File". Not only should you read it, but pass it on to your buyers. It will help you both in the process.

Not a lot of board updates

1. We are still working on the input sheets. Greg Younger and his PAG are making real progress in this.

2. Big BOOYA to Cheryl Nadal, Debbie Scott and their Chili Cook off committee. Not only was it fun with lots of good eats - we made over $9,000! We are sooooo close to 200% goal. If you haven't paid your fair share ($15 per agent) please do so quickly!

3. Looking to vote on By-law changes now in June. The changes will be coming from Bonnie via email soon, so watch for it.

4. Bonnie, President-Elect Cheryl Lambert and I will be heading to DC in May. We will be attending national Realtors Rally while at NAR convention. I am so honored to be a part of an organization that looks after not only our interests, but our friends, family and clients! Hopefully the weather will be great and we will be able to get some awesome pictures to bring back and report to you all.

5. Hopefully by the time you are reading this we will be up and running with our single log-in. We are trying to establish a one-time log-in on our RACC website for all your needs. This will open Innovia (MLS), Forms Sim-plicity, and MLS Advantage with just one login. It will also put our website to the top of the search engines which in turn will bring more buyers and sellers to our website. This will also bring these clients to you directly because your information will be connected to your listings! Just another value for your dues paid! (raccfl.com is the website!)

Hope to see each and everyone of you soon.......

Your Humble and Honored President,

Sarah

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I have always been proud to be a member of the RACC, but NEVER as proud as I am right now! OMG!!! You -off the biggest rousing success of

200 guests and 19 cookers. We raised $9,603 due to the wonderful RACC membership!

With all the hustle and bustle going on we had one new member inducted. Welcome Justin Monahan/ ERA, American Realty & Investments.

Thank you to those RACC members and Business Partners, who donated such great auction items. My special thanks to Tomika Spires-Hanssen, for going over and above by getting (and giving) an abundance of super items. Congratulations to all the winning bidders! A huge thank you to our very special auctioneer, Greg Lord, from the Ocala Realtors Association.

As usual, our Business Partners, Regions Bank/Gwen Martone and Express Title/Ali Endicott and crew did an amazing job. Winners of their door prizes were Karen Ropes and Peggy Taylor. Thank you Business Partners.

Rob Tessmer Jr. won $250 in the share n share with the other $250 going to RPAC. Dennis Loger had a

Chili Cookersdown a couple of the judges!! Good job to all of you, and congratulations to the winners:

Best Overall 1st Place Cindy Hall 2nd Place Quade Feeser

Citrus County Chronicle Century 21 JW Morton

Most Original 1st Place Cindy Hall 2nd Place Gene Wade

Citrus County Chronicle EXIT Realty Leaders

Hottest 1st Place - CJ Dixon 2nd Place Kelly Paul

ERA American Realty Wollinka-Wikle Title

Best Soup/Chowder 1st Place John Conroy 2nd Place Jacqui Watkins

John T. Conroy, Broker John C. Myers Locksmith

Best Booth 1st Place - EXIT Realty Leaders 2nd Place Coldwell Banker Investors

Continued

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A special thank you to our Judges:

Sherri Meadows Vice President Elect, Florida Realtors

Marilyn Pearson-Adams District Vice President District VII

Jack Greacen Political Representative, Florida Realtors

Joe Bell Suncoast Plumbing / WYKE Radio Station

Brad Smith Citrus County Sheriff Deputy

I also want to thank my Co-Chair Debbie Scott done without her. She kept me sane this year. Great job Debbie!!

Isaac Baylon, our Super-Duper hotdog cooker; Melonie Haag and Cheryl Lambert, chili judge runners; Marvia Korol, Karen Cunningham, Gary Baxley and Rob Tessmer, Jr. Peter Korol for auction item organization; Richard DeVita, John Maisel, Jennifer Duca and Tami Mayer for helping Debbie Scott; Karen Ropes, party wagon ticket sales; and Peggy Taylor and Sherrie Orendorf for 50/50 ticket sales. Plus Darin Haag and his friend Shawn Endicott for clean up. Last, but not least, as always... President Sarah and Bonnie.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

Cheryl Nadal

RPAC Chair

Kelly Paul, Wollinka-Wikle Title, CJ Dixon, ERA American Realty, Cindy Hall, Citrus County Chronicle, Jacqui Watkins, John C Meyers Sr Locksmith, John Conroy, John T Conroy, Broker, Quade Feeser, C21 JW Morton, Gene Wade & Brittany Phillips, EXIT Realty Leaders, Rob Tessmer Jr, Coldwell Banker Investors.

EXIT Realty Leaders

Coldwell Banker Investors

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Our Judges: Brad Smith, Joe Bell, Marilyn Pearson-Adams, Jack Greacen and Sherri Meadows

Business Partners: Regions Bank Business Partner: Express Title

Members and guest arriving

Members and guest networking Live auction items

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OLANDO,Fla. April 4, 2012 You can lose your license for hanging on to a deposit check.

In a recent case, the mother of a prospective buyer gave a real estate sales associate who was a long-time friend a $350 check (made payable to the sales associate) in case her daughter found a property she wanted to buy.

The mother/daughter made a claim for the money and the sales associate testified that she tried to get in touch with the family to return the $350 but was unable to do so.

Her license? Revoked.

Why? Under 61J2-14.009, a sales associate who receives any deposit must deliver the deposit to the broker or

personal property, such as money.

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

: No reason to hang onto an escrow deposit

WHY WE CREATED IT:

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® created the MVP Program to encourage members to take Actions that will benefit NAR and its members, as well as to reward members for being an active participant in their Association. Active involvement is the best way to maximize your membership, as well as the best way to make the Association and all our members more successful. And, those members who take the most active role are rewarded with resources that can continue to strengthen their own business.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

Every two weeks a new MVP offer will be posted. All you have to do is complete the specified Action within the two- -mail to redeem

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO RECEIVE:

All across the Association, groups have identified Actions and provided valuable Rewards for inclusion in the MVP program, ranging from free e-products to discounts on NAR event registration, and many other valuable Rewards. No matter what the Reward is, the one thing you can count on them all having in common is the in-credible value they bring to you as a member.

Go to: http://mvp.realtor.org/?cid=mvp-vu-001

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REALTORS® are required to complete ethics training of not less than 2 hours, 30 min. of instructional time within four-year cycle. The training must meet specific learning objectives and criteria established by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of REALTORS®.

The current four-year cycle will end Dec. 31, 2012. Training may be completed through local REALTOR® associations or through another method, such as home study, correspondence, classroom courses, or online courses.

Get Started We have classes scheduled for Thursday, May 3 from 9-noon or 1-4. You may take ethics online by going to: http://www.realtor.org/coeceduc.nsf/pages/homepage?OpenDocument&pn=1

NOW FREE TO SIGN ON TO THE FLORIDA DO NOT CALL LIST

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. April 25, 2012 protects Floridians from unsolicited phone calls. A resident may add any residential, mobile or paging device to the Florida Do Not Call program.

-not-call laws because there is a state program and

While the Florida program uploads phones numbers to the National Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov , it takes time to do so. A do-not-call phone number could appear on the state list and be subject to Florida fines before it appears on the national list. For businesses, the state do-not-call list costs $120 per area code, per year, or $400 for the entire state.

quarterly. The 2012 Florida Legislature changed the law to make it a free service for consumers. Previously, Florida residents paid $10 for a new subscription and $5 for renewal. The state will lose over $500,000 by nixing the consumer fee, but it plans to make up for the loss through increased fines charged to people and companies that break the law by calling numbers on the do-not-call list. Consumers can find out more by calling 800-HELP-FLA or visiting the Florida Do Not Call Program at http://www.fldnc.com/ website.

Realtors and brokers who want to order the do-not-call list or get other information can access frequently asked questions at http://www.800helpfla.com/nosalesbus.html.

CODE OF Ethics TRAINING - MANDATORY

MLS TIDBIT

Listing Pending or Contingency: At such time that the seller and the buyer of the property have completed a fully executory contract on the subject property, the agent must place property in Pending or Contingency status in the MLS. (This is no longer an Active listing.)

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MAY GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

DATE: Thursday, May 10 th, 2012

TIME: 11:30am

WHERE: RACC

COST: Early Registration deadline 5/7/2012 $6.50

$8.50 after the 7 th or at the door

Free to attend if not eating lunch

SPEAKER: Representing G4S Youth Services, Dallas Scott

The G4S Youth Services provides safe, secure and effective treatment of offending and at-risk youth through evidence-based programming designed to address the specific needs of the child

Sub sandwiches catered by Brooklyn Deli including Chicken Salad,

Brooklyn Bomber, Turkey & Cheese, Ham & Cheese, Tossed

Salad, Chips, Iced Tea, Coffee, Water and Dessert.

Citrus Pest Management is the Business Partner of the month.

meal or Without Meal, add to your cart and click enter payment info at top right to complete the transaction (at that time you can choose to pay or be billed), or call 746-7550.

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WANT TO WIN A FREE MEMBERSHIP MEETING MEAL?

To the first member to email bonnie@raccfl.com the answer to question below.

Who is the keynote luncheon speaker at the Florida Realtor® Convention being held on Aug 8 - 12 ?

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REALTOR SPOTLIGHT OF THE MONTH

Sherri Parker - Sherri C Parker & Associates,Realtors

PRETTY IN PINK

Bonnie suggested we draw Realtors/Business Partner names each meeting to give me my next

I opened the Chronicle this morning and there was a whole article on MY interview subject. And, a

an extremely fascinating and busy life.

Sherri was born in Miami and was raised in Michigan. She became a speech/language pathologist and worked in the Michigan public school system for over 25 years; her specialty being autism and brain injuries. She has two Master degrees; speech/language pathology and learning disabilities. After an early retirement from the school system, she became a head injury program manager in a traumatic brain injury center. She managed 6 residential homes that housed people with TBI and dementia. (She interjected that this background has helped her deal with our current customers! Amen to that!) During this time, she also sold real estate. Real estate has always been a love concurrently with speech pathology and later when she began her horse trotting enterprise. She acquired her first license in 1986

in the afternoon. Sherri admitted she loves to take classes and the letters after her name attest to that. She also taught pre-license classes in Michigan for 9 years.

In 1997 when her youngest son graduated from college, she returned to Florida. She moved to Boca Raton to be near her oldest son and his wife and purchased her first horse; her second horse was a closing gift from a customer. She was hired in the school system in Boca and kept her horses at a local stable. She became certified in hippotherapy using horses to help autistic children and children with

ic pow-ship. She

would watch them driving around the track and thought it looked like so much fun. She offered to learn how to drive to help exercise the horses and soon she was doing just that. During the day she taught autistic children and in the afternoons she drove carts around a track.

Tiring of the hustle and bustle of Boca, she decided to make a move north and was hired by HCR Managed Care in Brooksville and are, had

her 5-acre farm and her horses and a real estate career with Century 21. Life was good!

Her middle son was working at Yahoo at the time (he was one of the first 7 to start Yahoo and is now International Manager of I Tunes content) and his wife was in charge of Yahoo Personals. She suggested Sherri place a personal ad and after much deliberation and strong encouragement, she did. Her now husbsand Glenn had just sold his company, moved from Vermont and bought a home in River-

joins her in the cart adventures. I saw videos of the many trotting shows she and Glenn have entered. In the barn at their home is a large selection

citing and rewarding part of her life.

Sherri and Glenn have been married for 8 years. Sherri has 3 boys and her oldest son is graduating from Massachusetts School of Law. This is his second career. Her youngest son is a corporate attorney in San Francisco. Her oldest grandson is 18 and was just accepted

l boys. Sherri and Glenn also own a lovely home in Vermont on Lake Champlain which they visit on a regular basis (like every month). However Sherri may curtail her trips north as her horse Jaia she thinks is going to foal.

Sherri showed me a picture of a drawing she made as a little girl. It shows a child standing in front of a house. The house looks exactly like the home she and Glenn now own. That was mind-boggling. She told me that she is a very spiritual person. She meditates every morning to organize her day and is very goal oriented which is verified by her tremendous accomplishments. Most of all, Sherri has boundless energy, an infectious laugh and a generous soul. A Kings Bay Rotary member, she also has been very active in Unity Church

y who has since passed, and whom most of us met at a Chili Cook-off one year, visited nursing homes on a regular basis as have her other horses.

her

rub elbows with every day!!

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Contract to Close

When: Tuesday May 15 th, 2012

Time: 9 am 10:30 am

Where: RACC

What: Everything you need to know about Title Insurance in a Real Estate Transaction

Speakers: Southern Sun Title and Express Title Services

Cost: FREE

This class is mandatory for new members taking Orientation in May but we encourage all members to take this class!

What is Title Ins. And why is it important

The Importance of a correct contract and addendums to Title Co.

Items needed by the Title Co.

The Title Commitment~ explained

The Difference between a Commitment and a Policy

The Settlement Statement

What to avoid at closing

70 something ways you could lose your house.

r

payment info at top right to complete the transaction, or call 746-7550.

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Forbes

PERSONAL FINANCE 3/09/2012 @ 10:23AM |25,136 views

The Perfect Loan File

Mark Greene, Contributor

The media has it all wrong securing mortgage approval and satisfying credit underwriting guidelines are

ments that most people fall flat. The good news is, the fix is simple. Just scan, photocopy, fax, and deliver every aspect of your financial life. Then, shortly before closing, check everything again.

Mortgage consumers who enter the mortgage approval process ready to battle their chosen mortgage lender will come out with a nightmare story to tell. As the process, requirements, and guidelines are the same for everybody, your mindset is the game-changer. Accepting the redundant documentation

When I was a kid, my father occasionally issued directives that I naturally thought were superfluous, and

comply. This is exactly what consumers should do during the mortgage approval process. When your lender requests what seems to be over-documentation and you wonder why you need it, accept the simple edict

time. Underwriting the perfect loan is not the goal that mortgage lenders aspire to today.

The real goal is the perfect loan file.

Mortgage lenders have suffered staggering losses and gone out of business because of the dreaded loan repurchase. As mortgage delinquencies increased, FannieMae and FreddieMac began to audit mortgage loans they had purchased and discovered substandard and fraudulent underwriting practices that violated representations and warranties made, stating these were high quality loans. Fannie and Freddie began

mortgage lender is forced to buy back a single mortgage loan in the amount of $250,000. This becomes a $250,000 loss to a small mortgage business for a single loan, because it will never be repaid.

The lending houses suffered billions of dollars of losses repurchasing loans from Fannie and Freddie, and began to do the same thing for loans they had purchased from smaller originators.

The small and medium sized mortgage originators that survived created underwriting guidelines and procedures to eliminate the threat of future loan repurchase losses. The answer? The perfect loan file.

income sufficient to support your debt service to guarantee your loan approval. However, you must have a borrower profile that meets the credit underwriting guidelines for the loan you are requesting. And, more importantly, you have to be able to hard-copy-guideline-document your profile.

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Every nook and cranny of your financial life has to be corroborated, double- and triple-checked, and reviewed again before closing. This way, if the originating lender has created a loan file that is exactly consistent with published un-derwriting guidelines and has documented while adhering to those guidelines, the chances are that your loan will not be subject to repurchase.

Borrowers also need to prepare for processing and underwriting. Processors and underwriters are the people trained and charged with gathering (processors), all of your required-for-approval financial documents, and then approving (underwriters), your loan. You can assume these people are well trained and very experienced, as they are tasked with assembling and approving a high-quality-these-people-will-pay-us-back loan file. But just how do they go about that?

The process begins with the filter the loan originator (a.k.a loan officer, mortgage consultant, mortgage adviser, etc.) tasked to match the qualifications of a particular mortgage deal to the appropriate underwriting guidelines. It

determination. It is here, at the beginning of the approval process, where the deal is made or broken. The rest of the approval process is just papering the file.

The filter determines whether the information provided by the borrower can be validated and documented. This is simple, since most mortgages are approved by automated underwriting engines such as Desktop Underwriter, and the automated approval generates a list of the documents needed to paper the loan file. An underwriter can, at this stage, request additional supporting documentation evidence at their discretion, as not all circumstances neatly fit into the prescribed underwriting box. If the filter creates a loan file with accurate information, then secures the documentation resulting from the automated underwriting findings, the loan will close uneventfully.

-approval call. Mortgage pre-approval is typically accomplished with a telephone interview. A prospective borrower calls a mortgage rep (filter), and the questions begin. There will be lots of questions as this critical phase of the process is akin to the discovery period in a trial

and what your salary is. If there is a co-borrower, they will have to answer the same questions.

Every dollar in checking, savings, investments and retirement accounts, also known as assets to close, as well as gifts from relatives and non-asset-radar-screen has to be documented and explained.

If you were previously a homeowner and sold your home in a short sale, or if you own a home now and plan to keep it as an investment or rental property, there are new and specific underwriting guidelines created just for you. In these cases, full disclosure of your credit and homeownership past can potentially eliminate unforeseen mortgage

-and-

-and-sale history may have to wait two to three years before they are eligible for mortgage financing again. Full vetting of your previous mortgage life will save you the dreaded we-have-a-problem call from your mortgage lender.

It all comes down to your proof. If the lender asks for a specific document, give them exactly what they are asking This is where the approval process tends to go off the rails,

when the lender asks for specific documentation and the borrower supplies something else. Here, too, is where both sides get frustrated. So if the lender asks for a bank statement and there are 5 pages for that bank statement, send

complain that the lender keeps asking for the same thing when you never sent it in the first place. This may sound elementary, but the vast majority of mortgage approval process woes stem from scenarios just like this.

The reason the mortgage approval process is now so rigorous is simple. Avoiding defaults and loan buybacks has become the primary goal of mortgage lenders. Higher standards are reducing loan defaults, which should mean fewer foreclosures in the future. Government data shows that less than 2% of loans originated in 2009, that were resold to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae went into default after 18 months, down from more than 22% default rates for 2007 loans.

You can thank my dad for that.

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BUSINESS PARTNERS

NEW MEMBERS

AGENTS No Longer With Now With Ron Egnot Century 21 JW Morton Prudential FL Showcase

NEW MEMBER OFFICES

Inactives with REALTORS® ASSOCIATION OF CITRUS COUNTY Kathy Dagle Justin Hengesbach Peter Naranjo Anne Wright

Brick City Title Ink-4 Less Plus LLC Southern States Inspection Serv. Erin Jones Fred Clark Shiloh Lohmann 2303 SE Fort King St 214 Thompkins St P.O. Box 830159 Ocala, FL 34474 Inverness, FL 34450 Ocala, FL 34483 (352) 622- 8732 (352) 726- 6624 (352) 622 - 0066 eajones@brickcitytitle.com info@link-4-lessplus.com slohmann@fl.nachi.org

Murphy Combs Plantation Realty Brian Cox Keller Williams Elite Susan Grow Tera Vista Realty Group

James Moore Tera Vista Realty Group Lennie Berger Berger Realty

Kiefer Realty Services (secondary) Brentwood Realty 8720 SW Hwy 200 # 12 2476 N Essex Ave Ocala, FL 34481 Hernando, FL 34442 (352) 861 - 6000 (352) 746-6060

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MAY 2012

May 2012

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 MLS Bd Managers 3:30

2 Legislative Committee EXIT - BH 1:00pm

3 Bd Directors 8:30am Quad Ethics 9:00 11:30 1:00 - 3:30

4 5

6 7 8 Orientation 8:00 - 4::00 ED Comm 8:30am

9 Tech Comm 1:30pm

10 Affordable Housing 10:00am Membership Meeting 11:30am

11 Ask the Expect 9:00 - 11:00 Top Producer

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Day

14 15 Contract to Close 9:00 -10:30

16 17 Property Management Comm 10::00 9:00am Procurring Cause

18 19

20 21 22 23 24 MLS Advantage 1:00 - 3:00

25 26

27 28 BD Closed Memorial Day

29 MLS Bd Mgrs 3:30

30 31 Bd Directors 8:30 Confict Resolution ICE 1 - 4

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These statistics were taken from the MLS on These statistics were taken from the MLS on

March 29, 2012 April 30, 2012

RESIDENTIAL VACANT LAND RESIDENTIAL VACANT LAND

Active 1692 Active 1942 Active 1633 Active 1916

New 307 New 87 New 305 New 127

Closed 172 Closed 56 Closed 150 Closed 27

Pending 224 Pending 40 Pending 226 Pending 27

BOM 117 BOM 65 BOM 157 BOM 47

050

100150200250300350400450

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

Single FamilyCondoMobileVacant

Realtors Association of Citrus County 714 S Scarboro Ave Lecanto, FL 34461 Phone: 352-746-7550 Fax: 352-746-3223 email: bonnie@raccfl.com Web: http://www.raccfl.com

Chart displays Closed listings