As of April 27^th, House Bill 1263 became law and prohibits the requirement for an evaluation of a septic system at the point of sale. To read the Escambia County Health Department’s announcement in its entirety, <click here>

Quadrennial Code of Ethics

04/17/2012

An Important Announcement for the Quadrennial Code of Ethics Training

Every four years NAR requires all REALTORS to complete a 2 ½ hour refresher course on the Code of Ethics. We are in the last year of the most recent four year cycle, and we know many of our members have yet to complete this membership requirement.

To check to see if you’ve taken the training sometime during this 4 year cycle and are ‘in the clear’ or need to plan on taking it before the year ends, just contact Laurie Moritz at the PAR office (434-5507) or by email at lauriem@pensacolarealtors.org.

If you need to complete your Code of Ethics Training you have four options available to you – the first 3 are free and the fourth will cost $20, but will give you 3 hours of CE credit:

Realtor Lacey Assistance Fund

04/12/2012

On April 1, Realtor Celeste Lacey’s husband suffered a brain aneurysm and was transferred to UAB in Birmingham for surgery the very next day. The family has been there since. As you might imagine the cost is not only unexpected but also extraordinary.

Big Changes to BofA Short Sale Process this Weekend!

04/09/2012

ORLANDO, Fla. — April 9, 2012 — Bank of America is set to roll out a new short sale process and documents designed to reduce the approval process to 20 days.

The changes are so extensive that the Equator [https://www.equator.com/home/ ] platform will be down for 10-12 hours during the overnight hours starting Friday, April 13.

If you’ve submitted a short sale with Bank of America, be aware that before April 13 you must complete the following tasks or risk having your file declined: Submit Short Sale Offer, Upload Offer Documents and Upload Supporting Documents in Equator.

REALTOR Fiesta

04/04/2012

NAR’s Top Public Policy Issues for 2012

02/23/2012

NAR recently issued a list of the top public policy issues on its agenda for 2012. Please click here for the issues NAR believes to be most crucial to REALTORS® and a brief summary of NAR’s position regarding each.

New Realtor.com Mobile Version 3.0 for iPad and iPhone Applications

02/23/2012

Realtor.com has just issued a new mobile version 3.0 for iPad and iPhone applications. Key additions to the free mobile applications for iPad and iPhone include:

RESPA About Fee-splitting, NAR Says

01/17/2012

In a case before the U.S. Supreme Court on whether Sec. 8(b) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) is violated when a fee charged by a settlement service provider isnt split as a referral fee or "kickback" to another settlement service provider, NAR argued in an amicus brief it filed with the Court yesterday that the intent of the Sec. 8(b) of RESPA is to cover only circumstances where the fee is shared, and not where the settlement service provider retains the entire fee.

Congress Restores FHA Loan Limits to NAR-Backed Levels

11/21/2011

“The reinstated loan limits will help provide much needed liquidity and stability to communities nationwide as tight credit restrictions continue to prevent some qualified buyers from becoming home owners and the housing market recovery remains fragile,” said NAR President Moe Veissi in a statement released last night.

Join A Committee 2012

11/01/2011

If you would like to serve on a PAR Committee in 2012, please click here to down load the form and fax to 432-2615 or email to lauriem@pensacolarealtors.org

New DocuSign for REALTORS®, FREE Edition Offers Exclusive Features for NAR Members

08/03/2011

NAR has announced a valuable new FREE offering from REALTOR Benefits® Program Partner, DocuSign. On July 27, with the goal of introducing all real estate practitioners to the benefits of the world’s leading e-signature service, DocuSign released a new version that is FREE to all REALTORS® and includes enhanced features for members who sign up through NAR’s REALTOR Benefits® Program. Available exclusively to NAR members, DocuSign for REALTORS®, Free Edition allows up to five envelopes per month with unlimited attachments, unlimited signers and file storage, and provides a full suite of tools real estate professionals seek such as in-person signing, watermark and agent roles. For more information, please click here.

Aluminum Wiring Handout

07/12/2011

Here is the handout from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation that was given to the attendees of the Aluminum Wiring Information Session that was held at the Pensacola Association of REALTORS® office on Friday, July 8, 2011. This handout tells about the requirements for houses with aluminum wiring to be insured with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Click here to open the handout.

GCCF Claims - Check Filing Category

06/13/2011

If you have filed a claim with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility as a business, please be sure to check your claim status. Some Realtors have found that, although they filed as a business, the GCCF system shows them as an individual. Realtors may even receive a form in the mail directing them to change their status from “Business” to “Individual.”

If you have a received this notice or discover that your status has been changed, you should contact the GCCF. The number is 1-800-916-4893. PAR has been advised by Realtors that the GCCF can manually change your status from “Individual” BACK to “Business”.

Aluminum Wiring Relief Announcement

04/15/2011

At the REALTORS Legislative Days event in Tallahassee on April 13th, Senator Gaetz reported that the Consumer Products Service Commission voted to approve two remediation processes (as alternatives to a complete home rewire) for those homes with aluminum wiring. These were previously approved by Citizens Insurance Co. in a March 16th Bulletin to insurance agents. In addition, State Farm’s Attorney, Mark Delegal, stated that State Farm will also consider aluminum wiring to be insurable risks upon the application of remediation procedures approved by the CPSC. This is a big step toward easing our aluminum wire problem. Hopefully other companies will follow soon.

Important BP Claims Update

02/25/2011

After months of negotiations between Florida Realtors and representatives from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), oil spill czar Ken Feinberg has reversed his decision to not pay real estate licensees for losses related to residential transactions as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Last August, Feinberg took over the oil spill compensation process from BP. He decided early on that the GCCF would only cover losses for lost rental income, not for losses incurred because buyers didn’t go to contract on a home or cancelled a sales contract.

For these individuals, Florida Realtors and other gulf coast state Realtor associations convinced Feinberg to set up a special fund for real estate industry claims. But the deadline for filing claims against the real estate industry fund was Nov. 23, 2010.With the new decision, licensees have another opportunity to file claims for damages due to the oil spill.

Here are the options:

New Disclosures Required for Members Involved with Short Sales

02/24/2011

Please be advised that effective immediately the Federal Trade Commission, “FTC” has adopted regulations which require additional disclosures by our members to sellers in all short sale transactions where our members provide short sale negotiation services. The Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (“MARS”) regulations define anyone providing services which assists or attempt to assist the consumer in negotiating a short sale as a “MARS” provider.

Specifically these regulations require 3 possible disclosures for any MARS provider: