Do you want to earn your real estate license, but can’t attend weekday classes?

The Charleston Trident Association of Realtors® is pleased to announce NEW weekend licensing classes, beginning May 18!

The provisional licensing course (60 hours) required by the state licensing board will be offered on Saturdays (9am-6pm) and Sundays (1-5pm) beginning May 18. The classes will run until the course exam on Saturday, June 22.

For more information on earning your real estate license, please click here.

To register for this course, click here.

If you have questions about enrolling or the process of becoming a licensed real estate agent, please contact CTAR at 843.760.9400 or Kelly@CharlestonRealtors.com.

In Saturday’s Post and Courier, reporter Tony Bartelme talked about the impact the Realtors® will play on the issue in the General Assembly:

The [South Carolina Realtors®] adds a powerful voice to a growing chorus calling for reform. With 13,500 members, the Realtors Association is the largest professional trade group in the state.

“We want to see what we can do to increase competition in the state and make sure homeowners get the best deal they can,” said Nick Kremydas, chief executive officer of the association.

The Realtors® plan, which was put forward to SCR by the Hilton Head and the Charleston Trident associations to make it a priority, would do the following:

-      Rescind legislation that allows insurance companies to get automatic rate approvals of less than 7% without scrutiny from the Department of Insurance;

-      Require the Department of Insurance to hold public hearings at least once a year to take input from the public;

-      Have the Department of Insurance publicly report on the state of the insurance industry in South Carolina twice a year.

Legislators are taking notice of the Realtors® involvement in the issue.

State Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, said the Realtors Association has clout in the Legislature and could add muscle to insurance reform legislation he introduced earlier this year. “Critical to any comprehensive reform is having the major political players make it a priority,” he said.

While no legislation is expected to pass this year, it lays the groundwork for future passage.

For more, read the entire Post and Courier article by clicking here.

Please join him for these regional meet and greets from 8:30-9:30am.

Stop in for a bit or stay the whole time. Wil would like to hear about issues affecting your business and how CTAR can help. Plus, he’ll be sharing a little of his vision for the future of the Association.

Tuesday, May 7 - 8:30-9:30am
Panera Bread Co., 2000 Sam Rittenburg Blvd., West Ashley

Wednesday, May 8 - 8:30-9:30am
Baguette Magic, 792 Folly Road, James Island

Thursday, May 9 - 8:30-9:30am
Dunkin Donuts, 216 St. James Ave., Goose Creek

Questions? Call Caitlin at 843.760.9400

Mobile access to ShowingTime provides easy-to-use, one-tap features for agents on the go. Request showings, confirm requests, manage feedback and more, all from your smartphone.

Here are just a few of the features you can take advantage of from your smartphone:

Showing Management

As both a listing and showing agent, you can schedule showings or review details of your appointments. The red, yellow and green ‘badges’ indicate the number of appointments that have been declined or canceled (red), not yet confirmed (yellow) and confirmed (green).

Schedule a showing – search for any listing associated with any office or agent
On My Listings – a list of all appointments scheduled on your listings
I Have Requested – a list of all appointments you have requested

Feedback Management

Review feedback submitted by other agents, share that feedback with your sellers and see how many of your showings are still awaiting feedback.

You can also view showing instructions and verify that the information is correct, as well as view a Listing Activity report to review activities on each listing.

ShowingTime Mobile can do so much more….learn about all the features here or watch the video below!

Join us April 18 from 5-7 at The Cocktail Club, one of Charleston’s most exclusive hotspots for hors d’ouevres, amazing cocktails, prize giveaways and of course, networking with the best of the best of Charleston real estate!

We will be celebrating 10 years of successful community support by the Realtors® Housing Opportunities Fund (RHOF) and all proceeds will benefit this worthy charity.

This event is free for CTAR Members, $10 for Non-Members | RSVP here.

Thank you to our sponsor, DR Horton!

To succeed in real estate, you must master the art of negotiation. Your ability to handle emotional clients, present solid counteroffers and overcome objections will set you apart from your competitors.
Take this quiz to see how your negotiating skills measure up.
Do your skills need a little sharpening? We have two upcoming opportunities for you:

Negotiating for Your Buyer or Seller
Wednesday, March 27 | 9am-1pm with Dianna Brouthers
Negotiation training customized for the real estate professional, this program will help you establish a set of non-adversarial negotiating tools in order to get your clients the terms and conditions they need to make the transaction work.
Register here.

Back by popular demand! Certified Negotiation Expert Designation
April 8 and 9 | 9am–6pm with Marie Spodek
This two-day designation course will hone your negotiation techniques, approaches and skills to obtain the best possible outcomes for your clients. You’ll also earn 16 hours of continuing education, for just $249!
Register here.

Join your fellow REALTORS®, legislators and the media as we let our voices be heard.

CTAR is providing free transportation to and from the Rally, and the program includes lunch. Registration is required, here.

The issues on our statewide legislative agenda this year are:
- Increasing REALTOR® professionalism
- Reforming real estate license laws & regulations
- Supporting Comprehensive Property Tax Reform
- Decreasing  government regulations on real estate firms
- Protecting Private Property Rights

Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of the biggest grass roots efforts in South Carolina!
Don’t miss this opportunity to meet with your legislators, rally support for the REALTOR® Party, and hear from our special guest, NAR’S 2013 President- Elect, Steve Brown.

Here’s our full agenda for the day (including transportation times):

7:30 am
Bus departs from CTAR’s offices

8 am
Summerville pickup (from WalMart in Summerville)

10am-10:40am
Issues Briefing, Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center

11am-Noon
REALTOR® Rally, South Carolina Statehouse (South Steps)

Noon-1pm
Meet with Legislators, Statehouse Lobby

1-2:30 pm
REALTOR® Lunch, Statehouse Grounds (no cost)

3 pm
SCR Board of Directors Meeting and Reception, Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center

4:15 pm
Depart Columbia for Charleston

6 pm
Drop off at the Wal-mart in Summerville

6:30 pm
Drop off at the CTAR offices

Register today!

Interested agents should possess a thorough knowledge of the List-IT MLS platform and be comfortable leading a classroom of students and answering any questions. Instructors will be compensated on an hourly basis.

Email Joseph Cullom for more information.

Premiums were as much as 40% off actual costs
As part of the 5-year re-authorization of the NFIP, all properties that were previously paying below full actuarial rates will end their subsidy and begin paying the full rate.  According to the NFIP, people were paying, on average, only about 40% of the full actuarial cost. Catastrophic events like Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy increased the payouts from the program and helped NFIP realize how out of balance premiums and actuarial rates were.

A real-life example
For example, your current policy premium is $1,000/year but the actuarial is $2,000. Unless the property has an assumable policy, when the policy lapses or the property is sold, you will begin paying 20% of the difference each year. So, if the difference is $1,000, your premium will increase $200 per year until you reach the $2,000 actuarial premium.

What’s going to happen now?
 - For owner occupied properties, the rates will be phased in over a five-year period.
- For non-owner occupied properties, the rates will be phased in over a four year period.
- NEW policies will be written at the full actuarial rate. This means during the course of a real estate transaction if the policy is not assumable to the new owner, the full rate increase will take effect immediately.

What are my Realtor® Associations doing about this?
CTAR’s goal in collecting stories is to communicate them to the state and national Realtor associations as well as federal officials in hopes of determining if there is a more consumer-friendly reform approach needed.

We need you to tell us your stories (submission form below)–from current clients, past clients or your own personal experience so we can share them with our Congressmen and the National Association of Realtors.

For more information, contact CTAR Government Affairs Director Ryan Castle via email or  (843) 793-5212.

CIPS will be offered for the first time at CTAR May 6-10…don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the best in the international real estate business, David Wyant and make sure you’re ready to capitalize on the growing international market in Charleston.

CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY SPECIALIST

2 days approved for CE • May 6-10, 2013 • 9am-5:30pm

Register for the 5-day institute or choose individual courses:

May 6 | Local Markets CEE2371 – 6 hrs CE elective

May 7 | Transaction Tools - CEE2372 – 8 hrs CE electvie

May 8 | Asia/Pacific International RE

May 9 | Europe International RE

May 10 | The Americas International RE

5 day CIPS Institute • $600 | Individual day sessions • $150/day

WAY TO SAVE: Save $150 by registering for the Institutue!

Please review the additional and complete requirements for earning your CIPS here.

Register for the full 5-day session, here.
Register for individual days by choosing a link from the schedule above.

Realtor of Distinction award recipients can register with a $150 discount!
Register, here.

Additional requirements for earning your CIPS:
• pass the required courses (offered in this 5-day training)
- local markets course
- transaction tools course
• pass three elective courses (3 offered in this 5-day training)
•accumulate 100 elective points through activities or events
•submit completed application and $75 fee
• maintain CIPS network membership – $220 annually