The Chattanooga Women’s Council of Realtors mixed a little learning, a little networking and a lot of delicious pasta together for their March meeting at the Home Builder’s Association.
During the February Business Resource and Networking Meeting, Cathy Gibson of Title Guaranty and Trust was introduced as February’s super sponsor.
Ann Martin, 2011 president elect, introduced speaker Roy Rumfelt, chief deputy of the Assessor of Property, who discussed tax appraisals. He also gave handouts to help members understand Green Belt, Tax relief and many more items. To wrap up the meeting, he explained how the assessor calculates a house’s square footage on residential homes.
For the March meeting of the WCR, a lunch of homemade spaghetti, meat sauce, salad, garlic bread and a variety of desserts were provided by the committee members of the WCR. Super sponsors for the year were recognized and the March featured super sponsor, Wells Fargo, was introduced.
Wells Fargo was established in 1852 as a division of Wells Fargo Bank, and has been voted one of the world’s strongest banks. Wells Fargo brings many products to help Realtors sell more homes, list more homes and make more money while attaining excellent customer service.
Todd Savage, the Wells Fargo branch manager, said, “One of the fun things about being in this industry and working for Wells Fargo is that we are afforded the opportunity to do things like this and enjoy outings like this with you guys. It’s good to take time to relax, get together to share war stories.”
Savage continued, “The last few years have been unique, to say the least. We have all experienced the ups and downs of our industry, especially the mortgage lending industry. At Wells Fargo, we are not immune to this. It’s not the same industry it was two or three years ago. Through it all, we have tried to focus on being the best partner that we can be to folks like yourself.”
In 2011, Wells Fargo has doubled their commitments, and therefore will be sending more representatives out in public and to realty offices to educate Realtors on the changes coming this year that will effect the industry. Viola Douthit, home mortgage consultant of Wells Fargo, was then given a token of appreciation for the support she has given the WCR.
Martha Miller, vice president of membership, addressed the group about the WCR membership drive. Miller explained the incentive going on through the end of March for members and those who join. Members who bring a guest will receive a ticket to put into the drawing for a downtown prize package and if that guest joins, they will get another ticket to add in. This prize will be given away at the April meeting.
“Great things we have in Women’s Council are referrals, networking, personal and professional development, and a lot of fun and support. Women’s Council also has a designation – performance management networking – that you can earn, and I do encourage you to contact me to join,” Miller said.
The meeting then transitioned into the two-hour continuing education credit session led by Karen Ingle, an attorney with the law firm Minor Bell and Neal, which is primarily out of Dalton. Ingle presented “Changes in Real Estate 2011,” because she said one of her major commitments is to Realtor education. Ingle provides her experience for free, and will present any topic a broker may have an interest in concerning real estate and the law. Ingle covered the basic introductions to topics undergoing change this year and said there are other more in-depth classes on these topics that can be found through GCAR.
“To write your basic residential contract, these are the things you are going to want to know for the most part so you can keep everyone moving in the right direction,” she said.
Ingle first addressed the Dodd-Frank Bill that is currently 2,300 pages long – a length that means implementation will most likely be delayed, she said.
This act creates the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, which will oversee other agencies that have anything to do with residential housing and lending. The act is also supposed to streamline the whole mortgage lending process and make it so that everything has the same timelines, Ingle said. There will be a new HUD, yield spread premiums will essentially disappear, there will be minimum standards to protect the consumer, and over 30-year loans will disappear, she said.
“This will put more responsibilities on the lenders. Most lenders will only do qualified mortgages from here on out when this is implemented, and there will be more stringent requirements for a loan to meet those standards,” she said. “Everything will have to be documented to be a qualified mortgage.”
She continued to explain other changes Realtors should know about this complex bill before moving on into what Realtors should know about Fair Housing Law. Ingle said she thinks Fair Housing is interesting to discuss because there are some phrases and lingo in real estate ads that Realtors don’t realize are violations of the Fair Housing Act.
“Even if you are trying to do the client a favor with showing them certain properties and not others, it may get you in trouble for violating fair housing,” she said. “Using ethnic descriptions like ‘bodega’ instead of word store, or using terms that include some people and not others, violate this law.”
Anytime a Realtor is trying to influence someone based on race, sex, ethnicity, disability status, or familial status, they are violating the Fair Housing Act, she said. Yet, if there is a home for sale by owner and they are not using a Realtor service, those sellers can discriminate against your buyer. Ingle finished up the meeting with more interesting and useful facts about the Fair Housing Act and other laws that will affect Realtors in the coming years.
The next Business Resource and Networking Meeting is April 6. Visit the new WCR Web site at www.wcrchattanooga.com for more details.