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Top 10 Takeaways: Appraiser Panel (February Industry Update) February 2023 Industry Update of the Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS® on February 16, 2023. Thank you to presenters: -Jeff Bone, 2023 President of Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS® -Beth L. Graham, Appraiser -Doug Petroff, Appraiser -Michael Perron, Appraiser 1. There are [...]

January 19, 2023 Presented by: -Jeff Bone: 2023 President, Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS® -Dave Conroy: Director of Emerging Technology, National Association of REALTORS® -Dr. Jessica Lautz: Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President or Research, National Association of REALTORS® 1. App- RoomPlan can create 3D floorplans in seconds. 2. Generative [...]

November 17, 2022 Presented by Heather C. Liston, CFP®, EA 1. Common triggers for tax problems with the IRS include: -Math errors and typos -Starting a new business -Retirement plan problems -Employment taxes -Basis misunderstandings -Under-reporting -Other people's problems (spouses, former spouses, business partners) 2. If you receive a letter [...]

October 20, 2022 Presented by Gail A. Anderson 1. Photo copyrights belong to whoever took the photo. Unless the photographer gives the seller agent rights in the photographs, the seller and agent have no right to give anyone else the right to use a photo of the seller’s home. 2. [...]

September 8, 2022 Presented by Trista Curzydlo, Esq. 1. 70 percent of home buyers "Googled" their real estate agent. Google yourself, your brokerage and your listings and see what your potential clients are seeing about you. 2. You can also "Google" your clients to find out more information about them. [...]

August 25, 2022 Presented by Morgan E. Cole, Ingham County Probate Court Administrator. 1. It is very important to understand how a property is titled. That determines who has the authority to sell/convey the property. 2. If a property is titled in the decedents name ALONE, it is a probate [...]

Wanda Williams, Broker® Americas Dream Realty, LLC Member of GLAR for 34 Years   Tell us why you want to be on the Board of Directors. Williams: "I want to be on the Board of Directors to be a voice for members. I have been in the real estate industry [...]

Joe Vitale, REALTOR® Century 21 Affiliated Member of GLAR for 17 Years   Tell us why you want to be on the Board of Directors. Vitale: "I feel this is a good time for me to give back to membership, in a way so many others have before. I feel [...]

Joseph Sambaer, Lender Dart Bank Member of GLAR for 10 Years   Tell us why you want to be on the Board of Directors. Sambaer: "I would like to be on the Board of Directors to help in anyway I can to improve our industry. I think that I can [...]

Amber Kennell, Associate Broker Howard Hanna Real Estate Executives Member of GLAR for 24 Years   Tell us why you want to be on the Board of Directors. Kennell: "Being an active producing agent I can see firsthand how changes and policies affect our business. I feel giving input on [...]

Patrick Feldpausch, Broker RE/MAX Real Estate Professionals DeWitt Member of GLAR for 29 Years   Tell us why you want to be on the Board of Directors. Feldpausch: "I enjoy the challenges that get put in front of the Board and all the Directors putting their agenda aside and doing [...]

Cindy Beckwith, Broker Five Star Real Estate, Lansing Member of GLAR for 16 Years   Tell us why you want to be on the Board of Directors. Beckwith: "I do really love our industry and want to be an encouragement to those already involved and to others who might want [...]

SUPRA to Sentrilock Conversion Timeline:   Monday, August 1 o Brokerage lockbox inventory lists are due to the Association. o All lockboxes will be registered to the broker. Brokers will have control over their inventory. If an agent leaves a brokerage, the brokerage will have the responsibility of collect the [...]

The Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS® has endorsed eight candidates for Michigan State House of Representatives and Senate. Endorsed candidates are: State Senate Sarah Anthony 21st District Sam Singh 28th District   State House of Representatives Julie Brixie 73rd District Kara Hope 74th District Penelope Tsernoglou 75th District Angela Witwer [...]

May 19, 2022 Presented by Jared Roberts, GLAR Legal Counsel & Real Estate Department Chair at Fraser TrebilcockLaw Firm 1. Don't sell yourself short. Between the buyer's agency agreement and the agency disclosure forms, buyer's agents should take a moment to inform their buyers about the services they can expect [...]

By Jared Roberts, Fraser Trebilcock Law Firm 1. Are you truly doing what’s best for the seller? Agents that suggest “off market” listings are often not acting in their client's best interest, primarily because the property does not receive the needed exposure to the public and the full market. 2. [...]

Local broker marketplaces known as Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) connect buyers and sellers of real estate in the U.S. through their respective agents. MLSs gives first-time, low-income and other buyers better access to the American dream of homeownership while also exposing a seller’s property to the greatest number of potential [...]

April 21, 2022 Presented by Aaron Fox, 2022 President of Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS® and Becky Gean, Esq., Director of Legal Education with Michigan Realtors® 1. Golden Rule of Real Estate Advertising...."Describe the property not the person!" 2. "Perfect for ______," is a dangerous sentence when it comes to [...]

As homes become “smarter,” it is easy to feel like there’s an extra set of eyes and ears watching and listening in. To be fair, most sellers aren’t installing cameras or listening devices just to peek in on buyers. Most often, they already have them installed for convenience and security. [...]

March 17, 2022 Presented by Dr. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, National Association of REALTORS®   1. Gas prices will remain elevated for quite some time due in large part to low drilling from COVID pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 2. Employment in Michigan is still down 2.6 percent from pre-COVID [...]

February 24, 2022 Home warranties presented by Ray Stark, America's Preferred Home Warranty Home inspections presented by Jason Murton, Accurate Inspections, LLC   Home Warranties 1. A home warranty is a risk reduction tactic; home owners insurance is hazard insurance. 2. Only properly installed items, previously in working order, that [...]

January 20, 2022 City of Lansing Form Based Code presented by Andy Fedewa, City of Lansing Planner East Lansing Housing Study presented by Thomas J. Fehrenbach, Deputy City Manager, Director of Planning, Building and Development, East Lansing   City of Lansing Form Based Code 1. Lansing's new form based code [...]

Supra now offers a simplified, convenient and secure way to provide controlled listing access to out of area licensed agents. Authorization is granted by the listing agent via the eKEY® app for one-time lockbox access during a specified time window. Simple, streamlined access for work teams • Secure, limited access [...]

Top 10 Takeaways: Taxes and Investments November 4, 2021 General Membership Meeting   1. One of the best retirement plans for self employed persons (like REALTORS®) is the simple IRA.   2. Higher producing self employed REALTORS® should ask a financial advisor about the self employed pension IRA. (SEP IRA) [...]