Prudential Encourages SAM Sign-Up

Get Your Sales Professionals Registered on SAM by Aug. 31

All sales professionals from your company should register with SAM via PREA Center and should be encouraged to do so before Aug. 31. Our collective goal is to register 25,000 sales professionals nationwide by the end of August. The support of each individual affiliate is paramount to our Network's collective success with SAM. While individual affiliate volume cannot be guaranteed, the greater our collective registration of sales professionals with SAM, the larger the volume of opportunities to our entire Network.

To become eligible to receive potential listing opportunities from SAM, or to help direct their buyers to SAM properties, sales professionals must:
• Submit a one-time, $10 fee (USD), a reduced rate of the normal $250.
• Successfully complete the two short SAM online training courses.
We have prepared a special SAM video eCard message from Earl Lee for you to send to your sales professionals to help explain the program. Click on eCard in Quick Links on PREA Center. Once on the eCard site, go to the "SAM-FOR BROKERS ONLY" tab to access the eCard.

Another Third Generation Johnson gets Licensed

Brad Johnson, pictured preparing for the license exam, aced the exam today. Congrat's on joining your brother Brian, as a third generation Realtor.

Realtor.com Showcase Listing Program

Hi Everyone,

As of this morning 35 our our over 100 sales associates have completed their profile on solutioncenter.realtor.com. Without completing the profile, I have no link to the agents listings on realtor.com which means I cannot put a link to the agents listings on our company web-sites. In additon, prospects searching for an agent on the realtor.com yellow pages will not find your name and picture - which means lost business for everyone.

I have asked Brian Johnson to begin contacting associates to assist them with the sign-up process.

There is a link (left) on the blog for how to fill out your profile and you also have another step by step approach with pictures at http://realsa.com/showcase.htm

Realtor Showcase Update Profiles

A small percentage of associates have completed their profiles on Realtor.com. Without completing the update, your agent profile will not be presented on the Realtor.com Yellow Pages for Realtors. When prospects are looking for agents on Realtor.com - they will not see you. In some instances, agents still have Prudential Classic shown as their broker on their yellow pages profile.

I have prepared step by step instructions to update your profile. Please go to http://realsa.com/showcase.htm for step by step instructions.

If you have listings and are not putting in 25 pictures, your clients are getting a less favorable positioning in Realtor.com. 85% of home searchers choose to sort by number of photos - meaning that the homes with 25 photos are seen first when 85% of the people search.

If you need help, please give me a call.

Bernie

Copy and Paste on First Picture in MLS

San Antonio Zip Codes

For the Realtor.com showcase they ask in your profile your zip codes, copy and paste the below for San Antonio zip codes. Please note that it is limited to 250 characters, so the below zip codes is the best match for the best neighborhoods:

78109,78148,78201,78202,78203,78204,78205,78207,78208,78209,78210,78212,78214,78215,78216,78217,78218,78219,78220,78229,78230,78231,78232,78233,78234,78238,78239,78240,78247,78248,78249,78250,78251,78253,78254,78256,78257,78258,78259,78263

Len Heimer Presents Lion's Club Award

Agent Recruitment

It has come to my attention that many agents are being heavily recruited. I have received many copies of emails and the like and have looked into some of the areas of interest.

In many instances, the issues raised were inaccurate, incomplete, or outright false. For example, a misleading statement was made which suggested that a Prudential Don Johnson Agent had to absorb the deductible on an errors and omissions claim. That is not true. In another instance, claims were made about free technology items another office, but when I reviewed the claim I found that some very significant technology items referenced to were not free at all. The list goes on and on.

It is unfortunate that some find it necessary to puff, mislead, or be negative. One should always consider the source. With the brand, Online Seller Advantage, Online Buyer Advantage (The Platform), Leadscrub, Realtor.com Company Showcase, E-Cards, Prudential University Online, and the multitude of other programs, discounts, and benefits provided, You are well equiped to compete in todays market.

We are a full-service well-managed real estate company. We are proud of all of our offices and associates and our goal is to always keep your trust.

Thank you for choosing to be a part of our real estate family.

Bernie Johnson
CEO, Prudential Don Johnson

Web-Site Changes

We are in the process of changing up a number of items on our web sites and appreciate all the positive feedback. The San Antonio site has much of the new look to the menu bar on the left to incorporate references and links to all the offices and agents. Those changes will be incorporated into the other office sites next week. In addition, Canyon Lake has a thumbnail photo with link to individual pages. All of the offices will have a similar look, hopefully by the end of next week. We will also have a link to agent listings from Realtor.com on each agent web page.

Tuesday deadline for bulk registration for convention

This is Your Last Chance!
Sales Convention 2010 Bulk Registration Ends Tonight.

Get the best pricing at $349 USD and reserve your place at Prudential Real Estate's main event.

Sales Convention is an ideal place for Prudential Real Estate to gather, share cutting-edge sales and marketing strategies, and discuss new techniques to help you take command of your market and create customers for life. At Sales Convention 2010, you'll get inspired, informed and equipped with the best tools in the business to excel in the year ahead.

With great motivational speakers, awards and recognition presentations, and an enviable mix of educational sessions, career development programs and networking opportunities, sales professionals who attend Sales Convention 2010 will gain the skills they need to thrive in a challenging business climate.

This is one event you cannot afford to miss -- and it's one that will pay for itself many times over in the year ahead.

Only you can make sure your sales professionals get the best pricing available.

Register Today!

Questions? Call the Affiliate Assistance Hotline at 888 REAL PRU

See you in Austin!

Anyone have pics of the Prudential Don Johnson Canyon Lake Open?

We had a great, but hot, tournament at Canyon Lake yesterday. Bernie's ringers could only grab 2nd to Denton's team from New Braunfels. Anita never left the trophy out of her sight throughout the evening in spite of several efforts to abscond with the hardware by Team Bernie.

The host teams from Canyon Lake did a great job in setting up the tournament and were very gracious in coming in third and fourth place. Way to go Dianne!!

Where will the next tournament be?

Anyone with photos please email to Bernie.

Canyon Lake Family in Need - Request For Help

We have a family in need. Bennie & Angelica Madera, son Aaron age 18, daughter Carina age 10 and Nelson age 7, who played on the Reds (PeeWee), house burned Monday night and they lost most everything they had. No insurance, no money to speak of. They are in need of just about everything from clothes, furniture, appliances, toys etc. After meeting their initial needs, clothing, food and toiletries, they are going to need a place to live. If anyone knows of a good deal(free) on a manufactured home it would be great. They have a lot on Glenn (southside) where their burned mobile is. This lot needs to be cleaned up and the debris hauled off and a “new” home moved onto location.

> Send any donations to First State Bank at 1805 FM 2673 in Sattler. Checks
> should be payable to CLLL with the memo of Madera family and may be mailed
> to FSB, P O Box 2327, Canyon Lake, TX 78133; attention CLLL.



Terry Harris
Office Administrator
Prudential Don Johnson Co. REALTORS
1415 FM 2673
Canyon Lake, TX 78133
Office: 830-964-4355
Fax: 830-964-4365
Cell: 210-215-4965

Canyon Lake Family in Need

We have a family in need. Bennie & Angelica Madera, son Aaron age 18, daughter Carina age 10 and Nelson age 7, who played on the Reds (PeeWee), house burned Monday night and they lost most everything they had. No insurance, no money to speak of. They are in need of just about everything from clothes, furniture, appliances, toys etc. After meeting their initial needs, clothing, food and toiletries, they are going to need a place to live. If anyone knows of a good deal(free) on a manufactured home it would be great. They have a lot on Glenn (southside) where their burned mobile is. This lot needs to be cleaned up and the debris hauled off and a “new” home moved onto location.

Unless anyone has objection, I think CLLL can donate a gift card to Wal-Mart or HEB. I’m sure any cash/gift card is greatly needed and appreciated.

Sizes are as follows:

Bennie(Dad): Pants – 36 x 33

Shirt – L, XL
Angelica(Mom): Size 10 (M)

Aaron(18 yo): Pants – 33 x 30

Shirt – M,L

Carina(10 yo): Size 12-14 (girls)

Shoe – 3/3 ½ (girls)

Nelson(7 yo): Size 7-8 (boys)

Shoe – 13/14 (boys)

Any one can call me to arrange getting things to this family. As you all can imagine they are pretty much devastated by this event and in need of support from the community.

Best Regards,
Steven Crisp
Prudential Don Johnson Co.
Direct: (830)832-0257
Fax: (830)964-4365
scrisp@gvtc.com

Realtor.com Showcase Listing Program and Training Class

6/22/2009

When we recently expanded, I found out that Prudential Classic was 100% subscribed at the agent level for the Showcase Listing plan at REALTOR.COM and the agents were clamoring for a continued presence in the Company Showcase program. Because of this, I have reviewed the Company Showcase program at REALTOR.COM to determine its value.

So, what is the difference between a regular listing on Realtor.com and a Showcase listing? Is the Company Showcase program significantly better for our clients and for you? Are we losing listings? Why am I hearing more and more that our clients want the enhanced listing package? Why can’t each agent make this decision instead of it being made at Company level?

REALTOR.COM requires 100% enrollment to participate and it cannot be broken apart by office locations. The price is a fraction of what you would normally pay on your own. Many of our competitors have already subscribed and have “raised the bar” at the compete level for listings. For example, Coldwell Banker, and almost all of the Century 21 offices are 100% subscribed to the program. In addition companies like ERA, GMAC, Phyllis Browning, Kuper and a host of other real estate companies are also subscribed. If you already participate in an enhanced agent listing package with REALTOR.COM, you will be pleased to know that your costs are going to be a fraction of what you already pay. In addition, you will receive a refund of your pro-rated investment in the program.

A company showcase listing allows the agent to enter up to 25 photos per listing. It should be noted that the default search results on realtor.com shows the homes with the most photos first. Second, company showcase listings allow the agent to modify the remarks. In addition, company showcase listings have a dynamic logo that links to our website. As you can see, your listing is much more likely to be seen by the consumer and we are more likely to capture buyers. It should also be noted, that most consumers prefer to view listings based on the number of photos according to realtor.com. A company showcase listing also shows the consumer the number of pictures they will be able to see on the thumbnail description of the listing – encouraging consumers to click-thru if there are lots of pictures. Regularly formatted listings are plain, including many advertisements and do not show how many photos there are. In addition, with Showcase Listings, on the detail page you will see the agent photo and contact information plus the company logo link to our webpage. Over the years, I have often heard of sellers complaining about the lack of opportunity to change the remarks on REALTOR.COM or ask why they can’t have more photos. With the showcase listings program the remarks can be changed to meet your clients needs. The ability to modify the remarks is a huge benefit. I know of agents investing as much as $700 to satisfy their clients and keep a listing. I have also seen agents relinquish a listing because they were not willing to invest in an expensive agent showcase listing program on REALTOR.COM.

If you are not a listing agent, how can the Company showcase program benefit you? First, showcase listings should allow us to successfully compete for more listings. More listings means more signs and more signs means more duty calls. Second, the default results format with the number of photos as the first sort means that company showcase listings will be seen first by consumers. Obviously, that is a huge advantage and will allow greater opportunities for duty agent's to receive calls off of REALTOR.COM searches. REALTOR.COM is the number one search site in the country. No other site comes close to matching them. The bottom line is we should have more listings and more duty calls. For those reasons, buyers agents also benefit from the showcase listing program.

When we all choose to invest in the showcase listings, there is a huge cost savings. Most agents choose not to invest at the individual level because of the significant costs. However, when the deal is negotiated and under contract at the company level the cost for agent is less than $.38 per day. The cost is $11.50 per month per agent. I realize most agents like to make this kind of decision on their own. Unfortunately, this is not possible. As I previously mentioned, REALTOR.COM requires 100% agent participation in order to take advantage of the very beneficial pricing. Some agents pay thousands of dollars per year to take advantage of an agent showcase program that is inferior to the Company showcase program. It is impossible for any agent to invest in the least expensive agent showcase program without paying almost $400 a month. As you can see, your investment is about a third of the lowest amount you might expect to pay individually.

After considerable thought, and after our discussion at our most recent sales meeting, I had to make a decision . I hope everyone understands and appreciates the decision. We have decided to follow the same path that Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Phyllis Browning, Kuper Realty, GMAC, ERA, and a host of other competitors have chosen to follow. I apologize to those who desire to make an individual decision in this matter. Unfortunately, REALTOR.COM requires 100% participation and I had to make a decision. Again, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

There will be a training session Thursday, July 2nd at our sales meeting from 9:30 to 11:00 for the training portion. Realtor.com will provide a trainer.


Thanks,
Bernie Johnson

3rd Generation of Prudential Don Johnson Co.

Brad and Brian Johnson have completed their real estate classes and Brian just got his license issued last Friday. This is the third generation dating back to the 1960's.

Mid-June E-Team Sign-On Report

Prudential Don Johnson Leads National E-Team Conversion Rate

The March scorecard just came out from Prudential. In the category of Affiliates with 4,000 to 11,999 registrations a year, we just moved up to first place in conversion rate. We still have a long way to go to meet our goals, but it is great to get the recognition.

Congratulations to the agents and staff who have worked hard to make this possible.

Len Heimer Earns Award and Gift for Charity

Congratulations to Len Heimer for his service and thanks to Prudential for the gift to the Lions Club

May 28th - Company-Wide Event

Austin Convention Bulk Registration

Terry Harris is the bulk registration coordinator for the Austin Prudential convention in 2010. The price is $349 - which is $125 less than the early bird rate and substantially less then the regular rate. The early bird program end June 22nd.

To contact Terry, please call her at our Canyon Lake office - 830-964-4355 or on her cell at 210-215-4965. There is an easy payment program available to spread the investment in the convention over several months.

Tax Stimulus Party Big Success

The conference room was overflowing on Thursday night for the first of two presentations made to new home buyers. I would estimate that 15 of the 26 possible buyers (singles or couples counted as one buyer) that participated were successfully pre-qualified by Scott Thomas and two of his associates attending. Agents attending all picked up multiple buyers and I will follow up with a better count on the actual numbers later.

Several dozen more registrants could not attend, but two have already been assigned and more to be scrubbed or to come back for or next event.

Thanks to our sponsors, Scott Thomas of Harbor Mortgage and Jeff Hawley of Farmers Insurance.

Lender Tips - Courtesy of Marsha Copeland

From: "Barbara Coker"
Date: May 21, 2009 6:46:14 PM CDT

Lately, I have seen contract amendments which refer to specific items on the Buyer’s Inspection, by the exact paragraph number. But that then requires me to send the entire inspection to the appraiser and underwriter. In turn, they are forced to require other repairs listed on those inspections, just to CYA. They wouldn’t want to, but they now know more than they really needed to know.

Underwriters only care about appraiser required repairs, and any listed on the contract.

It’s safest to just list the specific repairs you want to have the seller agree to, without sending that inspection.

Also, if you want to ask the sellers to pay some funds towards closing costs in lieu of repairs, just put that amount in Item 4 of the amendment. Please don’t put wording in about “in lieu of fixing this item, or that item, seller to pay buyer $$$$.” Then the underwriter had to know what is wrong with those items.

I don’t like to wave red flags in front of underwriters who are already forced to be more conservative than in the past.

However, don’t forget that the type of loan the buyer is obtaining will limit the seller to a certain maximum amount of contribution. FHA’s limit is 6%, Fannie ranges from 3%-9% depending on the down payment. Also the survey is a separate expense on the contract, but must still be included in the maximum contribution limits.
You might need to actually reduce the price of the seller concession is more than allowed by the loan type.

Also, the increased loan volumes we are seeing (purchases, refinances, first time home buyers looking for that $8,000 credit), are pushing our normal turn times out a little. If you take the normal 10 days for the option period, it might be prudent to write a 45 day contract, rather than a 30 day. The new conventional appraisal system is taking a few more days, and the VA appraiser always gets 10 days. That way you don’t need to go through the hassles of extending the closing date. Remember, it does say “on or before,” and your lenders will work to close earlier if they can.

$8000 Tax Stimulus Party

Agents and guests are welcome to join us next Thursday at the Blanco office from 6:00 on for an evenning of education, drinks, and door prizes. Learn about the $8,000 tax credit available for "first time" homebuyers. The rules are tricky but the benefits are great and end on December 1st.

All our agents are invited. If you could rsvp on realsa.com/registration.htm - it would be greatly appreciated. If you could register a guest or two who might benefit - it will make the party more fun.

Our good friend Scott Thomas is sponsoring this event. He has been an awesome friend of our company and I hope we can get a great turn-out.

This is a great way to help our "first time" homebuyers get their "stimulus" money.

Canyon Lake and New Braunfels Web Sites

The web sites are up and the new web addresses are http://realcanyonlake.com and http://realnewbraunfels.com the San Antonio web address is http://realsa.com. - all sites have place to look for agents alphabetically.

May 28th - Company-Wide Event

Hi guys! Let's all the offices get together for a special event at the Hilton Homewood Suites. Here is the Stone Oak Locations web site link.

Lynn Nestor and others will be there to welcome all of our coming together and to provide some great training.

The time is from 9:30 to 12:30 with brunch being provided.

E-Team

Carolyn Price from Prudential will be here May 27th at 2:00 to provide Platform training and an update of the best practices for managing buyers and the Online Sellers Advantage. We will meet in the Blanco training room. This should be useful. We will have another training date for some of the additional methods used at Prudential Don Johnson at another date and time.

Prudential Press Release

For Immediate Release Contact: Kevin Ostler
May 18, 2009 (949) 794-7980
kevin.ostler@prudential.com


Prudential Don Johnson Co. Targets Canyon Lake and New Braunfels

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Prudential Don Johnson Co., REALTORS®, San Antonio’s oldest real estate firm, today announced it has expanded operations to neighboring Canyon Lake and New Braunfels. The company added two sales offices and 60 sales professionals in the process.
“We see significant growth opportunity in Texas real estate and we’re expanding to capitalize,” said Chief Executive Officer Bernie Johnson, Prudential Don Johnson Co. REALTORS®. “Our increased exposure in these popular markets will help us gain efficiencies and better serve customers throughout greater San Antonio. Of course, expansion helps us gain market share and grow as a company.”
Earl Lee, president of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, applauded the move and its timing. “Prudential Don Johnson Co., REALTORS® is well positioned for the long term,” he said. “This company has been in the Prudential Real Estate Network for 16 years. It’s known for great customer service but also for sound business decisions.”
Prudential Don Johnson Co., REALTORS® bases operations at 16845 Blanco Road, San Antonio. New offices are located at 1415 FM 2673, Canyon Lake; and 1551 N. Walnut, Suite 1, New Braunfels. The company, now with more than 100 sales professionals and staff members, specializes in residential real estate, property management and relocation services.
Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc. is Prudential’s integrated real estate brokerage franchise and relocation services business. Prudential Real Estate franchises are independently owned and operated. Companies are selected based upon outstanding performance records, high levels of customer service and shared business values with those of Prudential.
Prudential Real Estate provides franchises with business strategies using Operation Reviews as
well as numerous benefits, including access to Prudential Real Estate’s Online Seller
(more)
AdvantageSM program designed to provide real-time information to sellers with the touch of a keystroke. Prudential Real Estate is one of the largest real estate brokerage franchise networks in North America, with nearly 1,940 franchise offices and approximately 62,000 sales professionals in the franchise Network as of March 31, 2009.
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $542 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2009, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping approximately 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. The company’s well-known Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit www.prudential.com.

Addendum for Short Sales

Just a reminder, as of March 1st, there is now an addendum required for all short sales.

Buyer's bypassing buyers agents to get a piece of the commission

Please keep in mind, in our industry there are at least two methods by which an agent may claim the buyers side of a commission being offered. In our listing agreements, the sellers agrees to pay us a commission and we agree to pay a cooperating broker a commission. The agreement is presented in the MLS where we state we will pay a buyer’s agent (not a seller’s sub-agent) a percentage of the sales price. If an agent has a buyer’s representation agreement, they have a strong position to claim a cooperating brokers commission. Additionally, even without a buyer’s representation agreement, an agent may make a claim to be a procuring cause. Essentially, they were an integral part of the buyer finding and choosing the property they eventually purchased.

Under the code of ethics, we have an affirmative obligation to determine if the buyer is subject to a representation agreement.

What is procuring cause and how is it collected?

If a buyer approaches the listing agent directly, have they likely been in contact with other real estate agents?

If you close on a deal and another agent successfully makes a claim to 3% of the commission and you took 3% to handle the whole deal, what happens?

Scenario One: A buyer has been searching online for homes and has worked on his own. He identifies a property on his own and contacts the listing agent directly. Lets discuss how this can play out.

Scenario Two: This buyer has been using agents to help him find properties. Agent X (either inside our office or elsewhere) has set up a search for our prospective buyer (AT IS OR HER REQUEST) and is sending weekly reports. The buyer takes the information provided by the agent and approaches the listing agent directly. Let’s discuss this scenario.

Scenario Three: The buyer calls the listing agent and represents he found the property on his own and is not, nor has ever been , subject to a buyers representation agreement. He is not being truthful. Let’s discuss this scenario.
Scenario Four: The buyer calls and speaks to a duty agent and talks about one of our listings. He tells the agent he is currently represented by another agent and just wants to see the property. He says his agent is out of town. The duty agent provides him with the listing agents phone. After calling the listing agent, the buyer want to negotiate receiving a portion of the commission. He retracts his statement regarding being represented, but says he can get a friend to handle the buy side for free or at a big discount. Discuss this scenario.

Who has to use a sellers disclosure?

Is the seller required to give the purchaser a seller’s disclosure notice
if the seller has never even seen the property? Do the mandatory
seller-disclosure requirements apply to a relocation company? Do the
disclosure requirements apply to a property for sale by owner?
Section 5.008(e) of the Texas Property Code states that the
requirements to provide a seller’s disclosure notice do not apply to a
transfer:
1. pursuant to court order or foreclosure sale
2. by a trustee in bankruptcy
3. to a mortgage by a mortgagor or successor in interest, or to a
beneficiary of a deed of trust by a trustor or successor in interest
4. by a mortgagee or a beneficiary under a deed of trust who has
acquired the real property at a sale conducted pursuant to a
power of sale under a deed of trust or a sale pursuant to a courtordered
foreclosure or has acquired the real property by a deed
in lieu of foreclosure
5. by a fiduciary in the course of the administration of a decedent’s
estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust
6. from one co-owner to one or more other co-owners
7. made to a spouse or to a person or people in the lineal line of
consanguinity of one or more of the transferors
8. between spouses resulting from a divorce or a decree of legal
separation or from a property settlement agreement incidental to
such a decree
9. to or from any governmental entity
10. of new residences of not more than one dwelling unit which have
not previously been occupied for residential purposes
11. of real property where the value of any dwelling does not exceed
5% of the value of the property.

New 6 Page ERC Market Analysis and Strategy Report

The ERC report has doubled in size to six pages. Here is a link to the new forms.

Prudential Consolidates PREA and Relocation

Dear Affiliate:
Unprecedented conditions in the real estate market and the economy present significant challenges to everyone in our industry, including Prudential Real Estate and Relocation. We are initiating organizational changes that will help us gain efficiencies and optimize our business performance now and far into the future.


Effective today, we are combining our Real Estate and Relocation businesses into one powerful operating company: Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services (PRERS). Bringing these operations closer together will help us leverage our expertise for the benefit of our affiliates and our relocation clients.


Earl Lee is now president of our combined company, reporting directly to me. Most of you know Earl well, as he served Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. as president from 2000 through 2006. He served the last two years as president of Prudential Relocation.


We ve restructured our business development strategies and functions in real estate to gain efficiency and greater focus on significant market opportunities. Keith Smith will lead all real estate business development efforts and will report to Lou Gonzalez. Lisa Mackey, also will report to Lou, and will oversee our real estate service operations.


Several functions are being consolidated to support all of PRERS, including Information Technology, Strategic Planning and Resources, Marketing, Communication & PR, and Learning Excellence/Network Education.


Unfortunately, some of the changes we ve made today involve program changes and staffing reductions. The necessity of these changes doesn t lessen the impact on many of our friends and colleagues. We thank these employees for their valuable contributions.


To be sure, Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services is steadfast in our strategic focus, core values and commitment to our affiliates and relocation clients. The power of our brand, the financial strength of our parent company, and the enormous talents and determination of our affiliates and our employees assure we will work through these challenging times and emerge as an even stronger network, well-positioned for the long term.


We distributed a press release today to the national media highlighting these points. I ve attached a copy of the press release for your reference.


Sincerely,


John Van Der Wall
Chairman
Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services

E-Team - Latest Rankings

Prudential Don Johnson Company climbed to the number 7 spot in the Nation among affiliates receiving 4,000 or more registrants in a year. The 42% of sales to Initial Tour Requests was tops in the State. Coming in at 27th was Prudential Classic at 23%.

Congratulations to our E-Team staff and agents - let's go for number 1!!!!

E-Team Compensation

I just wanted to remind folks of our commission policy, as published by email to team mates last year on November 28, 2007.

As previously reported last year, because of the the strong involvement of staff in the development of business, all compensation received on an E-Team deal will be shared - which includes all bonuses. All compensation will be aggregated and treated as commission income.

San Antonio ranked number two by Forbes

Best And Worst Bang For The Buck. The economic storm sweeping the country has left Americans with few places to hide. But those looking to hunker down might want to head to Texas, where they can get the best value for their dollar...(read more)

Rental Property Analyzer

Here is a link to our new Rental Property Analyzer

Earl Lee Letter Regarding Capital Market Issues

click the image to see the full-size letter from Earl Lee

9-11

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 11th ~ In Memoriam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Dear Chamber Investor:
Mayor Phil Hardberger asked that I forward an invitation to all of our members requesting that the San Antonio community lower all flags to half-staff tomorrow, in honor of the anniversary of the day so many men and women lost their lives on September 11, 2001. I urge each of our member firms to join The Chamber and the Mayor to honor those who perished in these tragic events.
Sincerely,


Richard Perez
President & CEO
The Greater San Antonio Chamber
of Commerce

Prudential Online Advantage - Business Partners

Realtrends sees National improvement

July 2008
Volume XXII , Number 7
www.realtrends.com
COMMENTARY
On the Road to Recovery
The June 2008 REAL Trends housing market shows that, for the first time in nearly three years, housing unit sales are at the beginning stages of finding a floor and perhaps even heading up. In this months report, the key states of California and Nevada showed increases in units closed, versus the same month a year ago. Also, the report showed that every region was improved from the May 2008 results. Decreases in units closed shrank as did the price declines that had been seen in the past nine months. We expect that as we approach the one-year anniversary of the melt down in the mortgage markets the year-over-year decreases in units closing will continue to shrink and may turn modestly positive in the months ahead.
However, when reading the results from the report it is clear that a major factor in the turnaround in key markets is the decline in the average sales price of the homes being sold. The average price declines in the California and Nevada markets was between 28 and 32 percent, indicating that the turnaround is mostly in the entry level market segment. What we
hear from brokerage firms in these markets are that homes at the entry levels include a significant number of foreclosure sales, short sales and builders dropping their prices to clear out older lower priced inventory.
The strengthening of the entry level market is a critical component of a housing recovery. As the excess inventory gets sold those in the lower price segments have the liquidity to consider a move up into higher price levels. We know from experience that this is the foundation of a recovery.
It is apparent, however, that until the excess inventory throughout the price spectrum gets brought back into line with demand that prices will remain under substantial pressure. And this will not happen until sales professionals and brokerage firms regain discipline in how they price and market listings. The Denver area, where the author lives, cannot be that different than most markets throughout the country. There are simply far too many overpriced listings on the market; listings that the listing professional and brokerage firm both know are overpriced and unlikely to sell in any reasonable time frame.
The Impact of the Internet
For over ten years real estate professionals have both feared and embraced the impact of the Internet. While many thought that it would serve as a platform allowing "outsiders" the ability to disintermediate the brokerage/sales professional/housing consumer relationship in order to place referrals with large referral fees, that hasn’t really occurred. Instead, it is the instant availability of housing market information that is now causing significant challenges for real estate professionals.
In past downturns when the only source of housing market information was the real estate professional, and once interest rates had headed down and the general economy strengthened, real estate professionals would guide buyers back into the market with the message that "now is the best time to buy." And without the independent means to determine values, both current and historical, the consumer would move to purchase under this guidance. And for the most part it worked out fine for both parties.
Today, the Internet allows housing consumers to do their own homework and form their own opinions about values in the housing market. There may be too much information available to a consumer, but these Internet savvy buyers and sellers don’t much care for that view. To many having more than enough is far better than having none as in the past. Sales professionals have to understand that simply saying "now is a great time to buy" will have to be replaced with hard data, facts and figures and trends about housing markets. Trying to hide from this reality is a fruitless exercise.

United Title of Texas closes doors in Texas

United Title of Texas shuts down statewide
Six Houston-area locations affected; scheduled closings today in jeopardy
By NANCY SARNOFF Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
July 30, 2008, 11:48AM
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United Title of Texas has closed all its offices around the state, including six in the Houston area, because of financial troubles related to its Colorado-based parent company.
"They closed these companies as I understand because they have a line of credit for which they failed to meet covenants of," said Jim Hilburn, who had been chairman and CEO of the Austin based title company since October 2006.
United Title is a subsidiary of Mercury Cos., which owns title agencies in California, Colorado, Texas, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona.
Hilburn was told late yesterday afternoon that the company was ceasing operations in Texas.
About 60 employees in the Houston area and 190 statewide were affected.
The local offices are in Clear Lake, Pearland, Cinco Ranch, Cypresswood, The Woodlands and on Richmond Avenue. United Title also has offices in Tyler, Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.
The company's title files will be turned over to First American, one of Mercury's largest underwriters, said Hilburn, who was waiting for First American officials to arrive at his office Wednesday morning to discuss the transition.
"We have a lot of closings that are supposed to occur," he said. "If people miss closing dates, they can lose their loans. The ones today could be in jeopardy."
Hilburn said Mercury, a family-owned company that's been around since 1946, began expanding rapidly during the recent housing boom.
The company operates a network of more than 500 branches and has some 6,000 employees, according to its web site.
But Hilburn said those ranks had shrunk significantly as the company was scaling back operations and eliminating jobs.
"They were expanding tremendously in multiple states," he said. "That takes a lot of money."
nancy.sarnoff@chron.com

NEISD capped schools

FYI - after call to NEISD - found out that Reagan is no longer capped because of the opening of the new high school. Here is a link to the NEISD web page about capped schools.

MLS Conversion Notes

MLS Conversion 2008
The MLS Committee and the SABOR Board of Directors recently took action to begin steps to change MLS vendors upon the expiration of our current agreement with Fidelity National Information Systems (FNIS). Paragon will be replaced with ConnectMLS, provided by dynaConnections - an Austin based company.
Plans are to run ConnectMLS parallel to Paragon during the months of August and September, permitting members to log into either system. All listing entry will be done through Paragon during the parallel time, with updates being made to ConnectMLS several times a day. Training will be conducted during an August/September timeframe and in October the official cutover to the new system will be made. There will be no MLS fee increase to make the change to the new system.
Background: Last year, members were surveyed and focus groups held to determine the effectiveness of our current MLS system. Based on this input, those responding indicated that a change in systems was not necessary, unless a better system could be found, with no increase in MLS fees.
Using this survey information on member needs and expectations, a Vendor Search Task Force was appointed by the SABOR MLS to examine all future options. "Requests for Proposals" were sent to eight leading MLS vendors to examine all system options available to the San Antonio Board of REALTORS®. The Task Force analyzed proposals, participated in product/system demonstrations and after several months of study, made a final recommendation to the MLS Committee and the Board of Directors.
The recommendation was to enter into a contract with dynaConnections for our next MLS system. ConnectMLS runs on new technology and the system has a remarkable response time. In addition to system speed, ConnectMLS has built-in tutorials throughout each function. Our new product will also utilize "Property Info" by REIdata as part of the roll out. "Property Info" has public records in a format giving users many more search capabilities, one of which will be the ability to search public records by subdivision for those counties that provide it. In addition to tax data/public records for Bexar, Comal Kendall and Guadalupe Counties, the following Counties will be added for the new MLS: Bandera, Atascosa and Wilson.
The Vendor Search Task Force was comprised of Dwight Hale, Chairman; Gloria Byington, Linda Rasmussen; Missy Stagers and Sue Trautner. The conversion design team will consist of Tim Brown; Al Cannistra; David Bogue; Jack Jones; and Linda Rasmussen. SABOR thanks all of the members involved in this process for sharing their time, talent and expertise.
Updates will be released periodically over the next few months. Should you have any questions, please contact SABOR's Member Services Department.

Inline Strategy Press Release

Prudential Real Estate Launches New Advertising Campaign
– Spots tout new tools, services available to real estate consumers at prudential.com
IRVINE, Calif. – Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial, Inc. [NYSE: PRU] company, today launched a new advertising campaign directing consumers to new tools and resources available at the company’s popular Web site, www.prudential.com/realestate.
Television advertisements, created in high definition by Prudential Advertising, underscore that real estate consumers will find the resources and information needed for their property searches at Prudential.com. The campaign slogan: "Prudential.com … the shortest distance between you and home" positions Prudential Real Estate as the trusted source for useful real estate information, and directs consumers to Prudential.com and to affiliate listings.
"You can click on to our site and quickly get an Environmental Profile, a Value Range Estimate and a Property Profile on any domestic property, free of charge," said Laurie Keenan, president, Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. "Of course, you can also search more than 3.5 million listings and reach out to your nearest Prudential Real Estate affiliate for the consultation and services you need to complete prudent real estate transactions.
"Our message is a simple one," Keenan continued. "Real estate consumers can find everything they need at one address, prudential.com."
Advertisements, which premiered today on ABC’s Good Morning America, will run in prime time on network television stations, and during ABC’s streaming broadcasts online. The campaign also will include print and online display/banner advertising.
Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc. is Prudential’s integrated real estate brokerage franchise and relocation services business. Prudential Real Estate franchises are independently owned and operated. Companies are selected based upon outstanding performance records, high levels of customer service and shared business values with those of Prudential. Prudential Real Estate provides franchises with business strategies using Operation Reviews as well as numerous benefits, including access to Prudential
(more) Pag e 2
Real Estate’s Online Seller AdvantageSM program designed to provide real-time information to sellers with the touch of a keystroke. Prudential Real Estate is one of the largest real estate brokerage franchise networks in North America, with more than 2,100 franchise offices and approximately 64,000 sales professionals in the franchise Network as of March 31, 2008.
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $631 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2008, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping approximately 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. The company’s well-known Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit www.prudential.com.

Sales Meeting - 06/05/08

Agents:

Please don't forget to bring something for our adopted soldiers to the meeting tomorrow

I will be mailing a package this week. Remember it is 110 in Iraq, and no refrigaration.
Magazines, chips, instant oatmeal, ramen, popcorn, chips in a can, cookies well wraped
in bubble wrap, pre sweetened containers of coolaid,tea etc.
Thanks a million for doing your part. Ramona

Platform Access

http://sanantonio.desktop.erealty.com/

Platform Training

I would encourage everyone to take advantage of the free use of the Online Advantage platform and Sellers Online Advantage. You can literally manage many hundreds of leads and prospects easily and effectively. I can show you how to use the program in such a way that if you follow the process - you will never lose track of a client and you will maximize your opportunities for earning their future business and getting referrals. Whoever wants to learn how to use the Platform, please let me know. Hey, if you just want to see the platform in action before you decide whether to use it or not - I am available and would be happy to show you how this now free system can help you manage your leads effectively. You then can decide whether you want to learn to use it or not.

Bernie

Sales Meeting Reminder

Sales meetings are now held on the first and third Thursday of each month. We are encouraging everyone to make a point of attending these meetings and attending previews. Anyone having a home previewed would like a high attendance of agents to both impress their owners but to also provide feedback and improve their chances of selling the home.

Thanks for your consideration,
Bernie

4/22 Corrine's Progressive Lunch

E-Team Announcement

Great News! The platform is now available for everyone and Prudential has eliminated the $55.00 a month charge and eliminated the technology fee and there will be no ongoing payment for repeat business on platform registrants. Additionally, the referral fee has been reduced and we will now be charging only a 15% referral fee on E-Team business. Basically, the referral fee is cut in half effective for all business pended after April 15th.

Prudential Online Advantage - Graphic from Speech

Duty Room

Just a reminder - this (like the other common area and equipment) area should be left in the same condition you got. Twice a week, our offices are professionally cleaned. The rest of the time, we need to keep it clean. Please dispose of coffee cups, printouts and so on. If you have left coffee stains and food debris in the room, please clean it up.

Thanks,
Bernie

Free Home Town Guide

We have been asked to distribute a very nifty mapbook of San Antonio that is a wonderful tool for you to give out to your buyers new to our city. It is called the Home Town Guide – has our name on the front cover and we have put 3 copies of the book in each agent’s fax box in the reception area. If you need more just let us know

Thank you

Bob

Fingerprinting Location Update

According to IBT, two fingerprinting locations in the San Antonio area will be closed by the end of March. These locations are:

Closing at the end of March* CS innovative Insurance Solutions located on 9842 Lorene Lane, San Antonio, TX* Pathways Youth and Family Services located at 4243 E. Piedras, San Antonio, TX

Remaining OpenThe location at 1314 Hines St will remain open. (You can continue scheduling appointments online at www.ibtfingerprint.com and by phone for this location)

Another location that has opened for fingerprinting that is not listed on the IBT Web site is:6800 Park Ten Blvd, San Antonio TX 78213 near Vance Jackson and I-10. To schedule an appointment here, you must call IBT at 1-888-467-2080. You will not find this location on IBT's Web site at this time.

Fingerprinting Location Update

According to IBT, two fingerprinting locations in the San Antonio area will be closed by the end of March. These locations are:

Closing at the end of March* CS innovative Insurance Solutions located on 9842 Lorene Lane, San Antonio, TX* Pathways Youth and Family Services located at 4243 E. Piedras, San Antonio, TX

Remaining OpenThe location at 1314 Hines St will remain open. (You can continue scheduling appointments online at www.ibtfingerprint.com and by phone for this location)

Another location that has opened for fingerprinting that is not listed on the IBT Web site is:6800 Park Ten Blvd, San Antonio TX 78213 near Vance Jackson and I-10. To schedule an appointment here, you must call IBT at 1-888-467-2080. You will not find this location on IBT's Web site at this time.

No Sales Meeting this Thursday

Just a reminder, we will not have a sales meeting this Thursday, March 27th.

Internet Advantages announced at Sales Convention

New Inline Marketing Strategy Announced at Sales Convention

During the 2008 Sales Convention, Prudential Real Estate President Laurie Keenan applauded Network members for their progress during this challenging market. She outlined the new inline marketing strategy and Web alliances designed to capitalize on ever-growing consumer traffic on the Web. Among them are marketing and advertising agreements with Trulia, FrontDoor.com and OpenHouse.com.

She said, "We're launching several fantastic new opportunities to drive immense consumer traffic to prudential.com, to promote the Prudential brand as a trusted source for real estate information and to generate consumer traffic for all of the Prudential Real estate listings and affiliates."

She also announced that effective at the end of April, the Online Seller Advantage will be universally available to all Prudential Real Estate sales professionals at no subscription charge. John Van Der Wall, CEO and chairman of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, also took the stage during Sales Convention where he acknowledged current challenges in the economy and the real estate market, and pointed to several factors that likely will bring stability to real estate. He cited long-term demographic trends that should drive real estate for years to come.

April deadline to exempt your vehicle from tax

Don't ignore April deadlines to exempt your vehicle from taxation
Thanks to last year's amendment to the Texas Constitution, you aren't required to pay tax on any personally owned vehicle that is also used for business purposes. However, you may need to file an annual exemption form in order to avoid this tax.
Do I have to file an exemption?If you were taxed on your vehicle in 2007, you must file an exemption form to receive a rebate. If you’ve never received a tax bill for your vehicle, you may receive one for 2008 if you don’t file an exemption. Protect yourself from a tax you don’t have to pay: File an annual exemption.
How do I get an exemption? Contact your local appraisal district to see what its requirements are; a list of county appraisal districts with each district's contact information is available online. Some appraisal districts have created separate forms for 2007 and 2008 exemptions, while others are using the form published by the Texas comptroller's office (PDF). Use whatever form your local appraisal office requires.
What are the deadlines?Your exemption for 2007 must be filed by April 1; your 2008 exemption is due April 30. The annual deadline thereafter will be April 30.
What if my appraisal office doesn't have a form?If your local appraisal office fails to provide clear directions on how to exempt yourself from mixed-used vehicle taxation, the Texas Association of REALTORS® recommends that you file an exemption with your local appraisal district using the form published by the Texas comptroller's office (PDF).
What if I lease my vehicle?The exemption applies only to personally owned vehicles. Leasing companies owe the tax for leased vehicles. However, they may pass on the tax to you unless you have filed an affidavit (PDF) with the leasing company stating you use the vehicle for personal use 50% or more of the time.

March 5th Training

Please keep the date of 5 March at 10 AM open for a good training session with Pam O’bryant on financing the Purchase.
A good learning for our newer agents and a good refresher for those of us who have been around awhile.
10 AM Next Wednesday.
Thank you
Bob

Prudential Update - click link for video

Attached please find your link to our fourth edition of "PruConnect," our video magazine spotlighting some of the latest information, tools and resources coming from PREA.
I’m especially excited about this "PruConnect" installment, as it provides the latest on our Yahoo! agreement, our advertising in "The Wall Street Journal" and our evolving postcard program. It also discusses our growing Web partnerships, and hints at some pivotal announcements I will make next month at Sales Convention relating to our new interactive marketing and online advertising. Our plans are big and bold, and will help transition our company to become the most progressive, interactive marketing resource for residential real estate. Sales Convention registration closes at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28 so register today if you haven't already.
Click here and enjoy the show! http://preanews.com/ve/ZZys2892Cx92u98j311

Don and Ann and the Family

Group Photo

Here is a pic of our attendees for our annual awards breakfast

Sales/Listing and Agent of the Year Jeanne Desha

Congratulations to Jeanne Desha on again sweeping our top awards at our annual awards breakfast on Valentines Day.

Word, Excel and Powerpoint online access

GOOGLE DOCS
5 February 2008

Google Docs is an online replacement for word processor (like MS Word), spreadsheet (like MS Excel) and Presentation software (like MS PowerPoint). It stores everything, on an offline server so you never need to worry about backing up your hard drive so as not to lose these files. The real advantage of this system is that we can share any and all documents that we generate with all staff and associates as desired. To use the system, please follow the below procedure to access the company's Google Documents website:

Type in the following link: http://docs.donjohnsoncompany.com and save as a bookmark or desktop icon once in the site. To save as an icon on your personal computers, click on "file", "send" "shortcut to desktop" There will be an icon on all company computers that says "Google Docs PDJC".

From this screen you need to sign into the site: Your sign on name is your first name and your initial password is "password" without the quotation marks.

You now see the main screen from which you will prepare a new document, spreadsheet or presentation. You can use these for presentations to your clients, to make fliers, any number of pieces for you business all at no cost to you as the sales associate or staff member.

To begin, simply click on your folder (there is a folder for each staff member and Sales Associate) then click on the word "New" at the top left and it gives you the option of whether you want a document, spreadsheet or presentation; click on whichever and begin your work.

Please see Bernie or Bob for any additional help needed should your exploring only frustrate you!

This system will replace the current MS Office system we have now on the computers as Microsoft discontinues updating and supporting the version of Office we currently have on our computers.


Good luck and we look for this to be a very productive tool for all of us.


Bob

Class on Title Commitments

Please put on your calendars that we will have a class on Title Commitments and how to read them and what we as agents need to do with them. Class will be at 10 AM in our training room on February 6, a Wednesday. Texas Title Company will lead the instruction. We would like to see everyone who either questions what the commitment does or what responsibility we have in the process attend this class.

thank you very much,
Bob

SA Military Major Expansion Construction

BRAC projects to increase S.A. military construction tenfold(Public Facilities : San Antonio) 1/16/2008

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is ready to bid out local projects set in motion as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decision. The Corps will award 12 to 15 projects, for a total of $1 billion in construction, as part of the BRAC action during fiscal year 2008. The average yearly amount of military construction in San Antonio is between $65 million and $100 million. The BRAC construction will increase that tenfold. The BRAC action encompasses about 78 new and renovated primary facilities, which will total about 6 million sf and entail more than $2 billion in construction-related spending. The facilities will be located at Fort Sam Houston, Camp Bullis, Lackland Air Force Base and Randolph Air Force Base. The construction for all the projects is scheduled to be completed by September 2011. The main projects taking place in San Antonio will be the renovation of Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) to handle all in-patient hospital care and civilian trauma care and the conversion of Wilford Hall Medical Center into an ambulatory care clinic that will focus on outpatient care. Additions to BAMC will include a tower to house emergency rooms, operating room and clinical and administrative space. An additional 250,000 sf of the hospital will be renovated. Brooke Army Medical Center will be renamed the San Antonio Military Medical Center North, and Wilford Hall Medical Center will be renamed the San Antonio Military Medical Center South. Another large piece of the BRAC puzzle includes the consolidation of all medical training programs for all military branches to Fort Sam Houston. That will involve the construction of the Medical Education and Training Campus which will include 2 million sf of dorms, classrooms, labs, training areas and dining facilities to accommodate an average daily student enrollment of more than 9,000. (Reprinted from 12/21/2007)[San Antonio Business Journal]

SA Population Growth increases infrastructure demands

S.A. population growth fills area roads, spurring expansion(Demographics : San Antonio) 1/17/2008
Population growth and the extension of residential development to the north, northeast, west and northwest of San Antonio have brought increased need for educational, retail and medical facility construction and expansion in these areas. Hill Country corridors along IH-10W and Highway 281 North are each seeing nearly 120,000 vehicles per day. San Antonio's far west side population off the area's IH-410 West/Highway 151 and Culebra/Potranco roads is now growing at record pace. These thoroughfares, stemming across the western section of the city, serve surging commuter traffic. Source: Cal Ivey, vice president of San Antonio-based Dominion Advisory Group, Inc.[Texas Real Estate Business]

Third Party Financing Addendum-IMPORTANT

The new Third Party Financing Condition Addendum

by Ron Walker

On Feb. 9, 2004, the Texas Real Estate Commission promulgated the new Third Party Financing Condition Addendum. The most significant change in the addendum lies in the last few lines of the first paragraph of the form.
Under the prior version of the form, if the buyer did not obtain financing approval within the time required, the contract simply terminated. Under the revised form, the buyer must, within the time specified, give written notice to the seller that the buyer is not able to obtain financing approval in order for the contract to terminate and for the buyer to receive a return of the earnest money.If the buyer does not give the notice within the time required, the contract is no longer subject to the financing contingency described in the addendum. This means that the buyer will breach the contract if:
• The buyer does not give timely notice of termination under the addendum;
• The buyer is not able to secure financing approval; and • The buyer does not close as required by the contract. The buyer takes the risk if he is not confident he has obtained financing approval and does not send the termination notice under the addendum in a timely manner.The term financing approval did not change from the prior form. Financing approval occurs when the buyer has satisfied the lender’s requirements related to the buyer’s ability to borrow the money (e.g., creditworthiness, credit history, income, assets).Financing approval and loan approval are not synonymous. Loan approval is the unequivocal statement by the lender that the lender will fund the loan. Two major elements must be satisfied before the lender will typically give loan approval:
• Approval of the borrower, which is financing approval under the addendum; and
• Approval of the collateral, which is the property satisfying the lender’s requirements. The contingency in the Third Party Financing Condition Addendum deals only with financing approval.With respect to approval of the collateral, paragraph 4 of the TREC contract forms provides that the contract is subject to the property satisfying the lender’s requirements. The contingency that the property satisfies the lender’s requirements applies regardless of whether there is a financing contingency.It is critical for the buyer to obtain financing approval within the time required under the addendum. Another way to refer to financing approval is to be conditionally approved for the loan. Conditionally approved means that the lender has stated that the buyer is approved for the loan subject only to the property meeting the lender’s underwriting requirements (for example, appraisal and survey). To be confident that the buyer has obtained financing approval under the addendum, the buyer may ask the lender to provide the buyer with the Conditional Approval letter promulgated by the Texas Savings and Loan Department. Mortgage brokers are required to use this letter under TSLD regulations. Copies of the Conditional Approval and Conditional Qualification letters that mortgage brokers must use are available on TexasRealtors.com.Time is of the essence with respect to the addendum. Strict compliance with the specified time period is required. Buyers and buyer’s agents will want to “watch the clock” with respect to this addendum. It may be necessary to request an amendment that extends the time under the addendum if the buyer cannot obtain assurance of financing approval from his lender.

Ron Walker is director of legal affairs for the Texas Association of REALTORS®.

Note from Open House Show Producer

Dear Advertiser,

Congratulations! According to HousingPredictor.com, San Antonio's real estate values are forecast to appreciate 3.9% in 2008, and San Antonio is ranked in the top 20 real estate markets nationwide! We at The Open House Show wish you a prosperous new year!

In our effort to improve our product for your success, The Open House Show has begun airing 30 second commercials on KABB to advertise the show. I've attached a QuickTime version of the ad so that you can see it.

You have also been receiving clips of your homes! As a new, free service, we will e-mail you a clip of each new home you submit. Simply drag it to your desktop and use it to e-mail to clients or post on Realtor.com.

Even though the Holidays is a "slow" time for real estate, TheOpenHouseShow.com still received 27,258 unique visitors since December 1st. Our Nielsen Ratings continue to be strong.

Ultimately, The Open House Show is a listing tool. Please remember we have sign riders, listing flyers, and other artwork available to download free to use in your presentations. Click here: http://theopenhouseshow.com/San_Antonio/artwork.php

Thank you for advertising with us. Feel free to call me, Amy, or Jaime at any time for any reason.

Robert Bettes
cell 915.474.3188

Online Search Activity has increased over 30% in the past week

Online search activity has spiked by over 30% in the last week. San Antonio's strong economy and the solid value building market of existing homes is attracting outside investors and local purchasers.

Existing home sale prices increased for 2007

New home starts have substantially declined over the past year - recognizing that builders have been overbuilding and reflecting a decline in the sub-prime mortgage market. However, existing home sales have remained strong and prices actually increased - following a consistent trend of price increase for nearly a decade.

Here is a link to the Express-News story.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I can see the activity already picking up with the phone calls and increased internet searching. It's a great time to call your past clients - you know - the folks that have used you and respect your skills. It's a great time to say "Happy New Year" (the reason for the call) and finish with "who do you know that is interested in buying or selling real estate?" If make 30-40 calls like that, I am certain you will pick up plenty of new business.

There will be no sales meeting tomorrow and we will have our first meeting of the year next week.

MLS Access Problem

At some point today, some agents with our company have noted that they could not get access to the MLS.

Bob finally got through to SABOR and the problem has been resolved. MLS access should be restored.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has a blessed and wonderful Christmas. Our office closes at noon today and will re-open again on Wednesday. Enjoy your egg nog!

Bernie

E-Team Assignments

Just a reminder, to receive future assignments, you must have a current appointment for all prospects in your inventory. There are no exceptions. If you have been notified that your inventory is not current, please correct the problem and let management know when you are current. Additionally, it is important that you delete your old appointments. If there are old appointments on the calendar, management can only assume that you did not keep that appointment. If there are any appointments on the calendar for the current and previous months, no new assignments will be made until those old appointments are either deleted or rescheduled.

New Agent Safety Policy

AGENT SECURITY POLICIES

Emergency Calls To The Office




If an agent feels threatened by their customer/prospect while showing a home and needs help they should excuse themselves, make up a story about needing disclosures on that home from the office and call the office for information on the particular address you are showing. This will alert the office that there is a problem at that address and we can call the police and management, in that order.

The message should be something like:

“This is ______ _____________ and I need you to check the red file on, i.e., 123 little john road for any disclosures.” Please call me on my cell with that info as soon as possible. Thank you”

The red file reference is the receptionist’s clue that you need police help and reception will make that call and explain to the police that it is an emergency and you need help.

Reception will then call the manager to keep them up to date on the incident.

Automatically Insert Holidays in Outlook

Automatically add holidays to Outlook's calendar

You know that New Year's Day falls on January 1 every year, but not every holiday is as easy to remember. Pesky ones like Memorial Day, Presidents Day, and Thanksgiving slide around the calendar. Make sure you don't plan for a closing or other important meeting on a holiday by automatically adding them to your Outlook calendar. Go to Tools > Options and select Calendar Options. Click the button labeled Add Holidays.

If your calendar doesn't display holidays after you follow the above steps, it's probably because your version of Outlook is too old. Outlook 2000, for example, doesn't support holidays past 2007 even if you've downloaded all its updates. If your Outlook version is newer than 2000 and you still don't see the holidays listed, visit the Microsoft Download Center and type Outlook holiday update in the search box. You can download a free holiday update that will take you through 2012.

No Sales Meeting

A Reminder

There will be no sales meeting tomorrow - 11/29

Thank you
Bob

Thanksgiving

Have a great Thanksgiving! We all have a lot to be thankful for - not the least of which is working with a bunch of great agents and staff.

The office will be closed on Thursday, but we will be open Friday and, of course, thru the weekend.

8511 Wood Forest - New Listing

Thursday Thanksgiving Potluck

Folks,

Please remember that we have duty lottery this Thursday morning and we have our annual Thanksgiving Potluck lunch here at the office this Thursday at noon.
Look forward to seeing you all. Bring your favorite dish (or, whatever you signed up for) and come enjoy.

Regards
Bob

E-Team Protocols for Success Tips

Great Eats at Perry Homes Open House

Here is a link to the info regarding a scrumptious lunch at Perry Homes in Trinity Oaks on the 13th.

Duty Lottery

We will hold our duty lottery drawing and scheduling on November 15 at 8:30 sharp just prior to our regular sales meeting.

Thank you
Bob

What happens in foreclosure and the homeowners rights

here is a link

November 6 Election - TAR Recommendations on Amendments

Nov. 6 constitutional-amendments electionTexas Association of REALTORS® recommendations on constitutional amendments
There are 16 proposed amendments on the ballot November 6. The Texas Association of REALTORS® recommends supporting the following propositions:
Proposition 3 - TAR recommendation of support"The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide that the maximum appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem taxation is limited to the lesser of the most recent market value of the residence homestead as determined by the appraisal entity or 110 percent, or a greater percentage, of the appraised value of the residence homestead for the preceding tax year."
Proposition 6 - TAR recommendation of support"The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation one motor vehicle owned by an individual and used in the course of the owner's occupation or profession and also for personal activities of the owner."
Proposition 7 - TAR recommendation of support"The constitutional amendment to allow governmental entities to sell property acquired through eminent domain back to the previous owners at the price the entities paid to acquire the property."
Proposition 8 - TAR recommendation of support"The constitutional amendment to clarify certain provisions relating to the making of a home equity loan and use of home equity loan proceeds."
Proposition 9 - TAR recommendation of support"The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt all or part of the residence homesteads of certain totally disabled veterans from ad valorem taxation and authorizing a change in the manner of determining the amount of the existing exemption from ad valorem taxation to which a disabled veteran is entitled."
Proposition 12 - TAR recommendation of support"The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of general obligation bonds by the Texas Transportation Commission in an amount not to exceed $5 billion to provide funding for highway improvement projects."

The Texas REALTOR® license plate is now available!
Let everyone know you are proud to be a Texas REALTOR®
Frequently asked questions
How much do they cost?The plates cost $30, plus the amount of your regular registration fee. Renewal each year will cost $30, and replacement plates will cost $5.30. Personalized "vanity" plates cost an additional $40. (TxDOT may change these prices in the future.)
Must I be an active REALTOR® to purchase a plate?Yes. The "I Am A Texas REALTOR®" license plate is only for use by active Texas REALTORS® .That means you must be a REALTOR® member of the Texas Association of REALTORS®. The plate is not available to other member classes of the association; nor is it available to real estate agents and brokers who are not REALTORS®.
How do I order my plate? Texas REALTORS® can download the TxDOT application (member login required).
Is there some type of pro-rated fee to synchronize my new plate with my current vehicle registration? Yes, assuming you’ve already renewed your vehicle registration and then decide you want the specialty plate. In this case, your vehicle registration expiration date will need to be adjusted to correspond with the expiration of the specialty license plate. If necessary, additional fees will be collected to make this adjustment. Usually it’s $5 to $6 per month for several months to get your vehicle and new plate “synchronized.” You may be required to exchange your current windshield validation sticker to your county tax assessor-collector for a new one. All this will be worked out when you pick up your new specialty plate.
Does the state get this money?$22 of the proceeds received from the sale of this plate will go into the Texas Association of REALTORS® Housing Opportunity Foundation established to promote affordable housing in Texas.
Can I get a personalized "vanity" plate with the "I Am A Texas REALTOR®" design?Yes, for an additional $40, you can get a personalized plate of up to five characters (subject to TxDOT requirements).

Please do not despair the current market

POINT OF VIEW: From the President of The National Association of REALTORS®

Stay PositiveWell, it has been quite a year to be president of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®! The old saying “timing is everything” certainly plays out in today’s marketplace.The year 2007 has been full of surprises, both positive and negative, that have had a direct impact on your business and mine. Our business environment is more competitive than ever, and the media have risen to new heights in trying to discredit our industry. Yet, we carry on with our heads held high and our REALTOR® ideals intact.Meanwhile, we’ve all read the stories of doom and gloom in the housing markets. Our business (like everything in life) has cycles. But home buyers and sellers haven’t disappeared. In fact, NAR expects the volume of home sales this year to be comparable to that of 2002, the second year of the housing boom. Next year, we expect that continued low interest rates and reduced prices will bring even more buyers into the market. NAR is forecasting more than 6.2 million existing-home sales in 2008, up from an estimated 5.9 million this year.As REALTORS®, we need to make sure that consumers see more than the media’s picture of our industry. The great thing about being a REALTOR® is that we don’t have to do it alone.Every day, your association leadership and staff speak to reporters about a wide range of issues, including the housing markets. We emphasize that conditions in many markets are positive and suggest that consumers talk to a REALTOR® about opportunities in their market. Our Public Awareness Campaign is helping to get the word out, too, that now might be a great time to buy.An African proverb says, “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” I believe today’s competitive environment presents us with a significant opportunity — a chance to improve our skills and to prove that we’re the first and best resource for anyone looking to buy or sell real estate. If we stay positive and use all of the resources available to us as NAR members, we’ll continue our great success — today, and for many, many years to come. This month’s magazine, in fact, talks with REALTORS® who are honing their skills to become even more effective and efficient in the current market. At REALTOR.org, you’ll find a huge range of business tools to help you do the same. Take the time to check it out!It has been my great privilege to serve you and to represent our industry during 2007. As we move into 2008, I ask you to take to heart this poem, published anonymously, that I think puts our challenges, as real estate professionals, in perspective.Take time to work. It is the price of success. Take time to think. It is the source of power.Take time to play. It is the secret of perpetual youth.Take time to read. It is the fountain of wisdom.Take time to be friendly. It is the road to happiness.Take time to love and be loved. It is nourishment for the soul. Take time to share. It is too short a life to be selfish.Take time to laugh. It is the music of the heart.Take time to dream. It is hitching your wagon to a star.

HEADS UP FOR RELOCATION ASSOCIATES

Pass It On: Online Relocation Certification Deadline


Please make sure that your relocation leaders are aware of an important upcoming certification deadline. Due to the steady increase in volume, all those handling inventory properties must be re-certified in that discipline by Dec. 31. In addition, anyone in your company accountable for relocation-including relocation-certified sales professionals who were previously certified by our written exam-must be re-certified via Prudential Relocation's online modules for Marketing and Destination Assistance by May 1, 2008.

Relocation directors/contacts must complete and pass all three modules: Marketing Assistance, Destination Services and Inventory Property. All sales professionals who receive Prudential Relocation Referrals must be certified in the area of the referral. Please note that the non-PREA Relocation Network backup brokers had to be re-certified by the end of 2007's first quarter.

If you need your relocation ID number and/or instructions on how to access the program via PREA Center, or have additional questions, contact your Broker Alliance Management specialist.

KB Homes Disney Event October 23rd - Looks Like Fun for the Kids

Mayerlyn's new listing

Corrine's listing on Henderson Pass

Rotary Wild West Day

http://cid-38feea6b6da96b9e.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Prudential/wwd.pdf

Do You Want Great Family Entertainment This Saturday, October 20. Please click on the above link and come on out.

Corrine's New Listing/E-Card