On Monday, June 24, AAR will be holding it’s annual Broker Summit. This year’s keynote speaker is Jon Cheplak, co-founder of The Real Recruiter, a real estate consulting firm based in California. AAR sat down with Cheplak to get a better understanding of what he’ll be bringing to the event and why it’s so important for brokers and managers to focus on recruiting the right way.

Arizona Association of REALTORS®: How long have you been a real estate recruiting consultant?

Jon Cheplak: I have been coaching, training, and speaking for the past 11 years throughout North America.

 AAR: Do you have a background in real estate?

 JC: Yes, I was a highly productive agent then evolved into branch management . From there I became a regional manager. My final stop was as General Manager for Prudential California, Nevada, Texas Realty.

AAR: Why do you focus on recruiting as a business strategy?

 JC: I figured out right away that we are not in the real estate business, we are in the human resource, human development, human attraction and human behavior business. The only asset in the real estate business  is the Real Estate Agent.

AAR: What is one of the biggest challenges that real estate professionals face when recruiting?

JC: Most [brokers and managers] have had zero or very poor training when they are thrown into the fire of recruiting. Everyone thinks it’s a “feature dump” exercise, and that is furthest from the truth.  Agents don’t join or leave a company, they join or leave the competency and relevancy of the leader.

AAR: What is one thing that surprises you when working with real estate clients to refine their recruiting tactics?

 JC: They are so programmed to believe it’s all about their split, fee, profit share, or revenue share….this is a myth.

 AAR: What are some key takeaways you hope people get from your talk?

JC: They are:

• You are not an administrator you are a revenue generator
• 99 percent  of all training fails, but there is something you can do about it
• Three most critical activities of a productive real estate manager/leader
• Culture, and the experience, is typically the no. 1 reason you feel people should join, but you can’t sell culture, you must allow people to experience it
• What to say when: Telephone prospecting, Interviewing, and Follow up

Are you putting enough energy into your recruiting strategy?

 Register to attend the AAR Broker Summit

Cost:  $49 (Includes breakfast, lunch and networking reception)

Location: Orange Tree Golf Resort, 10601 N. 56th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Today is Flag Day, a great reminder to take a moment and be thankful for all that we have as Americans. Here’s some great Flag Day facts and the proper way to display your flag. Today is also the 238^th birthday of the U.S. Army.

Sunday is Father’s Day, be sure to give your Dad some love this weekend! What will you do to celebrate dear old dad?

Here’s a roundup of links you might have missed this week:

We’re a little over a week away from the AAR Broker Summit, have you registered yet?

How to set up reminders in Evernote

2015 AAR Officer Election Notice

Ways to promote your content across owned, earned, and paid media

Now you can upload to Instagram from your computer with Gramblr

A site for members to learn about and share apps

On June 12, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its March 2013 Refinance Report indicating that in the first quarter of this year, 45 percent of Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) loans had loan-to-value (LTV) ratios greater than 105 percent.  This represents nearly one-half of all HARP refinances (Q1), up slightly from last year’s figures. Consumers with LTV ratios greater than 125 comprised 22 percent of HARP’s refinances in March. Of that group, consumers opted for shorter term mortgages of fifteen or twenty years.  Underwater borrowers represented 64 percent or more of total HARP volume in Nevada, Arizona and Florida.

In March, Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) refinanced nearly 100,000 loans through HARP, bringing the program total to approximately 2.4 million since HARP’s inception in April 2009. The program which was to expire at the end of this year, received a two-year extension to December 21, 2015.

The Real Estate Committee of the Arizona Mexico Commission is presenting an information exchange event on Friday, June 14, with representatives from Sonora, Mexico. At this event topics being covered will includethe potential change in ownership opportunities in Mexico where non-Mexican Nationals will be able to own property in the “restricted zone” in fee simple title just as they do in Arizona – no more “Fideocomiso Trust”.  This is not yet a law but is being discussed.  Other topics will include the real estate licensing requirements in Sonora and how to do business across the border, both ways.

If you are interested in attending, visit www.azmc.org

The event takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The cost to attend is $40 and includes lunch.

As a member of Arizona Association of REALTORS®, you are entitled to many member benefits and discounts.

For commercial agents, AAR offers a discount on the purchase of  real estate forms from the AIR Commercial Real Estate Association (AIR).  AIR forms have been “localized” for Arizona law and are used by commercial agents and brokers across the state.

Where to Find AIR Forms
You can review sample AIR forms. Please note that these forms are “generic”, not the Arizona-specific forms.  To review the Arizona-specific forms, you need to install the AIR program.  After the program is installed, you may review every AIR form and even print them with the word “DRAFT” across the form.  If you want to actually use the form without “DRAFT”, you must use AIR tokens.  Depending on complexity, each AIR form costs zero to eight tokens.

How to Buy AIR Forms and Tokens
Typically, agents would be charged $399 for AIR forms (with 200 tokens).  As noted earlier, each form has a certain number of tokens associated with it ranging from zero to eight, depending on the complexity of the form.  All lease and purchase agreements are eight-token forms.  A user can create and modify as many “DRAFT” versions of a form as desired, only being charged the appropriate tokens once a “FINAL” copy is created.  New tokens are issued at $.50 each, with a minimum purchase of 100 tokens.
To get started, AAR members may choose from five different pricing tiers:

To purchase a starter package or additional tokens, AAR members should call 866-946-2472. You will need your NRDS number handy to validate your REALTOR® membership. (Find your NRDS number.)

If the saying is true, and life really does begin outside of your comfort zone, then I’ll definitely be living this weekend. I’m going camping; and this city girl does not camp. But, the heat wave in Phoenix has cooler temperatures calling my name and, apparently, a tent. Wish me luck!

Here are a couple ideas for you to try this weekend to break out of your comfort zone:

5 ways to improve your search engine optimization (SEO)

Take better photos of your listings

Accomplish inbox zero

Find out how to earn a designation

Take up speed reading (just in case the inbox zero thing doesn’t pan out)

Build your network

Become a more effective negotiator

Find a good reason to unplug

P.S.

The June issue of Arizona REALTOR® Magazine is out and features input from AAR General Counsel and many of your fellow REALTORS®. It’s a great read!

Enjoy your weekend!

Check your inbox for the June issue of the Arizona REALTOR® Magazine!

This month, AAR General Counsel Scott Drucker discusses the Short Sale Agreement Notice* and answers some of the most commonly asked questions regarding the proper use of the form.

Also in this issue, we take a closer look at disclosure and see how one small oversight can turn into a big problem. We’ll also explore how earning the SRES® (Senior Real Estate Specialist®) designation can open you up to a growing niche market.

Our always-popular Legal Hotline Q&A* features questions that range from “When should a tenant complete the move-in form?” to “Who can sell a mobile home?”

Many members of AAR made the trek to our nation’s capitol last month and give you their take on how Mid-Year went and what’s to come for Arizona REALTORS®.

Check out the issue and be sure to rate, comment and share your favorite articles.

*This content is only for AAR members, you will need to login to access it

Earlier this week, Fannie Mae (FNMA) introduced a new tool that will assist real estate professionals in streamlining the short sale process. Listing agents are encouraged to register accepted short sale offers with Fannie Mae in an effort to provide greater transparency into the process. This step will also enable Fannie Mae to more proactively work with mortgage providers during the final steps of the transactions.

“Fannie Mae recognizes the very important role real estate professionals play in the short sale process and we want to work closely with them to get short sales done. At the end of the day, Fannie Mae wants to get short sales done so that we can prevent foreclosures and help neighborhoods recover,” said Jay Ryan, vice president for FNMA’s real estate sales.

Agents are encouraged to reach out to Fannie Mae early in the short sale process to request list price guidance to aid in marketing efforts.  To provide short sale offer information, property address, MLS listing information and any subordinate lien information, go to Fannie Mae’s website at:

www.homepathforshortsales.com.

To read the entire news release, visit www.fanniemae.com

Will you use this tool with your clients?

Last week, AAR received calls from members in the South East Valley, indicating a possible threat to REALTOR® safety.  It was reported that a man had called various real estate offices and agents as a prospective buyer.  The male caller was specifically targeting female agents and asking alarming questions, specifically if the agent “worked alone.”  One agent immediately took action by posting her concerns from the call, on their company’s intranet notifying other company’s agents of the situation. Other agents, who also received the calls, alerted other real estate offices in the area of their concerns.

REALTOR® Safety Month is not until September, but let us not wait until then to remind one another that there are predators out there and it is up to each of us,  to protect ourselves as we work with the public. NAR offers some excellent educational information, from articles to webinars and videos, that address ways to stay safe on the job.

Here’s three things to remember:

1)      Know how to react appropriately to a dangerous situation;

2)      Be aware of your surroundings; and

3)      Empower yourself by taking careful precautions.

For brokers and managers, NAR provides Office Safety Forms and presentations for office meetings.

http://www.realtor.org/topics/realtor-safety/planning-your-safety-strategy

http://www.realtor.org/topics/realtor-safety/put-your-gut-in-your-safety-toolbox

There are also a variety of pre-designed safety forms that you can customize and use in your office:

Agent Identification Form (Word: 26KB)
Agent Itinerary (Word: 33KB)
Office Safety Action Plan (Word: 35KB)
Prospect Identification Form (Word: 31KB)

Remember, if something doesn’t feel right, make sure to let someone know. We want you to be safe out there!

Transaction Management (TM) systems have evolved greatly over the last five years. The Business Services team at AAR works hard to keep up-to-date on new systems and, in fact, has test accounts for many. When we look at TM systems, we consider several important aspects:

• Strength of security and robustness of server infrastructure.
• Agent-level features and user friendliness.
• Admin/broker level features and user friendliness.
• Presence of task lists and auto-notification.
• End-game policies for retention and access to documents after a broker changes TM companies.
• Training and support capabilities.
• Ability to integrate with other applications.
• Compliance with ADRE standards.

The compliance issue is one of the stickiest. Current ADRE rules and statements don’t specify a single vendor or approach. In our study of different approaches, we’ve come to the conclusion that all systems can keep brokers in compliance; the differences between systems lies in how much work the broker needs to do to keep in compliance. A system like SureClose® has many features that keep the broker in compliance, such as automatically triggered tasks with notifications of completion or missed deadlines. SureClose® does a lot of the work to keep a broker in compliance. However, simple document storage systems (such as Dropbox) could be considered a very primitive transaction management system but they require the broker to do all of the work to keep files in compliance; they only store the file. Other systems available to brokers lie somewhere in between these two examples.

As we move forward, AAR’s Business Services team is developing lists of questions or issues brokers should address as they review TM options. We’ll keep our brokers posted as we create and update these lists.