Wed., December 15c.ymcdn.com/sites/ · · 2011-07-05changes in forms availability and access to...

INSIDE >>6 Wish Listing The “list-to-sell”

percentage is enormously varied within the different zip codes of Orange and Seminole counties.

8 All The Right Moves How to select, and

properly register, your new business as a corporation or limited liability company.

10 Model Citizens

OrlandO rEalTOrS® TOuTEd

bEfOrE a naTiOnal audiEncE aS

mOdElS Of influEncE On fOrE-

clOSurE SOluTiOnS.

11 Changes Afoot Understand the

changes in forms availability and access to TransactionDesk.

18 Getting In Gear Orra mEmbErS

SharE ThEir

TEchnOlOgy

gOalS fOr 2011.

Orra celebrates risk management certification grads

hafa, hamP summarized in free Orra webinar

The OrlandO regiOnal realTOr® assOciaTiOn has graduated the

first two candidates from its Risk

Management Certification pro-

gram, a comprehensive education

initiative created as an effort to

help members better manage their

risk and liability.

ORRA members

Carmen (Connie) Colon, Keller Wil-

liams Classic Realty,

and Sarah (Sally) Brown, Prudential

Florida Realty, were

presented with their

certificates with

pomp and ceremony

during the most recent Eye On

Orlando membership luncheon.

To become certified, bro-

kers and agents are required to

complete nine disciplines and

two elective disciplines; brokers

must complete three additional

disciplines within three years of

submitting an application to the

program.

Courses taken within the past

two years can be applied to the

certification program. In addition,

REALTORS® who hold the GRI

designation automatically receive

credit for two of the elective

courses.

The program’s courses are

offered via a variety of venues,

including online and at ORRA.

In addition, courses may also

be taken at other associations,

independent real estate schools, or

through an approved online real

estate school education provider.

The certification fee for the

program is $99, and individual

course fees apply.

For more information about the

ORRA Risk Management Certifi-

cation program and to see which

courses are currently available,

visit the “Education” section of

www.orlrealtor.com.

ParTygOErS frOm ThE lOngwOOd OfficE Of waTSOn rEalTy

cOmPany rEvEl wiTh SanTa during ThE Orra hOliday OPEn hOuSE:

(l-r, SEaTEd) carOlyn TaylOr; ginny caSTEllani; (l-r STanding)

randi amES; SuE King; PaT ZajKOwSKi; annE-mariE fErrarO; SanTa;

nancy ZimmEr; and juliE baucOm, cOldwEll banKEr rESidEnTial

rEal ESTaTE. an addiTiOnal SElEcTiOn Of PhOTOS frOm ThE EvEnT iS

On PagE 2.

A C O N N E C T I O N T O y O u R A S S O C I AT I O N , y O u R P R O F E S S I O N , y O u R I N d u S T Ry

JANuARy / FEbRuARy 2011 Volume 3 • No. 2www.OrlrEalTOr.cOm

orlandoREALTOR®

Orra has released its first free

webinar! It’s 30 minutes of must-

have info — based on a popular

and frequently offered ORRA

class instructed by Grant Simon

— about HAFA (Home Afford-

able Foreclosure Alternatives) and

HAMP (Home Affordable Modifi-

cation Program) and their impact

on REALTORS’® business,

protocols, and commissions.

The webinar reviews the pro-

grams, which provide incentives

in connection with a short sale

or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure on

eligible loans. The webinar also

covers the Fannie Mae and Fred-

die Mac versions of HAFA.

View the webinar any time, at

your own convenience. It is locat-

ed on www.orlrealtor.com within

the “Education” section.

ORRAREALTOR

AWARDS

February 10

®

cOlOn

brOwn

SEE ThE “PhOTO gallEry” in

ThE “nEwS & EvEnTS” SEcTiOn

Of www.OrlrEalTOr.cOm TO

viEw ScEnES frOm all Orra

haPPEningS.

Inside

Wed., December 15

4 – 6 p.m. ORRA

Refreshments Heavy hors d’oeuvres LibationsAdmission :

a nonperishable food item for Second Harvest Food Bank or a new, unwrapped toy for BASE Camp Childhood Cancer Foundation.

Sweeten Up

the HolidaysHoliday open House

ORRA

3orlandoRealtoR® January / February 2011 | | | |

Chairman’smessageINSIDe >>

News & Features

1 ORRA’s First RMC Grads

1 Free ORRA Webinar

2 ORRA Holiday Party Scenes

8 Establishing A New Business

9 eKey For Android

10 Models Of Positive Influence

10 Star Performance Recognition

11 Electronic Forms Update

Departments

3 Chairman’s Message

4 ORRA Point

5 Member News

6 Stats Shots

11 ORRA Affiliate Spotlight

12 ORIC Passport

13 YPN Hotspot

14 Risk Management

15 Dear Patty

16 legal Resource

17 ORRA Calendar

18 Closing Out

Mobile apps for real estate are a

real game changer. This fact of life

was made clear during an all-too-

brief session at the NAR REAL-

TOR® Conference and Expo that

blazed through a list of must-have

mobile applications for real estate.

The list was based on a presenta-

tion by www.TechSavvyAgent.com

co-founder Chris Smith. A video

and slideshow of his favorite apps

are available on the Tech Savvy

Agent website; I highly recommend

taking the time to listen and learn.

Meanwhile, here’s a quick look at

some of his picks and what they do:

Vyoo.it – optimizes property list-

ings for mobile access;

Yelp – provides reviews of local

businesses;

UStream – offers an interactive

broadcast platform;

Realtor.com – online Listing Pre-

sentation integrates NAR statistics

into iPad listing presentations;

provides mobile access to available

properties;

Slydial – provides direct-to-voice-

mail messaging;

Swype – allows for the input of text

in a continuous motion;

Supra Lockbox eKEY – converts

an iPhone or Droid into a lockbox

key;

DocuSign – offers a platform for

electronic signature placement;

AdMob – provides mobile advertis-

ing and monetization solutions;

Texthog – offers an online expense

tracking service;

WordPress Mobile – provides a

toolkit for mobilizing WordPress

sites and blogs;

Top Producer – offers a lead

management system for iPhone

and iPad;

Go Daddy – provides domain and

website hosting services; and

TextPlus – offers free text messag-

ing services.

Another favored app that we

discussed is Walkaround Jack,

which utilizes Google Street View

to show a home and its surround-

ing neighborhood from street level.

Google itself offers a ton of busi-

ness and real estate specific apps;

I personally use its voicemail tran-

scription app; a reader app; and

a great app that drops an e-mail

sender’s geographical location into

an e-mail (helps me identify spam).

And, one of my long-term technol-

ogy goals is to move all documents

currently located on my computer’s

hard drive into Google Docs. This

web-based storage service will

make my documents hurricane safe

and available to me at any time and

from any place, including from my

mobile phone.

I’m such a fan of Google that

ORRA recently hosted a “Google

for REALTORS®” educational

class, which will be repeated later

this year. The instructors reviewed

features of products within

Google’s Real Estate Toolbox

that help you reach prospects at

all stages of their home search:

checking out locations; looking for

properties; or selecting an agent or

broker. The suite of tools on Google

can assist you in:

�� generating local leads (Ad-

Words, Google Places, Maps);

�� connecting and engaging with

consumers (Google profile,

YouTube); and

�� saving time and money (Google

SketchUp; Google Apps, Earth).

You can, for example, make sure

that people can find your listings

by submitting them to Google. By

providing your real estate listings

to Google, you will broaden

your distribution and receive

free traffic and leads through

natural search results on Google

properties. Real estate search

results will be displayed on Google

Maps, allowing users to immedi-

ately zero in on the neighborhoods

most attractive to them. By adding

your listing information to Google,

you can ensure that the right

potential buyers will be able to find

your properties when they’re most

actively searching for a home.

Are your clients into 3D market-

ing? The animation capability of

Google SketchUp Pro creates,

presents, and modifies 3D models

that can be dropped into website

listings. Customers can then freely

explore the property, community,

and its surroundings in 3D. You

can also use Google SketchUp Pro

to print to high-resolution devices

and place your models into Google

Earth.

Please continue to turn to

ORRA as an educational source for

all things real estate — technology

and otherwise.

Mike McGraw is ORRA’s 2011 chairman of the board and can be reached at [email protected].

Mobile app tsunami is the wave of the futureBy MIKE MCGRAW

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

>> http://www.google.com/intl/en/events/realestatetools/index.html

>> http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html

GooGle Tools

4 orlandoRealtoR® January / February 2011 | | | |

Orlando regional reaLTOr® associationP.O. box 609400 Orlando, FL 32860-9400Ph: 407.253.3580 Fx: 407.293.6380 www.orlrealtor.com

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officeRs

chairman of the Board Mike McGraw, GrI

chairman-elect Stephen n. baker, GrI

Vice chairman - Budget Steven L. Merchant, GrI

Vice chairman - committee liaison reese Stewart

immediate Past President Kathleen Gallagher McIver

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

DiRectoRs Kevin acker Steve amburgey, CrS

Matthew audier Cindy brads Michael Dale Jen Dollar richard Harger Doreen Hargreaves Justin LaManna Kathryn Llamas Susan Logan Karuna Sabharwal Zola Szerencses, CIPS

Pete Vogt, CrS, GrI

Cyn Zellner, abr, GrI, PMn, SreS

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Publisher Michael Kidd

executive Vice President executive editor Laura Haag editor Lisa McDuffie Graphic Designer Maya J. Cracasso

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

advertising 407.513.7274 [email protected]

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

OrLanDO reaLTOr® (uSPS # 022-715) is published bimonthly by the Orlando regional re-aLTOr® association, 1330 Lee road, Orlando, FL 32810. Periodicals postage paid at Orlando, FL.

POSTMaSTer: Send address changes to Orlando regional reaLTOr® association, P.O. box 609400, Orlando, FL 32860-9400.

Subscriptions are $15 per year for members and are paid out of member dues. Copyright 2011 by the Orlando regional reaLTOr® association. Materials may not be reproduced without written permission. editorial ideas and manuscripts are welcomed.

Orra and its publisher, in accepting advertisement in this publication, make no independent investigation concerning the services or products advertised and neither endorses nor recommends the same and assumes no liability thereof.

byline articles and columns express the opinions of the writers and do not necessarily reflect Orra policies or sentiments.

orlandoRealtoR®

pointORRA

My Mother, who turns eighty-six

this year, will never know how to

use social media. Neither does

she use e-mail even though she

has a state-of the art laptop that

my brothers and I gave her. She

did send me an e-mail once. She

then immediately called me on the

phone to tell me that she had just

sent me an e-mail and recited the

content of the e-mail. We encour-

aged her to learn how to better use

e-mail technology and she told us

that while she probably could, she

just didn’t think she could learn

how to make it relevant in her day-

to-day needs.

I’m embarrassed to admit that

back in the early days of Twitter,

when a journalist friend called to

ask what I thought of the service,

I had only caustic things to say: I

described it as an adult version of a

baby monitor, thereby immediately

infuriating almost every Twitterer

who heard the comment. But I’ve

loved aphorisms for decades and

soon learned that Twitter was the

perfect place to become a public

aphorist. For a year or so now, I’ve

been posting an aphorism or two

every day, and the gratification I

get from doing so is embarrassing.

It’s genuinely far more fun than

writing a detailed blog. Also, the

response is immediate, as is the

criticism, and the contact is direct,

without mediation from reviewers.

The point, which has been

made by many social technocrats,

is that we are free to take advan-

tage of technologies in numerous

ways. The suspicions we some-

times have when a new technology

or practice is launched that others

are enthusiastic about often stems

from a fear that we won’t be able to

learn how to make this invention

add anything to our own experi-

ences. But the better inventions

tend to have flexibilities built into

them, accommodating a whole

range of uses, not least, some idle

philosophical maxims. It all comes

down to how we’re exposed to new

technologies and the opportunities

to learn, without suffering frustra-

tion or embarrassment, how such

services may enhance our routines.

This is precisely why ORRA’s

Professional Development Depart-

ment is one of the association’s

busiest areas. It’s solely focused

on providing ORRA members

the opportunity to take advantage

of their markets by providing a

breadth of choices on if and how

to use new services, products,

practices, and technologies.

Furthermore, ORRA’s educa-

tional paradigm adheres to sound

principles of adult learning; that

by which experience is shared and

built upon between people with

common goals and objectives.

ORRA’s courses and instructors

provide exceptional, relevant

experiences, a supportive commu-

nity, and essential tools that give

our stakeholders more choices in

charting their paths to success.

in 2010, oRRa delivered 221

educational classes, courses,

and programs (144 for free) that resulted in more than 38,000 hours of education for more than 8,000 partici-

pants.

ORRA also launched its first

certification program (Risk Man-

agement Certification), which cur-

rently has 15 candidates. In 2011

ORRA will continue to host the

ORRA Training Academy, which

focuses on sales management

and agent profitability and ORRA

will soon unfold a new series of

technology centric courses under

the guise of the ORRA Institute of

Technology (OIT). Kicking off the

OIT curriculum is GOOGLE for REALTORS®, an intensive, one-

day event where ORRA members

get hands-on experience with

Google’s products and other tech-

nologies, learn about innovative

media strategies, receive resources

to use in marketing properties, and

immerse themselves in an innova-

tive social learning environment.

This course, like all in ORRA’s

educational portfolio, offers far

too much to simply tweet about.

However, should you find yourself

out in the Twitisphere (go ahead

and Google that word) you might

stumble across the following

aphorisms:

�� The role of education is to teach

how we can educate ourselves.

�� The goal of education is not

knowledge, but action.

�� The sense of education is that

we stay in a stage of continuous

curiosity.

In the meantime, good luck

with your personal Professional

Development plan in 2011.

Michael Kidd is executive vice president of the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association. To reach him, e-mail [email protected].

Planning to learnBy MichAEL Kidd


GraduateREALTOR® Institute

Congratulations to the follow-

ing ORRA members, who have

earned the Graduate, REALTOR®

Institute (GRI) designation.

Sandra Becker, Watson Realty

Corp.; Laurie caStiLLo, Realty

Executives Clermont; Bernardino caStorani, Central Realty Group

& Properties; donna HaLL, Realty

By Design; LiSa HiLL, Realty And

Company Int., LLC; GeraLd HuGHeS, Coldwell Banker Resi-

dential; Lucy LewiS, SRD Realty;

nydia Marrero, Goodwill Realty;

cHriStina neLSon, RE/MAX

Central Realty; and PauL SinGH,

Thomas Dondey Life Styles, Inc.

norBert weLLer, Home Rebate

Realty.

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Congratulations to ORRA

member SuSan kane, Coldwell

Banker Residential Real Estate,

who has earned the Short Sales

and Foreclosure Resource (SFR)

certification.

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dAUGhTRy

Kudos to ORRA

member Patricia dauGHtry,

Watson Realty

Corp., whose

appointment as

head of the Longwood chapter of

Free Cakes for Kids ensures that

children in local shelters and

foster homes receive birthday

cakes.

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(L-R): MARiE hEndRicKs; GEORGE

TORREs; dARLEnE PETERsOn; chAR-

LiE cUcciA; And JAMEs JOhnsTOn

Kudos to ORRA members with

the Oviedo office of Watson

Realty Corp., which participated

in a Watson company-wide

garage sale event to benefit the

Children’s Home Society. In 2010

more than $13,000 was raised by

the Watson Cares Council for the

Children’s Home Society.

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(L-R): didEM hAnLEy; LAURiE cOOK;

And MARiA RAMiREz

Kudos to ORRA members Laurie cook, dideM HanLey, and Maria raMirez, EXIT Real Estate

Results, who participated in the

“Light The Night Walk” around

Lake Eola. The event was a

fundraiser for the Leukemia and

Lymphoma Society.

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member Lidya GonGaGe, Kumba

Realty, who has been appointed

the 2011 National Association of

REALTORS® president’s liaison

to the Federacion Colombiana de

Lonjas de Propiedad Raiz in Co-

lumbia. Key responsibilities of a

presidential liaison include main-

taining a consistent exchange of

communication between NAR

and the cooperating real estate

association, and serving as host

of the cooperating association’s

president and official representa-

tives during the NAR national

convention.

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members cHere roane, Nicole

& Hudson Realty, and Steve Moreira, Magic Properties and

Investments, who have been voted

as 2011 president and director,

respectively, of Central Florida

Commercial Association of RE-

ALTORS® Board of Directors.

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Congratulations to the follow-

ing ORRA members, who have

earned the Accredited Buyer Rep-

resentative (ABR) designation:

aMBer JoHnSon, Mickey Hage,

Inc; anna Snyder, Exit Realty

Central; BarBara Stone, Exit Re-

alty Central; and Maria waLLace,

Coldwell Banker Reisdential Real

Estate.

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LAyLAnd

Congratulations

to ORRA

member Lenny LayLand,

Investorlando

Realty, who was

one of 45 professional investors

invited to attend the Investment

Provider Leadership Summit in

Phoenix, Ariz.

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siEGEL

Congratulations

to ORRA Past

President Sara SieGeL, who has

been appointed

director of

business development for

Hampton & Hampton Manage-

ment & Leasing, Inc. She will be

assisting REALTORS® with their

clients who need help managing

their properties.

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Even more items about the deeds and doings of ORRA members are located in the “Member News” section of www.orlrealtor.com. Log in to “Members Only” using your ORRA ID and ORRA password, then scroll to the subhead “Member Resources.”Notices of career progressions will now be posted exclusively on the website.

newsMember

INVESTOR LOANS

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bridgewellcapital.com


Statsshots

WISh lISt #1there is enormous variance — by both type of sale and geographic location — within the monthly overall “list-to-sell” percentage, which for all of ORRA members’ sales in November was 94.08 percent. Here’s a look at the zip codes in Orange and Seminole counties with the highest and lowest list-to-sell percentages:

Source: ORRA

CASH IS KINGAll-cash sales have accounted for a whopping 54.27 percent of all Orlando’s 2010 transactions to date; by comparison, in 2000 all-cash sales made for only 9.29 percent of transaction. those numbers are pretty much reversed for new conventional loans, which accounted for 56.4 percent of sales in 2000 but only 18.40 percent in 2010.

11/2010 11/2000 Sales YtD % Sales Year-end %

Loan type

All cash 1,003 54.27% 120 9.29% ARM 1 0.05% 0 0.10%Assume conventional 20 1.08% 39 2.05%Assume FHA/VA 20 1.08% 0 0.23%Assume private 0 0.00% 0 0.03%Balloon 2 0.11% 0 0.02%Combination 7 0.38% 2 0.10%Deed agreement 0 0.00% 1 0.01%Lease opt purchase 0 0.00% 2 0.09%New conventional 340 18.40% 831 56.40%New FHA 364 19.70% 240 17.46%New private 7 0.38% 3 0.32%New VA 54 2.92% 37 2.88%Other 30 1.62% 114 11.01%Second mortgage 0 0.00% 0 0.03%Wrap-around 0 0.00% 0 0.01%

Source: ORRA

Highest List-to-Sell zip code Lowest List-to-Sell zip codeoranGe county100.33% 32826 68.10% 32827

98.77% 32811 86.18% 32833

98.54% 32832 87.15% 32819

97.84% 32829 89.97% 32804

97.79% 32822 90.51% 32803

SeMinoLe county96.74% 32765 88.30% 32773

95.79% 32708 91.38% 32779

95.51% 32746 93.39% 32771

95.28% 32707 93.50% 32732

95.07% 32701 94.30% 32750

WISH LISt #2

the list-to-sell percentage also varies greatly within the type of sale (bank-owned, short sale, and “other”). throughout 2010, bank-owned sale prices were closer to their original list prices than either short sales or “other” sales.

List-to-Sell Percentage Bank-owned Short sale other

november 2010 96.77% 96.02% 92.68%

november 2009 100.64% 93.73% 92.73%

Source: ORRA

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Source: NAR Profile of Buyers and Sellers 2010


Rocking the 80s

tHE CItY OF ORLANDO HAS COME IN At NO. 80 ON tHE LAtESt LISt OF AMERICAN’S BIGGESt CItIES.

It CURRENtLY HAS 242,552 RESIDENtS, ACCORDING tO tHE LAtESt EStIMAtES BY BUSINESS FIRSt, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF 6,692 FROM tHE LASt OFFICIAL FIGURE FROM tHE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU (235,860 IN JULY 2009).

the Orlando-Kissimmee metro region by comparison is the nation’s 26th largest with a population of 2,138,334, based on Business First’s estimates.

Source: Orlando Business Journal

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| | | CARRIED BY CONDOS

Existing single-family homes October 2010 October 2009 % change

Sales 11,888 14,980 -21%

Median price $136,600 $140,900 -3

Existing condosSales 5,147 5,398 -5

Median price $82,400 $105,200 -22

Source: Florida REALtORS®

- 21 %tHE PERCENtAGE DECREASE IN tHE NUMBER OF ExIStING HOMES IN FLORIDA tHAt SOLD IN OCtOBER.

Florida single-family home sales in October showed a 21 percent decrease over October 2009, while condo sales dropped 5 percent. However statewide year-to-date tallies remain in the black, with home sales up 7 percent overall and condo sales up 33 percent.

Home InspectionFranchise Opportunity

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transaction. With home sales on the rise, AmeriSpec is

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800-338-6833Call today for more information

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Orlando Franchise Ad:Layout 1 6/2/10 10:27 AM Page 1


Needto know

CORpORAtiOns As ReAl estAte bROkeRAges

Corporations consist of a board

of directors, officers, and share-

holders. Shareholders are the

“owners” of the company; they

are entitled to the profits of the

company and have voting rights

that they use to elect the board of

directors. The board of directors

oversees the business and ap-

points officers to run the day-to-

day operations of the corporation.

When a corporation is register-

ing with the DBPR, anyone who

is elected to the board of directors

or appointed as an officer must

be registered with the DBPR,

reflecting his or her position in

the corporation. It is critical to

understand that a person who

holds the position of director or

officer must either be registered

as a qualifying broker or must be

unlicensed. This means that sales

associates and broker-associates

are prohibited from holding the

position of officer or director in a

real estate corporation. If an unli-

censed person (i.e., a person who

does not have a real estate license)

serves as an officer or director, his

or her activities must be limited to

non-sales related activities. This

means an unlicensed person is

prohibited from managing the

sales force, directing advertising,

or having any contact with real

estate customers.

Shareholders of the corpora-

tion do not have to be registered

with the DBPR and there are no

licensing requirements, meaning

a shareholder can be a broker a

broker associate, a sales associate,

or unlicensed.

llCs As ReAl estAte bROkeRAges

An LLC is similar to a corpora-

tion but has fewer formalities.

For instance, you are not required

to have a board of directors or

officers, although you may choose

to have them. LLCs are divided

into two types: member-managed

LLCs and manager-managed

LLCs.

In a member-managed LLC,

the “owners” of the company, i.e.,

those individuals who have entitle-

ment to the company profits and

voting rights, are called members

and, in a member-managed LLC,

they are also responsible for

running the day-to-day opera-

tions of the company and they are

referred to as managing members.

As compared to a corporation,

you might think of the managing

member as combining the roles

of shareholders, directors, and

officers into the single category of

managing member.

Similar to a corporation, when

registering an LLC with the

DBPR, a managing member of an

LLC must either be a qualifying

broker or be unlicensed. Again,

any unlicensed individual’s activi-

All the right movessTEPs TO fOLLOw fOR EsTABLishinG A nEw REAL EsTATE BUsinEss

By JEffREy OsTLiE, Esq.

“ Once your corporation or LLC is registered with the DBPR and you are issued your company’s real estate license, you are authorized to sell real estate in the State of Florida. ”

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Most owners opt to organize their

real estate firms as corporations or

LLCs to limit personal liability.

When deciding to open a new real estate business, careful consider-

ations should be taken to ensure your business is established correctly.

One of the first things that you should do is determine what type of

entity will be used to operate your company. You can operate a real estate

brokerage as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, or as

a limited liability company (“LLC”). Today, most business owners opt

to organize their real estate firm as a corporation or as an LLC, because

both structures provide the benefit of limiting personal liability for

company operations. When determining what type of entity is best for

your company, you should consult with both your attorney and your tax

professional.

It is critical that your corporation or LLC is set up correctly and you

properly maintain it on an ongoing basis. Your attorney will assist you in

properly setting up your business entity and should instruct you on what

steps you should take to comply with corporate formalities. Your tax

professional can suggest which type of structure will yield the greatest

benefits to you for tax purposes.

Once your business entity is set up and your articles of incorpora-

tion or organization are submitted to the Florida Department of State

Division of Corporations, your next step is to register your company with

the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (“DBPR”) as

a real estate brokerage. This can be done by filling out DBPR form RE7

and sending it in to the DBPR, or you have the option of completing your

application online at www.myfloridalicense.com.

If you are registering as a corporation or an LLC, there are a couple of

things that you need to keep in mind that are unique to real estate com-

panies regarding who can hold certain positions in the company.


ties must be limited to non-sales

related activities.

In a manager-managed LLC,

the rights and duties of the

individuals comprising the entity

are split between managers and

members. Members are like share-

holders in a corporation, in that

they have the right to profits and

voting power to elect or appoint

the managers who run the day-to-

day operations of the company,

similar to officers of a corporation.

In a manager-managed LLC, sales

associates and broker-associates

are prohibited from acting as

managers of the LLC but are

permitted to be members.

So, what’S NExt? Once your corporation or LLC

is registered with the DBPR and

you are issued your company’s

real estate license, you are autho-

rized to sell real estate in the State

of Florida; however, most com-

panies will want to take the next

step by registering their company

with the REALTOR® organiza-

tions. Regardless if your company

is formed as a corporation, an

LLC, or any other type of struc-

ture, in order to join the Orlando

Regional REALTOR® Association

(“ORRA”) you must fill out the

required application.

Unlike when you register with

the DBPR and you are permitted

to register multiple individuals

as qualifying brokers, when you

register with ORRA you will des-

ignate only a single broker in your

company to act as the principal

broker or “Designated REAL-

TOR®.” If you have multiple

brokers, you will want to carefully

select which broker will serve as

the principal broker with ORRA.

The principal broker will have a

great deal of responsibility. He

or she will be the primary person

authorized to act on behalf of your

company in relation to ORRA.

In addition, the REALTOR®

status of each sales associate in

your company flows from the fact

that the principal broker holds

membership in ORRA, meaning

that if the principal broker resigns

or is suspended or expelled from

ORRA, all other REALTOR®

memberships in your firm are

subject to termination or suspen-

sion as well.

When you register your com-

pany with ORRA, you will need to

schedule an appointment with the

ORRA Membership Department.

When you go to your scheduled

appointment you will need to

bring the following items (forms

are located under the “Member-

ship” tab on the ORRA website).

�� A completed and signed ORRA

Membership Application.

�� A completed and signed

MFRMLS Participation Fee

and Activation Agreement.

�� A completed and signed ORRA

Principal Broker Form.

�� A copy of your broker’s license.

�� A copy of the firm’s license,

issued by the DBPR.

�� Payment for applicable fees and

dues.

ORRA member Jeffrey Ostlie is a broker with Realty Executives seminole; a licensed attorney with the Law Office of Jeffrey d. Ostlie, P.A.; and a managing member of central florida Title, LLc. he can be reached at [email protected]. The information provided in this article was written as reference material only and should not be construed as advice by counsel and/or a substitution for ob-taining advice from individual counsel and/or tax professionals.

supra has introduced its eKEY

application and accompanying

basic service for the Android. With

the app installed, Android users

can:

�� Use the Android as a lockbox

key;

�� Program lockboxes, change

shackle codes, and manage

lockbox inventory; and

�� Link directly to SupraWEB

from the Android.

The eKEY for Android app

requires the use of a fob, which

converts your Android’s Blue-

tooth signal to infrared (it is the

fob’s infrared signal that actually

communicates with the iBox).

Fobs may be purchased in the

ORRA store for $60 each.

HOw tO get tHe AppThe Supra eKEY application

for Android can be self installed

from the Android Market website

by those who already have eKEY

service, but users must first

call ORRA for an authoriza-

tion code. Users may also have

an ORRA employee perform

the installation. Please call the

ORRA Membership Depart-

ment at 407.253.3580 x0 for the

authorization code or to make an

appointment.

If you currently have Active-

KEY service (or do not have any

type of Supra service) and would

like to upgrade to the eKEY

service, you may need to attend a

required Supra class. Please call

the ORRA Membership Depart-

ment.

eKeY FoR aNDRoID Quick View

Requirements

�� eKey-certified android device.

�� android OS 2.1 or greater.

�� Data plan through cellular provider.

�� Supra eKey Fob for accessing iboxes using infrared.

Capabilities

�� Obtain listing keys from an ibox.

�� Open the shackle on a ibox to place it on a listing or remove from a listing.

�� Manage ibox inventory / change settings.

�� read an ibox to view showing history.

�� View showing notices and messages.

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supra eKEy app available for Android


InsideoRRa

real estate professionals have

the power to make an enormous

impact on communities strug-

gling with foreclosure and home

abandonment-related issues.

That’s what

Orlando Regional

REALTOR®

Association

Immediate Past

Chairman of the

Board Kathleen Gallagher McIver,

RE/MAX Town and Country, told

a gallery of concerned REAL-

TORS® from around the country

during the National Association of

REALTORS® annual convention.

McIver served as an expert pan-

elist for two programs — “Work-

ing With Communities To Rebuild

And Restore High Vacancy

Neighborhoods” and “Innovative

Programs And Partnership To

Rebuild Communities: Housing

Opportunity Forum” — during

the REALTORS® Conference

& Expo, November 5 - 8 in New

Orleans, Louisiana.

During both sessions, McIver

described how REALTORS® can

play a pivotal role in supporting

community-based efforts to ad-

dress local foreclosure issues. By

way of example she offered details

about Orlando REALTORS®’

cooperation with both the Orange

County and Seminole County

neighborhood stabilization

programs (NSP), which use funds

from the National Community

Stabilization Trust to purchase, re-

pair, and resell foreclosure homes

located within targeted high-need

areas.

McIver also

took the oppor-

tunity at both

sessions to il-

lustrate the projects and programs

supported by ORRA’s Florida Real

Estate Foundation and ORRA’s

Art In Architecture, a community

service initiative that provides af-

fordable yet architecturally attrac-

tive housing. Art In Architecture

is considered a national model

program; architectural plans cre-

ated for the program are offered

to REALTOR® organizations

throughout the nation.

Orlando REALTORs® upheld as model of influence on foreclosure solutions

brokers, would you like your

agents, managers, or assistants

to be recognized at the annual

ORRA Showcase Awards? Then

nominate them for inclusion as

a “Star Performer of the Year!”

The names of all Star Performer

nominees are listed in the event

program and Star Performers are

recognized en masse during the

event.

There are no requirements

or restrictions for nomination.

Individuals and teams may be

nominated based on any criteria

of importance to their brokers

(performance, attitude, newcomer

potential, etc.)

To nominate a Star Performer,

please contact Peggy Atkinson at

[email protected]. Be sure

to provide a digital portrait of your

Star Performer, for inclusion in

the event presentation.

The ORRA Showcase Awards

will be held on Thursday, February

10 from 11 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at

the Rosen Centre, 9804 Interna-

tional Drive. Visit www.orlrealtor.

com to register (tickets are $15

per person).

ORRA awards offer star performers a moment in the sun

ORRAREALTOR

AWARDS

February 10

®

MCIvER


as this issue of Orlando REAL-

TOR® went to print, Florida

REALTORS® was reporting that

beginning on January 1 its blank

forms would no longer be avail-

able on TransactionDesk. This

means you will not be able to start

a new transaction in Transac-

tionDesk using a Florida REAL-

TORS® form, or be able to print

out blank Florida REALTORS®

forms.

You will still be able to access

your previous transactions —

even those based on Florida

REALTOR® forms — in Trans-

actionDesk, because My Florida

Regional Multiple Listing Service

is continuing to provide Trans-

actionDesk access

and functionality as

a member service.

(Beginning January

1, you will have to

enter Transaction-

Desk via the MFRMLS/MLX-

change portal, as Florida REAL-

TORS® is closing its portal.)

MFRMLS reports that the fol-

lowing TransactionDesk func-

tionality will remain available to

ORRA members:

�� Unlimited document storage: Access existing and historical

transactions and continue to

store documents regardless of

the source.

�� DocBox2Go: Access all of

forms, documents, transac-

tion folders, and contacts with

virtually any smartphone with

an Internet browser such as

Blackberry, iPhone, or Treo.

�� DocBox Printer Driver: Provides the ability to upload

documents to your online ac-

count, fax documents to any

fax number in North America

and at the same time, send

documents to any e-mail ad-

dress.

�� Instanet Fax: Sends a paper

fax to e-mail; eliminates

the cost of paper, toner, and

printers; brands all faxes and

e-mails with your logo; elimi-

nates the need to hand-write

phone numbers; and digital

time stamping gives third-

party verification of time sent

and received.

Questions about Transac-

tionDesk should be directed to

MFRMLS Technical Support at

407.218.8607.

solutions, alternatives to electronic forms upheaval

A note About oRRA’s foRms

In order to ensure that members are utilizing the most up-to-date forms and contracts available, ORRA removed its folder of blank forms from TransactionDesk back in September. ORRA’s outdated forms are not available on Form Simplicity either, so Florida REALTOR® attorneys recommend using the following equivalent Florida REALTOR® forms in substitution:

ORRA Form d Florida REALTORS® Equivalent Form

Sellers Disclosure and Latent Defects Statement d Sellers Real Property Disclosure Statement (SRPD-4

Right of Sale Listing Contract d Exclusive Right of Sale Listing Agreement – Transaction Broker (ERS-14TB)

Note: There are variations of this Florida REALTORS® contract for different agency relationships (“Transaction Bro-ker” version is most commonly used). Contact the Florida REALTORS® Legal Hotline at 407.438.1409 for a recom-mendation of the form that best suits your situation.

Commercial Exclusive Right of Sale Listing Contract

d Exclusive Right of Sale Listing Agreement for Commercial (ERS-6CP)

Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement d Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Agreement (EBBA-5)

An equivalent of a fifth outdated ORRA form, “Status Report Form,” is located in the TransactionDesk form folder titled My Florida Regional MLS and is named “Status Change Form.”

oRRa affiliate Spotlight

MORtGAGEE tItLE SERVICES, INC.

Mortgagee Title Services’ history began in 1976 in a small office

located in downtown Orlando. From these humble beginnings, it has grown to be a strong force in the title insurance industry all over Central Florida and the surrounding coun-ties. It strives to make sure that each client is served with an unbeatable level of personal attention to ensure that their needs are reached beyond all expectations.

Mortgagee is very proud of its 30-year history in Orlando, but more than that it is proud that its commit-ment and dedication to the needs of each individual client are what has kept it going strong in these difficult economic times.

From the simplest to the most complex residential or commercial real estate transactions, let Mort-gagee Title Services show you why customers continually turn to it for the reliability, responsiveness, and security they need.

CaT L. BrOwer

DIreCTOr OF MarkeTIng

“Orra aFFILIaTe OF The Year 2009”

MOrTgagee TITLe ServICeS, InC.

1104 e. rOBInSOn ST. OrLanDO, FL 32801

(407) 843-4000 (O) (407) 843-9800 (Fax) (407) 325-4434 (CeLL)

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |


ORiCpassport

everyone Who has ever attended a National Association

of REALTORS® conference and

expo will know how much this

event can really help you grow

your business. This year NAR

really went all out to host ano-

ther fantastic conference in New

Orleans. NARdiGras lived up to

everyone’s expectations!

Education, networking, tech-

nology, motivation, and hard work

are the key elements to success in

any industry; given the obstacles

faced by REALTORS® in 2010,

these are even more important for

continued growth and develop-

ment. Everyone’s schedules were

packed with seminars, committee

meetings, luncheons, galas, pre-

sentations, and visiting the expo

in order to get up to date on the

cutting edge ideas that could make

the big difference in 2011.

The conference’s highlights

— besides celebrity appearances

from David Hasselhoff, Regis

Philbin, and Earth Wind and

Fire — were an inaugural dinner

welcoming Ron Phipps as the new

2011 NAR president and interna-

tional and second home and resort

events.

On Thursday night, interna-

tional REALTORS® from all over

the globe came together to meet

and mingle at the International

Welcome Reception. Then on

Saturday, early birds came out

in force (clutching their coffee)

for the Certified International

Property Specialist breakfast,

where a record breaking 450

REALTORS® received their CIPS

designation. After a busy day

attending international meetings,

seminars, and networking in the

International Pavilion, everyone

put on their finest for the Inter-

national Night Out and Awards

Gala. Orlando-based Moneycorp,

Inc, was this year’s international

sponsor, reinforcing the interna-

tional importance of Orlando to

REALTORS® from all over the

world. Furthering this momen-

tum, ORIC Chair Zola Szerencses

was named 2011 chairman of the

NAR International Local Council.

It was impressive to see so many

members of ORIC at the expo,

giving the area and the council

a phenomenal presence. With

so much positive international

focus on Orlando, now is the time

to focus your marketing efforts

on attracting those international

buyers and sellers.

How can you do that?

Join ORIC.

As an ORRA member, you get

FREE membership to ORIC and

you can then attend all of its edu-

cational meetings and seminars.

Come and learn from seasoned

professionals, affiliate partners,

and potential clients to understand

how you can tap into this big piece

of real estate pie. 2011 is going to

be a great year for international

real estate in Orlando. The dollar

is relatively weak against most of

the major currencies, prices are

great, and interest rates low. Why

wouldn’t foreign nationals buy!?

ORIC has many new initiatives

this year, including plans for a first

ever international congress. With

free membership and so much on

offer, can you afford not to join?

Visit www.orlandointernational-

council.com to join.

Laura McLoughlin, Moneycorp, inc., is chairman of the ORic Public Relations and Marketing subcommittee. she can be contacted at [email protected].

ORic, Orlando make an international splash at nARdiGrasBy LAURA McLOUGhLin

ORIC LEADERSHIP

ORIC Chair Zola Szerencses, re/MaX 200 realty

ORIC Vice-chair Justine assal, aCM Financial

Public Relations and Marketing Subcommittee Chair Laura McLoughlin, Moneycorp, Inc.

trade Mission and Congress Subcommittee Co-chairs Justine assal, aCM Financial and Zola

Szerencses, re/MaX 200 realty

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inTERnATiOnAL fRiEnds MEET in nEw ORLEAns


yPn on the hunt for new volunteersBy JEn dOLLAR

hotspotYpn

expect to be hearing soon from

a member of the advisory board of

the Young Professionals Network,

Orlando Chapter!

Our plan this year is for

each member of the YPN advi-

sory board (there are five of us) to

adopt an initiative and/or an event,

and then recruit other members of

YPN to help with the execution.

We have a whole slew of inter-

esting and informative projects

planned for 2011, such as a

community outreach program to

benefit the Second Harvest Food

Bank; multiple technology train-

ings and education webinars; and

of course a datebook full of social

networking.

Please be on the lookout for

announcements about our event

dates throughout the year. If

you’re not already a YPN member

and have an interest in attending

or helping to plan any of our activi-

ties, please do join us. Membership

is free and open to all ages!

ishAAM cLAyTOn GRI

Charles Rutenburg [email protected]

College: Florida A&M

Area of expertise: southwest orlando

First licensed: 2007

What I like to do for fun: listening to jazz, attending live concerts, working out, bowl-ing, and selling real estate.

Why YPN? As a member of oRRA, the National Association of ReAlToRs®, and Florida ReAlToRs®, I felt it was time to be more active within my ReAlToR® family and take on more responsibility by being an integral member of the board. This led me to join the Young Professionals Network. Being a part of this elite group has opened many doors between myself and other YPN family members through networking, teamwork, career building, and so much more. For me, being a member of YPN is not just about joining a group or committee, it is about being part of a fam-ily where we all work together to achieve great success as a whole.

yPn, Orlando chapter Leadership Profiles

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MELissA MAszy cRUz GRi, ABR, sfR, E-PRO

RE/MAX Town & Country [email protected]

Birthplace: orlando

College: UCF

Area of expertise: oviedo, Winter springs, and the hot markets in seminole County.


What I like to do for fun: Playing the pia-no, taking educational courses at oRRA, and work-work-working!

Why YPN? I joined oRRA’s YPN as the membership director for an opportunity to get to know more people in the real estate business, to give back to the community and to learn more about the business through my peers and the educational classes YPN offers. since joining YPN, I have seen the value of networking within YPN by receiving referrals from colleagues that I have met at YPN events. As the current vice chair of YPN, I hope to see membership grow in the local chapter of YPN with the help of my colleagues.

KARA sOMMERviLLE ABR, ALhs

Sommerville Real Estate [email protected]

Birthplace: Native of downtown orlando and current resident

College: UCF

Area of expertise: Downtown orlando and Winter Park


What I like to do for fun: Running, practic-ing yoga, and selling real estate.

Why YPN? I learned of YPN at my first National Association of ReAlToRs® con-vention in 2009 in san Diego. I was invited to the annual networking event and was immediately drawn to the positive energy and excitement. I instantly checked out my local YPN group with oRRA and became a member. since joining the group I have made many professional friendships that have lead to business transactions through referrals. This year I’ve been honored to join the advisory board committee and af-ter our first meeting for the 2011 planning.

�� Ishaam Clayton

�� Tara Corriveau

�� Melissa Maszy Cruz

�� Jen Dollar

�� Carlos German

�� Kara Sommerville

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YPN, ORLANDO CHAPtER Advisory Board


a listing sales associate has just

come back to the office from a clos-

ing. A paid commission check has

been turned in to the broker, and

they are sitting at the computer

changing the MLS listing from

“pending” to “sold.” The sales

associate is having trouble closing

out the listing as “sold” because

the selling sales associate’s ID

isn’t coming up in the MLS auto

lookup. The selling associate’s

information, looked up on www.

myfloridalicense.com, reveals that

the agent’s license is not active.

Has the listing sales associate,

by providing a commission to

someone with an inactive license,

committed a violation serious

enough to be called before the

Florida Real Estate Commission?

The selling sales associate did

indeed commit a violation, and it

is a felony under Florida law. “Li-

censees have a responsibility to go

to the Department of Business and

Professional Regulation’s website

and make sure the other agent is

properly licensed in the State of

Florida, FREC Executive Direc-

tor Thomas O’Bryant recently

told an audience of brokers and

agents during an appearance at

ORRA. “Under Florida Statutes,

it is a felony to pay a commission

to someone who is not properly

licensed at the closing table.”

The mission statement of the

Florida Division of Real Estate is

to “protect the public by regula-

tion of real estate and appraisal

licenses through education and

compliance,” which is carried

out by the seven-member Florida

Real Estate Commission. There

are seven prosecuting attorneys

and one chief attorney as well as

28 investigators available to the

commission to help carry out the

mission statement.

FREC also administers and en-

forces the real estate license laws

within the State of Florida. The

commission has the power to issue

penalties against a licensee requir-

ing the payment of a monetary

fine along with any combination

of commission costs, probation,

license suspension, license revoca-

tion, and/or mandatory atten-

dance at any number of two-day

FREC general meetings.

According to Juana Watkins,

deputy director of the Florida

Department of Business and Pro-

fessional Regulation, the DBPR

receives approximately 8,000

complaints from the public each

year and the DBPR finds legal suf-

ficiency in about half of all claims

filed.

Public complaints against

licensees found to have legal suf-

ficiency are forwarded to FREC

investigators to determine if prob-

able cause exists. Complaints with

sufficient probable cause are then

forwarded to staff attorneys for

review. Finally, licensees found to

have violated the law are mandated

to appear before the commission

for final hearing and enforcement.

“While the vast majority of

complaints we receive are against

the sales associate,” explains Wat-

kins, “FREC opens a case against

the agent and against the agent’s

broker simultaneously. Some bro-

kers manage their ‘rogue’ agents

and some don’t. FREC judges look

at the broker in accordance to how

the broker manages their agents.”

Through the end of October

of 2010, FREC issued 102 Final

Orders of Violation and Disciplin-

ary Action to resolve violations

rising out of the current cases. The

number one violation enforced

most often by the commission

involves the improper handling

or theft of money. Many cases

involving a single violation and

almost all complex cases involve

some form of money-handling

issue. The second most responded

to violation involves a short sale

or REO property. Complaints and

violations rising out of the sale of

distressed properties have been on

the increase over the last several

years.

A primer on fREc violationsBy ROycE vAndERPOOL

Riskmanagement

the number one violation enforced most often by the commission involves the improper handling or theft of money.

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— continues on page 15

“ Under Florida Statutes, it is a felony to pay a commission

to someone who is not properly licensed at the closing table. ”


managementProperty

I am a new property manager. what questions should I be asking owner-prospects about their properties?

Ask lot and lots of questions! It

will show your interest in the pros-

pect and in the property, and it will

fulfill your need to get as much

information as possible from the

owner regarding the property.

Ask more than “how big” and

“how many rooms” type ques-

tions. Ask those questions that

will give you information about

the quality of the property and the

level of maintenance issues that

you can expect, such as:

�� Is the property on septic or

sewer?

�� When was septic last pumped?

�� How old is the air conditioner

and when was it last serviced?

�� How old is the roof?

�� Have there been any recent leak

issues?

�� What’s under the carpet and

what is the carpet’s age?

�� What upgrades have been

done? Are there pool and lawn

services in place?

�� Will pets be accepted?

The important thing is to ask the

questions and get the answers.

Those answers will help you in

your management of the unit as

well as assist in your ability to

market the unit for rental.

Sincerely,

Patty

dEAR PATTy

Popping the question(s)

“Patty the Property Manager” appears courtesy of the ORRA Property Manage-ment Subcommittee.

Readers are invited to submit property management related questions to Patty by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

What should you do first when you receive a letter of notice from

the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation

stating that a complaint has been lodged against you, and a case has

been opened to investigate the complaint?

The consensus of ORRA Risk Management Subcommittee mem-

bers is that hiring an attorney who specializes in defending licensees

before FREC is the most important first step. (Several notable local

attorneys currently practicing before the commission worked as

staff attorneys for FREC before entering private practice.) In any

event, every licensee called for an appearance before FREC should

treat the matter with the utmost seriousness. Not responding, or not

appearing before the commission, will only end in revocation of a

licensee’s ability to perform real estate work in Florida.

“Every sales associate and every broker should read and be famil-

iar with section 475.25 and section 475.42 of the Florida Statute,”

recommends Watkins. She also advises that every brokerage office

have a current office procedures manual, in place and in force, de-

tailing the allowed methods for transacting business in that office.

For a dose of preventative medicine, the Risk Management

Subcommittee highly recommends that every real estate licensee

attend a FREC general meeting at least once a year. For brokers

with large or multiple offices, the subcommittee recommends using

attendance at FREC meetings as a training tool in scheduled office

meetings. Awareness goes a long way toward prevention.

Royce “dean” vanderpool, devan Realty & development corporation, is a member of the ORRA Risk Management subcommittee. he can be reached at [email protected].

First PlatinumTitle Agency LLC

10743 Narcoossee Rd. Suite A-18Orlando, Fl 32832

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Legalresource

there are still soMe oWners

who do not (or will not) accept the

fact that serious legal conse-

quences can arise if they don’t

comply with the private deed

restrictions which community as-

sociations are created to enforce.

This is especially true when an

owner fails or refuses to pay their

monetary assessments.

The obligation to pay assess-

ments is a personal obligation

of the owner. Assessments are

also an encumbrance (e.g. lien)

against the property of the owner.

This means that community asso-

ciations may foreclose on property

or obtain a personal judgment

against the owner, or do both.

As many people know, Florida

is known as a “debtors’ state”

because it has various constitu-

tional and legislative provisions

which protect a great number of

assets from seizure and forced

sale. Chief among those protected

assets is homestead property. As

a surprise to many, one of the rare

instances where such constitu-

tional protection does not exist is

when a community association

forecloses on an assessment lien.

Partly because community as-

sociations are granted such enor-

mous power, both Chapter 718

(Condominium Act) and Chapter

720 (Homeowners Association

Act) require specific conditions

to be met before they can file

foreclosure actions. For instance,

Chapter 718 limits the life of as-

sessment liens to one year. In ad-

dition condominium associations

must send two (2) thirty (30) day

demand letters to delinquent own-

ers and homeowners associations

must send two (2) forty-five (45)

day demand letters to delinquent

owners before they can file their

foreclosure cases in the court

system.

The above described letters

should not be ignored. If payment

is not forthcoming, community

associations are immediately

allowed to file judicial lien fore-

closure actions using the same

procedures utilized by mortgage

companies, including the power

to have the encumbered property,

including homesteads, sold at

judicial sales. While such judicial

actions can take some time to

complete during the best of times,

the end result can be the loss of a

home.

As a result of the unusual eco-

nomic times, it is true that some

community associations are not

filing lien foreclosure actions if

mortgage companies have already

commenced their foreclosure

actions. While this may seem, at

first blush, to be a safe harbor for

delinquent owners, this is where

the personal obligation to pay as-

sessments becomes important.

As addressed above, an asso-

ciation can also sue for a personal

judgment against a homeowner

for the amount of unpaid assess-

ments, which judgment will be

enforceable against all of the own-

er’s assets that are not protected

by law (investors beware). In ad-

dition, if a renter lives in a home,

the association may now demand

the tenant pay rent directly to the

association, and then apply that

rent to assessments.

Assessments are the “life

blood” for the operation of all

community associations. There-

fore, they must be creative to

ensure that the dollars continue to

flow into their accounts. For this

reason, all owners should think

carefully before they stop paying

their assessments.

Robert Taylor, Esq., is a partner with Taylor & carls, P.A., and can be reached at [email protected]. The

central florida Real Estate council contributes this column on real estate law issues as a service to ORRA members to provide a general understanding of the law on various topics of interest, not as a substitute for individual legal consultation, and should not be relied on in specific situations without consulting a real estate attorney. for more information, please visit www.centralflrec.com.

Big trouble awaits those who fail to pay hOA assessmentsBy ROBERT TAyLOR, Esq.

“ Community associations may foreclose on property or obtain a personal judgment against the owner. ”

$399

For more information about this program, visit www.orlrealtor.com or call 407.513.7268.

8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.


For more information about these

and other ORRA events, including

prices, contacts, and registration

options, please refer to the calen-

dar on the ORRA website at www.

orlrealtor.com.

EDUCAtION1.14

Google for REALTORs® 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

$79

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

1.17-18

REO specialist 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

$159 | 11 Ce

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

1.26-28 & 2.2-4

GRi 1 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

45 sPl or 14 Ce credits

$360

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

2.10

Tax deductions And Tax Reduction solutions for REALTORs® 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.

$10

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

2.10

short sales Advanced 1:00 - 4:30 p.m.

$15

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

2.14

florida foreclosure Prevention workshop for REALTORs® 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

6 Ce

$99

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

2.18

florida REALTORs®/florida Bar contract workshop 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

4 Ce | $40

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

2.23

Brass Tacks: core Law 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

3 core law | $30

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

2.23

Brass Tacks: fhA Loans and the Economy 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

4 Ce | $40

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

2.24

Brass Tacks: The Art of controlling the sale 9:00 - 12:00 p.m.

3 Ce | $30

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

2.24

Brass Tacks: working with the Appraiser and the consumer 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

4 Ce | $40

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

3.2

short sales and foreclosure certification (sfR) 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

7 Ce | $169

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

eVeNtS 1.19

closing Time network (2701 Maitland ctr. Pkwy., ste. 200) 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.

FRee

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

1.19

2011 central florida Economic forecast (valencia community college, west campus) 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

1.19-23

florida REALTORs® Meetings (Renaissance Orlando Resort)

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

1.20

ORRA LisT Breakfast 8:30 a.m.

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

1.27

ORic Business Meeting 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.

FRee to oRIC members

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

2.3

ORRA LisT Breakfast (various locations. see ad below) 8:30 a.m.

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

2.10

Awards (Rosen centre hotel) 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

$15

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

2.17

ORic Business Meeting 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.

FRee to oRIC members

ORRA COntACts EDUCAtION: 407.513.7268 MEEtINGS & EVENtS: 407.513.7262 MEMBERSHIP: 407.253.3580

Calendarof events


Closingout

ORLAndO REALTOR® AsKs:

what is your 2011 technology-related goal?

ron Hemkecoldwell Banker residential real estate

I would love to completely

eliminate the use of fax

machines (I’m almost there).

Also, I wish we could use elec-

tronic signatures more often.

Jen dollarrealty executives

Seminole

My technology goal for 2011

is to be completely paperless!

karuna Sabharwalcharles rutenberg realty

I would like to polish up my

marketing skills via social

media. I’d also like to update

my familiarity with the tech-

nology options provided by

MFRMLS.

Suzanne MurrellMetro city realty & condos, inc.

I am desperate to find the one

solitary gadget that will do

every tech thing I need.

keith Finnertyventure i Properties, inc.

I plan to find the perfect phone

that handles e-mail, electronic

lockboxes, and MLXchange!

Mitch Govercharles rutenberg realty

I’m going to be using a new website I developed that enables REAL-

TORS® to post their listings and hold their own private label online

auctions.

andy Sellersthe Sellers connection

This year I would like to

implement an active blog to

keep my website filled with

new information that drives

new traffic continuously. I

also plan to explore Twitter, so

I can update my blog on the fly

when I’m out and about.

anne-Marie wurzelcoldwell Banker residential real estate

I plan to use YouTube to enhance my listings and gain more customers.

reese Stewartre/MaX Properties Sw

My goal is to ensure that I have my iPad loaded with all the apps nec-

essary to make me totally mobile.

tobi Moylewells Fargo Home Mortgage

I would like to wean myself off of my big old paper day calendar/plan-

ner that I carry in my purse. It gets torn up by April. I need to start

using my PDA for day-to-day planning.

Lou nimkoffBrio real estate Services, LLc

I would really like to get all

my files on to remote servers.

This way I can have access to

it anywhere I can get on the

Internet and I never have to

worry about my data being

lost on my own computers.

kim Meredith-HamptonHampton &

Hampton Managent & Leasing, inc.

We would like to move all of

our office documents to “The

Cloud.”

John SlimanuSa Business Brokers, inc.

My small staff and I agree that

our technology goal for 2011

involves the 3.0 Droid (Gin-

gerbread), which we expect

to improve communications

with clients via Adobe Reader,

GPS, faster and easier e-mail

access, and higher resolution

for great pictures.

19orlandoREALTOR® January / February 2011 | | | |

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completion of all three gri courses will earn you one of the industry’s most respected professional designations.

January 26-28 & February 2-4, 20118:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

For more information about this program, visit www.orlrealtor.com.

ORRA member: $360

GRI 1 StandaRdS oF PRactIce

> aPril 12-13

Voice your concerns on issues that affect our industry!

To register or for more information call 407.513.7277. S

ORRA tO hOnOR cReAm Of the cROp

Make your reservations now to attend ORRA’s annual Awards, which will honor those REALTORS® who deserve to be recognized for their service to ORRA, to the real estate profession, and to the community.

11:00 a.m. v Only $15 includes lunch, program and entertainment

honors that will be part of the event’s agenda:

ORRA Awards

Thursday, February 10

Rosen Centre

l ORRA MeMbeR l NON-MeMbeR l HbA MeMbeR Name

Firm Phone

l Online registration: www.orlrealtor.com

l enclosed is my check for $ (Payable to ORRA.)

l Charge $ to my l VISA l MasterCard l AMeX l Discover l broker Account

Account number expiration

Name on card Signature

Special disabilities accommodated with advance noticeDeadline: February 4 / No refunds for no-shows / No walk-ins

INQUIRIES: [email protected] FAX: 407.293.6380 ONLINE: www.orlrealtor.com MAIL: P.O. Box 609400, Orlando, FL 32860

v Awards v honor Society v tenure v Star performers v ReALtOR® of the Year

9840 International Drive, Orlando

reTHINK THE FUTURE

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