Announcements

Online Education for CBR members

Beginning January 3, 2006, CBR now offers members online education at a discounted price. Online real estate continuing education courses are a fast and convenient way to meet your real estate CE requirements. You can take these online real estate classes from your home or office, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Choose from the following approved classes:

Canons of Ethics
Civil Rights Update
Core Law Update
Fair Lending Basics
The Future of Real Estate
High Loan to Value
Identity Theft
Inside the Real Estate Loan Process
Introduction to Commercial Real Estate
Understanding Title Insurance
Sales Comparison Approach
Or your complete 30-hour package

These online classes are offered through Hondros College. Through this partnership, CBR members will get a $5 discount on any online course by entering `CBR' in the Discount Code box during registration. For online classes, click here.

HUD helps Katrina victims

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has offered to spend more than $200 million to pay the mortgages for roughly 20,000 hurricane victims for up to 12 months. Only borrowers whose loans were insured by HUD's Federal Housing Administration and whose homes can still be rebuilt are eligible. The payments would be made from FHA insurance funds, not federal tax dollars.

Still, 20,000 is a small fraction of the 528,000 mortgages the Mortgage Bankers Association estimates are held in storm-hit areas. With the blessing of regulators, the banking industry offered borrowers forbearance on their loan payments for three months after Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast Aug. 29. HUD extended the forbearance date on FHA loans to Feb. 28.

Place your bet on Housing?

Today you can place bets online on everything from sports to the price of gas. And now you can bet on home prices! HedgeStreet.com is a U.S. governmentdesignated person-to-person online market where traders can hedge or speculate on economic events such as the price of gas, gold, and now housing. Currently, they only offer six markets (Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, and San Francisco). Central Ohio home prices must be too stable to interest adventurous traders.

Higher energy costs expected this winter - And firewood isn't the best answer

The U.S. Department of Energy is forecasting higher heating costs this winter due to tight international supplies and hurricaneinduced supply losses. The latest forecast puts natural gas at 38 percent higher and electricity at 7 percent higher than last winter. (These figures will be significantly higher if colder weather prevails.)

In response, the demand for firewood has increased. Although a true comparison of firewood and central heating sources is tough due to the number of variables (open fireplace, fireplace insert, efficiency of the appliance, insulation, etc.), the lack of proven savings and potential health problems should be considered.

When using an open fireplace, most of the heat goes up the flue, along with the $150 to $300 spent on the firewood. Wood and pellet- burning stoves, inserts and other appliances may be better but again are not typically central heating sources leaving many areas of the house unheated.

In addition, the incomplete combustion of wood emits particulate air pollution which can pose a health problem for people with asthma and other respiratory problems.

Weather conditions called atmospheric inversions can trap the dirty fog over basins, canyons, valleys and other landscapes where only a good stiff breeze will clear out the muck.

The EPA says open fireplaces emit the most gunk, 28 pounds of fine particles per million Btu of heat output compared to 4.6 pounds for uncertified wood burning stoves, 1.4 pounds for EPAcertified wood burning stoves, 0.49 pounds for pellet stoves, 0.013 for oil furnaces and 0.0083 for gas furnaces.

The best solution? Turn back your thermostat and dress warmer.

Question: Can I fax listing information?

Short Answer: Yes - if you have an established business relationship (EBR) OR if they request it. And you must provide a clearly visible option to opt out.

Long Answer . . .

The Telephone Consumer Protection act of 1991 (TCPA) prohibits sending unsolicited advertisements to a telephone facsimile machine.

Back in July 2003, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) changed its position on fax solicitations eliminating the exception for existing business relationships. Due to outcry over this change, the FCC postponed the effective date of the new rules three times, the latest date of which was January 9, 2006.

Then, last summer, all issues were finally resolved and S. 714, the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005, became effective on July 9, 2005. The new law does not legalize unsolicited fax advertisements or solicitations but does allow for an established business relationship exception. This includes: customers/ clients you are working with; other brokers with whom you have cooperated with; and general public requests for real estate information. Also, there is no time limit designated for an EBR like there is for the Do Not Call registry.

However, you must allow any recipient, whether you have a business relationship with them or not, to opt out of receiving faxes. The opt-out must be clear, conspicuous and located on the cover sheet or first page of the fax. Below is suggested wording:

"The recipient of this facsimile may request that the sender not send any future similar documents to a designated facsimile machine or machines. The sender's failure to comply, within the shortest reasonable time, with an appropriate request is unlawful. To opt out of further facsimile advertisements from this send, please (call or fax) (FILL-IN toll-free number) (email if desired) at any time on any day of the week."

For more info, visit REALTOR®.org and search `Do Not Fax' to access the field guide.

Avoid the Real Estate police in 2006 with these simple tips

DO NOT continue to practice real estate if your license has been returned
DO NOT lie to the Ohio Division of Real Estate
Put the money in the trust account
DO NOT pay yourself a commission before the transaction closes
DO NOT change horses in the middle of the stream without telling the horses (i.e. do not switch from a seller's/ seller's agent to a dual agent without full disclosure)

For a complete understanding of Ohio real estate law, visit the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing web site at www.com.state.oh.us/real.

Do Not Call

Although fairly well publicized, this point bears repeating in case some members are not aware?The FCC clarified their rules regarding calling For Sale By Owners whose number has been registered with the Do Not Call registry. Agents may call a FSBO if you have a buyer interested in purchasing the home. Agents may not call a FSBO to solicit the listing.