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July
13, 2007
Cadigan, Wluka Receive 2007 GBAR Awards
More than 200 people attended this year's GBAR awards banquet aboard the
Spirit of Boston yacht on July 10. This year's Greater Boston REALTOR® of
the Year is
Laurie E. Cadigan, a real estate broker and owner of Barrett & Co. in
Concord. David
Wluka of Wluka Real Estate in Sharon received the Andrew F. Hickey
Distinguished Service Award.
 Cadigan
has been a REALTOR® since 1988 and is a director and immediate past
president of the Greater Boston Association of REALTORS®. She is also
serving her second consecutive term as chairperson of the GBAR Nominating
Committee this year and is a trustee of the Greater Boston Real Estate
Board Foundation.
On the state level Cadigan has been a member
of the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® for the past three years, and
served as MAR’s regional vice president for Greater Boston in 2006.
A REALTOR® since 1976, Wluka is a current
director of the GBREB and is a chairman of the GBAR DR Dues Formula Task
Force this year. A past president and former clerk of the GBREB, he has
served on the GBREB Board of Directors for eight of the past 10 years and
was the Board’s MLP President from 1993-1994.
Throughout the past decade, Wluka has helped
champion housing affordability and smart growth residential development in
Massachusetts. Specifically, he has testified on behalf of the GBREB before
the state Legislature in support of initiatives aimed at increasing housing
production. He has served on several government and industry committees,
workgroups and forums examining zoning and land use regulation, including
Governor Cellucci’s Special Commission on Barriers to Housing, Cardinal
Law’s Coalition on Affordable Housing and State Rep. John Stasik’s Chapter
40A Study Committee.
Congratulations to both winners!
GBREB To Oppose New
Effort To Reinstate Rent Control In Boston
A public hearing for a new effort to reinstate rent control has been
scheduled for Thursday July 19 at 10:00 a.m. at Boston City
Hall. Greg Vasil, CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board is scheduled
to testify before the Committee On Government Operations in strong
opposition to Docket #0632 “An Ordinance Regarding Residential Dwelling
Units In The City Of Boston” or more commonly know as “tenant collective
bargaining.” GBREB opposes this
measure which will create a new layer of regulations, bureaucracy and cost
to virtually every aspect of the landlord tenant relationship and stifle
the production of housing.
The measure will give new
legal standing for tenant groups well beyond current law by requiring
landlords to negotiate rents and other related matters including lawful and
existing terms of a lease. Under the legislation if the landlord fails to
reach a satisfactory agreement with tenants through negotiation, a
non-compliance letter will be placed in their file by the City’s Rental
Housing Resource Center (RHRC). This letter can then be used by other City
agencies to deny a Landlord the ability to do business of any kind in the
City of Boston, even business wholly unrelated to the violation for which a
Non-Compliance Letter was issued. Examples include applying for a business
license, for a zoning variance, building permit, or bid for public land.
REALTORS®
are urged to contact members of the Committee.
Click Here to Action
Nomination Deadline Extended for 2008 GBAR
Officers and Directors
Are you a born leader? Would you like to play a more active role in setting
the direction of the REALTOR® organization on the local or state level? Do
you believe in giving back to the profession you belong to? If you answered
“yes” to any of these questions, we invite you to submit a nomination to
become an officer or director of the Greater Boston Association of
REALTORS® or director from GBAR to the Massachusetts Association of
REALTORS®.
The deadline to submit applications to the
GBAR Nominating Committee has been extended until July 30. Nominations of
all candidates meeting the qualifications of the office or position they
seek to hold in 2008 will be carefully considered by the Nominating
Committee later this summer, with a formal slate to be noticed to the
general membership in September and subsequently presented to the GBAR
Board of Directors for vote in October.
For more information or to download the GBAR
Officer & Director Nomination packet visit
www.gbar.org.
GBREB Supports Bill Clarifying Landlocked Tidelands
The Greater Boston Real Estate Board’s CEO Gregory P. Vasil recently
testified before the Joint Committee on Natural Resources & Agriculture in
support of HB 3757 filed by Governor Deval Patrick. Vasil urged swift
passage of legislation intended to clarify a recent decision made by the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) regarding landlocked tidelands
that has caused tremendous uncertainty regarding waterfront development.
This issue not only affects the development and finance sectors, but
residential and commercial brokerage as well; impacting land located in
over 40 different communities.
It was just this past
February that the courts issued a decision concerning Chapter 91, a
colonial era statute that allows the general public access to the ocean and
great ponds for “fishing, fowling and navigation,” (at the time these
industries were the foundation for the state’s economy). As the population
grew, however, many of tidelands were filled and developed, such as the
Back Bay. Coastal communities and those that border bodies of water are
affected by this issue. For more than 15 years the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) has been administering the law and
authorizing permits for development of such areas that do not border
water. However, the SJC decision stated that the DEP does not have that
authority, which brings tremendous uncertainty to the marketplace resulting
in all projects becoming subject to legislative review and approval.
GBREB will continue to
be engaged on this issue and will keep you abreast of future developments.
Congressman Frank Files Affordable Housing
Bill
This month U.S. House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank of
Massachusetts introduced the "National
Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007" H.R. 2895. The fund is
independent from federal appropriations, as money will be generated from
Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) and the
Federal Housing Administration’s Home
Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program.
The fund will be administered by the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
with 60 percent of the money going to cities and counties and remaining 40
percent to states.
Those eligible include non-profits, agencies
and faith-based organizations. The money must be used to build,
rehabilitate and preserve 1.5 million units of housing within the next 10
years. Additionally, 75 percent of the funds must be used for housing for
extremely low income people (those earning less than 30% of the median).
The remaining 25% can be used for families who make below 80% of the
median.
Tighter Underwriting Standards Urged for Subprime Lenders
Federal banking regulators last month urged subprime mortgage lenders to
adopt tighter underwriting standards and better consumer protection
practices. The guidance aims to avoid key problems that lead to foreclosure
on subprime loans such as prepayment penalties, balloon payments, and the
unexpected burden of taxes and insurance. Certain adjustable rate mortgages
(ARMs) such as “2/28” mortgages, can also impose unaffordable “payment
shock” on borrowers when the payments reset.
To tackle these issues, The National
Association of REALTORS® recently published their newest consumer education
brochures “How
to Avoid Foreclosure and Keep Your Home” and “How
to Avoid Predatory Lending.”
Some of the standards suggested by the
federal banking regulators include:
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Lenders should consider the fully indexed,
fully amortizing monthly payment, not the initial “teaser rate” when
determining whether a borrower will be able to repay the loan.
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Prepayment penalties should not extend beyond
the reset period and should give borrowers at least a 60-day window before
the end of the initial period to refinance without penalty.
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Lenders should use “stated income”
underwriting only if there are mitigating factors present such as: a
borrower who wishes to refinance an existing mortgage under a similar
amount and terms has a good payment history; there are verified and readily
available reserves demonstrating repayment capacity.
Rise to the Next Level with MAR
The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is hosting its 2007 conference
and tradeshow themed "Rise to the Next Level" from October 10-11 at the
Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence.
Attendees can earn up to 12 continuing
education credits over the two day period. There are numerous education
tracks available, including Closing and Settlement; Residential Mortgage &
Credit; Dispute Resolution and Procuring Cause; and Broker Owner – Risk
Management.
The early bird price for MAR members is $99
up until August 1. The cost includes admission to the keynote speaker – Dan
Thurmon and Mark Lesswing’s NAR Technology Update, admission to the 24
educational sessions, up to 12 hours of continuing education credits and
access to the conference and tradeshow.
For more information visit
www.marconvention.com.
$1,000
Scholarships Available to local
REALTORS®
Do you want to further your real estate career but can’t afford to do so?
The Massachusetts Association of
REALTORS® is awarding 10 $1,000 scholarships to applicants
demonstrating a commitment to the real estate industry, a plan to advance
their real estate career and financial need.
If selected, the grant may be used to
complete coursework in areas including professional designations; second
languages; business degrees; or broker designations. Recipients have 24
months from the award date to complete appropriate coursework and collect
their grant.
The application deadline is August 1, 2007. A
completed one-page
application form is required. Questions can be directed to MAR Customer
Service at 1-800-725-6272.
Increase Your Productivity with the Floyd Wickman Training
Program
Are you looking to
improve your sales skills, build your referral business, and stay ahead of
the competition? If so, we invite you to attend a free information session
on the
Floyd Wickman S.M.A.R.T. program. The S.M.A.R.T. program is an
intense, seven-day training course which the Greater Boston Association of
REALTORS® is hosting for agents in the local market later this summer. The
information session, which is open to any GBAR member, is scheduled for
Thursday, July 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel,
342 Speen Street in Natick.
At this presentation,
you will learn how the S.M.A.R.T. program can enhance your business skills
and increase productivity, through a result-oriented curriculum that
focuses on five specific areas of personal and professional development --
Selling Skills;
Mentor Groups;
Attitude;
Referral Relationships; and
Time Control.
The S.M.A.R.T. program
will be presented over a seven-week period in August (Aug. 9, 16, 23, 30)
and September (Sept. 5, 14, 21), just in-time to prepare you for
late-summer/early-fall selling season. With many graduates of the
S.M.A.R.T. program closing up to 30 transactions per year, and generating
two or more referral leads per week, there’s no reason not to attend the
free information session about the program. To register for the July 26
session, contact Ramona Williams at
813-383-6995 or send an e-mail to
RamonaJWilliams@hotmail.com.
Enhance Your Market Position with GBAR's
Six Credit CEU Course
On July 23, GBAR will offer courses to cultivate and enhance your market
position. Earn 2 C.E. credits for each module. Registration for the day
begins at 9:00 a.m.
1. 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Understanding Title and
Title Concerns
2. 11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. Condominiums,
Cooperatives, Timeshares
3. 2:45 – 4:45 p.m. 1031 Exchanges
Seating is limited to 30 students per module.
Member cost for the program is $45 per module or $105 for all three.
For more information or to register online
Click Here
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