By Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Shortly after the federal government enacted sweeping healthcare reform earlier this year, there was considerable concern over a last-minute addition to the legislation: a 3.8 percent tax on investment income of upper-income households to help shore up Medicare. The tax takes effect in 2013.
Among the concerns expressed among consumers and business people, including real estate professionals, both then and today, is that the tax amounts to a transfer tax on real estate. Not true, NAR Director of Tax Policy Linda Goold says.
Here’s how the tax works. For individuals earning $200,000 a year or more and married couples earning $250,000 a year or more, certain investment income above these income levels might be subject to the 3.8 percent tax on a portion of that income. I say “might” because whether the tax applies or not depends on many factors having to do with the kind and amount of the investment income the household receives.
Investment income includes capital gains, dividends, interest payments, and, for those who own rental property, net rental income.
By Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
All REALTORS® know how to use the term REALTOR®—until they don’t. The fact is, even members of NAR occasionally slip up and use “REALTOR®” as a generic term for real estate sales associate or broker. That’s understandable, because you can’t know ahead of time all the ways you might use the term in your business or in your marketing.
Luckily, there’s an easy rule of thumb that can help you get it right consistently. Before you use the term “REALTOR®,” replace it with the term “member” and see if the use makes sense. Thus, if you’re tempted to say in a marketing blurb, “Call me: I’m your Reno Realtor,” you just need to re-phrase your blurb as, “Call me: I’m your Reno member” and see if that sounds right. If it doesn’t, and it shouldn’t, then you know you’re probably using the term generically. What you mean to say, most likely, is someting like, “Call me: I’m your Reno real estate professional.”
There are plenty of precedents of branding terms becoming, or getting close to becoming, generic: “Xerox,” “hi-fi,” “Jell-O,” “velcro,” “zipper,” yo-yo,” thermos,” “kerosene,” aspirin,” butterscotch,” among others.
By Katherine Tarbox, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Every time I saw the June 2004 REALTOR® Magazine cover with Wade Hanson in the opening credits of this season’s “The Apprentice” with Donald Trump, I realized that the honor of being named a “30 Under 30” is a career-defining moment for many young practitioners. When I started with the magazine two years ago, one of my first charges was to take over the program, and I was excited by the idea of hunting for the best that the real estate industry has to offer under the age of 30. Even now, one of my favorite days of the year is when I get to send out the e-mail to the honorees letting them know that they were chosen. Conversely, some of the hardest phone calls I take each year are explaining why someone wasn’t picked.
The process for being named a “30 Under 30,” should not be a mysterious one. It starts by your writing an awesome application, which then goes into the hands of several judges. Last year, we reviewed a record number of applications, and I gathered judges for several rounds of debating and negotiating over the candidates.
Here are some tips to help you fill out the most appealing application:
Spell check. Simple enough, I know, but sadly we see applications with grammatical and spelling errors. I know one judge in particular was turned off by this: “How could he produce $10 million in sales volume and not bother to perform a 30-second spell check?” Do us a favor, and just click that simple button in Word.
It’s not a numbers game. Your sales volume counts, but it’s not the be-all, end-all for an application. Numbers mean different things depending on what part of the country you live in. Also, a high sales volume without much innovation doesn’t seem to impress the judging panel. They seem drawn to people who are thinking differently about the industry and are implementing practices never seen before. And your sales volume could actually be zero if you’ve done something such as founding ActiveRain.com or transforming the technology of your brokerage. Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
On this Veterans Day, take the time to learn what you can do as a real estate professional to make a difference in the lives of returning Iraq and Afghanistan soldiers. One place you can start is heroeswelcomehome.com. This winning Game Changer program was developed by Bill Wald with the Chicago Association of REALTORS® to teach practitioners the best ways they can serve veterans in their community.
The following story ran in the Sunday/Monday edition of Show Daily at the 2010 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in New Orleans this week:
Bill Wald speaking at the Equal Opportunity and Cultural Diversity Forum during NARdiGras on Friday, Nov. 5
Tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers return from Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries that have resulted in disabilities. These veterans have special needs when it comes to their homes. That’s where Bill Wald comes in.
Wald, business and professional development senior director at the Chicago Association of REALTORS®, developed Heroes Welcome Home, a program that prepares real estate professionals to work with veterans on their housing needs. “We wanted to educate REALTORS® on the physical and mental disabilities of the men and women coming back from the wars,” said Wald, who presented during the Equal Opportunity and Cultural Diversity Forum Friday, Nov. 5.
Heroes Welcome Home was one of the 14 winning Game Changer proposals selected by NAR in November 2009. Wald and his team received funds from NAR to develop a curriculum and implement an education program. Continue reading »
By Wendy Cole, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
REALTOR® Magazine wants to hear from broker-owners who have substantially updated or redesigned their brokerage space over the past two years.
To participate in the contest, please go to http://www.realtor.org/rmobrokers/articles/2010/brokeragedesigncontest to complete an online form.
Winners will receive an iPad and be featured in REALTOR® Magazine.
We look forward to hearing from you.
By Wendy Cole, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
It was a fabulous night for country music sensation Miranda Lambert who took home four wins Wednesday at the Country Music Association Awards. The importance of “home” was similarly feted last night as Lambert’s moving performance in “The House That Built Me” helped the tune earn Song of the Year and Video of the Year honors. The song, which attests to the powerfully enduring influence of one’s childhood home, was co-written by Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin. We were lucky enough to snag an interview with Douglas just prior to awards night.
Look for Douglas’ reflections on the song, and information about his early career in commercial real estate sales, in the February 2011 issue REALTOR® Magazine.
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
From beginners to pros, WordPress Camp had something to offer every blogger at the 2010 REALTORS® Conference & Expo Monday. Technology and marketing experts presented dual-track sessions for novice bloggers and advanced WordPress users.
Blogging has proven to be a valuable tool for real estate professionals to demonstrate industry and community knowledge, as well as express identity and brand. The sessions provided tips to help leverage the medium and connect with potential clients.
“WordPress is a perfect forum for real estate Web sites,” said presenter and co-WordPress Camp organizer Dustin Luther with 4realz. “There’s a lot of talk right now about marketing via social media. But we really wanted to focus on creating a great Web site.”
Presenter Steve Zehngut, from Zeek Interactive, honed in on integrating real estate tools on a WordPress blog.
When choosing a theme – or the overall design of your WordPress Web site – Zehngut recommended Woo Themes, which provides customizable Web designs for $70 to $200.
Zehngut also listed a few must-have plugins for a real estate WordPress site: Continue reading »
By Robert Freedman, senior editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Commercial economic update
Lack of financing will continue to hamper commercial real estate transactions going into 2011 but there are some positive signs on the horizon, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told REALTORS® last week at the NAR Conference & Expo in New Orleans.
Right now there is a lack of buyers for commercial properties in all sectors but that’s a function of the tight lending environment, not of a lack of interest in deals, he said. With cap rates on properties in the different sectors averaging about 9 percent, there will be no shortage of buyers once lenders start easing credit availability, he said.
Yun thinks that could happen as soon as next year, because lenders are sitting on plenty of cash from strong profits and pressure could be building for them to start deploying that cash. At some point, he said “they must get back into the business for which they were created, and that’s making loans.”
Separately, Hugh Kelly of the University of New York said later in the same session at which Yun spoke that the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market is making a small but steady comeback, and appeared poised to reach a significant amount soon, suggesting a growing appetite among investors for higher-yield investments. “Investors want to get back into riskier investments,” he said.
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