President’s Message
Dear CAR Members,

The Coastal Association of REALTORS® (CAR) held a General Membership Meeting on January 17 at the Ocean City Convention Center that was attended by 100 members. If you were unable to attend I would like to recap the items discussed.

Teresa Fields, CAR’s new Executive Officer, was introduced and gave brief summary of her expectations are for the future of CAR. She will take over the reigns of CAR on February 11. That also happens to be the date of an orientation session for new members. So if you are a new agent and have not been contacted, please call the CAR office to RSVP.

Suzanne Murray from the Delmarva Red Cross was introduced. She spoke about the 10th Annual Beach Blanket Blood Drive to be held January 29-30 at the Ocean City Convention Center. This event is co-sponsored with CAR and Ocean City. She invited everyone to participate in this important event, either by being a donor or volunteering. If anyone is interested, you may contact the CAR office at 410-641-4409.

Gregg Holland, Vice President, gave a brief demonstration of the new lockbox. In June, CAR will be switching from Suprakey to Sentrilock. More details will follow. There will be training sessions in May and a notice will be sent out once dates are finalized.

The committee chairs were invited to give an update on their committees. Anyone who would like to serve on a committee may contact the CAR office.

Terry Daly, Secretary/Treasurer, gave a report on the CAR’s finances. He said within the next few days a financial statement will be posted on the CAR Web site.

A poll was taken as to whether CAR should continue with the Award of Excellence function. It was agreed that we would continue the function, but instead of a breakfast, there will be a cocktail reception sometime in March. CAR members will be notified as soon as there is a confirmed date.

Before the meeting was adjourned questions were taken from the audience. There will be another General Membership Meeting sometime in the late spring. Thank you all for attending and we will keep you informed of all of the upcoming events.

Hope to see all of you at the blood drive on January 29 & 30.

Sincerely,
Cassie Mead, President
Coastal Association of REALTORS®

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Special Seminar!
Mark your calendars!... The Coastal Association of REALTORS® and the Women’s Council of REALTORS® are presenting DARRYL DAVIS, a nationally known real estate speaker to show us “How To Be Great In 2008.” Don’t miss this rare opportunity! The seminar will be held on Friday, February 29, from 9 a.m. to Noon at the Holiday Inn on 66th Street in Ocean City. COST: $25 for WCR members; $50 for CAR members. Please see the attached flyer for further information. Registration will be available soon on our Web site.

 
2008 Dues Are Past Due
Board dues are now past due and late-paying members have been assessed a $50 late fee. Any member who has not paid their 2008 CAR dues by close of business on Thursday, January 31, will have their membership services, including ARIS, suspended. An additional $75 reinstatement fee will be assessed to reactivate your services.

2008 Awards of Excellence
Entry forms for the 2007 Awards of Excellence have been faxed to all offices. Please note that the deadline for entries is Friday, February 1. Entries received after that date will be ineligible. Please use the guidelines online when applying for an award (available in Word and PDF formats).

Community Service Update

• BEACH BLANKET BLOOD DRIVE : The 10th Annual Beach Blanket Blood Drive will be held January 29 &30 at the Ocean City Convention Center. We are looking for blood donors and volunteers to work the event. The Ccommittee is trying to beat last years record by 10%. The DelMarva Blood Bank and the Community Service Committee need at least 700 qualified donors to make that goal. Please e-mail Terry of Shamock Realty Group at tltestani@mchsi.com or Cindy Poremski of ReMax Premier Properties at cindy@OCconnection.com to volunteer your time to man the event. Also, don’t forget your hawaiian shirt/beach attire for the "Beach Blanket" Blood Drive. Calling to schedule your donor appointment is not neccessary, but is greatly appreciated. Walk-ins are welcome! Volunteers please arrive 10 minutes before your scheduled time. The time slots are listed below. Seven persons are needed for each time slot to man all stations.
  • Tuesday, January 29: 9:30-11 a.m., 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 1-3 p.m., 3-5 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.
• CELL PHONE DRIVE: "Reach out and touch someone!" By donating a used, functional, cleared of all contacts cell phone in the month of January. Prudential/Carruthers offices from Salisbury to Ocean City and the World Gym on 67th Street, Ocean City are drop off locations. All proceeds will be donated to the Sunshine Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to children with cancer. They provide positive group activities and emotional support for young cancer patients. The Sunshine Kids also provide a variety of programs and events, free of charge for kids who are receiving cancer treatments in hospitals across America. This donation may be used as a tax deduction. For additional information and the organization’s tax ID number please visit The Sunshine Kids Web site.
  
• TELL US WHAT YOU’VE DONE: At this time of year so many of our members help others, so please let us know by e-mailing info@coastalrealtor.org. Whether it was adopting a family, collecting "Toys for Tots" etc. Even if it was through your church or a local organization. We want to know about it. Next year we would like to collect another C.A.R.E. award at the MAR Covention. With your help we can do that. We just need to know:
  • Who it benefited?
  • Dollar amount collected?
  • How many man hours you volunteered?

What Is An e-Pro?
You may have noticed your REALTOR® is also an e-PRO. What does that mean exactly? Full story >>

New Member Orientation and Ethics Training Please note that New Member Orientation and 3 CEU required Ethics training is being offered Monday, February 11 at the CAR office. New members can sign up for the entire day FREE!   That’s right, rookies can take the required 3 CE training for free as long as they take it on their New Member Orientation day. Upcoming Continuing Education Classes CLASS INSTRUCTORS TIME Monday, February 11 at the CAR Association office offered by CAR and the WCR 314 Franklin Avenue, Suite 106, Berlin, MD Register Now! New Member Orientation and "Ethics, Predatory Lending, Flipping" Seminar 3 hrs MD. Ethics (Category D) WCR, Carl E. Ortman and Ned Delaney 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Tuesday, February 26 at the Carousel Hotel offered by The Frederick Academy 11700 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD Mark Your Calendars! New Bankruptcy Reform Act 3 hrs MD. legal update, 3 hours DE elective Al Monshower, Esq. 9 a.m. - Noon Procuring Cause 3 hrs MD / DE elective Al Monshower, Esq. 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.   To register for the Feb. 26 classes, see The Frederick Academy website or call 1-800-854-0950. Each class costs $35. Did you Know? The interest rates are as low as they were 3 years ago when the market was boomimg. Tell all your clients that this is the time to buy! Mortgage Market Forecast 2008 By Barry Habib and Sue Woodard, Mortgage Market Guide Housing—Deal or No Deal? Home prices dropped between 5 to 10% in 2007, but there was no "bubble". 2008 will be another down year for housing with similar declines in prices - but will also mark a bottoming out. The thing of it is. . .you can’t see a bottom until you are already past it, much like how we always see refinance activity pick up when rates start rising from their lowest levels! 2008 will see great deals for housing and real estate. Rising incomes and lower home prices will make real estate more affordable, as some of the excesses are washed out. Now more than ever, make sure you stay in touch with your client database and referral partners to educate them on what’s happening, and how the present market creates opportunities for them. Drum Roll Please. . . Mortgage Rates for 2008 will be... volatile. We see a much wider range than in the past few years, with sharp moves and intra-day repricing becoming commonplace. In 2007, we correctly forecast the range to be from 5.875 - 6.625%, which was narrower than the range in 2006. But this year, 30-Year Zero point Conforming loans will likely touch a bottom near 5.5%, and approach a spike near 7%. As inflation creeps in, 2008 will see a slightly higher sweet spot than 2007, somewhere around 6.25%. But one important development for rates in 2008 will be the rebirth of Adjustable Rate Mortgages—the old fashioned kind. 3 and 5-Year ARM’s will benefit from the Fed Rate cuts…and so will you, especially those in Jumbo markets. As rates remain volatile, make sure you’re keeping your clients and prospects educated on what’s happening and why. Read daily updates, build your database and pound the phone. When your clients and referral partners see that you have your thumb on the pulse and are a real professional, this will translate into more business and more referrals. Success in 2008 For you, 2008 will be exactly what you make of it. If you listen to the media and the whiners, it will be a tough year. But if you look for the opportunities, and use the tools at your fingertips, 2008 will provide you with enormous opportunity to build your database and your bank account. Consider this: 60% of your competitors are reducing operations or gone. The Fed will be cutting. Home prices are cheaper. The real estate and associated businesses are in a radical transition - but if you make the right moves in the coming year, you will look back and see 2008 as the turning point in your successful career. Stay alert. Keep your eyes and ears open. Be the expert, and hit the streets with your insight. The coming year will be full of changes and volatility. . .but remember that whoever says it can’t be done, is generally interrupted by someone doing it. It can be done. Don’t let anyone stop you from making this a great year. We at the Mortgage Market Guide appreciate you—our family of subscribers—and we will keep doing our part to help keep you informed and advised every step of the way during 2008.