Tomorrow is the third day of photo shoots for agents getting free professional head shots for the website. Tomorrows schedule is completely filled and the finished photos are exceptional. Be sure to sign up when we do this again in the Fall.
Here are some examples of how your CirclePix virtual tour will look. Be sure to click the links along the left side when you are viewing the tours. One of the included features is a one page flyer you or your client or prospect can print. The MLS takes 16 photos so always upload that many to make the best virtual tours. These tours are also posted as youtube videos on our site, GreatHomesOnVideo.com If you have questions, our account manager is Quinn Youngberg <quinny@circlepix.com>
http://tours.charlesrutenbergre.com/home/KPNQZ5
http://tours.charlesrutenbergre.com/home/L68G2U
http://tours.charlesrutenbergre.com/home/5PG8FY
http://tours.charlesrutenbergre.com/home/XGCD5D
Click Here for the page covering the following.
April 30, 2012 is the deadline to transition your Illinois real estate license from Salesperson to Broker or Broker to Managing Broker.
NEW! Transition Home Study and Test Locations
IAR has added additional testing sites for members to take the proctored exam for Salesperson to Broker transition “30-Hour Home Study Course to Transition from Salesperson to Broker” (Item #625 in the IAR REALTOR® Store) AND the 45-hour home study course available from the IAR REALTOR® Store for $195 (Item #629). Order online from http://shop.illinoisrealtor.org (category “Pre-License”).
> To learn about what steps you need to take, and where to take the exams, go here.
Need CE before April 30? Think Green Home Study
If you need Continuing Education credits, consider the Green Home Study options, your most cost-effective option at $19.95 per 3-hour course and includes your proctored exam. Order from the IAR REALTOR® Store or download the Green Home Study order form (pdf).
Broker to Managing Broker Transition
Just getting started? Your best option is the 45-hour home study course available from the IAR REALTOR® Store for $195 (Item #629). After successful completion of this course and exam, you will have completed the required education hours to transition your license to the new Managing Broker category. NOTE: This course will exempt Managing Brokers from the 12-hour Broker Management CE. Managing Brokers will still be required to complete the 18 hours of regular CE by April 30, 2013. For this transition option, you must use the paper application form from IDFPR, and it must be postmarked by April 30, 2012.
Broker Staying Broker
Renew your broker license and complete 12 hours of CE by April 30, 2012.
Sole Proprietors
Remember, sole proprietors or “self-sponsored” brokers are required to either transition to the Managing Broker license or maintain your Broker license status and become sponsored by another sponsoring Broker.
Don’t Forget to Make Your Transition Application to IDFPR – Postmark by April 30
Here is the IDFPR link for the transition applications “Broker to Managing Broker Transition Application Form” or “Salesperson to Broker Transition/Renewal Application Form:” http://www.idfpr.com/DPR/RE/Forms/TransForms.asp. Applications MUST be mailed to IDFPR with a postmark no later than April 30, 2012. NOTE: Managing Brokers do not renew their license until 2013.
> Failure to complete the IDFPR transition application by April 30, 2012 could result in loss of your license even if you have completed the education requirement.
Continuing Education – All real estate licensees are required to complete continuing education (CE) during each two-year licensing period. Take CE courses from the convenience of your home with text-based and on-line programs, or find traditional classroom courses available throughout the state.
Use the IAR Education Lookup to check your CE status for IAR-sponsored education courses for Broker renewal, which is also required by April 30, 2012. (NOTE: Those transitioning to Managing Broker must transition by April 30, 2012 but won’t renew until April 30, 2013.) Only IAR-sponsored courses will appear.
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s CE Look Up.
Classroom, home study, online CE options – IAR REALTOR® Store 1-800-529-2696
Questions?
Orders from the IAR REALTOR® Store 1-800-529-2696
Exam locations and test results? smahinda@iar.org or aherr@iar.org
CE status? smahinda@iar.org or bcarver@iar.org
Transition & Proficiency Help Line: Call 877-538-5861 or Questions@IARlicenselaw.org
Transition Frequently Asked Questions
For licensure information contact the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, 217/785-9300, www.idfpr.com/dpr/re/realmain.asp.
The housing industry fell apart quickly and then began a protracted recovery.
Many housing markets hit bottom three years ago in early 2009 when prognosticators claimed that home prices had much further to fall, according to data released by Pro Teck Valuation Services.
The Waltham, Mass.-based real estate valuation firm explored the turnover rate (number of non-distressed sales divided by the total housing stock in a region) as an indication of future home prices. The analysis, the firm says, demonstrates that home prices in many areas are already rebounding from the bottom of the market.
“The Miami and Los Angeles markets are highly representative of what we foresee for most of the important coastal U.S. real estate markets,” Pro Teck Chief Executive Tom O’Grady said. “In particular, we see stabilizing and then gradually increasing prices over the next few years.” Read the full article
Here is a short video you can share with your prospects outlining the credentials of Charles Rutenberg Realty in Chicago. Click Here
Researchers from several universities have just completed a paper that looks at what they call the hurdle rate. This is the point at which it’s equally smart to rent or buy if your only criterion is to build wealth. Based on today’s hurdle rate, it’s a better time to buy than to rent, because you can build more wealth owning than renting.
By: Dave Matthews February 14, 2012
(Updated 5:55 p.m.)
(Crain’s) — Procrastination could come with a big price for local real estate agents who face a looming deadline to comply with new state licensing requirements.
Agents have until April 30 to complete the training and tests to meet the new rules, but only about 14,000, or 21 percent, out of 67,095 real estate professionals in the state have done so, says Jill Johnson, real estate coordinator at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which grants real estate licenses.
Those who miss the deadline must go through the onerous process of getting relicensed — if they want to stay in the profession.
Under the new regulations, real estate agents, or “salespeople” in regulatory parlance, will be called “brokers,” while professionals who head real estate offices, now known as “brokers,” will become “managing brokers.”
The new rules are part of a law passed in 2009 to “increase consumer protection and increase professional competency of real estate licensees,” Ms. Johnson says. Lawmakers “thought it would be helpful if the profession had higher requirements for learning and continuing education.”
But Chris Eigel, CEO of Chicago-based Prudential Rubloff Properties, doesn’t expect the new rules to make much difference beyond culling the real estate herd.
“It’s a lot more time and a lot more money than we’re used to, and when the dust all settles it’s the same thing as we had before, but different names,” Mr. Eigel says. “I’m not quite sure what it changes except that it will reduce number of licensees.”
Amid the residential slump, that is already happening naturally. The number of licensed real estate professionals in Illinois has fallen 16 percent since 2007, when 80,000 people held licenses, according to the state.
Salespeople have until March 15 to take a shortcut to a new broker license by taking a prep course, passing a proficiency exam and completing 15 hours of continuing-education courses, says Tina Stepaniak, director of professional development at the Chicago Association of Realtors. Managing brokers can do the same but must also take a 12-hour management course.
Brokers who miss the March 15 deadline must take a 30-hour course and a longer exam by April 30. Managing brokers who miss their deadline must complete a 45-hour course, take an exam and complete 15 hours of additional continuing education courses.
If professionals miss the April 30 deadline, they lose their license and must be relicensed all over again. A broker, for instance, must take 90 hours of coursework and pass exams to get a new license.
“As if they’re entering the field for the first time,” Ms. Stepaniak says.
Brokers must pay $275 to renew their licenses under the new law, up from $150 for a standard renewal in the past.
Between the time and money, many less active agents may just choose to let their licenses expire. Ms. Johnson, the state regulator, declines to speculate on how many will do that but says about 20 percent of the total typically chose not to renew each year under the old regulations.
(Note: This story has been updated to correct specifics on the continuing education required for real estate agents to be able to renew their licenses under the new state regulations.)
Read more: http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20120214/CRED0701/120219906/deadline-near-for-new-agent-license-requirements#ixzz1mUd2AYs2
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(Crain’s) — Chicago-area home sales jumped 20.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with the year-earlier period, a strong finish that led to the first yearly increase in sales since 2005.
For the third time in the past six months, NAR is being inundated with questions about a real estate transfer tax enacted as part of the Health Care reforms in 2010. THERE IS NO SUCH TAX. A viral Internet posting is riddled with errors.
The Health Care legislation did create a new tax that would apply to a portion of the gain on the sale of any capital asset (including real estate). That tax will apply ONLY to individuals with more than $200,000 Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) (or $250,000 AGI on a joint return). The tax does not apply to any amount excluded from taxation under the $250,000/$500,000 principal residence rules. The tax is never imposed directly on the full amount of any capital gain.
The tax is computed under a multi-step formula that captures only a portion of any gain and will only affect those with total AGI above the amounts noted above. Links are provided for a Q&A on the tax and to a brochure with examples of the tax.
