DESIGNATED
REALTOR
®
ISSUE 3: June 2021
BUYER LOVE LETTERS ARE NOT THE ANSWER NJREALTOR.COM
I M P O R TA N T D AT E S & D E A D L I N E S
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
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Board of Directors Meeting
Flag Day
Independence Day
National Financial Awareness Day
NJ Realtors® Office Closed— Labor Day
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Eid al-Adha Begins
Rosh Hashanah Begins
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Juneteenth
Grandparents Day
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Father’s Day
Yom Kippur
WHAT’S BUZZING IN REAL ESTATE?
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Remind your agents the New Jersey Real Estate Commission processing fee (late fee) continuing education deadline for the 2021 term was May 31. Licensees may submit CE credits until July 19, 2021 but are subject to the $200 late fee. The new 2023 CE term begins on July 20, 2021.
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According to Apartment Therapy, some pandemic renovation trends may end up being duds in a few years. Trends like statement appliances, home gyms, and wooden decks may not be here to stay as life begins to get back to normal. Read more about pandemic renovation trends here.
The Wall Street Journal and realtor.com® teamed up to research inventory drops in zip codes with median sales prices of $750,000 and up. The results showed that the highest drops in inventory were in vacation destinations like the Jersey Shore—read more here.
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Realtor® Magazine reported that mortgage rate declines won’t last. National Association of Realtors® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun predicts mortgage rates will average 3.2 percent by the end of the year. Read more here.
Are 5G connection speeds on your buyer’s musthave list? According to a survey by Verizon, 87 percent of consumers say that a home with access to fifth-generation Internet networks could make the property more valuable. Read the Realtor® Magazine article here.
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Are your clients planning a kitchen remodel after they move in? Help them ensure they’ll get a good return on investment with these seven smart strategies from Houselogic.
Pump Up the Volume Amp Up Your Career J
Begin by logging in to c2ex.realtor, using your National
oin nearly 80,000 Realtors® who have committed themselves to excellence by earning their Realtors
®
Association of Realtors® login, and take the competency
Commitment to Excellence endorsement, a learning program
assessments. The assessments measure your proficiency in
designed to enhance professionalism and industry knowledge.
specific areas and determine your commitment to excellence learning plan. From there, the program will assign you learning topics in each of the competencies.
ADVOCACY
BROKER
SAFEGUARD PRIVACY
CLIENT SERVICE
REAL ESTATE LAW ®
Whether you’re a broker, sales associate, or referral agent, you can be an advocate for the future of the real estate industry and commit yourself to excellence.
REALTORS
CODE OF ETHICS
FAIR HOUSING REPUTATION
COMMITMENT TO EXCELENCE
AREAS OF PRACTICE
TRUST & INTEGRITY
TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL
Once you complete the learning portion of the endorsement, you can move on to the task portion. For each competency, there are assigned tasks that go along with it such as attending a community meeting, reading the Code of Ethics, registering to vote, enhancing your digital presence, and more. Once the tasks are completed, you have completed your endorsement, but it’s not the end of the journey towards excellence. As the industry evolves, so does C2EX. Realtors® who earn their endorsement with be invited back to keep their skills up to date.
Designated REALTOR® | JUNE 2021 | 1
Don’t Fall in Love with Love Letters BY BARRY S. GOODMAN, ESQ.
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t’s a hot market and there are multiple offers on properties, so what can your buyer do to make their offer stand out? Should your buyer submit a so-called “love letter” to the seller with personal information in order to make their offer more compelling? The seller wants as much information as possible before deciding which offer to accept, so should the seller consider love letters from buyers? And what policy should a broker have regarding love letters? Recently, love letters have become a more common practice. In a love letter the buyer may include that they can picture their children playing in the backyard; or write the house is perfect because it is so close to a church, synagogue or mosque; or say that she and her wife can see themselves relaxing in the family room. Although love letters seem harmless on the surface, it almost is inevitable that such love letters will include personal information that will allow the seller to determine if the
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buyer is in a class that is protected under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) or the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD). While the seller may not consciously discriminate against any potential buyer based upon such information, there always is the possibility that this information may affect the seller’s decision not to sell the property to a particular buyer. Of course, once the buyer has invested the emotional energy needed to provide a compelling love letter, the buyer has a vested interest in that home. It’s possible that if the buyer’s offer is not accepted, they may feel the seller was discriminating against them because of their protected status, and therefore file a discrimination complaint against the seller. The buyer would undoubtedly include the broker in the complaint. Under the FHA, it is unlawful to discriminate in the sale or leasing of dwellings based on race, color, religion, sex, familiar status, national origin or disability. However, the FHA generally does not apply to single-family houses that are sold or
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rented by an owner who does not own more than three singlefamily houses, does not reside in the house and was not the most recent resident prior to the sale. However, the FHA does apply if such an owner retains a real estate broker. The LAD protects more groups against discrimination. It prohibits landlords, sellers and real estate licensees from discriminating against people based upon race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, familial status, pregnancy or breastfeeding, sex, gender identity or affection, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, nationality or source of lawful income used for a rental or mortgage payment. However, the LAD has the same exception as the FHA for a single-family house that is sold or rented by an owner, except that the LAD’s exception only is for an owner who does not own more than two single-family houses. As a result of this potential for discrimination that could arise from love letters, the National Association of Realtors® has provided the following best practices to protect you and your clients from fair housing liability:
1. Educate your clients about the fair housing laws and the pitfalls of buyer love letters. 2. Inform your clients that you will not deliver buyer love letters and advise others that no buyer love letters will be accepted as part of the MLS listing. 3. Remind your clients that their decision to accept or reject an offer should be based on objective criteria only. 4. If your client insists on drafting a buyer love letter, do not help your client draft or deliver it. 5. Avoid reading any love letters drafted or received by your client. 6. Document all offers received and the seller’s objective reason for accepting an offer. It therefore is strongly recommended that brokers develop an officewide policy that they will not accept buyers’ love letters on behalf of a seller and that they will advise sellers not to consider love letters. A candid discussion should be held with sellers during the listing presentation and buyers when you begin working with them so that they know you will not accept or participate in drafting love letters because of the potential for discrimination that could result from a love letter.
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The New Safety Standard R
ealtors® face unique challenges when it comes to keeping safe in the workplace. Your business plan can expose you to strangers and situations that may heighten your risk of danger every day. Encourage your agents to be proactive when it comes to personal safety—it’s the greatest business investment you can make. Just a little preparation can go a long way. Make safety a priority for your agents by scheduling a time your office can hold a safety presentation or work on safety materials together. New Jersey Realtors® recommends developing an office safety plan where there are protocols in place for meeting with clients, obtaining identification, a distress code system, a buddy system, and more. Download these documents to enable and encourage safe work habits. Prospect Identification Form Agent Identification Form Agent Itinerary Form
Did You Know? The National Association of Realtors® can be notified of critical Realtor®related issues where a safety alert can be sent to membership should it fit the criteria. Criteria includes: a Realtor® or immediate family member is missing, the association’s name is being used fraudulently to collect money or information improperly, and/or there is a physical threat that warrants Realtors® attention. If there is a situation that does not meet this criteria but is still a safety issue, you can notify your local board. If there is an immediate emergency, please call 9-1-1. Click here to learn more.
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Member Perks Partners to Help Keep You Safe New Jersey Realtors® is proud to have partnerships with companies that provide discounts and special offers on products and services to help keep you safe. Click here to learn more about NJ Realtors® Member Perks Partners.
Safe Showings A technology solution that helps Realtors® by identifying where they are and who they are with or meeting. The SafeShowings dashboard allows brokers access to showings, property location, client contact information, and the client’s image.
POM A safety device that pairs with your smart phone, and when activated, instantly and discreetly sends an alert to emergency dispatchers and your trusted contacts. POM can also dial your phone to get you out of an uncomfortable situation.
LifeLock Technology that helps prevent data breaches and identity theft by monitoring credit file activity, online loans, and more.
Top Safety Tips Tell your office where you are at all times. Let your office know what house you’re showing at what time. Let someone know how long you’re expected to be gone so that if you don’t show up within a reasonable time, someone knows to check in on you. Stay safe at open houses. Don’t have an open house alone, if possible. If you’re showing clients a home, have them walk in front of you. Don’t allow yourself to be backed into a corner. When an open house is over, check all the rooms before you lock up. Look around. Know where you are, what’s around you, and how to always leave. Keep it professional. Whether it’s your marketing materials or your online persona, be polished and businesslike. Your clients need to know you as a Realtor®, not on a personal level. Don’t feel like you need to offer up personal information and details, such as where you live or where you go after work. Stay in touch. Your cell phone should be always charged, especially if you are going to be alone. Keep it on you when you walk through houses, in your car, and with clients. Be safe on social media. It’s a great tool to keep in your quiver but remember that this is your business. Not every one of your followers needs to know you’re working late at the office or that no one has showed up to your open house yet.
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Discover Ways to Generate More Leads with realtor.com® If you or your agents set out to have more listings in 2021, now’s your chance to learn about strategies to help achieve that goal. On Tuesday, June 8 at 2 p.m., Realtor.com is hosting an exclusive free webinar for New Jersey Realtors® members—The Top 10 Ways to Generate Listings in 2021!
Meet the Speakers Andrew Dorn
Register Here.
JUNE 8
Join Vice President of realtor.com® Andrew Dorn and co-founder of Curaytor, a real estate marketing strategy tool, Chris Smith as they present strategies and tactics used by top agents around the country to secure more listings.
Several hundred attendees have been surveyed and over 97 percent would recommend this webinar to their fellow Realtor®.
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Dorn has 15 years of experience as a national speaker reaching over 150,000 Realtors® and brokers across the U.S. and Canada. Dorn is a powerful and dynamic speaker focusing on implementing technology, effective marketing strategies, and relevant tools that benefit real estate professionals in today’s market.
Chris Smith Smith is a USA Today best-selling author and the co-founder of Curaytor, a Facebook Advertising, digital marketing, and modern sales company that helps businesses grow faster. In the last four years, he used the blueprint in his book, The Conversion Code, to grow Curaytor to nearly $15 million in annual, recurring revenue without raising any venture capital. His work has been featured in AdWeek, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, Fortune, The Huffington Post and more. His first book, Peoplework, raised over $73,000 on Kickstarter, has more than 50,000 copies in circulation, and received endorsements from the CEO of Zappos and Gary Vaynerchuk.
