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Creating an Online Presence: A Guide for New REALTORS®
Build your digital presence fast and cost effectively
WEBSITE
Claim your free REALTOR Branding Kit at get.realtor/partners/faar. The branding kit ($69.95 total retail value) includes
- FREE .realtor™ domain using your name for the first year ($39.95 value)
- FREE matching email address for the first year ($30 value).
- FREE Professional Website, a customizable professional single page web site.
- Example website: https://www.dealcloserdoug.realtor.
Whether you use the professional website offered here, connect your domain to your realtor.com profile page, or point it to an existing site …The branding kit includes simplified step by step directions and videos to show you how to take your branding to the next level.
Services like Placester ($59.99/month) or WordPress ($25/month) may also be efficient and budget-friendly website management solutions for your website.
Pay MRIS / Bright MLS for your data feed “idx” ($10/month or if multiple sites, $12.50/month). Embed feed in website.
EMAIL MARKETING
Capture emails of potential clients with Mailchimp, a free (up to so many contacts) mass email service that manages collecting emails, allowing you to build and send emails and email templates, and aiding in keeping your emails CAN-SPAM compliant. Emails to over 500 recipients must contain your business address, an unsubscribe link, and you must honor a contact’s unsubscribe within 10 days. Mailchimp will generate the email capture tool you can embed in your website, the best location to drive your contacts and collect leads.
BUSINESS FACEBOOK PAGE
- Log in to your personal Facebook account
- Go to “Create a Page.”
- Select your business category (local business)
- Upload your profile picture
- Fill in your company information (link to your website and other social sites here)
- Add in a cover photo (link to your website and other sites in the description here too)
- Start sharing engaging updates that drive your audience to your email capture and idx feed
OTHER ONLINE PROFILES
The online portal Realtor.com operates in tandem with NAR through an operating agreement. Claim your Realtor.com profile and fill in your bio and picture. Why? Customers are spending more time on REALTOR.com per session than any other sites excluding amazon, youtube, facebook. They search for realtors by zip code, then highest recommendation or highest rating (so start getting those recommendations and ratings!).
Establish a presence on Zillow and Trulia so you know what consumers are seeing on these sites
Establish a presence on Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter, or wherever your target audience is present (Manage up to 3 accounts with a tool like Hootsuite.com or set up the tool “If This Then That (ifttt)” to autopublish from one channel to another)
EXPENSE AND MILEAGE TRACKING
Track your mileage and/or expenses easily with apps like Expensify, MileIQ, Everlance, Hurdlr (premium versions cost $60 annually)
REALTOR® EXCLUSIVE TOOLS
Need to run Comps? REALTORS Property Resource (RPR) and RPR mobile are two exclusive REALTOR® tools offered by NAR.
Spread the word—Photofy is a social media sharing application that makes it easy to share NAR’s “That’s Who We R” campaign graphics customized with your contact information.
The Virginia REALTORS® Tech Helpline offers support for hardware, software, networking and digital devices. Members can contact friendly and knowledgeable analysts via phone at 1-800-276-4216, e-mail, or online chat for help with any device. The Tech Hotline will troubleshoot problems and offer solutions, often by ‘remoting in’ to your computer while you relax. The customer care team can advise you on hardware and software purchasing, and most importantly, they are especially attuned to your needs as a REALTOR®.
The Virginia REALTORS® Legal Hotline is a member benefit and the fastest way to get vital answers on questions about Virginia real estate law as well as timely information on legal and regulatory issues concerning the real estate industry.
The FAAR Technology Committee facilitates a Tech Time workshop every other 2nd Tuesday of the month from 10 am-noon. Bring your projects, tech issues, or plan to shoot a video in the Studio—-We’re here to help!
Getting the most out of REALTORS® Property Resource (RPR) and zipForm Webinars
Streamline Your Business
RPR and zipForm have come together to help you get the most of out of these two powerful REALTOR business tools. RPR is NAR’s wholly owned subsidiary and is a national property database, offering a large range of data, tools and reports to better serve your clients and customers. zipForm® is the Exclusive and Official forms software of the National Association of REALTORS®.
We’ll show you how to seamlessly move between RPR and zipForm to improve your business efficiencies.
Looking for ways to give back but not sure how?
The Code of Ethics – Stopping Robber Barons since 1913
by Pat Breme, RCE, CIPS
CEO
A Gift of Vision, that sounds pretty lofty coming from NAR in 1978 but Bill North the Executive Vice President at the time, thought members needed to be reminded of the Code’s significance. The Code was adopted in 1913 and made a condition of membership in 1924. In his article, North describes the Code as a Gift of Vision, a living document. It is the vision of those members in the early 1900’s who dreamed that the business of real estate could become a profession… that the highest and best use of the land required the highest and best measures of professional responsibility. Those members also believed that private property ownership of the land was indispensable to political democracy and a free and prosperous citizenry.
It was not the threat of government sanctions that moved REALTORS® of the time to make a commitment to business integrity and fair dealing. The Code of Ethics was created as a rejection of the fraudulent real estate practices exemplified by the Robber Barons whose motto was Let the Public be Damned. At the time only law, medicine and engineering had ethical standards. Over the years, the Code proved to be a guide in NAR’s growth and development, an impetus for education of its members. It also bound local, state and the national association together in an interdependent relationship.
The Code has evolved and will continue to evolve, reflecting the changes in the business. Its principles will be strengthen, not deluded, to ensure REALTORS® are held to a higher standard. The Code must remain constant, enforceable without being oppressive, meaningful without being dogmatic. The Code is a living document because each Article has a single premise, service to the public. It is the means to that end.
As a condition of membership, REALTORS® agree to uphold the Code but it is not the law and does not supersede licensing regulations. The Code’s relationship to the law is a follows-1. It defines those duties and obligations required in the public interest which are beyond the capacity or power of the law to mandate. 2. The Code supports the law by requiring a higher sensitivity of the duties and obligations which it imposes. The Code is independent of the law but it cannot survive if misused or misapplied. A diligent and fair search for the truth is mandatory and there are procedures in place to ensure that due process is applied to all parties.
To REALTORS®, the Code of Ethics offers the lessons of hindsight, the guidance of foresight and the understanding of insight- a RARE Gift of Vision.
Read the entire article penned by Bill North here.
Test your Knowledge of the Code with this quiz by REALTOR® Magazine
The Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice establishes rules for the highest ethical conduct and professionalism. It’s what distinguishes you as REALTORS® from other real estate licensees. Take this quiz to see how well you know your Code. Send FAAR (lzuza@faarmembers.com) a screenshot, picture, or pdf of your 13/13 completed quiz and be entered in a drawing for a $50 visa gift card!
The Technology Committee has got your back!
But I’m not Tech Savvy.
For some of us, technology is scary and intimidating. For some of us, the thought of being on a “Technology Committee” is even scarier.
But here’s where the FAAR Technology Committee can help you.
The Technology committee holds an informal monthly meeting (9 AM) and open workshop (10 am-Noon) every 2nd Tuesday of the month. Just one morning, that’s it.
When you talk about the consumer trends and real estate technology out there and get more comfortable using the latest digital resources, everyone wins! You have more confidence, you use tech more safely, and you can perform tasks in ways you never could before!
Build your Instagram, discover the latest in real estate tools, shoot a video in the studio—the technology committee is here to help overcome your tech intimidation and empower you to harness technology in your business.
Read how Tech Time helped local broker, Kat here!
6 projects, 50 volunteers…how FAAR gives back!
United Real Estate Team
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The Fredericksburg Area Association of REALTORS® (FAAR) hosted six community service projects throughout the Fredericksburg area on Saturday, May 19, 2018. FAAR volunteers prepared a home for exterior painting, painted the entire interior of another home, and cleaned up yards at four other locations. The projects took place in the City of Fredericksburg and the counties of King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford.
To support the work being done on Saturday, the Fredericksburg Realtors® Foundation contributed $1,500 to the effort to help purchase materials. The Foundation is a 501©3 non-profit organization that serves as the charitable giving arm of FAAR.
FAAR partnered with the 516 Project, a local non-profit that performs home maintenance and home repair projects for those in need, to perform the work on the six projects. The 516 Project undertook their spring workday on Saturday, complete with over 100 volunteers and 14 projects completed
Pricing Strategies Advisor Certification Class offered August 20, 2018
About the Pricing Strategies Advisor Course
This PSA course is specifically designed to help residential real estate agents and brokers enhance their skills in pricing properties, creating comparative market analyses (CMAs), and guiding clients through the complexities of valuation.
The course begins by putting the CMA in context on the spectrum of valuation services—which also includes appraisals, automated valuation models (AVMs), and broker price opinions (BPOs). In addressing the core CMA activity of determining selling and offer prices, the course offers substantial guidance on comparables and adjustments, including using RPR® tools for these purposes.
Pricing Strategies: Mastering the CMA pays special attention to Article 11 of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, which defines the roles and responsibilities that REALTORS® must honor and uphold as they prepare their opinions on property value and price. In addition, the course provides step-by-step guidance on how to prepare and deliver a comprehensive CMA Report, work with appraisers and appraisal reports, and how to keep one’s pricing skills up-to-date and honed.
This course is the main requirement for the Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA) certification and is an approved elective for the Accredited Buyer’s Representative® (ABR®) designation and the Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) designation.
Register for this class today to start pricing homes more confidently!
More about Instructor Rebecca Straley
Rebecca Straley is a real estate entrepreneur with decades of experience as a REALTOR®, broker, appraiser, and auctioneer! Always seeking to ring the bell to bring our clients to the market and increase the productivity and professionalism of the REALTOR®, Rebecca is a top producing agent, Good Neighbor of the Year, Educator of the Year, and Ethics Award Winner. As Broker of multiple high growth companies, Rebecca has managed nearly 400 agents in multiple market centers of VA & DC while continuing to study and grow; successfully authoring CE classes – instructing NAR Certifications and Designations, and customizing keynote and workshops for the brokerage, the association, and the Region! As a Leader in the Women’s Council of REALTORS®, Rebecca’s first wish is always to lead by building relationships.
What is the future of housing affordability in our region?
The Partnership for Housing Affordability, a non-profit associated with the Richmond Association of Realtors, hosted a forum on single-family housing affordability sponsored by SunTrust Mortgage. The forum focused on the current trends in the sale and development of single family homes and how that impacts affordability. The keynote speaker was Paul Bishop, Vice President of Research with the National Association of Realtors. He delivered some great statistics, click the image above to access the full report.
Demographic Trends
- $1 in $5 is connected to the real estate industry
- 87% of consumers think home ownership is a good investment
- In 2017, the largest cohort of home buyers were millennials
- 36% of buyers were millennials
- 26% were Gen Xers
- Of first-time homebuyers, 72% are millennials, 19% are Gen X
- Of repeat buyers, 29% are Gen X, 24% are younger boomers, 18% are millennials
- 60% of all homebuyers are married couples, but single females are a rising group (increases with age, older boomers and Silent Generation females are buying lots of homes)
Current Market Trends
- Months of supply peaked nationwide in late 2010 at 12 months
- bottom is now in 2018, at 3.6 months
- Limited supply is causing prices to increase significantly, even as much 5-6% annually
- Home construction is at its lowest level since 2009
- What’s holding builders back?
- Lack of skilled labor
- Lack of buildable lots
- Cost of raw materials
- Approval process for new construction
- Financing availability
- Inventory issues aren’t poised to change for the next 1-2 years
Affordability
- Rents are increasing at 4% per year, outpacing incomes
- Top reason people can’t afford to buy homes is uncertain income
- Affordability rates: people earning less than $25,000 can afford just 10% of all currently listed homes, people making less than $50,000 can afford just 30% of available homes
- Over 1/2 of US renters live in structures with 4 units or less
- 39% of the US rental market is made up of single family homes
I Have No Time…
By Pat Breme, RCE, CIPS
Chief Executive Officer
In my 25 plus years with FAAR I have heard that comment often from members who say no when asked to consider a leadership role at FAAR. The comment has merit… who has TIME for anything extra in their lives? Absolutely no one, yet some do make the time to get involved in the community of real estate.
The ask is for a commitment of time, energy and ideas but the upside is get a front row seat to the industry, the trends, the FUTURE! This view can and should guide you in making decisions about your business… where are you and where do you want to be in terms of productively, opportunities, and longevity. It is not just FAAR that benefits through your participation, you benefit!
Current Board members and past presidents provided answers to, two simple questions.
- Why I decided to do it?
- What are the expected or unexpected, positive consequences of serving?
Here are a few replies- For the complete list check out the May FAARSide Newsletter.
- I decided to do it because I like the opportunity to both learn from accomplished peers in our industry in hopes of following in their footsteps and to enjoy the privilege of having a seat at the table with a goal of always improving the associations’ service to members like me. If I’m a due paying member, shouldn’t I be involved and utilizing everything that’s offered? BOD is just an extension of that thinking.
- It’s pretty interesting stuff and it opens a huge network of encouraging, successful, enlightening people (staff, agents, affiliates) that help me strengthen my business, while focusing on the big picture for agents as a whole. I really like being able to tackle our collective goals as an industry with many voices being heard. Learning with and from one another only makes me a better agent, thus making my clients happier and more successful.
Clay Murray, Coldwell Banker Elite, current Board Member, 2017 REALTORS® Choice and Melanie Thompson award recipient
- Honestly – did it because I was “Asked”.
- Three unexpected consequences:
- It has fundamentally and positively impacted my career growth. I now value my and understand what it truly means to be a REALTOR®.
- My sphere of professional, engaged and very close friends has grown infinitely larger. Cherish these relationships.
- It’s made me a better me. Both professionally and personally. What time I’ve given to FAAR could never come close to matching how much I’ve gained in return.
Chip Taylor, Long & Foster, Inc., current Director and 2012 President
- I decided to do it because I was asked. It was an honor to be considered for the position.
- I can now say I have served my profession. To newer agents, it shows respect from the REALTOR® community. I get to serve with great leaders and learn from them.
Mark Geslock, Century 21 Redwood, current Secretary
2017 President Linda Fosdick heads up the Nominating Committee this year. Contact her (linda@discoverlakeanne.com) or me (pbreme@faarmembers.com) if you have any questions.
The application forms needed to be completed are The Candidate Profile and the Code of Conduct.
Press Releases
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