Southern Maryland Association of Realtors

Members Area

Back to Public Site

Welcome to the member's section. This part of our web site in designed to provide services and information for the members of the Southern Maryland Association of REALTORS®. If you are not a member, you are still free to browse these pages, however, you may find the Public portion of our site more useful. SMAR Members should check this part of our site often to get the latest news on SMAR events. Members should also be sure to look at our MEMBER SERVICES area.

Member Notices: (See links above for latest Legislative and Weekly Updates!)

Location:Jaycee’s Hall 3090 Crain Hwy Waldorf , MD

Check-In & Networking 11 am Buffet Lunch
$35 per person. RSVP by March 1, 2010

Guest Speaker - Anirban Basu

“The Amazing Race: What the Data Say about the Economy”

Register online at WWW.SMARMEMBER.ORG or click here or here for a form

Charles County Neighborhood Conservation Downpayment Assistance Program SMAR GAD Paula Martino gave a prsentation on this important topic December 16 at the SMAR offices in Hughesville. Download her Power Point (2003) file here. A long term link to this file appears on the left column of this page under "AssociationNews".

At Home with Diversity® Certification - Are you ready for your next prospect?
The At Home with Diversity® Certification teaches you to transact business in culturally competent ways. Participation in this six-hour session earns you credit toward the CIPS, CRS, and PMN designations, as well as the NAR At Home with Diversity® Certification.
Date: April 7, 2010
Time: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
Cost: $65 – a special reduced rate for Fair Housing Month
Pending CE Approval – 6 clock hours – Topic F) Professional enhancement for practicing licensees
Click here to register online or click here to download the registration form.
Pre-registration is required. Register by April 2nd.

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE LAWS COVERING CONSERVATION EASEMENT
During the 2007 Session of the Maryland General Assembly, the Legislature enacted a requirement that properties affected by one or more conservation easements or other restrictions limiting or affecting use of the property be fully disclosed to a prospective purchaser of the property. Effective October 1, 2009, the provisions of this law have been updated in a way that seriously affects SMAR members. Please click here for a letter from Al Monshower detailing the impact of these changes.

FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR ST. MARY'S COUNTY HOME BUYERS
The Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary's County urges residents to use the Maryland Mortgage Program. Over $3 million was approved for use by St. Mary’s County citizens to finance home purchases at the County Commissioners meeting on Sept. 1. Eligibility for the program is income-based. Qualifying families in St. Mary’s County include 1-2 person households making less than $85,600 and 3 or more person households making less than $98,440. The maximum mortgage amount under this program for St. Mary’s County is $343,125. Click here for details.

NAR Legislative Analysis: The American Clean Energy and Security Act
The overwhelming number of comments and questions generated by the House of Representatives passing the American Clean Energy and Security Act requires additional information to address the issue with members. Click here for a PDF document containing NAR's analysis of this far-reaching legislation.

MAR and RPAC: A summary of Success
The Maryland Association of REALTORS® and SMAR would like to remind our members of the critical role RPAC has played in protecting REALTORS® and homeowners from legislation that could be harmful to the real estate industry. Your RPAC contributions are more important now than ever before. Please click here for a summary of the MANY important ways RPAC has acted to protect REALTORS® in the past 10 years. Your RPAC contribution is a worthwhile investment in your profession.

SMAR FOOD DRIVE
The Southern Maryland Food Bank is in Dire Need of non-perishable food donations. Donations will be accepted on an ONGOING basis. Click here for details on where to drop off food donations.

SMAR is pleased to announce a new savings program for SMAR members. We have partnered with OfficeMax Solutions to provide our members

access to instant savings on OfficeMax products and services. With the partnership, SMAR members will qualify for instant savings between 10 - 95% on office supplies, paper, ink & toner, and printing services. To register, send an email to cathypette@officemax.com for a username and password to access the business-to-business website www.officemaxsolutions.com. Shipping is via UPS and FREE on orders over $50.

	Instructor Terry Watson
New! NAR Green Designation Course March and October, 2010.

Real Estate Profesional Assistants Certification Classes now Available!
SMAR will offer the 2-day NAR REPA Certfication courses starting in October. The course is designed to teach students the skills neccessary to become an outstanding and reliable real estate professional assistant. Click here for details.

Education on the Go!
Click here for the latest Education on the Go classes!

Weekly Update Subscriptions.
Click the SMAR NEWS BUTTON in the left column of this page to see recent SMAR email you might have missed. A new link has been added in the left column of this page, directly under the Association News title. It may be used to susbcribe to SMAR Weekly Updates, Calls to Action, Sympathy Notices, Special Announcements and other regular email communications from SMAR to our members. It is also used to resubscribe in the event of accidental removal due to antispam software. Click here for more information. Also note the links on this page (above) contain the latest Weekly Update, and all member-wide email sent by SMAR appears as news on the new Members-Only SMAR website www.smarmember.org.

SMAR GAD Paula Martino's Message About Appraisers, HVCC and Short Sales.
Click here for message to the membership from SMAR GAD Paula Martino sent March 2, 2009 concerning Appraisers, HVCC and Short Sales.

2009 Workforce Housing Certification
Do you hold a WHC? Click here to learn more.

Maryland 375th Birthday Destination and Relocation Guide.
The Discover St. Mary’s County Destination and Relocation guide is now available in both print and digital formats. The 52 page glossy magazine-style guide is published in partnership with Historic St. Mary’s City and the publishers of Maryland Life Magazine. It features articles on the area’s role in the state’s founding as well as visitor information including listings for sites, attractions, and lodging and dining establishments. The guide also features information on relocating to St. Mary’s County.

2008 Legislative Summary
The Governor held his final bill signing ceremony on Thursday May 22nd. Here is the updated summary of many of the bills the Legislative Committee followed during the session.

Check out the NEW SMAR "Members Only" web site!

www.smarmember.org

It's strictly for SMAR Members and it's FREE!

FBI Alert! House Stealing? YES-- HOUSE STEALING!
The very idea of stealing a house sounds insane, but scam artists have figured out how to do it. Education is your best protection. Read the FBI alert here.

TheBaynet.com Offers a Freebie to SMAR Members
A slower market means you need to make sure you provide value to your clients as well get the biggest bang for your budget. Maximize your exposure for minimum cost. TheBayNet.com is offering you a section of their site to market your listings free! Provide better service to your clients by advertizing your listings on the premier website for Southern Maryland. TheBayNet.com currently receives over 700,000 hits per day. You can go to www.thebaynet.com/realestate and add your listings free right now.

From Paula Martino, SMAR Government Affairs Director:
Please follow the link below to find out what the new county level FHA loan limits are for the rest of the calendar year based on the recently passed stimulus package. Open the page and Click on "NAR chart of new FHA and GSE loan limits" to see an easy to read chart outlining these changes. Click here for details.

From The Maryland Department of Labor and Licensing
Title 17, Business Occupations and Professions, Annotated Code of Maryland,
Real Estate Brokers.

Considering a Break from Real Estate?
Members who may be terminating their membership are encouraged to deal with their lock boxes prior to requesting termination. Sentrilock does permit the transfer of lock box ownership from one member to another, however, both members should have active and valid Sentrilock Key cards to perform the transfer. Your Sentrilock membership is terminated with your SMAR membership, which renders your card invalid so it's better to deal with lock box ownership transfers first.

MAR Legal Hotline
Free authoritative legal advice is available to SMAR members by calling the MAR Legal Hotline. Questions on all aspects of real estate law are answered. Sales agents may call the hotline up to four times per year; designated REALTORS® Brokers and Managers), have unlimited calls. A written response to all callers and their brokers is sent within 48 hours. Hours of operation 10:00AM - 12:00 Noon and 2:00PM to 4:00PM Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Call 1-800-888-1272.

SMAR WEBSITE ADS AVAILABLE
Let the public know you're here! SMAR web site ads are available to all members at very low rates. A full year costs just $600 and will be seen by over 1,400 new site visitors each month. Your ad will play continuously in the available spaces on the site front page, providing well over 100,000 viewing opportunities. Contact Ronnie Miles at SMAR for details. 301-870-2323, ext 15.

MAR Launches League of Maryland Homeowners
MAR President Ilene Kessler recently announced the creation of The League of Maryland Homeowners (LMH). The initiative is an effort to create a grassroots coalition among the general public to act as advocates on affordable housing issues. LMH is non-partisan. For more information, click here or visit the League's web site.

BEWARE OF INTERNET "PHISHING" HOAXES
Please click here for vital information concerning "phishing" and what you can do to avoid becoming a victim.

Member Promotional Web Pages --take a look at who's already on board! SMAR offers our members low-cost web pages. SMAR personal web pages are a great launch pad to send prospects visiting SMAR's site to your own personal web sites or company web pages, or as a great low-cost way to begin your presence on the web. All SMAR members, including Affiliates, are eligible. Buy a Personal page here | Send your information for the page here | Learn more here

Dues Proration
New members joining SMAR in the middle of a fiscal year pay dues on a prorated basis. The trouble is, SMAR, MAR, and NAR all bill using different fiscal periods and proration methods. New members can click here to see what their dues will be. SMAR's new fiscal year starts in July.
Click here for a schedule of REALTOR® membership renewal dues. Click here for a schedule of Affiliate Membership dues and click here to see Sentrilock Lock Box System fees.

SMAR Membership Forms and AutoContracts
STATE forms found at the MAR web site | NOTICE TO PURCHASER OF PURCHASER’S RIGHTS UNDER MARYLAND’S SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY CONDITION DISCLOSURE LAW. | Membership forms | NEW MAR Residential Contract of Sale 10/2008 |

Ethics Training--Confused? Here's the Scoop!
Can't find a convenient class? Try NAR's free on-line Code of Ethics training available at http://www.mdrealtor.org.

Maryland Consumer Awareness Insurance Brochures
"The New Reality of Property Insurance" is available as a PDF format document. The MAR Public Policy and Statewide Forms Committee recommends this form be distributed at the time of contract signing. The document is available via fax on demand 800-532-9627 document number 3270.

SMAR Events Revisited
Were you caught on film? 2003 Production Awards | 3-8-04 Legislative Breakfast | 2003 SMAR REALTOR® Fair | 2004 SMAR REALTOR® Fair | 2005 SMAR REALTOR® Fair | 2006 SMAR REALTOR® Fair |2004 President's Tea | 2004-2005 Installation| 2006 Art and Essay Contest | 2004 awards | 2005-6 Installation| 2006-2007 Installation| 2006 Awards | 2007 Art and Essay Contest.

Web Site Features
Association Links area | Sales statistics | The REALTOR® Store is back | Relocating to Southern Maryland? | Production Award winners| Affiliate Profile Pages.