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 Working in the Multicultural Market
 The Multicultural market has become an important opportunity for the real estate community. As a result, more and more research is being done by major industry participants, consulting firms and leading universities and providing this type of information. Inside is a look at some studies conducted by The Gonzales Group, a leading business consulting and research firm in the field of Multicultural markets for the real estate and financial services community. The most recent studies deal with:
1. Thinking Ahead About our Immigrant Future: New Trends and Mutual Benefits in our Aging Society; and
2. Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America
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Free relocation market information
Wouldn't it be nice to know where the people who are moving to your area are coming from? You can and it's easy because NAR makes the reports available for you. The Relocation Report will show you the ten counties that relocate most to your county. The normal price of this report is $75. However, it is now FREE to members. Go to REALTOR Store at www.REALTOR.org and search for Relocation Report, Item #E186-71.
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Home sales soft, but projected to rise
A flat pattern in home sales activity should continue for the next couple months before improving over the summer, NAR says. "Things are beginning to improve, but the availability of affordable mortgages is uneven around the country and sometimes within metropolitan areas," says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "As anticipated, we continue to look for a soft first half of the year, for both housing and the economy, before notable improvements in the second half. Some time is needed for FHA and new conforming jumbo loans to become widely available." .
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CEO Blog...Inspector Licensure
 A bill requiring licensing of home inspectors finally cleared its first major hurdle in the legislative process. HB 257, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Schneider (R) Cincinnati, was passed by the Ohio House of Representatives and sent to the Senate. Read more from OAR's Chief Executive Officer Don Freels.
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Penny for your thoughts
The US Postal rates went up today, May 12, 2008 to $0.42 (from $0.41) for a first class letter and $0.27 for a postcard. Tip: An inexpensive marketing piece would be to send your past customers a block of 10 or 20 one cent stamps to add to their current stamps which won't be quite enough.
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Livestock and surrounding property values
During the recent OAR Spring Conference a presentation was made during the Local Government Forum a
Power Point presentation on the effects of large livestock operations on surrounding property values.
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President's Sales Club applications, now online
The 2008 PSC applications are now online. Entries must be postmarked by July 21, to be accepted. Transactions claimed must have been closed between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008. There are three application forms, 60, 140, 220 transactions respectively. Get rules and applications.
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On the lighter side
Here are some fun automatic "out-of-office" responses for spam mail.
 1. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I were in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all.
2. I will be unable to delete all the e-mails you send me until I return from vacation. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.
3. Thank you for your e-mail. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first 10 words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message.
4. The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection. Your message has not been delivered. Please restart your computer and try sending again. (The beauty of this is that when you return, you can see who did this over and over and over.)
5. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.
6. Hi, I'm thinking about what you've just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.
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Are Boomers the most educated generation in history?
Possibly. A U.S. Census Bureau study found that the proportion of Americans with at least a bachelors' degree grew five-fold from 1950 to 2003, from 3.4% to 17.4%. The percentage completing high school quadrupled from 1950 to 2003, from 17% to 71.5%.
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REALTOR arbitration process upheld
A trial court improperly knocked down an arbitration award arising from a hearing conducted by a REALTOR association, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, ruled, reversing the trial court and ordering confirmation of the arbitration award. The trial court should have deferred to the procuring cause definitions found in NAR's Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual and applied by the association's arbitrators in making the award, the court said. NAR filed an amicus curiae brief with the New Jersey Association of REALTORS arguing for the confirmation of the association's award.
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Save with UPS
 Save up to 28% with UPS and 10% off business services at The UPS Store. Click here to enroll.
You can now save up to 28% on UPS Express Shipping. Plus save 10% on Business Services like Copying, Binding, Laminating, Packaging and Mailbox Services at The UPS Store. Simple shipping! Special savings! It's that easy! For more information call (800)325-7000.
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Tech Tips
Use business cards in Outlook...The Electronic Business Card is new to Outlook 2007 and is easily customized. It is a feature of the Contacts record. It looks like a business card with your common contact information and room for a picture of you, your logo, or any other picture. The EBC can be used as a signature on your e-mail which will include a vCard so that the recipient can easily add it to their database without typing anything.
- Go to the contact record
- From the Ribbon on the Contact tab, select business card
- Adjust the field order and the spaces between them from the Fields section a. When fields are selected, the text editor allows basic enhancements like bold, italics, color, etc.
- Select Layout to change the location of the image
- Select Image to add or change the picture used
- Select Image area to control the size of the picture
- Select background to change the color of the business card
- When finished, click OK.
To set your business card as your e-mail signature, after you have customized it:
- Go to Tools, Options, Mail Format, Signatures Select New, give name EBC
- Select Business Card and locate your card
- Select OK to save
- Identify from the drop-down list the signature you want to be used for new messages and replies and forwards
- Click OK and close subsequent dialogs.
Additional templates for electronic business cards can be found on the Microsoft Office Online web site.
Paste text into Excel...Do you want to paste text from Word or Internet Explorer into Excel without having it interfere with the formatting in the cell? Hit F2 so you are in editing mode before you paste. Then, only the text will come through, not the formulas.
Remove your dead site link from GOOGLE...Old sites often stay cached in Google's search engine. If you own a site that you want removed, you can request its removal using Google's webmaster tools: www.google.com/webmasters/tools/removals
Is time flying right by?...If you have been spending a lot of time on a project and want a quick and easy way to track it, let 88 miles figure it out for you! This web-based service allows you to set-up projects and simply PUNCH IN and PUNCH OUT. You do not have to look at the clock; 88 miles will do it for you! You can share your time study with other staff members, or keep it for your eyes only. 88 miles even offers a mobile edition: www.88miles.net
Don't forget OAR's free Tech Hotline service...
866.478.TECH (8324) New EXPANDED hours of operation: M-F: 8 am - 8 pm ... S-S: 10 am - 4pm
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Education
Keep up on this ever-changing industry...This year's Updates, held in your area this June, will focus on recent court rulings, new laws that affect your business and more importantly, the economy. Plus you'll earn three hours of continuing education credit! Register today.
NEW from RECampus...
- Satisfy your entire 30 hour c.e. package
- 70 years of age or older: 9 hour c.e. package requirement
- 9 hour c.e. package fulfills core c.e. requirement
Register today...
30 hours online...Take your real estate continuing education hours online. You can take 3, 6 or all 30 hours in any combination...Sign-up today...
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