VIDEO: Illinois REALTORS® share their business/marketing goals for 2012 at the IAR Convention & Expo.

“Make my Web presence known!”

Congratulations Lorrie Groth, Century 21 New Heritage, Hampshire — winner of Illinois REALTOR® magazine’s iPad giveaway sponsored by our magazine partners: Advanced Publishing, Royle Printing and West + Associates, Inc.

AUDIO:

• Jobs and the Illinois Housing Market
• Politics and the Global Economy
• Illinois Housing Market Forecast

KEY DATES:

2012

March 15 – Last day to take a proficiency exam

April 30 – Transition period ends for salesperson to broker; and broker to managing broker

April 30 – Broker licensees license renewal deadline

Every application to transition MUST be POSTMARKED by April 30, 2012. If you miss this date YOU START ALL OVER.

2013

April 30 – Managing broker license renewal deadline

FEES:

There will be two fees payable to IDFPR:

For Salesperson Transitioning to Broker:

Transition fee ($125)

License renewal fee ($150)

For Broker Transitioning to Managing Broker:

Transition fee ($150)

License renewal fee ($200)

Transition is NOT the SAME as renewal!

LINKS:

IDFPR Transition Guide - www.idfpr.com/dpr/re/RETransition.asp

www.IARlicenselaw.org

“Never say the words, I can’t.”

Q&A With Loretta:

In the off hours I enjoy: Travel…anywhere in Mexico by the ocean. 

Personal goal for the year: Stay healthy.

What do you like to do in your leisure time? Golf.

What are you most proud of? My sons—they turned out to be good kids. I have six grandsons and a granddaughter.

Do you have a book you are recommending? Who Moved My Cheese. It is very relevant in this business. People are looking for where the business was before and it is not there.

Favorite sports team: The Cubs but my dad was always a Cardinals fan because he was born in Tennessee.

What motivates me? I am a self-motivator. I like to get up in the morning, start and keep going.

Phone: BlackBerry Curve.

Morning or Night? I am a late night person—stay up late at night and at the office late.

Printer or Paper? I am moving away from printing everything out.  I can pull up talking points and statistics on my iPad.

What do you like most about the industry? This was a great opportunity for growth as a person and for a career. You can pick your opportunities—can’t do that if you’re working for someone. I don’t think if I had stayed in a legal
assistant career I would have had the opportunity to be a business owner. 

Best advice to someone entering real estate: Be prepared to work hard—you get nothing for free, it is all hard work. There is a lot of reward in it with the independence you can have. You can make as much money as you want to make or as little.

Gary Clayton is the chief executive officer of the Illinois Association of REALTORS® and he serves on the NAR Board of Directors. He has been an RPAC Major Donor for 20+ years and is a member of the RPAC Hall of Fame with lifetime contributions reaching $50,000. Born and raised in Poplar Bluff, Mo., Gary earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, a master’s in Social Justice Administration and has earned the CAE and RCE designations. He and his wife of 33 years, Marsha, live in Chatham, Ill. and are the proud parents of four grown children.

We are the only advocate for private property rights. So we are helping our members’ customers and clients whether it’s a zoning issue or special assessment or transfer tax.

January Public Policy Meetings in East Peoria; January 24-26, 2012

Each year in January, IAR hosts Public Policy meetings and forums which delve into a variety of government affairs issues and activities at the state and local levels. Attendees will learn about recent Advocacy Program projects as well as pending state legislative issues.  For a schedule, go to www.illinoisrealtor.org/publicpolicy

2012 Session Dates Illinois General Assembly:

Jan. 31 – May 31, 2012  

For details, visit www.ilga.gov

2012 Election Year Key Dates

March 20 Illinois Primary Election

Nov. 6 Illinois General Election

An election year is a big year for the REALTORS® Political Action Committee. IAR members should know that RPAC will
be working to help elect candidates who care about the issues affecting your business and the rights of private property owners.

RPAC supports candidates that support pro-REALTOR® ssues, regardless of political party affiliation. 

Good News: REALTORS® Vote!

Members of the Illinois Association of REALTORS® have long taken pride in the political strength of our organization. We have committed the resources and dollars to enable a strong lobbying presence at the Illinois Statehouse and at the local level. We have a formidable political action committee—the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC).

We are “The Voice for Real Estate in Illinois.”  And one other way in which we show our political power is…we VOTE!

• 65% of Illinois REALTORS® are registered to vote
• Nearly 70% of those registered turned out to vote in the 2010 General Election (compared to 51% turnout among voters overall)

To elected officials, these are impressive numbers.

• Education
• Open Houses
• Strategy
• Rent-to-Buy
• MLS
• Marketing