10 reasons to establish a commercial overlay board

The number of local commercial real estate structures within local and state Realtor® associations has grown dramatically over the last five years. REALTOR associations across the country are seeing the advantages of launching an organization to provide programs and services for their commercial practitioners. Here are just a few of the advantages.

1. Grows your membership -- and your revenue.

2. Educates residential practitioners on the skills, experience, and background needed to be a successful commercial broker

Best Practices for MLS Data Security

By Todd Costigan

Foil Content Theft

You may refer to it as “data,” but to thieves, your MLS listings are valuable content. To secure your content, consider using a number of the following tools and methods.

Realtor® Association Education Directors to Launch Summit

The Wichita Area Association of Realtors® will host its first summit of Realtor® association education directors, Feb. 1-2 in Wichita, Kan. The summit aims to teach attendees how to design and deliver avant-garde education programs that are valuable in a fluctuating market.

Do You Teach Enough?

Thinking of boosting your educational programming? You’re not alone. Many associations have been bulking up their course schedules in response to surging membership, the increasing complexity of the transaction, and increases in state continuing education requirements.

Associations add courses with an eye toward meeting member needs and generating important nondues revenue along the way. Maybe it’s time to ask, do your educational offerings make the grade?

Keeping Lists

Summer. The word used to mean such great things to me . . . I remember my childhood in Northern Michigan—playing baseball, waterskiing, fishing and doing all the wonderful things that kids do. Great memories. Today, however, I find that my kids want my wife and I to create a list things for them to do—go to Water World (which is the equivalent of taking a swim with 16,500 other people), or to Six Flags Park or the mall.

Untapped Members

by Paul Beakley

Affiliate outreach: associations offer their affiliate members more than just exclusive access to their membership.

At a recent Realtor expo in San Diego, the most popular booth didn't feature a title company or a mortgage brokerage; it featured a plastic surgeon. The showroom floor was lined with booths for jewelers, dentists, carpet cleaners--the list goes on. Only association members were permitted to exhibit, so how did such a far-flung assembly of businesses find themselves members of the San Diego Association of Realtors ?