Wednesday, December 9th we were at the beautiful New Vintage Place. This year the theme was black & white attire. Attire ranged from business to formal wear. Dinner was provided by West Michigan Catering. Donna Tashjian was awarded the 2015 WCR Realtor of the Year. Mallory Schrauben received the 2015 WCR Affiliate of the Year honor. As in previous years we did our annual Toys for Tots Drive. It was a great party and a wonderful evening.
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WCR Western Michigan Chapter brought real estate mogul and business super woman Barbara Corcoran to Grand Rapids! The beautiful Fountain Street Church hosted. Barbara Corcoran’s credentials include straight D’s in high school and college and twenty jobs by the time she turned twenty-three. It was her next job that would make her one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country when she took a $1000 loan to start The Corcoran Group. As one of the “Sharks” on ABC’s hit TV show, SHARK TANK, Barbara has ponied up her own money and invested in twenty-two businesses, competing to make those deals for all to see, then shepherding them to success. Barbara shared with us her rags to riches story and unconventional life lessons she has learned along the way that helped shape her business.
This year, EMERGE! took place on Wednesday, October 28th at New Vintage Place. We will have the same general format as previous years, with each speaker having approximately 15 minutes. This is a fast-paced educational event targeted towards real estate agents. The idea behind EMERGE! is the desire to grow by learning from peers in your marketplace. There will be a variety of topics covered including lead generation, marketing, mistakes to avoid, personality profiling, leadership skills, investing in Grand Rapids, the evolution of the real estate industry, and taking your business to the next level. Following the event was the YPN/WCR mixer from 2:00-4:00pm. The Women's Council of Realtors and the Young Professionals Network of GRAR teamed up! we mingled with friends and met some new ones too.
We found out the latest news about the economy in Grand Rapids and West Michigan. We welcomed David Riley with The Right Place to share with us. David is the business research manager and provides custom research services and community economic statistics to Right Place clients. We learned the interesting trends and statistics that affect the way we do business. Serving West Michigan since 1985, The Right Place, Inc. is a regional economic development organization funded through investments from the private and public sectors. The Right Place drives regional Economic Development initiatives to stimulate economic growth, wealth creation, and operational excellence by focusing on productivity, innovation, and the retention, expansion and creation of quality employment and companies in the West Michigan region.
Many people wonder what it takes to become a top producer. Different techniques work for different people. We found out top producer tips and tricks directly from successful agents. What has worked well for them to grow and manage their businesses? What are some of the most meaningful lessons they have learned in real estate? Thanks to everyone who joined us for the panel discussion featuring Steve Frody, Julie Grevengoed, Jake Heglund, Kate Houseman, Lucas Howard, Josh May, and Laurie Zokoe.
The annual golf outing was a blast as usual. Thornapple Pointe Golf Club hosted us this year. It was a great day of golf, food, networking, and fun. Thanks to all who participated. See you next year!
For the June luncheon, we were pleased to welcome Joe Koenig. Joe recently authored a book entitled, "Getting the Truth." This book is about learning to read between the lines, distinguishing truth from deception. Joe helps people sculpt questions to get more information. He will teach how to sense when there is more to the story. There is an old saying in real estate that "buyers are liars." This can be true with sellers too. Whether intentional or not, there are usually clues when someone isn't giving you the whole truth. In real estate, we need to be good investigators to truly understand our clients' needs.
For the May luncheon, we welcomed Ingrid Nelson with Keller Williams Realty. Ingrid discussed international real estate with us. As technology has increased, our world has grown smaller. Potential real estate clients can now come from anywhere in the world. These types of transactions are typically different and more complex than domestic ones. Successfully navigating these types of transactions requires a deep understanding of many topics including cultural diversity, international financing, immigration law, taxation law, and more.
At the April luncheon, president Shelley Frody and membership chair Kelli Williams, announced a contest to recruit Realtor members to the WCR Western Michigan chapter. This contest runs from 4/16-8/31. If you recruit a Realtor member during this time (must be a Realtor, affiliates do not count sorry), please report it to the membership Chair Kelli Williams at kwilliams@gatewayfunding.com. Kelli will keep track of the numbers and the winners will be announced at the September luncheon. The prizes are as follows- 1) Grand Prize- $1500 scholarship to attend the WCR national conference in San Diego, CA. For all the details on this event, please check out this link https://www.wcr.org/events/national-conference/. 2) Second Place- Choice of either 2 tickets to the WCR Holiday Party 2015, or a free tabletop sponsorship at a luncheon (both valued between $100-$120). 3) Third place- the same prize as second place. To refresh yourself on the many benefits of WCR, please watch and share this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnyGqINwQmk. So get out there and find some Realtors who would enjoy learning and growing with WCR. Good luck! For the April luncheon, we were pleased to welcome John Bommarito with Attorney's Title Agency. He went over in detail, the new RESPA closing guidelines that will take effect August 1st, 2015. The HUD-1 and GFE forms are going away and will be replaced by the new closing disclosure and loan disclosure forms. Along with these new forms, the new rule requires that final settlement statements must be delivered to the buyer 3 days prior to closing. No more last minute changes. This is important information you need to know before the change happens.
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