Administrative Professionals Week!
4-25-07

This annual event was originally organized in 1952 as "National Secretaries Week" by the National Secretaries Association (now known as the International Association of Administrative Professionals) in conjunction with public relations executive Harry Klemfuss and a consortium of office product manufacturers. It was established as an effort to recognize secretaries for their contributions in the workplace, and to attract people to secretarial/administrative careers.

In the year 2000, IAAP announced a name change for Professional Secretaries Week and Professional Secretaries Day. The names were changed to Administrative Professionals Week and Administrative Professionals Day to keep pace with changing job titles and expanding responsibilities of today's administrative workforce.

Over the years, Administrative Professionals Week has become one of the largest workplace observances. The event is celebrated worldwide, bringing together millions of people for community events, educational seminars, and individual corporate activities recognizing support staff with gifts of appreciation.

IAAP suggests that employers observe Administrative Professionals Week by providing training for their administrative staff through seminars, continuing education or self-study materials. Another suggestion is to make a commitment toward delegating responsibilities that better utilize the skills of administrative professionals.

Special Membership Meeting Rescheduled
03-28-07

We have received comments from various members of our Association expressing their concern that the Special Membership Meeting set for April 3, 2007 is during spring break, when many members may be out of town and unavailable to attend the meeting.

In an effort to accommodate our members and encourage the greatest number of attendees at this important meeting, your Association leadership is hereby canceling the April 3, 2007 Special Membership Meeting and is hereby noticing the meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. Please note that the meeting will be held at Stockdale Towers, 5060 California Avenue, 2nd floor.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss and vote on the following:

Approval of the GEAR marketing brand. With an ever-increasing internet presence over the past 10 years, many Associations have adopted distinctive marketing brand names, which reflect a dynamic, relevant and generationally appropriate persona for their Association. NAR has officially approved our usage of the GEAR acronym, which is not intended to replace the name of The Bakersfield Association of REALTORS®; however, creates a persona that more accurately describes our representation throughout our market area.

Authorization for the Association to purchase and/or develop real property to provide office facilities for the Association. No specific property has been identified at this time; however, due to a lack of inventory and excess capital, time is of the essence in taking action to secure a suitable property for the Association when one becomes available. Our initial budget for the type of facility needed by the Association involves financing of up to $3.5 million to acquire suitable property or to purchase vacant land and construct a building thereon. This is the reason the Board is asking for approval to purchase and/or develop real property to provide office facilities for the Association, including obtaining financing of up to $3.5 million.

The Board of Directors recommends approval of both of these proposals.

No other business will be conducted at this meeting.

All Association members are encouraged to attend this important meeting. Please confirm your attendance by contacting the Association Office at 661.635.2300 or register online at www.gerealtor.com (see icon on right-hand side of main webpage - click here to register for special membership meeting). Thank you for your support and participation.

C.A.R. TECH HOTLINE DISCONTINUED APRIL 1
3-8-07

The C.A.R. Tech Hotline, which has answered members' tech-related questions since 2003, will no longer be available as of April 1, 2007, due to declining demand for the service. As REALTORS® have incorporated the Internet, online transactions, cell phones, PDAs and the like into their day-to-day lives, they also have become more technologically proficient. However, assistance for WINForms® product-related inquiries is available through the C.A.R. Customer Contact Center at (213) 739-8227 or RE FormsNet at (586) 840-0140. RELAY? product-related inquiries should be directed to (586) 840-1168.

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Made By Rental Property Owners
3-19-07

1. JUST LOOKING IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER CLASSIFIED ADS FOR A RENTAL RATE
Prospective tenants have many ways to check comparable rental rates besides the newspaper: local property managers, Realtors, the Internet listings. Property owners renting their own property need to check these sources in addition to the newspaper. Local Realtors can provide a list of rental rates - current and past - for various areas, subdivisions, buildings.
For apartment rental rates, owners should check the internet listings on Yahoo, RentNet and Springstreet as well as any local apt association website.
Owners of single family homes should also check Yahoo, as well as the RentConnection and HomeRentals.net sites as these are excellent resources for marketing single family homes, townhouses and condominiums.

2. LISTENING TO WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE GETTING FOR SIMILAR PROPERTIES
While this information should be put in "the mix" in determining the property's rental value, there are often circumstances that are not relayed that could cause the information to be less than helpful.

A country property often reported as being rented for $1,600/month was, in fact, being rented in one year increments to residents new to the area who did know that the property was over-valued. When the tenants determined they were paying $200/month too much, they quickly found other property as they no longer trusted the property owner. The rental property owner then had a vacancy and downtime which, in reality, brought his annual income to the market rate of $1,400/mo which, if he had quoted this market rent originally, he would still have a tenant in residence and not had the hassle of multiple move-outs and the expenses of re-renting.

3. VACANCIES ARE BAD
Planned vacancies are good. Vacancies allow for major renovations and repair projects - replacing a bathroom in a property with only 1 bath, rebuilding a deck/porch/patio, replacing carpet/refinishing hardwood floors, converting fuel sources (propane to gas).
Sometimes these can be done with a tenant in place; however with a little pre-planning, a lot of hassles and inconvenience can be avoided.

Another reason is to put the property in the "proper rental cycle" for the area. Many rental markets are geared to the school year - either public schools or college or university - more prospective tenants are planning for September and October move-in dates and avoiding the "back to school rush" of late July and August.

4. USING A POORLY WRITTEN OR PREPARED LEASE
There are numerous sources for good lease documents including a low-cost computer program that can be purchased from Nolo Press (LeaseWriter) where the document can be formulated for the specifics of the state in which the rental property is located. Unless a lease is prepared for the specifics of a property or the desires of the rental property owner, the use of an attorney is unnecessary.
Most local property managers will share their lease format. In a pinch, forms can be purchased from the local Realtor association. From whatever source, the forms should be no more than 3 years old and clearly state the duties of the resident and property owner.

5. AND LASTLY, NOT CHECKING ALL PROSPECTIVE ADULT APPLICANTS' RENTAL/CREDIT HISTORY
This is the easiest part of the process and is most often the portion of the process that rental property owners are least likely to
perform. Most state laws allow for the collection of a credit check fee to allow rental property owners to check a would-be rental resident's credit.
In addition to the old standby of a "retail CBI" report, property owners can now obtain a "scored" credit history much like a mortgage credit report that will alert them to the prospect's past delinquencies, recorded judgments and the possibility of their being over-extended on their current credit obligations. These are all valid "business criteria" that a prospective landlord should use when screening applicants for their rental property.
Copyright© 2002, Wallace S..Gibson. All right reserved. For information contact FrogPond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email susie@FrogPond.com

David Forcey wins survey contest
11-22-06

GEAR announced David Forcey as the winner of the survey contest for September! Members were asked to head online and participate in a survey regarding their service, and David did just that. Each month GEAR chooses a random survey participant to receive a $50 gift certificate to the GEAR store. Log on and take the survey for your chance to win!