November-December - Message from the Board

September and October were, shall we say, “yuge!” for Real Estate Council Realtor® events. The Florida ARECS Board of Directors would like to congratulate the following RECs for their outstanding accomplishments in promoting positive Attorney/Realtor® Relations.

On September 1st, the Attorneys’ Real Estate Council of Palm Beach County (AREC) held its 6th Annual Law Symposium in West Palm Beach to members of the Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches (RAPB). Approximately 120 real estate agents attended the presentations by REC member attorneys. AREC presented a second session of Law Symposium in Boca Raton for RAPB members located in the southern part of the County on September 7th. Topics addressed included Landlord Tenant & Animals, Building Permit & Code Violation, The Closing Disclosure and 1031 Exchanges. In addition to Law Symposium, AREC provides education to RAPB members throughout the year via podcasts and live seminars.

On September 8th, the Central Florida Real Estate Attorneys’ Council (CFREAC) held its 26th Annual Real Estate Legal Summit (yes that is 26!) in partnership with the Orlando Regional Realtor® Association (ORRA). Over 200 attended the all- day affair held at the Wyndham Orlando Resort which offered 7 Hours CE/CLE credit to real estate professionals and attorneys. The event included sessions like Property? Probate? Problems.; The ABC’s of REO’s and Survey Says Doc Stamps!. Speakers included CFREAC member attorneys and the President and President-Elect of the ORRA. Following the formal program, CFREAC hosted a cocktail party to provide attendees the opportunity to network in a fun and social environment.

Finally, as we’ve told you previously the Florida ARECS Board of Directors is constantly working to enhance our relationship with Florida Realtors® and our efforts paid off yet again. Florida Realtors® requested our assistance with Realtor® training in the Tallahassee area. The Tallahassee Board of Realtors® is transitioning from a local board contract to the FR/BAR and the local agents were clamoring for help. On October 12th, the Capital Region Real Estate Council in partnership with The Fund’s Legal Education Department presented Understanding and Using the FR/BAR Contract for Residential Sale and Purchase to over 60 real estate agents. The outstanding presentation by Fund Legal Education Attorney Linda Monaco was followed by a Q&A panel led by local REC member attorneys Matt Mathews, Blake Hayward and Lynwood Arnold. The event went so well the Capital Region REC was asked to make another presentation to the Tallahassee Mortgage Bankers on November 10th so stay tuned for more news on that event!

How did they do it? How do all of these busy attorneys put together top notch events like these year after year? CFREAC assigns a liaison to work with ORRA throughout the year to discuss topics impacting their members. AREC and RAPB have a similar relationship; the REC President meets with RAPB leadership regularly to identify the issues. Both RECS then invite their members to create and present the sessions requested. Standing up in front a few hundred Realtors® is a great way to establish yourself as an expert with people who can refer business your way!

There’s even more good news! RECs like these, who create original programming, will share all or some portions of their presentations with other RECs. So if your REC is planning its first Realtor® event, consider getting a jump start by borrowing an outline or program from another REC. In addition some of the programs presented were created by The Fund and those are available anytime to REC member attorneys. You will find them listed on our website at flarecs.com/request-a-seminar.

If your REC would like assistance planning a Realtor® event, contact our REC Relations Manager Rene’ Rutan at rrutan@thefund.com.