Jim Cheney Your Rincon Valley Realtor

I think one of the most misunderstood titles is that of Realtor. I know it doesn't matter to other real estate agents, but this blog is written to explain a few commonly and frequently misunderstood terms in real estate:

Sales Associate: This is probably the most common type of real estate agent the public comes in contact with. A sales associate can also be called a Salesperson, or simply a Real Estate Agent (although this last term is deceiving). In California, a Sales Associate is anybody who is at lease 18 years old, and takes 3 college level real estate courses, one of which has to be Real Estate Principles, and one has to be Real Estate Practice. The third can be any other real estate course offered at the college level. The applicant then takes the state Salesperson exam and if passes, applies for a real estate license from the state. Once licensed, the Sales Associate can not work for themselves, they have to work under the supervision of an employing broker. The Sales Associate can perform most real estate services which mostly include showing property, taking listings, writing contracts, and negotiating for a client.

Broker: A Broker,most commonly, started out as a sales associate, although there are several exceptions (such as lawyers). Once a sales associate has 2 years of experience, they need to complete the following additional college level real estate courses: Real Estate Finance, Real Estate Appraisal, Real Estate Economics, and three other courses out of a possible eleven choices. Some examples are Property Management, Real Estate Law, Accounting etc. The applicant than takes the state broker's exam which is longer, and harder then the salesperson exam. The applicant then applies for a Broker license. Once licensed, a Broker can work for themselves without supervision. They can work under a name other than their real name assuming they have filed a DBA (Doing Business As). Real Estate Brokers have greater responsibility. For example, they can manage and broker real estate loans. They can sell real estate investment such as mineral rights etc., and can handle their own escrows.

Realtor: Realtor is the most commonly misused real estate term. Realtor is a trade name. A Realtor is a real estate professional, such as a broker or a sales associate who applies for membership with the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The NAR reviews the application, and if accepted, issues the applicant an annual membership card. They can then call themselves a "Realtor". The California Real Estate Commissioner takes this term and membership very seriously, and can revoke a licensees license for calling themselves Realtors if they are not indeed a member of the NAR. There are a lot of benefits to joining the NAR. They offer superior real estate courses, for example GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) which is a year long course, and CRS (Certified Residential Specialist), E-pro (a real estate technology course) and many more.

President Obama extended the first time home buyer new $6,500 repeat home buyer tax credit program. Here are the details of how it works:

For the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer tax credit:

• You have not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.
• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
• The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
• The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.
• The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.
• For homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before November 6, 2009, the income limits are $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
• For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010, single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

Here's a link the Federal Government's FAQ page regarding the $8,000 tax credit: http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/faq1.php

For the $6,500 Repeat Home Buyer tax credit:

Here's a link to the Federal Government's FAQ page: http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/faq2.php

Here is a list of happenings this weekend in and around Sonoma County. Hope you'll come and visit!

13th Growing up in Neverland $8-$12; Sonoma State University Everete B. Person Theater; Based on the story of Peter Pan about a boy who refuses to grow up. www.sonoma.edu/performingarts

13th Possessions of Mrs. Jones 6th Street Playhouse; $15 - $25; Evelyn Jones lives in the shiny happy suburban fantasy. But when God and Satan emerge from her washing machine to enlist her help in preventing a hostile corporate takeover of Heaven and Hade, Evelyn begins to unravel. Playing thru Dec. 8 523-4185, www.6thstreetplayhouse.com

13th -- Hall Napa Valley Winemaker Dinner ; $79 ea; 6:30 pm;The Inn at the Tides; Food & Wine Education: Bodega Bay welcomes Megan Gunderson-Paredes, Assistant Winemaker, of Hall Napa Valley for a wonderful 4-course dinner with specially selected wines to complement each course. Reservations a must. 800 Coast Hwy 1, Bodega Bay (800) 541.7788

13th, 14th, 15th Actors' Theater Presents GO, DOG, GO!
Family Fun, Performing Arts: This classic children's book comes to life on stage in an exploration of movement, color and space. The dogs delve into life with gusto, creating a visual spectacle for the audience to feast upon. This play is a rollicking musical world of doggy fun. Like a pop-up book that comes to life - and never stops. Steele Lane Community Center, Santa Rosa, $10 per ticket, Call for information & tickets,(707) 543.3282 or (707) 544.5995

14th All In The Timing; 7pm (1pm Sun matinee) Casa Grande's Fall Comedy; All In The Timing, a brain-teasing Comedy by David Ives, will play at Casa Grande High School's New Multi-Use auditorium. Tickets at the door. $6/$5 Students & Seniors; (707) 536.6276

14th Charlotte's Web; $12 - $18; 2pm; Wells Fargo Center; Treasured tale featuring quirky and endearing farm animals. www.wellsfargocenterarts.org 546-3600

14th Public Solar Observing; 11am - 3pm; and 7pm -??; $3;for adults, Robert Ferguson Observatory Kenwood; 833-6979; www.rfo.org

14th World Diabetes Day Walk in Awareness 10:00 am - 12:00 pm; Community comes together in non-competitive walk in the fight against diabetes. Info booths, ceremony and more. 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Ellis Creek Extension, Petaluma. 415-302-7414.

14th Artisano Geyserville Inn; Artisano is a celebration of local, handcrafted wine, food, and art. The event will feature small production artisan wineries, handcrafted gourmet food producers, restaurants serving locally produced meat and produce, and several of the regions premier artists. The event is a benefit for Slow Food Sonoma County's School Garden Project in elementary schools in Santa Rosa, Windsor, Healdsburg, Geyserville and Cloverdale. www.artisano.org Tickets: call 1-888-878-6621 for ticket sales. Website: http://arestravel.com/4042_attraction-tickets_a843.html Geyserville Inn 894-8500

14th St. Francis Wild Game Winery Dinner; $125ea; 6:30; This annual dinner highlights local game harvested from fields and streams by prominent producers. Winemaker Tom Mackey will pull out a beautifully aged library selection to pair with Chef David Bush's delicious new appetizers and sides to dazzle our guests. 100 Pythian Rd., Santa Rosa (888) 675.WINE x 255

15th Doll & Toy Show & Sale; 10:00 am - 3:30 pm; Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building; Lots of antique, repo and modern dolls and accessories. $4.50 adult, free 12 & under. 542-0112.

One of my favorite things to do in the morning, is to read our local paper, The Press Democrat, over a cup of coffee. I've noticed over the past year that the morning paper is getting thinner and thinner. On Mondays it has gone from 4 sections to just 2. It's really become a bit of a joke.

I have a friend who is a journalist for The Press Democrat, and she said that readership is down, all the newpapers around the country are struggling and being shut down. She told me that staff writers are being laid off, and that it's really just a matter of time before our local paper folds (by the way, it's owned by the New York Times).

She said that the paper is slowly being replaced by the internet. The funny things is that those same articles are being written by the same journalist that work for the newspaper. So when the newspaper folds, and lets those journalists go, who's going to write the articles. The internet is a very funny thing. Unless you have an advertiser, you don't make money writing for the internet. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for news organizations, and see how they adabpt to our rapid change in technology.

I have to admit that I only read about 30% of the newspaper, and that most of it gets chucked into the recycle bin. It's a terrible waste of resources. There is a free internet radio station I listen to called Pandora (www.pandora.com) If you haven't listened to it, you should check it out. It asks you few questions about the music you like to listen to, then creates a play list for you. As you listen to it, you can check a box whether or not you like certain songs it plays. The more you listen to it, the better it gets at predicting what kinds of music you like to listen to. Internet new should do the same thing. Instead of getting 200 pages of information that goes into the garbage, you could just download the article s that are of interest to you.

I'm going to miss our local paper when it dies. Having a cup of coffee and surfing the internet just isn't the same as reading the paper.

I've been advertising with AdDividers for the past 5 years. I did take a brief break but have recently reinstalled my dividers in my favorite Safeway super market. The thing I really like about these, is that this Safeway is in the heart of my area of influence.

I can't say that these dividers have resulted directly to more real estate transactions, however to me this is just one more level of layering my name and face recognition. If your interested in advertising this way, AdDividers can be reached at: (805) 627 1978 or by email at AdDividers@aol.com Tell them Jim Cheney sent you.