General News: Industry & Company (2012 – March 2016)

Maximize Your Real Estate Career with Us!

General News: Industry & Company (2012 – March 2016)

3/27/16

Happy Easter!

Maximum One Ranks Again in Top Real Estate Companies! Congratulations to Maximum One for ranking #21 in the Atlanta Business Chronicles List of Top Real Estate Offices!!!

Terminating a Listing Agreement: When you take a listing, consider adding a Sepcial Stipulation adding an “Early Termination” fee should the Seller terminate prior to the end of the Expiration of the Agreement. The Listing Services charge $25 each (total $50) to withdraw listings. This fee will be added to your agent bill – the public may not pay these fees to FMLS nor GAMLS because they are not members. So, if you charge an early termination fee, then the Sellers make a check payable to Maximum One and this can offset those Withdrawal fees.

FMLS Revised Terms of Use: FMLS has revised their Terms of Use & they will be in place March 30th. When you log in to FMLS after that date, you will be prompted to accept those terms. Part of this revision includes revised copyright issues. View Revised FMLS Terms of Use here. Per the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, view the Copyright (DMCA) Notice here.

Resources for Assistance: Remember to consult the Roster (latest version on the Extranet & the Reference Section of Paperless Pipeline) several tiles on www.eAGENTweb.com “Staff & Broker” “Live Chat” “Support” and more at the bottom of this email.

MX1 Financial Forms: If you have any forms / instructions (i.e. Earnest Money Wiring Instructions or Remote Earnest Money Deposit information) dated PRIOR to 2016, please eliminate them – account numbers changed 1/1/2016. The current forms are on the Extranet & the Reference Section of Paperless Pipeline and the 2016 Manuals.

Resources for GAR Contracts & RE Contracts: We host many contracts classes! Additionally, there are copies of the handouts from the 2016 GAR Contract Dissection & the 2016 RE Forms Contract Dissection CE classes on the Extranet and the Reference Section of Paperless Pipeline.

Hands-On Assistance with MX1 Systems: We have 30 minute “How-To” classes on all of our systems & procedures. If you need hands-on assistance, please RSVP in Advance with your CEO Advisor (Branch Manager) for the class.

Lender Assistance with Listings: Please allow your Affiliated Lender to assist you by putting signage in the yard giving Buyers ideas of financial assistance they can get to purchase your listing! They also have flyers to assist you too!

2016 Manuals: Please refer to these manuals for any questions you may have about Maximum One. There are additional copies in the Workroom of your Branch, on the Extranet (Admin – Orientation Package – 2016 Manuals) & under the “Reference” tab in Paperless Pipeline

**************************************************

3/20/16

Maximum One Ranks Again in Top Real Estate Companies! Congratulations to Maximum One for ranking #21 in the Atlanta Business Chronicles List of Top Real Estate Offices!!!

Tom Ferry Training: Breakthrough By Design: This 10 week series starts over at Week #1 THIS WEEK! See information below for full information on the series & the times in each branch throughout the week where this training is held. ALL AGENTS are welcome!

Closing Updates: Thank you to Closing Attorney Elizabeth Williams of Almand & Cohen (contact information below) for reminding us of potential issues at closings and how you can help avoid any delays.

HOA Letters – get the Management Contact Information & Fee information ASAP & share with the Attorney as soon as you get the information – More in HOA letters next week!
CD’s – Closing Disclosures are still an ongoing issue at closings. Buyer’s Agents need to get them FROM THE BUYER! Many Closing Attorneys have up to 6 Closing Statements they are distributing at closing: Buyer Side (from Lender) Seller Side, Buyer Side for Agent, Seller Side for Agent, Combination & HUD-1 for cash deals. Make sure you understand how to read it!
Exhibits not signed due to parties going binding on a Counteroffer. Although the referenced Exhibits, if not countered, are included when parties bind the contract on a Counter Offer, many closing attorneys & Lenders are asking the Seller to sign the Exhibits. Again, contractually this is not required but as long as none of the terms of the exhibits were countered, the Seller may sign the Exhibits – but definitely NOT the Original Offer!

Broker Signature on FMLS & GAMLS Forms: These forms require a BROKER signature – not agent’s. Please upload these completed forms into your transaction in Paperless Pipeline so that we may get a Broker signature and then send in to FMLS & GAMLS.

MXGR Corporate Name Change: The Corporate Name of Maximum One Greater Atlanta Realtors has changed. This change has been made in GREC and is in process with HUD. The name is now: Greater Atlanta Real Estate Group, LLC dba Maximum One Greater Atlanta Realtors. Of course, nothing has changed with the Trade Name so you may still use: Maximum One Greater Atlanta Realtors.

Builder Contracts: Make sure you read these contracts! Some builders have unilateral extensions for up to 6 months! Before showing a Buyer, call the Listing Agent & ask for a copy of their contract upfront so that you may review it & familiarize yourself with it prior to your Buyer wanting to purchase a home using that contract.

The Effect of Mortgage Shopping on Credit Scores: Home buyers have 45 days to shop for a mortgage without hurting their credit Scores. Thank you to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for this information (contact information below.) For types of loans that typically involve “rate shopping” (such as mortgage, auto & student loans) FICO Scores are calculated differently. The FICO Score recognizes when someone is “shopping loans” and disregards Multiple Inquiries when they happen in a 45 Day weekend. Feel free to contact John for the specific links to 3ed party articles that go into this topic in-depth should your Buyer require more information.

February 2016 Market Summary from the Atlanta Board of Realtors: The housing market is in great shape for 2016 with a steady increase in prices resulting from tight inventory. Click here for February 2016 Market Summary Infographic.

Demand: February residential sales were at 3,246, an increase of 6.1% from the previous year.
Price: Average and median sales prices continue to gain traction and outpace 2015’s figures, with positive gains. The median sales price in February was $216,000, an increase of 4.4% from last February. The average sales price was $273,000, up 4.6% from the previous year.
Supply: Atlanta area housing inventory totaled 13,046 units in February, a decrease of 4.2% from February 2015. New listings totaled 4,196, up 5.6% from February 2015 and up 2.3% from the previous month. The supply for sales over a 12 month period declined to 3.0 months.

Set Your Listings Apart: Want your listings to stand out? Want to attract more Buyers & get more sign calls? Please contact your Affiliated Lender for an additional sign for Financing Options available for that property! They will be happy to supply you with signs!

Property Management: Remember that at Maximum One you may NOT practice property management for the public. Also, you may NOT practice Property Management for the public in your own LLC registered with the Secretary of State. Property Management is a Real Estate Activity and may ONLY be practiced by a licensed agent within a Real Estate Brokerage. The only exception is if a licensed agent(s) is the 100% owner of a rental property they may manage their OWN properties with the permission of their Broker.

Commission Advances are NOT Honored at Maximum One.

Using MX1 Forms through FMLS & GAMLS: The Contract forms that you access through FMLS & GAMLS that have Maximum One’s name on them & your signing forms as a MX1 Affiliated Licensee is ONLY for business conducted through Maximum One. In other words, you may NOT print out blank forms and give them to a FSBO or use for any other reason such as un-sanctioned Property Management transactions.

Branch Manager Staff Meeting 3/23: We are having a Branch Manager Staff Meeting from 9:30am – 11:30am and your Branch Managers will be available for assistance after that time.

Max Cares: Congratulations to Mary Colson who is in complete remission!!!!!

******************************************************************************************************

1099 Tax Forms: The 1099 Tax forms for 2015 have been issued!

Active Agents may go on WolfConnect and download their 1099 for the CURRENT Company (MXGA or MXGR) that they are in
Instructions for how to access 1099 through WolfConnect – Click Here (These instructions are also on the Extranet under “Electronic 1099” & on Paperless Pipeline under the Reference Section
If you switched between MXGA & MXGR sometime throughout the year, their 1099 for the earlier company will be mailed
Any agents that transferred between companies will get TWO 1099 Tax Forms – one from each company
Any agents who transferred from Executives will have to contact Tina Vliet to get their 1099 from her (Tina@TrueNorthREPros.com )
All inactive agents have been printed and we will mail them as well
All outside brokers have been printed and we will mail them as well
All Landlords have been corrected (moving the $ amount from box 7 to box1-rents) and they have been printed out and will be mailed as well
For any issues, contact Angie Ellis – Accounting@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 325.

**************************

3/13/16

Maximum One Ranks Again in Top Real Estate Companies! Congratulations to Maximum One for ranking #21 in the Atlanta Business Chronicles List of Top Real Estate Offices!!!

Welcome Agents New to Maximum One: Please welcome the following agents new to our company!

Candas Carmen – Galleria
Jerry Silverman – East Cobb
Nancy Pasterz – Woodstock
Melanie Smith – Galleria – Welcome BACK!!!
Terry Berglund – Woodstock
Christen April Shooks – Douglasville
Marnie Cooper – West Cobb
Enrique Kroes – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!!!
Kathy Williams – Douglasville
Lawrence Moore – Douglasville
Jeremiah Shamburger – Paulding
Leiah Watson – Galleria
Tamira Rice – Douglasville
Delana Knox – Douglasville
Casey Odom – Woodstock
Christine Radford – Galleria
Lisa Cook – Douglasville
Larry Holmes – Galleria
Debbie Brinker – West Cobb
Debbie Wright – Galleria
Christine Scribner – West Cobb
Carla Bozeman – West Cobb
Justin Haga – East Cobb

Daylight Saving Time – 3/13/16: Remember to “Spring Forward!” Also, there are increasingly more daylight hours for more showings and more business!!!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day – 3/17/16! Erin Go Braugh!

Mortgage Updates: Thank you to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage (contact information below) for the following loan information:

Divorces do not have to be final to close on a mortgage – a temporary separation agreement works.
All Loan Types: Tax returns are ONLY required for self-employed borrowers – not required for W-2 employees
FHA Loans: One year of W2 commission income is allowable vs. 2 years of tax returns. Two years of tax returns are still required for self-employed borrowers.

GAMLS Paragon Updates: As you know, GAMLS is eliminating reInsight and switching to Paragon – learn it now!!! At MX1 you must enter all listings into BOTH FMLS & GAMLS so make sure you learn about this system. Here are some updates about the new listing service:

Paragon is available for use NOW – all modules except for Listing Input.
Login to Paragon through www.GAMLS.com & select “Paragon Search” under the Online Access heading OR go to gamls.paragonrels.com
reInsight will shut down the 2nd Quarter of 2016
Start using this transition time now so that when reInsight is no longer available, you won’t be stuck!

Two NEW Maximum One Offices: NOW OPEN in McDonough & Alpharetta!!!

Maximum One Partners – McDonough
Managing Partners: Ming & Alan Richardson
Office@MaxOnePartners.com
313 Jonesboro Rd.
McDonough, GA 30253
678-782-5050
Maximum One Executives – Alpharetta
Managing Partners – Monica & Kenneth Storey
Office@MaxOneExecutives.com
1005 Alderman Dr. Suite#113
Alphartta, GA 30005
770-835-4311

Max Cares: Condolences to Robin Wilhite – whose uncle passed away this week.

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Laura Wilson who has a rare strain of the flu (Strain B) – feel better!

Max Cares: Congratulations to Mary Colson who completed her final round of chemotherapy!

Max Cares: Congratulations to Sharon Barnette whose Grandson is getting married this week!

Max Cares: Condolences & prayers to Monica & Kenneth Storey whose nephew was killed in an auto accident this week.

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Clarissa Zumwalt who goes into the hospital on Monday for surgery.

*****************

3/6/16

Down Payment Issues for Buyers: – Remember there are at least 3 programs to help Buyers with any down payment issues: $100 Down Payment on HUD Homes, 100% VA Financing & 100% USDA Financing on qualifying homes. Thank you to Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corporation – contact him for specific information. See contact information below.

Best Days to Close: The best days of the month to close to have the fewest issues with funding issues and with lender wires: the 3rd through 11th and the 20th through the 25th Thank you to Amee Davis of Davis & Associates for sharing this information. See contact information below.

Complete Contracts: Make sure, regardless of what the co-op agent tells you, that YOU send the Closing Attorney and the Lender ALL parts of the contract – Exhibits, Amendments, etc. – in advance of when they need to prepare the Closing Disclosures. AND we need all copies in Paperless Pipeline.

FHA Guidelines on Rental Income: To qualify for an FHA insured loan, a borrower cannot count the rental income on the house they are vacating unless they are moving 100 miles away or have 25% equity. If this is not the case, the lender will be required to count the mortgage on BOTH houses for qualification purposes. Thank you to Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corporation for clarifying this change in the FHA guidelines. See contact information below.

GREC CE Requirements: Remember that agents must now have 36 hours of CE credit for their license renewal. For agents renewing AFTER 7/1/16 3 of those 36 hours must be on the topic of License Law. Maximum One hosts several CE classes every month including: “License Law for Agents & Brokers.”

Georgia House Passes Real Estate License Law: The Georgia License Law is in the process of being updated to align with the guidelines enacted by the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID.) Georgia House Bill 869 provides for the provisions mirror federal regulations by requiring brokers to maintain copies of closing statements, only if provided to the licensee. It further eliminates the duty of a broker to deliver a copy of a closing statement by requiring licensees to ensure that their clients receive a copy of the closing statement, if a copy was provided to the licensee. Additionally, HB 869 removes the provision that brokers review all offers, including offers immediately rejected, through new language that would mandate brokers review only accepted offers.

Two NEW Maximum One Offices: NOW OPEN in McDonough & Alpharetta!!!

Maximum One Partners – McDonough
Managing Partners: Ming & Alan Richardson
Office@MaxOnePartners.com
313 Jonesboro Rd.
McDonough, GA 30253
678-782-5050
Maximum One Executives – Alpharetta
Managing Partners – Monica & Kenneth Storey
Office@MaxOneExecutives.com
1005 Alderman Dr. Suite#113
Alphartta, GA 30005
770-835-4311

FMLS Login: Remember to login to FMLS on a regular basis. If you go 6 months without logging in, FMLS will disable your login ID.

Georgia Natural Gas Real Estate Advantage Program (REAP): Make sure you participate in the Georgia Natural Gas Real Estate Advantage Program. This program has offers for Buyers AND agents. Buyers get: $50 Visa Reward card or up to 20 cent discount per therm for one year. Agents receive $25 Visa Reward card and monthly $300 Gift Card for top referring agent and $5,000 Grand Prize at the end of the year.

Register as an Agent: www.gng.com/REAP
MX1 2016 Promotion Code: HOUSEWARMING
Information on REAP Program: Click here for REAP flyer
REAP Contact Person for MX1: Gina Niederhauser – gina.niederhauser@southstarenergy.com 404-685-4081

Max Cares: Condolences to Barbara Roberts – whose father passed away this week.

Max Cares: Our thoughts go out to Monica Thomas whose Mom & nephew were in a car accident last week.

******************************************************************************************************

1099 Tax Forms: The 1099 Tax forms for 2015 have been issued!

Active Agents may go on WolfConnect and download their 1099 for the CURRENT Company (MXGA or MXGR) that they are in
Instructions for how to access 1099 through WolfConnect – Click Here (These instructions are also on the Extranet under “Electronic 1099” & on Paperless Pipeline under the Reference Section
If you switched between MXGA & MXGR sometime throughout the year, their 1099 for the earlier company will be mailed
Any agents that transferred between companies will get TWO 1099 Tax Forms – one from each company
Any agents who transferred from Executives will have to contact Tina Vliet to get their 1099 from her (Tina@TrueNorthREPros.com )
All inactive agents have been printed and we will mail them as well
All outside brokers have been printed and we will mail them as well
All Landlords have been corrected (moving the $ amount from box 7 to box1-rents) and they have been printed out and will be mailed as well
For any issues, contact Angie Ellis – Accounting@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 325.

**********************************************

2/28/16

This is Leap Year! – We have a February 29th this year!

Agent-Owned Property: Make sure you stay in compliance with GREC regarding your own properties. Read GREC Article: Rules for Licensee-Owned Property

Agents Must Present All Offers: If a Seller rejects an offer on their listing, make sure your protect yourself by being able to PROVE that you did in fact comply with License Law 43-40-25(b)(19) by presenting that offer to the Seller. Have to Seller sign the GAR 144 – Notice to Reject Offer / Counter Offer or the RE Form 260 -Notification. Read the article from the Georgia Realtor magazine: Form F144 for more information.

Register as an Agent: www.gng.com/REAP
MX1 2016 Promotion Code: HOUSEWARMING
Information on REAP Program: Click here for REAP flyer
REAP Contact Person for MX1: Gina Niederhauser – gina.niederhauser@southstarenergy.com 404-685-4081

Homestead Tax Exemption Reminder: Remember to contact your Buyer Clients and the Buyers of your Listings to file for their Homestead Exemption. Thank you to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for this Homestead Exemption County Contact Flyer. Ask for referrrals at the same time! Feel free to use this Homestead Reminder & Referral Letter to assist you!

Nat Hardwick Arrested: Nat Hardwick of the former law firm Morris Harwick & Schneider then Morris Schneider & Wittstadt and CEO of Landcastle Title was arrested on Federal Embezzlement Charges. Read the full article on Hardwick’s Arrest here.

To be Paid as a Corporation: As you prepare your 2015 Taxes, many of your accountants are suggesting that you incorporate your real estate business. If you choose to do this and would like MX1 to pay you as a corporation rather than as an individual, you will need to complete a new TAX ID form which we can send you through Docusign. We will also need copies of your Articles of Incorporation and the date your corporation started. We will also send you a new Direct Deposit form to coincide with your new business banking account that you most likely will set up with your new corporation. Donna Black will then change everything in the back-end accounting software.

Douglasville Branch Expanding! Congratulations to Maximum One! We are expanding our Douglasville Branch into the space adjoining the existing office. “Her we grow again!”

Price Reductions on Listings: Remember when your Seller agrees to a price reduction, you must get a signed Amendment to Brokerage Engagement with the Seller’s approval of the price reduction.

Short Sale Approval Letters: Make sure to upload the Short Sale Approval Letter (with date) to Paperless Pipeline.

Closing Date in Contract: The contracts call for a specific closing date. If there is a possibility that the transaction will close earlier than that specific date, make sure you have a Special Stipulation or Amendment stating, “All parties agree that transaction may close on or before ____(date)____.

SWIFT Log In: Please watch this week’s video for information.

WolfConnect / Extranet: If you have any issues, please contact Kim Murray: Admin@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 ext. 303

Paperless Pipeline: If you have any issues, please contact Dawn Luttrell: Compliance@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 ext. 309.

Register for CE Classes: Our CE classes are open to every agent in Georgia & they do sell out! Check out the March training calendar & register now! Go to www.eAGENTweb.com & click on “Calendar.”

Max Cares: Condolences to Donna Black– whose Aunt passed away this week.

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Dianne Carroll who is having knee replacement surgery.

Max Cares: Condolences to Jane Schnoebelen who lost a very very dear friend this week.

**************************************************

2/21/16

GAMLS Paragon Classes Available: – This is going to replace reInsight so you need to learn it. GAMLS has webinars online and classroom classes. Go to www.GAMLS.com for more information. Got for a Paragon Test Drive now. Other classes include:

Introducing Paragon: Overview – Recorded Webinar
Introducing Paragon: Searching – Live Webinar February 17th
Introducing Paragon: CMAs & Contracts – Live Webinar February 24th
Log in to Paragon for a Test Drive – Use your GAMLS login information

Signs of an Earlier Spring: From 2016 ABR President Lane McCormack: “January was a signifier of the healthy home sales and prices that we are predicting in 2016. The housing momentum from December has continued into January and we are showing signs of entering an early spring. Inventory is still a concern and is continuing to be one of the major hindrances to the overall market.”

Prices Up & Listings Down in January in Georgia: Georgia housing indicators for January are in. Check out the 2015 Year-End Report
–   New Listings were down 6 percent to 11,871.
–   Pending Sales were up 10 percent to 8,472.
–   Closed Sales were up 9 percent to 6,094.
–   Days on Market decreased 6 percent to 80 days.
–   Median Sales Price increased 7 percent to $167,000.
–   Average Sales Price was up 5 percent to $210,600.
–   Inventory levels shrank 11 percent to 37,885 units.
–   Months Supply of Inventory was down 24 percent to 4.2 months

Short Sales & Commission: Remember that if you are a principal in a short sale, the short sale lender will most likely not approve the deal with you getting commercial. Also, if you are the only agent in a short sale transaction, the short sale lender will most likely only approve one side of the commission.

How to Get Paid on FSBOs: BEFORE you show the property & especially before you send the Seller a contract, you need to have a discussion with the FSBO to find out IF s/he will pay the Broker a Commission & if the answer is yes, then you complete & FSBO signs : “Authorization to Show Unlisted Property” where Seller agrees to pay Maximum One commission. If not, then your Buyer will pay based on how you completed the Buyer Brokerage Agreement or Customer Acknowledgement.

FMLS Agent Thumbnail Report: FMLS has a new useful report – to scan and search results with brief info & photos.

Setting Up Client Searches: ListingBook is a third party tool to set up specific & interactive Client Searches that tap directly into live time FMLS listings. Also, FMLS has Client Portal – used to be called Client Gateway. Click here for Information on Client Portal

Max Cares: Condolences to the family of Sue Wattrick– who passed away this week.

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Jan Schmidt’s father who has been in the hospital and rehab and is not doing well. .

******************************************************************************************************

1099 Tax Forms: The 1099 Tax forms for 2015 have been issued!

Active Agents may go on WolfConnect and download their 1099 for the CURRENT Company (MXGA or MXGR) that they are in
Instructions for how to access 1099 through WolfConnect – Click Here (These instructions are also on the Extranet under “Electronic 1099” & on Paperless Pipeline under the Reference Section
If you switched between MXGA & MXGR sometime throughout the year, their 1099 for the earlier company will be mailed
Any agents that transferred between companies will get TWO 1099 Tax Forms – one from each company
Any agents who transferred from Executives will have to contact Tina Vliet to get their 1099 from her (Tina@TrueNorthREPros.com )
All inactive agents have been printed and we will mail them as well
All outside brokers have been printed and we will mail them as well
All Landlords have been corrected (moving the $ amount from box 7 to box1-rents) and they have been printed out and will be mailed as well
For any issues, contact Angie Ellis – Accounting@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 325.

********

2/14/16

Happy Valentine’s Day 2/14/16!

President’s Day: Monday 2/15/16 – This is NOT a Banking Day!

GAR to update Georgia’s License Law to Reflect New TRID Federal Laws: Currently, Georgia’s License Law requires Brokers to deliver a complete closing statement to the Seller in every real estate transaction as well as keep copies of the final accounting of the deal in their files for three years. With the enactment of the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) Brokers and agents, as you know, are no longer guaranteed access to the COMPLETE closing statement for both sides of the deal. HB 869 is being considered and will likely go through changes before becoming Georgia law. Read the entire HB 869 bill here.

Bill Introduced to Expand Funding for Georgia Dream: The Georgia Congress is considering HB 773 to expand the bond limits of the Georgia Dream Housing Finance Authority from the current amount of $1.3 billion to $5 billion. To learn more about the Georgia Dream Program, click on the link.

Working with a Buyer who Worked with Another Broker?: When you ask a Buyer if they are working with or HAD worked with another Broker, if they said they no longer are, request a copy of proof of Termination of their previous Buyer Brokerage Agreement. If you do not have proof, you may potentially end up working with this Buyer and find yourself in the middle of a Procuring Cause of Sale issue where your commission is in jeopardy.

FMLS CE Classes & Training Videos & Webinars FMLS offers 6 3 Hour CE classes & 14 1.5 hour Webinars. Throughout the year, we try to get FMLS to travel to the Branches to teach these CE classes at Maximum One. If you cannot attend a class at MX1, check out their training calendar on their website!

CyberCrime Targeting the Real Estate Industry: Criminals are hacking the email accounts of Buyers involved in real estate transactions and sending them “revised wire instructions.” The Buyer then wires the badguy their closing funds instead of to the closing attorney (or earnest money to the Broker.) Click Here to read the article on how to prevent this from happening and what to do if it does happen. Additionally, the 2016 GAR Consumer Brochure, “Protect Yourself When Buying a Home” has added this admonition to the revised brochure. MAKE SURE YOU GIVE THE CONSUMER BROCHURES TO YOUR CLIENTS. They are included in BOTH GAR & RE FOrms packages.

Max Cares: Prayers to Kim Murray– whose Father had a stroke & was admitted to the Hospital Sunday night & will be moved to Log Term Care on Friday.

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Courtney Wetzel who was in an automobile accident last week.

Max Cares: Congratulations to Cindy Chang who has received her Broker’s License!

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Bobbie Poole who is in the hospital.

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Reade White-Spunner who is in the hospital.

Max Cares: Prayers to Melanie Brown whose Father fell and has a compound fracture of his leg.

**********

2/7/16

Happy Birthday Dave Kubat 2/12/16! Please wish Dave a Happy Birthday on February 12th!! Dave@MaximumOne.Pro

Welcome Agents New to Maximum One! Please welcome the newest agents to Maximum One!

Bo Evans – Paulding – Welcome BACK!!
Noel Italo – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!!
Keisha Calvert – Douglasville – Welcome BACK!!
Mary Elizabeth Morris – Woodstock
Cathy George – Douglasville
Jean Forbes – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!!
Jennifer Douglass – West Cobb
David Douglass – West Cobb
Diane Maldonado – West Cobb
Ashley Callahan – Woodstock
Jean-Claude Martin – Galleria
Michael Montague – East Cobb
Valerie Webster – Douglasville
Ruth Ann Worrell – West Cobb
Robert Jackman – Galleria – Welcome BACK!!
TJ Roberts – Galleria

President’s Day: Monday 2/15/16 – This is NOT a Banking Day!

TRID – When Can We Close?: Thank you to Closing Attorney, Andy Hartman of Hartman-Imbriale for sharing with us this chart reminding of us scheduling closing dates in light of the new TRID laws. Click here for chart of TRID: When Can We Close?

NHF Platinum Loan Program Suspension: The popular National Homebuyer Fund Down Payment Assistance program will be suspended February 29, 2016. All reservations for NHF funds must be locked into the NHF Reservation Portal by 2/29/16. Thank you to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for sharing this information – he will answer any questions you have on this program. Click here for the press release & more information on the Suspension of the NHF Platinum Loan Program for DownPayment assistance.

2015 Tax Extenders: The Congress and Senate have passed a bill to extend many tax break extensions which would have a positive impact on the Housing Industry. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law. Read more information & specifics here: 2015 Tax Extenders.

Pursuing a Defaulting Buyer/Seller for Commission: On a case-by-case evaluation, Maximum One will pursue a defaulting Buyer / Seller per the legal remedies provided for in the contract. Should the governing body award commission to Maximum One, after expenses, these funds will be shared evenly between the agent and Maximum One; should the governing body not award commission to Maximum One, the expenses to pursue the funds shall be shared evenly between the agent and Maximum One.

Max Cares: Condolences to Brenda Perry– whose Mother-in-Law passed away.

Max Cares: Continued prayers to Mary Colson whose breast cancer has metasticized to other parts of her body.

Max Cares: Congratulations to Carl Batten who has received his Broker’s License!

******************************************************************************************************

1099 Tax Forms: The 1099 Tax forms for 2015 have been issued!

Active Agents may go on WolfConnect and download their 1099 for the CURRENT Company (MXGA or MXGR) that they are in
Instructions for how to access 1099 through WolfConnect – Click Here (These instructions are also on the Extranet under “Electronic 1099” & on Paperless Pipeline under the Reference Section
If you switched between MXGA & MXGR sometime throughout the year, their 1099 for the earlier company will be mailed
Any agents that transferred between companies will get TWO 1099 Tax Forms – one from each company
Any agents who transferred from Executives will have to contact Tina Vliet to get their 1099 from her (Tina@TrueNorthREPros.com )
All inactive agents have been printed and we will mail them as well
All outside brokers have been printed and we will mail them as well
All Landlords have been corrected (moving the $ amount from box 7 to box1-rents) and they have been printed out and will be mailed as well

******

1/31/16

1099 Tax Forms The 1099 Tax forms for 2015 have been issued!

Active Agents may go on WolfConnect and download their 1099 for the CURRENT Company (MXGA or MXGR) that they are in
Instructions for how to access 1099 through WolfConnect – Click Here (These instructions are also on the Extranet under “Electronic 1099” & on Paperless Pipeline under the Reference Section
If you switched between MXGA & MXGR sometime throughout the year, their 1099 for the earlier company will be mailed
Any agents that transferred between companies will get TWO 1099 Tax Forms – one from each company
Any agents who transferred from Executives will have to contact Tina Vliet to get their 1099 from her (Tina@TrueNorthREPros.com )
All inactive agents have been printed and we will mail them as well
All outside brokers have been printed and we will mail them as well
All Landlords have been corrected (moving the $ amount from box 7 to box1-rents) and they have been printed out and will be mailed as well

Returns of Earnest Money Checks: We are now paying out Earnest Money Releases through a system called “Bill Pay.” This system take a bit longer than just cutting a check.

It is best for agents to use certified funds for Earnest Money to avoid any really long delays in EM disbursements
If a Buyer uses a Personal Check for Earnest Money & then terminates – it could be close to 2 weeks before they get their Earnest Money back
Remember we have a 10 Banking Day hold on Personal Checks + the Bill Pay system = longer time to pay out the Earnest Money

GAMLS Paragon: GAMLS is changing systems from reInsight to Paragon. Watch this briefvideo on Paragon

MX1 Extranet: We Maximum One will continue to use WolfConnect. This system contains the “Extranet” intra-office email, “Haves & Wants” and a CRM system with Drip Campaigns. For easier access to the Extranet, log on to the Extranet & “slide” the icon of the file cabinet from the “Resource” section to the blue shortcut panel on the left!

February Training Calendar: The February Calendar is posted. Please register for classes NOW as our classes sell out!

MX1 New EDS /Blue Sheet: When you create a Transaction in Paperless Pipeline, complete ALL the fill-in-the blanks!!! This is the new EDS / Blue Sheet! These “fill-in-the-blanks” are not required in the System but they ARE required by MX1 as the new EDS / BlueSheet so we really need your help & cooperation on this! When you enter in a new listings, please enter in as much information as possible. Please make sure to fill in the FMLS number too!

Max Cares: Continued prayers for Brenda Perry– whose Mother-in-Law is in the hospital and not doing very well.

***********

1/24/16

Get Your 2016 NAR Membership Card: Visit the NAR Member Center to download your Free Membership card if you are a member of NAR.

2016 GAR Forms: These are now available on both FMLS & GAMLS.

2016 Housing Predictions: This infographic depicts what’s expected for the 2016 Housing Market.

housing-expectations-2016-infographic-2016-01-12-full

Paulding Closing Attorney – Almand & Cohen: Elizabeth Williams has joined our Affiliated Closing Attorney Firm, Almand & Cohen, as a closing attorney. Congratulations, Elizabeth!

GAMLS Changing Systems: GAMLS will eliminate reInsight & switch to Paragon. This MLS system has “intuitive & straightforward navigation to make it easy to work in the office & on-the-go. Watch Video Introduction of Paragon.

2016 Social Media Trends: Although Social Media was originally intended to make everything public, the latest trend is to use the “private” features of social media with your clients. Also keep your eye on the increasing trend of “live streaming.” Another tip… when was the last time you re-vamped your website? Read full article here for more information.

Iowa Agent, Beverly Carter, Murderer Found Guilty: On January 15, 2016, her murderer was found guilty. Remember that SAFETY is your number one priority. Read the full article here about this agent and other agent safety issues. Thank you to Active Rain Ambassador, Lynn B. Friedman, for sharing this information with us through ActiveRain & giving us a “shout out!”

Maximum One Facebook Pages: Make sure you “like” our pages on Facebook!
• Maximum One Realty
• Maximum One Realty Partners

Fannie Mae Homepath: Fannie Mae shares the following information on Offer Submissions:
Offer Submission
Selling Agents:
Review the Offer Preparation Tips For Selling Agents to prepare an offer that contains all information necessary for the Listing Agent to present the offer to Fannie Mae. HomePath.com also has copies of the Real Estate Purchase Addendum, Owner Occupant Certification, and the Amendment form by clicking on the Real Estate Professionals tab helpful resources link. When you have a complete offer package, email it to the Listing Agent. If you have a buyer currently participating in a multiple offer round, email the buyer’s response directly to the Listing Agent.
Listing Agents:
When entering offers into Equator, note in the Offer Comments that the offer did not come through HomePath Online Offers due to system maintenance.
As detailed in the REO Sales Guide, review all offers for the required submission elements before entering the offer into Equator:
* The local board or state-promulgated contract signed by all buyers.
* A completed Fannie Mae Real Estate Purchase Addendum signed by all buyers.
* An earnest money deposit as evidenced by amount populated in section 1b of the Real Estate Purchase Addendum (unless waived for public entities.) A copy of the check is not required for submission.
* Owner Occupant Certification Form if buyer intends to occupy property as a primary residence. This must be signed by the occupying buyer, selling agent, and listing agent. The listing agent’s signature verifies that any discovery of additional information has been reported to the Fannie Mae Sales Representative and does not indicate that the listing agent is verifying the validity of the buyer’s occupancy representation. Listing agents must include details about any knowledge of other properties owned and buyer’s motivation for occupying.
Multiple Offer Management: New Multiple Offer Round
* Email the Selling Agent and provide a Date and Time for submission of buyer’s highest and best offer (24, 48, or 72 hours). Retain the email for proof that notice was sent.
* Document Equator messaging with details that a Multiple Offer Round is in progress and provide the expiration date, noting that the multiple offer process is manual due to system maintenance of HomePath Online Offers.
Multiple Offer Management: Multiple Offer Round in Progress
* Submit the results of the Multiple Offer Round into Equator.
* In Offer Comments, note that the Multiple Offer Process was completed manually due to HomePath Online Offer system maintenance.
Thank you for your patience during this time and look for a future communication to let you know the system is back online

Agent Mailboxes: Branch Managers will completely empty ALL Mailboxes the last week in January. Come to the office & clean out your mailbox or its contents will be thrown away. We will eliminate Agent Mailboxes from the branches within the next couple of months. Please give your Branch Manager permission to open up any mail that appears to be related to a transaction (such as an Earnest Money check, commission check & Closing Disclosure.) Please make arrangements with your Branch Manager if you are having a client or co-op agent drop off a document for you.

MX1 New EDS /Blue Sheet: When you create a Transaction in Paperless Pipeline, complete ALL the fill-in-the blanks!!! This is the new EDS / Blue Sheet! These “fill-in-the-blanks” are not required in the System but they ARE required by MX1 as the new EDS / BlueSheet so we really need your help & cooperation on this! When you enter in a new listings, please enter in as much information as possible. Please make sure to fill in the FMLS number too!

Max Cares: Continued prayers for Cindy Corona & Kristine Corona – their grandson & son (respectively) will have his new cochlear implant activated on 1/25!

Max Cares: Condolences to the friends & family on the passing of Jack Hewell.

Max Cares: Prayers for the sister of Sheila Webb who is extremely ill.

**********

1/17/16

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Monday, January 18th

“Maximum One Realty Partners” – Office in McDonough: The McDonough Office is having their Grand Opening on January 29th! The address is: 313 Jonesboro Rd., McDonough, GA 30253. For more information, please contact Ming & Alan Richardson: Ming@MaxOnePartners.com 770-616-4901. Check out the office:

Mortgage Notes: Thank you to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for sharing the following information with us at the Galleria & Woodstock sales meetings:
• USDA increased Upfront MIP from 2.0% to 2.75%
• Condo Market – Movement Mortgage has an easier time approving conventional loans & can do spot approvals for Condos because they are not a depository bank & not beholden to FDIC regulations
• All down payments can be 100% gift on conventional or FHA loans
• Future income from a NEW W2 job is allowable to close a conventional loan shortly after Buyer begins new job (no need to wait for full paycheck)
FHA Loans on HUD REO Homes: Thank you to Movement Mortgage & Homestar Financial Corporation for sharing these updates on HUD Homes:
• $100 down on FHA Loan program on a HUD Home buyers may add the 1.75% Upfront to the loan amount
• New Appraisal ordered with the contract sets the home’s new value instead of the HUD’s appraisal (& Buyer has to pay for appraisal)

FMLS – New Features in Realist: There are a couple of helpful new features in Realist for 2016: School Enrollment Boundaries & Flood Zones. Go to FMLS for more information.

Mortgage Forgiveness Act Possibly Extended to 2017: As part of other tax legislation, Congress has voted to extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Act to 2017… now we have to see if the President will sign it. Read the full article here.

2016 GAR Contracts: The 2016 GAR forms are available on the GAR website (www.GARealtor.com ) under the “Law/Ethics” tab. You may access them at no additional cost if you are a member of a Board of Realtors – you will simply need your NRDS number. If you do not choose to join a Board, you may purchase the right to use them in 2016 for $224 payable to GAR https://forms.garealtor.com/ . They are currently not yet available on FMLS but they ARE available on GAMLS. You will need your NRDS number or your FPID number if you become an “authorized user” by paying GAR for the 2016 useage. There is still no charge for any agent to use the RE Forms as available on FMLS & GAMLS. Make sure you take a class on the 2016 GAR Contracts. Maximum One still has several classes throughout all of the Branches the remainder of this month & throughout February. These classes DO SELL OUT so register NOW…. http://www.eAGENTweb.com …click on tile “Calendar” !

*******

1/10/16

Welcome Agents New to Maximum One: Please welcome these agents new to Maximum One:
• Nicole Owens – Paulding
• Crystal Hardy – Woodstock
• Melissa Crabb – Woodstock
• Jamie Arnold – West Cobb – WELCOME BACK!
• Foster Scotland – Paulding
• Michelle Inman – West Cobb
• Don Herring – Galleria
• April Byrd – Galleria
• Daisy Watson – Douglasville
• Elmetri Buchanan – Douglasville
• Tiffany Williams – Douglasville – WELCOME BACK!
• Reade White-Spunner – Woodstock – WELCOME BACK!
• Pourya Bakhtiyar – Douglasville – WELCOME BACK!
• Gena Worley – Paulding – WELCOME BACK!
• Jan Schmidt – Galleria
• Steve Condron – Woodstock
• Christina Wysocki – East Cobb
• Kristi Elenburg – West Cobb
• Tamara Harris – East Cobb
• Marcella Stephens – Galleria
• Joan Golding – West Cobb
• Karla Brown – Galleria1099 Tax Forms: Remember that if you were a member of BOTH MXGA & MXGR throughout the calendar year (i.e. if you switched from Realty to Realtor or vice versa) you will receive TWO 1099 Tax forms – one from each company. Also, since we are eliminating WolfConnect, make sure you have your 1099 from 2014 for filing your taxes this year – please download it NOW! If you were in two companies, ONLY your current company 1099 will be on WolfConnect & we mailed you (last January) your 1099 from the other company you were in. See instructions here to get 1099 from tax year 2014CFPB/TRID Privacy Laws & the 2016 GAR Contract: The primary purpose of the CFPB is to Aprotect the borrower in real estate transactions. Lenders & Closing Attorneys are prohibited from sharing the Buyer-Side Closing Disclosure with anyone other than the Buyer – that includes even the Buyer’s agent. In the 2016 contracts, GAR has added a new paragraph (A13 – as discussed at length in last week’s Contract Tip Video) yet there remain many issues with this new addition. Firstly, not all closing attorneys use this ALTA form. Secondly, this ALTA combined form discloses the Buyer’s per diem interest – clearly antithetical to CFPB compliance. Thirdly, your closing attorneys do not sign the contracts and do not have to comply with those terms. Therefore, regardless if the Buyer & Seller agree to the new provision in paragraph A13 in the 2016 GAR Purchase & Sale, the closing attorney may choose to not give the agents copies of that form – you need to get the Buyer’s Side Closing Disclosure directly from the Buyer. Thank you to Amee Davis of Davis & Associates for describing this form in detail at the West Cobb Sales Meeting.New Fannie Mae HomeReady Loan Program: To compete with FHA, Fannie Mae has developed a 3% down Conventional Loan Program. There are a few restrictions including: as of the day of closing, the Buyer may not own any real estate & there are some income limits that vary based on county and which part of the county the property is. As opposed to FHA, there is a lower Mortgage Insurance payment AND unlike FHA, this payment will drop off after a certain level of equity has been built. Thank you to Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corporation for sharing this information with us at the West Cobb Sales Meeting.Using Facebook to Grow Your Business: Thank you to Tanya Kennedy for teaching us at the West Cobb Sales Meeting the many easy ways to create a Facebook Business page to enhance & grow your business.DA Requests: Please use the most current DA Request (can be found in the Reference Section of Paperless Pipeline) as the information on this form coincides with your completion of all the information in Paperless Pipeline when creating a transaction..Multiple Offers & GREC: If you receive multiple offers on your listing, make sure to keep copies of all of the offers & your communication with the Buyer’s agents representing the multiple buyers. If there is ever a GREC investigation regarding why the Seller chose one offer in this situation, you will have to provide evidence of your presentation of all offers to the Seller & the Seller’s rejection of any offers not selected, You may also be asked to explain why the Seller rejected various offers. In other words, keep great notes & files & organize all of your communication with respect to your real estate transactions.2016 GAR Contracts: The 2016 GAR forms are available on the GAR website (www.GARealtor.com ) under the “Law/Ethics” tab. You may access them at no additional cost if you are a member of a Board of Realtors – you will simply need your NRDS number. If you do not choose to join a Board, you may purchase the right to use them in 2016 for $224 payable to GAR https://forms.garealtor.com/ . They are currently not yet available on FMLS & GAMLS but should be any day. Once they are available on the listing services, you will again need your NRDS number or your FPID number if you become an “authorized user” by paying GAR for the 2016 useage. There is still no charge for any agent to use the RE Forms as available on FMLS & GAMLS. Make sure you take a class on the 2016 GAR Contracts. Maximum One still has several classes throughout all of the Branches the remainder of this month & throughout February. These classes DO SELL OUT so register NOW!!!!Agent Mailboxes: Branch Managers will completely empty ALL Mailboxes the last week in January. Come to the office & clean out your mailbox or its contents will be thrown away. Remember, this is a business and you should not receive any personal mail at your office location. We will eliminate Agent Mailboxes from the branches within the next couple of months. Please give your Branch Manager permission to open up any mail that appears to be related to a transaction (such as an Earnest Money check, commission check & Closing Disclosure.) Please make arrangements with your Branch Manager if you are having a client or co-op agent drop off a document for you.

Realtor Boards Top Producer/Million Dollar Club Programs : Check with your local Board for these awards programs & when the applications are due. Please get the applications from your Boards, fill them out & then send to Dana Sparks for verification & signing. The Boards have strict deadlines so if you want to participate, don’t delay!!

2016 Board Membership: Please finalize your Realtor Board choice – renew if you are staying with the same Board or switch if you are switching to another Member Board. If you have not renewed your Board Membership, we will gladly switch you to the non-Boarded Maximum One company – MXGA. Please let us know!

Max Cares: Get well wishes to Kelly Thomas who had gall bladder surgery this week.
Max Cares: Prayers to Cindy Corona & Kristine Corona whose grandson & son (respectively is having a cochlear implant on Monday.
Max Cares: Prayers to Wanda Reeves whose husband has been in the hospital with an unknown illness affecting his memory.
Max Cares: Prayers for Tina Krueger who fell at her first listing appointment & broker her foot & needs surgery.
Max Cares: Continued Prayers to Lynda Matthews whose husband is still recovering from a horrific auto accident.

********

1/3/16

Happy, Healthy, Peaceful, Fun & Prosperous New Year! From all of us at Maximum One, our wish for you is that 2016 is full of Blessings of Peace & Abundance & Joy & Friendship & Love!

Remote Earnest Money Deposit: As you know, at Maximum One, you can deposit the earnest money due on a contract remotely at any Chase Bank. There are specific instructions for this available in the Reference Section of Paperless Pipeline. The Accounts for the Remote Earnest Money Deposit for both MXGA & MXGR have changed. PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR BRANCH MANAGER TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING THE CORRECT ACOUNT!!!!MX1 New EDS /Blue Sheet: When you create a Transaction in Paperless Pipeline, complete ALL the fill-in-the blanks!!! This is the new EDS / Blue Sheet! These “fill-in-the-blanks” are not required in the System but they ARE required by MX1 as the new EDS / BlueSheet so we really need your help & cooperation on this! When you enter in a new listings, please enter in as much information as possible. Please make sure to fill in the FMLS number too!

Realtor Boards Top Producer/Million Dollar Club Programs : Check with your local Board for these awards programs & when the applications are due. Please get the applications from your Boards, fill them out & then send to Dana Sparks for verification & signing. The Boards have strict deadlines so if you want to participate, don’t delay!!

Property Management: Maximum One does not allow agents to manage property for others. If you have clients who require property management services, they must utilize the services of a firm sanctioned by GREC that practices Property Management. You, as an individual or with your own Georgia LLC or other company, may NOT practice Property Management outside of a Brokerage recognized by GREC – it is a License Law violation.

Max Cares: Get well wishes to Annamaria Stalker who broker her arm over Christmas.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Compliance Broker, Dawn Luttrell & Tommy Southern on their engagement Christmas day!!
Max Cares: Get well wishes to Karlene Shiver who broke her ankle over Christmas.

*******

12/20/15

MX1 Offices Will Be Closed for Christmas: We are closing at 2pm on Christmas Eve & will be closed Friday 12/25. Merry Christmas!

2016 GAR Contracts: 2016 GAR Contracts will be available to agents in January 2016. The majority of the changes are reflective of the new TRID laws. Watch the “Deal or No Deal” contracts tip video on the changes to the Unilateral Notice to Extend Closing Date. This is a continuation in the series of “sneak peek” videos into the changes & new forms in the 2016 GAR Contract package.

2016 GAR Contract Dissection CE Class: Maximum One will host at least one 2016 GAR contracts class in each branch in January. Many of these will be taught by our Affiliated Closing Attorneys – you will see on the information / registration link. If not in January, then we hope the attorneys will teach or co-teach these classes in February.

In-House Deals or Referrals: If you are sharing any commissions in any way with another Maximum One agent, you are required to have a signed Broker-to-Broker Agreement between you specifying percent of commission you are sharing & who is paying what portion of FMLS fees. Simply filling out this information in EDS, the Notes section of Paperless Pipeline or BlueSheet is not sufficient – we need an agreement signed by both agents.

Housing Market Remain Steady in November: Georgia housing indicators for November are in. Please note that all indicators are year-over-year. Click here to access the full report.
– Pending Sales were up 23 percent to 7,861.
– Average Sales Price was up 7 percent to $218,840.
– Inventory levels shrank 7 percent to 41,891 units.
– Median Sales Price increased 7 percent to $175,050.
– Days on Market decreased 8 percent to 72 days.
– Months Supply of Inventory was down 23 percent to 4.6 months.
– New Listings increased 4 percent to 9,568.

Watch Your Contract Dates: Make sure that if any of your dates on any contracts (purchase & sale, listings, buyer brokerages, etc.) roll into next year that you put 2016.
2016 Board Membership: Remember at Maximum One you always have a choice whether or not you want to join a Board of Realtors. If your decision changes, you must let us know so we may switch you to the appropriate Maximum One Company. If we receive notice that you have not paid your Board dues, we will have to switch you to the Realty company.

Boards to which Maximum One Greater Atlanta Realtors belongs: We belong to 11 Boards of Realtors so you may join any one of these Boards:
• Atlanta Board of Realtors
• Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors
• Augusta Board of Realtors
• Cherokee Association of Realtors
• Cobb Association of Realtors
• DeKalb Realtors
• Hall County Board of Realtors
• NAMAR
• Paulding Board of Realtors
• West Georgia Board of Realtors
• West Metro Board of Realtors
EDS Replacement – Paperless Pipeline: When you create a transaction in Paperless Pipeline, fill out ALL of the information on the “Add Transaction” initial screen. “Acceptance Date” = Binding Agreement Date. This is the starting – more to come later!

New Phone System: Maximum One has a new phone system through Ring Central. Your calls to your extension will still be routed directly to your cell phone through but you must first “Activate” that extension. Please watch the brief instructional video &/or read the “How To Activate Your MX1 Phone Extension” (also below) for easy information on how to do this. It begins from an email you should have received FROM RingCentral.

Max Cares: Congratulations to Jan Marie Elder on receiving her Broker’s License.

*********

12/13/15

Sneak Peek into the 2016 GAR Contract Changes: The 2016 GAR Contracts will be available to agents in January 2016. The majority of the changes are reflective of the new TRID laws. Watch the “Deal or No Deal” contracts tip video on the changes to the Conventional Loan Exhibit. This is the first of a series of “sneak peek” videos into the changes & new forms in the 2016 GAR Contract package.

FMLS Rescinds Their Decision made Last Week Regarding Fees : The following is an announcement made by FMLS President, Cantey Davis: For a wide variety of reasons, the Board of Directors of FMLS voted yesterday, December 9th, to rescind the decision to make all Georgia counties compulsory as of January 1, 2016. Our current model, including rules and fee structure, will remain in place, unchanged. Going forward, we will make every effort to earn the business of brokers and agents who are not currently members of our service.

Update Master Agreements: If you have Master Listing Agreements or Master Buyer Brokerage Agreements with Investor Clients, please make sure to update those Agreements to reflect rolling into 2016.

VoicePad: As you know, ALL Maximum One agents have VoicePad & the Agent Mobile Website for FREE!!! We will start having more workshops on how to use these systems to increase your business! At one point, we added GAMLS to our VoicePad system in addition to FMLS. We have discovered that this really challenged the effectiveness of the lead generations for you as an agent. Therefore, we have removed GAMLS from our VoicePad system. You will no longer need to log into two different dashboards with the resulting confusion. Use your FMLS dashboard login to access VoicePad. If you have listings in GAMLS that are NOT also in FMLS, you may enter them manually following these instructions. http://answers.voicepad.com/how-do-i-set-up-a-manual-code-or-listing/ Please remember they will not be updated by a data feed so when your GAMLS listing sells or expires, you must remove it from your VoicePad dashboard. This move should allow for a more streamlined and simple VoicePad system for your use.

Watch Your Contract Dates: Make sure that if any of your dates on any contracts (purchase & sale, listings, buyer brokerages, etc.) roll into next year that you put 2016.

New 2016 Realtor Party Resource Guide: Check out the 2016 Realtor Party Association Resource Guide with brief descriptions of each realtor party association resource including grants, campaign services, RPAC & grassroots tools & more.

New benefit for Navica Members: As of Monday, December 14th, FREE InstaView Virtual Tours will be created for all your Active Listings in West Metro. For more information, Click Here.

How to Communicate through Paperless Pipeline: Paperless Pipeline is the place to communicate with the staff regarding your transaction. You may type a “Note” & then click the box next to the staff person to whom you want the note to be sent as an email. You may even attach a document from the transaction & it will be emailed along with your note to the staff AND you may add in an email address of anyone else too!

To Get Paid, Complete the Direct Deposit Form – There are two ways to get paid at Maximum One – DA (Pay at Close) or Direct Deposit. If you have not already done so, please complete the Direct Deposit Form so that we may pay you by ACH through Direct Deposit. You may get paid at the Closing table or by Direct Deposit for your convenience & financial safety! No more paper checks. If you open a FREE checking account at Chase, you should receive your Direct Deposit of your commission the same day! Please complete the form (if you have not already done so) to avoid any delays in getting paid! The entire real estate industry is moving in this direction for financial security reasons. These forms are available on the Reference Section of Paperless Pipeline, from your Branch Manager, or click here: MXGR Direct Deposit Form or MXGA Direct Deposit Form then send your completed form to Robin Wilhite: Transactions@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 ext. 3111.

TRID Closings & Closing Disclosures – Docs We Need From Your Closing: With CFPB / TRID Closings taking place, if a loan was involved, there will be TWO “Closing Disclosures” – one for the Buyer & one for the Seller. Many attorneys are also preparing a 3rd Closing Disclosure with BOTH Buyer & Seller side information without any confidential Buyer information. We absolutely need a copy of the Seller side closing statement because it specifies the commission; we prefer to ALSO get a copy of the Buyer side Closing Disclosure as it lists the Earnest Money & any Buyer-paid fees. However, ONLY the Buyer may share the Buyer side CD with the agents – even with their own Buyer’s agent. Please request a copy of this from the Buyer or ask if the attorney has prepared the 3rd CD without the confidential Buyer information on it. At the very least, you need to upload into PPL a copy of the Seller-Side CD that you may get from the Closing Attorney.

New Phone System: Maximum One has a new phone system through Ring Central. Your calls to your extension will still be routed directly to your cell phone through but you must first “Activate” that extension. Please watch the brief instructional video &/or read the “How To Activate Your MX1 Phone Extension” (also below) for easy information on how to do this. It begins from an email you should have received FROM RingCentral.

To Reach Transactions: With the new phone system, this extension has changed to 3111. So to reach Robin Wilhite, call: 770-919-8825 ext. 3111 or you may always email her: Transactions@eAGENTweb.com

MX1Thanksgiving/Christmas/Holiday Parties: Please join us for festive fun and camraderie! MX1 will provide the main course & drinks simply sign up with your Branch Manager for a side dish. Parties begin at 11am! Also check with your Branch Manager regarding the Community Service Project your office supports this year!

Tuesday, 12/15 – Galleria & East Cobb – Combined – AT the Galleria Branch

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to the husband of Lynda Matthews who suffered a crushed sternum in an automobile accident.

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to the husband (Danny) of Barbara Shaw who is in the hospital with double pneumonia.

Max Cares: Condolences to Tamarra Davis whose father passed away on December 4th.

**********

12/6/15

Prayers for Peace for the Entire World! Our hearts go to the victims and their familites in San Bernardino, CA in the aftermath of the despicable terrorist attack.

2016 GAR Contracts: – I have seen the 2016 GAR Contracts and will begin introducing you to the changes throughout the coming weeks. There were not a lot of changes this year, but the ones they made were good ones! LOTS of changes to the Financing Contingency Exhibit in light of the new TRID rules. One change, however, that GAR did NOT make….. they left in the “option payment” for Due Diligence – I really thought they would relegate that verbiage to a Special Stipulation & take it out of the Purchase & Sale but they did not. Stay tuned for more information presented in this newsletter throughout December & we will have many CE classes in January & February presenting the 2016 GAR in depth! .

Current Address: Make sure that we have your current mailing address. If you have moved since last year, make sure we have an updated address. We will attempt to provide digital access to your 1099 as we did last year, however, we are in the process of changing some of our systems (including WolfConnect & EDS) and we may have to mail your 1099 to you. If you have had a change, please email that information to: AgentBilling@eAGENTweb.com

New Phone System: Maximum One has a new phone system through Ring Central. Your calls to your extension will still be routed directly to your cell phone through but you must first “Activate” that extension. Please watch the video (below) &/or read the “How To Activate Your MX1 Phone Extension” (also below) for easy information on how to do this. It begins from an email you should have received FROM RingCentral.

To Reach Transactions: With the new phone system, this extension has changed to 3111. So to reach Robin Wilhite, call: 770-919-8825 ext. 3111 or you may always email her: Transactions@eAGENTweb.com

FMLS Expansion as of 1/1/16: FMLS is expanding its geographical footprint to include all listings, regardless of the property’s location. Effective January 1, 2016, the FMLS rule regarding non-compulsory counties will cease to exist. Therefore, any new exclusive right to sell listing taken anywhere in the state of Georgia after that date will be required to be entered into the FMLS database. We will have to charge for all properties starting on contracts written Jan 1 and beyond. The ones prior will still be subject to compulsory areas. There are only three exceptions: Commercial, new homes (unless sheetrock) and mobile homes. If you do not have a Listing Agreement then you will need to have an Authorization to Show Unlisted Property form signed and the contract must reflect this agency status in order to not pay FMLS. Even if the property goes under contract prior to listing it in FMLS, you will still have to pay AND you will have to enter in FMLS for accurate Data Management.

TRID Closings & Closing Disclosures: With CFPB / TRID Closings taking place, if a loan was involved, there will be TWO “Closing Disclosures” – one for the Buyer & one for the Seller. Many attorneys are also preparing a 3rd Closing Disclosure with BOTH Buyer & Seller side information without any confidential Buyer information. We absolutely need a copy of the Seller side closing statement because it specifies the commission; we prefer to ALSO get a copy of the Buyer side Closing Disclosure as it lists the Earnest Money & any Buyer-paid fees. However, ONLY the Buyer may share the Buyer side CD with the agents – even with their own Buyer’s agent. Please request a copy of this from the Buyer or ask if the attorney has prepared the 3rd CD without the confidential Buyer information on it. At the very least, you need to upload into PPL a copy of the Seller-Side CD that you may get from the Closing Attorney.

How to Best Write a Contract that Includes Personal Property – NEW FANNIE MAE UNDERWRITING GUIDELINES May Affect the Sale Price:: Thank you to John Bohannon or Movement Mortgage (see contact information below) for the following information. Fannie Mae has firmly taken the position that all personal property has value (i.e. washer, dryer, fridge, pool table, furniture, etc.) and that value must be reduced from the sales price if the personal property is included/referenced in the purchase contract. This value should be substantiated by an estimate and a dollar for dollar reduction of the sales price should take place. Fannie Mae has not yet published this decision in their underwriting guidelines, but we expect it to happen very soon.

Fannie Mae is instructing us that the only way to avoid the sales price reduction is to remove all references to personal property from the contract and create a separate bill of sale that is not part of the contract.

Exceptions to this policy are: all attached items, fixtures and appurtenances (i.e. blinds, ceiling fans, light fixtures, mailboxes, garage door openers etc.). These items are OK to include in the contract because they are not considered personal property by Fannie Mae. This is the latest guidance; any previous guidance should be ignored.

The 2016 GAR Seller’s Disclosure form will also help with this!

Tuesday, 12/8 – Douglasville
Tursday, 12/15 – Galleria & East Cobb – Combined – AT the Galleria Branch

*****************

11/22/15

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Maximum One Offices will be closed Thursday 11/26/15 & Friday 11/27/15

Special Stipulation: Consent to Share Non-Public Information: – The following GAR special stipulation “for Authorized Users of the 2015 GAR Contract Forms” – “Buyer and Seller hereby consent to the closing attorney preparing and distributing an American Land Title Association (“ALTA”) Estimated Settlement Statement-Combined to Buyer, Seller, Brokers and Brokers’ affiliated licensees working on this transaction for their various uses.”

Background: With the TRID changes that were implemented on October 3, 2015, one of the primary concerns is that brokers are not receiving closing documents that are necessary for their files due to the closing attorneys’ being unable to share each of the parties’ private information. This concern has already been addressed by the Forms Committee for the 2016 Forms Package in the applicable Purchase and Sale Agreements with the Consent to Share Non-Public Information. However, there is still a month and a half between now and the release of the 2016 Forms Package. .

Special Stipulation: Consent to Share Information: As previously shared in “This Week at MX1” – on 10/4/15 – thanks to Affiliated Closing Attorney, Andy Hartman of Hartman- Imbriale, LLC., for sharing this Special Stipulation for any agent to use: “Consent to Share Information and Closing Disclosure. By executing this Agreement, the Buyer and Seller expressly authorize the Settlement Agent/Closing Attorney’s office (and the Buyer’s Lender, loan officer, and their staff) to discuss, disseminate and share (1) the Closing Disclosure, (2) the Seller’s Disclosure and (3) any other settlement statements and sources of information with the other parties to the transaction such as the real estate agents, brokers, and other parties to the contract. The Buyer understands that some of these forms may contain “nonpublic information” as defined by the TILA and RESPA (federal laws), such as the Buyer’s loan terms and other credit information. The Buyer acknowledges that the Buyer is not required to consent to or grant this authorization, however this authorization is being given in order to facilitate the exchange of information necessary for other parties to the transaction to insure that all terms of this Agreement are being followed and incorporated, and to help produce a closing on the target closing date without unnecessary delay. The Buyer further acknowledges that no Closing Disclosure, settlement statement, or any other document containing terms of the settlement or loan costs may be relied upon as accurate or legally binding unless such statement or Closing Disclosure is delivered directly to the Buyer from the Lender.”

Chase Free Checking: Chase offers FREE checking with Direct Deposit of $500+/month or Average Daily Balance of $1,500. This information is also located on the Corporate Discounts Section of the MX1 Blog: www.eagentweb.com click “Blog”

Closing Disclosures & TRID: With TRID / CFPB Closings, despite including the Special Stipulation (above) in your contracts, as an agent, a Closing Attorney still may not give you a copy of the Buyer’s Closing Disclosure but they SHOULD be able to give you a copy of the Seller’s Closing Disclosure. To close out your file in the Broker’s records, we NEED a copy of the Seller’s Side Closing Disclosure – REGARDLESS OF WHICH PARTY YOU REPRESENT – because that has the Sale Price & Commission on it. If you can get a copy of the Buyer’s Side Closing Disclosure from the Buyer, please get a copy of that as well. Upload a copy of the Closing Disclosures you get into your transaction in Paperless Pipeline.

HUD-1 Settlement Statements: As CFPB / TRID Closings take place, if a loan was involved, the documents at closing will be a “Closing Disclosure” If the transaction is all cash, then you will most likely still get a HUD-1 Settlement Statement.

MX1 “Property of the Week”:: We are implementing a “Property of the Week” to feature on FB, Instagram & Twitter! If you have a listing you would like to be considered, please email the FMLS # & jpeg photo of the front & any other contact information you want included to Tanya Kennedy at SocialMedia@maximumone.pro

Max Cares: Prayers to Nancy Sanders who is having some outpatient surgery on December 2nd.

Max Cares: Congratulations to Kim Terrell who just got her Broker’s License!

Tuesday, 12/1 – West Cobb
Tuesday, 12/8 – Douglasville
Tursday, 12/15 – Galleria & East Cobb – Combined – AT the Galleria Branch

There will not be a Newsletter next Weekend.

********

11/15/15

Prayers for Peace for all the World!!! Our hearts go to the entire country of France in the aftermath of this despicable ISIS attack on Paris.

Two Ways to Get Paid at Maximum One – DA or Direct Deposit:: If you have not already done so, please complete the Direct Deposit Form so that we may pay you by ACH through Direct Deposit. You may get paid at the Closing table or by Direct Deposit for your convenience & financial safety! We have already switched the Realtor Company (MXGR) and will switch the Realty Company (MXGA) by the end of November. No more paper checks. If you open a FREE checking account at Chase, you should receive your Direct Deposit of your commission the same day! Please complete the form (if you have not already done so) to avoid any delays in getting paid! The entire real estate industry is moving in this direction for financial security reasons. These forms are available on the Reference Section of Paperless Pipeline, from your Branch Manager, or click here: MXGR Direct Deposit Form or MXGA Direct Deposit Form then send your completed form to Robin Wilhite: Transactions@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 ext. 311.

FMLS Matrix Wildcard Function: The Wildcard function is now available on the Matrix Speed Bar! The speed bar allows you to perform Google-like searches in Matrix, drawing results directly from the Matrix database based on your preferences. Combine the asterisk (*) with speed bar shorthand search terms to find results quickly. See FMLS Matrix – The Speed Bar & Using the Speed Bar for help.

Any Individual Remitting Over $10,000: If a client or customer remits earnest money or other trust funds more than $10,000 we will also need their mailing address & Social Security number so that we may complete and submit to the IRS Form 8300 – Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in Trade or Business which is required by law. Thank you for your assistance in helping us with this information.

Buying or Selling Property for Yourself – Residence or Investment: As a licensed real estate agent, License Law states that you may not buy, sell, list, exchange, rent, lease or option real estate in licensee’s own name or in the name of any other firm or entity without first advising the Broker in writing. As an Agent with Maximum One, our policy is that all real estate transactions of which you are a principal go through Maximum One unless written permission by the Broker is given otherwise.
License Law : GREC’s purpose is to protect the industry – public and other agents – by enforcing Georgia License Laws & GREC Rules that regulate your actions & behavior as a real estate agent holding a license issued to you by the state of Georgia. It is your responsibility to know & understand these laws. Maximum One hosts a 3 hour CE Class, License Law for Agents & Brokers, on a regular basis throughout all of the MX1 Branches. Please see the calendar for these classes: www.eAGENTweb.com click “Calendar.” Georgia License Laws & Related Rules

Thank you to Mark Willix: Thank you so much to Mark Willix who filled in for Compliance Broker, Dawn Luttrell, this week while she recovered from her surgery to repair her broken elbow,

Max Cares: Prayers for Mary Colson who needs them right now for unspecified reasons.

Max Cares: Prayers for Georgia Cauble who is recovering from Melanoma surgery.

Max Cares: Condolences & Prayers for peace for Scott Haney of Southcrest Mortgage who’s son unexpectedly passed away this week at a campsite in Colorado.

Tuesday, 11/17 – Paulding
Tuesday, 12/1 – West Cobb
Tuesday, 12/8 – Douglasville
Tursday, 12/15 – Galleria & East Cobb – Combined – AT the Galleria Branch

********

11/8/15

Welcome Agents New to Maximum One:: Please welcome the following agents who have joined us in October!

Paul McParland – East Cobb
Carla VanPelt – Galleria – Welcome BACK!
Dianne Dunn – West Cobb
Kishore Tajendran – Galleria – Welcome BACK!
Elissa Larson – Woodstock
Susan Schipske – East Cobb
Ramona Hall – Douglasville
Karen Moonshower – Woodstock
Ramona Carter – Galleria – Welcome BACK!
Latesia Clayton-Usher – Paulding
Lisa Paulauskis – Woodstock
Jasleen Allyse – Galleria
Cynthia Tzvaras – Galeria
Ellen Stepat – Woodstock
Shareka Brown – Galleria
Cherise Gunnerson – Galleria
Meredith Gerace – East Cobb – Welcome BACK!
Libra Fay Wise – Galleria
Wyndoleyn Bethel – Galleria
Angie Hufman – Paulding
Karen Michele McDaniel – Galleria
Lou Shababy – East Cobb
Debea Saltrese – Galleria (Augusta, GA)
Mary Brooks Green – Galleria
Cheryl Talbot – Douglasville
Madhur Saini – Galleria
Nicholas Farr — Galleria
Valerie White – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!

Veteran’s Day – 11/11/15: Thank you to ALL of our Veterans who have sacrificed & selflessly & bravely put themselves in harm’s way to protect ALL of us & keep us all safe!! We honor & respect you & offer our sincere gratitude!

FHA & Bankruptcy: If your Buyer is getting an FHA Loan on a new house, their FHA Case Number must be pulled at least 2 years from the Bankruptcy. Not a problem UNTIL the Buyer just over that time frame goes under contract on a house and that house had a previous FHA deal that fell through. If that PREVIOUS FHA case number (still attached to the house) was pulled within that 2 year BK time frame, your Buyer will NOT qualify for that FHA loan! If this is the case, be sure to ask the Listing agent if any FHA loans have fallen through on the property recently! Thank you to Jay Alexander & Doug Brown of Homestar Financial Corporation for sharing this information with us!

Dollar Amounts for Appraisal Adjustments: Have you ever had a customer ask you how much a remodeled bathroom is worth in today’s market? Thank you to DS Murphy & Associates for sharing with us this Appraisal Adjustments Guide that they shared in theiir CE class on CMAs for Appraisals.

CRS MLS Data Tax Suite: GAMLS introduces a whole new way to search property data! Georgia MLS is excited to provide the new CRS Data MLS Tax Suite. This newly enhanced interface has the same robust features you’re accustomed to, including in-depth reports, accurate comps and detailed maps, but is even easier to use.

Cleaner, dynamic interface
Enhanced mapping capabilities
New suite features, like our added home improvement values
Additional search capabilities, such as our multi-county search tool
Optimization for mobile devices

The new CRS Data MLS Tax Suite can be accessed by clicking on the CRSPowerTool link in the Quick Access menu.

Max Cares: Prayers for Edie Springmeyer whose husband went to hospice on Thursday.

Tuesday, 11/10 – Woodstock
Tuesday, 11/17 – Paulding
Tuesday, 12/1 – West Cobb
Tuesday, 12/8 – Douglasville
Tursday, 12/15 – Galleria & East Cobb – Combined

**********

11/1/15

Daylight Saving’s Time Ends: Sunday November 1st at 2am “Fall Back” 1 hour!

10 Banking Day Hold on Personal Checks:: Remember that if you have a closing within 10 Banking Days from the Buyer turning in Earnest Money, you will NOT be able to count that Earnest Money as part of the transaction! Get Earnest Money in Certified Funds to avoid this issue. The other alternatives: Buyer brings ADDITIONAL Earnest Money to Closing (& we will release earnest money back to Buyer AFTER the 10 Banking Days) or amend the contract to state that there is no earnest money in the deal (& we’ll write the check to the Buyer for the EM we have on deposit AFTER the 10 banking days – provided of course that it is honored by the bank.)

EM Needed by Closing Attorney for Closing If Maximum One is holding the Earnest Money & you need to take it to closing (NOT for a DA) then please complete the following form: Earnest Money Request for Closing Form. This form is also located on the Extranet & in the Reference Section of PPL.

Earnest Money Over $5,000 for a Closing: Please upload into Paperless Pipeline the Closing Attorney’s Wiring Instructions at least 48 hours in advance of your closing so we may wire the EM to the attorney for your closing.

Listing Input Forms: FMLS no longer has Listing Input Forms. These forms ARE available on GAMLS. I have uploaded the GAMLS forms for Single Family Attached & Single Family Detached into the “Office Documents” folder of both MXGA01 & MXGR01 of Forms Pro on FMLS & in the Seller Folder. Single Family Detached Listing Input Form Single Family Attached Listing Input Form. Please log onto GAMLS for the other Listing Input forms (land, multi family, rental, etc) if you need them.
Agents with Assistants: If you have an Assistant (either License or Unlicensed) please send me a copy of your signed Agreement with that person. Click here for the GAR Agreement for Licensee to Use a RE Assistant that you may use or use as a guide. Also, click here for the GREC Rule 520-1-.07 (6e) and (6f) of what an Unlicensed Assistant may & may not do.

MX1 November Training Calendar: The November Training Calendar has been published & distributed to over 30,000 agents! Register for classes early because they do sell out! Go to: www.eAGENTweb.com & click on the tile, “Calendar.”

CFPB/TRID – Lenders Sharing Information with Agents: Under the new TRID Guidelines, Lenders may not, without permission, be able to share information with any agent regarding the status of a Buyer’s loan. Agents need to check with the specific loan officer because certain Lenders provide for that in disclosures that they send to the borrower. There is a clause that gives them permission to share loan status information.
We host one more class on these changes: “Show Me the Money & Get Me to Closing” taught by our affiliated Lenders & Closing Attorneys.

November 17th – 10am – 1:15pm – East Cobb branch – Register Here

EDS Issues: Some agents are experiencing issues with EDS when they enter information through an iPad or Tablet. Using a PC or laptop is best. We are working with WolfConnect to help iron out these difficulties!

Max Cares: Prayers for health & no pain to Dawn Luttrell who has to have surgery for a broken elbow.

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Donna Black’s husband who is recovering from vertigo.

Max Cares: Prayers for Kim Murray who had emergency dental work.

10/25/15

Fidelity National Title Insurance & Morris, Schneider, Wittstadt, LLC Closings:: I have personally been in touch with David Baum, the Senior Vice President & Southeast Regional Manager of Fidelity National Title regarding the potential issues with title insurance from closings with MSW prior to July 5, 2015. The awareness & suggestions I raised in last Sunday’s newsletter have resulted in Fidelity National Title’s actions to give our clients and you their agents a working phone number & email address for the issues and concerns arising from the demise of this law firm. For any title concerns & to receive missing title policies from closings with Morris, Schneider & Wittstadt, have your Buyers send a complete copy of the HUD-1 settlement statement to: postclosing@closingsource.net & call 404-961-4009 leaving a detailed voice mail message. This email & voicemail have been created to answer questions & manage issues for any transactions insured by Fidelity National Title Insurance Company & Chicago Title Insurance Company. David Baum has created these contacts and assures me that the email & voice mail “will be monitored daily” in response to our voiced concerns over title insurance coverage for Buyers closing with this firm. Any Owner’s Title insurance policies will be issued & sent to clients immediately. Click here to read the full letter from Fidelity National Title Group. Please share this information with your clients and colleagues who are experiencing any issues or have any concerns regarding title policy issues from closings from this law firm, Morris, Schneider & Wittstadt that is no longer in existence. Thank you to David Baum of Fidelity National Title!

NAR Ethics Course Requirement: Realtors are required to take the Code of Ethics CE training once every 4 year cycle. The current 4 year cycle ends 12/31/16. We are in the process of coordinating the hosting this course at Maximum One Branches throughout the year next year. Stay tuned!

Boards of Realtors: Board Dues are due. Check with your Board to make sure you have paid your dues to that Board so as not to incur any late fees. If you are in a Board and choose to not re-new your membership, you must contact us so that we may switch you to MXGA. If you choose to join a Board, you must contact us so that we may switch you to MXGR. Maximum One Greater Atlanta Realtors (MXGR) belongs to 11 local Boards: Click here for a list of the MX1 Boards of Realtors so that you may choose among one of these Boards.
Atlanta Board of Realtors: If you do not renew your Atlanta Board dues by 10/31/15, your dues will increase by $50 as of November 1st.
FMLS Matrix Training: FMLS has many recorded self-service & webinar training classes on using the Matrix system. Log onto FMLS & click on the left side “Training” for their “Knowledge Base” and “On Demand Training.”
Contracts Terminating Prior to Earnest Money Remittance: The Buyer & Seller must still execute a Termination AND Release Agreement for these contracts. If Earnest Money is addressed in the creation of a contract, Earnest Money must be addressed in the termination of a contract. See next week’s “Contract Tips – Deal or No Deal” video for more specific information on what to do if the Seller won’t sign the “release.”

GAR F83 – Unilateral Notice to Terminate; Agreement to Disburse Earnest Money
RE-263 – Notice to Withdraw or Terminate AND
RE-212 – Agreement to Disburse Trust Funds

CFPB/TRID – Loan Estimate May Expire & Buyer May Have to Start a New Application : Thank you to all of our Affiliated Lenders & Closing Attorneys who continue to help us understand (in classes & at Sales Meetings) how these changes will impact your deals. A Buyer’s Loan Estimate expires after 10 business days & if they do intend to proceed with that lender, they will likely need to start over with a new application. Thank you to Denise Thomas & Steve Fitzgerald of Homestar Financial Corporation for sharing this TRID Information in last week’s Paulding Branch Sales Meeting. We host one more class on these changes: “Show Me the Money & Get Me to Closing” taught by our affiliated Lenders & Closing Attorneys.

November 17th – 10am – 1:15pm – East Cobb branch – Register Here

Max Cares: Prayers for health & no pain to Dawn Luttrell who went to the ER on Wednesday with Diverticulitis

Max Cares: Prayers for healing & strength to Bill Thomas who just had triple bypass heart surgery.

Max Cares: Prayers for Anya & Danny Dupree whose son is battling an unknown bone issue.

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Adana Nwaneri who was in two car accidents on the same day with her son & granddaughter.

Max Cares: Safe travels to Donna Cunningham who is moving to the Pacific Northwest.

10/18/15

Lender’s Timeframe to Close a Loan: Make sure to ask the lender if they can close the loan in 30 days. This time frame is holding more weight in a multiple offer situation than is the price! Most of the “big Banks” are quoting 45 – 60 days to close! Call the MX1 Affiliate Lenders!

Scheduling Closings: Per the new CFPB/TRID Guidelines, Closing Attorneys cannot schedule a closing until the lender has sent the Buyer the Disclosure AND received it back from the Buyer signed.

Want to Close on Time?: Schedule your closings the 2nd – 12th of the month & not on a Friday! Thank you Amee Davis of Davis & Associates for this hint for smoother closings!

Fidelity Title Insurance Issues: If you had a client close with Morris, Hardwick & Snyder / Wittstadt from July 4th on, they may have their Title Insurance Cancelled!!! Have them check with Fidelity (may be under the name of Landcastle TItle) if possible. Those Buyers may be required to get a NEW Title Insurance policy through a new Title Insurance company & pay for a new title search & policy. Be aware of this issue! Put your Buyer in touch with the Maximum One Affiliated Closing Attorney for your Branch for more information & assistance.

Dekalb County Plumbing Issues: If you have a transaction in Dekalb County, be sure to give the Buyer (& Seller) the Dekalb County Plumbing Consumer Brochure (in both GAR & RE Forms) so they know how to comply with the county ordinances & not be fined by Dekalb county.

Paperless Pipeline: Remember that Paperless Pipeline now only accepts pdf files. If you have a Word document you must save it as a pdf & any other documents will have to be scanned as a pdf in order to upload to this system.

CFPB/TRID Classes: Your closings will be impacted!! Attend the class we host on these changes: “Show Me the Money & Get Me to Closing” taught by our affiliated Lenders & Closing Attorneys.

October 20th – 9:30am – 12:45pm – Galleria Branch – Register Here
October 21st – 10am – 1:15pm – Douglasville Branch – Register Here
November 17th – 10am – 1:15pm – East Cobb branch – Register Here

Max Cares: Prayers for Bill Boyd whose mom had open heart surgery.

10/11/15

TRID: Permission to Share CD with Agents:: As you know from last week’s email on the CFPB / TRID changes to closings, neither a Lender nor a Closing Attorney may send you a copy of the Closing Disclosure (CD.) Thanks to our Affiliated Closing Attorney, Andy Hartman or Hartman-Imbriale, please use this Special Stipulation giving the Lender & Attorney Permission to share the CD with you, the agent. Click here for Stip: Consent to Share Information & CD Remember that just because a Buyer gives permission to share the CD, the Lender may not also grant that permission. “Keep Calm & Close Deals!!!”
CFPB/TRID Suggestions for Agents: As we get more used to these changes, please refer to these Suggestions & Information for Agents. This information is also located on the the Extranet & in the Reference Section of Paperless Pipeline.
USDA Update on Fees: Thanks to Scott Haney of Southcrest Mortgage for sharing this information. From 10/1/15 – 9/30/16 the upfront guarantee guarantee fee will change from 2 percent of the loan amount to 2.75 percent of the loan amount. The annual fee of 0.50 percent will remain unchanged. Please contact Scott for more specific information – contact info below.
TRID Fast Check List: Thanks to Scott Haney of SouthCrest Mortgage (see contact info below) for this TRID Fast Check List and TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosures

CFPB / TRID Goes into Effect First Week in October: Your closings WILL BE IMPACTED!!!! Attend the class we host on these changes: “Show Me the Money & Get Me to Closing” taught by our affiliated Lenders & Closing Attorneys.

October 13th – 9:30am – 12:45pm – West Cobb Branch – Register Here
October 20th – 9:30am – 12:45pm – Galleria Branch – Register Here
October 21st – 10am – 1:15pm – Douglasville Branch-Register Here
November 17th – 12noon – 3:15pm – East Cobb Branch – Register Here

Banks Closed 10/12: Monday is Columbus Day!
GAMLS Changes in November: Beginning in November, GAMLS will no longer support outdated Browsers. reInsight will no longer work on:
- Windows Vista and Windows XP
- Internet Explorer 9 or below, Firefox 26 or below, Chrome 29 or below, Safari 6 or below do not support TLS 1.2 (includes Opera 16 below, if in use, which is not supported by Black Knight for product use)
Tom Ferry- Breakthrough By Design: Are you looking to have a breakthrough in your business? Just want to do a few more deals? Want to earn some extra money for Christmas? Attend these workshops only 1 hour/week and your income will go up! Workshops held weekly in every MX1 Branch. See the Online Training Calendar… no need to register – bring your lunch & check it out!
FMLS Fusion: Ends October 14th!! Hope you know Matrix!
Max Cares: Please send prayers to Dawn Luttrell for her father who is in the hospital.

Maximum One Social Media Presence – We are increasing our presence on our social media sites – FB, Instagram & Twitter! If you have any information to share – about yourself, your Buyers, your Listings, etc., send information you want included to Tanya Kennedy at SocialMedia@maximumone.pro

10/4/15

Welcome Agents New to Maximum One: Please extend a warm welcome to the new faces you will see in your offices:

Jesse Smedley – Galleria
Shanna Jones – Woodstock
Elliot Gray – Galleria
Shiree Sanders – Galleria
Magda Liliana Busta – Douglasville
Katen Stiggers – Douglasville
Kelly Ann Thomas – West Cobb
Teresa Edwards – East Cobb
Patricia “Hollywood” Johnson – West Cobb
Lila Dudley – Galleria
Amy Weinmeister – West Cobb
Quinise Arnold – West Cobb
Jeffrey Thompkins – Paulding
Kami Brown – Galleria

EDS Tips: As we use this system more, we want to provide you with some tips to make this system easier for you to utilize:

Remember to go to “Manage” rather than “Add” to edit or change your EDS.
You should probably start here because if we have Deposited EM, then there will already be an EDS transactions started!

If you are trying to print the EDS printout and think the “print” button on the screen doesn’t work. It does in fact work but seems to be protected by a pop-up blocker. If you will hold down the “Control” button while clicking the “Print” button on the screen, it will bypass the pop-up and allow you to print.
Must have a complete EDS transaction prior to requesting a DA
EDS Guidebook
Help with WolfConnect: Admin@eAGENTweb.com

Fusion CutOff: October 14: Make sure to learn Matrix these next 2 weeks!
CFPB / TRID Goes into Effect First Week in October: Your closings WILL BE IMPACTED!!!! Attend the class we host on these changes: “Show Me the Money & Get Me to Closing” taught by our affiliated Lenders & Closing Attorneys.

October 8th – 10am – 1:15pm – Paulding Branch – Register Here
October 13th – 9:30am – 12:45pm – West Cobb Branch – Register Here
October 20th – 9:30am – 12:45pm – Galleria Branch – Register Here
October 21st – 10am – 1:15pm – Douglasville Branch-Register Here
November – East Cobb – Date TBD

HUD Training: Maximum One hosts a HUD 3 hour CE class once each Quarter. HUD rules and processes change ALL THE TIME. If you have not sold a HUD Home lately you will not want to miss this class: Successfully Selling HUD Homes in Georgia – Wed, October 7th – East Cobb Branch – 10am – 1:15pm. Register Here. Major Changes to HUD Homes in Georgia coming in January!!!
Tom Ferry- Breakthrough By Design: Are you looking to have a breakthrough in your business? Just want to do a few more deals? Want to earn some extra money for Christmas? Attend these workshops only 1 hour/week and your income will go up! Workshops held weekly in every MX1 Branch. See the Online Training Calendar… no need to register – bring your lunch & check it out!
Max Cares: Please send prayers for peace & strength to the family of Howard Brummel whose son-in-law died suddenly leaving a widow & 3 children under age 3

Maximum One Social Media Presence – We are increasing our presence on our social media sites – FB, Instagram & Twitter! If you have any information to share – about yourself, your Buyers, your Listings, etc., send information you want included to Tanya Kennedy at SocialMedia@maximumone.pro

********

9/27/15

Need to Access an MLS from another area?: There is a program available on FMLS that allows you to access ANY MLS service from anywhere in the country! This program is called FIND. Log on to FMLS & on the left side, click on either “System Links” or “Tools for Success”
Tom Ferry: Sales Edge Seminar – Sept 29 – Oct 1: Knowing what to say matters. Attend this seminar & learn how to master sales persuasion & objection handling. Bulletproof your Listing & Buyer presentations & increase your lead-client conversion ratio! 9am – 4:30pm at the Cobb Energy Center. MX1 has a group discount: $147 – please contact directly: Zane Allen -888-866-3377 ext. 130. If you choose to go, contact Dana Sparks also so we may all sit together! More info: http://www.tomferry.com/live-events/#salesedge-event
Georgia Housing Statistics for August: From GAR, the Georgia housing indicators for August are in:
– Pending Sales were up 26 percent to 10,268.
– Average Sales Price was up 7 percent to $227,796.
– Inventory levels shrank 6 percent to 45,908 units.
– Median Sales Price increased 7 percent to $180,000.
– Days on Market decreased 6 percent to 67 days.
– Months Supply of Inventory was down 23 percent to 5.1 months.
– New Listings increased 5 percent to 13,450
MX1 Compliance: Dawn Luttrell is the MX1 Compliance Broker. Please direct any questions or concerns regarding contract compliance directly to Dawn: Compliance@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 ext 309. Also, please communicate any issues regarding your transaction through the Notes section of Paperless Pipeline.
Contract Dates: It’s that time of year again to watch the dates on your contracts & listing agreements! If your dates roll into next year, remember to correctly date your paperwork with 2016!
FMLS Login: Remember to periodically log in to FMLS or your id will be deactivated by FMLS.

CFPB / TRID Goes into Effect First Week in October: Your closings WILL BE IMPACTED!!!! Attend the class we host on these changes: “Show Me the Money & Get Me to Closing” taught by our affiliated Lenders & Closing Attorneys.

October 8th – 10am – 1:15pm – Paulding Branch – Register Here
October 13th – 9:30am – 12:45pm – West Cobb Branch – Register Here
October 20th – 9:30am – 12:45pm – Galleria Branch – Register Here
October 21st – 10am – 1:15pm – Douglasville Branch-Register Here

Maximum One “Property of the Week” – We are implementing a “Property of the Week” to feature on FB, Instagram & Twitter! If you have a listing you would like to be considered, please email the FMLS # & jpeg photo of the front & any other contact information you want included to Tanya Kennedy at SocialMedia@maximumone.pro

*************

9/20/15

Congratulations to MX1 – Inc 5000 Award for 5th Year:

SWIFT Manager: Maximum One agents have access to SWIFT from their OWN computers at home! If you have any issues with SWIFT, we now have a designated staff member to assist you! Please contact Kim Murray –EastCobb@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 ext 303. She is the new SWIFT Manager & will gladly address your needs & issues.
CFPB / TRID Goes into Effect First Week in October: Your closings WILL BE IMPACTED!!!! Attend the class we host on these changes: “Show Me the Money & Get Me to Closing” taught by our affiliated Lenders & Closing Attorneys.
- October 8th – 10am – 1:15pm – Paulding Branch – Register Here
- October 13th – 9:30am – 12:45pm – West Cobb Branch – Register Here
- October 20th – 9:30am – 12:45pm – Galleria Branch – Register Here
- October 21st – 10am – 1:15pm – Douglasville Branch-Register Here
Paperless Pipeline Documents: Paperless Pipeline will only accept pdf documents. At every office, you may scan any document you need to upload to PPL in order to render that document a pdf.
Interest Rate on Financing Contingencies: Any contract subject to financing MUST HAVE ALL TERMS completed on the financing information. You may NOT have “TBD” listed as the interest rate. The GA Court of Appeals held that “TBD” or “To Be Determined” in this section renders a contract UNENFORCEABLE! Do not write nor accept a contract unless all of the terms are completed. This is also part of License Law,
Agent Mastermind: Want to Mastermind with agents of all experience levels from all over the country? Check out this Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agentmastermind/
No Personal Checks over $5,000: Maximum One will not accept a personal check for any amount over $5,000. Please have your client remit certified funds or a money order for anything over this amount.
MX1 Forms: Please remember that the latest most current MX1 forms are located on the Extranet AND on theReference Section of Paperless Pipeline. Please make sure to use the most current DA form.
FMLS Fusion Cutoff: October 14th . Make sure you take Matrix classes – classroom classes or online. Go towww.FMLS.com & click on “Training” on the left side.

Maximum One “Property of the Week” – We are implementing a “Property of the Week” to feature on FB, Instagram & Twitter! If you have a listing you would like to be considered, please email the FMLS # & jpeg photo of the front & any other contact information you want included toTanya Kennedy at SocialMedia@maximumone.pro

Max Cares: Prayers for Keely George..whose Dad was involved in a terrible auto accident.
Max Cares: Get well wishes to Nicki McCormick who was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Jan-Marie Elder who just earned her Broker’s License!
Max Cares: Get well wishes to Mac MacLemore who is recovering from diverticulitus
Max Cares: Get well wishes to Clarissa Zumwalt whose Mom fell & broke her pelvis and has just been released from ICU.

9/13/15

Changes to FHA – 9/14/15: As many of you know HUD guidelines are changing effective Monday September 14, 2015 and the HUD REO program and loan amount calculations will be changing as well. Thank you to Denise Thomas of Homestar Financial Corporation for sharing the attached Mortgagee letter 2015-17 that breaks down all the new revisions beginning with case # pulled on September 14. HUD- REO Changes as of 9/14/15 . The easy-to-read chart included in this link shows existing requirements and the revised requirements.

The list price is no longer considered and the mortgage insurance premium can now be financed.with no restriction.

Tax Bills are Out: The majority of the property tax bills have been mailed to home owners. When you go to closing, the closing attorney will have to collect for the property tax because even if the Seller has already paid, if the payment is not yet recorded, the attorney will collect & the homeowner will get a refund from the county.
Tax Bills & New Buyers: As a point of contact with your Buyers from this year – especially if they closed in July, suggest that they contact their county to get a copy of their bill, send it to their mortgage company & follow-up to make sure it gets paid. Many of the bills were being prepared then and may not correctly go to the new owner. If it is not paid, they will be assessed a penalty. Thank you to Closing Attorney Amee Davis of Davis & Associates for reminding us of this information in the Sales Meetings!
CFPB / TRID Goes into Effect Oct 3: Your closings WILL BE IMPACTED!!!! Attend the class we host on these changes: “Show Me the Money & Get Me to Closing” taught by our affiliated Lenders & Closing Attorneys. Issues to keep in mind:

All emails from closing attorneys & lenders will be encrypted
Attorneys cannot email agents wire instructions for Buyer down payment – must go directly to Buyer
Closings are taking longer
Clients must be ON TIME to closings or they will have to be re-scheduled
Hazard Insurance must be paid prior to lender sending out Closing Statement for approval – at LEAST 3 business days prior to closing
CORRECT Pay-at-Close (DA) requests with no changes must be sent to attorney at least 15 business days prior to closing
HOA Letters WILL BE AN ISSUE! Sellers will more than likely be required to pay for 2 letters. They are typically only good for 10-15 days & the lender requires them 15 days prior to closing – any delays in closing = another HOA letter
For a full discussion of these issues & more, please register for a CE class on the topic: www.registerforREclasses.com
Thank you to Amee Davis of Davis & Associates for reminding us of these issues

Maximum One “Property of the Week” – We are implementing a “Property of the Week” to feature on FB, Instagram & Twitter! If you have a listing you would like to be considered, please email the FMLS # & jpeg photo of the front & any other contact information you want included to Tanya Kennedy at SocialMedia@maximumone.pro

Max Cares: Get well wishes to Nicki McCormick who was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia.

9/6/15

Welcome Agents New to Maximum One: Please welcome these agents new to MX1:

Senthil Krishnan – East Cobb
Carlton Trevathan – West Cobb
Joann Sampson – East Cobb
Kathy Bradham – East Cobb
Eric Mincey – Galleria
Nicole Griggs – Galleria
Carlotta Jones – Douglasville – Welcome BACK!
Erica Hyland – Galleria
Carla Walker – West Cobb
Linda Bowes – East Cobb
Felicia Jones – Galleria
Ana Keeter – East Cobb
Isabel Haynes – Douglasville

FHA to Allow Buyers to Overbid on HUD REOs: Effective immediately, the adjusted value, based on the new appraisal, will be used to determine the maximum mortgage calculation. HUD has eliminated the lessor of the list price, sales price, or new value. For those markets that have the $100 down program, you can finance the Upfront MIP without restriction. The issue of overbidding on HUD homes has been eliminated if the new adjusted value based on the new appraisal equals the sales price. Thanks to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for this great information! Read HUD REO Appraisal Guidelines here.
EDS Update: If Maximum One is holding EM on a transaction and that EM deposit has been made and logged into the transaction in Paperless Pipeline PRIOR to your completing an EDS entry, then a transaction will show up under your “manage” feature under “transactions” in your EDS for that address. You need to EDIT the existing transaction, not start a new one. If you create a duplicate, the information does not transfer between the two. PLEASE don’t enter a transaction more than once, even if you think you “messed it up”… ALWAYS EDIT!!
WolfConnect / Extranet: For assistance, please see the information in the 2015 Manuals and email: Admin@eAGENTweb.com
MX1 Manuals & Guides:These are available on the Extranet and in the Reference Section of Paperless Pipeline and in the emails you received when you first joined Maximum One.

Closing Statements: If you do not attend your closing, please make sure to ask the attorney to mail you the signed Closing Statement with your check. When you receive this, remember to upload that HUD into Paperless Pipeline – for compliance AND so that we may send that to FMLS along with your FMLS #118.
Maximum One “Property of the Week” – We are implementing a “Property of the Week” to feature on FB, Instagram & Twitter! If you have a listing you would like to be considered, please email the FMLS # & jpeg photo of the front & any other contact information you want included to Tanya Kennedy at SocialMedia@maximumone.pro

Max Cares: Our condolences and prayers for peace & strength to Broker Specialist, Mary Colson, on the unexpected loss of her husband.
Max Cares: Our condolences and prayers to Annette Williams whose mother passed away.

8/30/15

FHA Mortgage Changes 9/14/15: Beginning on September 14th, there are major changes for Buyer getting FHA loans! One change is that Buyers with Student Loans must qualify WITH that debt even if their student loan repayment is deferred. Attend the new CE Class: Significant Changes to Mortgage Loans: TRID & FHA – taught by Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corporation on September 22nd for more!

Lunch & Learn 9/16 – Paulding – by Denise Thomas & Steve Fitzgerald of Homestar Financial Corp
CE Class 9/22 – Douglasville – by Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corp.

GREC Rules: Change of Address & Email – If your address changes OR your primary Email address, you must notify GREC or risk being fined by GREC.
September Training Calendar Posted: Tons of CE Classes, Workshops & Lunch & Learns – Sign-up Now as our classes fill-up quickly!
Post-License Course: If you have been licensed within the past year, you are required to take the 25 Hr Post License Course. Maximum One will be teaching this course in the evenings beginning September 14th. Register on the MX1 online training calendar to secure your spot.
Evening CE Classes: If you need CE credits, feel free to register for the individual CE Classes taught in the evenings (& Saturdays) as part of the 25 Hr Post-License course. $10 fee per class and minimum participation is required. See the schedule of each class on the MX1 online training calendar.
Agent as Principal: If you are the Buyer or Seller in any real estate transaction, license law dictates that you disclose that fact. If you are the Seller, you must disclose that you are a licensed agent in all of your marketing / advertising including yard signs.

MX1 Offices CLOSED Labor Day 9/7/15: Plan Accordingly

8/23/15

MX1 Wins Inc 5000 Award: Congratulations to Maximum One for winning this award for the 5th year in a row!!!
MX1 West Cobb Branch – This Branch is now on a Fob System. If this is your “home branch” then Branch Manager Renee Couick will assign you a fob and place it in your mailbox. If you already have a fob (Galleria or Woodstock or Douglasville) you fob will work in all branches with this system. The combination lock is still currently on the door downstairs and that will be removed by the end of September – so please get your fob. Paulding & East Cobb are next!
Maximum Seller Concessions to a Buyer: Thanks to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for this reminder. Click for Limits on Seller Help/Concessions. On a conventional loan, the max percent a Seller may give to the Buyer (2% – 9%) depends on the Buyer’s Down Payment & type of home. On FHA / VA / USDA loans, the maximum Seller concesion is 6%.
FMLS: Fusion Last Day October 14: Starting September 28th, FMLS will be offering short Matrix Preview classes three times a day, at 9:30am-11:00am, 11:30am-1:00pm, and 2:00pm-3:30pm. Webinars and CE Training classes are also available during this time to help transition from Fusion to Matrix. Check the Training Schedule to sign up for these classes. They also have all Matrix information on the Knowledge Base and several Matrix training videos on our YouTube channel, MyFMLS, for those who want to learn at their own pace.
Listing Your Own Property If you are selling your own property, remember to complete a listing agreement & create a Listing Transaction in Paperless Pipeline. Also remember to disclose that you are a licensed agent in ALL marketing – including yard signs.
Broker Signature: If you need a Broker Signature on a document relating to a transaction (FMLS or GAMLS form, etc.) simply upload that docuemnt into your transaction in Paperless Pipeline with a note requesting a Broker signature.
Hold on Personal Checks: Maximum One holds personal checks for 10 Banking Days. If we are holding EM written on a personal check & your contract terminates prior to that time frame, MX1 must still hold the EM for 10 banking days prior to disbursing to the Buyer to utilize on another contract.

Max Cares: Prayers for fast healing to Becky Godbee’s son who suffered a major concussion playing football.
Max Cares: Condolences to Angela Geary whose father-in-law passed away this week.
Max Cares: Condolences. to Tia Rosser who lost a Grandparent.

8/9/15

MX1 Advertising Broker: We are excited to announce Broker Specialist Mary Colson as our Advertising Compliance Broker. Per license Law & GREC Rules, all advertising & marketing must be done in the name of the Broker & must be approved by the Broker. In May 2014, GREC revised Advertising Rules to specifically address internet issues. Please see the MX1 Policy Manual & GREC Rule 520-1-.09. Mary Colson may be reached for advertising compliance approval at: Broker@MaximumOneRealty.com 770-919-8825 ext. 803.
Advertising Rules for Real Estate: Click here for a quick reminder of the GREC Rules for Advertsing Real Estate . Additionally, advertising on the internet, or otherwise, must be updated or removed within 30 days of any change in information whether it is managed by a 3rd party or directly & signs must be removed within 10 days after expiration of the listing.
Can I Market Someone Else’s Listing? Yes IF… the Listing firm gives written permission & the Listing Firm is disclosed in the ad (unless they gave permission to the contrary.) Read this article from the GREC Electronic Newsletter. This article from November 2008 covers Can I Market Someone Else’s Listing
Broker Support: Please remember all the various ways you may reach a Broker for support with your contract issues:

Support@MyMaximumOne.com
Your Branch Manager – who always knows how to reach a Broker
Dana Sparks – Managing Broker – Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com – 770-919-8825 ext 302
Dawn Luttrell – Compliance Broker – Compliance@eAGENTweb.com – 770-919-8825 ext 309
Mary Lamb – Broker Specialist – MaryLambSells@gmail.com – 770-919-8825 ext 805
Mary Colson – Broker Specialist – Broker@MaximumOneRealty.com 770-919-8825 ext. 803
Live Chat – www.eAGENTweb.com – click tile “Live Chat”
MX1 Resources – www.eAGENTweb.com – click tile “Staff & Broker Contact”

FMLS Fees: We are a member of FMLS & per this membership, we have to collect FMLS fees on transactions if the Listing Broker is a member of FMLS, if the listing is in an FMLS compulsory area & if the Seller has signed a Listing Agreement with the Listing Broker. If you represent a Buyer and did not find the property through FMLS, we still have to collect an FMLS fee if these above conditions are met. We look at the contract to see if the Seller signed a listing agreement with the Listing Broker – if “Client” is marked in the agency section, then the Seller signed a listing agreement.
FMLS Showcase: August 13th From 9:30am – 4:30pm The annual Showcase Residential Tradeshow gathers thousands of real estate professionals every August. Over 150 different industry vendors present their latest tools in technology, safety, and more. Numerous educational sessions in three theatres present nationally recognized speakers, trainers, and industry experts
MX1 Suggested GREC Courses: We suggest you take GREC courses: “Practicing Real Estate & Staying Out of Trouble” (Online) “GREC Common Violations” (Classroom) “Trust Accounts Workshop” (Classroom) “Brokerage Workshop” (Classroom) Go to GREC & scroll to bottom for links to GREC Courses & Workshops
EDS Replaces Blue Sheet: Please start using the EDS through WolfConnect so that you may get used to it. Click here for the EDS Guide. After you create a new transaction, you can go back into the system & click “MANAGE” & then you may add notes & revise your information if your transaction changes.
Earnest Money Checks: Maximum One does NOT accept checks over $5,000.

Max Cares: Congratulations to Faye Ette Williams on the birth of her Granddaughter
Max Cares: Condolences to John Harris whose son passed away this week.
Max Cares: Condolences to Becky Smith whose husband passed a way this week.

8/2/15

Welcome Agents New to MX1: Please welcome these agents new to Maximum One:

Myra Brown – West Cobb
Dallas Pilgrim – Paulding
Ivy Jones – Douglasville
Morris Levy – West Cobb
Angelia Trevathan – West Cobb
Renea Thomas – Douglasville – Welcome BACK!
Lisa Cummiings – Paulding
Marcie Evans – Woodstock
Larry Feldstein – West Cobb
Daphne Channel – Galleria
Brandi Wimberly – Galleria
Marian Hisler – West Cobb
Paula Black – Woodstock
Vanessa Moore – Galleria – Welcome BACK!
Cheryle Thompson – Galleria
Marcus Clark – Galleria
Tanya Brown – West Cobb
Tom Busker – Woodstock
Edie Springmeyer – Woodstock
Jan-Marie ELder – West Cobb
Monica Storey – Galleria
Rodriguez Seay – Galleria
Janet Shields Scott – Galleria
Amber Smith – Galleria

HUD Contracts: We have many agents winning bids on HUD homes behalf of their clients. You may sign these contracts when you send HUD the Broker’s Permission Letter. These letters are stored on the Extranet & in the Reference Section of Paperless Pipeline. Please click link to register for our quarterly HUD Class: Successfully Selling HUD Homes in GA – August 19th – before it sells out!

MXGR Broker Permission Letter

MXGA Broker Permission Letter

MX1 HUD Info & NAID Numbers

FMLS Showcase: August 13th From 9:30am – 4:30pm The annual Showcase Residential Tradeshow gathers thousands of real estate professionals every August. Over 150 different industry vendors present their latest tools in technology, safety, and more. Numerous educational sessions in three theatres present nationally recognized speakers, trainers, and industry experts
If You Need Broker Signatures: Simply upload the FMLS & GAMLS forms into your transaction in Paperless Pipeline & add a note requesting the Broker signature.
EDS Replaces Blue Sheet: Please start using the EDS through WolfConnect so that you may get used to it. Click here for the EDS Guide. After you create a new transaction, you can go back into the system & click “MANAGE” & then you may add notes & revise your information if your transaction changes.
Property Management: Just a reminder that Maximum One does not allow agents to practice Property Management for clients / customers – this includes filing any writs of dispossessory for evictions on behalf of any Sellers or Buyers.
Back to School:: Many school districts start back to school in the next 2 weeks! Traffic will increase so add extra time to get to your listing appointments!
MX1 Roster: Remember that the MX1 Roster is located on the Extranet under “Roster” as well as on the front page under “Office Links” There are tabs at the bottom for ALL agents, BRANCHES, COMMERCIAL & Other SPECIALTIES
Max Cares: Get well soon to West Cobb Branch Manager Renee Couick who had unexpected surgery Thursday to have her gallbladder removed.

7/26/15

E&O Insurance Policy 2015 – 2016: Maximum One’s new E&O Policy for 2015 – 2016 is on the Extranet (under “Admin” then “E and O Insurance”) for any agents who need a copy of it.
New Fannie Mae Guidelines Make it Easier to Qualify if You Already Have a Home: Thank you to Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corporation for explaining the new Fannie Mae Guidelines. If your Buyer is getting a Conventional Loan for a new home and has an existing home that they will rent out, the 30% equity requirement for the property they are vacating is NO LONGER a requirement! Additionally, 75% of the rent payment on that lease may be used to offset their existing mortgage payment when assessing their dti payments. Contact Jay Alexander for more specifics!
HOA Initiation Fees: Remember to check with the HOA Management Company if there will be any initiation fees for a new Buyer even if the Seller never had to pay these. Have the Buyer find this out prior to the end of the Buyer’s Due Diligence Period.
Landcastle Title Issues: We have been asked by many agents if a Title Insurance Policy issued by Landcastle Title when closing with Morris Wittstadt & Schneider will still cover the new Home Owner. We strongly encourage the owner to contact Landcastle Title directly and the information we have is that Landcastle was a title Insurance Broker but the actual policies were underwritten by Fidelity National Title Insurance Company.
EDS Replaces Blue Sheet: Please start using the EDS through WolfConnect so that you may get used to it. Click here for the EDS Guide.
Zillow Acquires Dot Loop:: After acquiring Trulia a few months ago, Zillow has now purchased Dot Loop – a real estate e-sign platform. Docusign was Dot Loop’s biggest competitor & whereas Docusign is used for ANY document, Dot Loop has been a real-estate specific platform. How will Zillow continue to impact the face of real estate online? Stay tuned & well all find out!
America’s Preferred Home Warranty: They will pay $100 compensable service fee. We cannot pay for warranties, but rather some service you perform for us. That service is to collect brand names of 6 appliances/systems on our Data Collection form, which can be done online (aphw.com and then click realtor tab and create a sign in, then log in and go to My Contracts, and enter appliance names) or on the attached document. You can also attach the copy of the home inspection instead of completing the data collection form. Contact John Zupancic for more information: 678-502-6841 jzupancic@aphw.net
MX1 Roster: Remember that the MX1 Roster is located on the Extranet under “Roster” as well as on the front page under “Office Links” There are tabs at the bottom for ALL agents, BRANCHES, COMMERCIAL & Other SPECIALTIES
Max Cares: Condolences to Donna Black on the passing of her StepMother.
Max Cares: Condolences to Monica Thomas on the passing of her Aunt.
Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Cindy Berndt whose son is recovering from surgery.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Rhonda Yearwood on the birth of her 1st GrandDaughter, Julianna!

7/19/15

Interest Rates on the Rise?: Especially with Greece going belly-up, the “experts” on Wall Street & our affiliated lenders are bracing for a rise in interest rates. Get those Buyers to act now!
ListingBook Expanding Its Free Services: Effective July 15, Listingbook Basic-our free service-will now include all of the functionality of Listingbook Insight. This gives you all the benefits and enhanced features found in Listingbook Client Manager and My Listings, helping you manage your client relationships. You’ll get full insight into your clients’ and prospects’ activity in Listingbook.
Low Appraisal? How to Make the Deal Work: Thank you to lender affiliate John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage (see contact info below) for sharing this information at the Woodstock Sales Meeting. If a Seller was contributing to Buyer’s closing costs, re-negotiate for lower appraisal price, eliminate Seller’s CC contribution, have the lender raise the interest rate and pay the closing costs for the Buyer! Same net to Seller & same monthly payment to Buyer! Contact John for the specifics!
Title Issues: Protect your clients when it comes to Title Issues. There are some title issues that certain closing attorneys will “close over” to get the deal done but do NOT protect your clients. When they have title issues down the line because you were in a hurry to close rather than doing the right thing by your clients, they will inevitably blame you, the agent! Use an Affiliated Closing Attorney so that YOU as the agent are protected in your transactions and understand what is going on with the conveyance of property!
GAMLS Compliance: When you get Compliance emails & phone calls from GAMLS or Kim Murray of MX1, you need to correct those issues immediately! GAMLS charges $25 day 1 & then $5/day for compliance violations!
GAMLS Listings:: MX1 belongs to BOTH FMLS & GAMLS so all listings (not rental listings) need to go into BOTH services & at least 1 photo is required.
FMLS fees: The FMLS rule is that if the listing broker has a listing agreement with the Seller & the property is in an FMLS Compulsory area, they are due a fee period. If the listing agent doesn’t actually put the listing in FMLS but “Seller Agency” is marked on the contract & the property is in a compulsory area, this means they had a listing agreement signed & FMLS is due a fee!
Max Cares: Congratulations to Julie Ward on the birth of her twin Grandsons this week!
Max Cares: Congratulations to Remey Caraballo who graduated from DeVry Institute this week!
Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Lawrence Cohen – editor of RE Magazine who had a moderate stroke on June 23rd.
Max Cares: Condolences to Genna Crider on the passing of her Aunt Nell.

7/12/15

Welcome New Agents: Please welcome these agents new to Maximum One:

Billy Jobling – West Cobb
Russ Offerman – Galleria – Welcome BACK!
Cher McCleary – Galleria
Susan Fenton – Douglasville
Sharon Washington – Galleria
Dave Burlingame – Woodstock
Lamar Young – Galleria
Shelita Compton – West Cobb
Hillard Bailey III – Galleria
Marty Griffing – Douglasville
Greg Boris – East Cobb
Michael Taylor – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!
Shiva Vure – East Cobb
Keith Pavlick – Paulding
Bill Thomas – West Cobb
Ji Jeong – East Cobb
Tonglia Davis – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!
Crystal Carroll – Woodstock
Therese Walters – East Cobb
Bill Boyd – West Cobb
Kayleen Smith – West Cobb
Eulando Hayes – Galleria
Amy Covington – West Cobb

Termite Letters & FHA Loans: There are some lenders emailing agents that FHA requires a termite letter for properties sold in Georgia. Thank you to Bart Patterson of Summit Funding Advisors (see contact info below) for clarifying this issue:

In looking through FHA guidelines, there is mention that lenders may use their own discretion and require termite inspections in areas where termites are prevalent, but not as a general requirement on resale properties. New construction is different and there are a couple of requirements related to treatment and builder guarantees.

Here’s how the mortgagee letter reads…
Wood Destroying Insects/Organisms: inspection required only if evidence of active infestation, mandated by the state or local jurisdiction, if customary to the area, or at lender’s discretion

This is certainly open to interpretation since the presence of termites is customary to this area and it wouldn’t surprise me if more lenders move towards this requirement for GA properties, especially if they incur losses due to termite issues. To this point though, this isn’t a wide spread requirement from what I’ve found.

Get Paid by Direct Deposit: Remember that you may have your commission paid to you by Direct Deposit. Contact us for a Direct Deposit form to complete or download here. MXGA Direct Deposit Form or MXGR Direct Deposit Form
DA (Pay st Close) Request: A DA = “Disbursement Authorization” for you to get paid at the closing table. If you will not be attending closing, please do not request a DA.

FMLS Login: Remember to log in to FMLS periodically or that system will kick you out.
GAMLS Listings: All listings in FMLS MUST also be listed in GAMLS. We are members of both services & this is part of our membership.
Georgia Realtor Magazine: Click here for Online edition of GA Realtor Magazine

Need Help? Please remember ALL the ways you may get assistance at Maximum One:
- Email the support line: Support@MyMaximumOne.com
- Click the “Live Chat” tile on www.eAGENTweb.com
- Contact your Branch Manager
- Contact Dana Sparks – Managing Broker
- Contact Dawn Luttrell – Compliance Broker
- Contact Mary Lamb – Broker Support
- Contact your Mentor
- Review Contract Tips in the “Deal or No Deal” section of the MX1 Blog – 3 years worth of Contract Tips! – “Blog” tile on www.eAGENTweb.com
- Review the applicable information on the Extranet
- Consult the Orientation & Procedures Manuals
- Consult the Vendor page on the MX1 Blog
- Consult the Resources page on the MX1 Blog

Weekend Broker on Duty: If you have Broker questions over the weekend, please call the Broker on Duty Hotline: 770-919-8825 ext. 302.
Max Cares: Prayers for Dave Kubat who is having eye surgery on Wednesday 7/15
Max Cares: Condolences to Joe Faulstitch whose father passed away last week.

7/5/15

Happy Independence Day!!!:
Morris, Schneider & Wittstadt Imminent Demise: This closing attorney firm is allegedly declaring bankruptcy & closing immediately. Read the full HousingWire article here which was just published 7/2/15.
Personal Checks Held for 10 Business Days: Remember that we must hold personal checks for 10 business days so if you have an all cash closing scheduled to close quickly, make sure to get Earnest Money in certified funds!
Great FNMA Changes: Thanks to Jay Alexander & David Stallings of Movement Mortgage for this update. Fannie Mae just updated their selling guide. Here are the highlights – they are actually loosening up a bit:

– Removal of conversion of principal residence requirements – We can now count rental income on a property when the customer turns their current home into an investment property and buys a new home…no minimum equity is required

– For W2 borrowers, we can ignore unreimbursed business expenses. No documentation or deduction from monthly income is required for salary, bonus, overtime, or commission income of less than 25% of monthly income.

Property in a Flood Plain?: Go to FloodSmart.gov/OneMileto see if a property is potentially in or near a flood plain and to learn about flood insurance & a preferred risk policy

Need Help? Please remember ALL the ways you may get assistance at Maximum One:
- Email the support line: Support@MyMaximumOne.com
- Click the “Live Chat” tile on www.eAGENTweb.com
- Contact your Branch Manager
- Contact Dana Sparks – Managing Broker
- Contact Dawn Luttrell – Compliance Broker
- Contact Mary Lamb – Broker Support
- Contact your Mentor
- Review Contract Tips in the “Deal or No Deal” section of the MX1 Blog – 3 years worth of Contract Tips! – “Blog” tile on www.eAGENTweb.com
- Review the applicable information on the Extranet
- Consult the Orientation & Procedures Manuals
- Consult the Vendor page on the MX1 Blog
- Consult the Resources page on the MX1 Blog

Max Cares: Prayers for John Kanalas whose Mom just had major surgery.

6/28/15

FREE VoicePad for all MX1 Agents!: Make sure to complete this form so we may activate your FREE account for Lead Generation AND Agent Mobile Website. Click Here for VoicePad Activation Form.
Wiring Earnest Money to Closing Attorney: Make sure to let us know (through a note in Paperless Pipeline) if you need the Earnest Money wired to the Closing Attorney for your closing. We need the Wiring information & plenty of notice!
Need Help? Please email the support line:Support@MyMaximumOne.com or click the “Live Chat” tile on www.eAGENTweb.com or contact your Branch Manager!
Boards of Realtors: Maximum One Realtors is currently a member of 11 area Boards of Realtors! We just joined the Dekalb Realtors Association as a Broker Member. We are For a complete list, please see the Boards of Realtors” page on the company Blog – eAGENTweb.com click the tile “Blog.”
Questions / Requests about Your Transactions : Please use the “Note” section in your transaction in Paperless Pipeline to communicate or ask a question about that transaction. Type your note then simply check the box next to the staff person you need to ask the question. This was ALL communication regarding a specific transaction stays in one place.
USDA Funding Fee: Thank you to Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corporation for the following information. Effective for closings after October 1st, the USDA funding fee will go up to 2.75% from the current rate of 2%
ShowCase – 2015 Real Estate Trade Show: Now in its 15th year, Showcase – the Southeast Residential Real Estate Trade Show, brings together REALTORS®, real estate professionals and affiliated industries on a single day, Thursday, August 13th at the Cobb Galleria Centre. One of the Galleria’s largest trade shows, Showcase focuses on presenting a wide variety of business products and services to the 3,000 trade professionals expected to attend. August 13 – 9:30am – 4:30pm Click here for more info on 2015 Showcase

6/21/15

Happy Father’s Day!: Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads at Maximum One!
FREE Voicepad for all MX1 Agents: Maximum One is excited to offer our agents FREE Voicepad Lead Capture system AND Free Mobile Website for all our agents! Please see “This Week at Maximum One” from 5/31/15 for COMPLETE DETAILS!
FREE eFax for all MX1 Agents: Yes, you can send faxes through Transactiondesk for free! There are two ways to do it. You can upload the file into transaction desk and send it from there. Or you can send the file as an attachment directly from your personal email. The body of the email will be the cover page and the attacent will be the fax content. The send to: address is email2fax@transactiondesk.com and the subject is the fax number. It must be send FROM the email address you have on file with transactiondesk. Its so easy & works great! There is a free receiving fax service at www.K7.net BUT it is a long distance # AND you cannot go more than 30 days without receiving a fax otherwise you may lose the number. (Remember to fax a page to yourself on occasion to keep it active)
Pending Sales & Prices Increase in Georgia in May: GAR reports the following statistics: Georgia housing indicators for May are in:

–   Pending Sales were up 27 percent to 11,050.
–   Average Sales Price was up 8 percent to $232,903.
–   Inventory levels shrank 6 percent to 43,087 units.
–   Median Sales Price increased 9 percent to $185,000.
–   Days on Market remained flat at 70 days.
–   Months Supply of Inventory was down 18 percent to 5 months.
–   New Listings increased 5 percent to 15,170.

VoicePad: Buyer Transfer Alerts : Why are Buyer Transfer Alerts important? Until now, agents could not tell if an incoming call was from a potential buyer or not. Now, VoicePad alerts you that a potential buyer wants to speak to you right away. You can even have multiple phones ring simultaneously, so your potential buyers don’t end up in a voice mailbox ever again.

How do Buyer Transfer Alerts work? VoicePad can display your brokerage’s VoicePad system phone number-as opposed to the caller’s phone number-as the Caller ID on incoming calls. The Buyer Transfer Alert setting is set to OFF by default, but you can easily change it on your VoicePad dashboard (go to My Profile>Phone Options>Buyer Transfer Alert).

Lead notifications. Although the VoicePad system phone number is displayed as the Caller ID, the lead notification email and text messages include the caller’s phone number. These lead notifications are sent to agents immediately after the inquiry.

Useful Tip: On your phone, create a contact for your VoicePad system phone number. Name it ‘VoicePad Lead’ (or something similar). Then, set a corresponding special ring tone. This way these valuable incoming calls are distinguished both visibly and audibly. Click here for more information.

ShowCase – 2015 Real Estate Trade Show: Now in its 15th year, Showcase – the Southeast Residential Real Estate Trade Show, brings together REALTORS®, real estate professionals and affiliated industries on a single day, Thursday, August 13th at the Cobb Galleria Centre. One of the Galleria’s largest trade shows, Showcase focuses on presenting a wide variety of business products and services to the 3,000 trade professionals expected to attend. August 13 – 9:30am – 4:30pm Click here for more info on 2015 Showcase
Please Vote: Please click link to vote for Chase to give MXGR a grant to help us expand our services to our agents https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/b/38049

6/14/15

FMLS: Fusion will be Eliminated in October: In mid-October, FMLS plans to turn off Fusion and retire the product. At that time, Matrix will be the stand- alone system.
FMLS: Matrix: The Matrix system which is HTML-based to help address the following issues our members had with Fusion: speed of system, better mobile platform, access on all devices, including iPads, tablets and all browsers.Learn it NOW!!!
Another CFPB Issue: Attorneys & Lenders will be required to communicate with principals by encrypted email. Please see last week’s newsletter (video & article) with extensive information on how these RESPA / TILA disclosure statements will impact your closings.
5% Down Payment & Closing Cost Program: Thank you to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage (contact information below) for informing us of this new assistance program. Qualifying Buyers can get a grant up to 5% and the money does not have to be repaid! This program is not limited to first time buyers. Ask John for more information on the NHF Platinum Program.
Home Features on Millenials Wish List: What are the Must-Haves for the most recent Buyers in the market?

Updated Kitchens & Bathrooms
Minimal Upkeep
Energy Efficiency
Home Office
Read Article Here

3 Ways to Fix the Negative Perception of Realtors: One of the biggest obstacles agents must overcome is the negative perception by the public. Consider these 3 ways to overcome this negativity as published in Inman News:

Don’t tolerate average
Be a true professional
Go above & beyond
Read Full Article Here

Please Vote: Please click link to vote for Chase to give MXGR a grant to help us expand our services to our agents https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/b/38049

6/7/15

Welcome Agents New to Maximum One: Please welcome the following new agents:

Lilly Cichon – West Cobb
Travis Reedy – Paulding
Bill Harris – Galleria
Karen Fuller – Woodstock
Kristine Corona – Woodstock
Sandra Posada – Douglasville
Pourya Bakhtiyar – Douglasville
Janine Mirand – Paulding
Angelia Bynum – West Cobb
Michelle Lindsay – Douglasville
Cadie White – Woodstock
Sharon Willingham – Galleria – Welcome BACK!
Amanda Backus – Paulding
Dustin Teeples – North Fulton
Christina Vollmer – Douglasville
Tammi Miller – Douglasville
Doug Keen – West Cobb
Mabel Garcia – Galleria
Jim Blair – Douglasville
Davida Roze – Douglasville

Change in Qualifying Broker of MXGR: Thank you to Sue Hudson for your many years of dedication & service to Maximum One Greater Atlanta Realtors as the Qualifying Broker. Sue is retiring her position as Qualifying Broker. The new Qualifying Broker of MXGR is Dana Sparks. This change has already been made in GREC & we are in the process of changing the QB with all of the Boards of Realtors and with HUD. Thank you for your patience as we make this transition. Thank you so much Sue from all of us at Maximum One!!!
CFPB Announcement from GAR: See more CFPB Info in article & video below. Please Note this email was sent to State and Local Association Government Affairs Directors 6/4/15: “Yesterday (6/3/15) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it would be “sensitive” to companies that make a good-faith effort to comply with the new Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosure (TRID) regulation that goes into effect on August 1, 2015. This is a welcome development that can be compared to the effective CFPB implementation of the Qualified Mortgage (QM) regulation in 2014.

Bottom Line: The announcement by CFPB is a net win but less than what some Members of Congress requested, which was a hard deadline five-month testing or “grace” period.
Next Steps: NAR has been leading the effort to ensure an effective implementation of the TRID regulation. We will continue to have a dialog with Congress and the CFPB as we move toward August 1, 2015. It was through our member efforts during the 2015 REALTOR® Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo that more than 275 U.S. Senators and Representatives signed onto a letter to CFPB Director Richard Cordray to ask for the clarification that was issued yesterday.
Communicating with your Members: We recommend that you reinforce the use of a link to www.realtor.org/respa for the latest information on this issue.

MXGR Grant from Chase: Please click link to vote for Chase to give MXGR a grant to help us expand our services to our agents https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/b/38049

REbar Camp Atlanta 2015 – This is a gathering to talk about technology in real estate. Usual topics include: Facebook ads for listings and buyers, WordPress sites, CRMs, email marketing, electronic signatures, using Google tools and more. This event is June 12th from 8:30am – 5pm. Register Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rebar-camp-atlanta-2015-registration-16994772823
Earnest Money by Credit Card: Do NOT accept a Credit Card payment for Earnest Money – most Lenders will NOT accept this.

Max Cares – Prayers for Nicki McCormick who is experiencing some heart issues.
Weekend Broker on Duty: If you have Broker questions over the weekend, please call the Broker on Duty Hotline: 770-919-8825 ext. 302.

5/31/15

Maximum One Expands!: Maximum One Main Street Realtors is now open in Cedartown! Mike Tinney has renovated a gas station on Main Street in Cedartown as Maximum One Main Street. Additionally, Maximum One will be opening in McDonough very soon!!!

Article about Maximum One Main Street Realtors
Changes to RESPA & Truth in Lending – August 1st – The Dodd-Frank Act which was enacted on November 20, 2013 mandated integrated Mortgage Disclosures between RESPA (Regulation X) & the Truth in Lending Acts (Regulation Z.) This merger now falls under the Consumer Finance & Protection Board (CFPB.) These stringent changes go into effect August 1, 2015 and your closings will be affected. Starting in June & extending through July & August, Maximum One will host many classes on this topic and how these changes will affect you as an agent. This 3 hour CE class is called: Show Me The Money & Get Me to Closing and will be taught by the affiliated Lender & Closing Attorney of each Maximum One branch, The first class in June 23 in the Douglasville Branch taught by David Stallings & Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corporation & Shawn Horan & Emily Web of Harrison & Horan Attorneys. Click here to register before this class sells out!
CFPB RESPA & TILA Changes to Closings: Maximum One agents are very fortunate to have been hearing about the impact of these changes since January in the monthly sales meetings! The Affiliated Attorneys and Lenders have been preparing us for these changes to timing of closings, warning us about the problems with scheduling back-to-back closings and more! Amee Davis of Davis & Associates started us off in January and Andy Hartman in February as well as others have given extensive presentations on these various changes in every branch’s monthly Sales Meeting! Thank you again to ALL of our affiliates for ensuring that Maximum One agents are prepared & informed!!!
CFPB Changes and How to Prepare as an Agent: Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter video for the many ways you as an agent can prepare for these changes for yourself and set the appropriate expectations for your clients & customers.
Certified Funds Only: If a Buyer defaults on Earnest Money – either by failing to remit those funds or if their personal check is returned by the bank, the Buyer must cure that default with Certified Funds
DA (Pay at Close) if MX1 is holding EM: Remember that if Maximum One is holding the Earnest Money and you are getting a DA, you must pick up the Earnest Money check PRIOR to closing and take it with you to your closing. This will be a check made payable to the closing attorney so that the attorney can pay you your commission. On the DA where it says “MX1 Branch,” please indicate the Branch where you will pick up this check.
Buyers Can Pay Down Credit Cards to Qualify AND Keep them Open: Thank you to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage (Contact Info below) for this information. Buyers may pay down their credit cards to zero AND keep them open after closing. This is a change to Movement Mortgage’s guidelines from the previous requirement to close those credit accounts.
No Tax Returns Required for W2 Borrowers: Thank you to David Stallings & Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corporation as well as John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for sharing this information about their companies. If your Buyer gets a W2, they do not need their tax return to qualify – only their W2 if they are borrowing from Homestar or Movement. Please contact David, Jay or John for the specifics! Their contact information is below.
Branch Managers: Your Branch Manager is your first point of contact for any questions about Maximum One!
- West Cobb – Renee Couick – WestCobb@eAGENTweb.com – 770-919-8825 x 318
- East Cobb – Kim Murray – EastCobb@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 303
- Douglasville – Monica Thomas – Douglasville@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 306
- Paulding – Kim Terrell – Paulding@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 321
- Galleria – Vivian Green – Galleria@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 312
- Woodstock – Bradlea Reibly – Woodstock@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 310
- North Fulton – Tina Vliet – Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com 678-501-7900 x 317
- Gwinnett – Tina Vliet – 770- 501-7900 x 320

Max Cares – Prayers for Nancy Sanders’ father who became extremely ill over Memorial Day Weekend and was hospitalized with severe dehydration & colon issues.

Weekend Broker on Duty: If you have Broker questions over the weekend, please call the Broker on Duty Hotline: 770-919-8825 ext. 302.

5/17/15

FREE Voice Pad & Mobile Website for all Maximum One Agents!!!: Maximum One is proud to announce that we will be including VoicePad and Mobile Websites in all Commission Plans at no additional cost to the Agents. That is a HUGE value and we are thrilled to be able to offer it to you. If you currently subscribe, this will be in effect July 1 so please check your July bill to make sure we took it off.

We will begin activating those next week and you will receive an email from VoicePad. Remember that Google is now ranking Mobile-friendly sites at the tops of searches because 83% of all internet searches are now being done on some sort of Mobile Device. If you want it right away, click click here for faster service. You will be emailed directly when your account is activated. MAKE SURE TO UPLOAD YOUR PICTURE!! More information in next week’s newsletter!

Here is what your Mobile Website will look similar to:

CFPB – August 1st – 3 Day Disclosure Rules – Thank you to Andy Hartman – closing attorney with Hartman-Imbriiale (see contact information below) for sharing this graphic that will guide your real estate life after August 1st.
Updated RE Forms: On Tuesday, May 12, 2015, FMLS updated the following RE Forms:
RE-1, RE-3, RE-4, RE-100, RE-105, RE-120, RE-151, RE-153, RE-154, RE-156, RE-158, RE-700
GAR 2015 Contract Revisions: GAR has revised the 2015 Contract Forms. These revisions will appear in the GAR contract as accessible on FMLS & GAMLS by the end of the month. Click here to review the 2015 GAR Contract Revisions as of May 1 2015.
Branch Managers: Your Branch Manager is your first point of contact for any questions about Maximum One!
- West Cobb – Renee Couick – WestCobb@eAGENTweb.com – 770-919-8825 x 318
- East Cobb – Kim Murray – EastCobb@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 303
- Douglasville – Monica Thomas – Douglasville@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 306
- Paulding – Kim Terrell – Paulding@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 321
- Galleria – Vivian Green – Galleria@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 312
- Woodstock – Bradlea Reibly – Woodstock@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 x 310
- North Fulton – Tina Vliet – Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com 678-501-7900 x 317
- Gwinnett – Tina Vliet – 770- 501-7900 x 320

Max Cares – Condolences to Herb Haynes on the loss of his 14 year old niece, Savanna.
Max Cares – Congratulations to all the Graduates – the Class of 2015

Weekend Broker on Duty: If you have Broker questions over the weekend, please call the Broker on Duty Hotline: 770-919-8825 ext. 302.
5/10/15

Happy Mother’s Day!
Welcome Agents New to Maximum One: Please welcome these agents who are new to our Brokerage:

Tina Krueger – East Cobb
Brad Sanford – East Cobb
Brenda Rogers – West Cobb
Vicky Spivey – North Fulton
Vernetta Gregory – Paulding
Bob James – Woodstock
Kem Hill – West Cobb
Jack Hewell – West Cobb
Sharod Edwards – East Cobb
Phil Bartoe – Woodstock – WELCOME BACK!
Houston Long – West Cobb
Tatia Lane – Douglasville
Ana Lomeli – West Cobb
Angela Kearns – Woodstock
Jeri Lynn Caruso – North Fulton
Adonis Okonya – West Cobb
Cindy Stonebrook – East Cobb
Laura Keyes – West Cobb
Mary Lotts – Woodstock
Naomi Ratner – Woodsstock
Alfonza Marshall – Galleria
Kenneth Storey – North Fulton
Davida Roze – Douglasville
Meghan Ferguson – East Cobb

GAR 2015 Contract Revisions: GAR has revised the 2015 Contract Forms. These revisions will appear in the GAR contract as accessible on FMLS & GAMLS by the end of the month. Click here to review the 2015 GAR Contract Revisions as of May 1 2015.
IDX Feeds from FMLS: Beginning May 13th, FMLS will begin showing SOLD listings on IDX feeds – going back 3 years.
Winning the Buyer as a Client: Thank you to Tina Vliet for sharing these charts with us regarding “Winning the Buyer as a Client” including how Buyers search for homes & will the internet replace the agent? Click here for these Buyer Search charts: Winning the Buyer as a Client
FMLS – Cloud CMA: This new service from FMLS begins May 19th. Cloud CMA takes listing data and creates simple, beautiful, and effective presentations that make a great first impression for clients. Available on mobile devices, Cloud CMA impresses with tablet presentations for on-the-go real estate agents. Cloud CMA is the real estate CMA software that will make you look awesome in front of your clients and help you get the listings you want.

Max Cares – Happy Mother’s Day to all MX1 Mothers & to all Mothers of our MX1 Agents!.
Weekend Broker on Duty: If you have Broker questions over the weekend, please call the Broker on Duty Hotline: 770-919-8825 ext. 302.

5/3/15

Weekend Broker on Duty: If you have Broker questions over the weekend, please call the Broker on Duty Hotline: 770-919-8825 ext. 302.
Property Management Referral Partner: Maximum One has an awesome referral partner in RentHouseRPM for your Property Management needs. Their PM fees for your clients are great & they will handle them professionally & promptly. When the tenant vacates & it’s time to place a new tenant or sell the property, YOU get that business back! For more information, contact, Mike Maldonado t 770.222.0099 ext 101 and check out: www.RentHouseRPM.com
Mortgage News from Southcrest Mortgage: Thank you to the West Cobb affiliated lender, Scott Haney with Southcrest Mortgage – contact information below – for so much information he shared at this week’s sales meeting:

For Buyers buying new construction – Long-Term Lock with no fee for 240 days
Freddie Mac Loans – NO Minimum Credit Score with 20% down
Call Scott about 97% Home Possible Loan in Cobb county with no income limits in certain locations

Binding Contract on RE Forms: Please remember that it is Maximum One’s policy & good business practice to print the “Standard Terms” and attach them AS AN EXHIBIT to your contract. These Standard Terms contain the consideration of the contract AND all of the promises & responsibilities & consequences to the Buyer & Seller.
Parkside West Cobb – Corner of Dallas Hwy & Casteel. – Interested int he new commercial development going into that corner? Be “in the know” for your clients. The anchor is “Sprouts” and there are several retail shops & restaurants hoping to go in. See attached for more information & a final hearing on this issue Tuesday at 9am (see attachments for contact)

Team Pest USA – Thank you to Team Pest USA for the delicious BBQ on Tuesday at the Sales meeting! They offer FREE termite letters for Maximum One agents & FREE Wildlife Inspection. They also have Fire Ant Control & Mosquito Control. Contact them at www.PestUSA.com
CFPB Changes Effective August 1 – Thank you to Closing Attorney Amee Davis of Davis & Associates (contact info below) for reminding us of the various ways that the Consumer Financial Protection Board will affect our closings. We will have CE classes on these changes in June & July! Based on these changes, we are suggesting scheduling closes 45 – 50 days after BAD (especially FHA & VA loans) making sure Sellers complete repairs at least 5 – 7 days prior to closing, schedule your closings on Mondays so that the 3 day loan disclosure requirement for any closing changes may still afford you the opportunity to close that week. Additionally, due to many HOAs only allowing their transfer letters to be good for a limited period of time, Sellers may incur additional costs with any lender delays in closings due to CFPB disclosure requirements & updated needed on HOA letters. Stay tuned for more changes!!!
Power of Attorney: At Maximum One, you are prohibited from accepting Power of Attorney for your clients – you may NOT sign contract or Closing statements on their behalf. If you do so, this is grounds for immediate release from MX1. Additionally, you negate your E&O coverage for that transaction.

Max Cares – Condolences to Nepal for the tragic loss of so many lives from the Earthquake.
Max Cares – Condolences to Amee Davis on the loss of her Father-in-Law.
Max Cares – Continued prayers for healing to Denise Thomas on the continued health of her husband Clay as he recovers from bladder cancer.

4/26/15

Weekend Broker on Duty: If you have Broker questions over the weekend, please call the Broker on Duty Hotline: 770-919-8825 ext. 302.
GAMLS – Public Billboards – Update Your Info: Make sure to check your agent information including photo on GAMLS. They are getting ready to bombard the public by publishing the Public Access to their listing service: www.GeorgiaMLS.com and you will miss the boat if your contact information is not accurate & if your photo is not included! Click here for instructions on how to update your photo, info & logo which will appear to the public: GAMLS Contact Information Management
FHA Flipping Rules: The old FHA flipping rules are back as of 12/31/15 for investors. An investor must wait at least 91 days from close to contract date if selling for more than 25% profit. Thank you John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage. Contact info below.
FHA Underwriting Change of Gift Funds: As of 1/30/15 a friend can give the down payment to a Buyer. Thank you again to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage. Contact info below.
VA Loans: More Changes! – VA Loans are going strong and there are many changes involved. Create a lucrative Buyer business going after this niche market but make sure you know the ins & outs of the loan process. Attend this CE class on Tuesday at 10am in Douglasville: VA Loans – What You Need to Know as an Agent – taught by Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corp. – Contact info below.
West Cobb Branch – Sales Meeting & BBQ: ALL ARE INVITED!!! This is an Information-packed meeting with information about new construction, closings, loans, termites & more! Brisket & BBQ Chicken smoked onsite by Maximum One Vendor:TeamPest USA
MX1 May Training Calendar – The Calendar is posted – please register for classes before they fill up! Go to www.eAGENTweb.com & click on the tile that says “Calendar”
Haves & Wants Feature in WolfConnect: The “Haves & Wants” feature of Wolf Connect is the appropriate place for many of your communication with other agents in the company. Please read this Haves & Wants Tip Sheet
MX1 Signs by Farmer Signs: For the most current information on products & pricing from Farmer Signs on Maximum One signs, Condo Signs, Name Decals – click this link: MX1 Products by Farmer Signs

Max Cares – Condolences to Jimmy Pace whose Father-in-Law passed away last week.
Max Cares – Condolences to Taqqeea Waters whose father passed away last week.

4/19/15

Weekend Broker on Duty: If you have Broker questions over the weekend, please call the Broker on Duty Hotline: 770-919-8825 ext. 302.
Seller Disclosure Forms: though it is not a a requirement for a Seller to complete a Seller’s Disclosure form, it IS required that they disclose any material defects. These disclosures may be made as a Special Stipulation, exhibit, etc. We have removed this item as an Agent Required Item in Paperless Pipeline from the Listing Checklist. If a Seller does not include a disclosure form, be prepared to answer that Buyer question, “What’s wrong with the house?”
HUD REO Properties: Effective immediately, if you have an all cash Buyer for a HUD property, the transaction MUST close within 30 days. (It used to be 45.)
Blue Sheets: Thank you for uploading your Blue Sheets with your contracts!!! Please remember to include the full street name – i.e. Ct. or St. or Lane or Terr, etc!
Thank You! – Thank you to affiliated lender, John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage & affiliated closing attorney, Andy Hartman of Imbriale & Hartman for their fabulous participation & Andrew Reibly for firing up his grill for last Friday’s (wet) picnic at the Woodstock Business Center of Maximum One! Andy, we can’t stop singing the “Red Solo Cup” song!!!
WolfConnect Messaging Service: The purpose of this system is to communicate with each other on RELEVANT, Real Estate-related subject matter. It is not to be used to promote other businesses in which agents are involved (please see information about MX1 Vendor Program.) In addition, we have had complaints from agents sending out information on their listings with recipients saying that they rely on the MLS to search. The latter is a “catch-22” because several of our agents have actually used the information received in those emails to their advantage and others complain that they are getting “these types of emails.” Another item is the advertising of open houses. Agents typically do not go to open houses so that is not the best use of this service.

As a solution for ALL agents in Maximum One, below is information on the “Haves and Wants” feature offered by Wolf Connect. If anyone has new or rare listings to offer or is in need of a specific type of house or service, we will encourage them to use “Haves and Wants” rather than send out emails to the masses through the Messaging Service in WolfConnect. Advertisements for Open Houses or their other businesses will be prohibited as we have the Vendor program for other services & open houses are for the public. In the mean time, if you receive an email through this service for something that does not pertain to you, simply delete it! One final remedy may be for agents to email their Branch Managers what they would like to send out and to whom and Branch Managers can use their judgment as to whether it is appropriate and she will send out to target group.

We just wanted you to know that we are aware of the many sides of this issue. This email function has accounted for a lot of intra-office business for properties not yet exposed on the open market and was one of the best selling points of purchasing WolfConnect so we intend to maximize its benefits without sending too many emails out to our agents that do not pertain to their RE businesses. Thanks for your cooperation and patience with each other & with us as we look for ways to make everyone happy.
Haves & Wants Feature in WolfConnect: The “Haves & Wants” feature of Wolf Connect is the appropriate place for many of your communication with other agents in the company. Please read this Haves & Wants Tip Sheet
MX1 Vendor Program: If you have another business in addition to real estate or know of someone with an interesting and relevant service or business to offer, please go through the MX1 Vendor Program. For information, contact the Manager of that program, Bradlea Reibly, Woodstock@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 ext. 310.
MX1 Signs by Farmer Signs: For the most current information on products & pricing from Farmer Signs on Maximum One signs, Condo Signs, Name Decals – click this link: MX1 Products by Farmer Signs

Max Cares – Prayer for Dawn Luttrell whose Mom went to the ER this week with heart issues.
Max Cares – Condolences to Danny Plunkett whose grandfather passed away last week.
Max Cares – Condolences to David & Shannon Bentley on the passing of David’s father.
Max Cares – Prayers for health & healing & strength toTaqqeea Waters whose father was in an accident & is in a coma
Max Cares – Happy Wedding Anniversary to Ann & Dave Kubat (April 18th!)

4/12/15

1099 Forms: If you have not yet downloaded your 1099, you may do so from WolfConnect. Click here for instructions onHow to Access Electronic 1099
Blue Sheet: Please use the most current version of the Blue Sheet. This is available on the “Reference” section of Paperless Pipeline & should (hopefully) be the only version on the Extranet. Click here to download it to your computer Blue Sheet.
Blue Sheet Due at Time of Contract: Just a reminder that your Blue Sheet is due and to be uploaded to Paperless Pipeline AT THE SAME TIME as your contract / lease. This is the information that MX1 uses to create the information to pay you your commission! The Transactions Department does NOT look at your contracts – only the Blue Sheet so it is VITAL that you upload that information with your contract so that we may start your transaction in our accounting system. If there are any changes to the terms of your transaction between contract and close, then all you have to do is simply write a note in paperless pipeline communicating the changes – but we would be happy to accept a revised Blue Sheet too! Starting May 1, 2015 there will be a $25 fine for not uploading the Blue Sheet for your transaction within 3 days after uploading your contract because we need this information at the time of pending so that our accounting systems match our compliance system and so we may pay you in a timely manner.
Extranet File Cabinet: The “file cabinet” icon on WolfConnect which houses all of the Extranet files should now be working properly and easily accessible.
Guide to Working with Expired Listings: Do you prospect Expired listings? If not… why not!?!? They are a HUGE source of immediate business… you already know that they want to not only sell but LIST their home with an agent!!! Don’t know what to say? Check out this Guide to Working with Expired Listings courtesy of Realtor.com.
Real Estate Technology: There are many resources at your fingertips to stay abreast of real estate technology. Check out the resources in RE Technology from GAMLS.
MX1 Frequently Used Forms: Remember that the most frequently used form are available to you not only on the Extranet but also in the “Reference” section of Paperless Pipeline

Max Cares – Condolences to Romona Caldwell whose father passed away last week.

4/5/15

We hope everyone enjoyed a happy Passover & Easter!
Welcome to Maximum One: Please welcome these agents new to Maximum One in March 2015

Cindy Berndt – Woodstock
Peter Onchoke – Paulding
Meagan McBrayer – East Cobb
Tamee Starr – Galleria
Lara Aurisch – Galleria
Rhonda Thompson – Paulding
Jason Waddell – Paulding
Danny McNulty – East Cobb
Robyn Ison – Douglasville
Naveed Khan – Douglasville
Ray Perez – Galleria
Alda Milian – East Cobb
Chanty Aldana – East Cobb
Amanda Tello – North Fulton
Mike Maldonado – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!
Wanda Reeves – Woodstock
Joe Tribuiani – Paulding
Ronald Thomas – Douglasville
Danny Plunkett – Paulding
Bryan Jackson – East Cobb
Kimberly Brown – Galleria
Craig Hemrick – Douglasville
Steve Saintus – Woodstock
Terrie Davis – West Cobb
Kristina Dominy – Woodstock
Kimberly LaGrone – Galleria
Apriale Williams – Galleria
Sherry Collins – Gwinnett
Jamie Arnold – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!

Licensed Agent Disclosure: If you are a principal in a transaction or if the Buyer or Seller is a licensed agent, you are required by License Law to disclose that fact. This must be disclosed in the contract and all marketing materials “________ is duly licensed agent in the State of Georgia.”
Text Negotiations: Texting is not a legally recognized form of communication in real estate transactions. Do not text negotiations / agreements / contracts on behalf of your clients regarding their contracts. You must get the essential party’s signatures on the appropriate forms describing the negotiations / agreements they wish to make to one another regarding the transaction.
Spring Break: The week of April 6th is Spring Break for several county school systems (Cobb, Douglas & Paulding to name a few.) This is a GREAT time to talk to a TON of people about selling or buying…. they are all home with their kids!
“Locked” Extranet File Cabinet on WolfConnect: WolfConnect hopes to have this issue resolved next week. If you have tried to access the Extranet & have found the file cabinet “locked,” WolfConnect suggests a temporary work-around. In the meantime, please try to “click the refresh button to be able to access files and folders”
Max Cares – Get well wishes to Mary Colson’s husband, Jerry, who was hospitalized briefly last week and is now home!

3/29/15

Commission on Short Sale & Foreclosure Listings: If you have both sides of a transaction involving a Short Sale or Foreclosure Listing (Agency with Seller & Customer relationship with Buyer) remember that most banks will only pay one side of the commission if there is not another agent involved. Either complete the deal with this in mind, or find another Maximum One agent to work with the Buyer for the Selling Side Commission and pay you a referral fee for this business.
No Commission Advances: Maximum One does NOT participate in Commission Advances – even if we do not have to sign the documentation. Violating this policy is grounds for immediate release from Maximum One!
Accessing FMLS on your Phone: Matrix Mobile is the tool you need to easily access FMLS from your smart phone or tablet while you are on the go!
Client Check Not Honored by Bank: If you have a customer or client who writes Maximum One a check (Earnest Money, Retainer Fee, etc.) and the check is not honored by the bank, we require replacement funds in certified funds only AND there is a $35 Bank charge. Please get your client to bring in that fee in a separate check as well or it has to go on your agent bill.
FMLS Fees for Rentals: FMLS is raising their fee for Lease Listings. On April 1, 2015, Listing Agents will be required to pay FMLS $12.50 for entering a rental listing into GAMLS (former fee was $7.)
“Locked” Extranet File Cabinet on WolfConnect: If you have tried to access the Etranet & have found the file cabinet “locked,” WolfConnect suggests a temporary work-around. They have been working on a solution for this issue for a couple of weeks and have “escalated it to their development team” so our fingers are crossed that is will be fixed soon! In the meantime, please try to “click the refresh button to be able to access files and folders”
Blue Sheet for a Rental Transaction: If you receive a commission / co-op fee for a rental, you still mist complete a Blue Sheet and turn in all your documents into Paperless Pipeline. The Blue Sheet may seem a bit confusing for a lease transaction. Here are Instructions to Complete the Blue Sheet (in general AND for a lease transaction.) I have also created a Sample Blue Sheet for a Lease.
Max Cares: Please send prayers for health and peace toMonica Thomas whose Mother was rushed to the ER last week with breathing issues.

3/22/15

Recommending Vendors: Although you may have a preferred vendor, you should always recommend more than 1 for any service your client may need. We are currently dealing with a Buyer with a roofing repair issue who is seeking compensation from the agent to repair the leaks in the roof. The Buyer asserts, “I used the home inspector that YOUR AGENT suggested.” Do not put yourself in a potentially liable situation by not giving your clients a choice of service providers.
Affiliated Business Disclosure: In compliance with RESPA regulations, Maximum One agents are required to have their clients &/or customers sign the Affiliated Business Disclosure form. This form is also available in the References section of Paperless Pipeline and on the Extranet.
GAMLS Zillow Direct Feed Update: Since Listhub will no longer feed Zillow (discussed in previous emails) GAMLS has an agreement in place directly with Zillow to syndicate listings to this site.
Listings in FMLS & GAMLS: Maximum One has membership to BOTH of these multiple listing services for more exposure for your services and your sellers. Remember that any listing you have in FMLS MUST also be listed in GAMLS.

Max Cares: Best Wishes to Ellen Manley who got married last week!

3/15/15

Remote Earnest Money Deposit: As a convenience to you to meet the terms of your contract, we allow agents to remotely deposit the earnest money (specific instructions on the Extranet & in the Procedures Manual.) Please remember that this is an option for you the agent so please do not give out these instructions & this information to your client.
Commission Checks: There is no remote deposit for commission checks – you must bring them in or mail them in.
Database Contact: How often are you communicating with your database of Sphere of Influence and Past Clients? Want a free & easy way to do so? Check out MadMimi at www.MadMimi.com
School Information: Buyers with school-age children will expect you to know about the schools in the area in which they are interested…. make sure you have resources readily available to have them do their own research. Check out websites such as:

http://www.greatschools.org/georgia/atlanta/

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ga/atlanta/schools/

http://www.bestplaces.net/schools/georgia/atlanta?type=Charter

http://www.knowatlanta.com/education/public_private_schools

https://k12.niche.com/rankings/public-school-districts/best-overall/m/atlanta-metro-area/

http://giftedatlanta.com/schools/private/

http://www.ajc.com/s/news/schools/

WolfConnect Emails / Messages: Please restrict your use of this messaging service for real estate related business that is “insider” information. For example, there is no need to advertise to your fellow agents of an Open House – if they have a Buyer they will find the listing in FMLS & GAMLS & will schedule a showing rather than coming to an Open House. There is no “opt out” feature since we use this system to communicate with all our agents as well so please be circumspect when sending a message through WolfConnect.
VoicePad New “Share” Button: Now you may easily share your Mobile Site with prospective Buyers. This is the BEST & Least Expensive Mobile Website you can get in today’s market (VoicePad Lead Capture AND Mobile Site for only $13.95/month!)
MX1 Ranked by Atlanta Business Chronicle: Congratulations to Maximum One! We are ranked 20th in the 2015 Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “Atlanta’s Top 25 Residential Real Estate Offices” Thank you to ALL of our AGENTS!!! YOU are Maximum One!!!
MX1 Greater Atlanta HUD NAID Numbers: The NAID Numbers for Greater Atlanta (MXGA and MXGR) have been renewed. All of you who have an account at www.HUDHomestore.com need to go into your account and change the expiration date to 2016.
2015 Updated W9 Forms: There are updated W9 Forms for MXGA and MXGR located in the Reference section of Paperless Pipeline & in the Admin folder on the Extranet.
Agent as Principal: If you are a Maximum One agent and you are purchasing or selling a property, you must use either the GAR or the RE Forms contract forms.
2015 MX1 Greater Atlanta Manuals: We have completely revised the Orientation Manual and divided it into an Orientation Manual & separate Procedures Manual. These manuals are replete with information on all of the Maximum One procedures and systems. There are complete instructions with screen shots for Paperless Pipeline & WolfConnect / the Extranet. There is also information about business cards, name badges, what documents are required for contracts, etc. Please keep these manuals as a reference as they will answer the majority of your questions & make your experience at Maximum One fulfilling & easy! These are also located in the folder Admin then Orientation Packages section of the Extranet & the Office Links section on the front page of WolfConnect. Please see Tina Vliet or Ed Cordrey for the Manuals for MX1 Executives.

Max Cares: Condolences to Precious Edet on the loss of her Brother
Max Cares: Condolences to Fran Bacote on her family’s loss.

3/8/15

Welcome New Agents: Please welcome agents new to Maximum One!

Nicole Williams – Woodstock
Carol Maldonado – Gwinnett
Peggy Withrow – Woodstock
James Weatherly – North Fulton
Cindy Chang – North Fulton
Jeff Knowlin – Galleria
Stephanie Shelton – Paulding
Tony Manley – Woodstock
Cindy Hendrix – Woodstock
Simmy Ahluwalia – East Cobb
Quillie Williams – Douglasville
Lillian Ingram – Galleria
Heidi Kelly – West Cobb
Brent Hill – Galleria
Romona Caldwell – East Cobb
Cliff Merrill – West Cobb
Johnny Poole – Woodstock
Nancy Demirtas – Douglasville
Shena Gravitt – Paulding
Cassandra Young – West Cobb
Tahir Johnson – Douglasville
Stephanie Carmichael – North Fulton

Congratulations to MX1 – Ranked #20 in the Top 25 Real Estate Offices!: Congratulations to Maximum One! We are ranked 20th in the 2015 Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “Atlanta’s Top 25 Residential Real Estate Offices” Thank you to ALL of our AGENTS!!! YOU are Maximum One!!!
Employment Verification: Please remember that as a real estate agent, you are self-employed contract labor. We do NOT verify employment for any of your loan applications or otherwise so please do not have these companies contact us. You should probably give the person requesting employment verification a copy of your Real Estate License as it shows your Broker affiliation. Thank you!
Sellers Property Disclosure Forms: There seems to be a growing trend in the Atlanta market for Sellers to not complete a Seller’s Property Disclosure Form. As a matter of fact, Radio talk show host, Clark Howard, continually tells his radio listeners that if they are selling a house, to definitely NOT complete this form. Whereas there is no law requiring a Seller complete this form, it IS required that a Seller & YOU as a licensed real estate agent disclose any material defects to the property (but a specific form on which this disclosure must be done is not specified by license law.) Therefore it is completely the Seller’s choice whether or not to complete this document. That being said, if a Seller chooses to not complete a Disclosure, they need to be prepared to answer the obvious Buyer question, “What’s wrong with the house that you don’t want to disclose?”
Supra eKey Payments : Your Supra eKey payment is due 4/1/15. Many of the bills are in your mailbox at your MX1 Branch. Don’t let this slip or you’ll be on a showing appointment with no way to access the lockbox!
ListingBook New Platform: – Listing Book is unveiling a new platform. Learn how to use ths to increase your business by attending their live seminar – Tuesday March 24th from 9:30am – 11:30am at the Cobb Galleria Centre
E&O Lawsuit Financial Assistance: America’s Preferred Home Warranty offers protection not only for your clients but for you the agent as well! Client Secure Legal Protection Plan – covers you in a post-sale lawsuit if you had this warranty on the property. They will cover 75% of your E&O deductible up to $3,750. Contact John Zupncic of America’s Preferred Home Warranty for more information! jzupancic@aphw.net 678-502-6841. They also pay agents $100 for every Warranty sold.
Legal Protection for Sellers during Listing: America’s Preferred Home Warranty also offers legal protection for Sellers with List Secure program for 2 years post sale. Contact John Zupancic for more information!
Seller’s Water Bill on the HUD Closing Statement: In many counties (Cobb for one) an owner’s water bill is lienable. So if the Seller has an outstanding balance on their water bill, it WILL be on the HUD Settlement Statement and the closing attorney will have to collect for that bill. Thank you to closing attorney Amee Davis of Davis & Associates for reminding us of this fact at the West CObb monthly sales meeting last week! Amee’s contact information is located in Affiliated Lenders & Attorneys section of this newsletter.
No Minimum Credit Score for Freddie Mac Loan – Thank you to lenders Scott Haney & Brad Turner of Southcrest Mortgage for informing us at the West Cobb monthly sales meeting last week. If a borrower goes through Southcrest Mortgage, they have a program for no minimum credit score for a buyer getting a Freddie Mac loan. Scott & Brad’s contact information is located in the Affiliated Lenders & Attorneys section of this newsletter.
Sales Meetings: Please attend the Branch Sales Meeting for a TON of VALUABLE information (as above) that I do not always share in these newsletters!
MX1 Roster: The current MX1 Roster is located under “Office Links” on the opening page of WolfConnect and is located in the Rosters folder on the Extranet. Note the tabs at the bottom divide the roster by Branch, Commercial & Other Specialties.
2015 MX1 Greater Atlanta Manuals: We have completely revised the Orientation Manual and divided it into an Orientation Manual & separate Procedures Manual. These manuals are replete with information on all of the Maximum One procedures and systems. There are complete instructions with screen shots for Paperless Pipeline & WolfConnect / the Extranet. There is also information about business cards, name badges, what documents are required for contracts, etc. Please keep these manuals as a reference as they will answer the majority of your questions & make your experience at Maximum One fulfilling & easy! These are also located in the folder Admin then Orientation Packages section of the Extranet & the Office Links section on the front page of WolfConnect. Please see Tina Vliet or Ed Cordrey for the Manuals for MX1 Executives.
Max Cares: Condolences to Elyse Bailey on the loss of her Mother.
Max Cares: Condolences to Herb Haynes on the loss of his Father.
Max Cares: Condolences to the family of David McDaniel who passed away 3/5/15. David had been an agent with Maximum One for several years.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Polly Kullman who celebrates a milestone birthday on March 10th!

3/1/15

2015 MX1 Greater Atlanta Manuals: We have completely revised the Orientation Manual and divided it into an Orientation Manual & separate Procedures Manual. These manuals are replete with information on all of the Maximum One procedures and systems. There are complete instructions with screen shots for Paperless Pipeline & WolfConnect / the Extranet. There is also information about business cards, name badges, what documents are required for contracts, etc. Please keep these manuals as a reference as they will answer the majority of your questions & make your experience at Maximum One fulfilling & easy! These are also located in the folder Admin then Orientation Packages section of the Extranet & the Office Links section on the front page of WolfConnect. Please see Tina Vliet or Ed Cordrey for the Manuals for MX1 Executives.
March CE Classes: Yesterday you received an email with all of the CE Classes & Workshops throughout the month of March. I encourage you to register soon for the classes you want. Many of our classes were sold out last month & we send this same email to over 35,000 agents in the metro area inviting them to take our classes. Please sign up soon before the class sells out!
FHA Monthly Mortgage Insurance: This rate is now 85 – down 50 basis points! Contact your Affiliated Lender for more information & how to convey this information to your Buyers! See the contact information for all of the Maximum One preferred lenders elsewhere in this blog
Daylight Savings Time 3/8/15 : Contact all your past clients this week & remind them of Daylight Savings Time next Sunday – Change your clocks, Change the batteries in your smoke detectors & change where you live! Who do you know that needs real estate services?
No Tax Returns for Borrowers: Thank you to our lenders with Homestar Financial Corporation for letting us know that Buyers getting a loan through Homestar do not need tax returns – if they are a W2 wage earner. Thank you to David Stallings & Jay Alexander & Denise Thomas & Steve Fitzgerald – see their contact information elsewhere in this blog.
Listing Syndication: – Despite all the changes to Trulia & Zillow and their relationship with Listhub, there are no changes to Maximum One’s relationship with Listhub and the syndication of our listings.
MX1 Listing Syndication Sites: For a list of the sites to which Maximum One syndicates our listings, go to the Extranet – Sellers – Listings – Promotional Materials – “MX1 Listing Syndication Sites” This would be great to include in your Listing Presentation
Extranet / WolfConnect – If you haven’t checked it out, there is a ton of information on the Extranet (MX1 Digital Library) that you will find useful in working with Buyers & Sellers. Remember that this information is there for you to use as a guide, suggestion, or idea.
CEO of Your Own Business: At Maximum One, we allow you to run your business as you see fit for you & your clients. You are the CEO of your business. The ideas & guides & suggestions located in the Extranet are there to stimulate your own unique style of business. As long as what you do is LEGAL, ETHICAL, COMPLIANT & PROFESSIONAL, run your business as traditionally or as uniquely as you see fit! Your Compliance Broker, Dawn Luttrell at Greater Atlanta & Ed Cordrey at Executives, has final say on the compliance status of your transaction!
Max Cares: Condolences to Tim O’Neill on the loss of his Mother.
Max Cares: Prayers for recovery to Andy Miller’s niece who has been in the hospital with a bacterial infection.

2/22/15

Zillow & Trulia Merger Complete: As of 2/17/15, Zillow has completed its acquisition of Trulia and formed Zillow Group, a portfolio containing some of the largest and most vibrant media brands in real estate, rentals and homes. It’s business as usual and, most importantly, your relationships with Trulia and/or Zillow remains unchanged. The sales teams will continue to sell Zillow and Trulia advertising separately. And, the Zillow Group will continue to invest in these two leading consumer brands. For more information, call 1-888-565-3652
Evening CE Class: Your Need CE Credit and can’t make a class during the day? Register for the FREE 3 Hr CE Class this Tuesday 2/24/15 night from 8pm – 11pm at the West Cobb Branch: The Ultimate Listing System.
Timely “touch” for Your Past Clients : Your past clients are in the process of preparing their taxes and will need a copy of their HUD-1 Settlement Statement. Send both Buyers & Sellers a copy of their Closing Statement AND send your past Buyers a reminder to file for Homestead Tax Exemption status. The transaction is closed so there is nothing from preventing you to reaching out to the co-op agent’s client on the other side of your deals with the same information! Remember to ask them for referrals & testimonials!
ListingBook Live Training: – This is a great tool to seal that relationship with your clients! FMLS off Barrett Pkwy on 2/25 at 2pm and FMLS on Roswell Rd on 2/26 at 2pm
Are “Zestimates” Making Your Job Difficult to Price a Home Correctly? – As an agent you KNOW how inaccurate those “Zestimates” are and how difficult it is to convince a client of this fact. Thanks to Shawn Delaney for forwarding this article from the LA Times that you should include in your Listing Presentation to help overcome any objections concerning these faulty prices.
FMLS Add / Edit Out of Service 2/23: This service in both Fusion & Matrix will be down for remodeling on February 23rd at 12noon and not back up and running until the 24th at 9am. Additionally, this service will have a new look! Swift Dual Entry & 1st Addition will still be functional.
Scripts for Talking about Zestimates: This seems to be a “Zillow” talking points Newsletter this week! Click this link for Zestimate Scripts to help explain their process for pricing.
Electronic 1099s: Your 1099 forms for 2014 are available to you electronically through WolfConnect! You have individual access to your own 1099 that you can print directly from WolfConnect. You simply Log in to WolfConnect and have access to your 1099 to print as many copies as you wish. Explicit instructions are posted on the front page of WolfConnect & are posted on the Extranet with screen shots and you may click here for instructions on how to access & print your 1099.

2/15/15

President’s Day: Monday 2/16/15 is President’s Day – NOT a banking day for your contracts. Although some banks may be open, this is not considered a Banking Day for your contracts.
Electronic 1099s: Your 1099 forms for 2014 are available to you electronically through WolfConnect! You have individual access to your own 1099 that you can print directly from WolfConnect. You simply Log in to WolfConnect and have access to your 1099 to print as many copies as you wish. Explicit instructions are posted on the front page of WolfConnect & are posted on the Extranet with screen shots and you may click here for instructions on how to access & print your 1099.
Paperless Pipeline Help : Thank you to MX1 Greater Atlanta Compliance Broker, Dawn Luttrell, for uploading a ton of helpful documents & video links regarding how to use Paperless Pipeline. These are located in the “Reference” section of paperless Pipeline.
MX1 Branch for DA Request: – This fill-in the blank on the DA form is the place to indicate which Branch is your Home Branch or which Branch you will pick up your Earnest Money check to take to closing for your DA (if we are holding EM.) This is not the place for you indicate which company you are in (MXGA or MXGR or MXEX or MXER.)
Zillow and Listhub Split – If you have not yet hear, these two companies are parting ways. Since Listhub is a major player in the syndication market, this is being perceived as a potentially detrimental to Zillow. However, Zillow is launching their own syndication platform called Data Dashboard to get information on properties directly from agents, brokers & MLSs rather than having to rely on a third party like ListHub. This combined with Zillow’s merger with Trulia will this take over ListHub as the number one network for marketing real estate? Time will tell!
ListingBook Live Workshop: Are you using ListingBook? Do you know what it is? Learn how over 100,000 agents are using the power of Listingbook to sell more houses & retain more listings by giving clients what they want – access to the most current info about the market. To register click for class 2/25/15 at FMLS off Barrett Pkwy or class 2/26/15 at FMLS on Roswell Rd.
FMLS Add / Edit: This service in both Fusion & Matrix will be down for remodeling on February 23rd at 12noon and not back up and running until the 24th at 9am. Additionally, this service will have a new look! Swift Dual Entry & 1st Addition will still be functional.
Max Cares: Get well wishes to Bobbie Poole who just got home from the hospital and is recovering from a bacterial ulcer.

2/8/15

Welcome Agents New to Maximum One: Please welcome the following agents new to Maximum One:

Tim O’Neill – Woodstock
Frederick Robinson – Woodstock
Dellena Priester – Douglasville
Shannon Kanner – East Cobb
Ann Kent – East Cobb
Anita Clonts – Douglasville
Myrian Kim – Gwinnett
Vitra McCoy – Galleria
Amecia Hartman – Galleria
Gwendolyn Jones – East Cobb
Anya Dupree – West Cobb
Danny Dupree – West Cobb
Julie Ward – West Cobb
Pamela Combs – Paulding – Welcome BACK!
Jacqueline McSwain – Galleria
Robert Bennett – East Cobb
Rebekah Smith – Paulding – Welcome BACK!
Mary Poole – Woodstock
Lovette Johnson – Galleria
Lynda Matthews – Woodstock
Lauline Babino – Galleria
LaShawn Halimon – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!

Happy Birthday to Dave Kubat – February 12th : Happy Birthday to the Founder of Maximum One, Dave Kubat!!!
Listing Number on Blue Sheet – When completing the Blue Sheet for your transactions, the FMLS number is the only number we need. You do not need to put the GAMLS number on the BlueSheet.
Corporate Addresses for Maximum One Companies – Despite which physical branch you work from GREC and FMLS and GAMLS only recognize the corporate addresses for the companies. So if you are expecting something by mail (a contract, a check, etc.) make sure to notify your Branch Manager and your Corporate Office to be on the lookout for your mail. (See addresses to the right.)

Maximum One Realty Greater Atlanta – MXGA – West Cobb Branch
Maximum One Greater Atlanta Realtors – MXGR – Galleria Branch
Maximum One Realty Executives – MXEX – North Fulton
Maximum One Executives Realtors – MXER – North Fulton

Live Chat: Remember there is a Live Chat feature on www.eAGENTweb.com In the upper right corner “Comm 100 – Live Chat” This is monitored Monday – Friday 10am – 5pm. Yet another resource to answer your questions!
Profit Sharing: At the January Owner’s Meeting, the Owners decided to eliminate Profit Sharing from the Maximum One business structure. Due to the Maximum One business model, our agents keep more of their hard-earned money up-front. With our Transaction Fee model of only $40 or $300 per transaction vs. other real estate companies with profit sharing who take 36% of each agent’s commissions, Maximum One lets agents keep their money when they earn it rather than taking more per transaction only to disburse it to others at a later point in time.
Changing your Commission Plan: If you choose to change your Commission Plan, you may do so once per year by simply completing the Commission Plan form. Note that when you change, the monthly fee of your new plan goes into effect with the next agent bill but your commission plan stays with your previous plan for 30 days – this is for any transactions pending or anything that GOES pending for the next 30 days. This form then gets turned in to Accounting Department Manager, Donna Black – AgentBilling@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 ext. 324.

Max Cares: Congratulations to Kristin May on the birth of her son on 2/3/15!!
Max Cares: Congratulations to Brenda Perry on the marriage of her daughter, Rachel, on 2/8/15!
Max Cares: Condolences to Travis Boatright whose Mother-in-Law passed away last week.

2/1/15

Business Center Administrators: Each MX1 Greater Atlanta Branch or Business Center has a manager / administrator. These people are your first point of contact for procedural questions about MX1. In addition, you may always find the proper person to assist you: www.eAGENTweb.com click “Staff & Brokers Contacts.” All Branch phone numbers begin with 770-919-8825

West Cobb – Renee Couick – WestCobb@eAGENTweb.com – ext. 318
East Cobb – Ramona Carter – EastCobb@eAGENTweb.com – ext. 303
Galleria – Vivian Green – Galleria@eAGENTweb.com – ext. 312
Woodstock – Bradlea Reibly – Woodstock@eAGENTweb.com – ext. 310
Douglasville – Monica Thomas – Douglasville@eAGENTweb.com – ext. 306
Paulding – Kim Terrell – Paulding@eAGENTweb.com – ext. 321

2015 GAR – Option Payment for Due Diligence – Go take a class on the 2015 GAR Contracts to understand this confusing new addition to the GAR contracts. Do not simply fill in this part of the contract without speaking to your Broker & lender! Take a class for an in-depth discussion on this new feautre and how to address it with your co-op agents & clients. In all 7 GAR Contracts classes we taught in January, this topic was discussed for approximately 30 minutes!!! You mus get a clear understanding of this new option and the various implications it has on your transactions!
Top Producer Awards – f you are in a Board of Realtors and participating in their Top Producer or Million Dollar Club programs, you may access a list of your transactions from last year in the “reports” section of WolfConnect. The same way you access your electronic 1099, one of the available reports to you is “YTD Earnings & you simply put in the dates form Jan – Dec 2014. For signatures on your applications, if you are in MX1 Greater Atlanta, send your reporting information to Dana Sparks or Dawn Luttrell; if you are in Executives, send it to Tina Vliet or Ed Cordrey.
1099s for Landlords, Co-ops, and Others: Maximum One Greater Atlanta has mailed all 1099 tax reports to Landlords (for those of you who had property management transactions in 2014) and co-op agents on rentals and others on Friday. Additionally, if yo switched MX1 companies in the middle of the year, we mailed you a 1099 for the company you were previously in. Thank you to Angie & Genna & Donna for such a great job with the 1099s this year!
Decorating on a Dime Contest: The Atlanta Home Improvement magazine is sponsoring a room makeover contest. Your client’s room could be featured in the magazine! Deadline for applications is Feb 15, 2015. Full Contest Information here.
GAMLS Pro: This site will no longer be available after February 2nd. You may still find all the information there but it is now a sub-menu under “Reports” in www.GAMLS.com
Personal Checks to be held by MX1 for 10 Banking Days: If you receive a personal check for earnest money, security deposit, rent, etc., we will hold that check for 10 banking days prior to accessing those funds for any reason. Be mindful of this policy with quick losings & get certified funds instead.
Etiquette for Showing Property: At Maximum One, we expect you to be professional when showing property. Make sure that you lock all the doors that were locked when you got there – especially back doors. Make sure that you put the key back in the keybox. If you have issues with the keys, call the listing agent immediately prior to leaving the house to make arrangements for the protection of the clients. If the house had an alarm, be sure to re-arm the system prior to leaving. For listing agents, be sure to use a Supra Lockbox for agents. If you have others accessing the property, use a contractor’s box for them but not for agents. Additionally, the Supra boxes leave an electronic record of who accessed the box; with a contractor’s box, you have no proof of anything! Ask the homeowner to consider not alarming the house while it is being shown -it is not an agent’s responsibility to know how all alarms systems work. Make sure your Sellers lock up all of their valuables and boxes of blank checks and prescription drugs. If you have issues when showing property, contact the listing agent immediately and get those issues resolved on the spot!
CE Classes in February 2015 – If you wish to register for a class, sign up early! Many of our classes sell out! At the beginning of each month, we send an email of our classes to over 35,000 metro Atlanta agents and invite them all to attend our classes! You may register for classes at anytime – bookmark the site: www.eAGENTweb.com click “Calendar.”

Max Cares: Congratulations to Taqqeea Waters on getting her Broker’s License!
Max Cares: Condolences to Mary Poole on the loss of her sister-in-law..

1/26/15

“Fillable” Affiliated Business Disclosure: You asked, we delivered (finally!) The MX1 Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure is now available with “fill in the blanks” for you! Thank you to our agent, Jimmy Pace, for formatting this document so you may easily fill in the blanks electronically. This form has been uploaded to the “Reference” section of Paperless Pipeline AND in the “Office” folder in Forms Pro on FMLS. Click here for a copy of the fillable Affiliated Business Disclosure.
“Fillable” Service Recommendations – Thank you as well to Jimmy Pace for formatting this document into a “fillable” pdf. We strongly suggest that you have you clients complete & sign this form to protect you as their agent from your client’s amnesia after the sale has closed! Click here for a copy of the fillable Service Recommendations and they have also been uploaded to Paperless Pipeline & Office folder in Forms Pro.
GAMLS: REtechnology: REtechnology is a member benefit of GAMLS. It is a resource for real estate to help you find more leads, close more deals and make more money. Check it out at www.GAMLS.RETechnology.com
Direct Deposit: If you would like Maximum One to deposit your commission directly through Direct Deposit, we will gladly send you a form to complete so we may make that happen!
Earnest Money Checks to be held by MX1 over $5,000: Must be in certified funds.
Electronic 1099s: If you are an agent with MX1 Greater Atlanta, your 1099 forms for 2014 are now available to you electronically through WolfConnect! You have individual access to your own 1099 that you can print directly from WolfConnect. You simply Log in to WolfConnect and have access to your 1099 to print as many copies as you wish. Explicit instructions are posted on the front page of WolfConnect & are posted on the Extranet with screen shots and you may click here for instructions on how to access & print your 1099.

Max Cares: Congratulations to Noah Gulledge on the birth of his son on January 20th!
Max Cares: Condolences to Ed Cordrey on the loss of his father-in-law..

1/19/15

Electronic 1099s: Your 1099 forms for 2014 are now available to you electronically through WolfConnect! You have individual access to your own 1099 that you can print directly from WolfConnect. You simply Log in to WolfConnect and have access to your 1099 to print as many copies as you wish. Explicit instructions are posted on the front page of WolfConnect & are posted on the Extranet with screen shots and you may click here for instructions on how to access & print your 1099.
Paperless Pipeline – Paperless Pipeline has a NEW look! The “Office Docs” is now called “Resources” and all of the frequently used documents you need are located under that link. If you have any questions, please contact your Compliance Broker Dawn Luttrell: Compliance@eAGENTweb.com or Tina Vliet Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com
VA Waiting Period after a Short Sale: Thank you to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for sharing this information about Movement Mortgage. There is NO WAITING period to get a VA loan after that person has just sold a property as a Short Sale!
CFPB Changes to Closings: Thank you to Closing Attorney Andy Hartman of Hartman-Imbriale, the affiliated attorney with the Woodstock Branch for sharing with us in the Sales Meeting a sneek peak into the “Closing Disclosure” which will replace the “HUD 1 Settlement Statement.” One new provision are separate closing disclosures- 1 for the Seller and 1 for the Buyer. Want to know more? Andy gave the attendees a bound document explaining all the changes and lots more was discussed at the Woodstock Sales Meeting last week! We will also host classes on this topic throughout our branches later this year regarding these changes!
2014 Market ReCap: GAMLS has released the market statistics for 2014:

No Commission Advances: Just a reminder that Maximum One does not authorize any commission advances. This includes the companies that don’t require a Broker signature because until Maximum One issues you a commission check, it is still Broker’s funds that you are leveraging.
Top 5 Ideas to Generate New Business: Want to know what the top 5 effective strategies were in 2014 to generate new business? They were presented at the Galleria Sales Meeting! Your Sales meetings though not required are replete with amazing information to help you propel your business to the next level. Come check them out!
Mortgage Debt Cancellation Tax Relief: As a real estate agent you are never to give tax advice. If last year’s short sale seller or seller who went into foreclosure calls you regarding the income tax due on the portion of their mortgage they did not repay, refer them to their accountant. As a professional agent, you should know that on December 19,2014, Obama signed into law (PL 113-295) a one year retroactive extension (from January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014) of the more than 50 tax provisions which expired in 2013 including tax relief for mortgage debt forgiveness. Read more about it in this article from NAR.
License Law CE Classes & 2015 GAR Contracts Classes: Maximum One classes sell out! If you are interested, please go online & register for a CE class early. You may register at anytime: www.eAGENTweb.com click “Calendar” More classes added all the time so please keep checking!

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Matt Epps’ Father who has been in the hospital.
Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Crystal Fordham’s Mother who is recovering from surgery.

1/12/15

Electronic 1099s: Your 1099 forms for 2014 will be available to you electronically through WolfConnect within the next 2 weeks. Each agent will have individual access to your own 1099 that you will be able to print directly from WolfConnect. You simply Log in to WolfConnect and have access to your 1099 to print as many copies as you wish. Explicit instructions are posted on the front page of WolfConnect & are posted on the Extranet with screen shots and you may click here for instructions on how to access & print your 1099.
Timely Touch with Your Past Clients: Homestead Exemption – Now is a great time to contact your Buyers from last year and remind them to file for Homestead Exemption & give them the appropriate contact information. Deadlines in most GA counties is April 1, 2015. Continue to be a valuable resource to them for that future referral business. A partial list is below – thank you to Shawn Delaney for this reminder!

Cobb County – www.CobbTax.org – 770-528-8600
Cherokee County – www.cherokeega.com – 678-493-6120
Douglas County – www.douglastaxcommissioner.com – 770-920-7272
Fulton County – www.fultoncountyga.gov – 404-612-6440
Gwinnett County – www.gwinnetttaxcommissioner.com – 770-822-8800
Paulding County – www.paulding.gov – 770-443-7606

Reduction in FHA Mortgage Premium: Thank you to ALL of our Affiliated Lenders for sending us the information about the FHA Mortgage Premium reduction that was announced by President Obama on 1/8/15. The 50 basis point reduction means that since your Buyer’s mortgage insurance will be lower, they can buy a more expensive house for the SAME house payment or buy the same house & have a LOWER payment!! Please contact your Affiliated lender for the specific information and to get those Buyers re-qualified!! This goes into effect for case number after 1/26/15. So for a $100,000 FHA purchase monthly premium was $104.54 and will be reduced to $64.33. The full contact information for your preferred lender is located at the bottom of this email!
- Douglasville – Homestar Financial Corporation – David Stallings & Jay Alexander
- East Cobb – Summit Funding Advisors – Bart Patterson
- Galleria – Southeast Mortgage – Kim Arrington
- Gwinnett – Summit Funding Advisors – Brittany Nettleton
- North Fulton – Summit Funding Advisors – Bart Patterson
- Paulding – Homestar Financial Corporation – Denise Thomas & Steve Fitzgerald
- West Cobb – Southcrest Mortgage – Scott Haney & Brad Turner
- Woodstock – Movement Mortgage – John Bohannon
Homestar Financial Corporation not Requiring Tax Returns: Starting 2015 Homestar Financial won’t be requiring tax returns for W-2 income earners. In the past lenders required Tax returns and IRS verification of them. Now we’ll only require verification of the W-2 forms. This means people who have some normal write-offs won’t have those write offs counted against them in underwriting. Fewer deals should fall out, borrowers should qualify for more. Thank you to David Stallings for sharing this information!
GA Dream Interest Rates Dropped: Georgia Dream Down Payment Assistance Program interest rates 3.87% dropped this week and Southeast Mortgage is showing 3.5%. Thank you to Galleria lender Kim Arrington of Southeast Mortgage for sharing this information. Kim is also launching “Movin Real Estate 8 Hour HomeBuyer Class for Buyers to receive their HUD certificate the same day. Contact Kim for more information about this Free class on January 24th.
New Rural Eligibility Maps: New maps for USDA eligibility go in effect February 2, 2015. Addresses may be looked up at: www.isitrural.com . Thank you to Douglasville lender Jay Alexander for sharing this information!
MovingWolf Coupons: Remember to include your clients’ email addresses in the Notes Section of your Blue Sheets to enroll them in MovingWolf. They get FREE coupns appropriate to their move branded with YOUR information!
Tax Prorations: Remember that we are now in the beginning of the year and your tax prorations on your settlement statements will show a debit for the Seller & a credit for the Buyer. Thank you to Amee Davis of Davis & Associates for reminding us!
Frigid Weather: Make sure to contact your sellers with vacant houses and remind them now is the time to winterize their properties to avoid any broken pipes and damage caused by the extremely cold temperatures. Also, remember to address de-winterization of properties when negotiating contracts for your Buyers – you may need extra time for Due Diligence and determine upfront which party will pay to de-winterize a property for inspections and appraisals.
License Law CE Classes & 2015 GAR Contracts Classes: Maximum One classes sell out! If you are interested, please go online & register for a CE class early. You may register at anytime: www.eAGENTweb.com click “Calendar”

Max Cares: Congratulation to Tommy Southern on the birth of his granddaughter Alanah Christine Southern born 1/8/15
Max Cares: Prayers for continued healing to Teressa McIntosh who is recovering from surgery.

Happy New Year!!! – 1/5/15

Welcome New Agents: Please welcome these agents new to Maximum One:

Ramesh Abdsharafat – East Cobb

Tabatha Sabb – Douglasville

Jamel Smith – Galleria

Micki Craven – West Cobb

Chevelta Murray – Galleria

Yolanda Rogers-Felts – East Cobb

Mohanned Mowla – Galleria – Welcome BACK!

Davena Dahunsi – West Cobb

Carla Sharp – Paulding

Jerry Franklin – Galleria – Welcome BACK!

Martha Edwards – Douglasville

Betty Wright – Douglasville

John Daniel – Galleria

Yogesh Patel – West Cobb

Larry Johnson – North Fulton

Bruce Bishop – Woodstock

Jordan Crossland – Gwinnett

Joseph Faulstich – East Cobb

Leslie Hensley – West Cobb

2015 GAR Contract Forms: The 2015 GAR Contract forms are now available. You get them at no additional cost by using your NRDS number (if you belong to a Board and are a Realtor) or you may purchase this year’s license agreement directly from GAR for $219.
Electronic 1099s: Your 1099 forms for 2014 will be available to you electronically through WolfConnect within the next 2 weeks. Each agent will have individual access to your own 1099 that you will be able to print directly from WolfConnect. You simply Log in to WolfConnect and have access to your 1099 to print as many copies as you wish. Explicit instructions will be published later this week as a link on the front page of WolfConnect as well as in next Sunday’s email / newsletter.
Note your Car Mileage – Remember to make note of your automobile mileage – for the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015 – your accountant will thank you!
2015 GAR Contract Dissection CE Class: Maximum One will host SEVERAL CE classes throughout the year at all of our Branches on the 2015 GAR Contract Forms as well as the 2015 RE Contract Forms. Feel free to check out our online calendar and register for any class: www.eAGENTweb.com and click “Calendar.” All of our classes are open to all agents regardless of their brokerage.
License Law CE Class: Maximum One will also host SEVERAL CE classes throughout the year at all of our branches on License Law. This course will be required for any agent renewing after July 2016.
Using FMLS from your Phone or Tablet: Know that a Mac will work differently than a PC. Mac does not support Flash, so Fusion may have difficulty working on a Mac computer, but that HTML-based Matrix will work fine. If you just got a new tablet or phone, FMLS has several options for you.

1. Download our mobile app, GoFMLS, in the App or Play Store on any mobile device.
2. Download the Puffin Browser from the App/Play Store and use it to access Fusion. This will allow you to use the layout you’ve become accustomed to.
3. Use Matrix. It is HTML-based and can be accessed on any mobile device. There is a mobile version and a full version for fans of either.

Please note that FMLS cannot advise you on problems you have with your new laptop or mobile device. If you have trouble with your new computer, tablet, or phone, please contact the manufacturer (such as Apple).
Max Cares – Condolences to Bradlea Reibly whose father passed away last week.
Max Cares – Congratulations to LaTesha McCoy who passed her Broker exam and is the newest Associate Broker with Maximum One!
Max Cares – Please send get well wishes and prayers for healing to Betty Lohmanwho is in the Woodstock Rehab facility learning to walk again. She woke up a couple of weeks ago not being able to move and had to be life-flighted to Kennestone hospital.

12/22/14

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from All of Us at Maximum One!!! – Next Newsletter will be January 5, 2015
MX1 Greater Atlanta Holiday Hours: Maximum One Greater Atlanta Offices will be CLOSED:

Christmas Day – December 25th
Day After Christmas – December 26th
New Year’s Day – January 1st

Thank You!: Thank you to ALL of our Maximum One Agents for a fabulous year! We wish you a peaceful and joyous and abundant 2015! From Dave, Dana, Tina, David, Ed and the entire staff at Maximum One!!!
Thank You!: Please join me in extending our huge appreciation to all of our Affiliated Lenders and Attorney and preferred vendors and CE Class Instructors for their continued support and assistance to ALL of us at Maximum One. Thank you & we look forward to a continued mutually prospserous relationship into 2015!
MX1 Affiliate Southeast Mortgage Sponsors Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University -Take advantage of this opportunity (for yourself) to get in touch with you past clients and Buyer prospects and offer them the chance to get financially fit in 2015 and put themselves in the position to buy a house next year. Thank you Kim Arrington of Southeast Mortgage for providing this opportunity to Maximum One. Click this Registration Link and contact Kim (bottom of newsletter has contact info) for more information. Class begins January 17th at 10am – discounted price $93
Updated Master Agreements for 2015: If you have a Master Customer Agreement and/or MX1 Affiliated Disclosure Agreement for 2014, please get a new Master Agreement signed for 2015 and upload into Paperless Pipeline. If you have any questions, contact Dawn Luttrell at Compliance@eAGENTweb.com
November 2014 Market Recap: Every month, GAMLS will release its new Market Recap which will examine monthly sales, median and average sales prices, active listings and inventory supply for residential properties in the 29 county Atlanta housing market. Access this report by going to www.GAMLS.com and click on “Statistics” before you log in.
Board of Realtors: If you were in a Board of Realtors in 2014 but choose to not re-join that Board for 2015, please contact Dana Sparks or Tina Vliet so that we may switch you in GREC and FMLS and GAMLS into the appropriate Maximum One company.
Current Mailing Address for 1099s: If you have moved this year or have joined Maximum One this year, please make sure we have your current mailing address for your 1099. Email that information to Donna Black: AgentBilling@eAGENTweb.com
Agent MailBoxes: All Agent mailboxes will be emptied 12/31/14. Please clean out the contents of yours if you do not want its contents discarded.

Max Cares – Condolences and prayers for peace to Becky Godbee who lost her Grandmother this week.
Max Cares – Condolences and prayers for peace to Debra Ellerson who lost her Mother this week.
Max Cares – Prayers for wellness and speedy recovery to Betty Lohman who was air-flighted to Kennestone Hospital for suddenly not being able to move. She is currently in a rehab facility in Woodstock learning how to walk again.

12/15/14

Current Mailing Address for 1099s: If you have moved from last year or you joined Maximum One this year, please make sure that we have your current mailing address for 1099s.
Agent as Principal in Short Sale – Remember that if you are buying or selling a Short Sale property, there is a HIGH LIKELIHOOD that you are prohibited by the Short Sale lender from earning a commission on the transaction.
MXGA & MXEX vs. MXGR & MXER: Both Maximum One Greater Atlanta & Maximum One Executives have two divisions – a Realty Division & a Realtor Division. You are (or should be) in the Realtor division if you are a member of a Board of Realtors and in the Realty division if you do not belong to a Board – regardless of which set of contract you use. Maximum One uses the following: MXGR & MXER – Realtor Companies MXGA & MXEX – Realty Companies. On the MX1 Roster (located on the Extranet) if your name is in RED ink, you are a member of a Board & are in the Realtor Company, if your name is in Black ink, you do not belong to a Board and you are in the Realty Company. Please check the roster and let your Branch Manager know if it is incorrect.
FNMA to Offer a 3% Down Program: Thank you to Douglasville lender, Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corporation for letting us know that starting next week, FNMA will offer 3% down loan programs for First Time Homebuyers.
FHA 90 Day Transactions: Thank you to Douglasville lender, Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corporation – FHA has yet to extend the 90-day flip waiver. Investors looking to buy flip will have to wait till the 91st day to write a contract with potential buyer if they are using FHA financing.
VA Buyers – Bonus Entitlement: Thank you to Woodstock lender, John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for the following information. Ever had a lender turn down a VA loan because the entitlement on the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) shows **0** entitlement, saying there is nothing they can do? If the COE shows ZERO available, and the Veteran wants to purchase a home that is priced over $144,000.00, then he/she is eligible for bonus entitlement. In many cases, the Veteran can still buy with no money down.
DA Amount: If you are at closing and the amount of your commission on the HUD does not match the approved DA, please contact the Compliance Broker immediately after closing to reconcile those differences.
Agent MailBoxes: All Agent mailboxes will be emptied 12/31/14. Please clean out the contents of yours if you do not want its contents discarded.

Max Cares – Get well wishes to Linda Balcomb who injured her knee from a fall last week.
Max Cares – Prayers for strength to Tia Rosser & her family for the loss of one Grandmother & the other Grandmother going to Hospice this week.
Max Cares – Condolences to Bob Butler whose Mom passed away this week.

12/8/14

Welcome New Agents: – Please welcome the following agents new to Maximum One this month!

Jeff Patterson – Woodstock
Gina Hicks – East Cobb
Rhonda Weatherspoon – East Cobb
Sharon Ritter – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!
SharRhanda Lawson – Woodstock
Karen Davis – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!
Curtesha Liburd – West Cobb
Tassan Young – North Fulton
Christy Scally – Paulding
Renee Files – Woodstock
Shawnell Kim – Galleria – Welcome BACK!
James Davis – Galleria
Chuck Nolan – East Cobb
Kevin Burrus – Paulding
Mary Gartrell – East Cobb – Welcome BACK!

Current Mailing Address for 1099s: If you have moved from last year or you joined Maximum One this year, please make sure that we have your current mailing address for 1099s.
Remote Earnest Money Deposit – Remember that we are now banking with CHASE (no longer with Suntrust.) The specific instructions for remote earnest money deposit are located on the Extranet. Please make sure you use the proper instructions for your specific company – MXGA or MXGR.
MX1 Policy Manual: There is a Revised Policy Manual on the Extranet. These are general policies & specifically apply to agents in Maximum One Greater Atlanta. MX1 Policy Manual For specific policies for agents in Maximum One Executives, please contact: Tina Vliet Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com or Ed Cordrey EdCordrey@MaximumOneRealty.com
Boards of Realtors: Please email your Board Dues receipts so we may attach them to your company file. MXGR email to: Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com MXER email to Tina@maximumOneRealtors.com
Zillow Zip Codes for Leads: If you are interested in buying zip codes for leads from Zillow, they have recently had some come available. Please contact our rep: Jeffrey Polashuk 410-925-0581
Community Service Projects: Each MX1 Branch has a Community Service project that they are supporting! Please get with your Team Captain or Branch Manager to learn more and bless others & learn more! See “Staff & Brokers Contact” on www.eAGENTweb.com
No Commission Advances: Maximum One does not accept or honor commission advances.
MX1 Holiday Socials – Please attend your Branch Thanksgiving / Christmas Social Pot Luck get together! Meet and mingle with your colleagues, staff, our Affiliated Attorneys & Lenders & our Preferred Vendors!

East Cobb & Galleria together at the Galleria Branch: Wednesday 12/10 – 11am – 1pm

Paulding Board of Realtors Christmas Gala – December 11th from 6:30pm – 10pm – Dinner, Dancing, Drawings & More Paulding Board of Realtors Christmas Gala Brochure for more information
Max Cares – dolences to Taqqeea Waters whose Father-in-Law passed away this week.
Max Cares – Get well wishes to Wayne Crowe who is home from the hospital from quadruple by-pass surgery.
Max Cares – Congratulations to Douglasville Affiliated Attorney with Harrison & Horan, Emily D. Webb who just got married!!

12/1/14

FMLS: How to Get SUPRA Codes – Are you looking for your Supra codes? Here are the ways to find them:

For a CBS code:

There are 4 ways to find your CBS (Call Before Showing) codes.

1. Call KimVoice at (888-968-4032), input your key and PIN number, then select option number 2. As long as you have the serial number of the keybox and the shackle code, KIM will give you the 7 digit CBS code over the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

2. If you have registered your keybox on SupraWEB, you can view your keybox settings to see what your CBS code is. You log on to SupraWEB, click on “Listings,” then click on “keyboxes,” and you will see the code displayed on the computer screen.

3. When you purchased your keybox, the Supra staff gave you paperwork with a white label on it; this label would have the CBS code printed on it.

4. eKEY users can view their CBS codes in the eKEY application.

– Open the eKEY application, select the inventory icon
– Select the box number you need the CBS code for
– Select the edit button
– Check “CBS required” box, and the CBS code will be displayed
– Be sure to uncheck the “CBS required” box before exiting the application

For a Shackle Code:

The shackle code is shown on the white label given when a box is purchased. If you have assigned your KeyBox on SupraWEB, you can view the shackle for that KeyBox on SupraWEB.

Simply login to SupraWEB, click on “Listings” in the top navigation bar, then choose KeyBoxes. You may then click on a KeyBox serial number to have the shackle code displayed in the KeyBox settings. eKEY users can also see the shackle code when they tap on the serial number of the box in the Inventory tab,

For more information, contact the local Supra office at 404-843-3672.

Cashing Commission Checks at Chase: If you do not have a personal account at Chase and you go there to cash your commission check, they will need to verify that MX1 cut the check if it is over $2,500. Plan accordingly because MX1 can only verify Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm.
MX1 Holiday Socials – Please attend your Branch Thanksgiving / Christmas Social Pot Luck get together! Meet and mingle with your colleagues, staff, our Affiliated Attorneys & Lenders & our Preferred Vendors!

Douglasville: Wednesday 12/3 – 11am – 1pm
East Cobb & Galleria together at the Galleria Branch: Wednesday 12/10 – 11am – 1pm

Max Cares – Speedy recovery to Bill Hornsby who had surgery last Tuesday.

11/24/14

MX1 Offices Closed for Thanksgiving – We at Maximum One are grateful for each and every one of you! We well be closed on Thursday and Friday so that our staff may enjoy their blessings with their families, friends and loved ones!
FMLS Syndication Remarks – Starting 12/1 there will be no separate field for syndication remarks. FMLS will automatically make the listing agent contact information available together with the Public Remarks field through ListHub and eWebEngine to all syndication portals and websites.
Children in Offices – Remember that clients, customers and co-op agents frequent our offices. Children are to only be in the office if you must run in to make a copy or turn in a check. They are not to be left unattended and not to “play” on the computers (even after hours.) Thank you for maintaining the professionalism of the branches.
MX1 Holiday Socials – Please attend your Branch Thanksgiving / Christmas Social Pot Luck get together! Meet and mingle with your colleagues, staff, our Affiliated Attorneys & Lenders & our Preferred Vendors!

North Fulton & Gwinnett together at the North Fulton Branch: Tuesday 11/25 11:30am – 1:30pm
Douglasville: Wednesday 12/3 – 11am – 1pm
East Cobb & Galleria together at the Galleria Branch: Wednesday 12/10 – 11am – 1pm

Max Cares – Condolences to Ann Kubat on the loss of her Uncle.
Max Cares – Congratulations to Cindy Corona on the birth of her 1st Grandbaby, William Corona.

11/17/14

DA Request to Get Paid at Closing – Please complete the DA Request to avoid any delays in getting paid at the Closing Table. The Closing Attorneys require that we send them the DA with the names of the clients as they appear in the contract so please fill in the Buyer & Seller full names as they appear on the contract. Also remember that the DAs expiration date coincides with the closing date on your contract so if your closing date changes by Amendment or Unilateral Notification then you must submit a new DA request in Paperless Pipeline so that it may go through a Compliance Check. Please see the revised DA Request. It is also available for you in the “Office” Secion of Paperless Pipeline and on the Extranet under MX1 Forms AND under Admin then Contract to Close and Getting Paid.
Maximum One Logo on Lands End Clothing – Maximum One has their own store at Lands End! You can order the clothes you want and have the Maximum One logo added! Check out the Store: http://ces.landsend.com/MaximumOneRealty
Lands End Sale through 11/21- PRight now through 11/21/14 you can get $10 off Fleece jackets & Free Logo application. Use promo code: EMLOGO Click here for more info: https://link.landsend.com/YesConnect/HtmlMessagePreview?a=HiFnE-c6XXkqOYGt7jHX0i&msgVersion=web
MX1 Holiday Socials – Please attend your Branch Thanksgiving / Christmas Social Pot Luck get together! Meet and mingle with your colleagues, staff, our Affiliated Attorneys & Lenders & our Preferred Vendors!

West Cobb & Paulding together at the West Cobb Branch: Thursday: 11/20 – 11am – 1pm
North Fulton & Gwinnett together at the North Fulton Branch: Tuesday 11/25 11:30am – 1:30pm
Douglasville: Wednesday 12/3 – 11am – 1pm
East Cobb & Galleria together at the Galleria Branch: Wednesday 12/10 – 11am – 1pm

Contracts in the RE Forms – If you go Binding on a contract in the RE Forms, remember that it is Maximum One’s policy that you PRINT the Standard Terms (RE 101) and attach them to your contract as an Exhibit. See the “Deal or No Deal” section below for more information.
Max Cares – Congratulations to Pat McLeroy whose daughter gave birth to Evan Patrick – Pat’s Grandson!
Max Cares – Prayers to Herb Haynes whose Great Niece is battling cancer.

11/10/14

Welcome New Agents: Please welcome our newest agents:
- Brenda Davis – Paulding
- James Phillips – Galleria
- Corliss Cook – Galleria
- Hatel Patel – Galleria
- Raghav Gururaj – North Fulton
- Dennis Venezia – East Cobb
- Casey Long – Douglasville
- Mike Tinney – Paulding
- Michael Wyatt – East Cobb
- Renee Arnold – Douglasville
- Amanda Poss – North Fulton
- Shantell Witter – Gwinnett
- Richard Dixon – West Cobb
- John Isben – Galleria
- Precious Edet – Galleria
- Celestine McGinnis-Johnson – Galleria
- Christie Webb – East Cobb
- Kim Fulay – North Fulton
- Kevin Burris – Paulding
HUD Foreclosures: Maximum One Realty Greater Atlanta agents & their immediate families are prohibited from buying or having any interest in HUD foreclosures! We are a HUD listing broker (Neighborhood Listing Broker “NLB” or Local Listing Broker “LLB.”)
- NLB’s their employees, their agents company affiliates and subcontractors are NOT allowed to:
  - Purchase any HUD properties
  - Acquire any interest in any HUD property.
- Furthermore, the contractor, subcontractor, a management official, their immediate family members, or any affiliated entity under contract with HUD who has involvement in the management, marketing, or oversight of HUD-owned properties under HUD’s M&M III contracts, are prohibited from purchasing or leasing a HUD-owned property.
- If we discover you have violated this policy, we will be forced to dehire you from Maximum One Greater Atlanta
- All agents of any HUD listing brokerage are subject to the same HUD rules and regulations
Expecting Earnest Money from a Client: If you are expecting earnest money from your client or a co-op client (i.e. the contract says that Maximum One is to hold the earnest money and you do not have it in your possession) it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to check on the whereabouts of that earnest money. If the client was supposed to send it to Maximum One, please check what address they sent it to, whose name they put on the envelope, when they sent it and please contact your Branch Manager to let them know you are expecting these funds.
Happy Veteran’s Day – 11/11/14 – Thank you to ALL of our Veterans for keeping us FREE & SAFE & HEALTHY!
Communication with Clients: There are times when a client may forget what we tell them. Do yourself a huge favor…. every time you have a conversation with your client, follow-up with an email summarizing the content of your conversation and always end your email with, “if this is not accurate, please let me know immediately!”
Tax Prorations at Closing: Remind your Buyers that at closing, all tax prorations with bank sellers and HUD REO’s are final. Many times the new homeowner will receive a revised bill at the end of the year due to a change in assessment or millage rate… they are responsible for the revised bill.

11/3/14

FMLS Rule Change – FMLS can only get paid by Brokers. So if you have a Seller who withdraws, you may charge them an early termination fee but it cannot be directly a fee paid to FMLS (or GAMLS.) Additionally, if you get paid at closing through a DA, you should get a check for you and ONE check made payable to Maximum One that should include the MX1 fee AND the FMLS fee – all in one check.
FHA Short Sales: New FHA Addendum – If you participate in an FHA Short Sale, you will notice a new “FHA Pre-Foreclosure Sale Addendum” which requires signatures of all parties and the Brokers. Many Brokers, Agents and Closing Attorneys are not signing this document & therefore not closing these short sales. This document asserts that the parties are not participating in Fraud and that the deal is an arms length transaction. Additionally, in any short sale transaction, all parties understand that any “outside of closing” deals that allows the seller to retain possession are prohibited. If you have any questions, please contact Matt Dickason or Rob Kosakoski of Dickason Law Group – 770.407.5247 (O) http://shortsales.dickasonlaw.com

Messaging through WolfConnect- Please do not select “All” when sending messages through the Wolf Connect system. There are Distribution Lists to help you with your Target Audience. For example, if you have a listing in Douglasville, there is no need to send that announcement through the Wolf Connect system to agents in the North Fulton, Woodstock, Gwinnett, East Cobb or Galleria Offices. If agents in those offices are searching in Douglasville, they will find your listing on FMLS & GAMLS.
Receiving Messages through WolfConnect – Please know that you cannot be removed from this email list. This system is connected to our back office software AND this (along with this email & the MX1 Blog) are the only ways we hav as a company to communicate with you as our agent. If you get emails from your colleagues regarding a listing / Open House, etc. that is not pertinent to you, simply delete their specific email. Thank you for your understanding!
Clocks Change November 2nd – Remember to “Fall Back” as Daylight Saving’s Time ends!
Max Cares – Condolences to Eunor Motsi whose mother passed away.

10/27/14

Moving Wolf – This program sends your clients coupons appropriate to their move with YOUR name and contact information all over them. To enroll your clients in this FREE service, please include their email address in the Notes Section of the Blue Sheet.
Chase Check Cashing without a Chase Account – If you go to Chase to cash your commission check and you do not have an account there and your check is over $2,500, Chase is required to call MX1 to verify the check and the amount. They are working on changing this amount to $5,000 but it is currently $2,500.
Blue Sheets- Please complete all the information on your Blue Sheet including Realtor or Non-Realtor status, Mortgage Company name Closing Attorney Name & the contact information of those companies. If you have any questions, please contactKim Terrell – Paulding@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 ext 321.
VA Loans – If you represent a Buyer who is getting a VA loan, remember that VA requires a Termite Clearance Letter. So if you do not negotiate up front for the Seller to furnish this letter, it will have to be paid by the Buyer. Thank you to Jean Herd & Scott Haney of Southcrest Mortgage for this reminder! His contact information is located at the bottom of this newsletter.
Clocks Change NEXT Week – Standard Time returns on Sunday November 2 so use this week to get in touch with all your past clients to remind them to change their clocks & change the batteries in their smoke detectors and ask them for referral business!

10/20/14

Maximum One is Blessed to Be Able to Help Others – The agents in the Maximum One Branches are blessed to share with others. Feel free to participate in the various Charitable Activities of your Branch. Please contact your Branch Manager and Branch Team Captain for more information.

Paulding – Canned Food drive for Helping Hands of Paulding
Paulding – Angel Tree for children in DFACS

Woodstock – Pictures with Santa for a donation to Must Ministries

Others – To Be Announced

Festival of Trees – Bid on Decorated Christmas trees November 15th at the Paulding Senior Center & celebrate at the Gala that evening! Sponsored by the Paulding Board of Realtors. For more information, contact Ellen Manley or read this Flyer for Festival of Trees
Spot Approvals on Condos: – Movement Mortgage is able to issue spot approvals on many Atlanta condo projects for 5% down payment conventional 30 year fixed mortgages that other banks have been unable to offer conventional mortgages. They are a Fannie Mae, direct mortgage bank… we service our loans internally by selling them back to Fannie Mae. There is an overall incorrect belief that most condo projects require a 20% down payment to obtain a conventional mortgage. Movement Mortgage can usually complete the condo approval process in 5 business days. Contact John Bohannon for more information (contact information at bottom under Affiliated Lender information.)
Mastering Online Marketing – This seminar is sponsored byGAMLS & Listhub covers the latest trends in online marketing and the tactics that today’s top producing agents are leveraging to drive more value from online opportunities. October 28th at GAMLS 9am – 10am or 10:30am – 11:30am.
reLAUNCH: Propel Your Real Estate Business: 25 Hr Post License Course – This class will be re-scheduled for a later date.

Max Cares – Congratulations to Kristin May who is expecting a baby!
Max Cares – Congratulations to Susan & Herb Lepchenskewho are expecting their 2nd Grandbaby!
Max Cares – Congratulations to Pat McLeroy who is expecting a Grandbaby!
Max Cares – Condolences to Kristin May who lost her father suddenly this week.

10/13/14

Welcome Agents New to Maximum One – Please welcome & welcome BACK these agents new to Maximum One!

Nita Leathers – Douglasville

Valerie Ervin – Galleria

Nichole Whitley – North Fulton

Sharon Willingham – Douglasville – Welcome BACK!

Nona Armstrong – West Cobb

Louise Brooks – Gwinnett

Allison Dodd – Paulding

Carlotta Jones – Galleria – Welcome BACK!

Robert Glover – Gwinnett

Krista Bauer – East Cobb

Linda Reeves – Galleria – Welcome BACK!

Jan Clemmons – Gwinnett

Halina Lelli – Gwinnett

Linda Venuti – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!

Jorge Heado – West Cobb

Joyce Rhines – Galleria – Welcome BACK!

Latarsha Baptiste – Galleria

Jenna Dixon – West Cobb

Nicki McCormick – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!

James Phillips – Galleria

Mabel Garcia – Gwinnett

Congratulations to New Brokers – Please congratulate our two newest Associate Brokers Ramona Carter (East Cobb Branch Manager) and Tracy Emery
Welcome New Galleria Affilaited Lender: – Please welcome Southeast Mortgage &Kim Arrington to the Galleria Branch! Like all of out Affiliates, Southeast Mortgage & Kim have a lot to share with our agents regarding knowledge, expertise, accessibility, programs and opportunities to grow your business. Kim may be reached at:Kim.Arrington@SoutheastMortgage.com 678-644-6945
Take Your Business to the Next Level with “Shark Feeding Class:” – This class, sponsored by Southeast Mortgage, is a great kick-off to take your business to the next level! Kim Arrington presented this nationally recognized training program to those in attendance at last week’s Galleria Sales Meeting & has taken on the cost of enrolling those agents in that agent coaching class. Missed the meeting? You missed a lot! Contact Kim Arrington for more information. (Her contact information at bottom of this newsletter.)
USDA Funding Confusion – There has been a lot of confusion regarding the status of USDA funding. Thank you to Douglasville Affiliated lenders David Stallings & Jay Alexander of Homestar Financial Corporation (contact info at bottom of this newsletter) for clarifying. USDA does not actually fund loans, however there is an appropriation of money set aside for possible losses on each loan guaranteed. Every year we have a gap in the “congressional appropriation of funding” we are in that time most likely til the end of October. During this time USDA will still review files and issue conditional commitments “subject to the appropriation of congressional funding.” Therefore, as long as USDA will continue to issue commitments, which they will do if they have funding or not, most lenders will approve and fund USDA loans. This issue then becomes up to the discretion of each individual lender. Many have several investors who will continue to purchase loans with the commitment, it is business as usual.
Columbus Day – Monday 10/13 – No Banking Today (& No Mail) – Does NOT count as a Banking Day contractually.

10/6/14

HUD Broker Bonus Discontinued – HUD has discontinued any Broker Bonus for contracts written after September 30th
USDA Out of Funds – As of 10/2/14 USDA is out of funds. If you have a loan in process that has not been approved by USDA, look for another loan product. There is no word yet as to when they will re-fund for loans… it could be a few weeks to a few months.
License Law Classes – If your license is due for renewal after July 2016, you are required to have 3 hours (of the required 36 hours of CE) of License Law class. Our first License Law class sold out in hours! Please continue to consult the calendar as we will be adding more this month and in the future,www.eAGENTweb.com click “Calendar.”
In-House Transactions (Greater Atlanta with Greater Atlanta) – If you do an “in-house” deal, each agent gets a discount on their Transaction Fee based on the way the agents structure the transaction. However the agents choose to divide the gross commission, those percentages are carried throughout the FMLS fee and MX1 Transaction fee. For example, if you are dividing the commission 75% / 25% then you will each pay your respective 75% / 25% of your Transaction fee and FMLS fee. This is for the Transaction Fee plan only. Agents on a split plan, their fee remains that split. For a complete explanation & examples, click here: Fees with In-House MX1 Transactions
SAFETY FIRST!!!! – We are in the process of scheduling theSmyrna Police Department to talk to agents about Safety! Please stay tuned for when this gets scheduled (it will be at the Galleria Branch.) Check www.eAGENTweb.com click “Calendar.” We will also make announcements in this newsletter and through the WolfConnect messaging service.

9/29/14

reLAUNCH: Propel Your Real Estate Business: 25 Hr Post License Course – Maximum One offers a 25 Hr Postlicense Course that satisfies the Postlicense requirement PLUS get 9 Hrs of CE Credit PLUS 1 month FREE Coaching. The course is $250 and will be held at the Galleria Branch. reLAUNCH begins October 20th & ends November 1st. Click Here to Register.
Mon 10/20 – 6pm – 9:30pm
Tues 10/21 – 6pm – 9:30pm
Thurs 10/23 – 6pm – 9:30pm
Sat 10/25 – 9:30am – 3:30pm – with 1 hr for lunch
Mon 10/27 – 6pm – 9:30pm
Tues 10/2/8 – 6pm – 9;30PM
Thurs 10/30 – 6pm – 9:30pm
Sat 11/1 – 9:30am – 11:30am – Final Exam

Key Fob Entrance – Maximum One is gradually adding the key fob system to all of our locations. Currently there is a fob system in the Galleria location and the Woodstock location. There is no charge for an initial key fob. If you lose your fob and it needs to be replaced, the cost is $15.
Tax Bills are Out – At closing, the attorney will collect the entire tax bill amount for the calendar year from the Seller. The Buyer will pay their prorated share based on the closing date and that amount will be credited to the Seller.
Showing Property – When showing property, remember that we live in a very technologically advanced society! Many Sellers have security cameras and or nanny cams where they can view you showing the house. Many of these cameras have live recording capabilities so always be professional in your actions and communication….. somebody may be watching you!
FHA Back to Work Program – Thank you to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for reminding us of the FHA Back to Work Program. Through this program, a Buyer may qualify for a home only 12 months after foreclosure, short sale, foreclosure & deed in lieu. Contact John.Bohannon@MovementMortgage.com for more information.
Mortgage Qualification Calculator – Thank you to Scott Haney of Southcrest Mortgage for making home made BBQ for the West Cobb CE Class on Contracts last week. Definitely made the topic of contracts a little more “sweet & tangy!” Also, thank you for sharing this online Mortgage Calculator. For more information, contact Scott.Haney@SouthcrestMortgage.com
Safety First – Please send prayers to the family of Arkansas Real Estate Agent, Beverly Carter, who is still reported missing after Showing Property. Read Article Here.
Max Cares – Please send your condolences to Sheryl Van Arsdale who lost her Father.
Max Cares – Please send your condolences to Tina Tafs whose Mother passed away and whose Father is in the hospital.

9/22/14

Personal Checks Held for 10 Business Days – Maximum One holds personal checks for ten (10) business days. We have had some issues with the bank not informing us of checks not being honored by them for this time frame.

Earnest Money Over $5,000 – Maximum One requires earnest money over $5,000 to be in certified funds,
Certified Funds for Buyer to Cure of Default on Earnest Money – If a Buyer defaults on the contract by failing to remit the earnest money as contractually agreed-upon OR if the check is not honored by the bank, the Buyer must cure the default in certified funds.
Stop Payment on a Check – If Maximum One has to stop payment on a check we issue, there is a $35 stop payment fee to stop this payment.
Cashing a Commission Check at Chase – If you do not have an account with Chase and you go there to cash a commission check, they have a policy that they will only cash these checks up to $5,000.
Job Loss Protection Program – Unfortunately, this program is no longer being offered.
Fannie Mae Eliminating Homepath Mortgage Loans – Thank you to Denise Thomas – Affiliated lender with the Paulding Branch for sharing this news.

Beginning October 7, 2014 Fannie Mae will be eliminating both the HomePath® Mortgage and HomePath® Renovation Mortgage. Fannie Mae will update the Selling Guide to offer some flexibility for financing the purchase of Fannie Mae REO properties. In addition, the HomePath® name/brand will no longer be applied to mortgage products or features. Please contact Denise for more information denise.thomas@homestarfc.com

VoicePad: New Agent Mobile WebSite– Beginning on Monday, September 22nd, there will be an entirely new VoicePad Mobile Agent site. The new version retains the color sheme of your current VoicePad site, but is designed with a fresh, new look that renders well on ANY device-mobile phones, iPad and Android tablets-even your desktop computer! This update will take place automatically and all of your clients’ saved searches and favorite properties will be saved on the new site. The upgrade includes:

VoicePad narrated property tours now have “video-like” effects. They advance automatically once the narration begins. Move from a ‘tour’ to a slide show by simply swiping through the photos.
Agent contact information is more prominently displayed on Property Detail pages.
‘Map Search’-displays results based on the user’s location and is available from the home page on both Agent and Broker sites. With ‘Map Search,’ you can search for properties geographically by moving the map. As the map moves, property results appear dynamically. Clicking ‘List View’ displays a list of properties based on the center of the map.
Agent sites include a new ‘Quick Search’ button, in addition to ‘Share Site’ by text or email.
Property Detail pages include an embedded map with easy access to Schools, Shopping Amenities and close-by Hospital locations. .
Open Houses are indicated on search results in ‘List View.’

Max Cares – Please send your condolences to Derrick Slay whose Great Uncle passed away this week.
Max Cares – Please send your condolences to Taqqeea Waters whose Uncle passed away this week.
Max Cares – Please send prayers for wellness & healing to David McDaniel who has been in the hospital with heart issues.
Max Cares – Please send prayers for wellness & health to Mary Colson’s
Max Cares – Please send prayers for wellness & health to Dennis Pitts who had a scare last week regarding some weakness on one side of his body

9/15/14

30 Little Known Features of the Social Media Sites You Use Everyday – Read this article for great tips on how to get more out of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest & Instagram. Read full article here
Annual Fee for Re-Fi’s & Mortgages – From Denise Thomas at Homestar Financial: On October 1, 2014 the annual fee for both purchase and refinance loans will increase from .4% to .5%. This change is required to maintain a neutral cost of the program. The Guaranteed Underwriting System (GUS) has been updated to allow lenders to select and underwrite at either the .4% or .5% annual fee structure. Lenders should communicate with Rural Development (RD) State Offices to understand current processing timeframes and determine which annual fee structure should be utilized for GUS submissions through September 30, 2014. Many RD State Offices are currently working through a backlog of guaranteed applications and lenders will need to begin processing loans using the .5% annual fee when it is estimated that RD will be unable to issue a conditional commitment prior to the close of business on September 30, 2014
FIND – Tool in Both FMLS & GAMLS –…The FIND application is a nationwide research tool provided by realtor.com that quickly searches listings and public records from participating MLS’ across the country. FIND users are restricted to MLS participants and focuses on residential properties that include active, off market, and rental listings. In GAMLS, access the FIND search application under the “Listing Exposure” Quick Access links after you login to GAMLS, or under the “Tools” drop down in Georgia MLS PRO. In FMLS go to “Tools” on the left from the Home Page.

Enjoy the many benefits of this professional website for agents, including:

The real estate industry’s fastest research tool and only natural language search engine designed exclusively for agents like you
110 Million+ property records with up-to-date MLS listings, most updated every
15 minutes
Rich nationwide data such as AVMs, school, neighborhood, and community demographics

Client Check Made to YOU rather than Maximum One– If a client writes a check (for Earnest Money, Security Deposit, Retainer Fee, etc.) to you rather than to Maximum One, you MUST RETURN that check to the client and have them write a new check. You are prohibited by license law from depositing That check into your account and then writing a check yourself to Maximum One.
Top Agent’s Secrets for Getting Business:Thank you to one of Maximum One’s Top Producer’s, Matthew Share, for sharing his secrets in the East Cobb Sales Meeting last week! Those of us that were there learned a lot about how to get new clients from the internet that actually close transactions!
Monthly Sales Meetings at Branches – These monthly meetings are not mandatory but you are highly encouraged to attend! Ask anyone who attends regularly, you will learn something that will help your business! The presentations include the latest news and updates from the Affiliated Lenders & Attorneys AND the main program is a topic designed to help you make more money! For example, our agents who have attended meetings already been informed of the CFPB changes to Closing Attorneys & Mortgage Lenders approximately 3 months ago. Many don’t even know what CFBP means! Those in East Cobb last week, were fortunate to hear how Matthew Share lands a TON of internet business! Come check them out! These meetings are arranged for and scheduled by the hard work of the awesome & generous Team Captains of each Branch!

Sales Meeting Schedule: The monthly Sales Meetings are scheduled by the Branch Team Captains – Thank You!

West Cobb – 1st Tuesday of the month 10am – 11:30am Team Captain: Becky Godbee
East Cobb – 2nd Tuesday of the month 10am – 11:30am Team Captain: Mary Colson
Woodstock – 2nd Tuesday of the month 10am – 11:30am Team Captains: Kristin May & Mary Lamb
Galleria – 2nd Wednesday of the month 10am – 11:30am Team Captain: Christine Fortenberry
Douglasville – 3rd Tuesday of the month 11am – 12:30pm Team Captains: Shannon & David Bentley
Paulding – 3rd Wednesday of the month 10am – 11:30am Team Captain: Mark Willix
North Fulton – Please contact Tina Vliet & Ed Cordrey
Gwinnett – Please contact Tina Vliet & Ed Cordrey
Morris, Hardwick & Schneider – Name Change – MHS is now doing business as Morris, Schneider & Wittstadt. If you are closing with this firm and there is a loan involved, yu will need to amend your contract for the lender to reflect the name change.

9/8/14

Welcome New Agents!
Jodi Joseph – Galleria
Amy MacNeil – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!
Bill Lau – Paulding
Aryn Sherman – North Fulton
Aline Saenz – Gwinnett
Susan Webber – Woodstock
Brenda Henderson – North Fulton
Kecia Harris – North Fulton
FMLS – $50 Fine for no Photo – Research has shown that listings with no photos tend to be ignored by consumers, as well as other real estate agents. Thus, not only is this a disservice to the seller, but it inhibits cooperation between agents. In an effort to enhance the content of all FMLS listings, fines, as called for in Rule 7.2, will be imposed starting October 1, 2014. Rule 7 – Multiple Listing Procedures

7.2 At least one photo must be entered into the FMLS computer system within fourteen (14) calendar days after the entry date of the listing for all property types except Land/Farm and Residential Developed Lots. Failure to submit at least one photo during this time frame will result in a fine of $50.00. While the rules calls for at least one photo, studies have shown that greater interest is generated in properties with multiple photos.

Moving Wolf – Remember to add your client’s email address in the Notes Section of your Blue Sheet so that they may receive coupons appropriate to their move – branded with YOUR name & contact information!! This is an automated system that keeps your name & contact information in front of your clients so that you may get referral business as well as doing a nice value-added service for them!
Morris Hardwick & Schneider Update: Thank you for our Affiliated CLosing Attorneys for updating us at the Sales Meetings regarding Closing Attorneys, Title Insurance and how to answer past client questions regarding their previous closings with MHS going back to 2010. PLEASE ATTEND THIS MONTH’S SALES MEETINGS FOR THE UPDATES & LEARN HOW TO ANSWER YOUR CLIENT’S QUESTIONS. The allegations are now up to $42 MILLION being taken from MHS – accused is Nat Hardwick and 10 “John Does.” going back to 2010! Your past clients will be calling you – come to the monthly meetings to learn how to respond to them to protect them & yourself!
Corporate Discount with Top Producer – It’s finalized! $23.80/month for your own Top Producer account – billed through MX1 – no monthly contact. Please let us know Dave@MaximumOneRealty.com or Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com.
Max Cares – Prayers for healing to Polly Kullman who had eye surgery this week.

9/1/14

MX1 Branches Will Be CLOSED – Monday 9/1/14 – Happy Labor Day!
Inc 5000 Award 2014 – Congratulations to Maximum One – 4th year in a row for making the Inc. 5000 list for one of the fastest growing private companies in America!

Safety Alert – From FMLS: A 37 year old male that has been charged with rape, aggravated sodomy and false imprisonment in a middle Georgia county has now surfaced in the metro Atlanta area. He goes by the name Rico Pearson and is a licensed real estate broker in Georgia. Although not a member of FMLS, he has been calling agents in the Atlanta area wanting to preview and/or show property. Please use extreme caution if you are contacted by such a person.
Morris Hardwick & Schneider Issues: Please attend the Sales Meetings this month for information and education regarding Closing Attorneys, Title Insurance, Seller pay-offs and more! What this all means for you as an agent and how to talk to your past clients about what they are hearing in the news!
Corporate Discount with Top Producer – It’s finalized! $23.80/month for your own Top Producer account – billed through MX1 – no monthly contact. Please let us know Dave@MaximumOneRealty.com or Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com.
Resources for Your MX1 Needs – There are several avenues to get information regarding Maximum One systems & procedures:

The emails you received when you first joined Maximum One from the staff from the time you came on board with us – they continue for about a year – are replete with information about our systems & how they work & our staff. We encourage you to create a folder on your computer to keep all of these emails as your resource guide after you read them
There are many documents explaining our systems – on the extranet & in the “Office” section of Paperless Pipeline www.eAGENTweb.com click “Extranet” or “Paperless Pipeline”
There are many training videos available – www.eAGENTweb.com click on “Live & Recorded Webinars” – You must take it upon yourself to take the time to watch those videos to learn how our systems & procedures work!!
There are in-class training classes “How-to____” on the calendar several times throughout the month at all of our branches available to you with an advance RSVP to the Branch Manager www.eAGENTweb.com click on “Calendar”
For “Who’s Who” in Maximum One that information (along with a TON more) is located on the MX1 Blog www.eAGENTweb.com click on “blog”
The Live Chat button on www.eAGENTweb.com click on “Live Chat”
Each Branch has a Branch Manager & a Team Captain to also assist agents with learning our systems & procedures

FMLS: Matrix is Live – Want to try out Matrix, the new HTML-based system that will work on everything from laptops to tablets to phones? Matrix is now live! Just click on the tab between Print on Demand and Fusion on the top of FMLS.com. There’s no app to download for Matrix. Simply click on the tab using your mobile device, and Matrix will intuitively launch a mobile version of the site. A full version is available if you would prefer that over the mobile version, though it can be overwhelming for small screened phones. To sign into Matrix, simply click the tab. Many features for Matrix are still coming. If you would like to register for a sneak peek, sign up for a Matrix Preview in FMLS.com’s Training Schedule.

8/25/14

MX1 Corporate Discount with Top Producer – It’s finalized! $23.80/month for your own Top Producer account – billed through MX1 – no monthly contact. Please let us know Dave@MaximumOneRealty.com or Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com.

MX1 Greater Atlanta – Banking with Chase – Updated Direct Deposit Forms – If you receive your commissions by Direct Deposit, please complete the appropriate Chase Direct Deposit Form & send to: Transactions@eAGENTweb.com . There should be no delay in receiving your commissions, we simply need to update our records. MXGA Direct Deposit Form – Chase or MXGR Direct Deposit Form – Chase
Changes to Georgia Dream – 8/25/14 – Thanks to Jay Alexander & David Stallings & Denise Thomas & Steve Fitzgerald of Homestar Financial Corp. (their contact information is below) for sharing with us the changes to Georgia Dream.
- 207.4 Automated Underwriting For all loans underwritten by an Automated Underwriting System, the maximum Housing Expense ratio may not exceed 31% and the maximum Debt-to-Income (DTI) ratio may not exceed 43% if the borrower’s low middle credit score is 660 or more. If the low middle credit score is at least 640 but no more than 659 the maximum Housing Expense ratio may not exceed 28% and the maximum Debt to Income ratio may not exceed 35%.
- 207.5 Manual Underwriting For all manually underwritten loans, the maximum Housing Expense ratio may not exceed 28% and the total Debt to Income ratio may not exceed 35%.
- 207.6 Minimum Credit Score Requirements All FHA, VA and USDA/RD and conventional uninsured loans must have a low middle credit score of at least 660 with a maximum Housing Expense ratio that does not exceed 31% and a maximum Debt-to-Income (DTI) ratio that does not exceed 43% OR a low middle credit score of at least 640 but no more than 659 with a maximum Housing Expense ratio of 28% and a maximum Debt to Income ratio of 35%.
- 307 Home Buyer Education Home buyer education is required for all Georgia Dream Loans. Applicants must attend and complete a home buyer education workshop with a DCA or HUD approved Home Buyer Education agency OR, complete an individual counseling session with a DCA or HUD approved agency OR complete online education @ www.ehomeamerica.org.
- 311.10 Loan Closing Documents The National Mortgage Loan Officer Registry (NMLS) number is required on the Loan Application, the note and security deed.

Legal Description of a Property – Thanks to Bond Almand & Holly Cohen of Almand & Cohen (contact information below) and Emily Davison of Harrison & Horan (contact information below) for reminding us that your contract is NOT ENFORCEABLE without a legal description! You MUST have enough of a description to identify the piece of land (improved or unimproved) from any other. If you do not have the warranty deed, then go to: www.GSCCCA.org.com. Or you may call your affiliated closing attorney and ask them for assistance. If you are a Maximum One agent, the password for access to the above website is in the Extranet.

Max Cares: Congratulations to Emily Davison of Harrison & Horanwho is getting married next month!

8/18/14

MX1 Greater Atlanta Will Now be Banking with Chase – As of Monday, August 18, 2014, MX1 Greater Atlanta (MXGR and MXGA) will now bank with Chase Bank rather than Suntrust. Please see the new Remote Earnest Money Deposit Instructions – emailed 8/15 & posted on the Extranet & in the “Office” section of Paperless Pipeline. Additionally, if you or your Landlords receive Direct Deposits, the company name is the same but the funds will be coming from Chase rather than Suntrust.
Expecting Mail / Closing Check / Earnest Money – If you are expecting any mail to be delivered to Maximum One, please know that Branch Managers do NOT automatically open your mail. If you are expecting money, please contact your Branch Manager & give them permission to open your mail in order to deposit those funds.
Tax Bills & Short Sales– Closing Attorneys are required to collect the property taxes from the Seller when the tax bill is out. The tax bill is a LIEN on the property. The Short Sale lender will KEEP the tax escrows because they are being shorted. These Short Sale lenders will be required to come out of pocket for these tax bills.
Wiring Instructions Fraud / Scam Alert – Thank you to Andy Hartman of Hartman-Imbriale Attorneys for informing us about this Wire Scam. Fraudsters are hacking emails of real estate agents & Closing Attorneys and watching for “Wiring Instructions” that agents share with their clients. The Bad Guys are monitoring your emails and closing attorneys’ emails for “Closing Wiring Instructions” and “Payoff Letters” they are then emailing the clients and sending them “REVISED” Wiring instructions and stealing those funds! Click here for more information on Fraud/Scam Alert: Wiring Instructions
Clients that Closed Last May – June 2013 & 2014 Tax Bills: Thank you to closing attorney Amee Davis of Davis & Associates for reminding us of the time of year….. Tax Bill time! Contact the Buyers (your clients or Buyers that bought your listing) and remind them that it is THEIR responsibility to pay the property taxes or get the tax bill to their lender. This time frame, May – June, is typically the time frame when the counties are assessing property taxes and preparing bills and don’t necessarily contact the new Buyer’s lender.
Conventional, FHA & VA Fixed Guideline Change – Thank you to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for sharing this information with us regarding these lending changes. The Underwriting Overlay Guidelines have been amended. These changes went into effect in June 2014. Click here for Conventional, FHA & VA Fixed Guideline Change.
Homesafe Georgia & Georgia Dream DPA Program: Thank you to Mankell Hayes of First Community Mortgage for sharing this information with us. Unemployed or underemployed homeowners may receive up to 24 months of temporary mortgage payment assistance. Homeowners delinquent on their mortgage due to other eligible hardships may receive up to 12 months of mortgage reinstatement assistance. Click here for more information on HomeSafe Georgia and Georgia Dream.
Max Cares: Send Prayers to Pat McLeroywhose pregnant daughter was in an automobile accident.

MX1 Executives Will Continue to Bank with Suntrust – Additionally, if you are an agent affiliated with MX1 Executives (MXEX or MXER) you must get expressed written permission from Tina Vliet or Ed Cordrey before making ANY remote deposits.
Welcome Almand & Cohen, LLC – Please welcome Bond Almand & Holly Cohen McMurray of Almand & Cohen as the Affiliated Closing Attorney with the Paulding Branch of Maximum One. Please reach out to Bond & Holly Bond@ACLawonline,com and Holly@ACLawonline.com 770-384-1113. Their office is located directly across Hwy 278.
WolfConnect / Extranet Will Have a New Platform – LoneWolf Technology Systems is upgrading our version of WolfConnect on Monday! When you login, it will look different but all of the functions will still be there and more! They are unveiling an “Electronice Data Sheet” which would be the online version of our Blue Sheet. We are getting trained on it Monday and will share with you what we learn!

8/11/14

Welcome Agents New to Maximum One – Please welcome the following agents to Maximum One:
Kishore Rajendran – North Fulton
Sandra Andrews – Galleria
Marty Wilkerson – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!
Kristin Posner – Paulding
Tonette Moore – Douglasville – Welcome BACK!
Annette Williams – Galleria
Susan Ponton – Galleria
Jeff Pryzbyla – Galleria
Brenna Ring – Paulding
Annette Williams – Galleria
Paulding Branch Community Service Projects – Congratulations to the Paulding Branch & Michelle Tompkins for their current community service project supporting Warehouse of Hope. They donated 30 jars of peanut butter that helped 30 families.
E&O Policy 2014 – 2015 – The 2014 – 2015 E&O Insurance Policy has been uploaded to the Extranet under “Office Docs” then “Admin”
Photos in FMLS & GAMLS: These photos are copyrighted. If you get a new listing, you must take your own photos. Do NOT copy and paste existing photos from the previous listing without expressed written permission from the previous listing agent or you will be violating copyright laws.

Tax Prorations at Closing: Thank you to closing attorney Amee Davis of Davis & Associates for reminding us of the time of year….. Tax Bill time! Cobb County tax bills are out & most other counties are out now or will be in September. The attorney must collect from the Seller for the entire calendar year – check the prorations & make sure you understand how this affects the Buyer & Seller before you get to the closing table. Amee’s contact information may be found at the bottom of this newsletter.
Electronic Signatures & Closings – Many title insurance companies, lenders, investors, etc. are requiring original signatures on contracts prior to closing. If you are binding your contracts with electronic signatures, at some point in the process, make sure you get at least one contract with original signatures. Thank you again to Amee Davis of Davis & Associates for this information. Amee’s contact infomration may be found at the bottom of this newsletter.
New Disclosure Rules for Real Estate Closings: The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) governs the new TILA-RESPA Rule. There will be many changes to your closings effective 2015. Many Closing Attorneys are making the preparations now – such as eliminating the Wi-Fi in their offices and not allowing agents to use their computers to print a last-minute Amendment. Effective August 15, 2015, two new disclosures will be in effect: 1) The Loan Estimate – which replaces the Good Faith Estimate and 2) The Closing Disclosure – which replaces the HUD-1 Settlement Statement! For more changes and the specifics on these changes, please attend the Sales Meetings in your Branches for updates from the Affiliated Lenders & Attorneys and watch the calendar for workshops & CE classes on these changes!

Max Cares: Send Congratulations to Jane Schnoebelen on the birth of her identical twin Great Granddaughters Lorelei & Adalyn!

8/4/14

Errors & Omissions Insurance Policy – Maximum One has renewed our E&O Policy. For those agents who need a copy for the asset management companies with whom you work, a copy of the new declarations page & the policy itself will be posted on the Extranet as soon as we receive it from the insurance company (hopefully by the end of the week.)
Transfer of Earnest Money Between Properties: If your client has earnest money on deposit with Maximum One on an offer that has not been accepted or an a terminated contract and the Buyer wishes to transfer that Earnest Money to ANOTHER property, you must complete the Transfer of Earnest Money Between Properties form, have the Buyer sign it & upload it into Paperless Pipeline. If you are transferring earnest money on a terminated contract, that contract must be properly terminated and the Agreement to Release Earnest Money completely executed (signed by both parties) prior to transferring earnest money between properties. This form is also located on the Extranet & under the “Office” tab of Paperless Pipeline.

New Copy Machines – The East Cobb, Paulding, Douglasville & West Cobb Branches have new copiers. If you have not already done so and you use one of these offices frequently, please contact the Branch Manager to be re-entered in that copier if this is not your “home” branch. See “Who’s Who” on the Blog for that contact information: www.eAGENTweb.com “Blog”
FMLS Showcase – This trade show will be August 14th at the Galleria. Keynote Speaker: Jeff Turner & the unveiling of the Matrix. Go check it out!

Zillow to Acquire Trulia: If you have not yet heard, Zillow & Trulia will be merging into one entity. Read the Zillow Press Release here. What will this mean for the market? Will they be more accurate in their published housing “zestimates?” Will they charge you more for leads? These questions remain unanswered!
Communication with Compliance Broker: If you have some issue (out of town, a personal issue, etc.) please communicate with Dawn Luttrell for agents in MX1 Greater Atlanta (Compliance@eAGENTweb.com 770-919-8825 ext 309 ) or Tina Vliet for agents in MX1 Executives (Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com 770-919-8825 ext. 330) to explain why you are not answering her notes to you in Paperless Pipeline regarding your transactions.
Max Cares: Send prayers for healing to Mary Colson whose husband, Jerry just had a cardiac procedure – a full metal jacket stent to restore blood flow to his heart.

7/28/14

Foreclosure Inventory – This week foreclosure inventories came in at the lowest levels since May of 2008. Homes going into foreclosure did rise for the 2nd straight month in a row but are still down 19% from a year ago.
FMLS Showcase – This trade show will be August 14th at the Galleria. Keynote Speaker: Jeff Turner & the unveiling of the Matrix. Go check it out!
Home Warranty Checks: If you are expecting a check from a Home Warranty Company, please complete a Blue Sheet indicating this. The Blue Sheets are what we use to log the information into our systems to pay you! There are NO MX1 transaction fees on these Home Warranty checks.

Transferring between MXGA & MXGR & MXEX & MXER: Our If you transfer between any of our companies and you have active listings, remember that you must re-enter those listings under your NEW Broker code, complete the FMLS #116 & GAMLS Listing Transfer forms, & have a managing broker sign those forms.
Commission Advances: Commission Advances are NOT accepted nor honored at Maximum One.
Max Cares: Send condolences and prayers for peace to Jayne Pearson & her family whose nephew was killed in a jet ski accident.

7/21/14

Welcome Woodstock Affiliated Lender – Please welcome Andy Hartman of Hartman-Imbriale Attorneys as the Affiliated Closing Attorney with the Woodstock Branch. Their office is less than 2 miles from the Woodstock Branch. Please welcome Andy: (678-445-7423 x 102) – Andy@Hartman-Imbriale.com
Lead Generation Class – Do you have as much business as you want? If the anser is “No” then you need to be at the Lead Generation Class on Thursday (West Cobb from 1pm – 4:15pm.) This CE class is taught by Dave Kubat and backed by years of effective and successful lead generation techniques that WILL get you MORE CLOSINGS! If you are newly licensed or r-launching your career – this is a MUST. This class can also apply towards your 25 hour Post License course requirement if you are newly-licensed.
CE Classes: Maximum One offers 21 – 42 hours of CE credit every month! We have at least 1 CE class in every branch. Most of these classes are scheduled prior to the month beginning but some instructors add on to our calendar throughout the month. Please check the online calendar frequently & register for classes & orkshops. www.eAGENTweb.com & click on “Calendar.” Our classes are open to ALL agents throughout Metro Atlanta!
FMLS Removal of “Auction” Status – FMLS is removing the “Auction Only” Status & “Auction Date.” This will be removed from your searches and from any custom grids you may have saved.

Interest Rates for Buyers: Our Affiliated Lender in our Galleria Office, Mankell Hayes of First Community Mortgage Mankell.Hayes@fcmhomeloans.com encourages all Buyers to lock their rates. Mankell cautions that due to the worldwide turmoil (Gaza & Malaysian Airline plane being shot down over Russia) could create market turmoil and have a detrimental effect on interest rates.
GAMLS New Status: POA – GAMLS has a new under contract status POA = Pending Offer Approval. A listing that is marked as POA is considered to be an off market listing. As such, this listing will not expire and will require a future action on the part of the agent, e.g., changing the status from POA to either Sold or Back on Market. In contrast, a listing marked as Pending Approval (PA) is still considered to be an active listing and will expire upon its expiration date.

Longevity of an FHA Appraisal: When FHA appraises a property, that appraisal value stays connected to that property for 180 days from the time it was inspected. So if you represent a Seller under contract with an FHA Buyer, an appraisal is done but that contract fall through, for 180 days, any subsequent Buyer getting an FHA loan will be mandated to use that existing appraisal value.

Max Cares: Send prayers for peace to Mary Colson & her family whose niece (in her 40’s) passed away from leukemia.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Genna Crider on the birth of her Grandson, Brantley, born 7/20/14
Max Cares: Send prayers for continued recovery & good health to Derek Broomfield who has recovered from a brain aneurysm

7/14/14

RE Forms: Revised Purchase & Sale – Only 4 Pages – Please see the “Deal or No Deal” Contracts Tips article below for the latest information on this new shorter contract – available July 15th!
Where to Get Help : If you need assistance regarding systems or procedures at Maximum One and don’t know which staff member to contact, see the list below: (Main phone numbers listed to the right)
Your Branch Manager – Your first point of contact
Douglasville – Monica Thomas – Douglasville@eAGENTweb.com ect 306
East Cobb – Ramona Carter – EastCobb@eAGENTweb.com ext 303
Galleria – Vivian Green – Galleria@eAGENTweb.com ext 312
Gwinnett – Ed Cordrey EdCordrey@MaximumOneRealty.com / David Avery DavidAvery@MaximumOneRealtors.com – ext. 320
North Fulton – Tina Vliet Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com / David Avery DavidAvery@MaximumOneRealtors.com – ext 317
Paulding – Angie Ellis – Paulding@eAGENTweb.com – ext. 325
West Cobb – Derrick Slay – WestCObb@eAGENTweb.com ext 318
Woodstock – Melissa Clay – Woodstock@eAGENTweb.com ext 310
Agent Billing – Donna Black – AgentBilling@eAGENTweb.com ext. 324
Agent Services (FMLS / GAMLS / GREC assistance) – Vivian Green – ASC@eAGENTweb.com ext. 312
Compliance Issues (Greater Atlanta) – Dawn Luttrell – Compliance@eAGENTweb.com ext. 309
Compliance Issues (Executives) – Tina Vliet – Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com ext 330 or Ed Cordrey – EdCordrey@MaximumOneRealty.com ext. 1034
Commissions (Greater Atlanta) – Genna Crider – Transactions@eAGENTweb.com ext 311
Commission (Exectuives) – Tina Vliet – Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com ext 330
DA Requests (Greater Atlanta) – Angie Ellis – Accounting@eAGENTweb.com ext 325
DA Requests (Executives) – Tina Vliet – Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com ext 330
Extranet / Wolf Connect / MX1 Leads – Derrick Slay – Admin@eAGENTweb.com ext 318
AOD (Greater Atlanta) – Mary Lamb – MaryLambSells@gmail.com ext. 805
AOD (Executives) – Tina Vliet – Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com ext 330
Contract Help – Support@MyMaximumOne.com or Dana Sparks – Dana@MaximumOneRealty .com ext 302 or Mary Colson – Broker@MaximumOneRealty.com ext 803 or Tina Vliet – Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com ext 330 or Ed Cordrey – EdCordrey@MaximumOneRealty.com ext 1034
Broker Assistance (Greater Atlanta) – Dana Sparks – Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com ext 302 or Mary Colson – Broker@MaximumOneRealty.com ext 803
Broker Assistance (Executives) – Tina Vliet – Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com ext 330 or Ed Cordrey – EdCordrey@MaximumOneRealty.com ext. 1034
Faxes – Monica Thomas – CallCoordinator@eAGENTweb.com – ext 306
Vendor Program (Greater Atlanta) – Melissa Clay – Woodstock@eAGENTweb.com ext 310
Vendor Program (Executives) – Tina Vliet – Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com ext 330
Roster Issues – Derrick Slay – Admin@eAGENTweb.com ext 318
MX1 Corporate Website Issues – Monica Thomas – Douglasville@eAGENTweb.com ext 306
Mortgage Issues – See your Branch Affiliated Lender at the bottom of this newsletter
Closing / Legal Issues – See your Branch Affiliated Attorney at the bottom of this newsletter
More: See “Who’s Who” on the Maximum One Blog
Maximum One Roster: The latest company roster may be found on the Extranet and under the “Office” tabs of Paperless Pipeline. This Roster is organized by tabs at the bottom to indicate the physical branch each agent is in and if an agent’s name is in red ink then they are in the Realtor company (MXGR or MXER) and if the agent’s name is in black ink they are in the Realty company (MXGA or MXEX)
Max Cares: Send prayers for recovery to Michelle Blevins who was bitten by a Copperhead snake over the July 4th Holiday.
Max Cares: Send prayer for healing to Tina Taffs mother who is not doing well.

7/7/14

Welcome New Agents – Please welcome these agents new to Maximum One:
Jennifer Graben – Paulding
Eric Lane – Galleria
Shannon Bishoff – Galleria
Colleen Myers – West Cobb
Melanie Tufts – Gwinnett
Fran Bacote – Douglasville
Salim Tejanni – Gwinnett
Jacent Gayle – West Cobb
Sam Gillani – Gwinnett
Al Majolagbe – Galleria
Judy Ash – West Cobb
Regina Tearney – Galleria
Holly Barannigan – Gwinnett
Lynn Lenton – Woodstock
Scott Fountain – Woodstock
Chrissy Fountain – Woodstock
Jessie Singh – Woodstock
Discount on a Top Producer Account : Top Producer is a well-known contact Management System designed especially for real estate. You “touch” a person once, put them in your Top Producer program, then launch a variety of follow-up plans so they never fall through the cracks! It has lead conversion modules, mobile apps, email templates and more! If you are interested in getting a Top Producer account, we have the opportunity to get a corporate discount and you would get Top Producer for the discounted price of $23.80 per month vs approx $40/month that is there normal rate. If interested, please let Dave Kubat know: Dave@MaximumOneRealty.com
Business Planning: This is the time of year to do your mid-year review. What are your numbers for the first half of the year? What adjustments do you need to make to meet or exceed your goals for the rest of the year? Do you know what numbers to track? (Contacts, appointments set, appointments attended, listings taken, Buyer Brokerages signed, pending sales, closings, Income, Expenses) Take some time this Summer and plan your business so that you may run your business as a business!

6/30/14

Offices CLOSED Friday July 4th! Happy Independence Day!
FMLS: Matrix System Training Classes –

Matrix, the new system that will run alongside Fusion, is coming at the end of summer. Matrix offers an HTML-based system that is faster than the Flash-based Fusion. This means that the full site works with all mobile devices and browsers. In preparation for Matrix’s release, we are offering sneak peeks of Matrix on July 30th and July 31st.o Wednesday, July 30, 2014:

The Atlanta Board of Realtors, 5784 Lake Forrest Dr. NW, Atlanta, GA 30328
404-250-0051 – Main Phone
3 Sessions: 9:30am – 11:00am; 11:30am – 1:00pm; 2:00pm – 3:30pm

o Thursday, July 31st, 2014:

Lanier Technical College/Forsyth Conference Center, 3410 Ronald Reagan Blvd., Cumming, GA 30041
770-781-6974 – Main Phone
3 Sessions: 9:30am – 11:00am; 11:30am – 1:00pm; 2:00pm – 3:30pm

o Thursday, July 31st, 2014:

FMLS Headquarters, 5457 Roswell Rd., Suite 304, Atlanta, GA 30342
404-255-4219 – Main Phone
4 Sessions: 9:00am – 10:30am; 11:00am – 12:30pm; 1:00pm – 2:30pm; 3:00pm – 4:30pm

o Thursday, July 31st, 2014:

NAMAR, 2145 Duluth Hwy, Suite B, Duluth, GA 30097
3 Sessions: 9:30am – 11:00am; 11:30am – 1:00pm; 2:00pm – 3:30pm

Please join us at one of these locations and times to see a sneak peek of the new Matrix. You can register online at FMLS.com through the July class schedule. NO STANDBY OR WALK-INS ALLOWED.

GAMLS: New Status POA: Georgia MLS has added a new status called Pending Offer Approval (POA). A listing that is marked as POA is considered to be an off market listing. As such, this listing will not expire and will require a future action on the part of the agent, e.g., changing the status from POA to either Sold or Back on Market. In contrast, a listing marked as Pending Approval (PA) is still considered to be an active listing and will expire upon its expiration date.
FMLS Listing Rules (Rule 7): Rule 7.1 At such time as any exclusive right to sell listing contract is signed (Agreement Date) for a listing located within the FMLS compulsory area, the listing automatically becomes part of the FMLS database. All FMLS listings must be entered into the FMLS computer system within forty-eight (48) hours after the listing is signed by the seller (excepting weekends, federal holidays and postal holidays). Should the property be sold before the listing information is entered into the FMLS computer system, the listing must still be entered in FMLS and the sale reported (and any FMLS fee must be paid).

Max Cares: Please send condolences to Michelle Amendola whose Grandmother passed away.

6/23/14

Maximum One Procedures & Systems – There are SEVERAL ways to learn the Procedures & Systems at Maximum One. Please do NOT wait until the day of closing to find out what you need to do to get your commission check. There are systems you NEED TO KNOW: Paperless Pipeline, how to complete a Bluesheet, DA requests to get paid at the closing table, to name a few. Learn these systems NOW so when you go to closing, you are not frustrated by not knowing what to do to get paid!
Training Videos – go to www.eAGENTweb.com and click on “Live & Recorded Webinars” There are many training videos on the MX1 systems – for example, Paperless Pipeline, Bluesheet, etc.
Orientation with Your Branch Manager or Team Captain – schedule a time to meet with your Branch Manager to get an overall idea of the procedures & systems & time-frames required when you get a contract
Emails You Received when Joining MX1 – When you first came to Maximum One, you received many emails. These emails described the systems & procedures & policies IN-DEPTH! Have you read them? Did you put them in a folder on your computer? Go back & read them now!
Live Chat – Go to www.eAGENTweb.com and click on “Chat” for a manned live chat with a staff member of Maximum One. This chat is monitored Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm
“How-To” Classes on the Calendar – go to www.eAGENTweb.com and click on “calendar. There are weekly classes at each branch to learn how our procedures & systems work. Please RSVP with your Branch Manager in advance of the class.
Welcome New West Cobb Branch Manager: Please welcome Derrick Slay – the new Branch Manager of West Cobb! Derrick will be training for a couple of weeks and then will be at the West Cobb Branch. Please welcome him at: WestCobb@eAGENTweb.com.
Max Cares: Please send prayers to Cindy Corona & her family who lost her brother

Welcome New West Cobb Affiliated Lender: Please welcome Scott Haney NMLS # 222342 of Southcrest Mortgage as the new Lender Affiliate with West Cobb. Scott may be reached at 404-401-9964 Scott.Haney@SouthcrestMortgage.com

6/16/14

Happy Father’s Day!!
Welcome New Agents: Please welcome these agents new to Maximum One!
Zuhair El Itr – East Cobb
Russell Richardson – East Cobb
Dwayne Barron – Douglasville
Louis Savage – Douglasville
Gail Battle – Galleria
Sekhar Putta – North Fulton
Sandra Anderson – Douglasville
Bonnie Poland – Woodstock
Pete Horn – West Cobb
Jon Casler – Douglasville
Deborah Allen – Galleria
Monica McMahon – Galleria
Faithe Williams – Galleria
Atul Chandna – East Cobb
Yvonne Kemp – Galleria
Chris Johnson – Galleria
Attorney Email Addresses on DA Requests: Please include the closing attorney’s email address on your DA request EVEN IF YOU HAVE CLOSED WITH THAT ATTORNEY before. When staff processes these DA requests, they are not accessing your contract or your previous DA requests. Thank you! – Also please write legibly if it is not typed.
Updated Guidelines on FHA Loans & HUD Homes: FHA is at it again! If your Buyer bids OVER the list price, then your Buyer will have to pay CASH. The amount of cash they have to pay is the lesser of the difference between the overbid and the 1st appraisal, 2nd appraisal or list price – whichever amount is the lowest. EVEN if they are getting an FHA 203k Loan, the Buyer will still have to pay the difference in CASH!

Updates on DA Requests: If there are any changes to your contract (including a closing extension) please send in a revised DA. When we send these to the closing attorney, they have an expiration date & that will have to be changed to coincide with your contract.

6/9/14

MX1 Leads Program Powered by Lead Trax: Would you like to participate in the Maximum One Greater Atlanta Leads Program? If you do then you go on a rotation list and will receive a lead by email. When you close, there is a 25% referral fee back to the company. You must participate in the training on how the program and related software works. You will receive the lead through a program called Lead Trax and you have a limited time within which to accept the lead or go back into rotation. This will also be the new way that AOD leads are distributed. You must be activated in the system prior to participating. Attend one of the Training Sessions to learn how easy it is to get a Lead through the MX1 Lead Trax System!
FMLS Downpayment Resource: Access the Downpayment Resource (DPR) through the FMLS Homepage under “System Links.” Through this system you can be the market expert and and show your buyers what is possible.
Access hard to find homebuyer program information
Connect eligible Buyers with Eligible properties
Market your eligible listings with new solutions
Generate actionable leads
MovingWolf: Remember to include your client’s email address in the Notes Section of your Bluesheet so that your clients will get valuable coupons appropriate for their move and they are branded with YOUR name & contact information! Great Value-Added service that will lead to more referral business!
WolfConnect: Please upload your photo into your Profile on WolfConnect. Simply log into Wolf Connect / Extranet, go to the “Membership” tab, click on “Agent Profile” and then follow the items in there to update your contact information & add a photo.
Some Articles to Help Your Business: Check these out for some helpful tips

MX1 Lead Trax: This is the new system we will also be using for AOD as well as for the MX1 Lead Program. Please attend a training class! Click on this link for a Video Introduction to Lead Trax

o The Complete Guide to Structuring Your Work Day – Plan a perfect work day with this article by Rachel Feltman.

o The 6 Fundamentals of Client Building – This article by Sara Horowitz shows how reciprocity, consistency, authority, likeablility & thoughts of scarcity influence your ability to build relationships.

Max Cares: Please keep Remey Caraballo in your prayers as her Father is in the hospital with multiple issues.
Max Cares: Please keep Genna Crider & her family in your prayers as she just lost her Uncle.

6/1/14

Entering Listings in GAMLS is Required: Maximum One is a member of both FMLS & GAMLS. When you list a property for sale you are REQUIRED to also list it in GAMLS. GAMLS is cross-checking with FMLS & sending Compliance Notices to agents and Brokers who do not list in GAMLS and then they are fining agents. Please comply to avoid a GAMLS fine.
GAMLS Listing Photos: When you list a property for sale in GAMLS, you are required to add at least 1 photo.
Welcome New Affiliated Lender to East Cobb Branch: Please welcome Bart Patterson of Summit Financial Advisors as the Affiliated Lender with the East Cobb Branch! Bart has been in the mortgage business for years and is a long-time resident of East Cobb. He is a Partner & Senior Mortgage Officer with the firm. Please welcome Bart: BPatterson@SummitFundingAdisors.com 404-835-6502 www.summitfundingadvisors.com

WolfConnect Haves & Wants:Please use the Haves & Wants feature to communicate more effectively with other Maximum One agents. Sarah Beth Johnson (WolfConnect Adminstrator) is sending out weekly messages with useful information regarding WoldConnect so you may use this technology to its fullest extent! Please click on the link for the instructions on How to Use the Haves and Wants feature of WolfConnect / Extranet.
Disbursement Authorization (DA) Request: Remember that your DA request must be submitted to Paperless Pipeline at least 72 business hours prior to your closing. Additionally, your file must be complete & compliant (which includes a completed Bluesheet) within this same 72 hour time frame. Any changes to your transaction must be reflected on a revised Bluesheet & DA and uploaded to Paperless Pipeline at least 72 business hours prior to your closing. Click on this link for the DA Request or you may find this document in the Office Section of Paperless Pipeline and on the Extranet.

5/18/14

Maximum One Greater Atlanta Offices Will be CLOSED Memorial Day! Be Safe! Have Fun! Remember our Service Men & Women who have Sacrificed their lives for our freedoms! Please check with MX1 Executives for the hours for Gwinnett Branch on Memorial Day.
NO “This Week at Maximum One” newsletter next week. See Training Calendar for classes that week www.eAGENTweb.com click on “Calendar”
FMLS: Matrix is Coming this Summer: FMLS will be rolling out Matrix, an alternative to our current online system Fusion, late this summer. FMLS members will have a choice as to which system they wish to use, Fusion or Matrix. All information added/updated in Fusion automatically updates the Matrix system, and we will run both systems side by side. Matrix offers our users a HTML-based system that is very fast. This means that the full site works with all mobile devices and browsers (no Flash required). FMLS will be featuring Matrix at our annual Showcase Tradeshow on August 14th at the Cobb Galleria Centre so save the date!
Reflect Resources is Now Real Estate Digital: Real Estate Digital has purchased Reflect Resources. Real Estate Digital has been the technology behind Reflect Resources the entire time. The Maximum One Company Website: www.MaximumOneATL.com and your agent web site through Reflect Resources remains the same. If you need assistance, you may still contact: Support@ReflectResources.com They will be contacting agents with Reflect Resources Websites for Crefit Card information to put into their systems at real Estate Digital.
WolfConnect Messaging: Please consider your use of the messaging service through WolfConnect. For your Open Houses – these are more for the public so you don’t really need to notify agents about your Open House. Remember that agents have access to FMLS & GAMLS for listings appropriate for their Buyers’ needs. Additionally, consider which group you are sending messages to… not ALL agents need to know about a listing in DOuglasville… the likelihood of a Gwinnett agent having a Buyer for that property are slim to none. We are currently working on setting up the “Haves & Wants” section of WolfConnect which we believe you’ll find more useful!
Wording on Amendments: Be professional and thoughtful when with the wording on your Amendments and keep the clients’ interests in mind. All mortgage underwriters read these prior to closing. When you include words like “hazard” “deficiency” and similar verbiage, you most likely will NOT close on time & the lender will likely order a re-appraisal. For example, DON’T SAY “In lieu of repairs to correct deficiencies indicated in home inspection, Seller to increase Closing Costs….” INSTEAD simply state “Seller to increase closing costs contribution to $_____.” Thank you to Luisa Garcia Luisa.M.Garcia@Chase.com & Kevin Nolan Kevin.R.Nolan@Chase.com of Chase Mortgage for pointing out this information to the West Cobb agents at the Sales Meeting!
Documents to Closing Attorney: Make sure you send all documents to Closing Attorney with enough time for them to get their responsibilities completed. Once the Closing Attorney knows that you will be closing they send out their own documents to the Buyer & Seller. Please assist the Closing Attorney by getting your client to complete those documents ASAP. Many lenders require the Seller’s permission to get the payoff of their mortgage…. obviously information required for your closing!
Rental Leads: If you are interested in receiving any company-generated Rental Leads, please email us at: Admin@eAGENTweb.com
Craigslist Marketing: There are major changes to the real estate ads that Craigslist will allow. Stay tuned for information on how to still get business by advertising on Craigslist… just have to take a new approach!
Max Cares: Congratulations to David Stallings of Homestar Mortgage whose wife had a baby 5 weeks ago!.

5/11/14

Happy Mother’s Day!!!
Welcome New Agents: Please welcome these agents new to Maximum One! ….

Rocio Becerra – West Cobb

Stephen McFerrin – West Cobb

Amanda McFerrin – West Cobb

Enrique Kroes – Woodstock

Pamela Addison – West Cobb

Larry Wilson – East Cobb

Christy Wilson – East Cobb

Robin Cunningham – Galleria

Laurence McDade – West Cobb

Jeanne Addington – Paulding

Eldrick Horton – Galleria

Mary Ann Gilbert – East Cobb

Tom Robinson – West Cobb

Charm Jones – East Cobb

Bertha Olpareke – Galleria

Ann Jones – Galleria

Meredith Cheryl – North Fulton

Olga Russov – East Cobb

Terry Hullinger – Woodstock

Sonia Pearce – Galleria

John Harris – – East Cobb

Amarender Bommineni – North Fulton

Tricia Manning – Paulding

Ann Kelly – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!

Tricia Dittlau – East Cobb

Debbie Henson – Paulding

Property Management: Maximum One will no longer accept any new Property Management Transactions after May 31, 2014. For existing Property Management contracts, we will continue to manage those properties until the current tenant vacates. After that occurs, Maximum One will no longer be able to manage the properties for those landlords. As a Brokerage, Maximum One Greater Atlanta is not structured to provide the range of services to Landlords that they may require from a management company. We strive to give the utmost in service to our agents and clients which is what has brought us to this decision.
For existing Property Management Transactions, the following go into effect as of June 1, 2014:
- Agent is responsible for handling repairs, proceeding with evictions, chasing down late rent or non-payment of rent, handling any landlord/tenant disputes, etc
- Agent needs to keep all records – financial & otherwise
- We currently do NOT have online payment for tenants
- Currently, if a tenant pays by check, we have a 10 day hold on those funds before we can pay the Landlord
- Agent needs to keep financial records of money coming in & going out
- Agent will need to prepare a report of what is to go on the Landlord’s 1099 at the end of the year
- All monies, rents/fees/etc. will be run through Maximum One and agent needs to keep specific & accurate records for end-of-the-year reporting
- Agent must take a minimum 3 hour CE class on Property management within 3 months of taking on a property to manage or hold an Associate Broker’s License
- Must use GAR contracts
- Maximum One Transaction Fees on Property Management do not go towards Agent’s annual cap
- Maximum One will pay the Landlord through a Direct Deposit only
- Maximum One requires a W9 form on all Landlords
- Maximum One Property Managers may only manage their clients’ properties regarding rents / repairs / maintenance issues (no management of HOA dues, Mortgage payments, Property Taxes, Utilities, etc.)
- There is a bookkeeping fee of $7.50 / transaction / property / month on any payments / fees paid on behalf of a property over 2 / month (excluding processing rent)
Broker of Career Development: Please welcome Sabrina Barr as the Broker of Career Development! Sabrina has a wealth of knowledge & experience to help you get back in the game or get to the next level! Please contact Sabrina at: SoldBySabrinaBarr@gmail.com to learn more about how she can help you make more money!
East Cobb Branch Manager: If Please welcome Sarah Beth Johnson to the East Cobb Branch! Sarah Beth is relocating as Branch Manager from West Cobb to East Cobb! Please stop by & introuduce yourself!
Property Tax Bills Coming Out Soon: Thank you to Amee Davis for reminding us in the West Cobb Sales Meeting that once the tax bills have gone out, the attorney must collect the amount in full from the Seller and prorate the amount for the Buyer. As an agent, this will greatly affect your estimated net sheet to the Seller & estimated Cash to Close to the Buyer!
Property Tax Appeals: All homeowners have the right to appeal their property tax bill within 45 days after receipt of the Notice of Assessment which is mailed around this time each year. In some instances the assessor will overestimate the value of your property, causing a higher tax bill. The appeal process can be both complicated and time consuming, and many attorneys offer a service to simplify this process for homeowners.
GREC Advertising Rules: These rules have changed. GREC now requires that the Broker name and number be on ALL agent marketing not simply when advertising a specific property.
GREC Advertising Rules for Social Media: Based on the new GREC Advertising Rules, any social media advertising must either have the Broker’s name and number or a link to a landing page that has the Broker’s name and number.\
Rental Leads: If you are interested in receiving any company-generated Rental Leads, please email us at: Admin@eAGENTweb.com

Max Cares: Condolences and prayers for peace to Melissa Webb who lost her father this week.
Max Cares: Prayers for pain-free recovery to Jean Herd who is recovering from back surgery.
Max Cares: Continued Prayers for Derek Broomfield who is beginning to speak again after suffering an aneurysm.

5/4/14

GoFMLS: Need to check FMLS from your phone or tablet? Go to your App store and download GoFMLS. Then simply login as usual!
BlueSheets: Agents need to upload their BlueSheets into Paperless Pipeline when they upload their contracts / referrals / leases / etc. in order to avoid any delays in getting paid. The Blue Sheet is what we use to enter the information into our accounting system.
Broker Questions: If you have any Broker questions there are several Brokers you may contact:

Dana Sparks – Managing Broker of Maximum One Greater Atlanta Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com ext 302

Tina Vliet – Managing Broker of Maximum One Executives Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com ext. 330

Mary Colson – Broker Specialist of Maximum One Greater Atlanta Broker@MaximumOneRealty.com ext. 803

Dawn Luttrell – Compliance Broker of Maximum One Greater Atlanta Compliance@eAGENTweb.com ext. 309

Ed Cordrey – Qualifying Broker – Maximum One Realty Executives EdCordrey@MaximumOneRealty.com ext. 1034

Broker Support: Support@MyMaximumOne.com

Using Social Media to Get More Business:If you want to use social media to your advantage for business follow these tips:
- Post relevant real estate information to position yourself as an authority
- Use posts (especially with photos) to promote your agent website and drive traffic there
- Ask questions to engage your followers. For example: “When it comes to Living Rooms, do you prefer hardwoods or carpets? No matter what you are looking for in a home, you’ll find it if you visit my site at: …..”
FMLS: Fusion Fixes: Fusion released a new version on 4/28/14. This newest version has resolved the problem of the Fusion automated emails being blocked by Yahoo, Gmail,, Hotmail & Live email accounts. Also the auto emails are enhanced and include a thumbnail photo of the listing.

Max Cares: Prayers for strength and peace to Judi & Bill Smith who lost two family members the past two weeks.
Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Zia Afshani who is recovering from pneumonia.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Bob Butler who jusy got married 2 weeks ago!

4/28/14

How to Get More Leads Using Realist: Here are two ways that Realist data can be used to generate new marketing strategies for lead generation: 1. Marketing to investorsProperty investors are represented in Realist as the title owner of non-owner occupied homes. Using Realist, agents can run a search to create a farm for non-owner occupied homes. They can look up the mailing address of the property owner in the Realist tax record system, and use that information for direct marketing efforts to investors. Moreover, they may be able to view mortgage information and property value information to discuss how investors can leverage equity in one property to acquire another. Lastly, homes that have been held for a long time may be fully depreciated by the investor. Suggesting a 1031 Exchange may provide that investor with an excellent opportunity to roll equity into a similar property to maximize the tax benefit.2. Marketing to renters who may want to buyThe same search for non-owner occupied homes will provide the addresses of renters. Agents who know the normal rental rates in an area for a particular size of property can market to renters by providing a rent vs. own analysis. The marketing message may be along the lines of “Own a home for less than you pay in rent today-ask me how!” This can be a very effective way to generate new buyer leads.
Hold on Personal Checks for Earnest Money: Maximum One’s policy on earnest money is that we hold personal checks for 10 days. If you represent a Buyer who remits their earnest money in a personal check, they terminate their contract and the earnest money is to be released back to the Buyer prior to the end of that 10 day period, then they get another property under contract, the buyer will have to submit additional funds for earnest money for contract #2 if they are to be remitted prior to the 10 days (+ processing time) that the funds are being held from contract #1. To avoid this, have your Buyer remit certified funds for earnest money.
Earnest Money over $5000: Maximum One’s policy is that any earnest money over $5,000 must be in certified funds.

Property Management at Maximum One: Maximum One has specific policies regarding agents managing property for others, Please contact Dana Sparks for a copy of those policies. They have been emailed directly to agents currently managing property as they have been revised as of April 2014.

Property Management Compliance Broker: Please welcome Mary Lamb as the Maximum One Greater Atlanta Compliance Broker for Property Management.

Woodstock Awards Banquet:Thank you to John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage for awarding Top Achiever awards to the agents in the Woodstock Branch! Congratulations to all on your achievements in real estate!

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Derick Broomfield who is in Kennestone Hospital recovering from an aneurysm.
Max Cares: Prayers for well-being & safety to Clarissa Zumwalt who was involved in an auto-accident this week.

4/21/14

Welcome Dickason Law: Please welcome Dickason Law as the newest Affiliated Closing Attorney with the East Cobb Branch of Maximum One! Dickason Law is already the Affiliated Closing Attorney with MX1 Executives and we welcome them to Greater Atlanta. They will teach some CE classes and host office hours! Please contact Matt Dickason (770-407-5247) Matt@DickasonLaw.com and Sunni Curl – (770-407-5247) – Sunni@DickasonLaw.com
Welcome Movement Mortgage: Please welcome Movement Mortgage as the newest Affiliated Lender with the North Fulton & Gwinnett Branches! At North Fulton, please contact Wesley Boyd 770-846-2628 wesley.boyd@movementmortgage.com

NMLS ID# 18851 At Gwinnett, please contact Dean Holsapple 678-296-7073 dean.holsapple@movementmortgage.com NMLS ID# 171125
Reflect Resources = Real Estate Digital: Reflect Resources is now part of the Real Estate Digital family. You should not notice any detrimental changes in your Reflect Resources Agent Website nor in the Reflect Resources company site: www.MaximumOneATL.com . Should you need assistance, please contact: Support@realestatedigital.com
Working with the Public – Client or Customer: At Maximum One you may choose to work with the Buying and Selling public as either a client or customer. The MX1 requirement is that you upload to Paperless Pipeline the appropriate paperwork to reflect your relationship with the public. BRETTA requires that if you are working with the public as a CLIENT, you are required to sign an Agency Agreement with that person. So, you must have the public sign the appropriate agreement to reflect your relationship with them:

Seller Client – Listing Agreement

Seller Customer – Authorization to Show Unlisted Property

Landlord Client – Lease Listing Agreement

Landlord Customer – Authorization to Show Unlisted Property

Buyer Client – Buyer Brokerage Agreement

Buyer Customer – Customer Acknowledgement

Tenant Client – Tenant Brokerage Agreement

Tenant Customer – Customer Acknowledgement

MX1 Frequently Used Forms: You may access these forms on either the Extranet or on Paperless Pipeline. Go to www.eAGENTweb.com and click on “Extranet” and go to File Manager or on “Paperless Pipeline” and go to the Office Tab.
Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Monica Thomas’ Mom who had to go to the Emergency Room this week.
Max Cares: Condolences to Howard Brummel whose Stepfather passed away last week. Prayers for peace to Howard & his family.
Max Cares: Condolences to Melody Massie whose Mother passed away last week. Prayers for peace to Melody & her family.
Max Cares: Prayers for continued good health for John Phillip who is back to work after receiving a kidney transplant 2 months ago!

4/14/14

GREC Rule Changes: The Georgia Real Estate Commission passed changes to two of its Rules at its April 2, 2014 meeting.

Advertising – This Rule change primarily addresses the use of the Internet to advertise real property.

Maintaining a License – As of July 1, 2015, this Rule change increases continuing education hours from 24 to 36 for the 4 year license renewal period. Also, as of July 1, 2016, the 36 required hours of continuing education shall include 3 mandatory hours on the topic of License Law.

Note: Because it takes a statutory change by the Georgia General Assembly to require continuing education for “Grandfathered Licensees”, these “Grandfathered Licensees” will continue to be exempt from continuing education requirements.

The revised Rules can be read by going to www.grec.state.ga.us and following these steps:

1. On the left-hand column, under “Quick Links”, click on “Real Estate License Law”.

2. Click on “Pending Rule Changes”. Then click on the link to view Rule 520-1-.09 Advertising and Rule 520-1-.05 Maintaining a License.

MX1 Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure – Revised: We have revised the MX1 Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure Form. We have deleted the paragraph about Buyer Rebates. However, if as an agent you are giving a Buyer rebate to your Buyer, you must include that disclosure in your contract AND it must be on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. We have also removed “Exhibit” because many agents have an issue getting the co-op client’s signature. As a Maximum One agent, you are required to get your client’s and customer’s signature and upload this signed form into Paperless Pipeline. This form is on the “Office” tab of the Greater Atlanta Paperless Pipeline, on the Extranet & in the “Office Forms” of Forms Pro in FMLS for MXGA01 & MXGR01. See Revised MX1 Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure here.
Buyer Rebate Disclosure: If you are giving a rebate to your Buyer, this must be disclosed in writing AND be included on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. Please use the following disclosure in your contract:

Pursuant to the official Georgia annotated chapter 43-40-25 (B) (6), Maximum One Realty hereby discloses to all parties that they may reduce a portion of their commission from this transaction to the buyer.

Listing Book Discount: Thank you to Kristin May for arranign a Discount with ListingBook for Maximum One Agents. If you click on “Upgrade to Listingbook Pro” in your current free version, the price you will be offered will be $219.95 for the year. However, if you contact Listingbook through my account manager, he can give you one of the following deals below. He can also answer any of your questions! Listingbook Pro is a great tool for capturing buyers and allowing them to look at all the FMLS listings in real time. It is much more accurate than the sites your buyers may currently be perusing. Listingbook Pro will also give you a website where people can sign up for their free accounts. I have found that this tool can also be a great tool for sellers who can now easily see the competition. With the data from Listingbook going straight to your sellers, it will be easy to have some of the tough conversations like the price reduction talk. This tool also allows you to promote your properties directly to buyers who have matches with your listing! It is truly a great tool!

The two specials he is running for us now are below:

13 months $199
12 months for $199 and when they send us a spreadsheet of 50 clients and we import them into their Client Manager will give them $50 credit.

Both Specials will also be provided with 2 ( property promotions $45 value ) If you decide to go with 13 months for $199, then Michael is not sure if he will be able to switch you to the second option. So, you will need to decide ahead of time which special you want to go with. Michael will also provide specials on property promotions for you! If you would like to contact Michael about this deal, please contact Kristin May KristinMay33@gmail.com , and she will forward you his contact information.

Salesperson Pre-License Course: If you know of anyone who is considering getting their real estate license, please forward them the link to register for this course! The 75 Hour Pre-License course offered through the Georgia Real Estate Academy begins April 22nd & runs Tuesday & Thursday evenings beginning at 6pm (with a few Saturdays) and will complete in June. $365 includes the textbook! What a great way to spend that tax refund… invest in yourself and begin a new career in real estate! For anyone interested, here is the link for more information & registration for: Salesperson Pre-License Course. or they may go to: www.eAGENTweb.com and click on “Calendar.”

Max Cares: Congratulations to Jayne Pearson whose son got married this weekend!

4/7/14

Welcome Agents New to Maximum One: Please welcome the following agents:

Daryl Parrish – Galleria
Don Wade – Galleria
Timothy Matteson – North Fulton
Diane Winkler – Woodstock
Heather Scalzitti – Paulding
Jamie Arnold – Galleria
Andy Miller – Galleria
Cindy Tomblin – North Fulton
Linda Venuti – West Cobb
Telisa Prinsen – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!
Gerri Dilbeck – Galleria
Ken Worsham – North Fulton
Christine Fortenberry – Galleria – Welcome BACK!
Michael Felices – Galleria – Welcome BACK!
Kelli Mantooth – Woodstock
Lissette Bravo – Paulding
Valerie Ervin – Galleria
Billy Quale – North Fulton – Welcome BACK!
Ji Jeong – North Fulton
Kiran Ramireddy – North Fulton
Ron Racca – Galleria
John Harris – East Cobb
Jennifer Winfrey – Galleria

Maximum One has Reached 700 Associates!
Welcome New MXEX Broker: Please welcome Ed Cordrey as the new Qualifying Broker of Maximum One Realty Executives! Ed’s background includes 20 years of real estate experience, selling both residential and commercial property, and includes licenses in Tennessee and the Carolinas. Previously on staff with a large transaction-based firm here in Atlanta, Ed has reviewed 1000s of contracts and has experience with GREC investigation and audit processes, so we are excited about him providing us with “best practices” and help in keeping our files compliant. Thank you Rick Bessom for your service in this capacity! Rick is still with Maximum One and back in sales full time! Ed may be reached at: EdCordrey@gmail.com 770-919-8825 ext. 1034.
MX1 Orientation: If you are new to Maximum One, please contact your Branch Manager to schedule a brief Orientation to your Branch and learn about MX1 systems & Processes. Each part of the Orientation is broken down into 30 minute classes throughout the month. The general Introduction to Maximum One is on the calendar on Fridays. Additionally, please watch the brief Orientation Video & remember to read through the online Orientation Manual you received by email!
Listing Photos: Remember to change your photos in FMLS & GAMLS on your listings! If the photo of your listing has bare trees or snow on the lawn, it’s time to freshen up that listing with a Spring picture!
MovingWolf – FREE Agent Branding to Your Clients:

As you know, we have some very exciting news! Our brokerage is launching a new program that will help grow your business and enhance your professional image. The program is called movingWOLF, and it will send your clients money-saving offers on the products and services that they will need throughout their move. To see how this program will supercharge your personal brand, check out this video below! This program includes offers from companies like Lowe’s, Papa John’s Pizza and Penske Truck Rental which will be delivered straight to your clients’ inboxes. The best part? We are providing movingWOLF as a free program for you, just for being a part of Maximum One. movingWOLF offers will be sent out automatically to your clients based on their close date and they will be coming from your email address, so it looks like you sourced these discounts to pass on to them. To stay in the loop you will receive a summary email each day that your clients receive movingWOLF emails. This program will help save your clients money when they need it most, and remind them why they chose to work with you! In order to make certain your clients receive these offers, please submit your clients’ email addresses in the notes box on the blue sheet when submitting deals to the administrative team or through Paperless Pipeline.You must remember to submit your clients’ email addresses to ensure they will receive these fantastic offers. All email information is kept entirely secure and is solely used for this program and our internal records. movingWOLF is facilitated by our real estate software provider Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies. Click for: MovingWolf FAQ Info for

MovingWolf Listing Presentation

Click on Video Link for Intro to MovingWolf:

movingWOLF intro unlisted

Salesperson Pre-License Course: If you know of anyone who is considering getting their real estate license, please forward them the link to register for this course! The 75 Hour Pre-License course offered through the Georgia Real Estate Academy begins April 22nd & runs Tuesday & Thursday evenings beginning at 6pm (with a few Saturdays) and will complete in June. $365 includes the textbook! What a great way to spend that tax refund… invest in yourself and begin a new career in real estate! For anyone interested, here is the link for more information & registration for: Salesperson Pre-License Course. or they may go to: www.eAGENTweb.com and click on “Calendar.”
Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Jack Barnette – the husband of Sharon Barnette & father of Jack Barnette, Jr. who was hospitalized last week.
Max Cares: Condolences & prayers for peace to the family of Steve Decker who lost his father March 28th.

3/30/14

FEMA to Teach Flood Insurance CE Class: Be sure to register for the Flood Insurance CE class which will actually be taught by a representative of FEMA. This class will be April 22nd at 10am in the Galleria location & will fill-up quickly! Register Here before our monthly CE email goes out to over 20,000 metro agents!
Spring Break: April is the month for area school Spring Break schedules. This is a GREAT time to prospect for new listings because many parents are home with their children so you can actually talk to them and go on appointments during the day!

Cobb County – March 31 – April 4
Paulding County – April 7 – April 11
Douglas County – March 31 – April 4
Cherokee County – March 31 – April 4
Gwinnett County – April 7 – April 11
Fulton County – April 7 – April 11

Paperless Pipeline: Maximum One’s system for turning in paperwork to the Brokerage is called Paperless Pipeline. Agents must turn in their paperwork within 72 hours of receiving signatures to avoid a fine. If you are not sure how this system works, please see the MX1 Training Calendar (www.eAGENTweb.com click on “Calendar”) RSVP for the “How-To: Paperless Pipeline” class with your Branch Manager and/or watch the recorded Paperless Pipeline Video (www.eAGENTweb.com then click “Live & Recorded Webinars.” There are also many frequently used documents under the “Docs” section on the upper right tab in Paperless Pipeline.
Important Contract Dates: In all contracts, it is vital to be keenly aware of the dates upon which the parties have agreed in order that they not default on the contract or miss out on their chance to make decisions and not jeopardize their earnest money. The previous 2 weeks of this newlsetter have highlighted many of the “hidden time frames” inherent in contracts. For a refresher, you may read those articles in the “Deal or No Deal Contract Tips” section of the Maximum One Blog: www.MaximizeYourRealEstateCareer.com . For the more obvious important dates, use a form to assist you & your client (& co-op agent) in remembering their various responsibilities with regards to these dates. Thank you to Travis Boatright & Mark Willix for sharing their form to help out with these dates. Click here to download your copy of Important Contract Dates. If you use the GAR contracts, there is also a form there you may use as well – F76: Reminder of Important Dates.
Salesperson Pre-License Course: If you know of anyone who is considering getting their real estate license, please forward them the link to register for this course! The 75 Hour Pre-License course offered through the Georgia Real Estate Academy begins April 22nd & runs Tuesday & Thursday evenings beginning at 6pm (with a few Saturdays) and will complete in June. $365 includes the textbook! What a great way to spend that tax refund… invest in yourself and begin a new career in real estate! For anyone interested, here is the link for more information & registration for: Salesperson Pre-License Course. or they may go to: www.eAGENTweb.com and click on “Calendar.”
Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Jack Barnette – the husband of Sharon Barnette & father of Jack Barnette, Jr. who was hospitalized last week.

3/24/14

PaceSetter Award 2013: Congratulations to Maximum One we Won AGAIN!!!! MX1 is one of the Fastest Growing Private Companies in Atlanta (ALL companies not just real estate!) 5 Years in a Row!
MX1 Roster: Please check your listing on the Maximum One Roster for your accurate contact information. We use these email addresses, phone numbers & Home Branch Location to communicate with you and for your mail & commission checks. The most current roster is on the Extranet.
Online CE Classes: Maximum One offers many hours of classroom classes…. See our online calendar: www.eAGENTweb.com then click on “Calendar.” If however you are unable to attend, please click on the links at the top of that calendar to check out the many ONLINE CE classes available to you!
Commission Advances: Due to some recent liability issues with Commission Advances, Maximum One will no longer participate in the Commission Advance Programs. We have had to work with the Commission Advance companies on advances that were extended to agents on properties that failed to close. Maximum One is currently negotiating with a company regarding $12,000 in multiple Commission Advances that were issued to an agent who is no longer even part of Maximum One! The company is attempting to recoup a portion of those funds from Maximum One and we are spending many hours in time and documentation to work through this issue.
eConcierge: Please check out the eConcierge tab on WolfConnect to check out the Vendors who are a part of the Maximum One Vendor Program! Thank you Melissa Clay for managing that program!
MovingWolf: Please include your client’s email address in the “notes” section of the BlueSheet. They will then receive a ton of fabulous coupons and discounts compliments of YOU their agent as part of the MovingWolf program! These discounts are on moving-related products and services.
Max Cares:Condolences to the family of Ed Farlow whose sister recently passed away and whose Mother suffered a heart attack.

3/17/14

Maximum One – Ranked #19 in Atlanta Business Chronicle: Congratulations to Maximum One which was ranked 19th in the Top 25 Residential Real Estate Companies in the Atlanta Area ranked by gross residential sales volume!
MX1 Affiliates and Emails:– You may receive an email or phone call from one of our Maximum One Affiliated Attorneys & Lenders. Although they are exclusive to a particular branch for getting face-to-face with those agents in that branch, they all have access and permission to contact you by phone and email.
MX1 Relocation Division: Maximum One now has a Relocation Division! For more information, please contact the MX1 Relo Coordinator, Sharon Barnette at sharonbarnette@mymaximumone.com . Now you may approach companies and solicit their business for their transferring employees!
Branch Manager Cell Phones: Please remember to contact the Branch Managers at the branch rather than using their cell phones. If a Branch Manager has given you their cell phone number in the past, please be courteous and contact them in the office during business hours for Maximum One issues.
Training Classes: There are a TON of training classes this week! FREE CE, workshops, Masterminds & Lunch & Learns! See article below or go to www.eAGENTweb.com & click on “Calendar” Please register for the class you wish to attend!
Max Cares: Congratulations to Brenda Perry who will become a Mother-in-Law as her daughter Rachel just got engaged!
Max Cares: Condolences to the family of Sharon Barnette whose Uncle just passed away.
Max Cares: Get well wishes to Dwayne Winn who is recovering from a terrible car accident.
Max Cares: Get Well wishes to Leticia Mora who had unexpected surgery this weekend.
MaxCares: Get Well wishes to Bill Hornsby’s wife, Cat, who suffered a bad fall and went to the emergency room.

3/10/14

FMLS – Compulsory Areas: Make sure that you list a property in FMLS if it is in a compulsory area. FMLS is going back to 2010 and collecting fees on closings where the house was in a compulsory area but the brokerage did not collect a fee. The most current list may be found in FMLS Rule 6. The Broker’s office location is not a factor.
GAMLS – Maximum One is also a member of GAMLS so all properties listed in FMLS must also be listed in GAMLS.
Extranet Folders: When you are in the Extranet and searching for documents, click on the + sign beside the folder to open up further folders replete with information you will find useful! Should you not be able to find a specific document, check the “Office Docs” section of Paperless Pipeline & use the “Live Chat” on www.eAGENTweb.com – which is live Mon – Fri 9-5.
Blue Sheet for Property Management: Remember to upload a new Blue Sheet into Paperless Piepeline at the beginning of each month for your Property Management transactions – regardless if we have received the deposit or not. We cannot pay the Landlords until we have the completed monthly Blue Sheet.
Commission Advance – For a Maximum One agent to receive an advance on their commission, the following applies:

Agent must be in good standing with Maximum One (i.e. not owe a past-due balance on their agent bill, no garnishments, etc.)
Transaction must be compliant in Paperless Pipeline
No DA’s will be issued on transactions where a commission has been advanced
Maximum One will allow a maximum of 2 (two) commission advances per year
Commission Advance Company must be approved by Maximum One

FMLS Store Available Online: From real estate supplies to Supra accesssories, you may now shop online. Check out the FMLS Online Store.
HOA Collections: Thank you to Amee Davis of Davis and Associates (ADavis@DavisLawGA.com ) for reminding us at the West Cobb Sales Meeting that this is the time of year that HOAs are collecting annual dues. Prepare your clients that the annual fee may appear on the Seller side of the HUD-1 with a prorated amount on the Buyer side.

3/3/14

GREC Proposed Rule Change – CE Hours Requirements: The proposal is to increase continuing education hours from 24 to 36 over a 4 year license renewal period. Also, after July 1, 2016, continuing education shall include a mandatory 3 hours on the topic of License Law..
Earnest Money over $5,000: Any trust funds over $5,000 must be in certified funds. Maximum One will not accept earnest money over $5,000 in the form of a check.
Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure: RESPA requires that the consumer is aware of business relationships between Brokerages and affiliated vendors. MX1 requires that our clients / customers sign this disclosure. Do your best to get the co-op client to sign this disclosure as well but at least get your own client to sign it.

2/27/14

Advertising / Signs / Business Cards: Remember to get Broker approval on your marketing to make sure it is in compliance with GREC. Send your proofs to Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com if you are an agent with Greater Atlanta and to Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com if you are an agent with Executives.
Property Management CE Class: This class is Wednesday 2/26/14 in the East Cobb Branch from 9:30am – 12:30pm and is taught by Tom Gillett. If you are an agent and own rental property, you are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED to take this class to stay current with GREC compliance to protect your license. This class is $25. Read More & Register Here.
www.eAGENTweb.com : All MX1 agents have access to this site where you will find all of the systems you need for your real estate business – Maximum One systems along with others (FMLS, GAMLS, etc.) You do NOT need a password for this site, it is merely a portal to make your real estate life more convenient!
Tax Refunds as Down Payment: It’s that time of year… tax refund time! That means new Buyers in the market! Get those Buyer qualified with your affiliated lender & go sell them a new home!
Agent Branding at Maximum One: This is a unique opportunity for you as an agent at Maximum One. You may brand yourself or your team by creating that entity as a dba of Maximum One. All advertising must be compliant with GREC and can still be done in your own brand name. Click link to read more about Agent Branding at MX1 (also on the Extranet under Advertising and Marketing) and contact your Managing Broker for specific information. The cost is $181 – $225 depending upon the county in which you live. Review the GREC Advertising Guide also.
FMLS: Selling Commission & VRC Option: If there is any possibility that the Selling Commission indicated in FMLS can change, you are required to put an asterisk (*) next to that commission amount or percent and place a corresponding (*) in the private remarks with an explanation. Additionally, you must mark “YES” to the VRC (Variable Rate Commission) box. Examples of commissions that may vary include but are not limited to: if Seller would pay a different commission if no other broker involved, a short sale lender who may alter the commission at closing, etc..
Max Cares: Condolences to Deloris Jenkins on the loss of her cousin.

2/17/14

FMLS: MarketTrends Premium: FMLS has Market statistics available to you at no additional cost! You may choose various statistics and publish a bar graph, line graph or data chart of stats pertinent to the market that the Public wants to know. Through this application, you may publish these charts to Facebook or your website and they stay current in “real time.” Go to FMLS then Fusion. Hover the mouse over “Public Records” and click on “MarketTrends Premium.” You will be prompted to create an account (it’s free) and then you have many choices regarding what stats to graph, what areas of Atlanta and year-to-year or month-to-year comparisons. Click on link to read MarketTrends Premium Flyer
Marketing through MX1 Extranet: All MX1 agents have email capabilities through the new Extranet. Additionally there are email distributions lists by Branch set up in the Extranet so that you may market your Listings / Open Houses to the Maximum One agents in the office closest to your listing! If you receive an email regarding a Maximum One agent’s listing through the extranet… that is where it is coming from! It is only your colleagues in Maximum One who have access to email you through this system!
MX1 “How-To” Classes: Every month, Maximum One Greater Atlanta offer 30-minute classes at the Branches on all the Maximum One Systems / Procedures! So if you are new to Maximum One or processing a contract for the first time in a while or simply need a refresher, please RSVP with your Branch Manager and attend these brief classes! The schedule on the training calendar: www.eAGENTweb.com then click “Calendar.” These “How-To” classes are in orange & topics include:
- Paperless Pipeline
- Blue Sheet
- Introduction to Maximum One
- Extranet / WolfConnect
- How to Get Paid at MX1
- Contract to Close Procedures
Best Time to Send Email to Clients/Customers: Do you market your services and listings by email? Get the most results from your efforts by following these tips:
- Best Day to Send: Wednesday & Thursday
- Best Time to Send: Between 12noon & 5pm
- How Many Links to Include: Between 2-3
Forms on Paperless Pipeline: Remember that many of the commonly-used forms you need are located on the Extranet and on Paperless Pipeline. Simply go to www.eAGENTweb.com CLick on “Paperless Pipeline” Log in to Paperless Pipeline. Click on the Tab “Office” and you will see many forms you will use on a regular basis.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Herb Haynes who was elected to the Board of Directors of the Paulding Economic Development Board!
Max Cares: Continued prayers for healing to Donna Cunningham – the mass in her abdomen was benign!

2/10/14

Welcome New Agents: Please welcome these agents new to Maximum One!

Elizabeth Canary – North Fulton

Olga Cross – Galleria

Warren Benton – Woodstock

Anthony Bacchus – Paulding

Billy O’Neal – West Cobb

Akil Smith – West Cobb

Lisa Hendricks – West Cobb

Karen Warner – West Cobb

Caroline Roney – Gwinnett

Hanifa McGaffie – Gwinnett

Carlotta Jones – Douglasville – Welcome BACK!

Brenda Farlow – Woodstock

Ed Farlow – Woodstock

Giselle Humphrey – Gwinnett

Michelle Rosser – Douglasville

Bruce Bochicchio – North Fulton

Denise Francis – Paulding

Aline Saenz – Gwinnett

Pradeep Pinnamareddy – North Fulton

Mary Tanner – Gwinnett

Tommy Lawhorne – North Fulton

Terracia Brown – Douglasville

Grace Kenny – Woodstock

Happy Birthday Dave Kubat – April 12th!
“Holding” Checks from Closing Attorneys: We are having several Closings where the Closing Attorney is giving the agents their commission checks with the caveat to NOT CASH the check or turn in to the Brokerage until the agent hears from the attorney that the transaction has funded. If this happens to you, please know that the transaction has NOT OFFICIALLY CLOSED and the Buyer may not take possession. \
HUD-1 Settlement Statement Must Match Commission Checks: If the HUD-1 does not match the commission check you turn in to the Branch, MX1 cannot pay out on that closing. The HUD-1 must match the check! Please do not leave your closings prior to cross-referencing your checks with the HUD-1.
Buyers Mailing Earnest Money to the Branch: Remember to make sure that the Buyers know to write the PROPERTY ADDRESS on the Earnest Money check so that the Branch Manager knows which transaction to attribute the earnest money.
Max Cares: Please send your prayers for strength & healing to Donna Cunningham who was admitted unexpectedly into Kennestone Hospital! Prayers for peace to the families of Danny DeJesus who lost his sister and to Sharon Barnette who lost her mother. Congratulations to Bill & Judi Smith who welcomed the birth of their first Great Grandson!
MX1 E-Bay Store: If you are not able to come in to a branch or go to the FMLS Store, check out our E-Bay Store where you may purchase MX1 Supplies! Click on E-Bay Store on www.eAGENTweb.com

2/3/14

1099 Income Statements: You should have received your 1099 statement for 2013. If you have NOT yet received it or have any questions, please email: Angie@MyMaximumOne.com
Imprev Marketing System: This Marketing service includes flyers, e-card campaigns, internet syndication, Craigslist ads, marketing campaigns, brochures, Social Media marketing and more! We have a limited number of spots available for agents on a first come first serve basis. Check out their services at: www.imprev.com then contact Dave Kubat to secure your spot and get current pricing! Dave@MaximumOneRealty.com
Welcome to the MX1 Staff: Please welcome Angie Ellis as she joins the Maximum One accounting staff.
2014 GAR Contract Forms: If you are not a member of a Board of Realtors and wish to be an Authorized User of the 2014 GAR Forms, you must pay Georgia Association of Realtors $214. Your 2013 access to the GAR contracts expired on 1/31/14. The RE Contract Forms are FREE to all real estate agents in Georgia.
Press Releases Due – The next issue of R.E. Magazine will be heading to the printer soon. Now is the time to get your latest news and announcements in our news sections. Whether you have recent awards, new officers, new employees, volunteer news and recaps of events, we’d like to hear about them. To be considered for the next issue, we need these news items by next Friday, Feb. 7. Send us your news releases, along with high resolution (300 dpi) photos to: editor@remagazines.com
“Welcome Home” Downpayment Assistance Program: Mankell Hayes of First Community Mortgage announces the release of funds for 2014 for First COmmunity Mortgage’s Down Payment Assistance Program. Every year we offer $200,000 to individuals to assist when a buyer doesn’t qualify for other Down Payment Assistance Programs. It’s first come first served so contact Mankel.Hayes@FCMHomeLoans.com if you have an interested Buyer. Welcome Home Program Flyer with more information.

1/27/14

Appraisals and FHA Loans on HUD REOs: If your Buyer wins a bid on a HUD foreclosure and is getting an FHA Loan, there are NEW changes that you need to know! If the property is listed higher than the HUD appraised value, then the Buyer may purchase a new appraisal. Then the Buyer may get a LOAN for the LOWER of: NEW appraisal, offer price or list price. This would benefit buyers depending on how the numbers fall because they could potentially finance the amount over the original HUD As-is value rather than pay cash for the difference. If, however, the HUD list price is the same as the HUD appraisal value & the Buyer bids OVER that amount, the Buyer may not order a new appraisal and WOULD have to pay the difference in cash! See the new Changes to Appraisals for FHA Loans for HUD REOs Guidelines Here. Special thank you to our affiliated lenders who helped fill in the informaiton regarding these changes (David Stallings of Homestar FInancial Corp David.Stallings@Homestarfc.com Denise Thomas of Homestar Financial Corp Denise.Thomas@Homestarfc.com and John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage John.Bohannon@MovementMortgage.com) Please check with your lender for more specifics regarding any particular transaction. The following examples are courtesy of David Stallings:

Example 1: HUD Value 100K, Sales price 110K, List Price 110K. In this example since the list price was higher than the original value, the borrower can request a new appraisal and use the lower of the list price, contract price or new appraised value.

Example 2: HUD Value 100K, Sales Price 110K, List price 100K. In this example, you would not need or be able to use the new appraised value since the list price was equal to the original HUD value. The borrower would have to bring the difference between the Value of 100K and 110K.

If you have an expired appraisal or a 203K renovation loan then you can order a new appraisal and use that value.
2014 Contracts Classes: Maximum One will continue to host 2014 Contracts classes throughout the year! These classes will include 2014 GAR, 2014 RE Forms and 2014 Contracts Review which covers both sets of contract forms. Continue to check the online calendar (www.registerforREclasses.com where we will post these classes as they are scheduled! In February, we will host two FREE classes (for 3 hours CE credit) on the 2014 GAR Contract taught by closing attorney, Amee Davis of Davis and Associates (ADavis@DavisLawGA.com) : Classes are open to all agents!

Thursday, 2/6/14 beginning at 9:30am in the West Cobb Branch. Click here to Register for West Cobb class

Monday, 2/10/14 beginning at 10am in the Galleria Branch. Click here to Register for Galleria class

eAgentWeb: This is the one-stop website you need for all of your Maximum One needs! Go to www.eAgentweb.com to see links to all the MX1 online resources you will need!
The New Extranet: You may access the Extranet through the Extranet Button on www.eAgentweb.com . The new Extranet is only a small part of the entire technology solution called “WolfConnect.” Not only can you search for extranet information through the “Search” option but there are email distributions lists by branch as well! This program also offers a contact management system, drip campaigns, capabilities to email agents throughout FMLS, new listings taken by our agents and so much more! ExtraNet Tip Sheets for you:

                Extranet Manual

                How to Import and Export Contacts

                Drip Marketing
Are You an Agent Who Owns Rental Property or Wants to or Manages Property for Others? GREC has strict rules on licensed real estate agents owning rental property and notifying the Brokerage. Maximum One is hosting a Property Management Class CE on February 13 at 9:30am taught by Tom Gillett. Register prior to January 31st. This class is $25 and WILL FILL UP! Per GREC’s advice, if you are a Maximum One Agent and you own rental property, you are expected to attend a Property Management Class this year to familiarize yourself with current laws and GREC Rules/Regulations for handling deposits, reporting to Broker, leasing property as a Principle (without Broker involvement), etc. It covers a variety of topics regarding property management, and includes a portion just for Agents who own property.

New Extranet Video: Watch this video for a brief introduction to the NEW Extranet. Recorded Extranet Training
New Orientation Video: We have a new Orientation Video to help you get acclimated to Maximum One! Click on this link: MX1 Orientation Video and check it out! This is located in our Video training library: www.MaximumOneTraining.com
Online Bill Pay: We are excited to bring to you the option of paying your bill online! You will see the link on your monthly bill and on the Extranet. Please include your name when paying your bill online. There is a $3 handling fee for this service.
- Greater Atlanta Agents:
  - Maximum One Pay Your Greater Atlanta Bill Online .
- Executives Agents:
  - Maximum One Pay Your Executives Bill Online.

1/20/14

eAgentWeb: This is the one-stop website you need for all of your Maximum One needs! Go to www.eAgentweb.com to see links to all the MX1 online resources you will need!
The New Extranet: You may access the Extranet in 1 of 3 ways: www.MX1extranet.com OR www.MXoneEXTRANET.com OR click on the Extranet Button on www.eAgentweb.com . The new Extranet is only a small part of the entire technology solution called “WolfConnect.” Not only can you search for extranet information through the “Search” option but there are email distributions lists by branch as well! This program also offers a contact management system, drip campaigns, capabilities to email agents throughout FMLS, new listings taken by our agents and so much more! ExtraNet Tip Sheets for you:

                Extranet Manual

                How to Import and Export Contacts

                Drip Marketing
Are You an Agent Who Owns Rental Property or Wants to or Manages Property for Others? GREC has strict rules on licensed real estate agents owning rental property and notifying the Brokerage. Maximum One is hosting a Property Management Class CE on February 13 at 9:30am taught by Tom Gillett. Register prior to January 31st. This class is $25 and WILL FILL UP! Per GREC’s advice, if you are a Maximum One Agent and you own rental property, you are expected to attend a Property Management Class this year to familiarize yourself with current laws and GREC Rules/Regulations for handling deposits, reporting to Broker, leasing property as a Principle (without Broker involvement), etc. It covers a variety of topics regarding property management, and includes a portion just for Agents who own property.
Extanet Help: If you have questions or need assistance getting on Extranet Click this Document: Help Accessing Extranet
Year-to-Date Earnings: You may check your YTD Earnings at Any TIme on the New Extranet. Click Here for How to Check My YTD Earnings.
AnotherMe Virtual Assistant: We are working with another Virtual Assistant company, AnotherMe, to make available to you administrative services to help streamline your business! The owner, Patty Keller, has discounted her services for Maximum One agents. With enough clients, she will consider adding a staff member in one of the Maximum One Branch Offices. Click here for a flyer of Another.Me List of Prices and Services. Spend your time generating new business rather than doing the administrative work required for your business!

Max Cares: Congratulations to Jane Schnoebelen who’s daughter is expecting twins!

1/13/14

How Will the Provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act which are going into Effect 2014 Affect Your Closings? All of the changes in time frames for lender packages to get to the consumer, debt-to-income ratios and more have been discussed IN DEPTH by your Affiliated Lenders and Closing Attorneys at this month’s Sales Meetings! Come to the monthly meetings and hear what you are missing!
GREC Proposed Rule Change: GREC is proposing changes to the Advertising Rule to address the use of the internet to advertise real estate. You may review and comment on these proposed changes: Read the proposed changes here.
No DA on a closing of a HUD Foreclosure : HUD will not allow any Pay-at-Close on these transactions.
Year-End Mileage: Write down your 2013 year-end mileage (& obviously 2014 year beginning mileage) for your accountant for your 2013 tax preparation. Typically, office supply stores have a mileage log book that you may keep in your car.
Are You an Agent Who Owns Rental Property? GREC has strict rules on licensed real estate agents owning rental property and notifying the Brokerage. Per GREC’s advice, if you are a Maximum One Agent and you own rental property, you are expected to attend a Property Management Class this year to familiarize yourself with current laws and GREC Rules/Regulations for handling deposits, reporting to Broker, leasing property as a Principle (without Broker involvement), etc. Mark your calendar for the morning of February 13 because we will be hosting a class on Property Management taught by Tom Gillett. It covers a variety of topics regarding property management, and includes a portion just for Agents who own property. We are holding it at the Maximum One Realty East Cobb office as a central location for all MX1 Agents. The cost is $25. This class will be open to ALL agents (MX1 and other brokerages.) The registration page will be on the online training calendar next week. Thank you in advance for your participation. Due to the dearth of Property Management courses, we expect this class to fill up quickly so register early!

Max Cares: Congratulations to Donika Parker on the birth of her first baby, Fabian, 3 weeks ago!
Mike Ferry Organization: Action Workshop: The Action Workshop is four powerful mornings in a high-energy workshop setting learning the essential skills and actions of a Real Estate Superstar.and the afternoons in the field so you can apply what you learn & generate business. Read More in the Informational Flyer. Complete the Registration Form. This workshop is in Atlanta March 11 – 14. With 10+ registered as a group, the fee will be reduced to $125. If interested, contact Michelle Blevins –MichelleDBlevins@hotmail.com
Down Payment Assistance Program: “Welcome Home:” First Community Mortgage (our affiliated lender out of the Galleria branch) offers their own Down Payment Assistance Program. This grant money of up to $5,000 for down payment for first time AND repeat homebuyers will be released beginning in March 2014. Customers pay only $500 out of pocket on this first come first serve program. Contact Mankell.Hayes@fcmhomeloans.com for more information.
The Closing Company: Need a virtual assistant? Someone to enter your listings into Paperless Pipeline and FMLS & GAMLS and more? Need an administrative assistant to take your transaction from contract to close? There are many Virtual Assistant programs in the market place (Another.Me, Clear-to-Close, etc.) one of which is The Closing Company. Save yourself a late paperwork fine and check out these services! Listing Services & Fees Flyer Contract to Close Services & Fees Flyer

1/6/14

Welcome New Agents: Please welcome the newest agents to Maximum One!

Namoh Beck – Woodstock

Angie Middleton – West Cobb

Joe Wilcots – Galleria

Jeff White – Galleria

Angie Ellis – West Cobb

Irene Moriarty – Gwinnett

Keith Harper – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!

Tia Rosser – Douglasville

Paola Pinzon – Galleria

Steve Homan – West Cobb

LaTesha McCoy – Douglasville

Dave Burlingame – Woodstock

Jill Lemley – East Cobb

Antonio Taylor – North Fulton

Lee Fritz – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!

Welcome New Affiliated Closing Attorney to Paulding Branch: Please welcome Elizabeth Williams of Talley, Richardson & Cable! Elizabeth may be reached at: ewilliams@trc-lawfirm.com 770-445-4438. We are excited about our new relationship with Talley, Richardson & Cable! Please make Elizabeth feel welcome!
Million Dollar Club Applications for Boards of Realtors: If you are applying for your Board of Realtors’ Million Dollar Club Award, please send your application and production numbers to your Managing Broker for verification & signature. If you are in Maximum One Realtors Greater Atlanta (MXGR) send to Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com if you are in Maximum One Realtors Executives (MXER) send to Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com.
Payment on Closings: There are many ways to get paid at Maximum One. Once your file is COMPLIANT & COMPLETE in Paperless Pipeline, you may get paid in the following ways:

DA – at the closing table (through a Disbursement Authorization “DA”) as long as the request was made on a compliant file at least 72 business hours prior to your closing)

Direct Deposit – Once you upload your closing documents to Paperless Pipeline & FMLS & turn in the closing check, we will deposit your commission directly into your account so you don’t need to come by your branch to pick up your check.

At the Branch – Once you upload your closing documents to Paperless Pipeline and FMLS & turn in your closing check, you may pick up your commission at your home branch office.

Timing: Closing checks that are turned in by 12 noon are paid out after 2pm the following business day (as always on complete & compliant files)

New Extranet PLUS:: The New Extranet located on “WolfConnect” will be ready January 2014! We have two live webinar trainings directly with the software company: January 10th 10am and January 16th at 2pm. The Go-To-Meeting Links are on the calendar: www.registerforREclasses.com
Extreme Cold Temperatures: Remind your Sellers, Landlords and New Home Owners to protect their properties against the potential damaging effects of the extreme cold on pipes and systems of the house. Also please make sure any outdoor pets are brought inside!
Post-License Course or 24 Hrs of CE for Any Agent: Maximum One will host a Post-License course beginning January 6th. This course satisfies the requirement for the 25 hour Post License course required if you have received your real estate license within the previous year. This class ALSO provides 24 Hours of CE Credit for ANY licensed agent who needs hours. This class is January 6 – January 9 daily 9am – 4:30pm at the Galleria Branch. The cost is $100. You may register on the online calendar or Register Here for Weekday class. There will also be a weekend class covering two weekends beginning 1/11/14. Register Here for Weekend Class. For specific information about the weekend class, contact instructor: Mark Willix: Mark@WillixRealty.com

12/30/13

New Year Office Hours: Happy New Year!!!

Tuesday, December 31st – Branches Closing at 2pm
Wednesday, January 1st – Branches CLOSED – Happy New Year!

Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure:

Here is the latest version of the Maximum One Affiliated Arrangement Disclosure. Use this form with either the GAR Contracts or the RE Forms. This disclosure needs to be signed if you close with your client or customer in order to comply with RESPA. For compliance with Maximum One policy, we need this disclosure signed by your customer / client. You may get it signed when you take a listing or sign a Buyer Brokerage Agreement. If you are giving your Buyer a rebate from your commission, this disclosure must be included in the contract. Copies of this form are on Paperless Pipeline and in Office Docs in FMLS.

Your Mailing Address for 1099: We need your current mailing address so that we may mail your 1099 next month. Please email your Branch Manager with that address and expect a phone call from us requesting this information.
New Extranet:: The New Extranet “WolfConnect” will be ready January 2014! We have two live webinar trainings directly with the software company: January 10th 10am and January 16th at 2pm. The Go-To-Meeting Links are on the calendar: www.registerforREclasses.com
Watch Your Dates on Your Contracts: We are still getting contracts that expire in 2013 rather than 2014. For example: Buyer Brokerage from November 20, 2013 and expires on March 31, 2013….. should be March 31, 2014.
GAR Contracts for 2014: If you are not a member of a Board of Realtors and therefore do not have a NRDS Number, you will have to pay GAR $214 to purchase the license to use the 2014 GAR contracts beginning January 1, 2014. You may purchase the license now (https://forms.garealtor.com ) to access to the GAR contracts through FMLS or GAMLS. If you purchase the 2014 License prior to 12/31/13 make sure and mark option: “DEFER FORMS PURCHASE TO NEXT CALENDAR YEAR ($214)” – so that you don’t mistakenly purchase the 2013 forms for the rest of the month. If you have any questions, please contact Senita Fort at GAR: 770-451-1831 SFort@GARealtor.com
Post-License Course or 24 Hrs of CE for Any Agent: Maximum One will host a Post-License course beginning January 6th. This course satisfies the requirement for the 25 hour Post License course required if you have received your real estate license within the previous year. This class ALSO provides 24 Hours of CE Credit for ANY licensed agent who needs hours. This class is January 6 – January 9 daily 9am – 4:30pm at the Galleria Branch. The cost is $100. You may register on the online calendar or Register Here. There will also be a weekend class covering two weekends beginning 1/11/14. For specific information about the weekend class, contact instructor: Mark Willix: Mark@WillixRealty.com

12/23/13

Christmas Office Hours:
- Tuesday December 24th – Branches Closing at 2pm
- Wednesday, December 25th – Branches CLOSED – Merry Christmas
- Thursday, December 26th – Branches Closed – Except for Gwinnett
- Friday, December 27th – Branches Open
New Year Office Hours:

Tuesday, December 31st – Branches Closing at 2pm

Wednesday, January 1st – Branches CLOSED – Happy New Year!

Client Returned Checks: If your client’s earnest money (or any) check gets refused by our bank, there is a $35 bank fee that will placed on your agent bill. When you speak to your client about the check that was not honored by the bank, make sure you mention this $35 fee so that they may cover it. If Maximum One is holding the Earnest Money for another brokerage’s client, contractually you are responsible for the earnest money and therefore the bank fee for a returned check so make sure to recover that fee from the co-op customer or agent. Simply let the Branch Manager know about this when you bring in the certified funds for the new deposit and the fee.
Winterized Properties & Due Diligence Time Frame: When negotiating due diligence / buyer’s right to terminate time frames in your contracts, remember to allow extra time for the Seller to have the property de-winterized before the Buyer’s inspector comes out to the property.
Welcome New Team Captain: In the Paulding Branch, thank you to Ellen Manly for the great job she did last year and welcome Mark Willix as the new Team Captain for 2014!
Required Contracts Class: All Maximum One agents are required to take at least one contracts class annually beginning in 2014.
GAR Contracts for 2014: If you are not a member of a Board of Realtors and therefore do not have a NRDS Number, you will have to pay GAR $214 to purchase the license to use the 2014 GAR contracts beginning January 1, 2014. You may purchase the license now (https://forms.garealtor.com ) to access to the GAR contracts through FMLS or GAMLS. If you purchase the 2014 License prior to 12/31/13 make sure and mark option: “DEFER FORMS PURCHASE TO NEXT CALENDAR YEAR ($214)” – so that you don’t mistakenly purchase the 2013 forms for the rest of the month. If you have any questions, please contact Senita Fort at GAR: 770-451-1831 SFort@GARealtor.com
Max Cares: Prayers for strength to Ava Cooper whose daughter suffered a stroke this week and is now in Shepherd Spinal Center for recovery.
Max Cares: Condolences to Donna Cunningham and her family on the loss of her Mother-in-Law.
Max Cares: Condolences to Clarissa Zumwalt and her family on the loss of her Brother-in-Law.
Post-License Course or 24 Hrs of CE for Any Agent: Maximum One will host a Post-License course beginning January 6th. This course satisfies the requirement for the 25 hour Post License course required if you have received your real estate license within the previous year. This class ALSO provides 24 Hours of CE Credit for ANY licensed agent who needs hours. This class is January 6 – January 9 daily 9am – 4:30pm at the Galleria Branch. The cost is $100. You may register on the online calendar or Register Here. There will also be a weekend class covering two weekends beginning 1/11/14. For specific information about the weekend class, contact instructor: Mark Willix: Mark@WillixRealty.com

12/16/13

Please Welcome New Agents to Maximum One:
- Amrah Boquist – West Cobb
- Larry Casner – North Fulton
- Kristin Cooper – West Cobb
- Michelle Elliot – Douglasville
- Rhoda Fleming – Gwinnett
- Vijay Kumar Joshi – Gwinnett
- Barbara Koehler – North Fulton
- Ashiq Malik – Douglasville
- Michael Crawford – Douglasville
- Brenda Noll – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!
- Asher Noll – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!
- Ming Richardson – Galleria
- Steve Taylor – Gwinnett
- Ed Converse – North Fultonn
- Keely George – West Cobb
2014 GAR Contracts: We have copies of the 2014 GAR Contracts and the changes GAR has made from the 2013 Contract. We are in the process of preparing Contracts classes that we will present throughout every branch throughout the year! We will be teaching SEVERAL contracts classes: 2014 GAR Contract, 2014 RE Contract Forms & 2014 Combinations of BOTH sets of contracts!
Dates on Contracts: Please watch your dates on your contracts…. any date that goes after this month will be 2014 NOT 2013 (i.e. Listing Agreement from 12/12/13 – 6/12/14.)
Listing Agreements MUST be turned in to Paperless Pipeline within 72 Hours after getting it signed: Just like any other contract, you must upload a Listing Agreement (& Buyer Brokerage Engagement) to Paperless Pipeline within 72 hours of getting signatures to avoid a Late paperwork fine.
Dodd Frank Act – Changes Beginning January 10, 2014: EThank you John Bohannon of Movement Mortgage (John@MovementMortgage.com) for copying us on this attached flyer. On January 10th, there are some changes coming from Dodd Frank rules, as I am sure that you have already heard about. There is a lot of incorrect and confusing information on the streets. Attached (Dodd Frank Changes) is our quick summary of the changes and their impact on our industry.
Board of Realtors & Your Company with Maximum One: Please make sure that your company affiliation with Maximum One reflects your current membership status with a Board of Realtors. If you are in a Board of Realtors you must be in one of the Realtor companies of Maximum One; if you are not a member of a Board of Realtors, then you must be in one of the Realty companies. If you are in the wrong company, please contact Vivian Green, Agent Services Coordinator, ASC@MyMaximumOne.com 770-919-8825 ext. 312

If you belong to a Board of Realtors

MXGR01 – Greater Atlanta – Maximum One Greater Atlanta Realtors

MXER01 – Executives – Maximum One Greater Atlanta Executives

If you do not belong to a Board of Realtors

MXGA01 – Greater Atlanta – Maximum One Realty Greater Atlanta

MXEX01 – Executives – Maximum One Realty Executives

Changes to HUD Foreclosures as of 12/2/13: HUD Changes

* Exclusive listing period for FHA-insurable homes is 15 days instead of 30.
* Bids coming in on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday will be grouped together for the AM’s consideration on Monday.
* The 10-day bid-accumulation period at the beginning of the Exclusive period for FHA-insurable homes will be extended up to three days depending on whether the 10th day falls on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, and if there’s a Monday Federal holiday.
Note: This does not apply to the 5-day Exclusive bid-accumulation period for FHA-uninsurable homes since day 6 falls in the Extended listing period.
* Bids coming in on a Federal holiday will be grouped with the previous days’ bids.
For example, bids coming in on Martin Luther King Day (Monday) will be grouped with the preceding Friday, Saturday, and Sunday bids (if the listing period doesn’t change). And bids coming in on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving will be grouped with Thanksgiving’s bids, so the Asset Manager will be looking at two days’ bids on the Friday after Thanksgiving.What changes will the agent/broker see on HUD Homestore?
* Bid-submission dates will be extended for bids made on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The Bid-Submission Deadline will be Sunday at 11:59:59 PM Central Time (or Monday at 11:59:59 PM Central Time if Monday is a Federal holiday).
* If the listing period stays the same on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (and Monday if it’s a Federal holiday), agents/brokers can submit only one bid during that time period for a single buyer
GAR Contracts for 2014: If you are not a member of a Board of Realtors and therefore do not have a NRDS Number, you will have to pay GAR $214 to purchase the license to use the 2014 GAR contracts beginning January 1, 2014. You may purchase the license now (https://forms.garealtor.com ) to access to the GAR contracts through FMLS or GAMLS. If you purchase the 2014 License prior to 12/31/13 make sure and mark option: “DEFER FORMS PURCHASE TO NEXT CALENDAR YEAR ($214)” – so that you don’t mistakenly purchase the 2013 forms for the rest of the month. If you have any questions, please contact Senita Fort at GAR: 770-451-1831 SFort@GARealtor.com

12/9/13

Changes to HUD Foreclosures as of 12/2/13: HUD Changes
* Exclusive listing period for FHA-insurable homes is 15 days instead of 30.
* Bids coming in on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday will be grouped together for the AM’s consideration on Monday.
* The 10-day bid-accumulation period at the beginning of the Exclusive period for FHA-insurable homes will be extended up to three days depending on whether the 10th day falls on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, and if there’s a Monday Federal holiday.
Note: This does not apply to the 5-day Exclusive bid-accumulation period for FHA-uninsurable homes since day 6 falls in the Extended listing period.
* Bids coming in on a Federal holiday will be grouped with the previous days’ bids.
For example, bids coming in on Martin Luther King Day (Monday) will be grouped with the preceding Friday, Saturday, and Sunday bids (if the listing period doesn’t change). And bids coming in on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving will be grouped with Thanksgiving’s bids, so the Asset Manager will be looking at two days’ bids on the Friday after Thanksgiving.What changes will the agent/broker see on HUD Homestore?
* Bid-submission dates will be extended for bids made on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The Bid-Submission Deadline will be Sunday at 11:59:59 PM Central Time (or Monday at 11:59:59 PM Central Time if Monday is a Federal holiday).
* If the listing period stays the same on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (and Monday if it’s a Federal holiday), agents/brokers can submit only one bid during that time period for a single buyer
GAR Contracts for 2014: If you are not a member of a Board of Realtors and therefore do not have a NRDS Number, you will have to pay GAR $214 to purchase the license to use the 2014 GAR contracts beginning January 1, 2014. You may purchase the license now (https://forms.garealtor.com ) to access to the GAR contracts through FMLS or GAMLS. If you purchase the 2014 License prior to 12/31/13 make sure and mark option: “DEFER FORMS PURCHASE TO NEXT CALENDAR YEAR ($214)” – so that you don’t mistakenly purchase the 2013 forms for the rest of the month. If you have any questions, please contact Senita Fort at GAR: 770-451-1831 SFort@GARealtor.com
GoFMLS – Mobile App: This easy-to-use app will provide on-the-go access to listing data & more! Starting soon, this app for iPhones & androids will provude info, photos, maps & more. You will be able to share this info via Facebook, Twitter, email or text message!
Outside Referrals on 2 Places on the Blue Sheet: If you have a referral going to a party outside of Maximum One, you must fill out the appropriate information on TWO places on the Blue Sheet: Line Item I – make sure you complete the dollar amount of the referral AND at the bottom of the Blue Sheet with name, address & amount of the referral. Remember that Maximum One will also need a W9 from the Referral as well.
Welcome New Team Captains: Each Branch’s Team Captain does a fabulous job helping the Branch Managers, organizing Sales Meetings, Helping out with New Agents, Organizing the Branch Socials, and so much more! Please thank the Galleria Team Captan, Tony Cade & Woodstock Team Captain, Mary Lamb, for all they have done for 2013! Please welcome, Ramona Carter as the new Team Captain for Galleria and Narda Williams as the New Team Captain for Woodstock. There are other Agent Leaders and Social Committee Members within each branch too! If you would like to be more active, please let your Branch Manager & Team Captain know!
Welcome New Paulding Branch Affiliated Lender: Please welcome Denise Thomas of Homestar Financial Corporation as the Affiliated Lender with our Paulding Branch! Denise may be reached at: Denise.Thomas@HomestarFC.com 770-856-5726.
- Max Cares: Prayers for peace & strength to Michelle Washington whose father passed away this weekend.
- Max Cares: Congratulations to Becky Godbee on her son, Christian, being accepted into the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra as a violin player.
- Post License Course or 24 Hrs of CE for Any Agent: Maximum One will host a Post-License course beginning January 6th. This course satisfies the requirement for the 25 hour Post License course required if you have received your real estate license within the previous year. This class ALSO provides 24 Hours of CE Credit for ANY licensed agent who needs hours. This class is January 6 – January 9 daily 9am – 4:30pm at the Galleria Branch. The cost is $100. You may register on the online calendar or Register Here

12/2/13

7 Day Unilateral Extension: This provision to extend a contract is ONLY available in the GAR contract forms and NOT in the RE Contract forms. Additionally, this provision may only be used for specific loan issues and title issue…. these specifics are clearly spelled out in the contract. If the parties wish to extend the contract in the RE Forms or for any other issue, they may do so by bilateral agreement on an Amendment prior to midnight on the day of closing.
Flood Insurance Issues and Your Real Estate Sales: The Problem: Congress provided a 5-year re-authorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), but severe implementation problems threaten to undermine real estate transactions where flood insurance is required to obtain a mortgage.
* New NFIP rate structures have caused serious confusion and hardship for property owners.
* The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to delay and miss deadlines.
* The legally required transition to true risk rates has plagued consumers with increases in rates beyond what anyone imagined possible.
The Solution: A four-year time-out. Congress has legislation in the House, H.R. 3370 and Senate, S. 1610, to delay changes to the NFIP.
* The bills would prudently defer rate increases until FEMA completes the affordability study mandated by law
* The bills would create a system for targeted rate relief.
* The bills would create an office of the Advocate for flood insurance rate and mapping concerns.
Please Take Action today and tell your Member of Congress and Senators that NAR supports the “Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act.” Read more here.
Prospecting FSBO’s & Expireds: This week in our Mastermind Sessions (facilitated by David Avery) we explored how to get more business during the holidays. One this we talked about was that many people who have had recent expired listings may not re-list during the holidays and will plan on putting their homes back the market after the first of the year. During this time they are probably not listed with an agent. This may be a great opportunity to reach out to these buyers and offer them some help in finding them their next home. Remember we are calling on “Expired Homes” but we are only offering to help these people find their next home. See the attached for ideas: Expired Phone Script and FSBO / Expired Letter
Galleria Branch: Now Open! 3200 Cobb Galleria Pkwy, Suite 275, Atlanta 30309. Located in the “Galleria 75” complex next to the Cobb Energy Center. From 285 & I-75, take 75 South and take the first exit: Cumberland Pkwy. Take a right on Cumberland Pkwy. Take a right on Cobb Galleria Pkwy. At the first light take a right (Riverwood Pkwy) into the Galleria 75 Complex. Take an immediate left and you’ll see Maximum One on the right next to Barney Fletcher. There are blue “M’s” on the windows. From Cobb Parkway/Cumberland Mall/Galleria go east on Akers Mill (towards I-75) take a right on Cobb Galleria Pkwy. Go left into the “Galleria 75” complex. Take immediate left and you’ll see Maximum One on the right (next to Barney Fletcher) with the blue “M’s” on the windows. Branch Manager: Vivian Green Galleria@MyMaximumOne.com 770-919-8825 ext 312.
MX1 Fayetteville Office: Maximum One now has an office on the South side of Atlanta! The Fayetteville location is an agent work office available for you to meet clients and have training! There is no full-time Branch Manager at this location. If you need specific information or need to use this office, your point of contact is: Sherri Sinclair and may be reached at: SherriAnthony@gmail.com 678-595-6591.
Max Cares: Prayers to Ava Cooper whose husband is in Intensive Care.

Post License Course: Maximum One will host a Post-License course beginning January 6th. Stay tuned for more information.

11/25/13

• Happy Thanksgiving! Offices will be closed Thursday the 28th & Friday the 29th!
• Galleria Branch: Now Open! 3200 Cobb Galleria Pkwy, Suite 275, Atlanta 30309. Located in the “Galleria 75” complex next to the Cobb Energy Center. From 285 & I-75, take 75 South and take the first exit: Cumberland Pkwy. Take a right on Cumberland Pkwy. Take a right on Cobb Galleria Pkwy. At the first light take a right (Riverwood Pkwy) into the Galleria 75 Complex. Take an immediate left and you’ll see Maximum One on the right next to Barney Fletcher. There are blue “M’s” on the windows. From Cobb Parkway/Cumberland Mall/Galleria go east on Akers Mill (towards I-75) take a right on Cobb Galleria Pkwy. Go left into the “Galleria 75” complex. Take immediate left and you’ll see Maximum One on the right (next to Barney Fletcher) with the blue “M’s” on the windows. Branch Manager: Vivian Green Galleria@MyMaximumOne.com 770-919-8825 ext 312.
• GREC License Renewal: It is your responsibility to maintain your real estate license as active with GREC regarding your renewal dates and accumulation of required CE credit hours. If your license lapses, you must cease and desist all real estate activity. Maximum One receives a notice from GREC approximately 2 – 3 weeks AFTER your license has already lapsed and as a reminder, we will send you a copy of this letter. It is your license and your responsibility to maintain it with GREC regardless of which brokerage holds your license. See GREC for specifics and fees: FAQ: Renewal and Reinstatement
• Thank You to MX1 Agents and Affiliates and Vendors: All of the Branches enjoyed fabulous Thanksgiving feasts and fellowship! See the pictures on the Maximum One Facebook Page! Thank you ALL for all of your support and friendship and all the delicious food!
o Dell Murphy & Terrie Shank – Murphy & Shank
o Angela Garner – Home Warranty of America
o David Stallings & Jerahme Wetzel – Homestar Financial Corporation
o Shawn Horan – Harrison & Horan
o Carol Bolka – 2-10 Home Warranty
o Justin Pacific – Thomas & Brown
o Bobby Wesley & Jeff Adams – Starkey Mortgage
o Eric Hoffner, Luisa Garcia, Kevin Nolan, Tiegs Jamerson, – Chase Mortgage
o Amee Davis – Davis & Associates
o Mankell Hayes – First Community Mortgage
• RE Magazine: Please send your your latest news and announcements in our news sections. Whether you have new agents, recent awards, record sales, agents with new designations, volunteer news and recaps or event recaps, we’d like to hear about them. To be considered for the next issue, we need these news items before the end of November. So before you head out to enjoy Turkey Day, send us your news releases, along with high resolution (300 dpi) photos to: editor@remagazine.com 404-819-0643. Not sure if your news would be a fit? Call or email to ask.
• Realtor.com AgentMatch Program: There is much controversy surrounding the proposed Realtor.com “AgentMatch” program. In the article printed in Inman News reports that Realtor.com can withhold “SOLD” data from their statistics. This could potentially harm part-time agents or agents who are in the process of building their business. Basically the public would most likely interpret these statistics as broadcasted by Realtor.com incorrectly and mistakenly believe that high productivity and good are one in the same and mutually exclusive. Cantey Davis, President of FMLS, has reported that FMLS would have to “opt-in” to the Agent Match for the information to be seen. He continues that although these statistics are readily available, FMLS is reluctant to publish individual agent statistics to various third party sources.
• Final HUD Settlement Statements – Changes in 2014: The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act (enacted in 2010) has a provision that is scheduled to begin January 2014 requiring that the Final HUD-1 Settlement Statement be provided to all parties 3 days PRIOR to closing. Any changes in the HUD within those 3 days will require postponing the closing so that the Final HUD is once again sent to all parties at least 3 days prior to closing. To minimize these postponements, make sure that all information (including commission instructions, Seller concessions, Buyer concessions, Commission concessions, changes in financing, etc.) are sent to the Closing attorney ASAP. Even more reason to complete your commission instructions and get them signed when you go under contract! It is vital that you and your clients stay in constant communication with your clients, the lender, the co-op agent, and the closing attorney to ensure a smooth and TIMELY closing!
• MX1 Fayetteville Office: Maximum One now has an office on the South side of Atlanta! The Fayetteville location is an agent work office available for you to meet clients and have training! There is no full-time Branch Manager at this location. If you need specific information or need to use this office, your point of contact is: Sherri Sinclair and may be reached at: SherriAnthony@gmail.com 678-595-6591.
• Happy Hanukkah!: First night of Hanukkah is Wednesday November 27th! May this season of beauty and light fill your heart and home with happiness!
• Max Cares: Congratulations to Deloris Jenkins’ Granddaughter who was accepted into Bryan College!
• Post License Course: Maximum One will host a Post-License course beginning January 13th. Stay tuned for more information.

11/18/13

Galleria Branch: Opening this week!!! Stop by on Tuesday to get your fob for the front door and pick out your office! The Fire Marshall is coming on Monday to inspect for our Certificate of Occupancy “CO.” We should receive our CO by the end of the week at which time you may meet clients at this branch. Please join us on Thursday 11/21/13 from 11:30am – 1pm for the Galleria Thanksgiving Pot Luck luncheon (please let Branch Manager Vivian Green or Team Captain Tony Cade what you are bringing for lunch!)
Fees from your Clients / Customers: If you are collecting a fee from a customer or client for any reason including retainer fee or transaction fee or administrative fee or cancellation fee, these funds MUST BE MADE PAYABLE TO MAXIMUM ONE. As a licensed real estate agent, you may NOT accept money directly from the public made payable to you or as a cash payment; all monies must be run through the brokerage.
Blue Sheets: Please turn in your Blue Sheets when you turn in your contracts. The information you enter on that form is the information that the Transaction Department uses to pay you! When you turn in this sheet with your contract then as long as your file is compliant, there should be no delay in paying you. If you do not turn in your Blue Sheet until your closing, then this will delay the processing of your check. There are four staff members who process the information you enter on the Blue Sheet from the time you upload it to Paperless Pipeline to the time we use that info to cut your check.
- Dawn Luttrell – Checks the compliance of your file (compliance with GREC and MX1 policies
- Melissa Clay – Enters the information from your Blue Sheet into our transaction software that tracks each transaction with parties and payments
- Alicia Gregory – Checks for deposits of Earnest Money any changes in newly submitted / updated Blue Sheets and checks Blue Sheets for DA’s
- Genna Crider – Takes the information from the software to cut your commission check
Desk Rental at Galleria: Come choose your office! Desks rent for $75/month and you get 4 months free if you rent for a year! There are three smaller desks at a rate of $55/month. Desks are rented on a first come first served basis. Offices have either two or three desks in them. Come check it out beginning on Tuesday & join us for Thanksgiving Luncheon on Thursday!
Visual Tour: Virtual Tour just announced at the West Cobb Sales Meeting that THEY will be doing all the virtual tours for MX1 agents Subscribers! The only requirement is that you have a minimum of 6 photos. So for $10/month agents have an assistant! Here is the form to Subscribe to Visual Tour. Contact Jason Walker and get him on your team: JWalker@VisualTour.com
MX1 Thanksgiving Socials: Contact your Branch Manager / Team Captain / Social Committee Members for specific information! Please check with your Branch Manager & Team Captains for the Various Community Service efforts each branch is supporting (can drives, angel trees, etc!)
- East Cobb
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/19 – 11:30am – 1pm
- North Fulton
  - Thanksgiving Luncheon – 11/19 – 12:30pm – 2pm
- West Cobb & Paulding (at WC)
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/20 – 11:30am – 1pm
- Galleria
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/21 – 11:30am – 1pm
- Gwinnett:
  - Thanksgiving Dinner – 11/22 – 6pm – 8:30pm

Max Cares: Prayers for healing to Mary Colson’s husband, Jerry who had a heart attack and a heart catheter this week.
Max Cares: Prayers for healing for Ava Cooper’s husband who is extremely ill..
Max Cares: Prayers for healing for Donna Cunningham’s Father-in-Law who is extremely ill.
Max Cares: Congratulations to David Stallings of Homestar Financial Corporation whose wife is expecting Baby #3!
Post License Course: Maximum One will host a Post-License course beginning January 13th. Stay tuned for more information.

11/11/13

Paperless Pipeline: Paperless Pipeline is the Maximum One Transaction Management System for your paperwork. Whenever you get a contract signed by the public, you must upload it into Paperless Pipeline (www.PaperlessPipeline.com ) A “contract” includes a purchase & sale agreement, a Buyer Brokerage Engagement, a Listing Agreement, an Amendment, a Broker-to-Broker referral, etc. If you have any questions, please contact your Branch Manager or your Compliance Broker (Dawn Luttrell for Greater Atlanta & Tina Vliet for Executives.)
GAMLS Compliance Fines: GAMLS has compliance fines that begin at $25/day with an additional $5/daily fine. When you receive a notice from GAMLS and a notice from the Compliance Broker, please correct the issue to avoid these fines. These GAMLS fines will be assessed on your agent bill if they are not addressed. You may always contact your Branch Manager or Compliance Broker Dawn Luttrell for Greater Atlanta & Tina Vliet for Executives) for assistance. Please remember that these fines are coming from GAMLS.
Commission Payments: Remember that Maximum One’s policy is that closings that are turned in before 12noon on one business day are due out AFTER 2pm the following business day.
Galleria Branch Opening: Stay tuned!!!! We have to lay carpet and flooring and a few finishing touches and get our “CO” and then we will be able to announce our opening! We will make the announcement in this email, on twitter and on our Facebook page!
Visual Tour: Virtual Tour just announced at the West Cobb Sales Meeting that THEY will be doing all the virtual tours for MX1 agents Subscribers! The only requirement is that you have a minimum of 6 photos. So for $10/month agents have an assistant! Here is the form to Subscribe to Visual Tour. Contact Jason Walker and get him on your team: JWalker@VisualTour.com
WolfConnect: WolfConnect is in the process of getting a facelift so we should be able to launch in a couple of weeks! This is our new Extranet and it has an agent Contact Managament system and all sorts of cool features!!
MX1 Holiday Socials: This is the time of year when we start thinking about the Holidays! Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas will be here sooner than you think! Please celebrate and socialize with your colleagues at Maximum One! Contact your Branch Manager / Team Captain / Social Committee Members for specific information! Please check with your Branch Manager & Team Captains for the Various Community Service efforts each branch is supporting (can drives, angel trees, etc!)
- West Cobb & Paulding (at WC)
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/20 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/11 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- East Cobb
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/19 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/10 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- Douglasville
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/14 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/5 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- Galleria
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/21 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/12 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- Woodstock
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/13 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/4 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- North Fulton & Gwinnett:
  - Please check with Tina Vliet & David Avery for these schedules
Max Cares: Prayers for strength and healing to Mary Lamb who is undergoing radiation treatment for throat cancer.

11/4/13

Welcome New Agents: Please make the following new agents feel welcome!
- Egona Augustin – Gwinnett
- Phil Bartoe – Woodstock
- Karen Coney – Galleria
- Yvonne Crist – Woodstock
- Audrey Debnam – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!
- Pat Easterwood – Paulding
- Ardiana Fahim – East Cobb
- Heather Golden – Galleria
- Bion Grady – Paulding – Welcome BACK!
- Dennis Hankins – West Cobb
- Billy Hightower – North Fulton
- Danielle Mason – Galleria
- Carol McClellen – Woodstock
- Russell Offerman – Galleria
- Galt Porter – Galleria
- Donald Silverberg – Woodstock
- Michael Smith – West Cobb
- Maggie Steck – Woodstock
- Patricia VanBrunt – West Cobb
- Nancy Watkins – Galleria
- Narda Williams – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!
- Yun Xu – North Fulton
- George Ansong – East Cobb
- Steve Charles – Galleria
- Lisette Bravo – Paulding
- Peter Breeze – Woodstock
- Pamela Brown – Woodstock
- Brent Carter – Douglasville
- Georgia Cauble – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!
- Ed Converse – North Fulton
- Stephanie Cox – Douglasville
- Donna Duff – North Fulton
- Kay Dunne – Gwinnett
- Jennifer Gehan – West Cobb – Welcome BACK!
- Ida Graham – Douglasville
- Samra Hadden – Woodstock
- Mike Hammock – West Cobb
- Cheryl Hazel – Woodstock
- Denise Heart – Gwinnett
- Gary Kirk – Galleria
- Mercedes Lacy – East Cobb
- Joyce Payne – Woodstock
- Judy Pate – West CObb
- Alan Richardson – Galleria
- Fred Rucker – Galleria
- Jeff Sawyer – West Cobb
- Harvey Simmons – North Fulton
- Michele Tompkins – Paulding
- Stefania Wade – Woodstock
- Clarissa Williams – Galleria
- Becky Whitener – Paulding
Galleria Branch: The Galleria office is not open yet. Please go to the East Cobb or West Cobb branches for assistance. We open to be open in the next couple of weeks (contractors & county permits permitting!)
Listings into GAMLS: Maximum One is a member of GAMLS. When you list a property, by virtue of our membership and MX1 policy, you must list that property in the GAMLS listing service in addition to FMLS. GAMLS is cross-checking with FMLS and will be sending compliance issue notices and then will be fining agents.
Photos in Your Listings in FMLS & GAMLS: You are required to add at least a front photo of your listing in FMLS & GAMLS. If you do NOT include a photo, GAMLS will notify you of this compliance violation and will fine you. Make sure you include a photo in your listings. ent, you may NOT take Power of Attorney for your client!
Power of Attorney: Reminder – as a Maximum One agent, you may NOT take Power of Attorney for your client. This action is against Maximum One Policy, negates your Errors & Omissions Insurance & potentially grants you responsibility for the property FOREVER if you take POA for the Seller & sign a General Warranty deed. Failure to comply may result in disciplinary action, up to and including $250 fine and/or de-hiring from the firm.
MX1 Holiday Socials: This is the time of year when we start thinking about the Holidays! Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas will be here sooner than you think! Please celebrate and socialize with your colleagues at Maximum One! Contact your Branch Manager / Team Captain / Social Committee Members for specific information! Please check with your Branch Manager & Team Captains for the Various Community Service efforts each branch is supporting (can drives, angel trees, etc!)
- West Cobb & Paulding (at WC)
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/20 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/11 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- East Cobb
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/19 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/10 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- Douglasville
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/14 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/5 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- Galleria
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/21 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/12 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- Woodstock
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/13 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/4 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- North Fulton & Gwinnett:
  - Please check with Tina Vliet & David Avery for these schedules
Max Cares: Prayers for healing for Laura Wilson’s Mother who has been in the hospital all week and returned home Friday.

10/28/13

Galleria Branch – Smyrna/Vinings Branch Transition: Maximum One has moved out of the Smyrna/Vinings location. We look forward to opening the new Galleria location in less than 2 weeks! We will announce when that location is open! In the meantime, agents may use the East Cobb or West Cobb locations to turn in checks or pick up commissions.
Smyrna / Vinings Agents: If you receive personal or business mail at this location, you will need to file a change of address with the US Post Office.
MX1 Holiday Socials: This is the time of year when we start thinking about the Holidays! Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas will be here sooner than you think! Please celebrate and socialize with your colleagues at Maximum One! Contact your Branch Manager / Team Captain / Social Committee Members for specific information!
- West Cobb & Paulding (at WC)
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/20 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/11 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- East Cobb
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/19 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/10 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- Douglasville
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/14 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/5 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- Galleria
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/21 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/12 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- Woodstock
  - Thanksgiving Pot Luck – 11/13 – 11:30am – 1pm
  - Christmas Happy Hour – 12/4 – 3pm – 4:30pm
- North Fulton & Gwinnett:
  - Please check with Tina Vliet & David Avery for these schedules
Daylight Savings Time Ends: On Sunday November 3rd at 2am. This reminder is a great “touch” for your Sphere of Influence & your Past Clients. Also remind them to change the batteries in their smoke detectors.
Appraisal Issues: One potential way to avoid issues with a low appraisal…. meet the appraiser at the property! Bring comps with you that support the sale price. Walk through the house with the appraiser and point out the features and benefits of the property!
FMLS ListingBook: Learn how thousands of agents all over the country are using the power of Listingbook to build deeper relationships with their clients, get and retain listings and increase their commission. Live training at FMLS in Sandy Springs (5457 Roswell Rd, Suite #304, Atlanta 30342)
- November 13th 1:30pm – 3pm – Register Here
- November 14th 1:30pm – 3pm – Register Here
Max Cares: Condolences to Clarissa Zumwalt’s niece who passed away from complication in childbirth. Please send your prayers for peace & healing to Clarissa & her family for this tragic loss.
Max Cares: Condolences to Adanna Nwaneri whose younger sister passed away unexpectedly. Please send your thoughts and Prayers for peace & healing to Adanna and her family.
Max Cares: Carlann Godfrey’s daughter’s home caught fire and she & Carlann’s granddaughter lost everything. Prayers for healing and recovery to Carlann & her family. Please leave any donations (household items & clothes) at the Douglasville or West Cobb Branches. Shoes size 7 – 7.5 & clothes size med – large

10/21/13

Community Service Projects: Maximum One looks forward to becoming more active in the community!　 We are often reminded of this desire beginning with the Holidays.　 We hope to extend this community service & offer our blessings to those around us throughout the year. If you are interested in assisting us throughout the year in various Community Service projects, please contact your Branch Manager.　 The following are the projects already in the works:
Paulding Branch – Helping Hands of Paulding
West Cobb Branch – The Center for Family Resources in Cobb County
Douglasville Branch – A Gift of Love in Douglas County

Job Loss Protection:　 Don’t let today’s headline frighten the buyers/borrowers in your pipeline. Better yet, pull them away from other pipeline’s to yours! Offer Job Loss Protection. (Shouldn’t they have the choice anyway?). 　 Offer a　Competitive advantage for your business…and invaluable to the concerned buyer. By being an agent at Maximum One, you are able to offer Mortgage Protection against a Buyer’s loss of a job.　 See the Job-Loss Protection Flyer here. More information will be presented at Sales Meetings.
Photo Copyright Local Lawsuits: This is just a quick note to alert you to a growing liability issue…. If you’re not already aware of this, there are 4 or more Atlanta area brokerages and agents that have now been sued for photo copyright infringement.　There is a local agent that has been making a living doing this. She puts out high quality pictures of common areas of neighborhoods and condos on the web and waits for agents pick them up and use them on their personal web sites or listings. Now that Google Images gives consumers (and this agent) the ability to upload a photo to see exactly what website it appears on, there is no getting away with using pirated images. And it doesn’t matter if the photo is “watermarked’. 　 Some local brokers have paid as much as $100,000 in settlements for as few as SIX photos. Another local broker is closing its doors soon because of this.　　　E&O does not cover this… and with as many agent websites out there…. it’s so hard to police.　 DO NOT USE SOMEONE ELSE’S PHOTOS!!!! – Thank you PalmerHouse Realty for sharing this information with us!
XPLODE Conference: On October 25th, GAMLS is hosting XPlode Conference bringing you all the latest & greatest information you need to know about Technology as a Real Estate Agent.　 Sign up soon to take advantage of the Early Bird Special!
Max Cares: Congratulations to Howard Brummel… he & his wife, Melssa, are the proud grandparents of Grandbaby Boy #6, Sawyer James, born on Friday the 18th.

10/14/13

How to Structure a Team in Real Estate: Thank you to Bill Brannen for sharing a wealth of information & insight regarding how to structure a team (as a Team Leader and as a Team Member) to grow your real estate business. Bill shared this knowledge at the East Cobb Sales Meeting last week! So much great information is disseminated at the monthly Branch Sales Meetings…. check them out!!!
Legal Descriptions & Property Addresses: Thank you to Amee Davis of Davis & Associates (ADavis@DavisLawGA.com ) for sharing information at the West Cobb Sales Meeting regarding the proper legal description of a property located on a corner: Utilities use the address based on how the house faces, the post office uses the address of where the mailbox is located.
More About Property Addresses Regarding the Loan Processing: Thank you to Gus Garcia of Chase Mortgage (Demetrio.G.Garcia@Chase.com ) for reminding us at the West Cobb Sales Meeting of proper contract writing to avoid any delays in the loan processing. The street address in the contract MUST match the address on the Appraisal which must match the address on the Title Search or you will have to amend your contract and potentially delay your closing. For Example, if a street address ends with a direction, i.e. SE, then you MUST use that directional suffix in the contract. Please check with the USPS and the title or tax records for the specific address of the property you are selling.
Thank you to Stan Morton of Starkey Mortgage (SMorton@StarkeyMtg.com ) for informing us at the East Cobb Sales Meeting, that Starkey Mortgage IS able to close many transactions even throughout the Government Shutdown. Please contact Stan for more information.
Training: There is a TON of FREE training this month at Maximum One! Check out the calendar & register for classes! www.registerforREclasses.com

No Cash for Earnest Money: If your Buyer is getting a loan, they may NOT use cash for Earnest Money! Check with your lender for forms of money that may be used as earnest money in the transaction.

MX1 Policy Reminder on Earnest Money over $5,000: Any earnest money over $5,000 must be in the form of Certified Funds.
Cap Date: Your Cap date is based on your anniversary year, NOT a calendar year. For example, if you joined Maximum One in October, you have from October through the end of September every year to pay in to your cap of $6,000. Within that time frame, once your transaction fees paid in to MX1 total $6,000 then the remainder of your transactions for that time frame (YOUR anniversary year) will not require any transaction fee to MX1. (FMLS fees will still be required.) If you do not meet your cap each year, then you simply start back at $0 at the beginning of your year (that is what is meant by “non-guaranteed” cap… you do not have to guarantee that you will pay in $6,000. Your cap year is located on the Roster next to your name.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Gary Mesnick on the birth of his 3rd grandchild & 1st Grand SON!
Max Cares: Congratulations to Alicia Gregory on the marriage of her son Brian!
XPlode: On October 25th, GAMLS is hosting XPlode Conference bringing you all the latest & greatest information you need to know about Technology as a Real Estate Agent. Sign up soon to take advantage of the Early Bird Special!

10/7/13

How the Government Shutdown Affects Real Estate Transactions: Thank you to John Bohanon of Movement Mortgage for the following information. If you have questions, contact John at: John.Bohannon@MovementMortgage.com additional contact information for John at the bottom of this email.
- * The IRS has suspended all 4506T processing. With no guidance from investors or the agencies on this topic we are basically in a holding pattern and following current procedures that state we cannot close a loan with verification of the W2 or tax returns used in the file.
- * USDA commitments will cease this morning and any USDA loan in the system without a commitment issued will not be able to close.
- * FHA/VA will continue to insure and guarantee loan files, however any manual request (example: requesting a case number be cancelled to allow a new case to be processed) will not be processed. Currently both the VA Portal and FHA Connection are up and running so we can order case numbers, however if either system goes down it may take an extended period to get back on line.
- * For existing and new customers who are government employees, verifications of employment may be delayed or impossible to obtain during the shutdown. Those government employees who are furloughed will not be able to close on a mortgage until the government is up and running again.
Growing Your Business Through Social Media: Thank you to Eric Hoffner, Kevin Nolan, Luisa Garcia & Gus Garcia of Chase Mortgage for the GREAT webinar last week on this topic by Tim Sanders, former Yahoo Executive. If you missed it, you may watch the webinar recording here. Feel free to download the complimentary ebook: How to Win Business Using Social Media. For more information, please contact one of the Chase Lenders – see their contact informaiton at the bottom of this email.
Discount on Verizon Wireless for Maximum One Agents: Thank you to Sharon Barnette for arranging the discount for commission agents. The following are the steps to take:
- Scan you Pocket Card (RE License)
- Go to www.VerizonWireless.com/renewdiscount.com
- Under the “Validate by Paystub” Section upload a copy of your pocketcard
- It takes 3 – 5 days & you should get a confirmation number back!

VoicePad Training Webinars: VoicePad is a fabulous Lead Capture tool for your Listings AND for your Buyers! As a Maximum One agent, you get a HUGE discount on VoicePad… $4.95/month vs. as high as $195/month with other brokerages.
- VoicePad 101 “Getting Started” Webinar – Every Tuesday at 2pm
- * Recommended for agents new to VoicePad
  * How VoicePad works and why it works for you
  * Log in and set-up
  * Listing enhancements (adding features, open house dates, etc.)
  * Buyer Activation: Serve and Protect Your Clients!
- VoicePad 201 “Marketing Ideas” Webinar – Every 2nd Thursday at 3pm
- * Use VoicePad to win more Listings!
  * Follow-up scripts that help you convert prospective buyers
  * Media Codes and Advertising: Tracking the effectiveness of your marketing efforts
  * Market yourself (not just your properties) with VoicePad
- VoicePad 301 “Lead Activity & Reports” Webinar – Every 3rd Thursday at 3pm
- * Learn to win listings and convert clients using VoicePad’s comprehensive reports!
  * Buyer Activity Map & Report: Your Buyers’ Activity
  * Detail & Trend Reports: Details of lead, lead source and call duration
  * Lead manager: track and follow-up with your leads
- VoicePad 401 “Get the Most from Your Mobile Website” Webinar – Every 4th Thursday at 3pm
- * Your mobile site’s unique features and how they give you a competitive edge
  * Customizing Your Site: Add photo and social media links
  * Accessing your site via phone call; text keyword; QR code; and bookmarking
  * Capturing home buyers while they are on your site
- For Archived Webinars: http://info.voicepad.com/training-archive
- For more information contact our rep, Robyn Thompson at Customer.Care@VoicePad.com

Out of Town Coverage: If you are going to be out of town or away from your phone & computer, please find another agent to cover your business!!! Please put this agent’s contact information as an auto-responder on your email & create a temporary greeting on your cell phone or forward your calls to the covering agent!

9/30/13

HUD Forms from Closing Attorney: HUD requires blue-ink signatures from the closing attorney on the forms. Please be courteous and call the closing attorney before going by their office to get their signatures to make sure they are there. Their staff cannot sign these forms. Thank you!
Please Check the Roster: Please make sure that your email address and cell phone number listed on the roster is correct. If not, please contact the Agent Services Coordinator, Vivian Green at: ASC@MyMaximumOne.com
Help with Paperless Pipeline: When you are under a tab in Paperless Pipeline (transactions / documents / etc.) remember to click on the “Help” button on the left for assistance with that tab and access to many video tutorials
In-House Referrals: If you are working with another Maximum One agent on a transaction, please have your compensation agreement in writing in addition to being included on the BlueSheet. You may use a Broker-to-Broker Referral Agreement or the MX1 Referral Agreement that is located on the Extranet and in the Office Documents section of Paperless Pipeline.
MX1 Document on Paperless Pipeline: Remember that the documents you need are on the Extranet and there are many of the commonly used forms on the Office Documents of Paperless Pipeline.
Max Cares: Please send prayers of gratitude for safety and quick recovery for Tina Vliet who was in an automobile accident last week.

9/23/13

Galleria Branch: The Galleria branch is well on its way! We are vacating the current Smyrna/Vinings office on September 30th. Please pardon our mess while in process of moving!
Galleria Floor Plan: Click here for the Galleria Floor Plan
AFLAC MX1 Corporate Benefits: Get 40% – 50% off of the monthly premium for Aflac benefits by being an agent at Maximum One! Contact our Aflac representative, Sandy Kaecher 678-492-5350 Sandy_kaecher@us.aflac.com for more informaiton & to sign-up.
HGTV Casting Call: Property Brothers & Buying & Selling: If you have clients who want to sell their homes quickly and for top-dollar, but realize their house needs a make-over first, click here for information on how they can get on the hit show Buying and Selling.And if you happen to have clients looking for expert renovation for a new project, click here for a flyer with details about getting on Property Brothers.
New Lockboxes for Sale: If you wish to purchase new lockboxes at a discount, please contact MX1 agent, Len Moon: LenMoon2@hotmail.com 404-226-0998.
Using Social Media to Grow Your Business: Thank you to Chase Mortgage for sharing with us this live Webinar to be presented in the West Cobb Branch on October 1 at 2pm. This hour long webinar is information from former Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo, Tim Sanders. For more information contact Kevin Nolan Kevin.R.Nolan@chase.com or Luisa Garcia Luisa.M.Garcia@Chase.com. See the flyer for more information: Using Social Media to Grow Your Business.
Max Cares: Please keep our agents in your thoughts. There are some who wish to remain anonymous who could use some extra prayers for their health!

9/16/13

Welcome New Agents: Maximum One welcomes the following new agents! Please make them feel welcome!
- Regina Adams – Smyrna/Vinings
- Nina Bell – Smyrna/Vinings
- Tracy Bentley – West Cobb
- Jeri Lynn Caruso – North Fulton
- Eunice Carter – Smyrna/Vinings – WELCOME BACK!
- Edris David – West Cobb – WELCOME BACK!
- Sumit Desai – Gwinnett
- Mia Drue – Douglasville
- Rochelle Green – Paulding
- Sam Itzkov – North Fulton
- Pete Knapp – Smyrna / Vinings
- Maria Monterrubio – West Cobb
- Chuks Odikpo – Smyrna / Vinings
- Bradlea Reibly – Woodstock
- Karlene Shiver – Woodstock
- Gloria Jean Simmons – Gwinnett
- Angela Steadham – Woodstock
- Marty Wilkerson – Woodstock
- Kathryn Zollars – Woodstock
GAMLS Listing Input Policy: Georgia MLS is built upon a foundation of cooperation among its members. The essence of this cooperation is based upon the compilation of listings. Listing information creates the most valuable asset of the service and benefits all of our member real estate professionals. In the spirit of that cooperation, a fundamental principle for participation and membership in Georgia MLS is the mandatory requirement that exclusive right to sell listings, of the following types, be filed with the service:
- (a) single family residential properties, including condominiums and fee simple townhouses
- (b) two, three and four unit multifamily residential properties
Any such listings accepted by a member must be submitted to the service within 48 hours (excepting weekends and holidays).
The data administration department at Georgia MLS has begun an effort to identify missing and “pocket” listings. Please review your inventory to ensure that all mandatory listings have been entered into the service.
Short Sales & Closing Attorneys Facilitation: Thank you to Justin Pacific of Thomas & Brown for clarifying HB 83 regarding Short Sales. At the East Cobb Sales Meeting, Justin informed us that the Closing Attorneys that have a “Short Sale” department are still able to help agents with short sales if they are done properly and legally according to the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. The Closing Attorney may have no direct communication with the Seller but may still forward various documents to the short sale lender in attempts to getting an accurate payoff. What this means is that agents will be more involved in the Short Sale process. Neither agents nor closing attorneys may negotiate a short sale but limited aspects of facilitation are acceptable. Please contact Justin for more specifics if you did not attend the Sales Meeting! (Affiliates’ contact info is at the bottom of this email.)

9/9/13

In-House Transactions: Maximum One gives an incentive to our agents for doing transactions together. It gets a bit confusing, however, when one agent is in MXGA & one agent is in MXGR. FMLS recognizes these two companies as completely separate companies. Therefore, if we have one agent on Listing side who is MXGA & one agent on Buying Side who is MXGR they would BOTH have to pay 100% of the FMLS fee.
Basically, however the agents are splitting the gross commission, those percentages run through the transaction regarding MX1 transaction fee and FMLS fee. Click on the link for Fees with MX1 In-House Transactions. (Contact your Branch Manager for this document or check “Office Documents” in Paperless Pipeline.
Equator Short Sale Processing System: Please know that the Equator system is now owned by a new company so you may experience a few changes regarding your Short Sale transactions.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Adana Nwaneri on being the newest Associate Broker at Maximum One!
Atlanta Home Prices Up 3.4% in June: Atlanta posted the biggest home price gain of 20 major metros in the June CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indexes. The area’s home prices were up 3.4 percent from May to June, matching a 3.4 percent gain from April to May. Year-over-year in June, home prices in Atlanta spiked 19 percent.The National Index grew 7.1 percent from the first quarter to second quarter. As of the second quarter of 2013, average home prices across the United States are back at their early 2004 levels.”Overall, the report shows that housing prices are rising but the pace may be slowing,” said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Thirteen out of twenty cities saw their returns weaken from May to June. As we are in the middle of a seasonal buying period, we should expect to see the most gains. With interest rates rising to almost 4.6 percent, home buyers may be discouraged and sharp increases may be dampened.” Reported by Jacques Couret in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on August 28, 2013.
HUD REO Closing Packages: If you are closing on a HUD foreclosure, remember that the loan package must be to the closing attorney’s office 5 days in advance of closing. Pemco and Ofori count the day of closing but Home Telos does not. Therefore if Home Telos is the asset management company for HUD, then calculate 6 days prior to closing for the package to be at the attorney’s office. Stay in constant communication with your lender and attorney to avoid delays and per diems! Thank you Amee Davis of Davis and Associates for reminding us of this at the West Cobb Sales Meeting last week!

9/1/13

Happy Labor Day! Maximum One Offices are closed Monday 9/2/13
Welcome New Affiliated Lenders: Please welcome our newest lenders affiliated with the East Cobb Branch and Smyrna / Vinings Galleria Branch: Please attend your Branch Sales Meeting to meet these new lenders and hear all about the service & products they have to offer to help you help more people & get more closings!
- East Cobb – Starkey Mortgage: Stan Morton nmls 1057987 & Jeff Adams nmls 216218 of Starkey Mortgage! Stan may be reached at Stan@StanMorton.com www.StanMortgageMan.com 770-331-4474 and Jeff Adams may be reached at: JEAdams@StarkeyMtg.com www.JeffAdamsTeam.com 678-665-6117.
- Smyrna / Vinings / Galleria – First Community Mortgage: Mankell Hayes nmls 198762 of First Community Mortgage! Mankell may be reached at Mankell.Hayes@fcmhomeloans.com www.fcmhomeloans.com 678-858-4623.
“DA” (Disbursement Authorization) to be Paid at the Closing Table: You may choose to get paid at the closing table. You simply complete a “DA” and upload it into Paperless Pipeline in your transaction. Do not send this to the closing attorney, this is an internal form for Maximum One agents and staff only. If your DA is approved, you will receive an email and Maximum One will send the proper information to the closing attorney. You need to pick up the Earnest Money check at your home branch to take to closing with you. At closing, you will receive your check and a check made payable to Maximum One Realty (for the MX1 transaction fee and FMLS fees.) After closing, you still need to upload your HUD-1 Settlement statement & FMLS #118 to Paperless Pipeline and turn in the MX1 check to Maximum One. Your file MUST BE COMPLIANT AT LEAST 72 HOURS PRIOR to your closing for approval. Additionally, if the earnest money was in the form of a personal check and was not deposited over 10 days prior to closing, the DA will not be approved. No DA’s will be approved if you are receiving a commission advance on the transaction or if there are any changes to your DA within 72 hours prior to closing. If you have any questions, please contact Alicia Gregory in the Transaction Department at: Alicia@MyMaximumOne.com 770-919-8825 ext. 325.
Group Mentoring: Maximum One offers Group Mentoring at several branches. David Avery, Regional Developer of Maximum One, conducts this synergistic coaching session where agents of all skill and experience levels are welcome to attend to get help with their business! See theMaximum One Training Calendar (www.registerforREclasses.com) for the Group Mentoring schedule for September or feel free to call David Avery at: 678-777-6169 TheAveryGroup@ymail.com .
Active Rain Schedule for September 2013: If you are not on Active Rain, you should be! It is a fabulous resource for your Real Estate Business replete with information and inspiration from agents all around the country! This month there are contests, live webinars and many inspirational ideas!
- Generate Leads: How to Ensure Your Blog Generates Leads
- Crowdsourcing: The Best Real Estate Apps on the Market
- New Active Rain Member Orientation
- How to Write a Blog Post
- How to Blog on Neighborhood of the Week
- How to Blog about What Can I Afford for the consumer
Happy New Year! Erev Rosh Hashannah is Wednesday, September 4th!

8/26/13

Contact Information for MX1 Staff and Affilliated Business Partners: In Please see the bottom of this newsletter for the contact information of people you may need to reach.
SUPRA Lockbox Exchange Continues: Monday August 26 – Thursday August 29 9am – 11:45am then 1pm – 4pm at The North Atlanta Trade Center 1700 Jeurgens Court, Norcross .
Short Sale Negotiating: If you as an agent are “negotiating” a short sale or if you are working with a closing attorney who is negotiating the short sale on behalf of your client, immediately check the status of your transaction. Per GA Department of Banking & Finance, HB 83 was passed into law May of 2013 and became effective July 1, 2013. This law has been previously mentioned in this newsletter (May 2013) and as highlighted by Attorney, Amee Davis of Davis and Associates. Many closing attorneys are receiving cease & desist letters regarding their interactions in your Short Sale Transactions. GA House Bill 83: Amends Georgia law relating to the licensing of mortgage lenders and brokers and specifically exempts from licensing a Georgia licensed real estate agent providing information to a lender on a short sale transaction where a separate fee is not received by the agent or broker. A real estate agent or broker, who directly negotiates, places or finds mortgages for others are not exempt from licensing. This bill was signed by the Governor on May 6, 2013 and is now law. http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20132014/HB/83
Mailbox Soliciting: Remember that if you are prospecting through a neighborhood, it is illegal to put anything INSIDE of a mailbox. You may only tape a flyer to the front of a mailbox or between the flag and the box. Be mindful of “No soliciting” signs as well.

Welcome West Cobb Branch Manager: Welcome Sarah Beth Johnson as Branch Manager of West Cobb! WestCobb@MyMaximumOne.com 770-919-8825 ext 318.

8/19/13

Congratulations to Dave Kubat: Listed as Who’s Who in the Atlanta Business Chronicle In the Atlanta’s Business Chronicle’s 2013 Home Quarterly Who’s Who Dave is listed as one of the key people who is influencing the metro area’s rebounding real estate market. Article was published August 6, 2013.
Errors & Omissions Insurance: The new policy for 2013 – 2014 is loaded on the Extranet. If you work with an asset management company that needs to be included as an “additional insured,” please email Dana Sparks.

HUD Broker Permission Letters: For HUD REO contracts, you as the agent hae permission from the Brokers to sign the contracts. The actual permission letters are located on the Extranet under Buyers then HUD then Broker Permission Letters.
Disbursement of Funds: Just a reminder… when funds from your transaction are disbursed to one of the involved parties (co-op agent referral fee, earnest money return from a termination, etc.) MX1 will print the check at your branch for you to deliver to the appropriate party.
SUPRA Lockbox Exchange: Wednesday August 21 – Friday August 23. You may exchange your current lockboxes one-for-one at no additional cost for a limited time. The OLD lockboxes work on infrared; the NEW lockboxes work on infrared AND Bluetooth. If you have an Active Key, that will still work on the new boxes. The new boxes are the “BTLE ibox.” If you have a relatively new BTLE long & skinny lockbox, you need to exchange those too. If you do business in areas that are on a different listing service from FMLS and GAMLS, , you may want to keep a couple of the old boxes because those other listing services are NOT CHANGING technology. For continually updated information, please check out the Q&A section on this topic on FMLS & GAMLS websites.

Cartersville Branch: We have decided to close the Cartersville Branch of Maximum One. Everything we have is virtual so we hope there is no interruption in your real estate transactions. The West Cobb and Woodstock branches are only 30 minutes away if you do need a physical office. Unfortunately it did not make sense for us financially to maintain this physical location. This was a very difficult decision for us to make and we thank all of those who supported that location.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Douglasville Closing Attorney, Shawn Horan and his wife Shana on the birth of their son, Ryan who was born August 1st.

8/12/13

Welcome New Agents: Please welcome the newest Maximum One Agents!
- Adrienne Lewis – North Fulton
- Anthony Miller – North Fulton
- Cordelia Savala – Woodstock
- Demeta Reyes – North Fulton
- Earl Knighten – West Cobb
- Judi Smith – Woodstock
- Bill Smith – Woodstock
- Lorelle LoCurto – West Cobb
- Mark Hildebrand – East Cobb – Welcome BACK!
- Marsha Meade – Galleria
- Melissa Clay – Woodstock – Welcome BACK!
- Valyn Cole – North Fulton
- Bill Brannen – West Cobb
- Hani Mahmoud – West Cobb
- Mia Drue – Douglasville
- Meghan Lawson – West Cobb
- Erica Sauve – West Cobb
- Travis Clay – West Cobb
- Carletta Williams – Paulding
- Rapunzel Killens – West Cobb
- Lizbeth Diaz – Galleria
- Cornelius Savage – West Cobb
- Shiree Sanders – Douglasville
- Vicki Lazzari – North Fulton
Agent on Duty (AOD): The Agent on Duty (AOD) program is being re-vamped a little! With all the new agents at Maximum One, we wish to create the opportunity for any agent to participate in this lead generation program! You may access the AOD calendar and sign up for a slot at www.MaximumOneAOD.com There are two slots per day: morning from 9am – 1pm and afternoon from 1pm – 5pm including weekends. You sign up for a time slot and a location. Then at your appointed time, you go to that particular office, the Branch Manager will sign you in to the system, you answer the phones and work the internet leads. At the end of your shift, you forward the phones to the next location as posted on the AOD calendar. On the weekends, that weekend’s password will be emailed to you. Sign calls go to the listing agents and the rest of the leads are yours! Whatever business you get from AOD is yours at a 0% referral fee to Maximum One. You may sign up for up to 4 time slots per month and no more than 4 weeks in advance. Weekend slots are also available. Specific instructions are on the AOD calendar. Mary Lamb manages the AOD program and she may be reached at MaryLambSells@gmail.com
Job Loss Protection: The current economic atmosphere has many Americans concerned about job stability and how it will affect their
ability to make mortgage payments. As a Maximum One agent, you may provide your clients with Job Loss Protection. All qualified SAVE Program homeowners are protected by the Job Loss Protection Program if they lose employment. The SAVE Program provides financial assistance that allows homeowners to stay current with mortgage payments, minimizing stress during the job search process. Maximum One is one of the few brokerages in the Atlanta area (and may soon be the ONLY brokerage in the area) to be able to offer this program to Buyers. Please attend one of the two Live and Interactive Webcasts to learn more about this program and set your listing apart from others & set yourself as a Buyer’s agent apart from others!

Wednesday, 8/14 – 11am – 12noon – Register Here See calendar for more details!

Tuesday, 8/27 – 11am – 12noon – Register Here See Calendar for more details!

SUPRA Lockbox Exchange: Wednesday August 21 – Friday August 23. You may exchange your current lockboxes one-for-one at no additional cost for a limited time. The OLD lockboxes work on infrared; the NEW lockboxes work on infrared AND Bluetooth. If you have an Active Key, that will still work on the new boxes. The new boxes are the “BTLE ibox.” If you have a relatively new BTLE long & skinny lockbox, you need to exchange those too. If you do business in areas that are on a different listing service from FMLS and GAMLS, , you may want to keep a couple of the old boxes because those other listing services are NOT CHANGING technology. For continually updated information, please check out the Q&A section on this topic on FMLS & GAMLS websites.
Staff Meeting: There is a Maximum One Staff Meeting on Monday from 9am – noon. Offices will be opening after the meeting.

8/5/13

Maximum One Galleria: The lease is signed! The Smyrna/Vinings office will be moving to the new Galleria location! Target date for move is September 2013. Stay tuned for more!
Bluesheets: When you are doing a transaction with another Maximum One agent, please complete one bluesheet . Additionally, please check Paperless Pipeline and confirm that the Bluesheet is correct. When more than one MX1 agent is included on a deal, the involved-agents will have access to that transaction.
HUD Buyer Select: Choosing a Closing Attorney: When you are selecting the closing attorney to close your HUD REO transaction, you must use the name of the attorney EXACTLY as it is registered with HUD or that attorney will not show up as an allowed attorney. Please check with the attorney for the exact listing of their firm name with HUD. Thank you Amee Davis of Davis & Associates Attorneys at Law for that information at the West Cobb Agent Business Meeting! Amee’s contact information is located at the bottom of this email.

Max Cares: Congratulations to Jeff and Kelly Bowers on the birth of their daughter Ellie! Ellie was born on July 29th.

7/29/13

Congratulations to Maximum One!!! – We hired agent #600! Thank you for continuing to help us grow strong and be the real estate brokerage of choice!

Open Houses: If you are holding an Open House, please contact the Affiliated Lender from your Branch (see the bottom of this email for contact information) as they would love to assist you with that!

Welcome Back Melissa Clay : Please welcome Melissa Clay as full-time Branch Manager of our Woodstock location!
FMLS & GAMLS – Supra LockBox Exchange: You have all received email from FMLS and the information is on the front page of FMLS when you log in. Supra is retiring the existing LockBoxes and they must be exchanged for the new iBox BTLE! You may exchange your existing lockboxes for the new iBoxes for FREE for a limited amount of time! The initial exchange dates are 8/21 – 8/23: Cobb Galleria Exhibit Hall D and Georgia Convention Center Councourse, 8/26 – 8/29: North Atlanta Trade Center. There may be another date in Spetember but FMLS has not made any specific announcements yet.

Scam Email about Lockboxes Being Worth $0: There are some emails circulating from agents willing to buy your current lockboxes for $20.. For a limited time, you may exchange your lockboxes for FREE! If you sell your box to one of these scammers for $20, then you will have to PURCHASE your new lockbox as you will not have one to exchange!
Any Agents with New Construction On-Site Experience: We have some agents working with builders on new subdivisions. They are looking for onsite agents. If interested, please let Dana know so I may put you in touch with these agents. Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com
How to Win a Highest & Best Offer: Thank you John Bohannon of Prospect Mortgage for sharing this information from his workshops he taught last week. For more information, contact John at: 770-480-8210 John.Bohannon@prospectmtg.com
- Prepare Buyers for this market
  - Inventory shortage – be prepared to pay full price or more
  - Pre-Approval vs. Pre-Qualification
  - Be ready for quick closing if necessary
  - Pre-approval for max amount they can afford… just in case
  - Explain – approx $6/month in payment per $100 on mortgage loan
  - Explore gift funds to cover closing costs
  - Discuss 401k Loans for down payment / closing costs
- Contact the Listing Agent
  - Determine Seller’s motivation / needs
  - Explain Buyer’s situation to listing agent
  - Explain what the Buyer is willing to do
- FHA Loans allow more borrowing poer than conventional
- Avoid closing delays by ensuring Buyer makes 100% complete loan application
BPG Summer Promotion: $75 Buyer’s Rebate: Beginning August 1, BPG will give a $75 rebate to the Buyer for a home inspection and home warranty on the same property. Promotion runs through 10/31/13. See BPG Promotional Flyer here.
FMLS Showcase: FMLS Showcase trade show is Thursday August 22nd from 9:30am – 4:30pm at the Cobb Galleria. This is the largest real estate trade show in Georgia and provides the opportunity to learn of the newest FMLS changes, get new market and industry information, educational opportunities and meet all sorts of vendors.
Max Cares: Please send your love and prayers to the families of Affiliated Closing Attorneys; Shawn Horan (Douglasville) and Jeff Bowers (Paulding). Both Shawn’s wife and Jeff’s wife are pregnant and they are expecting a joyous addition to their families ANY DAY!

7/22/13

Congratulations to Maximum One!!! – We Placed in the Inc 500/5000 List for the 3rd Year in a row as one of the fastest growing private companies in America!
Red Envelopes for Earnest Money: When you receive earnest money from a client to turn in to the brokerage, place those funds along with the appropriate information in the EM WHITE Envelope. We will no longer hold earnest money in the Red Envelopes. Maximum One will deposit those funds upon receipt. Should your client never go under contract or your contract terminate (with agreement of disbursement) Maximum One will release those funds back to the Buyer. If the Buyer writes a personal check (or business check – anything other than certified funds or a money order) Maximum One will hold those funds for 10 days before releasing those funds in a transaction (including for a DA) or releasing those funds back to the Buyer (or Seller depending on the situation of the termination.)
Docusign: Unfortunately, Maximum One is no longer able to offer a corporate rate for Docusign. There are electronic signature options available on both FMLS and GAMLS. You may still get an individual account with Docusign but you must contact them directly to sign up. If you currently have a corporate account, you must open an individual account and their support can walk you through the process of transferring envelopes from your corporate account to your individual account. For those of you that have a corporate Docusign account, it will remain in effect until July 29th.
- Welcome Closing Attorneys Thomas & Brown to East Cobb; Please welcome Thomas and Brown as our Affiliated Closing Attorney for the East Cobb Branch! Justin Pacific, Lon Thomas & Mark Brown are at your service for your closings! When you make the arrangements, they will close your transaction out of the Conference Room in the East Cobb Maximum One Office. Short Sale services are also available through their firm. www.ThomasandBrownLaw.com 770-591-5200. Justin, Lon and Mark’s specific emails are listed at the bottom of this email along with all of our other affiliates!
- Docusign: Unfortunately, Maximum One is no longer able to offer a corporate rate for Docusign. There are electronic signature options available on both FMLS and GAMLS. You may still get an individual account with Docusign but you must contact them directly to sign up. If you currently have a corporate account, you must open an individual account and their support can walk you through the process of transferring envelopes from your corporate account to your individual account. For those of you that have a corporate Docusign account, it will remain in effect until July 29th.
- Home Inspectors: Do NOT select a home inspector for your Buyer (or any other service provider.) We all have great inspectors with whom we work yet I caution you in how you provide that information to your Buyer. Give out at least 3 names and have the Buyer select! You may say something to the effect of, “My past clients have used X or Y or Z and I encourage you to contact all of them and make your decision based on your communication with each inspector.” We have had two issues this past week specifically due to this issue! The agent told the Buyer that they had a great inspector that they always use! The Buyer actually contacted and hired that inspector (but were not provided with additional names and contact information.) They closed on the house and there was an issue that was not caught by the inspector.
The Buyer called us up seeking compensation from the agent and from Maximum One on the repairs that had to be made because the inspector did not catch the issue. Their complaint, “Well, it was my Agent’s inspector that I used!”
- Your Business When You Are on Vacation or Ill: Please have another agent cover your business when you are away. If you will not be able to promptly answer your phone, email or are not in a position to be of service to your clients, do not leave your business and your clients hanging. You must get another agent to cover your business and make that contact person known on your listings, auto-reply email or voice mail!!!
- SCAM Alert – Email from Japan “Representative Agent” –Several of our agents have received an email from Japan claiming to be a large real estate company looking for an American agent. I highly suggest that you do NOT respond!!! It is a scam!!!
Office Suite Furniture: If you are interested in any office suite furniture from “By Design,” one of our agents formerly owned a staging company and can help you out. Please contact Rick Duda – LAST WEEK’S EMAIL ADDRESS WAS INCORRECT, THIS ONE IS CORRECT – Rick@ZipityDuda.com

7/15/13

Welcome New Agents: There continue to be new faces around Maximum One so please make everyone feel welcome including our newest agents:
- Velda McKnight – Smyrna/Vinings
- Cassandra Pickard – East Cobb
- Marilyn Clouden – West Cobb
- Sharon Morgan – North Fulton
- Sekhar Thadiparthi – Gwinnett
- Michael Fitzgerald – Smyrna/Vinings
- Karen Magwood – Douglasville
- Jorge Tello – North Fulton
Employment Verification: If you require an “Employment Verification,” please tell the people requesting it that Maximum One will not “verify employment.” As an agent, you are considered 1099 Contact Labor, and are not an “employee.” Please explain how real estate works as we are not allowed to “verify employment” on your behalf.
Agent’s Rental Properties: If you have not already done so… if you own investment property, send your quarterly Trust Account reconciliation to Maximum One by sending them to Managing Broker, Dana Sparks – Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com
Changes in DA’s: If there are any changes in your commission after your DA has been approved and sent to the closing attorney, you will have to get your checks printed by Maximum One rather than being paid by the closing attorney. Any contractual changes which result in a change in commission will also involve a compliance check and therefore cannot be approved by the accounting department.
Max Cares: Please send your thoughts an prayers to the family of our Paulding agent, Herb Haynes. The mother of his young grandchildren passed away last week. Please contact Dawn Luttrell for information about the funeral.
HUD Buyer Select Program: HUD has begun their “Buyer Select” program. When you work with a Buyer who wins a bid to purchase a HUD REO, there are many changes regarding the earnest money and closing attorney. Please attend a HUD REO class to learn how the Buyer Select Program works. Maximum One hosts a HUD Foreclosure class monthly in one of our branches.
Woodstock Copier: There is a new copier in the Woodstock Branch. If you have not already done so, please contact Branch Managers Mary Lamb or Paul Worley to make sure that your code and email address are entered into the new machine so you will be able to use it at your convenience.
Real Estate CE Cruise: Unfortunately, the CE Cruise for February has been cancelled. We will attempt to schedule another CE cruise when we have more interest.
Office Suite Furniture: If you are interested in any office suite furniture from “By Design,” one of our agents formerly owned a staging company and can help you out. Please contact Rick Duda Rick@ZippityDuda.com

7/8/13

HUD Foreclosure: Buyer Select Program: HUD has unveiled their “Buyer Select” program for buyers purchasing HUD foreclosures. Attend a HUD REO class this month to learn about these changes to how you complete a winning bid on a HUD foreclosure. Learn where to send the earnest money and where you may close the transaction! General PROGRAM INFO:
- (1) Buyers get to choose their own closing agent.
- (2) Buyer Select Closing fees is a buyer expense.
- (3) HUD will pay only a portion of the closing fees, if the buyer includes closing costs on line 5 of the sales contract at the time of bid submission and there are sufficient funds remaining to allow for this fee to be paid. If there are no closing costs included in the bid, the buyer will be required to pay all settlement and closing fees.
- (4) At the time of bid submission, the selling agent is required to complete the Buyer Select addendum providing the asset management company (PEMCO, Oforio, Home Telos) with the name and contact of the selected escrow company.
- (5) The earnest money payee and delivery will vary based on geographic area, refer to the earnest money guidelines for complete instructions.
Agent on Duty (AOD): We are in the process of enhancing the Agent on Duty program. Mary Lamb is the AOD manager and Maximum One is extremely appreciative of her efforts and dedication to working with us on this program. You may sign up for a time slot on the online AOD calendar: www.MaximumOneAOD.com Once you register for a time slot, you simply go to the branch you specified at the allotted time and the Branch Manager there will log you on to the AOD server. The weekend time slots are curretnly on hold as we go through this enhancement process as there is no Branch Manager available to log you in to the system. You work the leads that come in from our online marketing efforts and answer the phone! If the phones are not ringing at your location, please call the Woodstock Branch (extention 310) to have them forward the phones to you.
New Orientation Video: We have a new Orientation Video to help you get acclimated to Maximum One! Click on this link: MX1 Orientation Video and check it out! This is located in our Video training library: www.MaximumOneTraining.com
Online Bill Pay: We are excited to bring to you the option of paying your bill online! You will see the link on the bottom of all of the emails you receive from Tiffany, on the Extranet and on your monthly bill. Maximum One Pay Your Bill Online . There is a $3 handling fee for this service.

7/1/13

Happy Independence Day!!! Maximum One Realty Offices will be closed Thursday July 4th and Friday July 5th! Enjoy your holiday!
FMLS Fee Due on Expired/Withdrawn Listing: FMLS is due a fee regardless of the current status of the property IF the Buyer was introduced to that property while the property was “Active” in FMLS. Any closing for a property property that is sold within 90 days of expiration / withdrawn date to a Buyer who first saw the property when it was active will require an FMLS fee. If you are unsure at the time of contract, when it closes, FMLS will check and send us a bill. If you are the agent in that transaction, we will then put the FMLS fee on your agent bill (provided we get billed for that property through FMLS.)
Agent Business Service Fees: If you work with another agent for services rendered as part of your business, you must pay that business expense directly rather than putting that fee on the BlueSheet for Maximum One to pay. This includes Contract to Close Services, Mentoring / Coaching / Training Services, etc. If you and another agent have a true referral agreement in place, you must complete a Broker-to-Broker referral form (from FMLS, GAMLS or the Maximum One Referral Form) and upload that into Paperless Pipeline along with your Bluesheet. If you and other agents truly operate as a “Team,” then you may indicate that on your BlueSheet. If you have any questions, please contact Dana Sparks Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com
New Orientation Video: We have a new Orientation Video to help you get acclimated to Maximum One! Click on this link: MX1 Orientation Video and check it out! This is located in our Video training library: www.MaximumOneTraining.com
FMLS Compulsory Areas – Update: When you sell (either representing Buyer or Seller) a property that is located in an area that is deemed by FMLS as a “Compulsory Area,” you must pay the FMLS fee regardless if the listing agent had it listed or not provided that the Seller has signed an Exclusive Listing Agreement with the Listing Brokerage. .
Withdraw Fees from FMLS and GAMLS: FMLS and GAMLS prohibit agents from directly charging the public for the withdraw fees. Therefore, when adding a special stipulation to your listing agreements to address the Seller’s early termination of their brokerage engagement, you must charge a “Termination fee” or “Administration fee” or something similar to that rather than labeling this charge as a “fee to withdraw from the listing service. The listing services charge the Broker those withdrawal fees and the Broker, in turn, bills the agent.
Market Videos for Agents: Present market data visually through video. The company Terradatum (www.Terradatum.com ) has a free trial of their new service through July 4th. Each video presents key market stats for your area (active inventory, median list price, Days on Market, median sales price, units sold.) Check it out at: www.MarketVideos.com and put in promo code: JULY4 for a free trial. After the free trial period, the service is $29/month billed through Terradatum and they say you can cancel at any time.
Team Meetings: The Maximum One Branches have “Team Meetings” every month on set days of the month. These meetings are open to ALL AGENTS! You may be familiar with the term “Business Meeting” or “Sales Meeting” We highly encourage you to attend the Team Meeting at your branch (or any branch!) There is a TON of valuable information that is shared at these meetings. The lenders, closing attorneys and vendors share THE latest information and issues in our industry. There is also typically some information pertaining to how you can enhance your business as well as learning the latest information about Maximum One. Team Meetings are a fabulous opportunity to meet other agents in your office and to cross-sell listings with Buyers in-house! The Team Captains (see the bottom of this email) do an extreme amount of work to arrange Team Meetings replete with content to make them informative and enjoyable for YOU! Please check out the next Team Meeting in your branch!
- West Cobb – 1st Tuesday of every month (except for July due to Independence Day)
- East Cobb and Woodstock – 2nd Tuesday of every month
- Galleria (Smyrna/Vinings)- 2nd Wednesday of every month
- Douglasville – 3rd Tuesday of every month
- Paulding – 3rd Thursday of every month
- See entire Schedule here
Agent Bills: You are billed for the month which proceeds the bill. For example, the bill that you receive around July 10th is for the month of August for your base fee specific to your commission plan you have chosen. The bill also includes the copies you logged for the previous month. Your bill will also reflect the option you have chosen to pay your Errors and Omissions Insurance (annual renewal, monthly payment or 3-month payment) any late fees you have incurred from the compliance department or billing department, any FMLS/GAMLS fees and any optional marketing services you have chosen (i.e. agent website, Voicepad, etc.) If you have any questions, Tiffany Williams will gladly send you an itemized bill that shows past charges and credits applied and work with you to make any necessary corrections. We greatly appreciate your patience with working with Tiffany and our Accounting department in answering your questions and making the appropriate corrections. Tiffany may be reached at: AgentBilling@MyMaximum One.com 770-919-8825 ext 303.
Online Bill Pay: We are excited to bring to you the option of paying your bill online! You will see the link on the bottom of all of the emails you receive from Tiffany, on the Extranet and on your monthly bill. Maximum One Pay Your Bill Online

6/24/13

Welcome NEW Agents to Maximum One:
- Alan Tam – Smyrna/Vinings
- Donnie Dubreuieul – Smyrna/Vinings
- Liz Diaz – Smyrna/Vinings
- Kathy Boudoin – Paulding
- Remi Fawole – East Cobb
- Betty Lohman – Woodstock
- Kristine Jackman – West Cobb
- Bill Kheir – West Cobb
- Wanda Bowman – West Cobb
- Marie Robinson – West Cobb
- Erik Rodriguez – West Cobb
- Eulita Watts – Douglasville
- Cindy Reiser – Gwinnett
- Lakita Williams – Gwinnett
- Jake Williams – Gwinnett
- Dan Fox – North Fulton
- Beverly Younkins – North Fulton
- Lisa Parkins – North Fulton
- Brad Moson – North Fulton
- Norm Itskov – North Fulton
- Win Parkins – North Fulton
- Vicki Lazzari – North Fulton
- Rachel Magnusson – North Fulton
- Robin Noakes – North Fulton
New North Fulton Location: We are excited to announce our new North Fulton Location in the John’s Creek area: 11130 State Bridge Road, Suite B106, John’s Creek, GA 30022. There is no longer furniture at the location on Marconi Drive yet there is still a copy machine and a computer. For after hours entry into the New John’s Creek location, please contact Tina Vliet as there is a security system in place.
New Orientation Video: We have a new Orientation Video to help you get acclimated to Maximum One! Click on this link: MX1 Orientation Video and check it out! This is located in our Video training library: www.MaximumOneTraining.com
FMLS Compulsory Areas: When you sell (either representing Buyer or Seller) a property that is located in an area that is deemed by FMLS as a “Compulsory Area,” you must pay the FMLS fee regardless if the listing agent had it listed or not. Here are the FMLS Rules & Regulations as of April 10, 2013. The Compulsory Areas are the following counties: Barrow, Bartow, Cherokee, Chattooga, Cobb, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Floyd, Forsyth, Fulton, Gordon, Gwinnett, Hall, Haralson, Jackson, Lumpkin, Paulding, Pickens, Polk and Walton.
Real Estate – Continuing Education Fun Cruise: Space is Limited so Book NOW! – We are hosting a 5-Day Real Estate CE Fun Cruise! Embarkation: Feb 22, 2014 leaving out of Jacksonville, FL and cruising Key West and Nassau! This is the ship, Fantasy, of the Carnival Cruise Line. Call Magic Moments Travel: Grant Peterson 770-919-9169 or email travelgp@yahoo.com and mention “CE Cruise”

Inside Cabin: $457.55 per person double occupancy Ocean View is $497.55 per person double occupancy

CE class is $25 to be paid separately.1st Deposit is $100 due EXTENDED TOJune 30th by Carnival Cruise Line,

2nd Deposit is $100 due July 20th

Remainder due by December 1st

6/17/13

New North Fulton Location: We are excited to announce our new North Fulton Location in the John’s Creek area: 11130 State Bridge Road, Suite B106, John’s Creek, GA 30022. There is no longer furniture at the location on Marconi Drive yet there is still a copy machine and a computer. For after hours entry into the New John’s Creek location, please contact Tina Vliet as there is a security system in place.
Welcome New Staff at Maximum One: We are so excited to welcome: Genna Crider, Tiffany Williams and Alicia Gregory in our Accounting Department! We have never before had so much real estate and accounting knowledge and experience in that department! Genna Crider, who will be processing your closings and Direct Deposits, has over 20 years experience working in the office of various real estate companies! It was quite a coup for Maximum One to welcome her to our staff! (Genna- Accounting@MyMaximumOne.com ext. 311) Tiffany Williams who will be managing your Agent Bills and other areas of accounting for the company has not only an impressive background in accounting and bookkeepping, but she too has some back-office experience with closing attorneys and mortgage lenders. Tiffany has also practiced real estate briefly in New York. Tiffany is also the Branch Manager of the East Cobb branch! (Tiffany – AgentBilling@MyMaximumOne.com ext 303) Alicia Gregory, who will be processing your DA’s and Termination and Release’s, also has 20+ years working in the office of various local real estate companies! Alicia will also be working with Genna on cutting your commission checks too! (Alicia – Alicia@MyMaximumOne.com ext 325.) We appreciate your patience as Genna, Tiffany and Alicia learn our processes and our Accounting Software system.
New Maximum One Policies: Please see the Policy and Procedures Manual in your Branch & the MX1 Blog for the MX1 policies. We have made several announcements lately regarding new policies.
Commission Advance: If you use one of the third party services to get an advance on your commission, we will honor those requests from eCommission (www.eCommission.com ) Your file must be 100% complete and compliant, request must be made at least 72 business hours prior to closing, you must not have an outstanding balance with MX1. If you use the code: REF100, they will reduce the cost of your first advance by $100. We are not associated nor promote any third-party advance commission companies.

Welcome: Murphy & Shank – Our Newest Closing Attorneys: Dell Murphy & Terrie Shank are our newest closing attorneys affiliated with Maximum One! They are specifically affiliated with the Woodstock branch. Located right on Towne Lake Parkway, they offer a variety of closing services for a smooth and successful closing for all of your real estate transactions. You will see them at the Woodstock Team Meetings and in Lunch & Learns and CE Classes in the Woodstock branch. They can be reached at: www.MurphyShank.com 770-517-9300 Terrie@murphyshank.com and Dell@MurphyShank.com
HGTV Shows “Property Brothers” and “Buying and Selling” Casting Call: HGTV is casting in the Atlanta area for two of their hit shows. If you have clients who want to sell their homes quickly and for top dollar, but realize their home needs a make-over first, click here for information on how they can get on the hit show Buying and Selling. If you have clients looking for expert renovation for a new project, click here for a flyer with details and information on how to get on the show Property Brothers. If you haven’t seen Prospect Mortgage’s recent Renovation Lending Ad during commercial breaks on these or other HGTV renovation shows, check it out here: www.prospectmortgage.com Thank you Wesley Murphy Senior Loan Officer, for this exciting information: Team Murphy of Propsect Mortgage 404-585-0249 Wesley.Murphy@prospectmtg.com

Kennesaw Branch: There are no full-time staff at the Kennesaw office. Please do NOT turn in any documents or money to that branch.
Max Cares: Please send your prayers to Laura Wilson and her family. Her 20 year old nephew was killed in a motorcycle accident. Prayers for healing & strength & peace to you & your family.
Real Estate – Continuing Education Fun Cruise: Space is Limited so Book NOW! –
We are hosting a 5-Day Real Estate CE Fun Cruise! Embarkation: Feb 22, 2014 leaving out of Jacksonville, FL and cruising Key West and Nassau! This is the ship, Fantasy, of the Carnival Cruise Line. Call Magic Moments Travel: Grant Peterson 770-919-9169 or email travelgp@yahoo.com and mention “CE Cruise”
- Inside Cabin: $457.55 per person double occupancy Ocean View is $497.55 per person double occupancy
- CE class is $25 to be paid separately.

1st Deposit is $100 due June 20th,

2nd Deposit is $100 due July 20th

Remainder due by December 1st

6/10/13

POLICY: MX1 Transaction Fee/Split on $0 Commission: Beginning June 10, 2013, if you choose to take $0.00 commission on a transaction, the following shall apply:
- Transaction Fee to Maximum One shall be $50 ($40 if you are on Plan B) if this transaction is for an Owner-Occupied property for yourself or your immediate family with a maximum of two transactions per year.
- If the above does not apply, then the transaction fee to Maximum One shall be the transaction fee based on your plan; if you are on a commission split, then the Maximum One fee shall be your split (based on your plan) based on 3% of the sales price of the property.
POLICY: Commissions Paid when Leaving Maximum One: Beginning June 1, 2013, if you choose to leave Maximum One, regardless of the plan you have been on, any pending transactions will be paid out at a 70/30 split with the agent retaining 70% of the commission.

POLICY: All Maximum One Agents are Required to Take a Contracts CE Course Each Year: Unless you are in the Holding Company, you are required to take a CE course on contracts every year. This class can be on the GAR forms, RE forms or any combination. If you have not taken a contracts class yet this year, consider taking one; this policy will become mandatory beginning January 2014.
Spanish-Speaking Agents: We now have a Spanish option through our phone system if the public wishes to speak with an agent who speaks Spanish. If you speak Spanish and would like to be included in our list so that we may rotate these calls to you, please email Dave Kubat: Dave@MaximumOneRealty.com. Please indicate if you are an agent with Greater Atlanta or Executives.
Mortgage Rates Improve prior to Job Reports Being Released: Does this indicate that mortgage rates are rising or staying steady and should a Borrower lock their rate or float? The goal is to move back to lower interest rates, it’s up to the data in the job reports to facilitate this move. The week’s improvement in Mortgage-Backed Securities (which has the most influence on consumer interest rates for mortgages) is hopeful, but it will still depend on the job-growth numbers. This is still a volatile rate environment with rates continually rising from their all-time lows of September and October of 2012. For more specifics and advice whether Buyers should lock their rates or not, contact Judy Price of Chase Mortgage (Affiliated Lender with West Cobb Branch) Judy.A.Price@Chase.com 404-200-1308.
Chase Grand Opening: Congratulations to Chase on their Grand Opening of their Branch on the corner of Dallas Highway & Mars Hill Rd – directly across the street from the West Cobb Branch of Maximum One. Their Grand Opening was held Saturday 6/8/13.

GSCCCA – the Clerk of Courts Website: Maximum One has a membership to this site for you to access tax records, legal descriptions & lien-holders. The Password for agent access is on the Extranet.

Transaction NOT CLOSED until Checks have Been Disbursed: Regardless of what the Buyer’s Lender tells you about funding the loan, the Bank-Seller/Short-Sale Lender must approve the FINAL HUD before the transaction is actually closed or else you are closing in escrow. You will know that you are actually closed WHEN YOU GET YOUR CHECK form the Closing Attorney! If this has not happened, do NOT give the Buyer keys to the property because they do not yet own it! If you are closing and the Seller is a Bank or a Short-Sale, I suggest you NOT close late in the afternoon on a Friday or you may not close this transaction until the middle to the end of the following week!

Bulk-Buyers vs. Individual Buyers Effect Sale Prices: Large Investment firms have spent billions of dollars over the last year buying homes in some of the most depressed areas. This bulk- buying seems to be causing a shortage of inventory and an increase in prices yet does this reflect market-demand or a shift in the distressed-property market? For more information & future implications, read this article: Behind the Rise in House Prices, Wall Street Buyers courtesy of Monifa Taylor… thank you, Monifa!
How to Attract Buyers and Get Them Under Contract with No Competition: Use your same Craigslist strategy and advertise NEW CONSTRUCTION (with the Seller’s permission) rather than HUD foreclosures! Dave has written permission from the Broker/Sales Manager of AboutSalesInc (Real Estate Broker for Piedmont) to do Buyer Ads for any of these homes listed in the subdivisions below. Your CraigsList Ad may be: “Don’t Compete with other Buyers: Buy New Construction and Pick Out your Own Decorator Items”, something like that. On the ExtraNet under Career Building>>Training and Education>> Quantum Leap>>Lead Generation is a Craigslist Manual and a Quantum Leap Manual. There are free ads to run for New Homes. You must put “Complements of AboutSalesInc” in your ads. Go get ’em!!! Dave Kubat. See link for all subdivisions Piedmont has all over the place. http://www.piedmontresidential.com/find-your-home
Kennesaw Branch: There is no full-time staff at the Kennesaw office. Please do NOT turn in any documents or money to that branch.
Paperless Pipeline: This is the place to upload any and all of your documents pertaining to any transactions. This includes contracts, amendments, HUD-1 Settlement Statements, FMLS & GAMLS forms, DA requests, Bluesheets, etc. From Paperless Pipeline, the forms will be distributed to the appropriate place (Genna Crider in the Accounting Department, Tiffany Williams on the Agent Billing Department, FMLS, GAMLS, etc.)
MX1 Fall Fun Family Festival – We are now seeking volunteers to help us coordinate our company-wide Fall Festival! Please contact Michelle Blevins: MichelleDBlevins@Hotmail.com
Real Estate – Continuing Education Fun Cruise –
We have the opportunity to host a Real Estate CE Fun Cruise! This would take place sometime in February. A 4 – 55 day cruise leaving out of Jacksonville, FL. If you think you would be at all interested, please contact Woodstock Co-Branch Manager, Paul Worley at PaulSellsAtlanta@gmail.com

6/3/13

POLICY: Commissions Paid when Leaving Maximum One: Beginning June 1, 2013, if you choose to leave Maximum One, regardless of the plan you have been on, any pending transactions will be paid out at a 70/30 split with the agent retaining 70% of the commission.

HUD Buyer Select Agent Closing Program: HUD is instituting a Buyer Select Agent Closing Program. The various asset management companies (Pemco, Home Telos & Oforio) are rolling this program out in different stages for different counties on different dates. PLEASE CHECK WITH THE HUD LISTING AGENT for the specifics for each transaction. There are Buyer Select Contract packages and many of the listing agents have auto-populated contracts as well. The essence of this program is that the Buyer will choose their own closing attorney and HUD will pay the Buyer’s closing costs provided that this contribution was requested on the initial offer. The Buyer fills in the name of the closing attorney on the contract submitted with the bid. Additionally, the HUD Listing Brokers will be holding the Earnest Money! Please use the proper addenda to ensure no delays in getting your Buyer’s bids accepted and closing with the attorney of YOUR CHOICE!

MX1 Office Documents on Paperless Pipeline:

You must turn in a binding contract / lease / brokerage engagement / etc. within 72 hours of binding signatures/date. Please turn this in for GREC compliance ans so we may begin a file in Paperless Pipeline. Once your transaction has begun, you may always add your additional documents. Please do not wait until you have everything before uploading your transaction as this may be after the 72 hours.

MX1 Fall Fun Family Festival – We are now seeking volunteers to help us coordinate our company-wide Fall Festival! Please contact Michelle Blevins: MichelleDBlevins@Hotmail.com
Real Estate – Continuing Education Fun Cruise –
We have the opportunity to host a Real Estate CE Fun Cruise! This would take place sometime in February. A 4 – 55 day cruise leaving out of Jacksonville, FL. If you think you would be at all interested, please contact Woodstock Co-Branch Manager, Paul Worley at PaulSellsAtlanta@gmail.com
Max Cares: Send your healing prayers to Jean Herd
who is recovering from Gall Bladder surgery.

5/27/13

Memorial Day: Monday, 5/27/13: Offices are Closed – Be Safe, Have Fun & remember our fallen soldiers who fought for what we have!

Schools are Out: Be careful driving as children are out playing! Remember, more parents may also be home…. ask them when they plan on moving!
Oklahoma Tornado Victims: This weekend, please take a moment to send a few prayers for the people in Oklahoma who have been devastated by the recent tornadoes.
Graduation Congratulations: Congratulations to all families with graduating students!!!

Paperless Pipeline: Remember to upload all of your documents into Paperless Pipeline in a timely manner! This document storage system is a repository where you can access your documents at any time as well as being the system we use to check compliance.
Deposits Stored in Paperless Pipeline: After the earnest money for your transaction has been deposited, by your Branch Manager, a copy of that deposit will be stored in Paperless Pipeline in your transaction. This deposit receipt is important for contract compliance as well as being a convenience for you should the co-op agent request a copy.
Smyrna/Vinings Evening Team Meeting/Social Mixer: This event was such a blast!!!! Many of the participants won gift cards, gas cards, and other prizes thanks to the raffles throughout the evening! We encourage all Maximum One agents to participate with their branch events and ALL events for fun, community, education and sense of comraderie! Thank you to all who planned, attended and participated!

5/20/13

Paperless Pipeline Tutorial: Paperless Pipeline is Maximum One’s Transaction Management System. If you have not used it yet, our Compliance Broker, Dawn Luttrell, has recorded a brief video tutorial on how to access and use Paperless Pipeline. Here is the Link to Paperless Pipeline Video Tutorial or you may watch this along with other training videos at:www.MaximumOneTraining.com

Georgia General Assembly House Bill 83 Signed by Governor May 6, 2013: This bill amends Georgia Law relating to the licensing of mortgage lenders and brokers and specifically exempts from licensing a Georgia real estate agent from providing information to a lender on a short sale transaction where a separate fee is not received by the agent or broker. A real estate agent/broker who directly negotiates, places or finds mortgages for others are not exempt from licensing. This bill fixes unintended consequences of legislation that was passed several years ago. HB 83 has been signed into law and Real Estate Agents will no longer risk felony charges by simply carrying out their normal duties through assisting their clients in short sale transactions. Read HB 83 here.
UPDATED MX1 Broker’s Exhibit & Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure Form to use with RE Forms: Here is the updated form MX1 Broker Exhibit & Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure to use for those of you using RE Contract Forms. This one page document has the appropriate verbiage necessary for the disclosures and protections you need when writing contracts on these forms.Thank youMark Willix for your assistance!
UPDATED MX1 Remote Earnest Money Deposit Instructions: You may deposit earnest money remotely into any Suntrust branch. If you choose this option, you must IMMEDIATELY email:Comptroller@MyMaximumOne.com with the following information:
- Copy of earnest money check
- Copy of deposit slip BEFORE making your deposit
- Copy of counter receipt you receive AFTER making your deposit
- Property Address
- Buyer Name
- Agent Name
- Agent Company (MXGA / MXGR / MXEX / MXER)
- Specific instructions with appropriate account number per your company are on Paperless Pipeline and the Extranet and your Branch Manager has copies as well.
- MAKE SURE TO DEPOSIT THE EARNEST MONEY INTO THE PROPER ACCOUNT

Smyrna/Vinings Evening Team Meeting/Social Mixer: This Thursday from 5pm – 8pm in the Smyrna/Vinings office. There will be someone there to watch you children to NO EXCUSES for not attending! This fun event will be informative & festive & a blast! Socialize with your colleagues at the evening Team Meeting Mixer! Come see the new floorplan for the NEW GALLERIA office! Amee Davis of Davis & Associates, Wesley Murphy & his Team of Prospect Mortgage, a CPA, home warranty reps & home inspectors will be in attendance! You will be informed & have a blast! RSVP to Tony Cade at Cade9676@yahoo.com or Faye Williams Few1421@yahoo.com Come enjoy socializing with your colleagues & learn about what’s going on! EVERYONE is invited even if the Smyrna office is not your “home” branch!

MX1 Office Documents on Paperless Pipeline:
Many if not all of the documents you need for your contracts and Maximum One procedures are located on Paperless Pipeline under the “Office” tab at the top.

Max Cares: Send your condolences and prayers for peace to Genna Crider on the passing of her Aunt.

5/13/13

Happy Mother’s Day!

Pacesetter Award 2013: Congratulations AGAIN to Maximum One!!! For the 4th year in a row, we have been recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the Fastest Growing Companies in Atlanta!
UPDATED MX1 Broker’s Exhibit & Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure Form to use with RE Forms: Here is the updated form MX1 Broker Exhibit & Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure to use for those of you using RE Contract Forms. This one page document has the appropriate verbiage necessary for the disclosures and protections you need when writing contracts on these forms.Thank you Mark Willix for your assistance!
Closings: Make sure you put an adequate number of days for closing in your contract to allow for the processing by the lender and attorney. You may think you are making your Buyer’s contract more attractive in a multiple-offer situation by putting in a short close time frame & then thinking you can extend, HOWEVER, many Sellers have back-up contracts for more money and will not extend your agreement!

NO Buying anything prior to closing your transaction: Remind your Buyers to not buy anything prior to closing or they may not qualify for their financing! Inform them that sales offering “$0 down & no payment for 6 months” WILL EFFECT their credit!!!!!

Cash for Earnest Money:: Don’t do it!!! If the Buyer is getting a loan, the lender will not allow it. There is no way to track cash and do not put yourself nor Maximum One in a position that either agent or client can claim that the Buyer said they gave you $1,000 cash yet you only have $500. Have that person go to a bank & get certified funds!

Maximum One Team Meetings: There are many reasons to attend your Branch’s Team Meeting!
- You create a sense of community with your colleagues!
- You learn a TON of information from the Affiliated Lenders & Affiliated Attorneys!
- You learn what’s going on in the company!
- You learn what’s going on in your industry!
- You learn where you can find a property for your Buyer that the rest of the market does not yet know about!
- You learn how to make bonus money at various new subdivisons!
- You can win a cruise like Carolyn & Wayne Crowe did at the West Cobb Team Meeting – Congratulations!!! They won a cruise from Lennar Homes!
- The Team Leaders provide speakers and programs designed to help you GROW your business!!!
- If you haven’t been to a Team Meeting lately, come check out what you have been missing!!
- They are only once/month!!!

Bankruptcy: A Bankruptcy does not necessarily negate all liens on a house! We have many Sellers just now coming out of bankruptcy & wanting to put their homes on the market. Imagine their chagrin (& yours) when they get to the closing table & discover they still have tens of thousands of dollars in liens on their house that were NOT wiped out by the bankruptcy! We learned all about it & what to do & how to prevent it from attorney Amee Davis of Davis and Associates at the West Cobb Team Meeting! ADavis@DavisLawGA.com

5/6/13

Welcome New Agents: – There are increasingly new faces at each office of Maximum One! Please welcome the newest members and remember to lend a helping hand!
- Paul Worley – Woodstock
- Beth Haigh – Kennesaw
- Campbell Haigh – Kennesaw
- Veronica Sprayberry – Paulding
- Keena Kirk – North Fulton
- Jackie Smith – West Cobb
- Tomika Williams – Paulding
- Sheena Anwer – Gwinnett
- Andrea White – Smyrna/Vinings
- Don Buckner – Smyrna/Vinings
- Joy Jenrette – Gwinnett
- Lesley Hudson Robinson – Smyrna/Vinings
- Aimee Arreola – Gwinnett
- Reynold Mason – Gwinnett
- Sharon Ritter – Woodstock
- Tina Kennedy – West Cobb – Welcome BACK
- Susan Echols – North Fulton
- Parupkar Gill – Woodstock
- Leticia Mora – Kennesaw
- Marie JeanLouis – West Cobb
- Jason Brown – Douglasville
- Christina Williams – Paulding
- Kim Terrell – West Cobb – Welcome BACK

Welcome New Affiliated Lender for West Cobb:

Please join us in welcoming our newest affiliated lender for the West Cobb office: Chase Mortgage. Eric Hoffner and his entire Team out of 5 branches will be readily available to help you with all of your mortgage questions & to pre-approve your Buyers. They can help with a variety of issues and products. Please come to Tuesday’s Team Meeting in West Cobb to meet Eric and his crew and hear about the exciting products and services they have to offer! Eric Hoffner – eric.s.hoffner@chase.com – 770-652-9574
Supra New iBox: Coming in August, Supra unveils a new iBox. It operates with both Bluetooth and infrared and should be accessible through smartphones, iPhones & iPads.

Realtor.com Launching a Video on Demand Channel on TV in Atlanta: Through Comcast cable, channel 987 will show your listings on TV through the Showcase feature of Realtor.com in collaboration with HomeTour Network.

MX1 Picnic: Maximum One will NOT be having the Company picnic in June. We did not have enough people to volunteer to help Michelle Blevins with this project. Instead, we are shooting to have a Family Fall Festival! Please contact Michelle Blevins so we can begin planning this event NOW! Michelle can be reached at: MichelleDBlevins@hotmail.com

Maximum One Leads Program: There are many leads coming in to the Leads Program. There are especially a lot of rental leads. If you are interested in getting company-generated leads, please send the following information to our Leads Manager – Ted Kubat at info@MaximumOneRealty.com. There is a 30% referral fee to Maximum One when these leads close. You must respond to these leads within 15 minutes or the Leads Manager will send this lead to the next agent on the rotation list. You will go back in rotation.
- Your Name
- Your email & cell phone
- The areas of town you are willing to work
- If you are willing to take rental leads
Max Cares: Congratulations to Campbell 7 Beth Haigh on their marriage. They are currently on their Honeymoon!

4/29/13

GAR Contracts & Defaulting Parties – The 2013 GAR contracts have verbiage in them regarding the financial damages of the defaulting party. The paragraph discusses rights to the other party in the contract AND rights of the Brokerages as well. Should the defaulting party agree to the provisions in this contract as liquidated damages for the contract in order to avoid any potential law suits, complete the Mutual Settlement Agreement (GAR F88.) This form is to be used when the parties agree to this mutual settlement and not if there is any dispute over the issues of default or damages.
FIND: Have you ever wanted to access another listing service and not been able to? Wanted to search a listing nearby such as in the North Georgia Mountains or farther away such as Florida or Texas? Have you wanted to stay on FMLS & search listings in GAMLS? Well check out “FIND!” Go to FMLS and login. On the left side, click on “System Links” then scroll down to “FIND.”

GAMLS: When searching for homes for Buyers, remember to search on GAMLS in addition to FMLS. Many smaller brokerages have membership only to GAMLS and do not even belong to FMLS so you won’t find their listings there!
Listings Taken: Remember that Maximum One Realty is a member of BOTH listing services so when you take a listing, you are required to enter your listings into BOTH services.
Maximum One 2nd Annual Company Picnic: Our Picnic will be on Saturday June 1st at RedTop Mountain. This is a FAMILY event for all! If you would like to help on the picnic committee, please contact Michelle Blevins MichelleDBlevins@hotmail.com . This is a fun event to plan and we surely can use your help!

Maximum One Leads Program: The Maximum One Leads Program has been launched! If you are interested in getting company-generated leads, please send the following information to: info@MaximumOneRealty.com. There is a 30% referral fee to Maximum One when these leads close. You must respond to these leads within 15 minutes or the Leads Manager will send this lead to the next agent on the rotation list. You will go back in rotation.
- Your Name
- Your email & cell phone
- The areas of town you are willing to work
- If you are willing to take rental leads
Thank You: Our sincerest gratitude goes out to Earl Pilcher, Branch Manager of the Woodstock Office and Brian Cobb, branch manager of the East Cobb office. April marks the end of their being on staff with Maximum One. Earl’s service to Maximum One has been long and extensive. Earl has worn many hats including Listings Broker, Operations Manager, Leads Manager to name a few! We wish them the best of luck in their profitable & successful futures! Earl & Brian, you will be missed!
Max Cares: Please send your prayers for peace to Segun Ore in Douglasville who lost his Father-in-Law last week.

4/22/13

HUD Foreclosure News – Although you are seeing in your HUD packages information/requests/forms for the Buyer’s agent to select the closing attorney (and send the earnest money to the listing agent) if you read closely, you will discover that those changes do not go into effect in Georgia until July 2013. You may close your HUD transaction at the attorney of your choice but know that it is a “two-part” closing; in July, when you select the closing attorney, the transaction will close as other non-HUD closings and not be a two-part closing. Until these changes go into effect later this Summer, remember that the Buyer’s earnest money is to be in certified funds, payable to HUD and delivered to HUD. Do not jeopardize your Buyer’s transaction by not being educated on the proper way to bid on a HUD home and send in the binding contract properly. Maximum One offers FREE 3 hour CE HUD classes each and every month! Even if you do not need the CE credit, I highly encourage you to learn about HUD properties and how to secure one for your Buyers.
West Cobb Facelift: Many If you have not been to the West Cobb office lately, you are in for a pleasant surprise! You will be excited and proud to invite an agent to a CE class here and to meet a client to sign a contract in this branch!
Paulding Grand Opening: Congratulations on a fabulous grand opening celebration of our Paulding branch of Maximum One! We had an amazing turnout of agents, friends and guests! We gave away several gift cards, gift baskets and two tablets! The BBQ was delicious too! Thank you to all of our vendors and sponsors including Jamie Bailey & Shaun Graham of Southeast Mortgage and Jeff Bowers of The Bowers Law Firm. A special thank you to all of the members of the committee especially Dawn Luttrell, Ellen Manley and Mark Willix who chaired the committee and pulled it all together in the wee hours the night before the event!

Tax Tips for Real Estate Agents: The best time to start preparing for next year’s Tax Day is NOW! Don’t wait until next March to begin your tax preparation for 2013. The best resource for you is your accountant. For your convenience, here are some articles to help you figure out what types of records/receipts you should keep.

- Faxes: Remember if you are expecting a fax to please ask the sender to include a cover page! Faxes come in to the Call Coordinator: CallCoordinator@MyMaximumOne.com 770-919-8825 ext 306. If you are expecting a fax, please contact Deloris or Monica at the above contact information. The Maximum One fax line (efax) is monitored Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm.
- Maximum One Leads Program: The Maximum One Leads Program has been launched! If you are interested in getting company-generated leads, please send the following information to: info@MaximumOneRealty.com. There is a 30% referral fee to Maximum One when these leads close. You must respond to these leads within 15 minutes or the Leads Manager will send this lead to the next agent on the rotation list. You will go back in rotation.
  - Your Name
  - Your email & cell phone
  - The areas of town you are willing to work
  - If you are willing to take rental leads
- Please Welcome: Vivian Green as Agent Services Coordinator and Branch Manager of Smyrna-Vinings. Welcome Vivian!!! She has been with us since the beginning of April and is doing a fantastic job!!! Please say hello and make her feel welcome! (ASC@MyMaximumOne.com 770-919-8825 ext 312)
- Sign Calls: Sign calls that come in by phone to Maximum One are promptly relayed to the listing agent. These are your calls and either staff or the AOD or the Leads Manager forwards these calls to you, Any internet inquiries that come in to the Agent on Duty (AOD) are leads for the AOD, Maximum One as a company has a lot of lead generation tools and programs whereby we generate company leads for AOD and out leads management program. The philosophy s that if an agent has their own online lead generation tools, the agent would get their own leads. The online leads that come in to the Leads line are generated by Maximum One.
Thank You: I want to personally thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for the love and support and prayers you sent to my family and me over the unexpected loss of my Mom. Your compassion and sympathy continues to comfort me throughout this difficult time. I am truly blessed to be a part of Maximum One which is comprised of all of you! … Dana Sparks

4/8/13

Maximum One Spring Picnic – June 1st:

Maximum One’s 2nd Annual Spring Picnic will be June 1st at Red Top Mountain. Mark your calendars now!!! More information to come. Thank you to Picnic Coordinators: Michelle Blevins & Bonnie Malley!
Spring Break: Many metro counties are on Spring Break this month. Many parents may be more easily accessible this week so go find out who needs to sell!
Listing Rentals: Rental listings are not required to be listed in FMLS or GAMLS. However, the additional exposure provided by the listing services will help you rent that property as well as generate more leads. Remember that a successful career is built upon relationships and ongoing business!
GSCCCA Account: Maximum One has purchased a corporate account for GSCCCA. This website is the Georgia Superior Clerk of Courts Cooperative Association. Access this site to determine the legal description and current ownership of a property as well as the liens recorded against the property. The warranty deed is the most reliable source for a legal description of a property and this will be your next best resource. Most closing attorneys use this resource as well. Because this newsletter goes out to many of our guests as well as Maximum One associates, the instructions to access the Maximum One corporate account for www.GSCCCA.org are on the Extranet rather than being attached to this newsletter.
Maximum One Fax Cover Page: We have created a new Maximum One Fax Cover Sheet for your convenience. This MX1 Fax Cover Page is linked here in pdf format. Your Branch Manager has a copy as well as a copy being on the Extranet in Word format so that you may personalize this cover page.
Max Cares – Love & Prayers to Monica Thomas & Teressa McIntosh who both had surgery last week.
Pre-License Class Begins April 15th: Please check out the course information & let anyone you know who is considering getting their license to register for this class (minimum of 8 students required!)
FMLS 48 Hour Listing Rule: FMLS has sent us an email to share with our agents:

“As you are well aware, active listing inventory has shrunk significantly in the last few months. As I pointed out in a previous email, this situation has engendered more and more Coming Soon and Pocket Listing efforts on the part of some of our members. These are very detrimental to: a) the real estate industry generally, b) you, our Member Brokers, c) Sellers and d) FMLS for the following reasons:

1) Brokers and Appraisers heavily use the FMLS database of comps which is the backbone of CMA’s that lending institutions require. Sales that do not show up in our system, are thus not factored into the CMA equation, often producing inaccurate or misleading results.

2) Since many counties are slow to record sales, transactions that are not in our system may be beyond the 90 day history window that some underwriters observe. For that reason, Appraisers may be prohibited from using these properties as comparables because of their age.

3) Appraisers tell us that most underwriters will not allow non-MLS sales to be used as comps because those properties were not adequately exposed to the market and, therefore, do not represent market-driven prices. Again, Appraisers may be prohibited from using these properties as comparables.

4) Not exposing a listing to all potential buyers may well be doing a Seller a disservice. In fact, in some states, Sellers have successfully sued Brokers when they subsequently realized that they did not receive fair market value for their properties.

5) It runs contrary to the basic premise of an MLS: COOPERATION, which implies the sharing of all listings with all other members.

6) For the reasons stated above, non-FMLS sales may well be slowing market-driven appreciation which is much needed by our members, their clients and the economy as a whole.

So, the bottom line, please see that you AND your agents abide by the FMLS rules which require entry into our system within 48 hours after the listing is signed. In addition, we are asking that you take the time to share with your agents the compelling reasons to do so, as outlined above.

We thank you for your membership and continued support.

4/1/13

Welcome New Agents to Maximum One:
Please help out the new faces you see in your offices as we welcome new agents to Maximum One Realty!
- Tim Clark – West Cobb
- Brenda Perry – West Cobb (Welcome BACK)
- Brandon Carter – West Cobb
- Monir Clark – West Cobb
- Nicki McCormick – Woodstock
- Paul Worley – Kennesaw
- Ray Chandler – Kennesaw
- Charles Fowler – Kennesaw
- Paul Worley – Kennesaw
- Melissa Cheeks – Cartersville
- Nicole Tatusko – Cartersville
- Amanda Pacholski – Cartersville
- Rick Duda – Smyrna/Vinings (Welcome BACK)
- Susan Taylor – Smyrna/Vinings (Welcome BACK)
- Tina Kennedy – Smyrna/Vinings (Welcome BACK)
- Vickie Watanabe – Smyrna/Vinings
- Annette Dail – Douglasville
- Tonette Moore – Douglasville
- Tyler Willix – Paulding
- Broderick Santiago -Paulding
- Kim Terrell – Paulding (Welcome BACK)
- Adam Wilkins – North Fulton
- Fleri Suriel – North Fulton
- Joy Jenrette – North Fulton
- Chad Jenkins – North Fulton
- Richard Welch – North Fulton
- Mohammed Mowla – North Fulton
- Lisa Green – North Fulton
HUD Broker Bonus: Remember when your Buyer wins a bid on a HUD foreclosure, you can get a commission bonus. The bonuses are scheduled in three tiers: $600 if close in 34 days, $450 if close 35 – 39 days, $300 if close 40 – 43 days. You must include the attached form with the signed contract and write “broker bonus” on the top of the contract. See the attached HUD Broker Bonus Tiers & it is also on the Extranet under Buyers – HUD as well as on Paperless Pipeline.
Maximum One Forms: There are many times you need a form and can’t remember where on the Extranet to find it. We have stored many of the most commonly used forms on Paperless Pipeline for you to access. When you first access Paperless Pipeline, at the top simply click on the “Office” tab and you will find the forms you need. If you would like for us to upload a form to this section, please email Dana Sparks at Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com
GAR Successful in Passing Bill to allow Realtors to Safely Engage in Short Sale Transactions: Thank you to Monifa Taylor for sending me the link regarding this news. HB 83 passed the Senate this week, 51-0, and is now on the the way to the Governor’s office for his signature. This is a great success for REALTORS® this session! This bill will allow REALTORS® to facilitate short sale transactions without risk of violating the Georgia Banking Department’s interpretation of current law. The passage of HB 83 was not only important for REALTORS®, but to the housing market. Without REALTOR® help in a short sales transaction many consumers could face foreclosure. Short sale transactions are extremely common in our market. The passage of HB 83 allows REALTORS® to provide information to a lender in a short sale transaction without obtaining a mortgage loan originator license.
Pre-License Class Begins April 15th: Please let anyone you know who is considering getting their license to register for this class ASAP. Minimum of 8 students required. More information at: www.registerforREclasses.com
Wells Fargo Cinemeeting: With Lou Holtz & Brian Buffini. Topic this month is Shake Up & Wake Up Your Winning Attitude from 3pm – 4:45pm. Contact East Cobb affiliate lender Nicki Riley for more information Nicki.Riley@Wellsfargo.com
Roster: Please check the most current roster on the Extranet for accuracy of your name, contact information & office affiliation. If it is incorrect, please contact Deloris Jenkins with the changes Douglasville@MyMaximumOne.com. Remember that your commission checks are printed at your “home” office as listed on the roster.
Thank you, GREC! Thank you to Chuck Jonaitis of GREC for such a great meeting with us last week! Thank you, Maximum One Agents, for being so diligent with your paperwork and earnest money! Y’all rock!!!!
Happy Easter!

3/25/13

Maximum One in Top 25 Real Estate Companies of 2012: Congratulations to Maximum One for receiving yet another prestigious award! The Atlanta Business Chronicle ranked the Top 25 Real Estate companies in the area based on volume and Maximum One ranked #19!!! We ranked ahead of Palmer House Properties with over 200 agents more than we have and only one position behind Virtual Properties with over 1000 agents! Congratulations to all of our agents!!! We are so excited to be in business with all of you! See the entire list here: Atlanta’s Top 25 Residential Real Estate Companies for 2012
Fannie Mae & HUD Forms for Contracts:
If you need blank (& electronically fillable) forms for Fannie Mae & HUD properties manages by Pemco, they are available to you through Transaction Desk on GAMLS. GAMLS wll soon have the required Oforio & Home Telos forms as well..
Lockboxes with Combination Codes: Remember that as a licensed real estate agent, you are to cooperate with other licensed real estate agents regarding the showing of property. This means that you are NOT TO GIVE OUT THE CODE TO COMBINATION LOCKBOXES DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC only to other real estate agents. Better yet, use the Supra lckboxes so that you are ensured that an agent who is in good standing with the real estate commission has accessed the property AND you can track the agents that have been in and out of the house.
Rural Development Eligible Area Changes: RThank you to David Stallings & Jerahme Wetzel our affiliated lenders with Homestar Financial Corporation for the following update regarding USDA loans. The bill known as the “Continuing Resolution” passed the Senate and now the House of Representatives needs to approve this version. It’s looking good and they want to have this signed by Friday 3/22. The passing of this bill will delay any change in the areas currently eligible for USDA Rural Development Guaranteed Loans (Villa Rica is still currently eligible for USDA loans.)
Douglasville: David Stallings & Jerahme Wetzel (Homestar Financial) – DStallings@Homestarfc.com – 770-364-5416 & JWetzel@Homestarfc.com – 678-561-2504
Advertising Opportunity through Guidebook: The Guidebook (West Cobb & I believe other areas) is a magazine glossy publication which highlights the quality of life for cities where people buy, work & play. The publishers have also teamed up with with www.georgialocalsearch.com to add even more value to your ad participation. For more information including pricing contact Brian Botkin at BBotkin@pubman.net.
Roster: Please check the most current roster on the Extranet for accuracy of your name, contact nformation & office affiliation. If it is incorrect, please contact Dana with the changes:.

3/18/13

Maximum One Blog: Have you ever seen something in this newsletter that you wanted to refer back to but just couldn’t seem to fin it in your email; or you remember a contract tip that came across in the past few weeks but you don’t really feel like searching though all of your emails to find which week that issues was covered? Well, simply go to the Maximum One Realty Blog where all of these weekly newsletters are re-written and clearly labeled on different pages! All you have to do is click on the page title at the top of the blog page and you may scroll down and see all of the articles that have been written in that category (i.e. Deal-or-No-Deal – contract tips, Fun apps and websites, General Announcements, and “Home” is the page that contains the coaching/motivational articles.) The easy-to-remember web address is: www.MaximizeYourRealEstateCareer.com
FHA Loans as of April 1st: Remember that loans with case numbers issued before or after April 1st there are changes to the Mortgage Insurance.
- Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium 1.75% (no change)
- Annual Mortgage Insurance Premium 1.35% (this is UP from 1.25%)
- Monthly Mortgage Insurance Premium stays with the loan for the life of that loan (used to be that when equity reached 78% of loan value it would drop off)
- There are other changes depending upon if the borrower is putting down less than 10% or amortizing for 15 years or less so please check with our affiliated lenders for the specifics of your Buyer’s loan
Smyrna/Vinings: Wesley Murphy (Prospect Mortgage) – Wesley.Murphy@Prospectmtg.com – 404-585-0249
Woodstock: John Bohannon (Prospect Mortgage) – John.Bohannon@ProspectMtg.com – 770-480-8210
Paulding – Jamie Bailey & Dee Harding (Southeast Mortgage) – Jamie.Bailey@SoutheastMortgage.com 678-776-4375 & Debra@SoutheastMortgage.com – 678-618-7559
Douglasville: David Stallings & Jerahme Wetzel (Homestar Financial) – DStallings@Homestarfc.com – 770-364-5416 & JWetzel@Homestarfc.com – 678-561-2504
North Fulton & Gwinnett: Gianni Cerretani (Angel Oak Funding) – Gianni.Cerretani@AngelOakFunding.com – 404-213-9663
FHA Loans as of June 3rd: For loans with case numbers issued June 3rd or later, if the down payment is less than 10%, mortgage insurance will stay with the loan for the life of the loan! It used to drop off with 78% loan to value ratio and a minimum of 5 years of payment but no more after June 3rd.
Welcome New Affiliated Lenders for East Cobb:
Please welcome Wells Fargo as the Affiliated lender of our East Cobb Branch! Join us in the East Cobb Branch on Tuesday March 26th from 5pm – 7:30pm for snacks, wine & cheese and come meet Lori, Brenda & Nicki! They come highly recommended from your peers who have used them as loan originators.
- Lori Rousseau – Lori.Rousseau@WellsFargo.com – 678-520-7157
- Brenda Jimmerson – Brenda.B.Jimmerson@WellsFargo.com – 770-364-2756
- Nicki Riley – Nicki.Riley@WellsFargo.com – 404-587-6717
News about Closings: Consider putting 5 or even 6 weeks in your contracts as the time frame for closing. In the West Cobb & Smyrna Team Meetings, Amee Davis of Davis & Associates (ADavis@DavisLawGA.com) 770-426-5440 informed us that many closings are getting delayed due to a variety of reasons.
- Conventional loans are taking longer for lenders to process than FHA loans
- Self-Employed borrowers are taking longer to close than W2 borrowers
- Beginning in 2014, the FINAL HUD & ALL loan documents are required to be to the parties for review 72 hours PRIOR to closing. Many lenders & foreclosure sellers are requiring this review time frame now.
Maximum One Paperwork: If you are having a challenging time with the required Maximum One Paperwork that must be uploaded to Paperless Pipeline or want to make sure that you do not incur any late paperwork fines, we have several agents who will help you out for a nominal fee. Please contact Dana (Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com) & she will put you in touch with one of those agents.
Earnest Money: We have added a new feature to Paperless Pipeline to help you keep track of your earnest money deposit dates! When you turn in a transaction where we are holding the earnest money or a security deposit, you will receive a note on the transaction indicating the date, that per that contract, when the money is to be deposited. When that date arrives, if Maximum One has not received the earnest money to deposit, we will notify all parties in the contract: Buyer’s Agent/Broker, Seller’s Agent/Broker, Lender & Closing Attorney. These are the guidelines in the contracts (GAR & RE Contracts) regarding earnest money not being timely received or being dishonored by the bank. Please keep track of the dates surrounding the receipt and deposit of earnest money for contract compliance.
Spring Picnic: . We are beginning to plan the Annual Maximum One Company Spring Picnic for a weekend towards the end of May! This event will again (hopefully) be held at Red Mountain State Park! A special thank you to Michelle Blevins & Bonnie Malley for working on this fun yet huge project!

3/11/13

Welcome New Agents: There are many new faces at Maximum One (and many returning faces) so please make everyone feel welcome!
- Jack Rodgers
- Nick Kinslow
- Len Moon
- Samantha Lewis
- Bill Borden
- Rhonda Perryman
- Lavanya Battula
- DeJuan Tye
- Enemesio Hernandez
- Carolyn Ingold
- Sharon Fletcher
- Steve Hale
- Ann Jacques
- Roger Philmon
- Tara Clark
- Brent Rittersdorf
- Jody Cochran
- Jill Brown
- Kelly Miller
- Ann Ferrell
- Joe Columbo
- Melissa Cheeks
- Nicki McCormick
- Ray Chandler
- Robert Jackman
- AnnMarie Sinclair
- Gerrie Lusk
- Phyllis Agee
- Rick Duda
HUD Foreclosures: If you are working with a Buyer who is getting an FHA loan for a HUD foreclosure, be aware of the Appraisal value and the list price as these may be different! A lender will only lend up to the Appraised or “As Is” value and the Buyer would be able to take advantage of the $100 downpayment program. Many of the HUD asset managers are listing the HUD foreclosures OVER the “as is” appraised value. If the Buyer who is getting an FHA loan bids anything OVER the appraised value (REGARDLESS of list price) that overage must be paid by the Buyer in CASH. As an agent, do NOT assume that the list price on HUDs is the same as the appraised price. HUD is changing the game again!
Commissions/Fees/Rebates/Other Valuable Consideration Must Be Disclosed:
- On a settlement statement or supplemental document at settlement
- A record of the fee, charge, rebate, profit, commission, referral fee or other valuable consideration must be maintained in the broker’s records and a copy provided to the principal holding a direct interest in that disclosure
- Referral fees in lease situations must be made and disclosed under pre-established terms and recorded in the brokers files
- A management agreement may establish terms where a licensee may pay a referral fee, or offer other valuable consideration related to management of the property on behalf of an owner; these terms must be pre-established and a record kept in the broker’s files.
No disclosure is required for the following circumstances:
- Expenses by a licensee on behalf of the principal
- Products, services or other things of value given the licensee so long as it is not conditioned upon obtaining a listing, purchase or sale, or other business (or services) related to a specific real estate transaction
- The split or sharing agreements of commission, fees, or referral fees between the licensed or unlicensed affiliates of the broker

Congratulations: We have several agents taking Broker courses and we want to congratulate Maximum One’s newest Associate Broker: Mark Willix!
Commissions on Short Sales and REOs: Be aware that many short sale lenders and REO sellers will pay a lower commission than advertised if there is only one agent involved in the transaction. In other words, if you have a listing client and get a Buyer customer who wants to write an offer on the property. If you do not involve another agent to actually represent the Buyer as a client PRIOR to writing the offer on that property, you may get a reduced commission. You may choose to ask another agent to represent the Buyer and negotiate a referral fee with that agent in advance. All Buyers are entitled to representation but if a Buyer’s agent “parachutes” into the deal after the contract has been written, the Seller is NOT obligated to pay that Buyer’s agent. If you misrepresent to the Seller that a Buyer’s agent has been involved in the transaction from the beginning to receive more commission at closing, this is unethical, unacceptable and fraudulent. If the amount that a Seller overpays commission due to this misrepresentation is over $1500, this is a criminal felony. NO ONE TRANSACTION IS WORTH YOUR REAL ESTATE LICENSE NOR GOING TO JAIL!!!
Branch Managers: All of the Maximum One Branch Managers have corporate responsibilities along with their Branch Management responsibilities. They keep the office in order and help all of the agents in the branch AND have other responsibilities for ALL 500+ agents in the company as well! You, the agents, are our customers and the Branch Managers are your first point of contact for your questions and for assistance. However, being a transactional brokerage means that YOU are the CEO of your own company and if you want administrative staff for your business, then you must hire someone and not rely on your branch manger to be your business assistant. There are many times that the managers have to go to the bank or go to other locations for specific corporate reasons and will not always be present in the office. So if, for example, you are expecting a client to come in to drop off an earnest money check or exchange a bank check with a personal check, please make arrangements other than relying on the branch manager to handle your interactions. Of course if you ask a manager in advance if they are going to be in the office and take a rent check for your customer, that is fine but please be respectful and courteous in your requests. Thank you!
Max Cares: Please send your thoughts and prayers for srtength & healing to Kathleen Hayes whose husband is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.

3/4/13

GREC Audit: We are excited to announce that GREC is assisting us in helping you, our agents, be circumspect in your paperwork so that you don’t get fined! As you have all noticed, you are getting more notes and notices regarding your paperwork that you turn in to Paperless Pipeline with your contracts. The fines that Maximum One levies for late paperwork are much less expensive than the fines that GREC can impose for lack of compliance! Please know that we (Dawn Luttrell, the compliance broker, the Branch Managers, entire staff and leadership team) are only assisting you in avoiding violations of the Rules and Regulations of your Real Estate License. GREC Commissioners will be in our offices towards the end of the month.
- You must turn in your contracts/forms within 72 hours of getting public signatures – MX1 will fine you $75 for late paperwork.
- You MUST receive the earnest money based on when the contract specifies… if the earnest money is being delivered by any other means than the client handing it to you, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to follow-up and know the whereabouts of those funds
- We MUST deposit the earnest money within the specified number of days in your contract after receipt of the funds.
- If Maximum One is holding the earnest money on behalf of your client (i.e. in a red envelope) it is YOUR responsibility to let the Branch Manager know when you have gone under contract so that they may deposit the earnest money
- If you deposit the earnest money remotely, you MUST comply with the specific instructions outlined with proper documentation and communication with the accounting department
- If your contracts are not in compliance with GREC rules and regulations nor in compliance with Maximum One policies and procedures, you will not receive your commission until these are complete and you may receive a fine from GREC
GREC Citations & Fines: A complete list of the citations and fines that GREC can charge you for violating the Rules & Regulations, the agent, is published in GREC Rule 520-1-.14 Citations. Some of these include:
- $500 – failure of the licensee to turn over trust funds to broker as soon as practically possible
- $800 – failure of the licensee to deposit earnest money/security deposit/trust funds according to the terms of the contract
- $500 – failure of the licensee to include terms of financing in a contract where the Buyer is receiving financing
- $500 – failure of the licensee to provide a copy of a signed document to the parties who have signed it
- $600 – failure of the licensee to present a signed offer to a Seller or failure to deliver copies of an accepted offer within a reasonable period of time
- $600 – failure of the licensee to identify the proper amount of earnest money/security deposit in a contract
- $600 – if a licensee pays a commission or referral fee for real estate brokerage services to a person who does not hold a real estate license
- $600 – failure of a licensee to disclose their real estate license number on a contract
- These are just a few of the fines for violating the GREC Rules
Blue Sheet: Please complete the Blue Sheet as completely as possible to avoid any potential delays in receiving your commission checks. Remember to include which company you are in: Realtor (if you are in MXGR or MXER) or Non-Realtor (if you are in MXGA or MXGX.)
Welcome New Staff: Please welcome EJ Hardy as the new Smyrna/Vinings Branch Manager. Jennifer O’Neal is currently training EJ to take over that position and she will be full-time in the Accounting Department!
Team Meetings – There is a ton of valuable information shared at Team Meetings and your Team Captains are extremely diligent in providing amazing and valuable programs for you to enhance your business in order to help more people and make more money. Please attend Team Meetings and let us know what you would like to see at Team Meetings. They are so much more than simply a venue for our vendors to introduce you to their products and services.

Daylight Savings Time Begins – Next Sunday morning March 10th… this reminder to “Spring Forward” is a great “touch” for your past clients and sphere of influence.
Max Cares – Please send your thoughts and prayers to Barbara Shaw. Her husband is in CCU on a ventilator with heart and lung complications. Please keep Danny Shaw in your thoughts.

2/25/13

IDX for your Facebook Business Page: Promote your business on your Facebook Business page through IDX home search. Check it our through the Facebook App Real Estate Agent Directory.
Paperless Pipeline- Frequently Used Documents: You may access frequently used documents through the “Office Document” section of Paperless Pipeline. These include: DA Request, MX1 Affiliated Business Disclosure for RE Forms & for GAR forms, MX1 Referral form, W9’s for Realty & Realtor companies, Customer Agreements (buyer & seller) for RE Forms, etc!
Referring Someone to Another Agent: GREC requires that when you are sending a referral to another agent (either locally, in another state, within the company, or to another company) you MUST get the referee’s consent to be referred. In essence, you will need TWO signatures: one from the receiving Broker agreeing to pay for the referral and one from the person being referred.

Forms between Brokers:
- GAR Contracts: CO10 – Referral Agreement (Broker to Broker)
- RE Forms: RE156 – Broker Agreement to Pay Referral Commission
The party being referred must also agree & consent to being referred and SIGN a document acknowledging that the agent is being financially compensated for sharing their name & contact information with another agent.
- GAR Contracts: CO11 – Referral Authorization
- RE Forms: RE157 – Prospect’s Acknowledgement and Consent to Referral
Any Agent may also use the MX1 Referral Form. Note that the MX1 Referral Form has a place for ALL of these signatures which would meet compliance
Customer Agreement for Listings for RE Forms: If you are showing a property and do not have (or want) an agency agreement with the Seller, you must still get their permission to show the house and disclose to them the legl relationship you have with them. In the GAR forms, you would use the Authorization to Show Unlisted Property.” For the RE Forms, you may use this MX1 Listing Customer Agreement.
Pre-License Class Starts in April – If you know of anyone who want to get their real estate license, please send them the link & have them sign up now! Minimum of 12 required!
GAMLS Listings – Maximum One is a member of GAMLS… when you list a property, you must list it in GAMLS by virtue of our membership. This is not an option.

2/18/13

Maximum One Opens 10th Office: We are now in Kennesaw! Real Estate Central and Checkpoint Realty have joined Maximum One. We have a fully furnished office located on Cherokee Street right off of Wade Green Road. Welcome to Bill Borden and his crew!
Paperless Pipeline: We hope you are all enjoying Paperless Pipeline as our new TMS system! Just a couple of reminders:
- Paperless Pipeline Instructions
- If you need assistance, please contact your Branch Manager
- You will only see “100%” completion AFTER closing when the closing documents have also been uploaded
- Checklists will be automatically generated when you create the transaction type
- Within the checklists, there are “agent” responsibilities and “broker” responsibilities so that you can see what is done from the brokerage as well
- You may communicate through the “notes” section
Blue Sheet –Remember to upload your Blue Sheet to Paperless Pipeline when you upload your contract! There is one on the Extranet (main page) you may download and save on your computer.
DA Request: If you would like to get paid at the closing table, you must upload to Paperless Pipeline a Disbursement Authorization at LEAST 72 hours prior to your closing AND your file must be complete & compliant in Paperless Pipeline. The best time to upload this request is when you upload your contract and Blue Sheet. When your request is approved, you will receive an email at the same time that we send an email to the closing attorney. Remember to come to your office and pick up the Earnest Money check to take with you to closing. There is also a DA on the ExtraNet (front page.)
Max Cares: Please send your thoughts and prayers to Kris Grimes who father is gravely ill in Belgium.
Happy President’s Day! February 18th!
Pre-License Class Starts in April – If you know of anyone who want to get their real estate license, please send them the link & have them sign up now! Minimum of 12 required!

2/11/13

Advertising HUD Foreclosures: When advertising HUD foreclosures, you must include the proper HUD disclosures AND reference the HUD listing broker (i.e. listing courtesy of________.) The HUD REO’s are open listings and HUD allows & encourages all agents to advertise their listings (see Advertising Guidelines for HUD Homes here.) However, Georgia license law states that in addition to the written permission of the owner that when advertising a property that is listed by another licensee, the ad “shall clearly and conspicuously disclose that fact and the name of the listing licensee unless the listing licensee has expressly agreed to waive those clear and conspicuous disclosures.” See the entire License Law on Advertising 520-1-.09 here.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Shawn Horan of Harrison & Horan in Douglasville. He and his wife are expecting their 4th child! Also congratulations to Jeff Bowers of the Bowers Law Firm in Paulding. He and his wife are expecting their 7th child!
Happy Valentine’s Day! February 14th!
Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Snake Frebruary 10th!

2/4/13

FHA Loans are Getting More Expensive: Get your Buyers Under Contract NOW!
Thank you, Wesley Murphy of Prospect Mortgage (Wesley.Murphy@prospectmtg.com ) & Ron Veres of Georgia Platinum Partners (RonVeres@GeorgiaPlatinumMortgage.com ) for providing us with information on FHA changes. FHA is raising the monthly mortgage insurance on all FHA loans with case numbers assigned 4/1/13. Borrowers will pay 1.35% instead of 1.25% AND the mortgage insurance stays on for the life of the loan. It will no longer fall off with 80% equity in the property or for any other reason. Buyers payments will increase about $8.00/month for every $100,000 of borrowed money. This increase is due to all the down-payment assistance loans going bad (about 50% of all Nehemiah loans went into foreclosure creating a deficit rather than a surplus for FHA.) Get your buyers off the fence NOW or their Buying power will decrease! Ask your preferred lender for more specific information when writing a contract and preparing a cash-to-close sheet for your Buyer!
Maximum One Faxes: If you are expecting a fax into the Maximum One fax number (770-919-8865) please ask the sender to use a cover page when sending. These faxes come into the Call Coordinator’s email and without a cover page or information identifying which of you it belongs to, we have no way of getting this to you! Remember too that these faxes are not monitored in the evenings nor on the weekends.
Homestead Exemption: A homeowner is entitled to a homestead tax exemption on their home & land provided that they are the owner of that home as of January 1 of that taxable year. The homeowner, must, however, apply for this exemption! If the property is located within city limits, the homeowner may be required to file with city as well. Homeowners may need to provide their Warranty Deed book and page, proof of residence, social security numbers, driver’s license and car tag info. Click on link for list of all counties with the link for county homestead information, filing deadlines & phone numbers. This 2013 Homestead Exemption Filing Information is valuable to share with your past clients from 2012 & a great opportunity to ask for referral business!
Special Thank Yous: A special thank you to Whitney Price & Jennifer O’Neal for their work above & beyond in the month of January! They both worked on getting out all of the 1099’s to all of our agents, co-op companies on lease transactions, and property management landlords… quite a chore considering that Whitney also cut commission checks & processed earnest money! Additionally, we welcomed almost 30 new agents in January all of whom had to be processed by Jennifer through Agent Services. Another special thank you to Dawn Luttrell for helping all of us get up & running in Paperless Pipeline, our new TMS system! We are so proud of and grateful for all of our staff and Team!!! We couldn’t do it without them!
Max Cares: Please send your thoughts and prayers for strength & healing to Dawn Luttrell for her Dad who may have suffered a heart attack on Friday.
Superbowl XLVII: 49ers vs. Ravens… I hope your team wins tonight! (Although it SHOULD have been the FALCONS playing!!!

1/28/13

Georgia Association of Realtors (GAR) 2013 Inaugural Meeting in Atlanta:
GAR is hosting the 2013 Inaugural Meeting featuring the Legislative Conference here in Atlanta. The meeting is January 28th – January 31st with most of the events at the Galleria & Renaissance Waverly in Cobb county. The Keynote Speaker is football legend, Herschel Walker and Wednesday features educational breakout sessions and an Inaugural reception and ball. See the GAR website for more information.
Maximum One 1099’s: We have mailed all of the agent 1099’s. If you have any questions or if you have not received your 1099, please email: AgentBilling@MyMaximumOne.com All emails will be addressed.
Advertise Using a Wide Net to Capture More Leads: Is your marketing eliminating potential leads? Consider that if you market your listings or HUD foreclosures or other properties (with permission) with the specifics of that particular property (i.e. specific number of bedrooms, list price, etc.) you could be turning away more people than you prompt to call you! Additionally, if you give away all the information in your ad, you eliminate the public’s need to contact you! Consider generalizing your verbiage in your ads (i.e. Large homes in family-oriented neighborhoods at phenomenal prices available for immediate purchase) to get more buyers. Eliminate some key piece of information (i.e. sale price, # bedrooms) so that the public must call you to get that information… then capture them as a client! We will be teaching classes on these techniques to help you get more business in 2013!
Welcome & Thank You to our New Team Captains: Please welcome our new Team Captains: Mary Colson for the East Cobb branch and Shannon & David Bentley for the Douglasville branch. The Team Captains assist the Branch Managers in staying in touch with the branch agents and are responsible for Team Meetings. Please let your Team Captain know what types of programs you would like to see included in your Team Meetings! Maximum One is comprised of all of you amazing agents and TOGETHER we strive to create the company of your dreams to surpass all of your expectations for what a real estate brokerage should be! Your Branch Managers and Team Captains can always use your help and assistance and suggestions so please help us and help your peers continue to make Maximum One your company of choice!! Please see the bottom of this newsletter for all Branch Managers/Staff/Affiliates. All of the Team Captains:
- Cartersville – Open
- Douglasville – Shannon & David Bentley
- East Cobb – Mary Colson
- Paulding – Ellen Manley
- Smyrna/Vinings – Tony Cade
- West Cobb – Michelle Blevins & Shawn Delaney
- Woodstock – Amy McNeill
Max Cares: Please send your thoughts and prayers for strength & healing to our Paulding agent, Sue Rice and her family, who lost her husband to cancer last Monday.

1/21/13

***Paperless Pipeline = TMS***:
We have begun using Paperless Pipeline as our new TMS! If you missed the training sessions we held at Team Meetings and as classes, please schedule an appointment with your Branch Manager to learn how this system works! TMS will NO LONGER HAVE ANY NEW TRANSACTIONS and the email address ContractsTMS & ListingsTMS are NO LONGER MONITORED! Do not email your pendings/listings/leases/referrals/retainer fees/etc to ContractsTMS… this email will no longer add your transactions to the TMS system.
- Agents have access to their transactions only
- Paperless Pipeline keeps track of ALL communication between yourself & compliance
- Paperless Pipeline automatically notifies you when your documents have been checked and you’ll receive an email of any issues which require your attention
- Automatic checklists specific to the type of transaction are included
- Click here for Paperless Pipeline Instructions
- If you have any questions:
  - Contact your Branch Manager or
  - email Compliance@MyMaximumOne.com or
  - call Compliance Broker – Dawn Luttrell 770-919-8825 ext. 309
Bidding Over Asking Price on HUD Foreclosures: Remember that if your Buyer makes a bid OVER the list price on a HUD foreclosure, that Buyer must pay CASH for the overage… they may NOT finance the entire price.
Issues with Making a Bid on a HUD REO: If you are new or relatively new to Maximum One and you are having problem bidding on a HUD REO, go into your “Bidder Functions” on www.HUDHomestore.com

and check your profile. Make sure that your brokerage affiliation is correct and that you have the corresponding NAID number. All the information you need for making a bid for your Buyer on a HUD foreclosure is on the Extranet under “Buyers” then “HUD.”
Stamps are going up by $.01 on January 27th: This fact creates a fabulous opportunity to contact all of your past clients and sphere of influence in a meaningful way! Consider sending them a sheet of $.01 stamps and sending them to your database with the following note:
- “Rising Prices… not so exciting for the cost of items we use daily but definitely an exciting indicator for the housing market and our economy! This sheet of stamps will help you make the change when the price of stamps increases on January 27th from $0.45 to $0.46. Call me to determine the possible climbing market value of your home!”
VA Loans on HUD Foreclosures: What if you have a Buyer getting a VA loan and they want to buy a HUD Foreclosure that needs repairs… can they buy that house when the VA appraiser mandates repairs? Two of our agents had this exact experience and the lender could not process the loan because HUD would not do repairs and would not let the Buyer make the repairs prior to closing! Check with your lender before showing your VA Buyers any HUD foreclosure!
2013 GAR Contracts:

Maximum One is hosting several CE classes on the 2013 Contracts… please sign up! www.registerforREclasses.com
- If you are a Realtor (a member of a Board of Realtors) you will need your NRDS number to access these forms on FMLS & GAMLS
- If you are not a Realtor, & you want to buy the license to use these forms, you must pay GAR $199. You pay through FMLS, GAMLS or GAR’s website. You will then get a licensing number to put into FMLS/GAMLS the first time you use the forms to gain full access.
- This fee is from GAR, not FMLS, not GAMLS & not Maximum One.

1/14/13

***Paperless Pipeline = TMS***:
We have begun using Paperless Pipeline as our new TMS! Attend a training session or schedule an appointment with your Branch Manager to learn how this system works! TMS will NO LONGER BE ACCESSIBLE after next week! Do not email your pendings/listings/leases/referrals/retainer fees/etc to ContractsTMS… this email will no longer add your transactions to the TMS system.
- Agents have access to their transactions only
- Paperless Pipeline keeps track of ALL communication between yourself & compliance
- Paperless Pipeline automatically notifies you when your documents have been checked and you’ll receive an email of any issues which require your attention
- Automatic checklists specific to the type of transaction are included
- If you have any questions:
  - Contact your Branch Manager or
  - email Compliance@MyMaximumOne.com or
  - call Compliance Broker – Dawn Luttrell 770-919-8825 ext. 309
2013 GAR Contracts: Maximum One is hosting several CE classes on the 2013 Contracts… please sign up! www.registerforREclasses.com
- If you are a Realtor (a member of a Board of Realtors) you will need your NRDS number to access these forms on FMLS & GAMLS
- If you are not a Realtor, & you want to buy the license to use these forms, you must pay GAR $199. You pay through FMLS, GAMLS or GAR’s website. You will then get a licensing number to put into FMLS/GAMLS the first time you use the forms to gain full access.
- This fee is from GAR, not FMLS, not GAMLS & not Maximum One.
Mortgage Debt Relief Act – Extended through 12/31/13: This Act which was scheduled to expire 12/31/12 was extended by Congress through the end of next year. With this extension, owner-occupied homeowners will be able to not be required to pay income tax on the amount of their loan that is forgiven in a Short Sale or Foreclosure! At least one more year of Short Sale business!
Closing Costs in 2013 GAR Purchase & Sale Agreement: Make sure you thoroughly read and understand the Closing Costs provision in the 2013 GAR contract as there are some major changes from 2012. One of these includes… A Buyer may NOT use Seller-contributed closing costs to lower the sale price.
Title Insurance: If your Buyer chooses to close with a closing attorney who offers “free” or a lower charge for Title Insurance, make sure you know what type of title search & insurance coverage are being offered (You Get What You Pay For!!!) Check with the closing attorney how far back the title search goes and what type of insurance coverage the Buyer is paying for and what other issues the “enhanced” policy covers.
- Basic Coverage = Covers the owner from the date of the recording of the deed.
- Enhanced Coverage = Covers from the date of closing. This coverage also covers additional clouds on title and other issues that may be discovered post-closing.
Team Meetings: Thank you to our affiliated closing attorneys and lenders who share so much valuable information at our Team Meetings. There are so many changes, rules, regulations, programs that affect our industry that change on a regular basis. Our attorneys and lenders keep you in the know so you can AVOID problems before they become deal-killers! Please attend!
Welcome New Staff:
- Douglasville Branch Managers – Deloris Jenkins & Monica Thomas (Douglasville@MyMaximumOne.com 770-919-8825 ext. 306)
- Paulding Team Captain – Ellen Manley
- Smyrna/Vinings Team Captain – Tony Cade
- Woodstock Team Captain – Amy McNeill
- Douglasville & East Cobb Team Captains – to be announced soon
- Jennifer O’Neal – new Agent Services Coordinator (ASC@MyMaximumOne.com ) & Branch Manager of Smyrna/Vinings (770-919-8825 ext. 312 SV@MyMaximumOne.com )

1/7/13

2013 GAR Contracts: Maximum One is hosting several CE classes on the 2013 Contracts… please sign up! www.registerforREclasses.com
New TMS System & Extranet Coming Soon: We will unveil our new TMS system, Paperless Pipeline, and our new amazing extranet very soon! Please read Dave Kubat’s email from 1/4/13 for more information!
Agent-Owned Rental Property: If you own rental property, please email Dana a list of the property addresses and a quarterly reconciliation of your trust account. Please email this information no later than 1/31/13. This is a GREC requirement!!! Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com
Max Cares: Speedy recovery to John Bohannon of Prospect Mortgage who was in a bad automobile accident n November and has been undergoing physical therapy. This “Max Cares” fund is what we use for our own agents when they are ill, have passed away, or are celebrating wonderful life events such as weddings and babies! Please consider making a donation from your closings. There is a spot on the blusesheet for this contribution.
75 Hr Salesperson Pre-License Course to begin in January: If you know of anyone interested in becoming a real estate agent, please have them enroll in our Pre-License course taught by Terry Clark.

12/31/12

1099’s for 2012: We will be preparing 1099 income statements for 2012. Please make sure that we have your correct mailing address. If you are unsure or have any changes, email your correct mailing address to: AgentBilling@MyMaximumOne.com
Office Mailboxes: Check your mailbox at your office! We will be emptying the office mailboxes on Monday, January 7th.
2012 & 2013 Taxes: Spend some time this week gathering up your records for your business expenses from 2012. This is also a great time to set up your files for your business expenses for 2013. Remember to write down your car odometer reading on 1/1/13 too!
2013 Contracts Classes: We will have classes on the 2013 GAR contract & RE Forms in January & February throughout the offices. www.registerforREclasses.com Be sure & sign up!
Additional Maximum One Policies: In addition to the policies in the sign-on package that you signed when you joined Maximum One and those contained in the Orientation Manual (presented previously in this newsletter, in the online blog and on the Extranet) please check out the “Additional Policies” here. These issues have all been addressed in this newsletter and have been posted in the online Maximum One Blog.
Max Cares: Congratulations to Earl & Diane Pilcher on the birth of their Grandaughter, Gloria Faith, born on 12/20/12!
- Special Thank-You’s: There are very special Thank You’s to so many at the end of 2012:
  - Whitney Price for getting out Christmas commission checks so ery quickly last week and for always helping us with our commission checks, earnest money issues, computer issues, copier issues and more!
  - Jennifer O’Neal for all of the DA’s, assistance with earnest money issues and helping us sort out our agent billing issues and managing the West Cobb & Smyrna/Vinings office.
  - Dawn Luttrell for being so prompt and efficient & helpful with our TMS & contract compliance issues and managing the Paulding office.
  - Brian Cobb for assistance with agent billing issues and managing the East Cobb office.
  - Kim Rupp for all of her help hiring on new agents and all the agent services functions she performs as well as managing the Douglasville office.
  - Jane Schnoebelen for all of her general assistance and help with the East Cobb & West Cobb offices.
  - Amy McNeal for her general assistance and managing the Cartersville office.
  - Deloris Jenkins, Monica, Angie Henry, Eunor Motsie and Diane Pilcher for their willingness to step in when needed at the Branch offices.
  - Earl Pilcher for all that he does as Operations manager, help with listings, being a liasion to FMLS & GAMLS and managing the Woodstock office.
  - Michelle Blevins & Shawn Delaney for being Team Captains of the West Cobb office.
  - Linda Gailey for being Team Captain of the Douglasville office.
  - Kim Hollins for being Team Captain of the Douglasville office.
  - John Curley for managing the Vendor Program and being Team Captain of the Smyrna/Vinings offiice.
  - All of our Vendors!
  - All of our Course Instructors throughout the year!
  - All of our Affiliated Closing Attorneys!
    - Amee Davis – West Cobb & Smyrna
    - Shawn Horan – Douglasville
    - Mark Brown & Lon Thomas – Woodstock
    - Jeff Bowers – Paulding
    - Steve Jenkins & Peter Babcock – East Cobb
  - All of our Affiliated Lenders!
    - Jamie Bailey & Shaun Graham – Paulding
    - John Bohannon – Woodstock
    - Wesley Murphy – Smyrna/Vinings
    - David Stallngs & Jerehme Wetzel – Douglasville
    - Gianni Ceretanni – Alpharetta & Gwinnett
    - Ron Veres – East Cobb
  - Arline Kubat & Sue Hudson our Qualifying Brokers of Greater Atlanta
  - David Avery, Tina Vliet & Rick Bessom of Maximum One Executives.
  - Our Support Team for answering your contract questions on the Support email.
  - Dave & Ann Kubat for creating such an amazing company in which all of us may work, help others and prosper!
TMS – Pending Contracts in 2013: We are at the time of year when transactions are going pending & scheduled to be closed in 2013. If your deal is scheduled to close next year, you will find your pending transaction under “2013 Active Pendings.”
New Year’s Office Hours: Offices closing at 12noon on Monday 12/31/12 and closed all day 1/1/13.
75 Hr Salesperson Pre-License Course to begin in January: If you know of anyone interested in becoming a real estate agent, please have them enroll in our Pre-License course taught by Terry Clark.

12/17/12

Max Cares: We Send your prayers for strength & healing to John Philip who had emergency surgery this week. Our hearts go out to the entire community of Newtown, Connecticut.
DA Requests for HUD Foreclosures: HUD will not allow any DA’s to be issued for a closing on a HUD foreclosure whether it be at Fearnley Califf or a third party attorney.
Realist Owner Phone Numbers: Due to changes in the Do Not Call Registry, Realist will no longer print owners’ home numbers.
Renovation Loans Comparison Chart: Thank you to Wesley Murphy of Prospect Mortgage for providing this chart comparing the different Renovation Loans.

12/10/12

Max Cares: We are extremely sad to inform you of the loss of our West Cobb agent, Jerry Sieber. Jerry was shot accidentally while at target practice last Thursday. Jerry is survived by his brother who lives in Ohio. We are also mournning the loss of our Douglasville agent, Sarah Wideman, who passed away this week from a brain aneurism. Sarah is survived by a husband and 4 year old son. Please send your thoughts and prayers for strength & peace to their families. Remember to let those you love know just how much.
New General RE Contract Forms: There are many new RE forms available for your contract needs. These include:
- RE144 EPA Radon Pamphlet
- RE202 Seller Financing Exhibit
- RE203 Financing Contingency Exhibit
- RE204 Appraisal Contingency Exhibit
NEW Commercial RE Contract Forms:
- RE600 Commercial Purchase and Sale Contract
- RE601 Legal Description
- RE609 Seller’s No Cure Notice
- RE610 Seller’s Warranties and Representations Exhibit
- RE611 Survey Requirements Exhibit
- RE612 Buyer’s Due Diligence Materials Exhibit
- RE613 Contingency for Zoning Exhibit
- RE614 Letter of Credit as Earnest Money Exhibit
- RE615 Seller’s Right to Remove Existing Structures Exhibit
- RE616 Seller’s Right to Occupy Existing Structures After Closing Exhibit
- RE618 Easements Benefitting Seller’s Adjacent Land Exhibit
- RE619 Easements Benefitting the Property Exhibit
- RE620 Additional Closing Documents Exhibit
- RE621 Appraisal Contingency Exhibit
- RE630 Financing Contingency Exhibit
- RE631 Purchase Money Note & Security Deed Exhibit
Net Sheets: Are you preparing a net sheet for your Seller at the time of listing? Offer? Counter-Offer? Are you preparing a Buyer’s Cash-to-Close sheet at time of offer? Counter-Offer? If not I HIGHLY suggest that you do! Your clients are hiring you to perform a service and this is part of your job! If a Seller thinks that he will net the sale price minus the payoff & commission because you have not explained all the other taxes and fees required to close a transaction, you are doing a serious dis-service to your clients! We recently had a Seller walk from the closing table due to this issue because the agent never informed him of the other fees for which he was responsible. If you do not know how to do these calculations or what are Seller fees and Buyer fees, please contact your affiliated lender, closing attorney or myself!
Your Current Mailing Address for 1099s: Please make sure we have your current mailing address for your 2012 1099. Send any changes to: AgentBilling@MyMaximumOne.com
Congratulations to our Newest Broker & Future Brokers: The following agents deserve your congratulations! The following agent has recently passed the Broker exam!
- Brenda Hall
The following agents are sitting for the Broker exam in the near future:
- Jeff Taylor
- Marty Devine
The following agents have just completed our Broker Course taught by Terry Clark and will also take their Broker exam in the near future:
- Clarissa Zumwalt
- Rose Udoumana
- Linda Reeves
- Peter Rand
- Denise Simon
- Segun Ore
- Adana Nwaneri
TMS – Pending Contracts in 2013: We are at the time of year when transactions are going pending & scheduled to be closed in 2013. If your deal is scheduled to close next year, you will find your pending transaction under “2013 Active Pendings.”
Offices Closed on Monday 12/24/12: If you have any closings scheduled for that day, consider a disbursement authorization “DA.” If you do request a DA, use the proper form (on the extranet) complete ALL the required information, make sure your file is COMPLETE & COMPLIANT in TMS no later than Tuesday, 12/18/12.
75 Hr Salesperson Pre-License Course to begin in January: If you know of anyone interested in becoming a real estate agent, please have them enroll in our Pre-License course taught by Terry Clark.

12/2/12

Changing Commission Split Plan: If you change your commission split plan, you must do it in writing on this for: Commission Split Options and email to AgentBilling@MyMaximumOne.com . If you change your plan, any transactions for the next 30 days will close at the fee structure from your previous plan; your next monthly agent bill will be based on your new plan.
Max Cares: Please send your thoughts & prayers to Jean Gottlieb whose mother passed away last week.
GAMLS – Photos of Listings: Make sure you put in photos of your listings within 10 business days of entering the listing. GAMLS has begun to fine agents for not having a primary photo. See the GAMLS photo policy here.
TMS – Pending Contracts in 2013: We are at the time of year when transactions are going pending & scheduled to be closed in 2013. If your deal is scheduled to close next year, you will find your pending transaction under “2013 Active Pendings.”
Offices Closed on Monday 12/24/12: If you have any closings scheduled for that day, consider a disbursement authorization “DA.” If you do request a DA, use the proper form (on the extranet) complete ALL the required information, make sure your file is COMPLETE & COMPLIANT in TMS no later than Tuesday, 12/18/12.

11/26/12

Service Recommendations: As a real estate professional, there are services you should recommend to your Buyers. These clients may not accept these recommendations. After they have closed and moved into their new home, they may “forget” that you recommended they take these steps. For your protection, please have your Buyers sign this Service Recommendations document and make sure that you both receive a copy. These items include suggesting that the Buyer get:
- Independent property inspection
- Termite clearance letter/bond
- Survey
- Owner’s Title Insurance
- Have the house re-keyed
Max Cares: Please send your thoughts & prayers to Sharon Willinghamwhose sister, Tonya Coleman, passed away last week from breast cancer.
Social Media: People love doing business with people! In your social media marketing, make sure to talk about “regular” things in your life along with your business. However, when you get frustrated by clients and co-op agents, remember that many people are reading your posts and may not necessarily know the entire story behind your “venting!” You may lose a few potential clients by airing your frustrations in such a social venue! So be “real,” yet professional too!
GAR: Form F43 – Move In/Move Out Inspection Form: This form has been divded into TWO parts. Make sure to choose BOTH part 1 & part 2 when downloading from FMLS Forms Pro.

11/19/12

Happy Thanksgiving! Maximum One offices will be closed Thursday & Friday!
Thanksgiving Socials at Maximum One: We all thank everyone for the wonderful fellowship, food and fun! Special thanks to Kristen Crisp of First American Home Warranty for the turkeys and Toni Mugnierof Old Republic Home Warranty for the fabulous cakes! Sustenance and sweetness is what a home warranty protection plan can offer your Buyer AND Seller clients!
Disbursement Authorization “DA” Request: Please note that there is a new DA (as of the Fall) for your convenience when requesting to be paid at closing. We require a 72 hour notice & the request to be sent to: DA@MyMaximumOne.com I have removed all of the previous versions from the Extranet (I hope!) Please replace any previous DA request you may have stored on your computer with the new form. You may download the updated DA Request here. Remember that your file must be complete & compliant in TMS.
Contract to Close Checklist: .Please use the Contract to Close Checklist when turning in your pending deals to help you with your files. You may download the fillable Contract-to-Close Checklist here.
Trust Class through GREC: If you are managing property through Maximum One, you are required to take the GREC Trust Account class. GREC is offering the next course on November 28th
November 28th from 9am – 4pm
Cost: $10
6 CE hours of credit
Taught by Greg Dunn at the “Atlanta Realtor

11/12/12

Welcome New Agents: Please welcome our new Maximum One agents & help them out when you see unfamiliar faces in your office!
- Jill Baugus – Alpharetta
- Arun Misra – Alpharetta
- Catherine Ragauskas – Gwinnett
- Marie J Ramsay – Gwinnett
- Pat Conner – West Cobb (welcome BACK!)
- Jerrie Lusk – West Cobb
- Stephan Barrani – West Cobb
- Greg Harden – West Cobb
- Schellon Darby – Douglasville
- Dion Bartley – Douglasville
- AnnMarie Sinclair – Smyrna/Vinings
- Bailey Wright – Smyrna/Vinings
- Wayne Milner – Woodstock
TMS & Leases: When you turn in a lease, the following is what you need to by complete & compliant in TMS:
- Binding Lease with all signatures/initials
- Lease Listing Agreement OR AUthorization to Show Unlisted Property (if you are working with Landlord/Seller)
- Tenant Brokerage Agreement or Customer Acknowledgement (if you are working with Tenant/Buyer) REGARDLESS of who writes the lease
- Lease Commission Agreement
- Copy of Security Deposit
- Move-In/Move-Out Inspection Form – good idea & required if MX1 is managing the property
- W9 Form for co-op brokerage IF Maximum One collects money and has to pay the co-op agent
- The MX1 Affiliate Disclosure is NOT required because there is no settlement
- For more information, please see the new Orientation Manual on the Extranet
Short Sales: We have had several agents lately having a difficult time with short sale lenders accepting the values set on properties through a contract or even from an appraisal. Remember that a bank does NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT A SHORT SALE. Thank you to Shawn Delaney for sharing the following information.
- Based off the information you provided, the bank values the property at more than you and the appraiser do. The next step you need to take is you have to request a re-evaluation of the value.
- BOA has a process for this. Do not share your opinion on anything but to just simply request a reevaluation and send the appraisal to show your supporting facts.
- Here is a link that I obtained at a BOA short sale training seminar that gives you info on the how the BOA short sale process works and they have a section covering BOA property values.
- Copy of the BOA Material
- Be sure to request the re-evaluation of value through equator and then call as well.
- You can also go to www.bankofamerica.com/shortsaleagent
Thanksgiving Socials: Please check the calendar for your branch Thanksgiving Pot Luck Feast! Thank you to Kristen Crisp of First American Home Warranty & Toni Mugnier of Old Republic Home Warrantyproviding the turkey! The rest is pot-luck among the agents. Please check with your Branch Manager & Team Captain for the specifics and to let them know what side dish or dessert you will bring. – Please see online calendar too.
- Tuesday 11/13 – Woodstock (& Cartersville agents)
  - contact Earl at Woodstock@MyMaximumOne.com
- Wednesday 11/14
  - Smyrna/Vinings – contact John at John@Ambassadors-Group.com
- Thursday 11/15 – East Cobb
  - contact Linda at LCGailey@comcast.net or Jeff at EastCobb@MyMaximumOne.com
- Thursday 11/15 – Douglasville
  - contact Kim at KHollins2010@yahoo.com
- Friday 11/16
  - West Cobb (& Paulding agents) – contact Michelle at MichelleDBlevins@hotmail.com or Dawn at Paulding@MyMaximumOne.com
November 11th – Happy Veterans Day! – Please thank a veteran for all the freedoms we experience & for serving us and our country! Please take a moment to remember a fallen soldier who put his life on the line for us & our country!

11/5/12

Agent Communication: Please be professional and thorough in your communication with your colleagues and co-op agents. Your TRUE clients are all the other real estate agents in the metro Atlanta area because they are responsible for the majority of your transactions! Remember that every co-op agent with whom you interact is simply responding to a Buyer or a Seller who is asking them questions regarding YOUR listing/offer/counteroffer. If you are overworked/stressed/out of time that is no excuse to be rude or impolite when speaking with another agent. Additionally, please respond to your voice messages and email messages from the public and co-agents when inquiring on your listings and rentals.
Listings Into GAMLS: Maximum One is a member of GAMLS. Therefore, when you take a listing, you are required to enter your listing into GAMLS as well as FMLS.
GAMLS reInsight Tips: Check your email from 11/2/12 for tips on using reInsight to personalize your searches.
Thanksgiving Socials: Please check the calendar for your branch Thanksgiving Pot Luck Feast! Maximum One is providing the meats and the rest is pot-luck among the agents. Please check with your Branch Manager & Team Captain for the specifics and to let them know what side dish or dessert you will bring.
Business Cards: Remember that per GREC, your business cards must include the Brokerage name and phone number.
GREC Advertising Guideline: All of the GREC and Maximum One marketing and advertising regulations are in the Orientation Manual and Policy manuals in the branches.
- All Advertising (including specific properties)
  - Is not misleading
  - Does not discriminate
  - In the name of the Broker
  - Reviewed & approved by broker
- Advertising Specific Property (Houses, Subdivisions, Condo, Land, etc.)
  - Required
    - Broker’s name equal or greater size, frequency or prominence than agents’
    - Broker’s telephone numberequal or greater size, frequency or prominence than agents’
  - Optional
    - Affiliate Licensee(s) or Team Name
    - Telephone Number other than Broker
    - Email/Web Address
- Advertising Licensee-Owned Property
  - Written Notification to Broker
  - Broker’s Written Consent and Approval
  - Includes appropriate Licensee Disclosure
  - Complies with Rules on Advertising Specific Property
Max Cares: Send your prayers for strength & healing to Bob Butler who suffered a heart attack last Tuesday.
Staff Announcements: Please welcome Dawn Luttrell as the new Branch Manager in Paulding! We wish Juanita Nicks-Adams all the best as she pursues real estate full-time and resigns from her position as Smyrna/Vinings Branch Manager.
Election Day: Tuesday, November 6th. Go vote!

10/29/12

Max Cares: Please send condolences to Dennis & Ryan Pitts. Dennis’s Dad passed away & he asks for prayers for strength for his Mom as they were married for 66 years. Prayers for strength & healing to Sue Rice whose husband is in the hospital & Jayne Pearson whose Mom suffered a stroke. Congratulations to Kathy Shepherd who has a brand new granddaughter, Natalie!
Agent Billing: We appreciate your continued patience with this. If you have questions, please email them to: AgentBilling@MyMaximumOne.comand your questions will be addressed.
HUD NAID numbers for Submitting a HUD Bid: If you are submitting a bid on a HUD foreclosure, first thing is check your brokerage affiliation on your registration at: www.HUDHomestore.comNext, make sure you use the proper HUD NAID # when making an offer. Below are the NAID numbers and corporate names of our companies. You will also need a letter from the broker authorizing you to sign the contracts. These letters are on the Extranet. Below are the NAID numbers and company corporate names:
- Maximum One Realty Greater Atlanta
  - Corporate Name: Greater Atlanta, LLC
  - NAID #: GRTRTL0360
  - Qualifying Broker: Arline Kubat
- Maximum One Greater Atlanta Realtors
  - Corporate Name: Maximum One Real Estate Group, LLC
  - NAID #: GRTRTL1947
  - Qualifying Broker: Sue Hudson
- Maximum One Realty Executives
  - Corporate Name: MX Realty Executives, LLC
  - NAID #: MXRLTY4997
  - Qualifying Broker: Rick Bessom
- Maximum One Executives Realtors, LLC
  - Corporate Name: MX Executives Real Estate Group, LLC
  - NAID #: MXEXCT5752
  - Qualifying Broker: Tina Vliet
Thanksgiving Socials: Please check the calendar for your branch Thanksgiving Feast! Maximum One is providing the meats and the rest is pot-luck among the agents. Please check with your Branch Manager & Team Captain for the specifics.
Maximum One Fax Number: If you are giving clients or co-op agents the Maximum One fax number to use (770-919-8865) please note that those e-faxes are not monitored after 5:30pm nor on the weekends.
Daylight Savings Time Ends November 4th: This is a great time of year to “touch” you sphere of influence & past clients with this reminder & remind them to change the batteries in their smoke detectors.

10/22/12

Maximum One Websites: Please check the websites and make sure your photo is present and contact information are updated. You should be in 2 total websites (all agents + realty or realtor). If not, please contact Dana: Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com
- www.MaximumOneATL.com– all agents
- www.MaximumOneRealty.com– Realty agents
- www.MaximumOneRealtors.com – Realtor agents
Shadow Inventory: Get a perspective & learn what’s going on with “Shadow Inventory. Check out this recorded webinar from Alex Charfen, founder of the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation.
Closing a Transaction – What to Do with the HUD-1: When you close, please send/turn in a copy of the HUD-1 to your Branch Manager. On the newest “Contract-to-Close” checklist, it says to email it into TMS… that is my mistake and it should not be on the checklist (I apologize!) If the property was in FMLS, complete the FMLS #118 “Notice of Contract” and email/fax that along with the HUD-1 into FMLS.
Listings into GAMLS: Remember that since we are a member of GAMLS, you are required to enter your listings into GAMLS along wth FMLS.
New Orientation Manual: There is a new Orientation Manual. It is also on the Extranet in sections. Each branch will have one as well. It is completely updated with all the procedures and correct email addresses for submitting paperwork. It is completely organized including a table of contents.

10/15/12

Welcome New Agents: Please welcome our newest agents:
- Evelyn Melton – Douglasville
- Jimmy Sprayberry – Paulding
- Tina Taffs – West Cobb
- Andrea Stein – Alpharetta
- Peggy Christie – Alpharetta
- Hernan Maria – Alpharetta
- Sonya Williams – Alpharetta
HUD Foreclosures: Maximum One agents & their immediate families are prohibited from buying or having any interest in HUD foreclosures! We are a HUD listing broker (Neighborhood Listing Broker “NLB” or Local Listing Broker “LLB.”)
- NLB’s their employees, their agents company affiliates and subcontractors are NOT allowed to:
  - Purchase any HUD properties
  - Acquire any interest in any HUD property.
- Furthermore, the contractor, subcontractor, a management official, their immediate family members, or any affiliated entity under contract with HUD who has involvement in the management, marketing, or oversight of HUD-owned properties under HUD’s M&M III contracts, are prohibited from purchasing or leasing a HUD-owned property.
- If we discover you have violated this policy, we will be forced to dehire you from Maximum One Greater Atlanta
- All agents of any HUD listing brokerage are subject to the same HUD rules and regulations
Expecting Earnest Money from a Client: If you are expecting earnest money from your client or a co-op client (i.e. the contract says that Maximum One is to hold the earnest money and you do not have it in your possession) it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to check on the whereabouts of that earnest money. If Maximum One does not have it as the contract says we should you MUST NOTIFY us so we may contractually fulfill our obligation to notify the parties. We have had 2 incidents this week where the “holder” of the earnest has not been in possession and it has created severe legal and GREC issues.
Earnest Money in Red Envelopes:
Remember to notify your branch manager regarding when it is time to deposit the earnest money that is on “hold”
New Orientation Manual: There is a new Orientation Manual. It is also on the Extranet in sections. Each branch will have one as well. It is completely updated with all the procedures and correct email addresses for submitting paperwork. It is completely organized including a table of contents. Sections include:
- Welcome
- General Information (including…)
  - Broker Codes
  - GREC Firm Numbers
  - HUD NAID Numbers
  - Tax ID Numbers
  - GREC Rules
  - MX1 Fees
  - MX1 Technology
  - Profit Share Information
  - Company Discount Benefits
- Marketing & Advertising
- Generating Business
- Extranet & TMS Instructions
- Listing Procedures
- Pending Contract Procedures (including…)
  - Agency
  - T&R Procedures
  - Referral Procedures
  - Expecting Checks by Mail
  - Pending Contract Checklist
  - Blue Sheet & Instructions
  - Lease Procedures
  - Property Management
- Earnest Money Handling Procedures
- Getting Paid at MX!
- Optional Marketing Services
- Key Reminders
Communication with Clients: There are times when a client may forget what we tell them. Do yourself a huge favor…. every time you have a conversation with your client, follow-up with an email summarizing the content of your conversation and always end your email with, “if this is not accurate, please let me know immediately!”
Tax Prorations at Closing: Remind your Buyers that at closing, all tax prorations with bank sellers and HUD REO’s are final. Many times the new homeowner will receive a revised bill at the end of the year due to a change in assessment or millage rate… they are responsible for the revised bill.

10/8/12

Columbus Day: Monday, October 8th – no banks & no mail. Remember these federal Holidays when scheduling your closings. Funding a deal on a day when the banks are closed may be difficult… check with your lenders and closing attorneys!
Short Sale Listing Agents: Consider the following special stipulation in your Short Sale Listing Agreement: “Any earnest monies due the Seller for any Buyer defaulted transaction will be released to the Listing Brokerage for all the Listing/Short Sale work done to date.” One of our agents has successfully used this stipulation.
Updated Roster: There is an updated company roster (as of 10/4/12) on the Extranet.
Listing Status: Please maintain the ACCURATE STATUS of your listing in FMLS & GAMLS. We have received an increasing number of complaint calls from co-op agents regarding the listing services showing “ACTIVE” but the agent informing them that the property is actually “UNDER CONTRACT”
Earnest Money Disbursement from a non-disputed T&R: If you have a contract that terminates and there is no dispute over the disbursement of the earnest money, follow the following procedures:
- GAR – T&R is on 1 form; RE Forms – Termination is on “Notification” form & Release” is on “Release of Trust Funds” – you need BOTH these forms to T&R a transaction using the RE Forms.
- The termination of any contract is UNILATERAL; the release of the earnest money is BILATERAL & requires agreement by Buyer and Seller.
- Send the signed T&R to: ContractsTMS@MaximumOneRealty.com
- After the compliance broker reviews the documents, they will be sent to the accounting department for disbursement
- A check will be cut to the party on the T&R and printed at your branch office
- You are to pick up the earnest money disbursement and deliver it to the appropriate party
- This process takes a MINIMUM of 72 business hours
- ***The signed T&R does NOT go directly to Whitney nor Jennifer***
Client Signatures on Contracts: Make sure to compare the client signatures on all the documents you receive from your clients. If there are any discrepancies, GET THEM RESOLVED IMMEDIATELY!!!!!! Additionally, DO NOT SIGN CONTRACTS ON BEHALF OF YOUR CLIENTS!!!! Forgery is a crime and you will lose your license as well. We had an issue this week where a clients’ signatures on a T&R were very obviously different from the Sellers’ signatures on the contract. The question was WHO signed the T&R … did the agent sign it because the Sellers were inaccessible or did one spouse sign for the other?
Documentation of Your Correspondence: Make sure to document your correspondence with your clients and with your co-op agents. Many times these emails & fax confirmations are the ONLY proof we have to resolve a potentially volatile situation. In the above signature issue, the agent was able to provide email & fax proof that she sent and received the T&R to the Sellers and received the different signatures back relieving her of any potential forgery charges that the other brokerage wanted to raise with GREC.
- Updated Disbursement Authorization “DA” Request Form: Click here for the updated DA form. It is also on the Extranet “Newly Added.” New email address to send request to: DA@MyMaximumOne.comand request must be made at least 72 business hours prior to closing.
- Updated Contract to Close Checklist:
  Click here for the updated Contract-to-Close form. It is also on the Extranet. We added back in the reminder for you to email/fax the completed FMLS #117 “Notice of Contract” to FMLS if the property was listed there. This is YOUR responsibility to send to FMLS. Thank you Mark Willix for creating this form!

10/1/12

Max Cares: Please send your thoughts & prayers for quick healing & no pain to Dave Kubatwho will be having eye surgery on Tuesday.
Broker-to-Broker Referral Form & Authorization for RE Forms: There is a NEW Maximum One Broker-to-Broker Referral Form AND Authorization to use for the RE Forms. When sending a referral, per Georgia License Law (O.C.G.A. 43-40-25 (b) (6) and (36) the referred party must agree that the referring party may receive valuable consideration for sharing their name and contact information for real estate services meaning that you MUST get the referred party’s signature. This revised MX1 Broker-to-Broker Referral Form & Authorization will keep you in compliance if you complete it properly. It has also been uploaded to the Extranet AND to FMLS FormsPro in the “Office Forms” folder. If you are using the GAR forms, to comply with License Law, you MUST not only complete the Broker-to-Broker Referral Form but ALSO you must have the referred party SIGN the “Referral Authorization” which may both be found in FMLS Forms Pro in the GAR Forms folder.
Earnest Money Over $5,000: Any earnest money to be held by Maximum One that is OVER $5,000 must be in the form of certified funds or must be wired directly to Maximum One’s escrow account.
Earnest Money Checks Dishonored by the Bank: If your client/customer’s earnest money check is dishonored by the bank, we will contact you first & then send notice to the Buyer & Seller per the contract on which your agreement is written. There is a $25 fee for the returned check that we will put on your agent account which you may collect from your client/customer. Replacement funds for dishonored earnest money checks MUST be in the form of certified funds or wire transfers to the Maximum One Escrow account.
MX1 Escrow Account Wiring Instructions: Here are the wiring instructions:
- ABA # 061000104
- SunTrust Main Address:
  - SunTrust Bank
  - 25 Park Place
  - Atlanta, GA 30303
- Maximum One Address:
  - Maximum One Realty Greater Atlanta
  - 5041 Dallas Highway, Bldg #700
  - Powder Springs, GA 30127
- MX1 SunTrust Escrow Account Numers:
  - NON-Realtor: 1000054277438
  - Realtor: 1000101878063
- Fees for Wire Transfers:
  - $15 for domestic
  - $30 for International
  - PLUS $5 for written notification from bank which is REQUIRED
  - These fees will be charged to your account so be sure & collect them from your client/customer

Welcome Wesley Murphy of Prospect Mortgage Our New Affiliated Lender – Smyrna/Vinings: Team Murphy offers the entire suite of FNMA niche purchase products: HomePath, HomePath Renovation and HomeStyles Mortgage Financing to owner occupants and investors. If you have owner occupant or investor clients ready to get started looking at available properties, he can help with a prequalification so you can take your clients out looking at homes, knowing your client has a Prospect prequalification. Senior Loan Officer Wesley Murphy says, “We are the top HomePath lender in America. By leveraging the HomePath mortgage to purchase property, buyers are able to essentially eliminate two of the major deal killers known to our industry- the Appraisal and Mortgage Insurance. It offers phenomenal peace of mind knowing these items are now non-factors.” Contact Wesley for more information and scenarios… 404-585-0249 Wesley.Murphy@ProspectMtg.com Meet Wesley for wine & cheese this Thursday from 4:30pm – 6:30pm at the Smyrna office!
Welcome John Bohannon of Prospect Mortgage Our New Affiliated Lender – Woodstock: John Bohannon is also with Prospect Mortgage with great FNMA products. Contact John at 770-480-8210 John.Bohannon@ProspectMtg.com

9/24/12

Possible Group Health Insurance (including Major Medical & Dental) at Maximum One: Maximum One is working on getting group health insurance for our agents including major medical & dental coverage. You have seen the emails Dave has circulated! You will receive emails from Patrick Shores Patrick@weinsure.com with more information. There is a Powerpoint presentation on the Extranet under “Health Insurance Potential Group Policy” We need at least 50 people to be considered a “large group” with more benefits & lower rates. If you are interested, please complete the application (no obligation) & email to Patrick Shores Major Medical Insurance Application Dental Insurance Application. Patrick recently presented this information at the West Cobb & Smyrna Team Meetings … please click the link to see this video presentation.
BROKER Pre-License Course: Due to some “technical difficulties,” the Broker Pre-License Course will BEGIN Wednesday 9/26/12 & run through 12/7/12 (on Wednesdays & Fridays from 10am – 2:30pm) We will be happy to arrange for a payment plan with you so as to not make the fee ($399) a reason to not take this course! You MUST register ASAP to sign up! For any specific questions, please contact instructor, Terry Clark, at 770-425-1817 etclark@bellsouth.net
Lead-Based Paint Exhibit: You MUST include a Lead-Based Paint Exhibit in your contract if the house was built prior to 1978. Consider, however, including this exhibit in ALL of your contracts regardless of the date the house was built. Maximum One is considering this as a poicy as well. Coldwell Banker recently LOST a lawsuit to the tune of $1.5 million because the Seller had placed an antique mantle over the firplace which contained lead-based paint & there was NO EPA disclosure as part of the contract!
Orientation Package: There is a NEW Orientation Package which will be uploaded to the Extranet later in the week. This package has a TON of information regarding Maximum One’s policies & procedures & it includes a “table of contents” so you can easily find the information you need! If you have joined us within the past few months I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ IT! I encourage everyone to read it as Maximum One is growing & continually fine-tuning our procedures and changing responsibilities among staff to make sure that we provide you with quality customer service on a regular basis! This package contains 61 files so if there are any corrections needed, please let Dana know immediately Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com
Closing Attorney Fees on the Rise: Thank you, Amee Davis of Davis & Associates ADavis@DavisLawGA.com for letting us know the following. Closing attorneys will be required to charge the published “book rate” to issue title insurance. They no longer have any discretion over these fees. Additionally, closing attorneys will now have to charge for the insured closing protection letter that they have not had to charge for in the past. These fees will range from $35 – $50.
Loan Origination Fees & Discount Points: Thank you Kim Arrington of LoanSouth Mortgage KArrington@LoanSouth.com for lettin us know the following. Help your Buyers understand what they are paying for with origination fees and discount points. Kim is charging $0 origination fee for Maximum One Agent’s Buyers with a max of $925 in fees! Please get your buyers to look at lender credits as well! Also, many lenders are chrging fees to extend the interest rate lock & some of these charges may knock your Buyers out of qualifying. Contact Kim for more specific information!
Final HUD-1 Settlement Statements May be Required 3-5 Days PRIOR to Closing: Thank you Jamie Bailey of Southeast Mortgage Jamie@SoutheastMortgage.com for the following informaiton. There is pending regulation (per the Frank Dodd Act) that a FINAL HUD-1 with NO changes must be completed 3 – 5 buisness days before a transaction can close. That would mean a week or more added on to your closing dates AFTER the loan & final approvals & short sale approvals are COMPLETE! We are still waiting to discover how & when Congress will enact the massive 2300 page law with more than 100 rules still to be written for the mortgage lending industry! Please contact Jamie for more specific information.
Team Agreements: If you are on a Team or are a Buyer’s Agent or working with another agent in any capacity, please make sure & get all of your agreements IN WRITING to avoid any financial discrepancies in the future! This is a good business practice for ALL of your real estate transactions PERIOD! Remember a good rule of thumb, “If it is not in writing, it doesn’t exist!”
Training Class Attendance: We are experiencing a low turnout in our Training Classes lately. We have many agents registering for class and then not showing up. Please attend class if you sign up & if you must cancel, please let us know in advance so that our instructors may plan accordingly! Additionally, if there are classes you would like for Maximum One to host, please let me know that as well!
Max Cares: Congratulations to Shawn Delaney who has a new Granddaughter, Paisley Grace, as of 9/16/12

9/17/12

Swift: Swift is still down. Unfortunately, we are at the mercy of a third-party IT company who is putting Swift on our new server. As soon as Swift is up & running, I’ll send out an email. In the meantime, please enter your listings into FMLS & GAMLS individually.
Lease Compliance:
- Binding Lease
- All signatures & initials
- Copy of Security Deposit
- Lease Listing Agreement OR Authorization to Show Unlisted Property (if agent is working with Seller/Landlord)
- Tenant Brokerage Agreement OR Customer Acknowledgement (if agent is working with tenant) – REGARDLESS if our agent writes lease or not
- Move In/Move Out Report (Recommended but not required UNLESS we are holding Security deposit then it is REQUIRED)
- Lease Commission Agreement – this is only thing we would have in writing to get paid from the Listing Brokerage (REGARDLESS if our agent writes lease or not)
- MX1 Blue Sheet
- Do NOT need MX1 Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure because leases don’t “close” and RESPA has to do with “settlements”
- W-9 for the co-op brokerage – MAYBE (see notes below)
Past Issues:
- In past, agents were told they need a Broker-to-broker referral agreement if MX1 is not mentioned on the lease HOWEVER, if our agent actually pulls listings, opens doors to show, & does more, then it is not a referral arrangement because our agent interacted with the tenant as a customer or client
- A broker to broker referral is if our agent calls the other agent & says “here’s someone that’s interested in leasing, please contact them & help them out” & has nothing else to do with them regarding any particular property
Other Important Lease Issues:
- Agent Commissions can NOT be paid out of security deposits
- If we collect money (i.e. from a tenant or landlord) & then have to pay another brokerage/relo company/etc a co-op fee (or any money) from money that MX1 has collected, we need a W-9 form from the person we are to pay so that we don’t pay taxes on that money. We cannot pay you YOUR commission until we have this form
- If another brokerage collects money & has to pay us out, the other brokerage will need OUR W-9 (it’s on the extranet – one for Realty & one for Realtor companies)
- If there is money related to Pets, if it is NON-refundable, technically, it should be called a “Pet FEE” because “Deposit” implies it is potentially refundable based on certain circumstances
Max Cares: We welcome Daniel Ross Blevins to the world! Michelle Blevinsgave birth to Daniel on September 12th! Congratulations to Michelle & Ryan!
HUD Contracts: Since there is no place on the HUD contract itself for your real estate license number, please hand-write it somewhere on the the HUD contract. Per GREC Rule 520-1.10, you must disclose license numbers (agent license & firm license number) on all brokerage engagements, offers to purchase, sell, lease or exchange real property.
Listings Manager: In addition to her duties as Smyrna/Vinings Branch Manager, Juanita Nicks-Adamswill be the new Listings Manager. Congratulations Juanita!
Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosures: For your convenience, the appropriate Maximum One Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure is now appended as the last page to the Purchase & Sale contract on both the GAR forms & RE Forms (as well as being on the extranet under “Affiliated Business Disclosure” These disclosures also contain verbiage necessary if you are issuing a Buyer Rebate. The form which goes with the RE Forms, also has more verbiage, missing from the contract itself, that is designed to protect your rights as an agent. Get your client/customer to sign this document; get the co-op party to sign too. If the co-op client is a bank, we understand that they will not sign it… that is okay.
Pending Contracts: Email your pending contracts (with all the required paperwork) to ContractsTMS@MaximumOneRealty.com Please double-check the email address you are using as this has changed from when Maximum One first opened. If you have any questions about compliance (when submitting a pending or expecting a commission check or requesting a DA) please contact your BRANCH MANAGER or the COMPLIANCE BROKER (CB@MyMaximumOne.com)
Listings: Email your listings (with all required paperwork) to ListingsTMS@MaximumOneRealty.com Please double-check the email address you are using as this has changed from when Maximum One first opened. If you have any questions, contact: Woodstock@MyMaximumOne.com. If you have any questions about your listings or what to submit, please contact your BRANCH MANAGER or the LISTINGS BROKER.
Previous MX1 Announcements: If you have missed any announcements for the company, they are all located on the “General Announcements” page of the MX1 Blog.

9/10/12

Profit Share: We are finalizing all the profit share and it is so exciting! This is your last chance to verify your profit share tree so please go back to Dave’s previous email and check out the link to view the tree and make sure your portion is correct. The following people will be getting paid for July Profit share & we need your completed W-9 Tax ID & Direct Deposit authorization sent to: ProfitShare@MyMaximumOne.com
- Amanda Davis Amina Shahid Ann Kelly Ann Kubat Annamaria Stalker Anthony Criss Arline Kubat Barbara Roberts Bill Hornsby Bobby Murphy Bonnie Malley Brenda Frazier Brenda Perry Carol Jackson Christy Graham Clarissa Zumwalt Dana Sparks Dave Kubat David Bentley Dean Urarro Deborah Rash Deborah Walters Denise Kerr Dennis Pitts Donna Cunningham Donna Dubreuiel Donna Green Earl Pilcher Elizabeth McQuate Ellie Eck Fayette Williams Gregory Rayford Herbert Haynes Herbert Lepchenske Jane Jones Jannette McDonald Jayne Pearson Jean Gottlieb Jean Herd Jeffrey Taylor Jenean Rodriguez Jim Beebe John Philip Jonathan Livnat Kamala Hunter Karen Davis Lance Hunter Lee Fritz Linda Gailey Linda Stringer Lisa Carthern Mackay Swanson Mark Willix Mary Gartrell Matt Epps Meilyn Weiss Melissa Clay Michael Franck Nahla Baird Nancy Sanders Noel Italo Peter Porcelli Phyllis Sands Racquel Green Ramona Carter Ramona Roper Reade White Spunner Rebecca Courson Rebecca Susan Pitts Remey Caraballo Rick Saddler Robert Butler Ronnie Tibbits Rose Odoumana Shannon Bentley Sharon Barnette Sharon Toothman Sharon Willingham Shawn Delaney Shebia Clark Shelby Haygood Sheryl Van Arsdale Sonji Cox Steve Matthews Sue Hudson Susan Lepchenske Tahir Johnson Tammy Bogle Tim Austin Tom Fritz Travis Boatright Valerie Campbell Virnalisa Johnson King Wayne Crowe Wendee Wilkins
TMS: Remember we have re-organized TMS to make it easier for you to find your files to check compliance. If your purchase & sale transaction is closing in 2012, it will be in “2012 Active Pendings” Any lease contracts will be in “Rentals” and referrals in “Referrals.” Not all files have been transferred into the “2012 Active Pendings” so if you pended a transaction and it was scheduled to close June – August 2012, check this new folder first & if it is not there, please check under the folder of the month in which the deal was originally scheduled to close. If your purchase & sale transaction is scheduled to close next year, it will be in the “2012 Active Pendings” folder.
Max Cares: We send our prayers and Get Well wishes to Arleen Seely-Hannibal who underwent surgery this last week. Remember you are free to make a donation to Max Cares on your Blue Sheets.
Lapsed License: If your real estate license lapses for any reason (failure to complete all CE credits or failure to renew) you are to CEASE & DESIST ALL REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY until you have renewed with GREC. This means no contact with clients, no showing property, not writing or negotiating contracts, etc. You will continue to be billed by Maximum One. If you do not renew within 45 days after your lapse, we will be have to drop your license from Maximum One. If there are extenuating circumstances, please contact Dana Sparks, Managing Broker at Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com. You are responsible for checking your own renewal dates with GREC.
Pending Contracts: Email your pending contracts (with all the required paperwork) to ContractsTMS@MaximumOneRealty.com Please double-check the email address you are using as this has changed from when Maximum One first opened. If you have any questions about compliance (when submitting a pending or expecting a commission check or requesting a DA) please contact your BRANCH MANAGER or the COMPLIANCE BROKER (CB@MyMaximumOne.com)
Listings: Email your listings (with all required paperwork) to ListingsTMS@MaximumOneRealty.com Please double-check the email address you are using as this has changed from when Maximum One first opened. If you have any questions, contact: Woodstock@MyMaximumOne.com. If you have any questions about your listings or what to submit, please contact your BRANCH MANAGER or the LISTINGS BROKER.
Previous MX1 Announcements: If you have missed any announcements for the company, they are all located on the “General Announcements”page of the MX1 Blog.
Broker License Class: Coming in September

9/3/12

Profit Share: We finally made it!! Congratulations to all of the investors and agents at Maximum One who helped us grow and prosper!!!! a special thank you to our partners in success, Dave & Ann Kubat, for creating such an amazing company for all of us to enjoy, work, thrive and prosper so that we may be a blessing to others!!! Please see Dave’s email from 8/31/12 for all the specifics!
Labor Day: Have a fun & safe Labor Day! The offices will be closed.
Welcome New Agents: More new faces around your office! Please say hello, help out & welcome our new agents to Maximum One!
- Kimani Franks – West Cobb
- Vonda Kudron – West Cobb
- Laura Wilson – West Cobb
- Michael Martin – West Cobb
- Brenda Hall – East Cobb
- Melanie Smith – Smyrna/Vinings (Welcome BACK!)
- Holly Eversole – Smyrna/Vinings
- Dale Farmer – Alpharetta
- Gerhard Glas – Gwinnett
- Horace Morris – Gwinnett
- Nancy Gorrow – Paulding
New Contract to Close Checklist: We have revised the Contract-To-Close Checklist that you are to submit to TMS with your contracts. This contract will hopefully make it easier for you to remember all the items you need when pending a transaction. It is on the Extranet in the “Newly Added” and “Contract to Close” folders. This is in a pdf format that you can fill out yourself with pull-down menus. Special THANK YOU to Mark Willix for creating this fillable pdf file for us. Click here for Fillable Contract to Close Checklist. Download this to your personal computer so you can access it for every contract you turn in to TMS.
New Compliance Broker & East Cobb Branch Manager: Please make Jeff Taylor feel welcome as our new Compliance Broker & East Cobb Branch manager! Jeff is well-versed in residential real estate and knowledgeable about computers as well! We greatly appreciate your patience with ALL of the staff at Maximum One through this transition! Welcome aboard, Jeff!
Max Cares: We send our prayers and Get Well wishes to Sharon Browder who underwent back surgery this weekend. Additionally, we send our prayers for a speedy recovery to Mary Colson’s husband who had a heart attack yesterday.
Lapsed License: If your real estate license lapses for any reason (failure to complete all CE credits or failure to renew) you are to CEASE & DESIST ALL REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY until you have renewed with GREC. This means no contact with clients, no showing property, not writing or negotiating contracts, etc. You will continue to be billed by Maximum One. If you do not renew within 45 days after your lapse, we will be have to drop your license from Maximum One. If there are extenuating circumstances, please contact Dana Sparks, Managing Broker at Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com . You are responsible for checking your own renewal dates with GREC.
Pending Contracts: Email your pending contracts (with all the required paperwork) to ContractsTMS@MaximumOneRealty.com Please double-check the email address you are using as this has changed from when Maximum One first opened. If you have any questions about compliance (when submitting a pending or expecting a commission check or requesting a DA) please contact your BRANCH MANAGER or the COMPLIANCE BROKER (CB@MyMaximumOne.com )
Lisitngs: Email your listings (with all required paperwork) to ListingsTMS@MaximumOneRealty.com Please double-check the email address you are using as this has changed from when Maximum One first opened. If you have any questions, contact: Woodstock@MyMaximumOne.com . If you have any questions about your listings or what to submit, please contact your BRANCH MANAGER or the LISTINGS BROKER.
Previous MX1 Announcements: If you have missed any announcements for the company, they are all located on the “General Announcements” page of the MX1 Blog.
Broker License Class: Coming in September
Post-License Class: Coming in October

8/27/12

Property Tax Bills: The 2012 property tax bills are out for most metro counties. This is a great opportunity to contact your Buyers that bought homes this year and the people that bought your listings this year (once closed, you may contact them even if they were not your client!) If these new homeowners have an escrow account, explain to them how their property taxes get paid & what to look for on their bill. If they do not have an escrow account, answer their questions about how to get it paid. Also a great service would be to remind them to file for homestead exemption and perhaps appeal the assessed value if appropriate.
Buyers Closing Now with Property Tax Bills Issued but Not Paid: Agents, please watch your buyer’s cash to close it’s that time of year when your client’s escrow account suddenly jumps!Buyer’s will see their homeowner insurance at (3) months escrow and taxes at (11) months escrowed. This means your buyer must be prepaid for higher closing costs or you definitely need to call Kim Arrington (678-644-6945) with LoanSouth Mortgage and obtain your “NO ORIGINATION FEE AND LENDER CREDIT” if needed to make that loan close!
Agent Communication with Co-Op Agents: We urge you to be professional in your communication with your colleagues from other brokerages. PLEASE answer your calls & emails. If you have a client that has not yet decided to accept or counter an offer, contact your co-op agents and LET THEM KNOW! We have received way too many complaints from other brokerages regarding the lack of professionalism & courtesy in our agents’ communication while negotiating or processing a transaction and when other agents are checking for availability or showing instructions on your listings. Be professional in your business.
Lapsed License: If your real estate license lapses for any reason (failure to complete all CE credits or failure to renew) you are to CEASE & DESIST ALL REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY until you have renewed with GREC. This means no contact with clients, no showing property, not writing or negotiating contracts, etc. If you do not renew within 30 days after your lapse, we will be have to drop your license from Maximum One. You are responsible for checking your own renewal dates with GREC.
License Renewals: Per the Georgia “Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011” GREC requires asigned & notarized “Lawful Presence Verification Form” to be delivered to them PRIOR to your renewal. This is available on the front page of GREC’s website. Therefore, you need a minimum of 2-3 days (not including weekends) to renew so do NOT wait until the last day of your birthday month or your license will lapse!
W9 Tax ID Forms: If Maximum One collects money and has to pay another party you must provide us with a W9 Form for that other party or we cannot cut the check and we cannot release your commission check. You can get this W9 form from your co-op agent or from the other brokerage directly. In turn, if another brokerage is sending Maximum One a check so that we can pay you (i.e. lease co-op, etc.) they will need a W9 from Maximum One. The W9 forms for Maximum One are available on the extranet under “Admin” then “W9 Forms.” Please use the appropriate one if you are in the Realtor company or the Realty company. We have separate tax ID numbers per company.
FMLS Find: FMLS has a new search engine to access listings & public records of properties throughout the US. Stay “in the know” of residential real estate activity on a national level. To access this program, go to: www.FMLS.com then on the left side, click on “System Links” then click on “Find” In the search bar you can search by a combination of terms (i.e. Las Vegas 2 bed 3 bath For Sale) Find Info Page 1 Find Info Page 2
Previous MX1 Announcements: If you have missed any announcements for the company, they are all located on the “General Announcements”page of the MX1 Blog.
Broker License Class:Coming in September
Post-License Class: Coming in October

8/20/12

Profit Share:
Maximum One has shown a profit in July 2012! We are still calculating the numbers, but we will be sharing those profits with YOU, our agents!!! Congratulations to all of you collectively!
INC 500: Congratulations to Maximum One! We ranked in the top 20% of the top 5000 businesses in the country!
Definition of a “Transaction”: Maximum One defines a “transaction” as every time a check is written to the Broker and has to be disbursed to a licensee. This includes but is not limited to multiple payment commissions, retainer fees, lease purchases, flat fee listings, and residual payments commissions. Retainer fees on the “Buy” side only payable at expiration/cancellation of Buyer Brokerage Agreement or when a deal is terminated or expired. The specific transaction fee you pay to Maximum One depends on your chosen specific commission plan.
Market Trends Second Quarter Statistics: These are on the Extranet under the folder: “Market Trends” The counties in which the majority of our agents work are included.
Max Cares: Please send your thoughts & prayers to the family of our Douglasville agent, Kathleen Pericas. Kathleen passed away Monday, 8/13/12. Our agent, Nancy Sanders can also use your prayers for peace & strength as she lost her Mom last Sunday.
TMS: Until we get our new system, we are going to make the existing TMS a bit more manageable. Beginning immediately, they will be in TMS in “Pending” “2012 (or appropriate year for closing) the by the property address. There will be no more filing of your pending transactions by original closing date.
DA’s: We are excited to make it convenient for you to get your money right at the closing table! Simply complete a “DA” = Disbursement Authorization Request
- Your file MUST BE COMPLIANT in TMS prior to requesting a DA
- If your file is NOT compliant, Jennifer will not be able to authorize the DA for this closing
- Your DA request must be in to Jennifer at least 72 business hours PRIOR to your closing
New Staff: Please welcome to our staff, Amy MacNeill! Amy will be helping us in the Cartersville office 3 days/week. Amy can be reached at: Akmc72@gmail.com cell: 678-662-1275 in Cartersville 770-919-8825 ext. 321. Also welcome to our staff Angie Henry who will be helping us in Douglasville 2 – 3 days/week. Angie can be reached at: AngieHenry@Bellsouth.netcell: 770-789-9228.
New Affiliated Lenders:
- Paulding: Southeast Mortgage – Jamie Bailey-Mobile: 678-776-4375Main: 770-279-0222 ext 210 Jamie.Bailey@SoutheastMortgage.com
- Douglasville: Homestar Mortgage – David StallingsOffice: (678) 561-2504 Cell: (770) 364-541 dstallings@homestarfc.com
- Alpharetta & Gwinnett: Angel Oak Funding – Gianni Cerretanni Direct – 404-213-9663 Gianni.cerretani@angeloakfunding.com
Mortgage Financing – Real Estate “Cheat Sheet:” Thank you to Ron Veres of Georgia Platinum Mortgage (RonVeres@GeorgiaPlatinumMortgage.com 770-274-2855) our affiliated lender from our East Cobb office for providing us with this valuable information! Here is the “Contract Cheat Sheet” for amounts necessary when writing a contract to remind you of Seller concessions, FHA & VA funding fees & debt ratios per credit score. Ron has also generously supplied us with the “PMI Cheat Sheet”so you can calculate the monthly PMI your Buyer will pay based on their LTV and credit score!
East Cobb Branch Email: If you need to contact Brenda Perry, the East Cobb Branch Manager, please contact her at: EastCobb@MyMaximumOne.com
GaMLS – reInsight: Beginning, October 2, 2012, GaMLS will use ONLY their ReInsight platform for searches & listing additions & maintenance. ReExplorer & ReExplorer2 will no longer be accessible! Please go to www.GaMLS.comfor a list of their classes so you will know how to navigate through this listing system!
Shares of Maximum One Greater Atlanta for Sale: One of our investors is offering to sell some shares for $3,000 – 2007 prices. There are only 100 shares total in MXGA whereas other districts have 600 shares. In o words, your ROI will be much greater! Please contact Dave@MaximumOneRealty.comif you are interested.
Previous MX1 Announcements: If you have missed any announcements for the company, they are all located on the “General Announcements” page of the MX1 Blog.

8/13/12

FMLS has New Field “Availability to Receive Offers:”
One of the most common complaints we hear from our members is that agents do not change the status of their listing from Active when there are various conditions in place that may delay a response from the seller upon presentation of an offer. For example,

a) The seller has an offer in hand and wants to receive other offers, multiple offers, before responding to any one of them

b) Seller has set a future date for responding to any offers,”highest and best”

Lenders, banks and government agencies all have their own rules for marketing listings before reviewing offers. We understand that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Wells Fargo, BOA, HUD, etc. may require a specific amount of days to pass while listed in the MLS before offers can be presented to the seller and/or before investor offers can be presented.

Therefore, to help alleviate this issue for our members, FMLS added a new required field to all listings: “Availability to Receive Offers”
Need Help with Contruction or Repair Questions: We have a new support email to assist you with these issues. Email your questions (& photos) to: constructionquestions@mymaximumone.com
New West Cobb Team Captain: We are excited to welcome Michelle Blevinsas our new Team Captain.
Do Not Use MX1 Computers for Personal Use or for Conducting Business Other than Real Estate: If we find you doing this, you will be asked to leave. These are public computers and we do our best to keep them virus-free. Be aware that we have the ability to check the history of useage.
New E&O Policy: We have re-newed our E&O Insurance policy. The premium increased by 37% yet we are once again absorbing the cost and NOT raising the agent premium! Thank you, Dave! If you have an Equator account, you need to go into Equator & renew the policy because the previous E&O Policy has expired. Here is the new Certificate of Liability for Equator & for you REO & BPO agents & it is on the extranet.
New Smyrna Location: The Maximum One Smyrna/Vinings branch will be relocating in the next several months. Our new location will be at the “Galleria 75” Center next to the Cobb Energy Center in the vicinity of the Galleria & I-75 & 285. This fantastic location is easily accessible from the entire metro area! Click here for a flooplan and please see the Maximum One Blog for photos & a further description!
Previous MX1 Announcements: If you have missed any announcements for the company, they are all located on the “General Announcements” page of the MX1 Blog.

8/6/12

Welcome New Agents:
Baqua Gray – Smyrna/Vinings
Carla Van Pelt – Smyrna/Vinings
April Lawson – Smyrna/Vinings
Janelle Childree – Douglasville
Teresa LeBlanc – Woodstock
Edmund Dunn – West Cobb
Nahla Baird – West Cobb
Ahsan Faruquw – Gwinnett
Xioara Blaise – Gwinnett
Sonia Gonzalez – Gwinnett
Inette Jackson – Gwinnett
New Affiliated Lenders: Paulding and Douglasville have chosen NEW affiliated lenders for the agents in their branches! These new affiliates will be formally announced once the contracts have been signed!
Shares of Maximum One Greater Atlanta are for Sale: If you are looking for a great investment, an investment in yourself, a limited number of shares in this division have opened up. Please contact Dave Kubat for the specific information on the number of shares available and the price per share. Dave@MyMaximumOne.com
Leads Management: We are re-vamping this program. If you are interested in receiving company-generated leads through this program, please let us know. When you close on a transaction from a lead received through our Leads Management program, you will pay a 30% referral fee to Maximum One at closing. Please email Earl Pilcher: Woodstock@MyMaximumOne.com (this email address may change but please use this for now) and let him know what areas you work and if you work rental leads.
Transaction Fees for an In-House Co-Op or Referral: The Maximum One transaction fee must be split at the same percentage as the gross commission per agent. The only exception is contract-to-close services rendered. Each agent’s transactions fees are based on whatever commission plan they are on with Maximum One.
FMLS Fees for an In-House Co-Op or Referral:If two agents are BOTH in one company (Realty/Realty OR Realtor/Realtor) then the FMLS fee can be split at agent’s discretion… please indicate on Bluesheet.
- If two agents are in DIFFERENT companies (Realty/Realtor) on BOTH sides of the deal (Listing & Selling) then BOTH agents must pay full FMLS fee.
- If two agents are in DIFFERENT companies (Realty/Realtor) on ONE side of the deal, then the FMLS fee must come out of whomever is in FMLS. We can adjust the commission in this scenario to compensate for the FMLS portion.
Max Cares: Please continue with your thoughts and prayers for our Douglasville agent, Kathleen Pericas. She had been released from ICU & from the hospital and was back home from her liver disease when she slipped and hit her head. Kathleen is back in the hospital to get the brain-swelling reduced and can certainly use all of our prayers.
Schools are Back In Session: Please drive carefully & pay attention, watch for school zones, school busses and school children.

7/30/12

Staff Changes: We congratulate Earl Pilcher as being named, “Operations Manager” of Maximum One. In addition to being Listing Broker & Woodstock Branch Manager, Earl will also manage the systems and processes of our company as we continue to grow and expand! We will continue to systematize and streamline the paperwork and procedures to help you find the documents you need and comply with Maximum One policies & procedures. We also congratulate Brenda Perryfor being named the new Branch Manager of Cartersville. East Cobb will surely miss Brenda’s presence but she will continue to check all your compliance issues in TMS.
Accessing an Office Other Than Your Home Office: You are more than welcome to use any of our Maximum One offices to meet clients, use computers, send faxes, use copiers, etc. Before you just show up, however, please make a courtesy call to that Branch Manager so they can input your code into the copier if necessary or make a copy of a key to give you access after hours. Please make this call at least a couple of hours PRIOR to your arrival so that the Branch Manager may accommodate your requests.
Contract Compliance & TMS: Please remember that it is your responsibility to check TMS to make sure that your Listings & Contracts are compliant both with GREC and with Maximum One Policies & Procedures. Once you email your information to the appropriate address (ListingsTMS@MaximumOneRealty.com for Listings and ContractsTMS@MaximumOneRealty.com for Contracts) it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to go into TMS through www.MyMaximumOne.comand check your transaction for compliance. You will NOT receive an email.
- Your contract must be completely compliant before we can approve a DA or release your commission check. If you are unsure of what is required or what the various labels mean, please ask your Branch Manager first then Compliance Broker, Brenda.
- Remember that Brenda checks hundreds of contracts and documents continuously throughout every day so if you turn in missing documents with your closing, there will most likely be a delay in the Branch Manager’s permission to release your check to you.
- If you have turned in the required documents prior to your closing and your contract in TMS still does not show “OK” please show your Branch manager what was requested and as long as it is not a GREC-compliance issue, your Branch Manager will be able to release your check.
- Your Branch Manager is the appropriate person to assist you with these questions and concerns.
Extending a Listing: If you extend a listing past the original expiration date, you must have a signed Amendment to your listing agreement before simply changing the dates in FMLS and GaMLS.
- GAR Contracts: F106 – Amendment to Brokerage Engagement
- RE Forms: RE 261 – Amendment to Contract

7/23/12

Lease Commission Payments: When you lease a property, please use a Lease Commission Payment Form to confirm what the co-op fee is and so we can comply with GREC and pay you. There is nothing in any of the lease contracts (without being stipulated) regarding what the landlord’s broker agrees to pay the tenant’s broker. This form is available in both the GAR forms and the RE Forms.
- GAR Contracts: F37 – Lease Commission Confirmation (under the Purchase & Sale folder)
- RE Forms: Lease Commission Acknowledgement
Wired Earnest Money: If your client wires the earnest money to a brokerage or closing attorney, ask the to provide you with a copy of the receipt and turn that in to TMS for your “copy of Earnest Money”
MX1 Affiliated Business Disclosure: Maximum One’s company policy is to have ALL BUYERS sign this disclosure. To comply with RESPA requirements, HUD only requires a Buyer to sign this disclosure if the Buyer uses the services of one of the affiliates, we require your Buyers sign it and that you submit it with every purchase contract. The Buyer may use an inspector/home warranty/etc. from a vendor who is in our vendor program and pays for that privilege. If you cannot get the Seller to sign (especially a bank) that is fine. There are TWO separate forms depending on which contract forms you are using. The one to use with the RE Forms includes some additional verbiage to protect you as an agent and your rights to commission due to some clauses & phrases that are missing from the RE purchase and sale form.
- GAR Contracts: Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure
- RE Forms: Maximum One Exhibit and Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure
Rejection of Offer or Counteroffer: We are in the midst of defending one of our agents in a GREC complaint alleging that the agent did not present a Buyer’s offer in a multiple offer situation. Additionally, we are also in the midst of helping one of our agents get proof from another brokerage that the listing agent did present our Buyer’s offer to the Seller… two sides of the SAME coin! Protect yourself and Maximum One by providing EVERY BUYER who presents an offer (but does not get a binding contract) with a Notice of Rejection of Offer that is SIGNED BY THE SELLER!!! License Law requires that you present ALL OFFERS… PERIOD! Be able to PROVE that you presented all offers.
- GAR Contracts: F144 – Notice to Reject Offer/Counteroffer (under the Miscellaneous folder)
- RE Forms: RE – 260 – Notification – & check the box “Other Notices” & write: “Seller rejects offer from ________ (fill in name of Buyer.)”
Retainer Fees– Retainer fees are not to be collected in short sales. Unless otherwise stipulated, retainer fees are non-refundable except when the Buyer purchases a property & you earn a commission – then the retainer fee gets refunded to the Buyer at the closing. Maximum One will hold all retainer fees in our Trust account until:
- The Buyer closes on a transaction in which the agent receives a commission – retainer fee gets refunded to Buyer
- The Buyer Agency Agreement terminates or expires – we will disburse to the agent.
Agent on Duty (AOD): If you want FREE leads, then sign-up for Agent on Duty! This program is administered by Earl Pilcher. Go to www.MaximumOneAOD.com, and sign-up for a 4-hr morning, afternoon or weekend shift & indicate at which office you will be. Earl will make sure that the phones get forwarded to that office (AOD cannot be done from your home.) You are responsible for answering the phones but any lead you get during your appointed time frame is yours to keep, reject or refer. When you close on this lead, there are no referral fees due to Maximum One. (Sign calls obviously go the listing agent.) As a company, we pay for many online lead generation vehicles (websites, voicepad, Craigslist, etc.) We generate many many many leads for you! Some of these are rentals, some buyers, some investors and others sellers. One agent in Woodstock, closed 7 transactions in the last couple of months from leads he got from AOD. Last week, an agent in Woodstock did AOD for the first time and now has a Buyer under contract on a $300,000 house! We are refining another Leads program for you as well! You do NOT have to sit at an office for 4 hours! We will send you these same leads and when you close, you will pay a 30% referral fee to Maximum One. There is a covenant we will ask you to sign confirming that you agree to forward sign calls to the listing agent and that with the company leads, you agree to pay MX1 30% at closing. Contact Earl Pilcher for more information: Woodstock@MyMaximumOne.com 770-919-8825 ext. 310.
HUD Commission Checks from Fearnley, Califf & Price:This month alone, Juanita has received 4 commission checks from this firm that were NOT signed! The bank will NOT accept an unsigned check for deposit so there will be a delay in you receiving your commission. Please make sure that all checks are signed prior to leaving any closing attorney’s office!
Maximum One Roster: Updated rosters are on the extranet.

7/16/12

E&O Insurance: Maximum One has changed its policy on agent payment for E&O Insurance based on agent-feedback. If you choose to pay monthly or quarterly, we will no longer collect the balance with your first transaction like we previously did. You now have three options to pay your E&O every year (your anniversary year:)
- One payment of $187 (Annually)
- Twelve payments of $19 (Monthly)
- Four payments of $69 (Quarterly)
Paulding Office: 1st Team Meeting this Thursday at 10am. Team Meetings will be the 3rd Thursday of every month at 10am.
10 Day Hold on Personal Checks: If a client pays (earnest money, rent, security deposit, etc.) with a personal check, we must hold the check for 10 days before we can pay out any money from those funds.
New Disbursement Authorization “DA” Request: To get paid at the closing table, this new DA has updated instructions & contact information. This has also been uploaded to the Extranet.
Max Cares – Thoughts & prayers for strength & peace to the family of Jerry Stargel. Jerry was diagnosed with acute leukemia on June 29th and passed away July 10th. Please also send your prayers for healing to Kathleen Pericaswho has been in the hospital for the past two weeks with liver disease. Please let me know if any of our agents need our thoughts & prayers and please consider donating on your bluesheet to our Max Cares fund.
W9 Form:If Maximum One has to pay anyone or any company from a commission that you receive (i.e. referral fee or co-op fee on a rental, etc.) remember that we MUST receive a W9 for that individual or entity before we can release any funds based on that transaction. Realty or Realtors, these are located on the Extranet.
Direct Deposit: Consider having your commission checks directly deposited into your account rather than having to pick up a physical check from the office. You will receive the same information regarding the transaction and you won’t have to drive to the office! Simply complete this Direct Deposit Form and send to: Jennifer O’Neal at Jennifer@MyMaximumOne.com
Property Management: Amazing deal ($75) on a 12 hour CE class AND you will get the REPM designation. Taught by Cathy McDaniel, this 2-day class is 9:30am – 4:30pm on Friday (7/20) & Saturday (7/21.) Please register and see more information in the “Training Class” section of this newsletter.
When emailing any documents regarding transactions, mail to MaximumOne.Whitney@gmail.com or Jennifer@MyMaximumOne.com and NOT to Robin@MyMaximumOne.com

7/9/12

Property Management Services: MX1’sWe are still working through some options to make this work for EVERYONE at a level in which you feel comfortable. Please note that this is still a work in progress & we welcome your ideas & suggestions!As we have already announced, we have a joint venture with Wilcher Property Group (www.WilcherProperties.com) & communication will be co-branded (both logos) Here is where we are at the moment regarding your options with Property Management:
- Your current property being managed… no changes unless you choose to! The checks will be processed by Whitney & Jennifer rather than Sabrina & there will be a new account number & few other changes. (We currently do not have an online payment option for your tenants & must hold personal checks for 10 days before paying your landlords.) The contracts do not have to change EVEN if you choose to transfer your properties to Wilcher.
- Please send the following information to Melissa Clay: Cartersville@MyMaximumOne.com so that we can cross reference everything & reconcile all our books when we get the final accounting of everything from Sabrina later this month:
  - Property address
  - Landlord & tenants names
  - Amount of rent
  - Amount of Management fee
  - Amount of Security Deposit
  - Any other deposits we are holding (i.e. repair escrows, etc.)
  - Direct Deposit information for Landlord
  - Any other pertinent notes
- New Properties: Can work with Wilcher Properties 2 ways:
  - Outright Referral – one time $100 referral fee OR
  - Management Participation – 15% of the Management Fee (minimum Management fee = $85) every month
    - No responsibility for repair calls or evictions or collecting rents & paying landlords nor reports to landlords nor 1099’s at end of year
    - They screen tenants
    - Wilcher has an online landlord portal where the landlord can see their account & their finances & reports of what goes on with their property at any time
    - Wilcher takes online payments from tenants
    - Wilcher handles all the money between tenants/landlords/vendors for repairs
    - You perform move-in/move-out walk throughs
    - You will have to inspect the property twice a year & do two additional checks on the property especially after a major storm or major repair
    - Attend 3 hr CE class through Wilcher properties
    - You are to stay in touch with your clients so when they turn into Buyers/Sellers they remain your clients
    - When tenant vacates, you get the property back to re-list & procure another tenant – still working on some referral fee issues
    - Use Wilcher leases & management contracts
    - Wilcher has ADDITIONAL amazing & innovative programs to work with investors who are looking to enhance their portfolio of rental properties (including buying properties at foreclosure on the courthouse steps)
    - Wilcher has TONS of leads for rental & management business AND investor business when you are part of their program
    - There will be more Lunch & Learns on what Wilcher has to offer
- New Properties: Can work with Maximum One
  - Your portion of management fee is based on whatever plan you have with Maximum One
  - You are responsible for handling repairs, proceeding with evictions, chasing down late rent or non-payment of rent, handling any landlord/tenant disputes, etc
  - You need to keep all records – financial & otherwise
  - We currently do NOT have online payment for tenants (but we’re working on it)
  - Currently, if a tenant pays by check, we have a 10 day hold on those funds before we can pay the Landlord
  - You need to keep financial records of money coming in & going out
  - You will need to prepare a report of what is to go on the Landlord’s 1099 at the end of the year
  - The actual rents/fees/etc. will be run through Maximum One (Whitney & Jennifer will handle) but you need to keep your specific & accurate records for end-of-the-year reporting
  - You must attend the Trust Accounts Course through GREC
  - You must take a minimum 3 hour CE class on Property management (we are offering one through Cathy McDaniel July 20 – 21 in the Smyrna office (she charges $75 which is WAY less than she typically charges) for a designation: REPM – register at: http://www.registerforREclasses.com) & you get 12 hours CE
  - Must use GAR contracts
  - May have to join Maximum One Realtors (still working on that issue)
  - May have additional E&O Insurance… we’re investigating that now
  - We are also working on
    - A unified vendor list for repairs
    - A Manager of Maximum One Property Management so you have one contact person to help answer questions/help you deal with issues/help you with reports/etc.
Welcome New Agents in June:
- Linda Bond – Gwinnett
- Eduardo Ambia -Gwinnett
- Jenette Felder – Gwinnett
- Carolyn Shaw – Gwinnett
- Carolyn Fern – Smyrna/Vinings
- Jeffrey Taylor – Smyrna/Vinings – Welcome BACK!
- Jim Dunn – Smyrna/Vinings
- Amy MacNeill – Alpharetta
- Keisha Calvert – Douglasville
- Traci Browning – Woodstock
Checks Being Mailed to MX1: If you are having money sent to you at the office (commission from an attorney, earnest money or other deposits sent from a client, etc.)remember that we do not open your mail and if we get a check without a property address or an agent’s name on it, we do not know what property it goes with.
HUD Definition of “family”: Regarding the fact that agents belonging to a brokerage who is an LLB and their “family” are prohibited from purchasing HUD REO’s, we are awaiting HUD’s specific definition of family and will pass it along as soon as we receive it.
Max Cares– Thoughts & prayers for strength & healing to Bob Butler who had Spinal Surgery on 7/5/12. Bob will be re-habbing in Florida – we wish him a speedy recovery! Remember you can donate on your bluesheet a part of your commission to our Max Cares fund. Please let us know if any of our agents need our prayers & blessings.
Need Help with MX1 Paperwork: These agents have approached me about offering their services to help you with the administrative part of your business. Please contact them for their services & prices:
- Deloris Jenkins – DelorisJenkins@bellsouth.net
- Monifa Taylor – MonifaTaylor@gmail.com
- Michelle Blevins – MichelleDBlevins@Hotmail.com
- Monica Castro – MonicaCastro@bellsouth.net
- Sandi Bray – SandiBray84@gmail.com
What is the DNS Changer Malware? – Just a little preventative medicine, the Major news networks and Clark Howard have been talking about a Malware that prevents a computer from connecting to the internet starting on July 9th (this when the FBI stops running the Protector Servers)!
- http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/july-9-could-be-internet-doomsday-some-so-check-your-736963
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/dnschanger-malware-off-internet-july-9_n_1650700.html
- This link tells you what the concern is: http://www.dcwg.org/
- Here’s the link to check your PC’s DNS: http://www.dns-ok.us/ …. If its Green background, your PC’s good to GO; RED it gives a fix.

7/2/12

Independence Day Holiday Hours: MX1 Offices will be Closed:
- July 3rd at 12:15pm
- July 4th – All Day
MX1 Agents (& their families) May NOT Purchase a HUD REO: Since we have HUD Listing Brokers in both the Realtor & Realty companies, our agents are prohibited from purchasing any HUD foreclosure.
Contracts & Listings Address for TMS: Please remember the proper address:
- ContractsTMS@MaximumOneRealty.com
- ListingsTMS@MaximumOneRealty.com
Smyrna Fob System:The Smyrna/Vinings office has a new electronic fob system. If you are an agent out of this office, please see Juanita to get your fob because your key will no longer work after July 5th. There is a $10 replacement fee for a lost fob.
Douglasville & Paulding – New Lender Affiliate: These offices are in the process of scheduling interviews to find a lender affiliate. Please contact your branch manager for information & to participate
Docusign Electronic Signatures: Maximum One has arranged for a HUGE corporate discount for our agents: $100/year. Docusign will work with the contract forms in FMLS. Contact Dana (Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com) if you want to sign up! Go to www.Docusign.comfor more information on the product
MX1 Orientation / Paperwork: We have classes and appointments available to go over everything with you.
- Every Friday in the Woodstock Office from 10am – 11am. RSVP:Woodstock@MyMaximumOne.com
- Every 3rd Tuesday in Douglasville Office from 11:30am – 12:30pm. RSVP: KHollins2010@yahoo.com
- Any day by Appointment. Schedule with your Branch Manager

6/24/12

Property Management Services: MX1’s Property Management proudly announces our joint venture with Wilcher Properties for all of your property management needs! A comprehensive slate of services includes: management, investor-servicing, background checking, eviction procedures, property design, & so much more! If you have current Property Management transactions or want to learn about how you can offer this service to your clients, please attend one of our two meetings this week:
- Tuesday at 10am in Woodstock
- Friday at 10am in Smyrna/Vinings.
Commission / Earnest Money / DA’s / T&R Disbursements/ Direct Deposits: Please contact Whitney Price (MaximumOne.Whitney@gmail.com ) or Jennifer O’Neal (Jennifer@MyMaximumOne.com )
Docusign Electronic Signatures: Maximum One has arranged for a HUGE corporate discount for our agents: $100/year. Docusign will work with the contract forms in FMLS. Contact Dana (Dana@MaximumOneRealty.com) if you want to sign up! Go to www.Docusign.com for more information on the product
MX1 Orientation / Paperwork: We have classes and appointments available to go over everything with you.
- Every Friday in the Woodstock Office from 10am – 11am. RSVP:Woodstock@MyMaximumOne.com
- Every 3rd Tuesday in Douglasville Office from 11:30am – 12:30pm. RSVP: KHollins2010@yahoo.com
- Any day by Appointment. Schedule with your Branch Manager
Paulding Office – New Suite: Paulding is now in Suite 141 of the Highland Pavilion of Highway 278 in Hiram ( 2 doors down from the previous location.)
Maximus – Are you ready for Maximus?!!? Arriving soon!

6/4/12

Rent a Desk at Maximum One: Studies show that independent contractors are more productive when they actually get up in the morning and get ready and go to another location for work. We want to help your productivity by offering Summer Specials on the prices of the desk rentals at all of the offices! Please contact us for more information!
Licensed in Tennessee: Maximum One Realty is now licensed in the state of Tennessee. If you wish to do business there, you must contact the Tennessee Commission of Real Estate to obtain your reciprocal license.
New Douglasville Team Captain: Congratulations to Kimberly Hollins, the new Team Captain in Douglasville! Please let her know what topics you would like for Team Meetings and how she can help you with your Maximum One paperwork or anything else!
GaMLS – Listing Sold: When you sell a listing, log on to GaMLS and change your listing status to “Sold” to avoid a fine from GaMLS.
Assistance with Maximum One Contract &/or Listing Paperwork: If you would like help completing or turning in your listing or pending paperwork into TMS, there are agents who will do this for you for a fee. If you would like to earn a little extra money, there are many agents who need this assistance! Please contact us and let us know if you need this help or want to offer this service!
iPad Giveaway: Dave will be giving away another iPad at Christmas! Please attend Team Meetings & classes to drop your business card & be eligible to win!

5/21/12

TMS Codes: When you check your file in TMS for compliance, you will see much information. Any notes of missing documents will delay your receipt of your commission check at closing. You are looking for “OK” Here is the meaning of the other codes:
- LW = LoneWolf – this means the file has been put into the MX1 accounting system
- CD = Closing Date
- JS = Jane Schnoebelen – checks files for compliance
- BP = Brenda Perry – Compliance Broker who checks files for GREC & Maximum One compliance
- OK = File is ok & you can get your commission check – You MUST have the “OK” for the office to release your commission check to you.
Updated HUD Letters: For HUD contracts, there are updated letters on the extranet for all companies giving you the agent, permission to sign HUD contracts for the Broker. These letters have “blue ink” signatures on them per HUD.
Commission Payment on Leases: If the commission payment for a lease transaction is not specified in the lease, please use the Lease Commission Acknowledgement for your contract. There is one for both GAR contracts & the NEW RE Forms.
- GAR – Form F37 = “Leasing Commission Confirmation” (under the Purchase & Sale folder in GAR forms)
- NEW – Form RE125 = “Lease Commission Acknowledgement” Attached Here – currently available through GaMLS Instanet Forms & not on FMLS yet.
Paulding Maximum One Office: New location this week… two doors down from previous location. We are now in Suite #141.
Maximum One Customer Acknowledgement Form: For anyone using the new Georgia RE Forms, here is a Customer Acknowledgement to be signed by your customer (Buyer or Seller) when not representing them in a fiduciary relationship.
iPad Giveaway: Dave will be giving away another iPad at Christmas! Please attend Team Meetings & classes to drop your business card & be eligble to win!\
Happy Memorial Day 5/28/12: No newlsetter next Sunday & Offices CLOSED Monday 5/28/12

5/13/12

Exciting Maximum One Staff Announcements: Congratulations to Robin Wilhite, the new Branch Manager of Cartersville! Robin will be moving locations from West Cobb to Cartersville on Tuesday. She will continue as Business Center Administrator in addition to managing the newest office in Cartersville. Congratulations to Whitney Price, the Comptroller of Maximum One! Whitney’s role is to supervise the accounting and financial growth & reporting of the company.
New & Revised Georgia RE Forms: There are new & revised forms to the NEW Georgia RE Contracts. Currently they are accessible in GaMLS and NOT in FMLS. They will be on the MX1 Extranet next week. To access these forms, log in to GaMLS, go to Transaction Desk, select “Forms/Instanet Forms” tab, & then select the RE Forms folder. The new forms include:
- Exclusive Lease Procurement for Residential Real Estate
- Exclusive Tenant Brokerage Agreement
- Georgia Contract for Lease of Residential Real Estate
- Lease Application
- Rental Property Condition Report
- Seller’s Property Condition Disclosure Statement
Maximum One Customer Acknowledgement Form: For anyone using the new Georgia RE Forms, here is a Customer Acknowledgement to be signed by your customer (Buyer or Seller) when not representing them in a fiduciary relationship.
iPad Giveaway: Dave will be giving away another iPad at Christmas! Please attend Team Meetings & classes to drop your business card & be eligble to win!
Map of Maximum One Locations: Maximum One Realty has offices throughout metro Atlanta. Here is an updated Mapfor you to share with clients.
RE Magazine – Free Press: RE Magazine is a print and online publication dedicated to real estate agent news in Atlanta. It is a great venue for free press about any career-related information you have. Here is a link for the online issueof the Spring publication… Maximum One agents are throughout the issue!
Xceligent: New FMLS Commercial Database – No cost to submit commercial listings for sale and lease. Please see the email FMLS sent to you on May 2nd.

5/6/12

HUD Selling Broker Commission Addendum: HUD has a new form for you to sign with your HUD contracts. In essence, you agree that the commission paid to you by HUD is the ONLY commission you will receive regarding this transaction; you cannot receive any additional compensation from the Buyer.
GAR Contracts vs. NEW Georgia Contracts: There are many differences between the two sets of forms. Please read your contracts and take one of the five classes we offer this month comparing the two contracts as well as focusing on the differences legal differences.
Vote for Pemco Video Finalists: Maximum One Realty is an official HUD Listing Broker. The HUD Outlet Team (Annamaria Stalker & Jayne Pearson) has submitted a video which has made the finals in a competition across two regions. See their finalist Youtube video here & then please use the link and VOTE for the Maximum One video(Annamaria & Jayne.) Vote for us for All 3 choices and give Maximum One Realty tons of regional exposure which will benefit every Maximum One agent!
Welcome New Agents: We are excited to welcome 14 new agents in April to Maximum One! Please introduce yourself when you see an unknown face!
- Jay Abdallah – East Cobb
- Berry Bowan – Douglasville
- Carol Chase – Alpharetta
- Suzanne Elsberry – Paulding
- Dennis Dwyer – West Cobb
- Noah Gulledge – Woodstock
- Priscilla Hammond – West Cobb
- Jackie Harmon – Woodstock
- Cathy Hayes – West Cobb
- Andrew Reibly – Woodstock
- Venkateshwar Satoor – Gwinnett
- Marjorie Slack – Woodstock
- Kimberly Weaver – Douglasville
- Mitzie Wagy – Woodstock

4/29/12

Spring Picnic:The 1st Annual Maximum One Spring Picnic was a blast! The BBQ was delicious! The beach games were fun! The magician and world’s largest mind-reading rabbit were entertaining & the fellowship was heartfelt!
- Thank you again to the Picnic Committeefor such a fabulous job! (Bonnie Malley, Mary Lamb, Michelle Blevins, Monica Castro, Kevin Zschack, Elyse Bailey, Michael Finn, Cindy Corona & all the others who helped!)
- Special thanks to Adrienne Freeman (First American Warranty,) Toni Mugnier & Ginny Nestor (Old Republic Warranty) & Shawn Horan & Victor Harrison(Harrison & Horan) who paid for all of the food & desserts!
- Free iPad Winner: Congratulations to Kimberly Hollins (Douglasville Office) who won the free iPad! Team meetings DO pay off! 😉
- Dessert Bake-Off Winner: David Avery won for his for his “high-heel shoe” cupcakes (See them in the VisualTour)
- Visual Tour of Picnic: Click here for link to Visual Tour
Happy 5th BirthdayMaximum One: April 30, 2012
2012 Pacesetter Award: For the 3rd year in a row, Maximum One Realty won the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s coveted Pacesetter Award as one of the “fastest growing companies in Atlanta! Congratulations to Dave Kubat and all of Maximum One!
MX1 Mobile Website: http://m.MaximumoneATL.comThis is the website that is formatted for easy viewing on a smartphone!
FedEx:One of the benefits that Maximum One provides is a huge “corporate discount” on FedEx.
- Call FedEx: 866-418-3989
- Establish your OWN personal account& tell the rep that the “Parent Account” is Maximum One Realty (Account #:366918680)
- Enjoy 48% discount on Express All Priority Overnight delivery & 46% discount on all other Express deliveries (no discount on Ground Deliveries)

4/22/12

MAXIMUM ONE SPRING PICNIC – CELEBRATING YOU & MAXIMUM ONE’S 5th BIRTHDAY: Saturday April 28th – 11am – 5pm with BBQ Lunch from 12pm – 2pm – We are going to have fun & Desserrt Bake-Off & games & fellowship & prizes & did I mention fun!?!?!? The picnic is at Red Top Mountain & we will be at picnic pavilions #5 & #6. The address is 50 Lodge Rd, Cartersville, GA 30121. Please contact Kevin ZShack Kevin@MaximumOneRealtors.com or Tina Vliet Tina@MaximumOneRealtors.com for information about the dessert Bake-Off. Map. Informational Flyer. Your picnic committee has planned an outstanding event! Thank you to the fabulous Picnic Committee:
- Bonnie Malley
- Michelle Blevins
- Monica Castro
- Kevin ZShack
- Tina Vliet
- Michael Finn
- Mary Lamb
- Elyse Bailey
- John Curley
- Cindy Corona
- Sabrina Lowery
- Michelle Amendola
- Lydia Shumake
MAXIMUM ONE BLOG- For an easy online reference to all previous newsletters, we now have them archived in the Maximum One Blogso you can have a contract tip, coaching tip, fun app or motivational quote at your fingertips!
ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES- Docusign is compatible with FMLS contracts! Be on the lookout for an invitation to try out Docusign for FREE for 3 weeks & then if you like it, we have a corporate rate if you choose to continue to use it! Invitation & directions on how to use with FMLS coming soon!
ROSTER – Please check you roster listing. The office with which you are associated with on the roster is where your commission checks will be sent to. If you have changes in your office or contact information, please contact Jennifer O’Neal at Jennifer@MyMaximumOne.com
MUST MINISTRIES- They have ongoing needs with which we can help! Please bring your used grocery store plastic bags to your Branch Manager. Deloris Jenkins, West Cobb Team Captain, will take those bags to Must Ministries.
VISUAL TOUR- Great for exposure online! A must have if you want more business! If you have a listing, it’s fabulous for marketing that listing & getting web exposure. If you have Buyers, consider taking a Visual Tour of your Buyer’s home & giving it to them as a closing gift… it will be online & they will give it to all of their friends! Your name & contact information is stamped all over the tour…. FREE marketing for you! There are many more ways to use this online marketing tool ($10/month at Maximum One vs. $30/month elsewhere) Here is the link to a Visual Tour of the new East Cobb Maximum One locationso you can check it out!
AGENT ON DUTY – Agent on Duty is a great way to get FREE leads! We have agents closing 1 – 5 transactions a month from leads they got from Agent on Duty! Sign up at: www.MaximumOneAOD.com And for answers to your questions, contact Leads Manager: Earl Pilcher at Woodstock@MyMaximumOne.com
CERTIFIED DISTRESSED PROPERTY EXPERT (CDPE) CLASS – April 26th & 27th – See Maximum One Training Calendar

4/15/12

VARIOUS FORMS YOU MAY NEED
MAXIMUM ONE BLOG– For an easy online reference to all previous newsletters, we now have them archived in the Maximum One Blogso you can have a contract tip, coaching tip, fun app or motivational quote at your fingertips! Also stay tuned for some fun & informative Surveys & Polls on the blog for you to test your real estate knowledge (thank you, Shawn Delaney for the great idea!)
ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES– Are you using e-signatures for your real estate contracts? There are many options – DocuSign and Authentisign being the most prevalent (& secure) programs being used for real estate contracts. E-Signatures are a wonderful tool for ease & legibility of completing transactions. Many of our clients do not have printers (or ink in their printers) or fax machines or scanners, yet almost everyone has a computer! Additionally, the contracts are much more legible when transferred among parties electronically rather than being faxed many times! Although some foreclosure sellers will not accept electronic signatures, it is much easier to go back after the negotiations and get a hand-written signature on a legible contract. Please attend (click the link for the “Go-to-Meeting” login information) the 15 minute live DocuSign webinarMonday at 1pm for an introduction to DocuSign – a company that Maximum One has arranged for a corporate discount for all of our users! If you attend this webinar, you will get 3 FREE weeks before the discount begins! You’ll pay LESS for DocuSign by signing up with Maximum One than you will through NAR!
PREFERRED VENDORS & AFFILIATED BUSINESS PARTNERS– Please join me in extending an enormous THANK YOU to all of our preferred vendors & affiliated business partners! These people support us day in & day out and go the extra mile in helping us with our social events!!! Please support them as they support us!!! Currently, a special thank you for extra support for our Maximum One Spring Picnic goes out to:
- Adrienne Freeman of First American Home Warranties
- Toni Mugnier & Ginny Nestor of Old Republic Home Warranties
- Shawn Horan & Victor Harrison of Harrison & Horan, Attorneys at Law in Douglasville
TEAM MEETINGS– Team Meetings are for YOU, our agents!!! The attendance at all of our offices has been a bit low lately. PLEASE let us know what you would like to see at these team meetings!!! What type of training? What specific information? What type of interaction? More of ________? Less of _________? We want to satisfy all of your needs so please let us know what they are!! Let me know: Dana@MaximumOneRealty.comor your Branch Manager! Thank you!!
MX1 PICNIC – APRIL 28th at REDTOP MOUNTAIN – BBQ! Fun! Putt-Putt! Other Games! Surprises! We can’t wait to see you ALL there AND your families!!!!! If you have not already done so from the evite, please RSVP on the MX1 Training Calendar. Thank you, Mary Lamb for these photos of the picnic pavilions & beach at Red Top Mountain: (See photos on Maximum One Facebook Page)
FACEBOOK & TWITTER – Please “Like” us on Facebook & “tweet” with us on Twitter! Click the links at the top & bottom of this newsletter.
TAXES DUE – April 17th – the IRS filing deadline for filing your 2011 taxes.

4/8/12

AGENT SAFETY– There are several reports from FMLS & our own agents of crazy & potentially dangerous people out there! Please be vigilant when going on listing appointments and showing property. Always let someone know where you are going, who you are meeting and when to expect you back. Have a secret code word to broadcast your need for help such as “red folder.” Then you can call someone and say, “I need the showing instructions that are in the RED FOLDER on my desk!”… or better yet, call 911! Here is a list of other safety tips from FMLS!
LISTING AGREEMENT – RE FORMS – There is no specific place to put in the street address within the fill-in-the-blanks of the contract. Please write a special stipulation indicating the address.
SHORT SALES– There are many training sessions this month regarding Short Sales! They are not going away any time soon so learn how to capitalize on this part of the business!
- Short Sale Lunch & Learn(4/12 – 11am in Alpharetta MX1 Office) – Learn how to easily get a short sale listing transaction closed!
- Stressed Over Distressed Properties(4/18 – 1pm – West Metro Board) – Learn the Laws, Loans & Renovations of Short Sales
- Successfully Selling Short Sales(4/19 – 11am in Cartersville MX1 Office) – 3 Hour CE class on working with Buyers through the process of purchasing a short sale
- CDPE Designation Class (4/26 & 4/27 – All Day in Atlanta) – Get a professional designation (Certified Distressed Property Expert) for listing and selling short sales
MX1 PAPERWORK FOR TURNING IN A LISTING OR CLOSING – Please check the extranet or refer back to the Orientation documents you received (hard copy or by email) when you first joined Maximum One for checklists and instructions. If you still need reminders or assistance, schedule an appointment with your branch manager to go over the paperwork or contact Dana. Your files must be complete in TMS before Maximum One can release your commission check or issue a “Pay at Close.” Your Listing Agreements & Pending Contracts must be turned in to TMS 72 hours after acceptance to avoid a fine!
WELCOME NEW MAXIMUM ONE AGENTS:
- Sharon Browder – Paulding
- Larry Clemmons – Gwinnett
- Dennis Forlie – Alpharetta
- Nickol Langlois – Smyrna/Vinings
- Bobby Murphy – Cherokee
- Deborah Pals – Cherokee
- Jamie Patterson – Douglasville
- Rob Petit – Alpharetta
- Kevin Walker – Douglasville
- Susanne Worley – West Cobb
MX1 PICNIC – APRIL 28th at REDTOP MOUNTAIN – BBQ! Fun! Putt-Putt! Other Games! Surprises! We can’t wait to see you ALL there AND your families!!!!! Please RSVP directly to Michelle Blevins at: Michelle@RealEstateAcrossAtlanta.comor on the MX1 Training Calendar.
MAXIMUM ONE WEBSITES– Please check the Maximum One websites and make sure your correct contact information and photo is there!
- www.MaximumOneATL.com (contact support@ReflectResources.com)
- www.MaximumOneRealtors.com (contact support@ewebengine.com)
- www.MaximumOneRealty.com (contact support@ewebengine.com)
AFFILIATED MORTGAGE LENDERS: COMPANY CHANGES – Kim Arrington & her Team are now with Loan South Mortgage MortgagesWithKim@att.net and Gary Berardi is now with Silverton Mortgage GaryBerardi@SilvertonMortgage.com . Congratulations to all!

4/1/12

MX1 REALTOR BOARDS– If you are a Realtor at Maximum One, you have your choice of Boards of Realtors to join. The following is a list of the various Boards to which we belong:
- Cobb
- Atlanta
- Paulding
- Cherokee
- West Metro
- Bartow
- West Georgia
CARTERSVILLE IS NOW OPEN – We are located on top of the SunTrust Building! 827 Joe Frank Harris Pkwy. 2nd Floor, Cartersville, GA 30120.
EAST COBB NEW LOCATION – We are located in the Parkaire Shopping Center at the corner of Lower Roswell Road & Johnson Ferry Road! 4880 Lower Roswell Rd. Suite 470 Marietta, GA 30068 See Photos Below & on our Facebook Page!
TWITTER – Maximum One is now on Twitter! @Maximum1Realty Please “Follow” us and tweet along! You’ll get up-to-the-minute reminders of classes along with tips & tricks to help you make more money in your real estate business! (Click on the Twitter button at the top of this email.)
FACEBOOK – We also have a Facebook Page! Please “Like” us on Facebook “Maximum One Realty!” http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Maximum-One-Realty/110423565658965 (Click on the button at the top of this email.)
MX1 PICNIC – APRIL 28th at REDTOP MOUNTAIN – Food! Fun! Putt-Putt! Dessert Contest, Other Games! Surprises! We can’t wait to see you ALL there AND your families!!!!! If you have not already done so, please RSVP on the Training Calendar!
MAXIMUM ONE WEBSITES– Please check the Maximum One websites and make sure your correct contact information and photo is there!
- www.MaximumOneATL.com (contact support@ReflectResources.com)
- www.MaximumOneRealtors.com (contact support@ewebengine.com)
- www.MaximumOneRealty.com (contact support@ewebengine.com )

East Cobb 2 East Cobb 3

3/25/12

MX1 ROSTER – There is an updated Company Roster on the Extranet! There are color-coded tabs at the bottom organizing agents by office. This roster is ordered alphabetically by Last name. Here is a pdf version of the roster but you can download it onto your computer so you can search by office! If you would prefer to alphabetize people by first name, when you download your copy of the roster onto your computer:
- Click your mouse on the box that says “First”
- Click on the top of the Excel toolbar where it says, “Sort & Filter”
- Click on “Sort A to Z” and you will easily re-order the roster by first name (A to Z)
FMLS CHANGES – Everyone received an email from FMLS on March 22nd announcing major FMLS changes relating to the switching over from 1st Connection to Fusion. Please note that SWIFT will NOT BE OPERATIONAL all next week due to these changes! Please enter your listings into FMLS & GaMLS through the individual websites respectively.
PAY-AT-CLOSE – We would love for you to get your commission check at the closing table!! Please remember to check your contract in TMS and make sure that everything is there and then send in your “DA” (Disbursement Authority) request directly to Robin at least 2 days PRIOR to your closing!
RE FORMS: FINANCING & APPRAISAL CONTINGENCY – Please read through the forms you use or receive on a real estate transaction! On the new RE Forms, these contingency time frames have no specific end date; therefore these contingencies would expire at closing! If you are working with an Investor or Buyer, this is definitely in their favor! If you are representing a Seller, you may want to add a Special Stipulation to put a time frame on these contingencies earlier than closing!
TWITTER – Maximum One is now on Twitter! @Maximum1Realty Please “Follow” us and tweet along! You’ll get up-to-the-minute reminders of classes along with tips & tricks to help you make more money in your real estate business! (Click on the Twitter button at the top of this email.)
FACEBOOK – We also have a Facebook Page! Please “Like” us on Facebook “Maximum One Realty!” http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Maximum-One-Realty/110423565658965 (Click on the button at the top of this email.)
CDPE CLASS in ATLANTA APRIL 26th & 27th – If you want to get 11 hours of CE and become a “Certified Distressed Property Expert,” this two-day class is for you! These classes often sell out so register here. The cost is $599. (Use Coupon Code: ECD007 and get $150 off the price!)
MX1 PICNIC – APRIL 28th at REDTOP MOUNTAIN – Food! Fun! Putt-Putt! Other Games! Surprises! We can’t wait to see you ALL there AND your families!!!!! Please RSVP directly to Michelle Blevins at: Michelle@RealEstateAcrossAtlanta.com
MAXIMUM ONE WEBSITES – Please check the Maximum One websites and make sure your correct contact information and photo is there!
- www.MaximumOneATL.com (contact support@ReflectResources.com)
- www.MaximumOneRealtors.com (contact support@ewebengine.com)
- www.MaximumOneRealty.com (contact support@ewebengine.com )

3/18/12

MX1 STAFF CHANGES – It is with mixed emotions that we announce that Melissa Clay is leaving us and headed to the corporate world! Melissa has done an amazing job as the Woodstock Branch Manager and Listings Coordinator! Please join us in wishing her well and sending her blessings of prosperity & success! Please welcome Earl Pilcher as the new Listings Broker and Woodstock Branch Manager! We are excited to have such an enthusiastic, dedicated and experienced professional join our Team in this position!
TWITTER – Maximum One is now on Twitter! @Maximum1Realty Please “Follow” us and tweet along! You’ll get up-to-the-minute reminders of classes along with tips & tricks to help you make more money in your real estate business!
FHA CHANGES as of APRIL 1st – The FHA upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium is going up from 1.0% to 1.75%. The annual premium is also going up – this amount varies by loan amounts but typically from 1.15% to 1.25%. Get your Buyers under contract NOW and save them some money! Remember to make this change in the MIP amount on your FHA Exhibits! Beware when writing an offer on a HUD foreclosure… this additional upfront MIP may throw the loan amount ABOVE the appraisal value… check with your lender!!!
CDPE CLASS in ATLANTA APRIL 26th & 27th – If you want to get 11 hours of CE and become a “Certified Distressed Property Expert,” this two-day class is for you! These classes often sell out so register here. The cost is $599. (Use Coupon Code: ECD007 and get $150 off the price!)
MX1 PICNIC – APRIL 28th at REDTOP MOUNTAIN – Please check your email (& your “junk” mail) for the evite that will come out again this week! If you do not receive it, please RSVP directly to Michelle Blevins at: Michelle@RealEstateAcrossAtlanta.com
EAST COBB OFFICE NEW LOCATION – 1st Team Meeting in the new location will be April 10th! Click here to see the photos of the progress and artist’s concept of this cool “coffee cafe” concept for our new location! We’ll have our “Grand Opening” later this Spring or early Summer!

Comments on: "General News: Industry & Company (2012 – March 2016)" (2)

tao of badass said:

May 3, 2013 at 12:29 am

Thanks a lot for sharing this with all people you really know what you are talking about!
Bookmarked. Kindly additionally visit my site =).
We could have a link trade contract among us
Riverside County Workers Compensation Attorney said:

July 12, 2013 at 5:21 am

I got this web page from my buddy who shared with me concerning this site and at the moment this time I am
visiting this site and reading very informative posts at
this place.

Maximum One Realty

Maximize Your Real Estate Career with Us!