May 12, 2021 President's Message

May 12, 2021 President's Message

Håfa Adai fellow members of GAR. I would first like to take a few seconds of your reading time to with all the GAR Moms a very Happy Mother’s Day!  I hope your day was special and filled with love. Here are a few updates:   


-NAR Federal Priority Issues Briefing – NAR is advocating to make sure that Realtors are able to keep our Independent Contractor Status via an amendment from the PRO ACT. Here is a quick read on this https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/03/19/nar-dont-panic-over-pro-act

-NAR is in support of tax incentives for the creation of more homes to be built and for more homes to be available. Some incentives they want to see happen; tax incentive to convert commercial spaces to residential units, incentives for Landlords with more than one rental home to sell one or more of their rentals, preservation of the 1031 Tax Exchange and the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act. For a quick read into the latter https://neighborhoodhomesinvestmentact.org/proposal

-NAR is advocating for Alternative Credit Score usage to open access to homeownership. “NAR commissioned new research that reviews three major types of alternative data that could be used to evaluate a consumer’s creditworthiness: credit proxies, banking data, and, non-financial personal data.”

-NAR RPAC Major Investor Council – As you read above RPAC is still finding more ways to put our investment dollars to good use. 

-Guam has met and exceeded our Major Investor and Presidents Circle Goals!!! Thank you to those that have invested and a special Thank You to those that are Major Investors! If you have not invested yet please consider doing so at https://realtorparty.realtor/invest.html

-NAR Safety Committee Meeting – At Home with Diversity Challenge. NAR President Charlie Oppler is challenging all Leaders to take the At Home with Diversity Challenge. It is a really interesting challenge that will make you re-evaluate how you operate. Please take the Challenge here and have your eyes opened a bit more to better serve our customers and better train out Realtors, https://www.nar.realtor/national-leadership/fair-housing-challenge-stand...

-During the meeting some ideas to help with Realtor Safety 3 ides that stood out were placing Lockboxes in the front of the home where you can be seen opening the door, having a video doorbell in the front of the home, and having tech that helps with de-escalation such as a panic button.

-Prejudice and Racism amongst customers/other agents – I want to stress that GAR is 100% AGAINST prejudice and racism and anything that goes against the Fair Housing Act. If you have ever been a victim of Prejudice and/or Racism I want you to know that you are not alone and that there is a process and/or place for you to report this. The first step is to report it. To report you simply just need to call the GAR office at 479-4271 and set up a meeting with our CEO Peggy. Additionally, you can start by talking to your Broker or getting the steps from someone you trust in Leadership. Any form of prejudice and racism must be dealt with at any level; customer, agent, broker, committee leaders/members, Board Members, and even the GAR President. Prejudice and racism comes in many forms including; verbal, physical, and written. Please do not hesitate to report, if it has happened to you it may have happened and will continue to happen to others. Here is a quick read on where NAR stands on this subject https://magazine.realtor/news-and-commentary/feature/article/2020/11/an-...

-On the other side of things, if you have committed and/or continue to commit prejudice and racism and are a member of GAR I hope that you will stop immediately and if you do not I hope that you will get reported. This is an ugly side of humanity that I and other members of the Board do not wish to have in our Association. 

-GAR Member Benefit Partners – I want to let our members know that the Realtor Card will be made available electronically soon and we will have an updated list of Realtor Benefit Partners where you can get discounts and free goodies from them. The list is growing for our partners. If you or someone you know would like to be a Realtor Benefit Partner please contact the GAR office or someone on Leadership for help. 

-Attendance – We have quite a few events coming up including a Legislative Forum, 2nd Housing Symposium, GRYPN Events and training. I hope that you will consider taking advantage of this GAR member benefit. For more information on upcoming events please stay tuned to future GAR newsletters or call the GAR office. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. 

Shawn Blas
2021 GAR President