October 29, 2021 President's Message

October 29, 2021 President's Message

Håfa Adai GAR!

September brought some good training opportunities for those that took advantage of them. Here is a re-cap of some of them:
  • Realtor Safety Month Series
    • Cybersecurity Training – This training was very informative and eye opening. It brought to light that Guam is no exception to cybercrime. As a matter of fact, with COVID and more people working from home, there are now COVID specific cyber crimes regarding PPP Loans, Unemployment Benefits, and information about stimulus checks. Identity Theft, ‘family or friend’ request for funds, investment scams, spoofing, and real estate/rental fraud are among the most prevailing Guam. Best take away from this class is that Common Sense is your friend.
    • Physical Safety Class was a success. We had a great lineup of speakers including
      • Vince Salas talking on how to protect yourself when showing, items to bring to showings, and moves to get out of a situation so you have time to run.
      • GPD spoke on how to help the police find the suspect, such as remembering any specific details on the car or person. He also thanked us for inviting him to the seminar.
      • GFD spoke on the importance of fire code. Fire extinguishers need to be correct for their location and should be found easily. Daisy Chaining is a huge fire hazard. There is a formula for calculating how many people per unit.
    • Online Safety Series also had a great lineup of great information and presenters from
      • Megabyte who recommended Bitdefender for antivirus needs in which you can buy/install on your own or buy from Megabyte. They also have a $99 deal to clean up your pc and make it faster.
      • Ed Untalan, VP of FHB, talked on money safety. He recommended checking your accounts regularly and report anything out of the ordinary.
      • Carl Peterson, of Money Resources, who gave us some tips on money management and value of it.
    • Mental Health series marked the last of the Safety Series we did for Realtor Safety Month. I thought it went very well and we had great speakers too:
      • Carla Haddock of MPG/Sagua who spoke on COVID Safety and signs to know when it’s time to go see a doctor.
      • Darlene Garcia a Grief Recovery Method Specialist who taught us that grief doesn’t just happen when someone dies. It happens when any type of change happens in our lives. She taught us that it’s good to face the feelings we have and to seek help.
      • Claire Calvo of Synergy Studios taught us the importance of meditation and taking time for yourself. She gave us some pointers on how to meditate with breathing exercises.
      • Nathaniel Santos of the Health Bistro did a talk on the importance of diet and exercise. He spoke specifically on the Keto diet and the success stories they have had.
    • GRYPN held a Wake up GRYPN event with special guest Rebecca Donatelli who spoke on balancing as well as the importance of RPAC. This was a great start to the week and will hopefully bring new RPAC investors.
  • Action PAC (with the Guam Chamber of Commerce and other Organizations) – met to go over plans for this year and next years plan of action. The top 5 issues the PAC is standing up for are Right size the local government, Improve the transparency in all levels of the Government of Guam, Support the military build-up, Support a part-time legislature, and Rollback of the BPT from 5% to 4% or less immediately. We joined the PAC 2 years ago so we can align ourselves with other organizations for the key issues relating to Real Estate. The funds to be part of the PAC come from RPAC dollars. I also want to make known that, though it was asked for, we will not give office or member information for the PAC to request directly for contributions. We will collect RPAC funds and work with the RPAC Trustees for allocation of the funds to make sure the money will be put to its best and highest use.
  • Calvin from Bank of Hawaii brought up an important matter to me. This is regarding the recent changes to the Guam law renaming certain villages, as it will make changes to escrow, banks, surveys, and other part of our industry. We will be meeting with the escrow companies and the banks to discuss what we can do to prepare for these changes and get back to the membership. The changes are as follows:
  • The Communications Committee have been tasked to collect as many ‘artifacts’ as they can from everyone. ‘Artifacts’ regarding our real estate industry on Guam. I want to give a huge Thank You to Mr. Chris Felix and Dominique Felix for the photos of artifacts they provided already for the project.
  • Upcoming Events
    • Blocktober week is coming up and will be having training and events between October 18-23. So please Block your calendars for the following events:
      • NAR At Home With Diversity Course (October 18 and 19 between 8:30am-12:30pm) is a 2 day course in which you will earn 8 CE Credits and NAR AHWD Certification. To register please go to https://greatguam.com/ce and under WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO REGISTER FOR? Select At Home with Diversity
      • General Membership Meeting will be happening on the 23rd of October (time to be announced shortly). We will have a market update by Siska of Cornerstone, NAR Speaker, Chris Murphy of the RE Commission on commission, updates, and announcements, and finally a GRPR app training.
      • First Time Home Buyers/Sellers Townhall will be happening on the 23rd (time to be announced shortly). This will be a 101 or back to basics approach to buying and selling. We will have USDA, Guam Housing Corporation, and a bank to give a briefing on their programs and offerings. Escrow will talk on the importance of using an escrow company and Realtors will talk on the role we play, importance of inspections, different types of inspections, selling basics such as what to ask and expect from your Realtor and finally RPAC and the role it plays for Buyers/Sellers/Realtors. The Realtors speaking will not be branded. Please encourage your offices, Buyers and Sellers to attend this!
  • October Activities will include a costume contest. More details to come.
  • December Activities will include a Christmas Decoration Contest with 2 categories being office and the other cubicle. More details to follow.
  • October through December we will be having several cooking tips for the holidays from our members and our affiliates. If you would like to be part of this, please contact myself or the GAR office for more details.
Thank you for reading and Happy October!
Shawn Blas
2021 GAR President

 

October 29, 2021 Newsletter Message