Summer Meetings Recap

Thank you to everyone who attended the IAR Annual Summer Meetings! We reached record numbers this year with more than 200 registrants for the meetings and evening networking events in Okoboji.

What happened?

We had a great discussion during the Communications Committee. Amanda Nagle showed some screenshots of the new online education system coming this fall! The success of the radio and digital campaign for the First Time Home Buyer Savings Account was presented. Some changes planned for the State Convention (September 11-14) in Ames were presented. This year Fun Night will include Bubble Soccer! Heather Fegan shared a video and recapped another successful year with Project Jack. A completely new Housing Stats system will be unveiled later this summer for Realtors and local boards to use. Communication Committee chair, Shaner Magalhães, spoke on the HomeWise campaign from the Iowa Finance Authority and urged all Realtors to share it soon. Shaner encouraged everyone to share short videos on why RPAC is important to their business as part of the RPAC in the Halls campaign. IAR staff gave a brief update on the consumer marketing campaign changes coming soon from the National Association of REALTORS.

In our legislative meeting we discussed the successful passage of HF 2286, most commonly known as our Point of Sale Legislation which prohibits cities from imposing time-of-sale requirements that could greatly inconvenience the home selling and buying process and place a financial burden on homeowners.

Other topics discussed that may require our attention in 2019 are service animal certifications, electronic/notary disclosures, rental caps, and cleaning up some of the First Time Home Buyer rules and regulations.

We will be offering Realtor Campaign Services training on Monday, February 4th, 2019. This is a full, insightful day of learning how to successfully run for any elected position. Current Realtors who hold elected positions are highly encouraged to participate, too. If you are interested in participating in the Campaign Services class, please email Jamie Rix at jamie@iowarealtors.com

As always, should any real estate related issues pop up in your area please contact Jen Kingland at jen@iowarealtors.com or Jamie Rix at jamie@iowarealtors.com.

Bus-In Day as we have known it for many years will be no longer. We won’t have winter meetings in Clive this December. Instead, we will be holding a 3-day event in February that will include meetings on February 5th, Hill visits on the 6th, and additional meetings on the 7th. We will be switching things up in a big way, but we will keep the staples you love including visiting our lawmakers at the capital and RFI’s Luncheon.

A building update was given and the expected move-in date is just before Legislative Meetings in February. For more information read our blog post, “We Will Be Moving.”

Plans for an online, silent and live auction were released. Stay tuned for the online auction starting in mid-August. We need your help to make this the biggest year yet for the REALTOR® Foundation of Iowa.

Wednesday was the kickoff night at Bridges Bay Resort. We enjoyed networking in the sun with a nice breeze off the lake. It was a great way to meet new people and start out a couple days of meetings.

Fun Night on Thursday night included a BBQ Dinner at The Pavillion in Arnold’s Park as well as a short ride on the Queen II and a live concert from Damon Dotson. Lots of dancing, networking and fun photos were had by all. Special Thanks to the Iowa Great Lakes Board of REALTORS for planning a great night!