Is it worth paying fees to belong to a local REALTOR® Association?
Published by Scott Gill under General.
I was at a meeting a couple of weeks ago at the Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS® (SCCAOR) where the President of that Association, Quincy Virgilio, Realty World-California Property Network and Gov Hutchinson, Assistant General Counsel and Staff Vice President of the California Association REALTORS® (CAR) outlined the various benefits of being a member of the local, State and National Associations of which there are many. I was actually surprised to learn that there are some real estate brokers who choose not to associate, primarily due to costs. Times are tight and I understand that; however, as I mentioned in an earlier blog article titled “Are You In or Out of the Real Estate Business?” Part 2, there are certain costs associated with real estate that are necessary in order to function as a business and effectively compete. I believe this is one of those costs.
The annual combined membership dues at SCCAOR, including CAR and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) are $474.00 per year. Some of the services include the use of the REALTOR® Trademark, CAR legal counseling services, access to group medical and insurance plans, free tech support services, etc. The legal hotline at CAR is worth the annual fee alone. How many times have you had a legal question and struggled where to get a quick and accurate answer, much less how to pay for it? Well, as a member of CAR, you can call their legal hotline and get your answers for FREE within 24 hours… it’s a bargain! If you’re a broker licensee, most of the time you will get your answer that same day. Ever have a computer problem? At SCCAOR, you can have it fixed (minus parts, if required) by their tech support team for no charge. Of course, Local Associations vary somewhat in services so make sure to ask your Association exactly what services they include. In the long run, if you’re serious about your real estate practice, keep these memberships active. They are very useful.
Scott Gill
Senior Vice President
Scott.Gill@rwnc.net
