As I’m sure everyone has circled on their calendars, the HAR Board of Directors election will start on July 27 and run through August 7. This is your chance to elect the REALTORS® who you feel will best represent your interests and help lead your association in a positive direction. You may read about the candidates running for each of the director positions here and look out for your ballot to be emailed to you at the email address you have on file with HAR. The more members who vote the better the representation.
We welcome a new board member who began immediately, under less than ideal circumstances. As you know, HAR board member Linda Cottar lost a valiant battle with cancer, which left her board seat open. Per the HAR Bylaws, the existing board elected her replacement: her son, Shae Cottar. I knew Linda beyond just serving on the board with her, and I know how proud she was of her family and that Shae was a fellow REALTOR®. You may read about Shae here.
With the 85th Texas Legislative Regular Session completed, it is a great time to recognize the impact that TREPAC has on who is elected and how they vote on issues important to REALTORS® and homeowners. The strength of the REALTOR® community comes from both our size and the vocal nature of our members. In particular, the TREC bill that would have cost brokers thousands of dollars was successfully amended based on the work of HAR and TAR’s legislative teams. You may read about the new law here, as well as read about the real estate issues that will be part of the upcoming special session.
Tempo has served us well. For the last 15 years, it has been the backbone for our REALTOR® members. HAR is literally the last MLS in the country on Tempo and Fusion, and the vendor, CoreLogic, is retiring both platforms later this year. I cannot stress to you enough that you should learn more about Matrix and register for free training by visiting www.har.com/matrix. This was not a decision that we made voluntarily, but we hope that you will learn to love Matrix as much as you did Tempo. Realize that Tempo didn’t start out as strong as it ended. If you have feedback about how something works in Matrix (or doesn’t work), please let us know. We can then submit that to CoreLogic to have it improved. You may read more about Matrix and the timeline for Tempo and Fusion’s retirements here.
Lastly, and I don’t like mentioning this part…the “foot fetish creep” is back. If you haven’t received a call from him, count yourself as lucky. If you have spoken to him, you know how accurate the term “creep” is for him. For at least the past decade or so, one or more men have targeted female REALTORS® to call posing as clients prior to starting to ask about the woman’s feet. If you receive a call from him, report it to the police. Please make certain you tell them you are a REALTOR® so they can track the number of calls. Never go to a showing alone, especially if you feel like something might be wrong. No sale is worth your safety. While he has never physically harmed anyone of which we are aware, you never know when he might take it to the next level. You may read more about him here. And again, based on what he says, we believe there is more than one man who is making these calls. Stay safe!
Until next month,
Cindy Hamann
HAR Chair
