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October Class Calendar

by Ask the ExpertEducationTechnology

Republic Title is pleased to offer a variety of continuing education classes for our customers. Join us in October for classes including:

The Real Deal – Bring It All Together: Title & Resources
In this class, you’ll discover the tools and resources that will make you a valuable resource to your clients.  Learn about some of the best marketing resources available to real estate agents for marketing your personal brand and your business.
October 4th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

Title Commitment 101
This class focuses on understanding the groundwork done in creating the Title Commitment, what agents should look for and what questions to ask.  We will provide licensees with a basic understanding of crucial documents and the role they play enabling them to detect potential problems.
October 5th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

**SOLD OUT**   Tax Planning Program Specifically For Real Estate Agents
Join us for a Lunch and Learn with special guests from Greenlight Tax Group.  They’ve designed a tax planning program specifically for REALTORS. They will share strategies to help you minimize your tax liability and keep more of what you make year after year.  Please register in advance, as seats are limited.
October 5th
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Republic Title Park Cities

Up and Away with Cloud CMA
Join us for a condensed view of the products within Cloud CMA in the NTREIS Matrix MLS System including generating personalized buyer/seller reports.
October 6th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

TREC Legal Update
Material mandated by TREC
Legal Update I covers various topics related to changes in regulations, forms, and standards of practice in the real estate industry including: TREC statute and rule updates, an overview of changes to and best practices for promulgated contract and addenda forms, and updated information on fair housing and property management laws and regulations.
October 11th
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Republic Title Uptown

Escape Hatches for Buyers
APPROVED TREC CONTRACT COURSE
In this class licensees will become familiar with specific conditions & contingencies within the contract and related addenda that, if not adhered to, could result in a Buyer’s valid termination of the contract.
October 12th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

Matrix MLS-Advanced
Agents will be shown advanced features available in the NTREIS Matrix MLS System including reverse prospecting, custom displays, market reports, speed bar, mapping/layers, statistics, exports, etc.
October 18th
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Zoom

Boost Your Business With Remine
Join us for an overview of Remine; a powerful map-based search tool accessible through the NTREIS portal. This class will demonstrate Remine’s intuitive platform that reimagines the MLS and helps to solve and analyze some of the biggest challenges real estate agents face today.
October 19th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Republic Title Park Cities

Capture More Clients
Agents will be shown the various tools and landing pages available in the NTREIS MLS system that could be used to attract more business and help generate leads from buyers and sellers.
October 20th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Republic Title Prosper

**SOLD OUT**   Tax Planning Program Specifically For Real Estate Agents
Join us for a Lunch and Learn with special guests from Greenlight Tax Group.  They’ve designed a tax planning program specifically for REALTORS. They will share strategies to help you minimize your tax liability and keep more of what you make year after year.  Please register in advance, as seats are limited.
October 21st
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Republic Title Park Cities

Virtual Listing Presentations Using Cloud CMA
Cloud CMA LIVE is designed to give REALTORS® a digital edge during their listing presentation, whether in person or virtually.  Present and explain your knowledge of the real estate market clearly with a truly interactive experience and WIN your next listing.
October 27th
11:00 am – 11:00 am
Republic Title Southlake

To see a current list of available classes and to register, please visit www.republictitle.com/residential-education.

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September Class Calendar

by Ask the ExpertEducationTechnology

Republic Title is pleased to offer a variety of continuing education classes for our customers. Join us in September for classes including:

The Real Deal – Mastering the TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract
This class will cover the basics of the Contracts and Addenda you’ll need to submit each time you write an offer. We will walk through the TREC 1-4 Family Contract and learn about the parts that can make or break your offer so that you can be prepared to write the strongest contracts possible for your clients.
September 6th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom (This class is offered for informational purposes only, TREC CE is not available.)

Back-up, Contingent and Multiple Offers
This class will prepare licensees to handle the unique aspects of backup, contingent and multiple offer transactions by reviewing pertinent TREC addenda along with critical dates and deadlines. APPROVED TREC CONTRACT-RELATED COURSE
September 8th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

The Real Deal – Getting to Know Lender Products
September 13th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom (This class is offered for informational purposes only, TREC CE is not available.)

Social Media Content Planning 101
All good social media begins with a plan. Join us to learn how effective content planning and execution will keep you top of mind with your sphere and help you win more business. In this class, you will learn tips for social media content planning, where to find great content resources, and planning tools to help you organize your social media content calendar.
September 14th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Republic Title Park Cities

Is This Homestead and Why Do Title Companies Care?
Homestead rights can be very confusing! This class will help licensees understand how the State of Texas views homesteads and what factors influence the title company’s underwriting decisions.
September 15th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

The Real Deal – Mastering Your MLS Dashboard
In this class we’ll explore the NTREIS MLS Dashboard and you’ll learn about all the vital tools that can help grow your business and some basic tips on how to get started.
September 20th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom (This class is offered for informational purposes only, TREC CE is not available.)

Attract New Clients using MLS Tools

Join us and discover a number of ways to use the tools provided by the MLS to help with consumer interest which can likely turn into sales and full-fledged customers.

In person only. NOTE: This class will be taught hands-on. If you would like to follow along during class, please bring your own laptop* (*smart phones and iPads will not work).
September 22nd
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Republic Title Southlake

Taxation and the Real Estate Agent
This class will cover issues to help REALTORS® with their personal taxes, with removing Federal Tax Liens when closing sales, and with IRS problem they or their client may have. Some of the topics discussed in this one-hour class include: Tips on Keeping Records & Recommended Forms to File, Tax Deductions You Should be Taking, How to Make Estimated Taxes Work with your Cash Flow, Tax Areas of Special Interest to REALTORS®, and How to Use the Home Office Deduction.
September 22nd
Lunch – 11:30 am – 12:00 pm
Class – 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Republic Title Preston Frankford 

Mapping Tools in Matrix
One of the strongest tools available to NTREIS MLS Subscribers is the mapping tool in Matrix, but are you using it to its fullest ability? In this class, licensees will explore all the map tool functions in Matrix so you can create powerful searches for your clients who want to live in specific neighborhoods, near points of interest or certain distances to where they work.
September 23rd
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom 

Appraisals 201 – Perfecting the CMA Process – Presented by Supreme Lending
Take the guesswork out of the CMA process by learning how to make adjustments from an appraiser’s point of view. This one hour class will be presented by Sean Bone of Supreme Lending.
September 27th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Republic Title Southlake

The Real Deal – zipForm and Digital Signatures
In this class we’ll take a look at the technology tools that enable real estate agents to quickly and efficiently create digital transaction files, complete and fill in contract details, attach documents and even get them electronically signed by buyers, sellers and other parties involved in a real estate transaction.
September 27th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom (This class is offered for informational purposes only, TREC CE is not available.)

To see a current list of available classes and to register, please visit www.republictitle.com/residential-education.

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June Class Calendar

by EducationTechnology

Republic Title is pleased to offer a variety of continuing education classes for our customers. Join us in June for classes including:

Create Gorgeous Visual Content Using FREE Tools!
Join Annette Carvalho-Jordan, VP/Real Estate Technology Trainer as she gets you started creating beautiful designs for your real estate business and your social media profiles using Canva.com and more!
June 3rd
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

Documents & What They Do
Licensees must be familiar with a multitude of documents in the practice of real estate. Join us for this class which focuses on various real estate documents including Deeds, Deeds of Trust, Assignments and more describing the purpose and applicability of each.
June 8th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

Death, Divorce & Real Estate
Join us to learn important laws surrounding death and divorce such as separation, homestead issues, community property and probate.
June 14th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Republic Title Prosper

Social Media Content Planning 101
All good social media begins with a plan. Join us to learn how effective content planning and execution will keep you top of mind with your sphere and help you win more business. In this class, you will learn tips for social media content planning, where to find great content resources, and planning tools to help you organize your social media content calendar.
June 15th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

Boost Your Business With Remine
Join us for an overview of Remine; a powerful map-based search tool accessible through the NTREIS portal. This class will demonstrate Remine’s intuitive platform that reimagines the MLS and helps to solve and analyze some of the biggest challenges real estate agents face today.
June 16th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Caddo Office Reimagined

Death, Divorce & Real Estate
Join us to learn important laws surrounding death and divorce such as separation, homestead issues, community property and probate.
June 16th
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Zoom

Backup, Contingent & Multiple Offers
This class will prepare licensees to handle the unique aspects of backup, contingent and multiple offer transactions by reviewing pertinent TREC addenda along with critical dates and deadlines.
**APPROVED TREC CONTRACT COURSE**
June 21st
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

To see a current list of available classes and to register, please visit www.republictitle.com/residential-education.

How-to-Create-Instagram-Posts-for-Your-Real-Estate-Business-with-Canva

How to Create Instagram Posts for Your Real Estate Business with Canva

by Technology

Republic Title’s Real Estate Technology Trainer Annette Carvalho-Jordan is always staying up to date on new ways to educate real estate agents on how they can build their business. Annette is extremely knowledgeable in both Realtors Property Resource® and Canva and has found a great resource using both platforms to help agents increase their online reputation through social media.

Ready to start sharing engaging real estate content with your network, but not sure where to start? If you want to share neighborhood market stats, new listings, open houses and client testimonials… this article will get you going.

What is Canva?

Canva is a simple to use, online design and publishing tool. With it, you can easily create designs without having professional design skills. All you need is an understanding of your brand colors and fonts, along with a clear idea of what you want to share.

With a free account, you’ll be able to use the templates shown in this article. But it will take a Canva pro account, or pay per download, to export the designs as graphics you can share on Instagram. If you’re just kicking the tires, try signing up for the Canva Pro 30-day trial. That will allow you to have all of the features, free for a month.

Benefits of Canva Templates

With premade templates, you’re not starting from scratch. You’ll simply find designs that you like and then modify the overall look and feel as needed with your brand colors, fonts, and imagery.

Simple Tips to Edit Your Canva Design

Agents active on social media platforms such as Instagram often share market stats for their geographic farm area. So for this article, we’re going to break down the how-to and provide a few specific templates to make the job easier.

Change Colors

  1. Click Neighborhood Market Update to access one of RPR’s Canva Templates.
  2. Select “Use Template.”
    1. If you have a Canva account, you’ll be prompted to log in. If you do not have an account, you can create a free account using your email address.
  3. Click to select the element that you want to edit. Then click on one of the color tiles that appears on the toolbar above the editor.
  1. Then from the color editor panel, click the color that you want to apply. To choose a different color, click “New color” or the rainbow tile from the editor side panel to use the color picker.

Add or Change Image

  1. With the template design open, look to the far left side panel.
  2. Click the “Photos” tab. If it’s not showing, click the “More” button to locate it.
  3. Look for images by typing keywords into the search bar.
  4. Once you’ve found or uploaded an image, add it to your design by simply clicking on it.
  5. Any image you’ve added can be adjusted from the top toolbar. Make sure you’ve clicked on the image and then choose: Effects, Filter, Adjust, Crop or Flip.

Social Media Friendly Market Update with RPR and Canva

Now that you understand the basics of editing a Canva template, let’s focus on customizing a Market Stats template using data from RPR.

First, click this link and then select “Use Template.” The design shown below will open.

Next, we need to get the data from RPR to update our graphic. You’ll need to visit RPR and search for the area you’ll be covering. If the area is a neighborhood, try using the RPR Neighborhood search tool, or create a Market Activity report for any geographic area. For this example, I’ll generate a Market Activity report for a neighborhood and we can use the data from there.

  1. Within RPR, select “Research” from the main navigation and then choose “Map Search.”
    (Note: If the map is open to the correct area, simply pan or zoom the map as needed to get centered on your area. If it’s not, use the search bar to enter your area.)
  2. From the top of the RPR map, select the “Show Geographies” pull-down.
  3. Select “Intermediate Neighborhoods,” and neighborhood outlines will display on the map wherever available.
  4. Locate the neighborhood you’ll be covering. In my case, it’s called “Lake Forest neighborhood in Lake Oswego, OR.”
  5. Select the area, and it will turn an orange color, and a map balloon will display.
  6. Click “Create Market Activity” report.

Once the Market Activity report has been generated, open it and navigate to page #2. We’ll use the Median Estimated Home Value and 12-Month Price Change for this template.

Next, navigate back to Canva with the Market Update template open. Double click on the blue median estimated home value text. It will become highlighted. Now type the correct number from your Market Activity Report. In this case, it was $690K, so type that amount in.

Then repeat this for the “Change Over the Last 12 Months”. In this case, that was 26.11%, so type that now.

See how easy that was? Now update the colors and image as needed using the directions from the start of the article.

Downloading Your New and Finalized Sharable Design

Once you’ve updated your colors, imagery, and market stats, it’s time to export your design.

  1. With the design open, tap the “Download” (or down arrow) icon at the top right corner of your screen.
  2. A menu will open, then choose a file type for your download.
  3. Wait for the export progress gradient to complete.
  4. The design will immediately save to your computer or camera roll.

Download 6 Free Canva Templates for your Real Estate Business

RPR has created a few real estate-themed Canva templates that are free for your use. You’ll need to add your own colors and images, where appropriate, but these designs mean you’ll spend less in design mode and more time sharing content in your feed.

Real Estate Market Trends Template

Review Template

New Listing Template

Did You Know Template

Open House Template

Market Update Template

 

Courtesy of:  Realtors Property Resource®

RPR Resource Center – Realtors Property Resource (RPR) (narrpr.com)

Get-to-know-our-calculators-blog

Get To Know Our Calculators

by ResourcesTechnologyTitle Information

Republic Title is proud to offer a host of new buyer and seller estimate tools on our Republic Title Mobile app and website. Calculators include:

  • Title Quote – calculates title rates and fees
  • Loan Estimate Quote – shows the costs associated with closing on your mortgage as well as over the lifetime of the loan
  • Seller Net Sheet – itemizes the fees and expenses in your transaction, to give you a pretty accurate estimate of what you’ll net in the sale
  • Sell to Net – shows a seller the sales price needed to meet a specific net proceed goal when they sell their house
  • Seller’s Multiple Offers – allows a seller to compare multiple offers from different buyers side by side
  • Buyer Estimate – shows the buyer their all in amount due at closing plus their all in monthly payment
  • Monthly Affordability – shows buyer what their total purchasing power is based on their budget
  • Rent vs Buy – shows buyer the difference in monthly costs when comparing renting vs buying

Our new calculators can be found by downloading our new app, Republic Title Mobile, in the Apple App Store or in the Google Play Store. For a website version of the new calculators, visit republictitle.titlecapture.com  

Using Links in Instagram

by EducationReal Estate ArticlesResourcesTechnology

Since launching in 2010, Instagram has become one of the leading social media platforms and has transformed the way people do business. It’s no secret why businesses have spent hours developing and creating a strategy to grow and promote their business on Instagram. But as a real estate agent, do you know how to get the most out of the popular platform to help generate leads, market yourself, and engage with your sphere?  Whether you are new to Instagram or a seasoned pro, we want to help!

Why You Should Use Links on Instagram

Instagram has seen an impressive rise since it first launched in 2010. This has naturally made it a desirable outlet for marketers, and anyone else who wants to spread the word about their brand or website.

The problem is that, up until recently, Instagram has been extremely hesitant when it comes to enabling links. Even now, it’s not possible to add links directly to your posts through comments or post descriptions, even though this is something that has been possible on other social networks for a long time (Note: Stories can have links, however, you must have 10,000 followers to incorporate them).

However, there are still ways to incorporate links into your Instagram profile, and they’re well worth looking into. The key is knowing how to encourage those users to check out your key marketing links.

How to Use Links Effectively on Instagram

  1. Add a Link to Your User Profile

The simplest way to get a link on Instagram is to simply add it to your profile. The link will then appear right underneath your user bio, enabling visitors to click through. This is a perfect way to send people to your website’s home page, or to a special landing page.

However, you can also use this feature to get around the fact that you can’t add links to your post descriptions. All you need to do is include a link in your profile that is relevant to your most recent post. Then, add a message to the post itself, along the lines of: “Link in bio!” This is a common tactic, and it offers the added benefit of driving users to your profile.

Since you only get 1 link with Instagram (in your bio), we suggest that you check out one of these services.  They each have free services, as well as pro services.  The nice thing about them is that you can track each link to see how well they are performing in terms of engagement, page views & click through percentage rates.  Even better news – You can send followers to all your favorite sites including your real estate lead generation sites (see our example below using Linktr.ee):

  1. https://Linkin.bio
  2. https://linktr.ee

  1. Use a URL shortening service

The second method we recommend that you use are shortened and trackable links in your posts. You can easily create these using a URL shortening service and a link management platform (Bitly). That way, you’ll be able to track your links and see how well they perform on Instagram, which can help you optimize your efforts even further.

At first glance, it might seem it’s impossible to use links on Instagram.  However, while the platform is unusually restrictive with linking, it does offer numerous creative ways to implement links into your posts and profile.

Real Estate Podcast Picks

by ResourcesTechnology

As we continue to navigate the current real estate market in North Texas, we want to continue to be a resource to you and your business. We asked our residential sales team to submit some of their favorite podcasts and curated the below list of our top picks which contain expert advice on small business, real estate, sales and marketing, coaching, and leadership.

The Brian Buffini Show by Brian Buffini

Brian Buffini was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and immigrated to San Diego in 1986, where he became the classic American rags-to-riches story. After becoming one of the nation’s top Realtors®, he founded Buffini & Company—an organization dedicated to sharing his powerful lead-generation systems with others. Based in Carlsbad, California, Buffini & Company has trained over 3 million business professionals in 37 countries. The company currently serves 21,000 members and trains more than 60,000 a year through live events and training programs. In addition, Brian’s podcast has reached 7 million-plus downloads in more than 180 countries. Today, he travels the world sharing a message of encouragement about how to “live the good life.” His wit, wisdom and motivational style make him a dynamic speaker, adept at helping people tap into their full potential and achieve their dreams. In 2017, he became a New York Times, Amazon and Wall Street Journal best-seller with his latest book, “The Emigrant Edge.”
https://www.thebrianbuffinishow.com/

The Brendon Show by Brendon Burchard

Go behind the scenes with Brendon Burchard, the world’s leading high performance coach and one of the Top 100 Most Followed Public Figures in the world, as he speaks to 20,000 people in arenas, coaches celebrities, helps his students, and reaches millions of people every week with his message for how we can all live, love and matter. Every week, Brendon shares what he’s struggling with, working on and marching towards – and how we can all live an extraordinary life. This is an intimate and inspiring look into the life and strategies of one of the most watched, followed and quoted personal development trainers in history.
https://brendon.com/podcast/

The Mindset Mentor by Rob Dial

The Mindset Mentor podcast is designed for anyone desiring motivation, direction, and focus in life. Host Rob Dial has amassed a passionate following of over 2 million social media followers, including business professionals, entrepreneurs, and small business owners with his expertise and passion for helping motivate people to become the best version of themselves. Rob challenges his audience to live a life of love and purpose. Rob has been featured in Forbes and Inc. for his ability to connect with his listeners. Over the past 15 years he has studied with some of the greatest thought leaders of our time like Tony Robbins, Ram Dass, Dr. Joe Dispenza, Jay Shetty and many more. Tune in if you’re ready to take your life to the next level.
https://robdial.com/podcast/

The Tom Ferry Podcast Experience by Tom Ferry

Tom Ferry is the #1 ranked Real Estate Educator by Swanepoel Power 200 and the best-selling author of “Life! By Design” and “Mindset, Model and Marketing!” As founder and CEO of Ferry International, the real estate industry’s leading coaching and training company, Tom’s ever-growing influence impacts professionals in a wide variety of ways – including rigorous accountability coaching, the popular #TomFerryShow delivering free, fresh and relevant real estate tips weekly, highly engaging training events, two best-selling books, and his legendary keynote speeches. Tom has more than 30,000 hours of coaching experience and works daily to help agents and brokers grow a prosperous business while simultaneously balancing — and loving — their personal lives.
https://www.tomferry.com/podcast/

School of Greatness by Lewis Howes

Since its launch in January 2013, the School of Greatness podcast has grown rapidly to be one of the top-ranked Business and Self-Development podcasts in iTunes. It regularly appears in the Top 50 of all iTunes podcasts, and gets downloaded over 4 million times per month. Episodes range from interviews with incredible world-class game changers in entrepreneurship, health, athletics, mindset, and relationships, to solo rounds with the host, Lewis Howes, and the once a week listener-favorite, the 5 Minute Friday format. Past guests on the show have included powerhouses like Tony Robbins, Alanis Morissette, Scooter Braun, Julianne Hough, Jack Canfield, Arianna Huffington, and so many more.
https://lewishowes.com/blog/

Close-up Of A Person's Hand Stamping With Approved Stamp On Document At Desk

MISMO Unveils Remote Online Notarization Standards

by Digital SettlementTechnology
Close-up Of A Person's Hand Stamping With Approved Stamp On Document At Desk

MISMO has announced the release of its Remote Online Notarization (RON) standards, which will enable the use of audio-visual communication devices to notarize documents in a virtual online environment. 

MISMO’s RON standards were updated to include language to preclude the storage of personally identifiable information. The standards support model legislation that was developed by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and the American Land Title Association (ALTA), which multiple U.S. states are now using to enact RON laws in their jurisdictions. MISMO noted that some states with RON legislation have already utilized draft versions of the MISMO RON standards to implement their state law. 

MISMO released the standards for a public comment period that runs through Aug. 12, at which point the standards will be moved to Candidate Recommendation status if substantive comments are received in the comment period. The Candidate Recommendation status means the RON standards are ready for broad use across the entire residential mortgage industry. 

“With states across the country enacting remote online notarization laws, MISMO’s standards will support greater consistency as the volume of remote online notarial transactions increases,” said Eddie Oddo, Vice President of Corporate Business Solutions at First American Title Insurance Company, and co-chair of MISMO’s Remote Online Notarization Workgroup. “We’re excited about this next stage in the standards process and look forward to seeing lenders, title companies, software vendors, and notaries leverage RON standards to offer borrowers a more secure and efficient closing process.” 

MISMO’s announcement was also welcomed by David Burner, Strategic Planning and Partnership Manager at Notarize, a Boston-based platform for legal online notarization. 

“We are really excited that MISMO put together the standards for the industry,” said Burner. “There is so much talk about online notarization that sometimes it can be confusing. This was a collaborative effort among different stakeholders, and without MISMO this would not have happened.”

Source: https://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/71822/mismo-unveils-remote-online-notarization-standards

Remine At-A-Glance

by Ask the ExpertEducationTechnologyVideo

Did you know that there is a program that allows you to farm neighborhoods much more efficiently?  Our Technology Trainers, Annette and Robin, teach a great class that dives into how Remine can change your farming game. 

Check out our Remine At-A-Glance class and learn how to better farm neighborhoods.

Click this link to sign up for this class or any of our other classes offered by wonderful and knowledgeable trainers.