GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

March 6, 2014

President Scott Davis called the General Meeting to order at approximately 12:02 pm. in the McCarter Room of the Worthington Hills Country Club. He began by recognizing eight CMBA Past Presidents in attendance. He next introduced the Area Real Estate Association Presidents who had accepted our invitation to be our guests at this meeting. The attending presidents included: Mark Sullivan , President of the Gahanna Area Realty Assoc; Joy Barney, President of the Northwest Area Realty Assoc.; Janis Francis, President of the Tri-County Realty Assoc.; Terri Dickey, President of the Midtown Area Real Estate Assoc.; Emmanuel Remy, President of the North Area Real Estate Assoc.; Karen Ramsey, President of the Worthington Area Real Estate Assoc.; and Jim Thompson, President of the Southern Delaware County Realty Association. Scott also introduced the Columbus Realtors support staff who also attended the luncheon: Stan Collins, CEO; Kathy Shiflet, President Elect; Marque Bressler, Director of Communications; and Brent Swander, Director of Government Affairs. He also recognized Bob Niemi, Deputy Superintendent of Consumer Finance, Dept. of Commerce for the State of Ohio who is also a Past President of the CMBA and Marianne Collins, currently the Executive Director of the OMBA and also a Past President of the CMBA.

The meeting continued with announcements. The first announcement came from Melissa Lineberry who informed everyone of a coming “Bright Side of the Road” event on behalf of Barry Winovich’s foundation for the support and cure of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. This event will be held on the 7th of March, at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill. She will also conduct the drawing for the 50/50 raffle tickets later in the meeting. Scott Davis announced our next meeting which will be a distinctive panel comprised of some top loan officers in our area. They will discuss their successful strategies concerning networking, building relationships, surviving in a down market, and what sets them apart. Jackie Chivington then informed the membership of another Real World / Real Money simulation taking place on April 8th at the Westerville South HS. They will need at least 25 volunteers for this event. Next Scott gave two readings for membership as follows: a 1st Reading for a Class A Membership for Commerce National Bank, Greg Valentino will be the voting member; and a 2nd Reading for a Class B Membership for the Boling & Maurer Group, Michael Maurer will be the member representative. Marianne Collins, OMBA Exec. Director, announced the OMBA Convention would be held in Cincinnati this year from May 5th – 7th. Susan Stevenson of Union Home Mortgage, who is also a member of the CMBA and in attendance, will be installed as the President. Finally, it was announced we will hold a Spring Mixer on April 24th with details to follow. The meeting was then suspended for lunch at 12:15 pm.

The meeting was resumed at approximately 12:45 with the introduction of Milt Lustnauer, the 2014 President of the Columbus Realtors. He has been in the business for 33 years and he said the industry has really changed from when you picked up keys and dropped them off to the installation of lock boxes and MLS books. Technology has made the business better and the MLS books are now gone and all is on-line. Columbus Realtors have the best MLS system. Realtors used to qualify buyers; they knew the rules and regulations. Today’s Realtors let the lenders pre-qualify and pre-approve the funding of their clients. The Columbus Realtor’s theme this year is “The Power of Us”. Meaning everyone working together, Realtors, lenders, and title agents. Columbus Realtors is the new name for the Columbus Board of Realtors. Interest rates are creeping up and appreciation is going from 1% to 5%. There is a transitioning to smaller homes and more inclusive neighborhoods where the family can walk to everything. Grandview is one of the hottest areas for homebuying, only 2 homes are currently for sale. Only 25% of the builders are still in business since the beginning of the recession in 2008. Sales were up 17% from 2012 to 2013 and 2013 was the 2nd best year ever with 2005 being the best. Sales prices are up 7% and for Ohio they are up 5%. Right now “in contracts” are down 51% primarily due to the Winter weather.

The Columbus Realtors membership is made up of 6,000 Realtors, 70 lenders, and 50 title companies. They have given over $400,000 to the central Ohio community. There is a valued relationship between lenders, appraisers and title agents. The leadership polled lenders and Realtors about what each could do to help the transactions progress more smoothly and he listed some of the results which included pre-approvals, provide full documents of the transaction a.s.a.p. to the lender, order title work early, when listing condos always obtain a condo questionnaire, communicate on a regular basis, return calls in a timely manner, and provide feedback. There are many opportunities in which lenders can work with Realtors side by side such as neighborhood cleanup projects. All are welcome. Foreclosures are decreasing, listings are starting to go up, and consumer confidence is returning.

When Mr. Lustnauer concluded his address, Scott called Melissa Lineberry to the podium for the drawing. Scott then thanked Mr. Lustnauer and reminded everyone about the Loan Officer panel for our April 3rd Luncheon / General Meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Sherry L. Quickel, Executive Secretary

Slq/CMBA