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August 2003
Index of all
messages from the Association President
Keeping up with the issues.
by Don DiFiore
As president of AAR, I feel it is my job to
keep the membership informed of issues that we are facing in our industry. This always changing
landscape keeps your leadership hopping from one topic to another, sometimes all in one afternoon.
Keeping abreast of the issues is critical in our day-to-day business to meet our customers and clients
needs and to protect ourselves. So here are the hot topics for this quarter.
Car Insurance
Car insurance; yes you heard me right, car insurance. As of July 1, 2003, the current no-fault
law expires and all policies that are issued or renewed on or after that date will be written as
tort policies. A "tort" is a civil wrong, but not a crime. In auto insurance, a tort system means
that a determination of fault in an automobile accident is made. The party at fault or his or her
insurance company pays medical and rehabilitation expenses to the injured party, as well as property
damage. An injured party may also sue for other losses including lost wages and pain and suffering.
This change increases risk for the real estate industry since we are driving clients around all the
time that may or may not have medical insurance and we may become responsible for their bills if we
have an accident and are found at fault. Call your insurance agent and protect you and your
broker/owner with as much liability as you can afford...one big claim and you may be out of
business.
Fair Housing
Debbie Green, Carol Reed and I participated in a Fair Housing Summit to discuss the allegations by
Housing for All, an organization whose mission is to "eliminate all discrimination in Colorado,"
that 20 percent of area REALTORS discriminate. Speakers at the meeting included HUD and Housing for
All representatives and CAR President Kay Watson. According to Donna Hilton-Sias, Director of
Housing for All, the first round of testing was targeted at a random selection of 50
REALTOR®
firms. Of the 50 tests, 10 returned with sufficient evidence to warrant being filed with the Civil
Liberties Union.
Participants at the Fair Housing Summit will continue to meet on a regular basis to formulate plans
to combat housing bias and discrimination in Colorado through education, recruitment and enforcement.
We will keep you informed of the progress. In the meantime, remember fair housing is not voluntary;
it's the law.
FCC Issues Rules Expanding "Do-Not-Call"
Registry
In a surprise move, the FCC announced that it is extending coverage of the registry to calls
made within a state. As a result, real estate practitioners must comply with registry requirements
even for intrastate calls, regardless of exemptions for real estate practitioners in existing state
do-not-call laws. NAR plans to challenge this unexpected decision by the FCC. The Rules now make it
illegal to call a residential telephone subscriber with a "telephone solicitation" if the residential
telephone subscriber has registered his or her number with the federal do-not-call registry. Under the
telephone solicitation definition, the Rules make it clear that cold-calling activities of a real
estate professional fall within the definition. NAR will be posting guidance for compliance on
REALTOR.org before the Oct. 1, 2003, effective date. We will keep you informed as more information
unfolds.
I hope that all of you are having a
very productive summer. As you go through your day-by-day activities remember that your
professional courtesies count. Show your greatest respect to the public and your
peers.
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