Greg Swearingen, Coldwell Banker King Thompson, reported that on 11/27/2017, he received a scam e-mail from a James Gail claiming to be interested in purchasing a new home for the new year in the price range of 1.4 million dollars for his newly extended family (he was taking in his sister’s kids after her passing). He also claimed to have been pre-approved by the bank and could forward the pre-approval letter if needed. Greg replied to Mr. Gail’s e-mail requesting a PDF file of his pre-approval letter and a telephone number where he could be reached. Greg didn’t get a response back until 12/1/2017, and instead of getting the requested information, he was sent a link to LiveHDTV.org, which appeared to be a legitimate website. Greg completed two scam checks on the link and found that it contains harmful content, including pages that try to trick visitors into sharing personal information or downloading software. The second check, showed that LiveHDTV.org was recently created (9/26/17), Super Man was the contact name and the contact e-mail was an odd g-mail account. Another reminder to be cautious of potential e-mail scams.

For this notice and more, click http://www.columbusrealtors.com/alerts/default.aspx

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12/05/2017

Collective Home Realty reported that they have been receiving strange calls from a gentleman who has contacted them several times using different names but telling the same story about wanting to sell his home that’s located on the south side of Columbus. He tweaks the story a bit, but the gist is that he’s recently purchased a new furnace for the home that he wants to sell. He still owes on the furnace and wants to know if he should pay it off before selling the home or if he can sell the home without paying off the furnace. He also mentions owning other properties and wants to know if he can sell his south side home with the other properties he owns and if he can get paid if he finds the buyer. He also has a lease-to-own property. This guy calls from the same telephone number using different first names, i.e., Robert Kirk and Anthony Thomas. He has asked that an agent call him back but follow-up calls goes to VM. Collective Home Realty is not sure if this person is just looking to waste someone’s time or if he could potentially be dangerous. But, thought other agents should be made aware of this individual.

For this notice and more, click http://www.columbusrealtors.com/alerts/default.aspx

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12/04/2017

Columbus REALTORS® leadership is negotiating in good faith with Zillow Group to identify, by year end, a mutually acceptable solution for Broker-directed listing syndication. Based on this commitment, Zillow Group is postponing their shutoff of any current feeds until Jan 31. We’ll keep you updated.

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11/10/2017

At noon today (11/7/17), eligible members were sent a unique link to their online ballot for 2017 Directors. If you did not receive this email, please contact vote@CRelections.com. Votes may be cast from Nov. 7 (12:00 p.m.) to Nov. 14 (11:59 a.m.), 2017.

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11/07/2017

Ever wonder why things happen in the MLS or think about serving on the MLS Committee and wonder how that’s done? The process to serve on this committee is different than any other. First, it’s an elected committee with a limited number of seats determined by a weighted formula based on the MLS’s number of agents, listings, solds and offices. The number of seats available can change each year based on this formula or elected members whose term ends or sometimes as a result of members simply changing offices and then perhaps no longer representing the group from which they were elected. You can find more detailed information on this process here.

Interested yet ? If so please follow these steps to throw your hat in the ring:

1. Obtain permission from your Broker to be considered for the ballot.
2. Submit a brief bio or resume (including photo) by October 31, 2017  November 6, 2017 at 4:00pm to the MLS at Columbus REALTORS®

Your bio and resume will be presented to the MLS Nominating Committee who are selected at the Annual Business Meeting.   The five selected Realtors® that serve on the Nominating Committee meet in November to select candidates.  A ballot is created for the annual election where only brokers vote.   Members who wish to volunteer their time to serve are very much in demand by the Nominating Committee and always appreciated.

If you still have questions, please review the information linked to the main Columbus REALTORS® site. You could also call or E-mail Bryan Dean in the MLS Department at 614.475.4000 and bdean@columbusrealtors.com.

Original posting on 10/18/17
Deadline Extension edit on 11/1/17

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11/01/2017

SALES AWARD APPLICATION DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 6, 2017, 5:00 P.M. NO EXCEPTIONS

• For Rules & Regulations and sales award applications click on this link  https://www.columbusrealtors.com/REALTOR_Tools/Awards/million_dollar_club.aspx.
• To print your Sales Award Report for transactions reported to MLS  11/1/2008 to present go to www.crsalesawards.com/salesadvisory

If you have questions regarding the sales award application, have the current rules in front of you and contact: Karen Sobotka at ksobotka@columbusrealtors.com or (614) 475-4000 ext. 246.

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10/30/2017

For this notice and more, click http://www.columbusrealtors.com/alerts/default.aspx

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10/25/2017

For this notice and more, click http://www.columbusrealtors.com/alerts/default.aspx

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10/17/2017

Be cautious of fake e-mail allegedly from DocuSign
Greg Swearingen, Howard Hanna Realcom Realty, received a bogus e-mail supposedly from DocuSign that appeared to be legitimate. Had he followed the link provided in the e-mail and clicked REVIEW DOCUMENT, it’s likely that it would have attempted to install a virus of some sort or get him to disclose sensitive password information. Red flags were 1) he was not expecting an e-mail from DocuSign and 2) when he put his mouse cursor over the link, his browser displayed the following link: https ://bluejeri.com.br/ — a website setup in Brazil.  He forwarded the e-mail to spam@docusign.com and they provided him with the following tips to help spot the difference between real and spoof DocuSign e-mails:

• All URLs to view or sign DocuSign documents will contain “docusign.net/” and will always start with https.
• All legitimate DocuSign envelopes include a unique security code at the bottom of notification e-mails. If you do not see this code, don’t click on any links or open any attachments within the e-mail, forward it to spam@docusign.com.

For this notice and more, click http://www.columbusrealtors.com/alerts/default.aspx

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07/28/2017

Tom Trigg, Keller Williams Premier Realty, reported that he had received a suspicious e-mail from a Melody Troudist with an attachment titled “Escrow Document Attached”. Tom had not worked with or knew who she was and the e-mail set off alarms about it may be malicious software. Just a reminder to be careful about opening suspect e-mails.

For this notice and more, click http://www.columbusrealtors.com/alerts/default.aspx

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05/17/2017