Latest News
Even though the weather was such that April felt like February, we were still happy to welcome several new members to the Northwest Iowa Regional Board of REALTORS during the month. It was a certainty that spring would eventually show up, and with it, the busy season. Congratulations to these new agents for making the choice to join NWIA. Please greet them and make them feel welcome as you have a chance. As always contact information for these members can be found in our membership website directory.
Cynthia Swingen Century 21 ProLink
Tiffany Hansen J & M Real Estate
Tyler Andersen Keller Williams Siouxland
Brittni Ashton Keller Williams Siouxland
Looking to register for the May 22 and 23 Paragon training classes?
Click here to sign up!
We are excited to be moving closer to our Paragon MLS launch for our former Rapattoni users. Take note of these important dates, and register for upcoming training classes.
May 9: Paragon and Rapattoni will begin to run parallel. Members will still enter information into Rapattoni. Paragon will update hourly, giving members a chance to begin to log in, change passwords, and play around in the new system.
May 22 and 23: Paragon training classes to be held for new users in Sioux Center, Storm Lake, LeMars. An advanced training class will be held in Sioux City. All members and office staff are invited. Registration is required, see details here. It is a free class, but sorry, no CE credit.
June 1: Data entry stops into Rapattoni system.
June 2 and 3: No data entry in either system, you can use both systems for search only. THIS APPLIES TO CURRENT RAPATTONI USERS ONLY!
June 4: Paragon goes live mid-morning, data entry can begin. Rapattoni ceases to exist and all information is live in Paragon.
Questions? Call us at the office, (712) 255-8810.
Take note: the NWIA MLS committee recently approved several changes to our MLS rules. Members are expected to know and comply with these updates.
- Listings of real or personal property of the following types, which are listed for sale subject to a real estate broker’s license, located within the service area of the Board of REALTORS®, taken by Participants on Exclusive right to sell listing forms and Exclusive Agency listing forms, shall be delivered to Multiple Listing Service by 10:00 am CST the second Board Office Business Day after all necessary signatures of seller(s) have been obtained. EXCEPTION: If a listing is advertised on any other media form, listing must be entered into the MLS by 10:00 am CST the next Board Office Business Day, along with a copy of the signed listing agreement: (Amended 4/18)
- Property disclosures must be uploaded to the MLS when entering the listing.
- You spoke…loudly, consistently, and day after day after day. We heard you! Effective immediately, when you have a property listed and receive an offer from a buyer that is contingent on the selling of a property where they must perform within a certain time frame if another offer comes in, you no longer have to change the status of your listed property to AC (Active with Contingency). Instead under maintenance, you need to mark the status as “Subject to Sale” and then fill in the time frame in a drop field, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours or other. This will appear below the status on Agent Only data sheets to inform you, only the REALTOR(s) will know. It will not show on the customer data sheet, nor will it be disseminated to any website site, this listing will continue to show as active to the public. This change in the AC status mandatory rule only applies to offers of subject to sale, all other mandatory rules remain enforceable.
Questions or concerns can be directed to Kelly at the NWIA office, (712) 255-8810
Questions or concerns can be directed to Kelly at the NWIA office, (712) 255-8810.
The REALTOR® Foundation of Iowa helps people in need across the state. That tradition continues into 2018 with Project Jack, a grant program that gives 4th and 5th graders the opportunity to conduct a project to ‘pay it forward’ in any way their classroom chooses. Each January, teachers across the state can apply for a $250 classroom grant to undertake a project to give back in their community.
In 2018, ten grants were awarded to classrooms in the NWIA region. Participating schools and classroom teachers included:
- Sioux Center Christian School , Sioux Center—Kristi Vander Kooi
- Maple Valley Anthon Oto – Anthon Center—Paula Schram
- Hinton Middle School, Hinton— Matthew Leary
- Sioux Central School, Sioux Central—Marla Huebner
- Hinton Middle School, Hinton—Conor Bertling
- Cherokee Middle School, Cherokee—Sue Nelson
- Lawton -Bronson Community School, Bronson—Patrick Sutton
- Hinton Community School, Hinton—Janell Heimgartner
- Riverside (Sioux City Community Schools), Sioux City—Stacey Verzal
- Sunnyside (Sioux City Community Schools), Sioux City—Julia Cunningham
This year, a project conducted by students in the Hinton Community School District received coverage on regional NBC 
television affiliate KTIV News on March 28. That class chose to use the grant to support their community’s firefighters.
Sioux City teacher Stacey Verzal and her students used their Project Jack funding as leverage to help a fledgling non-profit group seeking to meet the needs of youth in foster care.
Verzal said, “I asked my class what needs they saw in our community and they brought up many areas of need. They impressed me with their insights—- from homelessness, to abuse, to sickness and so on. One student brought forth the idea of helping foster children because JeNel Baker, a friend of her family, was starting a shop to help foster friends and families. The idea of helping foster families hit near to home for many of my students, as several in our district have found themselves in need of foster care. When this happens, the students are often taken right from school, with only the clothes on their backs.”
Verzal said the group’s initial idea was to give the $250 grant to Baker to help with start up costs for the foster supply shop, but it quickly grew. “We also planned to ask our school community for donations of new and gently used clothing items for children ages 0-18. Our school’s generosity was humbling.”
“Students started making plans and and we brought awareness to the project by sending home information in our school folders and designing posters to display around the building,” said Verzal.
All this work was done in secret, as the students wanted to keep the grant a surprise for JaNel Baker. “I communicated plans for our donations and the big surprise with the student’s mother that helped bring JeNel’s cause to our attention,” said Verzal.
The project then expanded yet again, as the group became aware of a Community Service Grant offered through the Iowa State Education Association. “Both my classroom assistant and her daughter are very active members in the ISEA,” said Verzal, “And with their help, a grant was drafted to apply for an additional $500 to help get the foster shop up and running.”
Donations started pouring in. Boxes and boxes of donations were collected and wrapped to get ready for the surprise reveal to foster care advocate JaNel Baker.
On the day of the surprise, Baker was awarded the grant money and donations through tears of joy. A representative from from the REALTOR® Foundation of Iowa was able to be on hand to capture the special moment.
“I am just amazed by the domino effect of the Project Jack grant from the REALTORS®,” Verzal said. “The students are grateful for so many kind and gracious people who have connected together to help in this cause. We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to honor Jack Lindaman’s spirit and “pay-it-forward” through this amazing grant program.
The Project Jack program is named for Jack Lindaman, a student from the Quad Cities area who suffered from spinal muscular atrophy. Jack passed away in February, 2010 at just six years of age. According to curesma.org, “SMA is a disease that robs people of physical strength by affecting the motor nerve cells in the spinal cord, taking away the ability to walk, eat, or breathe. It is the number one genetic cause of death for infants.”
The first Project Jack endeavor was held at Alan Shepard Elementary School in Jack’s honor. The program was expanded by the REALTOR® Foundation of Iowa in 2016 to make “pay-it-forward” grants available to all 4th and 5th grade classrooms in the state.
March has come and gone, and the month brought us another great crop of new members to the NWIA family. We are always pleased to welcome new folks into our association at any time, but the newness of spring always makes it especially fun. If spring ever shows up. If it would EVER quit snowing, that is.
Please join us in extending a warm welcome to our newest members, and congratulate them on their decision to join our REALTOR family.
Karen Hickman Keller Williams Siouxland
Brian Hickman Keller Williams Siouxland
Alexcia Boggs Keller Williams Siouxland
Randy Christiansen Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers Realty
Stephen Binneboese BHI, LLC (Binneboese Home Inspections)
Patrick Heagel Keller Williams Siouxland
Tina Wright Century 21 ProLink
Nancy Nelson Northwest Realty
Denise Philpotts Century 21 ProLink
By Kelly Burge
CEO, Northwest Iowa Regional Board of REALTORS®
I’m just back from five days of learning and networking at the Association Executive Institute (AEI) in Charlotte. It was cold outside, but the sessions were good and informative as always. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing from keynote speakers Jon Gordon and Dr. Rick Rigsby, leadership experts who challenged attendees to make an impact, and to pursue excellence in everything we do, every single day.
With baseball season back in full swing, I was particularly fond of a quote Dr. Rigsby shared from former St. Louis Cardinal and 2002 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ozzie Smith. An undisputed sports great, Smith once explained his philosophy from 19 years of playing professionally, saying:
“Absolutely nothing is good enough if it can be better, and better is never good enough if it can be made best.”
That got me pondering: what are we as a professional association striving for every day? Are we content with just being better? Or are we leaning in with all our might toward being best?
In many respects, I believe best is what we continue to strive for here in NWIA. Three years post-merger we’ve come a long way toward becoming a united association. Just look at our Board of Directors, who represent all the quadrants of our vast 13 county area. Look at the move that is taking place to one consolidated NWIA MLS, which later this spring will serve our entire membership with a leading technology provider, at a reasonable cost, and with a higher level of professionalism than ever before.
Best. On some fronts, yes, we’re absolutely moving there.
In some ways, we’re content with better. Our board’s political advocacy efforts are not as strong as they could be, should be, or frankly need to be to continue to meet our Core Standards requirements. Our member involvement and engagement levels are lukewarm. Case in point: a little less than half of our membership will even bother to open our April e-newsletter, though it is our most comprehensive communication piece every month. We cancel about as many continuing education classes as we actually hold each year, due to lack of member registrations.
Better, yes. But not best. Yet.
Is there more to do? Of course. It was clear from the conversations at AEI that the real estate industry is in a rapid state of change, both technologically and in the way professional services are delivered. Consolidations of boards and MLS’s around the country continue to occur at a rapid pace. MLS of Choice, coming July 1 is going to revolutionize the way business is conducted in this industry.
I’m curious as to how you see us moving from better to best in the coming months. How can you personally get engaged to help further the cause of improvement across our association? Can you email a legislator about an issue at the statehouse? Will you attend Summer Meetings in Okoboji in June? Will you be at the next IAR Legislative Bus In Day event in 2019? Can you attend a local education class to support our board? Are you willing to step up to become a champion for legislative issues, or lead a community event to help us meet our Core Standards?
Making the move from better to best isn’t just my responsibility, or that of your Board of Directors. Every one of our 500 members plays a role. I believe together, if we want it badly enough, we can get to the best version of our association.
Drop me a line at [email protected] with your ideas to get us from better all the way to NWIA’s best. I’d love to continue the conversation, because I recognize that there always will be room to move forward.
The hope that I can make an impact, and improve myself and enhance our association is what provides the drive that makes me want to get out of bed every morning.
Okay, that. And the smell of good strong coffee.
I’m proud to be together on this better-to-best journey with all of you.
We have welcomed several new REALTOR and Affiliate members to the NWIA organization since the first of the year. Please join us in congratulating these new faces.
Justin Merchant Keller Williams Siouxland
Blake Zomer Vande Vegte and Zomer Realty
Andrea Drew Century 21 ProLink
NextHome TriState Realty New office in Sioux City
Katie Slater, Broker Owner
Kasey Mitchell Arkham Property Inspections
Naomi Anderson Central Kitchen and Bath
Justin Fast F&E Home Inspection
Jerry Buckstead PODS Moving & Storage
Tyler Silverthorn Impact7G, Inc
Erin Hoekstra NAI United
Jazmin Chaidez Century 21 The Professional Group
Despite some fresh snow and a few slick spots on the roads, over 300 Realtors® from around the state of Iowa made the trek to Des Moines on Tuesday, February 6 to meet with members of the Iowa House and Senate at the Capitol. The bus from Sioux City departed at 7:30 and, after a couple of stops, arrived in Des Moines around 11 AM, with 20 members of the Northwest Iowa Regional Board of Realtors® participating.
Lunchtime speakers updated attendees on the progress of legislation important to the membership, including a bill prohibiting local time of transfer mandates. That bill was passed out of a House committee during the afternoon, just as Realtor® members were on the Hill. Very cool!
NWIA members met with Senators Rick Bertrand (R, Sioux City), Jim Carlin (R, Sioux City) and Randy Feenstra (R, Hull), and with Representative Chris Hall (D, Sioux City) to thank them for their hard work in the 2017 session to pass legislation authorizing creation of new First-Time Home Buyer Savings Accounts. These accounts allow first-time home buyers to save up to $2000 per year if single, $4000 per year if married, in a tax-exempt account to be used toward closing costs or down payment on the purchase of a first home anywhere in the state of Iowa.
“We continue to be excited about the potential this legislation creates for first-time buyers,” said Katie Slater, President of the Northwest Iowa Board of Realtors® and broker/owner of NextHome TriState Realty in Sioux City and NextHome at the Lakes in Spirit Lake. “In the first few weeks of the first-time home buyer program, usage is already exceeding our expectations. Clearly, this legislation and home ownership is a benefit to our state, and is something Realtors® want to encourage.”
“Participating in legislative and legal matters is an important part of the Realtor® profession,” said Kelly Burge, Executive Officer for the Northwest Iowa Board of Realtors®. “Our members are the defenders of homeownership, and they take the obligation to both enhance and protect private property rights very seriously.”
Realtors® from around the area make the trip to Des Moines annually for the Legislative Bus-In Day event. Area Realtors® will have their next opportunity to participate in February, 2019.
By Kelly Burge
CEO, NWIA
On February 6, hundreds of REALTOR® members from across Iowa will converge in Des Moines in show of solidarity to advocate for property rights and home ownership in the state. Each year, members from NWIA jump on a charter bus to participate in the Iowa REALTORS Legislative Bus-In Day, which takes place early in the legislative session in Des Moines.
This ‘Day on the Hill’ gives Iowa REALTORS® a chance to visit face-to-face with lawmakers from their home districts on the legislator’s turf. Yes, our NWIA members often attend legislative forums hosted on weekends by lawmakers in their home districts as an important way to connect with lawmakers and express thoughts. These legislative “Eggs and Issues” type events are vital for Iowa lawmakers to have open dialogue with constituents during the legislative session. If you can make one fit into your schedule, we highly recommend you attend your local sessions this spring.
Beyond the local forums, the commitment and care that is demonstrated by a REALTOR® taking time to travel to the Capitol and visit face to face with their representative is unmatched in power. For some of our NWIA members, this is a four-hour or greater trip to Des Moines (hello Lyon, O’Brien and Sioux County friends!), and a whopping eight hours of round trip drive time. Clearly, any Northwest Iowa legislator who gets a visit from a constituent at home takes notice of the visitor’s commitment, believe us.
So, what happens at Legislative Bus-In Day?
A lot! An early morning departure from Sioux City is made easier with treats and coffee on the bus, sponsored by our friends at Northwest Bank. Sit back, relax, and chat with a friend— or work from the road if you must. That’s the joy of the REALTOR® profession isn’t it? You can work from almost anywhere! And hey, take some selfies to post to your social media channels that you are proud to be spending the day advocating for Iowa home owners and property rights for all residents. Anyone looking for an agent wants someone who cares, and is engaged in their profession!
Upon arrival in Des Moines, you’re dropped off at the door of the Embassy Suites for check-in and a fabulous lunch, including dessert! During lunch, presentations from state legislators or other IAR leaders prepare you for the afternoon trip up the hill to the Capitol. You’ll receive an issues briefing and talking points to share with lawmakers. Plus, the two venues are close enough that (weather permitting) you can walk if you ate too much lunch and need some exercise, or our bus will take you straight to the door of the Capitol. It is red carpet service, all day long—and get this: it doesn’t cost you a thing! The bus, lunch, evening reception—all FREE.
And…We’re Off! To The Hill We Go!
Once at the Capitol, the group passes through security and we head inside to track down our Northwest Iowa representatives, who have been alerted that the REALTORS® are coming. Often we wait in an assigned area and our NWIA legislators come to us as their schedule of committee meetings and votes permit. Not all are there at the same time, which gives us a chance to give personal attention to each legislator. It really is a fun time of visiting and sharing thoughts and ideas, and if you’re new to the event, or nervous about lobbying, you can hang back and observe others who’ve attended the event for lots of years, as they know the routine well.
Once we’ve chatted with all our folks, we jump back on our bus (or walk) and return to the Embassy Suites for late afternoon appetizers and drinks. Generally, our legislators join us after they’ve adjourned the session for the day. This gives us a second opportunity to visit with them in a more informal setting and continue to exchange thoughts and ideas.
Head For Home!
The day ends around 6:30 PM as we load the bus, crack open some coolers of adult beverages (again, thanks to Northwest Bank!) and head back to Sioux City with happy hearts, knowing that we made a positive impact for property owners in our state. We’re usually back home around 9 PM, in time for you to pack your lunch for the next day, check your messages, sign the school papers, kiss your little ones and tuck them in bed. It’s a long day, but it’s a good day too. Members come home feeling like it was time well spent, and many choose to sign up to attend year after year.
Still have questions about the Iowa REALTORS® Bus In Day? Call NWIA President Katie Slater, or long time attendee and NWIA Director Chris Delfs for more information. Or as always, give us a shout at the board office and we’ll be glad to help you out.
Here’s hoping we see many of you on the bus on February 6! Register now on the IAR website.
In the world of Iowa REALTORS, the first Friday in December is known for one thing: ringing bells. This is traditionally the day when REALTOR members from across the state have taken time from their workday or evening to ring the bells for the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign. Members of the Northwest Iowa Board have participated since the program’s inception in the state. The group’s one day ring total raised on December 2, 2017 was $1,299.13. Members rang bells from 10 AM to 6 PM at four Salvation Army Red Kettle stations at participating grocery and big box stores in the Sioux City and LeMars areas.
Always a great time, it is easy to see why our members choose to give back to their community in this way. Mark Vos, agent with United Real Estate Solutions, says of bell ringing day, “It’s a great way to interact with the public while they go about their daily routines in our local community while supporting a local cause.” Members do definitely see lots of friends and clients during their two hour shift, which makes the time go quickly.
NWIA member and Keller Williams Siouxland agent Chris Delfs remarked, “Bell-ringing is an easy way to help those in need. It also makes me feel good to see the generosity displayed by others during this special time of year.” Even if it’s frigid cold, the warm spirit of the community always shines through on bell ringing day.
Look for our NWIA members out ringing bells again on December 7, 2018.
