Setting the (Professional) Standard
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Hampton ® Roads REALTOR VOL. 41, ISS. 9 • OCT. 2020 Setting the (Professional) Standard ALSO INSIDE: 06 Good Neighbor Finalist fights for the dogs (and cats) 09 Fall staging: Cozy is the new luxury 14 Business lessons learned from COVID-19: from fear to faith Life WellIn Smithfield Played Homes 38 Sold in 90 Days! enn’s Grant is a new way of living in Hampton Roads that blends artfully Bdesigned homes with $3 million in amenities. Benn’s Grant is a short drive from the James River Bridge and Interstate 664, and is located just minutes from historic downtown Smithfield. Live life to the fullest in Benn’s Grant and enjoy: P Clubhouse P Miles of nature trails for walking and biking P Resort-like pool with waterslide P Spacious playground P Three lakes with a scenic P Pocket parks overlook pier (more to come!) P Full-time Director of Fun Visit our website for virtual tours, floorplans, details, and pricing. Private appointments available. Homes from the Mid-$300s | RyanHomes.com/Benns-Grant | 757.517.0555 2 Hampton Roads REALTOR® • October 2020 Hampton ® CONTENTS Roads REALTOR 5 6 9 HRRA on Zoom Our Good Neighbor Finalist Fall Staging: Cozy is Luxury FEATURES 30 The Conscientious Agent: 29 HRRPAC Spotlight a reminder 6 Fighting for the dogs 35 Welcome New Members (and cats) 32 In the midst of chaos, there is opportunity 9 Fall staging: Cozy is the new luxury 34 Changes in voting laws ADVERTISERS 10 Professional Standards = C&F Mortgage – 17 Professional Results IN BRIEF Caliber Home Loans – 35 11 Artwork and smiles 31 Roll with the punches— East West Communities – 2 12 Be an asset to HRRA: That’s Who We R Get involved Adapting to a fast-changing Fulton Mortgage –11 market 14 Business lessons learned from Inspections during COVID-19 Hanger Law – 15 COVID-19: from fear to faith Home Warranty of America – 11 16 Condo living: the importance of fire safety IN EVERY ISSUE I-95 Home Inspections – 7 18 Revisiting the basic principles 4 From the Chair Navy Federal Credit Union – 15 of our Code 5 A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words Old Point Mortgage – 25 22 Welcome to the fourth quarter 8 Motivational Corner Old Republic Home Protection – 35 23 Professionalism and interacting with candidates 13 Affiliate Spotlight TitleQuest – 36 26 Setting the (professional) 15 “That’s Who We R” Spotlight Towne Mortgage – 33 standard: Listen, learn, grow 20 Calendar of Events 28 Fundraising in the time of COVID: HRRPAC Virtual 21 Calendar of Education Silent Auction 24 Legal Corner Hampton Roads REALTOR® • October 2020 3 FROM THE CHAIR Hampton Roads REALTORS® Association Chairman of the Board: Cindy Hawks White Kindness and gratitude Chairman-Elect: Tanya Monroe Vice-Chairman Finance: Barbara Sgueglia Immediate Past Chair: Kimberly Plourde ere we are in the final stretch of 2020, October, the beginning Executive Committee: Amy Rhodes, Lee Cross, of the fourth quarter, “Q4,” and nearing the finish line of this Deborah Baisden H“insert your own adjective” year. The hustle and bustle of Q4 is a plethora of action items of varying importance to each of us in our DIRECTORS: lives and in our businesses. Ken Boyer Jenny Lovell Like many of you, October is the time when I review my real Dayla Brooks Emil Nazaryan estate business and start the business planning for 2021. This is no Patrick Cecchini Leigh Anne Parks different for your association! You’re association is a business, and Tim Churchwell Sherry Snyder Cindy Hawks White your leadership team is already in full swing! Hunter Clarke Traci Lewis VanCamp CRB, CRS, GRI Here are a few things your association will complete in Q4: election Jennifer Cool Rob Waring and installation of the 2021 Officers and Directors; prepare and adopt a Tom Duckett Cheri Bass-Wozniak 2020 HRRA 2021 financial budget; governance appointments for 2021 committees and Susan Jenkins Chairman of the advisory groups; update the Bylaws; prepare and adopt an Association Board Policy and Procedure Manual; prepare and adopt a three-year Strategic Hampton Roads REALTOR® Magazine Plan; schedule and plan 2021 classes, meetings and events; and formation of a Diversity Committee. Approximately 4,100 copies of each issue are I challenge you to include not only HRRA, but state and national association activities, published 11 times per year by the Hampton in your business planning. Participate, engage and expand your circle! Plan on attending Roads REALTORS® Association, Inc. (HRRA), classes, events and committee meetings, and save those dates on your calendars. Network 638 Independence Parkway, Suite 100, and take advantage of the benefits and savings your associations provide. Make the Chesapeake, VA 23320. commitment now for 2021! Despite the obstacles that have been thrust upon us in 2020, your association’s volunteer HRRA reserves the right to edit or refuse all leaders have been busy. They have pulled up their sleeves, donated countless hours and submissions for publication. HRRA reserves the worked tirelessly with laser focus for the betterment of your association. These leaders right to receive royalties from some programs love HRRA, and it shows! You may not understand or appreciate their accomplishments and services. Views and advertising expressed now, but you will one day. in this magazine are not necessarily those of, It could be one year or even five years down the road, and then BAM! That moment, nor endorsed by, HRRA. The Hampton Roads when it clicks, you will say to yourself, “Aha...I know now why that was done,” and so REALTOR® is created for the members of HRRA forth. You will then realize the efforts of the past leadership that saw opportunity and by Organization Management Group, Inc. seized it—the team that laid the foundation of transparency and oversight and built the (ManageGroup.com). bridge to pass the torch for the association’s future leaders and generations to come. You will appreciate what has come to pass. Editor: Victoria Hecht, [email protected] You may not remember who or when this was accomplished, but you will be grateful Advertising Sales: Misty Pritchett, for them, the volunteers of your association. [email protected] What you can do now is thank today’s volunteers. Next time you have the opportunity, Design/Layout: Kim Breeding-Mercer, say “thank you” to a volunteer, regardless of their role, and give them a pat on the back [email protected] and let them know you appreciate all that they are doing for you and HRRA. Help spread kindness and gratitude today. Copyright © Hampton Roads REALTORS® I do not know how long we will be in Phase 3 of COVID-19, but stay positive. We have Association; all rights reserved. beaten the odds this year, and it’s not over yet. Onward and upward! I look forward to seeing you on Zoom and in-person real soon! All my best, “Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, Cindy Hawks White the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” — Zig Ziglar 4 Hampton Roads REALTOR® • October 2020 A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words RECENT PHOTOS OF HRRA MEMBERS AND EVENTS See you on Zoom, HRRA! Love it or hate it, it’s a great, big Zoom-y world out there! Even though the COVID-19 pandemic makes meeting in person difficult due to social-distancing mandates, HRRA has embraced virtual technology so that face-to-face meeting—sort of—and the sharing of important information and education is possible. Since early in the pandemic HRRA’s councils, committees and advisory groups have brought great programming to membership via Zoom, so make sure to check out HRRA.com, your weekly email newsletter (Sundays) and the official HRRA Facebook for a calendar of HRRA events by Zoom. Until we can all be together again, here’s a selection of some of the many wonderful people who make HRRA such a great association. See you on Zoom! – Victoria Hecht, HRRA Communications and PR Specialist Hampton Roads REALTOR® • October 2020 5 Fighting for the dogs (and cats) REALTOR® Debra Griggs' dedication to animal welfare led her to become a prominent statewide advocate, resulting in a major reduction in euthanasia in shelters. By Hathaway Hester ebra Griggs and her husband, Steve Ballard, hold onto treatment. Within days, Abby showed great improvement on a fond memories of their beloved dog, Jasper, who died in new medication. Mouser is eternally grateful for ART’s assistance. D1996. It was their luck to have found Jasper, a yellow “Abby is my everything. She is my companion”, Mouser says. Labrador-shepherd mix, at an animal shelter in 1983. Back then, “Especially for us older folks, our animals are what keep us going. half of all shelter animals in their area were euthanized. Animal Resources of Tidewater gave me my Abby back.” Griggs can’t imagine missing out on the deep bond she shared Fighting the Good Fight - In recent years, Griggs has with Jasper had she been put down. “She opened our hearts to a emerged as an influential lobbyist on behalf of animals. As depth and breadth of unconditional love that changed our lives,” president of the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies, Griggs Griggs says. So special was their connection that Griggs decided launched “SaveVaPets: Crossing the No-Kill Finish Line” in 2017. to dedicate her time to saving as many shelter animals as possible This program helped lower the number of shelter euthanizations from an untimely death. by 8% that year. Griggs, a sales associate with Matthew Gray-Keeling, former RE/MAX Central in Norfolk,, has Virginia state director for the Humane been highly successful in that effort, Society of the United States, has worked along with strengthening other state closely with Griggs on animal welfare protections for animals, ever since.