Latest News
NWIA’s annual member blood drive is May 1 from 1:30 to 4:00 PM, with the LifeServe Mobile Blood Center in our parking lot. Sign up today for your appointment time.
The Sioux City Explorers have teamed up with NWIA to save local lives. DONATE BLOOD at our office on May 1, and you will receive a voucher for 2 free tickets to the Sunday, May 19 baseball game.
More than 38,000 people need donated blood every day, and because there is no substitute for human blood, it must be donated by volunteer blood donors. You participation helps save a life, and it helps us meet NAR’s Core Standards for Boards.
The Northwest Iowa Regional Board of Realtors® and Iowa Association of Realtors® (IAR) are offering mortgage and rental payment assistance grants to Iowa residents impacted by recent flooding, thanks to a $250,000 grant from the nationwide Realtor® Relief Foundation. With $25,000 in matching funds from Iowa Realtors®, $275,000 is now available to provide assistance to Iowans in need.
Individual households impacted by recent flooding can visit this link to learn more about the program and obtain an application for assistance. Grants up to $1000 are available for mortgage payment assistance, or payment of rental costs incurred by displacement from a residence due to flooding.
“Northwest Iowa was especially hard-hit during the mid-March weather event,” said Mark Vos, President of the Northwest Iowa Regional Board of Realtors®, and agent with United Real Estate Solutions in Sioux City. “We are delighted to be able to offer this assistance to our friends and neighbors, who we know are still suffering from so much devastation and heart break.”
“With 59 of Iowa’s 99 counties declared disaster areas by Governor Reynolds, we know our neighbors have sustained heavy losses. Iowans are known for helping each other, and the Iowa Association of Realtors® is committed to assisting with recovery from this disaster,” stated John Goede, President of the Iowa Association of Realtors®, and agent with Century 21 ProLink in Spencer, Iowa.
“We appreciate the support from the National Association of Realtors®, and we look forward to helping as many Iowans as we can. We know that Realtors® across Iowa are already helping their communities on a personal level, and this grant will help us reach thousands more neighbors in need,” said Gavin Blair, CEO of the Iowa Association of Realtors®.
Widespread flooding due to rain, snow melt, and frozen ground have impacted almost two-thirds of the state since the middle of March, with some communities over 60% inundated with water, and many farms and local businesses devastated.
The Northwest Iowa Board of Realtors® is comprised of 450 real estate professionals in a 13 county region across the northwest quadrant of Iowa.
Please join us in giving a warm welcome to the following new members who have joined NWIA in the first few months of 2019. It is wonderful to see new faces in our association. As always, contact information for these folks and all NWIA members can be found on our website in our member, affiliate, and office directories.
Ann Korver, Ranschau Appraisals
Minda Kincaid, C21 ProLink
Rhea Cragun, Keller Williams
Mindi Griffith-Jones, Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers
Spence Van Rooyan, Van Rooyan Inspections & Services
The months of December and of January are usually cold, but seeing new faces join our board warms our hearts. Welcome to these new members, and we are glad to have you as a part of the NWIA family. Contact information for these members is available in our member directory on the website.
Lori Ebel, Gustafson Realty
Theresa Deger, Keller Williams Siouxland
James Most, Falcon Enterprises (Affiliate)
Kyle Uhl, Century 21 ProLink
Minh Vuong, Century 21 ProLink
Dennis (DJ) Naatjes, Realty ONE Group
Rob Valdovinos, Century 21 ProLink
NWIA will be holding our changeover training for all SentriLock users on February 12, 13 and 14 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Sioux City. Members received a personalized email with a link to register to attend one 90 minute session.
While we encourage everyone to be there to learn the system from the experts, we recognize some members cannot attend this event due to previously scheduled vacations or other commitments. If it is impossible for you to attend, please print the following form, complete it, and send it with the agent chosen to act as your proxy.
Note that online training will be required to be completed before a SentriLock key will be issued to the absent member.
Questions can be directed to Kelly at (712) 255-8811.
If you are a current Supra Lockbox user you must take note of this important information as we prepare for the changeover to SentriLock boxes on February 12, 13 and 14.
If you currently use the Xpress key (you do NOT use an app on your phone) you must turn your key in to your Broker no later than Monday, February 25.- If you fail to turn in your key, we will be forced to to pass along the fee the Board will be charged. Members who fail to return keys will be invoiced $300 and new Sentrilock services will be suspended until payment is made. Board staff will pick up all keys from Brokerages.
- Supra keys (both app and Xpress Key) will remain active until midnight Sunday February 24. This gives all agents ample time to exchange all Supra lockboxes to Sentrilock lockboxes on their listed properties. If you will not be able to make the exchange in this time frame, agents need to speak with their Broker to see what help can be provided. The Board office cannot extend Supra services past February 24.
- When you remove your Supra lockbox(es), they should be taken to a dumpster which will be located at 911 6th Street in Sioux City beginning February 12. This is the Al Sturgeon Law Office (formerly Re/Max). After collection, the boxes will be recycled. Note that the dumpster will not be located at the Board Office, due to current renovations. We are grateful to Al Sturgeon for graciously allowing us to use space in his lot. The dumpster will be removed February 25, so do not delay in making your deliveries.
- After February 25, individuals still in possession of any Supra lockboxes will need to dispose of them at their own discretion. The Board Office will not accept Supra lockboxes.
- Any Supra box left on a property February 25 or following will need to be cut it off. Locksmith services will need to be obtained to remove the property keys from inside. This will be expensive, and the listing agent will bear any associated costs.
- Once again, take note: YOUR SUPRA KEYS WILL NOT WORK BEGINNING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25.
- It is vital that all agents make all lockbox exchanges to SentriLock before Monday, February 25.
If you have questions, speak with your broker. If you need more information, reach out to Kelly at (712) 255-8811.
By Kelly Burge, NWIA CEO
Wow, 2018 is over. Where does the time go, especially considering I get younger every year. Ha! As we sit at the cusp of a new year, I thought it would be wise for us to take a step back and look at how far we came together in 2018, and preview our walk together into 2019.
Take a look at a few of our board’s most compelling stats and activities from the year we just completed:
- We welcomed 36 new Realtor members to NWIA.
- Six new Affiliate Members joined our organization.
- We hosted a whopping 148 hours of local continuing education.
- We held a successful community blood drive.
- We staffed four kettles for a full day of bell ringing for the Salvation Army of Siouxland.
- We supported the Siouxland Sleep Out event by providing volunteers and a financial donation.
- And the biggest accomplishment of 2018—-we went live with Paragon, our brand new MLS software, and successfully merged our three old MLS’s into one harmonious system. And we are all still speaking to each other!
Never ones to rest on our laurels, we’ve been running forward at full speed since we merged together as one board in 2015. Can you believe that was four years ago? Wow! And now, with 2019 at the door, we are poised for more big things coming.
- We will make the move to new lock boxes with Sentrilock on February 12 and 13. None of you can complain that we didn’t get you a Valentine’s Day gift now! Truly, this will be a great change, with better security and more options for agents than ever before. For some of our areas, lock boxes will be a tremendous new benefit.
- Kris Brend, former Ames Board CEO, has joined IAR as Education Director. I’m excited to see what new course offerings Kris brings forth in the year ahead. Watch for us to bring you an endless array of classes starting this spring, both as a membership benefit, and from the IAR team.
- Our new Northwest Iowa MLS group continues to grow on Facebook, and is becoming a go-to place for our MLS members to ask questions and find information quickly from others. If you* haven’t joined us there, please request to be admitted. (Sorry, we know it sounds like fun for everyone, but this group is closed. Membership is for Northwest Iowa MLS members only.)
- Plans are underway to do some fairly substantial remodeling around the NWIA office in the year ahead. After years of discussion, we will reconfigure our existing space to better meet the needs of our growing membership and simultaneously improve staff safety and efficiency. Details are coming soon about the plans, and some temporary relocations for staff. Like those New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and get to the gym five days a week (yeah, right), we are going to experience some short-term pain (a few inconveniences) for what will end up being a great long-term gain (awesome remodeled office, yay!).
I am excited about the future, as we continue our march forward to continually serve your professional needs in the best way possible. We are all privileged to carry the banner to represent the Realtor brand well in Northwest Iowa.
Onward to 2019, and may it be our (and your) best year yet!
NWIA was pleased to welcome two new members to our board in December, 2018. As always, contact information for these folks is available here on our website. Take time to congratulate them on joining the Realtor family as you have opportunity!
Lori Ebel, Gustafson Realty
Theresa Deger, Keller Williams Siouxland
Our Thanksgiving induced food coma has subsided, and it’s time to welcome some new faces to NWIA this month. As always, it is enjoyable to see our organization grow and have new folks choose to join the real estate profession, or join us as affiliate members. As always, contact information for these folks and all our NWIA board members can be found in the member directories on our website.
Maria Tran, Coldwell Banker ABR
Toni Delfs, Keller Williams Siouxland
Every year a sizable portion of our membership undergoes the process of renewing their real estate license with the good folks at the Iowa Real Estate Commission. For 2018, the renewal portal will open online on Friday, November 16 for all renewing licensees. Unlike last year, licensees will NOT be required to upload continuing education course completion certificates to the portal; however, doing so is strongly encouraged. Every year a random audit of renewing licensees are pulled for audit, and doing the upload in advance saves you having to get them in later if you are selected for the procedure.
The Iowa Real Estate Commission has provided this document to assist with the license renewal process. Please read it thoroughly before you begin to go through the online system. Questions about the process should be directed to the Real Estate Commission at the contact information on the linked document. NWIA does not have authority over any portion of the license renewal process.
