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REGARDING THE NEW FEE PAYMENT PLAN Why is the McHCAR billing structure being changed? It's rather simple; the Association's ultimate goal is to: 1) reduce fees; 2) offer members payment options; and 3) do away with both quarterly and annual payments. How can the Association afford to lower fees? By allowing the Association to simply charge a credit/debit card, the Association saves money. The traditional way of invoicing is labor intensive and is costly. Printing invoices, stuffing them in envelopes, affixing postage, even taking them to the mail box, opening the return envelopes, and hand entering the data all takes staff time. The ink, paper, envelopes, and postage all cost money. We can save these costs by sending notices through email and requiring only a few keys strokes to charge numerous agents at once. McHCAR will pass the savings back to its members – it's really that simple. Who's affected? Right now these changes affect primary REALTOR® members only. Secondary members (those whose primary association is not McHCAR), Affiliate members, Non-Members, and MLS- Only Subscribers will not be a part of this initial change. What are the 4 new options? The new structure will incorporate all your fees/dues (except keycard) into one payment plan. This includes MLSNI user/administration fees, National dues, National advertising campaign, IAR dues, IAR Advocacy campaign, IAR Legal fund, McHCAR dues, lockbox lease program (broker opt-in), and RPAC (REALTOR® Political Action Committee) contributions. Any additional charges incurred, i.e. REALTOR® Store items, MLSNI Fines and Photo fees, etc. will be billed separately as they are now. REALTORS® will have a choice of payment frequency. 1. Annual option – we've heard from a number of agents who want one bill per year. You pay it and you're done. We'll simply charge your credit/debit card $1020*. This option can be paid either by electronic means (credit/debit), cash or check.
2. Quarterly option – this option breaks up the lump sum due to more manageable payments. We'll simply charge your credit/debit card $257.50* per quarter.
3. Monthly option – "pay as you go". We've heard some agents would really like a monthly plan. We'll simply charge your credit/debit card $87.50* per month.
4. Quarterly Hard copy option – you like writing a check, coming in with cash, or even just handing us your credit/debit card, fine, we'll do that. You will be invoiced through the mail for $292.50* per quarter. Even on this plan you will save money over previous years.
*These figures are based on “Basic Level” RPAC contributions and include the broker opt in lockbox lease program. “Basic Level” for RPAC is $60 annually (equally divided for the other frequencies) and are voluntary contributions. What is RPAC? The Illinois Association of REALTORS® Political Action Committee is a voluntary non-profit, non-partisan organization whose purpose is to provide financial assistance to the election campaigns of qualified candidates who understand the importance of private property rights. While a number of levels of contribution are available the “basic” level equates to $60 annually. Think of your contribution as an investment in your business. When does it all begin? This new billing structure for all payment types will begin July 1st - billed and payable in June. Payments are due on or before June 20, 2007. When will my credit card get charged? Charges will occur and payments are due on the 20th of each period. If the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, the date will be moved to the following next business day. McHCAR expects to invoice on the first of each month with payments due by the 20th for quarterly hardcopy and annual options. Electronic payments will simply be charged on the 20th. Copies of invoices will always be available on the IMS system (a.k.a. Member's Only) on our website. What happens if I don't pay on time? One of the benefits of this plan is that we are no longer going to chase down brokers because their agents haven't paid. If a member doesn't pay on time a late fee will be assessed to them. Members who don't pay by the end of the month will have their MLS services shut off and their REALTOR® status suspended. A short window of time will be allowed for members to reactivate (and a reactivation fee will also be assessed) before they are officially terminated. How do I change plans? The annual plan can only be implemented in June of any year. The quarterly plan can only be implemented the month before the beginning of any quarter (March, June, September, and December). The monthly plan can be chosen at any time. That being said, the Association will implement your request appropriately. How does this affect my state and national dues if I transfer associations? Any agent, who is current on their payments, that transfers to another association will be given a Letter of Good Standing noting they have paid their current year's dues. I paid association dues through September 30th. What happened to that money now that we're starting on July 1, 2007? Unfortunately, there just isn't a good way to handle this short-term transition period. Members need to look at this for the long term, not the short term. The money saved over the course of the coming years will certainly make up the short transition period. What needs to be done? That's the million dollar question! The Association needs to know what plan you want to choose. So, we need information from each member. We need to know which plan they want to choose and with what other options. To do this, an online form will be available to all REALTOR® members. The online form will simplify the complicated array of options. If a member does not return the form, they will be signed up for the Quarterly hard copy plan as an MLSNI subscriber. The “lockbox lease program” fee will be added as applicable. Are these fees going to increase? McHCAR cannot foresee the future to tell you what might happen. It is not McHCAR's intent to reduce local fees this year only to raise them next year. However, should MLSNI, the National or State associations decide to raise fees, McHCAR will have to reevaluate the fee structure. What does a new member pay? The whole point of this new plan is to offer flexibility. Therefore, new members will be given the option of joining the monthly or quarterly electronic plan or quarterly hard copy plan. McHCAR will handle the details of the exact amount they will owe when they come in (due to proration if joining in the middle of a quarter). Nonetheless, we suggest brokers tell new agents that “their fee will be the $400 application fee as well as ongoing fees of about $300/quarter (depending on the options – lockbox lease agreement, RPAC contributions, frequency of payment, etc.)” Of course, if they join in June of any given year the annual option would be made available as well. If I leave the business do I get a refund? No, there are no refunds of these fees/dues. Members considering leaving the business should elect to pay “monthly” to eliminate this concern. A monthly “pay as you go” plan is available, which also offers savings over the “hard copy” plan. What else is changing? Two things. The application fee for new members will be increasing from $300 to $400. Rationale – this segment of membership is typically the group that comes and goes from the industry quickly, often within the first 12 months. By removing the annual payment of dues, McHCAR will be taking a risk of paying the state and national associations their money for members who may leave the Association before actually paying that money. By raising the application fee, the risk is greatly reduced and, much like an insurance policy, the group as a whole will absorb the loss of the few. Non-member licensee MLS access fees will be increased to $100 per month. Rationale - this group of agents may from time to time utilize some services of the Association even though they are not entitled to them. While their brokers are responsible for paying an amount of money equal to what their dues would be, they do not pay an application fee, attend New Member Orientation, subscribe to the Code of Ethics, nor are they REALTORS®. How safe is the data (credit card information) being stored? McHCAR utilizes NAR's REALTOR® Ecommerce Network. REALTOR® Ecommerce Network credit card transactions are processed for payment by First Data Merchant Services (FDMS), the largest credit card processor in the US. (First Data also owns Telecheck and also part of Paymentech). FDMS meets all the credit card security standards as does the gateway from REALTOR® Ecommerce into the credit card companies which is Verisign, also certified as secure per the industry data security standards. As studies have shown, the vast majority of credit card and check fraud occurs ‘in person' more than via the Internet. As long as members know they are on a trusted site, and they see the site is secure (https) their information is secure. Also, as long as that merchant site, such as REALTOR® Ecommerce, meets the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, the credit card companies are also validating the safety of their data. More fraud still occurs in person with the order entry clerks, the store clerks, the waiters, the accounting staff, the mail, etc. than online so members should be aware they are actually more secure online as long as they work only with known, secure sites. To that end McHCAR's systems are behind firewalls and all data is encrypted to ensure the safety of data being retained. In addition McHCAR does not collect or store Social Security numbers. Anything else we should know? Miscellaneous fees will be charged monthly. Rationale – As it has been done for years, photo fees, MLSNI fines, and misc. supplies need to be realized by a business in the month in which they were accrued; therefore, McHCAR will bill those fees monthly. Designated REALTOR® (DR) due's formula will still be enforced. Rationale – the National Association of REALTORS® allows agents to work within a REALTOR® office without joining an association of REALTORS®. However, the DR of that office is then responsible for paying an amount equal to what the current dues are for that Non-Member. Consequently, McHCAR will continue to invoice those DRs with Non-Member licensees based on the quarterly hard copy option (which most closely matches the current model). 
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