|
| |||||||
 |
REGARDING THE FEE PAYMENT PLAN What are the 4 options? The structure incorporates all your fees/dues (except keycard) into one payment plan. This includes MRED 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, MRED 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.
*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 will my credit card get charged? Charges will occur and payments are due on the 25th of each period. If the 25th 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 25th for quarterly hardcopy and annual options. Electronic payments will simply be charged on the 25th. 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. 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 MRED, 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 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. 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, MRED 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). 
|