On November 3, 2021 the Ulster County Board of REALTORS® held their annual meeting where officers for Hudson Valley Catskill Region MLS as well as UCBR were announced for the year ahead. Industry news and updates were covered, and the REALTOR® of the Year was announced! We’re proud to announce the recipient of the REALTOR® of the Year Award is John Murphy of  The Murphy Realty Group. Congratulations, John!

The criteria for selection of REALTOR® of the Year include four key areas that are reviewed when making a nomination. The award focuses on the 2021 REALTOR® who has shown outstanding service to the UCBR, the real estate industry, and their community. Selection is considered based on:

REALTOR spirit – possesses high principles, exhibits faithfulness to the REALTOR Code of Ethics, demonstrates good business practices with other real estate practitioners and the public.

UCBR Activity – board, committees, work groups or special assignments/projects experience.

Civic Activity – participates in civic and service clubs, charitable activities, political action, etc.

Business Activities – business conduct, creative marketing/advertising programs, commitment to education and industry designations, etc.

Our REALTOR® of the Year is more than just an outstanding member of the real estate community, but of Ulster County and the Hudson Valley as a whole. Congratulations again, John!

The meeting also included a review of and a focus on the Fair Housing Act and its impact on the real estate industry throughout our state and region. Some Fair Housing updates are as follows:

• NYSAR supporting several bills for ongoing and additional education for anyone with a real estate license to help educate people on FHA.
• S.538-B/A.4638-A: Adds 2 hours of implicit bias education for real estate licensees within the 22.5 hours of CE requirements.
• A.844-A/S.979-A: Adds 2 hours of cultural competency education for real estate licensees within the 22.5 hours of CE requirements.
• S.2132-B/A.5359: Increases pre-licensing broker and salesperson course hour requirements to 152 and 77 hours respectively, with 6 hours focused on fair housing for salespersons; and requires instructors’ compliance in course education under oath.
• A.6186/S.2131-A: Requires standard operating procedure for prerequisites that prospective homebuyers must meet prior to services for each brokerage regarding ID, exclusive brokerage agreements and financing pre-approval.  
• A.6355/S.2157-A: Requires two years experience as an associate broker before designation as an office manager.
• A.5363/S.2133-A: Adds an additional $30 surcharge to the license fee for real estate brokers and an additional $10 surcharge to the license fee for real estate salespersons to be.

The other hot topic that was discussed was the new ‘good cause eviction proposal’ which limits how people could be evicted, essentially making it even harder for landlords to evict people. It also limits rent increases and other factors. Read more about these changes here.

And of course, the announcement was made for the officers for 2022, as included below.

The 2021 Nominating Committee of the Ulster County Board of REALTORS® presents the following 2022 Slate of Officers and Directors:

President: Faye Storms – Ruth Gale Realty

President Elect: Randy Spiesman – Weichert Realtors

Past President: Dominick Martorana – Century 21 Alliance

Treasurer: Ryan Basten – BHHS Nutshell Realty

Secretary: Donna Brooks – BHHS Hudson Valley Properties

Director 2 Year: Dino Alexander – Alexander Maxwell Realty

Director 2 Year: Alfred Peavy – Ruth Gale Realty

Director: Sheena Lepez – Keller Williams Realty HV North- Continuing Term

Director: Rita Gildersleeve – Keller Williams Realty HV North – Continuing Term

The 2021 Nominating Committee of the Hudson Valley Catskill Region MLS presents the following 2022 Slate of Officers and Directors:

President: Tim Sweeney – BHHS Nutshell Realty

President-Elect: Candida Ellis – Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty

Secretary: Jennifer Mangione – Grist Mill Real Estate

Treasurer: John Murphy – Murphy Realty Group

Past President: Patty Conti – Patty Conti Realty

Director 2 Year Term: Keith Woodburn – Church Street Realty

Director 2 Year Term: Christine Chapman – Chapman Realty of the HV

Director 1 Year Term: Nicola Friedman – Windsor Realty Services

Director: Gail Vesely – Lucille Hand Real Estate – Continuing Term

We would like to thank all of our 2021 sponsors, and congratulate John again on his REALTOR^® of the Year Award.