As I begin to wind down my term as C.A.R. president, I want to say how honored I am to have served as your president in a year that has not been without challenges ― from a shifting market to industry and organizational challenges.

I’m sure you’ve all heard last week that three large brokerages questioned their membership in the National Association of REALTORS®. 

That’s why I want to take a minute to tell you that I truly believe in the value that organized real estate and C.A.R., in particular, brings to its members. I can say with confidence that C.A.R. has always been extremely visionary and on the cutting edge of innovation. The Association has always been an outlier in providing tremendous member value through its innovative tools, services and education to help members achieve their professional goals ― whether they’re an experienced broker or a brand-new agent. We do this with input from engaging with you because your feedback helps us serve you better.

One of the most popular benefits is C.A.R.’s Standard Forms. Through Lone Wolf Transactions ZipForm Edition, members can access an ecosystem of standard forms for the entire real estate transaction ― from lead to close ― that’s modern and secure. C.A.R. Standard Forms are developed by C.A.R.’s legal department, which gathers input from real estate professionals and attorneys to create user-friendly, comprehensive and dependable forms. One of the most important aspects of our forms ecosystem is the peace of mind members get knowing C.A.R.’s standard forms are backed by the C.A.R. User Protection Agreement, which protects members in the legal arena since C.A.R. stands behind the language in its forms in court.

Beyond getting standard forms, members also get an entire suite of ZipForm transactional products, including Digital Ink, zipTMS, zipVault, zipCommunity, zipMobile, MLS Connect, Forms Tutor, sample legal letter templates, e-PUBs and much more…for FREE.

C.A.R. Standard Forms alone costs non-members nearly $1,500, and that’s for a bare bones package that doesn’t include other member benefits, such as training and support on using zipForm®, nor many of the transactional products I just mentioned.

C.A.R. also helps protect members and their clients through its Legal Hotline, Legal Q&As, Legal Live Webinars and Legal Update outreaches by C.A.R. attorneys. Last year alone, the Legal Hotline took in more than 79,000 calls.

On the legislative front, C.A.R.’s actions in terms of preserving dual agency, protecting mortgage interest deductions, fighting point-of-sale retrofits and other property rights threats saved members an average of $10,000 last year ― money members can keep in their pockets.

More recently, C.A.R. participated in high-level discussions to create solutions to help improve the availability of affordable homeowners insurance in California. A strong insurance market allows you to conduct business and enables your clients to obtain insurance to purchase a home.

I’m extremely proud of the fact that at C.A.R., we don’t just talk about solutions. We are actively engaged when it comes to affordability and equitable access to homeownership. To date, we’ve invested $2 million in grants from the Pathway to Homeownership program in support of our Fair Housing and Diversity efforts. Since launching in 2022, the grant program has provided closing cost assistance totaling $1.5 million for 156 first-time California home buyer families from underserved communities.

Also, through our WomanUP!® initiative, C.A.R. recently joined other major diversity organizations within the real estate industry to launch Stop Hate in Real Estate, a multi-pronged effort to allow real estate professionals the opportunity to stand for positive change in our industry.

To help members in the current challenging market, early this year, C.A.R. created Smartzone, a website full of information, such as legal quick guides, training and insurance resources, coaching tips and scripts and more. Please check it out here if you haven’t already.

All of the benefits and services I just mentioned are free and are provided as part of C.A.R. member benefits ― and they’re but a handful of the hundreds of benefits C.A.R. provides for its members. For more benefits, see our Member Benefits Guide here.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Branchini
C.A.R. President