President’s View- August 2010, New Jersey REALTORŪ
By: Judy Appleby, ABR, RSPS, SRES
Recently, a friend bought a “new” used car and financed the purchase through a bank. His credit was
excellent, so he got the “best rate” according to the dealership. His rate was 5.79 percent.
Having heard about the REALTORSŪ Federal Credit Union, I decided to check and see what kind
of rate he could have gotten if my friend were a REALTORŪ. I called the phone number, (866) 295-
6038, and spoke with a lovely young lady. She told me the rate on a 36-month loan for a used car
would be 4.75 percent for anyone who has a savings account with the credit union, AND that the
current promotion is to defer the first payment for 60 days. That was more than one point lower than
the bank gave my friend!
So from there I started asking more questions: What is the minimum amount to open a savings
account? Answer, $l00. Interest rate for a savings account with a $500 balance? Answer, .50 percent. I
just rolled over C.D.'s at the same rate, and they were much higher amounts! What is the monthly fee
for online banking? Answer, Zero. Minimum amount in account? Answer, $1.00. Hours of operation?
Since it is online banking – 24/7, and if you phone them there are people there to answer your
questions. The REALTORSŪ Federal Credit Union also offers mortgages, money market accounts,
etc. All rates are posted on the website, www.REALTORSfcu.org.
I finally figured out that I have been missing the boat! Besides learning how to make my money work
smarter, I learned our moms and dads, brothers, sisters, children, or grandchildren can also join the
credit union. Guess who was a hit at the family dinner this week?
Feeling like a kid who just discovered the Easter Bunny brings chocolate, I went to
www.REALTOR.org to see what else I may have been missing. Now you may not believe this, but
it is a true story. I am having new doors and storm doors installed in my office/apartment building,
so I called Lowe's (one of the National Association’s affinity partners). I ordered all the doors and
storm doors, locks, etc. and then asked about the REALTORŪ discount. Since the order was more than
$2,500, Lowe’s called me back and reported a savings of more than $300. WOWEE!! Not bad.
So, of course, now I am searching the entire website for any other great deals that I can use.
I haven't checked all of them out yet, but on the website, you can get discounted products at Dell,
HP, and you can get insurance discounted at Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. If you need health
insurance you can contact the REALTORSŪ Core Health Insurance, offering low-cost, guaranteed
acceptance, medical indemnity insurance. We also qualify for discounts at Fed-Ex, Xerox, Avis,
Budget and Hertz for car rentals.
It seems that in this economy, we should all take a look at the REALTORŪ benefits that the
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORSŪ is offering us. Sometimes members ask, “What do I
get for my dues dollars?” Well, there you go! |