FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Long Island Board of Realtors Opens
New Woodbury Center to Serve Growing Membership

October 2006 - West Babylon, NY - The Long Island Board of Realtors (LIBOR) recently celebrated the opening of their new Woodbury Service Center at 100 Crossways Parkway West in Woodbury. The new center will provide training and support services to assist the organization’s more than 28,000 members. “The Long Island Board of Realtors (LIBOR) is meeting the needs of our rapidly expanding membership here on Long Island. The establishment of our new Woodbury Service Center will enable us to take a major step in this process to meet this growing demand,” said LIBOR’s President Gil Picard. “Professional Realtors® must maintain a high standard of practice, especially in a diverse market such as Long Island. The new Woodbury Center will allow us to address our growing members’ needs for advanced training and other requirements contained in the recently passed Real Estate License Law Reform Bill,” added Mr. Picard.

Joining in the ribbon cutting ceremonies, New York State Assemblyman Thomas P. DiNapoli (D-Great Neck) said that, “Long Island Realtors® have a tremendous impact on our local economy and an important role to play in stimulating and maintaining economic stability and growth in our region.” “The opening of the Woodbury Center is consistent with the organization’s campaign of We’re More Than Realtors because it adds another dimension to the services that LIBOR provides to their membership,” added DiNapoli.

The Long Island Board of Realtors offers New York State real estate sales and broker licensing courses, accredited continuing education programs and computer training at each of their locations throughout Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. In addition LIBOR is addressing the additional requirement for education that are contained in the recent Real Estate License Law Reform Bill. This legislation was recently signed into law by Governor George Pataki. A major impact of the law is that it increases the real estate salesperson qualifying course hours from the current 45 hours to 75 hours effective July 1, 2008. This legislation was strongly supported by New York State Association of Realtors® .

In addition to increasing the qualifying hours, the new law requires:

• Office Managers are to be either a licensed broker or associate broker
• In order to qualify for a broker 's license, salespersons must conduct two years of business under the supervision of a broker
• The Department of State to approve computer-based and distance learning for the delivery of salesperson and broker qualifying courses for all on-line qualifying courses
• For anyone licensed after July 1, 2008, there will no longer be an exemption from continuing education after 15 years of continuous service. This item will not effect anyone currently licensed or who will be licensed prior to July 1, 2008
• Requires that all Realtors® be issued photo pocket identification cards

Mr. Picard expanded on the role of the new facility during ribbon cutting ceremonies saying that, “In these times of rapidly changing markets, education makes a difference. Whether you’re a new agent, manager or experienced broker, the courses that LIBOR will offer in our new Woodbury Center and in fact, in all centers, will be packed with relevant up-to-date techniques and practical information that can be applied in everyday situations to increase productivity and potential earnings for our industry.”

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Press Release Contact:
Tricia Chirco
Marketing & Communication Director
631-661-4800 Ext. 345

The Long Island Board of REALTORS® is a non-profit trade association consisting of more than 23,500 professional Realtors. LIBOR is the largest local Realtor® Board in the Country with ten Chapters that cover the North Shore, South Shore and Central areas of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens Counties.For more information about LIBOR, or to locate a Realtor in your area, visit our web site at: www.mlsli.com.