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We've launched a new tool on the Web site! Now you can "follow" your favorite blogs by clicking on the link at the end of the blog post! Check it out!

PorterWorks, Inc. provides valuable solutions to professionals, businesses, organizations and consumers—solutions in education, information, and consulting.

Education Solutions: Here you can find courses on a variety of topics presented by a well-respected line-up of instructors. “Live Classes”, “Online Classes” and “Webinars” links list when and where those courses are offered. Don’t forget we can do exclusive workshops for your whole team and if you’re looking for a keynote speaker, Dave gets rave reviews.

Information Solutions: This is your portal to a wealth of resources: web links, articles and research documents, educational videos and the PorterWorks, Inc. Book Store with products personally selected by Dave and Anna Porter, the PorterWorks staff and contract instructors. We’ve also provided a great glossary of terms that will come in handy for you.

Consulting Solutions: We provide individual coaching for sales and personal development gains and consulting services for companies and organizations on ways to become sustainable, increase sales, improve employee performance, increase customer satisfaction, and identify and replicate best practices.

Latest Additions

Inch by Inch

Mark Fleming, CoreLogic's Chief Economist, is not ready to break out the champagne and ticker tape but he sees some signs that 2012 could be the year that the housing market turns around--or rather, turns a corner...in a positive direction.

Kudos to Claudia Wicks

Received this wonderful note from Claudia Wicks, friend, colleague and former owner of Base RE Classes which are now part of PorterWorks since Claudia retired:

Claudia Wicks - Instructor Lifetime Achievement Award - 12.2.2011

I just wanted to say thank you for all of the response I have received. I am truly honored.

Can Going Green Grown Your Business?

Okay. Unless you've been living under a rock (in which case you aren't doing much business anyway!) you have to have noticed a lot of talk about "green"--green building, green living, green products, etc. It's now hard to imagine life before green. But it should be clear that green is the direction every sector is heading so you've got two choices.

Expanding Education Solutions

PorterWorks has just expanded it's course lineup by acquiring Real Estate Base Camp, a well-respected collection of courses approved for real estate continuing education in Washington State. Retiring RE Base Camp CEO, Claudia Wicks, turned the reins over to Dave, a long-time friend and colleague, on October 15.

Ripe and Ready; Or Not?

Time was that if you did an internet search for the term "green mortgage" more than a million sites came up and there were some pretty creative ways banks were marketing the idea. Some banks would offer a discount on the rate, others would offer a reduction in closing costs. None of the options was truly a "green mortgage" backed by the secondary market; instead these were small incentives that individual companies would use--not unlike the days of offering free toasters to new account holders.

PorterWorks and Sage Environmental Services Team Up on Trash

September 8, 2011 was the premier of a new documentary that was the product of a combined effort between PorterWorks and Sage Environmental Services. Sage Environmental Services, Inc.

HVCC to AMC to AIR

The Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) establishes standards for solicitation, selection, compensation, conflicts of interest and appraiser independence.

IMT & NRDC Team up for Transparency

It seems to be "all the rage" these days, the notion of full transparency. With burgeoning of networking and social media it's pretty hard to keep anything secret for long. Transparency can certainly present challenges to many, not the least of which are businesses but overall there are many benefits to the general public.

Green MLSs March Forward

From National Association of Realtors. Reprinted with permission.

Luck o' the Green?

Those of you in the biz will find no surprise in this: getting an appraiser to recognize the greenness of a home is still pretty tough. According to Lew Sichelman, WSJ Digital Market Watch, in his article "Good luck getting a 'green' home appraised as such" getting that done is going to take some luck. But getting more appraisers and lenders to recognize the value of green homes is going to take more than luck. As he quotes

Upcoming Courses & Events

GreenValuation Specialist (GVS) Designation Program
$175.00

February 13th 9:00am - 5:00pm
February 14th 9:00am - 5:00pm

Durham, NC

This two day in-depth green training covers; Site & Design, Energy, Water, Materials, Indoor Environmental Quality, Maintenance & Operations, Green and Energy Efficient Mortgages, the greening of the MLS, Green Appraisal Standards, Marketing & Branding Green and tips on Greening your Business.

This course offering is available to county assessors only.

GreenValuation Specialist (GVS) Designation Program
$285.00

February 16th 8:30am - 5:00pm
February 17th 8:30am - 5:00pm

Elizabeth City, NC

NAHB Certified New Home Sales Professional
$350.00

March 13th 8:00am - 5:00pm
March 14th 8:00am - 5:00pm
March 15th 8:00am - 5:00pm

Bellevue, WA

Master the craft of successful selling. This professional-level course is designed for specialists in new home sales.

24 CEU's for Real Estate Agents in Washington
Must pre‐pay & register by 4/12/12
$350 NHC/SMC Members
$410 BIAW Members
$455 Non Members
Please make checks payable and return to BIAW, P.O. Box 1909, Olympia, Washington 98507.
If you are paying with a credit card, please call Amanda
at 1-800-228-4229 ext. 114.