SARASOTA, Fla. (September 29, 2020) – The REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM) and the Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on September 23 during a live stream of RASM’s Annual Membership Meeting. The MoU establishes the cooperation of the two REALTOR® organizations developing a mutually beneficial relationship for their respective association members.
RASM President David Clapp and BREA President Christine Wallace-Whitfield signed the MoU on behalf of their associations during the Annual Meeting.
“We look forward to working collaboratively as two Associations promoting real estate in both of our countries,” said David Clapp, 2020 President of RASM. “RASM and BREA share common goals in the industry. By working together, we can make a greater impact by bringing international business opportunities to all of our members.”
As part of the agreement, RASM and BREA “affirm the value of international collaboration and agree to endeavor to exchange information in the general field of real estate, promote professionalism in the real estate industry, provide benefits to the parties’ members, and other mutual benefits.”
“We are excited to be part of this historic signing of the MoU between RASM and the Bahamas. With a similar easy-going lifestyle and by being so close to each other, many Bahamians are known to have a second home in Florida,” said Christine Wallace-Whitfield, president of BREA. “As we slowly start to open for business again, we are seeing the increase of interest from many Americans looking for a vacation home and investment property. The more we can connect and stay connected, the stronger we are.”
This is not the first country to partner with the Realtor® Association of Sarasota and Manatee. Carla Rayman-Kidd, a Global Coordinator for the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and a member of RASM, explained a few of RASM’s recent global partnerships with other countries.
“We are one of the few Associations across the country that has been granted an ambassadorship to a country by NAR. Three years ago, we were given the Ambassador relationship with Colombia, two years ago we furthered our global reach by signing an MoU with Panama,” said Rayman-Kidd. “This partnership with the Bahamas is an amazing opportunity for both our Associations. We are looking forward to advancing this relationship with educational opportunities for our members, sharing our best practices and referring our clients back and forth.”
The signing of the agreement took place on September 23 at a virtual Annual Membership Meeting hosted by the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee. RASM CEO Jeffrey Arakelian attended the signing along with 2020 President Clapp. Also participating were Christine Wallace-Whitfield, president of the Bahamas Real Estate Association, and Carla Rayman-Kidd, Global Coordinator to North America, Central America, and the Caribbean for the National Association of REALTORS®.
To learn more about international business opportunities and the Global Business Council at RASM, visit myrasm.com/global.