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Throughout 2010, NAR made significant progress educating Congress and the Obama Administration that a stable and sustainable housing market is the primary building block for any economic recovery. NAR had a series of successes in the regulatory and legislative fields, some of which are highlighted below. As we look ahead to 2011, NAR will [...]  All I can say is WOW! This year has not been boring. Game changing events happened almost every month. We started out the year with total confusion in the mortgage industry due to the new Good Faith Estimate (aka: GFE 2010). It took most mortgage professionals at least a month or two to understand the new form and the impact it would have on the consumers and themselves. Consumers received overinflated GFEs to protect the loan officer from underdisclosing everyone’s fees in the transaction. If certain fees were underdisclosed, the loan officer would have to pay for it out of his/her pocket. One of the mysteries with the new GFE 2010 is that there is no place on the GFE 2010 to sign. There is a separate form for signatures. Now where is the consumer benefit from this change? While struggling with the new GFE 2010, HUD/FHA released a waiver that they will allow “less than 90-day flips” to be financed with FHA loans (another program with a ton of misinterpretation). Oh, did I forget to mention that HUD/FHA decided January 1, 2010 to adopt HVCC (Home Value Code of Conduct) practices for all their FHA loans. The industry thought HUD would have seen the “train wreck” Fannie and Freddie created with HVCC and steered away. But in the spirit of follow the leader, HUD jumped in with both feet. Can you say complexity, when you have HUD’s version of HVCC and the new appraisal requirements for the “less than 90-day flips?” This is just another reason the industry slowed down even more at the beginning of the year. Continue reading: Real Estate Finance Forum – The Year in Review  The Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID) is vital to both home ownership and our economy. I’m disappointed that anyone in Congress — or on a Presidential Commission — would even suggest limits to the Mortgage Interest Deduction. Mortgage interest has been deductible for nearly 100 years, and the proposed changes will affect all 75 million home owners in the United States. We must act now to make sure the MID is not changed. Ever since the Deficit Commission announced its conclusions, the news media have been buzzing about the report. And what do they emphasize? Proposals to limit or even eliminate the Mortgage Interest Deduction. I’m concerned because all this does is scare the public — and potential buyers — away from the housing market. The last thing the housing industry needs right now (and for the foreseeable future) is another bucket of ice water to be thrown on the market. People who hear these news reports don’t differentiate between a proposal and a done deal. They just know that a tax provision they actually understand and rely on is under siege. This is just unacceptable. I am asking you to call to your representative’s office today to ask him or her to defend the Mortgage Interest Deduction from any cuts or reduction as outlined in the Deficit Commission Report. This Call for Action requires you to do something a little different. In order to track the calls we are making to Congress, we need you to follow the link and enter your phone number and zip code to be connected to your representative’s office. You can make this call now, or later today at a more convenient time. But we need you to make this call. Continue reading: Call for Action: Protect Home Ownership. Defend MID.  LOS ANGELES, CA–(Marketwire – November 12, 2010) – The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) Leadership Team for 2011 is now in place. REALTOR® Beth L. Peerce is the Association’s 2011 president; REALTOR® LeFrancis Arnold is president-elect; REALTOR® Don Faught is treasurer; and Joel Singer is state secretary. The officers for 2011 began their official term earlier this week at the close of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) Conference and Expo in New Orleans, La.  Beth L Peerce  LeFrancis Arnold  To: All REALTORS® Dear fellow REALTOR®, Recently, there have been widespread reports of problems related to foreclosures. NAR has sent a letter to regulators expressing our concerns. We also have posted articles and talking points to help you answer questions from consumers and the media. Please visit Realtor.org/foreclosure for the latest developments and additional information. On a separate note, the NAR Leadership Team has held several meetings during the past two months with the heads of major national banks to discuss problems with short sales and the availability of credit to potential buyers. Our position has always been that we want to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, whenever possible. Below is a summary of the issues we have asked lenders to address. We also have posted a detailed report for your review on Realtor.org. Although we feel the banks have made some progress, it is clear that much still needs to be done. We will be meeting with Chase later this month, and those discussions will focus on the problems with foreclosures and short sales. You can help our efforts by sharing your experiences with NAR via e-mail at HAFA@realtors.org. We thank you for your continued work on behalf of homebuyers and homeowners, and we look forward to seeing all of you in New Orleans this November. Continue reading: NAR Update: Foreclosures and Bank Meetings National Flood Insurance Extended Through 2011 The National Association of REALTORS® is pleased to report that Congress has unanimously approved a one-year extension, until Sept. 30, 2011, for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). A long-term extension has been a top legislative priority for NAR. Earlier in 2010 the NFIP lapsed, causing major disruptions [...]  Steve Goddard - 2010 C.A.R. President Dear C.A.R. Member, Good news bears repeating. President Obama recently signed a bill extending the closing deadline for the federal The president also signed HR 5569, the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010, funding the program through Sept. 30, 2010—good news for homeowners in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley and other 100-year floodplains. As you know, flood insurance is required for mortgages on properties in a 100-year floodplain. Congress has allowed the program to lapse three times this year, forcing many real estate transactions to be put on hold and, in some instances, cancelled. What happens in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., really does matter to your business. The passage of these two pieces of legislation—which C.A.R. and NAR advocated for—demonstrates the importance of REALTOR® involvement in government. Legislative wins such as these require a focused and relentless presence at the state and national levels. C.A.R.’s advocacy in the political arena this year also helped preserve property profiles after title companies stopped providing them in reaction to a letter issued by the Department of Insurance; thrice defeated a 3-percent independent contractor withholding proposal that would have accelerated income tax payments for our members; and defeated point-of-sale retrofits proposed through several pieces of legislation that could have added as much as $20,000 per home prior to closing escrow. Continue reading: Your July Message from C.A.R. President Steve Goddard To: All REALTORS® Dear fellow REALTOR®, I am happy to report that Congress has passed a bill extending the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline to September 30, 2010. This is a huge win for REALTORS® and homebuyers, and NAR worked closely with members of Congress to make it happen. The extension applies only to transactions that had ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, and have not yet closed. There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law. Additionally, Congress has extended the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through September 30th. The bill is retroactive and will cover the lapse period from June 1, 2010, to the date the law is enacted. NAR will continue to work with Congress on the NFIP Reform bill, and we will keep you posted on those efforts. Continue reading: NAR Update: Tax Credit Deadline Extended; Flood Insurance Program Reinstated NAR has created a 3-minute animated video explains why protection of the trademark “REALTOR®” is so important and how you can tell immediately if you are using the term appropriately. The term REALTOR® is not only a trademark [...]
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Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
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