In the past you have heard me state that as an organization, Realtors® work for the benefit of the whole community, not just acting as a union to strengthen our own position. In addition to the many charities and community help programs that we contribute to and participate in, we are a strong voice for Home Owner’s Rights, in fact the strongest voice out there for YOUR benefit.
Below is an exerpt from a recent (this morning) message sent to all Realtors®. It does demonstrate some of the recent property rights we have been instrumental in protecting.
July 13, 2010
Dear C.A.R. Member, [California Association of Realtors®]
Good news bears repeating.
President Obama recently signed a bill extending the closing deadline for the federal
home buyer tax credit to Sept. 30, 2010. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® estimates that as many as 17,700 home buyers in California would not have received the tax credit without the extension. Perhaps you know someone who now will benefit from this legislation.
The president also signed HR 5569, the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010, funding the program through Sept. 30, 2010good 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 legislationwhich C.A.R. and NAR advocated fordemonstrates 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.