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National Association of REALTORS® Call for Action:
National Flood Insurance Program expired and Rural Housing Program. Respond now!
The Senate continues to debate legislation (H.R. 4213) that includes a year-long extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Since the bill also includes a number of contentious issues, Senate leaders continue to work to find the 60 votes needed for passage. Senate action is not expected until late the week of June 14th. Any changes made to the bill by the Senate will require the House to approve the modified measure.
Since June 1, 2010, the NFIP has not had statutory authority to issue new or renewal flood insurance policies, which are required for mortgages in the 100-year floodplain. NAR has been urging Congress not to wait for agreement on the larger package and immediately pass the NFIP extension provision as separate legislation, and has issued an all-member Call for Action to keep up the pressure. We would encourage you to write your members of Congress; just click on the link below to "Take Action Now!"
Meanwhile, various lending authorities (FEMA, Fannie, Freddie, etc.) have issued guidance describing the documentation they will accept as proof of flood insurance purchase while the NFIP is shutdown.
Visit the Flood Insurance Update page listed below to download the guidance documents, which you can take with you and cite to your lender.
Flood Insurance Update
Take Action Now!
Visit NAR's Homepage on Natural Disaster/Flood Insurance
Congress has also abandoned the Section 502 Rural Housing Program. The housing program provides zero-down payment mortgages to eligible families in rural area of every state. Many of these families signed contracts before April 30th and plan to utilize the homebuyer tax credit. If this program is not restored soon, they will lose their chance.
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Help your buyers find help
The federal tax credit is gone, but many assistance programs in Texas are still available to your buyers. Help them find one at TxHomePrograms.org, a searchable database of homebuyer-assistance programs created by the Texas Association of REALTORS®. Your clients enter basic household and income information to see if downpayment assistance, below-market interest rates, or other programs are available to them.
TxHomePrograms.org also has a glossary of real estate terms, outlines the homebuying process, and provides information on issues that affect many first-time buyers, such as predatory lending and credit repair. Listen to a 60-second radio spot airing statewide that promotes the new site.
Look for more housing initiatives from TAR this summer, thanks to NAR's Ira Gribin workforce housing program. These initiatives will position you as an advocate for affordable workforce housing in Texas.
TexasREALTORS® Governance Meetings/Convention & Trade Expo
This year’s TAR convention will be held in Galveston September 13-15 (Governance meetings September 10-12)
Click here for schedules and registration.
Mediation/Spokesperson Training at Convention
If you have leaders who would benefit from either mediation or spokesperson training, below are links to special registration forms you can help complete and fax to us at 512/370-2390. Both of these training opportunities will be available during the Texas REALTORS® Governance Meetings/Convention & Trade Expo in September, but spaces are limited and they won't be advertised to the general membership.
Download the registration forms (Word):
Mediation training (Sept. 10)
Spokesperson training (Sept. 14)
Should you have any questions, please contact Pam Wood in Meeting Planning.
Local issues can have a statewide effect – Take advantage of ISSUES Mobilization
Public-policy decisions, even small ones, made anywhere in Texas today have the potential to affect your livelihood in a big way tomorrow. The Texas Association of REALTORS® Issues Mobilization Committee was established to help pass local proposals that are good for real estate and defeat those that are not.
Issues Mobilization support to local associations can come in two main forms:
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Money to help fund your local issue campaign
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Expertise, whether governmental affairs, public relations, advertising or some combination.
If your city or county is reviewing an issue or has proposed an ordinance that would either benefit or harm the real estate industry or affect private property rights and your local association would like to get involved click on the link below to find out the steps to take.
http://www.texasrealtors.com/AB/IssuesMobil
Increase Call for Action responses: Sign up for the Broker Involvement Program
We are sure you are aware of our neck and neck fight with California to be the top Broker Involvement Program recruiters but we need your help to make this happen. Here are a couple of ways you can get brokers on board:
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Host a broker meeting. Brokers can provide great insight for association leaders and round-table discussions or luncheons with them can be useful as you look ahead to your association’s future. What better time to recruit them for the Broker Involvement Program? Your local Field Rep can speak to the group or help you request a speaker from NAR to talk about the program and sign brokers up on the spot.
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Phone Bank. Field Reps will begin working with all local Government Affairs Committee members to facilitate call-trees to ensure all our brokers are reached out to personally. Sometimes a personal phone call from a Realtor in their area is enough to convince a broker to get involved.
The broker involvement program has been proven to work. In a recent Call for Action issued by NAR, 1 in 4 REALTORS® who took action were under brokers enrolled in the Broker Involvement Program. If you are a broker or Designated REALTOR®, please sign up for the program today. If you are not a broker, please talk to your broker about the importance and ease of participation.
Over 280 brokers in Texas are currently enrolled. See if your broker is one of them.
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