NAR Midyear Highlights for Brokers

So many spectacular ideas, decisions, and movements arise out of events like NAR Midyear. In a perfect world, we’d all be able to attend – but the reality is that we can’t. That’s why I was so excited that the WAV Group took some time to share with me a presentation they’ve created to summarize NAR Midyear, with a special emphasis on the topics of interest to brokers.  I’m going to share a few of the key points here.

1) Articulating the value of NAR. Ways that NAR provides value to their membership include:

• HouseLogic
• A powerful social media presence - 300,000 “likes” on Facebook
• A radio show with 3.3 million listeners

2) An economic update. The point that really stood out to me here is “Sequestration,” which means that spending cuts go into effect automatically on January 1^st, 2013, unless a new budget is passed.

3) A legal update. There are three main legal issues relevant to NAR right now:

• FHA and eSign – helping to gain acceptance of electronic signatures on REO properties
• Home warranty (legal case: Edwards v. First American) – Home warranties are not part of the closing costs and should not be considered as such under RESPA
• Qualified Mortgage Standards – Frank-Dodd needs to be cleaned up.

4) Political fundraising. As you know, NAR recently increased their dues $40 per member per year. One of the main objectives for this dues increase was to raise funds for political lobbying to support home ownership rights. There has been a shift in the focus of this lobbying, however, from candidates to issues. Quite simply, the political objective of NAR is to help fight for property owners.