JSextonJim Sexton, GRI—2015 AAR President

In mid-November, the Arizona REALTOR® leadership team returned from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) Conference and Expo in New Orleans where we learned of and discussed the 2015 initiatives. Arizona was well represented at the Conference with 51 Arizona REALTORS® serving as NAR directors or committee members for a total of 70 appointments.

Some of the NAR initiatives were passed with little discussion while others caused some controversy. I would like to highlight some of the issues discussed at the conference that will impact our industry in 2015.

REALTOR® of the Future: NAR, responding to the call for more REALTOR® professionalism, put forth a number of proposals including developing standards for agent evaluations. This proposal calls for members to not only be held to the Code of Ethics but to a Code of Excellence as well. This Code of Excellence would cover the following competencies: stewardship of property listing data, privacy and security of consumer information, advocacy of property rights, community involvement and technological expertise. For more on the proposal go to: http://www.realtor.org/articles/board-directs-nar-to-draft-member-code-of-excellence?om_rid=AAAZL5&om_mid=_BUY6cqB89a-uuI&om_ntype=INSWeekly

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) actions were front and center with their enforcement actions as well as the new Truth in Lending Act (TILA) forms and disclosure requirements which are to become effective on August 1, 2015. Information on the TILA issue and NAR’s efforts may be found at: http://www.realtor.org/topics/respa-tila-harmonization/political-advocacy. A summary of AAR’s plans to address this change and a variety of resources are at: http://www.aaronline.com/2014/11/planning-to-practice-real-estate-in-2015/.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: NAR passed a policy for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) (fka drones). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is scheduled to announce regulations for the commercial use of UAV’s in 2015. Currently, use of UAV’s for real estate marketing is prohibited. NAR’s policy statement can be found at: http://www.realtor.org/articles/national-association-of-realtors-policy-statement-unmanned-aerial-vehicles

REALTOR® Safety: One of the issues NAR President Chris Polychron is focused on is REALTOR® safety, especially since he is from Arkansas, the state where Beverly Carter tragically lost her life. The following link will direct you to NAR’s web page devoted to tips on REALTOR® safety: http://www.realtor.org/topics/realtor-safety

Mortgage Debt Relief Act: NAR issued a Call for Action on the “Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act.” The provision expired December 31, 2013 and it is imperative to get it extended before impacted homeowners have to file their 2014 income taxes, this bill would extend the expired provision. http://www.realtor.org/articles/nar-issue-brief-mortgage-debt-cancellation-tax-relief

Terrorism Risk Insurance Act: NAR also issued a Call for Action on the “Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002” (TRIA), which mandated that insurers make terrorism coverage available along with its property and casualty lines. TRIA will expire at the end of 2014 unless Congress reauthorizes it once again. Because of the importance of terrorism insurance coverage to commercial real estate, NAR supports its continued availability and affordability of coverage. For information on this issue, click here: http://www.realtor.org/topics/terrorism-risk-insurance-act-tria/political-advocacy

EPA Water Issue: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) have issued a proposed rule that would redefine most water bodies as “waters of the U.S.,” which is a fundamental change to the Clean Water Act. The primary effect of the proposed rule would give jurisdiction of all water ways in the US to the EPA, when currently the EPA only has jurisdiction over “navigable” water ways and wet lands. For more information on the proposed rule go to: http://www.realtor.org/articles/tell-the-epa-to-withdraw-their-proposed-rule-to-regulate-most-water-bodies and http://www.realtor.org/articles/epa-withdraw-the-water-rule-0

REALTOR® Party Election Results: On the state front we just finished our elections, well most of them at least, legislative district two is still being counted. Here’s our scorecard regarding candidates that we supported http://blog.aaronline.com/2014/11/arizona-realtors-election-night-success/. The REALTOR® Party nationwide had a successful Election Day as well: http://www.realtoractioncenter.com/news/state-local-2014.html.

The conference was not all meetings. We were invited to Sindy Ready’s installation as Women’s Council of REALTORS® (WCR) National President for 2015. Arizona’s leadership team all attended the masquerade themed dinner and had a great time in our masks! We are excited to have Sindy serving as Arizona’s second WCR National President. Congratulations Sindy!

So as I reflect on the job at hand, I am confident that our 2015 leadership team is prepared for our year. I’m excited to have Paula Serven as President-Elect, Paula Monthofer as First Vice President, Lori Doerfler as Treasurer, Evan Fuchs as Past President, along with the RVP’s Mary Roberts for Region 1, Bill Ashker for Region 2, Beth Adams for Region 3, Jim Amdahl for Region 4 and Yvette Palmer for Region 5. Additionally we have primary committee chairs, Martha Appel, Fred Cleman, Gary Nelson and Holly Mabery as members of our volunteer leadership team as well. Together with Michelle Lind and our Arizona REALTORS® staff, we are prepared for all the change that this market will throw at us in the coming months, and together we will “Lead the Way” to a successful 2015!

Thank you for your support and make 2015 your best year ever!

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