April 2014
The NAR Government Affairs Directors Newsletter
The GADFly is produced by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® to provide Government Affairs Directors (GADs) at state and local REALTOR® associations with tools, news and information to help you serve your members. To add one of your staff members to the distribution list, or to be removed, contact Kyle Lambert London at klambertlondon@realtors.org/202-383-1203.
In This Issue...
Mark Your Calendars REALTOR® Party Convention & Trade Expo 2014 GAD Institute REALTOR® Party Tools, Services and Updates Staff Addition/Changes at NAR NAR’s Economist Outlook Blog
Mark Your Calendars
Next Community Outreach Grant Deadline – April 30
Grants help REALTOR® associations play leadership roles in their communities through three initiatives:
- Diversity Grants – Mobilize your diverse membership to lead your association in to the future. Apply for a grant of up to $5,000
Learn more at www.realtoractioncenter.com/diversity
Contact: Hugh Morris at hmorris@realtors.org/202-383-1278
- Smart Growth Grants – Shape your community into the most attractive, livable, sustainable place it can be. Apply for a grant of up to $15,000.
Learn more at www.realtoractioncenter.com/sggrants
Contact: Hugh Morris at hmorris@realtors.org/202-383-1278
- Housing Opportunity Grants – Launch innovative activities to make affordable housing more readily available in your community. Apply for a grant of up to $5,000.
Learn more at www.realtoractioncenter.com/hopgrants
Contact: Wendy Penn at wpenn@realtors.org/202-383-7504
2014 Campaign Management Training – June 20 & 21 NAR’s REALTOR® Party will again be hosting two, popular Campaign Management Training sessions in 2014 for Government Affairs Directors and Association CEOs. These two-day programs feature hands-on, in-depth training on taking a campaign from concept to completion. Attendees will learn from experts in the areas of data and polling, direct mail and email, mass campaign communications, field organizing and reaching voters through the newest technology, all while building their own mock-campaign. Registration is now open for the session on June 20 & 21 in Denver, CO. Register now or for more information on this training, visit our website.
Contact: Julienne Uhlich at juhlich@realtors.org/202-383-1235 Deadline for Committee Recommendations is May 23, 2014The 2015 NAR committee recommendation process is well underway. Deadline for submissions is May 23, 2014. When submitting a recommendation you are required to include relevant comments that highlight the candidate's skills and qualifications for the position. Comments are confidential, so feel free to be candid! Your feedback is valued and has assisted our officers in making important appointments! To make a recommendation, please visit our website and have your realtor.org username and password handy!
Contact: Adrianne Kather at akahter@realtors.org/312-329-8434REALTOR® Party Convention & Trade Expo
It’s that time of the year again and the 2014 NAR REALTOR® Party Convention and Trade Expo is right around the corner. Please mark your calendars for this year’s:
Tuesday, May 13thLooking for new courses to offer your members?
GADs and other association staff are invited to stop by the Expanding Housing Opportunities (EHO) and Employer-Assisted Housing (EAH) classes to learn more about these courses. Come see why other associations have added EHO & EAH to their educational offerings. EHO is designed to increase participants’ understanding of how affordability bolsters the housing market, engages clients, and builds business as well as the community. Students will learn to better leverage partnerships and resources to expand housing opportunities. EAH discusses an employer-provided benefit to help meet the housing needs of employees; the three most common benefits – education, counseling and financial assistance – and how REALTORS® could initiate an employer-assisted housing program in their community.
Interested in taking the full EHO class?
9:00 AM-1:00 PM (Marriott Wardman Park Hotel)
Register Now
Contact: Wendy Penn at wpenn@realtors.org/202-383-7504Interested in taking the full EAH class?
9:00 AM-1:00 PM (Marriott Wardman Park Hotel)
Register Now
Contact: Holly Moskerintz at hmoskerintz@realtors.org/202-383-1157 Wednesday, May 14thREALTOR® Party Workshop
10:30 AM – Noon (Omni Shoreham Hotel)
RPAC Fundraising Forum
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM (Marriott Wardman Park Hotel)
2014 RPAC Fundraising Forum Chair Judy Moore (MA) would like to invite you to take part in this year’s Fundraising Forum where we will be sharing new and exciting fundraising ideas from around the country. Additional details will follow shortly. Please mark your calendars now.
Friday, May 16th GAD Advisory Group Meeting (closed meeting)
8:30 AM – 10:30 AM (Marriott Wardman Park Hotel)
Government Affairs Directors’ Meeting, followed by Local Association Breakout Meeting 12:30 PM – 3:00 PM (Omni Shoreham Hotel)
State and Local Government Affairs Directors’ Breakouts
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM (Omni Shoreham Hotel)
Government Affairs Directors’ Professional Development Session
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM (Omni Shoreham Hotel)
GAD Reception
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM (Location and details to follow.)
Contact: Kyle Lambert London at klambertlondon@realtors.org/202-383-1203
2014 GAD Institute
2014 Government Affairs Directors’ (GAD) InstituteThe Government Affairs Directors’ Advisory Group is currently planning a productive and fun Institute this summer in Burlington, Vermont. Please join us at the Hilton Burlington Hotel from July 23 -26 for an event packed with professional development opportunities, networking and entertainment. Check the website as additional details are added. Registration will open on May 9, 2014. (Brandon please link to the updated Institute website info I sent last week).
Contact: Kyle Lambert London at klambertlondon@realtors.org/202-383-1203
REALTOR® Party Tools, Services and Updates
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau CFPB Limits 3 Day Closing Waiting Period. NAR had argued for nearly three years that CFPB should focus on harmonizing the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and the Truth in Lending disclosure (TIL) and not fundamentally change the settlement process by implementing a broad 3 day waiting period when there are changes to the closing disclosure (Today’s HUD – 1). CFPB largely agreed, requiring a new disclosure and tolling period only if the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) changed by one eighth of a point, if the loan type changes, or other significant changes to the loan itself like if a prepayment penalty is added. This is a major change from what was proposed where even minor changes to the closing documents could have required a new three day waiting period. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/knowbeforeyouowe/
Contact: Ken Trepeta at ktrepeta@realtors.org/202-383-1294 2014 President’s Circle Update The President’s Circle launched its third round of targets for 2014 last week to President’s Circle members. During this round, President’s Circle members may invest $500 or up to the full $2,000 in one of the eight REALTOR Champions targets. Current PC Roster
Contact: Jessica Naake at jnaake@realtors.org/202-383-7510 or Maggie FitzGerald at mfitzgerald@realtors.org/202-383-1078
2014 Game Changer Awards Presented at AEILast week at the Association Executives’ Institute the REALTOR® Party Game Changer Program Awards were presented. This year, five innovative associations received awards totaling $120,000. These awards are presented to a handful of associations that keep the spirit of the REALTOR® Party in mind throughout their proposal. Specific criteria also include that a proposal advances or defeats a real estate related public policy issue; advocates for or against real estate related local/state government or community initiative; increases REALTOR® awareness/support of a real estate related issue or topic; promotes RPAC; or educates property owners on real estate related or community issues. For a full listing of winners and their proposals, please click here.
Contact: Kyle Lambert London at klambertlondon@realtors.org/202-383-1203
Staff Changes at NAR
Staff Changes at NARAs many of you have heard, Laura Vogel is leaving NAR and her leadership here will be missed. As we go through a transition period, within the Grassroots team, Jim MacGregor will be taking on much of her duties in the interim. Jim is the recently hired Managing Director of Communications and REALTOR® Mobilization and has a long history of grassroots experience before joining NAR. If you need to reach Jim with questions or concerns please email him at jmacgregor@realtors.org or call him at (202) 383-1188.
Pending Home Sales Release:http://www.realtor.org/news-releases/2014/03/february-pending-home-sales-continue-slide
A deeper look at the latest Existing Home Sales data REALTORS® Generally Expect Prices to Increase Modestly in the Next 12 Months Lenders Leery of non-QM Lending Are Big Investors a Big Problem? Contact: Meredith Dunn at mdunn@realtors.org/202-383-1207
Message from the GAD Chair
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| Nathan Gorton Government Affairs Director, Washington REALTORS® |
I was talking to a new local Association Executive last week explaining the various tools that were available to help her in her new job. As I hit the 5 minutes mark explaining how the State Association and National Association can help her I realized that she was overwhelmed. I now have a new motto- “Just do one thing” (actually that’s a cleaned up version, but you get the idea). There are so many grants, work groups, committees, and Programs available to help sometimes we (especially newer GADs) just ignore it all. I would encourage you to just do one thing. Apply for one grant, use the NAR land use initiative, apply for an RPAC grant, use money to do an independent expenditure (but please wait on that for me to get my applications in). For those of us who have been around a while, we sometimes are lulled into comfort and become experts at using one or two grants, or serving on one or two committees. If you fall into that category I would say- do one more thing. Use a grant you haven’t used in the past. See if there is another committee that can utilize your experience, and that can stretch you a little as well. Just do one (more) thing, if I can help you in that regard please let me know how.
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GAD Directory |
SAVE THE DATE
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Next Community Outreach Grant Deadline |
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REALTOR® Party Conventions & Trade Expo May 12-17, 2014 Washington, DC |
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2014 Campaign Management Training June 6 & 7 Denver, CO |
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2014 GAD Institute (hyperlink) July 23-26 Burlington, VT |