| THE GADFLY | |||||||||||||||||||
| December 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||
| In This Issue... | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Dates & Deadlines | |||||||||||||||||||
 Dec. 6: AE Institute Registration Opens, Register for REALTOR® Party Session Meet Your Core Standards Using REALTOR® Party Advocacywill be offered Friday, March 23 from 9 AM to 3 PM at the AE Institute in Charlotte, NC with a focus primarily on smaller associations. If you have a membership under 600 and limited staff resources, the Advocacy requirements of Core Standards can seem daunting. Join us as we break down Core Standards and turn small associations into advocacy super heroes! Hear from your peers and take-home actionable ideas which can easily and effectively be used to help achieve your advocacy goals. Lunch, as well as class credit for Core Standards, will be provided. Registration required. For more information, contact Kyle Lambert London at 202-383-1203. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 15: Year-End RPAC Transmittal Deadline The final deadline is quickly approaching for individuals to be recognized as an RPAC Major Investors and for associations to receive credit toward their 2017 fundraising goals! NAR requires that all funds, with appropriate back-up documentation, be received in the Chicago Finance office by close of business on Friday, December 15. For more information regarding RPAC deadlines, contact Jackie Zaporowski at 202-383-1029. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 29: The New REALTORParty.Com Launches On Dec. 29, NAR will launch a new website, REALTORParty.Com, replacing the REALTOR® Action Center. The new REALTORParty.com will be a holistic website that provides advocacy materials for state and local REALTOR® Association staff, and facilitates two-way opportunities to engage individual REALTORS® and associations in the REALTOR® Party. Learn more today. For more information contact Tiane Harrison at 202-383-7531 or Brandon Maddox at 202-383-1043. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31, Jan. 31: RPAC Hall of Fame Deadlines The RPAC Hall of Fame eligibility deadline is December 31. Eligible members and staff must meet the $25,000 minimum threshold by the end of the previous fundraising year. The deadline for the nomination form to be submitted to NAR by the state is January 31 of each year. To access the guidelines and nomination form, please visit RPAC Hall of Fame. For questions regarding the Hall of Fame, or to verify an investment history total, please contact Jackie Zaporowski at 202-383-1029. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 10: State Deadline for National RPAC Fundraising Goal During the REALTOR® Party Training Conference in San Antonio, State RPAC Chairs declared their state’s RPAC Fundraising Goal. If you are a state GAD, please be sure to note that states have until January 10 to revise their goal to ensure it is higher than the total the state raised in 2017, in order to qualify for recognition in 2018. For questions regarding the goal, or to revise your state’s goal, please contact Lauren Facemire at 202-383-1080. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Feb. 22-23: 2018’s First REALTOR® Party New GAD & AE Orientation Are you new to the REALTOR® organization or do you have a staff person who is? We will be opening registration soon for the first REALTOR® Party New Government Affairs Director & Association Executive Orientation of 2018 scheduled for February 22-23 in Washington, D.C. This session provides a comprehensive overview of the activities surrounding and key staff members involved with REALTOR® advocacy efforts. Details regarding the 1.5 day session, as well as the expenses covered by NAR, can be found on our website. Interested in registering? Contact Kyle Lambert London at 202-383-1203 |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Plan Ahead for 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Candidate Training Academy & Best Practices for Choosing REALTOR® Champions NAR has limited grants to bring either of these courses to your association free of charge. You recruit the attendees and print the 2018 newly updated materials. The Candidate Training Academy is a day-long course to educate REALTOR®-friendly candidates on the ins and outs of running for office. The Best Practices for Choosing REALTOR® Champions educates your volunteer members on how to discern the best candidate for your association to support through proper questions, the interview process and other time-tested methods. Visit our website or contact Kyle Lambert London at 202-383-1203 for additional information. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| NEW Issue and Candidate Campaign Training for 2018! Are you interested in taking your campaign skills to the next level? Do you have a candidate or issue you would like to support in 2018, but don’t know where to begin? If so, then join us for NAR’s new Issue and Candidate Campaign Training and learn how to leverage NAR’s resources to help you meet your advocacy goals. We will be opening registration later this month for the webinar series that leads to an in-person, hands-on training taking place in June at the NAR building in Chicago. For more information, visit our website or contact Kyle Lambert London or John Winston. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 State REALTOR® Association Legislative Priorities Thank you for participating in the legislative priority survey earlier this year. The results have been collected and we learned a few things. The top five issues identified as priorities are: property taxes or tax reform, first-time homebuyer programs, short-term rentals, sales tax on services and professional licensing. For more information, contact Adriann Murawski at 202-383-1068. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Issues Mobilization Grant Application Deadlines Here is the 2018 meeting schedule of the State and Local Issues Mobilization Support Committee, which includes draft and final deadlines for submitting grant applications. If you’re considering submitting a grant application, please contact NAR staff as soon as possible. The sooner we can connect with you, the better equipped we are to maximize our assistance and help you win your issue campaign. For more information, contact Joe Maheady at 202-383-1006 or John Winston at 202-383-1235. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| REALTOR® Party State Legislative Monitor Get ready for your 2018 state legislative session to begin. For the second year, we are offering access to the REALTOR® Party State Legislative Monitor. This is a service that helps identify and monitor real estate-related state legislation. In 2017, more than 750 bills were tracked that had to do with regulating short-term rentals, affordable housing measures, seller disclosures and sales taxes on services to name a few. If you have interest in accessing the Monitor, please contact Adriann Murawski at 202-383-1068. |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Tax Reform Call for Action |
|||||||||||||||||||
| The Tax Reform Fight Continues: Let Our Voices Be Heard As members of the Senate and the House agree on a final tax reform bill. It's not too late to make our voice heard. Join us in telling your members of Congress that incentives for homeownership and the capital gains tax exclusion on the sale of a home MUST be protected. A new Call for Action Toolkit is available. REALTORS® can continue to take action from their phones by texting the word ACTION to 30644! |
|||||||||||||||||||
| REALTORS® On Why They're Opposing Tax Reform Cynthia Carley of Lake Arrowhead Luxury Properties in Blue Jay, Calif., was one of dozens of politically involved REALTORS® who came to Washington for NAR's FPC fly-in as House and Senate lawmakers began taking up sweeping legislation to reform the federal tax code. "Everyone should recalculate their own taxes based on the provisions in tax reform bills in Congress," Carley said. "I did that, and I'm going to pay $7,320 more in taxes under tax reform." Carley and others talk about why they came to Washington and what they told their members of Congress in the latest Voice for Real Estate news video. |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| REALTOR® Party Resources & Information | |||||||||||||||||||
| New Member Orientation Materials Made Easy Check out this easy-to-use, 2-minute video and Power Point combo. The REALTOR® Party New Member Orientation supplements the existing NAR Orientation Toolkit for associations, but focuses solely on the importance of the REALTOR® Party for members and the real estate industry. Just press “play” and leave the story telling to us! For more information, contact Kyle Lambert London at 202-383-1203. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Growth Management Fact Book (GMFB) 2017 Edition Now Available The GMFB provides REALTORS® with factual information and analyses concerning modern growth management (aka “Smart Growth”). This publication reflects NAR’s belief that REALTORS® must be able to engage with citizens, legislators and government officials effectively on regulatory issues of importance to the real estate industry. There is also a new section on Vacant Property Regulations. For more information, contact Adriann Murawski at 202-383-1068. |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| NAR’s Economic Outlook | |||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
| Cady Thomas GAD Chair North Carolina Association of REALTORS® |
As 2017 ends, there is a lot going on, and I want to make sure the entire NAR staff knows how much we appreciate their hard work.
Between tax reform, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) expiration and now a net neutrality curveball, our lobbyists, political representatives, the Government Affairs team, Community & Political Affairs team and the Communications team have been working overtime to protect our members and their clients from a triple play of systemic proportion.
When a win is more important than good policy, Washington is betting the entire country will not lose. Unfortunately, our Congressional leaders are willing to take that gamble, and we know how that ends…poorly! No matter what happens on tax reform, I can assure you that the NAR Staff is working hard on Capitol Hill when many others have given up the fight. We too need to be ready to fight for property rights and ownership in America.
Meanwhile, the Community & Political Affairs staff put on a Texas-size REALTOR® Party Training Conference in San Antonio last week that pumped up our volunteer leaders for an amazing year of advocacy and fundraising in 2018. They have revamped programs and trainings, and I am excited to share them all with my members and you. This revamp understands the collective voice of real estate is strong and wants it to get stronger.
As you go into the holiday season, I share with you my three hopes for January 2018. First, I hope that you will join me in recommitting your dedication to our mission and goals. Second, when it’s released, I hope that you will read the REALTOR® Party of the Future PAG Report with an imaginative mind and come into the New Year with exciting ideas. Finally, and most importantly, I hope that you have a safe, happy and relaxing close to 2017.
Cheers!
| Follow the REALTOR® Action Center! |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
GAD Directory |
SAVE THE DATE
|
Calendar Items: |
|
2018 GAD Institute |