NAR Call for Action: Tell the Senate to Get to Work for Future Homebuyers, Success Stories, and More View e-mail in browser July 14, 2016 REALTOR® PARTY | for REALTORS® | RPAC | for ASSOCIATIONS     Tell the Senate to Get to Work for Future Homebuyers The U.S. Senate is ignoring an opportunity to improve housing markets across the country, and we need your help to tell them to get back to work and make homeownership a priority! There is still time to act and reach out to your REALTOR® colleagues who have not taken action yet. READ MORE   TRUE Thank You for Taking Action to Help First Time Homebuyers To date, more than 128,000 REALTORS®—14 percent of all members—responded to the REALTOR® Party’s most recent Call for Action, telling Congress to get to work for future homebuyers by passing H.R. 3700/S. 3083. So far, 13 states broke through the 20 percent mark! Tell your colleagues to act now. FALSE Take Action Here Homeowners need your help! H.R. 3700/S. 3083, the “Housing Opportunity through Modernization Act of 2016” passed the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously in February and the Senate has not moved it forward since. Bottom Line: This bill makes buying a condo A LOT easier which is good for consumers and REALTORS®. Take action today and tell the Senate to it’s time for them to get to work for future homebuyers. ACT NOW   By The Numbers   1,000 The number of times state and local REALTOR® Associations have used the Land Use Initiative since the program's inception. This REALTOR® Party program provides comprehensive analysis of proposed land use-related measures at the state or local level to help associations take action that best supports the real estate industry within their communitiy. Check some Land Use success stories. READ MORE   8/2016 The date the new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) will go into effect. The final rule encompasses much of what was contained in the proposed rule, and NAR is pleased with the overall outcome. Read the top five things REALTORS® should know about the regulations. LEARN MORE   22,000 The number of communities nationwide where flood insurance is required for a federally-related mortgage. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is up for renewal next year, and must be reauthorized before Sept. 30, 2017 in order to continue providing flood insurance in these communities. David McKey, Vice Chair of NAR’s Insurance Committee, testified in front of the U.S. Senate on the small business impacts of inaccurate flood insurance rate increases. READ MORE     Success Stories   Highlighted here are a few of the many REALTOR® Party success stories across the nation. These and others are cataloged in the Success Stories section of the REALTOR® Action Center.   Land Use Initiative Helps Hawaii REALTORS® Address Affordable Housing In Hawaii, the combined effect of vast acres of protected natural lands, the high cost of living and a severe shortage of affordable housing brings land use issues into sharp focus; so do the tents for the homeless that line many city streets. Using the Land Use Initiative, the Hawaii Association of REALTORS® is taking steps toward review and reform of the state’s complex Land Use System to clear road blocks to affordable housing. READ More   Power in Numbers: Tennessee REALTORS® Join Forces for Statewide RPAC-A-THON When it comes to RPAC fundraising, Tennessee is way ahead of the curve. For the past three years, the Tennessee Association of REALTORS® (TAR) has held coordinated phone bank events with about a dozen of its local associations via a live feed. This year, TAR held a super-sized version of the Phone-a-Friend for RPAC program called “RPAC-A-THON,” raising more than $50,000. READ More   Alabama REALTORS® Defeat Flat Tax and Increased Fees with Alabama Homes Matter Campaign Going into its 2015 session, the Alabama legislature was facing a serious budget shortfall. Using a significant Issues Mobilization Grant, the Alabama Association of REALTORS® (AAR) was able to keep threats to organized real estate and property rights at bay, but long-term solutions were still nowhere in sight. When the issue resurfaced at the outset of the 2016 session, the power of the REALTOR® Party was there again for Alabama, and this time it prevailed in no uncertain terms. READ More   Resources & Opportunities     Laser Improves Flood Maps, REALTOR® Tells Senate Flood maps would be more accurate and owners would save money on elevation certificates if the federal government took a lesson from North Carolina and used a new laser technology in its flood mapping process, David McKey, owner of Coldwell Banker One in Baton Rouge, La., told the Senate Small Business Committee last week in testimony. This week’s episode also looks at the impact on U.S. real estate of the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, what to expect now that final commercial drone rules are out, and how NAR’s Call for Action on FHA condo financing is doing. WATCH NOW   REALTOR® Party On the Go: Backyard Farming Podcast Why did the chicken cross the road? To get a bigger house with a better chicken coop. Backyard Farming is the thing to do these days. Not just in rural America but in cities of all sizes. What are some of the land use ordinances for those road crossing chickens? Learn about some of the zoning laws on backyard farming and the benefits of larger scale community gardens. LISTEN   Get Involved with Your Local Boys & Girls Club This Summer Learn more about NAR’s partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Review the toolkit for background information on this empowering partnership and how to engage with a Club, as well as, success stories, photos, featured news and blog articles and more! Remember to tell us how you and/or your Association are involved with your local Boys & Girls Club by e-mailing us at narbgca@realtors.org. READ MORE 2016 REALTOR® Party Resource Guide Is Available Check out the 2016 REALTOR® Party Association Resource Guide. Get brief descriptions of each REALTOR® Party Association Resource including grants, campaign services, RPAC and grassroots tools and more.  It’s all available for you to download as a PDF. DOWNLOAD   Join the REALTOR® Party Online Are you posting, liking, tweeting or pinning?  So is the REALTOR® Party.  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube to get the latest news, information and resources.

Send us examples of how your association put NAR’s REALTOR® Party resources to work to implement a successful advocacy or community outreach program. Email your stories to: realtorparty@realtors.org See more than 100 stories documenting how REALTOR® associations around the country put REALTOR Party Resources to work at the REALTOR® Party Success Stories page. This newsletter replaces the NAR Weekly Report for this week and the second week of every month. The REALTOR® Party News will publish next on August 11, 2016. If you missed a previous edition check out the REALTOR® Party News Archive. Headquarters: 430 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 DC Office: 500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001-2020 | 1-800-874-6500      This message was sent to . Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop receiving this e-mail in the future, click to remove yourself from this list. NAR maintains a separate email system to communicate our national news and programs. If you would like to manage those subscriptions and optin/optout of those communications please click here to login to Realtor.org.