FHA Prepayment Penalties Eliminated, New Resource Guide, By The Numbers, Success Stories and more. View e-mail in browser September 11, 2014 REALTOR® PARTY | for REALTORS® | RPAC | for ASSOCIATIONS     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.   Oklahoma REALTORS® Beat Back Onerous “Abandoned Property” Ordinance When Oklahoma City passed an “abandoned property” ordinance last fall subjecting certain vacant properties to registration requirements, mandated fees, and municipal inspections, the Oklahoma Association of REALTORS® thought the city had gotten too big for its britches. OAR used NAR’s polling services, along with an Issues Mobilization Grant, to launch an aggressive campaign to pass state legislation eliminating fee-based property registries. It worked… REad More   Austin [TX] REALTORS® Begin Process to Refresh High-Profile Waterfront Area The Austin Board of REALTORS® used a Smart Growth Grant from NAR to set the stage for development of a 97-acre waterfront area near the state capitol.  The 9,500-member board sponsored a multi-day gathering of community stakeholders and national thought leaders to work out a master plan for the area.  In addition to creating a long-range plan to make the space both useful and beautiful, ABR’s relationship with the city has been strengthened immeasurably… REad More   Grand Junction [CO] REALTORS® Hit a Home Run with RPAC Fundraiser The 541-member Grand Junction Area Association of REALTORS® (GJARA) in western Colorado put baseball and a fundraising grant together to raise $15,200 for RPAC – all in one night!  GJARA booked a sky box at Grand Junction’s new baseball stadium, which hosts the rookie league for the Colorado Rockies, and then planned a fun evening for members who could attend for a $100 investment in RPAC.  GJARA is planning to open future RPAC fundraising events to surrounding REALTOR® associations… REad More   By The Numbers   7 States Number of states that have sales taxes covering all professional services, including real estate.  However, even more states impose gross receipts taxes that may apply to real estate businesses.  Learn about these and other state tax issues in the latest Hot Topic Alert (750kb PDF)… REad More   2836 LaSalle St. Address of the Dew Drop Inn where the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of REALTORS® will host a Better Block event during NAR’s Annual Conference in The Big Easy.  Check out how temporary pop-ups, bike lanes, play areas, food vendors, live music and more can jump start the revitalization of a historic neighborhood at this placemaking event on Nov. 7… REad More   20+ Years Length of time estimated to bring an Austin Waterfront Development Plan to life.  The Austin Board of REALTORS® used a Smart Growth Grant to host a gathering of community stakeholders and national experts to work out a plan to make a waterfront area near the state capitol both beautiful and useful… REad More   From the Nation’s Capital   NAR Wins: FHA Prepayment Penalties Eliminated! After 10 years of asking, NAR finally got the result it was seeking.  Late last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development eliminated prepayment penalties on loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).  The policy change prohibits lenders from charging FHA borrowers interest on their home mortgages for days or weeks after a principal balance pay-off. REad More   Resources & Opportunities   Get the Scoop on Placemaking at the “Spaces to Places” Blog Check out the new “Spaces to Places” blog for details on Placemaking and how new REALTOR® Party Association Resources can help you get started transforming spaces in your community.  See inspiring examples, too! READ MORE   “Streets as Places” Webinar Offers Tips/Tools You Can Use Streets can do more than just move cars!  Find out how to transform streets in your community into great places by tuning into the “Streets as Places” Webinar, Oct. 14, 2pm EDT.  Learn how street painting, parklets, plazas, block parties, seating, and other activities can help turn an ordinary street into a destination in itself! Register   It’s All in the New Resource Guide You don’t have to wait another minute to see the new 2015 REALTOR® Party Association Resource Guide.  Get brief descriptions of each REALTOR® Party Association Resource including grants, campaign tools, polling services, toolkits and more.  It’s all available for you to download as a 1.6M PDF. DOWNLOAD   REALTOR® Party Balloons and More! Celebrate your participation in the REALTOR Party with fanfare.  Order REALTOR® Party balloons, bags, cups, pins and more from the REALTOR® Team Store. READ MORE     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 October 9, 2014. 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. 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