View e-mail in browser REALTOR® Party | RPAC | For REALTORS® | For Associations “Know Thyself” ― Socrates (469-399 BC) Success Stories Every month we highlight a few of the many REALTOR® Party success stories across the nation. These and others are cataloged on the Success Stories section of the REALTOR® Action Center. Small But Mighty Amador County (CA) Association Wins Campaign to Ensure Safe & Adequate Water Supply for Residents High in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, about an hour southeast of Sacramento, Amador County, CA, was facing serious water-system issues. And, a vocal anti-growth group was fighting improvements to the system tooth and nail. The 175-member Amador County Association of REALTORS® (ACAR,) decided to fight back. A safe, reliable source of water is not only vital to homeowners, but essential to its members’ ability to market properties. With a $10,000 Issues Mobilization Grant from NAR, this local REALTOR® association got its message to the people of Amador County through a direct mail postcard and Internet advertising coordinated by NAR’s campaign team consultants. In the end, a new water delivery system was approved and constructed, and rates were restructured to ensure that all customers pay the same amount for service and system maintenance. Read more Oregon REALTORS® Win Fight to Preserve Mortgage Interest Deduction Just one year after the 12,500-member Oregon Association of REALTORS® successfully led the charge amending the state’s constitution to prohibit real estate transfer taxes, OAR faced 10 different proposals threatening Oregonians’ itemized deductions – including those for mortgage interest and property taxes. OAR built on the success of last year’s ballot measure and put an Issues Mobilization Grant from NAR to work. They hit the ground running with patch-through phone calls to targeted districts that generated more than 750 phone calls from concerned voters to legislators. In addition to a Call for Action to their members, and a REALTOR® Rally at their state capitol, they used the web site they built for their last campaign to generate information and support. In the end the tax plan that passed left the mortgage interest and property tax deductions in place. Read more Traverse (MI) REALTORS® Put Three Smart Growth Grants to Work With just 625 members, the Traverse Area Association of REALTORS® (TAAR) is a force to be reckoned with in northwest lower Michigan. Decades ago, it helped develop the database system that is now the heart of the electronic Multiple Listing System. Now, with no fewer than three NAR Smart Growth Grants in play, TAAR is establishing itself as a team of well-informed local citizens, with access to real information and resources where community planning is concerned. From its participation in a multi-faceted regional land-use plan called The Grand Vision, to its funding of a smart growth poll on zoning, to helping implement a local watershed plan, TAAR is showing that REALTORS® there do much more than just sell houses. Read more Virginia REALTORS® Keep Their Champion in State General Assembly Delegate Rosalyn Dance (D-Petersburg) is a long-time friend to REALTORS® in the Virginia General Assembly, where she has served since 2005. So, when Dance was challenged in the Democratic primary this spring, she found the support of the 29,000-member Virginia Association of REALTORS® behind her. VAR, as well as the local Southside Virginia and Richmond Associations had already committed a total of $4,000 in RPAC funds to her campaign, when VAR staff called NAR for additional backing. NAR’s seasoned campaign consultants put together a plan worth just over $20,000 that included live polling calls, personalized “get out the vote” robo-calls, and a direct mail piece. They were also able to craft a Tele-Town Hall Meeting for the candidate. In the end, she won by 264 votes. Read more In the Nation’s Capital New Mortgage Rules Will Help Millions of Homebuyers Proposed revisions to the qualified residential mortgage rule announced last month will help millions of people buy homes and strengthen the mortgage market. NAR worked for nearly two years to convince regulators that the initial proposed mortgage rule was overly strict and would have denied millions of creditworthy Americans access to the lowest cost and safest mortgages. The new standards are stringent enough to protect consumers from unscrupulous lending practices while also creating new opportunities for private capital to reestablish itself as part of a robust and competitive mortgage market. Read More Tools You Can Use Get the REALTOR® Action Center App! Get the new smart phone app so you can Vote Act and Invest when you’re away from your desk. That’s right – you can respond to Calls for Act
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 20:36:27 +0000
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