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Patricia Tan Perspectives Political Clout?

Political Clout?

By Patricia Tan

Have you ever thought of a Realtor® as having political clout? No? Read on …….

As the largest professional trade association in the United States, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) represents more than 1.1 million residential and commercial Realtors® involved in all facets of the industry. NAR advocates policy initiatives that will result in the continued creation of a sound and dynamic U.S. real estate market, fostering vibrant communities in which to live and work. Easy to say, but what does it really mean?

I recently returned from NAR’s mid-year meetings, which are held annually in Washington DC during May. The meetings enable the Association and any of its members who care to attend, an opportunity to make their voices heard in relation to government policies that affect the real estate market and issues surrounding home ownership.

This year, the headline event was the Rally to Protect the American Dream, where an estimated 15,000 Realtors® converged on the grounds of the Washington Monument to make their voices heard on behalf of homeowners, real estate investors, and those who aspire to homeownership.

Behind the headlines however, there are many committees working diligently on a very diverse range of initiatives. I am involved in those that directly impact the international real estate market, and I thought readers might like to understand what they are.

Immigration is an obvious topic, but in international real estate we are more focused on the ability of overseas residents to invest in our country. The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program allows foreign nationals to earn visas to live in the U.S. by investing and creating American jobs. The authority for this program expires at the end of this fiscal year and NAR support legislation to extend the program. The Association has also designated a Working Group to convene to develop policy related to S.1746, the Visit USA Act. This legislation introduced by Senators Schumer (D-NY) and Lee (R-UT) would create two new non-immigrant visas to those who invest in real estate in the US.

Money laundering is another area that deserves our attention when dealing with overseas investors. The U.S. Treasury Department is part of an international effort to combat money laundering and terrorist funding, and they have indicated that they may introduce rules for the real estate industry. Real estate agents in many other countries are already regulated in this regard, and under obligation to report suspicious activity to their respective governments. NAR is taking steps to keep their members informed about money laundering issues.

Availability of financing is an issue that affects local and overseas buyers of real estate, and difficulties in this area are hampering the recovery of our real estate market. In particular, our condo market has been slower in recovery, because of lack of available financing for many developments where there have been a significant number of distressed property sales. NAR continues to work with FHA and Congress to relax the restrictive condo rules, especially as they relate to delinquent home owners association (HOA) dues, certification requirements, and owner-occupancy rules.

In addition to those areas that impact the global market, NAR are fierce advocates for those issues which impact our home market too: preservation of the mortgage interest rate deduction, cancellation of mortgage debt, capital gains tax exclusion on primary residence, and property tax deduction.

Patricia Tan was born in England, and her career in international sales and marketing led her to live and work in many countries around the world before moving to Sarasota in 1997. Patricia is a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), Graduate Realtor Institute (GRI), and Transnational Referral Certified (TRC). She is involved in global activities of the Sarasota, Florida and National Association of Realtors, and currently serves as NAR President’s Liaison to U.K. Her real estate business operates from Coldwell Banker on St Armands Key, where her focus is to bring international buyers to the local market. She regularly makes marketing trips to Canada, Asia and Europe, to promote Florida’s Gulf Coast and the Sarasota area in particular. Patricia may be reached at 941-504-9232 or Pat@PatriciaTan.com.