SCCAOR Members Attend Annual NAR Legislative meetings in Washington D.C.

On behalf of current and future home and property owners throughout the country, SCCAOR members attended the National Association of REALTORS^® Annual Legislative meetings in Washington D.C. They were joined by more than 9,600 REALTORS^® from across the country with the aim to advance key real estate issues during the 2017 REALTOR^® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo.

Led by 2017 President Rick Smith and 2017 President-Elect Kevin Cole, the SCCAOR Leadership team joined fellow REALTORS^® from California and across the nation to attend meetings and informational sessions. They also met with regulatory agency staff and lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss and advocate for real estate issues affecting their businesses, communities, and clients.

At the legislative-focused meetings, REALTORS^® focused on several significant issues affecting the industry, such as flood insurance, tax reform, and sustainable homeownership.

“REALTORS^® are critical advocates for the real estate industry and for their clients, and this trip allowed us to educate our lawmakers that the wrong type of tax reform could cost homeowners hundreds or thousands of dollars more in taxes annually,” said Rick Smith.

SCCAOR members met with three members of Congress that represent parts of Santa Clara County: Rep. Ro Khanna, Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Rep. Anna Eshoo.

“We discussed important regulatory issues like proper oversight of PACE loans that impact home buyers and sellers in California,” said Kevin Cole.

Additionally, REALTORS^® urged for the protection of sustainable homeownership by advocating for responsible reform of the secondary mortgage market, prohibiting the use of guarantee fees for any purposes other than credit-risk management, improving consumer protections for energy-efficiency improvement loans, and tax reform. CAR Treasurer-Elect and SCCAOR member Dave Walsh is the Key Contact for Rep. Zoe Lofgren and he led the meeting where she agreed that we should have tax policies that encourage homeownership and not punish it.