REALTOR® Advocate
August 13, 2008 - Primary Election Edition

Vote for REALTOR®-endorsed Candidates!
Vote for those candidates who will protect your business and fight for our bottom line. For a list of REALTOR®-endorsed candidates who share our values and concerns, please refer to our REALTOR®-endorsed candidate list before you fill out your ballot for the Primary Election.

REALTOR®-endorsed candidates

REALTOR® Voting Guide for Seattle-King County

The Primary Election is Now: Don't Forget to Vote by August 19!
Is your ballot sitting on your coffee table? Primary turnout is expected to break records, and it is critical to for REALTORS® to make their voices heard. Fill out your ballot and mail it by 4:30 PM on August 19 or drop it off at any ballot drop location. It's your business, your voice, your vote.

REALTORS® PAC: Elect Friends Who Listen
We need to elect pro-REALTOR® candidates who listen to us, share our values, and understand how their decisions affect our business. The passage of the Distressed Properties legislation just goes to show how important REALTORS® PAC (RPAC) is to educating elected officials and candidates about the challenges we face in real estate, and electing legislators who understand our business and will insist that our voice is heard as legislation moves through the process.

Invest in RPAC

Dino Rossi Speaks to REALTORS®
"There are many important issues for the next governor to face including a predicted $2.7 billion dollar budget deficit looming, and other crucial decisions involving the business climate, economic development, taxes, property rights, environmental concerns, land use, growth management, and laws regulating real estate that all directly affect REALTORS®. I will oppose an increase in the real estate excise tax and taxes on your commissions. You will have a very tangible choice in this election between maintaining the status quo or electing a fellow real estate professional who understands our business to the governor's office. I look forward to continuing my long and positive relationship with REALTORS® as governor."

Washington REALTORS® for Rossi Mobilize!
Each association has appointed a Campaign Coordinator to organize volunteer efforts (doorbelling, phone banking, etc.) and will be hosting REALTOR® House Parties for Rossi over the next couple of months. If you would like additional information or are interested in volunteering, you may contact Member Mobilization Coordinator, Cody Benson at (360) 402-0261 or email cody.benson@warealtor.org.

REALTORS® Work to Fix Distressed Properties Law
We are in the process of working with real estate industry attorneys and practitioners to determine the legislative solutions needed (including reviewing all the provisions of the bill and how it impacts the industry, such as liability, short sales, and how the legislation affects buyer's agents and normal real estate transactions).

We are finding support for resolving the unintended consequences from both legislators and the Attorney General, and we are confident we will find appropriate solutions. Washington REALTORS® leadership met with the Attorney General's office to discuss legislative fixes for the bill on July 2. On July 15 REALTORS® participated in a work group with the AG's Office, Consumer Protection Division, to address ways to correct the Distressed Property Law in the 2009 legislative session.

Distressed Properties Law Information

Distressed Properties Law: Messages from Legislators
"Once the unintended consequences of the distressed property bill HB 2791 were discovered, I started working with the staff and stakeholders to find out the best way to remedy these important issues. I have been following this and have been informed that meetings are ongoing and that we will have a new bill that helps Realtors work with their clients when they need it the most. No one needs it more than when they are dealing with distressed properties. No one is better than their Realtor." -- Rep. Judy Clibborn, 41st District, Chair House Transportation Committee

"I understand that homeowners and the real estate industry have been unintentionally and adversely affected by certain provisions of this new law. Over the next few weeks, Realtors and real estate industry representatives will be working with me and other legislators and with the Attorney General, consumer advocates and others to clarify this new law so we can preserve the protections for consumers while ensuring that normal real estate transactions are not unduly burdened." -- Rep. Roger Goodman, 45th District, Vice Chair House Judiciary Committee.

Thank You REALTORS®: President Signs Housing Bill!
Thank you for your support of HB 3221. It proves that when REALTORS® speak Congress must act. On Wednesday, July 30, President Bush signed the recently-passed housing legislation into law, which includes needed reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with improved oversight, FHA modernization, permanent increases in conforming and FHA loan limits, and a temporary tax credit for home buyers. The new first-time homebuyer tax credit will go into effect immediately. The provision should prove to be of great benefit to Realtors, their clients and to communities.

Chart: First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit

REALTORS in the News:

Debating the costs of growth (The Chronicle)

Housing crunch? What housing crunch? (Mulkilteo Beacon)

Opportunity is knocking - Can you hear it? (The Olympian)

Two Good Laws of Which to Be Aware
Two industries came under heavy scrutiny during the 2008 Legislative Session: the mortgage industry and the title insurance industry. New laws were passed that do not change existing policy but that do increase the consequences for engaging in what has always been unlawful behavior. The penalties for participating in mortgage fraud or for accepting unlawful title company inducements have increased and will impact real estate agents as well as mortgage lenders and title insurers. Overall, these statutes will improve the real estate industry but you need to be aware of the new enforcement provisions.

More from the Legal Hotline

Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program Requests Break Record
A record breaking total of $272 million in requests and 370 applications have been submitted to the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) for funding next legislative session. Washington REALTORS® serve as Directors and on the Executive Committee of the WWRP, which is a state grant program that funds parks, wildlife habitat and farmland preservation projects throughout the state. In the last two-year cycle, the WWRP received 234 applications totaling $154 million.

Read the Release

Washington TVW Site
As a thank you for Washington REALTORS® gift to TVW, Washington State's Public Affairs Network in support of their new media center, REALTORS® are now featured on a web page on the TVW website:

Washington REALTORS® TVW Web Page

The REALTOR® Advocate is written and produced by Washington Realtors® Government Affairs. Please send comments to Barb Lally at Barb.Lally@warealtor.org. If you are receiving a duplicate copy please send notification to the newsletter return e-mail address.