Some tidbits Lobbyists Say Realtor need to know - I Say NAR needs to Sit Down and Shut up.. and Stop throwing their CLOUT around..

Fighting Fannie/Freddie’s Declining Markets Policies

MORe staff worked closely with NAR Financial Services Manager Jeff Lischer earlier this month urging an NAR response to several recent policies enacted by Fannie/Freddie. Policies which, when taken as a whole, are crippling our local marketplace. Today, NAR released the following statement in a Government Affairs Directors newsletter. MORe will continue to advocate on your behalf to roll back Fannie/Freddie policies to encourage a healthy housing market.

NAR RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT FANNIE AND FREDDIE POLICIES

On April 11, 2008,

NAR President Dick Gaylord wrote letters to Fannie Mae CEO Dan Mudd and Freddie Mac CEO Dick Syron to raise serious concerns about a range of Fannie and Freddie policies that, taken as a whole, are hurting the entire national economy, not just the housing and mortgage markets.

REALTORS® think there has been an overreaction by the GSEs and others in the housing finance industry that, even in the short term and certainly in the long term, will cause harm to the organizations involved by delaying recovery of the housing and mortgage markets.

Many small individual policy decisions designed to keep the enterprises financially sound, when layered one upon another, have created major impediments to healthy mortgage and housing markets.

The letters address three main areas of concern:

1. A wide variety of higher fees and other underwriting standards that make mortgages much less affordable.

2. Policies reducing maximum loan-to-value ratios (LTVs) by five percentage points for homes in declining markets.

3. Extremely tight underwriting standards for jumbo conforming loans authorized by the Economic Stimulus Act.

To view the NAR Letter to Fannie Mae, please click here: http://fedistrk.nsf/files/Letter_Fannie_Policies_ 04112008.pdf/ $FILE/Letter_Fannie_Policies_ 04112008.pdf

To view the NAR Letter to Freddie Mac, please click here:
http://fedistrk.nsf/files/Letter_Freddie_Policies_ 04112008.pdf/

$FILE/Letter_Freddie_Policies_ 04112008.pdf

http://activerain.com/blogs/merrinette

Get NAR out of your Business, out of your Governing Bodies... Sell without an NAR member.. they are NOT of a Higher Standard, They are NOT really the voice of Real Estate. They are just bullys with billions.
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In my Home State, I see that the Governing Affairs members from my local MLS are for ONE I know for sure is a Liar, committs fraud on consumers and does not have any accountability, the MLS - the local association protects him as he owns a C21 Franchise.. and this is the kind of guy that is out there supposedly getting things done for consumers or on behalf of any sense of morals and decency - Ethics or Standards of Practice of any Kind.

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Realtors Reccommend ... Realtors Support ... Charles McMillan

NAR, the Realtors Should NOT have a say in what the Governing Bodies Do. They Should Not get to support " the federal government's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ". NAR just wants money to flow and fast so that they can get back to work.

article below

A conversation with NAR leader Charles McMillan

National Association of Realtors President-elect Charles McMillan said he supported the federal government's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during an interview Monday.

McMillan, broker for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Dallas-Fort Worth, was in town for the annual convention of the Texas Association of Realtors, which runs through Thursday.
Here's more of what he had to say about the national and San Antonio housing markets:
Question: The federal government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Did you think it was necessary in order for the real estate market to rebound?

Answer: We applaud this decision. We already note that confidence is being restored both domestically, in terms of the stock market, and as well as abroad. And we needed that confidence restored.

Q: We happen to be one of the states where numbers are low in terms of foreclosures; and in Texas, San Antonio has one of the lowest rates for foreclosure. What puts us in this better position?

A: One of the reasons is that we didn't have the insane run-up in prices during a short period of time. We've had a steady increase of 3 to 5 percent per year. Another thing, we learned from '91. The economy is more diversified and broad-based. At one time it was heavily dependent on oil and gas and defense contracting. If anything happened — a hiccup in either of those — the state would then suffer. We have a multiplicity of disciplines headquartered in San Antonio and throughout Texas, not only because of the weather but the educated work force. We have governance being business-friendly .... We have an influx of people coming in.
Q: When will home sales consistently begin to pick up?

A: It's expected that this will begin to happen throughout the latter half of 2009. There is an unknown variable: What impact the Fed's actions will have on the immediate future. (It) may come about a lot quicker. I was listening to economists this morning who were surmising that interest rates might lower for a while.

Q: Do you think it's necessary to have the federal government guaranteeing home mortgages as it is doing by now controlling Fannie and Freddie?

A: (The federal role) came about when private financing was not available. The need was accelerated when veterans came home from World War II after making $20 a month and did not have the 40 to 50 percent down, which was the standard. Even today, it is very helpful in allowing most people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to get at least one foot on the bottom rung of the housing ladder, the main source of wealth of most Americans today.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/local/
A_conversation_with_NAR_leader_Charles_McMillan.html

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