Wednesday, April 28, 2010

NAR Legislative Advocacy for Commercial Real Estate Issues

Below are Legislative Advocacy that has ben done for Commercial Real Estate by NAR over the past two months.

April 27, 2010
Monthly Commercial Update
NAR Treasurer Jim Helsel discussed the upcoming NAR Mid-Year Meetings. Commercial real estate will be one of the five main talking points Realtors will discuss with members of Congress on their visits to the Hill. NAR members will be asking for three specific points: (1) increase the cap on credit union business lending from 12.5 percent to 25 percent of total assets; (2) urge the Treasury and the Federal Reserve to encourage simple loan extensions for properties that can support their current debt; and (3) hold a congressional hearing very soon specifically on the problems plaguing commercial real estate.

April 21, 2010
NAR Testified on the National Flood Insurance Program
Moe Veissi, NAR 2010 First Vice President, testified at hearing titled "Legislative Proposals To Reform the National Flood Insurance Program" before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. NAR supports at minimum a five-year NFIP reauthorization to provide certainty to a recovering real estate market as well as to the millions of taxpayers and businesses that depend on the program for flood insurance.

April 21, 2010
NAR Provided Input on Several Pieces of Legislation
NAR submitted a letter to Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Spencer Bachus (R-AL) on several property insurance-related pieces of legislation to be marked-up. NAR stated its support for a comprehensive solution that ensures the availability and affordability of natural disaster, flood, and wind insurance for property owners.
A “mark-up” refers to the meeting of a Committee held to review the text of a bill before reporting it out.

April 12, 2010
Commercial Roundtable Meeting with U.S. Georgia Congressman David Scott
Members from the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS® met with Rep. Scott to discuss liquidity issues facing the commercial real estate industry. Members provided anecdotal stories regarding the difficulty of obtaining new commercial loans as well as refinancing existing loans. Specifically, members discussed the challenge of refinancing commercial properties that are performing. Additionally, members presented a variety of ways that Congress can help jumpstart the commercial markets, which included: relaxing mark-to-market accounting rules, incentives for banks to make loans, and foreclosure mitigation. The Congressman was very attentive and grateful for the members’ input.

April 12, 2010
Commercial Roundtable Meeting with U.S. Texas Congressman Kevin Brady
Members from the Houston Association of REALTORS® attended a Roundtable meeting with Rep. Brady to discuss the ongoing problems in the commercial real estate industry. Also included in this meeting were representatives from the FDIC, Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the currency, and leaders in the banking & commercial real estate community. Rep. Brady and the federal regulatory agencies were very appreciative of the input from members.

March 30, 2010
Commercial Roundtable Meeting with U.S. Georgia Congressman Tom Price
Members from the Atlanta Board of REALTORS® and Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS® met with Rep. Price to discuss liquidity issues facing the commercial real estate industry. Members shared their stories regarding their difficulties in obtaining credit for capital as well as for refinancing of performing loans. Members also discussed the proposed tax treatment of carried interest as ordinary income, renewal of the 15-year depreciation schedule on leasehold improvements, and new FASB proposals to change to mark-to-market rules. Price was very appreciative of the information provided by commercial roundtable meeting attendees. Members from ICSC, NAIOP, and ACBR were also present during the meeting.


March 24, 2010
NAR Urged for an Extension of TALF in Letter to Lawmakers
As the Federal Reserve Board unwinds its emergency liquidity programs, NAR urged members of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services to continue to address the tremendous challenges facing the commercial mortgage market. Specifically, NAR encouraged the extension of the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) for legacy and newly issued commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) through the end of 2010.

March 17, 2010
NAR Opposed Medicare Hospital Insurance Premium
In a letter to Congress, NAR expressed its opposition to the proposal in the health care measure that would, for the first time, impose the Medicare Hospital Insurance premium in unearned income, including rents.

March 10, 2010
NAR Testified on Natural Disaster Insurance
Charles McMillan, NAR Immediate Past President, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity and Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Entities at hearing titled "Approaches To Mitigating and Managing Natural Catastrophe Risk: H.R. 2555, the Homeowners' Defense Act."

March 3, 2010
NAR Signed onto the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition (FBETC)
NAR cosigned letter to U.S. House /Senate leaders, urging passage of estate tax reform legislation. Also, urged raising cap on Credit Unions and asked U.S. House Reps to cosponsor H.R. 3380, “Promoting Lending to America’s Small Business Act of 2009.”

March 2, 2010
NAR Submitted Statement on Small Business Lending
Re: “Restoring Credit to Main Street: Proposals to Fix Small Business Borrowing and Lending Problems.” NAR asked Congress to improve lending through the various measures.

March, 2010
Commercial REALTORS® Continue to Set Up Roundtable Meetings With Lawmakers Addressed liquidity problems with Reps. Scott (D-GA), Price (R-NC), and Meeks (D-NY).

February 26, 2010
NAR Submitted Statement on Small Business and Commercial Real Estate Lending
Participated in joint hearing on “Small Business and Commercial Lending.” NAR presented a variety of policy measures to improve lending access for small businesses.

February 25, 2010
NAR Urged Financial Regulatory Reform in Letter to Senators Dodd & Shelby
The letter asked policymakers to ensure that reforms aimed at the securitized credit markets are customized and applied appropriately for commercial real estate finance that create liquidity, promote sound practices and transparency.

February 25, 2010
Fed Responds to Lawmakers’ Concern Regarding Commercial Real Estate Loan Workouts
The Federal Reserve (Fed) responded to a joint letter from 79 members of Congress, which urged the U.S. Treasury and Fed to take a more active role in commercial real estate credit markets. The Fed stated that the assessment of commercial real estate exposures is one of its “highest priorities.” The Fed also intends to continue to analyze commercial real estate markets as well as the effectiveness of its supervisory guidance. Furthermore, the Fed also believes its ongoing industry and examiner outreach will be critical as regulatory agencies and the industry work through challenging issues in the commercial real estate credit markets. NAR and Commercial REALTOR leaders worked with Congress on the letter to the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve and encouraging cosigners.

February 24, 2010
Commercial Real Estate Webinar
NAR hosted a webinar for all commercial affiliates, large commercial real estate firms, and real estate-related organizations. The purpose of the webinar was to update groups on NAR’s policy priorities and to receive input on additional possible solutions to the commercial liquidity crisis.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

TCREW Champion Awards and Upcoming TCAR Events

We hope you are planning to be among the 400+ attending the Triangle CREW Champion Awards luncheon on April 29th at the Sheraton Imperial in Durham. The TCREW Champion Awards is an annual program that honors leaders, deals and projects in the Triangle commercial real estate industry.

Also coming up is the 15th Annual TCAR Commercial Classic on Tuesday, May 11th. Again, this year's tournanment will be held at the River Ridge Golf Club, 3225 Auburn Knightdale Road, in Raleigh. Registration and breakfast begins at 7:30am with a shot gun start at 9:00. The Hole in One prize is $25,000 cash, with additional hole in one prizes that include an electronics package and airline tickets. Price is $65 a golfer and $25 for the mulligan package that includes two raffle tickets for the drawings during the barbecue lunch after the tournament. Go to http://www.tcar.com/ to register for both or call the office at 919-228-2588.

On Tuesday, May 18th, TCAR is partnering with the NC CCIM chapter to bring the Calculator class. Classes will be held at the residential board, 111 Realtor Way, in Cary. This course is designed to provide an understanding of financial analysis tools, concepts and calculations necessary for commercial real estate. It will prepare the student for the calculations used in the CCIM Intro course and beyond. Students will be provided with an excel workbook that they will retain. An introduction to the CCIM designation and the process to obtain it will be presented. Classes are $25 a person to all residential/commercial REALTORS®, CCIM designees/candidates, and NCCCIM members. Register at http://www.nc-ccim.org/ . Students will require a laptop loaded with A FULL VERSION (activated) of Microsoft Excel. You'll also need a basic understanding of NOI, discounting,compounding, and general commercial real estate knowledge. Macs with the most recent version of Excel will NOT be able to run the financial calculator spreadsheet.

Lastly, on Friday May 21st, TCAR will hold it's first Community Service Day with the Raleigh Rescue Mission from 9:00 to 1:00. We'll be sorting items at the warehouse and possibly helping with warehouse set-up, sanitizing dishes, chairs, etc., in the kitchen, washing walls and washing vehicles. The Raleigh Rescue Mission is located at 314 East Hargett Street in Raleigh. For more information on the Raleigh Rescue Mission go to http://www.raleighrescue.org/aboutus . Registration will be posted online at www.tcar.com this coming week. You can also tweet tcarkim or email kimb@tcar.com to register.

TCAR looks forward to seeing everyone at all the events. Thank you for your membership and keep checking the website, twitter, the blog or your email box for updates and more information.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

NC REALTORS Government Affairs Update

Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change

Last week’s meeting of the Commission on Global Climate Change centered on its final report to be submitted to the General Assembly before the start of the 2010 legislative session. The draft report is a lengthy combination of findings on climate and environmental matters which could affect North Carolina in the future. There are many findings in the draft which pertain to every aspect of the environment but one recommendation of note is to direct the General Assembly to study the policy of requiring disclosure of potential hazards to purchasers of coastal property. The Commission will hold its final meeting on May 5th and NCAR staff will be in attendance.

Finance Committees Discuss Corporate Tax IssuesBusiness taxes were the focus of the sixth meeting of the House and Senate Finance Committees, held this week in Raleigh. Presentations were given by several General Assembly staff members detailing the corporate income and franchise tax structures in North Carolina and how taxes and economic development are interrelated. Another staff member and Jason Jolley, a Senior Research Director with UNC’s Center for Competitive Economies, also presented information regarding North Carolina’s economic development incentives program and the use of business tax credits to promote economic development. Click here to access the meeting presentations. The final meeting will take place on April 28th and this discussion is expected to continue.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

NAR Requests TALF Extension in Letter

Last week, the National Association of REALTORS submitted a letter before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on "Unwinding Emergency Federal Reserve Liquidity Programs and Implications for Economic Recovery." Specifically, NAR asked policymakers to extend the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) for legacy and new newly issued commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) through the end of 2010.

Last November, the first CMBS in over eighteen months was sold with the assistance from TALF. Additional loans are now in the program's pipeline. However, due to the long-term nature and complexity of putting together CMBS deals-often taking between six months and two years to complete - potential investors will be excluded from participation as a result of the March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2010, sunset dates for legacy and newly issued CMBS, respectively. Given additional time, TALF will continue to help thaw the nearly frozen private commercial mortgage markets.

TALF was created last year in an effort to thaw the frozen $900 billion CMBS market, which has been a significant source of funding for the commercial real estate industry in the past decade. Under the program, the Federal Reserve provides investors with low-cost loans to buy securities backed by commercial real estate debt. It is estimated that roughly a dozen more CMBS deals are in the works, with most investors hoping to tap into TALF.