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.