Small Business Coalition Letter

On March 14, 2012, NAR signed onto two coalition letters, urging Senate Majority Leader Reid and Republican Leader McConnell to expand the Senate jobs legislation to include provisions aimed to enhance the flow of credit to the small business and commercial real estate sectors.

In this letter, NAR urged Senate leadership to also include S. 509, the “Small Business Lending Enhancement Act,” introduced by Sens. Udall (D-CO) and Snowe (R-ME), as a separate amendment in the Senate jobs legislation.  S. 509 will increase the cap on credit union member business lending (MBL) from 12.25% to 27.5% for well-capitalized credit unions, allowing these community-based institutions to provide small businesses with much needed capital to remain competitive and refinance their properties in a safe and sound manner.

March 14, 2012


The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510


The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Republican Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510


Dear Majority Leader Reid and Republican Leader McConnell,
As organizations interested in sound public policy that encourages lending to small businesses, we are writing to encourage you to include the Udall-Snowe-Schumer Small Business Lending Enhancement Act (S. 509) as part of the jobs legislation the Senate will consider soon.


As the economy emerges from crisis, it is critically important that small businesses have the access to credit necessary to participate in the recovery. S. 509 will allow credit unions to provide more lending to small businesses, by increasing the statutory cap on credit union business lending. If this legislation were law, it has been estimated that credit unions could lend an additional $13 billion to small businesses, helping them to create over 140,000 new jobs.


Credit unions have been successfully lending to small business for over 100 years and continued uninterrupted small businesses lending during the financial crisis. Since the statutory cap was established in 1998, approximately 500 credit unions are currently being forced to reduce much needed lending to small businesses. During these tough economic times, businesses of all sizes are starved for capital, credit unions are ready to extend the needed helping hand, but those hands remained tied due to the stifling effect of the low cap.


Senators Udall, Snowe and Schumer have proposed commonsense legislation that provides for a increase in the statutory cap (from 12.25% of total assets to 27.5%) while providing significant safeguards which will ensure that all credit union loans will be made in a safe and sound manner. The bipartisan legislation will only affect those credit unions which are well capitalized, have a history of business lending and have been at 80% of their cap for the last year. Even then, the legislation imposes portfolio cap limits on these credit unions business lending of 30% per year.


The Small Business Lending Enhancement Act enjoys bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate and it is precisely the type of legislation that Congress should enact to encourage greater business lending in communities across the country. We strongly encourage you to include this legislation in the Senate jobs bill.


Sincerely,



Credit Union National Association National Council of Textile Organizations
American Small Business Chamber of Commerce National Farmers Union
National Association of Realtors Realtors Land Institute
Small Business Majority Society of Industrial and Office Realtors
CCIM Institute Americans for Tax Reform
American Consumer Institute National Association of Home Builders
Institute of Real Estate Management NCB Capital Impact
MultiFunding U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce
National Association of Professional Insurance Agents Hardwood Federation
AMT - The Association for Manufacturing Technology
Heartland Institute

TCAR Partners with Cary Chamber of Commerce

TCAR has integrated its commercial real estate exchange portal, Tacquire, into the Cary Chamber of Commerce’s economic development website (www.caryeconomicdevelopment.com). The site provides business, economic and community information for companies considering relocation to Cary. The addition of Tacquire’s portal provides visitors with real-time property and listing data.

“Cary has long been viewed as a desirable place to build prosperous businesses and strong families, and this is shown through its burgeoning growth,” says Sanford Jordan, vice president of the Cary Economic Development program. “Tacquire’s database provides easily accessible, up-to-date information that will be valuable in sustaining this growth.”

The Tacquire web portal tracks office, industrial, retail and specialty space available for lease across the Triangle region, as well as buildings and land being marketed for sale. The database is set up to be searchable by location, property type, price range and square footage. Results can be printed, converted to a PDF, or emailed.

“We are proud to partner with the town of Cary and other Triangle municipalities in integrating the Tacquire portal,” says Elizabeth Gates, Tacquire president. “Oftentimes, these economic development websites serve as the first place a company visits when looking to relocate, and our searchable database puts valuable information at their fingertips while also providing additional exposure for member listings.”

TCAR’s partnership marks the sixth since introducing Tacquire in 2010. In addition to working with Cary Chamber of Commerce,  the organization has integrated its Tacquire search database into the Raleigh Economic Development (www.raleigh4u.com), the Wake County Economic Development (www.raleigh-wake.org), the Town of Chapel Hill Economic Development (www.opentobusiness.biz), Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce (www.discoverwakeforest.org) and Downtown Raleigh Alliance (www.YouRHere.com) websites.

Lease Accounting Update

The February 28-29 joint International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Federal Accounting Standards Board (FASB) board meetings on leases focused on the continued objections from constituents to the 2010 exposure draft's proposed "front-loaded" lessee expense recognition pattern.


Importantly, it appears likely that there will be a new exposure draft (ED) that would possibly be released by June 2012, with a 120 day comment period. While the potential exists for large changes to the current approaches for lessee and lessor accounting methods, the two boards remain split on alternative methods for lessee accounting for inclusion in new ED. In addition, lessor accounting decisions are being questioned due to concerns about symmetry. Additional meetings are needed before the new ED can be completed, and the new rules are not likely to be issued until mid-2013. A transition date could be pushed back to 2016.


While there seems to be general agreement among board members that something should be done to address constituent concerns and that changes should be made to the tentative decision made in May 2011 to carry forward the "front loading" approach, the boards were unable to reach any tentative decisions and requested that the staff perform further outreach on two possible paths forward. The boards are clearly having a tough time deciding on the right method for lessee accounting, and we continue to work with our coalition to send a strong message to the boards regarding the importance of their understanding the negative economic the proposed lease accounting standards could have on the recovery.


In the links below, please find a March 2nd PWC publication, In brief: An overview of financial reporting developments. Also attached is a copy of a recently released, coalition sponsored report, The Economic Impact of the International Accounting Standards Board and Federal Accounting Standards Board Exposure Draft on Leases by Chang and Adams. This study indicates that IASB and FASB's proposed accounting standard would destroy up to 3.3 million U.S. jobs, minimize household earnings by as much as $7.8 billion annually, and shrink the GDP by up to $478.6 billion. Additionally, corporate real estate owners would lose as much as $14.8 billion in the value of their real estate. The measure would also balloon the apparent liabilities of U.S. publicly traded companies by $1.5 trillion, with approximately $1.1 trillion of this attributable to balance sheet recognition of real estate operating leases.
http://www.ncrealtors.org/uploads/RCA-Inbrief2011-04-FASB&IASBleases.pdf
http://www.ncrealtors.org/uploads/RCA-2012-02-08IASB-FASB-CAReport.pdf

News from NAR Commercial

News for Your Members NEWS Commercial Connections: New Issue Arriving Hot off the presses! You’ll soon receive the latest issue of our print publication in your mailbox – and you can also read it online. This issue explores a Smart Growth project in the Atlanta community, commercial broker lien laws, and the top 5 CommericalSource.com questions. Not getting the print version delivered to you? Update your NRDS record and ensure your mailing address is current and at least one of your Fields of Business indicate commercial real estate. LINK:http://bit.ly/CCNUM LINK:http://bit.ly/NRDSNU ICSC RECon Appointment Making Are you a REALTOR® attending ICSC RECon 2012? NAR Commercial is providing you with the opportunity to book meeting time and space to meet with a client, write up a contract and close new business. Schedule an appointment at NAR’s booth (Booth #C2116). There are 4 table spaces available each day of the convention for your use which can be booked in 30 minute increments. This is complimentary service to any attending REALTOR®. Reserve your appointment space today! LINK:http://bit.ly/2012REConNU THE SOURCE BLOG Pop Up Retail The pop-up store — the short-term or temporary appearance of retail operations, inside or outside of traditional retail space — is a bona fide disruptive trend in retail space markets. The Source Blog takes a closer look at this growing trend and offers three tips for today’s commercial professional. LINK:http://bit.ly/RetailNU RESEARCH Expectations Publication Available Find out why “commercial real estate is positioned to possibly deliver what it signaled so many decades ago when big institutions took an interest in this asset class”. Published jointly by Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC), Deloitte, and the National Association of REALTORS®, the 2012 Expectations and Marketing Realities in Real Estate publication provides analysis of every property market, making it a must-have in any commercial real estate professional’s back pocket. Purchase your copy today at the REALTOR® price of only $95 (you save $100!) LINK:http://bit.ly/2012ExpectationsNU REALTOR BENEFITS® Limited-Time Offer on Lease of the 200 Limited from Chrysler Group, LLC For a limited time, lease the 200 Limited from Chrysler Group, LLC for $199/month for 36 months. The 200 limited features standard heated, leather-trimmed front seats, touch screen media center and more. Members also receive a $500 cash allowance on the lease of the 200 Limited from Chrysler, the official automobile manufacturer of NAR and a proud partner in NAR’s REALTOR Benefits® Program. For complete details and program rules visit www.REALTOR.org/Chrysler. LINK:www.realtor.org/Chrysler?cid=CHR0056 NAR Commercial National Association of REALTORS® 430 N. Michigan Ave Chicago, IL 60611-4087 Phone 312-329-8282 Fax 312-329-8390 NARCommercial@realtors.org http://www.realtor.org/commercial http://www.commercialsource.com To add a name to the mailing list: NARCommercial@realtors.org.

TCAR Honors Triangle’s Top Commercial Real Estate Brokers

TCAR Commercial REALTOR of the Year:

Jimmy Barnes, SIOR

President of NAI Carolantic 

The Triangle Commercial Association of REALTORS^®, announced the winners from its seventh annual Frontier Awards. The organization’s signature event honors the top commercial real estate brokers for their transaction volume, as well as leadership in the association, the industry and the community. Held on March 1, more than 160 guests attended the awards breakfast. Ron Francis, former Carolina Hurricanes captain and current director of hockey operations, served as keynote speaker.

“The Frontier Awards are an opportunity to highlight the tireless dedication of an amazing group of commercial real estate professionals who continue to help shape the Triangle’s business community,” says Kerry Saunders, TCAR president. “It is wonderful to see so many peers join together in celebration of their success.”

TCAR honored real estate brokers in the following categories:

REALTOR® of the Year

• James M. Barnes, SIOR: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.

President’s Circle Award

• George S. York: York Properties

Trailblazer Awards

• Joni Barnes: Dilweg Commercial                                                      
• E. Michael Kornegay: Commercial Associates
• W. Clark Womack: Commercial Associates

Rising Star Award

• Justin M. Good: Cassidy Turley

Busy Broker Award

• W. Clark Womack: Commercial Associates

Development of the Year

• Park West Village

Community Leader Award

• Builders of Hope

William P. Eyerman Award

• Cady Thomas: Director of Regulatory Affairs of NCAR

Lease Transaction of the Year

• Lynne C. Worth, CPM: York Properties

Sale Transaction of the Year

• David Finger: Cassidy Turley

Lifetime Million Dollar Office Leasing Club

• Tim Capps: Tri Properties, 2005-2011
• Bret Muller: Capital Associates, 2006-2011

Lifetime Million Dollar Industrial Leasing Club

• E. Michael Kornegay: Commercial Associates, 2007-2011
• W. Michael Lewis: The Lewis Group/CORFAC International, 2007-2011
• Chris Norvell: while at Cassidy Turley 2006-2010
• Dee Creech Osborne, SIOR: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc. 2005-2011
• Tad Thornhill: York Properties, 2006-2011
• W. Clark Womack: Commercial Associates, 2007-2011
• Hunt Wyche: Commercial Associates, 2007-2011

Lifetime Million Dollar Retail Leasing Club

• David Stowe: Hunter and Associates 2006-2011
• Lynne Worth: York Properties 2006-2011

Million Dollar Sales Club

• Edward B. Brown, III, CCIM, SIOR: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• Curteis Calhoun: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham
• David Finger: Cassidy Turley
• Justin M. Good: Cassidy Turley
• Scott Hadley, NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• W. Michael Lewis, CCIM, SIOR: The Lewis Group/ CORFAC International
• John Linderman, Jr., SIOR: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham
• Jim McMillan: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham
• Marlene Spritzer, CCIM: Cresa Raleigh
• Michael Wright: Coldwell Banker Commercial TradeMark Properties, Inc.

Million Dollar Land Sales Club

• Chester Allen, CCIM: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham
• James I. Anthony, Jr.: Colliers International
• Barry Bowling, CCIM: CBRE|Raleigh
• Gene Cowell: York Properties
• Justin M. Good: Cassidy Turley
• W. Kyle Greer: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• Scott W. Hadley: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• Tara Kreider: Coldwell Banker Commercial TradeMark Properties, Inc.
• Larry L. Lakins, II: Colliers International
• Peter Pace: York Properties
• E. Stephen Stroud, SIOR: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• William White: White Oak Commercial, Inc.

Million Dollar Office Leasing Club

• William A. Allen, IV, SIOR: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham
• Robin R. Anders, SIOR: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• James M. Barnes, SIOR: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• Timothy M. Capps: Tri Properties, Inc.
• Gregory A. Capps: Tri Properties, Inc.
• Janet Clayton, CCIM: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham
• Lee Clyburn, SIOR: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham
• Fred Dickens: Coldwell Banker Commercial TradeMark Properties, Inc.
• Hillman Duncan: Cassidy Turley
• Ryan M. Gaylord: Tri Properties, Inc.
• Dennis D. Hurley, SIOR: Cassidy Turley
• Jake Jones: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham
• Malcolm Lewis: Coldwell Banker Commercial TradeMark Properties, Inc.
• Terry L. Mikels: Mikels & Jones Properties, Inc.
• Bret D. Muller: Capital Associates
• Tucker R. Shade: Tri Properties, Inc.
• Arnold J. Siegmund: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham
• John Clay Stober: Tri Properties, Inc.
• Michael Vulpis: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham
• Matthew Winters: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham

Million Dollar Industrial Leasing Club

• Edward B. Brown, III, CCIM, SIOR: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• Amy Bush: York Properties
• Timothy M. Capps: Tri Properties, Inc.
• Gregory A. Capps: Tri Properties, Inc.
• Benjamin B. Everett, III: Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham
• John Hibbits: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• S. Lee Holder: Colliers International
• Matt Honeycutt: Coldwell Banker Commercial TradeMark Properties, Inc.
• John H. Kerr, IV: York Properties
• E. Michael Kornegay: Commercial Associates
• Larry L. Lakins, II: Colliers International
• W. Michael Lewis, CCIM, SIOR: The Lewis Group, LLC/ CORFAC International
• Jesse "Butch" Miller: CBRE|Raleigh
• Aldene "Dee" Creech Osborne, SIOR: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• Jacob Plotkin, CCIM: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• Gregory J. Sanchez, SIOR: Tri Properties, Inc.
• John Clay Stober: Tri Properties, Inc.
• George "Tad" Thornhill: York Properties
• Patrick Woodruff: Tri Properties, Inc.
• W. Clark Womack, Jr.: Commercial Associates
• Hunt Wyche, III: Commercial Associates

Million Dollar Retail Leasing Club

• Stephen A. Brown: Kane Realty Corporation
• Joaquin D. Canals: NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.
• Christina L. Coffey: Hunter & Associates
• Wendi Wood Howell: Kane Realty Corporation
• John A. Koonce: York Properties
• Mary A. Lobdell: Coldwell Banker Commercial TradeMark Properties, Inc.
• Mary Ann M. Peterson: Hunter & Associates
• David H. Stowe, Jr.: Hunter & Associates
• Henry Ward: York Properties
• Lynne C. Worth, CPM: York Properties

Letter Sent for Support for S. 1835, the United States Covered Bond Act of 2011

On March 14, 2012, NAR signed onto two coalition letters (second letter will follow in next blog), urging Senate Majority Leader Reid and Republican Leader McConnell to expand the Senate jobs legislation to include provisions aimed to enhance the flow of credit to the small business and commercial real estate sectors.

In the letter below, NAR requested the Senate leaders to include S. 1835, the “U.S. Covered Bond Act,” sponsored by Sens. Hagan (D-NC) and Corker (R-TN), in the Senate jobs bill. The inclusion of this legislation could provide an additional new source of capital to commercial property owners by creating a statutory framework for a U.S. covered bond market. Already successfully used in Europe and Canada, covered bonds allow banks to raise funds by issuing pools of high quality assets as eligible collateral to investors, enabling these financial institutions to extend vital credit to businesses.

The Honorable Harry Reid The Honorable Mitch McConnell

Majority Leader Republican Leader

United States Senate United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

RE: Support for S. 1835, the United States Covered Bond Act of 2011

Dear Leaders Reid and McConnell:

We are writing to respectfully request your inclusion of S. 1835, the U.S. Covered Bond Act, sponsored by Senator Kay Hagan, Senator Bob Corker, Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Mike Crapo into the legislation currently being drafted to encourage the additional availability of capital for our nation’s small businesses.

While much of the focus of this legislative effort has been centered on promoting additional equity capital formation, we also believe the increased availability of cost-effective debt capital is critical for small businesses to be able to grow and create new jobs. Under S. 1835, small business loans are an asset class (along with residential mortgages, commercial real estate, auto loans and student loans) that is eligible to be used as collateral for a covered bond under the statutory framework. This will allow for additional liquidity and investment to be directed to help small businesses.

This legislation is both bipartisan and bicameral, with near identical versions having been introduced in the House and Senate. Over the last three years, there have been three specific hearings on the legislation held by the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee. The House Financial Services Committee recently passed the legislation by a broad bipartisan vote of 44-7-3.

We agree that promoting job creation is a top priority and that helping provide small businesses with additional equity and debt capital is vital to that effort. We thank you for your hard work for the American people and look forward to working with you on this important legislation.

Sincerely,

American Land Title Association American Resort Development Association

American Securitization Forum Certified Commercial Investment Member

CRE Finance Council Financial Services Roundtable

Housing Policy Council Institute of Real Estate Management

Mortgage Bankers Association National Apartment Association

National Association of Realtors National Multi Housing Council

Real Estate Roundtable Realtors Land Institute

Society of Industrial & Office Realtors TIAA-CREF

Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association

Triangle Community Coalition Survey: Your Opinion on the Performance of Local Governments

True to its mission statement of "Promoting economic development, community vitality, and balanced public policy in the greater Triangle region," the Triangle Community Coalition (TCC) is seeking your opinions of the performance of various local governments in the region. They hope that by developing data from a broad cross section of the business community, the TCC will be able to identify strengths, challenges and best practices that can be used to help improve the business climate and create more effective and efficient regulatory processes and procedures.

All responses are confidential. This survey will be closed March 15. Click link to start the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2MJT9GP

Thank you for taking the time to complete this very brief survey. We know your time is valuable.

NCAR news

Economic Activity Picks Up in N.C.
Economic activity appears to be picking up across North Carolina, with fewer people filing first-time claims for state jobless benefits and forecasters predicting a bounce in new housing starts by 2013. It all begs the question: Is the economy in N.C. starting to recover?
Read more.

Governor Perdue Nominates Ray Grace for Commissioner of Banks
With former Commissioner of Banks Joseph A. Smith’s recent departure to serve as a monitor of the landmark national foreclosure settlement, Governor Bev Perdue recently announced her intention to nominate Acting Commissioner of Banks Ray Grace to serve as Commissioner. Follow the link below for more information.
Read more.

Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham Earns Professional Accreditation

Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham, a leading Triangle

real estate services firm, announced today that it has earned the ACCREDITED MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION® (AMO®) accreditation from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®), an affiliate of the National Association of REALTORS®.

The AMO® accreditation is awarded to real estate firms that have a track record of high

performance, experience, stability and financial accountability and have a Certified Property

Manager® (CPM®) directing and supervising the real estate management team. In addition, the AMO® firms must abide by a rigorous Code of Professional Ethics that is strictly enforced by the Institute.

Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham provides property management services for a portfolio of commercial properties totaling approximately 3.8 million square feet.

About Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham

Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham is a full-service commercial real estate company with offices in Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina. As a locally owned and operated affiliate of Grubb & Ellis, the company specializes in serving the Triangle region and areas east to the North Carolina Coast, providing market presence and exclusive coverage for Grubb & Ellis in these markets. The Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®), the leading

international real estate management organization, has designated Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham as an ACCREDITED MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION (AMO®). The credential signifies the highest professional standards in the industry in terms of expertise, experience, business/financial stability and ethical business practices. Only 530 firms in

the U.S. and Canada have met the strict requirements necessary to quality for AMO® accreditation. For more information, visit www.tlgcre.com.

About Grubb & Ellis Company

Grubb & Ellis Company is one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate services firms, providing transaction services, property management, facilities management and valuation services through more than 100 company-owned and affiliate offices. Our 4,300 professionals draw from a unique platform of services and practice groups to deliver integrated solutions to real estate owners, tenants and investors, and each business is supported by highly regarded

proprietary market research, best-in-class processes and extensive local expertise. In 2011, Grubb & Ellis completed approximately 12,000 sale and lease transactions and the company and its affiliates currently manage more than 250 million square feet of property. For more information, visit www.grubb-ellis.com.