Highlights from the NAR Legislative Conference

The National Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors met in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, May 14, 2005 at the close of the Midyear Meetings. Following is an overview of actions taken. A full report can be found at www.Realtor.org.

Election of 2006 Officers/Regional Vice Presidents

Directors elected Tom Stevens, Vienna, Virginia 2006 President; Pat Vredevoogd, Grand Rapids, Michigan 2006 President-elect; and Richard Gaylord, Long Beach, California 2006 First Vice President. Included among 2006 Regional Vice Presidents elected was Joe Banyai, Southfield, Michigan representing Region 6 (Ohio & Michigan).

The 2006 officers and RVPs will be installed in office during the NAR Annual Convention in San Francisco (Oct. 26 -  31). They officially assume their positions immediately following the Convention.

2006 Dues & Assessments

Directors voted to maintain REALTOR^® membership dues at $64 and continue the $20 per member special assessment for the public awareness campaign in 2006. It was also agreed that that assessment shall remain at a level of $20 in 2007, reversing a previous decision to increase it to $25 in 2007. This will be voted on by the Delegate body at the annual Convention in October.

Multiple Listing Issues & Policies Committee Motions

Due to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation, Directors approved extending the deadline for multiple listing services to adopt and implement NAR's mandatory Virtual Office Website (VOW) policy from July 1, 2005 to January 1, 2006. The DOJ's primary concerns about the VOW policy relate to giving members the ability to "opt out," whether on a blanket or selective basis, and to prohibit members from creating sites intended to be used for the sole purpose of generating referrals. Directors authorized the NAR Leadership Team to negotiate with the DOJ and modify MLS policies as deemed appropriate in an effort to conclude the ongoing review by DOJ of the pending VOW policy.

Directors adopted policy clarifying that the listing broker is the owner of listings and their content; and further, that the use of listings is limited to the defined purposes of MLS and any unrelated use requires the consent of Participants.

Professional Standards Committee Motions

Directors authorized increasing from $250 to $500 the amount which may be charged by local associations to initiate appeals of ethics decisions and requests for procedural review of arbitration hearings.

Eminent Domain

Directors voted to amend existing policy on Eminent Domain to provide that when private property is condemned for public use, "just compensation" should be provided to owners, which not only covers the value of the property, but also covers reasonable and necessary costs associated with the loss of the property.

Supporting Translation of Homeownership material

Directors voted to support efforts by HUD to provide translations and interpretations for beneficiaries of federal housing programs as long as housing providers are not held liable for any miscommunication.

RESI Standards rejected

Directors adopted the committee's recommendation that NAR not adopt, endorse or recommend the current standards promulgated by the Real Estate Standards Institute (RESI) because the standards do not reflect the "standard of care" in the real estate industry.

RESI, formerly known as "Touchstone for Excellence" is a consortium of local REALTORâ associations from around the country. They share a common belief that the REALTORSâ Code of Ethics and related Standards of Practice do not go far enough in terms of adequately imposing standards of professionalism which the public is demanding of today's real estate practitioners. Over the past two years they have developed their own rigorous standards and plan to make them available for voluntary compliance by members. NAR Legal Counsel, Laurie Janik, has reviewed the RESI standards and has expressed concern that they could be used by plaintiff's attorneys to impose unreasonably high standards of conduct and care for the real estate industry. Thus, the above action by the Directors was taken as a means to clarify that NAR does not in any way endorse RESI or its standards, nor does NAR subscribe to the belief that RESI's standards should be viewed as the "standard of care" in the industry. It should be further noted that NAR has made it clear that local associations which decide to implement and/or enforce the RESI standards will not be covered by the NAR Errors & Omissions Insurance Policy in relationship to such activities.

Predatory Lending

Directors approved a three-pronged campaign to combat predatory lending, including the use of consumer education and stronger anti-predatory lending legislation and regulations.