Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 5, 1990 TAG: 9005080181
SECTION: AMERICAN HOME WEEK PAGE: AH9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
People were confusing it with the Real Estate Board, which licences real estate agents, said Elaine Ernest, executive officer of what is now the Roanoke Valley Association of REALTORS. "It's to better identify what we do," she said.
The 1,100-member organization acts as a trade association for REALTORS, who are differentiated from other real estate license holders by their adherence to a Code of Ethics and by the association's requirement that they complete an orientation as well as a course in fair-housing laws.
The association also has 100 affiliate members, which includes appraisers, bankers, mortgage lenders, attorneys and "anyone in allied fields," Ernest said.
The group is active in anything that promotes private property ownership, from housing programs for the low income to legislative issues.
And, although most REALTORS are independent contractors and in a sense competitors, the association is "a place where we can come together" and a means of spreading information to members, Ernest said.
Another reason for the change that took place Jan. 1 was to bring the local organization in line with the state and national organizations, which also are known as "associations."
Just as with the local group, one of the most important activities on the state and national levels is involvement in legislative issues.
Steve Hoover, a REALTOR with Mastin Kirkland Bolling Inc. in Roanoke, is first vice president of the Virginia Association.
"If things go the way they should" he will be the president in 1992, he said.
The state organization, he said, is "multipurpose." It is the largest trade organization in Virginia with over 34,000 members. "We represent the REALTORS," he said.
Anyone who is a member of the local group is also automatically a member of the state and national organizations, said Hoover, who was president of the Roanoke Valley Association in 1982.
The state is divided into territories with REALTORS living in unclaimed areas registered as "at-large" members.
Part of Hoover's job is to work with people who refer business in and out of Roanoke and to help with lobbying for legislation. REALTORS are interested in issues that do not directly affect them, as well as those that do, he said.
"We're interested in literally everything. There are hundreds of pieces of legislation that we receive and work on."
Some of these bills affect appraisers, taxes and other matters that have little to do with the sale of the property.
These issues are a "public responsibility," he said. "Anything that affects real estate affects REALTORS."
"We don't want housing to become unaffordable," Hoover said. "We are extremely concerned about the affordability of homes."
The problem is especially acute in Northern Virginia, he said, and working to solve problems in that area is important. But unlike with many other organizations, he said, legislation which is good for the areas with the most political clout is also good for localities without it.
Dennis Cronk, a partner in the firm of Waldvogel, Poe & Cronk, is chairman of the membership policy and board jurisdiction committee of the National Association of REALTORS.
The national association has 800,000 members. There are 100 REALTORS and three attorneys on Cronk's committee alone, he said.
The National Association of REALTORS is one of the strongest lobbying groups on Capitol Hill with over 300 lobbyists, and among the strongest and best-funded Political Action Committees.
Over 80 percent of all legislation, he said, affects real estate.
"We are the voice for real estate. We support any form of legislation that positively affects private property rights," Cronk said. Funds raised through imposing impact fees and increasing transfer taxes raises the overall cost of a home, he said, which may prevent some people from buying.
An issue that the organization has been successfully involved in is the raising of Farmer's Home Administration Loan limits. The ceiling amount was not enough to finance the cheapest homes available in boom areas such as Northern Virginia, he said.
The association was also heavily involved in working on 1986 tax-reform legislation, some aspects of which has caused problems for homeowners and financial institutions.
Cronk said the rash of failures among savings and loan associations was due to problems with the tax reform act.
Currently, the association is very interested in the issue of primary capital gains. The right legislation would "spur the economy, create jobs and provide incentives for builders and developers," he said.
"We feel everyone should have a chance to own a home. It's the American dream," he said.
But it's a dream that is becoming more and more elusive. Fifteen years ago the average age of the first-time home buyer was 23. Now, it's somewhere in the mid-30s.
by CNB