Homeownership. Private property owners’ rights. Productive regulation. That’s our charge.
WHY I TOOK THIS JOB BY: MARK ZIMMERMAN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
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t’s not often a REALTOR® member leaves the profession to work for the association which serves it. But last May, after fourteen years as a broker/owner in Chapel Hill, I sold my firm and joined NC REALTORS® to work on government affairs. This marks the first time I had worked for someone other than myself since 1995. Not unexpectedly, the decision has prompted many to ask why I made the move. Let me explain. For years I volunteered on NC REALTORS® Legislative Committee, serving three times as chair. When given the chance to work full time on issues which significantly affect our customers, clients and REALTORS®, I jumped at the opportunity. We can all recite what those issues are. As REALTORS®, we work to expand homeownership opportunity, bolster private property owners’ rights and foster productive regulation of our profession. But do we all truly understand why these are so fundamentally important? It’s instinctual for REALTORS® to appreciate homeownership. We see its impact on the faces of customers every day. A home is the nesting place of our lives. It provides a psychological and emotional sanctuary. It’s been described as a place “where our feet may leave but not our hearts.” A home serves as a vessel for our personal expression. We make our world within its walls. Over time, it reflects who we are. It is, as someone once remarked, our third skin. Beyond those personal benefits, a home also imparts more tangible value. Home equity is far and away the largest component of household wealth in our country. The security and stability of homeownership contribute to better health and greater achievement for families, especially children. Communities profit from higher levels of civic engagement from homeowners. Is it any wonder why we, as REALTORS®, strive to give as many people who want to own a home the option to buy one? Of course, homeownership wouldn’t be possible if people didn’t have the right to own private property. But the importance of private property owners’ rights extends much further. Private property owners’ rights are so integral to our way of life they can be traced all the way back to the Magna Carta— the birthplace of our liberty. Who owns the fruits of your labor? Who controls your life? For millennia, someone else did. A king, a dictator, an oppressive regime. That remains the case for many around the world today. But this is not true in America, where our freedom is preserved by the rule of law protecting our property rights.
We work. We create. We enjoy. What we own is our property, by right. Private property owners’ rights are also required for a free economy. Who would invest in a venture if it can be expropriated at the whim of another? Protecting these rights is the first step to economic vitality. As this principle has spread around the globe, hundreds of millions of lives have been lifted out of poverty. Conversely, look at the destitute nations today and they all have one thing in common—property is the province of the rulers, not the people. Moreover, private property owners’ rights underpin our other rights. We cannot enjoy freedom of speech if government can arbitrarily take the property of the press. Similarly, freedom of religion is smothered when places of worship aren’t safe from government confiscation. All our rights, property at the center of them, are inextricably tied together. At the conception of our nation, Thomas Jefferson memorialized its bedrock doctrine: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is not a coincidence that his phrase captures our principles. Without private property owners’ rights, we have no liberty and many choose to pursue happiness by exercising those rights through homeownership. As REALTORS®, let us not forget that what we work so hard to promote and defend are central to the way of life we are privileged and fortunate to enjoy. The last aspect of our government affairs work is to preserve our profession. While our Code of Ethics provides self-imposed regulation, the government's duty to protect the public prompts it to regulate us as well. Regulation, by definition, curtails freedom and too often can get out of hand. We strive to keep government rules focused on its worthy goal and away from unnecessary restriction on our worthy work. We want government regulation to be complementary, not constraining. Homeownership. Private property owners’ rights. Productive regulation. That’s our charge. I took this job to join a dedicated team which marshals the many resources you provide in defense and promotion of these critical issues. We work hard every day on behalf of you and those you serve. I can't think of anything I’d rather be doing. Thank you for the opportunity and thank you for the support you give NC REALTORS®. # ncrealtors.org • INSIGHT 11
