in this issue…
Putting a Face on Real Estate since 1995™
• Capital Title Grand Opening • Gracy Title Economic Forecast • NAHREP "Back to School" Fundraiser • and much, much more!
Associates in Progress
Associates in Progress
page 25
TM
page 29
SEPTEMBER 2011 • VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 5
Give to PAC: Protect Livelihood
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ou buy insurance for your car, your home—even your life. Wouldn’t it also make sense to carry insurance to protect your business? Investing in your political action committee (PAC) is an insurance investment in your business and in the industry as a whole. PACs are nonpartisan entities. Their purpose is to raise funds to give home industry professionals a voice, to protect private property rights for everyone in Texas, and to support political candidates who have similar goals and opinions on
issues that affect homeownership, homebuilding and real estate. Both the Texas Association of REALTORS (TAR) and the Texas Association of Builders (TAB) are dedicated to creating a positive environment in the housing industry by addressing the housing issues of Texans. Both organizations have an affiliated PAC – TREPAC for REALTORS, and HomePAC for builders.
Board of REALTORS (ABoR), office of government affairs and TREPAC work hand in hand in engaging elected officials and bureaucrats in crafting public policy that will help REALTORS
TREPAC The Texas Real Estate Politcal Action Committee (TREPAC) is a voluntary, nonprofit, unincorporated group built of REALTORS and other interested parties who share a common goal of protecting and preserving private property rights. TREPAC fights hard to ensure that your interests as a REALTOR or broker, as well as the interests of all homeowners, are protected on the local, national and state level. TREPAC provides REALTORS with proactive insurance against bad policies that would undermine property rights and constrain REALTORS in conducting their business. The Austin Printed on recycled paper.
by Stacy Stroud
and all others in the industry. The organization is fully staffed to allow REALTORS to participate without interrupting their business. Every two years, TREPAC visits the state legislature with over 70,000 REALTORS in attendance. As the advocacy muscle behind ABoR, TAR, and National Association of REALTORS (NAR), TREPAC has defeated proposals to implement a transfer tax, helped lower property taxes and exempt personal autos from ad valorem (property) taxes, as well as block a tax on commissions. Among other recent major TREPAC accomplishments are clarifying an exemption for real estate brokerage in the Deceptive
Trade Practices Act (which means that if you’re an honest and ethical REALTOR, you can no longer be held liable under the DTPA and are awarded the same rights as other professionals), making the Texas Real Estate Commission a self-directed, semi-independent state agency, and increasing c o n s u m e r protection standards by amending the TREC education and licensing g u i d el i ne s . To understand the scope of how these legislative victories have helped your business, check out the TREPAC calculator at www.abor.com/ gov_affairs/trepac. After interviewing political candidates on local, state, and national levels, respectively, local boards such as ABoR and WCAoR, as well as TAR and NAR make recommendations to TREPAC for endorsement; in turn, TREPAC’s financial contributions help elect political candidates who support private property rights. Many of the issues affected by PAC lobbying have less of a direct impact on the industry itself and are more about assuring that in an economy of budgetstrapped government entities and rising taxes, Texans can continue to buy and sell without being overtaxed. Many victories, such as protection of the Homestead Act, have helped keep the cost of
Front Page: Cont. on pg. 12
Upcoming Events Tuesday, September 20 NARPM Monthly Luncheon Balcones Country Club - 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, September 21 RE/MAX Power Start Class Norris Conference Center - 9 a.m. NAHREP Monthly Luncheon Cool River Café - 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. AYREP Casino Night and Fashion Show Charity Event Monte Vista Condos - 5:30 to 9 p.m. HBA Annual BBQ Bash and Elected Officials Appreciation Night HBA Office - 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, September 22 WCAoR “Pardner Up” Networking Event WCAoR Office - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, September 26 ABoR -TREPAC Golf Tournament Balcones Country Club - 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 27 HBA Golf Extravaganza Forest Creek Golf Club - 12 to 9 p.m. Thursday, September 29 WCR Business Luncheon Cool River Café - 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sente Mortgage Power Luncheon Sente Mortgage Office - 12 to 1 p.m. Tuesday, October 4 WCR Bras for a Cause Maggianos Little Italy - 6 to 11 p.m. Thursday, October 13 HBA “Strike Against Hunger” Charity Bowling Tournament Showplace Lanes - 6 to 10 p.m. More at www.myRealtyLine.com