Senators Durbin, Snowe, and Lincoln Introduce S. 979, “The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP)”

On May 5, 2009, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) introduced legislation designed to make health insurance more available and affordable for the 14.0 million self-employed individuals, as well as the 47.0 million employees of the nation’s 5.9 million small businesses, for consideration in the upcoming Congressional health care reform debate.  

S. 979, the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), addresses the number one problem for many small businesses and the self-employed, the high cost of providing health care coverage, by:

• Allowing the self-employed and small businesses to band together across state lines and spread the risk over a large number of participants in order to obtain lower premiums.
• Providing tax credits for the self-employed and small business owners to offset contributions to employee premiums.
• Banning health status rating in order to protect the self-employed and small businesses from large rate increases.

“NAR, for many years, has been advocating changes to the U.S. healthcare system that will make health care insurance more available and affordable to millions of self employed individuals and small businesses. We believe that the SHOP Act, reintroduced today by Senator’s Durbin, Snowe and Lincoln, recognizes the unique challenges that face the nation’s self-employed who have no employer to contribute to the cost of their health insurance premiums. The SHOP Act’s reform concept provides a workable blueprint that must be incorporated into the larger debate and legislation of reforms to this nation’s health care system,” said Charles McMillan, NAR’s President.

A diverse coalition of stakeholders from across the political spectrum and each with their own priorities for broader reform have joined together to support the SHOP bill. In addition to NAR, the bill was also endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business, tthe Service Employees International Union, the National Partnership for Women & Families, Families USA, and the National Restaurant Association.

Source: NAR - The Washington Report, May 11, 2009

Many more New Mexican’s will be able to take advantage of the Federal First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit through a state program to get money upfront for a down payment.

Here is an article from the Washington Post describing how several states have put programs in place to help the home buyer get funds up front, read more 

For more information on the New Mexico “Tax Credit Loan Program” go here, read more.

Just a reminder, to completely avoid the confusion about what violates fair housing and what doesn’t…just describe the property!!  Penalties: Civil action fines up to $11,500 for the first offense and up to $50,000 for repeated offenses, unlimited punitive damages if the case proceeds to federal court, loss of a real estate agent’s professional license, compensation, etc.  Here are a few articles Fair Housing and MLS, 67 Agreed Upon Words with HUD, HUD - Fair Housing, and NAR’s Field Guide to Fair Housing.

At the RANM Spring Meeting the Hotline Attorney Ashley Strauss-Martin covered Manufactured Housing in her Legal Update. 

Due to RANM’s challenge to the Mfg Housing Division for real estate brokers to sell manufactured housing - there are no longer any requirements for a permanent foundation, taxed as real property or deactivated title for RE Brokers to sell (though may still be required for financing!).  What is required by the Mfg Housing Division is “installation as approved by the committee“, in other words, preparation by installer of MH site, construction of tie-down facilities and connection to on-site utility terminals - all required to have a passing installation permit.  Before a real estate broker can sell (list or bring offers) a Manufactured Home they must confirm installation has been approved by a MH Division Inspector; in other words have documentation of installation permit on file!! 

If owner does not have records then owner will have to pass an installation inspection prior to a real estate broker listing their MH.  Cooperating real estate brokers cannot bring any offers on an unpermited MH.  Ashley reported that the MH Inspector can (and has recently in many circumstances in the southern part of the state) cut off connection to onsite utilities if they are defective or faulty if he determines is dangerous to life or property.  The one MH per year per Brokerage still applies, however if you list one MH and it doesn’t sell that is your one exemption per 12-months. 

Ashley says the RANM MH Task Force is still waiting on the MH Division’s official position on property management of MH, however they have implied a willingness to correct the regulations to allow property management.  Once more… here are the most recent RANM Legal Updates on Manufactured Housing: MH Q&A and MH Background. 

The NM Manufactured Housing Division website is here:  http://www.rld.state.nm.us/mhd/index.htm - call them if you have any technical questions or complaints!!

Gov. Bill Richardson and the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority announced a loan program Tuesday that will help lower-and middle-income New Mexicans make a down payment in buying their first house.  Read more…

In the home loan department these days FHA seems to be the only game in town or at least that is what I am hearing from many of my members.  I came across several tidbits on FHA today that I thought I would share…

The National Association of REALTORS® President Charles McMillan sent a letter to US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan requesting that FHA be permitted to utilize its authority and permit FHA financing that would effectively result in monetizing the federal tax credit currently available to first-time homebuyers. Monetizing the tax credit through a loan combined with FHA’s low 3.5 percent down payment requirement offers strong incentive to buyers who would otherwise not purchase a home this year. NAR estimates that hundreds of thousands of buyers will take advantage of the tax credit. During confirmation hearings, Mr. Donovan stated that FHA has the discretion to permit this type of financing mechanism. FHA regulations permit a borrower to use loan proceeds for a home purchase as long as the loan is “secured by property or collateral owned by the borrower independently of the mortgaged property.” Loans may be used for a down payment on FHA-insured mortgages, and secured by the mortgaged property, in certain circumstances. (source NAR)

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that effective April 1, 2009, the loan-to-value (LTV) of any cash out refinance to be insured by FHA cannot exceed 85 percent of the appraised value of the home. As well, if new subordinate financing is offered by the mortgagee, the combined loan-to-value (CLTV) is limited to 85 percent. In Mortgagee Letter 2009-08, HUD states this temporary action is a result of the continuing deterioration of the housing market and the need to limit FHA’s exposure to the risk of this market. HUD specified underwriting and eligibility requirements to participate in a cash-out refinance. Borrowers living in the house less than 12 months are limited to a refinance amount that is the lesser of 85 percent of appraised value or 85 percent of the sale price when the property was acquired. A second appraisal is required on refinances that exceed $417,000. Delinquent borrowers are ineligible for a cash-out refinance. (source HUD Mortgagee Letter )

The National Association of REALTORS® President Charles McMillan sent a letter to US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan requesting that FHA accept paper copies of documents with electronic signatures as part of the case binder submission for mortgage insurance. While FHA does not currently accept this practice, the use of e-signatures for real estate documents is widely accepted by other financial and lending institutions. (source NAR)

FHA loans for Manufactured Homes: Effective October 20, 2008, the Manufactured Home Installation Program will be available to ensure that states have in place a minimum installation standard and an operating installation program. For states where HUD will administer the Manufactured Home Installation Program, HUD will ensure that trainers of installers planning to work in HUD-administered states are registered with HUD, and that persons planning to install homes in HUD-administered states are licensed by HUD. Read more… (source HUD)

How many REALTOR® members realize they have access to a vast online librarycourtesy of the National Association of REALTORS®?  Many of the periodicals are at no-cost some have a nominal fee. There are a number of delivery formats available including Adobe PDF e-Book and Overdrive audio books. 

Here is a listing of just some of the collections: Residential Real Estate, Commercial/Investment, Sales & Marketing, Finance & Economics, Technology, Leadership and Management, International and last but not least Personal Growth. 

Click here for the Quick Start Guide.

Click here to go to NAR’s ebooks homepage.

Click here to go to e-Review section on REALTOR.org.

I just returned from NAR’s Association Executive Institute in Colorado Springs.  It was a great conference!  The host location for all the meetings was the Broadmoor.  The facilities were nice for a meeting of this size.  I just wish I could have been able to stay at the Broadmoor, however the rooms were booked so I stayed closer into town.  The opening session was one of the highlights of the meeting for me.  The keynote address given by Nido Qubein was right on.  I wrote down a lot of his quotes, “out of adversity can emerge phenomenal abundance.  We will come out smarter and more focused”, “who you spend time with is who you become”, “for the confident change is opportunity”, ”go beyond selling to positioning” and many more.  Several tips I came away with are: In these times we should be reading and listening more than ever.  Don’t become victims of the now.  Your beliefs will define your behaviour and instead of making “to do lists” make a “TO BE LIST”.

Other sessions I attended that I enjoyed were: Selling your association to your members, Road trip with Alice and Gar, Be a Wiki-Web wonder, Scaling new business models, Legislative advocacy lunch, Surviving a market change, A media makeover for your association and the NAR update lunch.  I did several sessions of the Social Media Lab including: Using social media, news flash, using Google aps and will you be my friend?  These were put on by NAR’s CRT folks and I learned a lot from them.

Because I am a note taker I have 14 pages of notes to refer back to and hopefully gain some insight and tips to use in my daily work.  The conference was great for giving me new ideas and new ways of looking at things to improve communication with my members and the public.  New ideas to draw people to the association website.  Tips for offering more for less.  Ways to organize the mounds of articles, newsletters, blogs, social networking sites that I look to for relevant information for my members.  Online applications that can make work flow easier between myself, the boards of directors and committees. And least but not last how to keep the association relevant and survive today’s market.

http://twitter.com/SCRAssocRealtor

Twitter is a free and easy-to-use “micro-blogging” site that allows people to send and receive short updates from multiple users.  Follow our Association Executive Kim Clark as she ”Twitters” – updates on the Silver City Regional Association of REALTORS, Inc.

NM Mortgage Finance Authority - First Time Homebuyer Course

Thursday, April 23rd 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

This certified course is designed to provide the real estate broker with practical information on the provisions and standards used in MFA financing for first-time homebuyers. Discover how easy it is to help clients realize the dream of homeownership while increasing your bottom line and receiving four hours of continuing education units.

Click here for registration form.