I received this in my email today.... and I see they have a "24 hour" plan to remove the over $250k limit on mortgage interest deduction....
What? I don't agree...no one asked me... I pay association dues.
Could it be b/c Paradise Valley, AZ (the $2mil neighborhood of homes) is actually seeing an increase in sales volume and prices... rebounding already? The rich?
While the median home price in Phoenix fell 51% last year? Come on.... the "class war" is getting just a little obvious......
I am posting this so the Obama staff (or whoever reads this) has a heads up and knowledge that the NAR does not speak for all realtors (even though we have to join).
Many in the trenches think it is time to stop the "trickle up" economics of the last few decades...even if it means we lose money and can't recover it...
I personally am looking to my kids future... and I do not want them with the same quiet resignation my dad had... beaten down by a society that will trample it's own in the stampede for stuff....
text in diary body:
Dear Fellow REALTOR®,
You may have seen news reports about President Obama’s budget proposal that was released today at 11:30 AM Eastern Time. A small section of the sweeping budget plan has the potential to become a major impediment to a recovery in real estate markets across the nation. NAR is 100% opposed to the provision that modifies the Mortgage Interest Deduction and is prepared to use its formidable array of resources against its enactment.
As currently drafted, the plan changes the Mortgage Interest Deduction by reducing the amount of mortgage interest deductible for families earning over $250,000. This proposed change in the Mortgage Interest Deduction will result in further erosion of home prices and home values. If this proposal is enacted it will lead to a new round of price depreciation, will cause greater distress on the balance sheets of banks as the collateral value of mortgage backed securities declines. A second credit crisis could emerge before the first one is resolved.
As you read this NAR is launching a multiphase plan of action to eliminate this provision from the budget plan. In the next 24 hours, NAR will be expressing our concerns directly to President Obama, to all members of the United States House of Representatives and the Senate, placing advertisements in the publications read by Washington, DC decision makers. Additionally, NAR will be forming a coalition with other groups affected by this proposal.
This communication is the first part of our response, we will continue to update you as the situation and events warrant.
Sincerely,
Charles McMillan, CIPS, GRI
2009 NAR President
p.s. here is a comment I want to make b/c well.. I find that I am most relevant when I speak from my heart and I realize in my response to a comment (by the way some great analysis thank you for responding) ... so if you are in the mood for a personal reflection read on, if not skip to what others have to say on the policy issue!
I came by my realty license as a collateral of solo law.. . when trying to get started (I had given up on an Environmental Law job in the Bush era) a very rich man ($450mil) paid for my license, so I could "deal" for him in AZ - this is back in 2003...
His first 'deal?" He asked me to make an offer to a 70+ year old rancher for his entire ranch an amount about 1/7th of then market..he explained to me he had discovered that elderly farm/ranch owners were often willing to sell very low just to 'finalize' details before they died.
On the drive out I recalled my youth.. my great grandmother's hand built cabin, the apple trees she planted, her 'visiting corn cob pipe' (it had a mouthpiece that was almost two feet long and curved so she could sit and smoke without a movement...), her floral pattern sun bonnet and the musty smell of dung and old leather ox yokes hanging in the barn. I began to cry.
I was born on a farm...then (pre 1950's) almost 35% of American's were born on family farms...today it is less than 1%..... I have a BS in Ag...and sat in the same classes as Gore in the 70's... and have known for a long time our trajectory.....and here now I had an opportunity to act...but, it meant I would not earn any money.
I turned my car around..called the guy and told him I couldn't do it....(weirdly he contacted me 8 months ago to buy foreclosures for him...at $20/hr! I said no.).
I haven't been a total slob through the Bush years... I have been vocal and it has cost me a great deal in this GOP haven.... but, this one...
I recall why my family wanted to own homes and immigrated to America b/c of this (only 40% of Americans do... it was 48% until this default crisis) ..
Owning your home lifts one from tenant/peasant to freeman in our society...you can't be kicked out and if you are frugal can own in full before you are too old too compete you might die in relative comfort...land ownership is/was the safety net that the powerful (royalty, etc) controlled.....the ability to provide for one's own via the resources under your control....
a bit of nostalgic tangent/rant... I find under the stress of "collapse of the free markets" I spend a lot more time reflecting about my core values...