Monthly Archives: November 2016

Huntsville REALTORS® Build Partnerships and Promote Diversity in Northern Alabama

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Recognizing that minority representation in its leadership didn’t accurately reflect the diversity of its membership, its community and the real estate industry at large, the Huntsville Area Association of REALTORS® (HAAR) has embarked on a determined initiative to encourage the engagement of minorities in its leadership structure. Under the direction of 2016 HAAR President Kathy Mann, the first African American woman to serve in the position, the association is using a Diversity Grant from the REALTOR® Party to help revive the local chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), the historic organization founded by African-American industry professionals in 1947. In partnership, the REALTORS® and the REALTISTS®, as NAREB members are known, are moving toward a stronger future in northern Alabama.

Mann explains the impetus behind HAAR’s support of NAREB: When she became president of HAAR, one of her goals was increasing its minority membership involvement and leadership. A work group was formed to help find solutions to getting more minority members engaged with the association and how to help address issues in the community such as improving minority homeownership and affordable housing. “Four years ago, I learned about NAREB and attended a national meeting. I loved what it stood for, and what it was accomplishing as a national organization focused on economic opportunity for all,” she says. The work group decided that revitalizing the local NAREB chapter that already existed would be the perfect solution. HAAR member April Parker was elected as the new president of the Huntsville Association of Real Estate Brokers (HAREB,) which now numbers fourteen members.

HAAR Chief Executive Josh McFall says that at the board level, the association is constantly looking to get new people involved. “NAREB is a great channel to expand our leadership with professionals of diverse perspective and experience,” he says. “We’re proud to be able to support our local chapter with outreach and training that will help its members succeed and, hopefully, join our efforts.” In July 2016, Parker, Mann and McFall worked together to apply for a Diversity Grant from the REALTOR® Party to support leadership training and community outreach for the local REALTIST® board, activities that coincide with the NAR Core Standards requirements.

When the grant was received, Mann and Parker hit the ground running. They’ll soon be launching a membership drive among contractors and other professionals associated with the real estate industry, to increase participation in HAREB. In early November, HAAR supported a regional NAREB leadership event in Birmingham, which was attended by eleven of the fourteen current HAREB members, and where Parker shared information with her fellow leaders about partnering with local REALTOR® Associations. She has planned training sessions throughout 2017 that will cover leadership principles and practices, business etiquette and professionalism, how to set up a business, and tax and finance issues. All the training will be hosted at the HAAR offices. The HAAR Board of Directors has also granted one HAREB member ex-officio non-voting status on its board, giving the new leader valuable insight into the governance of the REALTOR® Association.  Says Parker, “We’re bringing together a group of passionate people.  As we reach out to real estate professionals in our community, they’re excited about these opportunities, and the inclusion. Several of our HAREB members are already serving on HAAR committees!”

For local consumers, Parker has developed a two-part series on homeownership and credit-worthiness that was so well received at a local church, that HAREB has been invited to present it at a local college, and to high school seniors and their parents at a local school. “That’s our goal,” she says, “reaching the community that our members will serve. Thanks to all we’re able to do with this grant from the REALTOR® Party, they’ll be prepared, and so will we.  I'm so grateful to Josh, Kathy and HAAR for recognizing the importance of NAREB being part of the REALTOR® Association.”

To learn more about how the REALTORS® of Huntsville, Alabama are strengthening their community by supporting diversity in their industry, contact HAAR President Kathy Mann at kathydmann@gmail.com, HAREB President April Parker at aprilparker@usa.com, or HAAR Chief Executive Officer Josh McFall at 256-536-3334 or josh@hbrmls.com.

Virginia REALTORS® Join in Partnership to Address Rural Housing Opportunities

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Early this year, when a string of deadly tornados struck Virginia, the REALTORS® set out in force, providing relief in affected areas. That’s when leaders at the Virginia Association of REALTORS® (VAR) were first struck by the isolation and vulnerability of many rural regions across the Commonwealth.  “The lack of connectivity made it an extraordinary challenge getting resources to those who needed them,” recalls Claire Forcier-Rowe, now President of VAR. “We were just short of door-knocking.” So, when the non-profit organization Housing Virginia approached VAR to partner in a Rural Housing Initiative grant it had received from the USDA, the association agreed wholeheartedly.

Tornados aside, identifying and addressing the needs of rural housing is critical, as it pertains to at-risk populations, and as a basic component of community sustainability throughout the Virginia countryside. As the state attempts to bring prosperity to its rural zones, any economic development projects will rely on viable housing for a prospective workforce.

VAR was one of the organizations that founded Housing Virginia, a statewide clearinghouse of housing resources and information, and the two entities have worked closely together for more than a decade on numerous projects. For this one, triggered by the USDA grant, VAR identified five local associations that operate in rural localities and helped them to apply for Housing Opportunity Grants from the REALTOR® Party. The Greater Piedmont Association of REALTORS®, Southside Virginia Association of REALTORS®, Chesapeake Bay & Rivers Association of REALTORS®, Southwest Virginia Association of REALTORS® and the Martinsville, Henry & Patrick Counties Association of REALTORS® were each awarded grants of $1,000, and together with VAR and Housing Virginia, conducted a series of Rural Housing Forums across the state to address housing challenges particular to rural areas.

For three of these associations, it was the first time reaching out to request resources from the REALTOR® Party, and that success, in itself, was a powerful boost for their confidence in leveraging future REALTOR® resources. Over the course of the summer, that esteem only grew as their respective forums gained momentum and resulted in a body of valuable findings that was presented to the Governor’s Housing Conference in November, together with a set of preliminary recommendations.

Each of the forums was hosted by the local REALTOR® Association at a no-cost venue, and attracted between 30 to 65 citizen stakeholders, government officials and housing lenders. At each location, Virginia Housing Executive Director Bob Adams presented a program using statistical information based on VAR’s housing data for the particular region, and group discussions were conducted around a series of pre-determined questions. Participants tackled a number of difficult issues that contribute to increasing housing-vulnerability for rural residents. 

In general, the forums uncovered that the overall quality of rural housing stock is in decline, and the availability of affordable housing is extremely limited. The diminishing inventory forces rural population egress, leaving behind a disproportionate aging population, which in turn causes a drain on public social services. At the same time, the severe lack of affordable rental housing in most rural areas feeds a vicious cycle: there simply isn’t the population present to create a demand for developers to build the units.

At this high-level information-gathering stage, the local associations agree, results aren’t going to happen tomorrow, but acquainting policy-makers with the valuable data collected at the forums is an important first step towards addressing the real needs of many Virginia communities. So is increasing public awareness, and just prior to the Governor’s Housing Conference, The Roanoke Times published an op-ed about the findings written by Kit Hale, a VAR past president and the chair of Housing Virginia. “We are thrilled that NAR is supportive of this undertaking to call attention to small communities, whose housing challenges are often overshadowed by those of denser areas,” Forcier-Rowe says. “At a policy-level, and at a humanitarian level, it’s been great to see people come to the table and face these challenges,” she adds. “By working to understand the present needs of our rural neighbors, we are honoring the legacy of rural Virginia, and conserving the integrity of rural communities for future generations.”

To learn more about how Virginia REALTORS® are working to focus attention on the challenges of housing affordability and availability in their state’s rural areas, contact Jenny Wortham, the Virginia Association of REALTORS®’ Director of Community Outreach, at (804) 262-3755.

South Padre Island REALTORS® Uses Land Use Initiative to Overturn Short-Term Rental Registration Ordinance

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Located off the southernmost tip of Texas, South Padre Island is such a popular resort area that when a new Short-Term Rental Registration Ordinance was adopted by its City Council last year, it affected the vast majority of the island's residential properties. Thanks to the REALTOR® Party’s Land Use Initiative, the South Padre Island Board of REALTORS® (SPIBOR) was able to overturn several provisions of the ordinance it found overly restrictive. In doing so, not only did the 120-member board succeed in protecting the rights of property owners, but it gained new respect from the city, which now looks to the REALTORS® as the voice of real estate in the community.

Lindsey Martinez, SPIBOR's Association Executive, admits that as a relatively new board, she and her team were caught off-guard by the new ordinance; fortunately, their field rep from the Texas Association of REALTORS® (TAR) had their backs. “He was super-involved,” says Martinez, “and he clued us in to how detrimental these short-term rental ordinances could be.”  For her part, she quickly got up to speed by reading the standards established by the national and state associations, and with the guidance of the field rep and Government Affairs staff at TAR, applied to the REALTOR® Party for a Land Use Initiative review. 

SPIBOR submitted the approved ordinance to Robinson & Cole, the law firm retained by the National Association of REALTORS® to advise state and local associations on land use legislation.  Martinez was amazed by the speed and thoroughness of the response.  “We received the review back much sooner than expected, and it was perfectly clear and easy to follow,” she says. “Not only that, but they caught a number of issues that we hadn’t noticed.  For a small board like ours, with limited resources, the Land Use Initiative provided invaluable expertise."

Armed with the legal review, SPIBOR met informally with members of the City Council, who were also impressed by the value of the Robinson & Cole comments. The situation wasn’t adversarial at all, notes Martinez, but more about opening lines of communication. “While we would have preferred to have had the entire ordinance repealed,” she says, “it wasn’t feasible at that point, so we focused on issues of safety and fees. They were very receptive.” In fact, reviewing the objections together, she recalls, the Council Members said about one after another, ‘Hey that wasn’t our intent!’

All eight members of SPIBOR's board of directors joined Martinez at the City Council meeting on October 19, when the amendment proposing its requested changes to the ordinance was on the agenda.  Another REALTOR®, one of several who are property managers, spoke during the public comments. The amendment was easily approved, and the City Attorney commended the REALTORS® for their public-spirited assistance in what he called “clean-up and clarification” of the ordinance.

SPIBOR’s success in amending the Short-Term Rental Registration Ordinance benefits all the property owners of South Padre Island, including the many who live elsewhere and may not be paying attention to local politics and policies. The victory has also boosted the small association’s confidence in its own powers of political advocacy. In upholding NAR’s Core Standards, SPIBOR was already working hard to be the island’s voice for real estate by posting market statistics on social media and drafting articles for the local newspaper. But thanks to its involvement in revising the problematic ordinance, the city now regards the REALTORS® as valuable partners. “The day after the October City Council meeting, the City Manager, who is new in the position, invited us to meet with her; moving forward, she’ll be looking to us as a resource,” says Martinez, noting that Council Members also expressed the hope that SPIBOR would continue to be involved in city business.

“We have such great leaders at TAR, and we could not have done this without their hard work and guidance—or without the resources of the REALTOR® Party,” she says. 

To learn more about how the South Padre Island Board of REALTORS® used REALTOR® Party resources to protect the rights of rental property owners in its small resort community, contact Association Executive Lindsey Martinez at lindsey@spirealtors.com or 956-772-1940.