Earlier this month, the National Association of Realtors sent their delegation to visit all Members of Congress and Senate to discuss issues vital to homeownership in the United States. I visited with Congressman Howard Coble (NC), whose district includes Alamance, Guilford, and Moore Counties, and his staff.

All in all it was a great visit! Here are 5 points we covered this year:

• Short Sales – With almost 30% of all sales in North Carolina and South Carolina being distressed sales, and with an average time of 345 days to get these sales to the closing table, something needs to be done to speed up this process for today’s buyers. Solution = require a 45-day to 60-day approval process that brings certainty to the closing.
• The Future of the Secondary Mortgage Market – Reform of GSE’s (Government Sponsored Enterprise) such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is all the rage in Washington, D.C.  There are currently over nine different bills addressing this reform.  The Federal Government must continue to provide a key role in the secondary mortgage market in order to ensure there is capital for mortgage lending in all markets.  Without this backing, the days of the 30-year mortgage could be coming to an end.  Reform is needed, but we need a new strategy to ensure affordability for mortgage money in today’s economy.
• Access to Affordable Mortgage Products – Current mortgage loan limits for FHA and GSE’s are expiring this fall which means that the current loan limit of $417,000 across the country could be in jeopardy.  The reset would be 125% of the current median price in your local community. That could reset many NC and SC loan limits to below $150,000 for FHA/GSE, which would lock out a large section of the real estate market for affordable loan products. Another key piece is the Dodd-Frank Act, which has some federal regulators requiring a 20% down-payment for Qualified Residential Mortgages (QRM).  Not only could the loan limits decrease significantly as described above, the buyers could be forced to bring more down-payment to the closing table.  A double whammy our real estate markets cannot afford.
• Affordable and Available Property Insurance – The National Flood Insurance Program provides affordable flood insurance for homeowners across the country, and the funding for this program will expire this fall.  We look to provide long-term stability and accessibility to this insurance by extending funding for this program for five-years versus a year-by-year extension.
• Preserving Home Ownership Tax Benefits – Mortgage interest deduction and the property tax deduction have been a part of our tax code for decades, and are deeply woven into the economic fabric.  Reducing, eliminating, or otherwise changing the value of the mortgage interest deduction will cause the value of housing to drop even more – perhaps as much as 15% in some markets.  This decline would be in addition to the 30% decline that many markets have already experienced.  Modification of tax benefits will cause a decline in housing sales as well.

As you can see, there are very important issues impacting homeownership in the United States.  Our Government has a lot of important decisions to make in the coming months, and we hope to protect and preserve homeownership as those decisions are made.

Now as for Lyle Lovett visiting Capitol Hill with me….while visiting with Congressman Coble and his staff, our meeting was interrupted by the Congressman’s Chief of Staff, Ed McDonald.  Ed told the Congressman his good friend from Texas dropped by to say hello.  And in walks Lyle Lovett.  Confirming what we in NC have always known….Congressman Howard Coble is a rock-star!!

By Tony Jarrett