PROView - February 2009 - (Page 9) created a pilot program in which Fannie Mae would pre-approve short sale prices of homes, in which mortgage companies allow homeowners to sell their house for less than the amount owed. If successful, this program may be replicated on a national level and would greatly reduce the time a short sale takes by reducing the negation between homeowners and banks. I also want to update you on what is happening in the state of Florida. There is a wave of activity in Tallahassee in preparation for the start of the 2009 legislative session. The news that State Farm is withdrawing its property insurance division from the state will be a hot button issue. State Farm has submitted a plan to the office of insurance regulation in Tallahassee to phase out all of its property insurance lines over the next two and half years. There is already discussion to try to limit how quickly State Farm can drop its property insurance policies. There is also some scuttlebutt that there will be legislation filed that would prevent insurance companies from cherry picking what kind of plans they write. Currently an insurance company can choose to write auto, health, and life insurance lines which are traditionally the most profitable lines of insurance and not write property insurance which is traditionally much more risky and less profitable. This anti-cherry picking legislation would require insurance companies entering the Florida market that write property insurance in other states to write property insurance in Florida. The FAR public policy committee and board of directors voted at the mid-year meeting to support several pieces of legislation. One bill in particular that could have a rather large impact on your business. The legislation is House Bill (HB) 521. HB 521 would require property appraisers to use only market rental income in arriving at the value of income generating properties. What this boils down to is many of you who have rental properties that are taxed on the value of the property, and in many cases the rental payment does not cover the mortgage payment, if HB 521 were to pass you would be taxed on the rental properties income not the value. For many of you this may mean lower property taxes in 2010. The Pinellas REALTOR® Organization Recommends Candidate in Dunedin Mayoral Race Earlier this month the Board of Directors of the PINELLAS REALTOR® ORGANIZATION announced its recommendation of Dave Eggers for the Dunedin Mayoral race. “Mr. Eggers is extremely informed on the issues facing Dunedin and has strong background in local government and community involvement,” said Victor Adamo, Chairman of the Board. “After interviewing all candidates we based our decision to support Eggers because of his long history of public service, fiscal responsibility, and strong track record on issues affecting the real estate industry,” he added. Ann Guiberson, PRO President/CEO, Dunedin Mayoral Candidate Eggers, and Tom Shelly, 2009 PRO Public Policy Committee Chair. The Governmental Affairs Blog keeps you updated with information about national, state, and local legislative issues related to the real estate industry and the REALTOR® profession. Want to follow the legislative process? Stay tuned to the Governmental Affairs Blog. Go to blogs.tampabayrealtor.com. PINELLAS REALTOR® ORGANIZATION February 2009 9 http://blogs.tampabayrealtor.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PROView - February 2009 PROView - February 2009 Contents Chairman’s Notes Feature Story PROActive Marketplace Analysis Home Sales Report MLS Update Mind Your Manners Calendar of Events & Programs Brokerage Design Marketing PROView - February 2009 PROView - February 2009 - PROView - February 2009 (Page Cover1) PROView - February 2009 - PROView - February 2009 (Page Cover2) PROView - February 2009 - Contents (Page 1) PROView - February 2009 - Chairman’s Notes (Page 2) PROView - February 2009 - Chairman’s Notes (Page 3) PROView - February 2009 - Feature Story (Page 4) PROView - February 2009 - Feature Story (Page 5) PROView - February 2009 - Feature Story (Page 6) PROView - February 2009 - Feature Story (Page 7) PROView - February 2009 - PROActive (Page 8) PROView - February 2009 - PROActive (Page 9) PROView - February 2009 - PROActive (Page 10) PROView - February 2009 - PROActive (Page 11) PROView - February 2009 - Marketplace Analysis (Page 12) PROView - February 2009 - Home Sales Report (Page 13) PROView - February 2009 - MLS Update (Page 14) PROView - February 2009 - Mind Your Manners (Page 15) PROView - February 2009 - Mind Your Manners (Page 16) PROView - February 2009 - Calendar of Events & Programs (Page 17) PROView - February 2009 - Brokerage Design (Page 18) PROView - February 2009 - Brokerage Design (Page 19) PROView - February 2009 - Marketing (Page 20) PROView - February 2009 - Marketing (Page 21) PROView - February 2009 - Marketing (Page Cover3) PROView - February 2009 - Marketing (Page Cover4)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.