Call For Action: Pass HB 665

Please Help Us Pass HB 665, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit reform & oppose reducing the tax credit.

With likely only 17 session days to go, the possibility of enacting reforms to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program are still very much up in the air.

It is likely that on Wednesday, April 24, the Missouri House will take up HCS for HB 665, LIHTC reform. The substitute that passed out of the House Economic Development committee is like SB 28, Senate version of LIHTC reform but adds a requirement that the Missouri Housing Development Commission create an evaluation rubric and score all applications accordingly.

Currently, the credits are paid out over ten years, (the stream) every expert that I’ve asked believes any change in that plan will create uncertainties that will likely hurt the value of the credits. Rep. Derek Grier, Chairman of the Economic Development committee sincerely believes that moving the stream to six years will increase the amount of equity in the program.  Based on my research,I must respectfully disagree. Taken in isolation six years vs. ten years may appear to be reasonable but when you are dealing with a program this complex, in terms of the interaction with the federal program and with the Internal Revenue Service the best response is to take the most conservative approach and stay with a ten-year stream.

Representatives may offer other changes, but it is likely that few have the potential to do the damage to the program that changing the stream from ten to six will.  Because of this, there are only three “asks” in the email to your Representative. The first is to vote for the HCS; the second is to reject any attempt to change the stream of credits from the current ten-year plan; the third is to encourage your representative to support Rep. David Gregory’s position on any amendments. Rep. Gregory has spent significant time researching the issues involved, and he is uniquely qualified to make the analysis necessary on this legislation.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION NOW

NAR’s November Conference & Expo – A Letter from John Sebree

If you are looking for a reason to attend this year’s November Conference & Expo, read this letter from Missouri REALTORS® CEO, John Sebree.

Hello Missouri Realtors!

I just received a link to this fun video that features Missouri Realtors Past President Sharon Keating and others talking about the excitement of attending NAR’s 2017 REALTORS® Conference & Expo. Take two minutes to watch “8 Seconds,” a video promoting the Conference that will be held in Chicago in November.

And remember, Missouri’s own Elizabeth Mendenhall will be installed as 2018 President of the National Association of Realtors at the November Conference & Expo. Register for the Conference and the Installation Banquet using this link: REGISTER

As you may have seen here on The Landing, there is an effort to organize transportation to Chicago in November via Amtrak. 50 people will need to sign up take Amtrak. I encourage you to become a member of the 2017 NAR Conference & Expo community on The Landing so you can monitor the conversation. By joining this community you are not committing to taking the Amtrak.

In addition to the transportation discussion, we’ll continue to post updates on the Conference & Expo in that community.

Have a GREAT week!

John S

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John Sebree
MISSOURI REALTORS
Columbia MO
john@morealtor.com

Missouri REALTORS® 2017 Annual State Award Applications & Deadlines

Missouri REALTORS® is now accepting nominations for the following annual awards: REALTOR® of the Year, REALTOR® Salesperson of the Year, Richard A. Mendenhall Award, R. Layne Morrill Award, and Bruce Aydt Code of Ethics Leadership Award. To read more about each award, view past recipients and access the nomination forms, click on the respective text that is linked below. Please note the deadline for each award.  

The deadline to submit nominations for the following award is March 31, 2017.

REALTOR® Salesperson of the Year

The deadline to submit nominations for the following award is May 1, 2017.

REALTOR® of the Year

The deadline to submit nominations for the three awards listed below is June 1, 2017.

Richard A. Mendenhall Award
R. Layne Morrill Award
Bruce Aydt Code of Ethics Leadership Award


If you have any questions, you can contact Cara Harmon with Missouri REALTORS® at Cara@morealtor.com.