In a big win for REALTORS®, the National Flood Insurance Program will continue renewing or issuing new insurance for four more months under legislation overwhelmingly by the U.S. Senate today. The bill, which cleared the House last week, is expected to be signed into law before midnight tonight, when the program expires. "We applaud lawmakers for taking this needed action to...
Many homeowners have limits on their home insurance policies that are too low to cover the full cost of repairing or rebuilding in case of a natural disaster—and the problem is particularly alarming in areas at risk of hurricanes and flooding, The Wall Street Journal reports. Catastrophic damage left in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria last year revealed a widespread...
The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) needs your help to drive messages to Members of Congress urging them to support H.R. 2874, “The 21st Century Flood Reform Act." H.R. 2874 reauthorizes the NFIP and makes a number of critical improvements to the NFIP including increased funds for mitigation activities, caps on overall premium increases, improved claim and mapping processes, as well...
Mid-Session Update With a little over a month left in the legislative session this year, we want to take some time to update you on the progress of the bills we have been monitoring. The Legislative Policy Committee has reviewed 57 bills and has taken a position on 25 of them. We are in SUPPORT on 15, NEUTRAL on 5, and...
As of May 1, 2014, all buyers of older properties (“pre-FIRM”) will see a premium rate reduction under the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014. Instead of jumping to “full cost” for flood insurance, buyers will assume the seller’s Oct-2013 rate for a pre-FIRM property. NAR prevailed upon FEMA to implement this provision seven months early. FEMA also extended the rate relief...
HB 1311 Job Creation and Main Street Revitalization Act LPC voted to support HB14-1311, Concerning the credit against the state income tax for the costs incurred in connection with the preservation of historic structures, this week, which was introduced in the House and assigned to the Finance Committee. The bill establishes two eligibility pools for the commercial tax credit, one pool...
REALTOR® Day was a success! Thank you so much to everyone who attended REALTOR® Day at the Capitol this past Wednesday. We had over 200 attendees from all across the state, and had a very successful day speaking with our Legislators. We'd like to thank Alison Felix, Assistant Vice President and Denver Branch Executive at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas...
Pre-Registration for REALTOR® Day closes February 7th Please view a video invitation from Jeffrey Martin, 2014 Government Affairs Division Vice President, with information about key events at REALTOR Day. Don't miss the 2014 REALTOR® Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, February 26th at the McNichols Building and the State Capitol. Based on feedback received from local leadership, we have revamped this event...
Legislation is being considered to delay changes to the National Flood Insurance Program. Please Take Action today and tell your Member of Congress and Senators that NAR supports the “Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act.” Send Message » The Problem: Congress provided a 5-year reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), but severe implementation problems threaten to undermine real estate transactions where flood insurance...