This week, approximately 25 REALTOR members from Alaska will head to Washington D.C. for the annual National Association of REALTORS midyear meeting.  Included in the meeting will be a REALTOR Rally at the Washington Monument to show that REALTORS support homeownership.  They anticipate 10,000 REALTORS will attend the Rally.  We will also be visiting the Alaska delegation; Senator Begich, Senator Murkowski and Congressman Young.

We will be talking to them about the following issues that affect the real estate industry:

• Bolstering liquidity in the commercial and multifamily real estate market to avoid stalling our nation’s economic recovery;
• Ensure the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family program has the tools and policies in place to meet its mission of providing access to safe, affordable mortgage financing for qualified borrowers nationwide;
• The need for an extension of the tax relief provided in 2007 assuring that individuals in the process of foreclosure, short sales or loan modifications will pay no income tax on forgiven mortgage debt;
• Reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NIFP) to ensure access to affordable flood insurance;
• And to improve the short sales process, support the independence and integrity of appraisals, enact comprehensive reform of the government-sponsored enterprises (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), and have regulators establish Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) and Qualified Mortgage (QM) rules that allow reasonable access to credit for home buying consumers.