Well, it feels like that today. After one week in Orlando and the last two days going non-stop from 7:00AM on I am officially exhausted. As Danny Glover said in lethal Weapon, I'm getting too old for this shit. yesterday was my last official day as an NAR Regional VP and after 15 years of solid volunteer work from the local to the state it is now time to pay back my wife for her support and stay home a bit more. I don't regret a minute of it but I am at the point for new blood to take over. I have seen may people at the NAR level having a hard time walking away and I may have a brief moment of a letdown at some point but my ego doesn't demand attention. Enough about me so let's get on to what I saw and what might be worth your time reading.
Restructuring the Board of Directors: An NAR advisory group decided that after 16 years without a policy change it was time to reconfigure how board members are chosen. It always bothers me that about 1/3 of the directors don't even show up even though the were appointed to do your business and represent you. Most local and state boards also support with some expenses to make it easier for you. After the BOD meeting and the delegate meeting it was decided not to accept the recommendation. It was not a vote against change which is sometimes hard to shallow, it was that the directors didn't feel like it solved a problem and they want more so back to the drawing board. Again, in my many years of being a director I promise you that democracy is always at work even though you may not agree with the decision.
A vote for an FHA appraisal change: One of the problems we have in representing the seller is when an FHA appraisal is short, the deal bust, and the appraisal stays with the property for 120 days. This can be harmful to the seller, and the time is too long, in fact the Board voted a mandate to lobby to rescind the appraisal staying with the property instead of with the buyer. I cans ee why there was some opposition since it should be about fairness but on this, I agreed.
RPAC Territorial Disputes: The problem with dense areas where there are multiple boards that can spend PAC money is when they cross jurisdictions to support a candidate without notifying the other board or opposing that board's choice. It may not surprise you that this was referred back to committee. Yes we should have political communication up front but what if there is a dispute, then how do you handle it without some guidance on arbitration or action? One suggestion is to let the state association be the mediator or arbitrator so this will be revisited in May in D.C.
Universal Studios Rides: Now you are probably saying what does this have to do with NAR and real estate? We had a night at Universal to REALTORS® only and I didn't have to stand in long lines to get to the Harry Potter Gringott's Bank Escape ride or The Transformers ride. They were both great fun but here is the point; If you want to see the future of virtual reality and augmented reality you need to do this. These 3D rides were thrilling. When the Snake at Gringotts was right in my face or when I was plunging down the side of a building at The Transformers it was to me very real. Now think about Google Earth being augmented where you are walking through a neighborhood as if you were there. Think about touring a house online with your REALTOR® in 3D even though you are in different cities or states and not only that changing colors on the fly, or repositioning furniture. I would say that we may be 5 years out on this or less. I saw the future on those rides and it thrilled me and terrified me at the same time.
Was it all worth it? This year alone I spent over 60 days in my duties in other states, at meetings, and that doesn't count the email reports, online meetings, and the thoughts that go into that. I have to tell you at the same time I was doing this, I was also in the midst of having the best and most profitable year in my 26 years of real estate. I know that sounds counter intuitive but here me out. My wife, a former restaurant owner says that in her experience when a restaurant is slow that is when you have the worst service and I have seen that many times. So when you are busy and I should include out 30 days of vacation per year, you Marshall your time much better and you build structures. No time should be wasted. The second part of this is exposure to what you don't know. Every time I have stepped up a bit further on board volunteerism I am exposed to some of the brightest minds, and an information flow second to none in real estate. I am not saying that NAR is perfect, but i do see some ignorant comments about NAR and what is provided. This is not for everybody otherwise everybody would be doing it. But if I know more, absorb more, get challenged more, argued with more, read more, and do more, my involvement makes me a better REALTOR® and a better person. Trust me, there are still many things I would like to see changed, and even though I may not be going at this like the energizer bunny anymore doesn't mean my involvement will stop, I care to much about an industry that put no limits on me and in my opinion has given me so much.
CODA: Now that I am not in an official position I will be posting more about what I have seen that I believe needs to be different. When i do, please don't take my word for it, but use it as something that can stimulate your thought and opinions because opinions is what I will offer. You may love or loathe NAR, or the MLS among other things but I go back to Ken Kesey's statement to the Merry Pranksters in The Electric Koolaid Acid Test, "You are either on the bus, or off the bus".
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