Tiers of Support, Part 1: National Association of REALTORS®

Any Realtor in Minnesota is a member of a three-tiered organization. The three tiers are composed of a local, state, and national association. An agent must be affiliated with a broker who is a Realtor themselves AND join all three levels of the Organization.

National: National Association of REALTORS®. National dues are $185/year. 

State: Minnesota REALTORS®. Minnesota dues are $185/year.

Local: Minneapolis Area REALTORS® (MAR).  Local Association dues vary.

Let’s start at the top. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is America's largest trade association. It represents 1.3 million members, including NAR's institutes, societies, and councils, and is involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

NAR membership is composed of residential and commercial brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, counselors, and others engaged in the real estate industry. Members belong to one or more of approximately 1,200 local associations/boards (for example, I belong to Minneapolis Area REALTORS®) and 54 state and territory associations of REALTORS® (I belong to Minnesota REALTORS®).

The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. It is a higher designation than a real estate agent.

All Realtors are real estate agents, but not all real estate agents are Realtors.

The core purpose of the National Association of REALTORS® is to help its members become more profitable and successful. The organization advocates for the right to own, use, and transfer real property, and is a leader in developing standards for efficient, effective, and ethical real estate business practices across the country.

The biggest benefit of my membership in the National Association of REALTORS® is access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Every day I use the Realtor-exclusive web portal that shows detailed, accurate, and timely information on all properties in the state. The National Association of REALTORS® developed and manages the internal and legal structures that make it the top portal in the industry (looking at you, Zillow/Red Fin/Trulia). And NAR puts out awesome research reports and data on residential and commercial real estate. Most recently, they released a Member Safety Report - highlights below:

• 33% of REALTORS® experienced a situation that made them fear for their personal safety or safety of their personal information.

• 5% of REALTORS® said they had been a victim of a crime while working as a real estate professional.

• 44% of members choose to carry self-defense weapons.

• 49% of women carry a self-defense weapon or tool, compared to 35% of men.

• 53% of members use a smartphone safety app to track whereabouts and alert colleagues in case of an emergency.

2019 Legislative Session Recap

Every year I pay $185 in local dues to the organization Minnesota REALTORS®. In my day-to-day, this benefit looks like a username and password to login to hub of resources, mainly monthly statewide housing reports and law and ethics updates. A large part of their work is lobbying at the State Capital on issues that affect Realtors - they testified 15 times in the Senate and House committees this session. In an effort to develop a baseline understanding of issues in my sector that Minnesota REALTORS® would lobby for or against, I dove into their annual recap. Skip the long document and keep reading for a recap on some highlights of the 2019 Legislative Session through the eyes of a Realtor.

The upcoming legislative session will be my first as a real estate agent so I’m curious the level of involvement Minnesota REALTORS® will ask of its members and will be on the lookout for opportunities to be involved in other issues that may not scream “REAL ESTATE AGENT MAY/MAY NOT BENEFIT DIRECTLY FROM THIS!” but do in fact affect us, like access to affordable housing.

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OMNIBUS TAX BILL was passed and a few things related to real estate agents are that the bill preserves important homeownership itemized deductions (for property taxes, mortgage interest, First-Time Home Buyer Savings Accounts, etc.). Minnesota REALTORS® lobbyists testified for and supported this. The bill also conforms Minnesota to the federal standard deduction amount of $24,400 for married couples filing jointly/$12,000 for singles.

Mortgage debt cancellation tax relief has been extended at the federal level several times, most recently through tax year 2017. It gave some homeowners relief from having forgiven debt treated as “income” and taxed. HF 1467 would have permanently exempted discharged debt from taxation, regardless of federal treatment, but it was wishful thinking; the House File was heard in the House Tax Committee but not included in either the House or Senate omnibus tax bills.

Re: Broker or Agents identifying themselves as such in advertising.

SF 768/HF 622. Senator Carrie Ruud (R-Breezy Point) and Representative Dan Wolgamott (DFL-Saint Cloud). Signed into law and effective as of August 1, 2019.

Before 2014, the requirement was that a real estate licensee, “…identify himself or herself as either a broker or an agent salesperson in any advertising…” In 2014 that language was changed to,

“Any advertising by a licensee must include the real estate brokerage name more prominently displayed than the licensee’s name.”

There was a lot of questions and confusion regarding the language introduced in 2014, so 2019 brought simpler language from the Department of Commerce.

“Any advertising by a licensee must clearly and conspicuously display the real estate brokerage name […] the real estate brokerage name must be clearly and conspicuously displayed in the advertising.”

Re: Residential lease requirements modifications

HF495/SF 125. Representative Mohamud Noor (DFL-Minneapolis) and Senator Kari Dzeidzic (DFL- Minneapolis). Signed into law and effective as of August 1, 2019.

The bill was brought forward by University of Minnesota students and the University of Minnesota Student Legal Service (Go Gophers) to establish protections for student renters. *Shoutout to 1915 Como Ave!* However, the bill applies broadly to residential leases throughout the state.

Highlights of the bill:

• Requires the tenant’s move-in and move-out dates be written on the first page of the lease. If the move-in or move-out dates are not on the first or last day of the month, then the terms of the lease must indicate if the rent is prorated.

• Landlords cannot give a tenant notice that they need to move out or notice of a rent increase in a time period that is shorter than the notice the tenant has to give to the landlord letting them know they are planning to move out. Example: if the time period to give a landlord notice you are moving out is 60 days, the landlord must give you at least 60 days notice if they are raising the rent or giving you notice to move out. A landlord can’t let you know 30 days ahead of time that they’re raising the rent if your lease says you must give them 60 days notice of moving out.

Re: Discharge of Restrictive Covenants Related to Protected Classes

SF 2570/HF 2767. Senator Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis) and Representative Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis). Signed into law and effective as of August 1, 2019.

Background — Over the past several years, the Mapping Prejudice Project has been researching property records in Minneapolis and identifying racial restrictions in deeds.

Yes, restrictive racial covenants (covenant is a law that restricts a use of land) are already prohibited, unconstitutional and, therefore unenforceable. But the covenants remain in the historical record so this bill clarified that race or religious-based covenants that affect real property are void. So, if there were any legal (at the time) laws affecting real estate property, they are essentially canceled, null and void. A good portion of the rest of the bill dealt with the paperwork of removing or discharging restrictive covenants.

It is important that the restrictive racial laws that shaped Minneapolis are called out by the Legislature so I’m glad this was passed; it seems like it’s largely a nod of recognition that yes, segregation was pretty damn intentional, and they’re reiterating that it was and is not right, but the bill is largely about the paperwork to erase it, and it does not address much else.

I HIGHLY recommend you explore the work that the Mapping Prejudice Project is doing for a lot more context and information on how laws have shaped who lives where in Minneapolis.

Unfortunately, the full document "2019 Legislative Updates” is only available for download to members of Minnesota REALTORS®. However, I am happy to download a copy and send it to you. Email me at deborahve@kw.com.