Local News
Property Tax Deadline Extended
A letter sent to Treasurer Russ Joseph and Auditor Karl Keith that was co-signed by the Home Builders Association of Dayton and Dayton REALTORS® influenced the decision Montgomery County made to extend their property tax deadline. Property owners in Montgomery County will have more time to pay their midyear tax bills, with the July deadline now pushed back to August. County Treasurer Russ Joseph announced the six-week extension this week. He said the state tax commissioner had approved his request to postpone the due date. Preble County has also agreed to extend property taxes for two weeks. Read more
Delayed Property Valuations
In the last two months, Dayton REALTORS® has been in conversation with the Montgomery County auditor on how property valuations will affect the buying and selling of homes in our region. In response to the potential economic downturn due to COVID-19, we asked him to reconsider the process of adjusting taxable property values, as some property owners will experience much higher property valuations as a result of this process. Fortunately, Auditor Karl Keith has agreed to seek a delay on property value updates. The Auditor has formally asked the state tax commissioner for permission to delay the full property appraisal, saying the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and related “economic shock” would make accurate appraisals challenging. At the time of this writing, approval of this request has not yet been issued from the state, but we will let you know the outcome when it is announced.
Under state law, all properties are reappraised every six years, with an update conducted three years afterward. The triennial update of all parcels in Montgomery County was conducted in 2017; the full reappraisal is planned this year, with the next triennial update set for 2023.
CARES Act Letter Sent to Area U.S. Representatives and Senators
Last week, Dayton REALTORS® sent a joint letter to regional U.S. Congress and Senate members requesting that 501(c)(6) organizations be eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program in the CARES act. The Government Affairs Committee approved a letter to Congressmen Turner, Davidson, Stivers, Jordan, Chabot and Senators Brown and Portman that was co-signed by the Dayton Development Coalition, Dayton and Springfield’s Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association, and the regional Convention and Visitors Bureau. Dayton REALTORS® will not draw from these funds, but supports our co-signers who do critical work in economic development in Dayton who do need the funds.
Absentee Ballot Voting
In April, the Government Affairs Committee, in conjunction with the Community Services Committee, launched a successful campaign to advocate for absentee ballot voting. This campaign reached over 100,000 potential voters in Montgomery and surrounding counties via email and through ads on social media and radio.
REALTORS®-Endorsed Candidate Wins
Dayton REALTORS® Government Affairs endorsed one candidate for the primary. Endorsed Candidate Willis Blackshear successfully won his primary for State Representative in Dayton’s 39th district.
Coalition to Create Mid-Market Housing Forum and Study
Dayton REALTORS® has successfully built a coalition with area economic development groups, including the Dayton Development Coalition, the Home Builders Association, the Greater Miami Riverway Coalition, the Miami Valley Regional Planning Coalition and other county and city economic development planners towards commissioning a study on political obstacles to the creation of mid-market housing in areas that are ripe for new jobs. REALTORS® and local business associations see low housing inventory as the number one problem facing our members. Fortunately, the market is good for new home builds and purchases. Through this study, and an advocacy-oriented “Workforce Housing Forum” scheduled for October, we plan to encourage more inventory in our region by advocating against zoning and regulations that prevent the creation of this type of housing.
The Global Committee is organizing the Workforce Housing Forum to take place on October 23rd. Both the forum and the study will be paid for through grants from Ohio REALTORS® and NAR.
State News
Ohio REALTORS® Government Affairs has created a COVID-19 related legislation update. Spencer Gross, Ohio REALTORS® Director of Local Government Affairs and Beth Wanless, Ohio REALTORS® Director of Government Affairs, created this 20-minute video with highlights of COVID-related legislative updates impacting Ohio REALTORS® and the real estate industry as a whole. View the update
Ohio REALTORS® also created the post “Are your employees/customers required to wear masks?” to discuss safety measures at real estate offices. As brokerages and local boards prepare to re-open their offices, it is important to establish policies that comply with the governor’s Responsible RestartOhio program. One of the areas that must be addressed is whether your employees and others entering your office are required to wear protective masks or face coverings at all times. Read more
National News
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) signed into law on March 27, 2020, provides relief to families, small businesses, and individuals who are self-employed and independent contractors. View Your Guide to PUA Benefits to find out how to apply. A key provision in the law creates a temporary “Pandemic Unemployment Assistance” (PUA) program that extends unemployment benefits to those not traditionally eligible, including self-employed individuals. See and share the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Benefits flowchart to learn more about the unemployment benefits for 1099 workers.
Check out this interactive map of the US to learn about the status of the program in your state.
PUA & YOU: The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Guide for REALTORS®: Applying for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) can prove to be a challenging puzzle. In this video, two labor and employment attorneys and two REALTORS® share their expertise and offer advice on the unemployment application process. View Video
NAR also created a tool for members to help homeowners who are struggling to meet their loan obligations due to COVID-19. The Protect Your Investment brochure offers guidance on working with trusted professionals like REALTORS® and housing counselors at HUD-approved agencies. The brochure also provides information about payment options offered by lenders and tips for avoiding scams. REALTORS® may add their logo to the cover of the brochure for a customized look. To make distribution to homeowners easy, we suggest members post the brochure to their website, then link to it in a newsletter, social media posts, or direct email. Download the brochure and review steps to add your logo here.
RPAC and You
The following article provides some great points on why RPAC is important for REALTORS®: Why I Vote, Act, and Invest via REALTOR® Magazine. In this article, Ohio’s Pete Kopf talks about his “wake-up call.”: “…I didn’t truly step up until the late 1990s, when talk emerged in Cincinnati about raising the transfer tax from $3 to $4 per thousand of a home’s sale price. I asked our local government affairs representative, ‘What are you going to do to make sure this doesn’t happen?’ …He turned it back on me: ‘What are WE going to do?’ I realized I could either let things happen to me or I could make them happen for me. Most local and state legislators want to know what’s going on with their constituents. As I learned, legislation being enacted at the local level affects your community and affects what you do as a REALTOR®.” Read more
RPAC is the most bipartisan political action committee in the country. We’re contributing to candidates who believe in the issues that are most important to REALTORS® in Dayton.
Brent Swander, Columbus REALTORS® Vice President of Government Affairs, says: “When we’re doing advocacy, whether we’re talking to legislators, to people in a community, or to other REALTORS®, it’s important for people to hear our stories. Everyone has a voice. Everyone can do something, whether it’s investing their time, money, or voice to make a difference. If they understand the ‘why,’ they’ll do it.”
Log in to your member portal at daytonrealtors.org for details on investing in RPAC.
