GLAR News: REALTOR Direct - March 23, 2020

For the safety of our members and staff during the COVID-19 outbreak, we have altered business operations. To limit exposure, GLAR has suspended all education classes, events, committee meetings, and walk-in services, which means the office is closed to visitors and only staff will have access to the building at this time until officials advise resuming normal operations. The Member Café is CLOSED until further notice. Our staff is still available to assist with your member service needs Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm by either phone at (502) 894-9860 or email. To read the full statement click here.

Instructions for logging into your member portal:
To log in to the member portal, go to www.LouisvilleRealtors.com, select Member Login button at the top of the page. Log in using your GLAR Member number (without the “lou.”). Your password is typically the last 4 digits of your social security number, unless you have changed it.

If you have a closing scheduled it is recommended that you contact the closing office to make sure you understand their protocol for the closing. This is also a great time to communicate with the cross-selling agent to ensure you both understand how the process will take place. If you are prohibited from attending the closing by the protocol of the closing office, arrange to be on the phone with your client during the process. If the closing office is requesting that escrow checks not be brought to the closing, check with your broker regarding how that should be handled.

Governor Beshear has ordered non-essential retailers to close by 8pm today. We believe this order was written to focus on “retail-oriented” business and real estate services should not be considered as such. The National Association of Realtors® has begun working proactively with the states on the definition of real estate being an essential business. A collective definition was created and transmitted nationally. The Kentucky Realtors® will be sending a formal communication to the Governor and will unite with other allied real estate industries to bolster this message.

Open House Guidance During COVID-19
www.nar.realtor/open-house-guidance-during-covid-19

Coronavirus Resources for Property Owners
https://www.nar.realtor/coronavirus-resources-for-property-owners
Provides homeowners with information about assistance during the COVID-19 crisis.

UPDATED RESOURCES:
Sample Preparedness Plan - a step-by-step plan for communicating about a COVID-19 case in your brokerage.

Coronavirus: A Guide for REALTORS
Check in regularly as NAR continues to update its coronavirus guide for REALTORS®.
www.nar.realtor/coronavirus-a-guide-for-realtors

NAR has been aggressively working the Hill on behalf of our members responding to a flurry of legislative activity aimed at providing economic relief from the COVID-19 virus. We are committed to ensuring that lawmakers continue to take into consideration the real estate industry, including independent contractors and small business owners. Below is a compilation of the letters we have sent this past week as well as the work we are doing with state associations to classify real estate services as essential services in emergency declarations. We are also working with the Department of Labor to get clarification on calculation of employer thresholds for paid leave passed in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The discussions with lawmakers will continue into next week and we appreciate any feedback you can give us on the impact of COVID-19 on your businesses and communities. We had calls this week with several General Counsels from your firms as well as with representatives from your affiliated mortgage companies and their feedback has been very valuable. We hope you and your families are staying safe.

Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Congress passed a bill this week that created emergency paid sick leave, as well as paid family leave in the case of school closures, for working families impacted by COVID-19. Click here for impact on the real estate industry. NAR is working with industry partners and DOL to understand the calculation of employer thresholds for some of these paid leave benefits.

Relief for small business/ICs: NAR sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to include support for self-employed professionals and other small business owners as well as a follow-up letter on this issue as Congress considers additional relief packages. NAR also signed a coalition letter that would encourage Congress to provide readily accessible, unsecured credit to employers and self-employed individuals of all sizes to ensure they have the cash to pay their workers, rent, and other costs during this crisis;

suspend the filing of business returns and the payment of all business taxes to the federal government for the duration of the pandemic; and amend the Tax Code to, among other items, restore the ability of businesses to carryback any net operating losses against previous year tax payments;

suspend the application of the Section 163(j) limitation on interest expense deductions for tax year 2020 to avoid penalizing businesses for borrowing during this crisis; and

suspend the Section 461(l) loss limitation on pass-through businesses to allow businesses to full deduct any losses they incur this year.

Essential Real Estate Services: NAR is working with state associations, many of whom are reaching out to their Governors to request that certain real estate services be deemed "essential services" during emergency declarations. NAR is also working closely with ALTA and MBA whose members are also greatly impacted by county closures of recordation services.

Multi-family: NAR joined a coalition letter representing for-profit and non-profit owners, developers and others involved in the provision of affordable rental housing. It asks for direct rental assistance for families who have income loss due to COVID-19, it cautions against blanket eviction moratoriums-feels they should be targeted to situations related to COVID-19 and provide relief for property owners in the form of mortgage or other financial obligation forbearance.

1031: NAR sent a letter to Treasury to include deadline relief for 1031 like-kind exchanges 180-day completion deadlines. As you know there will be delays in settlements due to title companies and others closed during the outbreak. Also, they should extend the 45-day period for identifying possible properties as exchange candidates. Relief for this program has been provided in the past during other presidentially declared disasters.

SECURE Notarization Act: NAR is working with other trade associations and industry partners to support the "Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act of 2020" (SECURE Notarization Act). NAR sent this letter to lawmakers in support of the bill. This legislation would continue and expand access to remote online notary (RON). It would permit immediate nationwide use of RON, with minimum standards and provide certainty for the interstate recognition of RON. The SECURE Notarization Act builds on ongoing efforts of lawmakers to promote remote transaction options for consumers.

Opp Zones: NAR sent a letter to the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service to include deadline relief for the working capital safe harbor for Qualified Opportunity Funds with any forthcoming package of taxpayer relief measures

ShowingTime Updates for COVID-19
ShowingTime has added notifications to showing agents asking them to confirm that, to their knowledge, they do not have COVID-19, when scheduling a showing. Overlapping showings are being discouraged so agents may show homes without concern that another agent will be there, in line with recommendations to practice social distancing. When setting up your listings, you can choose “No” for “Allow Overlapping Showings” in the Appointment Restrictions. The Set Up Listings in ShowingTime user guide can help you with this.

Homesnap has FREE Alternative to Open Houses for Agents

In this time of uncertainty, as open house activity decreases or stops altogether, we wanted to remind you of a great free alternative available to all agents within Homesnap, Homesnap Stories. Agents can make their own videos of their listings and they will be prominently displayed in the media section of the listing alongside listing photos and virtual tours. Below is a link to a blog post which explains more:
https://blog.homesnap.com/social-distancing-heres-how-to-keep-your-business-running/

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