PAR, MBA & PLTA members...... We need to fight for a repeal of PA Act 93 of 2013.

I come from a family of Realtors. My mother, now retired, was a broker. I cut my teeth in real estate. In 1973 one of my 3 jobs was working as a secretary in a real estate office. I eventually got my license, became a Realtor, and after selling for awhile I took a position as a loan originator in 1978.  For 16 years I made mortgage lending my career, got involved in the MBA and eventually had the privilege of serving as president of our local MBA. When I transitioned into title insurance, I joined ALTA and PLTA.

Through these years I have had a chance to watch these trade associations in action and how they choose what to champion, fight or accept from state and federal legislators. Normally trade associations fight on behalf of their members.

I am having a hard time understanding why PAR, MBA, and PLTA did not fight against passage of a law that will take a certain percentage of transactions out of the hands of their membership who frankly need every transaction these days to make ends meet.

Even if you did not initially recognize the impact this law would have on those of us who deal regularly with short sales, distressed properties, REO, second home buyers and investment property buyers, now you do know.  Why aren't you fighting for a repeal?

Every property owner, potential buyer, Realtor, lender, and title agent who deals in these properties will be impacted by this new law in a negative way. Local governments will be impacted when they are faced with properties that can't be sold because of the addition of new liens as judgments in personam overlay and crisscross over multiple parcels.  What happens to properties that can't be sold?  Lots of them go derelict and become blights in neighbors causing all sorts of problems for local officials. This is not good.

I understand PLTA is now focused on pushing for an amendment to clarify the process of lien discovery.  Well, PLTA seems to have given up and granted to the state the ability to take money out of the hands of members who count on PLTA to protect them from government actions that destroy their business.

If these trade associations do not step up to the plate to fight for their members against a law that is ill conceived, who will?

PAR, MBA and PLTA understand real estate more than any other organizations in this Commonwealth. You need to lead this fight.  Please fight for repeal.

Here's hoping my lunch mate misunderstood the instructions of her boss.

Attended a seminar today which included 3 CE credits.  At lunch I sat with a young lady who works for a regional bank as a mortgage processing trainer.  She said she had been asked at the last minute to come to the seminar and doesn't really know much about title insurance.  Fair enough.

I asked if she was getting credit for the course and she said no but that the person she was sitting in for would get credit.


Pregnant pause.......


I decided to let this one go.  If the folks who are in charge don't have a way to verify who is there, that's their problem.

I felt bad for the young lady who apparently has a boss with bad habits but perhaps she simply misunderstood and they sent her there for education and not as a stand in for a licensee.