{"id":12468,"date":"2017-10-16T14:30:34","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T19:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therealdaily.com\/?p=12468"},"modified":"2017-10-16T14:35:13","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T19:35:13","slug":"happens-associations-dont-comply-new-core-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/board-associations\/happens-associations-dont-comply-new-core-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"What happens when Associations don’t comply with the new Core Standards?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In May 2014, the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae (NAR) approved<\/a> a set of core standards, which were amended two years later, replacing the previous Organizational Standards. Now each year, REALTOR\u00ae associations must prove compliance or risk losing their charters. <\/p>\n

Grants were extended through June 30, 2016 for mergers taking place after the adoption of the new standards. Further extensions were offered to the first 25 mergers that occurred after the June compliance cycle, with a third cycle running through December 31 of this year. But what happens if associations still don\u2019t meet the new standards?<\/p>\n

Enforcement is up to the local, state, territorial, and National Association. So basically, everyone. According to Sara Wiskerchen, NAR\u2019s Managing Director of Media Communications, there is an appeal hearing process if compliance isn\u2019t reached by the new deadline. If the hearing determines compliance is completely unachievable, the applicable association will lose their charter. <\/p>\n

Since the adoption of the new standards, only 16 charters have been revoked. More than one revocation proves this program was necessary in the first place. The new standards are simple enough. Associations must meet or exceed core standards in six categories:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Code of Ethics<\/li>\n
  2. Advocacy<\/li>\n
  3. Consumer Outreach<\/li>\n
  4. Unification Efforts and Support of the REALTOR\u00ae Organization<\/li>\n
  5. Technology<\/li>\n
  6. Financial Solvency<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Each category is further outlined on NAR\u2019s site<\/a>, with more detailed information about compliance. Every association is responsible for maintaining and enforcing a code of ethics, as well as providing mediation services as required, and issue citations. For advocacy, associations are encouraged to contribute to NAR RPAC funds (unless prohibited by state law), and participate in NAR Calls for Action efforts. <\/p>\n

    Consumer outreach requires at least four \u201cmeaningful consumer engagement activities\u201d per year, with at least two demonstrating the association is a \u201cVoice for Real Estate\u201d in their market, and two specifically related to investment in local communities. Repeating the same activity four times will not count, nor will financial contributions to charities without further participation in the charity\u2019s activities. <\/p>\n

    Unification efforts essentially state that associations must follow all applicable laws, and need to offer professional development opportunities. Leadership is required to complete at least six hours of REALTOR\u00ae association professional development annually. Additionally, associations
    \nwith paid staff must conduct annual performance reviews of their chief of staff. <\/p>\n

    The technology standard merely stipulates associations need to exist in this decade, providing an interactive website that includes state-of-the art features. Just kidding, they\u2019re only required to have active links to products, services, standards, filling processes, and member programs. Oh, and the really tough part of this one is that members must have email or some other internet based communication. <\/p>\n

    Lastly, the financial solvency core specifies associations must ensure their fiscal integrity, report to CPA as necessary based on revenue, and get permission from NAR to file bankruptcy. If an association files for bankruptcy, that\u2019s an automatic charter review. <\/p>\n

    “While some associations can meet these easily, smaller organizations might struggle with acquiring resources to complete all six segments.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Fortunately for those that might be struggling, NAR provides Association Merger Procedures to assess if a merger would best fit member\u2019s needs. NAR also suggests utilizing shared services for those anticipating difficulty, which help associations expand services and implement strategic partnerships to meet core standards. <\/p>\n

    If these steps don\u2019t help, associations not in compliance by the end of the year will be subject to an appeal hearing, which includes a panel of at least five members of the NAR Association Executive Committee. The panel will report their recommendation to the Board of Directors, who will determine if the charter should be revoked. <\/p>\n

    According to NAR, the new standards are meant to \u201craise the bar for REALTOR\u00ae associations and ensure high-quality service for REALTORS\u00ae.\u201d There are plenty of chances for associations to reach compliance before endangering their charters. Although it truly is a wonder that only 16 have been revoked so far, here\u2019s to hoping everyone will be able to meet the new standards by the deadline to improve service across the board. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    (ASSOCIATIONS) If the real estate board you’re a member of is not in compliance with the Core Standards, what happens then!? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":337678,"featured_media":12469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[311,1722,1234],"class_list":["post-12468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-board-associations","tag-associations","tag-core-standards","tag-real-estate-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/10\/smartmockups_j8th63qi.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/337678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12468"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12472,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12468\/revisions\/12472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}