With the 84th Texas Legislative Session ending last month, the importance of being registered to vote (and actually voting), being politically informed (and active), and investing in TREPAC have never been more highlighted. You may see a list here of your fellow REALTORS® who have stepped up to the plate to provide funds to help protect our industry and the rights of property owners. We also thank Mark Willis of Keller Williams and Mike Huff of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Anderson Properties for being Platinum R investors at the $10,000 level.

Did you know that TREPAC has saved each HAR member an average of about $5,000 per year? The fiscal year ends in September, so if you haven’t invested yet, you still have time. If you have already invested, please consider increasing to the next level. We are stronger as a unified voice and stronger with more resources to impact legislation and ordinances that are important to us all. You may see some quick tidbits about TREPAC here and here.

The session’s end also means it is time for a legislative wrap-up to see what real estate-related bills passed and have become law. You may read about these new laws here. Some of them have already been signed by Governor Abbott, while others were still pending as of the time of publication. We will update the HARConnect.com version of the article once the deadline passes for the governor to veto legislation.

If you are a rising star in real estate—or know someone who is, please submit a nomination for the 20 Under 40 Rising Stars in Real Estate awards. Some really impressive and accomplished people have been honored in the past, and some have been second- or third-time nominees. I encourage you to submit for this recognition by finding out more information here.

Did you know that HAR is the only Association that has board of directors elections? All the others have a nominating committee whereby the Directors are picked by a small group of people. We have a very unique opportunity here in Houston to actually vote on our board of directors.

I also strongly encourage you to look for an email from a third-party election service that we use to conduct our board of directors elections. Your email is personal to you, so you need to click on the unique link in the email to vote. Voting begins on July 20, and you may learn more about the candidates here and going to www.har.com/election.

Until next month,

Nancy Furst
HAR Chair of the Board