Reflecting a decision to become more proactive in the legislative and regulatory arena, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers last week outlined an ambitious policy agenda that it says is aligned with consumers’ needs. “Mortgage brokers work in the front-line” of the lending process, NAMB President Harry Dinham said in a telephone press conference outlining its agenda for 2007. “We firmly believe our issues and consumer issues go hand-in-hand.”

The NAMB also said it is embracing the Bush Administration’s proposal to reform the Federal Housing Administration, bipartisan efforts to improve the oversight and regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and legislation that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to guarantee home equity conversion loans to eligible veterans. Joseph Falk, a former NAMB president and the current chair of its legislative committee, said that while his group’s policy agenda is wide-ranging, no one issue takes priority. “Each is important, each is critical,” the former broker from Miami said. “Each has no higher standing than the other.”

As far as a new disclosure form is concerned, Falk said that current requirements are largely inadequate and do not do enough to protect consumers. In their stead, the NAMB wants disclosure on an individual loan basis that outlines minimum and maximum payment amounts, indexes, margins, caps, pre-payment penalties and, if appropriate, how negative amortization would work.

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A new program is designed to take ”green” building standards beyond the steps of individual structures, down from the metro level and into smaller communities and neighborhoods. You could say it’s one small green step for humans, but because if fills a green ratings gap, it is also a giant green leap for the planet. The Congress for New Urbanism (CNU), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) are developing a pilot program to rate the environmental sustainability of neighborhoods.

The plan will put the spotlight on developments that incorporate high-performance buildings in compact, mixed-use strategies to reduce driving and make walking and transit attractive — and hopefully encourage more of the same kind of “green” enclaves. “Green” refers to sustainable and conservation-minded materials, designs and technology; water, energy and natural resources conservation; less waste and healthier, more comfortable living in a more holistic manner. After the Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change’s (IPCC) dramatic “Climate Change 2007″ revealed not only is the planet in the oven, but humans are turning up the burners, a spate of activity addressing the issues of global warming and climate change has come from social and health organizations, environmentalists, scientists, even governments, legislators and bureaucrats.

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With interest rates falling and the nation’s housing boom in full swing, growing numbers of fellow Latinos bought into the historically African-American district. Many took advantage of new adjustable-rate loans that got them in with no money down and low initial payments. But two years ago, interest rates reversed course, sales slowed, and developers began discounting the homes they’d built nearby. Buyers with adjustable-rate loans saw their monthly payments rise. Some fell behind and were forced to sell or face foreclosure. The story is similar in many not-quite-up-and-coming neighborhoods around the country.

Mortgage delinquency rates have steadily climbed since 2005, exacerbated by a growing array of exotic loans and loose lending practices. That’s especially true in the subprime market, where many first-time buyers squeaked in with no downpayment. That gave them little reason to stick it out when they fell behind.

“Foreclosures spiked last year, and now we’re hitting a very high rate,” says Celia Chen, housing economist at Moody’s Economy.com, which expects the rate of foreclosures to increase by nearly 20 percent this year to more than 1 in about 200 homes. And if things get worse, “the [rise in] foreclosures is going to put some downward pressure on prices, which is problematic in some neighborhoods.”

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A radical redesign that would abolish homestead property taxes and replace them with the nation’s highest sales tax set off a battle between struggling homeowners and local officials who claim their ability to provide services would be crippled. An average homeowner would save $2,283 while counties and cities that have taken in windfall property tax revenues in recent years would see their revenues slashed to 2001 levels, with adjustments for growth and inflation, and then capped. People with non-homestead properties would benefit from a rollback.

“Sounds good to me,” said Lawrence Morrissey, 53, who owns a West Palm Beach FL home, and was one of 500 who showed up to complain about property taxes at a legislative hearing at Palm Beach Community College last week. “That would great, oh my God. These property taxes are killing us. It’s murder.”

Florida House Republican leaders on Wednesday unveiled the plan as a way to resolve a property tax crisis. The plan would ease the costs of homeownership but could drive a deeper financial wedge between the poor and the wealthy across Florida. The plan would go to voters as a proposed constitutional amendment, which, if passed by the Legislature, would raise the statewide sales tax by 2.5 percentage points, from 6 percent to 8.5 percent. California has the highest tax at 7.25 percent.

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If you are among the millions of homeowners and renters who operate a profitable part-time or full-time business from your home, don’t forget to claim your home-business tax deductions to reduce your income taxes. It doesn’t matter if you are self-employed or you are an employee expected to work from home, such as an outside salesperson or a telemarketer.

However, if your employer provides suitable workspace, but you prefer working at home, then you don’t qualify for Uncle Sam’s generous work-at-home tax deductions. For example, if you are a computer programmer who prefers to work from home so you can supervise your pre-school child, you don’t qualify for home-business deductions if your employer provides suitable office workspace.

SELF-EMPLOYEDS MUST PASS THE PRIMARY BUSINESS LOCATION TEST. If you are self-employed, such as an independent contractor real estate sales broker, to qualify for the Internal Revenue Code 280A home-business tax deductions, your residence must be used either (1) to meet with clients, customers or patients or (2) as your primary business location for administrative activity if you have no other fixed business location.

In 1999, Congress changed the tax law to allow self-employeds working from home to deduct business expenses if their residence is their “primary business location.” Examples include a self-employed bookkeeper who travels to offices of her clients, a handyman who works at various job sites, and a computer repairman who works at many business offices during the week.

This tax law change was the result of the 1993 U.S. Supreme Court decision denying anesthesiologist Dr. Nader Soliman (113 Sup.Ct. 701) any home-business tax deductions although he worked many hours at his condominium reading professional medical journals and handling administrative details. Because he spent most of his work time at different hospitals, the court denied his home-business deductions. Today, however, he is entitled to deduct his home office expenses because his condo is his primary business location.

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The more houses on the market coupled with the less demand interprets into dropping prices. As houses sell (because the prices finally realign) and the inventory shrinks coupled with growing demand, prices start edging up. Well, the market is starting to turn in various areas around the country. And in the Washington, D.C. area, it’s really looking better than last year at this time. Sales in January were up 18 percent and in neighboring Fairfax County; sales jumped 12 percent from the same time a year earlier.

In the market overall listings are down — some because they sold and others because they were withdrawn and still others because the sellers were distressed and went into bankruptcy or short sales. However, the effect on the overall market will be the same, shrinking inventory means buyers won’t have as much leverage as they did just a few months ago.

While the transition market was tough on a lot of people, we may have hit the bottom of the trough. Most buyers and sellers don’t realize it yet, but the numbers are pointing at a different market in the future than what we’ve been crawling through the last 18 months.

Now, one could look at last year’s numbers and say, “Well, of course the numbers are up, it was so bad last year.” Yes, last year was down for most of the time, however, the numbers are still true. Listings have dropped from their high in this market by nearly 50 percent and prices are either maintaining or moving upward. (Keep in mind, sellers, there are still plenty of competitors, so price the house to move.)

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