Through this course, commercial practitioners have the opportunity to satisfy their 4-hour continuing education topic requirement in 2008 with a new course that relates specifically to their specialty. The first offering of the course is scheduled for Friday, June 6 at the NOMAR board office in Metairie, with other course dates and locations including Shreveport on July 23 and New Orleans on September 4. Additional dates and locations are being added at this time. For more information or to register, click here.

House Bill 192 by Chairman Jeff Arnold represents the culmination of hard work over the last year by members of industry, real estate schools, educators, and representatives of the Louisiana Real Estate Commission. The proposed legislation would bring Louisiana’s real estate industry into the top tier of states as it relates to educational and professional requirements. Enhanced educational content, when coupled with this legislation will allow licensees to better represent real estate consumers in all transactions. HB 192 would:

• Increase post licensing education requirements for salesperson and brokers who are initially licensed from 30 to 45 hours
• Increase yearly continuing education hours from 8 to 12 hours
• Increase the number of years until an agent can sit for the broker’s examination from 2 to 4 – applies to licensees who are licensed on or after January 1, 2009.

View current text of HB 192 (PDF file)

House Bill 156 by Chairman Jeff Arnold creates a peer review mentoring program under the umbrella of the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisal Board. This legislation was the hard work of members of the Louisiana REALTORS Appraisal Team, members of the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisal Board and appraisers from around the state. HB 156 would:

• Allow for the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisal Board to create an appraisal peer review mentoring committee,
• Allow this committee to aid the board in reviewing appraisals on an as needed basis and be able to mentor and educate appraisers on how to improve upon their appraisal techniques.

View current text of HB 156 (PDF file).

Both bills have been received in the Senate and assigned to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs. Meanwhile, HB 852 by Representative Badon - which would require hands-free devices used with cell phones while driving a vehicle – narrowly passed the full House and also moves to the Senate. LR is opposed to an all-out ban of cell phone use in a vehicle while driving, and will continue to monitor HB 852.

Please remember that LR’s state legislative bill tracking grids, which provide info and direct links to real estate bills being promoted or monitored by LR are available for download here. For more information, please contact Norman Morris at 800-266-8538.

Louisiana REALTORS, in partnership with the Southwest Louisiana Association of REALTORS, is excited to present one of the most innovative courses available for the real estate practitioner at an unbelievably low rate of $25 for REALTOR members.

This course was developed to specifically address the day-to-day issues facing the practitioner during real estate negotiations. The interactive and high-energy format provides takeaways that can be implemented immediately and will radically improve a practitioner's ability to better represent the client through negotiated settlements. Our program discusses the dozens of negotiating opportunities in every transaction. Whether a buyer, broker or seller, the participant will leave the negotiating table satisfied. See complete details and register online now.

That’s still low compared with residential mortgages, and compared with commercial mortgages historically. The worst delinquency rate was in 1992, when it averaged 7.53 percent. Fitch ratings on Tuesday said that situation is unlikely to be repeated.

"The commercial real estate markets are not facing the same significant oversupply that plagued the markets in the late eighties and early nineties, plus tax treatment of commercial real estate projects has been relatively steady," Fitch Managing Director Bob Vrchota said in a statement.

CMSA President Lee Cotton, complained that investors misunderstand the situation and consider securities connected to commercial lending tainted by the same problems facing residential mortgages.

"We are saying, stop. We've got 40 basis points of delinquencies. We've got in-balance markets. We've got sophisticated borrowers. We are not the same business," he said. (Reuters)