DCAR statement: Harassment, discrimination & NAR transparency

You have likely seen or heard about the recent New York Times article detailing a culture of sexual harassment and lack of transparency at the National Association of REALTORS®. The president of the association, Kenny Parcell, has resigned his position and President-Elect Tracy Kasper has been elevated to president, effective immediately. Here is her statement, for reference.

With respect to The D.C. Association of Realtors (DCAR), you have our commitment, in the weeks ahead, to examine all aspects of our association and enact any policies needed to ensure you, your fellow association members and staff operate in a safe environment. Each of you, and our staff, have the right to work in an atmosphere free of fear. Harassment and discrimination are not and will never be tolerated at DCAR.

Prior to this issue coming to light, DCAR had called upon NAR to commit to more transparency in all its capacities. We will remain vigilant in holding NAR accountable to follow through on this request.

Thank you for your continued support as we strive to make your association one of which you can be proud.

The District of Columbia Association of REALTORS®’ (DCAR) leadership recently had a conversation with the deputy mayor for Planning and Economic Development and the director of the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to discuss its concerns regarding the recent funding issues for the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP).

DCAR received the following information regarding the HPAP program:

• All lender packages that were submitted by 11:59 p.m. on June 22, 2023 will be considered part of the pipeline and funding will be made available for them to close.
• There are approximately 400 Notice of Eligibility holders who will not receive funding.
• In FY ‘23 to date, DHCD has spent nearly $70 million for HPAP and has funded about 470 new homeowners – more than ever before.

On August 1, 2023, DCAR sent a letter to DHCD outlining its recommendations concerning HPAP and expressed its desire to be a partner with the District government in promoting and improving the program.

On July 26, DCAR President Tony Mancuso, along with GCAAR President Avi Adler and GCAAR DEI Committee Chair Ileann Jimenez, served on a panel at a State of the Economy summit hosted by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). They discussed the importance of DCAR and GCAAR and how they can help NAHREP members expand their business.

DCAR Board member and past GCAAR President Harrison Beacher served as the panel’s moderator as well as the Master of Ceremonies for the day.

Special thanks to DCAR Public Policy Committee Chair Anthony Graham and NAHREP D.C. Chapter President Kelly Ceron-Osorio for coordinating our involvement in this important event.

Earning this distinction from your state-level association is an honor that will make you stand out among your colleagues and potential clients. Nominees must be Primary DCAR members who have clearly provided continuous, dedicated service to enhance the quality of the profession.

Submit entries using the DCAR entry form. Be sure to download the form to your computer and then go to File – Save As in order to save your application information into the form. If you are unable to save the information in your completed form, please print it out and scan/take a photo of it, then email it, in addition to one color head shot of each applicant, to contact@dcrealtors.org.

Head shots must be in .jpeg format at a minimum of 300 dpi resolution.

The deadline for submission is Friday, August 25 at 5 p.m. Late or incomplete submissions will not be accepted. The winner will be announced in the fall.

Apply now.

Hi, everyone.

Sorry to add to your inboxes right before the holiday weekend, but we know this issue is time sensitive and we want you to understand that we are aware and working on it.

On June 26, many DCAR members received a letter dated June 23, 2023 from the DC Department of Housing and Community Development informing them that the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) was out of funds.

We are currently engaging with the District government at the highest levels to ensure our perspective is communicated and to stress the dire situation this places clients into. We have strongly expressed our concerns to the Bowser administration and the need to be transparent with the public regarding HPAP funding levels.

We are continuing to work on this situation. In the meantime we want to stress that, to protect your clients and yourselves when assisting clients with down payment assistance programs such as HPAP, we want to remind you that it is vital to use the Home Purchase Assistance Program/Employer Assisted Home Purchase (HPAP/EAHP) Addendum, which you can access here.

Please have a happy 4th of July and we’ll be back in touch with any updates soon!

Tony

At the invitation of Mayor Muriel Bowser, Immediate Past President Thomas Daley and other DCAR representatives attended an open house on April 10 for prospective first-time homebuyers. The event highlighted the Bowser administration’s funding in her FY ‘24 Fair Shot budget proposal that will support Black homeownership for D.C. residents.

The proposed FY ‘24 budget includes $8 million to increase available down payment assistance through Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) and a $1.5 million enhancement for Heirs Property Services. Watch video of the event here.