If you are buying a home with an federally insured loan and were able to borrow up to $125,000, you can thank a REALTOR®. The National Association of REALTORS® (N.A.R.) lobbyists, among the most powerful in the nation's capital, successfully fought to have the borrowing ceiling raised from $87,000 in 1997.

If you were able to sell your home last year and keep up to $250,000 of the money tax-free, again, you can thank the NAR, which was instrumental in raising your tax-free net from a one time gain of $125,000 to giving you the ability to purchase and occupy your home for up to two years, sell the home and keep up to $250,000 tax-free, every two years.

Do you like deducting your mortgage interest rate off of your federal income taxes? Once, again, Realtors and their lobbyists are in your corner. Legislators constantly propose the elimination of the mortgage interest deduction, but the NAR and its lobbyists beat it back on your behalf.

So you didn't know that Realtors put money in your pocket? They do. They are dedicated to protecting you - the home owner, buyer and seller.

Realtors and the NAR spends millions of dollars promoting home ownership annually in promotional campaigns and by taking political action. RPAC donates millions annually to federal candidates and political committees, making it one of the top twenty-five most influential lobbying groups on Capital Hill. Lobbying to protect homeowner rights is the number one legislative focus of the NAR and puts the NAR at the forefront of many economic issues.

In fact, the NAR is the only trade organization whose purpose is to watch over the rights of homeowners, buyers and sellers, and the only organization to actively lobby to protect those rights. Thousands of home owners today owe their ability to qualify for a home, the ability to buy a better home, and the ability to afford more than one home to the NAR and its lobbying efforts.

Yet, despite these tremendous accomplishments on your behalf, the NAR and its members, are often misunderstood and underappreciated. Only members of the National Association of Realtors have the right to call themselves Realtors. Realtors must be licensed and meet continuing professional requirements to stay in business. As members of the NAR, Realtors are held to an even higher code of ethics and standards of practice. The NAR membership is government-regulated, unlike the membership of many other organizations associated with the real estate transaction. Its members are subject to internal and state-regulated disciplines.

So when you choose to work with a real estate professional, remember to choose a REALTOR®.

By hiring a Realtor, you'll put 730,000 Realtors in your corner.

Published: May 23, 2000

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.