U.S. Senator Bob Corker attracted hundreds of real estate professionals to the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors GIG (GCAR Information Gathering) on January 11, but the crowd reserved its biggest applause for an American soldier and a dedicated servant of the local Realtor community.
The association used the event as a means of honoring U.S. military veterans. As part of the program, Chad Harris, president of the Chattanooga Mortgage Banker’s Association, encouraged Realtors to use VA loans to help secure homes for returning soldiers. In addition, Army Lt. Col. Brian Taylor spoke about his time in Kuwait.
The association also awarded local real estate agent Jennifer Grayson, immediate past president of GCAR, with its Realtor of the Year award.
Corker capped the event by calling for the federal government to gradually end its support of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The former Chattanooga mayor is the author of a bill that would privatize mortgage-backed securities within a decade.
Introductions
GCAR President Mark Hite launched the event by recognizing the elected officials in the room. Present were Chattanooga City Councilman Manny Rico, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, Hamilton County Commission Chairman Larry Henry and Hamilton County commissioner Chester Bankston.
Hite also recognized two Realtor members who have served their country as military leaders. Bill Raines, president, CEO and founder of The Raines Group in Chattanooga, served in Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm as a major general. Also, Tennessee State Representative Gerald McCormick, founder and co-owner of Fleetwood Development, served in the military.
Realtor of the Year
“No one will disagree with the choice when you hear the name,” two-time past president of the association Kathy Tucker said as she prepared to reveal Grayson as the winner of the Realtor of the Year award.
Grayson has served six years on the association’s board of directors and three years on the MLS board, and been a part of ten committees over the course of the past ten years.
“That’s ten years of sacrifices, missed dinners at home, and a non-existent social life, all of which was given to our association rather than to doing the job we Realtors do best. If there were a salary for what this person has invested in the association, I wouldn’t want to think about what we’d have to pay,” Tucker said.
She added, “But there’s more to being Realtor of the Year than investing your time and experience. It takes a lot of heart. And this year’s recipient has one of the biggest hearts you’ll ever encounter when it comes to being a friend, a confidante, and someone who’s as close to a family member as you can get. The mere mention of this person’s name will bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart, as the award is going to someone who richly deserves it.”
Speechless, Grayson thanked the people who worked with her in 2011, saying the association could not have accomplished what it did last year without them. “Thank you for this! This is cool,” she said.
VA Loans
Hite then introduced Harris, who urged those present to not shy away from working with veterans who want to secure a VA loan.
“The VA loan is one of the best loans on the market. It’s simple, straightforward, and we in the mortgage industry love to do them. Over the last few years, home loans have been getting harder and harder to get, but guess what? The Veteran’s Administration has not changed its loan qualifications in the 15 years I’ve been in the business. If you knew VA loans before, you still know them,” he said.
Harris said the benefits of a VA loan include 100 percent financing and no mortgage insurance. Moreover, applicants do not have to have perfect credit. “The minimum credit scores you hear originate at the lenders. The VA does not have a minimum score,” he said.
Current VA loans can exceed four hundred thousand dollars. Harris said Realtors should allow an extra two weeks for VA loans to close.
Hite then urged Realtors to support the men and women who have served their country in the U.S. military by working with them as they pursue the benefits for which they’re eligible. “We need to honor our veterans and support them as they return home and re-establish normal lives,” he said.
Lt. Col. Brian Taylor
To reinforce the importance of helping military veterans, Hite asked Taylor to share the highlights of his time of service. Taylor focused on his recent 12-month deployment as an operations officer with the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 230th Sustainment Brigade in Kuwait.
“You’re going to be reading about this unit and the things we did with respect to pulling equipment and personnel out of Iraq,” he said.
The 309-person unit, about one-third of which was comprised of people from Chattanooga and North Georgia, controlled a 2,500-man and -woman unit that ran transportation and logistics missions in Kuwait and Iraq. Despite the challenges of dealing with direct fire and the threat of IEDs, everyone returned home alive.
The mission culminated in the military’s withdrawal from Iraq late last year. Taylor’s group pulled nine years of equipment out of Iraq in 59 days, an effort he said was the largest withdrawal of military equipment since World War II.
A Bristol, Tenn., native, Taylor enlisted in the Army in 1986, graduated from East Tennessee State University in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree, and immediately went into the infantry as an officer. He has received a number of honors, including two bronze star medals, a parachutist badge and an air assault badge.
To close out his time at the podium, Taylor led the room in the Pledge of Allegiance and repeated the association’s call to Realtors to help veterans. “The VA loans are a great benefit for soldiers. I got one when I was a young soldier, and I know a lot of guardsmen, reservists and regular army guys that used VA loans to get their first home and subsequent homes,” he said.
Taylor received a standing ovation as he began and ended his talk.
Corker on the economy, mortgages
Corker spent his time with the microphone making a case for the gradual withdrawal of the federal government’s support of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He also said the bill he wrote would rebuild confidence in the private sector to purchase mortgages. “We cannot continue with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they are today,” he said.
The senator also pointed out the signs that suggest the economy is on the mend, including the recent uptick in employment and the dramatic increase in housing sales in Middle Tennessee in recent months. “The state is continuing to put one foot in front of the other and make improvements,” he said.
The major topics of discussion in Washington he said would help to improve the U.S. economy include tax reform, changes to the entitlements people receive, and long term deficit reduction. Corker drew applause when he said the attempts of lawmakers in Washington to reform the tax code would probably not affect home mortgage interest deductions. “I don’t know anybody who’s seriously pushing to totally do away with the home mortgage deduction,” he said.
Corker also encouraged Realtors to continue to do their part to stimulate growth in Chattanooga. “You’re the ambassadors for our city. When people come to our community to see if they want to live here, the first people they contact are Realtors.”
GIG Board
The GIG Board is comprised of 11 representatives from key components of the real estate industry and GCAR membership. The members of the board are responsible for sharing vital information with the association’s members. The board members take turns speaking at GIGs and answer questions that arise during question-and-answer sessions. The next GIG will take place March 12, 2012.