Big regulatory changes coming to the world of real estate

Members at the Washington, DC REAL Professionals Network heard from Chip Rodgers of the Real Estate Roundtable, a nonprofit public policy organization representing the entire real estate industry, on legislation and rulings that could affect business. “We have major concerns about the cumulative impact that various regulatory and legislative regimes have,” he said. One major concern right now: the Credit Risk Retention Rule, which goes into effect Christmas Eve of this year. It requires that any securitizer retain 5 percent of the credit risk of a deal for seven years. RER believes that the rule was written with residential mortgage-backed securities in mind, but commercial mortgage-backed securities are a different beast. RER helped introduce a bill this year, HR 46-20, which would address the issue. Rodgers also spoke briefly about the election, which is on many minds. Trump has repeatedly said he would repeal the carried interest deduction. “Trump is really stirring the pot in terms of portraying something as basic as a tax law as something sinister. Not helpful.”