President's Letter - May 10, 2012 REALTORS® TESTIFY IN OPPOSITION TO RECORDATION FEE INCREASE   Alease Bowles 2012 PGCAR President Thank you to all of the REALTORS® that turned out for last Monday night's vitally important Council hearing on the proposed Prince George's Recordation Fee Increase. I wish to also express a sincere "THANK YOU" to Pat Long and Emerick Peace of Keller Williams Preferred Properties who attended with 45 of their dedicated sales associates. The large presence of REALTORS® helped to "back-up" our message that "housing cannot sustain another tax or fee." The Council listened intensely as I presented the REALTOR® message: "Increasing housing costs is counterproductive to rebuilding our local economy and a barrier to stabilizing our local real estate market. The Association opposes policies that discourage housing opportunities and this concept most certainly discourages buyer investment in Prince George's County." President-Elect, Anthony Williams expressed his concerns as well: "It troubles me deeply to listen to the remarks of PGCAR President Bowles to hear my County characterized as the most expensive in closing costs, transfer taxes and property taxes. People hear statistics like this and they immediately formulate the position that they don't want to purchase a home here. That means they're NOT paying recordation taxes to Prince George's County or transfer taxes, and neither are they contributing to our property tax base. Furthermore, they're NOT shopping at our retail stores, they're NOT frequenting our restaurants and night spots, they're NOT patronizing our dry cleaners, auto repair shops and other small business, and they're NOT using our doctors and lawyers and other professional services. Overall, when they buy a home elsewhere, they're NOT contributing AT ALL to our local economy." To further strengthen our message, three members of the home-buying public also addressed the Council to share their stories of how difficult it is to gather funds for down payments and closing costs. The Council is slated to vote on the full budget, including the recordation fee increase, on May 24, 2012. Until then, we will keep the pressure on! If you haven't sent your opposition message to the Council, please do so now. Email your County Executive and Council Members > Alease Bowles President, Prince George's County Association of REALTORS®, Inc. Fight to STOP the County's 20% Recordation Tax INCREASE! President Alease Bowles 4-26-12 Letter to Council Members > Email your County Executive and Council Members > Prince George's County Council Members Contact Information >

Prince George's County Association of REALTORS® 8300 Corporate Drive, Suite 100  :  Landover, MD 20785 Phone 301-306-7900  :  Fax 301-306-8273  :  www.pgcar.com  :  ©2012 PGCAR