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The state legislature passed the Transient Accommodations Tax in the 2019 state budget, which will tax short-term rental sites previously unregulated by the state. This includes all accommodations or rentals that were booked through a third party, such as AirBnB, FlipKey, HomeAway.com, etc. Short-term rentals handled by licensed real estate professionals are excluded from this new tax. Click here to learn more: Airbnb Tax

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its reporting requirements for agricultural land sale. Follow the links below for more information. Read the updated AFIDA brochure here. Read the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act Report here.

Information provided by Western Technologies Group.   Can you rely on public flood information when determining flood zones for your clients?   The answer is no. When you adopt this practice, you leave yourself open to liability. All public sources will have disclaimers in varying degrees which say the information should not be used for flood insurance rating purposes. These public systems are also not pinpoint accurate in identifying property locations and are not official determinations of flood status.   There are…

More than 150 Realtors® attended NJ Realtors® annual Realtors® Day in Trenton on May 25. Held at the historic Masonic Temple, the event afforded Realtors® from around the state the opportunity to hear from gubernatorial candidates Ambassador Phil Murphy and Assemblyman Jack Ciatterlli ahead of the June 6 primary.   Following Realtors® Day in Trenton, all in attendance were invited to join the NJ Realtors® Leadership Team at the State House where the association received a Senate resolution to commemorate its centennial year…

Last week, staff from New Jersey Realtors®’ government affairs department attended the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste committee hearing to testify regarding lawn sprinkler system legislation. The bill, which was introduced in the early 2000s in response to a drought, would require residential and commercial properties with a lawn sprinkler system to install a rain-sensing device before that property could be sold.   Working on behalf of the real estate industry and private property owners, New Jersey Realtors® testified in…

The New Jersey Realtors® Governmental Research Foundation recently released a report showing the impact of the National Flood Insurance Program on the state. While focused on New Jersey, the findings are applicable nationwide. The study, broken into two reports, Examining Flood Map Changes in New Jersey and Understanding the National Flood Insurance Program in New Jersey, was prepared for NJ Realtors® by Resources for the Future.   “With the National Flood Insurance Program expiring at the end of 2017, examining the program’s…

This article originally appeared on Politico Lead-related bills clear Assembly committee, but a fight awaits By David Giambusso 01/12/2017 06:49 PM EDT   A sweeping package of lead remediation bills cleared the Assembly housing committee on Thursday, but the measures face a tough slog before they're voted on by the full Legislature.   Five bills designed to test for and remediate lead in paint, soil, and water sailed through committee despite opposition from business and real estate interests. Many of the measures have been…

Senate President Steve Sweeney issued the following statement today on the proposed constitutional amendment on pension payments:   "Contrary to what some union leaders have been saying, the pension amendment does not die because it was not voted on by today. The Senate can still approve it with a simple majority vote any time before the legislative session expires in January, putting it on the November 2017 ballot. Without a resolution to the Transportation Trust Fund crisis – and a full accounting of how much future tax cuts…

NAR has been actively monitoring the implementation of the “Know Before You Owe” also known as the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Feedback from Realtors® across the nation highlighted the reluctance of lenders to share the new mandated Closing Disclosure with real estate professionals.   Lenders have been refusing to share the CD citing potential privacy violations of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act or Regulation P. However, an exception to Regulation P already allows lenders to…

Since the October 2015 implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ‘Know Before You Owe’ mortgage initiative, Realtors® have raised red flags over challenges in gaining access to what’s known as the mortgage “closing disclosure” form, or CD. The CD is delivered to homebuyers in advance of their closing and contains important financial information related to their purchase.   Unfortunately, many lenders have chosen to withhold this document from real estate agents since Know Before You Owe went into effect…