Election Results:  

Election results as of Tuesday, November 8, 2011.  

Duck – Winners
Five Councilmen, serving 2 yr terms.
Donald P. Kingston, Dave Wessel, Chuck Burdick, Monica Thibodeau and Nancy Caviness.  

Kill Devil Hills – Winners  
Mayor’s seat and two Commissioners seats, serve 4-yr terms.  Mayor serves a 2-year term.
Sheila Davies - New Mayor
Brandy Rheubottom and Mike Hogan - New Commissioners

Kitty Hawk – Winners
Two Council members serve 4-year terms.
Emilie Klutz and Ervin Bateman - Re-elected Councilmen

Manteo – Winners
Mayor' seat and three Commissioners, serve 4-yr terms. Mayor serves 2-year term.
Jamie Daniels - Re-elected as Mayor
Darrell Collins, Hannan Fry and Nancy Peele - Commissioners

Nags Head – Winners
Commissioners serve four-year terms.
Renee Cahoon - Re-elected Commissioner and Susie Walters - Commissioner 

Southern Shores – Winners
Three Council seats, members serve four-year terms. 
David Sanders, Larry Lawhon and Jodi Hess - Commissioners

Real Estate License Law Changes  

House Bill 386 (Real Estate License Law Amendments) http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H386v4.pdf, sponsored by Reps Julia Howard (R-Davie) and Harold Brubaker (R-Randolph), was also signed into law by the Governor on June 23. This legislation, requested by the NC Real Estate Commission and supported by NCAR, includes several changes aimed at clarifying the exemptions from licensure contained in the statutes with regard to attorney’s trusts and housing authorities. Another change to the exemption provisions would allow unlicensed broker employees (vacation rental reservationists only) to offer or accept price adjustments within limits set by the broker’s landlord client in their management agreement.
 

Senate Bill 382  (Withholding from Non-Residents)

Through NCAR and OBAR's lobbying efforts, the bill was not released from the House Rules Committee prior to the General Assembly recessing this past Saturday; however, the bill is eligible for consideration in the 2012 short session. NCAR and OBAR will be working over the next few months to advocate for a better solution to the problem of collecting taxes due from out-of-state sellers.
 

Senate Bill 683 (Residential Building Inspections), http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/Bills/Senate/PDF/S683v5.pdf, sponsored by Senator Neal Hunt (R-Wake), was signed by Gov. Beverly Perdue on June 23.This bill was passed by the legislature on the last day of the legislative session, and is a significant issue for NC REALTORS®.  Increasingly, North Carolina municipalities have substantially broadened local ordinances and programs to require the registration and inspection of rental properties within their jurisdictions. The scope of these ordinances has expanded tremendously, with many programs being tied into required permits and fees as a condition of operating rental property. In fact, some of the programs amount purely to a housing tax with no demonstrable public benefit. As a result, SB 683 will require units of local government to have reasonable cause to believe that unsafe housing conditions exist in order to inspect private housing. It will also require local government inspection programs to be administered in a non-discriminatory way with regard to housing type or ownership. Furthermore, it sets forth a reasonable and responsible fee schedule for the administration of the program.

Homeowners Associations Bill

On June 27, the Governor signed into law House Bill 165 (Planned Community & Condo Act Amends), introduced by Reps. Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake), Bill McGee (R-Forsyth), Julia Howard (R-Iredell) Beverly Earle (D-Mecklenburg), http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H165v3.pdf  which would require that any lien on a home by an association be in place for 90 days before the HOA can begin foreclosure proceedings. The provisions were part of a list of recommendations from a House study committee that had met on the issue.As more and more people purchase homes in planned communities with restrictive covenants, complaints have increased. In some cases, a few hundred dollars in late association dues leads to foreclosure proceedings or thousands of dollars in late fees and fines. The NC Association of REALTORS® government affairs staff worked with the bill sponsors to reduce the disclosure burdens on sellers to only those that are required by NCAR’s contracts.