Just Take That First Step

It is easy to feel intimidated and think you couldn’t really influence any legislative changes that are coming your way.  But you don’t have to channel Mr. Smith goes to Washington in order to make your voice heard.  You don’t have to attend a $1,000 a plate fundraiser or be able to recite full pages of Black’s Law Dictionary.  There are easy ways to join in a chorus of voices, let’s start with an organization you already know.
 

Have you really taken a look at what your professional organization is doing? Whether you belong to ALTA, MBA, NAR, ABA, or NAMB your trade association has a team dedicated to legislative affairs and advocacy.  Just click on the links above to go straight to the advocacy pages of their web-sites.  If you haven’t yet met the staff, send an e-mail and introduce yourself.  Ask them how you and your company can help.  They’ll be delighted to hear from you.
 

Some organizations have groups solely dedicated to RESPA related issues.  ALTA’s RESPA Implementation Task Force is a group of professionals assembled from throughout the title and settlement industies.  Our charter is to help shape and implement RESPA within the ALTA community.   We are working jointly with HUD and other professional associations on RESPA related matters.  Have you made your comments, questions and suggestions heard?  The RESPA Task Force wants to hear from you, e-mail your thoughts directly to RESPAcomments@alta.org
 

You don’t have to dedicate your professional life to legislative issues.  Heaven’s knows we all have full time jobs already.  The good news is that our trade associations have people who do that for us!  So surely we each have just 15 quick minutes to craft an e-mail that outlines our questions, comments or concerns.  Please block out a few minutes of today or first thing Monday morning to reach out and lend a hand.  And remember, “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin