10 Years On, Hurricane Katrina Has Taught Towns How to Be Resilient

Does the area you live in have a clear evacuation plan and resources in place in case of a catastrophic event? No one can prevent a disaster, but planning and a strong understanding of what it means to be resilient can make all the difference.

On Aug. 29, the country marks 10 years since Hurricane Katrina leveled 500,000 homes in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, creating $41 billion in property damage and displacing more than 1 million people.

Since the Category 5 hurricane struck the Big Easy, the city has installed a $14.5 billion system of levees, flood walls, and pumps. Redevelopment in New Orleans’ nine main residential communities has cost $1 billion, and the population is back to 90 percent of what it was before the storm.

These efforts among local, state, and federal governments; public and private organizations; and individuals are all part of what experts call a “resilience effort.” And it appears that such movements aren’t limited to Louisiana. They’ve gained traction across the country.

During a recent webinar, representatives from the Urban Land Institute defined resilience as “the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events.” Resilience includes both recovery and improvement: what can and should happen before, during, and after hazardous events such as flooding, wildfires, winter storms, and tornadoes.

In order to build resilience in areas prone to disasters, ULI’s Byron Stigge listed six steps to help towns and cities assess risk. The idea of risk is based on the concept of the probability of an event (percentage) multiplied by the damage from the event ($), although damages such as health issues and the reputation of a city can’t always be determined monetarily.

1. Define types of relevant hazards: The events that typically happen in the Midwest are different from those on the West Coast, for example.
2. Define event scenarios: Are the hazards very likely to happen (10 percent annual probability), moderately likely (1 percent annual probability), or highly unlikely (0.2 percent annual probability)?
3. Identify affected assets: These assets can include response facilities such as police stations and hospitals, infrastructure, and operating facilities, including government buildings and schools.
4. Assess the damage to each asset: Direct impacts can include property damage, inventory losses, and loss of life. Indirect impacts can include reduced home values, higher insurance rates, and job losses.
5. Calculate annual risk exposure: How much money would have to be spent on each asset after each type of hazardous event?
6. Calculate cumulative risk exposure: Analyze what the damage will be 10, 20, and 50 years from now.

These steps are meant to reduce the risk of catastrophe as much as possible. However, Jim Heid of UrbanGreen, a San Francisco-based sustainability consultancy, noted that “much like sustainability, resilience is … really something that’s never achieved, but it’s something we continually work toward over time.”

Heid stressed the importance of examining actions needed for different types of rural or urban landscapes. He said often it’s smaller communities that need the most resources, but they rarely have the ability to handle them. Strategies that are applicable for a wide range of communities include avoiding new development in high-risk areas, anticipating events by having resources available, and accepting that some challenges are unavoidable.

Though these steps toward resilience seem intended for local government officials, it’s important to be aware of the planning that may be happening in your community. For real estate professionals and home owners, these plans can be an important factor when looking to buy, sell, or show a home. When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the city had weak, out-of-date levees and an insufficient evacuation plan. Now, with a resilience movement long underway, the city has collected data to determine which areas need evacuation first in the event of another disaster. It has an evacuation plan, which was tested in the wake of Hurricane Gustav in 2008, to move every resident out in 36 hours and bring them to shelters with food.

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Where Housing Stands at White House Demo Day

I’ve never really experienced Washington, D.C. aside from a family vacation there about 20 years ago, but that all changed when I was invited to attend the White House Demo Day — where innovators around the country pitched their ideas to none other than President Barack Obama.

The event was hosted by Megan Smith, chief technology officer for the United States, as part of the SocialMedia.org contingent of digital marketers from some of the world’s largest companies. I was invited to participate in this event to represent Coldwell Banker Real Estate, and obviously when you are invited to a meeting at the White House, you can’t help but be excited.

Before we got down to business, I took the opportunity to take a selfie with a picture of Obama in a White House meeting room so that I could report back to family and friends that I did, indeed, get a selfie with the president. As I sat there soaking in every second of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I decided within about 20 minutes that this day had already solidified its spot on my list of top 10 life experiences.

Smith entered the room accompanied by a diverse group of business thinkers who she and Obama invited to showcase their startups and shed light on how important the entrepreneurial spirit is to the future of America.

In her opening remarks, Smith focused on the need to welcome more women and ethnic groups into the entrepreneurial ecosystem. She cited several jarring statistics:

• Just 3 percent of America’s venture capital-backed startups are led by women; less than 1 percent are led by African-Americans.
• Four percent of U.S.-based venture capital investors are women.
• Of 300 companies surveyed in a recent case study, those with a woman leader performed 63 percent better than all-male teams.

Wow, so inclusivity is not only the fair thing to do — it is also the most profitable.

As we listened to the entrepreneurs share their achievements, it was astounding how strong their perseverance and desire to overcome obstacles were. They included Albrey Brown, who created a coding boot camp for African-Americans, and two women from online job board The Muse who revolutionized how millennials go about their job search.

But as I sat there, I realized that one industry was completely missing from the conversation: real estate. Why? Aren’t real estate professionals the ultimate entrepreneurs? Aren’t we the champions of perseverance? We’re no different than the founders of The Muse, who were rejected 148 times before they received funding for their idea. While we don’t usually deal with angel investors or venture capitalists, I think you will all agree the daily grind we face from buyers and sellers is an equal — if not tougher — challenge.

Those in real estate are the backbone of America. We shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to talking about entrepreneurial leadership.

The truth is, we are a shining beacon of how to do it right. Our gender make-up is exactly what Smith is looking for. Women make up 58 percent of our workforce. And knowing how my brand Coldwell Banker showcases diversity support with partnerships with the Asian Real Estate Association of America, the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals, and the Young Professionals Network, I left our White House Demo day with a sense of extreme pride to know that I am working in an industry that is keeping the American Dream of entrepreneurship alive.

Lindsay Listanski is the senior manager of media engagement for Coldwell Banker Real Estate.

 

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As a Real Estate Practitioner, Aren’t You Also an Environmentalist?

Most of us — really, all of us, but I’m saving room for the diehard skeptics — can agree that environmental changes are having a large-scale impact on our planet. But “environmental issues” isn’t a phrase easily uttered in the real estate community without hue and cry. Many practitioners react negatively to topics of environmental significance, and it’s somewhat understandable. Environmental interests can potentially derail real estate projects and transactions as our society becomes more conscious of how development effects the Earth’s well-being. But even if there’s conflict between the two, they’re also intertwined: The environment can have huge implications for how desirable a property is to buyers. So shouldn’t you, as a person who sells property, care about the environment?

I recently profiled three real estate professionals for the July/August issue of REALTOR® Magazine (hitting your mailbox this Friday) who are contending with environmental problems in their regions. The point of the story isn’t to judge whether practitioners have an obligation to acknowledge and respond to real estate’s impact on the environment. It’s an examination of cases in which some have felt a calling to help clients persevere in the face of environmental challenges, from California’s historic drought to Vermont flooding and the proliferation of fracking in Texas. This reporting  got me thinking about an interview I did with David Wluka, who sat on the National Association of REALTORS®’ Land Use, Property Rights & Environment Committee for many years. During NAR’s Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C., in May, Wluka and I pondered this question: When should property rights take a backseat to the environment?

In case you think you’re about to be lectured on saving the planet, I should add that Wluka is no environmental fundamentalist. He worked as a city planner helping developers build out prime projects in the Boston area before becoming broker-owner of Wluka Real Estate Corp. in Sharon, Mass., and he’s seen firsthand how environmentalists have held back real estate. He recalled a 600-acre project he worked on in the early 2000s that drew the ire of nearby neighbors. The development process was already well underway when someone found a turtle on the property one day.

“Three years later, we lost 70 percent of this land to this turtle,” Wluka said. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection fought for the land to be preserved for native turtles, and the developers couldn’t prove that the turtles weren’t there. The developer had to scale down the project to single-family homes built on 30 percent of the original parcel. “He’ll do OK, but he wanted to have a long-term business there,” Wluka said. “[Environmentalists will] argue that we’re losing priority habitat land, but it also affects the local economy unnecessarily. Towns can end up shooting themselves in the foot. When it comes to creatures and people, sometimes people need to win.”

But these types of issues shouldn’t prevent practitioners from acknowledging the importance of balance with regard to property rights and the government’s role in fostering a healthy environment.  Many inherently get this: Thirty-nine percent of REALTORS® say they believe the federal and state governments’ involvement occurs at an “appropriate” level with at least  some environmental regulations, according to a recent REALTOR® Magazine survey of nearly 2,000 members. This finding aligns with Wluka’s assertion that real estate practitioners are environmentalists if only because it is their job to protect the important features that make their communities attractive to buyers, which include the environment. “We’re not botanists, we’re not horticulturists,” he said. “But I think practitioners in general are environmentalists because quality of life needs an environment that is attractive. … When we sell a lifestyle, that means being an environmentalist.”

He’s not suggesting that real estate pros take a political stance on the environment or get involved in movements, but he thinks agents and brokers have a responsibility to make their clients aware of how their properties could affect the environment. That starts with not backing away from hard conversations with clients about how to address their properties’ environmental impact, even if it stands to make the transaction more complicated, he says. “Practitioners should advise clients to get an attorney to help sort out environmental issues, and tell them to get an engineer when dealing with wetlands and floodplains.” (One of the agents I spoke to for the REALTOR® Magazine story advised her clients in flood-prone Vermont to do the same.) “You don’t have to be the environmental expert, but you sure better know to tell the owner that they need an expert. You’re responsible for things like that that are knowable.”

Wluka, in essence, is telling you to look at the environment from a business angle — which is less contradictory than it may sound. The state of the local environment can deeply affect your ability to sell property. So foster open discussions with clients, but try to leave the politics out of it. Remember that being an advocate for your community means championing a healthy environment for all.

So are you an environmentalist?

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Live Webcast: Understand Closing Process Changes

By now you’ve heard about the big changes coming to the closing table in the months ahead.

Starting October 3, the HUD-1 settlement form, the Good Faith Estimate, and the Truth in Lending Act disclosure are going away. They’ll be replaced by a new Loan Estimate and a new Closing Disclosure.

And that’s not all. The Loan Estimate will have to be given to the buyer three days after the loan application is submitted. And the new Closing Disclosure will have to be in the hands of the buyer three days before closing. And if certain changes are made to the Closing Disclosure after the buyer receives it, the paperwork will have to go back to the lender for approval and that starts the three-day clock all over again.

These are big changes and they will affect every closing in America. And as a real estate professional, you’re the one who will be bringing everyone together, keeping things on track, and providing explanations. To help you prepare for the new rules and avoid surprises, NAR will be presenting a live webcast featuring Phil Schulman, an attorney with K&L Gates, a former official with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development who specializes in federal closing rules, and NAR Senior Counsel Finley Maxson. The webcast is scheduled for Thursday, July 16, at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Click here to register.

If you have a question you’d like us to address during the webcast, please let us know by leaving a comment below.

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North Carolina City Charts New Course with Support from Local REALTORS®

Concerned that their city’s once-vibrant downtown core had fallen into decline as the furniture industry the area was long known for moved away, REALTORS® in High Point, N.C., sprang into action and played a key role in sponsoring a series of strategy sessions two years ago aimed at reversing the community’s fortunes.

Now, plans to reimagine High Point that emerged from those meetings in 2013, called charrettes, are moving ahead, as officials prepare to transform the parking lot in front of the city’s public library into a more functional and attractive space they hope will encourage people to come downtown more often—and even call it home one day. The project, set to begin during the next few months, will include play areas for children, pocket parks, trees and other features intended to make the parcel of land surrounding in front of the library a destination for people who live in the High Point region, said Mary Sizemore, director of the High Point Public Library.

“There’s a growing emphasis around the country on libraries serving as the center of communities,” and High Point is hopeful that the changes it is planning to make to the space outside its library will be a catalyst for improvement in the nearby area, she said.

The idea for the library construction project is one of a number of proposals for revitalizing High Point that came from the charrettes, which were made possible in part by the High Point Regional Association of REALTORS® (HPRAR) through a $15,000 Smart Growth Grant from the National Association of REALTORS®. The HPRAR REALTORS® Commercial Alliance contributed another $1,500.

Among the other ideas to bring new life to High Point produced by the charrettes was a proposal to make a stretch of Main Street, the city’s main thoroughfare, more walkable. City officials have not yet approved that suggestion, but other initiatives designed to bring visitors are under way, including a concert series at High Point’s historic train depot.

As a result of its involvement in the strategy sessions, the High Point Regional Association of REALTORS® has strengthened its ties with the local business community, said Ed Terry, executive vice president of the association. “We’re very visible now, and we have good ties with the Chamber of Commerce. They realize how important housing is to the overall success of High Point.”

In March, NAR presented HPRAR with a Community Outreach Award in recognition of its efforts to spark revitalization in High Point.

High Point jumps to life for one week every six months, when the internationally known High Point Market draws tens of thousands of people to the city of about 100,000 for the largest furniture industry trade show in the world, said Richard Wood, a retired financial adviser who serves as the volunteer director of The City Project, the nonprofit organization formed to pursue the urban renewal recommendations that stemmed from the charettes. But during the rest of the year, the city is largely quiet, because most of the furniture-manufacturing jobs that once underpinned the High Point economy have disappeared, a casualty of the shift of furniture production to overseas factories, he said.

“This is about getting back on our feet,” Wood said. “We want the real estate market to soar again in High Point,” and the changes coming to the library are a key step in that direction.

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Challenges Loom for Real Estate Industry, NAR Report Finds

By Sam Silverstein and Erica Christoffer

The real estate sector faces a host of challenges that will require professionals in all facets of the industry to become more adaptable and agile in the coming years in order to remain relevant and competitive, according to a newly released report commissioned by the National Association of REALTORS®.

Concern about the erosion of the importance consumers place on real estate professionals in structuring and managing transactions in an era of fast-moving technology is among the top issues cited in the study, which is based on data from a national survey of approximately 7,800 REALTORS® and interviews with 74 high-level executives and other real estate industry leaders. The report also takes other real estate-related studies, reports, articles and surveys into account.

Another challenge for the industry is the arrival of companies that previously did not participate in real estate, which could disrupt established business models, according to the study, known as the D.A.N.G.E.R. Report (“Definitive Analysis of Negative Game Changers Emerging in Real Estate”). Concerns about uneven professional standards and the burdens posed by government regulations also are on people’s minds, the report says.

The report was conducted by industry analyst Stefan Swanepoel, head of the Swanepoel T3 Group, a research and consulting firm, at the direction of NAR’s Strategic Thinking Advisory Committee. It is divided into five sections that detail challenges facing agents, brokers, NAR, state and local REALTOR® associations, and Multiple Listing Services.

“Don’t think that people don’t want to play in your sandbox. They do,” says Swanepoel, who spoke during last week’s REALTORS® Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo in Washington, D.C. “Some will play nice and some will not play nice.”

New technology is another force buffeting real estate. Brokers could find themselves overwhelmed by the cost of building the technological solutions they need to thrive, while agents worry that technology could marginalize the value they bring to buyers and sellers, according to the study. “There are a lot of products that are now being created very fast,” Swanepoel says,

The arrival of newcomers looking to introduce consolidation and new business models to real estate is another issue the industry faces, he adds.

Meanwhile, real estate firms and associations face headwinds in attracting young people to their ranks, Swanepoel says. “Real estate sales [isn’t] a first-choice career” for high school students, he says, adding, “We need to find more people who can make a longer commitment to our space.”

The D.A.N.G.E.R. Report offers no solutions to the challenges it identifies, but instead formulates a starting point for industry-wide conversations and paths for finding solutions, Swanapoel says. “It’s a summary of all the black swans that could be in the future.”

Michael Oppler, senior vice president at Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty and one of the 20 at-large members of the Strategic Thinking Advisory Committee, called the report a peer-to-peer dialog tool. “When you look at this report, you can have a much more open and honest conversation in your office,” he says.

Information about the D.A.N.G.E.R. Report and its findings is available at REALTOR.org/dangerreport. In addition, the entire 164-page report is available at no cost from the REALTOR® Store.

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ALERT: Wire Fraudsters Targeting Real Estate Transactions

By Jessica Edgerton, NAR associate counsel

In recent months, real estate professionals have reported an upswing in a particularly insidious wire scam. A hacker will break into a licensee’s e-mail account to obtain information about upcoming real estate transactions. After monitoring the account to determine the likely timing of a close, the hacker will send an e-mail to the buyer, posing either as the title company representative or as the licensee. The fraudulent e-mail will contain new wiring instructions or routing information, and will request that the buyer send transaction-related funds accordingly. Unfortunately, some buyers have fallen for this scheme, and have lost money.

A possible red flag to be aware of, and to alert clients to, is any reference to a “SWIFT wire” transaction, a term that indicates an overseas destination for the funds. However, unlike many other e-mail-based “phishing” schemes, this particular manifestation appears to be more sophisticated and less recognizable as fraud. The communications do not contain the typical grammatical or stylistic oddities that are often present in scam e-mails. In addition, because the perpetrator has been monitoring the licensee’s e-mail account, the fraudulent communication may include detailed and accurate information pertaining to the real estate transaction, including existing wire and banking information, file numbers, and key dates, names, and addresses. Finally, the e-mails may come from what appears to be a legitimate e-mail address, either because the thief has successfully created a sham account containing a legitimate business’s name, or because he or she is sending the e-mail from a truly legitimate—albeit hacked––account.

Be aware, also, that this particular scheme is only one of many forms of online fraud being perpetrated against real estate licensees and their clients. In protecting all parties to a real estate transaction from cybercrime, real estate professionals should consider the following guidance:

1. Prevention.
The best line of defense against fraudsters is to make sure that all parties involved in a real estate transaction implement security measures before a cyberattack occurs. These measures include the following:

• Never send wire transfer information via e-mail. For that matter, never send any sensitive information via e-mail, including banking information, routing numbers, PINS, or any other financial information.
• Inform clients from day one about your email and communication practices, and alert them to the possibility of fraudulent activity. Explain that you will never send, or request that they send, sensitive information via email.
• Prior to wiring any funds, the wirer should contact the intended recipient via a verified telephone number and confirm that the wiring information is accurate. Do not rely on telephone numbers or website addresses provided within an unverified e-mail, as fraudsters often provide their own contact information and set up convincing fake websites in furtherance of their schemes.
• If a situation arises in which you have no choice but to send information about a transaction via email, make sure to use encrypted e-mail.
• Security experts often recommend “going with your gut.” Tell clients that if an e-mail or a telephone call ever seems suspicious or “off,” that they should refrain from taking any action until the communication has been independently verified as legitimate. When it comes to safety and cybersecurity, always err on the side of being overly cautious.
• If you receive a suspicious e-mail, do not open it. If you have already opened it, do not click on any links contained in the e-mail. Do not open any attachments. Do not call any numbers listed in the e-mail. Do not reply to the e-mail.
• Clean out your e-mail account on a regular basis. Your e-mails may establish patterns in your business practice over time that hackers can use against you. In addition, a longstanding backlog of e-mails may contain sensitive information from months or years past. You can always save important e-mails in a secure location on your internal system or hard drive.
• Change your usernames and passwords on a regular basis, and make sure your employees and licensees do the same.
• Never use usernames or passwords that are easy to guess. Never, ever use the password “password.”
• Make sure to implement the most up-to-date firewall and anti-virus technologies in your business.

2. Damage Control.
If you believe your e-mail or any other account has been hacked, you should take the following steps:

• Immediately change all usernames and passwords associated with any account that you believe may have been compromised or otherwise made vulnerable by the attack.
• Contact any clients or other parties who may have been exposed during the attack so that they take appropriate action. Remind them not to comply with any requests from an unverified source.
• Report any fraudulent activity to the Federal Bureau of Investigations via their Internet Crime Complaint Center. More information can be found here: http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/e-scams
• Brokers should report any fraudulent activity to their state or local REALTOR® association so that the associations can send out alerts or take other appropriate action, including contacting NAR.

This advice is not all-inclusive, and real estate practitioners should work with Information Technology and cybersecurity professionals to ensure that their e-mail accounts, online systems, and business practices are as secure and up-to-date as possible.

For more information on this and other cyberscams, as well as further information on cybersecurity best practices, visit these resources:
http://www.realtor.org/articles/request-to-redirect-funds-should-trigger-caution
http://www.realtor.org/topics/data-privacy-and-security
http://www.realtor.org/topics/risk-management
http://www.realtor.org/articles/internet-security-best-practices
http://www.realtor.org/topics/realtor-safety/articles

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Since When Are Safety Concerns Only for Women?

Hey, fellas, you’re not immune to danger

When the National Association of REALTORS® debuted its “Real Estate Safety Matters” course for associations and brokerages, the newest addition to the REALTOR® Safety Program, at the 2015 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C., there was an obvious underlying message for the men in the room: You’re just as susceptible to being attacked as a woman.

REALTOR® safety is a topic that has gained national attention after the murder of Arkansas real estate agent Beverly Carter last September. Since then, a slew of other cases of brutality against practitioners have grabbed headlines, and in every instance, the victim was a woman. They’ve made the industry keenly aware of typical unsafe practices in the real estate business — working alone, meeting prospective clients at empty homes, revealing too much personal information in online bios — but they’ve also made it appear as though only women are vulnerable.

Tamara Suminski, GRI, ABR, a California REALTOR® who led NAR’s safety course, recalled posting to Facebook a recent news story about an attack on an agent. One commenter, a male colleague, wrote on her post: “Good thing I’m a big dude.”

“What does that mean?” Suminski said. “That you can’t be attacked?”

The truth is the mentality that women are more vulnerable to attacks than men is a fallacy. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey, which has been recording yearly crime data since 1973, more men have historically been victims of every type of violent crime except rape than women. When it comes to the relationship between victim and assailant, men and women are equally as likely to be attacked by someone they know, according to the survey.

In NAR’s 2015 Member Safety Report, 25 percent of male REALTORS® said they’ve experienced a situation that made them fear for their personal safety. Forty-eight percent of female REALTORS® said the same. Fifty percent of all REALTORS® indicated they first met prospective clients they did not know at a real estate office or neutral location — which means the other half are meeting them in potentially more dangerous locations. That includes a lot of men who are potentially putting themselves in harm’s way.

All of this is to say that men are fooling themselves if they think they don’t need to worry about being a target for attacks as much as women do. REALTOR® safety isn’t just for women. Everyone, no matter their gender, should take heed of the risks involved in real estate and take precautions to improve their safety. Anyone who thinks they have nothing to worry about is making themselves easier to victimize than those who are better prepared for danger.

“We’re all prone to safety concerns,” Suminski said. And nothing could be more true.

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The Best Country for Americans to Invest Abroad

When we speak of international buyers, we’re usually talking about people from other countries who want to invest in U.S. property. But the lines go both ways. There are high-net-worth Americans who want to buy homes in other countries, and they can spell big business for practitioners who are willing to aid them in their global search. But where should they be looking?

Rick Davidson, president and CEO of Century 21, argued at the Asian Real Estate Association of America’s Global & Luxury Summit in Chicago on Monday that because of the dollar’s strength against many other foreign currencies, American buyers can get great deals abroad. But one country stands above the rest as the best place for Americans to invest their money abroad because of a confluence of economic benefits: Japan.

“We are deeply immersed in the Japanese market,” Davidson said, noting that Century 21 has 900 offices and 6,000 agents there. Here are the reasons Davidson gave for why Japan should be a target for wealthy U.S. home buyers wanting to purchase overseas:

• The interest rates on 10-year fixed-rate loans are 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent — far below America’s historic interest-rate lows.
• One U.S. dollar 119.54 yen, which gives U.S. buyers a 20 percent discount on purchases.
• There are virtually no restrictions for foreign investors in Japan.
• Japan is coming out of recession. Deflation is expected to stop and GDP is expected to grow in the near future, so American investors will start to see a positive ROI starting now.
• Tokyo is the cheapest of all Asian cities in terms of price per square foot. The average price per square foot of a luxury property in the U.S. is $1,180; in Japan, it’s $680.
• Tokyo land prices have been rising for five straight years, making future expectation for price growth high.

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REALTORS® Press for Relief from Patent Trolls (VIDEO)

As lawmakers on Capitol Hill consider patent-reform legislation, the National Association of REALTORS® has released a video highlighting the urgent need for action to protect real estate other business professionals from patent trolls—entities that purchase patents, then use them to demand licensing fees using vaguely worded letters that threaten legal action. NAR is playing a key role in the effort to reform the U.S. patent litigation system and is a member of the recently formed United for Patent Reform coalition.

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