This isn’t a political post, it’s one about the NAR advocating for expertise on one hand, and advocating the complete opposite with this endorsement.
The National Association of Realtors, in their Endorsement of Ben Carson for HUD Secretary, throws aside the notion that experience matters. Leaving aside the fact that Dr. Carson is against the Mortgage Interest Deduction, and not an advocate for fair housing, and that the HUD has just announced the FHA MIP cut is no longer — the NAR has long marketed that hiring a Realtor means hiring an expert.*
National Association of Realtors’ “1.2 million members” “offer our support for Ben Carson as the Secretary of “HUD” …. first, not accurate. Not even a little bit.
Two quick examples from NAR, the lobby for Realtors, on why to hire a Realtor
6 Reasons You Should Never Buy or Sell a Home Without an Agent
1. They have loads of expertise
Bwahahaha. Expertise is important for hiring a real estate agent to represent you, but not when seeking to hire someone who will run the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
7 Reasons to Work With a REALTOR®
An expert guide. Selling a home usually requires dozens of forms, reports, disclosures, and other technical documents. A knowledgeable expert will help you prepare the best deal, and avoid delays or costly mistakes. Also, there’s a lot of jargon involved, so you want to work with a professional who can speak the language.
Yet … Dr. Carson himself says he is not qualified
“Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience, he’s never run a federal agency,” Williams said. “The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency.”
But … NAR is paid to play the political game.
I’m affiliated with no party. I see a nominee who believes he is not qualified, and who actively spoke against the mortgage interest deduction, one of NAR’s key pillars.
I don’t appreciate NAR supporting a nominee who speaks against fair housing.
I get that politics is a dirty, filthy, degrading business. I don’t appreciate my political action committee playing in the same mud.
* Anyone who knows me or has read what I have written for years knows that merely having a license and paying Realtor dues does not equate to expertise. Mentoring, practice, making and learning from mistakes, and time can lead to expertise. Carson would do well to start anywhere within government first, and work his way up … just as rookies do in any profession.