Real Estate Articles

REALTOR®: Silicon Valley REALTORS® in Sacramento for ‘Legislative Day'

Members of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) joined 2,100 California REALTORS® last week for Legislative Day in Sacramento. REALTORS® are the largest group to visit the State Capitol each year to speak to their state representatives.

Gov. Jerry Brown, a special guest at the California Association of REALTORS® morning meeting, told REALTORS® the budget is balanced, but the state still faces issues like billions of dollars in deferred road maintenance, funding for public employees' pensions, health care, climate change and housing. He said diversity, which is one of California's great assets, is also its biggest challenge.

"We are working out issues that the whole world has to deal with, but with enough openness, with enough skill, and enough harmony our state is going in the right direction," said Gov. Brown. "Wherever we look, California is leading the way."

 "You sell the California dream and it's very much alive. Let's keep it that way," Gov. Brown told REALTORS®.

Silicon Valley's REALTORS® met with Assembly Members Rich Gordon and Paul Fong and State Senator Jerry Hill and asked them to oppose the following bills:

• SB 1439 (Leno)/AB 2405 (Ammiano) forces landlords to own a property at least five years. SB 1439 only applies to the city and county of San Francisco, but AB 2405 applies statewide. The bills would discourage investment in property. It is not fair to limit a property owner's right to do what they want with their property. This bill could lead to owners proactively evicting tenants. Existing law already protects tenants' rights in terms of advance notice, relocation assistance, and extended notice protections for seniors and the disabled.
• SB (392) (DeSaulnier) imposes a $75 tax on the recording of all non-sale documents to fund affordable housing programs. The bill unfairly targets property owners who need to record real estate documents. Some "recording events" require multiple documents, which would raise costs on documents for refinancing from$102 to as much as $552; mechanic's lien from $26 to $176; and death of a spouse from $65 to $440. The bill provides no guidelines on how the funds should be awarded.
• AB 2416 (Stone) allows employees with a wage dispute to record liens against their employer's properties even if the dispute has no connection to the property. This creates a super-lien on wage disputes and clouds title. There are already existing legal remedies for wage disputes.

The REALTORS® asked the legislators to support the following bills:

• AB 2169 (Cooley) clarifies existing law allowing brokers and real estate agents to decide for themselves whether an agent is an independent contractor or an employee.
• AB 2039 (Muratsuchi) seeks to prevent real estate auction companies from shifting liability for their mistakes to sellers and listing agents when the lender sends short sale properties to auction to validate their value.

The legislators thanked REALTORS® for coming to Sacramento each year to explain important issues and "push each other when needed." They noted REALTORS® have a finger on the pulse of communities because they are integrated within the communities.

The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.

The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.

For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.

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