Real Estate Articles
California REALTORS® don't want real estate to bear burden of state's budget crisis
California REALTOR® officials expressed their worry about what's ahead for real estate when it comes to public policy. At the California REALTORS® Expo 2011 in San Jose on Wednesday, Alex Creel, senior vice president and chief lobbyist for the state trade association, gave a brief overview of how REALTORS® have worked to protect homeownership. He also worried about difficult times ahead in light of the state's looming budget crisis.
Creel was pleased to announce a number of bills that protect homeowners, which the REALTOR® group supported and were passed this year by the legislature and then signed by California Governor Brown. They include SB 458 (Corbett) Anti-Deficiency, which extends the anti-deficiency protections to junior liens, and states any lender that agrees to a short sale must accept the agreed upon short sale payment as full payment of the outstanding balance of all loans. In addition, this measure clarifies that this rule applies only to residences.
SB 837 (Blakeslee) adds language to the Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) notifying the purchaser of a property of impending requirements of a previous law that all residential properties be retrofitted with low-flow toilets, shower heads and faucets starting with remodels in 2014, all remaining homes by 2017. Additionally, all commercial properties and multi-family homes will need to be retrofitted by 2019. The bill assures that sellers and buyers are aware of these water efficiency retrofit requirements and provide disclosure liability protection to REALTORS®.
Another bill signed into law by the Governor, SB 150 (Correa), protects the right of a CID owner to rent his or her unit, if that right existed at the time the owner purchased the unit.
AB 771 (Butler) prevents home buyers in a common interest development (CID), such as a condominium or townhome, from being charged excess document fees and prohibits any "bundling" of fees for other documents with these fees.
Two other bills are pending. SB 510 (Correa) authorizes that managers of a broker's branch office shall not hold a restricted license, be subject to debarment, or have less than 2 years of full-time real estate experience within five years preceding the appointment. This bill is currently on the Governor's desk. Pending on the Senate floor is AB 278 (Hill), which authorizes DRE citations up to $2,500 not be published in the DRE bulletin.
Creel then noted as legislators continue to seek ways to fix the federal and state's budget deficit, "homeownership, as we know it" is being threatened. The major threats include proposals to eliminate or reduce the mortgage interest deduction (MID); imposing taxes on services, which would include the many services involved in the real estate transactions (escrow, title insurance, inspection, etc.); imposing or raising transfer taxes; and tax withholding on independent contractors.
The C.A.R. official urged REALTORS® to keep abreast with political issues involving their business and clients and to contact their legislators when bills that are proposed hurt the industry and home owners.
"We don't want real estate to bear a disproportionate burden in solving the budget crisis. Threats are becoming more real all the time as the situation gets tighter," Creel said.
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.