Monday, March 8th, 2010On Thursday March 11th there will be a Masters Club mixer for all Masters Club members and their guests, each member may bring up to 2 guests. Come and enjoy wine tasting, live music, and Hors D’oeuvres.
We will gather at the listing of Marge Reid, 1424 38th Street in East Sacramento.
Please RSVP by Wednesday, March 10 to Lilly Mishchuk at 437-1212 or lmishchuk@sacrealtor.org. Please include your name, guest names and phone number.
There is no charge to attend, this is just one of the many benefits of being a Masters Club member and we hope to see you there!!March Mixer for Masters Club members
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A temporary extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was signed into law by President Obama on March 2. This will extend the NFIP through March 28 (it was originally scheduled to expire on February 28). The temporary extension will allow Congress to work on a longer extension, currently pending in the Senate, through the end of 2010. NAR will continue to push for a longer extension and even more meaningful long term reform. If you have questions about the NFIP, feel free to contact Austin Perez at aperez@realtors.org. More information can also be found on REALTOR.org:
Continue reading: Earn Your SRES Designation! Classes Now Forming in Your Area
With the transition now complete, all old RSA Secure Tokens are due into any MetroList Admin Center by Wednesday, March 11, 2010 to be eligible for GREAT PRIZES! MetroList will randomly select five winning tokens. We will use the serial numbers on the tokens to identify the names of the winners. Remember, the RSA Secure Logon Tokens have no value whatsoever. If you are unable to return the Token please ensure you properly dispose of the tokens in accordance with all local codes and regulations for products containing lithium batteries. If you are unable to visit a MetroList Admin Center, you can mail the RSA Secure Logon Token to MetroList so that it arrives by Wednesday, March 11, 2010 to be eligible for the prizes. Our address is: MetroList Secure Token Return Thank you for helping us to protect the environment! The MetroList Team Linda Harris of the Board of Equalization reminds Members of the newly added section 6225 to the California Revenue and Taxation Code (RTC) that requires a qualified purchaser to register with the Board of Equalization (BOE) and report and pay use tax directly to the BOE by April 15th for the preceding calendar year for purchases subject to use tax. Under this section, a qualified purchaser is a person who has at least $100,000 in gross receipts per year from business operations, is not required to hold a seller’s permit or a certificate of registration use tax, does not hold a use tax direct payment permit, or is not otherwise registered with the BOE for use tax. In September 2009 BOE sent the following link to our special notice with information regarding the new use tax registration requirements: http://www.boe.ca.gov/news/pdf/l232.pdf. Under California law, if sales tax would apply when a particular item is purchased in California, use tax applies when a similar purchase is made from a retailer outside the state and no tax is charged. Use tax is not a new tax. It has been a part of the California RTC since the 1930’s. Only the registration requirement is new under RTC section 6225. As part of BOE’s registration efforts, they contacted approximately 180,000 identified qualified purchasers and informed them of the new program. In an effort to help ease taxpayer burden, they have registered those taxpayers through their automated registration system. In the next couple of weeks, taxpayers will receive their “welcome letter”, a copy of which is provided in the attached link (http://www.boe.ca.gov/news/pdf/qp_a.pdf ). The letter introduces the program and provides taxpayers with their new BOE account number and express login code. Through our automated system, taxpayers will use their account number and express login code to efile their use tax returns for years 2007, 2008 and 2009. For more information about the BOE’s efiling and other tax and fee programs, please visit their website at www.boe.ca.gov.
When I was a little girl, I rode trolleys up and down J Street. When you called and the phone was busy, you called again. The answering machine was the mother at the other end of the line, who took a message. A long distance call was cause for alarm since one never called long distance unless it was an emergency. At school, if you got into trouble, you got into more trouble at home. All children had books and paper and pencils. There were lockers so kids did not have to lug all of the day’s books around with them and there were no back packs. I was forbidden to go into the park next to my Junior High School at lunch because kids were smoking there… cigarettes. Milk was delivered to the door and moms met in the street to gossip at the vegetable man’s truck. Sacramento ended in East Sacramento on J Street at 57th. H Street went over the H Street bridge to become Fair Oaks Boulevard. The shopping mall was Town and Country, but it took too much gas to get there so we seldom went. In summer, we swam at Clunie Pool at McKinley Park unless it was closed for a polio scare. The library was a constant source of entertainment for me. We listened to the radio shows. We went to the State Fair at the old fairgrounds. We went to dances at Governor’s Hall. We took public transportation and did not worry about child abduction.
A real estate broker’s commission may be determined using a percentage of the sales price, a flat fee, or a combination of both, according to a recent letter from HUD’s General Counsel Helen Kanovsky. The January 22 letter clarifies the distinction between using a formula to calculate a legitimate commission, as opposed to an unearned fee that violates RESPA. Under RESPA, a real estate broker cannot charge a fee if no, nominal, or duplicative work is done. According to the letter from Ms. Kanovsky, the new HUD-1 simplifies the reporting of the broker’s commission because it is now reported in the 700-series as dollar amounts, rather than percentages. If, however, the amount in the 700-series is more than the commission in the listing agreement or buyer’s broker agreement, then HUD may review whether additional services were provided for the excess amount charged. As an example, a listing broker charging the buyer an administrative fee absent any contractual relationship between the listing broker and buyer may be evidence of a RESPA violation. This HUD letter provides REALTORS® with some guidance after a federal district court in Alabama invalidated a $149 administrative brokerage commission last year in the case of Busby v. JRHBW Realty, Inc. (2009) 642 F.Supp.2d 1283. For more information on that case, see C.A.R.’s Realegal dated April 27, 2009.
The NEW California Residential Purchase Agreement and Joint Escrow Instructions Form (RPA-CA) will be released on April 28, 2010! Are you prepared to represent your clients with this new form? Prepare early and learn about the NEW CHANGES to the RPA-CA form to better serve and protect yourself and YOUR CLIENTS at the REALTOR® S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons and Tactics) Program coming to a location near you beginning in March.
The REALTOR® S.W.A.T. Program is a one day program, filled with the resources you need to succeed in today’s challenging market.
All for one low registration price of $79! (C.A.R. Member pricing if registering two weeks prior) C.A.R. Member Price is $89; Non-Member Price is $159. Register Here. We look forward to connecting with you during this exciting event! Sincerely, Steve Goddard  Steve Goddard - 2010 C.A.R. President Dear REALTOR®, In an effort to support REALTORS® and educate consumers about current opportunities in today’s real estate market, C.A.R., in participation with the Los Angeles Times, will present the Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair for consumers Saturday, March 13, and Sunday, March 14 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. The Fair is free to the public. The Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair will feature more than 50 educational seminars presented in English and Spanish for consumers, designed to address many of the concerns of first-time home buyers and arm them with all of the practical information they need to know as they begin the road to homeownership. Please help us make this event a success with consumers by promoting the Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair to your clients. There is a fact sheet about the Fair at http://www.car.org/media/pdf/Fact_Sheet_2010.pdf. For complete information, go to www.homebuyersfair.com. Sincerely, Steve Goddard SAVING YOU TIME We’ve enhanced our C.A.R. Member Legal Services to help you find answers to your legal questions as quickly as possible.
Don’t spend your time searching for market trend statistics. We’ve put all the data in one place for you. Click here to find out what we learned from the 2009 housing market by reading our most recent TRENDS in California Real Estate newsletter. It’s free for members. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * |
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