|
||||||
|
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 [...] 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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Steve Goddard - 2010 C.A.R. President Dear C.A.R. Member: The C.A.R. Board of Directors meetings in Indian Wells concluded last weekend, and as always covered a lot of ground in a short period of time. More than 50 committee meetings during the week culminated in the official meetings of the full board on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Your board of directors is a dedicated group of volunteers who give their time and expertise to your state association and to our industry. If you’re not directly involved in your local association, or aren’t yet a volunteer at the state or national level, I encourage you to do so. It’s an opportunity to give voice to the issues important to you and your peers, and to directly impact your livelihood and the future of our industry. My involvement over the years has enriched both my professional and personal life. At the meetings, changes to the California Residential Purchase Agreement and Joint Escrow Instructions–most often referred to as the “RPA”–were approved by the board. The RPA is the standard form, produced by C.A.R., used in nearly every residential real estate transaction in the state. The RPA hasn’t been significantly modified since 2002, and the changes approved this past week followed nearly two years of effort by the RPA Study Group and the Standard Forms Advisory Committee, with over 1,000 comments from members helping inform the process. Changes regarding the initial deposit; the notice to perform; FHA/VA loans; financing; the appraisal contingency; the wood pest inspection; home warranty coverage; and contingencies and cancellations; among others, were approved and will be incorporated in the revised form, scheduled for release April 28. For a complete timeline regarding the RPA release, visit http://www.car.org/legal/standard-forms/. Final Drafts will be posted Feb. 22. Classes will be held throughout the state and begin next month. Please click here for more details. Continue reading: Your February Message from C.A.R. President Steve Goddard Steve Goddard - 2010 C.A.R. President Dear C.A.R. Member: A new year, and with it, new beginnings and new opportunities. Like you, I’m looking forward to meeting the challenges that invariably present themselves as we get underway. It’s heartening to see encouraging signs in both the general economy and the real estate market in California. As is often the case, California is ahead of the nation in market recovery. The state’s median home price increased year over year in November for the first time since August 2007, sales bottomed out more than two years ago, and the median home price reached its trough in February 2009. Going forward, we expect the statewide median home price to rise 3.3 percent to $280,000 this year, with a slight decrease in sales. While no one has an infallible crystal ball, it looks like the worst is behind us, and we can move forward with confidence that better days are ahead. There’s exciting news to share on the statewide MLS front: calREDD™ on Monday officially launched at the Lake County Association of REALTORS®. We remain convinced that a true statewide MLS is in your best interests, and we will continue to work to that end. It’s a complicated process, but as calREDD™ Chairman Mike Silvas so succinctly stated, it’s always easy to criticize innovators who are shaking up the status quo. Following Monday’s successful launch in Lake County, calREDD™ now will focus on deployments at the Chico, Oroville, and Paradise associations later this month, with more to follow in March and April. Continue reading: Your January Message from C.A.R. President Steve Goddard Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will suspend foreclosure evictions from December 19, 2009 through January 3, 2010. To help struggling families over the holidays, both owner-occupants and tenants living in properties foreclosed upon by Fannie Mae will not be evicted. Freddie Mac’s suspension of evictions will be limited to properties up to four units. In a similar move, Citigroup Inc. will suspend foreclosure sales and evictions for 30 days through January 17, 2010 for loans it owns. Citigroup’s foreclosure moratorium, however, does not extend to loans it services on behalf of other investors. Given these developments, other lenders may follow suit, so check with the lender if appropriate. Continue reading: Lenders to Halt Foreclosure Evictions Over the Holidays REALTORS® and their clients who encounter unlawful or unprofessional conduct by an appraiser may file a confidential complaint with California’s Office of Real Estate Appraisers (OREA). Since implementation of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) in May 2009, REALTORS® have reported many challenges and difficulties with appraisals, such as low appraisals, inexperienced appraisers, out-of-area appraisers unfamiliar with a local neighborhood, and problems with Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs). Appraisers are regulated by the OREA, and starting January 1, 2010, a new law directs the OREA to develop a registration process and other regulations to oversee AMCs as well. A complaint of appraiser’s misconduct may be filed with the OREA. The complaint may be made confidentially, but proper prosecution may ultimately require the complainant’s testimony in a legal proceeding. Continue reading: REALTORS® May File Confidential Appraiser Complaints Steve Goddard - 2010 C.A.R. President Dear C.A.R. Member: I wanted to bring to your attention some important details about the recently announced Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program (HAFA), which provides instructions for lenders and servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program and Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAFA helps standardize the short sale and deed-in-lieu process by creating an alternative to foreclosures for homeowners unable to successfully modify their troubled mortgage under HAMP. Although not perfect, the program reflects C.A.R.’s efforts in the federal arena to standardize the short sale process, protect your business, and safeguard commissions. It also makes clear the timeframes by which servicers must respond to an offer on a short sale. The HAFA program will permit pre-approved short sale terms before a property is listed; prevent servicers from attempting to reduce real estate commissions established in the listing agreement as a condition for short sale approval; release borrowers from future liability for the debt; and provide financial incentives to borrowers, servicers, and investors. Continue reading: C.A.R. Update on Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program Steve Goddard - 2010 C.A.R. President 2010 promises to be another challenging year for both the housing market and our industry. I am honored to be your 2010 president, and look forward to speaking, meeting, and interacting with you during the coming year, whether online or in person. During my term, I’ll be focusing on efforts to ensure that the REALTOR® remains at the center of the transaction, making certain private property rights are protected at both the state and national levels, and expanding our commitment to raise the level of professionalism within our industry. I look forward to communicating with you each month, and highlighting some of the many benefits available to you through your membership in C.A.R. I hope you’ve taken advantage of the opportunity to upgrade to the new zipForm® 6, where you’ll be able to access new features and functionality not currently available with either WINForms Online® or WINForms® Desktop. I upgraded my software last month, and can tell you that it was essentially a quick and easy process. WINForms® is an essential part of my business, and I’m pleased with the new functionalities available to me now. To take advantage of free introductory webinar training, visit http://www.car.org/winforms/zipForm6/. Next on the horizon, ePUBS™ for zipForm® 6 is going to be free for all C.A.R. members as of Jan. 1. ePUBS™ for zipForm® 6 makes it easy for you to e-mail critical mandated disclosure information like the Combined Hazards Book and helpful consumer guides to your client. You can e-mail the Combined Hazards Book with the separate signature file and offer your client a green alternative to printing out all 79 pages of the booklet — one step closer to a paperless transaction. Be on the lookout for more detailed information in coming weeks. Continue reading: Your Monthly Message from C.A.R. President Steve Goddard – December 2009 Dear C.A.R. Member: Given today’s challenging healthcare environment, I’m pleased to let you know that the open enrollment deadline for medical, dental, vision, and life insurance through C.A.R. has been extended through Dec. 15. You now have an opportunity to enroll for coverage effective Jan. 1, 2010. This is your chance to get guaranteed issue health insurance through C.A.R.’s medical plan, as well as an opportunity to enroll for dental, vision, and life insurance coverage. After Dec. 15, you won’t be able to enroll in the C.A.R. program until April 2010 for a June 1, 2010, start date. I encourage you to make some time today to review the information below so you are able to make an informed decision regarding insurance options for yourself and your family. Continue reading: C.A.R. Open Enrollment Deadline Extended to Dec. 15 SAVING YOU TIME From the day-to-day legal support you need to updates on new laws that affect your transactions – Legal online is your quick stop for answers. Here’s a snapshot of the legal news you need, now.
SAVING YOU MONEY You’ve heard that the zipForm® 6 FREE upgrade is now available – so here’s what’s new. Get ready to enjoy the enhanced features and functionality of zipForm® 6. Available in two versions: zipForm® 6 Professional Edition (formerly WINForms Online®), allows users to log onto any computer to access the software; Zipform® 6 Standard Edition (formerly WINForms® Desktop), is an offline version of zipForm® 6, and saves all program files, settings, and transactions locally instead of online. Software installation is required to utilize the desktop version. |
Register | Login | |||||
|
Copyright © 2012 Sacramento Association of REALTORS® Web Log - All Rights Reserved |
||||||
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Recent Comments