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 Beth L. Peerce  Tuesday, January 11th, 2011  Dear C.A.R. Member,
A new year, and with it, new beginnings and new opportunities. I’m looking forward to meeting the challenges that invariably present themselves as the new year gets underway.
One of the challenges I know many of you have been dealing with is working with short sale transactions, and I promised last month to keep you informed on C.A.R.’s efforts to address your concerns.
First, just last week I, and other C.A.R. officers, met with officials at Bank of America to ask for their commitment in streamlining and improving their short sale process. The bank has agreed to meet with our Distressed Properties task force in the very near future to discuss ways to ensure a smoother short sales process. We’ll also be meeting with the other major lenders over the next several weeks and will share any outcome with you.
Additionally, C.A.R. recently sent letters to officials at the U.S. Treasury Dept., Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency requesting immediate changes to the HAFA program and recommending solutions so the program can succeed. The letter attracted the attention of the banking trade American Banker, which ran an article last Thursday noting C.A.R.’s concerns about the dearth of HAFA short sale closures. The article is sure to be noticed by the lenders and servicers who greatly need to make immediate changes. Read the letter to industry regulators.
We will continue to remain vigilant in the area of short sales, so stay tuned for further updates.
Continue reading: C.A.R. Monthly Message January 2011
Caylyn Brown Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
 Legislatively, it’s looking to be a positive year for REALTORS® in California. The second year of the Legislature’s two-year session wrapped up in early September, and we have three sponsored bills sitting on the Governor’s desk as of this writing.
Senate Bill 1178 (Corbett) will extend anti-deficiency protections to homeowners who have refinanced “purchase money” loans and are now facing foreclosure. C.A.R. sponsored this critical piece of legislation to protect homeowners in foreclosure from attempts by lenders to sue the homeowners for the difference between the value of the foreclosed property and the outstanding balance on the mortgage loan. California has protected borrowers from so called “deficiency” liability on their home mortgages since the 1930s, but the evolution of mortgage finance requires that the statute be updated. Current law says if a homeowner defaults on a mortgage used to purchase their home, the homeowner’s liability on the mortgage is limited to the property itself. The 1930s law does not extend the protection for purchase money mortgages to loans that re-financed the original purchase debt – even if the refinance was only to gain a lower interest rate. Recent years of low interest rates have induced tens of thousands of homeowners to refinance their mortgages, yet almost no one realized that by re-financing their mortgage to obtain a lower rate, they were forfeiting their protections. These borrowers became personally liable for the balance of the loan. Should the Governor sign SB 1178 into law it would correct this deficiency, protecting people who refinanced their home for a lower interest rate, without taking any money out of their home.
Senate Bill 1427 (Price) would require local governments to provide the owner of a foreclosed property a notice of violation for overgrown weeds, broken windows, or other similar problems, and an opportunity to correct those violations before imposing a fine or penalty. Costs of nuisance abatement measures, if provided by local government, should the property owner not make those repairs themselves, must not exceed the actual and reasonable costs of nuisance abatement. Currently, some local governments are imposing civil fines and penalties up to $1,000 per day for failure to maintain a vacant property. Properties need to be maintained so as to not to cause blight, bringing down the value of an entire neighborhood. An extremely high rate of fines will deter buyers from purchasing, fixing and getting these homes occupied, which is the ultimate goal. Should Governor Schwarzenegger sign this bill, it will be a good compromise for all parties involved,
Continue reading: Recap of the 2010 Legislative Season
Caylyn Brown Monday, October 4th, 2010
On Thursday, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 1178 (Corbett), C.A.R.’s sponsored bill that would have expanded anti-deficiency protections. In his veto message, the Governor made clear his view that the bill interferes with an existing contract. While disappointed in the Governor’s misinterpretation of the bill, C.A.R. is grateful to the almost 13,000 California REALTORS(R) who [...]
Daniel Allen Thursday, August 26th, 2010
California’s legislature has recently passed SB 1178 (Corbett), C.A.R.’s sponsored bill to extend anti-deficiency protection to homeowners who have refinanced. C.A.R. is asking all California REALTORS(r) to contact Governor Schwarzenegger to urge him to sign SB 1178.
Please Contact Governor Schwarzenegger TODAY to urge him to sign SB 1178!
What’s At Stake: C.A.R. is [...]
Caylyn Brown Friday, August 20th, 2010
SB 1178, sponsored by C.A.R., the anti-deficiency bill designed to protect homeowners who refinanced for better interest rates passed out of the Senate and Assembly and is how headed to the Governor’s desk. The Governor now has 30 days to sign or veto this important bill. Jim Wasserman posted a great piece in today’s [...]
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