Selling Southwest California Homes, The Wine Country & Equestrain Estates

Canyon Lake to local Businesses - Tax You!

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:12:21 -0600

Irony abounds. On the same day Los Angeles appointed a blue ribbon panel to study ways to reduce taxes and encourage business, the Canyon Lake City Council decided it was time to raise taxes, errr, FEES and singled out 'Professional Employees and Professional Licensees' for an additional tax, errr, FEE. (They went to great pains to point out in their ordinance that this is a FEE and shall not be construed as a TAX.) Whatever - the net result is if you're a professional licensee it'll now cost you more for the privilege of doing business in Canyon Lake.

Exactly why they singled out 'Professional Licensees' to hit up for more taxes, sorry - FEES, is anybodies guess. Maybe the city leaders just figured that's where the money's at since it apparently isn't in the city coffers and they need more. So they determined that in addition to the customary 'Business License Tax' that owners of every business pay every year, they were going to break that down even further to "protect the public health, safety and welfare as well as provide for efficient administration of the program". That's clever - invent an unnecessary program and then tax people to run it. These people may have bright futures in state politics.

Ryan Smith, IVAR GAD, board Counsel John Giardinelli and I have been working with the City to address the madness of this ordinance since July. We have held numerous meetings with city staff and counsel and, as of a month ago, had actually reached what we felt was an equitable compromise. Unfortunately the CL Mayor visited her hairdresser a few days before the most recent council meeting and the current Ordinance 121 revision was the result of that high level conference. (No, I am not lying).

From here on out, any 'Professional Associate or licensee' including, but not limited to, realtors, attorneys,beauticians, barbers, manicurists, dentists, dental hygienists, veterinarians, doctors, podiatrists and chiropractors get to pay extra to operate in Canyon Lake. It applies to 'businesses which have a fixed location within the city as well as those which do not'.

So if you're a Broker, attorney, doctor, etc. with an office in Canyon Lake, you will owe this extra fee for every licensee under you. If you are a Realtor from elsewhere and you list a property in Canyon Lake, they will send you a bill. They are unclear on whether they can bill your Broker for every agent in your office whether or not they do business in Canyon Lake but for sure you'll get a bill because of your sign. If you represent a buyer on a property in CL, they have no way of figuring that out so you can either just pony up the tax, errrr FEE because you are a fool, or you get a free pass.

I'm sure all the agents from San Diego and Los Angeles (& Murrieta and Riverside) listing bank-owned homes in Canyon Lake will just be falling over themselves to send in that extra payment.Their code enforcement person is going to have a full time job tracking down these signs, sending bills, stopping by offices to count noses and ensure compliance etc.

What? You say they don't have and can't afford to devote a full time code enforcement officer to this effort? Jeez, maybe it's gonna be a challenge collecting those payments from Ventura and the OC then. If they're lucky a few businesses in Canyon Lake might comply - everybody else will just give this program the respect it so richly deserves - doo-dah.

The City claims this is necessary for 'disaster preparedness and in the event of an emergency'. So by their logic, if your building is on fire, instead of calling the owner of record they could just call some random Realtor or hairdresser. If your business is being burgled, don't call the manager, just call somebody that does nails in the back stall or a random podiatrist. Yeah, that makes sense.

In summary, under Ordinance 121, the City of Canyon Lake has singled out 'licensed professionals' working in or thinking about working in the City for an additional tax, errr, FEE. They claim they need to do this for 'disaster preparedness and emergency contact', and they're counting, in large degree, on voluntary compliance because they don't have the manpower necessary to enforce it. They have invented an unnecessary program and want to charge you an additional fee to implement it.

At this point you may be wondering what the additional tax, errrr FEE is? $20. That's right, $20. One lonely Andrew Jackson. As a representative from their Chamber asked, why is the City willing to piss off some 300+ business' still hanging on in Canyon Lake over $20? If they're lucky, they might generate a few grand. Probably not. He told them straight out "You aren't listening!". He was right.

If there's any good news to be gleaned from this ludicrosity, they started out demanding $90 a head, they ended up at $20. Of course since the amount of annual increase is unspecified, they could decide to jack it to $90 next year now that it's in place.

Anyway, if you're thinking about dong business in Canyon Lake, you might want to check out the City's record on business friendly ordinances before you jump. Menifee, Lake Elsinore & Wildomar are right next door and they would love to have your business. And it won't cost you an extra $20 a head to do it.

You can read the full text of this ordinance if they every figure out how to post it to their website.

Cash for Clunkers - FAIL. Next up? Healthcare.

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:08:33 -0600

Jeez there are times I just hate to be right. Back in May I wrote about the much vaunted 'Cash for Clunkers' program and what the likely outcome might be in my humble opinion. Well, the numbers are in - no, not the governments numbers, the real numbers the government didn't want you to see that had to be obtained through the freedom of information act. It's that whole transparency thing, you know. And it's even worse than I thought. Let's take a look at some of those numbers, shall we?

Here's the fun facts about the recently completed 'cash for clunkers' program, another well conceived and soundly implemented government-run program. A new reportwas released by the AP yesterday using figures obtained under the freedom of information act. If the AP isn't careful with this kind of factual and statistical reporting they'll soon find themselves under siege by the White House ala Fox News. You can read the full report here: Cash for Clunkers - FAIL.

Of the 677,081 clunkers traded under the program it appears that about 15% got less than 20 mpg. 8,200 times, owners of high mileage Ford F150 pickups simply traded them for new F150's making it the most highly traded vehicle, followed by Dodge Rams and Chevy Silverados. Many of these vehicles had over 200,000 miles on them so the owners simply swapped. Yeah, they'll be buying again soon.

Of the estimated $3 Billion spent by the government, $562,000 went for vehicles that got the same or worse mileage than the trade-ins. Most of the trucks traded saw improvements of between 1 and 3 mpg, if at all. A total of almost $1 Billon went for this type of vehicle.

Trades into higher mileage vehicles like Corollas, Camrys, Civics, Prius' and Focus' rounded out the top ten and accounted for about $2 billion of the total. Those vehicles brought the average fuel economy for vehicles sold under the program to 24.9, up from 15.8 on the trade-ins.

So let's do some math.

Using round numbers, if your clunker got 15 mpg and you drove 12,000 miles a year you used 800 gallons of gas. The vehicle you purchased got 25 mpg so that same 12,000 miles only used 480 gallons. Good so far?

So the average clunker traded reduced fuel consumption by 320 gallons a year. That's pretty good, eh?

Assuming they got 700,000 of those rust-buckets off the road (actually 677,081), that saved about 224 million gallons of gas.

It takes about 5 million barrels of oil to produce 224 million gallons of gas.

That's about 1/4 of one days consumption in these United States.

At a price of $75 a barrel (give or take), those 5 million barrels cost $350 million.

So unless I'm wrong here somewhere, the program that this administration lauds as such a great success from an economic and environmental perspective, actually cost us $3 Billion to save $350 Million. That sounds like my wife at a Nordstrom's shoe sale.

Now line up like good like doo-bees because these same people want to sell you a health care program. I can hardy wait.

Of course that's just my opinion... I could be wrong.

Mid-week chuckle - a trip to the vet.

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:06:39 -0600

A woman named Judy brings a very limp duck, Cuddles, into her veterinarians office.

Judy lays the duck on the table and Nicki the Vet pulls out her stethoscope and listens to the birds chest for a minute.

Nicki the Vet shakes her head and says "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away."

Judy was very distressed and wailed "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. That duck is dead," replied Nicki the Vet

"How can you be so sure?" Judy protested. "He might just be in a coma or something. You haven't even done any tests for that."

Nicki the Vet rolled her eyes but turned and left the room.

Two minutes later she's back with a huge Black Labrador Retriever.

Judy watches in amazement as the dog stands on his hind legs, puts his front paws on the examining table and sniffs the duck from top to bottom. He looks at Nicki the Vet with sad eyes and solemnly shakes his head. Nicki the Vet pats the dog on the head and took him back out of the room.

When she returns she has a cat with her. The cat jumps down on the table and delicately sniffs the duck from bill to tail, stopping to lick one wing very gently. The cat sits back on its haunches, meows softly, shakes its head and strolls out of the room.

Nicki the Vet looks at Judy and says "I'm truly sorry but this duck is 100% certifiably a dead duck. A late duck. It is no more. It has departed."

Nicki the Vet turns to her computer, taps a few keys and produces the bill for Judy.

Still in shock over the loss of her duck, Cuddles, Judy takes a look at the bill.

"$220.00" she cries. "$220,000 just to tell me my duck is dead?"

Nicki the Vet shrugged and said...

Wait for it.

"My bill to tell you your duck was dead was only $20. The Lab report and Cat scan added $200."

(and that's without the public option)

Riverside County Releases 2009-2010 Annual Plan. Read 'em & weep.

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:57:06 -0600

County Assessor/Clerk/Recorder Larry Ward has just released his 2009-2010 Annual Report and it's chock full of all kinds of exciting stuff - and some not so exciting.

I'll just tease you with a few details but for the full scoop you've got to follow the link at the bottom to find the details.

For example, did you know that:

The Riverside County tax roll value (before exemptions) dropped 10.51% last year - from $242.98 Billion to $217.44?
There are 500,292 single family residences in the County worth $120,318,983,044. They represent 57.54% of the tax base with an average value of $240,498?
253,364 of those received a reduction in assessed value last year averaging $144,432 and a total of $36,593,784,694 was lopped off the tax rolls as a result? That's 15.44% of the total.
Indian Wells has 4 of the 5 largest homes in the county at 22,597; 20,499,; 19,188; and 18,404 SqFt. Palm Desert snuck in #2 at 20,667?
The Palm Desert place is assessed at $26,619,674 while the Indian Wells places are $16,611,951; 12,180,881; 11,935,337 and $11,736,743? (He doesn't say if they applied for a reduction in value last year).
There were 36,191 appeals last year, up from 12,330 in 2008 and 2,909 in 2007. Remember those days?
In Murrieta there were 19,113 homes re-assessed under Prop 8. Gross Value Assessment rolls dropped 14.92% from $11,885,525,613 to $10,112,353,803?
In Temecula there were 16,110 homes re-assessed. GVA dropped 11.33% from 13,537,557,997 to $12,003,546,129?
The top business in the County based on Business Personal Property was Abbott Vascular. International Rectifier came in at #14?

Well, there's a ton more great info available - the report runs to 40 pages of numbers, charts & graphs and a terrific summary of each of our cities. . You can find the whole shebang right here: Assessor/Clerk/Recorder 2009-2010 Annual Report.

Southwest Riverside County Young Professionals Network receives NAR Charter today.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:41:30 -0500

The Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors® Young Professionals Network received their official charter today from the National Association of Realtors®. The Young Professionals Network is a growing group of young career-minded real estate professionals across the country who want to stay abreast of the latest tools, resources and networking opportunities.

Recognizing that the average Realtor® is about 55, the average buyer is under 30, NAR started an aggressive recruiting effort under President Richard Gaylord from Long Beach. The program was officially inaugurated in October, 2007. There are fewer than 20 chartered groups In California with the state association itself just being chartered in September.

Connie Lynch, SRCAR CEO is ecstatic. “Our effort here really got its genesis in 2008 as a pet project undertaken by Chair-elect Wes Ives. Wes has been very supportive of this group and those efforts really paid off.”

“Their first meeting was in May of this year and the energy has just been amazing. Zack Smith, Dane Wunderlich and Luz Acosta just kind of took the ball and ran with it and today our meetings have 20 – 30 young professionals – even more at their mixers. This group constitutes the future leaders of our industry and our community. Our Association is very proud of the work they’ve done to get recognized.”

Chair Wes Ives was equally pleased to see this effort come together. “I think it’s just terrific. At a time when everybody in our industry is down, we’ve got these young people who are charged up and building good solid businesses. The real estate industry is undergoing some major changes today and these kids are going to be on the leading edge of what emerges.”

“Mentoring and networking are big components of what we are about”, according to 2009 YPN Chair Zack Smith. “Dane and I went to Sacramento in June for Legislative Day and while we were there we attended one of the first statewide YPN meetings and found there were hundreds of people just like us looking for this opportunity. The Association has been very supportive and we are really pleased to have reached charter status in just 6 months. We’ve got some great members.”

The S.R.C. Chapter of the Young Professional Network is operated in conjunction with the Hemet/San Jacinto Association of Realtors®. Membership in the group isn’t limited by age, more by mental age and members must be affiliated with the real estate industry – Realtor®, lender, escrow, home warranty, etc.. For more information on meetings and events, please contact SRCAR YPN at 951-894-2571 or visit SRCAR.org.. To find out more about forming chapter in your area visit: http://www.realtor.org/ypn

Gov Arnold to SF Assemblymember - FU?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:18:53 -0500

In a nod to bi-partisanship, Gov. Schwarzenegger has sent a clear message to one his Democratic legislators. Gov. Arnie always includes a note attached to a bill that he signs or doesn't signs letting the bills author know why he is taking the action he did. It's usually a boilerplate note either congratulating them on proposing a bill that serves the people, or telling them to try harder next time.

In addition to his boilerplate note, he attached the following missive to a bill he didn't sign authored by San Francisco Assemblymember Tom Ammiano. It should be noted that Ammiano was a prominent heckler of the Gov when he attended the State Democrats Convention last month at the request of former Speaker Willie Brown. Among other taunts, Ammiano is reported to have called the Gov a 'liar' and shouted that he could 'kiss my Gay ass' as he walked out of the event. So here's the Gov's message:

Now that in itself is hardly newsworthy - except that some sharpie noticed another message embedded in the text. And it's not that hard to find - just one of those simple 'Read Down the Left Margin' kind of things. If you're having trouble seeing it, the message begins with 'F' and the second word is YOU.

When asked about the note, the Gov's office replied:

"My goodness. What a coincidence," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear. "I suppose when you do so many vetoes, something like this is bound to happen."

Silly stuff - and if you want to read what the San Francisco Guardian had to say about the matter (as if you can't imagine what the liberal blogs are saying) just click here: Arnold to SF - FU

Can YOU Handle The Truth?

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:30:22 -0500

So yesterday I get an email notifying me that 'The Truth' wants to be friends on MySpace. I was startled, to say the least, because I thought I already knew The Truth.

Maybe not.

It's a Zen kind of thing, knowing The Truth is out there... and on MySpace of all places.

I thought I'd found The Truth on ActiveRain a time or two, but it just turned out to be posts from Lenn Harley or Ken Cook - true enough but not The Truth apparently.

I haven't found The Truth on FaceBook or Twitter, although there's some funny stuff on there and I think some of it's true.

No Truth on YouTube or LinkedIn or Plaxo.

Certainly no Truth in Sacramento or Washington DC.

There are over 124,000,000 Google hits for The Truth, including one that lays claim to The Truth.com, but they're just an anti-smoking website that runs those edgy commercials. True maybe, but not The Truth.

I used to discover what I thought was The Truth with my friend Jack Daniels but I'd always forget it by the next morning - so it may have been an illusory truth, not The Truth after all.

Carlos Castaneda clamed to have found The Truth using mescaline & peyote. I tried that route once and got sicker than a dog and that's The Truth.

Since it was just spelled The Truth I don't know if it's The Cosmic Truth or The Truth and nothing but The Truth (so help me God). I suspect that The Truth would have a bolder signature - THE TRUTH - with trumpets and a drumroll when you click the link. I don't know.

I suppose I should just click over there and find out what the hell's going on with The Truth.

But to be honest - I don't know if I can handle The Truth. I'm a little afraid of The Truth.

Will it be The Honest Truth, The Ugly Truth, The Undisputed Truth, The Naked Truth?

Thank heaven it's the weekend - it gives me time to uncover The Truth, deal with The Truth and see if I can twist The Truth to my own purposes.

I'll let you know...

WATER & POWER. California politics at its depressing best.

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:40:28 -0500

When you start your day attending two meetings where the speakers apologize for being depressing, the rest of your day can only improve. That was my day today.

I started with an early morning meeting of the Southwest California Economic Development Corporation where we were treated to remarks by John Rossi, General Manager of Western Municipal Water District. Apologizing for depressing us, John presented a factual summary of where our state is waterwise and how the water districts are dealing with our current situation. Having toured the Northern end of our state water supply system last year from Oroville Dam to LA, and having written about the issue on numerous occasions, I believe that rather than being depressed we should see this as a call to action. As Rossi did when he encouraged us not only to use our resources wisely but to engage our legislators in recognizing the complexity of the issue and dealing with it comprehensively.

With over 70% of SoCal water deriving from the north, another 25% from the Colorado River and about 5% from ground water & desalinization, it's clear where the answer lies. Prayer. But in addition to prayer, the water department is also working legislatively through the current 'special session' to address both conservation and infrastructure issues. Until and if those solutions ever bear fruit, they will also continue to squeeze their customers. Oh, by the way, if those solutions do bear fruit, they will still continue to squeeze their customers. Why? Because they can. And any fix - even the inadequate Democrat proposals, will come with a big price tag that somebody has to pay for.

Here's a fun factoid. During the past year our primary wholesale supplier of water, Metropolitan Water District, has instituted rate increases of nearly 40%. These increases were designed to encourage conservation - a very admirable goal and one that will certainly help us deal with the problem. There's another 20% increase due in a month or two. Why? Because our conservation efforts have been so successful at reducing water consumption that Metropolitan has less revenue coming in to service their bond debt and fixed expenses. So they need to raise rates again because the first rate increases were so successful at changing our consumption habits. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Is there a win-win in here anywhere?

Think our bills will go down anytime soon? The you should have been to the EWDC luncheon featuring Senator John Benoit and Assemblymembers Brian Nestande and Kevin Jeffries. The operative words here were also 'depressing' and/or 'frustrating' by turns, for the state's economic outlook, any chance for real reform and for the water picture.

Assemblymember Jeffries, who was appointed to the state special commission on water, remains hopeful that some compromise solution will be reached soon, possibly as early as this coming week. He bemoaned the fact that water has become so politicized that true progress remains elusive. While the party in power in Sacramento thinks the problem can be solved by merely conserving more and restoring the Delta, the minority view prefers conservation coupled with additional infrastructure to provide long-term solutions. Capturing and storing rainfall and snowpack for future use, channeling current water resources without adversely impacting the Delta Estuary, new dams, an alternative conveyance AND continued conservation are all part of a comprehensive solution.

Our current drought is caused in equal parts by nature and regulation. Our dams truly are down by 1/2 to 2/3rds as a result of rainfall & snowpack the past few years. It is regulatory by virtue of the fact that judicial decree has determined the rights of the Delta Smelt take precedence over 18 million water users, farmers and food producers throughout the central and southern parts of the state. There are also complex water rights issues with people at the watershed source and with environmental groups concerned about preservation of the Delta. It wouldn't be an easy fix even on a level playing field - given the way our legislature operates it's a wonder anything happens at all.

All panelists agreed that jobs are the answer for our state. "Not bigger government, not more taxes, more jobs", according to Senator Benoit. "Taxes up, jobs down, legislature ineffective", according to Jeffries. '450,000 jobs lost this year at an average $68,000 per, 150,000 jobs created at an average of $52,000 per - not good' according to Nestande.

Jeffries also pointed out that the party in power, regardless of which party, has shown they will do darn near anything to perpetuate that power. There was some disagreement as to whether term limits have been effective at making our state more governable but all agreed that term limits have resulted in shifting power from the people who should be accountable, (our legislators), to people who are not accountable, (staff and lobbyists). The people who make the decisions aren't around long enough to have to deal with the consequences of their actions so what's their motivation to work for the long-term good? (Please keep in mind that all legislators are not altruistic by nature. Some just love the power, some just love the perks, and some just want to have a lobbyist mistress who wears a thong).

Agreeing that reform must occur if California is to turn itself around in any meaningful and sustainable way, they admit that if the legislature is not prepared to reform itself then the public will have to do it for them. When asked about the prospect of that occurring through Constitutional Convention, Jeffries voiced some concern about what could result from opening that can of worms while Nestande opined that any result probably couldn't be much worse than the status quo.

Depressed yet? You shouldn't be. This is California politics at its best. The more you know, the better prepared you are to deal with it. If you're not at the table, you'll surely be on the menu. Sometimes you might be anyway. Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Time Magazine vs The Realtor Party.

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:22:12 -0500

A recent issue of Time Magazine carried an article by The Curious Capitalist / Justin Fox entitled 'Get Homes Off Welfare" . I'm not sure if Fox really is a capitalist at heart, or if he's just curious about the concept. Either way he makes a semi-literate case against the housing industry in general and the governments support of same. He bemoans the fact that homeowners are 'at the receiving end of a truly staggering array of subsidies and tax breaks', hard to put a price tag on but 'clearly in the hundreds of billions of dollars a year.'

He claims that even with all this aid homeowners aren't doing so well and then trots out the old canards about real estate values falling by $4 trillion the past couple years and the millions of foreclosures and people 'booted from their homes'. Like that's somehow 'housings' fault. He bemoans the fact that 80% of mortgage loans this year are backed by the government and their minions Fannie, Freddie & Ginnie at lower interest rates than private market mortgages. He lumps in the Federal Reserve for good measure blaming them for artificially lowering interest rates by buying up Freddie, Fannie & Ginnie securities. All of this, according to Fox, puts taxpayers on the hook when things go disastrously wrong, as they so spectacularly have the past couple years.

He goes on to slam the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and then progresses to the mortgage interest deduction, property tax deductions and capital gains tax breaks , which he believes cost the government at least $100 Billion this year and every year. With nary a nod to the economic benefit and the hundreds of billions in revenue & jobs provided by housing, building and ancillary industries, he goes on to complain that the bulk of tax benefits flow to the upper end of the income spectrum and to the coasts.

Let me get this straight - Justin thinks homeowners aren't taxed enough and that too many breaks go to the wealthy and the coastal elitists. Hmmmm, I may have just figured out his position on capitalism after all. That's curious.

Then he posits that subsidies have a side effect that 'push us to buy rather than rent'. These dastardly subsidies not only push us to buy, but force us to buy more home than we can afford & drive prices up and that subsequently our homeownership becomes a 'ball and chain' if workers want to move where jobs are more plentiful. He says that subsidizing housing resulting in appreciating home values is good for sellers but not renters or first time buyers. Maybe he should peddle that claptrap to the 350,000 first-time homebuyers who have recently become homeowners thanks to this subsidy.

In fairness, every point Justin raises is valid. But as with so many in the media today, he appears to be in touch with only 1/2 the picture, the half that supports his agenda. Or maybe he was just on deadline and didn't have time to do an objective article, or he just thought this would be clever or something. Who knows.

He closes his article by stating the obvious - that rising prices are always good news for real estate agents, mortgage lenders and homebuilders. (Jeez, Justin, what might you conclude about our fortunes during the past 3 years of plummeting prices?)

This part I love. "These groups are powers in Washington. The National Association of Realtors gave more money than any other group to candidates in the last election ($4 million). Its 1.1 million members can do a lot of lobbying." Justin, you got that 100% correct right there.

Finally he refers to Dwight Eisenhower's caution against the 'military-industrial complex' by issuing a call-out to the 'real-estate industrial complex'. I love that. Sure maybe it's just little old Justin Fox, the Curious Capitalist, who has recognized that fact, but it's a start.

I don't know about you but when it comes to advocating on behalf of homeowners, or standing up for private property rights and supporting the industry that drives our economy, I'm damn proud to be part of the real-estate industrial complex. Except, Justin, for future reference, we call ourselves 'The Realtor Party'. Try to get it right if they give you any column inches in the future. Of course that's just my opinion... I could be wrong.

How to Buy a Bank Owned Home - Funny Stuff

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:10:26 -0500

This would be even funnier if it wasn't so painfully true.

FHA 90 Day Anti-Flipping Rule Under Attack

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:13:12 -0500

In addition to the Action Items summarized in the previous article, CAR Legislative Agenda Shapes Up, there was another Action Item that came before the 526th Board of Directors session on October 10, that being a motion from the Real Estate Finance Committee.

By way of background, here's a brief primer on how things happen at our state association level. Any member can bring forward an issue through their local association representatives for consideration at the state level. The matter is brought into the committee structure so that a decision can be made on whether the matter is appropriate, whether the impact is significant and what action should be taken. I mean, face it - Just because you've got a beef about a local lockbox issue or had a problem with some lenders short sale negotiator may not qualify the issue for consideration by a state committee.

If the committee determines the issue is of sufficient import to tackle it, it will be placed on the agenda for discussion along with supporting documentation. The committee will then determine what, if any, action should be taken.

Should they decide to recommend some form of action they will determine whether they will go forward with a request to SPONSOR a bill, SUPPORT a bill that's already in process or just ask CAR to devote some staff time to further research the most appropriate course of action. That recommendation, in the form of a motion or report, will then proceed from the originating committee to a policy committee, generally the Legislative Committee. That committee can decide to approve the committees motion, oppose the motion, or draft an amended version. One or both motions will then proceed to the Executive Committee where they will look at it, approve it for the general session agenda, draft an amended or competing version or, in rare instances, oppose the motion.

One such motion came before the session on Saturday having to do with the current FHA 90 day anti-flipping rule. Originally drafted in 2001, the FHA rule was intended as a consumer protection back in a day when FHA loans, especially in California, were the exception rather than the rule. Due to the FHA's unwillingness to keep pace with escalating prices, again especially in areas like California, the use of FHA mortgages fell to single digits by 2005 contributing to the widespread reliance on sub-prime and other more exotic financing methods.

Today FHA loans are becoming more the standard again with increased loan limits in our area. This is especially true for first time and other low-to-moderate range buyers, currently estimated to account for as much as 40% of todays loans statewide. The anti-flipping rule, originally intended to prohibit investors/intermediaries from acquiring cheap homes and simply 'flipping' them with no value added thereby driving prices up, doesn't really apply in this market. In fact the argument was made that investors play a very significant role in todays market buying abandoned and stripped foreclosures that would not qualify for an FHA loan to begin with. They rehab the home, often within 30 days, and then put a move-in-ready home on the market (at market price, not inflated). But 40% of buyers who might otherwise qualify for that home with an FHA loan cannot because of the anti-flipping rule.

As you might imagine there was substantial debate at every level of advancement for this motion. But when it came to the floor on Saturday it carried an almost unheard of prohibition - a recommendation from the Executive Committee that the motion be defeated. Why? Their stated reason had little to do with the particulars of the rule or the motion but a general caution that in todays political climate of increasing regulation, they simply didn't think this was a winnable fight. HONEST.

After about 45 minutes of spirited back-and-forth on the motion before the general assembly, members delivered a stinging rebuke to Exec. Not only was it determined that C.A.R. in conjunction with NAR 'SUPPORT' the elimination of the anti-flipping rule, an amendment was inserted telling CAR we want them to write a letter to the FHA Commissioner and others appropriate parties advising them of our opposition to the rule. NOW.

It's kind of fun to see the members get riled up sometimes. In an environment that at times resembles a convention of rubber stamp politics as usual, passion can carry the day. Enough of our member/Directors realize the impact this is having on you and your Buyers and decided political correctness and/or lack of balls be damned. This was the right thing to do and we're by God gonna do it.

Will it result in an immediate change? Not likely. But the message is being delivered. As we continue to define what is the new 'normal market', your Association of Realtors will be at the table assisting in that process. It was a proud moment to stand up and be counted.

C.A.R. 2010 Legislative Agenda Shapes Up.

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:58:55 -0500

On October 10, The California Association of Realtors in it's 526th session, brought forward a number of 'Action Items' that will result in forward progress and, in some cases, calls on C.A.R. to sponsor and/or support legislative action.

C.A.R.'s legislative agenda contains several ways to address issues. The call to 'SPONSOR' legislation is our highest level of action requiring a significant commitment of time and resources to accomplishing our goal. This generally means drafting a bill, finding a legislator to carry it on our behalf, and involves significant efforts by our lobbyists and members to ensure the success of the resulting bill. After a year where C.A.R. played a very successful defensive game, we are again going on the offensive in 2010 on behalf or Realtors® and our clients.

Additional levels of legislative involvement include 'SUPPORTING' a bill that has been drafted by others, 'OPPOSING' a bill, taking a 'NEUTRAL' stance, taking a 'WATCH' status on a bill, 'SUPPORTING OR OPPOSING PENDING AMENDMENT' or just deciding a bill is not real estate related.

From the Legislative Committee:

AA#1 calls on C.A.R. to 'SPONSOR' legislation to subject Appraisal Management Companies to increased regulatory control by the Office of Real Estate Appraisers (OREA). They currently appear to operate outside of any regulatory control. Further, while the stated goal was to keep appraisers and lenders at arms length (the purported cause of the housing meltdown, according to NY AG Cuomo), in fact most of the largest AMC's are owned by lenders. The HVCC accord between Cuomo and Fannie & Freddie is wreaking havoc on the industry, delaying or canceling sales and increasing costs for homebuyers and has interjected another level of bureaucracy and inefficiency into the process..

AA#2 calls on C.A.R. to 'SPONSOR' legislation to require lenders to accept a 'portable' appraisal at the request of the borrower. If your customer obtains an appraisal from one lender but wants to shop the loan, or want to switch to or from a lender mandated lender, they don't have to keep dropping $450 for another appraisal.

AA#3 calls on C.A.R. to 'SUPPORT' legislation setting up a program to use electronic scanning technology to filter title records for unconstitutional transfer restrictions and redact the illegal covenants in a way that does not destroy the original and does not add prohibitive costs to the process. A bill currently in process ignores the advancement of modern technology, would require all pages to be scanned visually for these covenants, and then would remove the offending passage permanently at some undefined cost to the customer. This is revisionist history applied to the housing market saying, in effect, no those restrictive covenants never existed. Yes they did and we've come a long way toward addressing the issues - let's not forget where we came from and who fought for those changes on homeowners behalf.

AA#4 calls on C.A.R. to 'SPONSOR' legislation to apply the so-called 'poison pill' of business and professional code section 10226.5 to 'loans' from DRE to other special funds. This provision, which has existed for years, triggers an automatic roll-back of DRE fees to 1982 levels if the state 'takes' or 'borrows' money from the DRE reserve. This year the state came up with a new euphemism for this theft calling it simply a 'loan' from one department to another. So we have to come up with a new response to their creative pilferage.

AA#5 calls on C.A.R. to 'SPONSOR' legislation to redraft the existing 'advance fee' statute contained in SB94. While we support SB94, the language defining 'advance fees' could be construed to apply to all manners of receiving or even contracting for payment before a service is performed. Under the current wording, even a listing agreement could be interpreted as running afoul of the law as it contracts for payment in advance of services being performed.

All of these activities come with a cost - your basic cost of political survival. When your dues billing statement comes out next month, please be sure to include your investment of $49 in the Realtor Action Fund. We're either at the table on these issues or we'll be on the menu. A seat at the table costs money.

2009 Temecula Valley Legislative Summit - Follow the Water.

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:48:55 -0500

On a day when, ironically, the Obama administration summoned state officials and interest groups to a lecture from the Colorado Cowboy Hat about California water issues, the Temecula Chamber of Commerce presented its 2009 Legislative Summit. If the giant water spigot overshadowing everything was too subtle for you, the fact that the only two speakers this year were Tim Quinn, Executive Director of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA); and Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, who was recently appointed to the (bi)-partisan, joint committee charged with producing a workable bill to resolve the states current water crisis should have given you a clue to the subject at hand.

Moderated once again by the Sacramento Bee's longtime political columnist Dan Walters, the event brought out the areas business and civic leaders for some discussion of water, infrastructure, taxation and other issues affecting our state. Walters led off the panel referring to this years motto for the event, California, Looking Forward. He applauded the decision to look forward - because looking back is 'just too depressing'. He noted California's Boom & Bust history saying it's almost like 'we're addicted to it'.

They were in general consensus that something will be done legislatively to address the issue, maybe soon. They're just not sure what it will look like. One segment of our legislature believes we should continue to address the issue through conservation measures and higher user fees while another segment agrees with conservation but insists on infrastructure improvements for long term reliability. Guess which side's in the minority.

I've written on the Delta Region (Follow the Water Tour) and followed the water trail from the Oroville Dam to my spigot in Murrieta courtesy of the MWD. A recurring but new theme is emerging - the concept of an 'alternative conveyance'. Defeated as a solution in 1982, the recent actual drought, coupled with severe regulatory drought has brought the system to it's knee and the despised 'peripheral canal' has morphed into the 'alternative conveyance'. But as Quinn said "It's a very different political climate than it was in 1982." In Sacramento 'money is the lubricant for true water change. Every interest group comes with a price tag.' And they say lobbyists day are numbered! .

The 'alternative conveyance' could take the form of a 44 mile long river around the Delta, a hardened canal through the Delta or a tunnel under the Delta. Each alternative has it's pro's & con's, but they're all better than what we have today. Whichever it turns out to be will come with a high price tag - some of which will certainly be borne by ratepayers (you & me). The reward for this is a reliable supply of water to the breadbasket farmers of the Central Valley and enough to keep the deserts of Southern California Green (you & me). Arguing that water is not so much a partisan issue as a regional issue, they nevertheless succumbed to the reality of politics. Central Valley Farmers (current unemployment rate - 40+%) represented by Democratic Legislators are being increasingly vocal and it's got some Democrats scrambling to save their seats.

Similarly, some environmental groups are coming on board as they understand the need to preserve the Delta. The 100 year old hand made peat-moss dykes keeping the region arable are in critical condition. Susceptible to earthquake, fire, flood and sabotage, the Delta is a fragile and unnatural ecosystem. It will require a major effort to preserve and will likely still involve some 'loss' of land to the estuarial condition that existed until a century and a half ago when the levee & dyke system was introduced to the region. First developed as subsistence farming for small communities, the region is not considered to be a high-producing agricultural mecca - it costs the state more to keep it farm-able than the farms actually produce every year.

Still more strange bedfellows involves a schism between the dwindling ranks of trade unions (workers) and groups like the SEIU, CTA and Prison Workers Unions (public employees unions). The public unions don't really care one way or the other on the water issue. They are following the money. They know that if California launches the kind of effort necessary to truly address the matter, it will take potential bond money out of the same general fund they're trying to tap. Besides having 70% of the earmarks already in the budget, they want access to more and infrastructure will compete for the few funds that are available in the shrinking pit that is our state economy.

The best hoped for outcome in the water wars, it appears, would be for the legislature to get out of they way and allow the state to proceed with the recommendation of the Bay Area Conservation Committee. This group has been meeting for the past 3 years or so and has formulated a series of, what appear to be, pretty sound proposals. Certainly better than the proposals considered by the (bi) partisan Joint Water Committee, currently meeting in Sac.

Why is it so many real solutions to problems begin with the words - 'Well, if we could just get the legislature out of the way...'

Moving on to other areas, Walters bragged about what a real success it has been to go from a quarterly annual budget meltdown to one that will probably at least last until the first of the year before it unravels. "Only in Sacramento is that considered a success". He also related a recent meeting with the Governor of Montana during his (Walters) recent vacation tour of the west. With all the major issues confronting us, the governors first comment was 'Boy, what about that Mike Duval.' Kind of keeps our perception in perspective.

The panel also talked about other aging infrastructure like the state's highway system , our tax system and Nancy Pelosi. Our roads are rated 2nd worst in the nation (only New Jersey scores lower). We haven't invested significantly in our roadways & bridges since the late 70's, when Jerry Brown decided if we don't build it, they won't come. As our population soars past 38 million heading toward 50 million by 2030, that theory doesn't seeem to be holding much credence these days. We have twice as many cars on the road today as we did in 1982 but we still take in the same amount in gas tax. Why is this? Because cars are so much more fuel efficient today that we have twice as many on the road to produce the same revenue for repairs. Yet another unintended consequence of well-intentioned legislation.

Assemblyman Jeffries had the last word admitting that "we are in a mess. The only way we can sustain a recovery is to put people back to work." He noted that the legislature 'has either failed to prioritize its expenditures or has prioritized badly handing out money to every interest group with it's hand out. US! We continue to reward our politicians who consistently bring home the pork for us by re-electing them, while criticizing the pork laden coffers of others.' "The only way we can take control back is for each of us to get engaged." He was preaching to the choir.

CA AG Brown Sues Credit Repair Co.

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:51:39 -0500

It's only been a month or so since California Attorney General Jerry Brown issued a joint statement with the California Department of Real Estate and the State Bar Association promising to crack down on the rampant credit repair and loan modification scams endemic to our region.

In the statement, Brown referred to the 1984 Credit Services Act that companies offering those services in the state would need to register with his office and post a $100,000 bond. He also published a list of companies who had not registered and posted a list on his website for consumers to refer to.

Today the hammer dropped on the first company for ignoring 'repeated warnings' to comply. Sounds like these folks hit the radar last year and Brown used the opportunity to warn other companies that he's not just whistling Dixie.

There's a long list of miscreants out there still making outrageous claims but hopefully we'll see more of these releases from Jerry's Office.

For more information or to search the list of non-complying companies, simply click on the logo or follow the link below.

Brown Sues Executive Financial Credit Services for Operating Illegally

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today sued Todd Wick and Michael Sarto, owners of Los Angeles based Executive Financial Credit Services, for ignoring "repeated warnings" to register with his office and post a $100,000 bond with the Secretary of State.

"Wick and Sarto violated California law by refusing to register their credit repair business with the Attorney General's office and post a $100,000 bond, even after repeated warnings," Brown said. "So today, attorneys from my office are filing suit, sending a clear signal to credit repair firms operating in California that they must register with the Attorney General's office and follow the law."

Executive Financial Credit Services offers to help repair their customers' credit by challenging negative or inaccurate items on credit reports directly with the three credit report bureaus-Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Under California's 1984 Credit Services Act, companies providing credit repair services in California are required to register with the Attorney General's office and post a $100,000 surety bond with the Secretary of State.

In late 2008, Brown's office sent a letter directing the business to register and provided information to assist in the process. The business did not respond. Despite repeated warnings, Executive Financial Credit Services did not register and obtain a bond.

Later Swick claimed the business was no longer conducting credit repair services and didn't need to register. Brown's office, however, discovered the business was continuing to operate as a credit repair firm. In early 2009, Sardo informed Brown's office that the business was moving from California to Arizona and would not complete the registration process. Brown's office informed Sardo that if the business continued offering credit repair services in California, it was bound by California law to register.

Nevertheless, Executive Financial Credit Services still has not registered. So today, Brown filed suit in San Diego Superior Court, contending that the business violated:

- California Civil Code section 1789.18 for not posting a $100,000 surety bond with the Secretary of State's office;
- California Civil Code section 1789.25 for conducting a business without first obtaining a certificate of registration from the Attorney General's Office; and
- California Civil Code section 1789.13(a) for charging consumers money before completely performing the services they promised.

The suit seeks a permanent injunction to keep Executive Financial Credit Services and its principals from operating illegally, civil penalties of not less than $200,000 and restitution for victims.

Brown has taken recent action against credit fraud. Last week, Brown arrested a con artist who stole more than $300,000 from over 600 victims through a credit card and credit repair scam. Ralph Adam Rendon offered victims credit lines of up to $100,000 without any credit checks and offered credit repair counseling. Victims paid an upfront fee of $500 but never received the credit card or any credit repair services.

For more information, click here: http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/print_release.php?id=1815

Sound Bite Saturday - Humor

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:49:17 -0500

Sound Bite Saturday

Murrieta Holds Inaugural 'Salute to Public Safety' Event.

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:58:25 -0500

On September 24, the Murrieta Chamber of Commerce held its inaugural Salute to Public Safety honoring the men and women of Murrieta’s Police and Fire Departments. Chamber Chair Bob Hagel presented a commendation to Murrieta Mayor Gary Thomasian noting that a recent FBI statistic named Murrieta as the second safest city in the country. Our 90 sworn officers, 61 firefighters, civilian members, staff and volunteers are the reason why.

Following a welcome by Chamber CEO Rex Oliver, Master of Ceremonies Gene Wunderlich introduced representatives from the Governor’s Office, from Mary Bono-Mack’s office, Senator Hollingsworth’s office and Assemblymember Kevin Jeffries. In addition to Mayor Thomasian, Council members Rick Gibbs and Randon Lane along with City Manager Rick Dudley were in attendance to honor Murrieta’s finest.

Fire Chief Paul Christman came forward to recognize Art Durbin as the Fire Departments ‘Staff Member of the Year’ and Captain Dan Lopez as ‘Firefighter of the Year’. Durbin, who joined the department in 2004, serves as the Emergency Services coordinator for the Department, supervising their 23 paramedics. In addition to having been an emergency room RN, Durbin is also a faculty member at Mt. San Jacinto College in the EMS Department and is recognized throughout Riverside County as an expert in pre-hospital medical care.

Captain Lopez joined the MFD in 2000 as part of their first ever paramedic class. In 2007 he led the department’s Rookie Academy training 13 new firefighters/paramedics. The ongoing safety of Murrieta residents can largely be attributed to the outstanding training delivered to the MFD by Captain Lopez and his team.

Captain Mike Payne was next to the podium to introduce the Murrieta Police Departments ‘Non-sworn Police Officer of the Year’ Venita Anderson. A member of the MPD since 1998, Anderson was named the Department’s Civilian of the Year in 1999. She has worked in records, and property & evidence but her current recognition comes from her service in helping residents as a Code Enforcement Officer. In her spare time she also bakes cookies for her son and a number of other servicemen serving in Iraq.

Finally Captain Steve Porter came forward to recognize Murrieta’s ‘Police Officer of the Year’, Corporal Daryl Underwood. Joining the department in 2001 from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Underwood has served in Patrol, as a SWAT team member and is currently a K9 Officer, serving alongside his trusty companion and partner, Jango. Underwood received a Chief’s Citation in 2002, was selected Officer of the Year in 2003, was recognized by the Elks Club for outstanding public service in 2004 and promoted to Corporal in 2007.

It was noted that Underwood may be the only officer in the K9 corps who can outrun his 4 legged partner given that Underwood is a member of the MPD Vegas Run team that has won their class 5 out of the past six years. He also recently participated in a bike ride along with fellow officers stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Cancer Research Foundation. Bad guys can’t run from Corporal Underwood.

Ironically, about 10 minutes into the program, all the firefighters got up and left, called to douse a blaze that had just sprung up on Murrieta’s west side above Bear Creek. By the time the luncheon was over, so was the fire. Our community owes a debt of gratitude to these dedicated public safety officers for their efforts ‘above and beyond’ the call of duty for making our City one of the safest in the nation. A special thanks to the Murrieta Chamber of Commerce for recognizing these outstanding individuals and the departments they serve.

Photo credit: Carl Kravats Photography

Banks or the Crooks That Represent Them.

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:42:27 -0500

It's not unusual for me to field complaint calls from members - apparently they are labouring under the assumption that I 1) care and 2) can do something about it. (For the record I do and I try)

Most complaints have to do with one of two things - banks or the crooks that represent them. Sound familiar?

One of the most prevalent complaints - and the subject of three calls today, have to do with the pre-quals/pre-approvals required by the banks before they'll look at an offer. With many of your Buyers submitting multiple offers in hopes of landing one, this can be a very cumbersome and time consuming process in and of itself.

So the question is - is this really necessary? And the answer is - probably not...BUT.

Probably not because it is my understanding that few banks actually require this as a matter of policy. So if you're feeling brave and foolhardy you can call BS on the agent and ask to see that in writing from their lender or servicer. It's supposed to be available. Of course doing this probably guarantees that your offer will never see the light of day but you'll feel better in your heart. In some locales this may also constitute an MLS violation if they are mis-representing the reason for the request as a bank requirement. Yeah, you want to take that fight on.

But is there some legitimate reason for requesting a pre-qual from a 2nd source? You bet there is and we brought it on ourselves. How many of us with listings used to ask for a Buyer to be pre-qual'd with our lender of preference even back in the 'good old days'? Why? Because too many deals were going sideways because fly-by-night agents using fly-by-night lenders w/fly-by-night escrows (often one & the same) were tying up properties with offers that couldn't fund on a prayer even when First Franklin was handing out mortgages like Mardi Gras beads.

So is a bank likely to take their property off the market for 3+ weeks in this market just on your say-so? Not bloody likely. Truth be told they prefer cash these days anyway. And of course aside from the altruistic, lenders may have other reasons to want to contact your clients, not all nefarious.

It can be frustrating for you and your client but right now you're not setting the rules of engagement, are you? The real estate industry in general isn't setting the rules right now and that can be problematic. Let your Legislator know banks need to get back into the lending business, government needs to focus on the latest crisis du jour, and let Realtors® get back to the business of housing. Everything works better when there's that balance.

Years from now, survivors will talk about the 00 decade as one hell of a ride. They'll be telling stories about this to their grandchildren. And they'll be right. Of course that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

I'd love to hear from others that may have dealt with this issue successfully in their market. Or just tell me the problems that exist in your area. Like I care. Thanks.

Buyers or Sellers Market? How About Both!!

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:29:20 -0500

Buyers or Sellers Market? How About Both.

I’ve been telling people for awhile now that it’s a great time to buy a home in Southwest California. According to CAR statistics, housing affordability in the state is the highest it's been since they started keeping records. And with interest rates still hovering near record lows and a variety of government stimulus programs available, people who have been frozen out of the market by upward spiraling prices should be taking advantage of this market in record numbers – and they are. Prices across our region have been relatively stable since the end of 2008 and in some markets have even starting to tick upward.

An even more positive market indicator is that some experts and media pundits are voicing cautious optimism about the economy in general and housing in particular. Folks, by the time the media figures out we’re out of the slump you’ll already be a day late and $2 short to the market.

But as good a time as it is to buy – it’s also a terrific time to SELL! Yeah, you heard me. It is an absolutely great time to be a seller in this market too.

Now before you accuse me of drinking on the job, let me explain. Obviously it’s not a great market for all sellers but for some of you the timing may be just right. Our inventory – that is, the number of homes on the market actively for sale – is at record lows. A year ago it was not unusual to have 10 or 11 or even 14 months inventory available. That was a lot of homes for buyers to choose from, literally thousands across the Inland Empire.

Then came a huge buyer surge that peaked across the region in Sep/Oct 2008. 1^st quarter sales this year were 2 – 3 times what they were a year ago. What happened? Inventory was depleted to the point where now many of our cities only have an active file of 2 months or less.

And there’s still a lot of buyers out there. Ask any Realtor® and they’ll tell you – the biggest problem with our market today is lack of inventory to meet ready, willing and able buyer’s demand. Any listing worth looking at is generating 20 – 40 – 90 offers, many for cash, many in excess of the listed price. And these are mostly for bank-owned homes that need work, or short sale homes that may take months to work through.

Imagine what a buyer would do for your well-cared-for ‘regular sale’ home.

As a Seller, you might be pleasantly surprised at what your home would bring today. Oh I know, it’s nowhere near what it was worth a couple years ago but that was then – this is now. It could be 10 years before you see that price level again, and there are some that claim you never will (I don’t believe them – this is Southern California after all).

But if you have equity in your home and want to sell, there’s a good chance by this time next week you could have 53 offers, 21 for cash, 14 over your asking price. If you recently watched ‘Shark Week’ on TV, you’ll recognize the feeding frenzy.

So if you’ve been thinking about moving up but were waiting for the price of your home to bump up a little – DON’T wait. By the time you gain $10,000 on your home, the place you had your eye on will gain $15,000 and interest rates will be .5% higher. The longer you wait, the behinder you get.

The bottom line in real estate is that it’s always a good market for somebody. Right now it’s a good market for Buyers - but frustrating. Many Buyers are submitting offers on 10 or more homes hoping to get selected for one after jumping through all the hoops the banks hold up. Your hassle-free, well-maintained home would be an oasis. That makes it a strong Sellers market for a select group of homeowners in a position to take advantage of the opportunity.

Few of us were able to peg the absolute top of the market reliably – otherwise you wouldn’t be thinking about selling today. But even fewer of us may be able to peg the absolute bottom of this market. If you’d like to look into what you might expect as a Seller in today’s market, contact your favorite Realtor®. Don’t let this be another one of those ‘Man I wish I woulda…’ moments in your life.

Make your house your home, not an investment vehicle.

Anyway, that’s just my opinion… I could be wrong.

Sen. Hollingsworth Urges Legislators to Ask 5 Questions Prior to Votes. Good Luck With That.

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:55:32 -0500

“Our budget problems in California are a symptom of the problems in California created by years of over-regulation and years and years of bills going through this house and the other house across the other side of this building that destroy jobs." Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth (R - Murrieta)

Anybody who has witnessed the madhouse that our state legislature becomes at the end of session or during cross-over, will have a heightened appreciation for the latest call to action from Senate Hollingsworth. In a speech before the Senate last week, Hollingsworth said that the goal of the Legislature should be 'to restore California's job climate and economy' and asked Legislators to ask themselves 5 questions before every bill they vote on.

Does this legislation include an analysis that proves that the bill actually improves the economic conditions in California?
Does this legislation improve the employment opportunities for struggling Californians impacted by this recession and state government-imposed burdens?
Does the legislation or the regulation make compliance easier for businesses to create jobs, or make it tougher to create jobs?
Does the legislation or the regulation make California a more attractive place to live and do business?
Does the legislation or the regulation encourage investment in jobs at all levels of the employment scale?

Sounds simple enough but given the performance of our Legislature over the past several years (decades), it's no easy task.

Seems there's always somebody hell-bent on doing just the opposite, giving in to every special interest, public union, green, enviro, fringe element to further alienate jobs, housing and economic growth. Tell me that's not so?

If you have the fortitude to watch the final 2 days of this session, you'll see Legislators voting on literally hundreds of bills, most of them totally worthless and self-serving (the bills &/or the Legislators). They'll do this without having read the bills, without a moments debate and with no thought to the costs or consequences of their votes. I'd venture 80% of the bills will be passed on a straight party line vote and neither you nor they will have the slightest idea what they just voted on.

Senator Hollingsworth's goals are right in line with the California Chamber of Commerce's 'Agenda for Economic Recovery', as detailed in this article. Now if we could only find a few Democrats in Sacramento who have actually held private sector jobs and understood the economy we might have a shot at accomplishing what needs to be done.

Awwww, that's just silly talk. What am I thinking? If you need any more proof, just look at what they're doing to the water bills in the face of that imminent crisis. Well, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

NAR Updates Field Guide To Mortgage Fraud

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:29:28 -0500

Real estate fraud is alive and well! I don't know how many of you saw last weeks article in The Wall Street Journal on the new twist in real estate fraud. Well, in California it's far from a new twist - we've been warning about 'reverse mortgage fraud' for some time - in fact nearly two years ago I included 'Elder Abuse Mortgage Fraud' in the title of one of my ActiveRain real estate fraud groups.

Because the fact is, regardless of the economy, real estate fraud is always with us - it just morphs to accommodate the trends. For example, the overbidding fraud we saw during the 2002-2006 boom time has been replaced by the loan modification and short sale scams more appropriate to our current market. Reverse mortgage fraud is just another face of it.

Well, NAR has has just updated their 'Field Guide to Mortgage Fraud' and they have done an excellent job. Not only does their site cover most of the existing types of fraudulent activity, but they provide national resources for reporting fraud - from the FTC to Fannie Mae to the FBI. They also have posted links to numerous articles detailing the various types of fraud that are prevalent in today's real estate market.

Locally, our SRCAR/IVAR Joint Fraud Task force has joined with the Ventura County Real Estate Fraud Advisory Team to escalate the recognition of fraud to a state level issue in California. There appears to be no area of the country immune to these scams and with Realtors® on the front line it's great to see NAR stepping into the void to educate Realtors® and members of the public on how to recognize and avoid these problems.

Reverse-Mortgage Meltdown?

Chip Litherland for The Wall Street Journal

Last summer, Lawrence Ford jumped into the fast-growing market for so-called reverse mortgages. The retired auto mechanic and horse trainer used the money he received to pay off his existing $70,000 mortgage and "piddled away" the remaining $24,000 on things like restaurant meals for his four girlfriends, he says.

Or so Mr. Ford thought. Last month, the owner of the Orlando, Fla., title company that handled his loan admitted to stealing more than $1 million from several reverse-mortgage holders, including Mr. Ford. Bank of America Home Loans, a unit of Bank of America Corp., says the title agent never sent it the money required to pay off Mr. Ford's mortgage. As a result, Mr. Ford says, the bank recently threatened to foreclose on his seven-acre ranch in Archer, Fla.

"That will put me on the streets with my cars and horses and tools," says the 68-year-old Mr. Ford. Bank of America, which says there is no immediate danger of foreclosure, adds that it is working with Mr. Ford "to find a home-retention solution."

California Statewide MLS Goes Live - Demo Available Here

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:17:11 -0500

Last year, after prolonged debate, the California Association of Realtors set out a plan to migrate all MLS services statewide onto a single platform. Dubbed calREDD (California Real Estate Dynamic Data), a committee was assigned the task to 'develop the ideal MLS system without any pre-conceived ideas' based on the premise of creating a single database with rich content for ALL California real property. In other words - starting from scratch, design your ideal MLS system.

Less than a year later, the calREDD system is in place. It has been in Beta test for some months now and recently started running 'live' with two Northern California Associations data. There was, and continues to be, significant debate on whether local, regional or a statewide MLS will best serve the needs of our members. There have also been significant strides made by some regional MLS's to expand their existing platforms into mega-MLS's. Our own MRMLS has been one of the leaders of that effort by expanding the system we now use into CARETS.

CAR has been providing demo's during our last 3 state meetings giving us glimpses into the newly designed system. Most have come away very impressed. They now have a website dedicated to answering questions on how the system works, why the system is needed and a demo of the system. The demo takes about 16 minutes and gives a very impressive overview of what members might expect if and when the system becomes available to us.

Click on the logo to go directly to the calREDD demo site. Your feedback is always appreciated.

calREDD™, California Real Estate Dynamic Data, is a service of the California MLS, Inc. (CALMLS), a subsidiary of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.). calREDD™ is being designed to serve as the statewide MLS in California. calREDD™ reflects our long-term vision of creating one database with rich detail for all California real property, using advanced technology that goes far beyond current MLS systems.

calREDD™ has been created by C.A.R. in response to member demand and frustration with the current MLS environment in California. C.A.R. has heard repeatedly from its members that the current MLS environment is technologically outdated, inefficient, and too costly and does not adequately support the members in serving the needs of their clients and businesses.

Prayer Works - Colo Rancher has Quicker Solution - Friday Funny

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:38:16 -0500

From a Colorado Rancher - Keepin' it Short and Sweet

Countrywide Loses Ruling in Mortgage Suit - Death Knell for Loan Mods & Short Sales?

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:24:36 -0500

A member forwarded this article to me this morning. I haven't seen or heard anything about it before this. This particular ruling on short-sale and loan modification relief is limited in that it apparently decided that the matter is more appropriately handled by state courts rather than Federal - but...

If this becomes a precedent on investor rights it will sound the death knell for an already shaky loan mod & short sale program. Sounds like the banks are hung out to dry here . directed by legislature to modify loans and expedite short sales, prohibited by this ruling from doing that to the detriment of their investors.

WOW. I hope more agile minds than mine are dealing with this mess.

A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected an argument by Countrywide Financial seeking certain protections from investor lawsuits under new legislation intended to encourage modifications of home loans, Gretchen Morgenson reported in The New York Times.

“I view this as an opening salvo and a demonstration that investors do have contractual rights, even when it is politically unpopular,” said William A. Frey, one of the investors who brought the lawsuit. “This is ultimately going to be one of many legal battles over who should pay the hundreds of billions of dollars in losses on mortgages.”

Bank of America, which took over servicing of the investors’ loans when it bought Countrywide in 2008, is defending the case. It argued that the matter belonged in federal court and that any contractual obligations to repurchase modified loans were trumped by the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. Under that law, servicing companies that agree to modify loans receive some protection from liability arising from the loan changes.

Judge Holwell ruled that the immunity granted under the legislation did not prevent Countrywide’s investors from trying to enforce their rights under the mortgage securities contracts.

Investors’ lawyers hailed the decision.

Read the full article here: Countrywide Loses Ruling in Mortgage Suit

Blogsite Spam Relief - no more 4 hour erections.

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:45:31 -0500

3,747 words, 24,924 characters, 7 pages, 1 paragraph = SPAM

I've got another wonderful blogsite that I maintain for my Association. It provides updates to members on state and federal legislative issues, announcements from the National, State & Local Associations of Realtors, news flashes from our legislators, the DRE and Attorney General and all the kind of stuff you'd expect on a Government Affairs website. Some of the posts show up here on ActiveRain, some shows up on Facebook, but some of the stuff is just plain none of your business. It's super-secret, members-only stuff that would fry your eyeballs (yeah, that's how I roll).

We've been live since the first of the year. It was slow catching on but we seem to be rolling now - at least if I look at the AMOUNT OF SPAM WE ATTRACT. And it's not like simple email spam - this stuff comes in decoyed as blog comments. Most are just a couple lines of code offering Eastern European Escort Services, Performance Enhancers for if I decided to avail myself of the Escort Services, and a variety of opportunities to make BIG money in A) Casino Adventures, B) Loan Modification, C) Guaranteed Loans & D) offering myself as an Eastern European Escort.

But some - at least 3 or 5 every day, are loooong. The statistics above are from one of those. 1 paragraph running for 7 pages - and not badly written. Some come in as the obvious result of word generators but some appear to have been penned by best selling writers (and in this economy, maybe they are). They tell stories, cleverly working in a variety of product names and links, and by the 3rd page you find yourself hoping that the heroic Cialis truly does overcome his mortal foe ED, and can ride happily into the sunset with his twin sweethearts Avolar & Capromax.

I did want to give a shout out to the tool that spares me from having all this crap show up in the comment threads - a tool called Akismet. Free for public use, Akismet has automatically killed 2,226 spams before they hit my comments and without me having to do a thing. I used to read through all the quarantined items to see if maybe a legitimate comment had been erroneously flagged but having found none (0) in months, my only effort today is to hit the 'Delete All Spam' button and away they go. I also like that legitimate commentors don't have to jump through hoops - no Gotcha's, no figuring out the upside-down Cyrillic alpha-numerics, they just post. While their comments don't show up immediately, it's usually no more than an hour or two delay and even that could be eliminated if the admin kept a window open.

Anyway, I hear other friends starting individual blogsites that they spend as much time fighting spam as developing content. I always recommend Akismet and have always had good feedback from users. I know it works on WordPress but it'll probably work elsewhere too. If you're tired of working through pages and pages of Spam on your blogsite, check out Akismet and see if it'll do the trick for you.

Of course you may miss the next installment of 'The Four Hour Boner' with Smilin' Bob, but it'll probably be out on VHS soon anyway.

Resort Living for just $19 a night. Bring your own TP.

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:11:19 -0500

For your summer vacation in an upscale San Diego area resort be sure to bring your bathing suit, sunscreen, books to read poolside and your golf clubs. You might also want to pack your sleeping bag, a flashlight, a couple towels and your own drinks & snacks.

And be sure and pack a few rolls of toilet paper.

The upscale Rancho Bernardo Inn is offering summer vacation packages discounted from their normal $219 a night rate. 'Survivor Package' rates start at just $19 for pool-side or golf course view rooms. What's the catch? Well, for $19 bucks your room doesn't have a bed, no towels, no air conditioning, in-room bar and only one light bulb in the bathroom (for safety) so you can see there's no toilet paper included either.

For an extra $20 a night they'll throw in a bed, but no sheets. Really want to splurge? For $59 you get a bed plus toiletries AND toilet paper. Jeez - I can see $20 for a bed butt another $20 for toilet paper? That's a lot of..., well you get my drift.

With luxury resorts and hotels in the area falling on hard times this sumer with tourism down and families spending less for their vacations, the Inn decided on this clever promo to attract a little attention. So far they've booked 420 reservations including 240 at the $19 rate and another 116 for $39. I guess the rest are OK with springing $20 for toilet paper. How about you?