April 2008 REALTOR® ISSUES
VVAR Updates
San Bernardino County Foreclosure Ordinance
The County is developing an ordinance to regulate the upkeep and compliance of homes in foreclosure. REALTORS® are encouraged to offer their input because it could affect REALTORS® as “agents of the property.”
Upcoming Meetings
San Bernardino 285 N. Arrowhead, San Bernardino (909) 387-2020
5-6 Board of Supervisors 9:00 am
5-13 Board of Supervisors 9:00 am
5-20 Board of Supervisors 9:00 am
5-27 Board of Supervisors 9:00 am
Board Agendas - http://www.sbcounty.gov/sbco/cob/
Adelanto 11600 Air Expressway, Adelanto (760) 246-2300
5-14 City Council 7:00 pm
5-28 City Council 7:00 pm
Council Agendas - http://207.234.208.13/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=74&func=sel...
Apple Valley 14955 Dale Evans Parkway, Apple Valley (760) 240-7000
5-7 Planning Commission 6:00 pm
5-13 City Council 4:30 pm
5-21 Planning Commission 6:00 pm
5-27 City Council 4:30 pm
Council Agendas - http://www.applevalley.org/index.aspx?page=277
Hesperia 9700 7th Ave., Hesperia (760) 947-1000
5-6 City Council 6:30 pm
5-20 City Council 6:30 pm
Council Agendas – http://www.cityofhesperia.us/section.cfm?id=61
Victorville 14343 Civic Drive, Victorville (760) 955-5000
5-6 City Council 7:00 pm
5-14 Planning Commission 7:00 pm
5-20 City Council 7:00 pm
5-28 Planning Commission 7:00 pm
Council Agendas - http://www.ci.victorville.ca.us/Site/CityCouncil.aspx?id=218
Upcoming Events
NAR Midyear Meetings & Legislative Visits – May 12 through 17 (Washington D.C.)
SCAG Housing Summing – May 21 (Riverside Mission Inn)
California Primary Elections – June 3
C.A.R. Legislative Days & Meetings – June 3 through 7 (Sacramento)
C.A.R. Updates
Red Alert! C.A.R. OPPOSES Point-of-Sale Mandate!!
Call Your Lawmaker Today to Ask that the Point-of-Sale Provision be Removed from AB 2678!
C.A.R. is OPPOSING AB 2678 (Núñez) which among other things, requires that ALL homes and commercial property in California have an energy audit at point-of-sale and that mandatory energy efficiency investments be made. While C.A.R. appreciates the goal of AB 2678 C.A.R. strongly opposes the point-of-sale requirements in AB 2678 because they fail to achieve the bill’s objectives and, such mandates will further weaken the housing market. If enacted, AB 2678 could add thousands of dollars to the cost of purchasing a home, including up to $400 just to have a home audited. AB 2678 was passed by the Assembly Utilities committee. It will have a vote in the Assembly Appropriations committee before heading to a vote by the entire Assembly.
ACTION ITEMS
•Contact your Assembly member by calling 1-800-961-3302 and entering your NRDS ID.
•Urge him or her to OPPOSE AB 2678 unless the point-of-sale requirement is removed.
•ISSUE BACKGROUND
•AB 2678 will require a state agency to set up a process to require point-of-sale energy efficiency audits that will cost up to $400 and ultimately will require point-of-sale energy efficiency retrofits that may cost THOUSANDS of dollars.
Don't let this happen to your transactions or your clients -- call your legislator TODAY!
While C.A.R. has no objection to increasing energy efficiency, AB 2678 will be both dangerous to the real estate market and grossly ineffective. Here’s why AB 2678 is a bad idea:
•AB 2678 will hurt your business. Heaping costly requirements on all sales will slow every residential AND commercial transaction, further weakening the real estate market and the economy.
•Point-of-sale approaches take too long. Research shows that only 22% of the properties most in need of energy efficiency retrofits will actually be sold by 2020. AB 2678 will be grossly ineffective in achieving its goals.
•AB 2678 will hurt housing affordability. The mandatory audit and retrofit requirements ultimately created could add THOUSANDS of dollars to every transaction. And every $1,000 increase in the price of a home disqualifies 26,600 families from owning.
Politicians want to make an end-run around you! They know REALTORS® will fiercely oppose point-of-sale mandates. By passing the buck to a state agency, they hope to make this proposal more acceptable to other legislators. But be forewarned: once the legislation is passed and the bureaucrats take charge, you will have NO SAY.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact DeAnn Kerr at deannk@car.org.
C.A.R. Urges REALTORS® to SUPPORT Proposition 98 and OPPOSE Proposition 99
C.A.R. is urging REALTORS® to support Proposition 98 and oppose Proposition 99 when they vote in the upcoming statewide primary election in June.
Local governments are increasing their utilization of eminent domain to seize private property for use by OTHER private entities.
C.A.R., the leading voice for private property rights in California, is fighting this unacceptable and unfair practice.
In January 2008, C.A.R.’s Board of Directors adopted a FOR position on Proposition 98 and an AGAINST position on Proposition 99. Both propositions will be on the June 2008 statewide ballot. Proposition 98 would impose an outright ban on the use of eminent domain to take any private property – including homes, business and farms – for another private use.
One of the many benefits of Proposition 98 is that it prohibits future imposition of rent control and inclusionary zoning. Local governments will not be allowed to impose any new rent control – as units are vacated, rent controls will be lifted.
Another initiative on the same ballot is Proposition 99, which C.A.R. is OPPOSING. Proposition 99 is designed to maintain the status quo by only offering protection from eminent domain to owner-occupied single-family residences if the owner has lived for at least one year.
Proposition 99 is particularly dangerous because it is NOT real reform, and UNDOES
Proposition 98 if both were to pass and Proposition 99 garnered more votes.
C.A.R. strongly urges REALTORS® to VOTE YES on Proposition 98 and NO on Proposition 99.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS' EIGHTH ANNUAL REGIONAL HOUSING SUMMIT
SCAG invites you to attend its Eighth Annual Regional Housing Summit on Wednesday, May 21st, at the Mission Inn in Riverside. This year's Summit theme, The Reality of Housing Marketing Uncertainty: Navigating the Course, will discuss the coming update of local housing elements, the impact of the mortgage-lending crisis on local government, and the efforts to navigate through this difficult housing market period. This year, keynote speakers are Lynn Jacobs, Director, State Department of Housing
and Community Development, and Lawrence Parks, Senior Vice President, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. The Summit will include the 2nd Annual Compass Blueprint Recognition Awards Luncheon. The Awards program will feature plans and projects that demonstrate excellence, innovation, and work towards improving the mobility, prosperity, livability, and sustainability of our region. Seating at this event is very limited. To register or for more information, please visit the
SCAG website.
NAR Updates
REALTORS® Return to Capitol Hill
NAR Mid-year Legislative Meetings to Focus on Efforts to Stabilize Housing Markets
On May 12, 2008, REALTORS® from across the nation will begin arriving in Washington, D.C. for the National Association of REALTORS® Mid-year Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo. Advancing NAR’s legislative agenda on Capitol Hill has taken on increased urgency this year. Despite the national media obsession with portraying real estate as a single national market, NAR will set the record straight for Congress.
What’s being done to shore up housing? Many new, good ideas are currently being debated in Congress. These include jump-start tax incentives for homeownership, FHA and Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae changes that rationalize housing finance and ongoing projects to assure authorization of existing programs and develop solutions for new problems those programs don’t address. Of particular interest to Realtors is a new approach to health insurance for the self-employed. REALTORS® and Congress have a notable opportunity to work together to secure enactment of some important legislation.
Housing 2008: Is the homeownership glass half full or half empty? The answer depends on where you’re looking. The motto “Location, Location, Location” still drives the market. Despite the bleak picture painted in the news, sales in nearly half of the nation’s housing markets continue to perform well and home values in many of them continue to appreciate. Most mortgages are current, and the vast majority of homeowners have avoided foreclosure. Still, foreclosure rates continue to grow; they’re up 60% nationally from a year ago. The challenges in the subprime mortgage market persist, even though many, if not most, of the “bad guy” lenders have been shut down.
REALTORS® – All Together
NAR’S 2008 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA: REALTORS® will be pressing Congress for
completion of our legislative agenda.
Enact Housing Stimulus Legislation
Establish a temporary tax credit or similar tax incentive for homebuyers
Modernize the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family program
Strengthen the safety and soundness of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Improve Access to Affordable Insurance
Reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program
Address challenges in the homeowners’ insurance market
Enact Small Business Health Care Legislation
Secure cosponsors for S. 2795, the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP)
Whether or not you will be traveling to Washington, D.C. your voice is needed to promote our goals. Real estate ownership and investment have historically been the drivers of a vibrant economy. Congress and REALTORS® must work together to restore that essential role. Let your Member of Congress and United States Senators know that you support the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 2008 LEGISLATIVE GOALS:
•FHA Reform
oAction Needed: Enact legislation that would make FHA a more flexible and widely utilized program for borrowers and lenders alike.
•GSE Reform
oAction Needed: Enact comprehensive GSE reform legislation that preserves the housing mission of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank system.
•Homebuyer Tax Credit
oAction Needed: Enact a tax credit that would be widely available for prospective homebuyers. Assure that the credit is available for any property purchased as a principal residence.
•National Flood Insurance Program
oAction Needed: Reauthorize the Flood Insurance Program before it expires on September 30, 2008.
•Property and Casualty Insurance
oAction Needed: Enact legislation that enhances the availability and affordability of homeowners’ insurance.
•Small Business Health Insurance
oAction Needed: Enact legislation that will make health insurance more widely available and more affordable for self-employed individuals and owners of small businesses.
