New Laws For California Realtors and Real Estate Investors
With the housing market taking center stage among the nation’s concerns, both Congress and California’s State Legislature have enacted significant new laws affecting REALTORS and Real Estate investors.
EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT ($700 Billion Bail Out)
Hope For Homeworker
http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page?_pageid=73,7601299&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
This bill also extends the tax exemption for debt forgiveness on home loans under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 from December 31, 2009 to December 31, 2012. _Source:_H.R. 1424[4].
DRE LICENSE NUMBER MUST BE ON FIRST-CONTACT MATERIALS: Effective July 1, 2009, California’s real estate agents must disclose their Department of Real Estate (DRE) license numbers on all solicitation materials intended to be the first point of contact with consumers.
DEBT RELIEF INCOME EXEMPT FROM STATE INCOME TAX: Starting September 25, 2008, the federal income tax exemption for debt forgiven on a home loan now applies to state income taxes to a limited extent. Federal law provides a tax exemption for debt forgiveness on a loan incurred for acquiring, constructing, or substantially improving a principal residence up to $2 million if the debt is discharged from 2007 through 2012. Under the new California law, the maximum qualifying debt is only $800,000, not $2 million, and the maximum exclusion is $250,000.
Moreover, the California law only applies to a debt discharged in 2007 or 2008. Senate Bill 1055.
DRE CAN DISCIPLINE LICENSEE FOR INFLATING BPOS: Beginning on January 1, 2009, the DRE can suspend or revoke a real estate license if the licensee generates an inaccurate opinion of value (Broker Price Opinion or BPO) for a short sale of residential real property to manipulate the lender to reject the short sale or to acquire a financial or business advantage, such as obtaining a listing agreement. This new rule aims to preclude a self-serving agent from inflating a BPO in hopes that the lender will reject the short sale, foreclose on the property, and give the BPO agent an REO listing. Senate Bill 1737.
DUTY TO DISCLOSE AGENT IS ARRANGING FINANCING: Starting January 1, 2009, a listing or selling agent who undertakes to arrange financing for the sale, lease or exchange of real property (or an agent arranging financing who undertakes to act as the listing or selling agent) must, within 24 hours, provide a written disclosure of that role and any related loan transactions to all parties to the sale, lease, or exchange. Senate Bill 1737.
TENANT VICTIMIZED BY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CAN TERMINATE TENANCY: Beginning on September 27, 2008, a tenant can terminate a tenancy upon giving a 30-day written notice to terminate, if the notice also informs the landlord that the tenant or a household member has been a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking as defined. The tenant must attach to the notice a copy of a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or police report issued within the last 60 days. The tenant is also entitled to a proration of the last month’s rent if, within those last 30 days, the tenant vacates and the landlord re-rents the premises to a new tenant. This law will sunset on January 1, 2012. Assembly Bill 2052.
LANDLORDS AND REO LENDERS MUST TAKE CHARGE OF ABANDONED ANIMALS: Effective January 1, 2009, any person or private entity with whom a live animal has been “involuntarily deposited” must take charge of it, if able to do so, and immediately notify animal control officials to retrieve the animal. An “involuntary deposit” includes the abandonment of a live animal on a property that has been vacated upon, or immediately preceding, the termination of a lease or foreclosure of the property. The animal control officers who respond can secure a lien to recover the rescue cost, but this law imposes no other liability upon a depositary who complies with these rules. Assembly Bill 2949.
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Current national TV ad run by NAR, featuring supposed buyers telling consumers: “when you have a family it’s always a good time to buy”, “didn’t make sense for us to spend the same amount of money renting something when we could own it”, “prices are favorable”, etc.
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