What’s In This Issue?
·
President's
Message
·
RESPA
Article
·
Proposed
Fed Rule Would Lead to Nationalization of Real Estate
·
Fact
Sheet
·
House
Stalls Treasury from Finalizing Banks in Real Estate Rule
·
Forms
Update
·
New
Membership Applications
·
Condolences
PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
On Habits That Affect Our
Future
If you’re like me the clock
on your VCR continues to blink zeros incessantly—not because you lack the
intelligence to set it correctly, but because the wrong time on your VCR won’t
have an immediate impact on your life one way or another and you probably don’t
need your VCR to tell you the correct time anyway.
However, not setting the
correct time/date on our FAX machine (either at home or at the office) is a
habit we definitely cannot afford as real estate professionals. A wrong date/time stamp on the FAX header
could become very costly for all concerned when dealing with matters of
contract where time is of the essence.
Within the past several months I’ve received a number of facsimile
transmissions to my office where the time date stamp of the sending machine was
seriously in error. When, as REALTORS®,
we send/receive various provisions of a contract such as the TDS, counter
offer, or contract modification, the time/date stamp of the sending FAX machine
may be the only defense in any subsequent dispute. I urge you to enhance your professional posture by appointing
someone in your office to check the time/date of each FAX machine daily (as
well as your computer clock) it will put a smile on your attorney’s face one
day.
In their book, “The Power of
Focus,” a book I highly recommend for anyone, but especially REALTORS®, authors
Jack Canfield, Mark Hansen, and Les Lewitt point out that “. . . your habits
will determine your future.” Since we are
all creatures of habit one must conclude that successful people must have
developed “successful habits.” Or, put
another way, successful people have formed the habit of doing what unsuccessful
people refuse to do. Not only do habits
determine our future they also determine the “quality of our future.” I’m sure many people have entered the field
of real estate because of the perceived “quality of life.” So why is it that the statistics on survival
are so abysmal? I’ve asked myself this question many times and I’ve been asked
the same question by students who are looking at real estate as a potential
career.
The answer, I’ve decided,
has to do with our individual ability to form positive habits early in our
career. The old “immediate vs. deferred
gratification” controversy always comes up in any discussion of success. Those who perceived success as cellphones
and Beemers sometimes fail to recognize that real success is about
relationships. After all, we must
establish a relationship before any sale can occur. “Put relationships first.
Without people in our business equation, we don’t have any tasks to do
anyway,” says Sharon Drew Morgan in her book “Selling with Integrity:
Reinventing sales through collaboration, respect, and serving.” Service is the goal. It’s what we do. We need to define our purpose for being in this business because
if our purpose isn’t service, perhaps further evaluation of our career choice
is in order. On the subject of
“success,” I know of no finer definition than that of Ralph Waldo Emerson who
said,
To Laugh often and much;
to win the respect of
intelligent people and affection of
children;
to earn the appreciation of
honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty, to find
the best in others;
to leave the world a bit
better, whether by a
healthy child, a garden
patch or a redeemed
social condition;
to know even one life has
breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
Bruce A. Southstone, CRB,
CRS, GRI
President 2002
RESPA
ARTICLE
During last week’s
Orientation Class, two apparently conflicting statements were made regarding
the Seller opening an escrow before having entered into a Purchase Contract
with a Buyer. The question is whether
the Seller (or the listing agent acting on behalf of the Seller) can require
that a certain escrow office be used in a transaction. The answer is complicated by the fact that
most real estate escrows in Northern California are handled by title companies.
Under the federal Real
Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”), a Seller is prohibited from
requiring that a certain title insurance company be used in the
transaction. The restriction applies
only to the sale of residential real property involving one to four families
(including condominium units or units in a cooperative development) where there
is a federally related mortgage loan.
Such a loan is defined as a first deed of trust made by an institutional
lender that is federally insured (e.g., FDIC) or insured or guaranteed by FHA
or VA, or to be sold by FNMA, GNMA or FHLMC, or by a private lender who makes
loans in excess of $1,000,000 in a calendar year. This definition covers a great number of residential loans.
Requiring that a certain
escrow be used may be tantamount to requiring that a particular title company
be used if the escrow and the title insurance are from the same company, as is
usually the case in Northern California.
If the loan is a federally related mortgage loan, the Seller may have
violated RESPA and be liable to the Buyer in an amount equal to three times the
cost of the title insurance.
If the Seller wants to have
a particular title insurance company used for the escrow and issuance of the
title insurance, he/she can only request, not require, that it be used. If an escrow is opened with a title
insurance company before a Purchase Contract is entered into, the Seller and
the Listing Agent would have to be careful that this act is not interpreted as
the Seller requiring that title insurance company. Finally, the fact that the Seller and the Buyer may share in the
cost of the title insurance premium does not affect this restriction on the
Seller’s choosing the particular title insurance company.
PROPOSED FED RULE WOULD LEAD TO NATIONALIZATION OF
REAL ESTATE
Allowing big banking conglomerates to enter real estate
would lead to the nationalization of the real estate industry and the
loss of local businesses and jobs, NAR
President Martin Edwards Jr. told Congress last week. In testimony on
H.R. 3424, The Community Choice In Real Estate Act, Edwards told the House
Financial Services
Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit to look at
what big banks are doing to consumers now that banks have entered the insurance
business,
citing instances where national banks and their federal regulators are
trying to preempt state and local consumer protection laws.
H.R. 3424 sponsors Ken
Calvert (R-Calif.) and Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) testified that Congress should
pass the bill. A panel of opponents to
the legislation was sharply questioned by members of the subcommittee about the
need for this change, the possible adverse effects on the real estate industry,
and regulatory hurdles. Also testifying
in favor of the bill were Robert Bailey, president of the California
Association of REALTORS®, Texas REALTOR® Association Chair Mary Frances
Burleson, Elisabeth Holland for the International Council of Shopping Centers,
and John Taylor for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. For more on
Edwards' testimony, Go To: http://www.realtor.org/publicaffairsweb.nsf/Pages/FedProposed.
*Calif. median home price -- June ‘02: $324,370
*Calif. affordability index -- May ‘02: 27 percent
*Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region -- June ‘02: Santa Barbara South Coast $584,430
*Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region -- June ‘02: High Desert $127,760 (*Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates - week ending 7/18:
30-yr. fixed: 6.49%
· 1-yr. adjustable: 4.5%
15-yr. fixed: 5.93% (Source: Freddie Mac)
HOUSE STALLS TREASURY FROM FINALIZING BANKS IN REAL
ESTATE RULE
The U.S. Treasury Dept. would be prohibited from using any of its
fiscal year 2003 funds to implement a regulation that would allow banks to
engage in Real estate brokerage under a bill passed in the U.S. House last
week. This provision of H.R. 5120, the appropriations bill for the U.S Treasury
and Post Office, was inserted at the committee level by Rep. Anne M. Northup, R-Ky.
If the provision also passes the Senate and is signed by President Bush, the
Treasury could implement the rule in October 2003. For more info, CONTACT:
Edward Miller, emiller@realtors.org,
202/383-1171.
FORMS UPDATE
At the Standard Forms Advisory Committee meeting
in January 2002, the below forms were identified for revision (or
creation) in October 2002.
A study group is currently working on these revisions and your input is needed and appreciated. Please send your comments on these revisions or any C.A.R. Standard Form to carforms@car.org.
We thank you for your comments and suggestions.
Revisions:
·
Buyer's Inspection Advisory (BIA)
·
Counter Offer (CO)
·
Homeowner Association Information Request (HOA)
·
Purchase Agreement Addendum (PAA)
·
California Residential Purchase Agreement and Joint Escrow
Instructions (RPA)
·
Request for Repair (RR)
·
Receipt for Reports and Contingency Removal (RRCR)
·
Sale of Buyer's Property Contingency (SBP)
·
Residential Listing Agreement (LA) (Minor modification change to
administrative fee clause)
·
Non-Exclusive ("Open") Agency Residential Listing
Agreement (NEA) (Minor modification change to administrative fee clause)
·
Exclusive Agency Listing Agreement (EA) (Minor modification change
to administrative fee clause)
·
Seller Financing Addendum and Disclosure (SFA)
·
Seller's Affidavit of Non-foreign Status and/or California
Residency (AS) (Regulatory change)
·
Three-day Notice to Pay or Rent or Quit (PRQ) (Proof of service to
be added)
The following forms will be conformed to
the RPA revision approach where appropriate:
·
Business Purchase Agreement (BPA)
·
Commercial Property Purchase Agreement and Joint Escrow
Instructions (CPA)
·
Manufactured Home Purchase Agreement and Joint Escrow Instructions
(MHPA)
·
Probate Purchase Agreement and Joint Escrow Instructions (PPA)
·
Residential Income Property Purchase Agreement and Joint Escrow
Instructions (RIPA)
·
Vacant Land Purchase Agreement and Joint Escrow Instructions
(VLPA)
New Forms:
·
Notice to Perform (NTP)
·
Supplemental Statutory Disclosure (SSD)
NEW
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
The following licensees have
applied for membership with the Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS®:
New REALTOR® Members
Diana Rugh................. David
Lyng & Associates
Gale Pickering…….. Coldwell Banker Jackson
& Mann
Steve Thorley…….. Coldwell Banker Jackson & Mann
Lainy Vanderwey.......... American Dream Realty
Sal Locatelli ......... Network Alliance Real Estate
Mohammad Khalid Network Alliance Real Estate
Lance Howard...... Network
Alliance Real Estate
John O’Donnell ................ Bailey Properties, Inc.
Melodie Knapp ................ Bailey Properties, Inc.
Erin O’Brien-Kerr............ Bailey Properties, Inc.
John Keller....................... John
Keller, Appraiser
Scott J. Scott..................... Scott Scott Properties
Guy Chanda.................... Mid-Coast
Investments
Gerard Lallemand....................... Capitola Realty
Melvalyn Boscacci....... California Homes Realty.
James Grewer..... C21
Showcase REALTORS®.
Terry Cavanagh........... Vanguard REALTORS®
Roxy McDaniel... Century
21 Award Real Estate.
Comments
about an applicant’s admittance should be submitted in writing to the Santa
Cruz Association of REALTORS®, 2525 Main Street, Soquel, CA 95073.
New Affiliate Member
Compass Financial
Associates, Edward “Denis” Roden
CONDOLENCES
We
wish to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Wally Wilson
who passed away in July of this year. Wally had been an Association member
since 1979.
FREQUENTLY USED PHONE NUMBERS
RE Infolink
Local………………..(408) 874-0200
Toll-Free……………(800) 546-5657
Fax …………………(408) 341-8900
FaxLink ………….(408) 874-0225
Supra - SuperKey
Update Key………….(800) 481-3778
Field Support Line…. (800) 842-8269
C.A.R.
Main………………..(213) 739-8200
Legal Hotline………(213) 739-8282
Department of Real Estate
Sacramento…………(916)
227-0931
Oakland…………….(510)
622-2552
WinForms
Registration…………(800)
228-9466
Technical
Support…..(586) 293-0642