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This site will save valuable information from late breaking news as it is replaced by more recent items plus articles of interest from newsletters and newsletter
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In California , the “Move-over” law became effective on January 1, 2010.
http://www.moveoveramerica.com/
Important Law to Share:
I wanted you to know about the CA move over law.
My son got a ticket on Pleasant Hill coming back from Wal-Mart. A
police car (turned out it was 2 police cars) was on the side of the road giving a ticket to someone else. My son slowed down to pass but did not move into the other lane. The second police car immediately pulled him over and gave him a ticket. My son and I had never heard of the law. It is a fairly new law that states if any emergency vehicle is on the side of the road, if you are able, you are to move into the far lane.
The cost of the ticket was $754, with 3 points on your license and a
mandatory court appearance.
It is true (see details at the following web address). It states that except for two states, all the other US states & Canada enacted similar kinds of law.
www.snopes.com/politics/traffic/moveover.asp
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Older News Letters
Newsletter #1 -Build your own park, Makes sense to me, Two on one.
Newsletter #2 – Your news letter, As easy as ACB, The best.
Newsletter #5 – Do not attempt to sell yourself, Any good tips for buyers, Paws for real estate.
Newsletter #7 – Setting the stage to sell – you have 10 seconds to make a first impression.
Added February 2010
Report #4:-
CREDIT EXTENSION
November 5, 2009
Both Houses OK Tax Credit Extension, Expansion:
The House today and the Senate yesterday passed legislation to extend the $8,000 home buyer tax credit to May 1, 2010, for first-time buyers and add a $6,500 tax credit for repeat buyers if they’ve lived in their home for five of the past eight years. Home prices are capped at $800,000.
The legislation in both houses was included in a bill to extend unemployment benefits and is expected to be signed by President Obama shortly.
“REALTORS® appreciate the swift action by Congress to extend the home buyer tax credit and expand it to some current homeowners,” says NAR President Charles McMillan. “As the leading advocate of housing and real estate issues, we urge President Obama to sign this legislation into law quickly to keep the momentum going in the fragile recovery of the nation’s housing market.”
Under the bill, income limits are expanded to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for joint filers. Individuals with incomes up to $145,000 and joint filers with incomes up to $245,000 qualify for reduced credits.
Households who have binding contracts in place by April 30 will be allowed an additional 60 days to complete their transaction. The deadline for members of the military serving out the U.S. for at least 90 days between Jan. 1, 2009, and May 1, 2010, has been extended one year.
Taxpayers can claim the credit on their federal income tax returns. If the credit exceeds their tax bill, the government will issue a check. Taxpayers will be able to claim the credit on their 2009 income tax return for purchases made in 2010.
More on the credit is available from NAR.
Source: The Associated Press (11/5/2009)
REPORT #3: - Removed (christmas flyer).
REPORT #1: –
Important Report on International Rental Scam on Listed Property from BAREIS MLS®
There is a rental scam taking place in which listed properties are advertised on Craigslist and other online classified services for rent, when the property is not for rent at all. The ads run for a very brief period of time.
The ads typically say something like “A spouse’s sickness and a move to West Africa has made it difficult for me to rent my home (in some wonderful neighborhood)….and with all kinds of poorly written bizarre information. The property is for rent at an extremely discounted rental price. All of a sudden people start showing up at your listing to check it out, and may disturb your seller.
When the unsuspecting gullible general public responds to the ad, the email response from the scammer gives additional information on the property, and requests a deposit through a wire transfer service. The renters might sometimes be asked to fill out credit applications asking for personal information like credit history, social security numbers, and work history. The crooks can then use this info to commit identity fraud and steal even more money from their victims.
Be aware of the facts as a real estate professional.
- This is an international scam originating in Nigeria, although local scammers may pick up on the scheme. This is not just happening in your home town.
- The FBI (in charge of internet scams and fraud) has issued scam alerts and press releases dealing with the issue. A full description of the scam is available on the FBI site at http://www.fbi.gov/page2/july09/housingscam_072909.html A press release from the FBI in South Carolina is posted at http://columbia.fbi.gov/pressrel/2009/co072209.htm (shows it is not just a local issue) and there is also a link to report internet crime at http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
- The Nigerians are scraping information from your internet site and from other sites in which listings are posted.
- The perpetuators of the scam are using “spoofed” email addresses that would make it appear they are local. You do not have the ability to trace them unless you are a professional in computer forensics.
What can you do if one of your properties is the subject of the scam?
- Recognize that this is a national issue and it is not just a local one.
- Contact the FBI (again the link to report internet crime is http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx ), The State Attorney Generals Office, the County District Attorney, or City District Attorney. File a police report. These are the entities charged with investigating and prosecuting consumer fraud.
How can you protect your listings from being a part of the scam?
- Some brokers have removed the address of their listings on the internet. While this hides the address from the scammers, both the buying public and the seller could be disadvantaged.
- Monitor classified advertising internet sites like Craigslist to watch for ads using your listing information “for rent”.
- Put a “NOT FOR RENT” rider on your signs.
The FBI’s guidelines for the general public to avoid being victimized.
- Only deal with landlords or renters who are local.
- Be suspicious if you’re asked to only use a wire transfer service.
- Beware of e-mail correspondence from the “landlord” that’s written in poor or broken English.
- Research the average rental rates in that area and be suspicious if the rate is significantly lower.
- Don’t give out personal information, like social security, bank account, or credit card numbers.
Jim Branscombe
President & CEO BAREIS MLS®
jim@norcalmls.com
REAL ESTATE LEGAL UPDATE
FROM
THE LAW OFFICES OF
STEVEN J. ZIPPERMAN, APC
The Needs of Our Clients Always Come First
REPORT #2: –
ARBITRATION CLAUSES
Almost all Purchase Agreements, Listing Agreements, Leases and many other real estate contracts contain arbitration provisions. In order to be binding, the arbitration clauses must be initialed by each party to the transaction. Sometimes, however, Courts will interpret the forms in such a way as to force the parties to arbitration, regardless of the intention of the parties. One Court recently interpreted the seller’s initials at the bottom of the page as constituting intent to arbitrate the terms of a Purchase Agreement, even though the arbitration clause itself was not initialed. In general, Judges want to send cases to arbitration, because then they don’t have to try the case. The cost to appeal this kind of erroneous ruling will likely exceed the value of arbitrating the dispute, and the Judge knows it. In order to avoid these problems, you can document the true intent of the parties on the face of the e Offer, Lease or Counter-Offer by saying, “It is the intent of the parties that the Arbitration provision in the contract DOES or DOES NOT apply to the terms of this agreement.” In that way, you may avoid any erroneous interpretation by the Court at a later date.
Sometimes, after a dispute arises one party wishes to arbitrate, but even though the contract calls for arbitration, the other party fails to cooperate and agree to select an arbitrator, fails to agree to pay for their half of the arbitrator’s fee, or fails to go to the arbitration hearing. If this happens, the Arbitrator does not have sufficient authority to arbitrate the dispute, because the parties did not agree who would arbitrate the dispute at the time they agreed to arbitration. The typical forms fail to identify who will arbitrate the dispute later, and don’t even have a place for this information. This often results in the party who has been wronged having to file a lawsuit, and then they have to bring a Motion to Compel Arbitration. The costs associated with these extra steps defeat many of the benefits of arbitrating the dispute in the first place. Do yourself and your clients a favor – identify the Arbitrator by name e in the agreement at the time you confirm the parties’ intent to arbitrate any disputes which arise in the transaction. Don’t wait until the dispute has arisen.
In a new case, Manhattan Loft, LLC v. Mercury Liquors, Inc. (2009) 173 Cal.App.4th 1040, the California Court of Appeal held that an agreement to arbitrate a dispute is not the equivalent of a lawsuit, and therefore, a Lis Pendens cannot be recorded against real property when an arbitration hearing is pending! This may be a very important case for many of you. A Lis Pendens is a “Notice of Pending Litigation.” It can only be recorded when a lawsuit has been filed. The effect of a Lis Pendens is that the real property which is the subject of the litigation cannot be sold while the litigation is pending. There are severe penalties for recording a Lis Pendens without proper authority, because you are interfering with the owner of the property’s right to sell or transfer their property. Sanctions may amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars in an appropriate case. So if you represent a Buyer of real pr poetry, who is buying that property at substantially below current market value, consider not agreeing to arbitration. If the Seller decides during the escrow period that they have another buyer who has agreed to pay more for the property, the Seller may cancel your transaction in order to sell to the highest bidder. If you have agreed to arbitration, your transaction may fail, and the Buyer’s only remedy is to seek damages from the Seller for breach of contract. On the other hand, if the parties did not agree to Arbitrate the dispute, a real estate lawyer can then file a Specific Performance lawsuit on the Buyer’s behalf, and can record a Lis Pendens against the property – which will prevent the sale to the other Buyer. Generally, this will be resolved quickly in favor of the original Buyer (and the broker gets paid!)
Arbitration can be faster and cheaper than filing a lawsuit, but the parties give up very valuable rights when they agree to arbitrate. In general, juries will award more damages than arbitrators. If you agree to arbitrate, you automatically give up the right to a jury trial (and therefore higher damage awards). In most cases the parties also give up their right to appeal a bad decision by the Arbitrator. Even if the arbitrator admits that they made a serious error in deciding the matter, the case generally will not be subject to appeal. In some cases, this can cost a party hundreds of thousands of dollars. Although arbitration clauses seem to be harmless when you are entering into a contract, the implications can be extremely serious for the parties. Sometimes arbitration is a good thing. Other times, your client will get burned by not knowing whether to agree to arbitration or not. Other times, it may be you and your family members who are asked to agree to arbitrate. The price of agreeing to arbitration without knowing the implications of that agreement can be very high.
The purpose of this newsletter is to keep you informed of changes in California real estate law, and to arm you with information that may help you avoid problems in your real estate transactions.
This information is not intended to provide you with specific legal advice. You must consult with an attorney.