Inside this issue Community Televi- sion President’s Message Washington D.C. Meetings RSVP Education & Profes- sional Development Spring Fling Legislative Watch Legal Matters Foundation Calendar To advertise in this publication, please call Andrea at 831-464-2000 June 2009 SANTA CRUZ ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS ® Creating Better REALTORS® Hi Ho, Hi Ho It’s Off To Work We Go! For The Full Story See Page 5 Broker Open House Tour Rules Update Tour Rules state that the listing agent or a representative must be present at the Open House. Effective July 9, 2009 you may be subject to a $100 fine if no one is present at the home on tour. Click here for SCAOR Broker Open House Tour Rules SAVE THESE DATES July 15th SCAOR Election & Membership meeting. July 22nd State of the County Address with the Mayors from Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, Capitola, and Wat- sonville. August 17th SCAOR Economic Summit. Please keep these clear and plan to attend these important meetings
Transcript
Inside this issueCommunity Televi-sion
President’s Message
Washington D.C.Meetings
RSVP
Education & Profes-sional Development
Spring Fling
Legislative Watch
Legal Matters
Foundation
Calendar
To advertise in thispublication, please callAndrea at 831-464-2000
June 2009
SANTA CRUZ ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Creating Better REALTORS®
Hi Ho, Hi Ho It’s Off To Work We Go!
For The Full Story See Page 5
Broker Open House TourRules Update
Tour Rules state that the listing agent or a representativemust be present at the Open House.
Effective July 9, 2009 you may be subject to a $100 fine if no one is present at the home on tour.
Click here for SCAOR Broker Open House Tour Rules
SAVE THESEDATESJuly 15th
SCAOR Election & Membershipmeeting.
July 22ndState of the County Address withthe Mayors from Scotts Valley,Santa Cruz, Capitola, and Wat-sonville.
August 17thSCAOR Economic Summit.Please keep these clear and plan to
Like many communities, SantaCruz County is lucky to have itsown Community Television sta-tion. Founded in 1994, Com-munity Television can be seenon Comcast Cable Channels 25,26, and 27 and Charter CableChannels 71, 72, and 73.
“We really are your TV station,”says John Patterson, who hasserved as CTV’s Executive Di-rector for the last two and a halfyears. “We have three channelstotally dedicated to local con-tent, driven by the needs andinterests of County residents.”CTV features a diverse range ofprogramming, including cover-age of all major local govern-ment bodies, programmingproduced by local residents, andexcellent public affairs pro-grams like the Leon PanettaLecture Series, DemocracyNow, and CTV’s own Commu-
nity Express talk show. In addi-tion, the station is a full servicelow-cost production facility,open to any resident of SantaCruz County who wants to pro-duce programming. “We haveone channel totally devoted toproviding a platform for thenews and views of local resi-dents”, says Patterson. “Notonly that, we’ll teach you howto make a program and providethe equipment for you to do it.”Programs need not be producedusing CTV equipment however.Patterson explains that manypeople have their own equip-ment these days and they shootand edit their own shows forcablecast on CTV.
Patterson started out in televi-sion as a teenager but took avery roundabout journey to getwhere he is today. In highschool and college he was into
all things television and film.When he finished his degree atNorthwestern University, how-ever, he somehow ended up inthe theater world. “I had beenwriting screenplays, but some-how I found writing for liveperformance more fulfilling,”he says. Patterson got involvedat a small theatre in Santa Cruzcalled Actors’ Theatre and be-gan writing, producing, andpublishing plays. Several of hisshort plays have been publishedin collections and he’s had playsproduced in Santa Cruz, SanFrancisco, and Texas. “Everyonce in awhile I will get a callfrom a school in Tennesee orsomewhere wanting to do a playof mine. It’s certainly not lucra-tive but it’s nice to know mywork is out there.”
Patterson later went on to be-come Managing Director at Ac-
tors’ Theatre on Center Street inDowntown Santa Cruz. “It wasa really great opportunity to cutmy teeth in non-profit manage-ment,” he says. “I was there for8 years and pretty much got todo everything. Keeping a non-profit theater financially viableis probably as challenging asrunning any kind of businessthere is.”
Patterson has enjoyed his returnto television. “I really believe inwhat CTV is doing,” he says.“To live in a community thatsupports and values the impor-tance of locally produced televi-sion programming is reallyinspiring,” he says. Feedback orideas can be e-mailed to Patter-son at [email protected] those who don’t have cabletelevision, a selection of CTVprograms can be viewed on-lineat www.communitytv.org.
Inside Real Estate is the official monthlynewsletter of the Santa Cruz Associationof REALTORS® provided as a memberservice to inform, educate and update RE-ALTOR® and Affiliate members on local,state and national news, as well as theAssociation’s calendar of events.
Local REALTORS® Attend NationalMeetings in Washington DC
A group of local Santa Cruz As-sociation REALTORS® joinedapproximately 8,000 REAL-TORS® who gathered in Wash-ington DC to inspire action onCapitol Hill that will help stabi-lize the real estate market andencourage economic recovery aspart of the National Associationof REALTORS® Midyear Leg-islative Meetings and Trade Ex-po. The meetings took placeMay 11-16.
During the week, our REAL-TORS® participated in sessionsto address and meet head-on thechallenges facing today’s resi-dential and commercial real es-tate markets. REALTORS®were joined by a number of pol-icy leaders and industry experts,including U.S. Department ofHousing and Urban Develop-ment Secretary Shaun Donovan;Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.Director Sheila Bair; formerFederal Reserve Board Chair-man Alan Greenspan; and for-mer U.S. Secretary of LaborRobert Reich.
Our local REALTORS® metwith Congressman Sam Farr tounderline the importance ofmaking stabilizing the real estatemarket a priority.
Talking points included:
1. Move the Housing MarketForward and Safeguard ourCommunities. Fortifying Fan-nie Mae and Freddie Mac: Thefederal government must have acontinued key role to ensurecapital for mortgage lendingthroughout all mortgage mar-kets and in all market condi-tions. FHA and GSE LoanLimits: Congress should makepermanent the 2008 loan limit
formula and loan limit cap.Homebuyer Tax Credit: Con-gress should expand the $8000first-time homebuyer tax creditto include all homebuyers at allincome levels.
2. Preserve the Mortgage In-terest Deduction. NAR oppos-es any changes to current law.The MID is a remarkably effec-tive tool that facilitates home-ownership and communitystability. More than 75% of ho-meowners utilize the deductionover the period they own theirhome.
3. Enact Health Care Cover-age for the Self-Employed andSmall Businesses. NAR urgesCongress to pass health care re-form legislation that addressesthe inequities faced by the self-employed and small businesses
in the nation’s health insurancedelivery system.
4. Adopt Reasonable Approach-es to Energy Efficiency: NARsupports commercially reasonable,incentive-based approaches tohelp our nation’s commercial andresidential buildings become moreenergy efficient. NAR strongly op-poses energy labeling require-ments that are imposed at time ofsale or impose undue economicburdens on property owners ormanagers.
5. Stabilize and Provide Li-quidity to Commercial RealEstate Markets: The freeze inour nation’s credit markets hasadversely affected commercialand investment real estate.Property owners seeking to refi-nance existing loans, includingland and residential develop-ment loans, are finding access tocredit limited. Restoration of theorderly functioning of financialmarkets is essential.NAR supports an expansion ofthe duration
Continued on next page
insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org June 2009
Left to right: Stephen Pearson, Barbara Palmer, Lela Willet, Cara Denny, Sandy Kaplan,Candie Noel, Kim DiBenedetto , Bobbie Nelson, Ann Marie Sorcenelli, Roy Navarro, Steve Becerra.
Members of the Santa Cruz, SanBenito, Watsonville, andMonterey Associations of RE-ALTORS® attended the Na-tional Association ofREALTORS® meeting held inMay. As part of the meetingsome members attended a meet-ing with Congressman SamFarr. There were 5 major issuesthat we discussed with our Con-gressman.
First, we asked that he voteagainst an energy bill unlessamended to remove the point ofsale conversion to certify ahome “energy star compliant.”Congressman Farr agreed thatthis would place a burden on theseller and purchaser. He agreedto send a letter to the entire Cal-ifornia Congressional Delega-tion supporting our position.
Second, we asked that he pre-serve the mortgage interest de-duction without limitation toincome, that is retain currentlaw.
Third, continue to help congressmove the housing market for-ward. This includes not only
REALTORS® ATTEND NAR WASHINGTON MEETINGSBy Barbara Palmer
preserving the $8,000 tax creditfor first time buyers this year,but also allow the credit for allprimary residential purchases.Fourth, support bills that would
stabilize the provide liquidity tocommercial real estate markets.Fifth, we reminded him that anyhealth care reform would ad-dress the unique set of issues
that face the self-employed andsmall businesses in finding af-fordable health insurance.
President’s MessageContinuedof loans offered to investors, bythe Federal Reserve through theTerm Asset-Backed-SecuritiesLoan Facility (TALF), from thecurrent three-year term to atleast five years to better accom-modate the longer loan terms ofcommercial mortgages. (Mostcommercial mortgages have aloan term of seven to 10 years).NAR supports the retention ofcurrent capital gains rates.
Many thanks to the followingSCAOR participants: BarbaraPalmer, Candie Noel, Ann MarieSorcenelli, Sandy Kaplan,, BobbieNelson, Robert Bailey, SuzanneYost , Margie Kiedrowski, Rose-marie McNair, Kathy Hartman andLela Willet
NAR MIDYEAR MEETING IN D.C.First Time Impressions
aged by his responses to ourneeds and I felt as though some-body actually listened.
In these tumultuous times, it'simportant for us REALTORS®not to lose sight of what is reallyimportant. I now believe theNAR meetings present a greatopportunity for further educa-tion and to help shape how ourprofession is perceived and re-ceived. I am going to plan ongoing again next year.
Anne Marie SorcenelliBailey Properties
I was very excited about travel-ing back to Washington DC forthe NAR Mid Year Meetingsthis year. It was my first NARevent and it won't be my last.
I always thought I couldn't sparethe time, but when I heard aboutall the issues that we would bediscussing with our Representa-tive Sam Farr; I was hooked.
Meeting with Sam about myhot buttons; supporting bothmedical insurance reform andthe elimination of the energyaudit at point of sale made it allworthwhile. We were encour-
Exploring the Universe
Google Earth is a great programfor exploring our planet. Butwhat if you want to view outerspace?
Microsoft's WorldWide Tele-scope brings the universe toyour computer.
You can view images taken bythe Hubble and Spitzer tele-scopes. There are even photostaken from the Chandra X-Rayobservatory. You'll see the af-termath of supernova explo-sions and other phenomenaTouse the WorldWide Telescope,you need Microsoft's .NETFramework 2.0. If you don'thave it, you'll be prompted toinstall it. It's free.
The poor weather took a breakjust in time for our generousREALTOR® Service ProgramVolunteers (RSVP) to hit thestreets and help out our localseniors! Our second annualRSVP was held during SeniorsWeek on May 4th. The RSVPgroup went armed with suppliesto wash windows, trim bushes,clean bathrooms, pull weeds,and even trim trees!
The homeowners were very ap-preciative of the tasks that weredone and the volunteers felt thattheir time spent was very worth-while. “My group felt their timewas genuinely worthwhile whenthe homeowner came out to sayhi and was in tears. It only takesone day out of our time and therecipients are grateful all yearlong!”, Vicki Garside said.
We have already received writ-ten positive feedback and thankyou cards from our homeown-ers, “I think this is a wonderfulprogram and it is very generousof the volunteers to donate theirtime to help those of us who
need it.”, Joanne Peterson, ho-meowner.
The program assists the home-bound and elderly by doingtasks and chores that they areunable to do themselves. Thisyear RSVP had 8 senior homesand 20 volunteers. A very bigthank you to our volunteers whodonated their time and supplies,RSVP Chair, Linda Darrigo andteam leaders, Bobbie Nelson,Vicki Garside, Bettsy Tyler,Debra Alexander, BarbaraTownend and Bernie Alioto andthe rest of the hard workingcrew: Chris Clayton, CarolynGreen, Jennifer Sullivan, AlisonWhite, Lela Willet, Inez Pan-dolfi, Mary Margaret, MarjiVickner, Susie Stelle, Lori Stru-sis, Carla Richmond, Cici Steb-bins and Victoria Doria.
We look forward to next yearsRSVP and helping even morehomeowners!
If you would like more informa-tion on this program please contactAndrea Harbert at 831-464-2000or [email protected]
RSVPREALTOR® SERVICE VOLUNTEERS PROGRAM
Local REALTORS® Help Local Seniors
Vicki Garside, Bobbie Nelsonand Victoria Doria working in
the garden!
Cici Stebbins our expertwindow washer!
Inez Pandolfi tackling the over-grown vines
Carla Richmond with herhandy tree trimmer!
Patricia Stewart (homeowner)and Carla Richmond
Bernie Alioto, Vicki Garside, Joanne Peterson (homeowner), InezPandolfi and Victoria Doria
Mon. June 1st, 9am-12 noon $25Member before 5/21, $50Member after 5/19. $55 Non-Member anytimeInstructor: Bob Barrie
Learn how to successfully rep-resent your buyers, what formsto use, handling counter offers,and how To successfully sellmore REO properties. In thisclass you will get to the heart ofthe REO business. SeminarTopics Include: Why SellREO’s? Finding Buyers; Whatto consult with your Buyers;Showing Properties; WritingContracts & Presenting Offers;Counter Offers/AgreementsReached; Inspections; Escrow;Sign Off and Closing
Charlie Krackeler's LicenseRenewal Review & Testing
Fri. June 5th 8:30.-12:30pm$65 Member (must register by5/22/09) $85 member (after5/22/09) / $90 Non-memberanytimeInstructor: Charlie Krackeler
At this seminar you will com-plete exams for the five man-dated courses* and receive acertificate for 15 credits. Youwill receive an access code toCharlie’s website to completethe remaining 30 hours of test-ing over the course of twodays.*Ethics, Agency, FairHousing, Trust Fund, and RiskManagement**Course materialwill be emailed to you shortlyafter registration. If you prefercourse material in book formatthere is an additional $20charge. Please note: In order tostart testing on 6/5 you willneed to receive the study mate-
rial at least 7 days prior to startof class. All students who regis-ter after 5/28 will need to makespecial arrangements to test onthe Mandated courses. Coursematerial will be available to stu-dents at the Association.
GRI #108 Risk Management
Fri. June 12, 8:00am-5:00pmCost: go to www.edesignationsfor more details and to registeror call 1 888-785-4800. Save$263 if you register for the en-tire seriesInstructor: TBD
This mandated course coverstopics to minimize the chance ofhaving a claim or lawsuit filedagainst you! Learning ObjectivesUpon completion of this course,the student will be able to explainhow risk management can be ap-plied to a wide range of functionsand activities including: Negli-gence Negligent misrepresenta-tion Intentional misrepresentationFraud Constructive fraud Breachof fiduciary duty Breach of con-tract Violation of the Business &Professions Code 17200 et seq.Students will learn that increasedtraining in the area of risk man-agement is a necessary functionfor improving the business prac-tices of real estate licensees andconsumer awareness.
Massive Abundance
Fri. June 19th, 10:00am-11:30amFREE to Members who registerby 6/12, $15 Members whoregister after 6/12. $20 Non-member anytime
Christopher Stafford and Debo-rah Jenkins, authors of the bookMassive Abundance will sharetheir fifty years of experience in
real estate and training to ex-plain how to be unbelievablysuccessful! What is "MA"? It isa feeling, an experience, a vi-sion. It is an outcome. It isworking $3,000,000 deals ratherthan $300,000 deals It is work-ing fewer hours while gettingbetter results It is improving thequality of your leads and con-tacts It is making more moneyand getting what you want It isabout igniting the passion in allyou do It is about reaching yourhighest level of potential in achanging market
Duane Gomer's Short Sale Update - 2009
Mon. June 22nd 1:30-4:30pmCost: $35 Members if regis-tered by 4/9/09, $50 Memberafter 4/9/09. $70 Non memberanytimeInstructor: Duane Gomer.
What’s Up in 2009:Why DoShort Sales & Why Not DoShort Sales; Advantages to Sell-ers & Buyers & Brokers; Cur-rent Lender’s Attitude & TimeFrames; Other Options for Sell-ers & Brokers Closing ShortSales in Less Time For MoreCommission: Short Sale ListingAddendum; Authorization toReceive & Convey Information;MLS Wording on CommissionReduction; Seller’s InformationChecklist from CAR; HardshipLetter, Recourse or Non-Re-course Loans; Package forLender—Let’s OverwhelmThem! What You Need toKnow!: Time Frames of TrusteeSales-Move Fast! Problems ofThe Lenders & Closing Them;Tips to Avoid Forgiveness ofDebt Tax; Fighting LenderCommission Reductions, etc.;Working with Investors-New
CAR Forms; What to do ifYour Short Sale Fails-It’s REOThis class was originally sched-uled for 4/27/09 and has beenrescheduled to Monday June22, 2009.
e-PRO Workshop
Fri. June 26th 9:00am-10:30amCost: FREE To register call1-866-377-6627 or go tohttp://ePROworkshop.InternetCrusade.comInstructor: Saul Klein
Attend the upcoming FREE e-PRO Workshop to learn invalu-able tech tips and how e-PROwill benefit you, plus receive a$25 discount for your e-PROcourse enrollment! DiscoverHidden Secrets; Interact withthe “Connected Customer”;Plug into an electronic commu-nity; Create a Web-based mar-keting strategy; Utilize thelatest high-tech advances suchas: Digital cameras, virtualtours, MLS systems Don't missNAR’s free e-PRO Workshop,presented by Saul Klein, Presi-dent of InternetCrusade®. Saul,selected as one of the 25 mostinfluential people in the realestate industry by NAR® in2003, will teach you technolo-gy tips that will immediatelyhelp differentiate you fromyour competition! Set YourselfApart!
Risk Management Tips for Today's Market
Tue. June 30th 1:00pm-3:00pmCost: $15 Member (bef. 6/12)$25 Member (aft. 6/12). $50Non-member anytimeInstructor(s): Attorney's DavidHamerslough & Bill Jansen.
The sun was shining, the BBQwas smoking and the margaritamachine was churning at the2009 Spring Fling, the SCAORannual premiere networkingevent. This event was held onthe grounds of the Associationon May 6, 2009. It was a funfilled, well attended event withgreat food and conversation –not to mention the Mango Mar-garitas!
A very thoughtful thank you toour Event Sponsors who helpedto make this event possible:
Music Sponsors Bosso Williams
GE Security
Margarita Sponsor Dick Cornelsen
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Beverage SponsorMLS Listings, Inc.
Registration SponsorJoe Ganeff,
Xchange Solutions
Baking ContestOur baking contest offered anoutstanding array of delectabledesserts and was judged by ourown Michael Clark of Michael’son Main. Congratulations to ourwinners and a huge thank you toeveryone who participated!
The overall winners were: FirstPlace, Carole Castle and her pi-na colada cheesecake; SecondPlace, Phyllis Harbert with glu-ten free chocolate brownies;Third Place, Debbie Canningand a super chocolate cake.
Thanks to all who attended andsupported this event! We hopeyou had a great time and welook forward to seeing you nextyear.
If you would like to participatein next year’s Spring Fling,please contact Norma Milete [email protected] or 831-464-2000
Raffle Prize Winners!
Thanks to all who donated andcongratulations to the winners:
Peter BoutellDebra Frey
Ivy AndersenLinda Bailey
The 2009 Spring Fling Event - a Huge Success!
John Peterson, Sterling Propertiesand SCAOR Director, Bobbie Nelson
Past President, Christa Shanaman
Linda Darrigo and Bettsy Tyler,Coast Country Real Estate
The Vanguard REALTORS Crew showed up in full force
Genie Lawless, Housing Foundation Fundraising Co-chair, Karen Schenk,Fundraising Member, and Mike Mulhern, Keller Williams Realty - SC
Tim Guest, First American Title Co., Housing Foundation Vice Chair MarkJunod and Greg Turnquist, Looking Forward Mortgage
Margarita & Registration Sponsors, Dick Cornelsen of Wells FargoReverse Mortgage (left) and Joe Ganeff of Xchange Solutions.
Current SCAOR President, Lela Willet and SCAOR BoardDirector, Frank May.
When it was time to line up for the delicious BBQ provided by the DeAngelocrew, your Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors wason hand to serve up the grub! Thank you to Lela Willet, Steve Allen, CandaceBradfield, Christa Shanaman, Debra Frey, Marji Vickner, Bobbie Nelson andFrank May.
EDUCATION SCHEDULEContinued.
Risk Management TipsContinued:
In this seminar presented by At-torneys Bill Jansen and DaveHamerslough, you will learnhow to identify current marketissues before they become a riskmanagement problem tomor-row. Topics discussed: REO’sShort Sales Foreclosures Dis-closures Loan ModificationsLitigation Case Studies andmore!
Stamp out filecompatibility
woesSharing files with other peoplecan be a real hassle. That's be-cause not everybody uses thesame software as you.
For example, your client or col-league might send you a Wordfile. But maybe you use Worksor some other word processor.You may not be able to open thefile. You could ask your col-league to save the file in a dif-ferent format. But who wants tobe a pest?
Instead, try YouConvertIt.
This free site will convert filesto different formats quickly andeasily. Just select your files andchoose a format. It's that easy!
But YouConvertIt can do somuch more than that.
It will help you download and-convert videos from YouTubeand other sites.
You can also convert units. Or,upload your files and send linksto clients, friends and family.It's an easy way to transfer largefiles!
Click on this link to find how todownload YouConvertIt
The National Association ofREALTORS® Midyear Legis-lative Meetings were held theweek of May 11 in WashingtonD.C. If you have never been,you are missing an opportunityto experience how our Associa-tion, BORPAC and IMPACfunds work for REALTORS®and work to preserve homeownership rights.
In addition, the event was heldin our nation’s capital. It gaveus the opportunity to meet withour Members of Congress onCapitol Hill and express ourconcerns about major issues im-pacting REALTORS®, ourcommunity, homeowners, andproperty values. In addition, weare able to thank our Membersof Congress, in person, for theirsupport to these same causes.
The issues presented this yearwere those effecting us the most.They came from the grass rootsup; our clients, family andneighbors, to our local boardSCAOR, to CAR, to NAR. The
issues are identified, consolidat-ed and affirmed through theprocess. When the Federal Po-litical Coordinators meet withtheir State Representatives theyprovided a powerful front. Theywere all on the same page. Theyare all presenting the same mes-sage.
The five major issues presentedto all State Representativeswere:
1) Move the housing market for-ward and safeguard our commu-nities, fortify Freddie andFannie to ensure capital formortgage lending, make the2008 loan limit formula andcaps permanent and extend the$8000 home buyer tax credit.
2) Preserve the mortgage inter-est deduction. MID should notbe changed, reduced, or limited.
3) Enact health coverage for theself-employed and small busi-nesses. Legislative reform mustaddress the affordable health in-
surance issues self-employedand small businesses face. Costcontainment and affordabilitymust be a part of the plan.
4) Adopt reasonable approachesto energy efficiency.Supportlegislation that provides finan-cial incentives for energy retro-fits for all properties.Oppose mandatory point-of-saleenergy labels.
5) Stabilize and provide liquidi-ty to commercial real estatemarkets. Expand the use of
Term Asset-Backed Securitiesloans (TALF) for purchase ofCommercial Mortgage BackedSecurities (CMBS) beyond thecurrent 3 year limit. Congressmust maintain the existing 15%capital gains tax rate
If you have not contributed toyour Political Action Fund thisyear, there is still time. It isthrough your support and contri-butions to this fund that makesall of this possible.
REPORT FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® MIDYEAR MEETING IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
When it's time to freshen yourhouse for showing, painting isan easy way to give it a re-freshed look. Maybe you want anew color scheme, or maybeyou just want to cover scuffmarks.
But before you start, figure outhow much paint you need. Youdon't want to waste money by
buying too much. But you needenough to get the job done.
This website will help you cal-culate how much paint you willneed. Enter room dimensionsand you will have an estimate inno time. Then you're ready forthe hard part: painting!
Calemine v. Samuelson (171Cal. App.4th 153, 89 Cal.Rptr.3d 495 (2009)) is a recentlypublished decision which em-phasizes the importance of fulldisclosures. In this case, theadverse condition of the proper-ty, water intrusion, was clearlydisclosed, but two lawsuits re-lating to the water intrusion andunsuccessful repair efforts werenot disclosed.
The seller’s Transfer DisclosureStatement (TDS) stated that theseller was aware of “[f]looding,drainage or grading problems”and added the notation “[h]eavyrains below ground walls &slab.” The section of the TDS tobe completed by the listingagent further stated: “Waterdamage noted in garage. Buyeris urged to get a physical inspec-tion from a licensed contractor.”The TDS did not mention twolawsuits or unsuccessful repairefforts relating to the water in-trusion issue.
Three years after escrow closed,water intrusion occurred and thebuyers filed a lawsuit againstthe seller and others for nui-sance, breach of contract, negli-gence, misrepresentation and
concealment. The trial courtgranted the seller’s motion forsummary judgment, finding thatthere was sufficient disclosureof defects, and no triable issueof material fact regarding a mis-representation or failure to dis-close as to the water intrusion.The buyers appealed.
On appeal, the court found thata real estate seller has both acommon law and statutory dutyof disclosure. With respect tothe common law duty of disclo-sure the court stated: “It is nowsettled in California that wherethe seller knows of facts materi-ally affecting the value or desir-ability of the property ... andalso knows that such facts arenot known to, or within thereach of the diligent attentionand observation of the buyer,the seller is under a duty to dis-close them to the buyer.” Thestatutory duty of disclosure setforth in Civil Code § 1102 etseq. does not alter a seller’scommon law duty of disclosure,but is intended to make a seller’srequired disclosures specificand clear.
The court noted that the TDSform which must be used (Civil
Code §1102.6) requires disclo-sures including problems relat-ing to flooding or drainage andany lawsuits concerning theproperty. In its decision, thecourt of appeal found that theseller’s disclosures relating tothe water intrusion issue wereadequate, but its failure to dis-close the two lawsuits and failedrepair efforts relating to the wa-ter intrusion presented a triableissue of fact with respect to theadequacy of the seller’s disclo-sures. The court stated:
“In a real estate transaction,whether the matter which wasnot disclosed was of sufficientmateriality to have affected thevalue or desirability of the prop-erty is ... a question of fact…Here, the evidence revealed atriable issue of fact, as the exis-tence of the two lawsuits wasthe very type of material infor-mation that a potential buyercould find seriously affectedboth the desirability and valueof the property.”
The court noted that the sellermade what could be character-ized as a partial disclosure (theultimate problem of water intru-sion) but there was a triable is-
sue of fact as to whether thebalance of the information con-cerning the two lawsuits and thefailed repair efforts should havebeen disclosed. The court not-ed, “where one does speak hemust speak the whole truth tothe end that he does not concealany facts which materially qual-ify those stated.”
The court emphasized that dis-closure of the two lawsuitswould have enabled the buyersto examine the details of thoseactions and evaluate their pur-chase in light of informationincluding that the water intru-sion had existed since the con-dominium was built, repairswhich were ineffective and thesubsequent efforts remedy theproblem.
This case serves as an importantreminder to fully and complete-ly disclose adverse conditionsrelating to property in a TDS,including any litigation and pre-vious repair efforts relating tothe issue.
THE DUTY TO DISCLOSE
By Teresa V. Rein, Bosso Williams
Real Estate Legal Matters
insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org June 2009
June’s Angel Investor,Dan Fish
and the Wells Fargo’sSharing Advantage Program
A big thanks to Angel donor DanFish and Wells Fargo for theirsupport of the Santa Cruz Associ-ation of REALTORS® HousingFoundation. Wells Fargo has al-ways been a great supporter of theHousing Foundation as aparticipant in events, throughgrants, donations from the Shar-ing Advantage Program andthrough the volunteer efforts ofTrustee's like Dave Deteso andJeff McCormac. Dan using, WellsFargo's Sharing advantage pro-gram, has generated over $1,200+for the Housing Foundation so farthis year.
Dan shares the benefits of theSCAORHF when his custo-mers can direct a $300 donationto the charity of their choice.
Here is the program overview:
Wells Fargo Home Mortgagecontinues to provide ways toimprove the quality of life forconsumers by adding value tocommunities with the SharingAdvantage® Program. Borrow-ers who purchase or refinance ahome can direct Wells FargoHome Mortgage to contribute$300.00, in their name, to a501(c)(3) organization of theirchoice. After the loan hasclosed, the borrower selects thecharity to receive the $300.00contribution.
So if you’re using Wells Fargofor a purchase, refinance or re-verse mortgage please be sure toask your loan officer about the
sharing advantage programand how the Housing founda-tion is helping to put first timehome buyers into homes in San-ta Cruz County.
The Santa Cruz Association ofREALTORS® Housing Founda-tion (SCAORHF) is a local, non–profit organization focused onbridging the gap to home own-ership for low income individu-als and families in Santa CruzCounty. For more informationand to learn how you can con-tribute via our Escrow contribu-tion Program please visit ourwebsite at www.scaorhf.org.
Congratulations toSuzanne Yost
Suzanne graduated from the Na-tional Association of REAL-TORS®’ Leadership Academy.The Leadership Academy helpsparticipants develop their lead-ership knowledge and abilitiesto eventually assume a nationalrole.
An advisory council selected ahandful of REALTORS® for theleadership program that beganin August 2008 at NAR’s Lead-ership Summit in Chicago andconcluded during the MidyearLegislative Meetings last weekin Washington, D.C. The com-mencement ceremonies wereheld during the 2009 REAL-TOR® Midyear LegislativeMeetings in Washington, D.C.
Get involved with one of themost successful communityfundraisers in Santa Cruz Coun-ty! The 5th Annual “A Taste ofSanta Cruz” is slated for No-vember 5th at the CocoanutGrove and we are currentlylooking for booth sponsors! TheBooth Kick-Off Event, is June15th at 10:00 am and you areinvited to come that day andpick your booth from the showfloor. Payment for your booth
must be received at that time.For more information about pur-chasing a booth and/or becom-ing a sponsor, please click here
This event draws nearly 800attendees every year and expos-es you and your company to thecommunity. Call Andrea Har-bert at 464-2000 or [email protected] for more in-formation!
“A Taste of Santa Cruz” BoothSponsor Kickoff is Coming!
Relationships, Planning andConsistency will always put youin the best place for our industryin 2009. The SCAOR AffiliateCommittees’ purpose is to helpprovide the working relation-ships that assist in making theright moves so that we all cantake advantage of the opportuni-ties that are in front of us.
Our Mission Statement
The purpose of the SantaCruz Association of REAL-TORS® Affiliate Committeeis to provide a channel ofcommunication to enhanceand maintain good workingrelationships among the RE-ALTORS® and Affiliates, tosupport Affiliate and REAL-TOR® members throughthe programs and servicesthat promote the profession-alism and common goals ofAssociation membership, toassist and participate in spe-cial events and activities ofthe Association, and lendtheir knowledge, expertiseand experience in the realestate industry.
We, the Affiliate Members, dowant to accomplish this withyou and for our mutual interestsin making the process of trans-ferring real-estate ownership ef-fective and clear to all involved.
Ask us what is new or workingwell in our specific area of ex-pertise. We might be able toincrease your effectiveness withyour client.
New Educational experiencefor the Reverse Guy.
I am, as you are, impressed withhow hard the SCAOR staffwork to assist us in all areas ofmoving people into and out ofreal estate. I would like to ap-plaud the Educational Commit-tee that I attended for the firsttime last month. That group oftalented individuals is workingvery hard to be sure that wehave our skills “honed” so thatwe can do the best job in theprocess of transferring owner-ship of real estate. Keep youreye on the EDUCATIONALOPPORTUNITIES that are of-fered and take advantage to up-date yourselves with skills thatyou can use NOW.
Richard (Dick) CornelsonWells Fargo
Home Mortgage(831) 320-8143
Affiliate Committee Chair
Are you looking for a great net-working opportunity? Wouldyou like to build relationshipswith people in the communitythat represent the diversity ofthe businesses and organiza-tions in the county? LeadershipSanta Cruz County is now ac-cepting applications for Class25.
Sound interesting? It’s not onlyinteresting, it’s fun! One day amonth for 9 months you joinyour classmates in a day oflearning and adventure. Youwill discover places you neverknew existed. Each day focuseson a topic like tourism, educa-tion, agriculture, health, or artand culture. You will meet topprofessionals in their field whowill share insights in the issuesand opportunities facing thecommunity. Some of the learn-ing takes place in various loca-tions throughout the county; and
much of it takes place on sitevisits and field trips. By gradu-ation you will not only havesome valuable inside knowl-edge of how the county oper-ates, but you will also havemade some lifelong friendshipsand have an impressive experi-ence to add to your resume.
To find out more about Leader-ship Santa Cruz County, pleasevisit the leadershipscc websiteat www.leadershipscc.org orcall Executive Director DaveVincent at (831)662-3881.
Dave will also be happy to an-swer any emails sent [email protected].
There is an early bird special forall applications received beforeAugust 15, 2009. Applicationscan be found on the homepageof the website.
Great Class, Great ExperienceLeadership Santa Cruz County
Gas prices are up 20 per centthis year and experts are warn-ing that prices may go muchhigher.
Just click on GasBudy’s inter-active map to check on gas pric-es in your area. The map makes
it easy to find gas stations withlower-than-average prices.
The best thing about GasBud-dy is you won't need to drivearound looking for an inexpen-sive gas station!
We have all been exposed to the80/20 rule. This rule states that80 percent of our results comefrom 20 percent of our labor, or80 percent of our income willcome from 20 percent of ourclients. When this rule is learnedand applied, it is a powerful tooltowards success.
There is another rule, which Ihave applied with great resultsthroughout my sales career. It ismore powerful but less known
than the 80/20 rule. It is the20/50/30 rule. Let's take an indepth look at this rule. In the20/50/30 rule, the 20 percent ismade up of the people who willdo business with you easily.These 20 percent are peoplewith whom you have alreadybuilt trust and rapport. Theyhave belief and faith that whatyou say is true.
The next group is the 50 percentof people who are on the fence.
This group, upon receiving asolid presentation and systemat-ic approach, moves towardsyour side of the fence. But ittakes sufficient data and reason-ing to get them to commit tobuying or selling a home.
The final group, which is thegroup that 30 percent of peoplefall into, is the most dangerousgroup. This group demands tre-mendous amounts of energy andtime to convince them to join
your side of the fence. This 30percent is highly demanding andoften has limited respect for theservices provided by others.Even with a solid service pre-sentation, they often demandmore from a sales person thanthe other two groups do.
This is an extract from an articlewritten by Dirk Zeller and pub-lished on May 15, 2009 in theRealty Times. The full articlecan be found here.
Giving up little luxuries towhich we've become accus-tomed can be difficult, but somethings cannot be cut. You don'twant to stop taking your pre-scription drugs. That doesn'tmean you can't save on yourdrugs. Medtipster will help youcompare prices on prescription
drugs in your area. It will alsohelp you find suitable genericsand alternative therapies. You'llneed to talk to your doctor aboutthese, of course. It will also helpyou find mini clinics, immuni-zations and health screenings!
![INDEX []Chaunsath Yogini Gaavat, Nritya Karat Bhairon, Baajat Tab Mridanga, Aur Bajat Damru, Jai Ambe Gauri Maiyaa, Jai Shyaama Gauri Tum Ho Jag Ki Maataa, Tum Hi Ho Bhartaa, Bhaktan](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/5e3f1f0e2a0cce210a7c3b56/index-chaunsath-yogini-gaavat-nritya-karat-bhairon-baajat-tab-mridanga-aur.jpg)
