RED ALERT - Urge Your Senator to VOTE NO on SB391!

Senate Pulls Dirty Trick!
Tries to Punish C.A.R. for Opposing Recording Tax by Holding C.A.R.’s Tax Relief Bill Hostage 

Call Your Senator NOW! Urge a NO Vote on Recording Tax 

In a surprise move last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee linked C.A.R SPONSORED bill, SB 30, which provides tax relief to those who are selling a home in a short sale to SB 391, a C.A.R.-opposed bill that creates a recording tax, using a shameful political maneuver to force C.A.R. to support the recording tax. As now linked, SB 30 can only become law if SB 391 becomes law. Once SB 391 is defeated, the link in SB 30 can be removed. PLEASE ACT NOW. THE VOTE COULD BE AS SOON AS NOON TUESDAY!!!

REALTORS® and the public should be OUTRAGED that distressed homeowners are being held hostage by Senate Leadership.

 Action Item 

CALL YOUR SENATOR TODAY

 Ask him or her to stand with REALTORS® and families and
VOTE NO ON SB 391!

CALL 1-800-969-3310Enter 200005264 to be connected

If you wish, you can bypass the first part of the message by entering your PIN, followed by the # sign, at any time. You may also bypass the 2^nd part of the message by hitting the “1” key to be directly connected to your legislator’s office. 

Here are detailed background and talking points on both bills. 

Background/Talking Points

C.A.R. is OPPOSING SB 391 (DeSaulnier) which imposes a recording TAX to generate funds for affordable housing programs. SB 391 creates a $75 per document recording TAX to fund the affordable housing trust.  C.A.R. is opposing this measure because it unfairly adds to the cost of recording real estate documents. C.A.R. is an aggressive advocate for affordable housing, but believes it is bad policy to fund affordable housing at the expense of homeowners who need to record real estate documents. The real issue is that this TAX is imposed only on real estate document recordings.  Affordable housing programs should be funded by the broadest base possible of California's citizens.

C.A.R. opposed the bill’s predecessor, SB 1220, last year until the bill was amended to exempt recordings that were part of a sales transaction.  Afterward, C.A.R. supported the measure, but it was defeated. Don't be misled by allegations that C.A.R. "changed its position" on SB 391.  C.A.R.'s Board of Directors considered SB 391 for the first time in May of this year; prior to that, C.A.R. did not take a position on SB 391.  The sponsors were advised of this process well before the bill was introduced. In May, the Board of Directors voted to oppose SB 391.

C.A.R. is opposing SB 391 because:

• SB 391 unfairly targets property owners who need to record real estate documents to pay for affordable housing programs. Affordable housing is an issue of broad social concern. While there may be a need for affordable housing funds, it is unfair to require only those individuals recording real estate documents to be the sources of that funding.             
• SB 391 is a recording TAX. While it may not apply to sale transactions, it still applies anytime a homeowner needs to record a document (e.g., refinancing, transferring into or out of a trust, liens, quit claim deeds, etc.).
• SB 391 provides no guidelines; it doesn’t prioritize affordable housing needs and requires little oversight. There is nothing in the bill that specifies how funds should be awarded and it provides little oversight as to the best uses of the funds. While it contains an audit requirement, that requirement doesn’t even kick in until the end of the program’s second year, when $1 billion could have already been distributed.  And, it’s “geographic” approach to distributing the funds doesn’t ensure the neediest Californians benefit from the program. 
• While C.A.R. aggressively supports the creation of homeownership opportunities, SB 391 is clearly not the way to achieve that goal. 

GREEN TIP: Packing Materials

Styrofoam packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and foam are useful during a move, but not for the environment. 

To go green on your next move, try using old newspapers to wrap fragile items, and then recycle the paper when you unpack. Wrap pieces of furniture and art with blankets to ensure they do not get damaged during the move instead of packing them in foam. If you must use non-biodegradable packing materials, ask around to see if anyone has any from a past move to give you. 


Reusing is always better than buying new––for the environment AND your wallet.

How to pump up your credit score

To avoid another real estate bubble, many lenders have tightened their mortgage requirements.  According to a report by the Federal Reserve, a majority of banks are less likely to offer loans to people with a FICO score of 620 and a 10 percent down payment than they were in 2006.  Lenders were also less likely to do so even for those with a score of 720.  The good news though is there are some tactics that consumers can employ to raise their scores.

Making sense of the story

• First, it is worth noting that median credit scores are rising, as people reduce debt and spend less in tight economic times.  Some 18 percent of Americans now have scores of 800 to 850, while 15 percent are below 550, according to FICO data.

• Often lenders will review FICO scores from the three big credit agencies, and they use the middle number to evaluate the borrower.  That number becomes the borrower’s “risk number.” 

• Borrowers can figure out their risk number by obtaining their three credit reports, available free once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com, and studying them carefully for errors or omissions.

• According to FICO, the two biggest factors in a credit score are payment history, which accounts for 35 percent of the score, and the amounts owed, accounting for 30 percent.

• Knowing that information, one can raise his/her credit score by reducing balances on credit cards.  However, if an account is in collection, it is too late to improve the credit score by paying it off.  The notation that an account is in collection is what lowers the score, so consumers may get more mileage by paying down active credit-card balances and other debts first.

• Though mistakes and bankruptcies may stay on a credit report for seven years, lenders will generally be more likely to overlook late payments that happened two or more years ago than more recent ones.

• Improving one’s credit score could take three to four months, or it could take as long as 18 months.

Posted with permission from C.A.R.'s Market Matter.