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SILVAR’s REALTOR® Service Volunteer Program (RSVP) will take place this year the week of May 6 -10. Volunteers are needed for this special community outreach program. This year, each district has set aside special days to help seniors in their community:
Cupertino/Sunnyvale District:
Wednesday, May 8
Los Altos/Mountain View District:
Wednesday, May 8
Los Gatos/Saratoga District:
Thursday, May 9
Menlo Park/Atherton District:
Wednesday & Thursday, May 8-9
Palo Alto District:
Wednesday & Thursday, May 8-9
SILVAR REALTOR® and affiliate members are encouraged to volunteer their time and skills to help the elderly and the homebound in their respective communities. During RSVP week, RSVP volunteers visit the homes of seniors who are physically and financially challenged and provide free assistance with household tasks like replacing light bulbs, changing furnace filters, washing windows, turning over mattresses, changing smoke detector batteries and other similar household tasks.
RSVP has expanded on the Peninsula and in the South Bay, with volunteers from the Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS® (SCCAOR) and the Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS® joining SILVAR and SAMCAR members in this worthwhile outreach project. Last year, 386 volunteers helped 284 seniors in the Bay Area. A total of 213 volunteers from SILVAR helped 148 seniors in SILVAR’s five districts. RSVP t-shirts worn by volunteers from the four Associations are sponsored by MLSListings Inc.
“We are really proud that every year our members have stepped up to help the seniors in their community. We hope more members will be able to volunteer for this worthwhile project this year,” said Eileen Giorgi, SILVAR’s RSVP Committee Chair.
Volunteer now by clicking on the link below, completing the volunteer application and faxing it to SILVAR at (408) 200-0101. You may also call SILVAR at (408) 200-0100 and ask that an application be mailed to you. The deadline to volunteer is Friday, March 15. Applications from seniors requesting help are also due on March 15.
The 14th annual Silicon Valley Scholars Program for graduating seniors from 18 public high schools in Silicon Valley is now underway. The scholars program is sponsored by the Charitable Foundation of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®, the local trade association which represents over 4,000 Realtor and affiliate members on the Peninsula and in the South Bay.
The REALTORS®’ scholarship program is a partnership with local high schools in Silicon Valley. Principals and faculty at 18 participating high schools nominate three exceptional graduating seniors each year. The program awards a $1,000 scholarship in recognition of exemplary records, outstanding academic performance and community spirit to one nominee from each of the schools.
The Class of 2013 Silicon Valley scholars will be selected from high schools in the communities served by members of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®. Final selections will be made by a committee that includes representatives from the local business community, area high schools, area colleges and the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®.
The annual Silicon Valley Scholars Program is an opportunity for SILVAR members to show their support for Silicon Valley’s communities and schools and to thank the students, teachers, administrators and school board members for their dedication and for working hard to make their schools among the best in the nation.
The Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation Scholarship Program has provided over $230,000 to 234 graduating seniors in Silicon Valley in the past 13 years. Participating schools include Leigh High School and Lynbrook High School in San Jose; Westmont High School in Campbell; Fremont High School in Sunnyvale; Los Altos High School in Los Altos; Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos; Gunn High School and Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto; Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton; Santa Clara High School and Wilcox High School in Santa Clara; Cupertino High School, Homestead High School and Monta Vista High School in Cupertino; Prospect High School and Saratoga High School in Saratoga; Mountain View High School in Mountain View; and Woodside High School in Woodside.
Graduating seniors from the above-mentioned high schools who wish to apply for the scholarships may obtain an application from their school counselor. The completed application must be returned to the high school’s principal or scholarship counselor by Monday, March 11 for submission to the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation.
For further information, please contact Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation Scholarship Program Chair Nina Yamaguchi at (408) 861-8822 or nyamaguchi@cbnorcal.com.
Properties have been marketed off the MLS before, but these days, it’s happening more often and creating controversy because inventory is at an all-time low, said Bailey. In fact, today, inventory is at its lowest levels since 2005 and new listings continue to decline. The average days on market (DOM) is now 35 in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, down 60 percent from 2011.
Robert Bailey, MLSListings Inc. chair, told SILVAR members this week that May 2012 had the highest exclusions of property on the MLS since 2007. Between January and November 2012, off-MLS transactions accounted for 20 percent of total home sales or nearly $1 billion in sales volume. He indicated in Menlo Park alone, during this period 20.32 percent of all home sales were off-market. In Atherton, 31 percent of total sales were off-market.
Bailey said MLSListings does not support private MLSs or MLS clubs because their purpose runs counter to the company’s goal of fostering an environment of cooperation and collaboration. He said while it is not MLSListings’ purpose to define a REALTOR®’s business model, the MLS is a cooperative effort.
MLSListings provides for the exclusion process, has rules regarding it and imposes fines if rules are broken, but it can’t stop it. It is up to REALTORS® to address the dilemma. Bailey asked members to visit the MLSListings website and take a survey on the topic and engage in the discussion. Weekly survey questions are on the Pro homepage at http://pro.mlslistings.com. For a forum for community discussion, visit
http://bit.ly/XBwdv6.
MLSListings received 1,035 responses in the first week of the survey. Findings showed 24 percent of respondents use off-market listings (OML); 34 percent never use OML; and 34 percent said they don’t know about OML. Meanwhile, 64 percent of respondents believe the use of OML is exclusionary or discriminatory, either legally or ethically. Discussions generated interesting comments for and against the OML practice.
Bailey invited members to take part in the survey and discussion. “Let your thoughts be known,” he said.
The MLSListings chair reminded SILVAR members that they own the MLS. “You are the stakeholders. That’s what makes us unique,” said Bailey.
View Bailey’s presentation here.
The PRDS Forms Committee has a revised Supplemental Seller’s Checklist (“SSC”). The revisions are intended to make the form more user-friendly and to assist sellers in making a full and complete disclosure of those material facts impacting the value or desirability of a property. These latest revisions make the form much easier for sellers to understand and use.
SILVAR will be offering a course soon on these revisions and disclosure issues that relate to both the SSC and the Transfer Disclosure Statement (“TDS”). In the meantime, SILVAR REALTOR® members can check out the August 2012 issue of the Silicon Valley REALTOR®, SILVAR’s monthly newspaper, which includes a detailed explanation of the revisions provided by SILVAR board attorney and PRDS Forms Committee member Dave Hamerslough.
PRDS Forms is an extensive line of paper and online forms for residential purchase and sales transactions. These forms are available online free of charge as a member benefit to all SILVAR (Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®) and SAMCAR (San Mateo County Association of REALTORS®) REALTOR® members. The online version of the forms is an extremely robust and intuitive platform that is far easier to use than other platforms. Created by REALTORS® for REALTORS®, these forms are highly acclaimed, and have been heavily used for over 25 years by listing agents from leading offices in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Peninsula.
The Standard Forms Committee, which is composed of 25 members from SILVAR and SAMCAR, meets every other week and works very hard to make sure all forms are current and reflective of local practice. The revised PRDS Supplemental Seller’s Checklist is a product of the committee’s work and efforts to continually get educated about recent laws passed and requirements in surrounding areas, take the information and input it into the forms.
REALTOR® members may access the new PRDS SCC form online free of charge by visiting prdsforms.com.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® would like to pass this warning from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). NAR is alerting members about a website of suspicious origin, which is misusing the REALTOR® trademark in what seems to be an attempt to get money from real estate practitioners.
The site, Realtor-complaints.com, supposedly publishes consumer complaints about real estate agents. However, an investigation by the New Jersey Association of REALTORS® showed a string of complaints against its members, all using similar phrasing, which leads to suspicion that the complaints are not legitimate. Moreover, when agents who have been the subject of a complaint attempt to make contact, the site offers them the “opportunity” to pay to have the complaint and have their name removed from the site.
NAR legal staff checked the WHOIS record for the site and discovered it is hosted on servers located in the Seychelles. NAR found that the site was recorded as having been initially registered on January 1, 2013, making the site’s claim of having been around since 2002 very suspect.
NAR has received a number of calls from members who have been informed via email that their name is listed at the site. NAR attorneys are investigating and, if necessary, will take steps to have the site shut down.
Last Thursday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released the “qualified mortgage” rule setting guidelines to ensure that home loans will be given only to qualified borrowers who can repay them, thus protecting consumers from predatory lending. Lenders who follow these rules in making a loan will be protected from liability.
While the QRM (qualified residential mortgage) overseen by the Federal Reserve has not yet been announced, the National Association of REALTORS® applauds the CFPB for creating a broadly defined Qualified Mortgage rule that establishes strong consumer protections while ensuring continued access to safe, affordable mortgage credit.
Under the new guidelines, which take effect on January 2014, lenders must obtain and verify an applicant’s financial information, including employment status, income, assets, debts, and credit history. Borrowers must have enough income or assets to repay the loans. Interest-only and undocumented income mortgages, including loans in excess of 30 years or in which the principal increases over time, will no longer be allowed.
Under the “ability to repay” rule set by the new guidelines, lenders will be required to look at a borrower’s ability to repay over the long term by looking at a borrower’s current income and assets, employment status, credit history, the mortgage monthly payment, other payments like property taxes and other debt obligations. A borrower’s total debt obligations, including the mortgage and other loan obligations is limited to 43 percent of the borrower’s monthly income.
There is no minimum down payment requirement for qualified mortgages. Earlier proposals of a down payment of as much as 20 percent in order to qualify for a mortgage raised concerns that such a requirement would disqualify potential borrowers from owning a home.
Banks are not required to follow either the QM or QRM rules; however, they probably will. By following the QM guidelines, lenders get a measure of protection from litigation. By following the QRM guidelines not yet announced, banks will be able to sell their loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
NAR urges regulators to mirror the forthcoming Qualified Residential Mortgage rule after the QM rule to ensure affordable credit remains available to qualified borrowers.
In order to conform state law to the federal law that recently passed extending mortgage debt forgiveness, the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) is sponsoring Senate Bill 30, so California homeowners on the brink of foreclosure can get much-needed debt relief.
One of the major successes Congress reached in the “fiscal cliff” negotiations was the extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act for another year. The measure will continue to exempt from taxation mortgage debt that is forgiven when homeowners and their mortgage lenders negotiate a short sale, loan modification (including any principal reduction) or foreclosure.
While debt relief has been extended at the federal level, the state exemption expired at the end of 2012, so forgiven mortgage debt is considered taxable state income for now. SB 30 (Calderon, D-Montebello) will extend the sunset date in California law to January 1, 2014. Upon its passage, the measure will be retroactive to January 1, 2013.
SILVAR will be offering the class CRS 200: Business and Marketing for the Residential Specialist on February 12 and 13, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at SILVAR. REALTORS® who take this two-day course can earn 16 education credits toward a Certified Residential Specialist® designation. This course also can count as an elective toward a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation.
SILVAR is offering an early bird registration price of $250, if you register before January 31. After January 31, cost is $300. SILVAR Class Pass and member discount applies. Members may call SILVAR at (408) 200-0100 for details.
The CRS 200 course will be taught by Mark Given, a certified instructor for The Council of Residential Specialists (CRS). Given is a Ninja Selling Master Instructor, and has been a GRI Instructor for many states. He is author of the CRS elective “Going Green” course. He has served as a keynote speaker for private companies and state conventions, taught at the National Association of REALTORS® Convention and Mid-year meetings and is a practicing REALTOR® in Roanoke Rapids, NC.
The Certified Residential Specialist® (CRS) is the professional designation offered by the Council of Residential Specialists. The highest designation awarded to sales associates in the residential sales field, the CRS designation recognizes professional accomplishments in both experience and education.
With the CRS designation, you will be able to:
• Differentiate yourself as part of an elite group (3 percent of all REALTORS® hold the CRS designation).
• Increase your earning potential.
• Take advantage of a strong referral network.
• Attend specialized conferences and meetings.
• Have access to current industry news and information.
Since 1977, the Council of Residential Specialists has been conferring the CRS designation on agents who meet its stringent requirements. In 2010, CRS Designees earned nearly three times more than those REALTORS® who serve as sales agents.
To find out more about earning a CRS designation, visit https://crs.com/
On January 1 both the U.S. Senate and House passed H.R. 8 legislation to avert the “fiscal cliff.” The bill was signed by President Barack Obama.
Below is a National Association of REALTORS® summary of real estate related provisions in the bill:
Real Estate Tax Extenders
• Mortgage Cancellation Relief is extended for one year to Jan. 1, 2014.
• Deduction for Mortgage Insurance Premiums for filers making below $110,000 is extended through 2013 and made retroactive to cover 2012.
• 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements on commercial properties is extended through 2013 and made retroactive to cover 2012.
• 10 percent tax credit (up to $500) for homeowners for energy improvements to existing homes is extended through 2013 and made retroactive to cover 2012.
Permanent Repeal of Pease Limitations for 99% of Taxpayers
Under the agreement, so called “Pease Limitations” that reduce the value of itemized deductions are permanently repealed for most taxpayers but will be reinstituted for high income filers. These limitations will only apply to individuals earning more than $250,000 and joint filers earning above $300,000. These thresholds have been increased and are indexed for inflation and will rise over time. Under the formula, the amount of adjusted gross income above the threshold is multiplied by three percent. That amount is then used to reduce the total value of the filer’s itemized deductions. The total amount of reduction cannot exceed 80 percent of the filer’s itemized deductions.
These limits were first enacted in 1990 (named for the Ohio Congressman Don Pease who came up with the idea) and continued throughout the Clinton years. They were gradually phased out as a result of the 2001 tax cuts and were completely eliminated in 2010-2012. Had we gone over the fiscal cliff, Pease limitations would have been reinstituted on all filers starting at $174,450 of adjusted gross income.
Capital Gains
Capital Gains rate stays at 15 percent for those in the top rate of $400,000 (individual) and $450,000 (joint) return. After that, any gains above those amounts will be taxed at 20 percent. The $250,000/$500,000 exclusion for sale of principle residence remains in place.
Estate Tax
The first $5 million dollars in individual estates and $10 million for family estates are now exempted from the estate tax. After that the rate will be 40 percent, up from 35 percent. The exemption amounts are indexed for inflation.
REALTORS® want to ensure the nation’s 75 million homeowners continue to receive the mortgage interest deduction as it is today. It’s a very important benefit for all homeowners, especially the middle class homeowners. On Wednesday, the California Association of REALTORS® placed an open letter advertisement in California’s six largest daily newspapers, calling on President Obama and Congress to preserve the mortgage interest deduction in its entirety during their “fiscal cliff” discussions.
The letter was placed in a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Sacramento Bee, U-T San Diego, and the Orange County Register, and states any proposal that eliminates or attempts to alter in any way the mortgage interest deduction undermines a century-old commitment to the American Dream of homeownership.
The letter also asks the public to visit www.KeepTheMID.com to learn how they can contact their Member of Congress and ask them to protect the mortgage interest deduction. View the open letter.
Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® says ... 