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This week, four of six candidates vying for two seats in the Cupertino City Council shared their views on housing, taxes, rent control and green building standards with members of SILVAR’s Cupertino/Sunnyvale District. There appeared to be no stark difference in each candidate’s stance on these issues.
Left to right: Rod Sinks, Donna Austin, Marty Miller and Gilbert Wong.
Donna Austin, a staunch supporter of mixed-use development, believes the city needs to step up and provide more housing and retail. She would support higher density and height along the transit corridor. She described herself as “fiscally very conservative,” not too keen on Measure C, but said it’s a tax that will not hurt residents. Measure C, which is on the November 8 ballot, proposes to raise the city’s transient occupancy tax (TOT) paid by hotel guests from 10 percent to 12 percent. There are other ways to obtain revenue, she said. She is for more housing, especially since Apple is expanding. Austin is against rent control because she does not believe renters or landlords would be motivated to renovate. She believes the city is already one of the greenest communities in the region and residents should be free to follow green practices that best suit them. A former San Jose teacher and an active community volunteer, Austin has served on the city’s planning commission and was honored by the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce as this year’s citizen of the year. She believes with her teaching skills, she would bring a different perspective to the council and benefit the city.
Marty Miller, who is a REALTOR® and SILVAR member, wants the city to be more friendly toward businesses. He is in general opposed to all taxes. He believes Californians are overtaxed and that the state tax system is badly in need of reform. By raising the cost for travelers to stay in Cupertino, Miller said the passage of Measure C will ultimately hurt businesses and the city. More housing is needed in Cupertino and there should be a better balance of jobs and housing, he said. If more people lived closer to where they worked, there would be even less traffic, he noted. Miller is opposed to rent control and called it “misguided government policy.” He is also against imposing green building standards on the community. Incentives are the way to go; not mandates. There are two things that kill jobs and growth, said Miller – taxes and excessive regulation, so government should leave the market alone. A REALTOR®, who has been on the planning commission for the past nine years, Miller said the “real power is in the city council.” It is why he is a candidate. He said he would be an appropriate representative of the business community, especially REALTOR®s.
Rod Sinks is frustrated at city projects that have stalled, especially Vallco Shopping Mall, and he is running because he wants to push them through. The city needs to create things that cater to the people. More housing and development are keys to making Cupertino a destination place, so people will shop here and dine here, he said. Sinks said he worked as a volunteer to pass the parcel tax because he saw it as a strengthening measure to improve property values, but he is not a supporter of other taxes. He, too, said California needs to reform its tax system, which he feels inhibits mobility. He is opposed to rent control because it creates a disincentive. As co-founder of Bay Area for Clean Environment (formerly No Toxic Air), a grassroots environmental organization, Sinks said he is very excited about greening the community, but does not believe it should be mandated. Having launched successful high-tech start-up companies, Sinks believes he has the vision and the skills to bring a team together and make the council function more efficiently, especially at its meetings.
Gilbert Wong, who currently serves as mayor of Cupertino and is the lone incumbent in the race, said he would like to continue his work on the council. Born and raised in Cupertino, Wong served five years on the planning commission, prior to his election to the city council in 2007. He said the city has a great future with its excellent public schools. There are more things to come and he would like to see the development projects continued. Wong believes taxes should be the last resort and placing Measure C on the November ballot was just that. He explained Hewlett Packard’s departure left a $1 million dollar hole in the city’s finances. The TOT could raise $450,000 additional revenue for the city. He said he would support anything to protect Cupertino’s schools as long as it is reasonable, such as a school parcel tax. Wong noted, as a property manager, he too does not support rent control. He believes Cupertino’s green building standards should not raise the cost for builders, especially during these hard economic times. The city should stick to the minimum standards currently in place and review them next year, Wong said.
Pictured here are the 2011 BARLA graduates and members of the BARLA Advisory Committee.
Members of the 2011 Bay Area REALTOR® Leadership Academy (BARLA) successfully completed the program this week. This year’s BARLA graduates are Sue Bose, Kevin Cole, Debra Cummins, Desiree Docktor, Anne Hansen, Penelope Huang, Linda Scheifler Marks, Mike O’Neill, Robert Pedro, Gema Smith, David Steil, Frank Vento, Jane Volpe and Aaron Wheeler.
BARLA is an alliance spearheaded in 2009 by past SILVAR president Julia Truesdale Keady involving members of the three neighboring Associations – SILVAR, the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS® and the Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS®. The goal is to develop a leadership program designed to identify, train and develop existing and emerging leaders to serve and advance organized real estate.
Participants this year attended full-day sessions held monthly through September. The curriculum featured theme-oriented sessions which gave participants an overview of organized real estate’s impact on local, state and federal issues, candidates, non-profits and communities.
Members of this year’s Advisory Committee are Suzanne Yost (Chair), Julia Truesdale Keady (Vice Chair), David Tonna, Karl Lee, Jeff Bell, Al Louie, Barbara Lymberis, Suzan Getchell-Wallace, Debbie Sharp, Marianne Osberg and Association Executives of the three associations.
Last week Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB 771 into law, a bill that prevents home buyers in a common interest development (CID), such as a condominium or townhome, from being charged excess document fees.
Homeowner associations (HOAs) are required to provide specific documents to prospective purchasers of homes in a CID — a form of real estate ownership in which each homeowner has an exclusive interest in a unit and a shared interest in the common area property. In addition to the standard residential property disclosures, purchasers of a unit within a CID must receive basic information about the structure, operation and management of the HOA that operates the CID.
Current law requires that this information come from the HOA and prohibits it from charging fees in excess of what is “reasonable,” not to exceed the actual cost of processing and producing these documents. HOAs generally have provided the documents for approximately $75 to $250. Increasingly, HOAs have been delegating document preparations to third party vendors or contractors who, under a 2007 court decision, are exempt from this fee limitation. This delegation of responsibility by HOAs sometimes resulted in home purchasers being forced to pay additional fees, as much as $1,000, for other documents which were “bundled” with the required documents.
Assembly Bill 771 (Betsy Butler, D-Torrance) addresses this situation by specifying that only fees for the required documents may be charged when such documents are provided, effectively prohibiting any “bundling” of fees for other documents with these fees. The bill also creates a new form detailing which documents are required, and requires the provider to disclose the fees that will be charged for the documents before they are provided. The seller of a CID must complete this form and transmit it to the prospective purchaser along with the required documents. This will eliminate any uncertainty for the prospective purchaser as to exactly which documents are being provided and the precise fees being charged for those documents.
Time is running out on important housing-related issues before Congress. We need REALTORS® to contact their elected representatives in Washington, D.C., today.
Here is what REALTORS® can do:
Reauthorize National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to ensure access for millions of Americans to affordable flood insurance which is not available in the private insurance market. The House has passed its bill. Now we need you to urge the Senate to act.
Without reauthorization, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will expire on September 30, 2011. Today, 5.6 million property owners rely on the program in 21,000 communities where flood insurance is required for federally related mortgages. Both consumers and your fellow REALTORS® are counting on your to help get this bill passed.
Tell Congress to Reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program
Make permanent the current loan limits for FHA, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to ensure the affordability of mortgage credit for hundreds of thousands of responsible and credit-worthy American families.
The cost of a mortgage could rise significantly if loan limits are reduced. If this happens, many of your clients run the risk of being priced out of the American Dream of home ownership. This could hold back the housing recovery. The new loan limits show that more than 669 counties in 42 states and the territories would be negatively impacted by the loan limit change.
Take Action to Ensure Your Clients Have Access to Affordable Mortgages
The business of real estate puts REALTORS® in potentially hazardous situations because a significant part of their work involves meeting with strangers. Every year, real estate agents around the country are threatened, robbed, physically or sexually assaulted while fulfilling the everyday requirements of their jobs. Some even lose their lives.
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the real estate, rental and leasing occupation has seen an average of 75 deaths a year from 2003 to 2009. There don’t appear to be solid statistics on the number of agents who were victims of specific crimes like sexual assault, non-fatal shootings, beatings, stabbings, robbery and carjacking. The latest highly publicized tragic incidents happened in February 2011. According to news reports, a real estate agent in Ottumwa, Iowa, was assaulted and tied up when she arrived at a home for a scheduled showing appointment. Her attackers then robbed the home. Two months later, in West Des Moines, a 27-year-old agent was fatally shot while working at a model home.
REALTORS® can make adjustments to the way they do business and avoid violent crimes by practicing these general REALTOR® Safety Tips from the National Association of REALTORS® and other sources, so you can avoid being a victim:
- Always meet a client for the first time in the office. Introduce him or her to coworkers and make it clear that they know you are taking him out of the office. Try to take separate cars but if that is not possible you will have slightly more control if you drive. Also, do not meet a client at the property, particularly if he is calling on a yard sign. He will already have had a chance to note if the property is vacant. Don’t identify a property as vacant to a caller, on an ad or sign.
- Get a license plate number and leave it at the front desk. Just explain that it is office policy; a customer who means no harm won’t mind. Leave an itinerary for your house tour with someone in your office.
- Agents are vulnerable when they are walking back to and from their car before or after an open house. Park where you cannot get blocked in. Take a few minutes to make sure you have a clear line of sight to your vehicle. Can you see the front door? Are there trees or shrubbery within 10 feet that can serve as a hiding place? When getting out of the car, keep looking around. When you get to the front door, turn around and walk back — are there places where someone could surprise you?
- The No. 1 place where agents are attacked during an open house is the front door, partly because lockboxes take time to open. If you are alone, turn your back against a wall to avoid being attacked from behind. If you can, work in teams. Sign up your affiliates, such as a home inspector or title officer, to sit the open house with you.
- Never go into certain rooms. When showing visitors around, never go into rooms with no escape routes. These include walk-in closets, bathrooms and laundry rooms, among others. Instead, direct visitors to those rooms.
- Establish your escape routes. Walk around the house and notice how to get in and out of rooms. If there is a fence in the backyard with a gate, unlock the gate for easy exit. As another escape route, open the garage door but lock the door leading to the inside from the garage. Direct clients to the front door with signs.
- Set up for safety. Hang decorative bells behind every outside door that you have unlocked. These will alert you whenever someone enters the house. Carry only what you need — purses go in the trunk of your car before you leave your house, not when you arrive at the open house. Do not bring your laptop to an open house. Not only can it be easily stolen, but signing on to someone’s unsecured wireless network can open you up to identity theft.
- Always carry a cell phone where it is easily accessible (not in the purse you left in the car). Make sure emergency numbers are programmed into the speed dial.
- When showing property to strangers, follow rather than lead them through the house. Don’t let them get between you and the door. Never, ever turn your back on a prospect. If a man says, “Ladies first,” to a female agent, the agent should say something like, “You are such a gentleman, thank you. But I really want you to see this home, and if I can direct you where to go, I think you’ll gain a further appreciation for this home.”
- Go with your gut. If something doesn’t feel right, if anything raises the hair on the back of your neck, escape the situation immediately. Until you really know a customer, remain vigilant regardless of the gender, appearance, dress, or charm.
For more safety tips, visit NAR’s REALTOR® Safety Web site at www.REALTOR.org/Safety.
- Left to right: Panelists Tim Anderson, Phyllis Carmichael, Ethel Green, Gary Herbert, Jim Nappo, and Los Altos/Mountain View District Chair Denise Welsh (standing), who served as moderator.
Veteran REALTORS® with experience ranging from 26 to 36 years shared their perceptions on how much the real estate business has changed over the years at last week’s Los Altos/Mountain District tour meeting. Forming the panel were Tim Anderson (Alain Pinel Realtors), Jim Nappo (Alain Pinel Realtors), Ethel Green (Intero Real Estate), Phyllis Carmichael (Coldwell Banker) and Gary Herbert (Coldwell Banker).
The panelists said technology has been the big business changer, especially in the last 10 years. Technology has contributed to the ease of doing business and quicker response time. Tools available to help REALTORS® provide better service to clients include emails, websites and virtual tours, and smartphones with the ability to send real time data to their clients.
At the same time technology has also brought new demands on REALTORS®. Buyers are now more educated than they used to be and majority do research on the Internet first before finding a home and an agent. As a result, agents show buyers fewer homes, but they are also expected to be very well-versed about the market.
The business has also become more complicated with pages of documents to wade through. Carmichael can still remember when a sale merely required a one-page document, an agreement among the agents, buyer and seller, with no lawyers involved. “We hand delivered everything and spent much time on the road, driving from Blossom Valley all the way to San Carlos, just to deliver the one-page document,” she added.
The panelists said they also feel real estate has become less of a relationship business. “A lot has been lost because people don’t talk to each other anymore. They get emails and this can be a positive as well as a negative,” said Nappo.
What hasn’t changed is they continue to take education courses, network with one another, and still see value in open houses and keeping in touch with their clients. While cell phones and computers have become valuable tools, Herbert and the others insist the best way to help people understand the market is to “pick up the phone and call them, talk to them face to face.”
How different is the local market today? “It’s fascinating. Everywhere, it’s a tailspin, but demand continues to be overwhelming here and for good reasons – the schools and jobs,” commented Anderson.
Green was just as upbeat and said, “We are fortunate because there is no more land here. If you are here for a long time, you will get equity in your house because there is just no more land in this area.”
Be advised that there is a new scam that involves people trying to market homes for sale as rentals. A Sunnyvale agent found her San Jose listing’s For Sale sign tossed in the backyard of the home. She had three people come through her open house this past weekend saying they saw the home advertised as a rental on the Internet. The authorities have been notified.
The California Association of REALTORS® is also alerting members of a new fraud alert relating to FBI emails. Threatening emails purportedly from the FBI and its leadership have been making the rounds recently. Please be advised that the FBI does not send threatening emails to the public. The agency uses the legal process should it want to contact a member of the public. The FBI cautions, if you receive an unsolicited email, do not open it, click on it, nor respond. If you ae a victim of Internet crime file a complaint at http://www.ic3.gov.
REALTORS® are meeting with their U.S. Representatives during the August recess in their district offices to discuss several important issues, including preservation of the mortgage interest deduction, maintaining the existing loan limits, and continuation of the flood insurance program.
Lawmakers have introduced legislation to extend the current loan limits for FHA, VA, and the two secondary mortgage market companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The “Homeownership Affordability Act of 2011,’’ S. 1508 (co-sponsored by Sen. Feinstein), would extend the current loan limits until December 31, 2013. The current FHA, Fannie, and Freddie limits for high cost areas, set at 125 percent of area median price, are set to expire on September 30. VA limits expire December 31. The extension issue is becoming critical, with many lenders already rejecting applications at the higher limits out of concern the loan won’t close prior to the reset.
The conforming loan limit determines the maximum size of a mortgage that FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac can buy or guarantee. Non-conforming or jumbo loans typically carry a higher mortgage interest rate and require a higher down payment, increasing the monthly payment and negatively impacting housing affordability for California home buyers.
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is supporting current efforts to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to issue flood insurance, which is required in 21,000 communities nationwide. As part of the reauthorization NAR hopes it will:
• renew and strengthen the long-term viability of the NFIP for at least five years;
• improve the accuracy of flood insurance rate maps used to determine which properties require flood insurance;
• continue to include comprehensive coverage for residences, including rental properties and second homes; and
• provide “full risk” premiums for most repetitive loss structures in many states.
For the past several years, Congress has been approving short-term extensions of the NFIP’s authority to issue flood insurance policies while it continues to debate long-term fiscal reforms to the program. Twice in 2010 Congress allowed the NFIP to lapse for multiple weeks at a time, halting tens of thousands of real estate transactions in areas where homebuyers are required to purchase flood insurance to obtain a mortgage. With the NFIP authority set to expire on September 30, 2011, for the 10th time in three years, NAR is advocating for further reform and long-term extension of the program.
On July 12, 2011, by a vote of 406-22, the House passed the Flood Insurance Reform Act (H.R. 1309), a bill to extend NFIP authority by five years and strengthen the program’s actuarial stability. Before that, it defeated 38-384 a NAR-opposed amendment by Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) to strike the bill and terminate NFIP in six months. The House bill now moves to the Senate, where we are urging quick action. NAR is pushing for the longest extension possible before the looming September 30, 2011 deadline.
There’s been much talk and concern since the news on August 5 that Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States credit rating for the first time from an AAA to AA-plus.
A video and other resources on the expected impact based on preliminary analysis by National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun may be accessed via the National Association of REALTORS® website here. In the video, Yun explains and discusses how the credit downgrade could impact consumer confidence, mortgage rates and the real estate market.
The Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010 became effective on July 1 and requires every existing single-family residence having a fossil fuel burning heater or appliance, fireplace, or an attached garage to install or plug in a carbon monoxide device. Other existing dwelling units will need to have the devices installed by January 1, 2013.
A carbon monoxide detector is a relatively inexpensive device, similar to a smoke detector that signals detection of carbon monoxide in the air. It can be battery powered or a plug-in device with battery backup. The following FAQs on what homeowners should know about the new carbon monoxide law are provided by the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® from information from the California Association of REALTORS®, in accordance with the California Health and Safety Code.
How many devices and where do I place them in the home?
It is recommended that for minimum security, a CO alarm should be centrally located outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms, at least six inches from all exterior walls and at least three feet from supply or return vents.
For new one-to-two family dwellings and townhouses not more than three stories and where work requiring a permit for alterations, repairs or additions exceeding $1,000 in existing dwellings units, a CO detector must be installed outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedroom(s) and on every level, including basements within which fuel-fired appliances are installed and in dwelling units that have attached garages.
Are there any penalties for noncompliance with this law?
A violation is an infraction punishable by a maximum fine of $200 for each offense. However, a property owner must receive a 30-day notice to correct first. If an owner who receives such a notice fails to correct the problem within the 30-day period, then the owner may be assessed the fine.
Can a buyer rescind the sale if the dwelling doesn’t have the necessary carbon monoxide detectors?
While the Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) has been amended to incorporate the seller’s certification that, by close of escrow, the seller will be in compliance with existing requirements for CO detector, smoke detector and water heater bracing, the TDS specifically states installation of a CO detector, among other appliances and devices, is not a precondition of sale or transfer of the dwelling.
Does a seller have any special carbon monoxide disclosure obligations?
Disclosure obligations are satisfied when providing a buyer with the TDS. If the seller is exempt from giving a TDS, the law doesn’t require any specific disclosures regarding CO detector devices.
Do landlords have any special obligations regarding carbon monoxide detectors?
All landlords of dwelling units must install carbon monoxide detectors. The CO device must be operable at the time that a tenant takes possession. However, the tenant has the responsibility of notifying the owner or owner’s agent if the tenant becomes aware of an inoperable or deficient CO device. The landlord is not in violation of the law for a deficient or inoperable CO device if he or she has not received notice of the problem from the tenant.
If the California Building Standards Commission adopts or updates building standards relating to carbon monoxide devices in the future, is the owner required to install the newer device?
Yes, when the owner makes an application for a permit for alterations, repairs, or additions to that dwelling unit with the cost exceeding $1,000.
Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® says ... 