Dear CAR Member,
Over the past few months, I’ve informed you of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Know Before You Owe or TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure rule. CFPB has issued a final rule, making the effective date Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015. While the CFPB declined to include a “hold harmless” or “safe harbor” period, as requested by many in the real estate industry, it did reaffirm that its oversight of the new rule will be sensitive to those making good faith efforts to comply. The Good Faith Estimate (GFE), the HUD-1, and the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA) disclosures will be replaced in most transactions by two new forms – the Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure. The Loan Estimate will be provided when the borrower applies for a loan. It replaces the GFE and the initial TILA disclosures. The Closing Disclosure will be issued toward the end of a transaction. It replaces the HUD-1 and final TILA disclosures.
Be sure to review C.A.R.’s Legal Q&A “Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure Forms” and visit C.A.R.’s Finance Helpline site for additional RESPA-TILA resources, including a recording of C.A.R.’s Back to Basics webinar, which covers what to expect from the new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID).
While the legislative year is not over, C.A.R. has already scored wins in Sacramento. Gov. Brown has signed into law three C.A.R.-sponsored bills: AB 345 (Frazier), AB 607 (Dodd), and SB 146 (Galgiani). AB 345 earmarks three hours of a real estate broker’s existing, mandated continuing education for a course on the management and supervision of real estate licensed activity. AB 345 is effective Jan. 1, 2016.
AB 607 codifies the existing practice of permitting real estate brokers to employ financial professionals (CPAs, bookkeepers, etc.) to manage trust accounts by allowing bonds for non-licensees with access to broker trust funds to include a deductible of up to 5 percent. AB 607 is effective Jan. 1, 2016.
SB 146 makes an important technical change to existing law by clarifying that “team names” not requiring a Fictitious Business Name (FBN) for purposes of the real estate law do not require the filing of an FBN with their local county, ensuring that the law regarding “team names” is applied consistently at all levels of government. SB 146 is effective immediately.
The Multiple Listing Service is always an evergreen topic of discussion for REALTORS®, so C.A.R. recently convened a roundtable of industry leaders to discuss the Multiple Listing Service and data management issues. C.A.R. CEO Joel Singer moderated the roundtable, and was joined by Ann Baily, founder and president of the consulting firm Pranix, Inc.; Robert Bailey, owner/broker of Bailey Properties, Inc.; David Charron, CEO of the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc.; and Dale Ross, CEO of Realtors® Property Resource®, LLC.
Held as an initiative of C.A.R.’s Center for California Real Estate, the panel engaged in a substantive analysis of what ails the industry and the appropriate call of action for addressing real estate data-sharing dilemmas. The highlights of the roundtable are outlined in a new whitepaper, which I encourage you to read.
The first-ever C.A.R. YPN Week of Giving was held earlier this month. Local associations and YPN chapters across the state rallied C.A.R. members to give back to their communities throughout California. Over the course of the week, more than 500 volunteers generously gave time and energy to provide community support by feeding the local homeless, donating blood, hosting children’s book drives, conducting community beautification projects, organizing food & clothing drives, and raising money through fundraising events. This was a great way to show how much REALTORS® care and give back to their local communities in so many ways. I want to personally thank our YPN members for making a difference in their communities.
Join us as C.A.R. celebrates 110 years in real estate, looking back at a century’s worth of achievements and ahead to future success at CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2015, Oct. 6-8, at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose. If you haven’t heard already, Tech Tuesday is back for the first time in five years. The brand new “All Hands on Tech” sessions offered on the morning of Oct. 6 are workshop-style classes crafted to provide you with extensive detail and knowledge on three different tech topics. Learn how Facebook, the largest and most popular social media channel, can help you reach more clients. Discover what apps you need for every client meeting. And take your presentations to the next level—straight from your iPad or tablet. But that’s only a portion of the many tech-infused sessions being offered during the full-day of Tech Tuesday courses. With sessions on everything from video, apps, and mobility to top CRM, CMA, and big data, sign up and choose which sessions and topics matter most to you. Register for Tech Tuesday now – only $99 until Oct. 6.
I hope to see you in San Jose.
Sincerely,
Chris Kutzkey
2015 President
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®