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California Senate Bill 706 requires real estate licensees to report disciplinary actions of other agencies and crimes to the DRE or face $5,000 fine and license discipline

 Some other new requirements California DRE brokers and salespersons should be aware of in 2012 and going forward.  A new law, SB 706 sets forth some new rules for real estate licensees:

(1) SB 706 Requires the automatic suspension of any licensee who is incarcerated after conviction of a felony, regardless of whether the conviction has been appealed.

So, if you get a felony and are incarcerated your DRE real estate license will be suspended.

(2) SB 706 Requires the DRE or OREA to notify the licensee in writing of the suspension and of his or her right to elect to have the issue of penalty heard, as specified.

(3) Requires a  California real estate licensee  to submit a  written  report  of any of the following to the DRE or OREA:

(a) The bringing of an indictment or information charging a felony against the licensee; (b) Arrest of the  licensee;

(c) conviction of the licensee, including any felony or misdemeanor; and,

(d) any disciplinary action taken by another licensing entity or authority of this state or of another state.

Common California felonies include but are not limited to:  Murder, involuntary manslaughter, mayhem, sodomy by force, any felony punishable by death or imprisonment for life, attempted murder, rape, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, arson, burglary, kidnapping, bank robbery, grand theft, sexual abuse of child, etc.

Common California misdemeanors include but are not limited to: DUI / DWI, Domestic Violence, Trespass, Petty Theft / Shoplifting, Assault and Battery, Disorderly Conduct, Reckless Driving / Exhibition of Speed, Obscene Matter, Probation Violations, Receipt of Stolen Property, Unlicensed Driver, Illegal Gambling, Public Drunkenness, Solicitation of Prostitution, Violation of Restraining Orders,

This section is fairly self explanatory.  The licensee should realize that under this law, it requires the report to be made in writing within 30 days; and that failure to make a report is a public offense punishable by a fine not to exceed $5,000 and shall constitute unprofessional conduct.

What else does SB 706 require?

SB 706 also requires a licensee to identify himself or herself as a licensee or registrant of the DRE or the OREA to law enforcement and the court upon an arrest or being charged with a crime and requires DRE and  OREA to inform licensees of this requirement.

The new law also requires the  clerk of the court  to do the following:

A.  Report to the DRE or OREA any judgment for a crime committed or for any judgment in excess of $30,000, for which a licensee is responsible due to negligence, error or omission in practice, or rendering unauthorized professional services.

B.   Transmit any felony preliminary hearing transcript concerning a defendant licensee of the DRE or OREA.

C.    SB 706 also requires the district attorney, city attorney, other prosecuting agency, or clerk of the court to notify the DRE or OREA if a licensee is charged with a felony immediately upon obtaining information that the defendant is a licensee of the DRE or OREA.

This bill thus gives the DRE greater disciplinary authority to protect the public. A licensed agent or broker will be required to report to the DRE within 30 days any disciplinary action taken by another licensing entity in California or another state, or by a federal governmental agency.  An indictment or information charging a felony against the license holder or a conviction of a felony or misdemeanor, including a plea of guilty or no contest, must also be reported.  Failure to report may be grounds for license discipline or a $5,000 penalty.

To get a California Real Estate Lawyer to keep you updated on new California laws, and to assist you in corporate compliance check out our newly launched BrokerCounsel.com California real estate licensee corporate counsel programs.  Sometimes the best money you can spend is to keep you out of trouble in the first place!

This blog is just a quick reminder for so many companies that do business in California (and other states) that according to many people there is a GREAT BUSINESS CLIMATE in Arizona!!

Our firm (“ATTORNEY STEVE” that is) was originally licensed to practice law in California.  I began my practice as a real estate lawyer in Newport Beach, CA.  Of course, Newport Beach is a beautiful place to live and do business.  However, I always loved the desert, whether it is Palm Springs, Phoenix, or Nevada.  There is something peaceful to the warm dry heat.  At any rate, I found myself coming out to Phoenix time and time again (mostly to watch the Phoenix Open) and my wife also grew up in Arizona, so I got to know her family over the years.  Eventually, we got married and I took a job with the Law Offices of Francis J. Slavin in Phoenix, Arizona.  My job was to work in real estate zoning, eminent domain, and other real estate related matters.

Eventually, I opened my own law office in Phoenix, and now maintain offices in both states, including offices in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, and Fresno.  At any rate, my point is, I have a unique perspective having grown up in California and having the opportunity to live in both states and get to know the business climate in both.

For me, I love Arizona.  When the town was booming with new construction there was nothing like it.  There was a total buzz.  There are also a lot of fun things to do.  For example:

• Tons of golf courses
• Phoenix Open
• Lots of great restaurants
• Great shopping
• Flagstaff (yes there are mountains in Arizona)
• Theater
• ASU and UofA college sports
• Major Sports teams (Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Suns, etc.)

In fact, I liked the state so much, I wrote this song “It’s Arizona Baby‘ and will be seeking to make a modified version of this song into the official state song of Arizona.

At any rate, I have also personally enjoyed the business climate in Arizona and the people are great!

Here is a link to an article that shows how FOX Animation Studios came to decide on opening up an animation studio in Phoenix, Arizona.  Give it a look and see how even very large companies have come to find Arizona to be a SWEET SPOT for business in the Desert!

If you are thinking of moving your company to the Greater Phoenix area (ex. Scottsdale, Mesa, Goodyear, Buckeye, Avondale, Phoenix, Peoria, Glenadale, etc) and need some insight or legal services (such as securing office space, commercial lease agreements, arizona corporate counsel etc.) feel free to contact ATTORNEY STEVE VONDRAN to disucss your Business and Real Estate needs.  Having a full, fair, and unbiased perspective is very important!

We can be reached at (877) 276-5084

If you are planning on shooting a film in the State of Arizona here are some links you will want to be familiar with.

If you need a Phoenix Entertainment Lawyer to assist you in dealing with obtaining permits click here.

Here is a list of some major movies that have been shot in Arizona.  A few that are noteworthy to me are:

1. Psycho
2. A Star is Born
3. Jerry McGuire

Here is a list of Arizona Film Festivals

The Law Offices of Steven C. Vondran has just launched its Entertainment Law website located at http://www.AmazingTalent.TV.  If you are an actor, musician, ,model, band, comedian, author, athlete (AZ), game or app developer or other person or entity in need of a sports or entertainment lawyer, give us a call at (877) 276-5084 to discuss your situation.  Attorney Steve Vondran (aka “Attorney Steve”) is a former professional baseball player and has earned a certificate in intellectual property (which is a major component of sports and entertainment law) and also earned the CALI award for excellence in Entertainment Law while in law school.

Entertainment Law, in general, consists of the following types of legal services:

• Contract drafting and review
• Representation of talent
• Booking agreements
• Stage, Lighting, and Sound – vendor management
• Facilities contracts
• Special events liability
• Security vendor agreements
• Entertainment law arbitration
• Entertainment law litigation
• Copyright law
• Trademark law (including domain name disputes)
• Internet website law
• Online brand and reputation management (defamation)
• Rights of Publicity
• Invasion of Privacy
• Distribution agreements
• Arizona Sports lawyer (golf, tennis, baseball)
• Facebook fan pages and youtube channels
• Intellectual property rights

$25 Billion Dollar National Mortgage Settlement – What’s in it for you, monetary payments, principal reduction or just more excuses and a denial letter? 

If you hate reading and want to jump to the Vondran Legal Hour Internet Real Estate Radio Show to hear the details of the $25 billion attorney general mortgage settlement click here.

THE FOLLOWING IS GENERAL LEGAL INFORMATION ONLY.   I HAVE NOT SEEN THE ACTUAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT (I DO NOT BELIEVE IT IS FINALIZED YET) AND SOME OF THIS INFORMATION BELOW MAY NOT BE CORRECT.  PLEASE DO YOUR OWN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND DO NOT RELY ON THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

“The Settlement” (Called the second largest attorney general settlement aside from the 1998 tobacco settlement)

In case you have not heard by now, the united states attorney generals have reached a settlement agreement with the 5 major banks (Wells Fargo, Chase, Citi, Ally Financial and BofA) to settle a dispute over the use of robo-signers, false affidavits, and notary fraud that was present in so many foreclosures across the United States (contrary to what the banks were telling the judges in wrongful foreclosure lawsuits).   Well at least now we can confirm they realize what was going on, and maybe this means they own up to it – although I would imagine the settlement agreement would admit no fault of any kind.

The overall details are as follows:

• From what I can gather 1 billion goes to the federal government and 430 million goes to California (Department of Justice)?  They are hiring 42 more persons for their mortgage fraud task force.

• It’s a $25,000,000 (25 billion dollar) settlement with the above 5 loan servicers/lenders.  This amount could go up, especially if other servicers sign on to the settlement agreement.   California is getting the lion’s share of the settlement pie with “up to 18 billion dollars” of the 25 billion.

• 17 Billion of this amount is supposed to go to principal reduction.  For California homeowners, 12 billion is earmarked for this purpose.  This is where it gets interesting, if you have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owned loan (you can look it up on their websites) YOU WILL NOT QUALIFY.  I have not been able to confirm whether this exclusion applies to all the settlement terms or just this one – best I can tell is if you have a Fannie or Freddie loan you are SOL all the way (which is about 60% of the California loans).  If anyone knows for sure please let me know.

• Across the United States it is estimated that there are about 1 million loans that may qualify for principal reduction (I do not know where this number comes from when 33% of the homes in the United States are upside down).  For California homeowners, it has been estimated that about 250,000 homeowners that may qualify for the principal write-down provision (on average, they are saying $20,000-maybe $50,000 max reduction).  Will this be enough to prevent California homeowners from walking on their properties?  Who knows?  It is also not clear whether the write-downs will come from the five lenders “portfolio loans” that they own, or the securitized loans that they service (mortgage backed securities).

• NOTE:  Apparently a provision of the agreement states that if the banks failure to provide the minimum 12 billion in principal reduction to California residents, then they must pay 800 million to the State of California.  Hmm.  Interesting provision.  We will have to see how that plays out.

• 3 billion dollars is earmarked for an underwater refinancing program.  If your property is underwater, although you cannot now refinance your loan, you can now with this settlement term.  The rate I found was 5.25% but again this needs to be confirmed.  For California homeowners, 849 million is earmarked for the refinance according to the California Attorney General Press Release on the $25 billion dollar settlement.  Supposedly there are only 28,000 homeowners who will be aided by this settlement provision.  This number seems low, but who knows.  In the link below, California Attorney General Kamala Harris says there are “2 million homes underwater in California.”  The video suggests the homeowner must be underwater and current on the loan to qualify for the program.  But this is not confirmed.

• Here is a link to the California Attorney General formal public statement on the $25 billion attorney general mortgage settlement on YouTube.  Interesting to me is Ms. Harris talks about this settlement providing “principal reduction and short sale relief.”  I am not sure what the short sale relief is, but I will be on the lookout for this information if it becomes available.  In regard to the principal reduction set forth above, she mentions this will be on a “credit” basis for dollars provided, not just dollars promised – referring to the Countywide settlement that had problems).  Again, we will have to see how this principal reduction credit system works itself out at the end of the day.  I would predict lender abuses and a tight pocket book in this area.

• 1.5 billion appears to be set aside for wrongful foreclosure “restitution.”  California has 279 million earmarked for this.  To qualify for this (what appears to be a $1,500-$2,000 payment) a person must have been the victim of a foreclosure from 1/2008 to 12/312011.  It is not clear if they have to be a robosigner victim, or what the deal is.  The one thing that has been mentioned is that a person claiming a check under this settlement clause does NOT have to waive their rights as to filing any type of lawsuit.  The settlement also does not preclude any future criminal investigations by any state or federal agency.

• California also apparently will have a 1.1 billion dollar fund set aside for miscellaneous items such as unemployment payment assistance, relocation fees, repair costs for blighted areas, etc.  No other details have been found on these issues.

• There is also a strange settlement clause that talked about “relieving the unpaid balance” on about 32,000 after these house will be foreclosed.  This is confusing.  Which 32,000 houses are they referring to?  And do they mean forgiving a deficiency judgment on these loans?  Most of the times the banks never pursue a deficiency judgment plan of attack anyway.  Maybe this ties into “credits” for money forgiven, it is not clear at this time.

• The Settlement, in addition to supposedly ending the era of the robosigned documents and foreclosures based on that, the agreement is also supposed to contain loan servicer reforms in dealing with California and Arizona homeowners (as well as other states) who find them selves in the “loss mitigation” system, trying to get a loan modification, forbearance or short sale.  Gee, that only took 5 or so years.  Plus, we have heard this before.  So this remains to be seen how well the lenders/servicers can start treating people fairly who are in default of the loans originated by the banks (some of which are downright predatory, based on falsified income, and predatory underwriting).  Topics supposedly that will be addressed include:

-       hiring enough people

-       training the staff

-       dealing with borrowers (hopefully to stop misleading people)

-       having a single point of contact for borrowers to deal with

-       (hopefully not losing documents)

-       ending improper fees

-       and to properly execute foreclosure and bankruptcy related documents

How they plan to address the problem of “who legally owns the loan” (and ensuring the proper proof of such) does not seem to be on the talking table.  I would assume that would be a deal killer.

Also, it should be noted that the settlement contemplates having an independent third party over-seeing the implementation of the settlement and ensuring compliance with it.  Apparently there are penalties and fines for non-compliance (we will see if that ever happens) of 1-5 million for repeat offenses.  The five banks are supposed to annually self report to the monitor (apparently scheduled to be Joseph Smith, JR, the North Carolina Banking Commissioner).

Recall, this was the individual Obama nominated to become chief regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.   Any reason this job could not have went to a group more focused on consumer advocacy issues –like the recently created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?

There is also information on the web that indicates certain counties in California will have preferences/priorities for the attorney general settlement dollars.  The breakdowns you can find on the web state as follows:

1. Los Angeles County – 3.82 billion
2. Riverside County – 1.59 billion
3. San Bernardino County – 1.13 billion
4. Sacramento County – 820 million
5. Stanislaus County – 368 million.

Again, it is not clear how this will play out, or if it is based on a “credits” and “incentives” system or what.  Let’s just hope this is not more meaningless window dressing.  Distressed homeowners, and even those who have maintained their mortgage payments (only to watch their equity disappear) have had enough of the lies, deceit, lip service, excuses, and general failure of the banks to do much about this crises, that up until the recent settlement, they have not accepted much public blame for.  Our fingers are crossed, and we are here to assist with the real estate legal issues where abuses arise.  Ask to speak with “ATTORNEY STEVE”

Resources

You can find more information at the California Attorney General Website and at the National Mortgage Settlement website.  For Arizona homeowners visit the Arizona Attorney General Mortgage Settlement page.   Apparently there will be a 3-6 month roll out period where an administrator will be selected, and then the AG’s and banks will determine who qualifies for what and then send out letters to homeowners.  You are also encouraged to contact your lender or loan servicer for more information.

If you are a California real estate broker, realtor, salesperson or other real estate professional that is using email marketing as a means to generate business, you need to make sure you are familiar with the State and Federal laws that govern the sending of unsolicited email.  Otherwise, you could find yourself facing enforcement actions from the FTC (the entity that monitors the federal CAN SPAM Act) or even potentially a private lawsuit for a violation of California Business and Professions Code Section 17529.5 and potentially other laws governing unfair and deceptive business practices.

To help with legal compliance efforts, Attorney Steve has added a valuable email “best practices” checklist to the California Broker knowledgebase and an accompanying video that provides an overview of the legal requirements that should be considered when engaged in internet marketing.  If you have not signed up for BrokerCounsel.com consider becoming a member so you can be in the know on these important principles.  For example, here is one bullet point from the broker email best practices checklist

If you are going to be engaged in email marketing, here are a few tips to keep in mind.  These tips are pulled from requirements of the Federal CAN-SPAM Act, and the California Spam laws contained in the Business and Professions Code. 

The best practice is to get other peoples permission to email them.  This is known as “opt-in” email marketing.  When people agree to allow you to add them to an email list, they will not normally be offended by your emails.  The goal should be to build relationships with potential and current clients, not to aggravate them with unexpected emails.  Look into tools such as constant contact and mail chimp that allow you to add a “subscribe” button you’re your blog or webpage which allows people to opt in to receiving information from you.  When people opt in, they are giving you a chance to build a digital relationship with them, what you do from there is up to you.  But by building an opt-in email list, you will be ethically growing your customer base.

Don’t forget, SPAM is just one form or marketing.  There are rules for do not call list, text message, and other marketing commercial communications.

The California Department of Real Estate announced the new interim choice to serve as real estate commissioner and the winner is Barbara Bigby.  Ms. Bigby is a former Deputy Commissioner so she should be aware of how to deal with many of the issues she will face.  Ms. Bigby replaces Jeff Davi, the former commissioner.  Ms. Bigby will serve as the new commissioner until Governor Brown appoints a new commission.

According to sources, Ms. Bigby will pick up where Davi left off – fighting loan modification scams.

As the say goes, it never hurts to know who’s running the show.  Right now, it is Barbara Bigby.

HELPING CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE BROKERS NAVIGATE THE NEW LAWS IMPACTING THE BUSINESS OF REAL ESTATE – CLICK ON THE PICTURE!

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Welcome to Attorney Steve’s Business, Real Estate & Social Media.  This blog will discuss, in general terms, issues and cases involving the following types of legal topics

• Mortgage Lending
• Truth in Lending
• Predatory Lending
• DRE Compliance
• Broker Corporate Counsel
• Real Estate Arbitration
• Short Sale / Loss Mitigation
• Social Media Policy Issues for Brokers
• Intellectual Property for Brokers
• General Business Law Information