Month: March 2020

Days on Market: Rule change to temporarily stop DOM count

  • If you placed your listing in a “Temporarily Withdrawn (WT)” status on or after Monday, March 9, 2020 (where the listing contract is still valid, but the property is not being actively marketed) so it does not accrue Days on MLS (DMLS), we will allow you to email us a request to have that listing marked as “New” once the listing has been changed back to any Active status. Please note that the “New” status will not change, or zero-out, or “reset” DMLS. Using “Temporarily Withdrawn (WT)” will stop DMLS from incrementing. However, the expiration date of your listing will still prompt the MLS system to automatically change the status of your listing to “Expired”. Also, please be aware that placing a listing on “Temporarily Withdrawn (WT)” will not stop all third-party sites–such as Zillow, Redfin, etc.–from incrementing their days count on listings that they have already received, as many these sites and portals calculate “days on site” according to their own systems. We have no control over that.

  • We will allow agents to temporarily add comments to their “Public Remark” fields with branded or unbranded links to Virtual Tour/Virtual Walk-through products, as such measures will help limit exposure for both agents and clients.

    Once the alarm has passed, we reserve the right to go back through the historical data and remove these links. Some third-party sites may strip out links from “Public Remarks”, and again, we have no control over that. Consider also making sure to use the standard practice of using the Virtual Media links.

https://www.nar.realtor/political-advocacy/coronavirus-emergency-legislation-what-realtors-need-to-know

H.R. 6201 “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” is emergency legislation that covers family medical leave, paid sick leave, Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance and unemployment benefits is making its way through Congress.  The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Advocacy Team worked with Congressional leaders to include help for self-employed professionals and other small business owners in the bill.  NAR says robust measures supporting those groups were included.

NAR reported this bill focuses on employment issues and they anticipate legislation targeting the overall economy to come later.

Read more information from NAR about HR 6201.

NAR prepared the following summary of each provision:

Family Medical Leave Expansion

  • Allows up to 12 weeks of certain virus-related family medical leave through the end of 2020
  • Covers employees at businesses with between 50-500 employees
  • Provides a refundable tax credit for eligible self-employed individuals equal to their qualified family leave equivalent
  • Provides employers with a refundable tax credit equal to certain family leave wages paid to employees

Paid Sick Leave Expansion

  • Allows two weeks of certain virus-related paid sick leave through the end of 2020.
  • Covers employees at businesses with fewer than 500 employees
  • Provides a refundable tax credit for eligible self-employed individuals equal to their qualified sick leave equivalent
  • Provides employers with a refundable tax credit equal to certain paid sick leave wages paid to employees

Medicare, Medicaid, Health Insurance and Unemployment Changes

  • Requires insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health programs to fully cover testing and related services for COVID-19, without cost-sharing
  • Increases funding to Medicaid to help cover uninsured populations
  • Provides additional funds for certain programs aiding elderly Americans
  • Increases funding for emergency transfers to state unemployment programs and increased flexibility for states to modify unemployment policies based on effects of COVID-19, such as waived work search requirements

Tax Credits

Refundable tax credits are considered especially generous since any amount above taxes due is paid in the form of a refund. The payroll tax credit provided to employers will provide cash to them relatively quickly as it is creditable against their portion of an employee’s Social Security tax liability, which is generally due monthly or semi-weekly. And since most self-employed persons are required to pay quarterly estimated tax payments, they will not have to wait until the end of the tax year to see the cash.

Many of the tax credits and benefits mentioned above have limits and/or qualifications, so we encourage you to explore NAR’s comprehensive briefing document for more details.

The California Department of Public Health issued an updated policy on gatherings to protect public health and slow the spread of COVID-19. The State’s public health experts have determined that small gatherings can proceed only if the organizers can implement “social distancing” of six feet per person.

Consider alternatives to traditional open houses:

  • Hold open house by appointment only
  • Allow only one set of visitors to enter the property at a time
  • Delay open houses for one week and assess the situation weekly
  • Talk with your clients and broker for alternatives to holding properties open

National Association of REALTORS® recommendations include:

  • Speak openly and honestly with your seller about the pros and cons of holding an open house.
  • Propose alternative marketing opportunities such as video tours and other methods to virtually tour a property
  • If you do hold an open house:
    • require visitors to disinfect their hands upon entering the home
    • provide alcohol-based hand sanitizers, disposable towels and trash receptacles at the entryway
    • provide soap and disposable towels in bathrooms
    • check with your client in advance about any cleaning products you plan to use
    • recommend that your client disinfect their home, especially commonly touched areas like doorknobs and faucet handles

The situation changes by the day and we will continue to monitor national, state and local guidelines and present them to you as necessary.