Category: News

Buyer interest letters or “buyer love letters” are personal letters written by buyers, often photos attached, in the hopes that a buyer’s offer will stand out among many offers a seller may receive.

However, letters often reveal information about a buyer (such as protected class or characteristic) that may not be considered by the seller. According to the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), Sellers and Agents should discourage the letters to avoid the appearance of impropriety and avoid potential liability associated with unlawful discrimination.

The Seller may provide written instruction not to present buyer letters or offers that are accompanied by buyer letters and may include within MLS remarks. Agents should also check with their broker on their policy in dealing with the letters. Additional resources can be found on C.A.R.’s website (login required).

Bay East has confirmed with the County Health Department that although Alameda County has moved to the COVID-19 red tier, there are no changes to the Cal/OSHA rules for real estate transactions at this time.

A new C.A.R. Proposition 19 website has information about how the property tax basis transfer works, new rules for transferring property between family members and marketing pieces.

The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) Enforcement Division is now investigating and enforcing open house rules. According to the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), real estate agents, and their broker, who do not follow Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Real Estate Guidance may be contacted by the DRE and informed of the rules. More violations after this initial contact may result in the DRE issuing a citation or referring the agent and broker to health department and law enforcement officials. Agents wanting to report someone who is not following the rules may contact the Department of Real Estate at 877.373.4542.

We’ve received reports that when submitting an offer through Disclosures.io, there is a technical glitch where buyer’s agents within a firm may have access to competing offers. This only happens if there is a Listing Agent Team, and one of them changes roles after approving access to the disclosure package to others. We are encouraging our Subscribers not to use the Offer section of D.io until this is resolved.

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 Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) is promoting a new tax portability initiative and needs REALTORS® to help get it on the ballot.

The Protection and Fairness in Property Tax Act of 2020 will allow seniors and natural disaster victims to transfer their current property tax base assessment to another home anywhere in the state and generate new revenue for schools, cities and counties.

To request a petition packet and to learn more about gathering signatures to qualify the initiative for the November 2020 ballot, email petition@cargrassroots2020.com.

Fair Housing Video Now Free

Providing equal service to all is the basic tenet of federal fair housing law and part of NAR’s Code of Ethics. Following the troubling results of a newspaper’s fair housing investigation, NAR is making its latest fair housing training video available as a free download to all associations and members. Share it with your members, then watch nar.realtor for additional resources you can share with members to ensure their service is fair and legal.