Inside this issuePresident’s Message

Legal Matters

Foundation

REALTOR® Safety

Legislative Watch

Education & Profes-sional Development

MLS

Affiliates News

CAR Expo

Calendar

To advertise in thispublication, please callAndrea at 831-464-2000

September 2009

SANTA CRUZ ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Creating Better REALTORS®

2009 Santa Cruz County Housing ExpoThe Expo Offers Free Education on “Green Real Estate”, Foreclosure Avoidance,

Home buying and Investing

The Path to Homeownership

10:30 – 11:00 am Home buyingProcess Part 111:15 – 11:45 am Home buyingProcess Part 212:00 – 12:45 pm How to KeepYour Home1:00 – 1:30 pm Preparing YourCredit to Buy a Home1:45 – 2:30 pm Local HomebuyerAssistant Programs

Investment for Success

10:30 – 11:00 am Investment Fun-damentals11:15 – 11:45 am Opportunities inthe Foreclosure Market

12:00 – 12:30 pm Tax Deferred Ex-change12:45 – 1:15 pm Purchasing Prop-erty on the Courthouse Steps1:30 – 2:00 pm Property Manage-ment

“Green” Real Estate

10:30 – 11:00 am Thinking of Re-modeling, Make it Green!11:15 – 11:45 am Newest in GreenBuilding12:00 – 12:30 pm Green Mortgages12:45 – 1:15 pm Green Collar Jobs

Option for AvoidingForeclosure

10:30 – 11:30 am Understandingyour Options and Loan Work-OutsWhen you’re Upside Down

11:45 – 12:45 pm Understanding thetimeline to foreclosure & All StarExpert Foreclosure Panel

EXPO SEMINAR SCHEDULE

A huge thank you to our sponsors:Premier Sponsor

SCAOR HousingFoundation

Media Sponsor Good Times

Print Sponsor – Coastal Homes

Co SponsorsBay Federal Credit Union

Solar Technologies

The Santa Cruz Association of RE-ALTORS® is holding the 2009 San-ta Cruz County Housing Expo onSaturday, September 19th at TwinLakes Church from 10:00 am-3:00pm. This third annual event will edu-cate local consumers about the insand outs of home buying, investing,“greening” their homes and foreclo-sure avoidance. The Housing Expofeatures more than 20 exhibitors andfour educational tracks with morethan 15 presentations that include:first time home buying, lending,housing assistance programs, andinvesting.

list of classes, go towww.scaor.org.

Attendees can find informationabout the exhibitors, speakersschedule, map to Twin LakesChurch and more by visitingwww.scaor.org. For more infor-mation, call 831-464-2000.

Interested in participating in thisevent? To find information aboutbecoming an exhibitor or sponsor,please click here or contact An-drea at 831-464-2000.

Seminars will cover a variety of top-ics including the process and termsof home buying, down payment as-sistance, credit reports and scoring.Attendees can also find out how toavoid foreclosure with help fromexperts. A “Green Real Estate” sec-tion will provide tips on home ener-gy efficiency, remodeling green andgreen building permits that will helphomeowners save money while sav-ing the Earth. The investment sec-tion will focus on the principles ofreal estate investing, auction pur-chasing, investing in foreclosureproperties, and more. For a complete

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

2

InsideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

3

Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS®

2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PresidentLela Willet

President-ElectSteve Allen

Secretary/TreasurerCandace Bradfield

Immediate Past PresidentChrista Shanaman

DirectorsDebra Frey

Frank O. MayBobbie NelsonInez PandolfiKatie Smith

Woutje SwetsSharolynn UllestadMarjorie Vickner

Chief Executive Officer, SCAOR &Executive Director, SCAORHF

Kathy Hartman, RCE

Member Services DirectorNorma I. Milete

Director of Education& Professional Services

Karen Kirwan

Advertising & Marketing DirectorAndrea Harbert

Government Affairs DirectorDale Gray

Administrative AssistantLeslie Flint

BookkeeperLinda Zoccoli

ADVERTISING INFORMATIONFor advertising and deadline

information, please contact SCAOR.

andrea@scaor.org

INSIDE REAL ESTATE Newsletter

Inside Real Estate is the official monthlynewsletter of the Santa Cruz Associationof REALTORS® provided as a memberservice to inform, educate and update RE-ALTOR® and Affiliate members on local,state and national news, as well as theAssociation’s calendar of events.

Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS®

2525 Main Street, Soquel, CA 95073(831) 464-2000

(831) 464- 2881 (fax)

www.scaor.org

President’s Message

Lela Willet2009 Association President

Unique Homes & Land(831)425-7920lela@thewilletway.com

Rave Reviews for Summit 2009

It was standing room only at theSeascape Golf Course on Mon-day August 17th when industrygiants shared their insights andknowledge of the issues andchallenges facing real estate pro-fessionals today. As a memberbenefit, the Santa Cruz Associa-tion of REALTORS® hostedthe Summit which included theChief Economist of the NationalAssociation of REALTORS®Lawrence Yun, Executive VicePresident of the California Asso-ciation of REALTORS® JoelSinger, Commissioner of theCalifornia Department of RealEstate Jeff Davi, and Santa CruzCounty Treasurer Fred Keeley.

Each of the keynotes, worthyspeakers, gave a twenty fiveminute presentation with an an-imated question and answersession at the end of the presen-tations. The crowd was spell-bound, and many were laterheard to remark that the twohours flew by.

The National Association ofREALTORS® Chief Econo-mist Lawrence Yun offered anoverview of the national hous-ing market as well as observa-tions about California’s market.Dr. Yun’s entire power pointpresentation is available on ourwebsite at www.scaor.org. Dr.Yun commented that the ex-cesses of the housing bubblehave been removed and thatthere have been signs of life inthe national housing market inthe past two quarters. The fore-cast was for a slow recovery.He discussed buyer pessimism,new housing starts which havegreatly under produced forthree years, continuing foreclo-sures, possibilities of extendingthe Buyer Tax Credit, and pro-

jections for conforming loanrates rising in 2010 to 6%. Dr.Yun referred to California as atrendsetter. In 2009 Californiasaw multiple offers at a timewhen affordability reached a 40year high.

The California Association ofREALTORS® Executive VicePresident Joel Singer presented afact filled discourse regardingthe California housing market.Singer’s power point presenta-tion can be found atwww.scaor.org. Mr. Singer doc-umented that prices have beenrising statewide for the past 4months. California has estab-lished the bottom. Eighty per-cent of sales were under$500,000, this % having dou-bled. There is only a 2 monthsupply of housing under$500,000 and only 3 % of saleswere over $1,000,000. There isalmost a 12 month supply ofhousing over $1,000,000 state-

wide. Singer stated that over50% of sales are short sales inevery California market, and upto 70% in the Central Valley.California is ahead of the rest ofthe nation in the number ofsales, with the number of salesin 2009 being well ahead of2008 sales. However, prices aredown. Recovery is coming, butprices are still painfully low.There is good news in SantaCruz County; the medium pricein our county exceeded$500,000 for the first time sinceOctober 2008. Statewide, Sing-er announced that the medianprice has bottomed, assumingthat lenders do not dump a hugenumber of REO”S on the mar-ket in the 4th quarter.

Department of Real EstateCommissioner Jeff Davi ex-plained that there are currently awhopping 1,067 loan ....

Continued on page 4

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

4

modification scam cases underinvestigation. The most underinvestigation at any prior timewas 10 cases! Mr. Davi re-viewed the rules for advancedfees in short sale modification.A complete review can be foundat www.dre.ca.gov. The DREhas also seen a sharp rise in thenumber of enforcement casesbrought to their attention. Com-missioner Davi reported thatCalifornia is on track to followthe National system which re-quires every loan originator tobe licensed and fingerprinted.The database will be availableacross the nation.

Santa Cruz County TreasurerFred Keeley reported on the ef-forts of California First, a broadcoalition looking to put issuesforward to the state ballot whichwill fundamentally change out-dated systems which, says Kee-ley, are crippling both parties inthe state. California First looksto change the budget to a two-year process. Legislators wouldbe required to reveal the meansby which any bill will be paid. Agovernor would be required tostate the objectives of any lineitem. Locks would be set onsome surplus funds so therewould be money available indown times. A simple majority

vote would be required for bud-get adoptions. California Firstalso recommends revamping theoutdated state tax system, drop-ping personal income taxes, atleast reducing bank, corporateand sales taxes, and introducinga Business Net Receipts Tax(BNRT) system with a low rateof about 3%. Mr. Keeley praised

President’s MessageContinued.

Californians for passing AB32Global Climate change, whichhe says positions California tobe on the cutting edge of MultiTrillion Dollar industries.

Kudos to Association Execu-tive Kathy Hartman, and to theinvaluable Association staff,Karen Kirwan, Norma Milete,

Leslie Flint, Andrea Harbert andLinda Zoccoli for orchestratingthis well received event. TheSanta Cruz Association of RE-ALTOR® intends to make theSummit an annual event.

Special thanks to Ray Lawlerand Kelly Christensen of Bankof America Home Loans forsponsoring this event.

Shown l-r, Joel Singer, Executive Vice President of CAR, Jeff Davi, Commissioner of the CaliforniaDepartment of Real Estate, Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of NAR, Steve Allen, SCAOR President

Elect, Lela Willet, SCAOR President, Fred Keeley, Santa Cruz County Treasurer.

AT LEFT

left to rightBetty Danner, Pam

Holly, David Lewit, allwith Coldwell Banker

AT RIGHT

The captivatedaudience looks

on..

Part of the large crowd attending the Summit .All listening attentively

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

5

What is a seller of landlockedproperty actually selling? Itdepends. In Murphy v. Burch,46 Cal.4th 157, 205 P.3d289 (2009), the CaliforniaSupreme Court recently dis-cussed common law “easementsby necessity” in the context oflandlocked property.

In 1998, the plaintiff purchasedproperty having no vehicularaccess to or from any publicroad. Because her property is “landlocked,” she wanted to es-tablish, without payment ofcompensation, an “easement bynecessity” over an existing pri-vate road that crosses the defen-dants' property and connects toa public highway.

The plaintiff brought a quiet ti-tle action, and in response, thedefendant sought to enjoin herfrom crossing his property.

Public Policy Supports Ease-ments by Necessity

Easements by necessity origi-nated in the common law andare “the result of the applicationof the presumption that whenev-er a party conveys property, heconveys whatever is necessaryfor the beneficial use of thatproperty and retains whatever isnecessary for the beneficial useof land he still possesses.”

The rationale driving this pre-sumption is that “the demandsof our society prevent any man-made efforts to hold land in per-petual idleness as would result ifit were cut off from all access bybeing completely surrounded bylands privately owned.” Hence,easements by necessity aregrounded in the public policy

that property should not be ren-dered unfit for occupancy orsuccessful cultivation becauseaccess to the property is lacking.

How Easements by NecessityArise

The California Supreme Courtfound that generally, an ease-ment by necessity arises from animplied grant or implied reser-vation in certain circumstanceswhen a property owner (thegrantor) conveys to another (thegrantee) one out of two or moreadjoining parcels of the grant-or's property.

When there is no express provi-sion for access, and the parcelconveyed is either landlockedentirely by the parcels retainedby the grantor or landlockedpartly by the grantor's retainedland and partly by the land ofothers, the grantee may claim animplied grant of a right-of-wayof necessity over the land re-tained by the grantor.

Conversely, when the grantorconveys adjoining propertywithout an express agreementfor access to a retained parcelleft landlocked, the grantor mayseek an implied reservation of aright-of-way of necessity overthe conveyed property for theretained parcel's benefit.

Intent at the Time of Convey-ance

The common law doctrine doesnot exist to ensure a right ofaccess to any and all land-locked property; rather, the doc-trine is properly applied onlywhen the circumstances estab-lish that an access easement was

intended at the time of the com-mon owner's conveyance.

In California, the easement aris-es by implication based on theinferred intent of the par-ties tothe property conveyance, as de-termined from the terms of therelevant instrument and the cir-cumstances surrounding thetransaction.

Even Remote Grantees CanClaim an Easement by Neces-sity

The Supreme Court noted thateven remote grantees in thechain of title may assert theeasement, long after its creationby the original common grantor,

and despite the failure of a priorgrantee to exercise the right.

Requirements: Strict Necessi-ty and Common Ownership

The landlocked parcel benefitedby the implied right-of-way iscalled the dominant tenement ordominant estate, while the bur-dened property is referred to asthe servient tenement or servientestate. Two circumstances areindispensable to an impliedeasement by necessity: (1) astrict necessity for the claimedright-of-way, as when theclaimant's property is land-locked; and (2) the dominantand servient tenements were un-der common ownership at theContinued on page 12

Landlocked Property andEasements by Necessity

By Terry ReinAttorney with Bosso Williams Law Firm

Real Estate Legal Matters

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

6

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

7

Successful Sip of SummerGenie Lawless

Fundraising Committee Chair 2009

SCAOR Housing Foundation's2nd Annual Sip of Summerwas held on Tuesday, August11th at Soquel's Bargetto Win-ery.  All who attended enjoyedlive music by Jim Rosenberg,food donated by SCAOR Affili-ates, and lots of good wine pro-vided by Bargetto Winery intheir lovely courtyard.  Enjoyingglasses of fine wine, this year'sticket holders also had chances towin one of many prizes includ-ing: a flip video camera donatedby Old Republic Home Protec-tion, tickets to A Taste of SantaCruz, and a professional portraitsitting donated by Smile 1, 2, 3!

Many thanks go out to theAffiliates who provided plen-ty of snacks and entertainingbanter at the microphone!  Besure to support the Affiliatesat the Oktoberfest, on Octo-ber 1st, we're grateful for theirparticipation!  Thank you toall who came to support theSCAOR Housing Founda-tion at this fun networkingevent. We look forward toseeing you all again next year.

Thank you very much toall of our volunteers!

Genie Lawless,David Lyng Real Estate

Jeanne Mulhern,Keller Williams

Tina Dando,Bank of America Home Loans

Andrea Schenk,Blue Adobe Mortgage

Karen S Schenk,Old Republic Title Company

Sean Pate,Coldwell Banker Residential

Woutje Swets,Vanguard REALTORS

Elaine Della Santina,Main Street REALTORS

Joe Ganeff,Xchange Solutions

Dimitri Timm,Princeton Capital

Tina Dando,Bank of America Home Loans

Old Republic Home Protection

Mary Lee Wilks,Wilks Appraisal Service

Dick Cornelsen,Wells Fargo Reverse Mortgage

Jeff McCormac,Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Dave Deteso,Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

At Left:Mark Junod,Metlife Home

Loans,Genie Lawless,

FundraisingCommittee Chair,

Sandy Kaplan,Santa CruzProperties

At Right:Brigid Heath,

Old Republic TitleJohn Burroughs,

Burroughs Finan-cial Services,

Linda Burroughs,Linda Burroughs

Real EstateKaren Beeson,MetLife Home

Loans

At Left:

Loree Doan,Stewart Title

andGlenn Kramer

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

8

Make a year-roundcommitment to safety

As part of NAR’s ongoingefforts to keep members safe,they are kicking off a year longfocus on this issue of safety withthe 6th annual observance ofREALTOR® Safety Week,September 13-19, 2009.REALTOR® Safety Week is agreat time to remind all of us ofthe known dangers we faceeveryday, to be aware of oursurroundings, and empowerourselves with precautions andpreparations so that we canavoid risky situations.

Knowledge, awareness andempowerment are the corecomponents of REALTOR®Safety. And helping ourmembers understand the risksthey face can mean thedifference between life anddeath.

At the newly revampedwww.realtor.org/safety site youcan find a wealth of resourcematerials, webinars,presentations, article and tipsfor planning your and youroffices safety strategy.Please help to promoteREALTOR® Safety Week andsafety throughout the year.

Basic Safety TipsTouch base.

Always let someone knowwhere you are going and whenyou will be back; leave the nameand phone number of the clientyou are meeting and schedule atime for your office to call youto check in.

Open House: it ain’t over tillit’s over

Don’t assume that everyone hasleft the premises at the end of anopen house. Check all of therooms and the backyard prior tolocking the doors. Be preparedto defend yourself, if necessary.

Bring up the rear

When showing a home, alwayshave your prospect walk in frontof you. Don’t lead them, butrather, direct them from a posi-tion slightly behind them. Youcan gesture for them to go aheadof you and say, for example,“The master suite is in the backof the house.”

Pick up some self-defenseskillsThe best way to find a goodself-defense class is to learnwhat is available, and then makea decision. Many health clubs,

martial arts studios and commu-nity colleges offer some type ofclass. You can also ask yourpeers, friends and family if theyhave taken a self-defense classthat they would recommend.

Establish an office distresscode.

Create a voice distress code, asecret word or phrase that is notcommonly used but can beworked into any conversationfor cases where you feel thatyou are in danger. Use this if theperson you are with can over-hear the conversation, but youdon’t want to alarm them. Ex-ample: “Hi, this is Jennifer. I’mwith Mr. Henderson at the ElmStreet listing. Could you e-mailme the RED FILE?”

Nothing personal…

When talking to clients andprospects, be friendly but stillkeep your personal informationprivate. This means avoidingmention of where you live, yourafter-work or vacation plans,and similar details.

Take two seconds as you walktowards your destination tocheck out potential risks.• Are people coming and goingor is the area unusually quiet?• Do you observe any obstacles

or hiding places in the parkinglot or along the street?• Is anyone loitering in the area?Protect your clientsWarn your clients that not allagents, buyers and sellers arewho they say they are. Strangerswho stop by unannouncedshould be asked to make an ap-pointment with the listing agent.Stress that your clients shouldnever to show a home withoutthe presence of an agent.

Lock it and look,When you’re alone getting intoyour car, the first thing youshould do is lock the doors. Beobservant when approachingyour car; look underneath and inthe back seat before entering.

Don’t use the “V word”When describing a listing, neversay that a property is “vacant.”This may be an invitation tocriminals.

When in doubt, shred!

Thoroughly shred all paperswith personal information be-fore you throw them away.Shred unwanted credit card ap-plications and "conveniencechecks" that come in the mail,credit card receipts with youraccount number, outdated finan-cial papers and papers contain-ing your clients’ personalinformation.

REALTOR Safety Week September 13-19, 2009

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

9

If you were not able to make itto Summit 2009 on August 16,2009 you missed the opportuni-ty of hearing Jeff Davi, Califor-nia Department of Real EstateCommissioner; Fred Keeley,Treasurer, County of SantaCruz; Lawrence Yun, Ph.D.Chief Economist and SeniorVice President of Research atNAR; and Joel Singer, Execu-tive Vice President of CAR.These four industry giants en-lightened us with their insightsand knowledge on the state ofthe real estate industry, our gov-ernments, and our future. Over160 attended this successful lun-cheon event at the SeascapeGolf Course.

Jeff Davi started the Summit bystating the number one priorityof the DRE is unlicensed loanmodification activity. In July2008 there were less than 10loan modification investiga-tions. This year there are over1067 active investigations. Inthe last 8 months there havebeen 300 actions filed againstloan modification scams, andthat is “the tip of the iceberg”.A prevention campaign in theform of a public service an-nouncement is being created bythe DRE and the AttorneyGeneral’s office.

According to Davi, there areseveral new legislations on thehorizon to help prevent fraud.HR3221 requiring a national li-censing, registration, and fin-gerprinting system for all loanoriginators will be in place by

2010. AB34 and SB36 are Cal-ifornia State legislation that willconform state law to the Federallaw. AB33 creating a Depart-ment of Financial Services isstill in legislation.

Next to speak was County Trea-surer Fred Keeley who is alsoon the Board of Directors forCalifornia Forward. CaliforniaForward is a bipartisan leader-ship council. It was mandatedby the Governor to improve thequality of life for all Califor-nians by creating more respon-sive, representative andcost-effective government. Ac-cording to Keeley the State hasoutdated tools for governmentand the “tools are not as modernas our challenges”. It is not theGovernor’s or Legislators faultthat the State is ungovernable,but the system is too cumber-some to do a good job.

California Forward is proposinga new budgetary process thatwill go to ballot next year. Thebudget reform will include (a) a2 year budget based on outputvs. outcome, (b) a requirementthat a bill will include how it isto be paid for, (c) a system onhow to get out of the currentsurplus deficit system; i.e. main-tain a savings account or “lockbox” to be opened only whenthe State is on the downside ofthe revenue stream, (d) a major-ity vote is needed for budgetarylegislation.

California Forward is also ad-dressing tax reform that accord-

ing to Keeley will match theState’s “intellectual capital withventure capital” particularly inrelation to AB32 the global cli-mate change legislation. Alsoincluded in tax reform is a Busi-ness Net Receipt Tax whichshifts the tax burden, broadensthe tax base and generates addi-tional monies.

Next Lawrence Yun, Ph.D.commented on the recoveringhousing market in the U.S. The

results of the Stimulus Packageare now being seen with firsttime home buyers and move upbuyers purchasing homes. Na-tionwide we are seeing pent-updemand.

Dr. Yun is predicting foreclo-sures will rise this year. Withthe many job losses it “will notget cleaned up quickly and willcontinue to rise”. Last year theREO’s lingered on the marketContinued on page 10

DID YOU MISS SUMMIT 2009?Candie Noel

Chair, Local Government Relations Committee

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

10

Legislative WatchContinued from page

and brought prices down. Thisyear there are many buyersready to pick them up, and thereare competing buyers. Thisyear, as a business decision,Freddie and Fannie are holdingon to their foreclosure invento-ry. They are looking at how torelease it at a measured pace.

Dr Yun stated one of the topitems at NAR is extending andexpanding the $8000 tax creditfor first time home buyers.

Rounding out Summit 2009, JoelSinger presented an optimisticeconomic and market update forthe State. The current downturnis not a real estate downturn, butis now a financial downturn.The bottom of the real estatemarket was established 24months ago in 4Q07 with thelowest number of sales, and hasbeen rising since. Prices havebeen up for 4 straight months.With 80% of the sales at the lowend, there are only 2 months ofinventory below the medianprice. California homes, Singerstated, are affordable now, withthe California Affordability In-dex the closest to the U.S. as ithas been since 1977.

Maintaining the loan limit at$729,750 is essential for Cali-fornia and Santa Cruz, and NARis working on getting it extend-ed or permanent. Ninety per-cent of the loans in Californiaare FHA or government backed.He feels that redesigning ourmortgage financial system isone of our greatest challenges ofthe future.

Singer is forecasting REO’s willhave an impact on this year’soutcome. He says we have hitbottom assuming lenders do notdump their huge inventory at theend of the year, and Californiasales will be off in 2009 as fore-closures have not hit the marketthis year. Regardless interestrates will remain affordable.

HVCC CONTINUES TODEVASTATE HOME

VALUES ACROSS THEU.S.

The fear is that with higher Fan-nie and Freddie loan limits itwill carry through to our former“jumbo” markets, leading thecountry even further intorecession. If you have not beenfollowing this issue, Represen-tatives Childers (D-MS) andMiller (R-CA) introduced legis-lation (H.R. 3044) requesting an18 month moratorium on theHome Valuation Code of Con-duct (HVCC).  H.R. 3044 nowhas over 54 co-sponsors andnow is the time to forward thepetition to every person youknow and every representativein the country.  Read some ofthe comments in the petition andyou will soon understand theharmful nature of this horriblymisguided code.

REALTORS® are applaudingthe introduction of H.R. 3044and would like to thank Repre-sentative Childers (D-MS) andRepresentative Miller (R-CA)for their continued efforts andleadership on this issue…..but itis not enough. Tens of thou-sands of consumers have al-ready been robbed of theiropportunity to enjoy historicallylow rates by Attorney GeneralAndrew Cuomo’s rule. HVCCneeds to be permanently re-versed in order to restore lowercosts to the consumer and toprotect the thousands of real es-tate transactions stalled by thishorribly misguided code.

Please sign and forward thepetition which can be found atwww.hvccpetition.com andforward to everyone you knowin the industry and ask themto forward it to their repre-sentatives.

BIG WIN FORCALIFORNIA REALTORS®

INDEPENDENTCONTRACTOR WITH-HOLDING NOT IN THE

STATE BUDGET

C.A.R. aggressively opposedthe 3 percent independent con-tractor withholding proposal onthe table during recent statebudget discussions. We want tothank you for reaching out toyour legislators. As a result ofour joint efforts, the over with-holding scheme was not includ-ed in the agreement. More than8,000 REALTORS® usedC.A.R.'s mobilization hotline tovoice their opposition to thisproposal. Countless others e-mailed, wrote, faxed, or calledtheir legislators directly. Youractions sent a clear message toour elected officials: Even whenthe odds are stacked against us,we will not give up quietly andwill continue to fight for REAL-TORS®’ rights.

GREEN BUILDING CODEEFFECTIVE THIS MONTH

The state's green building code,,

the first of its kind in the nation,took effect August 1, the Cali-fornia Building Standards Com-mission has announced.  Thisnew code standardizes practicesfor reducing the environmentalimpact of buildings in a varietyof ways.  It encourages the useof renewable, recyclable, andrecycled material in the buildingprocess.  It also encourages thereduction of a building’s potablewater use by 20 percent, and itestablishes a two tiered 15 or 30percent energy savings abovecurrent levels for all buildingsthrough a combination of moreefficient appliances and win-dows, better insulation, and oth-er performance enhancingmeasures.

Application of the code is current-ly voluntary. It was adopted lastyear as a step toward mandatorygreen building standards, whichGovernor Arnold Schwarzeneg-ger has called for by 2010.

URGENT HVCC UPDATEDale Gray

Government Affairs Director

Dale Gray

11

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

Educationand

ProfessionalDevelopment

GRI#111 InvestmentProperty Analysis

Fri. Sept.4, 8 am-5 pmInstructor: Thomas Swen

8 hours continuing educationcourse details factors influenc-ing investment decisions andinvestors' objectives. Analyzeinvestment real estate, usingvaluation processes and ap-proaches. Become acquaintedwith the cash flow analysis pro-cess and the concepts of dis-counted cash flow and internalrate of return. Please bring afinancial calculator to class.This course has been designedto familiarize students with thefactors influencing investmentdecisions. Investors' objectives.The analysis of investment realestate. The valuation processand approaches. Federal taxa-tion of real estate investments.The cash flow analysis process.The concepts of discountedcash flow and internal rate ofreturn. Upon completion of thiscourse, students will be able todefine an investment. Identifytypes of investment real estate.Describe how investors makedecisions. Apply the MAIDformula. Prepare a cash flowanalysis. Describe the three ap-proaches to value. Complete anestimate of market value. Rec-ognize opportunities for taxbenefits through real estate in-vestment. Calculate deprecia-tion. Explain the concepts ofpassive losses and gain. DefineInternal Rate of Return.

45 Hour Panic Programwith Charlie Krackeler

15 & 45 Hour License Renewal Program

Wed. Sept. 9th .9am-12pmInstructor: Charlie Krackeler

At this seminar you willcomplete exams for the fivemandated courses* and receivea certificate for 15 credits. Youwill receive an access code toCharlie’s website to completethe remaining 30 hours oftesting over the course of twodays.*Ethics, Agency, Fair Housing,Trust Fund, and RiskManagement**Study material will beemailed to you uponregistration.

REO Sales! A Goldmineor the Shaft!

Wed. Sept. 16, 1:30-5:00pmInstructor: Guy Berry

You will learn how to make sureyour offer is the one that getsaccepted; How to get listingsfrom Bank’s REO departments;About Myths surrounding REOsales; How to make sure that theListing agent calls you back;What the Bank expects theirlisting agent to do; How banksfeel about repairs and credits forrepairs; About BPO’s and otherunique issues, and more!!!

Escrow CoordinationSecrets

Mon. Sept. 21st 8:30-12:30pmInstructor: Diana Turnbloom

Are you ready to improve yourclosing rate, save time and startcreating hassle-free transactions?Then attend this seminar byLeading Authority and Instructor

on Transaction Management,Diana Turnbloom. These techn-iques and insights are more thantheoretical ideas. They haveevolved and been perfectedthrough instructor experience.You WILL be able toimmediately apply what youhave learned.

SPECIAL POINTS OFINTEREST:4 hours of intense training forall ranges of experience; 3 topthings you must know at alltimes when managing pendingsales!; Who YOUR Team isand what “tools” are needed todo a good job; Easy to usesystems (Sample custom forms,letters, emails to help you stayorganized!; How to readtermite and title reports; Locate“deal killer” sentences! The“meat and potatoes” of apurchase agreement contract;Lender language. What doesloan approval REALLY mean?In addition to the standardcurriculum of this class, Dianewill be including the followinginformation about REO & shortsales. What is an REO; WhatDisclosures are required RedFlags!!!; and How to protectyourself from future litigation.

Buying Your Home with aReverse Mortgage

Mon. Sept. 28th 10am-11:30amInstructor: Dick Cornelsen,Wells Fargo

By attending this seminar youand your clients will learn howto use a Reverse Mortgage topurchase a home or use fundsfrom a Reverse Mortgage on

your primary residence to buy asecond home without anymonthly payments.

Seminar will cover: Planningfor Your Future; ReverseMortgage 101; Using ReverseMortgage to Purchase Homes;Pay Off Options; Costs, andmore!

Coming up in October

Fri. Oct. 2, 8:00am-5:00pmGRI# 112 EnvironmentalConcerns, ConstructionOverview and Land Use

Wed. Oct. 7, . 1:00-4:30pmAvoid the TEN

BIGGEST Deal Killers

Wed. Oct. 14, . 1:00-2:30pmCoastal Bluff Issues

with Charlene Attack, BossoWilliams Law Firm

Wed. Oct. 21, 9:00am-12:00pmDRE Accredited!

Risk Managementwith Neil Kalin, C.A.R.Assistant General Counsel

IN THE SHOPPINGMALL

My daughter went to themall food court and ordered a

taco.She asked the person behindthe counter for 'minimal' let-

tuce.'He said he was sorry, but they

only had iceberg lettuce.

STAY ALERT!They walk among us!

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

12

On August 15, three importantMLS rules changes went intoeffect that address requirementsfor lockboxes and lockbox keys,listing photos, and the use of the“court confirmation” descriptor.

Lockboxes

What the Rule Says:13.12 Lockbox Accessibility. Ifa lockbox is present on a proper-ty that is located in the MLS-Listings service area and islisted for sale in the MLS-Listings system, there must bean electronic lockbox that is ac-cessible by a key issued by oneof the lockbox Authorized Pro-viders listed in Appendix B.More than onelockbox may beused on a property.

What the Rule means:If one or more lockboxes areplaced on a property one ofthem must be electronic and ac-cessible by a key issued by anMLSListings authorized provid-

er. However, it is not required toplace a lockbox on a property,and more than one lockbox on aproperty is permitted.

Photograph Requirements

What the Rule says:7.11.2 All residential listingswith existing buildings that areentered into the MLS for salemust include a photograph ofthe front of the building within72 hours after entry. Listingsdesignated as “Seller PrefersNo Photo” must have writtenauthorization from the seller toexclude a primary image,which must be provided to theservice upon request. On newconstruction, a realistic artisticrendering of the intended ap-pearance of the front of thebuilding will suffice until thebuilding is completed, at whichtime an appropriate photographmust be submitted. Photo-graphs are optional on vacantland, commercial/industrial,

business opportunity and rentallistings.

What the Rule means:Listings in property classes 1-4must include at least one photoof the front of the building(condo structures included).You will have 72 hours frompublication to meet this require-ment. The primary photo doesnot need to be of the front of thebuilding. The MLS has avail-able for subscriber use a “SellerPrefers No Photo” image todownload and then upload toidentify listings for which theseller is requesting no photo ofthe property be published. Thelisting agent must also down-load and use the “Seller’s In-struction to Omit Photo” form,executed by the seller and heldby the agent, as evidence theseller has instructed the agentnot to publish a photo of theproperty. You do not have tosubmit this to the MLS, unlessrequested.

This photo requirement ruleis NOT retroactive to all list-ings and applies only to list-ings entered after August 15th

2009.

Court ConfirmationDisclosure

What the Rule says:7.15.1 Estate Sale, Probate andBankruptcy Listings….. All listings that require ormay require court confirmationmust be so identified.

What the Rule means:Listings that are being sold un-der the oversight of a court mustat least use the “Additional List-ing Information” checkbox fortheir listing that either require ormay require court confirmation.

Please contact MLSListingsCompliance department withquestions: 408-874-0200 option 5

MLS RULE CHANGES

time of the conveyance givingrise to the necessity.

To satisfy the strict-necessityrequirement, the party claimingthe easement must demonstrateit is strictly necessary for accessto the alleged dominant tene-ment. An easement by necessitywill not exist where a person canget to his property through hisown land, even where the accessroute is inconvenient, difficultor costly. Therefore, no ease-ment will be implied wherethere is another possible meansof access. Moreover, such aneasement continues only as longas the need for it exists.

To meet the common-owner-ship requirement, the partyseeking the easement must es-tablish that the lands composing

the alleged dominant and servi-ent estates were once undercommon ownership and that aconveyance by the commonowner gave rise to the necessityfor a right-of-way. In the ab-sence of common ownership, aneasement by necessity will notbe implied based solely on ashowing of necessity.

Federal Land Patents

When federal or state land pat-ents are at issue, strict necessityand common ownership remainrequirements of an easement bynecessity. In contrast to privateparty conveyances, however,conveyances involving a sover-eign as the common owner typi-cally do not give rise to impliedreservations of easements orother property interests in con-veyed land.

The Court said that federal pat-ents are among the “highest evi-

dence of title,” so courts arereluctant to interfere with thecertainty and predictability ofland titles conferred by a sover-eign without an express reserva-tion. The Court also noted thatthe federal government ownedmost of the land at one time, andtherefore the common owner-ship requirement for an ease-ment by necessity becomesmeaningless. The court never-theless evaluated the intent ofthe federal government andfound that the federal govern-ment did not expressly reserve areservation of an easement.Further, it found the federalgovernment had the power bystatute to reserve an easementfor the benefit of the govern-ment, but not for the benefit ofothers. Accordingly, theplaintiff’s claim for an easementby necessity was rejected.

The Court concluded that al-though easements by necessity

are supported by the policy thatproperty should not be renderedidle due to lack of access, theneed for access alone does notentitle a landlocked propertyowner to burden a neighbor’sland with an easement when theeasement claimed traces back toa federal land patent.

Conclusion

Agents should be extremelycautious when selling land-locked property, especially ifthe easement claimed tracesback to a federal land patent.Even if the elements necessaryto establish an implied ease-ment by necessity exist, such aright is not definitively estab-lished without an agreementby the owner of the servienttenement or by order of acourt through a quiet title ac-tion.

Landlocked PropertyContinued from page 5

13

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

Affiliate Spotlight Affiliate Update

Property I.D. would like tointroduce their New CoastalRegion Sales Executive BradSullivan.

Brad Sullivan is a seasonedsales executive in the real estateindustry. Brad was born andraised in Redwood City andgraduated from University ofArizona with a BA in Commu-nications and Public Relations.Brad joined the real estate in-dustry in 1997 when he becamea Sales Representative for Chi-cago Title, and then moved onwith Alliance Title in SantaClara County.  In 1999 Bradmarried his beautiful wifeChristina, at which time theymoved to Gilroy where they re-main. Brad enjoys playing withhis 3 children along with play-ing baseball, football and is anavid golf player as well.

Brad is looking forward to in-creasing his ability in customerservice, networking and provid-ing excellent customer servicefor the clients of Monterey, SanBenito & Santa Cruz Counties.Brad can be reached at::

(408) 210-1070bsullivan@propertyid.com

Brad SullivanProperty I.D.

Power of Localized MarketAnalysis - Short Sales

Did you know that the PricingAnalysis section of Clarus Mar-ketMetrics® now gives you awide array of time frames tochoose from? Limit your searchresults to the last 30 days, 45days, 3 months, 6 months or oneyear.

REALTORS® are using thesemarket rich reports in a varietyof situations. Rebeca Elliot, aREALTOR® with RE/MAXGold Coast in Camarillo, CA,recently represented a seller try-ing to perform a short sale.“We’re seeing banks sending inout of area appraisers. In thisparticular situation the appraiserwas from Texas and I’m in Cal-ifornia. I disputed the original

appraised value and won a reap-praisal with the reports fromClarus MarketMetrics®.”When submitting a short sale tothe lender, REALTORS® arechoosing to also package thePricing Analysis with the offer.The short time frames reflect thetrue market value and helpprove the validity of offers. UseClarus MarketMetrics® withyour next distressed transaction!

Attend a FREE webinar tolearn more about the new andimproved features of ClarusMarketMetrics®. Click here toview the webinar schedule.

Haven't signed-up to use ClarusMarketMetrics®? To sign-upfor your FREE member benefit,please visit www.scaor.org.

Clarus Market Metrics Tip of the Month

The Affiliates are hosting theirfirst Oktoberfest!

This event will be a great oppor-tunity to network and mix andmingle with other real estateprofessionals. Enjoy deliciousBrats and exotic Beer outside atSCAOR’s beautiful patio area.We invite you to bring a col-league or two!

Oktoberfest will be held onOctober 1st from 4 – 6 PMat the SCAOR Office locatedat 2525 Main St., Soquel, CA.Ticket price is only$5.95.

For more information pleasecontact Norma Milete at

831-464-2000Or

nmilete@scaor.org.

It’s no longer a rumor!!

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

14

The CALIFORNIA REAL-TOR® EXPO is the premiertrade show for California's realestate industry.  This annualevent features one-of-a-kind ed-ucational, networking and pro-fessional developmentopportunities designed specifi-cally for California REAL-TORS®.

As the state's largest real estatetrade show, this event drawsthousands of California's keyfranchise executives, top pro-ducers, and movers and shakersevery year for educational, net-working, and professional de-velopment opportunities.

Don't miss the chance to honeyour professional knowledgeand network with peers at theCalifornia REALTOR® EXPO2009 in San Jose.

CAR Members can attend forfree, for more information andto register please click here

CAR Expo Schedule (someevents are tentative)

October 6th Tech Tuesday!Tech Tuesday provides a fullday of comprehensive technolo-gy training for REALTORS®.Scheduled for Oct. 6, this must-attend event will empower youto use technology effectivelyand efficiently to meet clients'demands and thrive in today'stechno-driven marketplace.

Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009, noon -1:30 p.mTech Tuesday Luncheon:Technology Tips & Tech-niquesPresented by Bodine BalascoIn this presentation you'll learnhow to use "the structure of theof the Generative Creative Pro-

cess," to immediately developstrategy, energy, and follow-thru for creating results that areimportant to you... even in theface of challenging circum-stances and limited resources.Tickets for this event are avail-able on a first-come, first-served basis and are $55through early-bird registrationending July 7; $60 when pur-chased prior to EXPO; $65 on-site.Opening Luncheon: 2010Housing Market ForecastWednesday, Oct. 7, 2009,noon - 1:30 p.m.Presented by Leslie Appleton-YoungWhere is the market headed andwhat are the emerging opportu-nities out there for REAL-TORS®?  Prepare for the yearahead by joining C.A.R. ChiefEconomist Leslie Appleton-Young for the 2010 HousingMarket Forecast, where she willshare valuable information andinsights about California’shousing market.. Tickets for thisevent are available on a first-come, first-served basis and are$55 through early-bird registra-tion ending July 7; $60 whenpurchased prior to EXPO; $65on-site.REALTOR® Night Out: Bachto Rock ShowWednesday, Oct. 7, 2009, 6p.m. to 10 p.mEXPO 2009 wouldn’t be com-plete without our annual REAL-TOR® Night Out festivities.This year’s REALTOR® NightOut features a delicious buffet-style dinner, cocktails, and alive DJ. We’ll see you on thedance floor. Tickets for thisevent are sold on a first-come,first served basis and are $55

through Oct. 5 when purchasedprior to EXPO; $65 onsite.EXPO Closing Luncheon:Life Would be Easy if itWeren't for Other PeopleThursday, Oct. 8, noon to 1:30p.m.Presented by Connie PodestaLet's admit it — sometimes peo-ple and situations can be just“slightly” challenging. There isno one more qualified to helpyou understand the fascinatingworld of human behavior thanConnie Podesta. She will em-power you with the knowledgeyou need to be wiser, healthier,happier and richer personally &professionally. Now isn't lifegetting easier already? Ticketsfor this event are sold on a first-come, first served basis and are

$60 through Oct. 5 when pur-chased prior to EXPO; $65 on-site.EXPO Registration HoursTues. Oct. 6, 7:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.Wed. Oct. 7, 7:30 a.m. -  5 p.m.Thurs. Oct. 8, . 7:30 a.m. -  4 p.m.

EXPO Exhibit Hall HoursGrand Opening: Tuesday, Oct.6, 2009: 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009: 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009: 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.

Click here for a tentative EXPOSchedule

Click here for a tentativeEXPO/Business MeetingSchedule

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org September 2009

15

NEW MEMBERS - AUGUST 2009New REALTOR® Members

Coldwell Banker ResidentialBrokerage

Pam Holly (transfer Tuolumne)

Main Street REALTORS®

Laura “Nikki” Pendergraft

Reinstated Members

Coldwell Banker ResidentialBrokerage

Seth Dunn

Bayview Properties

Joan Ellis

David Lyng Real Estate

Edgardo “Eddie” Gonzalez

The Office of Lea Haratani

Lea Haratani

AFFILIATES

Brad SullivanProperty I.D.

Karen WadeBailey PropertyManagement

Nicole FerreiraBailey Property Management

Cheryl Rebottaro – MorganStanley Smith Barney

Coldwell Banker – AptosCrown Real Estate

David Lyng Real EstateFinancial Strategies

Frank O. May and AssociatesGuaranteed Rate

Intero Real Estate ServicesKeller Williams Realty

McNair Real Properties/Ross R.E.MetLife Home Loans

Monterey Bay PropertiesMr.s A’s Famous Salsa Buena

Network MortgageOld Republic Home Protection

Princeton CapitalProperty I.D.

Robertson Real EstateSanta Cruz County Bank

The Buckholdt Home Financ-ing Team

Wells Fargo Home MortgageIn Kind:

Kelley Trousdale

SponsorsPlatinum Sponsor

Bank of America Home LoansGold Sponsor

Keller Williams RealtyMedia Sponsors

Good TimesPrint SponsorCoastal Homes

Booth Sponsors1 Modification ServicesAmerican Dream Realty

Bailey PropertiesBank of America Home Loans

Bank of the WestBlue adobe MortgageCentury 21 Showcase