(4-24-2017) – From our good friends at the Thordsen Law Offices:
PENDING CALIFORNIA LEGISLATION THAT AFFECTS REAL ESTATE LICENSEES, MORTGAGE LOAN ORIGINATORS AND LANDLORDS
FACTS
AB 325 Termination of tenancy/sale of property left behind. (amends Civil Code Section 1988)
This bill requires personal property left behind by a residential tenant be sold at public sale subject to competitive bidding and held in the county where the vacated premises are located. If the landlord reasonably believes that the total resale value of the property not released is less than seven hundred dollars ($700), the landlord may retain the property for his or her own use or dispose of it in any manner. Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the landlord or tenant from bidding on the property at the public sale.
MORAL
Landlords keep track of this bill and read it VERY carefully. It controls the liability in the event a tenant that has left sues.
AB 543- Residential Apartment Managers and Minimum Wage
Section 1182.8 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
(a) No employer shall be in violation of any provision of an applicable order of the Industrial Welfare Commission relating to credit or charges for lodging for charging, pursuant to a voluntary written agreement, a resident apartment manager up to two-thirds of the fair market rental value of the apartment supplied to the manager, if credit for the apartment is not applied to meet the employer’s minimum wage obligation to the manager.
(b) If an employer does not charge a resident apartment manager to occupy the apartment supplied to him or her, the employer, pursuant to a voluntary written agreement, may apply up to one-half of the fair market rental value of the apartment to meet the employer’s minimum wage obligation to the manager without violating any provision of an applicable order of the Industrial Welfare Commission relating to credit or charges for lodging.
MORAL
Notice the words “voluntary written agreement.” No voluntary written agreement equals no exemption and then the landlord has minimum wage issues. Landlords need to watch this bill.
AB 749 Substantial Changes to Real Estate Law affecting Licensees
This bill recasts and redefines the term “salesperson” as a person who is retained by a licensed real estate broker. This bill defines the term “retained” to mean the relationship between a broker and a real estate licensee who is an independent contractor affiliated with, or an employee of, a broker to perform certain real estate activities subject to a broker’s supervision. The bill also defines various other terms to describe the relationships between real estate brokers and salespersons and the parties involved in the sale of real estate transactions, including, but not limited to, seller, buyer, seller’s licensee, buyer’s licensee, dual broker, and dual licensee.
This bill requires a real estate licensee to immediately notify the commissioner whenever a licensee affiliates or is retained by a real estate broker, if that agreement is terminated, or if the licensee acquires a new business address.
This bill authorizes a licensee to enter into an agreement with another licensee to share compensation provided that the compensation is paid through the responsible broker. The bill defines a “responsible broker” as a real estate broker responsible for the exercise of control and supervision of real estate salespersons.
When a licensee prepares or has prepared an agreement authorizing or employing such licensee to perform any of the acts for which he or she is required to hold a license, or when such licensee secures the signature of any person to any contract pertaining to such services or transaction, he or she is required to deliver a copy of the agreement to the person signing it at the time the signature is obtained.
This bill requires the copy of the agreement to be delivered either in print or electronic record as soon as practicable after obtaining the signature.
Existing law requires a notice containing certain information to be filed with the commissioner within a specified period of time after the first transaction and within that same time period if there is any material change in the required information. Existing law requires the broker or the designated officer or corporate broker to sign the notice. This bill requires the responsible broker to sign that notice.
Existing law requires the real estate salesperson’s license to remain in the possession of the licensed real estate broker employer until canceled or until the salesperson leaves the employ of the broker, and the broker is required to make his or her license and the licenses of his salespersons available for inspection by the commissioner. This bill repeals those requirements.
Existing law authorizes the commissioner to suspend or revoke the license of a real estate licensee, delay the renewal of a license of a real estate licensee, or deny the issuance of a license to an applicant, who has committed specified acts. Existing law also authorizes the commissioner to suspend or revoke the license of a corporation, delay the renewal of a license of a corporation, or deny the issuance of a license to a corporation, if an officer, director, or person owning or controlling 10 or more of the corporation’s stock has done specified acts. This bill authorizes the commissioner to take such action for failure to surrender a license issued in error or mistake.
Under existing law, when a real estate license is issued to a corporation, if it desires any of its officers other than the specified designated officer to act under its license as a real estate broker, it is required to procure an additional license to so employ each additional officer.
This bill authorizes a corporation, in the event of death or incapacity of a sole designated broker-officer, to operate continuously under its existing license if notice and an application is provided to the bureau within a specified period of time of the death or incapacity.
Under existing law, each officer of a corporation through whom it is licensed to act as a real estate broker is, while so employed under that license, a licensed real estate broker, but is only licensed to act as such for and on behalf of the corporation as an officer.
This bill does not preclude a designated corporate officer who has a separate individual license from conducting licensed activity for another entity if the entity for which he or she acts is clearly disclosed and apparent to any member of the public using his or her services outside the corporation. When a corporation wishes to act as a real estate broker, the bill would require the corporation to be licensed by the bureau through qualified broker-officers. The bill provides that an officer of a corporation through whom it is licensed to act need not maintain an individual broker’s license, but would provide that the officer is subject to all duties and responsibilities of a licensed real estate broker.
MORAL
This requires a conference because of dramatic changes. If you would like us to speak to your organization on these proposed changes for 2018 contact Herman Thordsen who will prepare a syllabus and speak to the proposed new laws and explain their effect on each licensee and the potential for discipline by the California Bureau of Real Estate.
PENDING LEGISLATION THAT AFFECTS ALL REVERSE MORTGAGES
FACTS
SB 739 (California). REVERSE MORTGAGES: LENDER NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.
Under existing law, a “reverse mortgage” means a nonrecourse loan secured by real property if the loan provides cash advances to a borrower based on the equity or the value in a borrower’s owner-occupied principal residence, the loan requires no payment of principal or interest until the entire loan becomes due and payable, and the loan is made by a specified licensed or chartered lender. Existing law requires the lender to prominently disclose in the loan agreement any interest rate or other fees to be charged during the period that commences on the date that the reverse mortgage loan becomes due and payable, and that ends when repayment in full is made. Existing federal law authorizes the nonborrowing spouse of a reverse mortgage borrower to exercise an option, sometimes referred to as a mortgagee optional election (MOE), to further defer the due and payable status of the reverse mortgage upon the death of the borrower, upon meeting specified conditions.
This bill prohibits a lender from making a reverse mortgage loan on a principal residence without first informing the borrower, and nonborrowing spouse of the opportunity for a nonborrowing spouse to exercise the option described above to permit that spouse to remain in the residence following the death of the borrowing spouse upon the satisfaction of specified conditions. The bill for a reverse mortgage entered into on or after January 1, 2018, prohibits a lender from initiating a foreclosure on a principal residence after the death of the borrowing spouse unless the notice requirements regarding the option were met and the nonborrowing spouse was given the opportunity to exercise the option.
MORAL
If anyone reading this is doing reverse mortgages they just might want to read this legislation carefully and keep track to see if it becomes law in 2018.
