NAR: FEDERAL HOUSING BILL NOW LAW, INCLUDING FIRPTA FIX
This week, President Bush signed into law the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. This sweeping legislation primarily seeks to protect homeowners from foreclosure, stop declining home prices, and stabilize the mortgage industry. Major provisions of the new law affecting the real estate practice are as follows:

- SELLER NEED NOT REVEAL SSN TO BUYER UNDER FIRPTA: Effective immediately, sellers are no longer required to provide to their buyers the Sell ... Read More »

On Wednesday, July 30, President Bush will sign the recently-passed housing legislation (H.R. 3221) into law.    The new first-time homebuyer tax credit will go into effect immediately upon the President's signature.  This credit is intended to convert  "Just looking, thanks" browsers into purchasers.  The provision should prove to be of great benefit to Realtors, their clients and to communities.  

The chart presented below by the National Association of REALTORS® outlines the basic features of the new credit.  

The tax provisions of this legislation focus on consumers.  We hope this chart and the additional materials that we'll p ... Read More »

Town Hall on California's Budget Crisis

Tuesday, July 29th at 6:00pm

California State University Dominguez Hills
Loker Student Union - Grand Ballroom
1000 E. Victoria Street
Carson, CA 90747

Please join Assembly Speaker Bass (D- Los Angeles) and Assemblymember Furutani (D- Gardena) at a town hall to discuss the need to reach across the aisle and pass the budget for the good of all Californians.

The proposed $8000 homebuyer tax credit and the FHA and GSE reform and mortgage rescue legislation (H.R. 3221) has passed the Senate and now goes back to the House for what legislators hope will be a binding revision that can pass the House and Senate before the end of July. This "ping pong" effect arises because some Senate Republicans have lodged formal objections to the usual process of taking two differing versions of the bill to a House-Senate conference.

The House and Senate versions of the housing bill are now in very close alignment, with only a few issues to be resolved. Many of the issues revolve around the question of whether the bill will be "paid for." The major focus of the pay-for problem is the provision in the Senate package that would authorize $4 billion for grants to local governments where communities have been particularly hard-hit by foreclos ... Read More »

The Los Angeles City Planning Department is holding a public hearing on the Ponte Vista project in San Pedro. The public will have the opportunity to provide testimony regarding Ponte Vista this Thursday, June 26, starting at 5:00 p.m. in San Pedro.

The Daily Breeze noted today that "Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who represents the area, said last week the case still hasn't been made to her that the R-1 zoning should be changed...But the project has its supporters, who argue that San Pedro needs more market-rate housing, especially for seniors looking to downsize."