Members have reported that certain investor buyers use a standard form “As-Is Contract for Sale and Purchase” which fraudulently purports to be approved by the California Association of REALTORS®. The form purports to be approved by C.A.R., although has not reviewed or approved the form. C.A.R. currently has no standard form with the words, “As Is,” in the title. REALTORS® who come across the form are encouraged to report the matter to C.A.R. by contacting Strategic Defense Counsel, Nicole Briggs, at nicoleb@car.org.

In the wake of a devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12, the National Association of REALTORS® mobilized its resources to support the more than 3 million people affected by this tragedy. The REALTORS® Relief Foundation of NAR is contributing $550,000 to provide relief to Haiti earthquake victims, and NAR is calling upon its 1.2 million members to help. For more information and to make a contribution, click here.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced it will eliminate for one year the FHA 90-day anti-flipping rule that general prohibits insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days. To read more, click here.

Rising defaults on FHA loans have led to the FHA’s cash reserves falling below federally mandated levels. New rules proposed by the FHA are designed to ensure borrowers have a stronger equity position and are less likely to default. To read more, click here.

For more information on how you can save on your local dues click here.

Beginning January 27, you will notice changes to the address fields in Tempo. Sandicor is adding new fields for street directions, matching the address fields in the tax database. The new fields are Street Directional, Street Type and Street Post-Direction. For more information, visit www.sandicor.com.