Real Estate Appraisers:  A licensed appraiser’s compensation cannot be dependent upon, or affected by, the value conclusion generated by an appraisal for a real property purchase, sale, transfer, financing, or development as of October 5, 2007. Anyone with an interest in a real estate transaction is prohibited from improperly influencing, or attempting to improperly influence, through coercion, extortion, or bribery, the appraisal process for a mortgage loan.  An interested party may, however, ask the appraiser to do any of the following:

--- consider additional appropriate property information;

--- provide substantiation or explanation for the appraiser’s value conclusion; or

--- correct errors in the appraisal report

(Source: Senate Bill 223)

Escrow Cancellation and Postponement Fees:  Beginning January 1, 2008, an escrow company licensed by the California Department of Corporations (DOC) may charge a fee for cancellation or postponement resulting from the acts or omissions of the parties to an escrow transaction.  The fee must be in not less than 8-point bold type on the front page of the escrow instructions signed by the principals. A postponement fee can only be charged for a postponement of at least two months after the most recent closing date in the agreed-upon written instructions.  This legislative bill also requires an escrow company licensed by the DOC, and any of its directors, stockholders, trustees, officers, agents, or employees, to comply with the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). (Source: Assembly Bill 804.)

The U.S. Census Bureau says that nearly 39.8 million Americans moved in 2006.  The West had the highest moving rate (16 percent), followed by the South (15 percent), the Midwest (13 percent) and the Northeast (10 percent).

The California Public Utilities Commission has signed off on a regulation that would require all homes built after 2020 to be energy-neutral, which means the homes must produce as much energy as they consume.

Protect yourself from identity theft:

1. Don’t get caught by “phishing”.  Scam artists “phish” for victims’ information by posing as representatives of banks, stores or government agencies.  This is done over the phone, through regular mail, and especially via e-mail.  Do not respond to a request to verify your account number or password.  Do not give out your personal information unless you made the contact.  Legitimate companies will not request this kind of information in this way.
2. Shield your computer from viruses and spyware.  Protect your personal information on your home computer.  Use passwords with a least eight characters, including a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.  Use firewall and virus protection software and update it regularly.  Download free software only from sites you know and trust, and do not install software without knowing what it is.  Set Internet Explorer browser security to at least “medium.”  Do not click on links in pop-up windows or in spam e-mail, and do not download any file from an e-mail address you do not know.
3. Click with caution. When shopping online, check out a Web site before entering your credit card number or other personal information.  Read the privacy policy and look for opportunities to opt out of information sharing.  (If there is no privacy policy posted, shop elsewhere!)  Enter personal information only on secure Web pages with “https” in the address bar and a closed padlock symbol at the bottom of the browser window.  These are signs that your information will be encrypted or scrambled, protecting it from hackers.  If you do not see these signs, order by telephone.  Also, you should always use a credit card rather than a debit card to make online purchases.
4. Check your credit reports – for free.  One of the best ways to protect yourself from identity theft is to monitor your credit history.  You can get one free credit report every year from each of the three national credit bureaus.  Request all three reports at once, or order from a different bureau every four months.   Order your free annual credit reports by phone, toll-free, at 1-877-322-8228, or online at www.annualcreditreport.com.

(Sources:  The Federal Trade Commission, The Office of Privacy Protection in the California Department of Consumer Affairs)