The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Health Insurance Coverage survey found that 91 percent of REALTORS® believe that the U.S. health care system should be reformed, and 82 percent believe the current health care system is not meeting the needs of most Americans.  Nearly a quarter of NAR’s 1.3 REALTORS® without insurance, the reason is cost.

The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) would offer tax incentives to encourage states to reform small group insurance markets and to make health insurance premiums for small businesses and the self-employed more affordable.  It would also develop a nationwide insurance small business purchasing pool that would still be subject to state insurance regulation to protect those who choose to participate.

AB 2187 (Caballero) Mortgage Foreclosure, which is scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee, revises foreclosure laws by requiring lenders mailing a notice of default to a borrower whose real property may be subject to foreclosure to also mail that borrower a copy of a “homeowner’s bill of rights” that describes the process of foreclosure employed by the lender and sets forth the borrowers rights.  Additionally, the bill proposes to require lenders, upon the completion of a foreclosure, to notify the local government of its plan for managing the maintenance of the property and provides that should the lender not maintain the property local governments may recoup reasonable costs in order to prevent or remedy blight, hazardous conditions, or unsightliness in the community.

AB 2359 (Jones) Loans, is scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee.  This bill would impose borrower defenses on assignees or purchasers of mortgage loans that do not exist under current law, including forcing government sponsored entities in the secondary mortgage market to be responsible for mistakes made by the originators in the loans they purchased. 

The Public Policy Institute (PPIC) in a recent survey reports that California residents are growing “increasingly gloomy” about California’s fiscal condition and question the use of spending cuts to help balance the budget.  Some 56 percent of Californians say they are “very concerned” about the effects of spending reductions, such as layoffs for teachers and other state workers in the governor’s budget plan, reflecting a 20-point jump since the question was posed in January.

The Southern California Association of Governments’ (SCAG) will hold their Eighth Annual Regional Housing Summit on Wednesday, May 21^st, at the Mission Inn in Riverside.  This year’s Summit theme, The Reality of Housing Marketing Uncertainty: Navigating the Course will discuss the coming update of local housing elements, the impact of the mortgage lending crisis on local government, and the efforts to navigate through this difficult housing market period.  This year, keynote speakers are Lynn Jacobs, Director, State Department of Housing and Community Development, and Lawrence Parks, Senior Vice President, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.

Protecting yourself is the key: Never give out personal information when you receive an unsolicited phone call. One of the phone scams that have surfaced again is the Jury scam according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  The phone rings, you pick it up, and the caller identifies himself as an officer of the court.  He says you failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant is out for your arrest.  You say you never received a notice.  To clear it up, the caller says he’ll need some information for “verification purposes” – your birth date, social security number, maybe even a credit card number. This is when you should hang up the phone. It’s a scam. Jury scams have been around for years, but have seen resurgence in recent months.  Communities in more than a dozen states have issued public warnings about cold calls from people claiming to be court officials seeking personal information. As a rule, court officers never ask for confidential information over the phone; they generally correspond with prospective jurors via mail. The scam’s bold simplicity may be what makes it so effective. Facing the unexpected threat of arrest, victims are caught off guard and may be quick to part with some information to defuse the situation.