April is Fair Housing Month – This year marks the 39th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, which protects people from discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, disability, familial status and national origin.
Americans are minded that fair housing is not an option: It is the law.
Legislation introduced in Sacramento –
ü AB 2983 (Strickland) Homeowners’ Property Tax Exemption Increase: Currently, when property owners calculate their annual property taxes they are entitled to an exemption of $7,000 from the full value of the dwelling. AB 293 proposes to increase this exemption to $22,000 and would adjust this exemption annually based on changes in the Housing Price Index in California. This measure also makes a comparable change to the personal income tax renter’s credit.
ü AB 388 (Gains) Homeowners’ Property Tax Exemption Increase: Existing law entitles property owners to an exemption of $7,000 from the full value of their home when calculating their property taxes. AB 388 would increase this exemption to 25,000 and provides for a comparable change to the personal income tax renter’s credit.
ü AB 351 (Smyth) Senior Citizen Property Tax Exemption: Existing property tax law provides for a homeowners’ exemption in the amount of $7,000 of the full value of a “dwelling.” AB 351, which is a re-introduction of AB 2738 from 2006, would increase this exemption to $27,000 for individuals 62 years of age and older. Additionally, the existing Personal Income Tax Law authorizes a $120 credit for married couples or heads of households renting a unit, and a $60 credit for those renters whose adjusted gross income is $25,000 or less. AB 351 also seeks to increase this credit to $151 for senior citizen couples that are at least 62 years of age renting a unit, and would authorize a $75 credit for senior citizen renters, at least 62 years of age, whose adjusted gross income is $25,000 or less.
ü SB 303 (Ducheny) Housing Affordability Act of 2007: SB 303 proposes to require each city’s and county’s general plan to have a planning period of at least 20 years, and would require it to be updated every 10 years, with the exception of the housing element portion which would continue to be updated every 5 years. It also requires local governments to zone enough land to accommodate a 10-year housing need, and to certify that the land zoned for housing is actually suitable for housing. SB 303 further provides that zoning ordinances must be adopted to be consistent with the jurisdiction’s general plan. If a proposed project is consistent with the general plan, zoning shall be subject to the Permit Streamlining Act and cannot be denied except by a 4/5 vote of the local agency.
ü SB 464 (Kuehl) Required Operating Time for Privately Owned Rental Property: Existing law prohibits any public entity from taking any action that would force owners of residential rental property to continue to offer their property for lease or rent. SB 464 would grant local governments the authority to require landlords of all rental property, including single family dwellings, to stay in the rental business for a minimum of 5 years after the purchase of that rental property. Furthermore, SB 464 requires that landlords give ALL tenants a one year notice of termination of tenancy if a disabled or a senior citizen that is 62 years of age or older reside within their rental units.
The 37th annual legislative day on June 6th is coming for REALTORS® from across California when they gather in Sacramento. There will be opportunities to meet with state legislators to discuss issues affecting the real estate industry. It also provides an opportunity to hear from the state’s most dynamic political leaders and the leadership of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been invited to address Legislative Day attendees at the morning briefing.
Standard & Poor’s in their 2006 study which analyzed 640,000 mortgages with second liens, found that these borrowers are 43 percent more likely to go into default than those who have similar loans but no second mortgage.
Problems with subprime loans have gained attention in recent months, as mortgage defaults and foreclosures have climbed to record levels. The loans, which are offered to people with patchy credit histories, gained popularity during the recent housing boom. Record gains in housing prices and low interest rates encouraged lenders to make more credit available to borrowers who otherwise would not have qualified. The cooling of the housing market and a rise in interest rates have led to ballooning monthly payments for borrowers, many of whom cannot afford the increased costs. The result has been a steep increase in borrowers being late on their payment, homeowners facing foreclosure and ripple effects throughout the economy. According to the Center of Responsible Lending, a nonprofit group, one in five subprime mortgages issued in the past two years will end up in foreclosure, and up to 2.2 million households with subprime loans have either lost their homes to foreclosure or will in the next few years.