Safe Marketing Is Smart Marketing

REALTORS® keep your safety in mind when you are preparing or updating the marketing materials and information you make public:

1. All of your marketing materials should be polished and professional. Do not use alluring or provocative photography in advertising, on the Web or on your business cards. There are many documented cases of criminals actually circling photographs of their would-be victims in newspaper advertisements.  These victims were targeted because of their appearance in their photographs.

2. Concentrate on your professional proficiency rather than personal information in newspapers, resumes and business cards.

3. Limit the amount of personal information you share.  Do not use your full name with middle name or initial.  Use your office address rather than your home address—or list no address at all.

4. Make phone numbers hard to trace.  Rather than use your personal cell phone or home phone number—which can be typed into some Web sites to find your home address—consider using a toll-free number.  You can have calls to this number automatically forwarded to any phone.

5. Be careful how much personal information you give verbally as well.  Getting to know your clients does not need to include personal information about your children, where you live and who you live with.

(Sources: Real Estate Safety Council’s “Safety Guide””, City of Mesa, Arizona, Realtytimes.com, Nevada County Board of REALTORS, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®)

FHASecure is a new initiative announced by President Bush, which will give the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) flexibility to help more families keep their homes in light of the decline of the subprime market and impending interest rate adjustments affecting numerous borrowers in both the subprime and Alt-A markets.  The FHASecure program will help people who have not made all of their payments on time because of rising mortgage payments but who otherwise have good credit.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a report on the topic of Employer Assisted Housing (EAH).  “Understanding Employer Assisted Mortgage Programs:  A Primer for National Banks” is intended to help banks and bankers understand the role of Employer Assisted Housing in making loan decisions, but is also a valuable resource outlining the growing trend towards offering EAH benefits.  For those REALTORS® who have taken Home From Work™, the report could be another valuable resource to help show employers that Employer Assisted Housing is recognized by the OCC as a viable, and valuable, work life benefit program.

AB 641 (Torico) Developer Fees passed the Senate on September 5^th.  It would defer local government development fees until occupancy permits are issued for housing developments with at least 49% of the total units reserved for occupancy by lower income households.

AB 691 (Silva) Certified Common Interest Development Managers, passed the Senate on September 5^th.  This bill would extend the sunset date for the voluntary certification program for professional common interest development (CID) managers until January, 2012.  This program is currently set to expire January 1, 2008.  Additionally, this bill proposes to further the education of CID managers by including “conflict avoidance resolution” courses in the certification training.

AB 1013 (Krekorian) Nuisance Abatements, was approved by the Assembly that concurred in Senate amendments on September 4^th.  The bill would allow landlords and property managers to serve tenants with an unlawful detainer notice for creating a nuisance on the premises if the tenant illegally possesses weapons or ammunition.  Additionally, this bill would allow local prosecutors and city attorneys to serve the unlawful detainer action on behalf of the community on criminal tenants constituting a nuisance.  Provisions of this bill would be applicable in the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, San Diego, and Sacramento as a pilot program.

The Los Angeles County Boards of Real Estate (LACBOR) invites you and your guests to attend its 29^th Annual Legislative Day and Real Estate Fair on Wednesday, September 26^th.  It will be held at the LA County Board of Supervisors’ Mall, 500 West Temple Street, Los Angeles.  For additional information, call Fred Grant (310) 544-8452.