®

Inside this issueSanta Cruz County’s Real Estate News SourceCreating better REALTORS®

Get ready to taste an array of delec-table cuisine along with choice deepbodied cabernets and oaky chardon-nays at the 4th Annual “A Taste ofSanta Cruz”. The event will be heldon Thursday, November 13, 2008from 5:30-9:00 pm at the CocoanutGrove in Santa Cruz. Tickets are $30each in advance and $35 at the door.34 booth sponsors are pairing upwith the best restaurants and winer-ies in Santa Cruz County to offersamplings of mouth watering foodand exquisite wines. Consider doingyour holiday shopping at our silentand live auction by purchasing one-of-a-kind items while you supporthomeownership in our community.

“A Taste of Santa Cruz” raises over$50,000 each year with proceeds go-ing to fund the Santa Cruz Associa-tion of REALTORS HousingFoundation’s Closing Cost Assis-tance Grant Program. This programprovides grants to first time, lowincome home buyers in Santa CruzCounty.

“We have a number of new restau-rants participating this year,” saidBarbara Dimitruk, Co-Chair for thefourth year of the event. “You canexpect dozens of taste sensationsalong with a fantastic opportunity tosupport a great cause”. Co-Chair,Loree Doan, agrees. “We have overone hundred silent auction items for

you to browse and purchase as wellas some very exciting live auctionpackages”.

“A Taste of Santa Cruz” was firstimplemented in the Fall of 2005, asa major fundraising event for thenewly created SCAOR HousingFoundation. In the three years sincethis event has been held, $172,000has collectively been raised with100% of the proceeds going towardthe Closing Cost Assistance GrantProgram. The program providesgrants to low income, first timehome buyers in Santa Cruz Countyto cover closing costs. Over 35 fam-ilies have been given the keys to

their first homes due to theoverwhelming financial suc-cess of “A Taste of SantaCruz”.

Over 800 people attend thisculinary adventure, so purchas-ing your tickets in advance isrecommended. SCAOR is nowselling tickets to its membersand the public. For informationplease call 831-464-2000.Thank you to our Major EventSponsors, David Lyng RealEstate and MetLife HomeLoans and to Keller WilliamsRealty for their PresentingSponsorship, as well.

A Taste of Excitement Is Coming! 4th Annual “A Taste of Santa Cruz”

SANTA CRUZ ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

OCTOBER 2008 • SCAOR.ORG

Taste the Excitement

President’s Message

Legislative Watch

Education & Profes-sional Development

RE Legal Matters

Affiliate Update

MLS News Update

Calendar

Awarded the Diamond Certification by the American Ratings Corporation for superiorcustomer service based on a random survey of 400 current clients and partners. One

WHY PARTNER WITH XCHANGE SOLUTIONS?

WE ARE THE BEST-OF-THE-BEST!

jganeff@1031xsi.com 831-476-2506 800-410-1031 fax: 408-236-3241

American Ratings Corporation

hundred percent of those polled said they would use Xchange Solutions again, and no onerated us less than 7 (out of 10).Xchange Solutions received the highest overall customer rating seen by ARC of anyBusiness, in any industry, ever.

Dun and BradstreetD & B is the world’s leading source of commercial information and insight on 38 millionU.S. businesses, enabling companies to Decide with Confidence® for over 165 years.Xchange Solutions holds the highest rating possible for a privately held company.

Federation of Exchange AccommodatorsMembership in the FEA is a privilege for companies that uphold the highest standards ofethics, quality, knowledge and performance. Xchange Solutions has been a member ingood standing since our inception.You can rest assured your clients will receive the highest level of security, expertise, andservice available in the exchange industry today.

InsideREAL ESTATE scaor.org October 2008

Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS®

2008 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PresidentChrista Shanaman

President-ElectLela Willet

Secretary/TreasurerSteve Allen

Immediate Past PresidentSandy Kaplan

DirectorsCandace Bradfield

Debra FreyFrank O. MayInez PandolfiKatie Smith

Lauren SpencerSharolynn UllestadMarjorie Vickner

Chief Executive Officer, SCAOR &Executive Director, SCAORHF

Kathy Hartman

Member Services DirectorNorma I. Milete

Director of Education& Professional Services

Karen Kirwan

Administrative AssistantLeslie Flint

BookkeeperLinda Zoccoli

ADVERTISING INFORMATION

For Advertising and deadlineInformation, please contact SCAOR.

INSIDE REAL ESTATE Newsletter

Inside Real Estate is the official monthlynewsletter of the Santa Cruz Associationof REALTORS® provided as a memberservice to inform, educate and update RE-ALTOR® and Affiliate members on local,state and national news, as well as theAssociation’s calendar of events.

Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS®

2525 Main Street, Soquel, CA 95073(831) 464-2000

(831) 464- 2881 (fax)

www.scaor.org

President’s Message

Kudos, Changes and Involvement

Dear Members and Friends,

I cannot believe how quicklytime has passed this year! Somuch has happened sinceKathy Hartman’s arrival inMarch, and now here we arewith “A Taste of Santa Cruz”right around the corner! Giv-en all of that, I thought Iwould give you a brief updateon what has been going onbehind the scenes at your as-sociation that you may notknow.

First, I would like to congrat-ulate Barbara Palmer of Bai-ley Properties for beingnamed to the California Asso-ciation of REALTORS® Ex-ecutive Committee, BobbieNelson for Vice-Chair of thePresident’s Forum, RobertBailey, Liaison for Legal Is-sues, and Sandy Kaplan as amember of CAR Housing Af-fordability Foundation. Theseappointments at the state levelare very prestigious, and showthe level of commitment toorganized real estate that ourassociation and leadershiphave. Congratulations to all!

Speaking of such things asvolunteers, commitment andhigher standards…….NOW isthe time to volunteer for the2009 association committees!The roster of committees is inthe process of being put to-gether, and we would reallylike to have your input! Lookfor the volunteer sign-up sheet

the first part of November inyour dues billing. Some of thecommittees and task forces in-clude, Budget and Finance,Grievance, MLS Task force,Professional Standards andStrategic Planning. We arealso looking to possibly puttogether an Ethics and Profes-sionalism group to help “raisethe bar” in our local area.

If you have any thoughts orquestions regarding volun-teering opportunities, pleasecontact Kathy Hartman or my-self.

On another note…..lock boxchanges are in the works.Sometime in the spring of2009, we will be switching toan all I-box environment (bluebox). The KIM Users Group,a group of about 15 associa-tions, has negotiated a trade

out of the old (grey) AEII box-es (1 for 1) for the more cur-rent technology. This DOESNOT mean a change of keys!However, agents that want tobe able to use infrared (Palm,Treo and Blackberry) technol-ogy, or switch to the e-key toaccess and manage lock boxes,will have the opportunity to doso with an additional subscrip-tion. We see this as a winningsolution for our members aswell as a problem solver for anumber of associations thatborder areas with conflictingsystems. We will keep youposted!

Reminder check list:

Santa Cruz November 13th.

committees at the Association.th! If you

don’t you have no voice.

My best to all of you,

Christa

Christa Shanaman2008 Association PresidentCoast Country Real Estate(831) 475-3525christa@coastcountry homes.com

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org October 2008

While the Governor is still con-sidering whether or not to signa significant number of propos-als, here are a few of the realestate-related bills that were in-troduced and what happened tothem. As you can see, therewere a number of attempts toimpose new point-of-sale re-quirement and to force new andunnecessary disclosures.

AB 2678 (Nunez) Point-of-Sale Energy Audits – As in-troduced, AB 2678 requiredthe California Energy Com-mission to develop a programthat would have required ALLhomes and commercial proper-ties in California to have anenergy audit and mandatoryenergy efficiency upgradeswhen properties were sold.C.A.R. strongly OPPOSED thepoint-of-sale requirements inthe bill because not only woulda point-of-sale mandate havefailed to achieve the state’sgreenhouse gas reduction ob-jectives, it would have furtherweakened the housing marketby adding thousands of dollarsto the cost of purchasing ahome. C.A.R. obtained amend-ments that removed the point-of-sale requirement for energyaudits and added language toensure that the audits or im-provements were not requiredas a condition of sale. Withthese amendments, C.A.R. re-moved its opposition and sup-ported AB 2678 because itwould have created a compre-hensive statewide campaign offlexible cost-effective energyefficiency improvements forexisting buildings.

Ultimately, AB 2678 was aban-doned and died in committee.

SB 1386 (Lowenthal) CarbonMonoxide Detectors - SB 1386would require ALL existinghomes to install a carbon mon-oxide (CO) detector by July 1,2010, and new homes built afterJune 1, 2009 to have a CO de-tector. The measure would haveoriginally required the record-ing of a separate disclosure ofcompliance, a point-of-salemandate and would have effec-tively forced home sellers andtheir agents to certify CO alarminstallation. C.A.R. successfullyobtained amendments that re-moved the specified point-of-sale mandate. As amended, thebill provides for a statewide,date-certain mandate for CO de-tectors in all housing (not justthose that transfer). The amend-ments also added CO detectorsto the TDS, thus eliminating theneed for separate certifications.The amendments also broad-ened the statutory protectionsfor these disclosures providingbetter seller protection and in-creased liability protections foragents. SB 1386 was passed bythe legislature and is now await-ing the Governor’s signature.

AB 2204 (De La Torre) RealProperty Discriminatory Re-strictions - Existing law voidsany provision in a deed of realproperty that restricts the rightof a person to sell, lease, rent,use, or occupy the propertybased on race, color, religion,sex, marital status, national ori-gin, ancestry, familial status,disability, source of income,

or sexual orientation. This billwould have required countycounsel to review any docu-ments containing covenants andrestrictions during the transferof real property, and to strikeany evidence of the aforemen-tioned property restrictionsfrom the deed or other instru-ment. AB 2204 was defeated incommittee.

AB 2733 (Brownley) Environ-mental Hazard Disclosure Re-port- This measure would haverequired sellers or their agentsto purchase a new disclosurereport that identified all envi-ronmental hazard sites locatedwithin a one-quarter mile radiusof a home’s zip code or cityupon transfer of the property.C.A.R. opposed AB 2733 be-cause it would have required thepurchase of an additional, andunnecessary, disclosure reportand resulted in a dilution in thevalue of existing disclosures.The bill would have also addedunknown costs to the transac-tion. As amended, AB 2733 nolonger requires a new separatereport but requires a developer

or professional natural hazardreport provider to, in its existingreport, disclose environmentalhazard sites located within aone-quarter mile radius of theproperty to prospective buyers.AB 2733 was passed by theLegislature and awaits theGovernor’s signature.

SB 127 (Kuehl) PropertyTransfer Disclosures - As in-troduced, this bill would haverequired all transactional disclo-sure documents to be deliveredwithin three days of the“execution” of an offer to pur-chase. As amended, SB 127 re-quired a separate documentwhen both parties to the con-tract negotiate for a disclosuredelivery time longer than tendays and would not have al-lowed the agreement to be con-tained in a single contract ordeposit receipt. C.A.R. opposedthe bill because it would havecreated unnecessary compli-ance burdens. In the final weeksof session, amendments re-moved the separate documentrequirement, thus removingC.A.R.’s opposition to SB 127.This bill has passed the legisla-ture and is waiting for theGovernor’ssignature. (continued on next page)

The legislature has finally adjourned.

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org October 2008

(continued from previouspage)

AB 2259 (Mullin) OwnershipRights in a Common InterestDevelopment (CID) - Overthe last few years, C.A.R.members noticed a trendamong some homeowner as-sociations to adopt restric-tions that limit the ability ofunit owners to rent theirdwellings in CIDs. The impo-sition of rental restrictions di-minishes an owner’s propertyrights. C.A.R. argues that prop-erty owners should enjoy theright to rent or lease their unitas it existed at the time the CIDunit was purchased. C.A.R.sponsored AB 2259 to protectthis right, if it existed at thetime the owner purchased theunit. AB 2259 was passed bythe Legislature and is awaitingthe Governor’s signature.

SB 1737 (Machado) Mort-gage Loan Broker Disclo-sures –SB 1737 grants the DREcommissioner the authority to

license if the licensee generatesan inaccurate broker price opin-ion for a short sale with theintent of manipulating the lien-holder into rejecting the pro-posed sale so that the licenseemay acquire a business advan-tage. More importantly, SB1737 contains C.A.R.-spon-sored language that would re-quire a prominent disclosureto all parties whenever a li-censee represents a buyer andoriginates a loan in a “1-4”transaction. SB 1737 waspassed by the Legislature andis awaiting the Governor’ssignature.

AB 1830 (Lieu) New Sub-Prime Broker Rules – AB1830 would impose new inter-est rate tests and definitionsfor ”higher priced”  loans inan effort to be consistent withthe new federal “Reg. Z” lawon subprime loans. The billalso allows California regula-tors to punish violations offederal lending law. C.A.R.opposed a previous version of

create a codified set of fiducia-ry duties for real estate licens-ees that would have causedneedless compliance burdens,inappropriately restricted mort-gage refinances, and worsenedthe current liquidity crisis thatis making home loans so diffi-cult to obtain.  As amended inthe Senate, C.A.R. renewed itsopposition to AB 1830 becauseit restored previously opposedlanguage and would create anew one-sided attorney fee rulethat would only allow success-ful plaintiffs to collect attorneyfees. AB 1830 will also create adouble standard that does nothold ALL loan officers to thesame rules and restrictions byonly imposing new restrictionson mortgage brokers originat-ing loans and not on residentialmortgage lenders like Country-wide when they originate loans.The bill would restrict loanswhich will further restrict creditliquidity in California makinghome loans more difficult toobtain for legitimate, qualified,borrowers. AB 1830 was

passed by the Legislatureand is waiting for theGovernor’s signature. C.A.R.has requested a veto.

NAR Action Centerwww.realtoractioncenter.com

Please take the time to supportpro-REALTOR® issues in theUnited States Congress. We en-courage you to check out theNational Association of REAL-TORS® Action Center website,read about issues affecting RE-ALTORS® today, and learnwhat you can do to protect andpromote favorable real estatelegislation in Congress. Whenyou register you will start toreceive notices of important leg-islation that affects you andyour business. Your involve-ment counts and helps to bringpressure on your Representa-tives and Senators. The do lis-ten when they hear often enoughfrom their constituents.

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org October 2008

Tax Strategies for theSelf-Employed RealEstate Professional

Fri, Oct. 3rd. 9am-11am

Cost-$10 SCAOR Members$25 at the door & non-membersanytime

You could have overpaid yourtaxes by $11,438! Many of usassume our accountants take careof our taxes...but forget that WEare the ones giving them thenumbers and records they areusing to prepare our tax return.This seminar is guaranteed toidentify between $2500 and$27,000 in NEW Deductions thatcan be used right away to pocketthousands in tax savings. Thesedeductions are based in tax LAW,but presented in a way that all ofus can easily understand.

Myths & Misconceptionsof Reverse Mortgages

Instructor: Richard Cornelsen

Mon. Oct. 6 11:30am-1:00pmCost: $5 SCAOR MembersSCAOR Members$15 at the doorNon-members anytime$25Cost includes lunch sponsored byOld Republic Title Company

A reverse mortgage can give youaccess to your home’s equitywithout having to make monthlypayments. Instead, you receivetax-free1 loan proceeds that willnot affect Social Security orMedicare Benefits2. By attendingthis seminar you will discoverhow your clients can not only stayin their homes but help theirfamily get into a home as well!

REO Sales! A Gold Mineor Only the Shaft?

Instructor: Guy BerryWed Oct 8th 1:00pm-4:30pmCost: $35 SCAOR Members $50at the door & non- membersanytime

You will learn how to get listingsfrom Banks REO departments;about Myths surrounding REOSales; how Bank Ownedproperties are different; What theBank expects their listing agent todo; how to write the offer so theBank likes it; how banks feelabout repairs and credit forrepairs; about BPO’s and otherunique issues, and so much more!

Creating Urgency to Buy

Module 4 of the “Shift Happens”Series

Instructor: Linda ForesterWed, Oct 15, 10:am-12:pmCost: $15 SCAOR Members$35 at the door & non-membersanytime

Are you frustrated by homebuyers who won’t make adecision to buy? Do your buyersthink it is a bad time becauseprices are dropping? Do yourbuyers expect every home to be asteal? Do your buyers thinksomething better will come on themarket next week? Would youlike to work more effectively withbuyers? If you answered “yes” toany of these questions, THENTHIS CLASS IS FOR YOU!

MLS 201 – Hands-on

Instructor: MLSListings, Inc.Mon, Oct.20th 10am-11:30amCost: FREE (Pre-registration is amust to secure a seat).

In this hands-on class you willlearn: Quick Search; Hot Sheet;Printing & emailing; Adding aClient; Saving a Search; CreatingReports; Mapping & DrivingDirections

MLS 202 – Hands-on

Instructor: MLSListings, Inc.Mon, Oct 20 1:30pm-3:00pmCost: FREE (Pre-registration is amust to secure a seat)In this hands-on class you willlearn: Customizing Quick Searchvs. Advanced Search; SearchingREO’s & Short Sale Listings; HotSheet ll-Analytics; CustomizingList View; Statistics; ListingManagement; Focused Q & A

Bullet ProofingTransactions

Module 5 of the “Shift Happens”Series

Instructor: Linda ForesterFri, Oct 24th 10:00am-12:00pmCost: $15 SCAOR Members$35 at the door & non-membersanytime.

In today’s competitive market, itis becoming more common forreal estate transactions to fallapart after a contract is signed.

This is due to the tension createdwhen owners feel like they areselling to low and buyers feel likethey are paying too much. Whenbuyers and sellers have doubts(e.g., the price is not what theywanted), they are less likely to beagreeable in future negotiations.After all each party feels as ifthey have already made aconcession and now it’s time forthe other to give up something ofvalue. As we all know, agreeingto a sales price is only the firstnegotiation. There are manyother issues to negotiate in thecontract-to-close period. It’s asensitive time that requires you tobe on the ball and use your bestnegotiation skills. Rememberwhen the transaction falls apart,nobody wins.

Coming Up in November

November 5th Boomers toZoomers – GenerationalDifferences & Real Estate

November 10th Street SmartNegotiation Skills

November 18th Guide to theCalifornia Residential PurchaseAgreement

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org October 2008

An Appellate Court decision,published on September 4,2008, addresses issues arisingfrom use of a CAR form Buy-er Broker Contract (Schaffter,et al. v. Creative Capital Leas-ing Group, LLC).

The Defendant/Appellant(“Buyer”) entered into a Buy-er Broker Contract wherebythe Plaintiff (“Agent”) washired as the Buyer’s exclusiveagent regarding the purchaseof condominium units in thedowntown area of San Diego.The Contract provided thatthe commission, in each in-stance, was earned upon Buy-er entering into a purchaseagreement, and payable uponthe close of escrow or theBuyer’s default. The Contractdid not contain a terminationdate for the Contract. TheBuyer had no intention of pur-chasing any condominiumunits that did not increase invalue during the pendency ofthe escrows, which was notdisclosed to the Agent, norwas it a contingency in any ofthe purchase agreementssigned by the Buyer.

The Buyer defaulted undermost of the purchase agree-ments and, through negotia-tion with the sellers, was ableto cancel the purchase agree-ments, although the sellers de-clared that the Buyer was indefault under the purchaseagreements. The Buyer as-serted that it was not obligatedto pay any commission other-wise owed under the BuyerBroker Contract, as the buyerand seller have the right to“unwind the transaction fortheir mutual benefit,” and do

not have to complete a trans-action for the purpose of ensu-ing that a broker receives acommission.

The Superior Court found theBuyer in breach of the BuyerBroker Contract, as the com-mission was payable upon theBuyer’s default or the close ofescrow. Since the Buyer de-faulted under the purchaseagreements, a commissionwas earned and payable at thetime of each default. TheBuyer asserted on appeal thatthe Buyer Broker Contractwas void since it violated theBusiness and ProfessionsCode statute that authorizesthe Real Estate Commissionerto discipline a broker for,among other things, the failureto include a specific termina-tion date in the Buyer BrokerContract. The AppellateCourt held that this violationwould not void the Buyer Bro-ker Contract, given the facts ofthe case; in particular that thecommission claimed was al-ready earned at the time of theBuyer’s default of each pur-chase agreement.

This decision points out thebenefits of using a Buyer Bro-ker Contract, as the terms andconditions of the agency rela-tionship are in writing. Hav-ing the times stated when thecommissions were earnedmade it much easier for theCourt, in this case, as it did nothave to rely upon conflictingtestimony, but could look tothe signed Buyer Broker Con-tract, the signed purchaseagreements and subsequentnonperformance of the Buyerto find the Buyer in default.

The first form (BRNN) is non-exclusive and may be revokedby either party. The secondform (BRNE) is also non-ex-clusive (similar to an open list-ing) but is non-revocable forthe term of the Agreement.The third form (BRE) is exclu-sive and non-revocable. Myexperience is that brokers inour area normally do not usethe second (BRNE) or thirdAgreements (BRE), unlessthey are buyer broker agents,only. Although the first form(BRNN) does not contain anobligation of the buyer to paya commission to the broker,thus avoiding what may be aproblem for some buyers, theform is not in common use. Irecommend that these formsbe used, when appropriate, asthe above case demonstratesthey can be very helpful inprotecting the interests of thebroker.

The three forms published byCAR are:

1. BRNN - Buyer Rep-resentation Agree-ment-Non-Exclusive/Notfor Compensation;

2. BRNE – Buyer Rep-resentation Agree-ment -Non-Exclusive; and

3. BRE – Buyer Repre-sentation Agreement– Exclusive.

Each of these forms definesthe duties of both the buyerand the broker, containsbuyer’s consent to possibledual agency relationship andsets a two-year time period forthe buyer to bring an actionagainst the broker (not appli-cable to intentional or fraudu-lent acts).

RE Legal Matters RECENT COURT DECISION RE COMMISSIONS

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org October 2008

Affiliate Update

Joe Ganeff2008 Affiliate Cmte. ChairXchange Solutions(831 476-2506Jganeff@1031xsi.com

Cooler heads prevail in aCooler marketplace

Cruz County actually appears tobe picking up. So what does itall mean? I like to think we haveweathered the toughest part of it.We are dedicated professionals,we will make it through, and weneed to support each other withas much understanding and pa-tience as we can muster.

So to that end, allow me to con-tribute to the well-being andcontinued healthy attitude of allmy friends in Santa Cruz Coun-ty. I've found a couple of'positively' interesting localevents that sound like fun inOctober, plus one you can doright now for fun, for free:

A fun personality testhttp://www.personalitytest.net/funtest/symbols.htmHonk - A new musical versionof Hans Christian Andersen,great for both children andadults (October 1-5)!http://www.santacruzca.org/things/evtDetail.cfm?eventID=4542Welcome Back Monarchs Day- Family/Kid Friendly, Out-doors at Natural Bridgeshttp://www.santacruzca.org/things/evtDetail.cfm?eventID=4158We are all in this together, sokeep a level head, pleasant atti-tude, and pass the good karma!

The Affiliate Committee meetsthe second Wednesday of everymonth at 8:30 am at the SCAORoffices, with many opportunitiesto participate.

To become a member pleasecontact Norma at SCAOR at(831) 464-2000.

I heard an interesting discussionbetween two workmates today.

It started out quite trivial, andexploded into one of the mostcolorful displays of anger andloss of self control I have wit-nessed in 30 years of business.Each of these two was bent onimposing their will upon theother, at great expense to theirrelationship and the ability towork together in the future.

Given the current state of ourindustry, stress and emotionsare running high, so while badbehavior is completely unac-ceptable, I guess its not alto-gether surprising either.

Depending on who you listen toand what you believe, we arecurrently wading through themiddle of a down market, andhave yet to see the worst of it,or, we are already through theworst if it and may see the be-ginning of normalcy nextSpring, or maybe the Spring of2010. The confusion itself isunnerving, so what do we actu-ally know?

It is a tough market, more atom-ized than before, prices aredown, and listings are flat, butinventory is also down and salesare creeping up. Meanwhile in-vestment property continues toremain [relatively] steady, andactivity in Santa Cruz County

In MemoriamWe extend our sincere

condolences to the familyand friends of

Victor Ruizwho passed away in

September.

Victor was a member of theAssociation for five years.We will miss his smilingface and wonderful ways.

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org October 2008

“A Taste of Santa Cruz”

Presenting SponsorsDavid Lyng Real EstateMetLife Home Loans

Event SponsorKeller Williams Realty

Booth/Advertising SponsorsCentury 21 Showcase REAL-

TORS®

Frank May, AppraiserProperty I.D.

Santa Cruz County BankWells Fargo Home Mortgage

Booth SponsorsAmerican Dream Realty

Bailey MortgageBailey Properties, Inc.

Bank of AmericaBank of the West

Blue Adobe MortgageBuckholdt Financing TeamColdwell Banker/Princeton

CapitalCountryside Financial Services

Countrywide Home LoansDS Capital MortgageFinancial StrategiesFirst American Title

GL Crown Real EstateIntero Real Estate

McNair Real Properties/RossReal Estate

Monterey Bay PropertiesMorgan Stanley

Old Republic TitlePatelco Credit Union

Santa Cruz TitleWells Fargo Home Mortgage

In Kind SponsorKelley Trousdale

Media SponsorsPacific Publishing

Good Times

2008 STRONG

AUTHENTICATIONROLLOUT DETAILS:

Starting October 6, 2008 theMLS will begin the strong au-thentication process. This pro-cess will be done in groups of1000-1500 users at a time.

The user will be asked four (4)security type questions everytime they log into the MLS us-ing a different computer. If theyonly use one (1) computer thenthey will be asked the questionsonly once. If they use multiplecomputers then they will beasked these questions on all ofthose computers one time only.So the authentication is basedon individual user and individu-al computers. The current IDand password will remain thesame for now.

Passwords will probably nothave to be changed but everytwo (2) years instead of every3-6 months as it is now.

TOWN HALL MEETING:FIND OUT WHAT IS GO-ING ON WITH THE MLS

When: Wednesday, October 22,2008Where: Best Western Sea CliffTime: 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Reservations are a must. Callthe Association Office 464-2000 to make your reservationnow.

“SHORT SALES” CHANGETO PENDING UPON

SELLERS ACCEPTANCE:

MLS rules require that if a sellerhas signed acceptance of an of-fer, the listing status must bechanged to pending. Lender ap-proval of a “Short Sale” doesnot change the timing of therequired changed to pendingstatus.

All listings with accepted offersmust be reported to the MLS asPending by the end of the nextbusiness day. The listing onlyremains active if there is no of-fer duly accepted by the seller.

MLS NEWS UPDATE

A HUGE “THANK YOU”Please join us in thanking all of the hard working women and men of the:

2008 “A Taste of Santa Cruz” Committee

Chair: Barbara Dimitruk-First American TitleChair: Loree Doan-Santa Cruz Title

Connie Landes-Coldwell BankerDimitri Timm-Princeton Capital

Elaine Della Santina-Main Street REALTORS®Inez Pandolfi-Century 21 ShowcaseJanee DelColletti-Bailey MortgageJeanne Mulhern-Keller Williams

Jeff McCormac-Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

REALTOR® MEMBERS

American Dream RealtyLarry Rock

Aimee Thayer-Garcia,Broker

Aimee Thayer-Garcia

Harris & AssociatesAaron Lubell

Keller Williams RealtyRobert FranksKevin Koebel

AFFILIATE MEMBERSBWC Mortgage

Sue Bullock

NewMembers

SCAOR welcomes the following new members and

wishes them the verybest of luck!

insideREAL ESTATE scaor.org October 2008