Thursday, October 15, 2009

Schwarzenegger approves legislation to protect California home buyers and sellers...

This week Governor Schwarzenegger signed several pieces of legislation into law that will affect real estate transactions in the state of California - all for the better!

  • SB 36, by Senator Ron Calderon (D-Montebello), creates licensing requirements for all residential loan originators.
  • SB 237, by Senator Ron Calderon (D-Montebello), creates a registration program for appraisal management firms.
  • SB 239, by Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), makes it a felony to commit fraud on a mortgage loan application.
  • AB 260, by Assemblyman Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), bans negative-amortization loans and limits mortgage prepayment penalties to no more than 2% of the loan balance.
  • AB 329, by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles), requires lenders to give more and clearer information to those interested in reverse mortgages, which let seniors borrow against their homes' equity.
  • AB 957, by Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton), allows buyers of foreclosed homes to choose local escrow officers, rather than being forced to use the escrow company chosen by the bank seller.
  • AB 1160, by Assemblyman Paul Fong (D-Cupertino), requires that mortgage loan documents be written in the same language the verbal negotiations were conducted in.

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