It's only been a month or so since California Attorney General Jerry Brown issued a joint statement with the California Department of Real Estate and the State Bar Association promising to crack down on the rampant credit repair and loan modification scams endemic to our region.

In the statement, Brown referred to the 1984 Credit Services Act that companies offering those services in the state would need to register with his office and post a $100,000 bond. He also published a list of companies who had not registered and posted a list on his website for consumers to refer to.

Today the hammer dropped on the first company for ignoring 'repeated warnings' to comply. Sounds like these folks hit the radar last year and Brown used the opportunity to warn other companies that he's not just whistling Dixie.

There's a long list of miscreants out there still making outrageous claims but hopefully we'll see more of these releases from Jerry's Office.

For more information or to search the list of non-complying companies, simply click on the logo or follow the link below.

Brown Sues Executive Financial Credit Services for Operating Illegally

On September 24, the Murrieta Chamber of Commerce held its inaugural Salute to Public Safety honoring the men and women of Murrieta’s Police and Fire Departments. Chamber Chair Bob Hagel presented a commendation to Murrieta Mayor Gary Thomasian noting that a recent FBI statistic named Murrieta as the second safest city in the country. Our 90 sworn officers, 61 firefighters, civilian members, staff and volunteers are the reason why.

Following a welcome by Chamber CEO Rex Oliver, Master of Ceremonies Gene Wunderlich introduced representatives from the Governor’s Office, from Mary Bono-Mack’s office, Senator Hollingsworth’s office and Assemblymember Kevin Jeffries. In addition to Mayor Thomasian, Council members Rick Gibbs and Randon Lane along with City Manager Rick Dudley were in attendance to honor Murrieta’s finest.

Fire Chief Paul Christman came forward to recognize Art Durbin as the Fire Departments ‘Staff Member of the Year’ and Captain Dan Lopez as ‘Firefighter of the Year’. Durbin, who joined the department in 2004, serves as the Emergency Services coordinator for the Department, supervising their 23 paramedics. In addition to having been an emergency room RN, Durbin is also a faculty member at Mt. San Jacinto College in the EMS Department and is recognized throughout Riverside County as an expert in pre-hospital medical care.

Captain Lopez joined the MFD in 2000 as part of their first ever paramedic class. In 2007 he led the department’s Rookie Academy training 13 new firefighters/paramedics. The ongoing safety of Murrieta residents can largely be attributed to the outstanding training delivered to the MFD by Captain Lopez and his team.

Captain Mike Payne was next to the podium to introduce the Murrieta Police Departments ‘Non-sworn Police Officer of the Year’  Venita Anderson. A member of the MPD since 1998, Anderson was named the Department’s Civilian of the Year in 1999. She has worked in records, and property & evidence but her current recognition comes from her service in helping residents as a Code Enforcement Officer. In her spare time she also bakes cookies for her son and a number of other servicemen serving in Iraq.

Finally Captain Steve Porter came forward to recognize Murrieta’s ‘Police Officer of the Year’, Corporal Daryl Underwood. Joining the department in 2001 from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Underwood has served in Patrol, as a SWAT team member and is currently a K9 Officer, serving alongside his trusty companion and partner, Jango. Underwood received a Chief’s Citation in 2002, was selected Officer of the Year in 2003, was recognized by the Elks Club for outstanding public service in 2004 and promoted to Corporal in 2007.

It was noted that Underwood may be the only officer in the K9 corps who can outrun his 4 legged partner given that Underwood is a member of the MPD Vegas Run team that has won their class 5 out of the past six years. He also recently participated in a bike ride along with fellow officers stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Cancer Research Foundation. Bad guys can’t run from Corporal Underwood.

Buyers or Sellers Market? How About Both.

I’ve been telling people for awhile now that it’s a great time to buy a home in Southwest California. According to CAR statistics, housing affordability in the state is the highest it's been since they started keeping records. And with interest rates still hovering near record lows and a variety of government stimulus programs available, people who have been frozen out of the market by upward spiraling prices should be taking advantage of this market in record numbers – and they are. Prices across our region have been relatively stable since the end of 2008 and in some markets have even starting to tick upward.

An even more positive market indicator is that some experts and media pundits are voicing cautious optimism about the economy in general and housing in particular. Folks, by the time the media figures out we’re out of the slump you’ll already be a day late and $2 short to the market.

But as good a time as it is to buy – it’s also a terrific time to SELL! Yeah, you heard me. It is an absolutely great time to be a seller in this market too.

Now before you accuse me of drinking on the job, let me explain. Obviously it’s not a great market for all sellers but for some of you the timing may be just right. Our inventory – that is, the number of homes on the market actively for sale – is at record lows. A year ago it was not unusual to have 10 or 11 or even 14 months inventory available. That was a lot of homes for buyers to choose from, literally thousands across the Inland Empire.

Then came a huge buyer surge that peaked across the region in Sep/Oct 2008. 1^st quarter sales this year were 2 – 3 times what they were a year ago. What happened? Inventory was depleted to the point where now many of our cities only have an active file of 2 months or less.

And there’s still a lot of buyers out there. Ask any Realtor® and they’ll tell you – the biggest problem with our market today is lack of inventory to meet ready, willing and able buyer’s demand. Any listing worth looking at is generating 20 – 40 – 90 offers, many for cash, many in excess of the listed price. And these are mostly for bank-owned homes that need work, or short sale homes that may take months to work through.

Imagine what a buyer would do for your well-cared-for ‘regular sale’ home.

As a Seller, you might be pleasantly surprised at what your home would bring today. Oh I know, it’s nowhere near what it was worth a couple years ago but that was then – this is now. It could be 10 years before you see that price level again, and there are some that claim you never will (I don’t believe them – this is Southern California after all).

But if you have equity in your home and want to sell, there’s a good chance by this time next week you could have 53 offers, 21 for cash, 14 over your asking price. If you recently watched ‘Shark Week’ on TV, you’ll recognize the feeding frenzy.

So if you’ve been thinking about moving up but were waiting for the price of your home to bump up a little – DON’T wait. By the time you gain $10,000 on your home, the place you had your eye on will gain $15,000 and interest rates will be .5% higher. The longer you wait, the behinder you get.

The bottom line in real estate is that it’s always a good market for somebody. Right now it’s a good market for Buyers - but frustrating. Many Buyers are submitting offers on 10 or more homes hoping to get selected for one after jumping through all the hoops the banks hold up. Your hassle-free, well-maintained home would be an oasis. That makes it a strong Sellers market for a select group of homeowners in a position to take advantage of the opportunity.

Few of us were able to peg the absolute top of the market reliably – otherwise you wouldn’t be thinking about selling today. But even fewer of us may be able to peg the absolute bottom of this market. If you’d like to look into what you might expect as a Seller in today’s market, contact your favorite Realtor®. Don’t let this be another one of those ‘Man I wish I woulda…’ moments in your life.

Make your house your home, not an investment vehicle.

Anyway, that’s just my opinion… I could be wrong.

“Our budget problems in California are a symptom of the problems in California created by years of over-regulation and years and years of bills going through this house and the other house across the other side of this building that destroy jobs." Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth (R - Murrieta)

Anybody who has witnessed the madhouse that our state legislature becomes at the end of session or during cross-over, will have a heightened appreciation for the latest call to action from Senate Hollingsworth. In a speech before the Senate last week, Hollingsworth said that the goal of the Legislature should be 'to restore California's job climate and economy' and asked Legislators to ask themselves 5 questions before every bill they vote on.

1. Does this legislation include an analysis that proves that the bill actually improves the economic conditions in California?
2. Does this legislation improve the employment opportunities for struggling Californians impacted by this recession and state government-imposed burdens?
3. Does the legislation or the regulation make compliance easier for businesses to create jobs, or make it tougher to create jobs?
4. Does the legislation or the regulation make California a more attractive place to live and do business?
5. Does the legislation or the regulation encourage investment in jobs at all levels of the employment scale?

Sounds simple enough but given the performance of our Legislature over the past several years (decades), it's no easy task.

Seems there's always somebody hell-bent on doing just the opposite, giving in to every special interest, public union, green, enviro, fringe element to further alienate jobs, housing and economic growth. Tell me that's not so?

If you have the fortitude to watch the final 2 days of this session, you'll see Legislators voting on literally hundreds of bills, most of them totally worthless and self-serving (the bills &/or the Legislators). They'll do this without having read the bills, without a moments debate and with no thought to the costs or consequences of their votes. I'd venture 80% of the bills will be passed on a straight party line vote and neither you nor they will have the slightest idea what they just voted on.

Senator Hollingsworth's goals are right in line with the California Chamber of Commerce's 'Agenda for Economic Recovery', as detailed in this article. Now if we could only find a few Democrats in Sacramento who have actually held private sector jobs and understood the economy we might have a shot at accomplishing what needs to be done.

Awwww, that's just silly talk. What am I thinking? If you need any more proof, just look at what they're doing to the water bills in the face of that imminent crisis. Well, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

News Release

August 12, 2009

For Immediate Release

Contact: (916) 324-5500

You may view the full account of this posting, including attachments, in the News & Alerts section of our website at: http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1780