Posts - page 9

On Thursday, August 5, SAMCAR members and friends gathered safely outdoors at San Mateo Central Park for the Association's first in-person event in over a year and a half—the SAMCAR Member Appreciation Picnic. No ice breakers were necessary as colleagues jubilantly conversed face-to-face after primarily seeing each other only on screens for such a long time. Guests enjoyed boxed lunches from Esposto's Catering and a hosted bar, as well as games like giant Jenga and a cornhole competition, and raffle drawing for donors to the #SAMCARGivesBack charitable fundraising campaign (for which the event helped raise an additional $1,095). In the spirit of giving back, extra boxed lunches didn't go to waste but were instead donated to the LifeMoves Maple Street Shelter in Redwood City. Photos of the picnic were captured by SAMCAR Affiliate member Craig Burleigh Photography. Many thanks to SAMCAR members and friends for joining us for the picnic and to our 2021 Corporate Sponsors for making this event possible.

The California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) has prepared a number of resources to provide you and your clients with information about wildfire-related Defensible Space and Home Hardening laws. Read more for Legal Q&A, Quick Guides and Slide Decks.

Last September, the SAMCAR Foundation made a donation to the San Bruno Community Foundation supporting the Crestmoor Neighborhood Memorial Scholarship and we are honored that this contribution could help support the 13 outstanding San Bruno students who have demonstrated a strong commitment to the San Bruno community with multi-year college scholarships totaling $195,000. Read more to learn about the scholarship and meet the 2021 recipients.

Building green Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)—also known as granny units—is now easier and more affordable thanks to HEART of San Mateo County's latest initiative: GLADUR (a Green and Livable Accessory Dwelling Unit Resource). Funded by a Grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, HEART has developed designs and construction plans for green, all-electric, detached ADUs that can be downloaded by the public at no cost. In addition to the free designs, HEART provides a free, comprehensive handbook highlighting extensive environmentally friendly options and links to existing ADU resources.

In case you missed it, you can now view a recording of SAMCAR's first-ever virtual variety show "Thursday Night Live" (originally aired on Zoom on May 20, 2021) on YouTube! Hosted by Jessica Eva and featuring performances by (in order of appearance) Erik Winkler, Ann Palermo, Vivienne Kelvin, Mark Martinho, Alfredo Mendoza, Michelle Velez, Anne Rodrigues Toth, Toni Burrows, Marlin Handley, Gregory Strang & Suzanne Sims, Alan Kirth, Kathy Wall, Anna May, and Gary Pellegrini with special appearances by Jesse Gutierrez and Gina Zari, and produced by High Dive Studio, watch entertaining musical and comedic performances in support of the SAMCAR Foundation's #SAMCARGivesBack 2021 charitable fundraising campaign.

MLSListings has informed SAMCAR that many members are using the word "staged" in public remarks. The use of the word "staged" indicates that the listing is vacant. Public remarks are visible to anyone viewing the public listing information, including potential thieves. There have been recent reports of items from staged listings being stolen, including large appliances, such as refrigerators. It is not an MLS violation to use the word "staged", but you are encouraged to exercise caution when announcing a listing as "staged" in public remarks.

A disclosure for Sea Level Rise is now within the Statewide Buyer and Seller Advisory (SBSA). The revised SBSA will be released in June 2021. Smart Coast California worked for over a year with C.A.R. on language for this disclosure. Thank you to everyone who was instrumental in making this happen.

Supra has implemented a security update for keyboxes in order to maintain the highest quality standards. Supra eKEY users should be sure to update the eKEY app to the most current version available in the Android and Apple app stores.

Proposition 19 is fully in effect as of April 1, 2021, protecting millions of older homeowners, homeowners with severe disabilities, and victims of wildfire or natural disaster. Resources for REALTORS® and your clients are now available at C.A.R.'s new Prop 19 website: www.caprop19.org as well as marketing materials for your clients from C.A.R.—"The Opportunity Is Now"

On Friday, March 5, 2021, SAMCAR held its first virtual Annual Meeting on Zoom, with master of ceremonies 2021 President David Zigal. At the meeting, SAMCAR honored Outgoing Directors and Committee Chairs, and recipients of C.A.R. Honorary Member-for-Life and NAR REALTOR® Emeritus status, announced award winners for 2020 REALTOR® of the Year, 2020 Affiliate of the Year, and 2020 Community Service awards, as well as introduced the 2021 Board of Directors and Committee Chairs and acknowledged annual Corporate Sponsors for their ongoing support. Read more to view the program and to learn about our honorees and awardees.

On Friday, March 5 at SAMCAR's 2021 Annual Meeting, the recipients of the C.A.R. Honorary Member-for-Life were recognized by 2022 President-Elect Jessica Eva, and NAR REALTOR® Emeritus recipient Sue Walsh was recognized by 2021 President David Zigal, acknowledging their achievement of these prestigious membership distinctions. Read more to meet your 2021 Honorary and Emeritus members.

In 2020, the SAMCAR Foundation awarded more than $80,000 in grants and donations to numerous charities in San Mateo County, including a wildfire relief fundraising effort led by Half Moon Bay REALTORS®, several member-directed pass-through donations, and a special donation to the San Bruno Community Foundation Crestmoor Neighborhood Scholarship. Read more for a detailed report of 2020 charitable giving.

San Mateo County home sales reports and infographics (with data from MLSListings, Inc.) for all of 2020 are available for you to share on your social media, e-mail and other marketing (remember to use the hashtag #SAMCARStats when sharing on social media).

In September 2020, the SAMCAR Foundation donated funds in the amount of $7,349 to the San Bruno Community Foundation for the Crestmoor Neighborhood Memorial Scholarship. The story of why that exact dollar amount was donated, how it was raised and how it made its way to the recipient organization has been a decade in the making.

You did it! Thanks to the generous support of SAMCAR members, sponsors and community, our #SAMCARGivesBack fundraising campaign has exceeded its fundraising goal and has been able to fund quarterly grants to housing-related charities as well as a special fire relief effort and much more. Read more for an overview of what the SAMCAR Foundation has been able to accomplish with your support.

On November 13, the Board of Directors for the National Association of REALTORS® voted in favor of a motion presented by NAR's Professional Standards Committee making it a violation for Realtors to use harassing or hate speech toward any of the protected classes under Article 10 of NAR's Code of Ethics. Those include race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation and gender identity. The Professional Standards Committee recommendations come as NAR works to reaffirm its commitment to fair housing and position its members to lead America's real estate industry in the fight against discrimination and inequality.

The City of San Mateo passed a point of sale sewer lateral ordinance that will go into effect on December 1, 2020.

The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) posted a new Consumer Alert titled, "Possible Alternatives or Options to Foreclosure."

At the SAMCAR Marketing Meeting on Tuesday, September 29, Amar Mann, Senior Economist and Branch Chief of the Western Region for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) presented a BLS Economic Update explaining what measures such as Consumer Price Index (CPI) tell us about the economy. Read more for the slide presentation and other resources from BLS.

In response to August wildfire evacuations in San Mateo County's coastal communities, the Tuesday marketing meeting group of Half Moon Bay REALTORS® quickly mobilized to raise funds for Puente de la Costa Sur to provide relief—raising $13,000 in just over a week and half. Read more for a special thanks to donors and to learn more about this rapid, member-led effort.

The California Department of Real Estate issued a news release this afternoon warning against rental price gouging in wildfire areas.

After passage of AB 3088, the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) was tasked with developing a tenant, landlord, and homeowner resource website, housingiskey.com, to provide information and resources on this new legislation, and house the soon-to-be revised publication, California Tenants – A Guide to Residential Tenants' and Landlords' Rights and Responsibilities. The Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH) has also announced the creation of the "The California COVID-19 Information App for Tenants & Landlords" to help Californians understand their rights and options under the law.

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The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) recently completed of a new publication for licensees titled, "Real Estate Advertising Guidelines", RE 27. These guidelines are intended to assist California real estate licensees in understanding the many advertising requirements they are expected to know and follow.