However, the chart on sales and inventory by price point illustrate that inventory of homes in the salable range under $400,000 is only about a month. The final chart shows our mix of product with REO’s now comprising less than 20% of our market, down from nearly 90% just 18 months ago. Short sales now make up over 50% of our market but have a failure rate of 70%. So backing out the 5 year inventory of $million$$ plus homes that aren’t selling and the percentage of short-sales that won’t sell – our inventory is in desperate need of an infusion. We wish the banks would either foreclose and sell, or get out of the business.

March Housing Summary – Southwest California

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Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/24/2629239/schwarzenegger-expected-to-sign.html#ixzz0j9gKwH0N

The Southwest California Legislative Council, with whom SRCAR is an advocacy partner, today adopted the following positions on current/pending legislation:

Support – ACA 30 (Jeffries) To abolish the office of Lieutenant Governor.
Self explanatory – this largely ceremonial position requires salary & staff expenses and the duties could be consolidated with the Secretary of State.

Support – AB 1671 (Jeffries) To prevent the Governor from appointing vacancies on the County Board of Supervisors.
A recent example in Riverside County left us without the ability to pass certain bills at the county level while Sacramento played politics with us. Our local positions should not be state appointed.

Support – AB 1672 (Jeffries) To make the California Air Resources Board an elected rather than appointed body.
The CARB is one of the most egregious examples of the lack of accountability on state boards & commissions with the Chair stating publicly that if she had to worry about being elected she would worry about all the jobs cost by their recommendation – but she’s not so she doesn’t.

Oppose – AB 1594 (Huber) To prohibit construction of the peripheral canal.
An attempt to circumvent the wording and intent of the state water coalition recommendation and the Nov, ballot initiative.

Oppose – AB 518 (Lowenthal) Provides incentives for cities and counties to reduce or eliminate free or subsidized parking.
Would prove particularly costly to outlying areas like Southwest County where 60% of our residents commute and are forced to park either at work or when they go shopping.  Unintended consequence is a reduction in people going to the malls reducing revenue to shopowners and downstream job market.

Oppose – SB 657 (Steinberg) Require retail sellers and manufacturers to implement policies to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their supply chain.
Legislation already exists prohibiting slavery and human trafficking. To expect your local grocery store or hardware store to be able to track it’s products back to their origin and potentially take action against some foreign source is ludicrous. Besides, doesn’t Darrell Steinberg have anything better to worry about – like our state budget?

Oppose – SB 810 (Leno) Single payer health care system
We are in agreement that the state should be the appropriate body to determine this issue – rather than the federal government, but this bill is not the answer and would only increase the debt load of the state.

Founded in 2004, the Southwest California Legislative Council is a regional advocacy coalition of the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce, Murrieta Chamber of Commerce, Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Wildomar Chamber of Commerce. Its mission is to provide a basis for the four chambers of commerce to act on local, state and federal legislative issues to secure a favorable and profitable business climate for our region.

In case you’ve been in a post-holiday siesta or simply water-logged, you’re already aware that four of our six cities in Southwest California have women Mayors this year, joining six other cities throughout the Inland Empire. Media outlets have had a field day dubbing our area ‘Estrogen Alley’ and talking about ‘Women Taking Charge’. But the fact is that in most cases our Mayors are not elected to that post, they’re simply chosen by their fellow council members, typically in a set rotation schedule. As Lake Elsinore Mayor Melissa Melendez characterized the situation, “… it’s not some staged take-over, it’s just a unique set of circumstances. It’s more indicative of the fact that women in general are getting more involved in the political process, being elected to city councils in
greater numbers and being elevated to this position with more frequency than we’ve seen in the past.”

Indeed while some, including Murrieta Mayor Kelly Bennett and Wildomar’s Bridgette Moore are serving their first term on the council, Temecula had Mayor Pat Birdsall as far back as 1992 (& 1997) and Mary Ann Edwards in 2009. Canyon Lake’s Nancy Horton follows Mary Craton into the seat and Corona Mayor Karen Spiegel served that city previously in 2006.

The Valley Business Journal recently spoke with some of these ladies about the job and what they plan to bring to the business community and economic development during their tenure. The overwhelming response was that Southwest California cities are ‘Open For Business’.

Mayor of one of Southwest California’s newest cities, Wildomar, Bridgette Moore said their new City Manager Frank Oviedo has been tasked with economic development and growth as a priority. According to Moore, Wildomar has more undeveloped land that many of their neighboring cities along with a real need for business growth in the area. “We recently surveyed our citizens and found that bringing restaurants to the city was first on a lot of lists. We are also encouraging other retail partners, technology firms and medical manufacturers to locate here not just for the tax revenue but to serve the needs of our residents.” …and a hotel.
Moore’s Arizona family had to stay in another city when they came over to attend her inaugural meeting. “Yes, a hotel would be very welcomed here.”

“We’ve also reduced some of our developer fees in line with WRCOG recommendation and we’re streamlining our application and permitting process so there’s no surprises and no delays. You’ll find a real ‘make it happen’ attitude in Wildomar. If it’s a good business, it’s good for Wildomar.”

Lake Elsinore Mayor Melissa Melendez emphasizes the unique attraction of the lake to their community. They currently have a very aggressive specific plan to develop the area around Diamond Stadium and another marina and resort plan for further up the lake. “Unfortunately those plans are on hold right now due to the economy but they’re still solidly in place.”

“We need jobs for our residents right now – that’s our priority. We love the CostCo’s and Target’s, our auto dealers have been terrific but we need an Abbott, somebody with hundreds of jobs to keep our people off the freeways to Orange County every day.” To accomplish that, the city has worked with a corporate recruiter to introduce Lake Elsinore to prospective businesses. The Mayor is also instituting monthly ‘Coffee with the Mayor’ meetings. One series will be in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce focusing on existing businesses – what they need to succeed and grow and how the city can help. Another series will join city staff and planners with developers and prospective business targets to talk about planning issue, fee structures and what the city can do to make Lake Elsinore a more attractive destination.

“I know we compete, to a degree, with the established master plan communities like Temecula, Murrieta and Corona,” says Melendez, “but we can all work together. We share more than boundaries, we share goals and we share our successes throughout the region. Lake Elsinore is a very different city than it was just 10 or 15 years ago. I would encourage businesses to take a second look at us through new eyes.”

In nearly 20 years as a city, Kelly Bennett is the first women to be elected to the Murrieta city council, thus its first Mayor as well, although she hesitates to put much significance to that. “It simply allows me the opportunity to represent my city in what for me, is extraordinarily important – the attraction and support of viable businesses in the city.”

“I have the opportunity to work very closely with several great groups that help us get the word out. City Staff, including Economic Development Director, Bruce Coleman, the Chamber of Commerce, the EDC and WRCOG. We also attend conferences like the ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) and the World Trade Center, San Diego, a group that positions San Diego and regional businesses for international recognition and global market success.’ Bennett noted that Murrieta is focused on three objectives: manufacturing, including nourishing ‘green’ companies; expanding education opportunities, including establishing a local 4 year under-graduate curriculum; and health care. The new physician-owned-Loma Linda healthcare campus, under construction in North Murrieta, is an endangered species under the current federal healthcare proposal. Yet we desperately need medical services and the professional and ancillary jobs it will create. The City is also aggressive in creating outreach programs for businesses. Their Broker Work Group regularly attracts 100 or more local commercial and residential Brokers, developers and planners to its meetings. The City recently introduced the Business Roundtable, and Visionary Workshops to solicit comments on the new general plan review.

“One thing I’m particularly excited about is the potential under AB 811, the Energy Efficiency for Cities and Counties Act. We are developing a program to attract green tech  manufacturers providing energy efficient/cost effective products for our homeowners. You’ll be hearing a lot more about that this year.”

While the Mayors readily acknowledge they don’t have any ‘special powers’, they do get to conduct council meetings, sign mountains of paperwork, spend a lot more time on the job, and generally be the public face of city government at numerous events throughout the region and state. One Mayor I spoke to was picking up children from school while another was grabbing late evening dinner at a local (healthful) drive-thru. As with any Mayor, male or female, there’s a delicate balance.

Our Mayors are also united in hoping the state recovers soon, without ‘borrowing’ any more City cash. They are all facing constrained budgets while maintaining services. They are similarly committed to bringing jobs to the region, to retain and grow our existing business base and to keep more of our citizens off the freeway. And they all have a huge ‘Open House’ sign in front of their cities.

Southwest California appears to be off to a good beginning as we enter this second decade of a new century, and in capable hands.

I started with an early morning meeting of the Southwest California Economic Development Corporation where we were treated to remarks by John Rossi, General Manager of Western Municipal Water District. Apologizing for depressing us, John presented a factual summary of where our state is waterwise and how the water districts are dealing with our current situation. Having toured the Northern end of our state water supply system last year from Oroville Dam to LA, and having written about the issue on numerous occasions, I believe that rather than being depressed we should see this as a call to action. As Rossi did when he encouraged us not only to use our resources wisely but to engage our legislators in recognizing the complexity of the issue and dealing with it comprehensively.

With over 70% of SoCal water deriving from the north, another 25% from the Colorado River and about 5% from ground water & desalinization,  it’s clear where the answer lies. Prayer. But in addition to prayer, the water department is also working legislatively through the current ‘special session’ to address both conservation and infrastructure issues. Until and if those solutions ever bear fruit, they will also continue to squeeze their customers. Oh, by the way, if those solutions do bear fruit, they will still continue to squeeze their customers. Why? Because they can. And any fix – even the inadequate Democrat proposals, will come with a big price tag that somebody has to pay for.

Here’s a fun factoid. During the past year our primary wholesale supplier of water, Metropolitan Water District, has instituted rate increases of nearly 40%. These increases were designed to encourage conservation – a very admirable goal and one that will certainly help us deal with the problem. There’s another 20% increase due in a month or two. Why? Because our conservation efforts have been so successful at reducing water consumption that Metropolitan has less revenue coming in to service their bond debt and fixed expenses. So they need to raise rates again because the first rate increases were so successful at changing our consumption habits. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Is there a win-win in here anywhere?

Think our bills will go down anytime soon? The you should have been to the EWDC luncheon featuring Senator John Benoit and Assemblymembers Brian Nestande and Kevin Jeffries. The operative words here were also ‘depressing’ and/or ‘frustrating’ by turns, for the state’s economic outlook, any chance for real reform and for the water picture.

Assemblymember Jeffries, who was appointed to the state special commission on water, remains hopeful that some compromise solution will be reached soon, possibly as early as this coming week. He bemoaned the fact that water has become so politicized that true progress remains elusive. While the party in power in Sacramento thinks the problem can be solved by merely conserving more and restoring the Delta, the minority view prefers conservation coupled with additional infrastructure to provide long-term solutions. Capturing and storing rainfall and snowpack for future use, channeling current water resources without adversely impacting the Delta Estuary, new dams, an alternative conveyance AND continued conservation are all part of a comprehensive solution.

Our current drought is caused in equal parts by nature and regulation. Our dams truly are down by 1/2 to 2/3rds as a result of rainfall & snowpack the past few years. It is regulatory by virtue of the fact that judicial decree has determined the rights of the Delta Smelt take precedence over 18 million water users, farmers and food producers throughout the central and southern parts of the state. There are also complex water rights issues with people at the watershed source and with environmental groups concerned about preservation of the Delta. It wouldn’t be an easy fix even on a level playing field – given the way our legislature operates it’s a wonder anything happens at all.

All panelists agreed that jobs are the answer for our state. “Not bigger government, not more taxes, more jobs”, according to Senator Benoit.  ”Taxes up, jobs down, legislature ineffective”, according to Jeffries.’450,000 jobs lost this year at an average $68,000 per, 150,000 jobs created at an average of $52,000 per – not good’ according to Nestande.

Jeffries also pointed out that the party in power, regardless of which party, has shown they will do darn near anything to perpetuate that power. There was some disagreement as to whether term limits have been effective at making our state more governable but all agreed that term limits have resulted in shifting power from the people who should be accountable, (our legislators), to people who are not accountable, (staff and lobbyists). The people who make the decisions aren’t around long enough to have to deal with the consequences of their actions so what’s their motivation to work for the long-term good? (Please keep in mind that all legislators are not altruistic by nature. Some just love the power, some just love the perks, and some just want to have a lobbyist mistress who wears a thong).

Agreeing that reform must occur if California is to turn itself around in any meaningful and sustainable way, they admit that if the legislature is not prepared to reform itself then the public will have to do it for them. When asked about the prospect of that occurring through Constitutional Convention, Jeffries voiced some concern about what could result from opening that can of worms while Nestande opined that any result probably couldn’t be much worse than the status quo.

Depressed yet? You shouldn’t be. This is California politics at its best. The more you know, the better prepared you are to deal with it. If you’re not at the table, you’ll surely be on the menu. Sometimes you might be anyway. Of course that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Nice article in the on-line Sacramento Bee. Plug in your county and city and/or agency and see how much the recently passed state budget will be costing them. Of course it’s not a tax – they are just ‘borrowing’ an extra $15.00 per resident. I’m looking forward to the day they pay that back. They’ve been borrowing from cities and other agencies for years. Anybody who runs their business in a style that actually makes money is likely to see that money stolen – um, borrowed by the state.

On the plus side they remind us that -  Some of these lost funds will be offset by A) federal stimulus money and B) the ability of local governments to borrow lost property tax revenue against the state’s promised repayment. So the state taketh and forceth us to rely on yet more Obama bail-outs for subsistence. Like the federal gov’t is flush with cash. Oh, I forgot, they own the mints – they can just make more and it’s, like, FREE that way, isn’t it?

Database: See how much your local government will lose under state budget

Government entity	County	Type of government	Estimated amount state will borrow or take this fiscal year	Amount borrowed per resident
Wildomar	Riverside	City Government	$0	$0

Annual All Chamber Business Networking Mixer

Hosted by The Lake Elsinore Hotel & Casino

Thursday June 25th, j oin the Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce at our Annual All Chamber Mixer from 5:30 to 7:30 PM hosted by the Lake Elsinore Hotel & Casino. Take advantage of this unique gathering of Business owners from the entire 15 corridor. Your entry includes; Vegas style gaming theme( Blackjack & Texas Hold-em games), with appetizers and sodas being served from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM in the Diamond Club, raffle and much more!! The Lake Elsinore Storm will feature their Thirst Thursday promotion, selling selected beers for $1.00 throughout the evening. The Diamond Club will be open for the entire baseball game.Location The Diamond Club 500 Diamond Drive Lake Elsinore, CA  92530 Admission: $10.00 Reservations Required For More Info: Steve Smaldone (951) 245-HITS

The Mayor detailed a positive and optimistic summary of Lake Elsinore today. He stressed the job growth and new businesses in the area, new restaurants, auto dealers and retail stores. There is fresh development in and around the city as they look to capitalize on their unique aquatic attraction. They’ve also just opened the first golf course in 80 years – The Links at Summerly. The Mayor said that while the city coffers are off by some 16% this year, the City is  financially stable – no threats there either.

Following his overview, the Mayor answered questions from the audience addressing everything from lake front development to city street paving projects. He also addressed his concerns with the threatened recall of one council member, hoping that the City would not be subject to either the cost – estimated at anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000 dollars, or the time it would waste.

SCLC Chair Roger Ziemer also provided a brief overview of current negotiations to get the newly expanded Rancho Springs Medical Center open. If the state certification committee refuses to take positive action, SCLC, SRCAR and others will be launching a campaign aimed at bringing this travesty to the Governors attention. Of course he’s heard about it but he hasn’t HEARD about it from a few thousand people impacted by this in the Temecula Valley.

Mayor Magee also talked about the Thunder in the Channel this weekend when the Lake will play drag strip for the NJBA Drag Boat Racing Series. There are several tournaments coming up at The Links, The Storm host opening night on April 9th, and to find out more of the good things happening in Lake Elsinore, just tap the logo below.

• EVERYBODY who had an adjustment last year will automatically be re-evaluated this year. Last year, you may recall, they re-assessed every property in the county that had been purchased since 2004. Those Buyers will get another swing at reducing their taxes – and with property values off by as much as 30% in some cases, chances are good they will save a few more greenbacks this year.

• This year – EVERYBODY who purchased a home since 2001 will automatically be re-assessed. They figure County-wide, our prices are roughly back to 2001 levels so rather than being bombarded by individual requests, they’ll just do it by area and year and save everybody the trouble.

I know a number of people I’ve spoken with who got a re-assess last year didn’t feel it represented the current value of their home too acurately – but if you do have a problem with it you can always file an appeal at the time. They’ll notify you of your new value in July and you have until September to file.

Remember – if you do decide to file that Reduction in Value Form, don’t pay anyone up-front to provide the numbers. A reputable Realtor can help you out.

For a complete rundown please visit: The Riverside County Assessor – County Clerk – Recorders office.

Everybody enjoys an evening out, a nice dinner with the family after a hard days work, a break from the routing. But the economy has given everybody a little case of the shorts and it’s not that easy to justify a pricey meal out if it means dining out or paying the rent.

So here’s a handy little guide to Realtors and friends that will let you feed your kids for FREE every night of the week. It takes a little planning but it’s worth it. Heck I made it through 2 years of college by knowing where the best happy hours were – $1.50 for a beer and dinner was on the house.

Make it fun, make it an adventure, make it through to the other side of this downturn.

Please feel free to add your own discoveries in the comments.

Disclaimer – Deals can vary by location. Be sure to call first;

Sunday –     IHOP @ 18248 Collier, Lake Elsinore

Monday –     Original Roadhouse Grill @ 26440 Ynez, Temecula

Tuesday –    Pat & Oscars @ 29375 Rancho California, Temecula

Chick-Fil-A @ most locations

Coco’s @ Sun City & Lake Elsinore

Denny’s @ most locations

IHOP @ Temecula Parkway location

Wednesday -  Carnitas Express @ 26900 Newport, Menifee

Carrows @ most locations

Coco’s @ most locations

El Torito @ Temecula & most locations

Thursday -     Carrows @ 24640 Madison, Murrieta

IHOP @ Temecula Parkway

Friday –         IHOP @ Lake Elsinore

Saturday –     Denny’s @ 28915 Rancho California, Temecula

Please post any good deals, two-fers, freebies  - help them help us.

]]> http://gadblog.srcar.org/2009/03/10/kids-eat-free-every-night-of-the-week/feed/ 3 http://gadblog.srcar.org/2009/03/02/record-local-home-sales-in-2008-more-boomtown-news/ http://gadblog.srcar.org/2009/03/02/record-local-home-sales-in-2008-more-boomtown-news/#comments Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:07:28 +0000 Gene Wunderlich http://gadblog.srcar.org/?p=500 Following last month’s article on local homes sales, I was asked by several readers if the data was available in chart format. As indicated, 4 of our 5 regional cities posted record home sales in 2008 despite the challenges of the national economy, California’s personal budget struggles and rising unemployment numbers.

That resurgence was at least partially behind a recent Forbes.com article entitled ‘America’s Post-Subprime Boomtowns’. (http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/11/foreclosure-home-sales-forbeslife-cx_mw_1211realestate.html) It calls out the top ten markets in the country that, in some cases have suffered the most as a result of the sub-prime melt-down, but that are poised to come roaring back after the fall. Not surprisingly, California cities are in 7 of the top 10 spots – and right up at the top of the list are Perris at #5, Temecula at #3 and Murrieta at #1.

“Woodbridge joins Murrieta, Calif., Queen Creek, Ariz., and Port St. Lucie, Fla., on a list of towns that have been ravaged by subprime mortgages and foreclosures but where buyers are returning to the market. Using data from RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based foreclosure listing firm, we examined every U.S. town with a population under 100,000 to identify places where purchases of foreclosed properties have surged most in the last year to get a sense of the towns in which buyers are investing” according to the Forbes article.

Rounding out the top 10 for California is Brentwood at #4, Antelope at #6, Hesperia at #8 and Lincoln at #10. Only Woodbridge, VA (#2), Queen Creek, AZ (#7) and Port Saint Lucie, FL (#9) scored from outside the Golden State.

Accompanying the article is a slideshow highlighting sales figures and median price information on each of the markets citing data from RealtyTrac, the Bureau of Labor, Foreclosure Radar and others.

If there was ever a doubt in your mind about our status in a year or two, a quick read through this article will let you sleep a little easier at night. First time homebuyers and investors are taking advantage of historically low interest rates, buyer incentives (including the recent $8,000 first time homebuyer credit), and a continuing inventory of fire-sale priced homes to move-in and move-up. As that inventory starts to decrease, prices will start to increase.

In a companion article entitled ‘America’s Best Long Term Housing Bets’, California failed to score a top 10 position citing the roller-coaster nature of our market. If you can time the peaks and troughs here, you’ll do extremely well. If you can’t, well…. Perhaps that’s why we scored the top five positions in ‘America’s Luxury Foreclosure Capitols’ with Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano, Ladera Ranch, Tustin Foothills and San Jose.

We did only moderately better with ‘America’s Fastest Changing Cities’ where Los Angeles claimed the top spot as a result of its massive out-migration. Perhaps not surprisingly, we did extremely well on the list of ‘America’s 100 Most Expensive Zip Codes’ and we also scored several awards among ‘America’s Most Expensive Homes’, including the #1 home at $165 million in Bel Air as well as #2 at a paltry $125 million in Beverly Hills.

One other list where we failed to make the grade (gratifyingly) was ‘America’s Fastest Dying Cities’. #1 on that hit parade, Bensenville, IL, followed by Kokomo, IN and Austintown and Middletown OH. Most of these places are located in the rust belt and auto manufacturing and related industries factor heavily in their make-up.

After the pounding we’ve taken the past couple years, I’m still happy to be sitting here in Murrieta, CA (#1 Boomtown) on a rainy March afternoon instead of up to my cajones in snow in Hamtramck, MI (#8 Dying). No offense to Michiganders.

Senator Hollingsworth Issues Statement Regarding New Leadership Post

“I am humbled and honored to have been chosen by my caucus to serve as their Leader. I also want to recognize the leadership of Senator Cogdill and thank him for his dedicated service. I look forward to the work ahead, representing the views of my caucus as we address this fiscal crisis to the benefit of all Californians.”

Dennis Hollingsworth represents the 36th Senate District. The district includes Southwest Riverside County, North and East San Diego County, and portions of the City of San Diego.

Senator Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta) spoke on the floor of the Senate last night regarding the budget proposal.

The Democrats have proposed to raise taxes on Californians by over $14 billion. Some of the tax increases include 1 cent sales tax increase, 12 cents gas tax increase, 2.5% surcharge on personal income tax, and an increase in the vehicle license fee of roughly 50%. All of these new taxes average to an increase of over $1,200 in new taxes per year for a family of four.

Senator Hollingsworth spoke on the issue last night on the Senate Floor, saying “You’re not going to go back to the people’s pocketbooks to fuel that spending”.

To view the Senator’s Speech, click here:
http://cssrc.us/web/36/multimedia.aspx

Please let Senator Hollingsworth know we’re proud of the tremendous job he’s doing on our behalf in Sacramento.
Senator.Hollingsworth@senate.ca.gov

Like SRCAR, CAR & NAR advocate on behalf of Realtors and private property rights, SCLC advocates on behalf of LOCAL business owners – And every Realtor is a business owner. As independent contractors, we are all CEO’s of our own business.

One of the features SCLC incorporated into our model early on was the ‘Action Alert’. Modeled after the CAR & NAR Red Alerts, this tool helps us reach out and touch our legislators on issues that are of importance to us and lets them know their constituency back home is watching them. I’ll let you know more about that process and the successes we’ve had in a future post but for today I encourage you all to click the link at the bottom of this page to send a letter to Senator Barbara Boxer to support investment in our state’s infrastructure.

While many of you may not be supportive of the larded up version of the ‘stimulus plan’ currently working it’s way through the Senate (I know I’m not), some form of that bill is going to pass. We need to do whatever we can to see that what emerges is actually short-term economic stimulus and not just more of the same-old – same-old pork.

Thank you for your support.

You can read a copy of the proposed ordinance by following the link below as well as the accompanying draft of the EIR. In order for your comments to be considered, you need to comment ONLY on the material in the EIR as that’s what this comment period is about. Comments on the proposed regulations themselves will be disregarded. You can take your talking points from the letter (please contact me for a full pdf copy of the CAR letter) submitted by our Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Gavric, put them on your own letter head and submit them for consideration to the state hearing board by February 9.

Thank you for your help. This could have a major impact on many homeowners in our area. 

The state of California has released the proposed regulations for onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) and the accompanying Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) evaluating the impacts of the implementation of the regulations on the people and environment of California. C.A.R. is concerned that, if enacted, these regulations will make it too burdensome to own a property with a septic system. There is even a new point-of-sale requirement to transfer technical documents.

These proposed regulations and draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) have been released to the public for review and can be found at: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/septic_tanks/

Unfortunately too many of you don’t use these tools. Not only do you not support your Realtor Action Fund through a measly $49 annual investment, you can’t even bring yourselves to exercise your right to free speech – FREE. It’s really pretty sorry and a sad commentary on the state of real estate professionalism today. Really. I’m re-posting this well written message from the NAR website because this guy summed it up perfectly as did the comment posted in response. Too many if us have simply become ‘list & sell’ Realtors who neither know nor care about the proud traditions of our industry or the amount of effort that goes into keeping our industry viable.

The connection between activism and results just doesn’t seem to be getting through to most of you. Maybe when your livelihood is taken away, maybe when every bank and insurance company can sell real estate, maybe when your reduced commissions are mandated by law and you are taxed at the time of every transaction you will wake up. Unfortunately by then it will be too late.

And what’s even worse is that those of you reading this aren’t even the people I’m aiming for. If you read this you probably get it and are one of the ones making a difference – unlike 90% of your counterparts who bring nothing to the party but just show up to eat and drink for free. Please feel free to pass this along to them – print it out and lay it on their desk, anonymouslyif you want. Imagine what we could accomplish if even 50% of our members took a professional interest in our industry and actually participated in the process.

Remember – as Pericles said in 500 BC – ‘Just because you don’t take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.’  Smart guy that Pericles.  

The City of Lake Elsinore, like other cities in our region, has enacted an ordinance to address the issue of foreclosed and abandoned properties. At this time our cities are working in concert with Realtors to help eliminate blight, maintain neighborhood appearance and help stabilize property values. With our continued cooperation we can keep this relationship from becoming adversarial as it has on some cities (not in our region). If you are currently doing REO business in Lake Elsinore, you can read the ordinance here, get additional information and obtain the necessary form to register your property.

Abandoned Residential Property Registration

LAKE ELSINORE CODE ENFORCEMENT DIVISION 

The City’s Abandoned Residential Property Registration Program, outlined in this Ordinance # 1252, seeks to resolve an issue that affects all of us who deal with properties in Lake Elsinore. Houses and properties that become vacant and abandoned due to foreclosure are a detriment to people who live in close proximity. The abandoned properties degrade the neighborhoods, diminish the city’s overall image as an attractive and inviting City in which to live, own property, work and be entertained.

Information Links:

• Ordinance No.1252
• Registration Form

http://www.lake-elsinore.org/index.aspx?page=380