Paso Robles Real Estate

CAR Chief Counsel Gov Hutchinson Comes to Atascadero

Yesterday, I attended a legal update by Gov Hutchinson at the Atascadero Pavillion. Having attended his legal updates many times before, I knew it would be beneficial to my real estate business but also entertaining. Even though the subject matter may at times seem a little dull — real estate law — Mr. Hutchinson always manages to sneak in a little humor in his speaking engagements, along with vital information about new CAR forms and the latest interesting real estate-related lawsuits.

There are 3 new CAR forms that he spoke about yesterday: REO Advisory for buyer & seller; Declaration and Proof of Real Estate License; Notice of Default Purchase Agreement. I won’t attempt to recap his explanation of uses of all of these forms, but if you are a real estate professional in the State of California and you aren’t familiar with them, it would behoove you to visit the CAR website and do some research on when it would be necessary to use them.

One very important subject he discussed is the situation where an investor is attempting to purchase a home that has had a Notice of Default recorded, and the home is owner-occupied. If you are representing the investor, you must use the Notice of Default Purchase Agreement. If the home is a short sale, you must continue to check during escrow and make sure no Notice of Default is recorded before close of escrow.

If a Notice of Default is filed during escrow, he suggested generating an addendum and the Notice of Default Purchase Agreement, stating the same terms as the original Residential Purchase Agreement, and having all parties sign. The NODPA is virtually the same as the RPA, except it is written with larger letters — for emphasis, I assume — and it gives the seller a 5-day recission period.

The penalty for not filing the proper documents in this case is jail time for the investor and a $25,000 fine for the agent. I bet that gets your attention; it did mine.

I wish I could recap for you all of the wonderful information Gov imparted to us yesterday, but it was a 2-hour session, including questions and answers with the audience.

If you practice real estate in the State of California and ever have the opportunity to attend one of Gov’s legal updates, I would highly encourage you to do so. You will be amazed at the information you will learn, and I promise you won’t be bored.

Contact me via email or call me at (805) 235-0234 for more information on Paso Robles, California real estate or visit my website.

Tags: Atascadero, Atascadero Pavillion, California Association of Realtors, CAR forms, Notice of Default, REO