I. 3 / vol. III March 2010

i. 3 / vol. III

March

2010

Monthly Newsletter of the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS?



in this issue...

SAMCAR

Message from the President

page 1

SAMCAR Announcements

page 2

San Mateo Councilmember

David Lim speaks at February

Combined Tour

pages 3 & 4

SAMCAR Foundation Update:

Charitable Foundation awards

grants to local programs

page 7

Affiliate Spotlight

page 8

Education at SAMCAR

pages 9 and 10

Legislative

Extended First Time

Homebuyer Tax Credit

pages 5 & 6

3% Witholding Proposal Vote

Cancelled, Still Poses a Threat

pages 3 & 4

Meet Don Horsley at the

March 9th Pacifica Tour

page 4

Inform your clients!

Extended First Time

Home Buyer Tax Credit

pages 5 and 6

REALTOR? Service

Volunteer Program

we need YOUR help to make it a success

page 2

Meet David Canepa at the

March 23rd North Tour

page 4

MLS

MLSListings, Inc. Updates

page 8

Message from your 2010 President

monthly newsletter of the

San Mateo County

Association of realtors?

Jennifer F. Tasto

2010 SAMCAR President



tel. (650) 696-8200

fax (650) 342-7509

I hear and I forget.

I see and I remember.

I do and I understand.

Board of Directors

2010 President

President Elect

Region 25 Chair

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Affiliate Director

Director

Director

Jennifer Tasto

Susan Vaterlaus

Olivia T. Edwards

Eric Berggren

Robert Brisbane

John Clifford

Bobbi Decker

Suzan Getchell-Wallace

Phillip Houston

Karon Knox

Anne Oliva

Dennis Pantano

Edgar Tulcanaza

Diane Wilson

David Zigal

¡ªChinese Proverb

R

ealtors Make a Difference. Yes, I do believe that we

make a difference in many ways in our communities, whether

it is political, civic, as school volunteers, or in charitable

contributions. I applaud all of you!

One question that has come to mind as I meet and talk to our

members is, ¡°What can SAMCAR do to make a difference for you?¡±

One of those areas is in education. Since change in our business is

happening faster than ever, education can help us learn skills and

techniques to adapt to these changes. How we do business and how

business is done is rapidly changing; we can be on the forefront of

this change through education.

Michon Coleman Director of Government Affairs

Dalen Gilbrech Publications Designer

At SAMCAR, we have varied educational offerings such as Matrix

(MLS listings), technology classes, marketing classes, certification

courses, continuing education, and networking/speakers to help

you in business. If you have not attended a class lately, check out

what SAMCAR offers.

Our Vision

The Voice for Real Estate Professionals

and Property Owners in San Mateo County.

I am committed to make SAMCAR relevant to what you need,

want and do as realtors. Through the education services SAMCAR

offers, I believe you will find important resources and information

that will help you not only build a strong business, but also make

a difference.

Editorial Team

SAMCAR {RE}source is published monthly by the

San Mateo County Association of REALTORS?,

850 Woodside Way, San Mateo, CA 94401 and

distributed to more than 4,000 recipients. E-mail

samcar@ your questions or comments.

Copyright ? 2010

Education at SAMCAR

Educational opportunities

at SAMCAR abound

As our President mentioned above, there are many new educational opportunities

at SAMCAR ranging from MLS and forms-related classes to basic technology

training and courses giving you insight into the utility of social media for your

business. Read about upcoming classes on pages 9 and 10 of this issue or . . .

View a list of upcoming classes online

Education

Be a part of Your Association

March 2010

Welcome New Members

San Mateo County

Association of realtors?

YOUR Voice , YOUR Association

REALTOR? Service Volunteer Program

RSVP week is May 3 - 7, 2010

The deadline for homeowners and volunteers to apply is Friday, March 5.

Please help us spread the word about this annual volunteer service program.

For more information and the application forms

RSVP

SAMCAR¡¯s Got Talent!

March 18 / 5 p.m. Social / 6:30 p.m. Dinner / 7:30 p.m. Show

Peninsula Italian American Social Club

100 N. B Street, San Mateo

Come enjoy an ¡°American Idol¡± concept talent show with

three ¡°celebrity¡± judges! Come for the Irish themed food,

stay for the hidden talent of our members!

For more information and to purchase tickets

Events

SAMCAR is on Facebook!

Find SAMCAR on Facebook and stay apprised of all the events,

educational opportunities and activities going on at your association

while building a network of your industry colleagues online.

Become a fan of SAMCAR

samcar.fans

Tour Committee Contacts for 2010

If you or someone you know would like to sponsor breakfast, submit a speaking presentation

or volunteer to give the Hot Topic or Rate Watch (Central and South tour only), please

contact the following:

Central Tour Ingrid Westgard, iwestgard@

North Tour Nicole Siacotos, nsiacotos@

South Tour Judy Ploshay, JPloshay@

Pacifica Tour Sue Vaterlaus, svaterlaus@ or Scott Findlay, scott@

Did you know . . . ?

Sales statistic reports are available on

Every month SAMCAR formats data compiled by MLSListings Inc. into PDF sales statistic

reports for Single Family Residences and Common Interest Developments in San Mateo County.

These reports are available on SAMCAR¡¯s web site and include information such as sales price,

average days on market, median price and more.

To view monthly Sale Statistic reports online

stats

2

The following members joined in February 2010

Realtors?

Gregory Afiesh, Real Estate eBroker Inc.

Pamela Marie Arellano,

Hometown Realty, Janet P Davis

Betsy Ballenger, ZipRealty, Inc.

Marsha Casillas, Intero

Ben Chirko, Coldwell Banker

Connie Choi, New Star Realty & Investment

Predislava Derugin, Prudential California

Nohema Fernandez, Cashin Company

John Gall, Real Estate eBroker Inc.

Kevin Hsiao, Alain Pinel Realtors

Todd Kiss, Intero

Landen Kotrys, Intero

Donna LaHue, Coldwell Banker

Ho On Louie, Chan & Associates

Rachel MacLeod, Coldwell Banker

Carin Maffia, Coldwell Banker

Lawrence Michael, Coldwell Banker

Michael J. Nager, Infinity West Realty Inc.

Douglas Nubla, RELogic, Inc.

Carisa Pamintuan, Intero

Bobby Papadakis, Bobby Papadakis, Broker

Janice Robinson, Alain Pinel Realtors

Matthew Rogers, Rogers & Associates

Justina Janeeta Singh, Intero

Carl Touhey, Carl Touhey, Broker

Amin Wu, Achievers Real Estate & Loans

Affiliates

Abraham Abouata, Wells Fargo Home Mtg.

Ryan Dang, Wells Fargo Home Mtg.

Michael Ferris, Wells Fargo Home Mtg.

Tom Forker, Wells Fargo Home Mtg.

Robert Gargollo, Wells Fargo Home Mtg.

Maryvic Guanlao, Wells Fargo Home Mtg.

Khadra Hashem, Wells Fargo Home Mtg.

Lehrie A. Hayes,

Lehrie A. Hayes, Insurance Agent

Linda Luntsford, The Examiner

Brittini Marshall, Marsetti Inc.

Dennison Mayapis, Wells Fargo Home Mtg.

Eve Nguyen, Wells Fargo Home Mtg.

Alba Ortiz, North American Title Co.

Patty Ramirez, Wells Fargo Home Mtg.

W. Stephen Wilson, Tobin & Tobin

John Wong, Wells Fargo Home Mtg.

3

Government Affairs

March 2010

3% Withholding

Proposal Vote Cancelled

But Still Poses a

Threat

O

n Wednesday, February 17th, the Senate Budget

Committee declined to vote on a proposal that directly

affects your bottom line. As proposed, the state would

require all brokers to withhold 3% of your commission.

C.A.R. opposes this FORCED OVER WITHHOLDING because

it unfairly singles out independent contractors to shoulder the

burden of the state¡¯s budget troubles and because it fails to address

systematic problems in California¡¯s budgeting process.

Here¡¯s how the proposal would work

When an agent closes a transaction, they are typically paid their

commission by their broker. Now, the broker would need to

withhold 3% of the commission and pay it to the Franchise Tax

Board (FTB). Agents would still pay their normal quarterly

estimated income tax payments to the FTB in addition to the

withholding. When the agent files their state income tax return

the following April, they will deduct the withholdings along with

the quarterly estimated tax payments from their tax liability and,

in theory, receive a refund for the 3% that was withheld. This

allows California to earn interest on your money!

Background

Over the past few legislative cycles, the Legislature has considered

imposing forced overwithholding to help narrow what is now

a $20 billion budget gap. This proposal would require anyone

receiving a 1099-MISC form to be subject to this overwithholding.

While it is understood that the state is facing a substantial budget gap,

increasing withholding on payments to independent contractors

should NOT be one of the ways that the budget gap is addressed.

Among the arguments against this proposal:

? There is no evidence that independent contractors are failing

to pay their income tax obligations. The proposed withholding

requirement is merely intended to accelerate income tax

. . . continued on page 4

News from Combined Tour

REALTORS? Receive

San Mateo Update

By Councilmember

David Lim

Contributed by Julie Ziemelis

David Lim, the newly elected Councilmember for San Mateo,

Newly Elected San Mateo Conucilmember David Lim (right)

stands with SAMCAR 2010 President Jennifer Tasto

answered the question, ¡°What is happening in San Mateo?¡± during a

presentation he gave at the Combined Tour meeting on February 2nd.

Councilman Lim spent the last ten years as a Deputy District Attorney

for the Alameda County District Attorney¡¯s Office as a criminal

prosecutor, and served California as a law enforcement officer

representing victims of crime, including real estate fraud. Growing

up with REALTOR? parents, Councilman Lim said he knows what

REALTORS? do to keep our housing market stable and knows the

value that REALTORS? bring to the community.

. . . continued on page 4

Government Affairs

March 2010

Meet & Hear From David Canepa

Daly City Councilmember to visit North Tour

payments so that the state can make money from the ¡°float¡± that¡¯s

earned while the funds are in its possession.

? It creates significant administrative burdens for individuals

that are now required to file 1099MISC information reports with

the Franchise Tax Board. Under the proposal these individuals

would now need to also calculate the required withholding

amount and remit that amount to the state.

David Canepa, City Councilmember from Daly City,

will visit the North Tour on Tuesday, March 23rd.

Please attend to hear an update regarding Daly City and

to ask questions your clients may have.

North Tour Meeting

on Tuesday, March 23rd at 8:30 a.m.

? There will be significant administrative costs to the Franchise

Tax Board that will be faced with making refunds to those

independent contractors whose withholding amount remitted to

the state exceeds their income tax obligation.

Please be sure to look for Red Alerts from C.A.R. on this critical

issue. When you are asked to take action and call your legislators

to OPPOSE this proposal, we need you to do so immediately!

Please contact your Government Affairs staff

for more information

(650) 696-8200

Meet & Hear From Don Horsley

SAMCAR Endorsed Candidate for the San Mateo

County Board of Supervisors, District 3

Don Horsley, former San Mateo County Sheriff, is running for the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.

He recently received SAMCAR¡¯s endorsement, and

would like to meet and speak with you about his vision

for San Mateo County. To meet him, be sure to attend the

Pacifica Tour Meeting

on Tuesday, March 9th at 9:30 am.

News from Combined Tour

The Councilman discussed several initiatives that San Mateo is

currently working on. Here are a few:

SMART: San Mateo Acting Responsibly Together

building more sustainable housing in San Mateo.

Under this initiative the City is adopting the ¡°Build it Green¡± rating

system as of January 2010. This awards points for eco-friendly

building elements such as low-flow toilets, non-toxic paints, and

high efficiency shower heads. The city has created the toughest

standards in San Mateo County.

Sewer Lateral Program: Healthy Homes

This program, which is being tested in a pilot program at the

San Mateo Village, will assist single-family homeowners to repair

deteriorated private sewer laterals. Homeowners will receive

up to $250 for a ¡°no-obligation¡± sewer inspection if they meet

income eligibility of $82,000.

California First Program

The program provides low-interest funding for environmental

improvements on homes in California. There is a pilot program

with 14 other counties in the state. This is a voluntary program

and there will be no increase in assessment or taxes. It will allow

homeowners to take advantage of municipal bond market to

fund installation of environmental improvements such as solar

panels, low energy lights and water saving systems. The project

costs would be paid back over twenty years through annual

property tax assessments to the homeowner. If the home was

sold, it would continue to be billed through the property tax assessment until it was paid in full.

Flood Plain Assessment District

San Mateo voters passed an assessment district by 75% in July

2009. The assessment is approximately $78 per homeowner, per

year for 20 years. The assessment funds will build levies to remove

San Mateo from the floor plain maps, which will help homeowners

avoid the high cost of floor insurance.

Councilman Lim quickly mentioned the high speed rail and transit

oriented development. After his presentation he encouraged the

REALTORS? to contact him directly if they have questions about

these projects.

4

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