California Desert Association of REALTORS® Get Legal Updates

www.cdaronline.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:

February 15, 2019 Scott Newton, CDAR President

Photo attached (760) 346-5637

(Media) John Hussar

PRNewsWorks (760) 567-8073

California Desert Association of REALTORS® Get Updates on New Real Estate Laws To Better Serve Buyers and Sellers

PALM DESERT (Calif.) – Gov Hutchinson, the VP and Assistant General Counsel for the California Association of REALTORS®, spoke to over 125 real estate professionals on wide-reaching tax changes and new state and federal laws affecting real estate during the California Desert Association of REALTORS®’ annual Legal Update on Feb. 14 held at the Lakes Country Club.

During his keynote, Hutchinson touched on several important topics, including terminology and legal changes on many of the real estate forms for buying or selling a home, California swimming pools and spas built or remodeled starting in 2018 must have a second safety features, such as a fence, a cover, or an alarm, to help protect children from drowning, new Home Owners Association rules which prohibit HOAs from denying homeowners the right to install solar panels to their homes, and a new requirement for rooftop solar panels for new constructing beginning in 2020.

He stated that the Department of Real Estate (DRE) has recently hired additional staff for the sole purpose of enforcing the advertising guidelines for real estate agents, such as, adding DRE license numbers of agents and brokerages on “For sale” signs, print and electronic media, business cards and classified rental advertisement. Hutchinson said some real estate agents may be in non-compliance of the law which have fines up to $2,500 for large companies and about $200 for individual agents.

Gov also noted there is good and bad news with the 2018 Tax Reform. The bill limits the amount of state and local property, income, and sales taxes that can be deducted to $10,000. In the past, these taxes have generally been fully tax deductible. The bill also caps the amount of mortgage indebtedness on new home purchases on which interest can be deducted at $750,000 down from $1,000,000 in previous years. Part of the good news is potential deductions for independent contracts based on new income and other factors. He suggested a specialist should be consulted for clarification on the tax code.

“Gov always presents an in-depth and informative update on the new laws affecting the real estate industry,’’ Scott Newton, President of the California Desert Association of REALTORS®, said. “Our members look forward to this annual legal update so that we can better serve our buyers and sellers in the Coachella Valley.”

Hutchinson, who has been with C.A.R. since 1985 and manages C.A.R.’s Member Legal Services Program in Los Angeles, advises REALTORS® through the “Hotline” on all aspects of real estate law and is a master instructor for the Education Division of C.A.R. with certification from the Department of Real Estate.

The California Desert Association of REALTORS®, theTrusted Source for Real Estate in the Desert Communities, represents more than 3,700 real estate professionals from Palm Springs to Blythe. REALTORS® hold themselves to a higher standard via the National Association of REALTORS®’ Code of Ethics, yet only about a quarter of California licensed real estate agents are REALTORS®. For more information – or to verify you’re working with a REALTOR® – visit www.CDARonline.org or call (760) 346-5637.

Caption: Gov Hutchinson, third from left, VP and Assistant General Counsel for the California Association of REALTORS® shares a moment with Scott Newton, left, president of the California Desert Association of REALTORS®, Annette Coffey, CDAR Association Executive, Robin DuFault, CDAR president elect and Stephanie Taylor, CDAR treasurer. (Photo by John Hussar, PRNewsWorks).