REALTORS® TAKE A STAND REALTOR® ACTION FUND AND YOU! Welcome Thank you for your commitment to C.A.R., organized real estate and the REALTOR® Action Fund

What is REALTOR® Action Fund (RAF)? RAF is the $197 contribution that appears on you membership dues billing statement. RAF is used to: Support or oppose ISSUES that impact REALTORS® and to; Support candidates sympathetic to REALTOR® issues.

Are RAF $$ Spent Wisely? RAF dollars are spent wisely: Contributions are NEVER used for overhead like salaries, office rent or travel; Every dollar contributed goes to REALTOR® receptive candidates and issues at the local, state or national level, regardless of political affiliation.

Why Should I Contribute? You get a terrific return on your $197 investment: C.A.R.’s legislative successes, saved each member almost $12,303 in Every year in Sacramento, legislation is introduced that threatens your ability to serve clients and sell real estate.

How REALTORS® Win! BY GETTING INVOLVED! Now, more than ever, REALTORS® need a strong and powerful watchdog to protect your ability to do business. By contributing to RAF, you can support candidates that can help defeat legislation that would be detrimental to your ability to conduct business.

AB 1830 (Lieu) New Sub-Prime Broker Rules – Creates a one-sided attorney fee rule only allowing successful plaintiffs to recover attorney fees. Imposes new restrictions on mortgage brokers originating loans. (Does NOT impose the same restrictions on all lenders) C.A.R. opposed AB 1830’s double standard that does not hold ALL lenders to the same rules and restrictions. AB 1830 would have made home loans more difficult to obtain for legitimate, qualified, borrowers and encouraged speculative litigation. Vetoed by the Governor on September 25, 2008 Legislative Successes

AB 2678 (Nunez) Energy Efficiency Audit – Required ALL homes and commercial properties to have an energy audit with an estimated cost of $400 at point-of-sale and necessitated that mandatory energy efficiency “investments” be made. Died in the Senate Appropriations Committee C.A.R. opposed the point-of-sale requirement and obtained amendments to ensure that the audits or improvements are not required as a condition of sale. Legislative Successes

AB 2204 (De La Torre) Real Property Discriminatory Restrictions - Requires county counsels to review and strike any evidence of an illegal restrictive covenant in a deed prior to the transfer of property. C.A.R. opposes burdening transactions at the point-of-sale with the exorbitant costs resulting from AB Died in the Senate Appropriations Committee Existing law sponsored by C.A.R. (1987) voids any racial deed restrictions. Legislative Successes

C.A.R. opposes the additional transaction costs that this separate repetitive disclosure creates. C.A.R. amendments instead require in the existing NHD report, the disclosure of environmental hazard sites located within a ¼ mile radius of the home. Vetoed by the Governor on September 28, 2008 AB 2733 (Brownley) Environmental Hazard Disclosure Reports - Required the purchase of an additional disclosure report to identify environmental hazard sites located within a ¼ mile radius of the homes zip code or city.

Legislative Successes SB 1737 (Machado) Mortgage Loan Broker Disclosures – Requires a prominent disclosure to all parties whenever a licensee both represents a buyer and originates a loan in a “1 - 4” transaction. Signed by the Governor on September 25, 2008 (Chapter 286, Statutes of 2008)

REALTOR ® Involvement Pays Off! Stay tuned…be part of the C.A.R.’s Government Affairs Team!

REALTORS® And the Political Process REALTORS® MUST BE INVOLVED IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS C.A.R.’s fiercest opponents spend millions of dollars every year to fund candidates and legislators who support legislation that would: Make it more difficult and more expensive to make a living, and; Create additional liability.

Be A Heavy Lifter Don’t simply benefit from others who give to the REALTOR® Action Fund

This puts REALTORS® at Risk! They figure that other REALTORS® are giving so they don’t have too. It’s just like a transaction where one REALTOR® does all the work, but must split the commission!

Pull your own weight… Trial lawyers and other interest groups spend millions attacking businesses. Fight back and win…. Every REALTOR® is asked to make a small investment of $197 to protect our industry.

REALTORS® Take a Stand… When every REALTOR® pitches in…everybody wins!

In Conclusion “Thank you for being a part of C.A.R.’s Government Affairs Team. Working together, we have won great victories to improve the industry and lead California…” William Brown, 2008 C.A.R. President Please join us in Sacramento in June 2009 for C.A.R.’s Annual Legislative Day... and stay for C.A.R.’s Capitol Reception as our thank you for your $197 RAF contribution.

RESOURCE To download the PowerPoint “REALTORS® Take a Stand” go to If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Lisa Edwards at or by at