SEPTEMBER 2019
Rent Cap Bill Gets Stronger in CA Legislature
The bill to limit how much landlords can raise rents each year in California got dramatically stronger recently after Gov Newsom and lawmakers announced plans to beef up AB 1482 by extending its lifespan and lowering the rent cap.
The California Rental Housing Association, a lobbying group for landlords, repeated its past criticisms that the plan will discourage needed rental housing supply. This is an important bill to watch.
Will Recession Fears Affect the Housing Market
Recession fears are growing, and that may prompt some Americans who are still haunted by the last one and are skittish about the housing market. Do not expect another real estate fire sale if the economy heads into another recession, economists say.
"This is going to be a much shorter recession than the last one," George Ratiu, senior economist with realtor.com, notes in a recent article at the site. "I don't think the next recession will be a repeat of 2008. The housing market is in a better position."
Just 2% of economists, strategists, academics, and policy makers surveyed believe a recession will occur this year, based on a survey of more than 200 members of the National Association for Business Economics. Thirty eight percent believe a recession will begin in 2020, while 25% say by 2021. Fourteen percent don't expect a recession until after 2021.
If the country does enter into a recession, will home prices plunge like they did during the Great Recession? Many economists don't believe so.
Where can you afford to rent in California
Economists say you shouldn't spend more than 30% of your earnings on rental costs. Using this data, map out the state's rental market. How much do you make in a year in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Fresno counties?
Protect yourself and your clients from cyber predators, by Craig Grant
Cybersecurity has become an issue for anyone who uses a device, computer or online account. Hackers and fraudsters have targeted the real estate industry because large sums of money are in play on a daily basis. REALTORS need to know the possible pitfalls so they can protect themselves and educate their clients about what to look for, how it works and how to not fall for it.
Some scams are very sophisticated. For example, online listing scams, which typically occur on sites like Craigslist or Backpages, often dupe consumers into trying to rent a property that is not available for rent. This can lead to a legal headache if that consumer not only provides funds, but also takes possession of your property even though it is not actually available.
Spear Phishing
A more aggressive tactic is wire transfer fraud, a form of spear phishing, in which hackers try to trick the buyer in a real estate transaction. Typically, they hack into the email server of entities that handle real estate transactions, such as an attorney, lender or title company. The hacker looks for an upcoming transaction, and gets a buyers name and information. They then send out a fake email that appears to be from that entity with instructions on where to wire the funds, which of course, go into the hackers account. This is timed to coincide with the planned transaction date but is perhaps moved up by a day so the victim does not suspect anything is wrong.
A con artist who intercepts a wire transfer can make hundreds of thousands of dollars in a split second. The problem has become so severe that the FBI has set up a special division to deal with wire transfer fraud.
Fortunately, there are ways to limit ones exposure to cyber crime. The good news is that you do not have to be a computer geek to make security improvements. The first step is to strengthen all your passwords and change them on a quarterly basis. Assign a unique, complicated password to each site you visit.
Next make sure that each device you use has strong antivirus protection as every phone, tablet and computer needs to be covered. Everything running on your devices, including the operating system and apps, must be up to date and patched at all times.
Slow But Sure
And the most important advice is to slow down and pay attention. Sometimes an extra step while inconvenient,might be what saves you. Often if you do so, you will notice obvious tipoffs that indicate the email might not be from the company they claim they are from, or that the link is not a safe one on which to click.
You should also consider purchasing separate cyber insurance, which isn't expensive, to protect yourself and your business in the event of internet related attacks, such as ransomware, malware, wire transfer fraud and so on. Most REALTORS think their E&O insurance will cover losses of this kind, but it usually does not cover digital crime.
After you have shored up your defenses, make sure everyone understands the need to follow security protocols, all it takes is one click and everybody can be exposed.