Native SF

On Monday, November 2, 2009, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee will hear a proposal to extend the just cause eviction protection of the rent control ordinance  to tenants residing in rental units built after June 13, 1979.   This proposal has become known to our industry as “rent control on new construction.” The price controls of rent control will not apply. 

This proposed law means that you will no longer be able to use a “thirty day notice to vacate” to terminate a tenancy.  You will only be able to reclaim a rental unit for one of the thirteen just causes for eviction listed on the rent board’s website: http://www.sfgov.org/site/rentboard_index.asp. Most owners subject to the rent control law pay attorney’s thousands of dollars to reclaim a rental unit.

Also, this law greatly impedes an owner’s ability to move back into a condominium in the newly constructed projects, and many owners purchased these units believing they could always move in when they needed to.
We are asking that our members call, e-mail and/or write the committee members of the Board of Supervisors expressing their opposition to this law change.
It would be beneficial to our opposition position if you could show up and speak at the hearing next week.  The only chance we have of killing this proposal is if massive crowds of people show up to oppose the measure.

The hearing will be held Monday November 2, 2009 at 1:00pm at City Hall, Room 263.
Then, call, e-mail and/or write the Board of Supervisor committee members and Mayor:
District 3
David Chiu- Board President
(415) 554-7450
David.Chiu@sfgov.org 
District 1
Eric Mar
(415) 554-7410
Eric.L.Mar@sfgov.org
District 10
Sophie Maxwell
(415) 554-7670
Sophie.Maxwell@sfgov.org
Mayor Gavin Newsom
(415) 554-6141
Fax: (415) 554-6160
gavin.newsom@sfgov.org

Thanks to SFAA to keeping us up on all these issues!

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New rules coming soon

Beginning Oct. 1, new rules adopted by the Federal Reserve will go into effect, requiring greater diligence on the part of mortgage lenders and brokers who issue high-cost loans for borrowers with less than favorable credit. The interest rates on these loans are at least 1.5 percentage points greater than the average prime mortgage rate. The regulations, which were finalized in July 2008, prohibit lenders from making a high-cost mortgage without verifying that a borrower could repay the loan in the conventional way, and not through a foreclosure sale.

During the height of the market, subprime lenders often would offer loans without requiring borrowers to provide proof that they could make the monthly payments. In some cases, borrowers used stated income loans, which allowed some borrowers to fabricate annual income figures and buy homes without down payments. Although many believe the Federal Reserve’s new rules represent one of the more substantial efforts on the part of the federal government to combat such lending practices, some consumer advocates are concerned. According to a policy associate at the Center for Responsible Lending, the new regulations do not cover option ARMs, which enable borrowers to choose from several monthly payment options during the loan’s early years. To read the full story, go to this address:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/realestate/27mort.html?ref=realestate

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