The U.S. Treasury has allocated nearly $700 million to CalHFA to help low-and moderate-income borrowers who have been impacted by unemployment and declining home values.  CalHFA now must submit a proposal by April 16 to the Treasury outlining innovative programs focused on foreclosure prevention and housing market stability.  The Treasury will review each proposal for compliance with program objectives and other requirements. The Treasury expects that CalHFA may begin drawing down funds within four to six weeks following submission of proposals, or mid-year.
 
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Homeowners wanting to pay off their mortgage earlier than planned can do so by making extra principal payments.  One extra full principal and interest payment a year will reduce a 30-year loan to about 17 years, and adding the following month’s principal payment to the current one will cut the loan almost in half.  It is important that borrowers tell their lender the extra money is to be credited to principal.  Homeowners should keep records of their payments and review it once a year to be certain the lender has followed directions.

Private mortgage insurance (PMI) generally is required for home buyers whose down payment is less than 20 percent.  PMI may be added to the mortgage payment each month to protect the lender should the borrower default.  By law, PMI generally must be canceled automatically when the loan balance reaches 78 percent of the home’s original value.  However, lenders also may agree to cancel this coverage upon a borrower’s request when the balance declines to 80 percent of the current value, if certain conditions are met. Borrowers who have made their payments on time each month for five years should contact their lender or loan servicer to obtain all the details on cancelling the coverage.

- Mick Orton

Assessment Appeals Board

The Assessment Appeals Board is an independent agency, separate from the Assessor’s Office, established to decide disputes between the Assessor’s Office and property owners. It is the duty of the Assessment Appeals Board to equalize the valuation of the taxable property within the City and County of San Francisco for the purpose of taxation.

Information About the Assessment Appeals Boards

VIDEO- The Appeals Process: The following video entitled Your Assessment Appeal was developed as a collaborative effort between the Board Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate and the County-Assessed Properties Division. Additionally, assistance and input was provided by many of the counties. The video is divided into the following segments:

• Introduction
• Decline in Market Value
• Base Year Value
• Reassessment After Calamity
• Escape Assessment and Roll Changes
• Filling Out the Application
• Preparing for Your Hearing
• Your Hearing
• Credits

Watch “Your Assessment Appeal” video

Purpose:The purpose of the Assessment Appeals Board is to provide the Taxpayers of San Francisco a means to appeal their property tax assessments.

Procedure: After an application is timely filed a hearing is scheduled to allow both the Taxpayer and the Assessor an opportunity to present evidence upholding their respective opinions of value for the property at issue. A panel of three Assessment Appeals Board Members or a Hearing Officer will listen to testimony, review documents, and question the participants. The Board panel or Hearing Officer then evaluates the evidence and decides what the assessment of the property will be.

Differences between Boards:

Board #1 is authorized to hear appeals regardless of value, type, or location.

Board #2 is authorized to hear all residential property of four units or less, property assessed at less than $50 million, excluding possessory interests, and applications concerning real property located all or in part within Assessor’s Blocks 1 through 876 and 3701 through 3899, inclusive.

Duties of Assessment Appeals Board Members & Alternates: To listen to testimony, review documents, and ask questions of the Taxpayer and Assessor in order to determine the fair and correctassessment of property in accordance with applicable California Revenue and Taxation Codes.

Duties of the Alternate Board Members: The same as regular Board Members except that they substitute for regular Members who cannot attend the hearing.

Hearing Officers: All Board Members and alternates act as Hearing Officers. Hearing Officers perform the same duties as the Board panel except that they can only hear applications on single family residences, condominiums, cooperatives, or multiple-family dwellings of four units or less. Hearing Officers meet with the Taxpayer and a representative for the Assessor to evaluate their respective evidence. Afterwards, the Hearing Officer makes a recommendation of value that can be accepted or rejected by either the Taxpayer or Assessor. If the value is timely rejected, the appeal will be re-scheduled before a panel of three Assessment Appeals Board Members for final disposition.

Dates and Times of Meetings: The Assessment Appeals Board meets Monday through Friday. There are two daily sessions. The first starts at 9:30 a.m. and the second at 1:30 p.m. Each session lasts until all the calendared items are acted upon. The Hearing Officers usually meet at 9:30 a.m. as needed.

Composition of the Board: Due to the demanding hearing schedule, there are five regular members and three alternates on each Board. Members are scheduled on a rotating basis from the five regular members to create a three-member Board panel to hear appeals.

CNN Money - On Friday, the Federal Housing Administration announced that it will assist borrowers before they become delinquent.

To read the full story, please click here.

A new study found that borrowers who receive loan modifications that reduce loan balances, and not simply interest rates, are less likely to redefault on the loan, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Principal reductions are more successful at avoiding redefaults because they reduce negative equity and provide the borrowers with greater incentive to remain current on the loan, according to the study.  The study also found that borrowers who owe 15 percent or more than their homes’ value have a 51 percent higher risk of redefaulting in any given month.

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San Francisco Chronicle – A more upbeat outlook on jobs pushed Americans’ confidence in the economy higher in December for the second month in a row, a survey released Tuesday said.

To read the full story, please click here.

The Association’s board of directors has voted to end the practice of allowing users of the MLS, with the consent of the seller, to withhold the price at which property listed with the MLS has sold. The current practice of allowing users, with the consent of the seller, to report the last list price as the sale price will be prohibited after December 31, 2009. The prohibition will be accomplished by deleting Section 8.1.1 of the MLS Rules and Regulations.

The practice is being ended to provide listing agents and appraisers with a better understanding of market dynamics so that listing agents can price and appraisers can value listed real property at more realistic levels.

The board of directors took this action at its November meeting after conducting opinion surveys of office managers and listing agents on the subject.

Sanctions for violation of the new rule requiring the accurate reporting of sale prices will be:

• First offense—warning
• Second Offense—$1000
• Third Offense—$2000
• Fourth Offense—$3,000

- SFARMLS

The Bay Guardian (released today) is beginning the drum beat for new and higher taxes to be placed on the ballot next year. In its editorial entitled, “Time for Serious Budget Reform”, the Guardian states: “[T]here is simply no way to close a deficit this large [expected to be about $520 million] without new taxes. That’s just reality, and anyone who denies it is refusing to face facts.” The Bay Guardian goes on to recommend that the city’s tax structure be overhauled “to change the way the city collects money” and calls for the Board of Supervisors to do it, if the Mayor won’t. The Guardian is recommending that an additional $250 million be collected annually from businesses and wealthy individuals. How? Replace the current flat (payroll) business tax with a “progressive gross receipts tax that charges the biggest companies a higher percentage”, a “properly written utility users tax that (again) would hit big companies that use a lot of power”, and a city income tax, which would hit all the commuters “who use city services but don’t pay city taxes.”

Nothing is said in the editorial about the need to trim San Francisco’s bloated bureaucracy or its inflated salaries and benefits, or the need to relax its restrictive work rules that keep costs sky high. No. It’s simply this: the private sector must pay more to the public sector because “San Francisco is a rich city. By millennial standards, it’s one of the richest cities ever, in one of the richest civilizations ever.”

For the full and disturbing San Francisco Bay Guardian editorial, click below:
http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/bruce/2009/11/editorial_time_for_serious_bud.html

Note: As is pointed out in the story above, the message is NEVER to spend less, it is always raise taxes. Once they get 100%, then where will the money come from? This obviously was written by people who don’t pay taxes! – Mick Orton

San Francisco Chronicle – Americans’ confidence in the economy improved slightly in November from October, but shoppers remain gloomy heading into the traditional start of the holiday shopping season amid a weak job market, according to a monthly survey.

To read the full story, please click here.

From SFAR - Members have reported that the City and County of San Francisco is issuing citations to homeowners who are parking cars on front lawns or in rear yards. The citations reference various sections of the city’s Planning Code. Here’s a simple grid prepared by the city’s Customer Service Center (Telephone 311) describing typical minor violations of the Planning Code and the penalties that are assessed for each violation:

http://www.sfgov.org/site/sf311rfs_index.asp?id=79509

Are you interested in more information?

The City and County of San Francisco established 311 to provide an easy-to-remember telephone number that connects residents, businesses and visitors to Customer Service Representatives ready to help with general government information and services. One call does it all—24-hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.