Opinions with erroneous conclusions
Learn the difference between opinions, assurances and guarantees as well as estimates, projections and forecasts.
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Category: Laws and Regulations
Federal housing bill passes, to little effect
How much — or how little — the new housing laws affect housing in California’s communities is up to local gatekeepers, including real estate brokers and mortgage lenders.
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Form-of-the-Week: Escrow instructions, and beneficiary statement — Forms 401 and 415
An agent or escrow officer uses RPI Form 401 when preparing instructions to open a purchase escrow with an escrow officer, and RPI Form 415 when escrow requests mortgage information from a mortgage holder regarding their lien on a property to confirm the terms of the debt or obtain a payoff demand.
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Federal guidance pushes MLOs to weigh applicant immigration status
Federal guidance now encourages MLOs to discriminate based on immigration status. How does that impact MLO practice in California?
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Park your EVs (and your HOA) outside
SB 770 removes an HOA from a homeowner’s mandatory insurance when they install an electric vehicle charger in a common area.
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The seller agent and the prospective buyer
Learn the difference between a broker’s specific agency duty owed only to their client and the limited general duty they owe to others in a transaction and how to observe and disclose conditions adversely affecting value and qualify statements when they are opinions, not facts.
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DRE Bulletin Digest: Winter 2026
The Winter 2026 Real Estate Bulletin lays out the California Department of Real Estate’s expectations for ethical conduct by its licensees in the age of ARMs, digital brokerages, and AI.
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The representation of a seller-client
Learn how to manage licensed activities as a seller agent from soliciting a seller-client and organizing the marketing of their property through closing a transaction.
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The language(s) of a transparent eviction summons
Assembly Bill 863 tasks the Judicial Council by 2027 to create a single summons form translated into multiple languages for use in any civil action.
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CFPB cuts into mortgage discrimination rules
A new CFPB federal rule shaves down the definition for what lender actions qualify as mortgage discrimination.
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Lot splitting in historic districts permits new housing
A loophole allowed local agencies to designate neighborhoods as “historic districts” barring additional housing by ordinance. Now, that local loophole is removed. Parcels in historic districts may now be subdivided and each lot constructed with a duplex.
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Disaster relief delivered at the reception desk
AB 299 sets protections for residents displaced by a disaster staying in short-term lodging for longer than 30 days.
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Streamlined post-entitlement phase permit process in California
State departments may now approve housing plans, and all agencies now have tighter review timelines, or a building permit application is deemed complete.
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A Designated Officer’s diligence guidance
Learn about a designated officer’s duties to maintain corporate and employee compliance with Real Estate Law.
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Rebuilding homes after a disaster now easier and less restrictive in California
Homebuilders rebuilding residential structures damaged or destroyed in a disaster now encounter fewer hurdles when the home is located in a common interest development (CID) or a planned residential project.
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Condition of property: the owner’s disclosures for symmetric information
Learn the seller broker duty to inspect and disclose their observations and knowledge about a property’s condition to prospective buyers, preparation and delivery of the seller’s Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) and recognize the home inspection report (HIR) as a risk mitigation activity.
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By 2028, online portals open to apply for housing development permits
AB 920 mandates centralized portals for online housing development applications by 2028 in all cities or counties with a population over 150,000.
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Home prices far outpace incomes — is mortgage deregulation the answer?
The current administration seeks to tackle the price-to-income gap by loosening mortgage regulation — it will be as successful as putting out a fire with gasoline.
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Third-party reviewer speeds up building permit approval process in California
Homebuilders now have the option to hire their own licensed engineers or architects to approve building plans when a local agency takes longer than 30 days to approve the plans.
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