California Consumer Finance Litigation Lawyer & Attorney : O'Rielly & Roche Law Firm : San Francisco, Oakland, Bay Area, Los Angeles

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After California's budget standoff backed up nearly 850 bills on his desk, Governor Schwarzenegger is furiously signing significant legislation that will affect the California mortgage market.  Last week, the Governor signed 10 bills into law related to mortgage and housing finance regulation:

SB1461 requires real estate agents to disclose their license number on all first point of contact marketing materials and property purchases beginning July 1, 2009;

SB1737 authorizes the Department of Real Estate to suspend or bar a person who has committed a violation of the Real Estate Law if the suspension or bar is in the best interest of the public;

AB69 mandates that all mortgage loan servicers report specific, detailed data to their licensing agency concerning loan modifications;

AB180 provides a registration and bonding process for foreclosure consultants and prohibits a foreclosure consultant from entering into an agreement to assist an owner in arranging the release of surplus funds after the trustee's sale is conducted;

SB870 allows the California Housing Finance Agency to more quickly establish a mortgage refinance program;

SB1065 includes the refinancing of home mortgages in the criteria for a city or county-administered home financing program;

SB1055 allows taxpayers to exclude the forgiven mortgage debt from their incomes for state income tax purposes which brings the state in compliance with federal law;

SB1604 requires that any private insurance policy maintained by an escrow agent be applied as primary coverage in the event of a loss covered by both the private insurance and the Escrow Agents Fidelity Corporation;

SB1675 provides the California Department of Veterans Affairs with the discretion to structure the terms and conditions of any authorized debt issuance; and 

AB2454 would increase potential recovery for harmed consumers applying for Recovery Account payments filed on or after January 1, 2009, to $50,000 for any one transaction and $250,000 for any one licensee.