A Millstone Around Real Estate's Neck

You may or may not have heard of the bill that's making it's way through the legislature that will adversely affect the California housing market. (As if we can handle any more.) The bill is AB 2204 and according to aacre.org, it'll "require a title insurance company to strike any racist covenants, conditions, or restrictions from the deed or other instrument before ... property is transferred." At face value this might sound like a good and proper thing to do and all of us would agree that discrimination has no place whatsoever in the buying and selling process. But the thing about this bill is the "millstone around your neck" affect it will bring. Simply put, it packs a huge extra cost and time element for every real estate transaction and really does little, if anything, to curb discrimination according to the California Association of Realtors® flyer passed out at the TCAR meeting this morning. Regarding the money requirements, the California State Association of Counties "estimates that statewide implementation of AB 2204 will cost between $17 million and $33 million a year." And who will pay for it? In part, the costs will be retrieved through the additional charge of $500-$1000 per real estate transaction according to this same flyer. It goes without saying that C.A.R. opposes AB 2204 and is calling on California Counties to do the same. Contact TCAR for more information.