MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT 

Hello to all of our wonderful members and those of you who might be prospective members!

Spring is finally here, and although we certainly had better weather than much of the country, I still welcome the warmer weather and the sun still being out when I leave the officce!  Business appears to be picking up a touch and let's hope that continues.  Putting people in homes they can afford and start up businesses will strengthen our economy and rebuild our industry.

Los Angeles Escrow Association would be nothing if not for the members and affiliates that support the educational programs and fundraising efforts so first off, I would like to share some information about our “Membership Appreciation” efforts.
           
Beginning with the April meeting, April 20th, a Wednesday this time, we will hold a monthly drawing from the names of our members.  One name will be drawn at each meeting and if the member is present, their dinner for the next meeting will be comped by LAEA.  This is intended as a Thank You measure for your continued support.

At our September meeting, a member's name will be drawn for a full conference registration.  Again, you must be present to win.  These measures are our way of giving back to the membership for their ongoing support.

Why must you be present to win you might ask?  Well, all of our membership is valued, but your participation in our events is the glue that keeps us functioning and enables us to grow, supporting the values of Education and the Professionals that realize knowledge is not static.  No matter how much you think you know or how long you have been in the industry, none of us knows it all.  We do not run identical desks.  All of us do not have the exact same issues on our desks or challenges that pop up.  Only by networking with one another and sharing information can we anticipate situtations and have potential solutions to the various challenges we are faced with.  Only by attending the educational meetings can we get new twists on old procedures and learn about trends and legislation facing our industry.

Our April speaker will address the “decreased re-assessments”, a topic that we certainly need to be informed about, if only to properly direct the questions of our clients.  In May we will have a panel of your peers discussing the various nightmare funding issues, short sale challenges and other topics of great interest to industry professionals.  For June we are working on getting a Real Estate Fraud professional to share some of their efforts and resolved cases about the crooked things that are on-going and impact all of us.  In July we will have an education day with sessions for both the experienced professional and those just starting out in our industry that need some basics many of us are too busy to go into on the job.  I know this is getting into next quarter but it is important that you know we are working on quality presentations and programs, “Lighting the Path to Professionism”. 

We are now issuing frameable membership certificates and those will be distributed starting with the April meeting.  We are also working on name tags for use during our meetings, to help you in getting to know our entire membership rather than just the folks you already know or work with.  Please make strangers welcome, remember your first meeting when you didn't know anyone?

I'm keeping on eye on the progress of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  There are lots of hearings and efforts on one side to eliminate it and all of the financial pretoections and regulations contained therein, while ongoing efforts are being made to get everything read and in place for the June 1 launch.  I have already seen the first proposed “Uniform Real Estate Disclosure” form, intended to merge the GFE and TILA requirements.  It is clear and easily understandable, a great shopping tool for real estate purchasers seeking a mortgage.  As such, it will no doubt be redrawn to eliminate the clarity just because that is what bureaucrats do.  Did you know that one of the things being addressed is realtor compensation for “providing consumers with information about home warranty plans”?  Of course, right now the major fight is about whether loan originators should be paid on the basis of the actual loan amount or on the basis of the interest rate they are able to get the borrowers to accept.  All of this bears watching and I am committed to doing so for the good of our association and our industry.

Mark your calendars for May 14th – SFVEA educational program featuring Mike Belote, June 9-11 – AEA National Conference in Las Vegas, July 16 or 23 (TBD) LAEA Education Day, October 14-15 – CEA  Annual Conference.  These are just in addition to the regularly held and informative meetings held on a monthly basis.

Check out our website www.laeaescrow.org for current information and our FaceBook page for topic discussions and events information.  Use these tools to keep in touch with what's happening with your region.

Please don't forget that you can always contact me with your questions, concerns and suggestions.  HAVE A GREAT SPRING SEASON AND LET'S WORK TOGETHER FOR A BRIGHTER YEAR!

Sincerely,

Phyllis Yanagihara
LAEA President
pyanagiahra@masterescrow.com