Available Sign

The Department of Real Estate oversees the marketing and sales of subdivided lands, which is generally defined as developments consisting of five (5) or more lots or units, for sale to members of the public.  With their mission to provide consumer protection to California homebuyers, the DRE review investigates subdivision offerings to prevent fraud and misrepresentation in subdivision sales. D...
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By in DRE, Home Building, Processing
Sands through the hour glass

This is by far the most-frequent question we encounter in our day-to-day business.  And the good news is, that we can usually provide a fairly good estimate of the time period required for your particular project!  The Department of Real Estate is governed by specific timeframes in which they must respond to an application filing.  The regulatory timeframes, coupled with detailed information about...
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By in DRE, Home Building, Permitting, Processing, Timeline, Uncategorized
Re-do

Final Public Reports that are issued to a Subdivision are subject to maintaining an accurate representation of the property. Sometimes what sparks the need for an Amendment filing can correspond to more than one aspect of the Public Report, such as the date of expiration. Material changes to the Subdivision after issuance of the Final Report may require that a Subdivider needs to file for an Am...
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By in DRE, Processing
Bonds and money scrabble

Part of the mapping and development process in conjunction with the Public Report filing process may involve bonding for various items along the way.  There may be as many as ten or more bonds required throughout the site development phase, and compliance with the DRE process can only add to that.  For these reasons, it is advantageous of Subdividers to get acquainted with the approach that can re...
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By in DRE, Processing
Shaking hands

A “subdivision” is defined as “improved or unimproved land” divided into five or more lots or parcels for the purpose of sale, lease, or financing...  Any person or entity who owns five or more lots in a subdivision is considered a “Subdivider.”  Subdividers must get a Final Public Report before offering subdivision lots for sale to the public. There are several exemptions to this requirement, ...
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By in DRE, Processing
Private eye

We often get calls from clients considering a purchase of a "broken" project, who are in the due diligence period on a project.   In this situation, it is worth the effort to investigate the project from the Department of Real Estate (DRE) perspective.  Was it filed with DRE previously?  Are there any red flags in the public report?  What would an amendment filing at DRE look like for this project...
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By in Blog, DRE, Home Building, Processing
computer

E-FILING becomes a reality in 2018 Electronic filings have been discussed for the past five years, and some thought it might never happen.  Alas, it is happening, in 2018.  Our firm will be participating in beta testing of pink report application filings in July of 2018.  Based on the success rate of the beta filings, it is possible that full electronic filings will be available as early as the...
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By in Blog, Home Building, Processing
Expect delays sign

It's official – the Department of Real Estate is back!  The former Bureau of Real Estate has regained independence and is back to operating as an independent Department within California's government structure.   Since this announcement, management has scrambled to hire administrative staff to support the Department, filling 18 new positions in July; but those are not the only positions needing to...
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By in Blog, Processing
Severe drought signage

One of the first questions we get asked when meeting someone is, “Which Projects have you worked on?”  Most recently, the second question is almost always, “Where are they getting the water for that?” It would appear the California drought is still alive and well and, as the hot summer days are approaching, the question is becoming more relevant as a concern for home builders. During the hei...
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By in Blog, Home Building, Processing
Looking at graphs

Here’s the scenario: you’re creating a 50-lot gated community where the monthly dues will be $100 per lot. Here’s the problem: Once you begin selling homes, the HOA will begin collecting dues on all unsold lots. You can pay monthly dues on all 50 lots until they’re all sold and eat into your profits or you can phase the project into smaller “marketing phases” during which you only pay dues on u...
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By in Blog, DRE, HOAs, Processing