Using the Flag for Farming

Question: For July 4th each year, a real estate agent in my neighborhood places a small U.S. flag with her attached business card in front of every house. Doesn’t that violate a law for displaying the flag?

Answer: Yes, but keep reading. The United States Flag Code provides the rules for the respectful display and care of the U.S. flag. Under the Flag Code, the “flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.” More specifically, advertising signs, such as a business card, “should not be fastened to a staff” from which the flag is flown.
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New and Revised C.A.R. Forms

• C.A.R. just rolled out today, 4 new and 15 newly revised standard forms for its June 2017 Forms Release. Here are some of the highlights:
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Eww, Bed Bugs!

Starting July 1, 2017, a new Bed Bug Infestation law will require a residential landlord to provide a prospective tenant with a Bed Bug Disclosure, which includes certain educational information about bed bugs and instructions for reporting an infestation to the landlord. To comply with the new law, C.A.R. will release a new standard-form BBD with its Forms Release on June 26, 2017.

The California legislature enacted the new Bed Bug Infestation law to address the unique challenge of controlling bed bugs due to their significant resistance to insecticides. The new disclosure requirement shall be expanded on January 1, 2018 to apply not only to new tenants, but also all existing tenants.
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Defective Notice to Perform?

Question: My client is in a pending sales transaction. The Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA) requires the seller to give a 3-day Notice to Buyer to Perform (NBP), instead of the standard 2 days. The seller nevertheless serves a 2-day NBP. Can the buyer argue that the notice is defective and require the seller to serve a new notice?

Answer: It depends. The RPA has two different NBP timeframes for removing contingencies:
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Who Does Termite Work and Certification?

Question: A buyer and seller are in a pending sales transaction. The buyer obtains a termite report from XYZ Termite Company. The buyer uses the C.A.R. Request for Repairs form to ask for the seller to pay for Section 1 work as specified in the attached XYZ report, and to provide a termite certification. The seller agrees. Is the seller required to use XYZ for the termite work and certification?

Answer: Most likely no, but the RR language is not 100% clear. C.A.R.’s Request for Repairs (Form RR) requires the seller to “pay to have Section 1 work completed as specified in the attached Pest Control Report dated ______ prepared by _______.” The most likely interpretation of that provision is that the seller must pay for the work specified in the XYZ report, not that the seller must use XYZ for the work. The RR further states that, “If Buyer requests either Section 1 or Section 2 work above, Seller shall, no later than 5 (or __) Days Prior to Close of Escrow, Deliver to Buyer a written pest control certification showing the corrective work has been completed.” Again, the most likely interpretation is that the seller need not use XYZ for the certification.
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