Transaction Center
Time to bring it home. Find zipForm®, transaction tools, and all the closing resources you'll need. Except for the champagne — that's on you.
Realtor® Secure Transaction is your place to discover, access and master the essential tools for a modern, efficient and secure transaction.
Transaction management and forms software with all the must-have features, including current statewide contracts, local forms, and more.
Transaction Products zipForm® Edition Service Providers Forms Libraries Transactions, zipForm® Edition SupportFree advice to help you understand the form you're using with Forms Tutor® and identify which form you need for your transaction with Forms Advisor™
C.A.R. Standard Forms are developed by the C.A.R. Legal Department which gathers input from real estate professionals and attorneys to create user-friendly, comprehensive, and dependable forms.
Become certified as a Home Inspector or connect with a certified Inspectors and Transaction Coordinator.
C.A.R. Home Inspector Certification Program Transaction Coordinator DirectoryEverything you need for a successful property management & leasing business
A collection of educational and technology resources designed to help you achieve profitability and better prepare for your financial present and future.
Download the latest C.A.R. mobile apps, including CARmojis & Stickers, C.A.R., Legal Hotline, CA REALTOR® EXPO, and zipForm Mobile.
Legal articles, many in question and answer format, are currently available on over 150 subjects in 50-plus categories.
The Legal Action Fund advocates the REALTOR® point of view and assists in lawsuits pivotal to the real estate industry. Learn more about how the Legal Action Fund supports you in your business.
Wish you could catch up on California real estate law without having to read even more documents? Relax and watch a video as C.A.R.’s Legal Live Webinars bring you up-to-date on the hottest topics in real estate law.
While you’re driving to your next meeting, would like our attorneys to update you on how to best protect yourself and your clients? Subscribe to our Legal Matters Podcast, and we’ll bring the most critical information right to your device.
Explore the implications of the landmark Burnett v NAR antitrust lawsuit's outcome for REALTORS®, the industry, and your business.
If you're a member looking to resolve a minor dispute or communication issue with another REALTOR®, a C.A.R. ombudsman may be able to help!
C.A.R. REALTOR® volunteers are specifically trained and are available to answer questions from other members about the Code of Ethics, and can provide information and limited counseling concerning its proper interpretation.
Your lifeline to the lending community formerly known as the Finance Helpline and Mortgage Rescue™. Find contacts and answers to all mortgage related questions, and problems that arise in your real estate transaction. Get assistance today!
Lending ResourcesNeed assistance on Transactions – zipForm Edition, purchasing a course, or other general membership questions? The Customer Contact Center is only a phone call away.
The C.A.R. Real Estate Mediation Center for Consumers has mediators available to assist buyers and sellers (as well as other parties to real estate transactions) in resolving their disputes.
Did you know that for zero dollars and zero cents, you can speak with an attorney about your transaction? If you don't believe us, check it out yourself.
The Abandoned Personal Property After Termination of Tenancy Q&A has been revised. Questions #30 and #31, following a change in the law, now state that a commercial landlord may keep, sell, or destroy the tenant’s abandoned personal property, after having provided notice, when the landlord reasonably believes the property to be worth less than either two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or an amount equal to one month’s rent for premises that were occupied, whichever is greater. If the worth of the abandoned personal property exceeds this threshold amount, the landlord would be obliged to sell the property at public auction.
The Rental Property and Foreclosure Q&A has been revised as follows:
Question #14 explains that the potential rights of a tenant, who remains on a property after foreclosure, to receive a 90-day notice or even enforcement of a full term lease, are protections under California law which are due to expire at the end of 2019. However, the federal “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act,” on which the California law was modeled, and which contains nearly identical tenant protections to the California law, was permanently reauthorized on May 24, 2018.
Question #23 notes that up until January 1, 2018 a landlord was required by law to disclose a notice of default to a prospective tenant. (Cal. Civil Code § 2924.85). This law expired and has not been renewed. Nonetheless, the problems associated with renting to new tenants a property presently in default are manifold: owners may neglect maintenance and repairs or even payment of the utilities; foreclosure could terminate the leasehold rights of the tenant; and the security deposit can be difficult for a tenant to recover after foreclosure. For these reasons, it is recommended that a property clearly disclose (with the landlord’s permission) that the property is in default at the time of signing the lease.
The Do-Not-Call, Do-Not-Fax, Do-Not-Email Laws Q&A has been revised as follows:
Question #33 has been added to explain what qualifies as an “autodialer” for purposes of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Under recent court rulings, it is a system that has the present ability as opposed to the potential capacity to store or produce random numbers (ACA International v FCC (885 F3d 687 (2018), rejecting the previous “capacity” test). Previously, the Federal Communications Commissions in a 2015 Declaratory Ruling had adopted a liberal test that using equipment that had the “capacity” to store or produce telephone numbers using a random or sequential number generator would qualify regardless of whether the system was actually being used in that manner. (See 30 FCC Rcd. 7961 (F.C.C.), 30 F.C.C.R. 7961, 62 Communications Reg. (P&F) 1539, 2015 WL 4387780). This ruling incentivized litigation in the form of class actions against unwary businesses that were not in fact using auto-dialers. Some of the cases even involved real estate brokerages
Question #34 was added to provide conservative risk management advice on how to ensure that a business remains compliant when using auto-dialers.
The Protect Your Brokerage From Cybercrime Q&A has been updated:
Question #5 now includes the following advice from the FBI on implementing strong email protection practices:
Avoid free web-based e-mail accounts altogether: Establish a company domain name and use it to establish company e-mail accounts in lieu of free, web-based accounts.
The Online Privacy Laws Affecting REALTORS Q&A has been updated to include information about the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The CCPA is a sweeping consumer protection law designed to allow consumers to control their personal information by, among other things, granting the consumer the right to require that their personal information not be sold and that it be deleted from a company’s business records.
The CCPA applies to any for profit business doing business in California that directly or indirectly collects consumers’ personal information, provided that one of three conditions is met:
The CCPA becomes effective in 2020.
Questions 16 through 22 have been added to discuss the CCPA
Additionally, this Q&A has been updated to include information about the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This law came into effect on May 25, 2018, and even though it is a European law, it could impact some agents. The most likely scenario that might trigger compliance would involve, for example, a California agent advertising Pacific Coast holiday homes to German and Italian buyers.
Questions 34 through 38 have been added to discuss the GDPR.
The Team Names Q&A has been revised as follows:
The Changing Offices: Transfer of Listings, Buyers, and Procedures for Changing Brokerages Q&A has been revised as follows:
The Residential Rent Control Relief Law Q&A has been updated as follows:
The Foreclosure Timeline has been updated to reflect changes in the California Homeowner Bill of Rights due to its various provisions sunsetting and being replaced in 2018.
The Protect Your Brokerage from Cybercrime Q&A has been updated as follows:
The Capital Gains Tax Q&A has been revised as follows:
The Changing Offices: Transfer of Listings & Buyers, and Procedures for Changing Brokerages Q&A has been revised to include selected questions from CalBRE’s FAQ re Broker-Associates. Questions 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 have been added.
The Internal Revenue Code 1031: Tax Deferred Exchanges Q&A has been revised as follows:
Questions 7 and 18 indicate that effective January 1, 2018, it is only real property, as opposed to personal property, that qualifies for a 1031 exchange.
Question 5 clarifies that 1031 exchanges are for property held for productive use in a trade or business, or for investment. A taxpayer who moves into an upleg property shortly after acquisition runs the risk of being denied tax deferral for failing to make a bona fide effort to use the property for business, trade or investment. Two years is generally considered a safe period but there is in fact no specified holding period.
The Advertising Your Services Q&A has been revised as follows:
Question 5 has been added to explain that on advertising and marketing materials the designation before an agent’s license number may be “DRE,” “BRE,” or CalBRE.” Even if an agent elected to have a business card or signage that stated “RE Lic #” or something to that effect, that would always be appropriate.
The Unlicensed Assistants Q&A has been revised as follows:
The Unlicensed Assistants chart has been updated to include a link to the DRE’s 2018 “Guidelines for Unlicensed Assistants who Work in the Real Estate Industry.” While this new publication contains no changes of significance regarding the role of unlicensed assistants, it does provide a detailed reiteration of the DRE’s existing views and guidance.
The Marijuana Issues for REALTORS® Q&A has been revised as follows:
Questions 37 and 39 have been revised in light of the decision of the Department of Justice to formally rescind the Obama era policy that had discouraged federal prosecutors from bringing charges of cannabis-related crimes in states that have legalized sales of the drug. While the rescission of this policy does not necessarily mean that the DOJ will immediately begin enforcement of federal cannabis law, it does free up federal prosecutors to use their discretion to enforce the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) as they would any other federal law. However, the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment regarding medical cannabis is presently still in effect, and precludes the federal government from using its resources to enforce the CSA regarding medical marijuana use if permitted under state law.