Message from Commissioner Davi

This New Year brings a change in Administration and the hope of better times for us all. I know I heard these same excited words expressed a year ago as we said goodbye to 2009. With 2010 now behind us, I would encourage all of you in the real estate profession to take a brief moment to pause, catch your breath, look back on the past 24 months and say, “I’ve made it!”

California’s real estate market is not out of the woods by any means as the marketplace still reels from thousands of foreclosures, short sales, and the yet unknown effects of our struggling economy. But, you have survived what we all recognize as the single largest real estate and economic downturn since the great depression. 2011 is an opportunity for us all to reflect on the past and to plot out a strategy for the future. Like anything in life, it’s best to have a plan and the coming of the New Year is a great opportunity to put new plans into action. It’s just like the old adage, “If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably get there.”

For me, I welcome 2011 as a year of new adventures. I will leave my post some time in 2011. It seems natural for me to take my own advice and pause and reflect on my last 6 years as your Real Estate Commissioner. There are many accomplishments of which I am proud: having been a part of beginning with the implementation of Electronic Exams to the successful conversion to the Mortgage Loan Originator Endorsement License for real estate licensees who engage in mortgage lending activities. Also, DRE has now in place, for the first time, a five year strategic plan developed in concert with all the staff to guide the department into the future. We have improved regulations regarding CE course requirements and expanded CE compliance reviews. Last year I was even able to realize my dream with the successful launch of the DRE Financial Literacy Program. DRE continues its forward thinking and outside the box ingenuity with the recent introduction of the Advocacy Program. This program is geared to intervene early in the complaint process to enable a potential return of victim’s monies before it is absconded with or to prevent unlawful acts from escalating. After only three months of operation, the Advocacy Program has already recovered over one half of a million dollars for consumers.

However, the single thing that I am most pleased to have orchestrated is the transition of the Department from an agency that did only what it was statutorily required to do, to a regulator that boldly steps beyond the typical government mold and aggressively pursues mortgage loan fraud not only through increased enforcement but through consumer awareness and consumer protection.

DRE has led the charge to put an end to illegal advance fee charges and unlawful foreclosure avoidance scams. DRE has provided numerous consumer alerts that have been duplicated, redistributed and published by other entities. DRE has begun to be a dedicated resource which coordinates with other law enforcement agencies so that we can be sure once a “bad guy” is on our radar they are also subject to any applicable criminal penalties that can also be imposed. This was accomplished through the tireless efforts of the entire workforce at DRE.

As I said at the onset, now is a good time to take a moment and reflect on what we’ve all endured and then look forward to better times, which we all know one can achieve with a good plan, tenacity and good old hard work. I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Abraham Lincoln; when he lost one of his early political bids for elective office but wanted to try again. His friends were encouraging him to wait before he ran again but Lincoln said “Good things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustled”. So keep this in mind as you contemplate your year ahead.

In closing, I have truly enjoyed being your Commissioner these last six years, and I consider it one of the greatest honors I have ever had bestowed upon me. I won’t say good bye; I will say farewell!