Posted: 10 Mar 2010 05:45 AM PST

AUBURN — Southern Maine Auto Auction has moved into the former site of the Motor Home and RV Super Center, 220 Station Road. Owners Kevin and Catherine Tilton are a third-generation auction company who currently run an auto auction in Hermon and are looking to better meet the needs of the Southern Maine automobile dealers.

The auto auction, which is a "dealer only" auction, will employ upward of 40 people, including car detailers, office staff and drivers. In addition to the auto auctions, the facility is designed to host public auctions, which are held monthly and include a wide range of items including equipment, ATVs, store inventories and hardware.

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Real estate opinion - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 10:50 PM PST

Last month the NWMLS amended some of the most frequently used state-wide forms. This piece will address some of the changes to the financing contingency forms, and those related thereto.

Under the old financing addendum (Form 22A), after a period of 30 days (the default duration that could be changed) the buyer was to provide the seller with an updated letter of loan commitment. After that deadline, or the earlier receipt of such a letter, whichever was first, the seller could send a three day notice, in which time the buyer would need to waive the financing contingency or the agreement would terminate. Alternatively the seller could ask for updated letters every 5 days. As a practical matter, this seldom occurred. Even the updated letter of loan commitments were seldom requested. And the reason was the seller typically wants the sale to go through. Absent some concern about the buyer, all of this was ignored.

The new rule does away with the letter of loan commitment. Now Form 22A provides that at any time after a period of 30 days (again the default duration that can be changed) the seller can send a "Right to Terminate" notice indicating that after 3 days they can terminate the agreement by sending a termination notice. Form 22A specifically references using Form 22AR for this purpose. The buyer can avoid the seller having the right to terminate by waiving the "financing contingency" within that 3 day period. Form 22A does not specify what form should be used for this purpose. If the financing contingency is not waived, then the seller can terminate at any time by sending a termination notice. Form 22A says that Form 22AR can be used for this purpose.

This is where the problems arise. Note that Form 22A does not specify the form that the buyer should use to waive the financing contingency. Also amended at the same time as Form 22A were Form 22AR and Form 22AW. If Form 22AR is used, the buyer merely states: "Buyer waives the financing contingency set forth in the Financing Addendum (Form 22A)." Form 22AW has the same language, but adds: "Paragraph 6 of the Financing Addendum (Appraisal Less Than Sales Price) survives Buyer's waiver of the financing contingency. . . . Seller may not terminate the Agreement under Paragraph 2 of the Financing Addendum (Seller's Right to Terminate)."

This is very problematic. Seemingly what was intended was to offer the buyer a choice to waive the financing contingency and the appraisal provisions, or merely waive the financing contingency, but not the appraisal provisions. The problem is, Form 22A doesn't say that the the buyer can use either Form 22AR or Form 22AW to deal with the seller sending a Right to Terminate notice. Absent saying that, the seller has not consented to the limited waiver of Form 22AW, assuming that Form 22A even requires the appraisal provisions of Form 22A to be waived. Arguably, if not probably, all that is required is that the buyer waive what is waived in form 22AW. And arguably, if not probably, what is waived by using Form 22AR is exactly the same as what is waived by using Form 22AW. Personally I don't understand why anyone would think that Form 22AR would waive the appraisal provisions of Form 22A. The main reason to think that is simply that both Form 22AR and Form 22AW were created at the same time. The only other thing would be that paragraph 8 of Form 22A, pertaining to an extension of time for Reg. Z does contain a provision indicating it survives the waiver of the financing contingency, but presumably a lot of the other paragraphs of Form 22A survive too. The problem is, the result is simply not clear because Form 22A is not clear.

[Edit: After talking/corresponding with several attorneys, I believe now that what was intended was that the buyer using Form 22AR to respond to the seller, and that the form would waive both the financing contingency and the appraisal provisions of Form 22A. I doubt the courts would rule that way on any consistent basis, but that's what was intended. And despite Form 22AW being drafted as a notice, it was intended to be a negotiated amendment to the contract, with the seller needing to sign off on it. The remedy to end any confusion to and obtain the intended results would be relatively simple. First, a sentence should be added to Paragraph 6 of Form 22A indicating that paragraph does not survive the waiver of the financing contingency. Second, Form 22AW should be amended such that it's drafted as an amendment to the contract, with a place for the sellers to sign, as opposed to initial.]

So where does that leave us? If a buyer uses Form 22AR, then arguably they have waived the appraisal provisions of Form 22A. Personally I don't think that they have, but why would they want to take that risk? If the buyer uses Form 22AW, then arguably they haven't done enough to comply with Form 22A, and the seller could terminate the agreement. Again, why would a buyer want to take that risk?

While I don't want to suggest what others should do, I will tell others what I intend to do as of this point in time. Until there is better guidance on this matter, my offers on behalf of buyers will also include the new form 22AA. That form has the same basic appraisal provisions of Form 22A. It was intended to be used for a cash buyer, but there is no reason it has to be so limited. Then what I would do is in the unlikely event a seller sends a Right to Terminate notice, I would use Form 22AR to waive the financing contingency. Since the appraisal provisions of Form 22AA are not part of any financing contingency form, presumably they would survive. The point is, eliminating the uncertainty created by the new forms would require your original offer contain an additional form. [Edit: Assuming the forms are some day amended to clarify the result as suggested above, I would still continue to use Form 22AA for buyers, because I don't believe most buyers would want to risk losing their earnest money if the appraisal came in low and they couldn't otherwise perform.]

Finally, as a side note, I've complained in the past that the powers that be never request public comment on forms before they make forms changes. I come from a different world, where even judges ask for public comment before they change the rules. They do that because public comment improves the final product. I think it's time that the powers that be for our form changes realize that too. Yes it would take more work for them to review comments, but a lot is at stake with the use of the statewide forms.

Note: This piece is not specific legal advice and is merely one person's interpretation of the new forms. As noted in the piece, there is a lot of uncertainty as to exactly how the forms work. To the extent anyone wants legal advice regarding the forms, they should consult their own attorney.

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2010 SCORE San Felipe 250 Preview - Motorcycle USA

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 02:29 PM PST

Entries from 25 U.S. States, Nine countries with 31 SCORE Trophy-Trucks, 20 in Class 1, 16 in SCORE Lite; Entered with most class wins: O'Neal-10, Solorzano-9, Campbell-8, MacCachren and Roeseler-6, LeDuc-5, Hengeveld, Tim Herbst, Morton and Rojas-4.

LIVE photos, text/audio/video: Pre-race, S/F line--SCOREinternational.com, DirtNewz.com;
LIVE vehicle Tracking: racetheworld.net

Racers always seem to return to places of past success and this weekend's 24th Annual MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 will certainly be no exception as 67 desert racers who have combined for 151 class wins are all part of the ferocious field of nearly 275 entries in this popular spring race on Mexico's majestic Baja California peninsula.

Attracting entries from 25 states and nine countries, the lineup includes 31 entries in SCORE Trophy-Truck, the marquee racing division for high-tech, 800-horsepower unlimited production trucks. Round 2 of the 2010 SCORE Desert Series will be held this weekend in Mexico's picturesque fishing village of San Felipe, located 120 miles south of the U.S. border on the East side of the Baja California peninsula along the azure waters of the tranquil Sea of Cortez.

With nearly 275 entries expected, which would be among the top five totals in race history, competition will be held in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes in the 248-mile race. The green flag will drop at 6 a.m. Pacific Time Saturday, for the motorcycle and ATV classes, followed three hours later by the car and truck classes at approximately 10 a.m. Pacific Time. The start and finish line for the race will once again be the landmark San Felipe Arches on Highway 5 on the outskirts of San Felipe. One vehicle will start every 30 seconds in the elapsed-time race, with an 11-hour time limit to become an official finisher.

The field includes racers from the last 11 overall motorcycle winners as well as 10 of the last 14 overall 4-wheel vehicle winners. Also entered are 25 class winners from last year's race.

Arizona's Ron Whitton and Southern California's Robby Bell received the first starts for four-wheel and two-wheel vehicles in the computerized drawing for starting positions. Whitton races in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division while Bell competes in Class 22 for open motorcycles where he has three class and overall wins in this event.
The pre-race Manufacturer's Midway and tech inspection of the vehicles in the race will be held on Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the picturesque Malecon, flanked by the Sea of Cortez on one side and the popular restaurants and night clubs of San Felipe on the other.

Racer registration will be held Thursday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Bandidos Cantina. At 10 a.m. on Sunday, the awards celebration will be held in front of The Beachcomber Night Club on the Malecon.

SCORE Trophy-Trucks have won 14 overalls in San Felipe in the first 16 years of its history.

In the first 23 years of this race, Honda has earned 14 overall motorcycle victories (including the last four years), Kawasaki has six, KTM has two and Husqvarna has one.

This year's race will use a 248-mile race course that is very similar to the past two years with a few major modifications beyond those caused by normal weather conditions. It runs in a counter clockwise direction out of San Felipe up to and then parallel to Highway 3 (south side). It then heads south back down through three of the most picturesque, challenging washes and magnificent canyons in all of Baja.

The rugged course has four physical checkpoints and 12 virtual checkpoints as each vehicle is required to use a tracking device obtained through International Racing Consultants for vehicle safety and tracking purposes.

Leading the gregarious group of 31 racers with at least two class wins in this race entered this year are: Jim O'Neal (Classes 30, 50 and 60) with 10 age group motorcycle wins--all in the last nine years, Eric Solorzano with nine class wins in Class 11 for stock VW Sedans, Johnny Campbell (Class 22) who has eight motorcycle class wins, Rob MacCachren (SCORE Trophy-Truck) and Larry Roeseler (SCORE Trophy-Truck, who each have six and Curt LeDuc (SCORE Trophy-Truck) who has five career class wins in San Felipe. O'Neal has raced in all 23 previous SCORE San Felipe 250 races.

Also entered this year are four racers who each have four class wins here: SCORE Trophy-Truck racer Tim Herbst (SCORE Trophy-Truck) along with motorcycle racers Steve Hengeveld (Class 22), Tim Morton (Class 40) and Gerardo Rojas (Class 30).

San Diego's son/father team of Andy and Scott McMillin, the last overall winners in this race from Class 1 (2005, Jimco-Chevy) are racing in SCORE Trophy-Truck in the No. 31 McMillin Homes Ford F-150, which has won the last two SCORE races--last year's season-ending Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 and this year's season-opening SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. Scott McMillin has three class wins in San Felipe.

Drawing the first starting slot for the unlimited Class 1 open-wheel desert race cars was Germany's Armin Schwarz and teammate Martin Christensen, Escondido, Calif. Riding the first ATV off the line will be Class 25 team led by Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif. Schwarz has one class win, Christensen two and Matlock has three class victories in this race.
NASCAR Cup team owner/driver Robby Gordon, the reigning SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck season point champion who finished second in San Felipe last year in the No. 1 Team Gordon Chevy CK1500, is taking his 'spring break' from his day job as NASCAR is off this week. Normally, he has to pull double duty with SCORE and NASCAR. Gordon has two class wins in this race.

At the 24th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, MasterCraft Racing has entered not only company owner Robbie Pierce's No. 30 Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck, but also the No. 20 Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck to be driven by eight-time SCORE season class point champion Rob MacCachren of Las Vegas and the No. 42 Chevy Silverado driven by Will Staats, Valencia, Calif. All three trucks were built by prominent chassis builder Mike Julson's Jimco Racing Products of Santee, Calif. Julson is listed as a co-driver for both Pierce and MacCachren for this race, if needed.

The MasterCraft racers will not be eligible to win any part of the special $10,000 MasterCraft Safety cash contingency bonus purse MasterCraft Safety has offered for this year's San Felipe race.

In San Felipe, Pierce will start fourth, MacCachren 19th and Staats 23rd in the massive SCORE Trophy-Truck field.
Following January's season-opening SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, the World's Foremost Desert Racing Series is visiting Mexico for the first of three races in 2010.

As of today, SCORE Trophy-Truck has the most entries with 31, followed by the unlimited Class 1 with 20, SCORE Lite and Class 1-2/1600 with 16 each. While 256 official entries have been received to date, late registration will be accepted up until race morning.

Among the motorcycle classes, the open Class 22 has the most vehicles entered to date with 11.

Class 24 has the most ATVs entered so far with 17.

Live internet coverage, with photos, text, audio and video, can be found on Friday and Saturday through www.SCORE-international.com and www.DirtNewz.com and live vehicle tracking on Saturday at www.racetheworld.net. Tracking International is providing the website and personnel through a joint agreement announced today with SCORE and BFGoodrich Tires.

In addition to season class point championships, drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are also racing for part of the nearly $400,000 in cash purse and contingency postings as well as earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all car and truck class drivers who complete every required mile of the five-race season. Being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 25th consecutive year, a total of 59 drivers remain eligible after Round 1 of the 2010 SCORE Desert Series. Racers are also competing for the annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards, including the MasterCraft Safety SCORE Rookie of the Year award.

Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Volkswagen of America-official vehicle, Sunoco Race Fuels-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Slime-official tire sealant and Red Bull-official energy drink. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, MasterCraft Safety, Blue C Advertising, Off-Road, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

Associate sponsors for the MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 are the Tourism and Convention Bureau of Mexicali/San Felipe and Cotuco. Additional sponsors in Baja are the Office of the Secretary of Tourism of Baja California and ProTurismo de Ensenada.

The race annually provides a greater economic impact to San Felipe than the popular month-long 'Spring Break'.
For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2010 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.

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