To Sign or Not to Sign, That is the Question...

Virginia Brokerage Law Requires Clients’ Signatures before Showing Homes.

New brokerage laws went into effect in Virginia July 1, 2012.   This new law requires that a brokerage relationship has to be established in order to perform brokerage activities with a client.  The main change that the general public will notice is that they will be asked to sign a “Buyer Broker Agreement” before a Realtor, or Real Estate Agent, can show them a property. 

There is great trepidation in the industry about this, because some Realtors fear that buyers will resent being asked to sign a form when all they want to do is see a house.  Realtors and real estate practitioners (yes, there is a difference.  Realtors are members of the National Association of Realtors; they usually work in the residential sales arena; they adhere to a code of ethics and they can use the local multiple listing service.  Real Estate Agents are licensed in Virginia to offer real estate services, but they do not belong to NAR.  These are often commercial agents, or in small brokerage companies, and they are not part of the multiple listing services, but they are still subject to the laws of Virginia.)  have been required to disclose who they represent since the 1980s.   This disclosure was supposed to be made “at the first material discussion of a specific property”.    While some practitioners, myself included, usually asked buyers to sign these forms at the first meeting, the general practice had evolved to asking for this disclosure to be signed upon writing a contract.  This was often done after showing the buyer multiple homes.  Now the law will prevent this activity.  Before an Agent can show you properties, they will have to establish an agency relationship with you; that is you will sign the Buyer Broker Agreement.  Otherwise, you will have to sign a form where you recognize that you are un-represented, and that the agent represents the seller.

How will this affect you, the buyer?

At open houses, you will be asked to sign a form.

If you find a property on the internet which you like, you will be asked to sign something when going to view that property.

What changes will this bring about?

It seems to me that Buyers will have to take a minute to think about the financial and legal decisions they are making much earlier in the process. 

What do you think?

I will be very interested to see what you, the general public, think about this disclosure.  Do you think that it will benefit you to know what role the agent is serving when they show you a property? 

Or, do you think that signing papers when you just want to see a house is a hassle?

Location, Lot, Locale

In real estate, you have often heard the adage “Location, location, location”.
I find it more accurate to think about Location, lot & locale when picking a
property. When considering the general location, you are thinking about
commuting routes, distance to work, address, strength of the local economy etc.
In this respect, Northern Virginia is one of the strongest markets in the country at
this time. For the lot, you will be determining lot size; do you want a townhouse,
condo with a balcony, half acre or more to take care of? How much privacy
do you want; do you want the property to look out onto trees? Privacy can be
obtained with extra acreage, or with a well placed fence. For locale, you will be
reviewing school information, checking out the neighborhood shopping centers,
parks etc to see if this is the place you want to enjoy your life in.
Often when looking at homes, buyers focus too much on the actual property. You
need to remember to consider the neighborhood (locale) and location, as these
factors can contribute or take away from your general enjoyment of the home.

Scenic Walking Trails in the Northern Virginia Area

Fairfax County and Alexandria City have lots of inviting trails for local residents to enjoy nature without leaving the area. 

South Run Park

South Run Park
Click here to view enlarged trail map

Monticello Park

Monticello Park

Springfield Churches close to Washington DC Welcome Newcomers

The Springfield area is close to Washington DC and offers satisfying suburban lifestyles. The close proximity to these transient areas means the people are always coming and going. As such many of the local churches are very welcoming to newcomers and some even offer welcoming gifts. My mother received this welcoming Soup in a Jar after relocating here from Illinois. Check out these churches websites and their welcoming pages.

St. Bernadette Catholic Parish

7600 Old Keene Mil Road

http://www.stbernpar.org/

Springfield Church of Christ

7512 Old Keene Mill Road

http://www.springfieldchurchofchrist.org/

First Baptist Church of Springfield

7300 Gary Street

http://fbcspringfield.org/

Kirkwood Presbyterian Church

8336 Carrleigh Parkway

http://www.kirkwoodpres.com/

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church

8304 Old Keene Mill Road

http://www.poplc.org/

Springfield United Methodist Church

7047 Old Keene Mill Road

http://sumc-cares.org/

St. Christopher's Episcopal Church

6320 Hanover Avenue

http://saintchristophers.net/default.asp

Westwood Baptist Church

8200 Old Keene Mill Rd

http://www.westwood-baptist.org

My Mom with her Soup in a Jar

New Restaurants Join Favorites at West Springfield Shopping Centers

The Burger Joint, Panera and Boardwalk Fries have all located to the West Springfield shopping centers within the last year. Our favorite, Village Chicken, has moved across the street. They join Starbucks, Subway, Whole Foods, Austin Grill and several others to offer many casual dining opportunities.

Panera, Boardwalk Fries, Subway

Village Chicken (sign coming soon)

The Burger Joint

Starbucks

 

Loan Limits for 2012

December 18, 2012
New VA Loan Limits.
The VA has determined the new loan limits for 2012. In the DC Metro Region, the maximum VA Loan will be $625,500 for loan originated between 1/1/12 and 12/31/12. The loan amount may increase slightly if Congress passes proposed legislation.
The VA guarantees 25% of the total loan, and a Veteran with full entitlements will be able to borrow the $625,500 with no money down. If the Veteran has partial entitlements, then either they could take a smaller loan, or increase their down payment. Lenders will have varying requirements for down payments and loan amounts. A veteran can obtain a certificate of eligibility by making application on VA Form 26-1880, Request for Determination of Eligibility and Available Loan Guaranty Entitlement, to the local VA office.
This compares to a maximum loan amount of $729,750 for FHA loans on one family properties.
The conventional conforming loans are available for up to $417,000 the same amount as previous years.

The new Northern Virgina Real Estate contract will result in huge changes.

The new real estate contract, coming out in January 1, 2012 will make the housing sell in AS IS condition.  I believe that this will result in prices falling.  It will also change the way we do business. 

They are planning to change the way we sell real estate here in Northern Virginia.  The homes are to sell in AS IS condition, not in normal working order.  This will change a lot of the ways that we do business.  I do believe that this will result in prices falling more than they would of without this change. 

The expectations of what the buyer is getting will be lowered.  We have already seen the market be particularly brutal to the older, single family homes.   And indeed the older homes all seem to have aged disproportionally in the past year. 

Just one year ago, the homes that were built in the 1980s or newer seemed to have features which the market wanted.  They had master bedroom baths, good closets.  Indeed the townhouses have been pulling ahead in the marketplace.  Now the homes seem dated when they were built before 1995.  The extra rain storms have taxed roofs and basements.  The droughts have been hard on trees. 

Earlier today, at the NVAR convention, we saw a preview of the new real estate sales contract to be used in Northern Virginia.  For 30 years we have been transferring in real estate in "normal working order".  That is, that the buyer could expect all the items in the house to basically function as expected.  And so all parties could argue about what is "Normal", and what the buyer should expect to get.  Now all the buyer is told is "WYSIWYG" what you see is what you get; the house sells AS IS.  However the appliance, equipment or structure is operating at the defined time is what you are buying.  We have already seen the market be particularly brutal to the older, single family homes.   And indeed the older homes all seem to have aged disproportionally in the past year. 
Just one year ago, the homes that were built in the 1980s or newer seemed to have features which the market wanted.  They had master bedroom baths, good closets.  Indeed the townhouses have been pulling ahead in the marketplace.  Now the homes seem dated when they were built before 1995.  The extra rain storms have taxed roofs and basements.  The droughts have been hard on foundations. Buyers' are very cautious when looking a these properties because they do not want to just take on someone else's problems.
Sellers should do their bet to put the properties in top condition and consider replacing older systems. It is better to get permits when doing remodelling so that they can assure a buyer that the work was done properly. When putting a house on the market, be prepared to do a home inspection prior to marketing so that you can let a buyer know that you are ready to sell. Also, home warranties are important as they truly do mitigate costs when moving into a new home (Old Republic paid out 8 times so far this year to my clients).
In this ever changing real estate world, this new challenge of selling the properties as they are presented will lead to new norms in how we do business.