REALTOR® Tools

Five facts you should know about Virginia's home sales market
May 2008

Download and distribute this concise selling tool to spread the word about Virginia home sales facts and what they mean to REALTORS®, their clients, and citizens statewide. This informative and colorful tool is designed to give you, your agents and your customers easy access to essential information about the state of real estate in Virginia. It’s no substitute for the entire home sales report that’s available at www.VARealtor.com/HomeSales, but it's perfect for those who just want an at-a-glance reading of the full analysis.

Webcast: Ethical Considerations in Short Sales
May 2008

A host of legal and ethical issues can arise when the seller is distressed. Whether you're on the buy side or the selling side of a short sale, make sure that you understand your legal and ethical obligations. Discover the most common issues and learn how to deal with them in this new 29 minute webcast with Lem Marshall, VAR's Special Counsel. Among other questions, Lem answers: Is it legal or ethical to require the seller to state that the home is a short sale listing in the MLS? What happens when a ratified contract with a third party approval clause fails because the third party rejects the offer? What are my obligations when the bank asks me to reduce my commission on a short sale? Why aren’t lenders be required to pre-approve the selling price before short sale listings are entered into the MLS? Are “conditional commissions” permitted in the MLS?

IdealRoute.com: The most efficient way to show listings
April 2008

Got listings to show this weekend? Want to show them in the most time-efficient and fuel-efficient way possible? With gas above $3 a gallon and a personal life to tend to, we know you do! VAR’s new free service computes the most efficient route between three or more properties. Here’s how it works: Go to www.IdealRoute.com Type or paste addresses into the text box below the map one by one, clicking “Add!” after each Click on “Calculate Fastest Roundtrip” The service automatically computes the optimal route between the properties and gives you complementary turn-by-turn directions to all locations using Google Maps.

10 things you should know about today's Virginia real estate market
February 2008

Virginia REALTORS® on the front lines know, the housing market isn't as bad as the media makes it out to be. Now VAR has created a tool to help you communicate with clients and ease their fears about buying or selling a home right now. Download and print VAR's new "10 things you should know about today's Virginia real estate markets" card. Print a few copies to use as handouts to distribute with your CMAs, at client presentations, and even to your past clients. With your expertise and VAR's new educational tool, together we can help you ease your clients' fears. Help spread the word, Virginia real estate is still a good investment.