Land

For the vast majority of Realtors^®, satisfying the Virginia Real Estate Board's (VREB) continuing education (CE) requirements is something you do to improve yourself and your professionalism. To stay current on what's happening in the industry, you seek out high-quality education like (shameless plug) the REal Show, courses from your local association, or from other approved real estate schools.

Gov. McDonnell has embarked on a mission to create the Commonwealth's first statewide housing policy. The policy is expected to guide the Commonwealth's approach to issues such as homelessness, affordable housing, workforce housing, economic development, healthy neighborhoods, effective coordination with transportation, environmental issues and other housing related opportunities.

Time is running out to provide comments or ideas to Gov. McDonnell's Housing Policy Advisory Committee. On July 9, the suggestion box will be closed. If you'd like to provide input to the Advisory Committee, act now.

A day after helping to get the homebuyer tax credit closing deadline extended, NAR's powerful lobbying efforts are profiled in a CNBC spot.

Regardless of what you think about the tax credit, there's widespread agreement that it helped stimulate sales and stabilize home prices. Realtors®: If you've benefited from the homebuyer tax credit (and virtually all of us have, if only indirectly), make an investment in RPAC -- it'll make future legislative victories possible.

Watch your mailbox this week for the latest issue of Commonwealth Magazine.  Here's what to expect:

The managing editor of HousingWire (Richard Bitner), NAR's Chief Economist (Lawrence Yun), Virginia's preeminent real estate lawyer (Lem Marshall), the industry's social media guru (Jeff Turner), a Super Bowl winning quarterback (Joe Theismann), a dozen other experts to help you earn (and keep) more money, and 1,000 of Virginia's top-performing Realtors. They'll all be at the REal Show. Will you?

Prince William County supervisors have voted to compel an 83-year-old woman and her sons, Parker Family LLC, to turn over their $100,000 parcel of land -- without compensation.

“They basically just get the property,” said Sally Hankins, attorney for Parker Family LLC. “The county is going to file a document … saying they’re initiating a quick-take on the property.” The filing will claim the property's value as zero, allowing the the county to take it without payment.

We posted stories today (June 1, 2010) about the expiration of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the unfinished business of extending the USDA's Section 502 rural housing program.  Now you can help make things right on both fronts.  

Like FHA loans, USDA-backed loans have been surging in popularity over the past few years due to tightening credit underwriting standards.  After doubling its loan volume from 2008 to 2009, the Rural Development 502 Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program was on the brink of insolvency.

Uncle Sam to the rescue: Both houses of the U.S. Congress have passed bills to continue funding the USDA's rural loan guarantee program. Rolled into the emergency supplemental appropriations bill that passed the Senate last week, the loan-guarantee program will see these changes:

Wetlands may be hard to spot -- and disturbing them without obtaining the required permits can be very expensive.

Kurt Lorenz found that out the hard way after he bought 22 acres of vacant land in southern Chesapeake. He didn't know that the property contained wetlands, and started work on a horse barn. Today, he faces a $22,750 fine from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, plus a $50,000 expense to restore the disturbed wetlands.

Read more in The Virginian-Pilot....

The Richmond Association of Realtors and VAR are teaming up to bring you RE BarCamp RVA. "RE BarCamp RVA? What the heck is that?" you say?

A BarCamp is a FREE unconference, meaning there is no set agenda of topics before everyone arrives at the site.  At the beginning of the event anyone in attendance can “pitch” an idea such as leading a discussion on the use of Twitter for real estate, a discussion on best practices in dealing with a Short Sales, hot mobile applications or using Facebook for real estate.  Each idea is written on a post-it note and posted on the wall at the front of the room.