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Virginia Appraiser of the Year

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: AUGUST 15, 2013

The Appraiser of the Year Award is presented to the Virginia REALTOR® who has made notable contributions to the field of appraisal and the association on both the local and state level, including support of appraisal activities and dedication to the advancement of the appraisal profession and involvement in the appraisal alliance.

Guidelines are as follows:

DPOR License Transfer Information

Video Banner - Transfer Update

In early March 2013, the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) issued clarification about its real estate licensee transfer policy that created concern about when a transferring licensee is able to practice at his new firm. In response, VAR has been consistently working with DPOR staff and Virginia Real Estate Board members on a solution that will allow licensees to transfer seamlessly to a new firm.

2013 Relocation Day

Date: 
August 22, 2013 - 8:30am - 4:00pm
Location: 
The Boar’s Head Resort, 200 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903

Accessible Tech: What and where to disclose online

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Apr 25 2013 - 9:19am

This appeared in the April/May issue of Commonwealth magazine.

With more and more electronic communication being done in public — the “social” part of social media — you’ll find that you can never really remove your Realtor hat. That means you need to be extra careful when you’re writing an e-mail, crafting a blog post, or replying to a tweet.

And I don’t just mean “always be professional.” I mean that there are disclosure rules from both the Virginia Real Estate Board and the Realtor Code of Ethics that apply online whenever you engage in “advertising.”

And believe me, the definition of “advertising” is pretty broad.

Senators hope to expand rural loan program

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Apr 22 2013 - 1:15pm

We’ve told you before about the USDA’s rural-housing loan program, which provides no-down-payment loan for rural homes.

Now two U.S. senators hope to expand the program’s definition of “rural” even further, so more people can take advantage of the program.

Smokers’ homes don’t sell — or sell for less (and what you can do)

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Apr 22 2013 - 10:48am

Smoking won’t just kill you — it can also kill a sale. So says a survey of Ontario real estate agents, who found that more than 80% of potential buyers would be either “unlikely” or entirely unwilling to buy a home where smokers had lived.

And when the house does sell? The study found that a house could see a 30 percent price drop (!) if it smelled of cigarettes.

All right, so what’s to be done if you’re trying to sell a smoker’s home? After reviewing far too many pages of tips, these seem to be your best bets for removing as much of the odor as possible.

Four hours of CE — on something different

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Apr 18 2013 - 12:27pm

This is a treeHere’s a chance to earn four hours of CE/PL and probably learn about something different — and something a lot of folks don’t know about.

The Virginia Realtors Land Institute and Virginia Tech have partnered to offer “Real Forestry for Real Estate” — a course that will help you not only sell land to prospective clients, but be able to give them useful information about managing their property. (No prior knowledge of trees is necessary!)

2013 AE Conference

Date: 
June 17, 2013 (All day) - June 18, 2013 (All day)
Location: 
Richmond Association of REALTORS® 8975 Three Chopt Rd Richmond, VA 23229

Association Management: “I am dancing as fast as I can!”
2013 Virginia AE Conference | June 17 – 18, 2013
Host | Richmond Association of REALTORS®
 

You and your staff from REALTOR® Associations from across Virginia are Dancing as fast as you can…so the planning committee is dedicated to bringing you thought provoking discussion, help-me-in-my job information and of course, the camaraderie of people sharing similar experiences. Please register by June 13, 2013.

Important post-licensing changes

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Apr 9 2013 - 8:48am

This is a reminder — but an important one — about post-licensing curriculum changes. (It will mostly affect new real estate licensees, but brokers need to remember it.)

The PL curriculum is changing from three tracks (residential, property management, commercial) to a single-track system.

  • The old system will be in place until December 31, 2013.
  • The new system will be available starting July 1, 2013.

The overlap is what’s important.

You know you must take 30 hours of PL education within a year of getting your license. You must take those 30 hours under the current system or the new system — you cannot mix them.

Legal Hotline FAQs: Agents Leaving of Changing Firms

VAR's Blake Hegeman discusses the perennial favorite topic: what goes down when agents leave or change firms?

Questions answered include:

  • What happens if an agent leaves a firm when they have a deal pending?
  • Can you still be paid while in transition to another firm?
  • Where does the payment come from in those instances?