VAR’s Jay DeBoer kicks off our special Legal Hotline Q&A videos on agency with a concise overview of what you can expect come July 1 when changes to the law go into effect. You won’t want to miss this intro to the changes, including: upcoming changes to required (new) disclosure forms enhanced dual agency disclosure [...]

This is for all Virginia Realtors® from your fellow member Forrest Odend’hal of the Prince William Association of REALTORS®: My fellow REALTORS®, How do we know when it is time to take action? We certainly know in our transactions when we need to take specific tasks to keep a deal on track or when to [...]

It’s time to stand up for your profession. It’s time to stand up for housing. It’s time to show the country that Realtors® are going to be heard. On May 17, thousands of Realtors from across the country will converge on Washington D.C., in front of the Capitol, sending a message no one can misunderstand: [...]

A new poll came out that shows we are happier now than before the financial crisis began. This likely either contradicts or validates what most of us think about income as it relates to happiness. Ipsos, a research company, conducted a study of 19,000 adults in 24 countries, and the results show that roughly 77% [...]

On November 18, President Obama signed a bill re-establishing higher loan limits on FHA loans. Below are some of the particulars about what-qualifies-for-what, straight from HUD: Forward Mortgages: Therefore, effective for all Forward mortgages with a case number assigned on, or after, November 18, 2011 through December 31, 2011, the loan limits referenced in Mortgagee [...]

Ran across this post on Agent Genius today about MLS bloopers, and it made me smile: “Many privat school in neihborhood” (Have you considered enrolling?) “Nice butt needs work” “No shuwings until open” We here at VAR are certainly not above typos, they happen to anyone and everyone. I am, personally, the queen of missing [...]

If you attended and would like to browse photos from this year’s REal Show (or didn’t attend and want to see what you missed), check out VAR’s Smug Mug page to see lots of great candids. If you took a minute in the expo to sit and have a new headshot taken, you can check [...]

“We can’t wait for flood insurance” is the driving message behind the Sunday op-ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, penned by VAR CEO Scott Brunner. While VAR and NAR have been urging members to contact their legislators on this issue for months, Hurricane Irene has brought the issue into much sharper relief here in Virginia, and [...]

Now available: Episode 2 of the Legal Hotline Q&A with Blake Hegeman. The topic? Disclosures, which is another frequent topic of conversation on the VAR Broker Legal Hotline. In this second video, Blake addresses questions like What are my disclosure obligations to clients and customers? What is an emptors caveat? What is a material adverse [...]

In the wake of Hurricane Irene, some Virginians have been displaced and are seeking temporary shelter. The Governor’s office has reached out and asked that Virginia Realtors® help to identify rental properties to assist those displaced by Irene. The Virginia Housing Development Authority runs a database/search site for rentals, VirginiaHousingSearch.com. If you have rental properties, [...]