VARbuzz » Amanda Arwood

VA agency law changes: a quick video tour

Amanda Arwood — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:30:17 +0000

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 info
the low-down on the written brokerage agreement requirement
the skinny on the mandatory Residential Standard Agency course

Look for the June/July issue of Commonwealth magazine to explain in detail all the law changes that will take effect this July 1. This issue will cover everything you need to know to be in compliance when the changes come.

A great place to start learning about agency: www.VARealtor.com/Agency. This page houses the growing library of resources we’re putting together for you to help you understand and comply with the law change, including a course calendar to help you plan when to take the 3-hour course.

Stay tuned for more information and videos as we come closer to July 1.

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From your fellow Realtor, Forrest Odend’hal

Amanda Arwood — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:12:36 +0000

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 make a call to request information. How do we know when it is time to take action in our industry, in our profession, or in our livelihood?

I believe the time to take action is now! And I ask myself if not me than who? Who do my clients expect to stand up for them and their rights and privileges of home ownership? If I am truly their champion, the answer is clear. There are so many of you that share my beliefs both with the passion for our industry and your clients. Please stand with me when it matters most, as we share in the moment, side by side in our Nation’s capital with one unified voice.

We love our profession because we are blessed, each day, to assist our family, friends, neighbors and all Virginians in buying and selling real property – in finding their homes for their family or business. We are being trusted to represent them in what will most likely be the most significant investment of their lives. When we meet with our clients to assist in selling their homes, we learn more often than not that the totality of their net worth is the equity that they have in the very home that we assisted them in purchasing only a few years before. By this time, they are immensely aware of the advantages of home ownership, in the pride of community filled with friends, neighbors, schoolmates, team mates, social clubs, events and all the memories in their home with family and friends each passing year. They are also aware of the huge benefit of the mortgage interest deduction, the secondary mortgage market which allowed them to purchase with little money down, their closing costs being paid by the seller, and the tax break they enjoy at the end of each year when preparing their income tax return. Our clients trust us. When it comes to real estate, we are the ones they call. They share their satisfaction with their friends and family as they send anyone, everyone even uttering the words real estate, our way to receive the same great service. We give advice that they have come to count on.

I am now loving my twenty-third year in our great industry. It is only because of all who have trusted me with their real estate that I have enjoyed success and been able to provide my family with a respectable quality of life. For this I am honored and grateful. The trust that has been placed in me comes with a great deal of responsibility. I know that serving clients for life comes with the commitment of being their realtor for life. My clients expect my best and trust that I am looking out for their best interest and the very rights and privileges that I sold them with their property. So I fight the fight. I keep myself informed of the threats to our industry and to property ownership rights. When the opportunity presents itself, I take action. It takes time, it takes energy, and it does not come with a paycheck. Yet, I assure you – it is worth it! My clients expect no less from me, and they know I have their back.

Now, my friends, is the time! The opportunity is the NAR Realtor® Rally in Washington D.C. on May 17th.

This nationwide rally will bring REALTORS® to the Mall and Capitol area from staging points throughout the United States. Once there, we will have the attention of the press and elected officials as we join with one unified voice making it clear that we will not stand for the dilution of the rights and privileges of property ownership. We will make it clear that our industry will not stand for this fundamental right to be questioned, minimized or used as political posturing.

I am not asking for money, and I am not asking you to invest anything other than your time. Join me in making a difference for ourselves, for each other, for our colleagues, for our clients, for our community.

-Forrest Odend’hal
2011 President, Prince William Association of REALTORS®

REALTOR® Rally: It’s time to stand up for housing

Amanda Arwood — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:37:53 +0000

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:

We are Realtors, we are strong, and we are here to protect the American Dream. We’ve had enough of nay-sayers, we’ve had enough of political gridlock, we’ve had enough of attacks on housing. And we’ve had enough of confusing bureaucracy and skittish lenders.

It’s time for Congress to step up to the plate and do its job — and that includes making a commitment to creating a stable housing market for the long term. It means ensuring that housing remains the fiber that binds together the fabric of America.

As one of the most influential states in the nation — not to mention being on D.C.’s doorstep, we need Virginia’s Realtors® there at the Realtors’ Rally to Protect and/or Reclaim Home Ownership.

Take a minute to sign up and commit to being part of history.

We’ll get you there. We’ll get you back. We’ll feed you. All we ask is that you show up, wearing your Realtor® pin on your lapel and your Realtor® pride on your sleeve.

Here’s what you need to know:

Everything you want to know about the rally is at realtorrally.org.

Whether or not you’re attending NAR’s Midyear Meetings (which are held at the same time), you need to register separately for the rally. That way NAR can be sure to have enough transportation and food for everyone.

NAR is working with VAR and your local associations to provide buses so everyone can get there. When you register, just indicate that you need transportation. We’ll take care of the rest.

If you’ll be attending NAR’s Midyear Meetings:

Pick up your Realtor® Rally materials at the hotel before you come to the rally.

You can either take an NAR bus from the standard pick-up zone at the hotel, or use the Metro Card NAR will include with your registration pack.

The Metro station is right across the street from the Marriott Wardman Park hotel; the NAR building is at Union Station. You should be there by 9:00, so plan for a bit of rush-hour crowding.

Breakfast will be served at the NAR building before the march to the rally. (Box lunches will be available at NAR afterwards, too.)

If you’re coming up just for the Realtor® Rally:

If you’re coming on a Realtor® Rally Ride bus, it will take you where you need to be. Easy peasy. You bus will come equipped with a captain who will tell you where to find the VAR delegation.

If you’re getting there on your own, plan to be at the NAR building at 9:00 AM. (Note: Remember that it’s rush hour!) Breakfast will be served before the two-block walk to the rally site.

Visit RealtorRally.org and stay tuned for continuous updates on this important event.

I love a headline like this

Amanda Arwood — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:21:58 +0000

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% of respondents describe themselves as happy, up three points from 2007 just before the crisis hit. 22% self-describe as “very happy”, up from 20% in 2007. Remember, of course, that happiness means different things to different people, and these results are different than polls measuring, say, “well-being” and “life satisfaction”, which you may have also read about and have more specific metrics attached to them.

The biggest takeaways: Emerging markets (Turkey, Mexico, India) don’t tend to share rich countries’ pessimism; and it seems to be definitive that happiness (or perception of happiness) is not linked to material wealth (there is, apparently, a happiness/wealth plateau; after hitting this, you should consider pursuing other interests than making money to ensure your continued happiness or “very happy”-ness).

Check out the full story and see where the U.S. ranks at the Economist.

Update from HUD on FHA loan limits

Amanda Arwood — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:44:09 +0000

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 letter 10-40 shall be in effect.

As a reminder, Mortgagee Letter 11-29 still applies to the time period 10/1/11 through 11/17/11:

Loans that did not have credit approval on, or before, 9/30/11 are subject to the lower limits that were in effect 10/1/11 through 11/17/11.

Loans that had credit approval on or before 9/30/11 and FHA to FHA refinances may be eligible for exceptions to those loan limits as defined in Mortgagee Letter 11-29.

The Department will be issuing a Mortgagee Letter by mid-next week that will include more detailed guidance and applicable updated loan limit tables for 2012. We expect supporting system changes to be completed within that same time frame.

HECM:
Lenders are reminded that the maximum claim amount for HECMs is not affected by HR 2112 and the maximum claim amount for HECM remains at $625,500 as stated in Mortgagee Letters 10-40 and 11-29. This loan limit will remain the same for 2012 and will be included in the pending Mortgagee Letter.

AUS Systems:
Be advised that Automated Underwriting Systems (AUS) that utilize Total Scorecard may not be updated with the new mortgage limits. Lenders are reminded that when a case file is scored that exceeds the statutory loan limits, the results of the scoring event may reflect “approve/ineligible” or “accept/ineligible” and a feedback message identifying that the “ineligible” result is due to the loan amount exceeding the statutory county loan limits. Case files that receive an “approve/ineligible or accept/ineligible” may be eligible for endorsement under the applicable loan limits for the time periods described above.

You and your clients can get FHA tech support and answers to many FAQs HERE.

Thoughts on typos and what they relly mean (Get it?)

Amanda Arwood — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:27:49 +0000

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 typos and hitting “Send”. It’s especially nerve-wracking when that “Send” is blasting out to more than 30,000 Realtor® members, hundreds of legislators, or even hundreds of thousands of homeowners across the state. In a professional setting, it is imperative to take the extra time to present your [news story, listing, advertisement] in the best possible light with your audience, which means, first and foremost, no typos or screaming grammatical errors.

But these mistakes are inevitable, which is the reason I rely on some great folks [Gini "Eagel Eye" Bonnell, Tracey "there's an a.m.–p.m. problem in this schedule" Floridia, Lili "you need loads more detail here" Paulk, among others] here at VAR to help me with my sub-optimal proofreading skills. These gals make themselves available to us here in the marketing department, and for that we salute you. You make us all look better.

So, with Thanksgiving before us, I want to take time to thank the people whose skills complement mine and help me end up with a better product, whose efforts make the whole of what we do here work. Because typos just mean we’re human, and that we need the support of our co-workers, our friends, and our family to get us to 100%. Happy Thanksgiving!

2011 Real Show photos are online

Amanda Arwood — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:27:19 +0000

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 out J. Ford Photography’s website (password is var2011) and order prints or digital copies.

Ah, memories!

Flood Insurance is on the radar at the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Amanda Arwood — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:05:09 +0000

“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 it’s starting to resonate with Virginia property owners.

Direct from the source:

“Let’s be clear: Federal flood insurance is not a questionable expenditure or pork-barrel politics. This is a longstanding and critical program used by more than 5 million American families in 29,000 communities nationwide — many of them here in Virginia — and one that covers $1.2 trillion in assets. (In fact, about 97 percent of the U.S. population lives in a county that has declared a major flood disaster in the last 20 years.)”

The concern, both for Realtors® and for the Virginia housing economy, is that if the National Flood Insurance Program expires, home sales will grind to a halt. Last year, when Congress allowed the NFIP to lapse briefly, 47,000 home sales across the nation were delayed or cancelled. In this economy, the last thing we need is to create that kind of roadblock again.

Read the full piece here, and be sure to “Like” and share on your Facebook page so more Realtors® and clients can become aware of this important issue.

Click here to take action through the NAR Realtor® Action Center on the NFIP.

Disclosures: Episode 2 of the Legal Hotline Q&A

Amanda Arwood — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:02:08 +0000

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 fact?
What about POAs, LBPs, RPDs and other mish mash?
and much more…

” src=”http://www.varealtor.com/sites/all/modules/wysiwyg/plugins/break/images/spacer.gif” alt=”<--break->” />Keep in mind that the video content is meant for VAR members only, so you’ll need to be logged into the VAR website to view them and all of the legal content on VAR’s website. CLICK HERE to watch Episode 2: Disclosures.

And stay tuned to the VAR Legal Videos page for updates, new additions, and more from VAR’s top-notch legal team.

Got rentals?

Amanda Arwood — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:49:52 +0000

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, we ask that you consider listing them there. Adding and monitoring your listings on this site is easy (register, add properties, access reports on searches and views). It’s good for business (listings are free), and it helps populate a public resource that can and will assist your fellow Virginians.

Although Hurricane Irene’s impact wasn’t as big as expected, there are still plenty of people in Virginia who have lost their homes. They’ll need a place to stay, and we want to make sure Virginia Realtors® are a source of housing for them and any homeowners displaced in future storms.

Click here to download a one-page PDF flyer about VirginiaHousingSearch.com.