REALTORS® are coming out of the woodwork in reaction to the May/June issue of Commonwealth magazine. In addition to the comments left on the three feature articles here on VARbuzz (count them #1, #2, #3), we’ve also received numerous phone calls and e-mails about the issue. Here’s what members like you are saying:

“The non-English speaking population in Virginia was disproportionately affected by the foreclosure crisis. In my opinion, mortgage brokers took advantage of these people.”

“Short sales are not for someone who is looking for a quick close. What is more interesting about the process is the same bank that can give you a response on a foreclosure in 48 hours takes 60 days to go through the file on a short sale. We all realize it is two different departments but if you are sitting on a file with all of the required documents and four offers why wouldn’t you respond?”

“Short sales are a great opportunity for investors, but I still believe they should be avoided by people who are looking for a home.”

“It was funny for me to see this [magazine cover]. I had a house listed a few years ago in Austin and advertised it with an upsidedown photo. It got a lot of attention and I got some good calls off of it.”

“This is one of the clearest and most straightforward breakdowns of short sales that I have ever seen.”

“One of the only correct, concise articles I have read about short sales! … Thanks for a great article!”

We’ve also gotten a couple of inbound links from these articles. One comes from the Memphis Area Association of REALTORS®.  The other from Jeff Royce, a Fairfax REALTOR® who was quoted in one of the articles and explained his position more fully on his blog.

In related news, Cindy Jones says REALTORS® should factor in 25% more time to work a short sale listing, based on her personal experience (see the comments). What’s your experience?

Got feedback about this issue? Leave a comment or blog about it and link to us!

Oh, you haven’t read your May/June Commonwealth yet? Now you know what you’re missing.

Frustrated with the lack of quantitative data about blogging in real estate? Want to know how your blog stats measure up to others? Fed up with anecdotal evidence and pat answers about effective tactics and results in social networking?

We hear ya!

Announcing a social media research initiative specifically for REALTORS®. The Center for Real Estate and Social Technologies (CREST) will be the definitive research and education resource for social technologies in the real estate business, conducting surveys and other projects to generate benchmarks and best practices that REALTORS® can employ to improve their social networking, blogging, and social media marketing efforts. CREST’s surveys will always be in the 10-15 question range, real estate specific, and conducted every 2-3 months so you can spend less time filling out surveys and we can continually release relevant information to you.

Today, CREST launches its first effort, a 14-question survey focused on real estate blogging. We’ll have at least one more survey on blogging before moving on to other social media marketing topics. The deadline to complete this survey is Friday, July 11 at 9 a.m. EDT. The results of this first survey will be simultaneously released at REBarCamp and here at VARbuzz on July 22.

All blogging REALTORS®, no matter where they live or work, are invited to complete this survey. Those who complete it and provide an e-mail address will receive a free copy of the aggregate survey data and an executive summary. You can rest assured that we are taking all necessary steps to guarantee your anonymity in this process.

The survey is embedded below. RSS subscribers may need to click through to take the survey.

Powered by Wufoo

Here are the top five most-clicked links from June’s Commonwealth Online e-newsletter:

1. $10/gallon gas good for the real estate industry
2. REALTOR® Tools page at VARealtor.com
3. VAR’s Convention & Expo 2008
4. Ethical Considerations in Short Sales webcast
5. HUD Anti-Flipping rule waiver request form

Maybe you missed these items…

1. Want to become more efficient and proficient with ZipForm? Attend one of these two webcasts
2. Be heard on how biosolids affect residential home sales
3. Check out the REALTOR® Code of Ethics in StraightTalk
4. Fundamentals of Technology class (CRS 106) in Harrisonburg
5. Take NAR’s mandatory Code of Ethics training before December 31

If you could do just one thing in the next 12 months guaranteed to ratchet-up your earning potential and real estate knowledge and create a personal referral network that could pay dividends for the rest of your career…would you do it? Perhaps the more appropriate question is: Why wouldn’t you?

Virginia REALTOR® Leadership Academy (VLA) graduates say it’s the best way to supercharge your real estate career.

“What you learn in this course can be used in all aspects of your life, from home, to business, community involvement, volunteering in the association of REALTORS® or any other organization.” — Rick Cockrill, CRS,GRI, RE/MAX Renaissance, Leesburg

“VLA has given me the opportunity to hone my leadership skills and exposed me to different approaches and ideas…” — Mary Bayat, Principal Broker, RE/MAX Champions, McLean

VLA enrolls 20 emerging leaders per year. Applicants are hand-picked to participate in a nine month program of leadership development training focused on the real estate profession. Participants work together over the course of four retreats in development experiences that combine individual study, group sessions, and actual project experience in using leadership skills. Many graduates go on to leadership roles at their local associations, VAR, and NAR.

The deadline to apply is July 1, so start downloading and filling out your application today!

No, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. The cover art and masthead for the May/June issue of Commonwealth magazine are upside down.

A bit unsettling? Good. That’s what we’re going for.

You see, the number of Virginia homeowners getting upside down in their homes may be diminishing, but short sales and foreclosures are present in every market and will be around for the foreseeable future. VAR is here to help you face these current realities.

This issue of Commonwealth features the experiences and perspectives of REALTORS® who have been involved in transactions with distressed sellers, a comprehensive guide to navigating your legal and ethical responsibilities in short sales from Lem Marshall, and a history of fiscal policies and world events that will help you understand the forces that brought us this challenging lending and housing market.

There’s also the ever-popular Legal Lines column and information about the keynote presentations at VAR’s Convention & Expo 2008. Speaking of Convention, VAR’s CEO, Scott Brunner has a little fun with The Last Word.  Read it and you could win a free Convention & Expo registration. But you’ll have to crack the paper copy, arriving in your mailbox this week, to do that.

Two articles from the magazine are posted here at VARbuzz, “Finding the upside in ‘upside-down‘” and “The subprime meltdown.”

The Short Sale has become so commonplace in some Virginia markets that we’re already able to draw on
substantial experience with these critters. Not all of what follows will apply in all markets, or in all sales within a market, or even in all sales with the same lender in a given market. As the Romans used to say,
though, “Experiencia docet” — and experience really can be the best teacher in short sales, perhaps the most taxing transaction a residential REALTOR® will have to deal with.

REALTOR®, know thy lender

Lenders today, especially those holding a snootfull of bad loans, are facing unique pressures. A 2002 Tower Group study found that the average cost to a lender of foreclosing, holding, and disposing of
a property was almost $60,000, and that number is likely a good bit higher today.

Adding to lender woes is the simple reality that the market still has a way to go before we see home prices back into historical balance with household incomes. (See The subprime meltdown) A lender might not be anxious to take a property and try to sell it 12-18 months from now, when prices might well be lower.

Lenders are no fans of foreclosures. Taking ownership of a home means it has to add to its reserves, which reduces money available for lending and other income-producing investments. That damages its balance sheet even before considering the cost of maintenance, repairs, and real estate taxes.

Trying to offload REO into a saturated market can further depress values, starting a vicious cycle of
decreased worth and further defaults by borrowers.

So if we do our homework and give the lender a deal it can’t refuse, it will have every incentive to take it.

(There is one thing to be prepared for: Short sales take a long time — anywhere from 30 to 90 days more than a typical resale. With lenders and loan servicers already overworked, it might even be longer. With short sales, patience is not just a virtue, it’s a necessity.)

REALTOR®, know thy seller

Your first task is to get all the information you can about your seller and the property, and determine whether you’re likely to be dealing with a short sale. (more…)

This post is a more extensive version of an article by the same name that ran in the May/June issue of Commonwealth Magazine. This entry is also available as a 325k PDF download.

In a wonderful scene in The Godfather, Don Corleone has convened a meeting to negotiate a peace among the warring crime families. He begins his address to the assembled mob bosses by asking: “How did things ever get so far? I don’t know. It was so – unfortunate – so unnecessary.”

It’s hard not to think of that sentiment when we examine the housing crisis we now face in so much of the country, and in so many parts of Virginia.

How did things ever get so far?

The question invites a history lesson, one that informs so much of what we must do – and must not do – to see our way through.

As we try to make sense of our predicament, it is useful to understand the principal ingredients to economic policy, especially fiscal policy (established primarily by Congress and the president in formulating tax, regulatory and other economic policy) and monetary policy (established by the Federal Reserve through its control of money supply and interest rates). It is the interplay of policy decisions in these areas that provided the fertile ground for the highly questionable decisions of lenders, borrowers and investors that led to the current unpleasantness. So join me in an interesting stroll through recent economic history for the context that we need to understand how REALTORS® should act both individually and as an association in the light of current events.

The power of the Fed

First, however, a brief explanation about how the Fed affects interest rates and money supply. Interest rates are set mainly through the Fed’s (more…)

***Update: Lem is online now***

The Richmond Times-Dispatch hosts a special online chat with VAR special counsel Lem Marshall on short sales at noon on Friday.

Today there’s a heavy convergence of mainstream media stories and commentary from REALTORS® on how gas prices are affecting the profession and the market. Have a look:

• A lively debate continues (19 comments and counting) on a previous VARbuzz post about the effects rising fuel prices are having on the real estate profession. This VARbuzz entry was the top-clicked link in this week’s Commonwealth Online newsletter (440 clicks and counting).
• MSNBC cites Virginia homeowners who are moving closer to work to save cash at the pump. The story predicts that homes in urban areas and close-in suburbs will hold their values better than those in the exurbs.
• REALTOR® Magazine Online reports that 78 percent of Coldwell Banker agents say higher fuel costs are increasing buyers’ appetite for urban living.
• Be entered into a drawing for one of four $25 gas cards by successfully completing a crossword puzzle themed after VAR’s Convention & Expo 2008 (had to slip that in).

On Friday, June 20 at 10 a.m., VAR’s special counsel Lem Marshall will host an interactive webcast describing the implications of HB 516, which becomes effective on July 1. The webcast is being offered to VAR members in cooperation with local REALTOR® associations, and is available live at selected view sites around the state, as well as archived for later viewing the week of June 23. Contact your local association to learn how you can participate in the live webcast.

Those participating in the live event should come armed with questions, because webcast participants may e-mail questions to Lem and have them answered live. The webcast will be archived for viewing at your convenience on the webcast page at VARealtor.com.

Following is a brief summary of HB 516.

PROPERTY OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION (POA) ACT AND CONDOMINIUM ACT (HB 516)
This Act:

• Creates the Virginia Common Interest Community Board to investigate complaints about community association managers
• Requires associations to publish certificate or packet fees in electronic or paper format
• Enables sellers or agents to request electronic delivery, and they may designate two additional recipients to receive the materials in electronic form at no additional charge

By the numbers:

• Prohibits an association from charging anything beyond the fees set out in its declaration of covenants and restrictions or otherwise provided by law, with limits not to exceed:
  • $100 for a property inspection
  • $150 for two copies of the disclosure packet in hard copy and $125 for two
  • copies of the disclosure packet in electronic form; only one fee may be
  • charged
  • $50 for an expedite fee
  • $25 for an additional hard copy
  • $50 for a post-closing fee
  • actual cost of a commercial delivery service for hand delivery

Additionally:

• • For no more than $50, an update, delivered within 10 days of a written
  • request, may be requested if a packet or resale certificate was issued within
  • the previous 12 months
  • Fees are not paid up front but are deferred to the time of closing
  • These changes only apply to associations who have hired a management company or who have a full-time staff