The second session of the VAR Strategic Planning work group proved to be quite a provocative and eye-opening one. The purpose of this session was to get members’ feedback regarding what and how VAR is doing currently and what VAR could do in the future. Basically, it was a report card and a customer comments form wrapped up into one.

Wednesday’s part of the session focused on a survey of innovative ideas from other REALTOR® associations. We chatted with associations from Texas, California, Massachusetts and Florida. Though some of the things covered (such as “Second Life“) may have been a bit ahead of their time or not applicable to us here in Virginia, the exercise helped open our minds to being innovative, creative and forward-thinking during today’s meeting.

Today’s meeting involved discussions with various focus groups in order to better understand how VAR is perceived by its members including local boards. The three focus groups consisted of:

• Top Producers
• Local Association Executives
• Gen X/Gen Y’ers

Here’s an overview of what each group had to say:

Top Producers saw very little value in VAR outside of providing an incredibly strong voice for its members on the legislative side of things and promoting the Code Of Ethics. In fact, one member, who has been in the business 36 years, didn’t even know where VAR was located. They also expressed that there was a need for better communication between VAR and its members.

Local Association Executives (AEs) expressed their desire for VAR to “partner” with them and offered their advice on how to do so. This included working together on things such as course offerings, speaking engagements, advertising campaigns, decisions that affect them directly on a local level, etc. They also mentioned a need to improve lines of communication in both directions.

Gen X/Gen Y’ers stated their desire to be involved on a local as well as state level despite feeling as though they “weren’t always invited”. They offered advice on how VAR could better engage its’ members (”young” and “old”) including using online tools to promote offline and in-person interaction among members. They also offered their thoughts on everything from The Code Is Good Business campaign to the Commonwealth Magazine.

Though there may have been some differences in the needs of each focus group, there were definitely two common ones expressed by all three. Those were:

• Improving communication between VAR and members
• Engaging members more and in a better fashion

These seem to recurring themes so we may be on to something…

This session definitely opened our eyes and allowed us to better understand what VAR needs to be focused on in the near term as well as long term in order to best serve its’ members.

***I’m sure that I speak on behalf of everyone on the work group when I say thank you to everyone in the focus groups for taking the time out of their day to come to Richmond and be brutally honest and candid with us. What you have to say and think is what we need to know in order to put the best strategic plan together we can.

One of the most frequently asked questions by buyers I’m working with has recently been, “How will the new loan limits affect the Loudoun County, Virginia housing market and me as a home buyer?”

Many buyers believe that the economic stimulus bill and its’ higher loan limits is the “magic pill” that will “save us all!” They also think (hope) that the new loan limits in Loudoun County will be very close to $729,750. In fact, many buyers are basing their decision to buy or sell primarily on the new loan limits and the supposed drop in “jumbo” rates.

Before ever answering the question, I did some homework and here’s what I discovered:

1. Several reports, including a report from NAR, indicate that the new loan limits in the DC metro area, including Loudoun County, would be around $550,000, not near $729, 750.
2. These new loans have a maximum 90% LTV so be prepared to put 10% down.
3. Though the new limits are required by law to be set by March 14, this allowance will not go into effect until July 1, 2008 and loans must be funded and closed prior to December 31, 2008.
4. The way these new “jumbo conforming” loans are structured and sold on the open/secondary market may actually cause the rates to increase on those loans, as well as current conforming loans under $417K. These new loans could potentially freeze up loan markets due to illiquidity. This would wreak additional havoc on the lending and housing markets.
5. There is not a set date by which Fannie, Freddie, Ginnie, SIFMA, HUD and everyone else involved have to work out the liquidity issues. Who knows when that will happen or whether the affects will be positive or negative on the housing market.

Once buyers see this and do the homework for themselves, they start to understand that there is no “magic pill” that will instantly fix everything. They also start to realize that they should not base their decision to buy or sell primarily on the new loan limits and the hope of seeing “jumbo” rates decrease.

So when your buyers ask you the same question, remember…they may not like your bubble-bursting answer, but they will appreciate your honesty and expertise and will come to you to sell and/or buy when it’s right for them because of it.

Note: This is partially cross-posted from Loudoun Stats.

I have two phrases to describe the first VAR Strategic Planning Committee meeting of 2008 - “very pleasantly surprised” and “ouch, my brain hurts”. You may be saying to yourself, “Why?” and “that’s an odd description?!” Let me explain…

The reason why I say “very pleasantly surprised” is because I saw what actually goes on “behind the curtain” and it’s more positive and engaging than I ever imagined. You see, I was once an un-engaged and apathetic member of VAR. In fact, I may have been on the fine line of being an “assasin”. To me, VAR and its’ dues were a necessary evil when it came to conducting business as a real estate agent in Virginia.

But that changed a few months ago once I became actively involved. As a “newbie” to being on a VAR committee, I am learning how much, not how little, VAR actually does for the benefit of all its’ members. It’s also becoming apparent to what lengths VAR goes to in order to “get it right” and help its members succeed as Realtors.

The last SPC meeting was a testament to that fact. The meeting was dedicated to ensuring that the Mission Statement, Vision Statement and Guiding Principles were in line with what the Association originally set out to do as well as the changing needs of its’ members and the ever-changing real estate industry. These three items are very important because they are used to determine what services VAR provides its’ member and how VAR conducts itself on a daily basis. At the core of all these discussions were the needs of VAR members. There was no room for personal agenda - only what is best for all REALTORS in Virginia. This is what lead me to use the phrase “very pleasantly surprised”.

As far as “ouch, my brain hurts”, that has to do with the very thought-provoking, long and hard discussions surrounding the Mission and Vision Statements. We approached it from a number of different angles and used various methods to come to a conclusion. I seriously began to get a headache from all the concentration and thinking I was doing. At one point, even the facilitator said that he was getting a head-ache. No worries though… The headache was not from the process being a pain in the ____. It was because we were all working so hard to make sure we got it right and that our members were best served.

In case you’re wondering, one of the main topics of discussion was just that - VAR members “wondering” what goes on behind what they perceive to be a “curtain.” This hit close to home for me because I used to often wonder the same thing. Well, VAR is fully aware of this and is working very hard to change that perception. VAR is striving to become more transparent and engaging with its’ members. One example of this is VAR buzz, this blog. A focus on transparency is one of the reasons why you are reading this post and why this blog was created.

I do have to say though that it’s not a one way street. If VAR had engaged me, but I chose not to get involved, then nothing would change for me. In fact, at that point, I could only blame myself and not VAR. That was the other topic of discussion that came out of the first one - When VAR engages its’ members, what can VAR do to help get them involved?

The answer for some is nothing. There are some members that will not care what goes on nor want to get involved no matter what VAR does. Then there are others that may only want to passively watch what goes on whether it be via this blog, the newsletter, the magazine, etc. For the latter group, this may be more involvment in VAR than before, which is still an improvement and credit should be given to both VAR and those members.

For the remaining group, this higher level of transparency and getting rid of the “curtain” perception will spark them to actively get involved. Whether it be through volunteer work, teaching a class, joining a committee or some other way, these newly-involved members (such as myself) will have active involvement in VAR and contribute to all of our fate as REALTORS in Virginia.

To sum it up, here’s my personal take on the first official Strategic Planning Committee meeting of 2008 and the main points I got out of it:

• There is no “Secret Society” or “secret handshake”
• There is no “Dr. Evil” heading the committee meetings
• VAR is aware that not all members are engaged and is working very hard to change that
• VAR is striving to be more transparent so that all members know what’s going on and what their dues are paying for
• The core focus of VAR and why it exists is its’ members and their success as REALTORS
• And last, but not least…if you want to really see what’s going on and contribute, don’t just talk about it - get involved!

Keep an eye out for the follow-up post to the second Strategic Planning Committee meeting in early March.