We’re working on a story for the next issue of Commonwealth about buyers looking for “greener” homes. Not just houses where the bulbs have been replaced by those compact fluorescents, but buildings that have significant green features.

Can you help? We need to interview some folks (we’re talking 10-15 minutes) to get answers to questions like these:

• Whether or not buyers ask about green features in a building, do you do your research and point them out?
• What kinds of green features are you seeing, and how has that changed in the  last few years?
• Are there any specific green things that buyers mention appeal to them — low-flush toilets, tankless water heaters, EnergyStar appliances, something else?
• Have you ever advised a seller to market the green angle of his or her property? (E.g., “We should mention the R-5 insulation in the attic.”)

If you can help, we’ll make you famous — well, famous among Commonwealth readers, anyway.

Just drop a note to andrew[Shft-2]varealtor.com or give a call to 804-262-3755 if you can chat.

I’m a stickler for customer service, and probably a little tougher than most on what I expect from customer service.  So when I experience service that really goes above and beyond, I want to tell people about it.  In this case, I’ve had two recent situations that really impressed me.

Raw data is…well…raw data and that means if you misread the numbers, read them with bias, or even read them in a vacuum, it’s easy to misconstrue any sort of research. Home sales stats are no different and this realization is one of the driving factors in the renovation of Virginia’s home sales report.

VAR has now formed a strategic partnership with GMU’s Office of Housing Policy Research that adds additional value and context to its home sales reports. The main aim of the partnership is to produce more in depth quarterly accounts of Virginia home sales that view the state’s housing situation from a chronologically broader and more analytical viewpoint, improving on the snapshot analysis that was the former focus of monthly reports. The new report format now includes not only raw data from local associations, but also

• A look at both national and state markets
• Statistics on job growth and other important economic indicators
• Housing affordability analysis and
• Honest interpretation of the facts

In addition to reinventing the report format, VAR and GMU have also renovated its distribution. Members and the general public can still download reports online, however now media have the opportunity to call in and get an in-person perspective from Virginia’s REALTOR(r) leaders and expert researchers.

The Virginia 2008 first quarter home sales report is now available online and its most important messages are implicit: Perspective is critically important and considering context is crucial.

A Few Highlights…

If you’re looking at national stats, recession is likely. If you zoom into Virginia, our economy has continually outperformed the nation, is still experiencing job growth, and these factors and the diversity of industry across the state contribute to a healthy economic outlook.

Nationally households with an average income can afford 47 percent of homes on the market. When you zoom into Virginia you see households with an average income can afford 50-60 percent of homes on the market.

Nationally and in Virginia prices are dropping and in most areas stabilizing. In both cases, this is contributing to an overall housing affordability increase and created market entry opportunities for a new sect of savvy buyers.

It’s no secret that home prices in Northern Virginia are expected to continue to decrease; however, that’s only half the story. In Prince William, one of the hardest hit areas; pending sales have increased from 1,645 in the first quarter of 2007 to 2,341 in the first quarter of 2008. This isn’t surprising with interest rate decreasing and price stabilization, it seems like prospective homeowners are starting to get the message. Now IS a great time to buy.

No one knows exactly what the next stage will be in the life of the imaginary “national” housing market and its also true that unlike 2004-06 not just anyone can be successful in real estate. But for the smart buyers, sellers, and REALTORS(r), there’s a lot of opportunity for wealth building and Virginia is still one of the best places to be in real estate in the nation.

Don’t take my word for it; check out the good, the bad, and the real Virginia perspective on the housing market at www.VARealtor.com/HomeSalesReport today.

Tips on short sales, getting the VAR publications you need in a click, new economic development in Virginia, and help on helping sellers in Todays market; these are just a few reasons to check out the April edition of Commonwealth Online. Check your mailbox for your customized version or view it online to see it all. Either way, don’t miss this chance to tap into the relevant information you need as your business starts to heat up.

View Commonwealth Online

I officially have 100% proof that we have officially hit rock bottom.

No other indicators from NAR or the government have been as accurate as the proof that I have. I found a 100% correlation!

When My MOM SELLS, THE MARKET SKYROCKETS shortly thereafter!

The chart to the left is factual. Actual points when my Mom has sold a property.

The last arrow is from a recent listing, which is my Mom’s house which is now under contract. (See listing)

So there you have it. No more need to think. I have always been against the NAR campaign that says “Buy Now,” but now I can show proof that NOW is the time to buy! That market is going UP UP UP!

Thanks Mom, for taking one for the team and helping us all out by single-handedly turning markets around!

For my previous prediction on the EXACT best day to buy, read my old market timing post.

The trouble with air guitar is that no matter how well you can fake it, you’re still only faking it.

People do peculiar things at the gym. Well, at my gym, anyway.

There’s the matron who moans erotically through her half-hour of stretching each morning. The gym-rat who drips sweat on each weight bench he uses, like a Doberman marking his territory. The paunchy, world-weary types who park themselves on the very weight machine I need and commence to doze between sets. And the chatters, voluble (or perhaps hard-of-hearing) sorts who feel inclined to carry-on indelicate conversations with their buddies clear across the weight room: “Mornin’, Roy. How’s that prostate doin’?”

Which is to say, I’ve seen it all – or rather, I thought I had…until the musician.

I discovered him one morning, hovering near the leg press, eyes half-closed, mouth set in customary overbite, and swaying euphorically to the wicked sounds of his…air guitar.

I did a double-take.

“Dude,” I thought, “You’re at least 40 years old and 40 pounds overweight, and you’re standing in the middle of a crowded YMCA, playing air guitar like you’re the coolest thing this side of the lap pool. Stop it before you embarrass yourself!”

But it was too late, of course.

No doubt he was aiming for casual nonchalance, as if a grown man playing air guitar in a weight room was somehow cool, commonplace, normal. And had he been 15, I might have given him a pass. As it was though, it was unsettling, pitiful even. Here was the ridiculously self-conscious attempting to look unself-conscious and failing spectacularly.
“I don’t care if you have Guitar Hero™ at home, and you’re perfecting your technique,” I wanted to say. “I don’t care if your first cousin was Leonard Skynard. There is no band at the Y. There’s no tour bus, no albums, no agents, no groupies. There’s not even a guitar, for Pete’s sake, and the last thing people want to see this early in the morning is a bare-legged Boss Hogg jamming to the sound of…silence.”

But I didn’t say that. Because the thing is…he was OK at it. I mean, as OK as one can be, if you can get past his age and physical condition and the venue and complete, embarrassing inappropriateness of it all. I could practically hear the opening riff of Sweet Home Alabama in my head.

And that’s when it occurred to me: The real trouble with air guitar is not that it’s juvenile or better strummed in private. It’s that no matter how well you can fake it, you’re still only, well…faking it.

These days air guitarists abound, metaphorically speaking. It’s easy to find artifice parading as art in the real estate business.

When you do only three transactions a year while you dabble in a half dozen other “businesses” on the side and still think you’re contributing to the credibility of the real estate profession: Dude, you’re playing air guitar.

When, as broker, you default on your duty to supervise and mentor your agents because, “They never listen anyway.” Dude, that’s air guitar.

When you tell clients what they want to hear rather than what they need to know: That’s air guitar.

When you prostitute your professionalism with clownish advertising gimmicks: Air guitar.

When you accept an overpriced listing just to get a listing: Definitely air guitar.

Ditto failing to reply to emails or embrace new technologies, generally considering your own interests before those of your clients, and treating real estate as a pastime rather than a profession.

What I’m talking about is pretending at professionalism rather than practicing it – the difference between hanging out at the gym and working out at the gym; between miming Santana with empty hands and making real music; and yes, between having a real estate license…and having a career.

Sadly, some folks still do peculiar things in real estate, too.

VAR’s CEO Scott Brunner is rumored to be a half-decent air-trombonist. Email him at scott@varealtor.com.

This week VAR hosted a meetup of REALTOR bloggers, affectionately (and geekily) dubbed BloggerCon, at the Dulles Area Association of REALTORS in Leesburg. This BloggerCon was an encore performance to our first meetup, held in conjunction with VAR’s Convention & Expo back in October 2007. The March/April 2008 Blogspotting column points you to few reviews and resources from this week’s real estate blogging extravaganza.

Matthew Rathbun, director of education for the Fredericksburg Area Association of REALTORS sings the praises of BloggerCon at ClientCentricRealEstate.

Right here at VARbuzz, Jeremy Hart reflects on his experience and even mentally marks his calendar for the next meetup of Virginia real estate bloggers.

You can listen to an internet radio show which was broadcast live from theBloggerCon, thanks to Virginia REALTOR Daniel Rothamel, also known as the Real Estate Zebra.

Here’s an interactive website with resources mentioned throughout the day.

Danilo Bogdanovic, who also attended the original BloggerCon, reflects on his second BloggerCon.

A first-time BloggerCon attendee, Brian Block, shows some love for VAR’s social media initiatives.

The executive director of the Eastern Shore Association of REALTORS, Laura Flournoy, gives her perspective.

Natalie Langford reports on her experience.

Dean Megginson chimes in.

Thanks to the thirty or so who attended! If any other participants have things to say, just leave a comment or a trackback. I’ll update this post as they come in.

VAR Standard Forms are expertly crafted and time-tested to best serve REALTOR® needs throughout the Commonwealth. They are protection for your business. Beginning with this issue, we’ve asked our special counsel Lem Marshall to regularly take a close-up look at specific portions of VAR’s Standard Forms.

Acceptance provisions in purchase agreements can cause more angst than warranted, so it’s worth a moment to remind ourselves of a few important things. When a buyer wants to goad a seller to prompt action on an offer, he will sometimes include a provision such as that found in the VAR Form 600 purchase contract:

“This…offer shall remain in effect unless earlier withdrawn until ______. If not accepted by such time, this offer shall be null and void.” The first point to note is that this provision does not obligate the offeror (typically, the buyer) to keep the offer open until the stated date and time. Any offer may be withdrawn at any time until it is accepted. Second, if the stated date and time arrive with no acceptance having occurred, the offeree has nothing to accept, and the offeror who wants to keep the deal open will need to reauthorize the offer, usually by changing the effective date and time or re-executing the contract.

In some parts of the state it’s becoming common for buyers to add, after acceptance language like that set out above, the words “at the option of the buyer.” I guess this means that the offer dies at a certain time and date if the buyer decides it does. But how does the buyer manifest this intent? How does seller know if the offer is still there to accept? Nothing but confusion and ambiguity can arise from such language, and I hope brokers will educate their agents about the danger of such provisions, and that listing agents will be alert to such silliness. Acceptance provisions can be useful, but we need to remember that once the time comes and goes without acceptance, complications can arise. Unless you’re sure about how to use them, it might be best to leave the offer open.

Sure, it’s not easy being the new kid on the block. First of all, everyone else seems to know a lot more than you do about pretty much everything. And finding your own way can be really tough. Just ask any new REALTOR®. Getting a real estate career started under the best circumstances is not for the faint of heart. There are all of those regulations, trying to find clients, and then the awesome responsibility of all that money hanging in the balance between a client’s dreams and the harsh market realities.

Market challenges being what they are, we decided to find out from a few of our own new kids on the block – REALTORS® with fewer than three years’ experience under their belts – what it’s like being fresh on the scene of Virginia’s real estate profession.

With hundreds of fair-weather agents hanging up their spurs, we honestly expected to hear a lot about how hard life can be and maybe a little of what starvation feels like. So, imagine our surprise when five hearty souls gathered around a breakfast table recently to talk about their short experience in Virginia real estate, and nary a complaint was heard. In fact, these whippersnappers seem to have a few insights into carving out a successful real estate career that we think could help more than a few old-timers.

The latest to join the REALTOR® ranks are combining tried-and-true, traditional tactics with novel twists that come from having a fresh perspective on the business.

So, grab your own plate of scrambled eggs or bowl of oatmeal and see what these newbies had to say. We bet you’ll be surprised, too…

First things first: why did you become a REALTOR®?Is this your first career…or second, third or fourth?

Karen Newins, ABR, William E. Wood & Associates, Chesapeake I became a REALTOR® because I have a friend who is probably one of the top agents from our area. I had been in the medical fi eld for 15 years. It seemed like real estate would be a good fit for me, and my friend really encouraged me to get into it.

Karen Carpenter, 1st Choice GMAC Real Estate, Staunton My mom has been a REALTOR® for two decades, and I thought it would be a great way to subsidize my family income. I got my license in June 2007.

Bonnie Field, Real Estate III Crossroads, Charlottesville I retired from the medical field after 35 years. So I was looking for something I could do for myself. After working with patients for that length of time…working with people all the time, this is a good way to continue doing that in a different way.

Curtis Butterworth, Parr & Abernathy, Hopewell This is my third career. I practiced law for 19 years and then began to preach ten years ago. I am assistant pastor at Joy Fellowship Church in Hopewell. I received my real estate license in May 2006 and established a team, TheButterworthTeam, with my son, Brandon.

Willam Kimsey, GRI, ABR, ERA Kline & May Realty, Harrisonburg I became a REALTOR® in the spring of 2006. I had been interested in real estate for more than 10 years. Real estate is about helping buyers and sellers come together in a transaction that, ideally, allows both sides to get what they want by helping each other. In negotiation language this is called a win-win outcome.

My background as a teacher and trainer in communication and conflict resolution has prepared me well to serve as a VAR ethics instructor and a communication consultant for REALTORS® and brokers. In addition to completing my GRI and ABR, I am now working towards a broker’s license.

(more…)

WE’RE TAKING ON simple, routine, non-controversial topics this time, involving the Attorney General, the Real Estate and Appraiser boards, foreclosures, fraud – things like that.Support the troops

Q. Have you heard from the Attorney General lately?

A. I got a nice call a couple of weeks ago, thanks. Actually, an attorney from the Coast Guard called and asked me to remind all REALTORS® that regardless of what your landlord’s lease provides, a landlord subject to the Residential Landlord Tenant Act may not charge members of the military for early termination of their leases, if termination is done in accordance with the Act. Mitigation is no longer permitted, even if the lease so provides. (The Act was amended a year or two ago, but old leases may still be in effect.) According to the Coast Guard, the AG is watching Virginia property managers and landlords closely, so remember that whatever your lease says, mitigation is no longer permitted, and you may not charge active duty tenants for early termination. Please be sure that all new leases are consistent with the Act as amended.

No licensed agent? no open house

Q. May my unlicensed assistant conduct open houses if she merely permits access and hands out general information about the property and does not answer any questions about the house or give advice to the visitors?

A. There are two theories about how unlicensed assistants can legally do open houses in Virginia. Unfortunately, neither works. The Real Estate Board (REB) has long considered holding open houses to be the practice of real estate, and thus appropriate only for licensees, regardless of whatever is said or done at the open house. When the subject was raised again recently, I asked REB to revisit the issue and let us know whether its position had changed. The board confirmed its long-standing position that only licensees may hold houses open. I realize there has been quite a bit of information disseminated lately to the opposite effect, in articles, on blogs, in continuing education courses and elsewhere. In many cases, this information deals with the law in other states where the law may be different. In Virginia, however, at least in the opinion of the REB, this practice requires a license.

Pay up…dead or alive (or retired)

Q. An agent left my firm with several deals pending, but was not affiliated with another firm by the time the deals closed. If the agent’s license is inactive, may I legally pay him the commission he is owed on these deals as they close? If he has affiliated with a new firm, must I pay the commission to his new broker?

A. There is a great deal of confusion on this matter, so let’s clear it up once and for all. The only relevant issue is whether the agent was actively licensed at the time he performed the act for which the commission is due (obtaining the listing or buyer agency relationship, obtaining a purchase contract or lease, or whatever it is that gives rise to the entitlement to a commission). His license status at the time of payment is irrelevant. So if, for example, he obtains a listing, and it goes under contract while he is at your firm, you may pay him at closing whatever his status. The verity of this can best be illustrated with the following example. Suppose a commercial agent obtains a ten-year lease with a ten-year renewal, on which the firm is to be paid its commission monthly as rent is received from the tenant. Can we really require the agent to remain actively licensed for the next 20 years to receive his monthly commission split? What if he died during the term of the lease? Obviously, we can’t outlaw retirement or death for this fellow, but may pay him, or his estate, or his designee, whatever his license status at the time of payment. It is license status at the time of his actions giving rise to the entitlement that matters, not what he decides to do thereafter. He can go to Tahiti and paint the natives while basking like a lizard on a rock, or he can keep working. You can pay him either way. By the way, if he joins another firm, you pay him, not his new broker. Your debt is to him, and the new firm has no entitlement to any of his fee. The broker of the firm receiving the commission on the deal is the broker the REB regulations are speaking of when they require all fees to be received through the firm’s broker.

An exemption…with exception

Q. Do foreclosing lenders have to provide disclosure statements, Property owners Association (PoA) packets or condominium resale certificates to buyers who buy at the foreclosure?

A. No. The relevant statutes exempt foreclosing lenders and their trustees from these requirements. As to REO, the lender is likewise exempt from the requirements of the Residential Property Disclosure Act, and thus does not have to provide a disclosure statement. Lenders selling REO must provide the POA packet and the condominium resale certificate, but buyers may waive the right to receive the condominium resale certificate, although they may not waive the right to receive the POA packet. Got that? I knew you would. Be very careful about language in REO contracts attempting to affect a waiver as to these documents.

These provisions often say something like “to the fullest extent allowed by law” buyer waives the right to receive the information, but Virginia law is clear that contract waiver language is unenforceable against buyers of POA property. The Condominium Act has no such prohibition against waiver, so I assume the right to receive the resale certificate can be waived by contract.