Advocacy @ Work is an article aimed at updating members on what is happening in our region regarding Economic Development and/or Governmental Affairs.
The Virginia General Assembly convened on Wednesday, January 10th for the start of the 2018 session. There are 19 new Delegates, a new Governor and Lieutenant Governor. During this "long" 60 day session, the General Assembly will work on a new biennial budget and consider over 2000 bills and resolutions.
Virginia REALTORS® has several bills making their way through the General Assembly that RVAR is supporting.
Team Legislation -- Defines a Real Estate Team and will require brokerage agreements (buyer's and seller's agreements) to include the name and contact information of the supervising broker. Consumers need to know, in all transactions, who the supervising broker is, should a problem arise.
Non-English Translation of Documents -- Encourages real estate licensees to assist the growing diverse population by establishing statutory authority for a real estate licensee to refer a party to one or more translation services. The legislation would also make clear that the real estate licensee is not liable for any inaccuracies that may occur by the translator or translation service.
Earnest Money Deposits -- Establishes in statute a right for the real estate broker to give written notice to the parties and disburse an earnest money deposit in accordance with the clear terms of a real estate purchase contract. Also gives a real estate broker an option to give written notice of intended disbursement, with a 15-day "protest period" for one of the parties to object in writing.
Broker Education & Post-license CE -- Allocates 2 hours of the existing 8-hour broker education hours to the requirements for broker supervision. Also adds real estate finance to the existing curriculum for post-licensure education.
Condo & Property Owners Associations -- Would require all Common Interest Communities (Condo and Property Owner Associations) to provide a short summary of important information contained in the resale certificate or disclosure packet. This summary will provide buyers with a summary of items that could affect their decision to purchase a home. This legislation was proposed by RVAR.
Acceptance of Rent with Reservation -- Requires a landlord to give a notice of acceptance of rent with reservation to accept rental payments and still move forward with eviction. Clarifies the existing law removing the requirement for second notice for the time period between entry of an order of possession and prior to eviction.
Lexington Short-Term Rental Ordinance -- The City of Lexington passed an ordinance to regulate short-term rentals that violates state law. This legislation is to require the City of Lexington to amend its ordinance to come into compliance with various provisions of state law.
Clarification of a Supreme Court Case -- A real property owner who buys a house at foreclosure sale, if the occupant does not move out, would file an unlawful detainer in the General District Court. In the Parrish case, the occupant challenged the legal title of the successor owner. The Office of the Executive Secretary of the Virginia Supreme Court prepared a narrative to try to head off the potential of every unlawful detainer case getting derailed by assertion by a tenant or other occupant of insufficiency of legal title to real property. This legislation places into statutory language the substance of the narrative.
Click here to track progress of Virginia REALTORS®' bills and find more details about each one. The 2018 session of the General Assembly is scheduled to conclude on March 10th.
Article provided by Joe Sutliff, RVAR Director of Economic & Governmental Affairs.
RVAR will be volunteering with Feeding America (1025 Electric Road, Salem, VA 24153) on
Friday, March 9. There will two opportunities to volunteer, 9:00am - 12:00pm or 1:00pm - 4:00pm. There will be breakfast snacks and lunch available.
