Changed:
K1345 – Virginia Jurisdictional Addendum

K1209 – Sales Contract for Land

K1211 – Addendum to Sales Contract for Land

K1210 – Walk-Through Inspection

Paragraph 1, Delivery

The new form creates a default place of delivery of contract notices and addenda to the Seller’s if no delivery address for the Seller is specified.  In the event those items are left blank, Seller agrees to accept delivery at the property address. 

Other terms of this paragraph were re arranged at the recommendation of the NVAR Attorney’s Roundtable to emphasize for agents that the delivery terms found here did not apply to the delivery of Property Owner’s Association or Condominium resale documents.

Finally, language was added, again at the recommendation of the Attorney’s Roundtable, to make it clear that when primary delivery was to be made to one of the real estate agents, there was no need to ALSO delivery courtesy copies.

Paragraph 7, Private Well and/or Private Septic System

These paragraphs were re-written nearly from scratch to provide more clarity as to the type and nature of inspections the Seller is obligated to perform and to give Buyers an opportunity to obtain more extensive test results at their own expense. They also borrow language form the Lender Required Repairs Paragraph of the Regional Sales Contract to govern the negotiations between the parties about how any necessary repairs will be paid for.

Well:  Many companies provide Well testing services. This paragraph requires that they be licensed and insured.  Although there is no license issued to a company to collect and analyze water samples, for the health department or Department of Environmental Quality to accept lab results, the lab used must be certified by the State of Virginia. New language in this paragraph requires the Seller to use insured companies to perform the testing, and that the results come from a licensed/certified laboratory certifying that the well water is free of coliform bacteria and is also below the EPA action level for Lead in drinking water.  If the Buyer wants a more extensive test of the water or the well itself, they now have the option to perform those inspections and tests as well.  If problems are discovered by either the Seller or the Buyer, the parties may negotiate responsibility for making repairs using the same method currently used for negotiating Lender Required Repairs in the Regional Sales Contract.

Septic:  New language makes it clear that if the Property is served by an individual private Conventional or Alternative Onsite Sewage Disposal System as indicated in Contract paragraph 8 (Utilities) then the Seller, at Seller’s expense, must provide a report from a licensed Onsite Sewage System Operator, Licensed Onsite Sewage System Installer or NSF Certified Septic System Inspector to the Buyer within 15 days of ratification. Previously that had been no deadline except for the Settlement Date. Language was also added to make sure both Buyer and Seller expectations are met regarding the scope of the inspection, which now must include pumping and inspection of all tanks, a visual inspection of the interior of the distribution boxes and probing of the drain field.  As of April 6, 2010 all Alternative Onsite Sewage Systems require a relationship between the system owner and a licensed alternative onsite system operator which includes inspection at least annually and maintenance as required in order.  New language has been drafted requiring the Seller to indicate whether they have such a relationship, and with whom, and requires them to share maintenance records with the Purchaser.

Paragraph 10 – Real Estate Settlement Agents Act

Formerly know as the Consumer Real Estate Settlements Act or CRESPA, the required Notice to the Purchaser that they have the right to choose the Settlement Agent and that the Seller may not require the use of a particular settlement agent have been restyled and moved from the Banking & Finance Chapters to the Real Property Chapters of the Code of Virginia.

Paragraph 16 – Electronic Signatures

This new paragraph states that the parties agree to the use of electronic signatures that comply with federal and state statutes and guidelines.

K1209 – Sales Contract for Land

This new form was created in response to requests from members for a Land Sales Contract that followed the same basic format at the Regional Sales Contract with which so many members are familiar, so that they could use to sell infill lots or lots which might contain some improvements, but were being sold for the value of the land.  It had become common for agents to attempt to modify the Regional Sales Contract by striking through portions dealing with improvements, or making the contracts strictly as-is, but these agreements often lacked a well defined Study Period or made provision for Soil Studies and failed to anticipate many issues that are common in land sale transactions.

K1211 – Addendum to Sales Contract for Land

This new form is intended to be used with the Sales Contract for land and is a version of the Seller Financing Addendum that is tailored specifically to the Land contract, rather than the Regional Sales Contract.

K1210 – Walk-Through Inspection

This form was modified to re-order the list of conveyances to make it consistent with the list found in the Regional Sales Contract and our various Listing Agreements. Language was also added to the form that requires any repairs to be completed after closing are to be completed by licensed contractors.