NVAR works throughout the year to keep you informed of legislative and regulatory developments that affect your business.

New for April 2012:

General Assembly Approves Realtor® Legislation

As the 2012 General Assembly session came to a close, your elected officials in Richmond gave final approval to our slate of Realtor® initiatives. They include:

• HB 206 (Del. Miller), Agency and Professionalism – Sets broker oversight responsibilities and requires the Real Estate Board to provide for the carryover of CE credits.
• HB 210 (Del. Miller), Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) – Beginning in 2014, AMCs operating in Virginia will be licensed and fees paid to appraisers will be disclosed.
• HB 377 (Del. Pogge), Condo and POA – Condos sold at auction will not be subject to the 3-day right of cancellation under the Act.
• HB 572 (Del. D. Marshall)/SB 76 (Sen. Watkins), Mortgage Lender Act – Sellers offering financing to their purchasers will not need to be licensed as a mortgage lender.

• HB 567 (Del. D. Marshall), Water and Sewer Liens – Allows water and sewer service to be placed in the name of a tenant and a deposit held to relieve landlords from most cases of tenant non-payment for those services.

• HB 1110 (Del. Greason), Landlord-Tenant – Allows electronic copies of leases to be submitted in court, permits landlords to recover costs of providing insurance to the tenant, and outlines fees owed by the tenant to dismiss an unlawful detainer action.
• HB 1111 (Del. Greason), Landlord-Tenant: Code Inspections – Sets the rates localities may charge for inspections to enforce Fire and Building Codes.

A recap of all new Virginia laws affecting real estate will appear in the May/June issue of Update magazine and on this site next month.

Supreme Court Sides with Homeowners, NAR

In reversing lower court and state court rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency that property owners have a right to seek judicial review of an EPA compliance order under the Clean Water Act before being forced to comply with that order.Previously, such orders would only be reviewed in the courts once the EPA had filed a lawsuit alleging non-compliance. 

NAR filed a brief in favor of the homeowners, arguing that that the property owners in this case were being denied due process.

A summary of the case can be found in NAR’s Letter of the Law Newsletter (login required): http://www.realtor.org/letterlw.nsf/pages/0412sackett?OpenDocument&Login

Alexandria Considers New Beauregard Area Development

The City of Alexandria is currently revising the Beauregard Small Area Plan in the City’s West End. The plan will incorporate a new bus rapid transit corridor, a mixed-use town center, and affordable housing units.

Several community outreach meetings are scheduled this month. Visit http://alexandriava.gov/BeauregardPlan for plan details and meeting information.

False Tax Emails Still Making Rounds

Not one but two chain emails are currently circulating, describing significant tax increases that could harm the economy in general and the housing market specifically. And, as it turns out, neither is entirely truthful.

The first is the recurring “3.8% Sales Tax on Real Estate” email, which has been debunked many times. The bottom line for home sellers is that the $250,000 (single)/$500,000 (married) tax-free net gain exclusions still apply and that there is no sales tax on the gross sales price of a home. This NAR publication explores the true provisions of the tax code for real estate transactions that exceed those exclusions.

The other email claims the White House has imposed a 1% fee on all banking transactions (including real estate). This is also false. A measure that would replace the federal income tax with such a fee has been introduced several times in the past seven years by a Pennsylvania Congressman, but has gained little to no traction. Factcheck.org and snopes.com have the full explanation.

2011 New Laws Summary Now Available

Your state and local Realtor® associations were successful in passing a robust legislative agenda that benefits you and your clients. These measures were approved by your elected association leaders, lobbied by association public policy staff members, and met with overwhelming approval by the General Assembly. These measures include:

• Prohibiting private developer transfer fees;
• Increasing agent professionalism and minimizing liability;
• Easing the property tax appeals process; and,
• Preventing anti-growth ordinances.
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Click here to read summaries of these and other real estate-related measures.