IF YOU FOLLOW POLITICS, you were probably left speechless on November 7 when the Virginia legislature experienced the greatest party turnover since 1889. In one night, the Democrats swept all three statewide races and nearly flipped control of the House of Delegates.

Recounts held in three House seats confirmed the results of the election night returns. A recount in a fourth seat led to a tie between the Republican incumbent and Democratic challenger. As this article was going to press, a drawing was held by the State Board of Elections  to determine the winner of the 94th House District. Incumbent Republican Delegate, David Yancey, won the draw to hold on to his seat.

"A new, inexperienced slate of legislators, a closely divided House, and a new Speaker of the House equate to many unknowns."

Just a week away from the start of the legislative session, the Democrat could challenge the result and throw the election back into limbo. At this point, however, the Republicans have 51 seats and Democrats have 49.

What remains to be seen is how the House will operate when they convene. With such a closely divided Chamber, the Democrats could request to be given more seats on committees. Hopefully, the closeness will foster more cooperation between the parties.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR REALTORS®?

It means we have our work cut out for us. Forty-seven percent of the 100-member House of Delegates will have been there less than four years. There are many people we will need to educate about real estate issues.

A large majority of real estate related legislation is sent to the General Laws Committee. After this election, five Republican Delegates who work closely with the Realtors® were defeated, and a sixth one had not sought reelection. In addition, there will be new committee assignments for others, so we could  end up with many new faces on that committee.

The Republican chairman of the Transportation Committee was defeated, as well as three incumbents on that committee. A fourth did not run again. As the chairmanship transfers from an urban-area delegate to a rural one, Northern Virginia and the rest of the Urban Crescent (Northern Virginia, Richmond, Hampton Roads) are likely to have greater difficulty in achieving much- needed transportation and transit solutions.

A new, inexperienced slate of legislators, a closely divided House, and a new Speaker of the House equate to many unknowns. All of which means Realtors® must work hard to build new relationships and educate new members about our industry. Those efforts began as soon as the elections were over, as your association staff and Realtor® colleagues created opportunities to meet with the newly-elected Delegates and the Governor-elect’s staff.

Your NVAR and Virginia Realtors® lobbyists will be on the ground at the State Capitol but you, too, have an important role. As the experts on real estate issues, your communications with elected officials are critical. Consider joining the annual NVAR trip to the State Capitol, to take place on Thursday, February 1.

There, you will have a chance to meet legislators and show them the strength of our industry. See the next page for registration information. Review the statewide Realtor® agenda and look for emails from NVAR asking you to contact your representatives to show support for our legislation. New relationships are already being formed and existing ones strengthened. The 2018 legislature may get off to a rocky and slow start, but the Realtor® community is still well-positioned to advocate for you.

2018 Realtor® Agenda:

The agenda under consideration includes several issues brought to the state Realtor® association from local associations:

•    Translation of Real Estate Documents from the English Language – provide a statutory framework for a real estate licensee to refer a party to a real estate transaction to translation services for assistance with a real estate document; would specify that the licensee who makes such a referral is not liable for inaccuracies.

•    Earnest Money Deposits – streamline the timeframes for payment and release of escrow funds.

•    Broker Education – allocate two of the eight mandated hours specifically to cover supervision requirements.

•    Post-License CE – includes real estate finance in the existing curriculum.

•    Non-Licensed Activities – allow enforcement by the Attorney General against a person or entity that engages in unlicensed real estate activities.

•    Property Owners Association and Condo Associations – require the POAs and CICs to provide a one-page summary of certain information contained in the resale certificate or disclosure packet. This may include annual dues, current special assessments, rental, parking, pet and home business restrictions.

•    Business Entities – include definition of a team; requirement that teams obtain a business entity salesperson license; requirement that brokerage agreements include the supervising or principal broker’s name and contact information; and requirement of written disclosure if a buyer and a seller are both represented by the same team.