June 5th Legislative Insider News

6/6/2008

Feb. 28th Legislative Insider News

2/28/2008

Feb. 5th Legislative Insider News

2/5/2008

Next Wednesday, REALTORS® from all over the Commonwealth will be visiting Richmond to talk with legislators about our 2008 Legislative Agenda.  FAAR has already scheduled meetings with all of our Delegates and Senators from our area, and we are excited to speak with them one on one. 

Have you signed up to go?

The Day on the Hill not only offers you a birds eye view of the General Assembly, but it helps legislators know that you, as a business person, have an interest in what goes on in Richmond. Believe it or not, it is important for those elected to hear from their constituents; they rely on your vote every two and six years! 

So, please join other FAAR members as we head to Richmond next week to have one on one time with our elected leaders.  You time and knowledge would be an asset to all!!!

CLICK HERE The VAR's Legislative Conference Agenda, or contact FAAR Government Affairs Director, Charles Davis at cdavis@faarmembers.com.

Below I have is a short synopsis of what we will be talking about next week as we visit Capitol Hill in Richmond:

HB 221, Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City
Landlord and managing agent immunity for mold claims. Provides immunity for landlords and managing agents if they are in compliance with the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Managing agents can be held liable for affirmative acts of negligence. Any party who pleads a defense pursuant to this immunity shall be entitled to a hearing on the merits after limited discovery and before adjudication of the underlying claim. 
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB221 .

HB 445, Del. Tom Rust, R-Herndon
Occupancy limits.  Provides that no enforcement action shall be taken against the owner or managing agent of a single-family residential dwelling unit if such owner or managing agent has taken legal action against the tenants or occupants of such dwelling unit to terminate the tenancy with regard to the number of persons occupying the dwelling unit.
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB445 .

HB 720, Del. Glenn Oder, R-Newport News
Landlord and tenant law; definitions; payment of rent; landlord remedies. Adds, among other things, a definition of "application fee," caps the fee at $50, and provides that such fee is nonrefundable. The bill also defines "written notice" as notice, including any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed in or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic form or other medium, retrievable in a perceivable form, and regardless of whether an electronic signature is affixed. In cases where a tenant pays rent with a bad check, the bill also allows a landlord to seek an award of costs or attorney fees or the lesser of $250 or three times the amount of the bad check, draft or order as part of the damages requested on an unlawful detainer action, provided the landlord has given notice. The bill allows such notice to be included in the five-day termination notice at the option of the landlord.
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB720 .

HB 1076, Del. Terrie Suit, R-Virginia Beach
Property Owners' Association Act (POAA); definitions; disclosure packets; management; fees.  Adds several new definitions to the POAA, including "common interest community manager." The bill also sets limits for the fees to be charged for preparation of the required disclosure packets and prohibits any other fees not expressly authorized in the POAA. The bill (i) provides that all declarations shall comply with the terms of the POAA, and the associations created in accordance with the POAA shall have only those powers that are expressly granted in the POAA; (ii) increases the cap on the liability of the association or its manager from $500 to $5,000 for actual damages sustained by the seller in the event of the association's failure to comply with the POAA; and (iii) provides that if settlement does not occur within 90 days of the delivery of the disclosure packet, the fee shall be assessed against the lot owner for which the disclosure packet was prepared and shall become as an assessment against the member's lot. The bill contains technical amendments, which reorganize the POAA into three articles: general provisions, disclosure requirements, and operation and management of associations.  
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB1076 .

HB 1078, Del. Terrie Suit, R-Virginia Beach
Vested rights and nonconforming uses.  Makes several changes to the vested rights and nonconforming use provisions, including (i) that for purposes of triggering vested rights, a significant affirmative governmental act will occur when a local government has issued a building permit, the building or structure was thereafter constructed in accordance with the building permit, and upon completion of construction, the local government issued a certificate of occupancy or a use permit; (ii) that a locality shall use square footage and building code provisions in determining whether a nonconforming use has been enlarged or structurally altered; and (iii) providing that when a property owner has paid taxes to the locality for a building or structure for a period in excess of 15 years, a zoning ordinance may provide that such building or structure shall be nonconforming, but not illegal.
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB1078 .

HB 1098, Del. Mark Sickles, D-Alexandria
Wet Settlement Act.  Provides that a determination by a settlement agent that prerecordation conditions in a real estate purchase contract have been satisfied shall not control the rights and obligations of the parties under the contract.
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB1098 .

HB 1114, Del. Bob Hull, D-Falls Church
Real Estate Board; real estate firm licenses.  Provides that no business entity shall be granted a firm license unless every managing member of a limited liability company or officer of a corporation who actively participates in the firm brokerage business holds a license as a real estate broker. Currently, the law does not specify the type of business entity.  
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB1114 .

SB 158, Sen. Don McEachin, D-Richmond
Wet settlement act; lender's disclosure of appraisal information.  Requires any lender providing a loan secured by a first mortgage on real estate containing not more than four residential dwelling units to disclose on the settlement statement whether the borrower is being charged for an appraisal or a valuation using an automated or other mechanism for valuing the property.
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+SB158 .

SB 232, Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Mechanicsville
Landlord and managing agent immunity for mold claims.  Provides immunity for landlords and managing agents if they are in compliance with the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Managing agents can be held liable for affirmative acts of negligence. Any party who pleads a defense pursuant to this immunity shall be entitled to a hearing on the merits after limited discovery and before adjudication of the underlying claim. 
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+SB232 .

HBAV INTRODUCES CASH PROFFER REFORM BILL & INCREASES THE GRANTORS’ TAX
The Home Builders Association of Virginia (HBAV) a couple of weeks ago introduced a bill that would fundamentally change the way developers help cover the cost to local governments of providing roads, schools and police service to new homes.  The measure would eliminate cash payments, called cash proffers, that developers make to local governments toward municipal services and replace them with impact fees on rezoning and by-right zonings. But the measure also would raise the grantors tax property owners pay when they sell commercial or residential real estate. Sen. John Watkins, R-Chesterfield, is sponsoring the bill. Cities and counties that are members of the Hampton Roads or the Northern Virginia transportation authorities would not be subject to the grantors tax hike.

This proposal is one where home builders and VAR, two industries that often are on the same side of legislative proposals, disagree.  While VAR supports impact fees in lieu of the cash proffers system, we worry that the bill furthers a trend of shifting the burden of new infrastructure to the buyers and sellers of residential and commercial real estate at a time when the market is in a major correction.

Currently, the Grantor's Tax provision has been stripped in the Senate Local Government Committee, and has now been sent to the Senate Finance Committee.  It is unclear whether members will re-apply the tax increase.

To read more Click Here and see the letter VAR sent to all General Assembly members expressing opposition to increasing the grantors tax Click Here.

Click Here to contact your legislators.

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
 Tell-a-friend!

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Fredericksburg Area Association of REALTORS.

This message was sent to cdavis@faarmembers.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from Fredericksburg Area Association of REALTORS, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line).

January 25th Legislative Insider

1/25/2008

The General Assembly is well under way, and with this year being a budget year and the abusive driving fees looming over Richmond, we may have an interesting year on Capitol Hill.

Earlier in the year, the Governor reported a shortfall in revenue predictions and the General Assembly will have to find money lost for transportation, while discovering ways to make up for other losses.  We are even feeling the pressure in our local budgets as the officials in the Fredericksburg Area are discovering shortfalls in the upwards of $5.5 million dollars.

With that being said, we have a lot of partisan bickering to look forward to as taxes and money will be the highlights of discussion, but we are not going to let that stop us from moving forward with REALTOR® business.

The following bills are the REALTOR® specific legislation that VAR has found sponsors for, and is working with legislators to get passed through this years General Assembly:

HB 221, Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City
Landlord and managing agent immunity for mold claims. Provides immunity for landlords and managing agents if they are in compliance with the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Managing agents can be held liable for affirmative acts of negligence. Any party who pleads a defense pursuant to this immunity shall be entitled to a hearing on the merits after limited discovery and before adjudication of the underlying claim. 
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB221 .

HB 445, Del. Tom Rust, R-Herndon
Occupancy limits.  Provides that no enforcement action shall be taken against the owner or managing agent of a single-family residential dwelling unit if such owner or managing agent has taken legal action against the tenants or occupants of such dwelling unit to terminate the tenancy with regard to the number of persons occupying the dwelling unit.
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB445 .

HB 720, Del. Glenn Oder, R-Newport News
Landlord and tenant law; definitions; payment of rent; landlord remedies. Adds, among other things, a definition of "application fee," caps the fee at $50, and provides that such fee is nonrefundable. The bill also defines "written notice" as notice, including any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed in or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic form or other medium, retrievable in a perceivable form, and regardless of whether an electronic signature is affixed. In cases where a tenant pays rent with a bad check, the bill also allows a landlord to seek an award of costs or attorney fees or the lesser of $250 or three times the amount of the bad check, draft or order as part of the damages requested on an unlawful detainer action, provided the landlord has given notice. The bill allows such notice to be included in the five-day termination notice at the option of the landlord.
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB720 .

HB 1076, Del. Terrie Suit, R-Virginia Beach
Property Owners' Association Act (POAA); definitions; disclosure packets; management; fees.  Adds several new definitions to the POAA, including "common interest community manager." The bill also sets limits for the fees to be charged for preparation of the required disclosure packets and prohibits any other fees not expressly authorized in the POAA. The bill (i) provides that all declarations shall comply with the terms of the POAA, and the associations created in accordance with the POAA shall have only those powers that are expressly granted in the POAA; (ii) increases the cap on the liability of the association or its manager from $500 to $5,000 for actual damages sustained by the seller in the event of the association's failure to comply with the POAA; and (iii) provides that if settlement does not occur within 90 days of the delivery of the disclosure packet, the fee shall be assessed against the lot owner for which the disclosure packet was prepared and shall become as an assessment against the member's lot. The bill contains technical amendments, which reorganize the POAA into three articles: general provisions, disclosure requirements, and operation and management of associations.  
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB1076 .

HB 1078, Del. Terrie Suit, R-Virginia Beach
Vested rights and nonconforming uses.  Makes several changes to the vested rights and nonconforming use provisions, including (i) that for purposes of triggering vested rights, a significant affirmative governmental act will occur when a local government has issued a building permit, the building or structure was thereafter constructed in accordance with the building permit, and upon completion of construction, the local government issued a certificate of occupancy or a use permit; (ii) that a locality shall use square footage and building code provisions in determining whether a nonconforming use has been enlarged or structurally altered; and (iii) providing that when a property owner has paid taxes to the locality for a building or structure for a period in excess of 15 years, a zoning ordinance may provide that such building or structure shall be nonconforming, but not illegal.
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB1078 .

HB 1098, Del. Mark Sickles, D-Alexandria
Wet Settlement Act.  Provides that a determination by a settlement agent that prerecordation conditions in a real estate purchase contract have been satisfied shall not control the rights and obligations of the parties under the contract.
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB1098 .

HB 1114, Del. Bob Hull, D-Falls Church
Real Estate Board; real estate firm licenses.  Provides that no business entity shall be granted a firm license unless every managing member of a limited liability company or officer of a corporation who actively participates in the firm brokerage business holds a license as a real estate broker. Currently, the law does not specify the type of business entity.  
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+HB1114 .

SB 158, Sen. Don McEachin, D-Richmond
Wet settlement act; lender's disclosure of appraisal information.  Requires any lender providing a loan secured by a first mortgage on real estate containing not more than four residential dwelling units to disclose on the settlement statement whether the borrower is being charged for an appraisal or a valuation using an automated or other mechanism for valuing the property.
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+SB158 .

SB 232, Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Mechanicsville
Landlord and managing agent immunity for mold claims.  Provides immunity for landlords and managing agents if they are in compliance with the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Managing agents can be held liable for affirmative acts of negligence. Any party who pleads a defense pursuant to this immunity shall be entitled to a hearing on the merits after limited discovery and before adjudication of the underlying claim. 
Read more at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+SB232 .

HBAV INTRODUCES CASH PROFFER REFORM BILL & INCREASES THE GRANTORS’ TAX
The Home Builders Association of Virginia (HBAV) on Friday introduced a bill that would fundamentally change the way developers help cover the cost to local governments of providing roads, schools and police service to new homes.  The measure would eliminate cash payments, called cash proffers, that developers make to local governments toward municipal services and replace them with impact fees on rezoning and by-right zonings. But the measure also would raise the grantors tax property owners pay when they sell commercial or residential real estate. Sen. John Watkins, R-Chesterfield, is sponsoring the bill. Cities and counties that are members of the Hampton Roads or the Northern Virginia transportation authorities would not be subject to the grantors tax hike.

This proposal is one where home builders and VAR, two industries that often are on the same side of legislative proposals, disagree.  While VAR supports impact fees in lieu of the cash proffers system, we worry that the bill furthers a trend of shifting the burden of new infrastructure to the buyers and sellers of residential and commercial real estate at a time when the market is in a major correction.

To Read more Click Here and to see the letter VAR sent to all General Assembly members expressing opposition to increasing the grantors tax Click Here.

Click Here to contact your legislators.

 Tell-a-friend!

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Fredericksburg Area Association of REALTORS.

This message was sent to cdavis@faarmembers.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from Fredericksburg Area Association of REALTORS, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line).

2008 State Legislative Positions

10/17/2007

ISSUE: The Fredericksburg area sits 50 miles south of Washington, DC, making it a desirable community for those commuting to our nation’s Capitol. Since 2001, housing prices have increased by 238%, resulting in an unaffordable housing market for those that live and work in the community.

DISCUSSION: Affordable housing and choice is one of the cornerstones to the American tradition and economy. Homeownership has always been considered a lucrative source of investment, leading to more responsible and contributing citizens to the governmental process. It is important that local government create an atmosphere for the market to produce housing choices for people at all income levels that encourages the exchange of real property.

POSITION: FAAR supports market driven approaches to encourage the development of affordable housing and choice.

TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

ISSUE: The number one issue facing the Commonwealth of Virginia is the growing mobility crisis throughout the population crescent stretching from Northern Virginia to Hampton Roads. Without increased federal, state and local investment in ALL types of transportation infrastructure, the Commonwealth of Virginia runs the risk of economic stagnation, business flight and decreased tax base.

DISCUSSION: The Fredericksburg Area Association of REALTORS® promotes the efficient movement of people, goods and services throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Maintaining a balanced multi-modal regional transportation system is critical to our long-term economic viability, and to maintain and enhance the quality of life for residents of this area. REALTORS® recognize the need for a balanced transportation system that can move people and products throughout Virginia. In order to achieve this goal, the Virginia Department of Transportation must be transformed from a centralized road-building agency, into a multi-modal transportation organization, local land-use planning needs to accommodate growth, and address urban sprawl, and regional cooperation should be encouraged.

POSITION: While FAAR applauds the efforts of the 2007 General Assembly and the Governor of Virginia with the passage of HB3202, transportation must remain a state priority and responsibility that provides dedicated broad-based funding sources and multimodal transportation solutions. The General Assembly must continue to enact reforms reestablishing the link between land-use and transportation and pass policies that postures a multi-modal approach to transportation gridlock.