4/16/2014

Roanoke Valley REALTORŽ

Online

You are receiving this online newsletter as a benefit of being a member of the Roanoke Valley Association of REALTORSŽ.

Member Type | Count

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REALTORŽ 1,082 Offices 133

Affiliate 158

Click here to see which RVAR members have switched firms, gone inactive, or joined recently.

NAR and Realtor.com To Launch Mega Ad Campaign

The National Association of REALTORSŽ and Realtor.com have announced a joint media blitz campaign, including national television and radio advertisements. The goal is to combine the influence of each to reach a far broader audience than before. The campaign will promote REALTORSŽ and Realtor.com as the optimal sources for "timely, accurate and comprehensive information and sound, trusted advice."

Zillow and Trulia, which have overtaken Realtor.com as the leading national real estate search portals, are also conducting national marketing campaigns to grow their consumer audience.

Candidates Endorsed in Roanoke City & Salem Council Races

RVAR's Board of Directors has endorsed candidates in the upcoming elections for Roanoke City and Salem City Council races. Special thanks to RVAR's Governmental Affairs Committee and the members of the interview panels for their efforts to conduct interviews for these contested races. Salem has three candidates vying for two seats and Roanoke has 10 candidates running for three seats.

The Board endorsed the following candidates:

Roanoke City:

Freeda Cathcart
Ray Ferris
David Trinkle

Candidates were asked the same questions related to job growth/creation, top priorities facing the City, assets and challenges, and regional cooperation.

Salem City:

Randy Foley
John Givens

Candidates were asked the same questions related to job growth, staying connected to constituents, enforcement of building codes and strengthening Salem's assets.

The above listed, endorsed candidates will each receive a $1,000 RPAC contribution to their individual campaigns. If you live in either of these two Cities, please remember to vote on Tuesday, May 6th!

Governor Signs VAR Bills

Governor McAuliffe has signed the entire Virginia Association of REALTORSŽ Legislative Agenda into law. The specific provisions of the bills he signed will go into effect July 1, 2014. VAR's bills are:

   HB 331 Establishing First Time Homeowners Savings Plans
   HB 273 Making Changes to Landlord-Tenant Act
   HB 900 Making Changes to POA/Condo Act
   HB 208 Clarifying Law to Protect Property Rights
   SB 302/HB 259 Protecting Members from Being Labeled as Criminals

Click here for more information on these bills.

The Roanoker Magazine Salutes Top 100 REALTORSŽ

Last week, The Roanoker magazine sent letters to 100 REALTORSŽ announcing their inclusion in the "Roanoke's Top 100 REALTORSŽ" article planned for the magazine's July/August edition. RVAR congratulates these 100 REALTORSŽ selected by The Roanoker to receive this acknowledgement.

The letter indicates that the magazine's editorial team "researched and compiled information available through MLS records about the top performing professionals in residential real estate for 2013." RVAR and the Roanoke Valley MLS provided no information to The Roanoker for development of their list.

Two Standard Forms Revisions Coming in May

RVAR's Board of Directors and Standard Forms Committee have approved revisions to the following two RVAR standard forms. These revisions are slated to 'go live' on Wednesday, May 7th.

Exclusive Right to Represent Seller: Paragraph 12(c) reflects an NAR requirement that Sellers authorize/do not authorize automated estimates of the market value of the Property and third-party comments about the Property. The language in this Paragraph has raised questions amongst our members and with Sellers. Language has been added to clarify that Paragraph 12(c) relates only to Broker websites (also known as Virtual Office Websites VOWs.) Additionally, the following sentence has been added to the end of Paragraph 12(c): This authorization does not apply to consumer websites that are not Broker-owned.

Inspection Addendum: Several changes have been made.

Timeframe for Subsequent Inspections: The following sentence has been added to the first paragraph: If Purchaser's initial inspection(s) reveal the need for subsequent inspections as certified by a licensed engineer, contractor or qualified home inspector, Purchaser shall notify Seller prior to the Inspection Deadline and the Inspection Deadline shall be extended for no more than five (5) business days to conduct such subsequent inspections at Purchaser's expense.

Home Inspection: The first sentence of this clause has been changed to read: This Contract is subject to the Purchaser's having the home inspected for the purpose of discovering material defects (rather than the current language 'having a home inspection'). This change is intended to clarify that the Home Inspection Clause can cover not only the home inspection, but also any subsequent inspections for the purpose of discovering material defects in the primary dwelling.

Radon Inspection: An additional inspector certification program has been added -- National Radon Proficiency Program (NRPP).

Results of Inspection: The reference to the Seller providing credit for repair work or direct payment to the Contractor of Purchaser's choice at closing has been expanded with the following additional sentence: The amount of the credit or direct payment shall be based upon written estimates from a Virginia licensed contractor or mutually agreed amount.

REALTORŽ After Hours at the Lake

Grab your flip flops and head to the Lake on Tuesday, May 6th from 5:00 until 7:00 at Bridgewater Bay Clubhouse for our REALTORŽ After Hours! There will be great food, prizes, lively conversation and...assorted beverages! Plus, steel drum music by the Bahama Mamas.

                          REALTORSŽ -- Bring a Business Card for a
                                   chance at 3 Cash Door Prizes
                                           $100 -- $50 -- $25

Bring your REALTORŽ friends -- heck, bring your whole office and join us at the Lake! Click here to register and for more details.

The Speaker's Forum Presents . . .

The Speaker's Forum will present John Carlin, News Anchor for WSLS-10 to highlight his thoughts about the many attributes of the Roanoke Valley. The Forum will be held on Wednesday, May 28th at the RVAR office with welcome and lunch from 12 noon until 12:30PM and Mr. Carlin's presentation from 12:30 until 1:00PM. Lunch is sponsored by SERVPRO and there is NO CHARGE to attend this event, but seating is limited. Click here to register or contact the RVAR office.

The Speaker's Forum (formerly the Speaker's Council) helps to provide local, informative presentations regarding topics that affect our businesses. The Forum welcomes any REALTORŽ and Affiliate member and there is no charge to attend. Additional Forum meetings for 2014 are scheduled for July 9th, September 17th and November 12th.

Roanoke City Offers Two Free Fair Housing Classes

Roanoke City's Fair Housing Board is offering two free Fair Housing Courses, both of which qualify for CE/PL 3 hours fair housing.

April 23rd, 8AM-Noon at the Sheraton Roanoke Hotel. To register contact Lauren Mason with South East RCAP 540-345-1184 x125.
May 7th, Noon-3PM at the Jefferson Center -- Fitzpatrick Hall. Click here to register.

Helping others in our community is an important aspect to what we do. Join your fellow REALTORSŽ & Affiliates for Rebuilding Together, which is a national effort to rehabilitate homes on the last Saturday of April each year.

Sign up to help out on Saturday, April 26th as RVAR participates in rehabilitating a home for someone in our community. Help is needed to do general clean up, patching and painting, lawn and garden work, and some carpentry work. No matter what your skill level, we need your help! You can stay for part of the day or all day. Click here to complete the volunteer form. This charitable effort is organized by RVAR's Community Service Committee. Contact Joe Sutliff at the RVAR office with any questions.

Save the Date for Affiliates/REALTORŽ Night

We had such a big time last year, we're doing it again! Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 25th at Hidden Valley Country Club from 5:00-8:00PM. Of course there will be great food, drinks, prizes and give aways, games and opportunities to chat with some of our fantastic Affiliates! Jane Powell is scheduled to make an explosive, encore return!

Don't miss it! More details to follow.

New NAR Member Benefit: Drug Card America

NAR is pleased to provide to members a free pharmacy program designed to help lower the cost of some prescription drugs. This discount prescription drug card may be used at over 60,000 pharmacies nationwide, including most major chains, such as CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, Target, Rite Aid, Kmart and more.

It's easy to participate: no age limit, no income requirement, no waiting period, no pre-existing condition restrictions, and the card is immediately available for use upon sign-up.

Upon sign-up, NAR Members will instantly gain access to:

A free discount prescription card
A pharmacy lookup tool to locate participating pharmacies
A list of commonly utilized prescriptions under the program

NAR members can add the name(s) of their spouse and dependents to their card.

For more information go to Drug Card America Or visit www.drugcardamerica.com/NAR to obtain your free card.

Brokers Breakfast

All Brokers and Managers are invited to attend RVAR's Brokers Breakfast on Thursday, May 29th at the RVAR office. (Coffee/continental breakfast 8:30-9:00AM, folllowed by the program 9:00-10:30AM.) Special guest will be VAR President Brad Boland of Sterling. The primary purpose of this Breakfast is sharing -- RVAR with Brokers, Brokers with RVAR and Brokers with each other. RVAR currently plans to share information on legislation going into effect July 1st and VREB Regulation changes coming soon. Click here to register.

Upcoming Education Offerings

GRI 411: Successful Settlement -- Managing the Transaction: Attend this course to obtain the tools for managing the transaction, including how to organize and communicate for the best possible closing results. This May 13th course is REQUIRED to earn the GRI designation and qualifies for 6 hours CE credit or 2 hours PL credit. Donna Austin will be the instructor. Click here for more information or to register.

Already earned your GRI? You may attend any GRI class for only $35. Great way to update your knowledge and earn CE. (No test required.)

Environmental Issues in Residential Real Estate: This May 22nd course, 10AM-Noon, will focus on both Exterior Issues such as heating oil tanks, lead and asbestos and Interior Issues such as lead, asbestos and mold. Derek Cooper of Commonwealth Restoration Services will be the instructor for this free class. Click here for more information or to register.

Coming Soon: RVAR's Education Committee has scheduled the following classes. Mark your calendars. The details of these classes are currently being confirmed and will be promoted soon.

   Annual Lender Panel: June 19th, 10AM-Noon

   The Keys to Selling a HUD Home: August 21st, 10AM-Noon

   Financial Workshop: September 18th
       Tax Strategies: 9:30-10:30AM
       Caring for an Aging Parent: 10:45-11:45AM

   Annual Legal Update with VAR Deputy Counsel Blake Hegeman:
   October 28th, 9AM-Noon

Our REALTORŽ Family

In Sympathy

RVAR expresses sympathy to Richard Hall of RE/MAX All Stars upon the recent death of his mother. RVAR also offers condolences to Bonnie Hall of Gracious Living upon the death of her mother.

Congratulations

Congratulations to those recently named in the 'Best Of' online contest sponsored by The Roanoke Times, which included categories for best real estate agents and best real estate firms. Some of RVAR's Affiliate Members were recognized, too!

Best of Botetourt 2014:

Best real estate agents                  Best real estate firms
1. Pete Wood (RE/MAX All Stars)           1. RE/MAX All Stars
2. Dayna Patrick (RE/MAX All Stars)       2. MKB, REALTORSŽ
3. Todd Wampler (Wampler Realty)       3. Wampler Realty

Best of Salem 2014:

Best real estate agents                                  Best real estate firms
1. Egon Hofmann (Barker Realty)                   1. Barker Realty
2. Jack Frye (Young Realty)                           2. RE/MAX Real Estate One
3. Rob Robinson (RE/MAX Real Estate One)   3. Young Realty

In the Best Lawyer category, Skip Lautenschlager took second place. Varsity Landscaping took third place in the Best Landscaping category.

Best of SWoCo 2014:

Best real estate agents                           Best real estate firms
1. Vickie Clarke (Long & Foster)              1. Lichtenstein Rowan
2. Rod Rowan (Lichtenstein Rowan)       2. MKB, REALTORSŽ
3. Glenna Bannister (Long & Foster)       3. Long & Foster, REALTORSŽ

In the Best Places to Go for Financial Advice category, Karen Hankins of Atlantic Bay took top honors, while BB&T took third place.

Varsity Landscaping took second place in the Best Landscaping category. David Bullington was ranked third in the Best Lawyer category.

Let RVAR know if you have news to share.

UPCOMING EVENTS & DEADLINES

April 18th	RVAR Office closed for Good Friday
April 23rd	Roanoke City Fair Housing Seminar
April 26th	Rebuilding Together
May 6th	REALTORŽ After Hours at the Lake
May 7th	Roanoke City Fair Housing Seminar
May 13th	GRI 411
May 14th & 15th	NAR Trade Expo, Washington, DC
May 22nd	Environmental Issues
May 26th	RVAR Office Closed for Memorial Day
May 28th	Speaker's Forum
May 29th	Brokers Breakfast

2014 RVAR Partner / Sponsors

The RVAR proudly recognizes our

2014 Partner / Sponsors

for their generous support this year!

Platinum Level Partner / Sponsors

Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group

Southwest Virginia Moving & Storage

Virginia Varsity Transfer & Self Storage

Diamond Level Partner / Sponsors

StellarOne Mortgage

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Gold Level Partner / Sponsors

Acquisition Title & Settlement Agency, Inc.

BB&T Home Mortgage

Bill Meador Insurance Agency

Colonial Mortgage Company

Corridor Mortgage Group

Laura R. Wright, Attorney at Law

Virginia Title Center

Silver Level Partner / Sponsors

2-10 Home Buyers Warranty

Colonial Title and Settlement

First Citizens Bank

HomeTown Mortgage

HMS Home Warranty

Member One Federal Credit Union

Seal-Tite Basement Waterproofing Co.

The Bullington Law Firm

Thank You!!

Your Member Input Is Important

Click here to offer your input or a suggestion for the Association.

Roanoke Valley Association of REALTORSŽ

www.RVAR.com | (540) 772-0526 | Email