In the early 1990s, VAR was instrumental in passing an overhaul of Virginia’s real estate agency law and regulation. In light of changing business practices since that time, VAR leadership has been asked to consider recommendations for possible updates to Virginia's license law during the 2011 General Assembly Session.  There are three general...

Thanks to your feedback, we have enlarged the font size in the fillable fields of the Residential Lease (form 200) and Residential Contract of Purchase (form 600) forms.  The revised forms are now available for download in the ...

Virtually everyone agrees that reducing joblessness is key to the recovery of Virginia's economy and housing markets. Defense Secretary Robert Gates's recently announced reductions to the Pentagon's budget by dismantling the U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in Hampton Roads and cutting spending on defense contracts by 10% annually for the next three years. These spending cuts would cost Virginia thousands of...

A retreat in government programs and support for homeownership may be imminent according to an article published in the Washington Post on July 21, 2010.  

The administration's narrower view of who should own a home and what the government should to do to support them could have major...

On Monday, the directors of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development are expected to pass revisions to the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code that would include a requirement that all new residential construction in the Commonwealth include a fire extinguisher in or near the kitchen. This provision is likely to be adopted instead of a proposal that would have required sprinklers in...

Town officials in Herndon are preparing residents and business owners for the new  Herndon-Monroe Metro station, which is slated to open in 2016. Plans are afoot to make the area surrounding the coming station more appealing to passengers. Officials would like to see the area transformed into an attractive, walkable urban community.

Homeowners should take advantage of opportunities to be heard during...

Stafford County supervisors are poised to adopt a new comprehensive development plan in September, the first in 20 years. Officials hope to direct development to the center of the county along Interstate 95.

Of greater concern, perhaps, are the areas outside of that corridor currently zoned for agricultural use. With a minimum lot size of three acres, those properties can be seen as ripe for development,...

The Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority, which governs the 1,100-acre Virginia Explore Park,  was presented with possible plans for the park on Tuesday. New plans are needed because would-be developer Larry Vander Maten was unable to find funding for a planned family resort.

The proposals include generating funds through rentals, leases, and program fees,...

Thanks to your feedback, we have enlarged the font size in the fillable fields of the Residential Lease (form 200) and Residential Contract of Purchase (form 600) forms.  The revised forms are now available for download in the ...

How long will a short sale stay on my credit report? How many points on the score will I lose if I declare bankruptcy? How long until I can get a government-insured loan if the bank forecloses on my home?

You've probably heard some variation of these questions from your clients. If you've ever been unsure of how to answer, NAR has created two resources to help:

The country's dire financial straits extend beyond homeowners, as one Virginia city's officials are learning. In the go-go days of 2004 and 2005, the city of Buena Vista in the Shenandoah Valley borrowed $9 million to build and refinance a city golf course. On the refinance application, they offered up two public buildings as collateral: the Buena Vista city hall and its police station.

Now, the bills are...

Virginia's economy stands to take a heavy blow if Secretary of Defense Robert Gates's proposal to cut the Pentagon's budget goes ahead as planned.  And there's little recourse for the Commonwealth's political leaders who are obviously concerned about the proposed cuts: Congress doesn't need to approve them.  Here's what's at stake in the Commonwealth.

In the early 1990s, VAR was instrumental in passing an overhaul of Virginia’s real estate agency law and regulation. In light of changing business practices since that time, VAR leadership has been asked to consider recommendations for possible updates to Virginia's license law during the 2011 General Assembly Session.  There are three general...

Thanks to your feedback, we have enlarged the font size in the fillable fields of the Residential Lease (form 200) and Residential Contract of Purchase (form 600) forms.  The revised forms are now available for download in the ...

In the early 1990s, VAR was instrumental in passing an overhaul of Virginia’s real estate agency law and regulation. In light of changing business practices since that time, VAR leadership has been asked to consider recommendations for possible updates to Virginia's license law during the 2011 General Assembly Session.  There are three general...

Lenders are taking heat from buyers, sellers and Realtors® for the length of time and complexity involved in going through a short sale. You've probably got your hunches about which banks are the worst to deal with and which ones take the most time to complete a transaction. Well, HousingWire magazine recently published a list ranking selected major mortgage servicers by how quickly they conduct short sales. Here...