2019-JanFeb RE+VIEW magazine

JAN+FEB 2019

REAL ESTATE NOW.®

THE AMAZON EFFECT: IMPACT OF HQ2 ON THE REGION

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& 16

STANDARD FORMS: CHANGES EFFECTIVE JAN. 1

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> NVAR.COM

FLEXIBILITY, CREATIVITY IN THE MORTGAGE MARKET EXPANDS OPTIONS FOR HOMEBUYERS YOUR CLIENTS Bright MLS Update 7

YOUR BUSINESS Tips for 2019 Taxes 40

CAN WE BECOME ENGAGED? A PROPOSED ACTION PLAN FOR 2019 JAN+FEB Volume 102, Issue 1 2019 Board of Directors President of the Board: Christine Richardson, CDPE, CRS, CSP, GRI, PSA President-Elect: Nicholas Lagos Immediate Past President: Lorraine Arora, ABR, CIPS, GRI, SRES Secretary/Treasurer: Derrick Swaak DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE Rob Allen Shirley Buford Reggie Copeland, ABR, GRI Ritu Desai, ABR, e-Pro, MRP Heather Embrey, CRS, GRI Shelia Jackson, ABR Gary Lange, e-PRO, C-RETS, CRB Ava Nguyen, CIPS, SRES Peter Nguyen, ASP, e-PRO Marc Pina, ABR, GRI Marriah Unruh, ASP, e-Pro Ann Yanagihara Publisher: Ryan Conrad, CAE, CIPS, RCE, rconrad@nvar.com Editor-In-Chief: Ann Gutkin, agutkin@nvar.com Managing Editor: Kate O’Toole, kotoole@nvar.com Editorial Assistant: Steve Russell, srussell@nvar.com Advertising Sales: Arlene Braithwaite, arlenetbg@comcast.net Graphic Designer: Wanda Ng Fontana Contributors: Terry Clower, Mary Beth Coya, Frank Dillow, Jill Parker Landsman, Michele Lerner, Tom Phillips, Matthew Troiani and Keith Waters Photography: Jan Z Duga

By Christine Richardson

Hello and Happy New Year! I am Christine Richardson, your 2019 President of the Board. During my installation remarks in December, I posed an important question: Can we become engaged? I’d love to share some of the plans we propose that will help us work – and live – happily ever after in 2019 and beyond!

Last year, the Board of Directors, along with CEO Ryan Conrad and senior staff members, developed a three-year Strategic Plan for NVAR called Vision 2020. Our mission statement is to elevate Realtor® success by delivering exceptional value, driving innovation and impacting the industry. To advance this mission in 2019, we need to continue to deliver the best products and services to help our members succeed.

And, most importantly, we need to engage more members – including you!

My goal for 2019 is to ramp up member engagement and to continue to strengthen the professionalism in our industry. (Speaking of professionalism, check out NAR’s new online tool, C2EX, at C2EX.realtor to take a professionalism self-assessment and generate customized resources to enhance your knowledge and skillset – see page 4 to learn more.)

This year, NVAR will continue to introduce innovative programs, services and classes that will help you empower your future. We are reframing NVAR’s products and services to align with your work. We want everything we offer to match up with what you need to serve your clients and run your business.

We plan to introduce several new committees and forums that will be fun and impactful, so we can accommodate even more volunteer leaders.

Interested in advertising?

Please call 410-772-0820 for information.

The RE+VIEW (ISSN 10988475) is published bi-monthly by the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® as follows: combined issues for January/February, March/April, May/ June, July/August, September/October and November/ December. Periodicals postage paid at Fairfax, VA 22030 and additional mailing offices. Subscriptions account for $19 of each member’s annual dues. Annual subscriptions are available to non-members for $39. Subscription inquiries may be sent to the RE+VIEW c/o Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® at 8407 Pennell Street, Fairfax, VA 22031-4505. Copyright 2019 by the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors®. All rights reserved.

Postmaster: Please send address changes to: RE+VIEW Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® 8407 Pennell Street, Fairfax, VA 22031-4505 Telephone: 703.207.3200 | FAX: 703.207.3268 Web: NVAR.com E-mail: re+view@nvar.com Advertising Info: Arlene Braithwaite | arlenetbg@comcast.net Join us on... facebook.com/nvar.realestate twitter.com@nvar LinkedIn Logo for Adobe Illustrator

NVAR @NVARFFX

We will be hosting some creative and exciting RPAC fundraisers. The annual baseball game in June is a great way to have an enjoyable evening with your friends and colleagues while also helping your industry. It’s a home run! Expect more events that will create energy and impact around RPAC. And we will be introducing some amazing new leading-edge technologies that will help you and your business. We will teach you in what will become our new Digital Member Experience Center at NVAR. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting hands-on initiative.

There are so many terrific opportunities planned for 2019. I hope you will come, bring your colleagues – and their colleagues! I guarantee that these experiences will be worth it and you’ll also have fun.

I am here to serve you. Please reach out if you have a great idea or a concern or you simply want to chat. My email is president@nvar.com, or you can message me on Facebook. I am excited about working with you!

Together, we can – and we will – make 2019 a fabulous year. Fabulous for what we will accomplish with NVAR, but most importantly, fabulous for YOU. My hope is that we can come together at our home away from home – NVAR – and engage with each other!

Christine Richardson 2019 NVAR President president@nvar.com

Ads in RE+VIEW magazine do not necessarily carry the endorsement of NVAR.

http://nvar.com/1901 RE+VIEW

JAN + FEB 2019

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FLEXIBILITY, CREATIVITY IN THE MORTGAGE MARKET EXPANDS OPTIONS FOR HOMEBUYERS Page 20

YOUR CLIENTS

YOUR BUSINESS

7 Bright MLS: User Feedback Enhances New System

4 NAR’s New Professionalism Tool: C2EX

8 Market Metrics: 2018 Recap and 2019 Outlook

26 NV/RPAC Meets 2018 Major Investors Goal

12 Standard Forms Changes Effective Jan. 1

29 50 Years of RPAC Celebrated

14 Amazon Seminar Explores HQ2’s Impact on Local Housing Markets

30 Government Affairs Working for You: 2018 Snapshot 31 International Delegations Visit NVAR; Register for the Legislative Bus Trip on Jan. 30

16 Commercial Real Estate: Amazon Writes a New Chapter for the Region

32 Becoming Engaged at Installation with 2019 President Christine Richardson

18 Appraisals: What’s New and Why Your Clients Need One 46 Ask NVAR: Answers to Your Smart Home and Smart Contract Questions

34 YPN’s Action-Packed Year 36 Leadership Institute Graduates Share Year-End Presentations 38 Realtors® Support Local Community, Give to 19 Beneficiaries 40 Tax Tips for Your Business; Apply for the 2018 Top Producer’s Club: Early-Bird Deadline is Jan. 31

DEPARTMENTS

The views expressed in this publication may not reflect NVAR policy, and may be the opinions of the writer or interviewee. Reach us by email at re+view@nvar.com.

http://nvar.com/1901 RE+VIEW

3 President of the Board 6 CEO Column 13 Market Stats 28 NV/RPAC Investors JAN + FEB 2019

41 New Members 42 Class Schedules 44 Affiliated Service Provider Directory 47 Strategic Partners 5

ceo column

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We began 2018 with a three-year strategic plan to take you further. And looking back, we have much to be proud of.

Here’s a brief snapshot of some of those accomplishments: u Member engagement • Nearly 7,000 members attending classes, including more than 1,000 in global programming • More than 3,200 legal hotline calls • 20 percent increase in Board voting participation • 25 percent increase in leadership position applications, with every applicant appointed to a position u Annual Convention – still a free member benefit • Well over 2,000 attendees • Significant increases in exhibitor and sponsorship support • Our most successful RPAC auction – you raised $22,532

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u Partnership and collaboration • Leadership day, professional standards training, transportation funding coalition, and Silver Line commercial tour with regional Realtor® associations • GMU Amazon HQ2 symposium and continued collaboration with the Center for Regional Analysis • Capitalize DC with GCAAR and DCAR at MIPIM • Joint YPN event with GCAAR during NAR midyear meetings • Tech Edge, “Day in the Life,” and Midyear Trade Expo with NAR • Fair Housing 50th Anniversary event with Fairfax County u Continuous NVAR improvement • Audio/Visual enhancements to improve member experience • Improved governance through increased accountability, enhanced transparency, and membershipapproved bylaws changes, with policies and procedures review underway

JAN + FEB 2019

• Continued strengthening of financial position, with an unmodified opinion from outside auditors and reduced reliance on reserves – without increasing dues While 2018 was a year of unparalleled success, we aim to build on that momentum in 2019. Our volunteer member leaders will work with our staff team to deliver more opportunities for engagement, professionalism and success in ways that align with how you do business.

Take advantage of all that your membership offers in 2019. Your success is the backbone of this association, our community and the profession.

Looking ahead to 2019, we’re excited, energized and confident in our future as an association and as an industry. To continue to thrive as an organization, we depend on your participation, we value your commitment and we appreciate your support.

Ryan Conrad, CAE, CIPS, RCE, e-Pro NVAR Chief Executive Officer rconrad@nvar.com

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bright mls

Momentum and a Bright Future CREATING IMPROVEMENTS FROM YOUR FEEDBACK

By Tom Phillips

AS WE BEGIN 2019, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to our subscribers in the Northern Virginia market for working with us. I’d also like to explain some of what we’ve been doing and what’s still ahead.

Any time we complete a switch from one technology platform to another, I find it beneficial to remind ourselves of the reasons why it has been introduced and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Those reasons were quite simple for Bright MLS: to expand access to information for real estate professionals, to provide more impactful innovation to our subscribers, and to create a simpler, better MLS experience.

Now that the Bright platform is live in your area, we’re looking forward to focusing even more on improving that experience for you.

Part of our mission has been to listen to our subscribers at every step of the transition process and to consider that feedback as we make decisions that are good for everyone.

We continue to listen to your feedback and make improvements.

We know one of the areas that needs improvement is quicker access to Customer Support and to information on how to use the system. We continue to improve this experience and are in the process of ramping up our Customer Support staff, creating new online resources, adding additional videos to the Bright YouTube channel, and adding live Q&A and training through our YouTube channel.

In addition, we are making changes to the system based on your feedback. http://nvar.com/1901 RE+VIEW

Visit NVAR.com/bright for the lastest training session information.

Here are just some of the changes we’ve recently made or are currently working on: v We heard your feedback on needing state and county identifiers in the MLS listing numbers and made the decision to add them to Bright. v We added new reports and continue to evaluate and add reports, including: • The Appraiser Parcel One Page Report.

• The Price Analysis Report.

• Available soon: The Gallery View Report. v We continue our work to standardize subdivision information. v We’ve removed requirements for fields not applicable in your area like Transaction Brokerage and SubAgency compensation, as well as the mandatory disclosure of whether a property is in a Flood Zone. v We’re gathering additional feedback and considering changes to Days on Market (DOM).

And you now have several new tools, including DriveTime search, hit counters, reverse prospecting and concierge option, that enhance your insight and ability to serve clients – all within the Bright platform.

Another big part of our mission centers around access to information JAN + FEB 2019

and harnessing data in innovative and impactful ways. In short, we want you to have the most accurate, fast data in different formats – supporting your role as a market and transactional expert.

We’ve been busy enhancing the Bright system with more of the information you need, including mortgage data and flood reports.

But we’re not stopping there.

In early 2019, we’ll be launching Listing Performance Reports. These detailed reports include stats showing how buyers are interacting with your listing and compare that activity to the activity on competitive properties in your local market. These are deep-dive reports that only you can access. Use them either to educate yourself or to share with clients to help them make critical decisions in their buying or selling journey.

And there’s a lot more coming.

We’ve surpassed many milestones in 2018 and navigated huge change along the way. But we begin the New Year staying close to our original mission to build a better MLS for our subscribers, and with a renewed energy to help drive your business forward.

Thanks again for your support.

Tom Phillips is the CEO of Bright MLS.

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market metrics

What’s on the Horizon in 2019 MANAGE LACK OF INVENTORY, RISING PRICES AND CLIENT EXPECTATIONS

By Terry L. Clower and Keith Waters

A LOOK BACK at 2018 economic performance paints a positive picture for many – but will it continue?

The federal tax reform bill passed in December 2017 dramatically lowered corporate income tax rates and, to a lesser extent, lowered personal income taxes. This put more cash in hand for investors and most households and likely contributed to consumers’ positive view of their current economic conditions.

In March 2018, the party continued with the passage of a federal budget that included about $800 billion in new spending. This sparked hiring by government contractors in the D.C. region, particularly those involved in defense and security. The unemployment rate continued to drop, and by the fall there was broad evidence that tight labor markets were finally driving employers to increase salaries and wages for most workers – though the inflation-adjusted increases in earnings remain small on average. This good news was somewhat offset by rising uncertainty over trade policies, slowing global economic output, volatility in the stock market, and a growing consensus that the current economic cycle had hit its peak and would begin a slide towards eventual recession.

As the year came to a close, Northern Virginia got the biggest economic news to hit this region in more than 20 years. Amazon picked Crystal City for half of its HQ2 that will eventually lead to 25,000 new jobs. Still, for Realtors® in Northern Virginia, 2018 will be recorded as a tough year to be in a profession that navigates families through their most important financial decision: buying or selling a home.

SLOWING JOB GROWTH, LOW UNEMPLOYMENT

The local area enjoyed the fruits of congressional largess with Professional and Business Services employment growing by almost 12,000 jobs between October 2017 and October 2018 (Figure 2). This is the sector of the economy that represents most government contractors. However, the private business side of this sector is also growing, and data suggest that the region is reducing its dependence on the federal government for economic growth with particular success in computer-related services (cyber security and data centers) and a growing bio-technology sector.

Labor markets are extremely tight with the official unemployment rate remaining well below 3 percent. The only weakness is in government employment. Federal employment continues to drop largely due to a soft hiring freeze that prevents most agencies from replacing retiring workers. The data for October also shows a large decline in state and local government payrolls, but there may be some unusual seasonal effects that could ultimately be revised.

Overall, job growth in Northern Virginia for 2018 will be solid with total gains for the year expected to be about 20,000 jobs by the end of December.

Figure 1. Job Change January 2016 to October 2018, Northern Virginia (in thousands)

The Northern Virginia region, which includes the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford and Warren, and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas and Manassas Park, continues to grow (Figure 1). The region had over 18,000 net new jobs in October 2018 compared to October 2017. The volatility shown in Figure 1 exists because these data are not seasonally adjusted, which means they reflect shifts in summer employment, holiday season hiring, etc. The pace of growth has slowed since the first quarter of 2018 but remains strong.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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JAN + FEB 2019

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market metrics Figure 2. Year-Over-Year Job Change, Northern Virginia Ranked by Industry Size, October 2017 to October 2018 (in thousands)

of the first 10 months of 2018 with a precipitous drop of more than 12 percent in September (Figure 4). The reason is no secret – you need inventory to sell homes! Housing affordability and rising interest rates also play a part in declining market velocity.

Figure 4. Year-Over-Year Percent Change in Closed Home Sales, NVAR Region (Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Falls Church City)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Despite the slowing growth of payroll jobs throughout the Northern Virginia region, the number of residents in the region’s labor force has continued to grow – though the pace of growth slowed dramatically over the summer of 2018 (Figure 3). The labor force includes residents of working age who are either employed or actively looking for a job. Gains in the labor force are related to discouraged workers (who lost their jobs in the downturn) re-entering the labor market, international migrants, and overall population growth.

There are emerging concerns that federal immigration policies may be having a negative effect on our ability to attract international workers, which has implications for a wide range of local industries including construction, hospitality, health care and technology services.

Figure 3. Residents in the Labor force, Northern Virginia (in thousands)

Source: Bright MLS. Statistics calculated 12/6/2018

The number of active listings in the NVAR region, which includes Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County and Falls Church City, continues its multiyear slide (Figure 5). The only good news is that the pace of decline has lessened somewhat since the beginning of the second quarter of 2018 due to lack of affordable move-up options; more senior households choosing to age-in-place; investors converting owner-occupied units to rental units; households choosing not to give up attractive mortgages; and lack of sufficient new for-sale home construction to meet the needs of a growing population.

Figure 5. Year-Over-Year Percent Change in Active Listings, NVAR Region

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

HOUSING GROWTH REMAINS RESTRAINED BY LOW INVENTORY

Source: Bright MLS. Statistics calculated 12/6/2018

With job growth continuing and mortgage rates still below historic norms, one might reasonably expect the volume of home sales to be rising. Unfortunately, monthover-year data for units sold was negative in all but two

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Market Metrics continued on page 10

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market metrics continued from page 9

As shown in Figure 6, a dearth of new listings has created tight inventories that, in turn, have been a drag on total units sold for the last three years.

Figure 6. Sales, New Listings and Inventory, NVAR Region

Housing affordability remains one of our biggest challenges in Northern Virginia and in the D.C. metro region overall. Many local leaders are worried that the lack of reasonably affordable homes may become a drag on our area’s ability to attract and retain young, highly skilled workers and their families.

As shown in Figure 8, the biggest declines in inventory in the NVAR region have been for lower-priced homes – starter homes for millennial families and working families in service occupations, including teachers, fire fighters, trades, etc. Year-over-year, we have seen huge declines in the availability of homes for sale priced below $400,000.

Figure 8: Change in Inventory by List Price, October 2017-2018, NVAR Region

Source: Bright MLS. Statistics calculated 12/6/2018

Tight inventories have helped boost sales prices, particularly in popular neighborhoods with highly-ranked schools.

However, the increase in the median price of houses sold has remained modest (Figure 7). Remember, the median price is the middle price: half the homes sold for more than the median price and half sold for less than the median price. The Center for Regional Analysis (CRA) uses the median price instead of average price to prevent the sales of very high-end or very low-end homes from distorting the data. The good news is that the rise in median sales prices has stabilized since mid-2017.

The overall sales price of homes has now returned to the prerecession peak – not adjusted for inflation.

Source: Bright MLS. Statistics calculated 12/6/2018

Figure 7. Median Home Sales Price, NVAR Region

NEW CONSTRUCTION STILL FOCUSED ON THE RENTAL MARKET

Source: Bright MLS. Statistics calculated 12/6/2018

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Focusing on new construction, Figure 9 shows that local governments have not meaningfully increased the issuance of new single-family construction permits in more than 10 years. The most recent data are for September 2018. The growth in multi-family permits has been dramatic and largely driven by rental units near Metro rail stations. In the first nine months of 2018, permits were issued for 2,782 multi-family units and just 1,061 single-family units. The share of single-family permits has been depressed since the housing bubble burst in 2007. Importantly, even though millennials are forming households later than previous generations, most still prefer single-family homes, especially single-family detached homes, for raising children.

JAN + FEB 2019

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market metrics

“Expect housing prices to increase but the overall number of units for sale and sold in the NVAR region to decrease. This will mean increased competition among residential brokers.”

Recent news reports suggest that rental units continue to dominate local housing development. The Ballston submarket expects that over 900 new apartments will be delivered in 2018. Some leaders have blamed low housing construction levels on the 2016 changes to Virginia law affecting developer proffers to local governments. Regardless of the causes, the pace of rental rate increases suggests that developers will continue to target that market segment for new construction.

Figure 9. Building Permits Through October by Year, NVAR Region

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

2019 HOUSING MARKET WILL BE MORE OF THE SAME CRA’s outlook for 2019 suggests that the residential real estate business will remain challenging due primarily to a lack of listings. (Details may be found in the NVAR/George Mason University Housing Market Forecast that is available at NVAR.com/marketstats.) The economy will continue to grow in 2019, but the pace of growth is expected to slow.

There could be some modest impacts of Amazon HQ2 by the third quarter of 2019 as the first phase of hiring gets underway – to be counted in the hundreds of jobs,

http://nvar.com/1901 RE+VIEW

not thousands. The easiest prediction to make for the coming year is that many homeowners in Alexandria and Arlington will believe their asking price for a home will have risen dramatically by Amazon’s announcement.

Managing client expectations is always among Realtors®’ greatest professional challenges. Neighborhood-specific boosts in home prices related to Amazon’s Crystal City investment are expected – some of which will come from investors seeking to convert owner-occupied units into rental properties, which could further exacerbate inventory challenges. Home prices will rise but will remain constrained by mortgage qualification limits and rising interest rates. Currently, CRA’s expectation is that the Federal Reserve Bank will increase interest rates 50 to 75 basis points (0.5 to 0.75 percent) during 2019, but these increases may not be fully ref lected in mortgage rates.

Mortgage markets will continue to see demand for U.S. based investment instruments as a f light-to-quality strategy in response to volatile equity markets and concerns about Brexit and Chinese economic performance. Still, expect 30year fixed mortgage rates (conforming and government) to be about 5 percent by next fall.

Expect housing prices to increase but the overall number of units for sale and sold in the NVAR region to decrease.

This will mean increased competition among residential brokers. Those who succeed in 2019 will be the agents who are deeply informed about their local markets, are keenly aware of overall economic trends, and are up-to-date on new trends and approaches to serving their clients.

Terry Clower is director of the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis.

Keith Waters is a research associate with the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis.

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legal lines

NVAR Standard Forms Changes EFFECTIVE JAN. 1, 2019

By Matthew L. Troiani, Esq.

THE NVAR BOARD OF DIRECTORS has approved the following new forms and forms changes, as proposed by NVAR’s Standard Forms Committee. To view the educational versions of these forms, please visit NVAR.com/formchanges.

1. K1343 – INSPECTION CONTINGENCY REMOVAL ADDENDUM – This form was previously known as the Home Inspection Contingency Removal Addendum. Recognizing that there are many different inspection contingencies that may require the parties to negotiate removal terms, the revised form allows the parties to select which contingencies will be removed at any given time.

The revised form is flexible for removing one or more contingencies simultaneously and can be used more than once per transaction depending on the inspection contingency deadlines.

2. K1020 – SELLER POST-SETTLEMENT OCCUPANCY ADDENDUM – This form was revised to present clearer choices for selecting and calculating the Occupancy Charge. It removes ambiguity for both the buyer and seller as to what the Occupancy Charge will be at closing.

3. K1342 – HOME INSPECTION AND RADON TESTING CONTINGENCY ADDENDUM – This form was revised to clarify that any offers or counteroffers that have not been accepted or ratified during the Negotiation Period for both contingencies will automatically expire at the end of the Negotiation Period. The term “Period” was added to the sub-heading “Buyer’s Election.”

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4. K1384 – ADDENDUM – LEASE – This NEW form was created in order to allow the parties to execute an addendum to modify terms to a residential lease. This was based on the existing Addendum to Sales Contract, but the language was modified to reference Lease instead of Contract, Tenant instead of Buyer, Landlord instead of Seller, and Premises instead of Property.

5. K1117 – ADDENDUM – SALE – This form was previously known as an Addendum to Sales Contract.

The content remains the same, but the form name has been updated to distinguish it from the new Addendum – Lease form.

6. K1321 – RESIDENTIAL SALES CONTRACT – This form was updated in three areas: A) PARAGRAPH 2 – This section was modified to include the Seller Subsidy on the first page of the contract to make it easier for members and their clients to compare the net sales price between respective offers.

B) PARAGRAPHS 15 & 16 – The former Paragraphs 15 and 16, Financing Application and Alternative Financing, were moved to Paragraph 2G and 2H for clarity in organization.

JAN + FEB 2019

C) FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY – These changes were administrative in nature. The Team Name and Team Business Entity License Number were included to comply with the Jan. 1, 2019 Virginia law changes.

7. K1339 – VA FINANCING CONTINGENCY ADDENDUM K1340 – FHA FINANCING CONTINGENCY ADDENDUM K1359 – CONVENTIONAL FINANCING AND APPRAISAL CONTINGENCY ADDENDUM K1372 – USDA FINANCING AND APPRAISAL CONTINGENCY ADDENDUM The Seller Subsidy is now a defined term on the first page of the Residential Sales Contract. Therefore, the various financing contingencies no longer need to provide a space to include the amount of the Seller Subsidy. To avoid any confusion or inconsistency, the financing contingencies have been modified to reference the Seller Subsidy as defined in the Residential Sales Contract and no longer provide a separate section for the specific dollar amount.

The following forms were updated to comply with changes to the law that took effect on Jan. 1, 2019.

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legal lines 1. K1281 – EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO LEASE LISTING AGREEMENT K1282 – EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO REPRESENT TENANT AGREEMENT K1336 – EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO SELL LISTING AGREEMENT K1337 – EXCLUSIVE AGENCY LISTING AGREEMENT K1338 – EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO REPRESENT BUYER AGREEMENT K1355 – EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO SELL UNIMPROVED LAND LISTING AGREEMENT Each form has been updated at the end to include the Team Name (if applicable) and Supervising Broker Contact Information.

2. K1354 – VRLTA LEASE – The VRLTA Lease has been updated to include the Team Name and Team Business Entity License Number in the “For Information Purposes Only” section.

3. SUGGESTED PROCEDURES MANUAL – Section V of the Manual has been updated to reflect the new statutory definition of a “Team” and the requirement to register the Team with DPOR as a business entity.

4. K1307 – SELLER’S ESTIMATED COST OF SETTLEMENT – This form was updated to ensure that the formulas for calculating closing costs reflect current tax rates and the current range of charges in the industry.

The following forms have been removed from the current forms library:

1. BUYER ESTIMATED COSTS OF SETTLEMENT – This form is out of date and infrequently used. Changes in the law require that better estimates of closing costs be provided to buyers and borrowers by the lender and/or settlement agent.

2. K1333 – COMMON LAW LEASE – As of Jan. 1, 2019, there will no longer be a substantive difference between the common law landlord/tenant provisions and the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act (VRLTA). To avoid confusion or duplication of efforts, the Common Law Lease has been retired since the law now requires common law leases to be virtually identical to the VRLTA Lease.

Matthew L. Troiani, Esq. is vice president of professional development and deputy general counsel.

NVAR Region 5-Year Look-Back: November Data

©2018 RealEstate Business Intelligence. Data provided by Showing Time as of Dec. 10, 2018.

Access current and historical market data at NVAR.com/stats and getsmartcharts.com http://nvar.com/1901 RE+VIEW

JAN + FEB 2019

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amazon symposium

Expectations vs. Reality THE AMAZON EFFECT IN NORTHERN VIRIGINIA

By Kate O’Toole

TO VIEW THE LIVE STREAM OF THIS EVENT, VISIT

NVAR.com/amazonstream

TO VIEW THE SPEAKERS’ PRESENTATIONS, VISIT AS THE NORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY begins to dissect the impact of Amazon in the region, the reality of the “Amazon Effect” is still unfolding.

On Dec. 12, one month after Amazon announced its decision to locate half of its second headquarters in Arlington, Va., presenters at a seminar titled “Amazon HQ2: Impact on Local Housing Markets” began to unpack the significance of Amazon’s arrival to the region. The livestreamed event was co-hosted by NVAR, the George Mason Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship and the Northern Virginia Apartment Association.

HOUSING DEMAND FORECAST Many have looked to Seattle for clues about how HQ2 will transform the region, but Seattle and D.C. are two different cities, explained Jeannette Chapman, deputy director of the Stephen S. Fuller Institute.

According to Chapman, D.C. is much larger than Seattle, with 50 to 70 percent higher job market activity, more residents and almost twice the concentration of private commercial office space.

Therefore, the position of the D.C. region to absorb the incoming workforce differs significantly from Seattle.

Phase I of Amazon’s Northern Virginia presence will bring in 25,000 workers. However, according to a Memorandum of Understanding between the Commonwealth and Amazon, Phase II of Amazon’s employment schedule will bring the number of jobs up to 38,000, Chapman said.

The influx of these new workers will not change our region’s current affordable housing challenges, Chapman said.

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NVAR.com/amazonppts

While the addition of 2,400 jobs annually over 16 years will be an increase from current job growth in the region, the difference will be in “the realm of historic norms,” Chapman said.

At full build-out, there will be an addition of 69,604 households in the region. Most of Amazon’s workers will live and work in Arlington with commuting patterns inside the beltway, but they will also be dispersed throughout the region to accommodate their different needs and preferences.

Most of these households are likely to be homeowners because of their high incomes, Chapman said. They will be more likely to afford new construction and will generate more tax revenue compared to existing residents.

However, with the impact being spread out over 16 years, demand will only increase 1 to 5 percent.

“There’s already a lot of demand here, and the incremental increase that will result from Amazon will be relatively small,” Chapman said.

Renters will have incomes that are roughly 70 percent higher than current rental households and owners will have incomes that are 50 percent higher. This indicates that the average HQ2 renter will have different preferences than the current rental market, Chapman said.

Although Chapman said she hears concerns of Amazon importing their workers from outside the region, she pointed out that the D.C. region already imports 65 percent of its workforce.

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BREAKING IT DOWN: FOR-SALE, NEW-HOME, APARTMENT AND MULTIFAMILY MARKETS Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, provided a backdrop of forsale market conditions before diving into Amazon’s impact. Listing and sales prices are trending higher; inventory is low; and days on market are declining as buyers pounce on scarce inventory, she said.

Because the average Amazon workers will be making above median income, they will likely buy houses in the higher end of the market. This is good news, Hale said, because inventory is tightest and fastest moving at the entry level.

Hale said Realtor.com has seen an increase in Amazon-related keywords in listings, such as “National Landing,” as people leverage Amazon in their marketing. Buyer interest spiked after Amazon’s announcement but has since declined and stabilized.

“I think that goes to show that the impact of Amazon creates a lot of buzz, but it will eventually normalize, and it will be spread over a very long period of time,” Hale said.

Setting the stage for the newhome market, Ben Sage, director of Metrostudy’s Mid-Atlantic region, said new-home construction is historically low due to the rising cost of land and limited labor, and the price gap between resale and new homes continues to widen.

Although Sage said he believes there will not be enough supply in the region to accommodate single-family detached demand, he said there will be enough RE+VIEW http://nvar.com/1901

amazon symposium

“The long-term implications for the region’s workforce is what will truly transform the region.”

– RANDY PAUL, NEWMARK KNIGHT FRANK to support single-family attached and multifamily demand.

The locations that will see the highest percent increase in new home closings are Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County and Prince William County. Sage noted that although there will be a bigger impact in Arlington as far as added households, the supply is more limited than in Alexandria, which is why he forecasted more new-home closings in Alexandria.

According to Randy Paul, senior managing director of national research for Newmark Knight Frank, the current population of National Landing is 14,672 with renters making up 72.8 percent of the population. Paul said Amazon’s new hires will “accelerate this already sturdy rental market that has largely recovered from sequestration.”

“We know from history . . . that Amazon does typically expect millennials to take the available positions that they’ll be bringing to National Landing, so I do think we will be seeing a robust multi-housing demand,” Paul said.

However, immediate job growth and multifamily housing demand aren’t the most important take-aways from HQ2, according to Paul. The long-term implications for the region’s workforce is what will truly transform the region, he said.

After the Amazon announcement, GMU pledged to invest $250 million in growing its programs, and Virginia Tech announced a $1 billion graduate school campus in Alexandria. As the area improves its tech talent pipeline, more graduates will come to the region and attract other economic development, Paul said.

“When you think about the long-term prospects of generating multi-housing demand in the region, a lot of that is going http://nvar.com/1901 RE+VIEW

to come from the graduates of these programs,” Paul said. “They will not just be taking jobs at Amazon but will be taking jobs at the government contractors that are losing employees to Amazon and need to fill those jobs. They will be creating startups of their own over the next 5, 10, 15 years – and beyond.”

Christian Barreiro, associate partner of the Zupancic Group of Marcus & Millichap, discussed the likely impact on multifamily investment properties. According to Barreiro, there will be gradual rent increases; growth in “other income,” such as parking; a slight drop in vacancy rates; and an increase in property taxes – with the greatest effect seen in National Landing.

Sellers are riding the “hype wave” and are eager to sell, but Barreiro said it is important to examine each situation case-by-case.

“Hype can be very good for sellers,” he said. “Buyers want to get in the market and think nobody else has heard about Amazon coming. The reality is that everyone has.”

AFFORDABLE HOUSING The D.C. region has an affordability problem regardless of Amazon, Michelle Winters, executive director of the Alliance for Housing Solutions, said.

In 2000, there were 19,740 affordable units in Arlington. In 2018, there were just 3,152.

Housing is considered affordable if 30 percent or less of gross income is spent on housing costs for those earning 60 percent or less of the median income.

Winters said three things are needed to increase affordable housing supply: • Density in transit and activity centers, such as what exists in the RosslynBallston corridor; • Zoning reforms for “missing middle” JAN + FEB 2019

housing, which would create more village centers, duplexes and other mid-scale housing; and • The evolution of single-family units for accessory dwelling and home-sharing.

In addition to supply, more funds are needed to accomplish affordable housing. An affordable housing project is 80 percent funded by standard sources, such as private loans and LowIncome Housing Tax Credit, but there is still a funding gap. These funding “gap fillers” include state, local and private sources, as well as occasional funds from the federal government, Winters said.

Amazon will contribute to Arlington’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund when it builds new office space, and the tax revenue created from Amazon could also be allocated for affordable housing.

However, these benefits will take time to build, Winters said.

“Given that we have all of these challenges now, but we have a potential revenue source in the future, it would be great if we could figure out how to pull some of that investment,” she said.

Amazon’s workforce will add to an already constrained and unaffordable housing market, but Amazon has the potential to inspire the business community and trigger policy change to achieve housing affordability, Winters said.

Although existing challenges may persist, presenters agreed that Amazon could be the spark that ignites change and ultimately strengthens and improves the D.C. region.

Kate O’Toole is the NVAR digital and editorial content specialist.

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commercial real estate

Amazon’s HQ2 Expected to Write a New Chapter in the Region’s Economic History

By Frank Dillow

TUESDAY, NOV. 13 WAS “DAY ONE” FOR AMAZON. After a 14-month search, the company announced Northern Virginia would be the location for one of its two new headquarters – edging out 240 competing locations across the country.

As part of the announcement, Amazon also renamed its new headquarters location as National Landing, which covers Crystal City along with parts of adjoining Pentagon City and Alexandria’s Potomac Yard.

Tucked between Reagan National Airport, the Pentagon and I-395, Amazon’s new headquarters will ultimately occupy 4 million square feet of office space, and possibly as much as 8 million square feet over the next 12 years, according to the company’s announcement. Since 2005, office vacancy rates there have hovered near 20 percent due to the federal government’s decision to relocate many agencies away from the area during its Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) implementation. Amazon’s leases are expected to drive the vacancy rate in Crystal City to a historically more normal level of 3 to 4 percent.

16

According to information provided

by Amazon, the company anticipates hiring 400 new employees in 2019 – growing to at least 25,000 by 2030. An even bigger impact is expected from Amazon’s expanding presence. New spin-off businesses in Northern Virginia and the D.C. area are predicted to add an additional 62,000 new jobs and $15 billion in economic activity by 2030, according to a study by the Virginia Chamber Foundation released in December.

Immediately affecting commercial real estate activity in the area will be the $195 million in infrastructure investments funded by Virginia and Arlington County, announced by local officials as part of their commitment to attract Amazon. Included in the projects will be construction of improved Metro stops at Crystal City and Potomac Yard, as well as enhancements to Route 1 and construction of an overhead pedestrian walkway connecting Amazon’s site to Reagan National Airport.

Virginia also plans to invest up to $375 million constructing a new Virginia Tech graduate level “Innovation Campus” by 2020 in Oakville Triangle at Alexandria’s JAN + FEB 2019

Potomac Yard, which is two miles from Amazon’s new headquarters. In addition, the state will provide support for master’s degree programs at George Mason University’s nearby Arlington campus and other educational programs at all levels.

“This announcement is one of the best things that has happened in Alexandria in decades,” Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks enthused in the Alexandria Gazette on Nov. 22.

“Virginia put together a proposal for Amazon that we believe represents a new model of economic development for the 21st Century,” said Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. “The majority of Virginia’s partnership proposal consists of investments in our education and transportation infrastructure that will bolster the features that make Virginia so attractive: a strong and talented workforce, a stable and competitive business climate and a world-class higher education system.”

Changing its name to National Landing won’t be the first time the area has been renamed. The areas now called Arlington County and the City of Alexandria were originally included in the land given by Virginia to the federal government to create the District of Columbia for the nation’s new capital during President George Washington’s first term. Fifty years later, in 1846, Congress gave the land back to Virginia. It became known as Alexandria County with the courthouse located in the City of Alexandria.

Before World War I, Northern Virginia was among the poorest areas in the state – “a backward agricultural district reflecting poor soil, limited markets and a lagging enterprise,” according to RE+VIEW http://nvar.com/1901

commercial real estate an economic development report entitled “Northern Virginia History” published in 1981 by the Northern Virginia Planning District Commission. The roads were so bad, one farmer’s wife complained that her eggs would all break before she could get them to market.

As Washington, D.C. began to grow and expand across the Potomac River, more cars resulted in the construction of better roads and a trolley line was extended into Fairfax County. Cows began to replace horses as the most valuable farm animals, and the area became noted for its many dairy farms. In 1920, its name was changed from Alexandria to Arlington County.

More had changed than just its name.

As housing developments began to squeeze out family farms, neighborhoods emerged throughout Arlington County, including Crystal City, which was named after a popular hotel called the Crystal Inn, featuring a large crystal chandelier in its lobby.

By 1940, with the increased military buildup for World War II and the Great Depression slipping into the past, National Airport was built on reclaimed mudflats and landfill of the Potomac River. When it opened in 1941, critics viewed it as “an overbuilt white elephant that would never be used,” but Northern Virginia’s growth had moved into high gear.

In Arlington County, the old pawnshops, wholesale fish markets, railroad yards and trolley stops gave way to clusters of office buildings. Crystal City became identified with its heavy dependence on high-rise office and apartment buildings that began to emerge in the early 1960s, the report explained.

One of the major long-term benefits of the Amazon selection, the Chamber report predicts, may be in putting those older office towers and high-rise apartments and their newer counterparts

to good use in attracting nongovernment related corporations.

Since the announcement, developers have filed with Arlington County for approvals to build an 18-story building at 400 11th Street South, which is currently a parking lot and equipment storage building for Verizon. The proposed new building would include 285 residential units sitting atop 12,194 square feet of retail with underground parking for 114 vehicles.

While the anticipated growth from Amazon’s decision will undoubtedly bring more challenges to the already scarce single-family home market, it will also deliver a long-awaited stimulus to the commercial markets for multifamily residences, increased office construction and greater retail activity.

Frank Dillow is a past chair of NVAR’s Realtor ® Commercial Council, an NVAR instructor, and a senior commerical broker in Long & Foster‘s Commercial Division. He can be reached at francis.dillow@longandfoster.com.

2019 Legislative Agenda continued on page 18

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17

appraisal summit

Realtors® and Appraisers ALLIES FOR TRANSACTION SUCCESS

By Kate O’Toole

IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO: Your clients just completed a loan application, and the lender says they can receive the loan without ordering an appraisal.

In fact, the lender says waiving the appraisal will be cheaper and speed up the transaction. Your clients want to save time and money but are unsure if they should accept the appraisal waiver.

How do you advise them?

At the 2018 Appraisal Summit at NVAR Fairfax on Nov. 29, presenters helped answer this question by discussing a recently proposed appraisal exemption. First, Dr. Terry Clower, director of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis, opened the event with a breakdown of the national and regional economy.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) continued to increase, but according to Clower, the surge of growth in the second and third quarters of 2018 could be a “sugar high” from the new tax law. Job growth held steady, and the unemployment rate was at its lowest in nearly 50 years at 3.7 percent. (See page 8 for Clower’s complete 2018 recap and 2019 outlook.)

“By many measures, if we aren’t at full employment we are getting close to it, but there are some caveats to that,” Clower said.

Clower explained that although unemployment was low, the labor force participation rate – the percentage of people employed or looking for a job – was at a low of 62.9 percent. The participation rate was at 67 percent 18

before the Great Recession and has not recovered since, he said. In addition, even with low unemployment, Clower said wages had not increased as much as expected after the tax cut.

Consumer confidence in the current situation is high, but consumer expectations leveled out after the “Trump Bump,” which Clower defined as a period after the election where consumer expectations spiked.

A growing concern in the national economy is the possibility of an inverted yield curve, which occurs when long-term rates fall below shortterm rates. An inverted yield curve has been an indicator of a recession in the past, Clower said.

Despite GDP growth, both existing and new home sales have decreased significantly.

“I would argue to you that we have run a cycle where the people who can afford to be buying a home are in a home, and the people that might otherwise be moving up are not,” Clower said.

JAN + FEB 2019

Due to Amazon’s announcement of Arlington as one of its HQ2 locations, Clower said appraisers and agents will start to encounter clients with unrealistic expectations of at least a 10 to 15 percent increase in sales price.

Like the new tax law, “the Amazon story has become a little bit like giving the Halloween candy bowl to a 6-yearold,” Clower said. “There’s a lot of sugar high and jumping around.”

Amazon will bring many jobs to the D.C. metro area, but the region has already been growing, Clower said. From October 2017 to 2018, almost 61,000 jobs were added to the D.C. area. All job sectors in the D.C. region increased except for the federal government, which lost 5,400 jobs.

“Overall, the story is about the same: we are growing,” Clower said.

APPRAISAL WAIVERS John Russell, director of government relations for the American Society of Appraisers, began his presentation with RE+VIEW http://nvar.com/1901

appraisal summit

news that could impact appraisers, agents and consumers.

On Nov. 20, federal bank regulators announced a proposal to raise the appraisal exemption threshold for residential real estate transactions from $250,000 to $400,000. Although less than half of homes in the area transact below the $400,000 threshold, Russell said this proposed rule would still have significant consequences.

“It’s not about the number,” Russell said. “What that number indicates to everyone else in the housing finance world is this: the federal bank regulators are comfortable with relaxing collateral valuation requirements in lending.”

Russell said if bank regulators are comfortable relaxing valuation requirements, then lenders will follow suit and relax their requirements as well, which means an increasing number of lenders will no longer require appraisals. If the lender does not require an appraisal, Russell said Realtors® should advise their clients to order one directly. Hiring an appraiser directly, not through a lender or Appraisal Management

Company, allows the client to ask specific questions about the property, including what the future valuation of the property might be.

Agents and their clients expose themselves to risk by accepting the appraisal waiver, Russell said. Without knowing the true valuation of their home, buyers could overpay for their house, and agents could be sued for incorrectly pricing the property.

“You absolutely want the protection of another professional coming in and telling your client – at a minimum – what they think that property is worth today,” Russell said.

Pat Turner, president of the Old Dominion Chapter of National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers (NAIFA) and the Virginia Coalition of Appraisal Professionals, also emphasized the need for appraisals.

“Do they [lenders] get paid if that loan does not close? No. Do you get paid if that sale does not go through?

No. Does the seller’s agent get paid if that loan does not go through? No. Does the appraiser get paid if that loan does not go through? Ding ding ding!

Appraisers are the only neutral party to the transaction; that’s why the appraisal clause is in your contracts,” Turner said.

In addition to offering more appraisal waivers, Russell said that lenders will start to perform more hybrid appraisals, which are typically done by unlicensed or inexperienced appraisers who never visit the property.

According to Russell, Realtors® should encourage their clients to ask if they are receiving a hybrid or full appraisal to ensure an accurate valuation.

Regardless whether a client is hiring an appraiser directly or working with one through a lender, Turner said Realtors® should ask the appraiser five questions before hiring: 1. What is your name and phone number?

2. Are you a member of our MLS? 3. Do you have access to a lockbox key?

4. How long have you been an appraiser?

5. Where are you from?

If the Realtor® isn’t comfortable with the appraiser, he or she can contact the lender to get the appraisal reassigned.

Agents can also use appraisers for pre-listings and remodels, Turner said. Ordering an appraisal for a prelisting would save Realtors® time and provide them with the correct square footage, detailed floor plan and set of comparable sales, Turner said.

Turner and Russell encouraged Realtors® to start developing relationships with appraisers and using them as a resource for their business. Start simple with a cup of coffee, they advised.

“We are allies in this; we are not adversaries,” Turner said. “We are in this profession together.”

Kate O’Toole is the NVAR digital and editorial content specialist.

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19

mortgage options

FLEXIBILITY, CREATIVITY IN THE MORTGAGE MARKET EXPANDS OPTIONS FOR HOMEBUYERS

When Brian Kempf, a vice president and senior loan officer with George Mason Mortgage in Arlington, worked with a couple relocating to Bethesda from California, the prospective buyers thought they had to put down 20 percent on their $1 million property – a

By Michele Lerner

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common misconception among buyers.

JAN + FEB 2019

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mortgage options “The couple had a car loan and some credit card debt, but they had a lot of cash,” says Kempf. “I showed them that if they made a 15 percent down payment, they would have $50,000 they could use to pay off their debt, which would leave them with only their housing payment.”

The couple was grateful because their new financial picture gave them the ability to save more money, and their lower debt-to-income ratio earned them a lower mortgage rate.

“A lot of sellers and Realtors® see a big down payment as gold and think the person offering a down payment of 20 percent or more is the best qualified,” says Kempf. “But often, that down payment is there because it’s a gift or because the only way they can qualify for a loan is with a bigger down payment, so they borrow less. Sometimes the borrower with a 10 percent down payment is the best qualified.”

Whether your client is a young, firsttime buyer with student loans and not much cash or a self-employed business owner with a complicated financial portfolio, you can find loan options to suit their needs – or at least a lender who can advise them on how to qualify for a mortgage in the future. Reach out to your lender contacts to learn about the specific programs they offer.

MORTGAGE ANXIETY One of the best things you can do to help a prospective buyer is to organize a consultation with a trusted lender.

Many would-be homebuyers think they can’t qualify for a loan because they assume their credit is too weak, they have too much debt or they don’t have enough cash. Those issues, depending on their severity, can be overcome with the right loan program and some solid financial advice.

“The good news is that lending is getting more flexible for all kinds of

borrowers, including self-employed individuals and people with student loan debt,” says Patrick Cunningham, a mortgage banker and partner with Home Savings and Trust Mortgage in Fairfax. “Lenders are more apt to make loans today because we’ve had a few years of good loan performance and because the market is a little slower.”

Some buyers are anxious that higher mortgage rates will push their payments out of the affordable range.

“It’s important for buyers to talk to a lender and analyze their options,” says Cunningham. “Some buyers may need to recalibrate their budget because of higher rates, but most will still qualify for a loan.”

Connect your clients with a lender who can discuss all their options and calculate possible housing payments and cash needs before you help them find a home.

“If a borrower is having difficulty finding financing, it’s smart to have them talk to two or three different lenders,” says Marvin Stanger, vice president and senior mortgage lending officer with Chain Bridge Bank in McLean. “If they talk to different types of financial institutions, they sometimes can find a program that will help them, especially if they don’t fit into traditional guidelines.”

Buyers, particularly in a competitive marketplace, tend to focus on getting a preapproval letter for a maximum loan amount, but Kempf says he approaches a buyer consultation from a more specific point of view.

“I focus on the monthly payment, so people really know what they’re getting into,” says Kempf. “For example, if they’re paying $2,000 a month in rent and only want to spend $2,200 as a homeowner, I show them what that means including the principal, interest, taxes, insurance and HOA or condo fee. Sometimes they realize that they’re

better off looking at a single-family home or townhouse because of a toohigh condo fee.”

DOWN PAYMENT SCENARIOS Many buyers say that saving for a down payment continues to be the biggest obstacle to buying a home, yet numerous low-down-payment loan programs are available. Conventional loans are available with as little as 3 percent down and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans with 3.5 percent. Some buyers may also qualify for a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development loan with zero down.

In addition, many buyers qualify for down payment assistance programs, which are easily searchable at downpaymentresource.com.

VHDA homebuyer programs include homebuyer education and opportunities for first-time buyers for low-downpayment loans and a grant of up to 2.5 percent of the purchase price. In the Washington, D.C. region, VHDA loans are available for homes priced as high as $500,000 and income limits for the loan programs are $125,700 for a household with two or fewer people and $146,700 for households with three or more people. To be eligible for a grant, the household income limits are $100,500 for a two-person or smaller household and $117,300 for a household with three or more people. The program also includes a mortgage credit certificate that reduces federal income tax liability.

“Mortgage insurance is cheaper than it used to be for low-downpayment loans,” says Cunningham.

“A lender can always run the numbers to compare an FHA loan and its mortgage insurance premiums with a conventional loan with private mortgage insurance (PMI) to see which loan is a better fit.”

Mortgage Options continued on page 22

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mortgage options continued from page 21

“There are signs that lenders are becoming more flexible about qualifying borrowers compared to the period immediately after the housing crisis, and some guidelines have been loosened.”

Traditional PMI requires a monthly premium until the loanto-value reaches 78 percent and it automatically stops. Borrowers can also request to drop their PMI when their loan-to-value reaches 80 percent.

FHA borrowers must pay mortgage insurance for the life of their loan.

“Lender-paid PMI is another option,” says Stanger. “In that case, borrowers pay a slightly higher mortgage rate, and the lender pays their PMI upfront. The borrowers will pay that slightly higher rate until they pay off the loan, but their payments will be lower than if they were making monthly PMI payments. There are pros and cons to every scenario, so it’s worth comparing all your options.”

NEW GUIDELINES FOR QUALIFYING BORROWERS While 71 percent of all closed loans were for borrowers with a credit score of 700 or higher in October, according to Ellie Mae’s Origination Insight Report, that means nearly 30 percent of borrowers had a FICO score of less than 700. There are signs that lenders are becoming more flexible about qualifying borrowers compared to the period immediately after the housing crisis, and some guidelines have been loosened.

• Loan limits up. The maximum conforming loan limit for mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie 22

Mac in high-cost housing markets, such as the Washington, D.C. metro area, has risen to $726,525. This means fewer buyers will need to apply for a jumbo loan to finance their purchase. While jumbo loans have similar interest rates to conforming loans, they typically require a higher down payment and a stronger credit profile than conforming loans. In high-cost areas, the new FHA limit for 2019 will increase to $726,525, up from $679,650. The new loan limits took effect Jan. 1.

• Debt-to-income ratios. Debt-toincome ratios, which compare a borrower’s minimum monthly payments on all debt with their gross monthly income, can be as high as 50 percent or more, depending on the loan program.

“If you have good credit or make a bigger down payment, you’re more likely to be approved with a high debt-to-income ratio,” says Cunningham. “Until recently, lenders were okay with a 50 percent ratio, but now even mortgage insurance companies have raised their acceptable ratios to that level.”

Borrowers with plenty of cash reserves, a lot of home equity and a previous mortgage with a perfect record of payments are good candidates for an approval despite a high debt-to-income ratio, says Stanger.

JAN + FEB 2019

“Sometimes the lender also is aware that there’s another source of income from someone in the household, such as a spouse who is not on the mortgage application, which gives the loan officer more confidence that they can handle the mortgage payments,” says Stanger.

• Student loan payments. Streamlined guidance was provided in 2017 by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about how lenders can use student loan payments when underwriting loans, says Cunningham.

“The guidance is more blackand-white and makes it easier for consumers to qualify for a mortgage even if they have student loans,” says Cunningham. “A lot of people have income-based repayment plans so their student loan payment is pretty low. In the past, we had to use 1 to 2 percent of the balance as an estimated payment, so that made a huge difference in the amount they could qualify for.”

Student loans may limit the amount someone can borrow, but they’re not likely to disqualify buyers.

• Self-employed borrowers.

Qualifying self-employed borrowers is as much art as science, says Stanger, since their loans require more than a fill-in-the-blank application.

“You need to understand their financial capabilities and review at RE+VIEW http://nvar.com/1901

mortgage options least two years of their personal and business tax returns,” he says. “In some cases, we need to look at a yearto-date profit-and-loss statement and their business balance sheet.”

The rise in self-employment means more lenders are accustomed to these applications and flexible with their approvals. Sometimes borrowers who have been in business for a while can be qualified for a conventional loan based on just one year of taxes, says Cunningham.

“Outside of conventional financing, such as for people whose tax returns have legal write-offs that don’t show enough income for a mortgage, lenders can use bank statements to review their cash flow and consistent income,” he says.

Borrowers who work several jobs or generate income with a side gig, such as driving for a ride-sharing service or working in a restaurant or shop, will need at least two years of that type of income to use it for a loan approval.

“You’ll need to report the income on your tax return, so it can be documented,” says Cunningham.

ARM COMEBACK Higher mortgage rates are on the minds of most borrowers and some are exploring the option of an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) – particularly if they plan to move within five years or less, says Kempf.

“We have portfolio loans including ARMs that go up to $2 million with a 10 percent down payment,” says Kempf.

“A borrower can take out a 7/1 ARM at a rate of 4.125 percent right now, compared to 5 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate loan if they have a credit score above 720 and a debt-to-income ratio of 43 percent or less.”

Kempf says 7/1 ARMs are the most popular now because they’re fixed for seven years. http://nvar.com/1901 RE+VIEW

“Borrowers can use the cash they’re saving with the lower payment to pay down the principal,” he says. “Some clients with enough money for a cash purchase are choosing a 5/1 ARM with a 20 percent down payment at 3.75 percent. That way they can keep their cash for longer and pay it off entirely in five years rather than take money out of their investments now.”

When qualifying for an ARM, lenders will review the worst-case scenario with borrowers, says Stanger.

“People need to see what the potential payment is to make sure they’re comfortable with it in case they don’t sell before the loan resets,” says Stanger. “ARMs are automatically recast when the rates adjust, so people who are paying more on the principal during the initial phase will see less of a payment shock even if the rate is higher because the new payments will be based on a lower balance.”

BRIDGE LOANS FOR MOVE-UP BUYERS While first-time buyers are challenged by down payment funds, move-up buyers sometimes face a similar conundrum.

“Bridge financing is available for people who can’t sell their home before buying their next,” says Stanger. “In some cases, their down payment funds are tied up in the home equity of their current home and sometimes these borrowers just don’t qualify to carry the loans on two homes at once.”

Lenders can be flexible with bridge loan requirements since they’re portfolio loans and designed to be short-term mortgages, often as short as one year.

“Usually they’re crosscollateralized by liens on both houses,” says Stanger. “The payments are interest-only so they are as low as possible. At the same time, the short JAN + FEB 2019

term gives borrowers a big incentive to get their home sold and lenders will need to feel comfortable about their ability to sell it.”

CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION FINANCING If your buyers want to build a custom home, tear down a property and rebuild, or buy a fixer-upper and renovate it before they move in, there are plenty of options for financing.

In fact, awareness of the availability of FHA 203k loans and Fannie Mae’s HomeStyle renovation loans can help you sell properties that are in lessthan-perfect condition or have an outdated style that doesn’t match your buyers’ preferences.

“We offer construction loans with one closing or two closings depending on the circumstances,” says Kempf.

“For instance, some homeowners in Arlington own a $900,000 house with a mortgage balance of $300,000.

They want to tear it down and build a $2 million house. We can use our construction loan to pay off their mortgage and build their next house with no cash required if they’ve owned the house for at least a year.

In that case, we can finance this based on the future appraised value estimated from their plans.”

While your clients should always consult a lender before jumping into the housing market, it’s smart practice to stay abreast of loan programs and guidelines that could help prospective buyers think creatively about their next move.

Grow your referral network and stay informed so that you are the trusted resource throughout the real estate transaction.

Michele Lerner, a freelance writer based in the Washington, D.C. area, has been writing about real estate and personal finance for more than 20 years.

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NV/RPAC major investors

A Record-Breaking Year for NV/RPAC! Thank You to the 2018 NV/RPAC Campaign Chair Gary Lange

2018 Major Investor Goal Reached! 64 Major Investors Contributing More Than $92,000!

Platinum R ($10,000+)

Shane McCullar

Northern Virginia Association of Realtors®

Golden R ($5,000)

Ryan Conrad PC

Maureen McEnearney Dunn

Tom Stevens HOF PC

Crystal R ($2,500)

Bob Adamson

Candice Bower

Moon Choi

Tracy Comstock

Mary Beth Coya

Nicholas Lagos

Susan Mekenney PC

Christine Richardson PC

HOF = RPAC Hall of Fame 26

PC = Presidents Circle

JAN + FEB 2019

RE+VIEW http://nvar.com/1901

NV/RPAC major investors

Sterling R ($1,000)

Access National Corp.

Rob Allen

Lorraine Arora

Mary Bowen

Susie Branco-Zinn

Buck & Associates

Pat Buck

Mary Ann Burstein

Nicole Canole

David Charron HOF PC

Commission Express

Genevieve Concannon

Reggie Copeland

Michelle Doherty PC

Heather Embrey

Butch Farrell

MaryBeth Fraser

Coral Gundlach

Delk Hamaker

Margaret Handley

David Howell

Randy Huntley

Rosemarie Johnson

Sita Kapur

Katharine Kratovil

Gary Lange

Scott MacDonald

Paula Martino

Tom Meyer

Ava Nguyen

D. Peter Nguyen

Thai-Hung Nguyen

Vinh Nguyen

Ryan Nicholas

Tino Peabody IV

Anne Rector

Zinta Rodgers-Rickert

Fetneh Schacht

Ed Schudel

Veronica Seva-Gonzalez

Nancy Steorts

Derrick Swaak

Nisha Thakker PC

Marriah Unruh

Dallison Veach

Weichert, RealtorsÂŽ

William Wiard IV

Rob Wittman

Thanks to all who invested in our profession in 2018!

Jon Wolford

As of Dec. 17, 2018

Ann Yanagihara

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nv/rpac investors

Thank you to our 2018

NV/RPAC INVESTORS GOVERNOR’S CLUB ($500+) Sonya Anyanwu Karen Crowe Angie Delboy Lisa Dubois Headley

Alasgar Farhadov Craig Lilly Sarah Santa Ana

CAPITOL INSIDER ($250+) Shirin Abadian Gay Ashley Aaron Banikiotes Jennifer Blessman Brian Block Paul DiCicco Alejandro Fernandez Douglas Francis Karen Hall Donna Hamaker Matthew Kahn Karen Kidwell Agnes Lee Glenn Lewis Natalie McArtor

Ann McClure Lieu Nguyen Karen Ogden Olmstead Madonna Padilla Cinnamon Pham Joe Reef Narda Rodriguez Mario Rubio Kathleen Stark Sandra Stewart Jake Sullivan Malia Tarasek Susan Tullington Josh Veverka

To Make Your 2019 NV/RPAC Investment, visit NVAR.com/RPAC.

$99 CLUB LaSonya Abney Fana Abraha Irene Adams Elizabeth Adams Nancy Ade Rafael Aguilera Martin Alloy William Ampofo Are Andresen Christine Angles Marion Anglin Kannan Annamalai Mary Anthony Srinivas Anumolu Julia Avent Vijay Balusu Richard Banchoff Deborah Baxter Eleanor Beaver Barbara Bechtle Carlton Bell Charles Benjamin David Billups Peter Bixby-Eberhardt Brian Blackburn Phil Bolin George Boosalis Chris Boris Harry Bowen III Jessie Braudaway Joan Bready Richard Bridges Michael Briggs Karrina Brown Samuel Cachola Dianna Campagna Madeline Caporiccio Leslie Carter Ronald Cathell Siu Cheung Connie Chillemi Jae Cho Candy Clanton John Coller Kevin Connelly Georgiana Copelotti Charles Cornwell F.A. Dan Daniels Florence Daniels

($99+) Alicia Davis BichLan DeCaro Joseph Delahanty Lois Delaney Ritu Desai Binh Do James Downs Jr. Frank Doyle Keith Elliott Clarry Ellis Laura Fall Margaret Fernandez Nancy Flowers Dwayne Floyd Kathleen Fong Larry Foster Jr. Virgil Frizzell Deborah Gill David Gillis Jr. Emily Gordon Brandon Green Melinda Hanson Anne Harrington Scott Hausch David Hess Janet Hewitt Frederick Hoffman Ramy Inocencio Sr. Kenneth Isaacman Shelia Jackson Amanda Jones Sanjay Joshi E John Joyeusaz Irene Kabler Amit Kakar Terrilynn Kelley Kathleen Kennedy Antoinette Khatib Nick Khawaja Victoria Kiser Lauren Kivlighan Pat Kline Robert Koenig Rakesh Kumar Atul Kumar Evan Lacopo Sharon Lang William Lawrence III Stephen Lefave

Sheldon Leggett Ashley Leigh Ricky Licardo Herbert Lisjak Jose Lopez-Boggio Jennifer Mack Ann Malcolm Patricia Mancini Paul Mandell Ali Mansouri Julie Martin William McCoy Margaretha McGrail James McGrath Jessica McQueen Casey Menish Karen Mestemaker Priscilla Moore Michael Moran Roger Nakazawa Patricia Nassief James Nellis Lisa Nelson Stuart Nesbitt II Alex Norcini Tawakalitu Olanrewaju Nora Partlow Eric Pearson Julie Pearson Fatima Pereira-Shepherd Thomas Perry Brunhilda Peters Natalie Phan James Phillips Thomas Pietsch Marc Pina Tracy Pless Julie Qureshi Linda Raehn Stephen Raffaelli Jr. Thomas Reed Esin Reinhardt Patrick Riddlemoser Katreen Rinaldi David Robinson Stacy Rodgers Vanessa Rodriguez Thomas Roller David Rosenmarkle

Elizabeth Ross Steve Russell Joseph Sabelhaus Munshi Sadek Mohamad Saleh Patrick Saltz David Sande Michelle Sanoske Janet Scaffido Peter Schlossberg Sarah Shojinaga Sheila Simkin Carol Simmons Maureen Simpson Thomas Sklopan Jason Smith Roxanne Southern Thomas Spier Melissa Steele Jeffrey Surdyk Carol Sutfin David Sweet Grace Swersey Felix Tang Barry Taylor Gordon Teague Karlene Tolbert Kenneth Ulsaker Tito Valladares Grethel Valverde Sanjiv Vashist Virgilio Vasquez Rosa Vazquez Jeffrey Walsh Sigrun Watson Susan Westbrook Jennifer Whitaker Kevin Wiles Lee Wilkinson Michelle Williams Vernada Williams Ann Wilson Sarah Wittig Brenda Wood Holly Worthington Ki Yoon

*as of Jan. 2, 2019

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bus tour

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government affairs 2018 SNAPSHOT

NVAR’s Government Affairs Program Working for You REPRESENTING REALTOR® AND CONSUMER INTERESTS TO UNDERSCORE PROFESSIONALISM

By Mary Beth Coya

THE YEAR FLEW BY, and great strides were made as NVAR volunteers and staff worked to implement the NVAR Vision 2020 Strategic Plan.

In the government affairs arena, this meant tackling several objectives: • Developing and participating in regional and national coalitions and partnerships on key issues facing the industry; • Collaborating and partnering strategically to increase benefit to members; • Promoting policy and legislation that protects property rights and the interests of Realtors® and their customers; and • Creating opportunities for member interaction with local, state and federal officials.

The year started with a successful state legislative agenda. Notable accomplishments, which took effect Jan. 1, 2019 include: • Legislation to define real estate teams and to establish professional operating procedures as well as provisions to help consumers • A requirement that condo and property owner associations include a short summary of eight important items that could affect a decision to buy in a Common Interest Community • Unanimous support for clarification on disbursing earnest money deposits, acceptance of rent with reservation, and legal title of foreclosures • A stronger focus added to the licensing curriculum on requirements for broker supervision and, for all licensees, on real estate finance Nearly 60 Realtors® traveled to Richmond on NVAR’s annual legislative trip in February. They were briefed by a 30

dozen legislators, met with their own individual legislators and also with the Lieutenant Governor. The leadership from the Dulles and Prince William Realtor® associations joined with NVAR’s leadership team for a discussion with the Secretary of Transportation about Metro funding and a proposed 10-cent increase in the grantors’ tax. (Learn more about the upcoming 2019 legislative trip on the next page.)

Leadership from the three associations reached a joint position to support dedicated funding of $154 million each year for Metro and its needed reforms, making it clear that this obligation could not rest on the backs of homeowners.

Through negotiations, the proposed grantors’ tax was reduced first to 7 cents, then 5 cents; ultimately, a bill was passed with no grantors’ tax increase.

In addition to fostering relationships with our neighboring Realtor® associations, NVAR was a co-sponsor of other forums to bring our members face to face with elected officials, including a Metro-region forum with the governors from Maryland and Virginia and D.C. Mayor Bowser; an Arlington County candidate debate; an Alexandria City Council forum; and an event to recap the U.S. Senate election.

By attending NVAR’s Legislative Reception, Politics & Pancakes Breakfast or one-on-one meetings with legislators, Realtors® and staff had more than 100 encounters with elected officials during the summer and fall.

NVAR and the Dulles Area Association of Realtors® (DAAR) co-hosted a Metro Silver Line residential and commercial tour, which sold out immediately. The tour provided members with invaluable JAN + FEB 2019

information on development along the corridor and plans for the future.

NV/RPAC had a successful year with 201 attendees at the annual NV/RPAC Night at the Ballpark and the highest-ever amount raised at the convention’s online silent auction. A host of events provided supporters the opportunity to mingle, enjoy themselves and support the industry. As RPAC celebrates its 50th Anniversary in 2019, stay tuned for more fun and more information about how NV/RPAC helps protect your livelihood.

Locally, NVAR continues to lobby on measures important to you. NVAR staff members are in discussions with local officials to protect your ability to place off-site directional signs on property with the permission of the owner. As local governments review zoning plans, discuss proffers and set regulations for short-term rentals, NVAR will have a seat at the table to represent the Realtor® position.

NVAR’s government affairs department is always working for you. Next year will bring many changes with new elected officials at the local, state and federal levels of government. It is imperative that NVAR stay involved – and that you do, too.

Join us for association events and meet your elected representatives. Invest in RPAC to support those candidates who will protect your business interests. Contact NVAR’s government affairs department at govaffairs@nvar.com with issues that you may face. The NVAR Public Policy Committee meets each month to consider matters affecting the real estate industry.

We want to hear from you!

Mary Beth Coya is the NVAR senior vice president for public & government affairs.

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international visitors

International Groups Seek Out NVAR for Realtor Association Insight ®

By Ann Gutkin

Members of the China Alliance of Real Estate Agencies sign an Honorary Reciprocal Agreement during their visit to NVAR headquarters on Nov. 7.

Representatives from three Japanese companies meet with NVAR leaders during their Nov. 8 visit.

SELECTED TO BE PART OF two international real estate delegations’ visits to the United States this past November, NVAR hosted representatives from China and Japan at the association’s Fairfax headquarters.

Rob Allen and Eric Chen of Long & Foster coordinated the China Alliance of Real Estate Agencies visit on Nov. 7, which included 15 representatives from real estate brokerages in that country. The alliance and NVAR signed an Honorary Reciprocal Agreement to commemorate the occasion.

On Nov. 8, eight representatives from three Japanese companies visited NVAR. Facilitated by Eri Bales of EBaleGroup with EXP Realty, the group received an overview of NVAR operations and political advocacy efforts. At the delegation’s request, NVAR also arranged a visit to Bright MLS offices in Rockville, Md. Ann Gutkin is the NVAR vice president, communications.

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installation ‘CAN WE BECOME ENGAGED?’

2019 President Christine Richardson Pops the Question to NVAR Members 2018 INSTALLATION AND APPRECIATION CEREMONY HONORS VOLUNTEER LEADERS, AWARD RECIPIENTS

By Ann Gutkin

ON BENDED KNEE, newly-installed NVAR President Christine Richardson proposed to assembled guests at her Dec. 6 Installation ceremony: “Can we become engaged?” Seeking a commitment to participation, excellence and success, Richardson set forth her 2019 goals.

Installing officer Brad Boland, former Virginia Realtors® president, Blue Ridge Proudly displaying her President’s Pin and the Association of Realtors® president and passed gavel, 2019 President Christine Richardson Dulles Area Association of Realtors® appears ready to take the helm after receiving her chairman, presided over the installation of oath of office from Brad Boland.

Richardson and her leadership team.

Lorraine Arora and the 2018 volunteer leaders were acknowledged for their commitments. Also recognized were the 2018 NVAR Leadership Institute graduates, Omega Tau Rho inductees, and Realtor® Emeritus honorees.

Four individuals received the NVAR Hall of Fame distinction for their commitment of a decade or more of service to the Realtor® family: NVAR staff members Renee Brown and Jill Landsman, former NVAR staff member Sarah Louppe Petcher, and NVAR member Lisa DuBois.

Honorary Life Membership was awarded to 2015 NVAR President Mary Bayat.

Special thanks were given to event partner MBH Settlement, whose CEO, Fred Westerlund, was named 2018 Affiliate of the Year.

2018 AFFILIATE OF THE YEAR

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP

Fred Westerlund MBH Settlement

Mary Bayat Bayat Realty

2018 HALL OF FAME

OMEGA TAU RHO

Renee Brown NVAR

Lorraine Arora, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty

Lisa DuBois RE/MAX by Invitation

Ann Gutkin, NVAR

Jill Parker Landsman NVAR

Nicholas Lagos, Century 21 New Millennium

Sarah Louppe Petcher S & T Law Group

Christine Richardson, President Weichert, Realtors® Nicholas Lagos, President-Elect Century 21 New Millennium Derrick Swaak, Secretary/Treasurer TTR Sotheby’s International Realty Lorraine Arora, Immediate Past President Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty

2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Rob Allen Long & Foster Real Estate Shirley Buford Long & Foster Real Estate Reggie Copeland C.R. Copeland Real Estate Ritu Desai Samson Properties Heather Embrey Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate Premier Shelia Jackson Long & Foster Real Estate Gary Lange Weichert, Realtors®

Sherri Harris, NVAR Christine Richardson, Weichert, Realtors® Verna Vargas, NVAR Teresa Watson, NVAR

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2019 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

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Ava Nguyen Westgate Realty Group Peter Nguyen TTR Sotheby’s International Realty Marc Pina Compass Marriah Unruh Keller Williams Capital Properties Ann Yanagihara Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage RE+VIEW http://nvar.com/1901

installation

MBH Settlement CEO and 2019 Real Estate Finance & Settlement Forum Chair Fred Westerlund receives the Affiliate of the Year honor from 2018 NVAR President Lorraine Arora.

Four people were named by 2018 President Lorraine Arora (center) to the NVAR Hall of Fame. Pictured (l – r): Lisa DuBois, RE/MAX by Invitation; Jill Landsman, NVAR community outreach development strategist; Sarah Louppe Petcher, S & T Law Group; and Renee Brown, NVAR director of education.

Members of the 2018 NVAR Leadership Institute are recognized for their achievements. Pictured here (l – r) are: Dinora Chacon, Robert Chamberlain, Michelle Doherty, Ritu Desai, Bryan Newby, Marriah Unruh and 2018 NVAR President Lorraine Arora.

2015 NVAR President Mary Bayat (left) receives her Honorary Life Membership plaque from 2018 President Lorraine Arora.

Audience members accept the incoming president’s proposal to become engaged, with flashing rings to seal the deal.

Newly installed 2019 NVAR Board members gather for a group photo-op as installing officer Brad Boland (far right) prepares to install 2019 President Christine Richardson. Pictured (l – r) are: Marriah Unruh, Marc Pina, Peter Nguyen, Ava Nguyen, Gary Lange, Shelia Jackson, Heather Embrey, Ritu Desai, Reggie Copeland, Shirley Buford, Lorraine Arora, Derrick Swaak and Nicholas Lagos.

NVAR CEO Ryan Conrad (left), gathers the 2019 executive team following the installation ceremony (l – r): 2019 President Christine Richardson, Secretary/ Treasurer Derrick Swaak, Immediate Past President Lorraine Arora and PresidentElect Nicholas Lagos.

Popping the question to assembled members with a gigantic ring-shaped balloon, 2019 President Christine Richardson asks them to become engaged in NVAR and the real estate profession in the coming year.

Past presidents gather for the time-honored “passing of the gavel” to the newest NVAR leader. Pictured (l – r) are: Tom Stevens (1985), William Laughlin (1986), Pam McCoach (1987), David Howell (1995), Tracy Pless (2005), Margaret Ireland (2006), Jane Quill (2008), Karen Trainor (2011), Pat Kline – who arrived just in time to leap onstage into position (2012), Jon Wolford (2013), Mary Bayat (2015), Virgil Frizzell (2016), Bob Adamson (2017), Lorraine Arora (2018), Christine Richardson (2019) and installing officer Brad Boland. http://nvar.com/1901 RE+VIEW

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young professionals network

Passion, Philanthropy and Plenty of Photo-Ops NVAR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS ENJOYED AN ACTION-PACKED 2018

By Diana Costa

LED BY Chair Mary Bowen of Long & Foster and ViceChair Michelle Doherty of RE/MAX Allegiance, the NVAR Young Professionals Network created a year of programs for learning, networking and giving back to the community – all accompanied by photos and fun.

In 2019, the YPN plans a similar lineup, under the leadership of Doherty and Vice-Chair Nicole Canole of Keller Williams Capital Properties. To learn more, contact staff liaison Diana Costa at dcosta@nvar.com.

Left: The GCAAR/NVAR YPN joint event attracted about 140 guests from more than eight states, who were in D.C. for the NAR midyear legislative meetings.

For their first joint event the NVAR and Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors® YPN groups hosted a Potomac boat cruise during the NAR midyear legislative meetings. The two groups hope to pair for a similar event in 2019.

In support of the group’s mission to give back to the community, YPN members help to stock goods and serve food at the Embry Rucker shelter in Reston on June 14.

YPN members stock and organize women’s clothing at the Women Giving Back store in Sterling.

Below: YPN members gathered in October for the annual Top Golf event. Always well attended, it drew more than 50 participants in 2018.

In August, the YPN hosted a “Get the Scoop” event where attendees consumed delicious ice cream, plus information about how to get involved at the local, state and national association levels to positively impact their business. Panelists were (l – r): Janice Spearbeck of RE/MAX Gateway, NVAR member and NAR 30 Under 30 honoree; Will Wiard of Weichert, Realtors®, NVAR member, NAR 30 Under 30 honoree and Virginia Realtors® director; and Drew Fristoe, 2018 NAR YPN Chair and 2019 Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors® president.

Diana Costa is executive assistant to the NVAR CEO and staff liaison to the YPN group.

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Avery Hess full page; pg 35

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leadership institute NEXT UP!

Future NVAR Leaders Graduate from Leadership Institute

By Kate O’Toole

AFTER A YEAR-LONG PROGRAM learning the ins and outs of volunteer leadership, 11 new Leadership Institute graduates are ready to serve as NVAR leaders.

Throughout the year, students attended training sessions and events, including the Legislative Bus Trip, NAR Mid-Year Meetings and the NVAR Annual Convention and Trade Show.

At the start of the year, they were also assigned a group project to create an “NVAR Ambassador” program. The projects were judged on overall quality of the ambassador program; alignment with the NVAR Strategic Plan; and creativity of their final presentations.

On Dec. 14, the groups presented their projects “shark-tank” style to NVAR CEO Ryan Conrad, 2018 NVAR President Lorraine Arora and 2019 President Christine Richardson.

Although only one group could be chosen as the winner, all three groups succeeded in developing creative ambassador programs that could be implemented in the future to enhance member involvement.

As the 2018 graduates begin serving in various association roles, the next class will soon begin their leadership journey!

Are you a future NVAR leader? Apply for the 2020 Institute. Visit NVAR.com/ realtors/leadership to learn more.

Leadership Institute students visit the Bright MLS headquarters in Rockville, Md. and meet with CEO Tom Phillips and other Bright staff.

Abraham Walker answers questions in a mock-interview during media training.

At the training, media professional Ron Kermani taught the class how to respond to a reporter’s questions and come prepared to an interview.

The winning group of the NVAR Ambassador project created custom-made jackets as part of their presentation: (l – r) Marriah Unruh, Jina Myers, Bryan Newby and Sandra Stewart.

Kate O’Toole is the NVAR digital and editorial content specialist.

Leadership Institute graduates and NVAR staff pose for a picture after the groups’ presentations.

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nvar cares

Realtors Support Local Community ®

2018 NVAR CARES COMMITTEE BACKS 19 NORTHERN VIRGINIA BENEFICIARIES

By Jill Parker Landsman

THE 2018 NVAR CARES COMMITTEE considered proposals for funding from local nonprofits and made decisions to donate time and money totaling $41,000 based on each mission’s alignment with NVAR’s strategic goals. The largest donation went to the Habitat for Humanity Over the Edge fundraiser, for which NVAR was the Media Day Sponsor. The committee also sponsored a Habitat build day.

For the first time, the NVAR Cares Committee hosted a fundraiser, “Party with a Purpose,” at the Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton on Nov. 8, 2018.

“The NVAR Cares Committee is proud to build partnerships with organizations that share our mission of helping the community,” said 2018 NVAR Cares Committee Chair Marriah Unruh said.

“We are honored to give to local nonprofits that help so many people who need

immediate assistance. The passionate, devoted members of this committee have been very inspirational. They are a special, generous group of people.”

Said 2018 NVAR President of the Board Lorraine Arora, “As an association of professionals who are dedicated to helping achieve their dreams of homeownership, it is important that we also help those who are not as fortunate as our clients and our members. The NVAR Cares Committee oversees our association’s vetting of qualified charities that will truly serve the underserved right in our own backyards. We are not only about the bottom line: we believe in corporate social responsibility.”

Jill Parker Landsman is the NVAR community outreach development strategist.

The 2018 NVAR Cares Committee recipients are: 1. Alliance for Housing Solutions 2. Brain Foundation 3. Chimes Virginia 4. Culpepper Garden 5. DC Candlelighters 6. First Home Alliance 7. Good Shepherd Housing 8. Graham Road Elementary School 9. Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia 10. HomeAid 11. Homestretch 12. Neighborhood Health 13. Northern Virginia Mental Health Foundation 14. Pathway Homes 15. PHILLIPS Programs for Children and Families 16. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (PRS)

At the Nov. 8 NVAR Cares Party with a Purpose, NVAR leaders celebrating are (l – r) 2017 NVAR President Bob Adamson, 2018 NVAR Co-Chair Mary Ann Burstein, Secretary Treasurer Nicholas Lagos, 2018 NVAR President Lorraine Arora, 2009 Past Chair Susan Mekenney, Board Member Peter Nguyen, National Association of Realtors® CEO Bob Goldberg, 2018 Board Member Dallison Veach and 2018 NVAR Cares Chair Marriah Unruh.

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17. Shelter House 18. Wholehearted Foundation 19. Women Giving Back

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nvar cares On April 6, 2018, Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia honored Dr. Richard Semmler (middle) for his generous, ongoing donations to the nonprofit. At the groundbreaking ceremonies for the 100th Habitat NOVA home in Alexandria were (l – r) 2018 NVAR President Lorraine Arora and 2018 NVAR Cares Committee CoChair Mary Ann Burstein.

At the Party with a Purpose fundraiser on Nov. 8, the 2018 NVAR Cares Committee welcomed 170+ attendees, all of whom contributed to donations for Good Shepherd Housing, Habitat for Humanity, Homestretch, Pathway Homes and Shelter House.

Working at a Habitat for Humanity Northern Virginia build site in August, these hardworking NVAR Cares Team members are: (l – r) Jerry Hodges; NVAR CEO Ryan Conrad; NVAR Manager, Shop Realtor ® Program Jina Myers; Karlene Tolbert; 2018 NVAR Cares Committee Chair Marriah Unruh; Angela Sherril and Margory NunezLiza.

At the Habitat for Humanity Over the Edge Fundraiser Media Day on May 18, 2018 (l – r): Habitat NOVA Chief Executive Officer Rev. Jon Smoot, 2009 NVAR President Susan Mekenney, NVAR Cares staff liaison Jill Parker Landsman, 2018 NVAR Cares Co-Chair Mary Ann Burstein, NVAR Cares Committee members Karlene Tolbert and Clarry Ellis help kick off the H4H rappelling event at the Hilton headquarters in McLean.

2017 NVAR President Bob Adamson congratulates the selected family who received a Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia home. Adamson and this family assembled at the Sportrock Climbing Center in the early morning to help promote H4H NOVA’s Over the Edge Fundraiser campaign.

Adamson scaled a rock wall just before this photo and was interviewed by a Channel 7 reporter to talk about NVAR’s support for this fundraiser. Habitat’s Over the Edge event took place in May in Tysons Corner. http://nvar.com/1901 RE+VIEW

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tax tips

Tips for 2019 Income Taxes: What Every Realtor® Should Know HOW TAX REFORM MAY IMPACT YOUR BUSINESS

By Kate O’Toole

• Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID) Capped at $750,000 v The limit on deductible mortgage debt was reduced to $750,000 for loans taken out after Dec. 15, 2017

ON DEC. 14, NVAR hosted its final 2018 Friday Focus: “Year-End Tax Planning for Realtors®” with Sam Klausner, CPA, Klausner & Company. Klausner discussed changes resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and ways Realtors® could prepare before the new year.

“Please take a look at [the Qualified Business Income Deduction] if you are self-employed,” Klausner said. “It could be a big deduction. I can’t say that enough.”

Learn more about that deduction and these additional take-aways:

• State and Local Taxes (SALT) Deductions Limited to $10,000 v Homeowners cannot deduct more than $10,000 of state and local taxes, which includes state and local property, income and sales taxes

• Qualified Business Income Deduction – Section 199A v Pass-through businesses and self-employed individuals (that means real estate agents!) can deduct 20 percent of their taxable income if it is less than $157,500 (single)/$315,000 (married)

• Standard Deduction Nearly Doubled v The doubling of the standard deduction, in combination with changes in MID and SALT deductions, could cause less people to itemize v A potential strategy: Consider “bunching” deductions to

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itemize one year and take the standard deduction the following year • Self-Employed Individuals Can Still Deduct Certain Business Expenses v Miscellaneous deductions (including the home office deduction) will not be available for employees of companies beginning in 2018, but they are still available for self-employed individuals Watch a video of the event at Facebook.com/nvar.realestate.

Read more about tax reform and the Northern Virginia housing market at NVAR.com/taxarticle.

Kate O’Toole is the NVAR digital and editorial content specialist.

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new members

Welcome New Members Linda Alejo Farah Alhalta Daniel Almodovar Rosemarie Amaya Kyle Andrews Lena Arkawi Ace Armani Lynn Atkins Megan Bachman Megan Baffa Jelena Banicevic Cora Banks Shawn Barber Jon Bass Faraz Behvandi Ravinder Bhathal Sonit Bhatt Thomas Billard Jean Boehne Scott Boeser Maya Bonello Maria Boosalis Melodie Botto Nicole Bradley Sara Cain Karen Callaham Victoria Camardella Kerry Campbell Roderick Cartwright Alisa Castillo Jody Chittum Mohammad Chowhan Erdenebulgan Chuluunbat Tulia Cisneros Mary Clark Rachel Cleverley Daniel Craig Dwayne Cuff Sr. Tamika Cutler Amanda Cutts Samira Daamash Kristin Dailey Seresht Damavandi James Dargue John Darnell Vijaykumar Dave Sara Herrera De Gracia Christian Dunne

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Craig Dupuis Teresa Durham Paul Egli Loretta Erickson Linda Fadoul Chelsea Fisher Ruben Fister Lourdes Rubio Fitzpatrick Patricia Fletcher Rebecca Flood Sherri Ford John Fotelargias Behzad Ghazanfari Amrit Ghuman Kevin Gioia Arya Givehchian Kelly Glen Candyce Graham Thomas Grayer Karinna Hall Gregory Harvin Sr. Kafi Hassan Gregg Herpst Dane Holtmeyer Alexander Hoskins Sara Hyson Ingrid Jaramillo Kimberly Jepsen Kevin Jill Uday Kammula John Kay Shujaa Khaznadar Richard Kier David Kim Aaron Kluz Rebecca Lacy Pamela Lambert Daryl Laster Quynh Nguyen Le Eun Lee Felicia Lee Jane Lee Jung Lee Alina Lemay Joshua Lewis Angela Logomasini Sa Tien Lundien Thu Luu-Nguyen

LEARN MORE AT NVAR.COM/REALTORS/RESOURCES Cynthia Chen Lynn Troy MacDonald Mary Machaiel Faith Mading Daniel Marfo Carolina Martinez Raymond McBride Richard McEvoy Jr. Aileen Menson Deirdre Miles Jennifer Moesle Andrea Moreno Gregory Morgan Srinivasa Mudunuri Shayla Myrick Ali Nasir Rafael Negron Troy Nelson Mercy Nerquaye- Tetteh Marcia Newman Oluchukwu Odika Bridgette Ornelas Luis Pacheco Hyun Paik Vincente Pardo Brigitta Pari Garima Paris Jae Park Chetan Paydenkar Deborah Pederson David Perdue Emily Persson Craig Phillips David Piatek Michael Prettyman Kellie Quartana Rebecca Quinones Zain Qureshi Ramkumar Rachamallu Cameron Razzaghi Edwin Redmon Lauren Reed Stephanie Reger Samuel Reznikoff Michael Ritondo Gregory Robinson Mary Elizabeth Roesch Thomas Rohlfing

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Vivian Ross Samiirah Ruhomutally Brandan Saa John Prieto Saavedra Salma Sariou Tamara Sarkisian Donna Schwartz Minhaj Sharif Dong Shin Narwan Siddiqui Brenda Smith Sally Soles Mayra Soltani Denisse Sonora Saheem Staggers Stephanie Styers LaLea Swann William Tarkenton Alyssa Taylor Gentry Teigen Mary Beth Thomas Meghan Tighe Yascara Tudor Gabrielle Tygh Natalie Ugarte Richard Urben Bella Moreno Valencia Judy Vathalloor Emily Vongxay Jacob Wagner Hsuan-Hao Wang Marabella White Susan Wiczalkowski Stephanie Willer Theresa Wilson Wanda Winkler Bobby Winstead Jr. Todd Wisner Catherine Wojtowicz Bruce Wong Lorri Wright Lufei Yang Kee Yoon T. J. Yuvraj Yalcin Zabun Mojdeh Zarandazchi

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realtor® school

Becoming a Realtor® BROKER PRE-LICENSING Broker Appraisal (45 hours) 9 am - 5 pm January 23.................................Fairfax January 30.................................Fairfax February 6.................................Fairfax February 13...............................Fairfax February 20...............................Fairfax February 27...............................Fairfax

Your First Year NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION 8:30 am - 1 pm January 7...................................Herndon February 4.................................Fairfax February 23...............................Herndon March 5.....................................Fairfax 6 pm - 10 pm January 24.................................Fairfax

POST-LICENSING EDUCATION (PL) Agency Law 9 am - 12 pm January 7...................................Fairfax

To register for a course listed, view a class description or find other offerings, including webinars, visit

Ethics 1 pm - 4 pm January 7...................................Fairfax Contract Writing 9 am - 4 pm January 8...................................Fairfax

POST-LICENSING EDUCATION (PL) Real Estate Law & Board Regulations 9 am - 4 pm January 14.................................Fairfax Risk Management 9 am - 12 pm January 15.................................Fairfax Escrows and Protecting Other People’s Money 1 pm - 4 pm January 15.................................Fairfax Fair Housing 10 am - 12 pm January 22.................................Fairfax Current Industry & Trends 1 pm - 3 pm January 22.................................Fairfax

RealtorSchool.com

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realtor® school

Maintaining Your License CONTINUING EDUCATION (CE) CE: 16-hour Course (4 evenings) 6 pm - 9:30 pm February 5 (part 1).....................Fairfax February 7 (part 2).....................Fairfax February 12 (part 3)...................Fairfax February 14 (part 4)...................Fairfax March 12 (part 1).......................Herndon March 14 (part 2).......................Herndon March 19 (part 3).......................Herndon March 21 (part 4).......................Herndon CE: 16-hour Course (Day 1) 8:45 am - 4:45 pm January 19.................................Fairfax February 9.................................Herndon CE: 16-hour Course (Day 2) 8:45 am - 4:45 pm January 26.................................Fairfax February 16...............................Herndon

DC CE CE: 8-hour Mandated Course 8:45 am - 4:45 pm January 9...................................Herndon February 20...............................Fairfax CE Elective: Basements, Foundations & Crawl Space Issues 8:45 am - 12:25 pm January 10.................................Herndon CE Elective: Environmental Issues 1 pm - 4:45 pm January 10.................................Herndon CE Elective: Negotiation Skills 8:45 am - 12:25 pm February 21...............................Fairfax CE Elective: Agency & Disclosure Under VA Agency Law 1 pm - 4:45 pm February 21...............................Fairfax

Taking It Further Realtor® 007: Don’t Be a Secret Agent 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm Janurary 8..................................Fairfax February 13...............................Herndon March 6.....................................Fairfax Broker Orientation 9:30 am - 11 am February 6.................................Fairfax GRI 505: Working With Sellers 9 am - 4 pm February 7.................................Fairfax

Pricing Strategies Advisor Certification (PSA) 9 am - 5 pm March 4.....................................Fairfax GRI 508: Real Estate Law and Virginia Regulations 9 am - 4 pm March 7.....................................Fairfax

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Ethics 1 - 4:45 pm January 8...................................Fairfax March 12...................................Fairfax Legislative Update Course 1 - 4:45 pm February 12............................... Fairfax

Malia Tarasek “I enjoy taking CE courses with NVAR because learning in a classroom helps me understand and digest the information properly, and I am able to meet and greet with other agents in my association.”

FEATURED OFFERINGS

Military Relocation Professional Certification (MRP) 9 am - 5 pm February 11...............................Fairfax

Fair Housing 9 am - 12:15 pm January 8...................................Fairfax February 12............................... Fairfax March 12...................................Fairfax

– Malia Tarasek, Realtor®

FAIRFAX HQ ACCESSIBILITY: Underground parking is available with direct access to lower level classrooms. Elevator is available, accessible from main entrance on building’s west side.

JAN + FEB 2019

43

service providers Realtors® Federal Credit Union ................................................................ Lori Day ....................................................... 703-709-8900

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

1031 EXCHANGE

Realty Exchange Corporation.................................................................... William Horan ............................................ 703-754-9411

ACCOUNTING

The McGruder Group CPAs Dawn McGruder .......................................... Dawn McGruder.......................................... 703-273-7381

ASSOCIATIONS

The Rotonda Condominium Unit Owners Association............................. Autumn Fields.............................................. 703-821-8100

VHDA ........................................................................................................ Regina Pinkney............................................ 804-343-5748 WashingtonFirst Mortgage ...................................................................... Mike Eastman.............................................. 571-327-2145 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.................................................................... Brandon Frye................................................ 202-895-5155 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.................................................................... Kelley May................................................... 703-442-5320 Wells Fargo Private Mortgage.................................................................. Clarry Ellis.................................................... 703-969-3648 Wells Fargo Private Mortgage.................................................................. Javier Gonzalez........................................... 571-283-9076

INSURANCE

COMMISSION ADVANCE

Allstate Angles Insurance......................................................................... Christine Angles.......................................... 703-330-9400 Atkinson Insurance Agency...................................................................... Cory Nicastro............................................... 703-517-5020 Victor Schinnerer & Co., Inc...................................................................... Eric Myers.................................................... 301-951-5495

FINANCIAL

LEGAL SERVICES

Commission Express................................................................................. Missy Rigatti............................................... 703-560-5500 Commission Express................................................................................. John Stedman............................................. 703-560-5500 AAFMAA Mortgage Services LLC............................................................. Lawrie Vick.................................................. 703-599-0908 Access National Bank............................................................................... Tom Ciolkosz................................................ 703-871-2100 Access National Bank............................................................................... Vicki Cooper................................................. 703-871-2110 Access National Bank............................................................................... John French................................................. 703-871-2100 Access National Bank............................................................................... Athena Ullrich.............................................. 703-871-5720 Access National Bank............................................................................... Don Wipf..................................................... 703-871-1833 Andrews Federal Credit Union.................................................................. Stanley Koussis........................................... 703-647-6430 Bank of America Mortgage....................................................................... Joel Bisaillon Jr........................................... 703-667-5648 BB&T Mortgage........................................................................................ Kevin Connelly............................................. 703-855-7403 BluePoint Financial................................................................................... Brian Hutt................................................... 301-214-6790 Burke & Herbert Bank............................................................................... Tracy Bray.................................................... 703-549-2314 Caliber Home Loans.................................................................................. Chris Miller.................................................. 703-599-3504 Chain Bridge Bank, N.A............................................................................ Marv Stanger............................................... 703-748-2005 Citizens One Home Loans......................................................................... Dan Aminoff................................................ 703-245-3477 EasiLoans LLC........................................................................................... Chip Riordan................................................ 410-850-8511 Embrace Home Loans, Inc......................................................................... Sam Atapour................................................ 703-980-5443 Embrace Home Loans, Inc......................................................................... Shawn Barsness.......................................... 828-506-0487 Embrace Home Loans, Inc......................................................................... Patrick Holland............................................ 703-505-2022 Embrace Home Loans, Inc......................................................................... Victoria Kiser............................................... 703-328-7238 Embrace Home Loans, Inc......................................................................... Mariana Montalvo....................................... 800-333-3004 Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation........................................... Kelly Katalinas............................................. 703-868-9103 Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation........................................... Nicole Wilkes.............................................. 571-261-3462 Fidelity Bank Mortgage............................................................................. Eric Bumgardner.......................................... 703-466-4080 Fidelity Bank Mortgage............................................................................. Richard Donohoe......................................... 703-466-4057 Fidelity Bank Mortgage............................................................................. Steve Salvatore........................................... 703-466-4035 Fidelity Bank Mortgage............................................................................. Bob Shupp................................................... 703-466-4050 Fidelity Bank Mortgage............................................................................. John Slye..................................................... 703-466-4010 Fidelity Bank Mortgage............................................................................. Mark Webster............................................. 703-466-4076 FitzGerald Financial Group........................................................................ Bob Devlin................................................... 703-850-6211 George Mason Mortgage LLC................................................................... Rob Heltzel.................................................. 703-580-5179 George Mason Mortgage LLC................................................................... Amit Kaim.................................................... 202-625-3062 George Mason Mortgage LLC................................................................... Brian Kempf................................................. 571-309-4911 Great Jones Capitol.................................................................................. Jordan Hepner............................................. 202-810-8273 Guaranteed Rate Affinity.......................................................................... Blaise Yanick............................................... 703-868-7482 Home Saving & Trust Mortgage............................................................... Patrick Cunningham..................................... 703-766-4636 Intercoastal Mortgage Co......................................................................... Alex Norcini................................................. 571-298-8166 Loan Depot................................................................................................ Sumeeth Theruvath..................................... 804-839-8776 M & T Bank............................................................................................... Hugh Tran.................................................... 703-748-3722 Merscope Holdings, Inc............................................................................ Laurinda Clemente...................................... 703-328-4080 Movement Mortgage LLC......................................................................... Stacey Barowich.......................................... 703-629-6678 Movement Mortgage LLC......................................................................... Maria Clark.................................................. 807-873-5493 Movement Mortgage LLC......................................................................... Kerry Hogan................................................. 703-385-1567 MVB Mortgage......................................................................................... Lyn Gundogdu.............................................. 703-254-8080 MVB Mortgage......................................................................................... Billy Kinberg................................................ 202-669-0600 Navy Federal Credit Union........................................................................ Marisa Frank................................................ 571-419-7822 PNC Mortgage.......................................................................................... Babak Garakani........................................... 703-659-3679 PNC Mortgage.......................................................................................... Brenda Thorne............................................. 703-689-4735 Presidential Bank Mortgage..................................................................... Lisa Gastrell................................................. 301-694-1500 Prime Lending........................................................................................... Doug Enger.................................................. 571-442-5193 Prosperity Mortgage................................................................................. David Rotell................................................. 703-222-1800 SunTrust Mortgage................................................................................... Jen Mullins.................................................. 804-839-1382 TIAA Bank................................................................................................. Scott Barr..................................................... 703-261-8894 TIAA Bank................................................................................................. Frank Donnelly............................................. 703-261-8882 TIAA Bank................................................................................................. Rick Eul........................................................ 703-261-8844 Tidewater Mortgage Services, Inc............................................................ Max Sandler................................................ 757-292-0757 U.S. Bank................................................................................................... Kevin Darcey................................................ 703-624-7618 United Nations Federal Credit Union........................................................ Raymond Friday........................................... 703-448-5930 Valley National Bank Residential Mortgage............................................ Stan Schnippel............................................ 703-615-7373 VHDA......................................................................................................... Ayan Addou................................................. 804-343-5527 VHDA......................................................................................................... Janice Burgess............................................ 804-343-5926 VHDA......................................................................................................... Dan Kern...................................................... 804-343-5992 VHDA......................................................................................................... Joni Moncure.............................................. 804-343-5595 VHDA......................................................................................................... Toni Ostrowski............................................. 800-227-8432

Aestar LLC................................................................................................. Jonathan Kan, Esq....................................... 240-631-7933 Dunlap, Bennett, & Ludwig PLLC.............................................................. George Hawkins.......................................... 703-442-3890 Fairchild Law PLC...................................................................................... Pamela Fairchild.......................................... 571-271-4070 Fidelity National Law Group..................................................................... Michael Tompkins....................................... 703-245-0286 Friedlander, Friedlander & Earman PC...................................................... Jerry Friedlander......................................... 703-893-9600 James D. Turner, Esq................................................................................. James Turner............................................... 703-836-3400 Joseph A. Cerroni, Esq.............................................................................. Joseph Cerroni............................................ 703-941-3000 Law Office of Ann-Lewise Shaw.............................................................. Ann-Lewise Shaw....................................... 703-774-7626 Pesner Kawamoto..................................................................................... Susan Pesner............................................... 703-506-9440 Rich Rosenthal Brincefield Manitta Dzubin & Kroeger LLP...................... Beau Brincefield.......................................... 703-549-4820 S & T Law Group....................................................................................... Toula Gross.................................................. 703-997-0917 Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, P.A.......................................... Marc Lipman................................................ 301-230-5200

REAL ESTATE TRAINING/CONSULTING

BrokerWindow.......................................................................................... Anne Wydler................................................ 703-851-4589

SETTLEMENT

Absolute Title & Escrow LLC..................................................................... Karen Day.................................................... 703-842-7525 Allied Title & Escrow................................................................................ Thomas Meade............................................ 703-567-7933 Bayer & Kaufman LLP............................................................................... Mark Bayer.................................................. 202-466-4747 Central Title & Escrow, Inc........................................................................ Jennifer Ploutis........................................... 703-658-1300 Champion Title & Settlements.................................................................. Jessica Youngs............................................ 703-385-4555 Contract to Close LLC ............................................................................... Scott Houchin.............................................. 703-625-3166 Double Eagle Title Company..................................................................... Gina Clough................................................. 703-992-0291 Ekko Title LLC............................................................................................ Mark Barrett................................................ 703-573-3556 Ekko Title LLC............................................................................................ Jane Clawson.............................................. 703-497-3556 Ekko Title LLC............................................................................................ Todd Condron............................................... 703-537-0800 Ekko Title LLC............................................................................................ E. Sheldon Leggett...................................... 703-481-6200 Ekko Title LLC............................................................................................ Jon Lyon...................................................... 888-821-3556 Ekko Title LLC............................................................................................ Lisa Mitchell................................................ 703-448-3556 Ekko Title LLC............................................................................................ Sara Rodriguez............................................ 703-527-3556 Ekko Title LLC............................................................................................ Marcus Simon............................................. 703-821-3556 Hazelwood Title & Escrow, Inc................................................................. Sandy Hazelwood........................................ 703-263-1455 Key Title.................................................................................................... Steven Sacks............................................... 703-522-3900 KVS Title LLC............................................................................................. Marty Stanton............................................. 301-605-1420 MBH Settlement Group L.C...................................................................... Chrissy Burton............................................. 540-734-7990 MBH Settlement Group L.C...................................................................... Shannon Doyle............................................ 703-277-6883 MBH Settlement Group L.C...................................................................... Jody Esposito.............................................. 703-216-8607 MBH Settlement Group L.C...................................................................... Richard Hayden........................................... 703-417-5000 MBH Settlement Group L.C...................................................................... Ryan Stuart.................................................. 703-739-0100 MBH Settlement Group L.C...................................................................... Fred Westerlund.......................................... 703-587-2423 MBH Settlement Group L.C...................................................................... Dan Withers................................................ 703-966-3968 Metropolitan Title LLC.............................................................................. Sonia Downard............................................ 703-753-9005 Monarch Title, Inc..................................................................................... Cary Melnyk................................................. 703-852-1730 Monarch Title, Inc..................................................................................... Erin Rauner.................................................. 703-852-7700 National Settlement Services................................................................... Loretta Colom.............................................. 703-354-9677 New World Title & Escrow....................................................................... Andrew DiPaola........................................... 703-854-1220 New World Title & Escrow....................................................................... Helen Krause............................................... 703-691-4330 New World Title & Escrow....................................................................... Grace Swersey............................................ 703-338-5950 New World Title & Escrow....................................................................... Valerie Triplett............................................. 703-560-3556 Provident Title & Escrow LLC.................................................................... John Richter................................................ 703-451-6600 Realty Title Services of Tysons................................................................. Luisa White................................................. 703-790-1001 Republic Title, Inc...................................................................................... Bob Malico.................................................. 703-916-1800 RGS Title................................................................................................... Ed Schudel................................................... 703-903-9600 Stewart Title And Escrow, Inc................................................................... Kamelia Sacks............................................. 703-352-2935 The Settlement Group, Inc........................................................................ Ann Johnston.............................................. 703-642-6002 The Settlement Group, Inc........................................................................ Myrna Keplinger.......................................... 703-642-6002 Universal Title........................................................................................... Sarah Anderson........................................... 208-914-4667 Universal Title........................................................................................... Liz Wasserman........................................... 610-517-6089 Vesta Settlements..................................................................................... Keith Barrett................................................ 703-288-3333 Vesta Settlements..................................................................................... Melissa Fones............................................. 571-236-3345 Vesta Settlements..................................................................................... Laurie Kauffman.......................................... 703-314-6366 Vesta Settlements..................................................................................... John Showalter........................................... 703-350-8700

MARKETING & TECHNOLOGY MARKETING/MEDIA

My Marketing Matters............................................................................. Kelly Ryan.................................................... 301-332-0537

REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY

BTW images.............................................................................................. Brian Woods................................................ 703-340-6383 Exposurely Photography............................................................................ Ashley Marks............................................... 703-899-4129 Showcase Photo Tours.............................................................................. Tammy Loverdos.......................................... 202-281-0907

TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

Alarm.com................................................................................................. Shawn Barry................................................ 877-389-4033 Box Brownie.com...................................................................................... Mel Myers................................................... 213-337-8681 Centralized Showing Service.................................................................... Bob Russell.................................................. 866-949-4277 Cox Communications................................................................................ Rhonda Bernatonis...................................... 401-952-1827 DotLoop..................................................................................................... Sarah Bittlinger........................................... 888-368-5667 Homevisit.................................................................................................. Dave O’Brien................................................ 703-953-3866 Immoviewer.............................................................................................. Steven Bintz................................................. 888-400-8858 Immoviewer.............................................................................................. Jeff Turner................................................... 703-123-4567 Ixact Contact Solutions, Inc...................................................................... Rich Gaasenbeek......................................... 416-256-5011

44

Lone Wolf Techanologies ......................................................................... Steve Mapes............................................... 800-668-8768 OFFRS.com................................................................................................ Adam Orsini................................................. 941-241-2220 Realtor.com............................................................................................... Rhett Damon................................................ 312-513-1918 Realtor.com............................................................................................... Tricia Tough.................................................. 800-878-4166 SentriLock LLC........................................................................................... Dan Kinzie.................................................... 513-644-1511 SentriLock LLC........................................................................................... Erika Tirey.................................................... 513-644-1708 Trinity Wiring & Security Solutions.......................................................... Liam Armstrong........................................... 703-257-9403 Trinity Wiring & Security Solutions.......................................................... Brendan Armstrong..................................... 703-257-9403 TruPlace, Inc.............................................................................................. Andy Francis................................................ 301-972-3201 TruPlace, Inc. ............................................................................................ Colleen Smith.............................................. 301-972-3201

RESTAURANT/DINING

Dolce Vita Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar............................................. Meghan Schulze.......................................... 703-385-1530

VIRTUAL TOURS

TruPlace, Inc.............................................................................................. Andy Francis................................................ 301-972-3201 TruPlace, Inc.............................................................................................. Colleen Smith.............................................. 301-972-3201

JAN + FEB 2019

RE+VIEW http://nvar.com/1901

service providers

PROPERTY SERVICES APPRAISAL

AD Brown Appraisals................................................................................ Alan Brown.................................................. 703-541-8212 Allen Appraisals........................................................................................ Charles Allen............................................... 540-664-1169 Amanda Rae Smith................................................................................... Amanda Smith............................................. 703-895-4993 Anthony Appraisers.................................................................................. Michael Magnotti........................................ 703-319-0500 Appraisal Works, Inc................................................................................. Dennis Park.................................................. 703-906-8258 Appraise Metro DC LLC............................................................................ John Osipchak............................................. 703-200-6400 AREAS Appraisers, Inc.............................................................................. Cindy Coffman............................................. 703-866-6000 AREAS Appraisers, Inc.............................................................................. Gilbert Rogers.............................................. 703-866-6000 Barish & Associates of Fredericksburg..................................................... Stephen Barish............................................ 540-693-5373 BFM, Inc.................................................................................................... Robert Thompson........................................ 703-670-2586 Bird & Associates..................................................................................... Mark Bird..................................................... 703-864-2093 BN Real Estate, Inc................................................................................... Brenda Nguyen............................................ 703-599-9463 Bruce W. Reyle and Company, Inc............................................................ Michael Jackie............................................ 703-273-7375 Capitol Appraisal Service, Inc................................................................... Richard Bowman......................................... 703-691-8800 Classic Appraisals..................................................................................... David Kontny............................................... 703-675-2265 CMS Appraisals, Inc................................................................................. Silvia Bennis................................................ 703-209-9123 D&R Appraisal Services, Inc..................................................................... Dawn Blalock............................................... 540-751-2220 DCO Appraisal Services, Inc..................................................................... David Olynik................................................. 301-855-3886 Dickman & Associates.............................................................................. John Dickman.............................................. 703-938-6633 Distinctive Homes Realty LLC................................................................... Michelle Gore.............................................. 540-338-4606 dm Appraisal LLC...................................................................................... David Maeng............................................... 571-529-0534 Donald R. Drake, Jr................................................................................... Donald Drake............................................... 571-237-9430 ENL Appraisal Services............................................................................. Surendra Patel............................................. 301-660-7365 F & F Appraisals........................................................................................ Jerry Fleming............................................... 703-963-1743 Forte Appraisal Service, Inc...................................................................... Anthony Forte.............................................. 703-433-2205 Fortune Appraisal Service......................................................................... Wanda Graham........................................... 571-449-6136 Gallop Appraisals, Inc............................................................................... Areej Rasheed............................................. 703-980-4212 Gee Appraisers, Inc................................................................................... Robert Gumbrewicz..................................... 703-451-9020 Hartmann Group........................................................................................ Lynette Hartmann........................................ 703-406-7621 Heiner Appraisal, Inc................................................................................ Despina Gellios........................................... 703-754-6110 Home Appraisers...................................................................................... Thomas Runion............................................ 703-709-5695 Homestar Real Estate Services................................................................ Daniel Gartrell............................................. 571-261-3367 Hundley and Associates........................................................................... Julie Lawrence............................................ 703-212-9080 Inman Appraisal Services, Inc.................................................................. Scott Inman................................................. 703-644-9877 JDC Appraisals, Inc................................................................................... Jeff Cunningham......................................... 301-946-4865 Kandhall Appraisal Services LLC.............................................................. David Hall.................................................... 571-455-2622 Karas, Inc.................................................................................................. Melissa Jones............................................. 703-753-5635 Karas, Inc.................................................................................................. Mouna Karas............................................... 703-753-5635 Kinder Appraisal Services......................................................................... Jill Kinder.................................................... 703-268-0756 Lesley Omega Appraisers......................................................................... Lesley Omega.............................................. 703-403-2024 Marcia Novak & Associates LLC.............................................................. Marcia Novak.............................................. 703-585-2615 Metro Appraisal Services......................................................................... Stephen McArdle........................................ 703-644-7772 Monir Moshashaie.................................................................................... Monir Moshashaie...................................... 703-255-6451 Murray Appraisal Services....................................................................... Tom Murray................................................. 804-747-9326 NVA Appraisal LLC.................................................................................... Stephen Capistrant...................................... 703-477-3178 Omni Appraisal Services........................................................................... John Chapman............................................. 703-591-4001 Omni Appraisal Services........................................................................... Nathalie Palmer........................................... 703-591-4001 Patricia A. Rasser...................................................................................... Patricia Rasser............................................. 202-505-0645 Pemberley Appraisal................................................................................. Teresa Gilg................................................... 703-618-7265 Premier Appraisal Services, Inc................................................................ Amanullah Chaudhary................................. 571-437-4530 Preston Hummer....................................................................................... James Hummer........................................... 703-929-0857 Preston Hummer....................................................................................... Preston Hummer.......................................... 703-929-0857 Real Estate Appraisals 4 You.................................................................... Diane Richard.............................................. 703-794-9118 Renner, Hansborough, & Reese................................................................ Jan Symons................................................. 301-258-8181 REX Appraisal Services............................................................................. Esther Omorodion........................................ 703-468-1123 RH Real Estate Appraising........................................................................ Richard Hayes.............................................. 703-731-5040 Riverpoint Appraisals................................................................................ Robert Riddell.............................................. 571-333-3747 RSG Commercial, Inc................................................................................ Andy Ruffner................................................ 703-273-9106 Sandra A. Le Blanc.................................................................................... Sandra LeBlanc............................................ 703-629-6842 Stewart Jarrett Real Estate Appraisal and Consulting............................ Stewart Jarrett............................................ 703-671-3662 Suburban Appraisers & Consultants........................................................ James Loizou............................................... 703-591-4200 Tech Appraisal Group LLC......................................................................... Amy Switzer................................................ 703-631-1111 Walker Valuation Services........................................................................ Dan Mori...................................................... 703-933-2010 Washington Appraisal Group, Inc............................................................. David Shin................................................... 703-813-8160 William C. Harvey & Associates............................................................... Richard Olsen.............................................. 703-759-6644 World Mortgage........................................................................................ Patricia Kearns............................................ 703-934-5502 Zeena Deeb............................................................................................... Zeena Deeb................................................. 703-964-7473

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES/NEW HOME BUILDERS

MaxSalePrice.com.................................................................................... Matt Siegal.................................................. 844-944-2629 Toll Brothers.............................................................................................. Jill Dail........................................................ 703-346-1961

ENGINEERING SERVICES

Deska Services.......................................................................................... Jim Maloney................................................ 703-457-6540

ENVIRONMENTAL & MOLD SERVICES

1-800 Water Damage................................................................................ Johnnie Shaffer........................................... 703-650-9104 AART, Inc................................................................................................... Christine Sleigh Popeck............................... 703-425-2822 Accurate Radon Testing............................................................................ Alexandra Bukowski.................................... 703-242-3600 Guardian Radon........................................................................................ Terry Strange............................................... 703-425-7001 Madison Taylor Services, Inc. .................................................................. John Taylor.................................................. 877-932-7177 Michael and Son Restoration................................................................... Anthony Dennard......................................... 703-658-6558 PEARL Home Certification......................................................................... Cynthia Adams............................................ 434-825-0232 Radon Defense.......................................................................................... Nicholas DeFelice........................................ 703-688-3797 VESCO....................................................................................................... Gregory Caudill............................................ 703-722-8851 VESCO....................................................................................................... Ken Conte.................................................... 703-722-8851

GUTTER REPAIR

Gagnon’s Gutterworks............................................................................... Timothy Gagnon........................................... 703-716-0377

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT

ECI Development....................................................................................... Mike Cobb................................................... 703-795-2555 ECI Development....................................................................................... Rachel Jensen............................................. 703-795-2555

HOME INSPECTION AND PROPERTY DISCLOSURE

Prime Property Inspectors LLC.................................................................. Ron Meely................................................... 301-916-0300 Abode Check LLC...................................................................................... Raquel Barrientos........................................ 703-255-6622 Advocates Home Inspection .................................................................... Doug McCullough........................................ 703-674-0478 Anderson Inspection Consultant............................................................... Gary Anderson............................................. 301-855-3337 Anthony Elbert Lane.................................................................................. Tony Lane..................................................... 571-221-5756 Beltway Home Inspections....................................................................... Dennis Pelczynski........................................ 703-957-0155 Burnett Home Inspections LLC.................................................................. Chris Burnett................................................ 703-965-5260 Donofrio & Associates LLC....................................................................... Stephanie Donofrio..................................... 703-771-8374 Donofrio & Associates LLC....................................................................... PJ Moore..................................................... 703-559-5111 Donofrio & Associates LLC....................................................................... Donna Seeker.............................................. 703-771-8374 FUCO Inspection LLC................................................................................. Chaofu Lee................................................... 240-888-0219

House Inspection Associates.................................................................... Jiri Danihel.................................................. 703-453-0442 Hurlbert Home Inspection......................................................................... Seth Hurlbert............................................... 703-577-7127 InspectionPro LLC...................................................................................... Andy Renaux................................................ 540-455-9078 J Anlauf Home Inspections....................................................................... Justin Anlauf............................................... 540-514-9099 Master Home and Building Inspections................................................... Donald Masters........................................... 240-292-8175 Master Home Inspection LLC.................................................................... Richard Park................................................. 703-851-3339 Merit Home Inspectors LLC...................................................................... Alexander Aderton...................................... 706-589-6740 National Property Inspections.................................................................. Christopher Nelson...................................... 571-330-0974 National Property Inspections.................................................................. John Nelson................................................ 571-330-0974 Next Day Inspect....................................................................................... Nafez Mustafa............................................. 703-450-6398 No Surprises Home Inspection................................................................. Paul Cummins.............................................. 703-472-9020 Pillar To Post Home Inspections................................................................ Eric Boll........................................................ 703-657-3207 Pillar To Post Home Inspections................................................................ Kevin Dougherty.......................................... 703-291-0344 Pillar To Post Home Inspections................................................................ Lisa Lloyd..................................................... 703-520-1440 Pillar To Post Home Inspections................................................................ Michael Ward-Dahl..................................... 703-402-2475 Prime Property Inspectors LLC.................................................................. Ray Dayhoff Jr............................................. 301-916-0300 Prime Property Inspectors LLC.................................................................. Romano Pietrobono..................................... 301-916-0300 Property Disclosure Solutions LLC............................................................ Nanette White............................................. 703-839-3154 ProSpect Inspection Services LLC............................................................. Tony Kelly.................................................... 703-407-7841 Pro-Spex, Inc............................................................................................. Glen Blanc................................................... 301-675-8411 ProTec Inspection Services....................................................................... Amy Devine................................................. 301-972-8531 ProTec Inspection Services....................................................................... Frank McDonald.......................................... 301-972-8531 Royal T Home Inspection.......................................................................... Troy Vogt...................................................... 703-910-3251 The Robert Paul Jones Company.............................................................. W. Scott Gudely........................................... 703-385-8556

HOME STAGING

Brogley’s Estate Organization and Relocation.......................................... Rebekah Miller............................................ 202-827-5276 Leslie Anderson Interiors.......................................................................... Leslie Anderson........................................... 703-973-8734 M. Quinn Designs..................................................................................... Moira Quinn Leite........................................ 703-354-6359 Market Ready Staging Solutions.............................................................. Susan Driscoll-Blount.................................. 703-660-8727 Pragmatic Staging Solutions.................................................................... Drew Gattis................................................. 703-672-3940 Preferred Staging...................................................................................... Monica Murphy........................................... 703-851-2690 Staged Interior.......................................................................................... Trish Kim...................................................... 703-261-7026

HOME WARRANTY

2-10 Home Buyers Warranty..................................................................... Kelly Roberson............................................. 703-398-2905 First American Home Warranty................................................................ Lisa Hultgren............................................... 703-859-2700 Home Warranty of America...................................................................... Anne Lang.................................................... 703-220-9633 Old Republic Home Protection.................................................................. Molly Flory................................................... 800-282-7131 SUPER....................................................................................................... Jonathan Asfour.......................................... 703-254-9628 SUPER....................................................................................................... Bill Davis...................................................... 703-731-2259 SUPER....................................................................................................... Dilyana Mazur............................................. 703-731-2259 SUPER....................................................................................................... Jorey Ramer................................................ 617-817-1334 SUPER....................................................................................................... Heather Stephenson.................................... 703-731-2259

HVAC

Infinity Air LLC........................................................................................... Haichen Ren................................................ 571-334-9893

JUNK REMOVAL

123JUNK................................................................................................... Shane Gaboury............................................ 703-348-6662 1-800-GOT-JUNK....................................................................................... Rick Galliher................................................ 800-468-5865 Atlas Services LLC.................................................................................... Shannon Hildreth......................................... 703-201-3084 Atlas Services LLC.................................................................................... Lori James................................................... 703-201-3084

MOVING & STORAGE

Able Moving & Storage, Inc..................................................................... Andy Lopez.................................................. 703-986-9901 Brogley’s Estate Organization and Relocation.......................................... Rebekah Miller............................................ 202-827-5276 Interstate Moving | Relocation | Logistics................................................ Sara Gunn.................................................... 703-864-8266 Interstate Moving | Relocation | Logistics................................................ Mike Stine................................................... 703-863-7238 Interstate Moving | Relocation | Logistics................................................ Kim Woods.................................................. 571-238-9483 Interstate Moving | Relocation | Logistics................................................ Erick Barr..................................................... 703-898-0095 Interstate Moving | Relocation | Logistics................................................ Sid Sillah..................................................... 703-380-7278 Interstate Moving | Relocation | Logistics................................................ Sherry Skinner............................................. 571-296-0405 JK Moving................................................................................................. Michael Bennett.......................................... 703-260-4262 My Guys Moving....................................................................................... Joey Magnotti............................................. 571-338-4456 On The Move, Inc...................................................................................... Logan Dollander.......................................... 830-428-0780

OTHER REAL ESTATE NEEDS

Academy Door & Control Corp.................................................................. Alan Greenberg........................................... 703-541-0300 Agents Mailings by RSP........................................................................... Michele Huffman......................................... 443-386-7902 Aqua Guard Waterproofing....................................................................... Saidah Adams............................................. 301-595-9670 Asian-American Homeownership Counseling, Inc................................... Song Hutchins............................................. 301-760-7636 CORT Furniture Rental.............................................................................. Fran Boller................................................... 703-379-8846 Fairfax Estate Sales & ThriftFrog Valet.................................................... Jay Silvester................................................ 703-609-3535 Jeeves Handyman Services...................................................................... Claudia Agreda............................................ 703-465-0100 Liberty Carpet One.................................................................................... Mark Bisbee................................................ 703-691-1616 Lux Flooring Specialists............................................................................ Heather Patrum........................................... 615-260-0848 MasterLync................................................................................................ Tim Ketron................................................... 540-660-1839 MasterLync................................................................................................ Amber Valentine.......................................... 540-539-4998 NVA Appraisal LLC.................................................................................... Jeffrey Kidwell............................................ 703-477-3178 Pollard Environmental LLC........................................................................ John Pollard................................................. 804-749-3339 Sunrise at Fair Oaks.................................................................................. Valarie Parker.............................................. 703-264-0506 The Benjamin Group, Inc........................................................................... Joseph Grouby............................................. 703-684-3577 The Pop By Kit........................................................................................... Brad Blanks.................................................. 325-305-9070 The Rotonda Condominium Unit Owners Assoc....................................... Autumn Fields.............................................. 703-821-8100 Tower Club................................................................................................ Katie Simmons............................................ 703-761-4250 Washington Gas........................................................................................ Melissa Farrar............................................. 571-369-8477

PEST CONTROL SERVICES

Alexandria Pest Services LLC................................................................... Richard Diggs.............................................. 703-752-1634 Alexandria Pest Services LLC................................................................... Chau Tran..................................................... 703-752-1634 Holiday Termite and Pest Control............................................................. Cleveland Dixon........................................... 703-569-9333 Holiday Termite and Pest Control............................................................. Leonard Scott Jr.......................................... 703-569-9333 Hughes Pest Control, Inc........................................................................... Robert Hughes............................................. 703-481-1460 My Exterminator LLC................................................................................. William Trefry.............................................. 703-615-4028 My Pest Pros............................................................................................. Brett Lieberman........................................... 703-665-4455 Rat Pack PC LLC........................................................................................ Jairo Hernandez.......................................... 703-906-7094

PLUMBING

Michael & Son Restoration...................................................................... Anthony Dennard......................................... 703-658-6558 Plumb Right Plumbing............................................................................... Eric Figaroore............................................... 703-335-9102

RENTAL FURNITURE

CORT Furniture Rental.............................................................................. Frances Boller.............................................. 703-379-8846

ROOFING

DryHome Roofing & Siding, Inc................................................................ Steve Gotschi.............................................. 703-891-4663 Rooftop Chimney Sweeps LLC.................................................................. Andrew Raycroft.......................................... 703-836-7858

List is current as of Oct. 18, 2018.

Learn more about NVAR Room Rental Opportunities at

NVAR.com/RoomRental http://nvar.com/1901 RE+VIEW

Interested in becoming an NVAR Partner or Service Provider, or have a correction to this list?

Visit NVAR.com/services or email info@nvar.com.

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ask nvar GET ‘SMART’

Answers to Your Smart Home and Smart Contract Questions

By Matthew L. Troiani, Esq.

Q.

I represent sellers who have installed smart home features like security cameras and thermostats in the property. What do I need to know before listing the property? Must these features convey with the property?

A.

With respect to listing the property, there are two separate issues. First, is there a security system in the property that records both audio and video?

If so, then the presence of a security system should be disclosed in the listing. While video recording may occur without disclosure (except in areas where privacy might be reasonable expected, such as a bathroom), it is still generally a good practice to disclose.

Audio recording in the property must be disclosed to avoid potential criminal violations of Virginia and federal law. See the article at NVAR.com/camera to learn more.

Listing agents and sellers should also consider which features and fixtures they are advertising with the property. A listing agent who uploads the conveyances from Paragraph 13 of the Residential Sales Contract should be mindful of what is currently installed and offered to avoid giving the impression that a particular system will be conveyed with the property. If an item is checked “yes” in Paragraph 13 and is installed as of the date specified in Paragraph 10 (e.g., the date of home inspection), then it conveys with the property. So, if an item that includes a smart home feature, such as an alarm system, refrigerator, or thermostat connected to an HVAC system conveys according to Paragraph 12 and 13, and the feature is installed as of the date in Paragraph 10, then the feature or a substantially similar item will also convey with the property. If the sellers wish to take the smart system with them, then they should either uninstall the system or clarify in writing that it will not convey.

Q. A.

What is a smart contract and how could it be used in real estate?

On Nov. 27, 2018, the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued “A CFTC Primer on Smart Contracts” through LabCFTC – the agency’s financial technology (FinTech) initiative. While the primer is not a formal regulation and the CFTC does not officially

endorse smart contracts, the primer is an excellent resource for the history, definitions, characteristics, potential applications and risks associated with smart contracts.

A “smart contract” is essentially one that includes a set of automated computer functions. The coding allows for certain actions to automatically take place at a specified time and/or based on the occurrence or non-occurrence of an event. The automated functions could include every aspect of a transaction or merely specific functions and actions. For example, it is possible to set up a smart contract in which prospective buyers could link the delivery of the earnest money deposit directly from their bank account to the escrow agent within a specific amount of time from the seller’s acceptance of an offer. A smart contract could be created that could automate offer, acceptance, ratification, deposit delivery, loan application, contingency removal and settlement. Further advances could also include automating the delivery of lender funds to the escrow agent once specific underwriting and closing conditions are met. Such contracts could also harness blockchain to streamline the process for sharing documents and events taking place between the parties to a contract, as well as potentially creating more reliable and searchable land records. This is just a small sampling of the various applications of smart contracts to real estate.

Continuing development of smart contracts could lead to a variety of benefits, including greater standardization of contracts and processes, enhanced security, cost savings, improved efficiency and speed, and greater certainty in transactions. As with any new technology, there are potential issues that should be monitored. Currently there is legal and regulatory uncertainty, which could lead to litigation and an inability to enforce the contracts. Ongoing concerns with blockchain applications include circumvention of rules and legal protections. Techsavvy parties could potentially commit fraud against those with less technology experience. Computer coding could also lead to breaches of contract and unexpected complications if not performed competently.

However, with government agencies looking at the potential uses and legal framework for smart contracts and investors looking for opportunities, it is likely this technology will become a part of the real estate industry in the near future. The CFTC primer can be accessed online at NVAR.com/primer.

Matthew L. Troiani, Esq. is the NVAR vice president of professional development and deputy general counsel.

Members are encouraged to contact the Legal Hotline at NVAR.com/legalhotline to discuss these matters and other questions.

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