Two Dog Realty-Richmond, VA

 What has and has not happened since? Well, as I mentioned at the end of Part 3 what was out west is now here, at least at our local area (Central Virginia). Recently our Association chose to remove any language from a listing agreement regarding the offering of Buyer's Agent compensation upfront. Which actually makes our jobs a little bit easier but a little harder on buyers, especially those on a tight budget. You don't know prior to making an offer if any of your agent's compensation will be paid. It is now fully and completely negotiable within the contract between buyer and seller. **Side Note** A brokerage may allow their seller to offer compensation ahead of time, it's not currently illegal. They would need to write that language in themselves or provide a different contract/addendum. Our Association chose to remove it from their standard forms as a best practice. The whole point of the lawsuits and DOJ's intentions was to remove broker to broker compensation...

 I'm sure you're all hoping I can sum this up now. There's just soooo many feelings and thoughts, it's hard to get them all out.  The first court ruling found NAR liable for several things and NAR took immediate action to remedy most of them. There is a purposed settlement on the table in which Associations, MLS's, brokers and agents are to take action by mid August, even though the settlement won't be approved until November (2024), like we don't have enough in November going on this year, but anyway.... Below I will highlight a few and how they affect the transaction. First, we must establish agency between the agent and a buyer BEFORE showing any property. This means they all must sign a Buyer's Agency Agreement. The terms may differ on each contract, such as the length of time, the area, the type of property and how much the agent will be paid.  Regarding payment, in the past we were able to select a box that said the agent would be paid whatever was...

 Hopefully part 1 has made sense and you're ready to hear more! First, let's address how this is viewed by Realtors. When the first ruling was issued in the first lawsuit, I think most of us (here in Virginia) felt generally confused and somewhat angry. This suit portrayed us as greedy liars who only want to rip off the public and now this judge has set everything straight and housing will be cheaper for everyone. This is what was all over the media, and even our own President said it would make things cheaper. The only one getting anything here besides the lawyers is some and yes I mean some sellers. I will address who now pays what below but what has happened is that now the buyer's are responsible for their agent's commission thus actually raising the cost of purchasing a home. In theory the only one saving is the seller, but in practice this isn't happening regularly, yet. The second thing was that the suit says that we were not being transparent with the public...

  With our work we are often out and about all around the city during meal times. It’s just part of the job to sometimes have to eat lunch in the car or grab a quick bite to tide us over for an evening appointment during dinner time. But every once in a while, we take the time to try someplace new, often at lunch, and take a break from the rush. A couple of weeks ago we were near Innsbrook and I suggested Mama Cucina. https://www.facebook.com/MamaCucinaRVA/ This little Italian place has been in the strip shopping center at the front of Innsbrook at Cox and Broad for years. I’ve driven by this place for over a decade and it never got on my radar. So back to the story. Heather and I stopped in for lunch. Heather got the Chicken Pesto sandwich and loved it. The bread was fresh and the sub delicious she said. I got the Ravioli with Walnut Cheese Sauce and on one bite I was hooked. O My Word was this lunch good. Based on a fabulous lunch we made a pact to try and eat dinner there so...

 Many of you have heard things on the news or on social media about recent court rulings against NAR (National Association of Realtors). But maybe you're confused by what it all means, well you're not alone. The settlement, which doesn't actually get full approval until November, has left a lot of Realtors confused as well. Luckily here in Central Virginia our MLS and Association made some of these changes  months ago and even some of them years ago. So here's a quick synopsis and keep in mind, I am in no way a legal expert, this is purely my point of view. It started out west with a lawsuit filed by sellers that did not like the fact that they were paying the buyer's agent a commission. They felt it wasn't fair to pay someone to work against them and they testified that they were not aware that it was their money going to the buyer's agent. All of this lead the DOJ to start looking into real estate practices. This is where and when it all blew up 💥  Up unt...

 I want to explain the ONE mistake that many future homeowners are making. Updates at the end!! People have this idea that if they wait to buy a home they are going to have an advantage in the market. Like, by waiting a year or more, the market will correct itself enough that they are going to save a bunch of money on a house. But that's just likely not going to be the case. Simple housing supply vs demand forecasts say otherwise. But if we do see a decrease in housing prices, it doesn't necessarily mean housing will be more affordable. People tend to lose sight of overall affordability only considering prices and not considering mortgage rates into the affordability equation.....let me show you: right now, the average home for sale in Richmond is about $360,000 and the average interest rate is 3.6%. To make things simple, if a buyer puts 20% down (meaning 20% of the total purchase price), the 30 yr monthly mortgage payment (principal and interest) would be about $1310. But wai...