Recap Of My "Day On The Hill" With The Virginia Association of REALTORS®

Tony and I just got back from the Virginia Association of REALTORS® (VAR) Legislative and Education Conference in Richmond, VA. We were there representing our local association, the Dulles Area Association of REALTORS® as well as VAR and its' members. It was my first time at the Legislative Conference, as well as my first time in the VA General Assembly building in Richmond so I was eager to find out what it was all about.

The day I was there (Wednesday) was the biggest and most important day of the conference. It was called "REALTOR® Day On The Hill". We spent most of the day in the General Assembly building meeting and chatting with Delegates and a few Senators representing Loudoun County and Northern Virginia (where we're located). Those we had a chance to speak with were Senator Mark Herring, Delegate David Poisson and Delegate Joe May.

We discussed several topics, issues and bills though one of the most talked about items was the Dulles Rail Project. It's a huge topic of discussion because the project will greatly affect Northern Virginia, especially Loudoun County.

As of Wednesday, the project looks to be dead in the water (click here for more info). That's not good news for Fairfax County or Loudoun County, which both want the rail project to be completed. The project would bring mass transit to the Tyson's, Reston, Dulles Airport and Ashburn/Loudoun County corridor and with it would come businesses, jobs, ammenities, tax revenue for the county, etc.

The impact of the project could be huge. One Delegate compared the potential impact of the project on these areas to the impact the metro rail had on Arlington when it was extended from Washington, DC to Ballston (Arlington), Virginia. Today, Arlington is a thriving area in which home prices were much less affected by the down turn in the market than Loudoun County, due, in part, to the infrastructure in place thanks to the mass transit system.

Another hot topic was that of the proposed changes to the proffer system. Please don't ask me to explain the proposed changes in detail because I can't. It's so complicated that most people close to it don't even completely understand it.

What I do know is that they are proposing changes to the system that will affect the cost of real estate to everyone, including consumers. But the hurdle to the bill has been making the proffer system fair for everyone. Last I heard, the bill will probably not survive.

One of the highlights for me personally was finding out that the education requirements for licensed agents and brokers were increased. For agents, the number of required hours has doubled and the frequency of which those hours have to be completed has increased from every two years to every year. A similar increase was enacted for brokers.

Another one of the highlights was the chance to be a part of the VAR Information Management Advocacy Group (IMAG). It was nice to see that VAR is in tune with the changing needs of Realtors and consumers and that it's embracing, rather than running away from technology that can help increase the productivity and success of agents as well as better the communication between agents and consumers.

In attendance at the IMAG meeting was John DiBiase from NAR. For the first time in 4 years, I saw a "higher-up" from NAR genuinely interested in what was happening on a state or local level.

John took the time to pull me and others aside to get our feedback and thoughts and what NAR could do to communicate better with its' members. It was the first time I felt as though anyone from NAR cared about what I, as an individual REALTOR®, had to say. I give John a lot of credit for doing that because not everyone had nice things to say and because he's fighting an uphill battle.

So that's my personal experience from the VAR Legislative Conference. For thoughts and feedback from others, check out VAR's official blog, VAR buzz. There are several new posts on VAR buzz each day from various people in attendance, which will give you a variety of perspectives and topics covered.

D

Comments

[Frank Borges LL0SA= Broker FranklyRealty.com]

Sorry I missed it! If only it wasn't on Valentine's Day!

[Bradley Boland]

This was my 4th year attending. Two things stood out for me. First, the Realtors are extremely well represented by VAR's legislative team. Their effectiveness over these 4 years has been amazing and unfortunately goes unnoticed by a large number of the association's membership. Second, again under VAR's leadership, the resources that are now available to the membership have grown at an amazing rate. It is comforting to know that we as Realtors have such a well respected advocate for our respective businesses in Richmond.