Come visit the Government Affairs Booth at FAAR’s Trade Show next Thursday and receive this water bottle FREE if you’re a Key Investor!  Not sure if you’re a Key Investor?  Want to learn about how to become one?  Come visit the booth and learn more about FAAR RPAC’s Key Investor club.  See you at Trade Show!

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli addressed members and guests of the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce this morning.  Mr. Cuccinelli is a controversial figure in politics today with a variety of lawsuits filed against the federal government on issues ranging from climate change to the health care bill.  One might expect Mr. Cuccinelli’s remarks to be all political fire and brimstone and while there was plenty of criticism of current federal policies, he was measured in his comments, thoughtful in his responses, and straightforward in his goals. 

Mr. Cuccinelli’s main goal is to protect Virginia’s economy and its businesses from a toxic regulatory environment imposed by those in Washington.  He views the Administration’s attempt to regulate greenhouse gases outside of the congressional process through a strictly regulatory action as unconstitutional.  The kind of regulations that the government’s environmental agency is trying to impose will stifle opportunity and economic growth for future generations.  He also views the health care bill’s mandate to carry health insurance as unconstitutional and will soon litigate a case in the Eastern District of the Federal Circuit Court that defends Virginia’s law that releases the Commonwealth’s citizens from that mandate.  The case is expected to proceed quickly and Mr. Cuccinelli anticipates a ruling as early as November. 

Mr. Cuccinelli is certainly very passionate about all of the irons he has in the fire, but he also stressed the importance of the many other duties that the employees of the Attorney General’s office carries out.  The vast majority of the work that his office does is one of public service and safety.  The office’s staff assist local Commonwealth’s Attorneys with such cases as child pornography, gang involvement, and computer crime. 

Mr. Cuccinelli is one of the most active Attorneys General in the country.  He is certainly someone to watch in Virginia politics both as a current public servant and a future seeker of higher office. 

to join her for a breakfast at Belmont on September 10, 2010 at 8:30am. The celebration will be honoring women in leadership roles in the community.  Speaker Bill Howell will be the master of ceremonies joined by Susan Allen, former first lady of Virginia and the Honorable Janet Polarek. 

The Host Committee

Cessieand Bill Howell                                                Lisa and Richard Stuart                                              Kelly and Scott Mayausky                                 Geniaand Mark Cole                                      Laura Rudy                                                                       Barbara Decatur                                                                 Ginnie and Jim Branscome                              Kelly and Fitz Johnson                               Tricia and Charles McDaniel                               Becky and Tom Reger                                                     Mona Albertine                                                           Holly Hazard                                                           Christy and Bob Thomas                                          Jackie and Daniel Payne                                             Mary Wynn and Charles McDaniel              Linda Worrell

Invites you to a breakfast in support ofSusan StimpsonStafford County Supervisor, Falmouth DistrictCelebrating Women’s Leadership:Business Owners, Stay at Home Moms , Elected OfficialsHow Women are Impacting our CommunityWith Special GuestsSusan Allen, Former First Lady of VirginiaandThe Honorable Janet PolarekFriday, September 10th at 8:30 a.m.Belmont224 Washington Street, FredericksburgRSVP by September 7thSpecial Thanks to AKA Printing for their SponsorshipPaid for and authorized by Stimpsonfor Supervisor

From left: Kim McClellan, Barbara Jean LeFon, Congressman Rob Wittman, Drew Fristoe, Latana Locke

FAAR members delivered a check to Congressman Rob Wittman today in support of his reelection bid for the U.S. House of Representatives.  Congressman Wittman has been a good friend to REALTORS since being elected to Congress three years ago.  He understands the importance of a long-term reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program, protecting homebuyers access to mortgage credit, and supporting the housing industry. 

The general election takes place on Tuesday, November 2nd.  If you are not registered to vote and would like to do so, click here to visit the Virginia State Board of Elections.

On Tuesday, August 17th, high ranking Obama administration officials kicked off a conference on the future of housing finance.  While the goal of this conference was to explore creative and different ways to ensure Americans’ access to housing finance options, the main theme of the conference seemed to be that not much would change despite a call for reforms. 

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called for "fundamental reform" but also said that government must continue to maintain a strong role of insuring new home loans.  Currently, the government is backing 9 out of 10 new home mortgages, a level that many say is unsustainable and must come down.  Obama officials, who are leading the reform efforts, envision a hybrid system that relies heavier on private industry to provide capital for new home loans but still features a government backstop for those loans.  It doesn’t appear that the Administration is willing to accept more aggressive proposals offered by a few of the conference’s participants.

The two main alternatives offered at the conference were either to nationalize the entire home mortgage system or to allow the private sector to handle mortgages without any government assistance except for very narrow programs for low-income families.  It appears that government’s preference is to retain what was good about Fannie and Freddie while guarding against risky behavior that led to their meltdown. 

FAAR’s Government Affairs Committee would like to say thank you to Spotsylvania Supervisor Hap Connors for taking the time to attend the Committee’s monthly meeting yesterday.  Supervisor Connors spoke to the group about the recent changes to the energy efficiency tax credit in the county, efforts to beautify the Rt. 3 corridor, and the County’s current challenge of identifying Urban Development Areas. 

Supervisor Connors also touched on a hot REALTOR issue, the BPOL tax.  Supervisor Connors stated he’s open to conversations on BPOL, but the loss in revenue has to be made up somewhere else.  If the County were to repeal BPOL, revenue would fall by $4 million and that’s money that goes toward education and public safety. 

If you would like to be a part of the Government Affairs Committee and attend future meetings, please contact FAAR at 540-373-7711 or come visit the Government Affairs booth at the Trade Show on September 9th. 

On Tuesday evening, the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors discussed the fate of the County’s cutting-edge energy efficiency tax break program before a packed audience.  Many homeowners, builders, and concerned citizens came out to protest the proposed changes to the ordinance. 

In the end, the County Supervisors voted to create a special classification for qualified energy efficient homes that will be taxed at 53 cents per $100 in value up to $300,000 in assessed value.  The structure will be taxed at the regular tax rate of 86 cents per $100 of value after the $300,000 cut off. 

There was much discussion about grandfathering in those properties that are already in the program under the old rules to honor the commitment made to those home and business owners.  The County attorney expressed doubt that Spotsylvania had the authority to grandfather anyone is since Virginia is a Dillon Rule state.  The Dillon Rule states that local governments only have authority to do what is expressly spelled out by the Virginia General Assembly.  In the case of this tax credit, the enabling legislation which allowed the County create a special class of real estate tax for energy efficient buildings, does not specifically spell out any grandfathering authority.  Supervisor Jerry Logan proposed that Spotsylvania seek an advisory opinion on grandfathering existing properties from the Virginia Attorney General. 

As Realtors our days are often spent dodging the barrage of marketing messages directed at allegedly making us more profitable, knowledgeable and at times more impressive with pharmaceutical enhancements.  With the exception of the last marketing scheme, it’s sometimes hard to say no to such great tools or services, since they will make us millionaires over night.  But which products really can help us give better service? 

Here’s a list of five services or tools that I think are well worth the investment of time or money.  

1.  ZipForms

I’ve used a few different programs, but by and large ZipForms has always been the best.  The support for both Windows and Mac is a huge benefit, but the interface and integration with other tools like Docusign is a big time saver.  The forms are easy to use and up-to-date.  It’s relatively inexpensive for what you get.  Having all the forms available online or on your desktop saves from carrying extra files, go back to office or begging to borrow forms.  Additionally, printed contracts are far easier to read and helps to prevent misinterpretation.

Here’s a video overview that another user has created

2.  DocuSign

A good partnering with Zipforms is DocuSign.  DocuSign is an esign or electronic signature program that is internet based and in compliance with eSign law of 1999.  Some hesitation was pressed against this service when FHA declined to accept electronic signatures, but in a memo from this past April that issues has been relieved.  This very simple program allows your clients to sign documents online, without the need to print them out, find a fax machine or mail.  Countless hours of car time has been relieved by the use of this program.  If you go to www.Docusign.com/NAR you’ll get a discount for the service bringing the charge to under $20 per month. DocuSign is well worth the money.

3. MailChimp

MailChimp.com is one of new favorite marketing tools. It’s an easy-to-use email marketing system that takes the email campaign to a whole new level.  MailChimp takes care of your CAN SPAM and compliance issues, allows you to create multiple lists and unique emails as well as distributing them to almost everywhere!   MailChimp ties in nicely with your other social media tools, like a blog, Facebook page or Twitter.  It’s FREE for the first 500 email address’ and then very affordable thereafter.  Not only is it easy to use, they have outstanding online training and easy to follow videos.  Best of all, it shows you who opened your emails and what they did with them.  This really shows you, who your target market is and who’s paying attention!

4.  Dropbox.com

Dropbox.com is a free tool that has helps with transferring large files and keeping much need files in a easy-to-access and secure area. Do you have forms or documents that you like to use and wish that you could open them on your Droid, iPhone or even someone else’s computer?  Dropbox is a great tool for you!

You can create shared folders online that you, your team and/or your clients can share.  All you have to do is drag a file into a folder on your computer and it syncs with the folder online.  This maybe especially good for teams or small brokerages who maintain commonly used documents or programs.

For Realtor Associations or schools, you could even sync all the meeting materials or class materials in one place for group sharing.  Very Cool!

5.  The FlipCam

Over the past few years you may have heard about the FlipCam.  This inexpensive (under $150) high-def video device is super simple to use and compact enough to carry everywhere.  The FlipCam has a number of useful features and a skilled agent can really make a name for themselves.

Some of the techniques that an agent can use with a mobile video camera are:

• Video of new listing

• Educating Consumers

• Client Testimonials

• Subdivision Tours

I’m sure you can come up with more options for Realtors using the video, but there are just a few examples.  It’s a great tool that’s becoming almost as important as your digital camera.  

repost from www.TheAgentTrainer.com

On July 27th, President Obama announced through his blog that the Administration will host a Conference on the Future of Housing Finance at the U.S. Treasury Department Building in Washington, DC.  The event will feature experts from the housing industry, consumer and community organizations, industry groups, and other stakeholders.  The group will have an open discussion about housing finance reform.

Earlier this year, the Administration put out a questionnaire for public comment seeking input on reforming the housing finance industry with a special focus on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  The Administration intends to deliver a housing finance reform package to the U.S. Congress by January 2011. 

If you would like to read the original blog post announcing this conference, click here.