There are still 10 openings in the following time slots 9:30, 9;45, 10:30 to 11:15

Location:  FAAR Building  2050 Gord W. Shelton Blvd., Fredericksburg, VA 22408

Don’t miss hearing from experts about the future of the housing market and the economy at FAAR’s Economic Summit in March.  Dr. Lawrence Yun from NAR, Dr. Lisa Sturtevant from George Mason University, and Ms. Ann Macheras from the Federal Reserve Bank will be talking about what you can expect in 2012 and beyond. 

Please note that the time of the event has changed since this article was posted.  The event will now feature a lunch instead of a breakfast to accommodate our speakers’ schedules.  M&T Bank is the official sponsor of the Summit.  Attendance is FREE for FAAR members and space is limited so don’t miss out on this great opportunity, register today!

• What:  2012 FAAR Economic Summit
• When:  Wednesday, March 21, 2012 from 11:30am to 1:30pm
• Where:  Fredericksburg Country Club

 Short sales and foreclosures remain a large part of the local market and while it may be easy for some to say, “Just don’t work distressed sales if you don’t want the hassle,” FAAR members know that it isn’t that easy. FAAR recognizes that the issues facing agents when dealing with short sales are serious and affect our members’ profitability and success. So what are NAR, VAR, and FAAR doing to help? The REALTOR® organization is fighting for its membership at all levels, with ongoing advocacy and education efforts.

NAR has taken a strong leadership role on distressed sales as this is a national issue that impacts REALTORS® and homeowners nationwide. While government programs have been established to try to ease the pain of short sales, REALTORS® know that many challenges still exist with the short sale processes at the nation’s largest banks. Banks have struggled to keep pace with rapidly increasing numbers of distressed sales and the complexity of such transactions. NAR leadership recognizes the challenges REALTORS® are facing and have had many face-to-face meetings with the large lenders to convey REALTORS’® concerns and work towards solutions. In November of 2010, NAR met with Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, and CitiMortgage to initiate ongoing discussions about origination and servicing issues. To read the complete report about these meetings, Click here.

 In addition, NAR has set up an entire portion of their website dedicated to information about short sales. There is a Field Guide to Short Sales which includes a compilation of articles, documents, and other resources about short sales, copies of the testimony that NAR has given on Capitol Hill, and letters NAR has sent to federal agencies. NAR also has a specially designated mailbox for REALTORS® to submit their stories and concerns regarding the federal HAFA process. NAR uses these real-life examples in its ongoing discussions with the U.S. Treasury Department and lending institutions. If you would like to send your comments directly to NAR, email: HAFA@realtors.org.

 Finally, NAR established the Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource Certification. This intense course was designed to give agents the tools necessary to navigate complex short sales and foreclosure transactions. Since 2009, FAAR has held 15 SFR classes and 27 individual short sales classes, providing education and the tools to short sales success to nearly 400 REALTORS® throughout the area.

 VAR has also been working hard at the state level to deal with short sales. The Short Sales and Loss Migration Center located on the VAR site, includes a wealth of information about short sales. You can find everything from short sale addendums to webcasts about best practices to consumer resources for your clients. VAR member brokers also have access to the Legal Hotline which regularly handles specific questions about short sales transactions. Agents need to request that their broker contact the Legal Hotline directly, but many questions are answered in the hotline’s archives, so check there for instant access to a wealth of information.

At a local level, FAAR has held numerous short sales classes as detailed above. In addition, FAAR meets regularly with U.S. Congressman Rob Wittman and the Virginia state delegation to discuss challenges that our members are seeing in the marketplace. FAAR leadership is always looking for individual stories to share with legislators so that they truly understand the scope of the problem. If you have any specific stories that you would like to have shared with our area legislators, please email a brief summary to FAAR GAD, Kim McClellan, at kmcclellan@faarmembers.com. FAAR will package those testimonials without specific names and send a package to Congressman Wittman, Senator Warner, Senator Webb, and our Virginia General Assembly delegation so that they are all aware of what challenges their constituents are facing with respect to short sales and foreclosures.

FAAR has also joined a regional effort to address short sales. FAAR partnered with associations from Prince William, Northern Virginia, Dulles, Greater Piedmont, and Blue Ridge to establish the Ethics Dialogue Group. The group brought together representatives from each Association to discuss the ethical problems that resulted from the short sales environment. They reviewed situations that possibly violated articles of the Code of Ethics and developed a dedicated website, www.ethicsdialoguegroup.com, as a resource to assist members of the six Associations. FAAR member Matthew Rathbun authored a Short Sales Guide, which details the entire process of working a short sale and includes a comprehensive appendix with many additional resources.

All levels of the REALTOR® organization are working on ways to improve distressed sales and we recognize that there are no easy answers. Homeowners are facing unprecedented declines in housing value often coupled with long-term job loss, while agents are negotiating transactions for months only to have them fall apart at the last minute. Banks are struggling with training and retaining enough staff to work through the backlog of short sales and foreclosures while trying to comply with often cumbersome government regulations. NAR, VAR, and FAAR will continue to provide education for our members on these complex topics while also advocating for positive changes to the process that will help heal our fragile real estate market.

FAAR is gearing up for a great new event scheduled for Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at 8:30am at the Fredericksburg Country Club.  This new event, the 2012 Economic Summit, will focus on a spring forecast for the economy and the real estate market and feature expert speakers from the National Association of Realtors ®, George Mason University, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.  This event is FREE for FAAR members and just $10 for non-members.  A hot breakfast buffet will also be provided.  We couldn’t put on this great event without the generous support of our sponsor, M&T Bank. 

Register today to guarantee your spot, space is limited!  Download the flier to advertise in your office!

What:  FAAR 2012 Economic Summit

When:  Wednesday, March 21, 2012 from 8:30am to 10:30am

Where:  The Fredericksburg Country Club

Speakers: 

• Dr. Lawrence Yun, NAR
• Dr. Lisa Sturtevant, GMU
• Ms. Ann Macheras, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

FEMA has opened two disaster centers in our area, one in Louisa and one in Spotsylvania, to assist area residents with eligible disaster claims.  See the press release below for more information about where those centers are located and what services they provide. 

January 3, 2012

VA-DR-4042-NR-022

FEMA NEWSDESK: 804-639-8695

VDEM PIO Contact: 804-674-2400

SBA PIO Contact: 404-331-0333

TWO DISASTER RECOVERY CENTERS FOR EARTHQUAKE RECOVERY TO OPEN IN VIRGINIA

MIDLOTHIAN, VA — The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) will open a new Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in Spotsylvania County and reopen the Louisa County DRC.

The Louisa County DRC and the Spotsylvania DRC will open Thursday, Jan 5.

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY DRC

Address: 8960 Courthouse Road

(The intersection of Courthouse and Crestar Roads, across from Courthouse Café) Spotsylvania, VA 22553 Hours of Operation: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week.

LOUISA COUNTY DRC

Address: Triangle Plaza Shopping Center

(Old Video 2000 Store)

502 East Main Street

Louisa, VA 23093

Hours of Operation: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week.

Disaster officials recommend that you register before visiting the DRC. If you have any questions about the application process they can be answered face to face. You may visit the DRC regardless of where you live or work.

"Registering is a critical step in putting your life back together after the earthquake," said Federal Coordinating Officer Don Keldsen of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The registration deadline is Mar. 5, 2012

In addition to Louisa County, the counties of Culpeper, Fluvanna, Goochland, Orange, Spotsylvania and the City of Fredericksburg are eligible for Individual Assistance.

To register for assistance, call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). Disaster assistance applicants who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY should call 1-800-462-7585 directly. Register online at DisasterAssistance.gov; the screens will prompt you through the registration process. You can also apply with a web-enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov. For those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), Call 1-800 621-3362. Operators are available to assist callers seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"Register even if you already reported your damage to your local emergency manager," said Virginia’s State Coordinating Officer Michael Cline. "Registering with FEMA is the only way you’ll be considered for federal disaster aid."

Some of the services that a DRC provides:

* Guidance regarding disaster recovery.

* Clarification of any written correspondence received.

* Housing Assistance and Rental Resource information.

* Answers to questions, resolution to problems and referrals to agencies that may provide further assistance.

* Status of applications being processed by FEMA.

* SBA program information.

# # #

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

The Tri-County/City Soil and Water Conservation District is hosting a class in March on forestry   and real estate.  This class includes DPOR approved continuing education credits and focuses on the valuable real estate commodity that raw forest land is becoming in Virginia.  Class participants will learn about the value of forest land, what forest land buyers and sellers are looking for, and how real estate professionals can educate themselves about this growing sector of the market.  For more information or to register for this class, please click here to view the official flier. 

*Please note this class is not sponsored by RECA.  It is run specifically by the local Soil and Water Conservation District. 

Bill Freehling, business reporter for the Free Lance Star, has profiled area business leaders and their predictions for the 2012 economy.  Five FAAR members were included in his profiles and each brings a unique perspective to what will happen next year.  Click the link below to be connected to each member’s prediction. 

Alex Long, Weichert Realtors

Lewis Graves, Coldwell Banker Carriage House

Melanie Thompson, Century 21 AdVenture

Claire Forcier-Rowe, Coldwell Banker Elite

Mark Steele, The Title Professionals

Spotsylvania County has been approved for federal disaster assistance, but currently only the local government and certain private, non-profit organizations are eligible to receive this funding.  Individual homeowners are currently NOT eligible for any disaster assistance, but since this aid is largely based on reported damage totals, it is important that each homeowner and business owner with suspected earthquake damage report that information to the County. 

The County is encouraging residents to report known damage or request a site visit from a County building inspector to assess the damage.  If you would like more information about how to report damage or schedule an assessment, click here to visit the County’s specially designated webpage for the earthquake. 

VAR’s Legislative Advocacy Conference is set for February 14-16, 2012 at the Omni Richmond Hotel.  The conference includes opportunities to earn CE credit, hear exciting speakers, learn more about what’s going on in the General Assembly, and meet with your elected officials. 

Members can sign up for the whole conference or just come down for Day on the Hill on Wednesday, February 15th.  FAAR will be providing $20 gas cards for those that carpool to Richmond for Day on the Hill.  If you plan on carpooling down to Richmond with a group of people, contact FAAR GAD Kim McClellan at kmcclellan@faarmembers.com or 540-373-7711 to receive your gas card. 

For a full schedule of the conference and details on registering, click here. 

The following Free Lance Star article details two upcoming VDOT meetings about the expansion of the commuter lot off Rt. 610 in Stafford County and the possible new exit and connector road off I-95 near Rt. 3. 

Public meetings will detail VDOT projects

December 14, 2011 12:10 am

BY SCOTT SHENK

The Virginia Department of Transportation will hold two public meetings this week, one on the commuter lot expansion on State Route 610 in Garrisonville and the other on the Interstate 95 Access Study, which involves the possible construction of a new exit and connector road at the rest area/welcome center near State Route 3.

The meeting for the access study will focus on an environmental assessment being done by VDOT and the Federal Highway Administration.

Officials want to get input from citizens to help with the process, which will take about a year to complete, according to VDOT spokeswoman Kelly Hannon.

The meeting will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Salem Church Library in Spotsylvania.

Displays will include maps and information on the study, which will focus on the proposed connector road’s impacts on such things as air quality, wetlands, and cultural and historic properties.

The controversial project, opposed by nearby residents and several new members of the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors, would create a new exit at the rest area/welcome center.

The exit would connect with the proposed four-lane, tolled Rappahannock Parkway, which would run through Celebrate Virginia and tie in to Route 3 at Gordon Road.

The other public meeting, on the Staffordborough Boulevard commuter lot expansion, will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. today at Anne E. Moncure Elementary school, which is adjacent to the lot.

The proposed $9.6 million project would add 1,000 spaces to the lot and add left- and right-turn lanes to Staffordborough and a roundabout at Staffordborough and Juggins Road.

Maps and documents will be on display, and VDOT staff will be there to answer questions.

Scott Shenk: 540/374-5436
Email: sshenk@freelancestar.com