Real Estate Law
Explanation of Virginia and federal law affecting the sale and purchase of real estate.
Residential Disclosure Tip
River Towers is located in Fairfax County
Agents should never fill out a disclosure form for the seller. An agents duty is to advise the sellers of the state’s disclosure laws and the sellers obligations there under. Using disclosure forms adds a layer of protection to all parties in the transaction. However the forms themselves do not replace an agents independent responsibility to disclose all material property defects known by the agent.
Real Estate Elements of Value (DUST)
Regardless of its purpose, an item has some value if it satisfies four essential elements:
Bench on the grounds of River Towers
- Demand: This means the desire to buy and an ability to pay.
- Utility: The item satisfies a human need or desire; such as shelter, income, or recreation.
- Scarcity: Limited in supply, as supply diminishes, value increases.
- Transferability: Able to transfer from one owner to another
In Real Estate what is a Special Agent?
A special agent is a person authorized to perform a particular act or transaction. Special agency limits the broker to certain activities specified in the listing agreement. Special agents cannot legally obligate clients (cannot accept an offer on a clients behalf). Special agents are sometimes a part of brokerage transactions.
Exceptions to Fair Housing Law
Community back porch -- Cameron Station gazebo
Fair Housing Law exceptions include threats to health and safety. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) does not require that a dwelling be made available to an otherwise protected individual whose occupancy of the dwelling would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or whose occupancy of the dwelling would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.
Real Estate Contracts With Contingencies
Real estate contracts sometimes come with contingencies. This is a part of the contract that states certain conditions or timelines are met or the seller or buyer can void the contract. The conditions or timelines can be any that both parties agree on and are put within the contract.
Contingencies usually last for a specified period. Once the contingency ends the contract could end or the contract is valid without the contingencies agreed upon.
Usually the buyer is more eager to have a contingency plan but in today’s economy and market they are more widely accepted by both sellers and buyers. Nesbitt Realty can help you with your contingencies in your contract.
Showing properties
1 - 5 of 500+.
See more
city of Arlington real estate.
(all data current as of
5/10/2011)
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$849,900 : 613 24th St S, Arlington
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$1,225,000 : 1881 Nash St N #712, Arlington
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$364,900 : 3600 Glebe Rd S #628w, Arlington
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$3,750,000 : 406 Chain Bridge Rd, Arlington
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$539,900 : 5661 8th Rd N, Arlington
Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.
Title Insurance: More Important Than Ever
Starting a closing with Ryan Stuart
Understanding the tenets of title insurance is especially important considering the turmoil in the real estate industry.
Title insurance is intended to protect the insured from improper titling, including defects in foreclosure proceedings, forgery, or impersonation or cases in which no title is legally conveyed. Other defects are partial, such as a neighboring fence or garage encroaching on the insured person’s property.
The title insurance industry recently set down strict guidelines for when and if they will insure a title to a property on which there has been a foreclosure.
The buyer should be equally vigilant, insisting on a 60-year search and paying for an owner’s policy as well as the lender’s policy that the bank will demand.
Source: Washington Post, Harvey S. Jacobs (11/27/2010)
Reduced Tax Assessment: Good or Bad?
Some home owners are finding themselves in the awkward position of wondering whether they should appeal a tax assessment because it came in too low.
Many communities are reassessing in light of declining values and the amount of the reduction can be a shock to home owners who fear that it reflects an equal decline in market value. In many cases, though, that’s not true, say real estate practitioners.
They explain that tax assessments are done on thousands – even millions – of properties and each assessment can reflect a variety of factors unrelated to market value, include owners’ age, military service and health. As long as it doesn’t have factual errors in room counts, square footage, etc., they advise not worrying about it.
Or better yet, if it is a really dramatic drop, consider asking the lender for a loan modification or restructuring.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher (06/30/2010)
Tenant Duties and Landlord Remedies
If you are considering renting an apartment from a landlord or condominium owner or if you are thinking about leasing your property for rent, it is important that you know both the law and the legal instruments that govern landlord tenant relationships in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Leases:
First, consider the lease. A lease is the contract that governs a landlord-tenant relationship. In contrast, covenants within a lease are generally independent of the lease itself, where if one party breaches a covenant, the other party may still recover dam¬ages but cannot terminate the landlord-tenant relationship in its entirety. Although not covered herein, the doctrines of actual and constructive eviction and the implied warranty of habitability are exceptions to this general rule. In addition, many states including Virginia have created a statutory exception to this general rule which does allow, however, a landlord to terminate a lease for any nonpayment of rent. Below is a brief discussion of a tenant’s duty regarding the doctrine of waste and other considerations including ordinary wear and tear as they may or may not be contemplated in any given leasehold agreement.
Tenant’s Duty to Repair and the Doctrine of Waste:
A tenant has a duty not to damage (or commit waste on) a leased premises. There are three rules governing waste in a leasehold context, all of which a Landlord may recover for from the tenant in the form of damages should the tenant breach.
1) Voluntary (affirmative) waste results when the tenant intentionally or negligently damages the premises or exploits minerals on the property.
2) Permissive waste occurs when the tenant fails to take reasonable steps to protect the premises from damage from the elements. The tenant is liable for all ordinary repairs, excluding ordinary wear and tear. If the duty is shifted to the landlord (by lease or statute), the tenant has a duty to report deficiencies promptly, and the tenant can assume liability for such deficiencies if not reported in a timely manner pursuant to the lease agreement.
3) Ameliorative waste occurs when the tenant alters the leased property, thereby increasing its value. Generally, the tenant is liable for the cost of restoration. There is a modern exception to this rule, however, which permits a tenant to make this type of change if he is a long-term tenant and the change reflects changes in the neighborhood.
Finally, remember that in the absence of a specific reference to ordinary wear and tear, most repair covenants frequently exclude ordinary wear and tear whereby a Landlord usually remains obligated for certain structural and casualty destruction repairs except for damages caused by the tenant.
