Governor Signs Congestion Relief Fee Refund Bill

http://www.thenovaauthority.org/PDFs/Press%20Releases/03-25-08%20NVTA%20Return%20Release.pdf

According to the attached press release from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Website, the Circuit Courts that collected the $4.00 per thousand grantors tax from sellers that was recently ruled unconstitutional will have 60 days to come up with a plan to issue refunds.

In many builder and Bank Owned Property contracts the buyer pays the Grantors Tax. Hopefully the Courts will allow the use of a HUD-1 to established who actually paid the tax, and not automatically refund the money to the Seller.

Stay tuned.


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NVAR Short Sale Addendum Is Out Today - two other forms also released

The NVAR Board of directors approved three new forms at their last meeting and posted them online in the Members Only Section of the NVAR Website

The most anticipated of the three is the new SHORT SALE CONTINGENCY ADDENDUM
TO REGIONAL SALES CONTRACT.

Form K1351 attempts to define what is meant by the term Short Sale as used in the addendum, has the parties acknowledge that approval is required, and what that approval must contain (i.e. that the lender will accept the seller's net proceeds as full payment and will release liens associated with the loan). The Seller also agrees to cooperated with all of the interested parties in obtaining the lender approval and consent.

The form also give the Seller a deadline to obtain the necessary approvals, after which: "Purchaser may deliver notice to Seller of Purchaser’s intent to void the Contract. Seller shall have three (3) business days from receipt such Notice to deliver written evidence of creditor(s)’ approval to the Purchaser, or this Contract will be void."

The Seller also has the right to void the contract upon receipt of a written rejection of the proposed short sale.

Because the short sale approval often takes a long time, and Purchaser's may not wish to spend money on inspections and appraisals without some certainty that the transaction will eventually close, the form allows the parties to choose whether these contingency deadlines should run from the date of short sale approval or from the date of ratification (as is normally the case).

Please look at the form and LEAVE COMMENTS HERE by clicking on teh comment link below the post. You may also wish to subscribe to have the blog e-mailed to you, so you won't miss my posts on the new Appraisal Contigency Removal Form or the new Short Sale Addendum to the Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Agreement.

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K1351_EDUCATION2.pdf

Best Source of Information on Grantor's Tax Refunds

There have been a lot of rumors circulating about what will be necessary to get your money back if you or one of your sellers paid the much higher Grantor's Tax during the months of January a February. Ultimately my guess is that a HUD-1 settlement statement may be the best source of evidence of who paid the Grantor's tax and who is entitled to the refunds. Some have suggested you will need a recording receipt from the Clerk's office that collected the tax. While it wouldn't hurt to have that, I think those spreading that news are confusing the Grantor's Tax with the auto repair tax and some DMV taxes where the consumer would actually have been handed a receipt.

In the meantime, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority will continue to post updates and press releases on their website regularly. Stay tuned to the blog or the NVTA site for the latest information.
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As Is As Woes

The new Contingencies and Clauses addendum to the Regional Sales Contract made significant changes to the As-Is clause. Specifically, in addition to the old language, there are a list of paragraphs and clauses from the body of the Regional Sales Contract that may be explicitly deleted by checking a box in the As-Is clause. This allows purchasers to agree that a property will be purchased "As-Is . . . except for Termites" for instance. It also makes it possible for the Seller to be very explicit about what it is that he or she won't fix, to avoid confusion or disputes closer to closing. One source of frequent confusion/conflict when older versions of the As-Is clause were used was the question of who was responsible for curing notice of violations from HOA and Condo associations involving the physical condition of the Property.

For instance, a Seller believing they had sold their property as-is may still be required to replace carpet if they installed less than the Condo association's minimum amount of padding, or a townhouse owner might be required to power wash their siding after a pre-sale inspection by the association which resulted in a notice of violation. This is because paragraph 19, Title, requires sellers to comply with all such notices of violation. Because these notices of violation had to do with the physical condition of the property, sellers using the As-Is clause often felt they shouldn't have to make the repairs, even though the plain language of paragraph 19 seemed to say they would.

The check box meant to address this issue may be overly broad in its reach. It says that all clauses related to compliance with Homeowners and Condominium associations are deleted.

That would appear to not only delete the clauses having to do with notices of violations, but might also delete the requirement to pay past due assessments, to pay special assessment affecting the property on the settlement date, or even the need to adjust the dues to the settlement date.

I suggest that any purchaser who receives a request to check this box from the seller add the following language after the pre-printed sentence "except those having to do with the payment of regular and special assessments, delinquencies and penalties. The Seller will be responsible for paying all sums due the association or management company prior to the settlement date."

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