If it's been a couple of days between blog posts you'll all have to forgive me. I changed broker's last week and that generates a fair amount of work for a few days. That and an ugly cold have kept me from sharing my thoughts with you all.

It's not at all an uncommon thing for an agent to change brokers. But the public doesn't know much about that so I thought it warranted at least a few paragraphs here.

First of all, there are probably as many reasons agents switch as there are agents! There are personality conflicts as in any business. There have been a lot of agents who have switched in the last year or two because the market slowed and the grass always looks greener some place else. Different brokers and companies have different compensation plans and over the course of a real estate career what was once advantageous may become less so. And it's not just compensation, the amount and level of training varies widely as well. Different companies have different strengths and weaknesses and so agents change to take advantage of systems or processes that can benefit themselves and/or their clients.

And since nothing is ever quite that simple, it's often several of the above! That's certainly the case with me. Human nature seems to resist change and I did find it hard to leave old friends and a comfortable setting. But there is also something in human nature that thrives on change once we get past that initial resistance and I'm enjoying the renewed energy (once this blasted cold is gone!) that change can bring!

There is even more administrative garbage to get through to get everything changed than I had guessed. And my assistant, Carolyn, is once again proving to be a lifesaver!

So, I'm getting back to business as usual. My contact information remains largely unchanged and most of you won't even notice the switch!

As consumers, how much do you notice or care which brokerage an agent affiliates with? As an agent, if you've done this before, how painful or painless wa the transition?

As of July 1st there's a new property disclaimer/disclosure form in the state of Virginia. This form replaces the old forms and has three main changes.

First of all, you must indicate whether or not they are aware of whether the subject property is in a defined historic area.  This would potentially make the property subject to many additional restrictions regarding how the property is used, how it is remodeled, etc. The form instructs potential purchasers to do due diligence to research this for themselves.

Secondly, the owner is representing that there are no enforcement actions pending against the property that effect the safe, decent and sanitary living conditions of the property.

And thirdly a notice that the owner makes no representations as to the whether the property encompasses any Resource Protection Areas pursuant to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. Here again, purchasers are advised to do their own due diligence.

If your home was on the market as of July 1st, it is affected by this change.  The older disclaimer/disclosure forms are no longer valid. So if your house is currently listed and the agent hasn't contacted you about getting the new form signed, give them a call!