The Virginia Association of REALTORS has founded an organization dedicated to protecting the interests of Virginia homeowners. It's called the Virginia Homeowner's Alliance. Their web site provides a place to get information on how to improve the value of your home, lets you monitor what's going on in various government entities that may impact you as a homeowner, and will also provide you with an easy way to contact government about your concerns.

With the flood of paid lobbyists at all levels of government this seems like a terrific idea. Citizens come together to make their voices heard. It's one of the things the internet does best.

Once you go to the site and sign up you will not be flooded with a ton of spam! But you will have access to information that I think will be useful to you. In addition to giving you a voice in governement, it also provides useful information on neighborhoods and schools and practical information on things like lawn care. By the way, the site is relatively new. It will continue to grow and expand and your suggestions on how to do that are welcomed!

Now I have a favor to ask. If you do go to the site and register, it asks for the name of the REALTOR who referred you. I'd like to ask that you please enter my name. In the interests of full disclosure this enters me in a drawing for things like an iPOD or a Wii.

But I hope you do this for yourself! And I'll be interested to hear what you think of the site!

The Virginia Association of REALTORS has an excellent blog. Their CEO, Scott Brunner, has written a very interesting post highlighting some recent media stories. I very much appreciate our state association's willingness to look at the facts rather than to always spin the data and dispense happy pills!