For about the last six months I've been working on my EcoBroker certification. It's a certification from the National Association of REALTORS that focuses on both more healthful homes (knowledge of radon, mold, indoor air quality issues, etc.), more energy efficient homes and more environmentally friendly homes. It's a terrific course and I can't tell you how excited I am about everything I've learned.

But you're probably wondering what this does for you!

If you're a buyer, I can help you find homes that are more comfortable, energy efficient and friendlier to the environment. Energy efficient is going to become a larger and larger issue for families as the costs of heating and cooling a home continue to rise. Lower utility bills can mean better cash flow and more money to spend on getting the house you want. We're also seeing more and more health issues, including a rise in asthma and worries about the dangerous gasses released by many of the materials used in new construction. I can help you figure out what the important issues are for your family and how we find you the right house while keeping those in mind.

If you're a seller, I can help you market those aspects of your property likely to appeal to buyers who are concerned with environmental, health and energy issues. Whether it's noticing how well-designed your home is from a passive solar perspective or marketing the fact that all your appliances are Energy Star, there are a whole host of possibilitiess. And, in a market this tough on sellers, every edge helps!

I also look forward to providing a lot more in-depth information on these topics here. If there's something in particular you'd like to hear about, please let me know.

And, if you're looking for some help in making your current home more "green", I'd be happy to help you find the right resources!

I'm the only certified EcoBroker in this region and one of a handful in Virginia. I'm looking forward to continuing to learn more and finding new ways to bring you better information!

If you're a seller right now you probably don't need me to tell you it's a tough market right now. But are you doing everything you can to help yourself get your home sold?

One place where owners can unwittingly slow the sale of their home is by how they handle showings. First of all, you need to make it as easy as possible to show your home. That means a lockbox on the door and minimal notice required. Minimal notice is a quick phone call to say they'll be there in an hour. "Appointment only - 24 hour notice" is a good way to have your home for sale for a very, very long time.

Let me paint you a picture. I've got out of town buyers coming in for the day. They want to see as many homes as possible but have to make a decision and write an offer on one that day. Because the market is the way it is right now there are many more homes that meet their criteria than I could possibly show them in one day. So I need to look for ways to narrow the number down to something manageable in one day, say a dozen homes.

One of the ways I'm going to do that is showing instructions. When I'm showing that many homes in one day, with the exception of the first home we see, it's almost impossible to guarantee when we'll be there. And, so it's just easier to discard anything that requires a set appointment and/or 24 hour notice.

And since relocating buyers are one of the few categories of buyers who really do have to buy right now, you don't want us skipping your house! So make it easy for me and all the other agents who really do want to help you sell your home!

And, please leave when your home is being shown. I know there are occasions when it's absolutely impossible to do that. But it really is not helpful, in most instances, to have you there. People need time with a house in order to fall in love with it. No one will fall in love with it while you're looking over their shoulder! It's hard to imagine it as theirs when you're constantly there to remind them it's yours! And, no couple decides to buy a house without a frank discussion of pluses and minuses. They won't have that discussion with you standing there. And if they don't have it then, they may never have it. You need to get out! It's really that simple!

It may be appropriate for you to eventually meet the prospective buyer and share with them some of what you've learned about the house over the years you've lived there. The first time they see the house is not the time!

OK, there may be an exception if you're a celebrity. Harrison Ford, if you're out there with a house to sell, I'd probably let you stay while buyers came through. Except that then they're going to be too busy looking at you to pay attention to your house! So...maybe even the celebrities should get out!

That's it! Those small things really will make a difference in helping to get your home sold! And, trust me, right now you need every single advantage you can get!

This is the next segment in our continuing segment of how to interview a real estate agent. Today's segment applies whether you're interviewing an agent to buy a home or sell a home.

Today we're talking about agency. Ask your agent "Will you commit to representing only my interests in the transaction?" With this question you're asking them to forego the possibility of doing what is known as "dual agency".

But let's back up and talk a little bit about definitions. Agency in a real estate transaction has to do with whose interests the agent represents. Single agency would mean that the agent represents the interests of only one principal, either the buyer or the seller, never both. Virginia, and some other states, have also created something called "designated agency" this is where although the agent represents only your interests, their broker represents both sides. For example, a ReMax Regency agent is the listing agent and another ReMax Regency agent is representing the buyer. In this instance, Chuck Cornwell, the managing broker would be a dual agent representing both parties. My opinion on designated agency is that in larger firms you usually don't have much of an issue with conflict of interest, but there is always that possibility.

Dual agency is when the agent who is listing the property is also, supposedly, representing the buyer. In effect, I would say that they truly represent no one's interests other than their own! One of the principle skills you pay an agent for is their negotiating expertise. But in a dual agency situation they can not advise either buyer or seller on negotiating tactics, proper pricing, etc. I don't know how you can possibly justify your commission if you've just taken out a major component of your value to your clients!

By the way, disclosed dual agency is not illegal in the state of Virginia. Notice the disclosed, however! The possibility of dual agency must be disclosed before the agent ever takes you to see the property in question.

I don't practice dual agency. But, like most agents I frequently get calls from someone who has seen a sign on my listing and calls me to see it. Before we go in I tell them that I represent the sellers interest only and that they should be careful not to share any information with me that would hurt their negotiating position. And, even after this discussion, many people still will tell me how much they love a place or exactly how much they can afford to pay for a property. My obligation to the seller means that I MUST SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH THE SELLER!

That's with me telling buyers what they're up against. There are too many agents who simply say they represent the seller without any discussion at all of what that might mean for the potential buyer. And, there are some who never discuss agency at all until they sit down to write the contract!

I've said it before here and I'll say it again, the only one who benefits from dual agency is the real estate agent who collects double the commission!

So, ask any potential agent if they will represent your interests and only your interests! It's an important question!

Late last week a national builder who has quite a few developments in this area took out a full page ad in a local paper. They were advertising no mortgage payments for the remainder of 2007 if you put a contract on existing inventory now.

There are several things we know from reading this ad. First of all, the builder has no confidence in a quick rebound for the local housing market. Like all of us, a homebuilder does not easily give up profit potential. Unlike your average homeowner, however, a builder is not at all emotionally involved. He sees the unsold homes simply as a product, as inventory. He'll do what it takes to get rid of them.

Secondly, the builder undoubtedly believes prices will continue to drop or at the very least stay very, very soft for the peak selling season.

And, given this offer, the builder is right. If you're selling a resale home in the same price range, you've got a very tough job competing with this. That's especially true if you're unlucky enough to be selling a home in one of these very developments! But even if you're home is elsewhere and is a comparable home in terms of size and features, you had better be prepared to lower your prices considerably. If you're the buyer comparing a brand new home and no mortgage payments for 7 months or looking at your home, nice but already lived in and mortgage payments beginning immediately, what would you choose?! There aren't many of us that would choose the lived in house.

So, sellers should be prepared for another round of price cuts. If they can find a way to swing it they might think about a marketing campaign offering to make the new owner's house payments for the rest of 2007 in order to compete with the builder.

And, in some cases, sellers should be prepared to take their homes off the market and wait it out. Inventory is still very high and clearly the builders don't think it's getting better any time soon! Recovery in our local housing market is probably now not on the agenda until at least 2008. Of course, the Fed could elect to drop interest rates and surprise me! A girl can dream!

We've talked a little bit in the past about appraisals and we've talked about the use of comparables when deciding on a listing price. But I had something a little out of the ordinary come up this week and thought it might be of interest to everyone.

An agent called to say she was writing an offer on one of my listings in Warrenton. She also told me she was using the last settled comp (comparable) in that subdivision as a basis for the offer price. Now that seems perfectly reasonable. That's especially true given that settlement on this particular home occurred only about a week ago.

However, there are special circumstances at play here that definitely warrant a closer look. This particular unit is reasonably similar to my listing. However, it was never actually for sale in the multiple listing service. It was entered into the MLS solely for comparison purposes. A good clue that this is the case is when something is entered into the MLS as "sold" with zero days on the market. I called the agent for a little more background because there was something else unusual here. Generally if it's never really been for sale and is entered only for comparison purposes the List Price and the Sold Price are the same. However in this instance there was about $55K difference between them.

Basically, the home had been owned by a foundation that was liquidating assets. A private buyer became aware that this home was going to be sold and approached the agent about buying the property without it going on the market. The foundation was willing to take substantially less cash for a quick, cash sale with the property sold as is.

Now, I am a little concerned about this because certainly this will come up when an appraisal is done on my listing. But part of the appraisal process says that in order to compare "like properties" they should both have been exposed to the full competitive market. Clearly that didn't happen with this unit. And, I'll make sure I make the appraiser aware of this.

I also made the agent writing the offer aware of the background so that she understood the flaws with basing her offer solely on this comparable.

It's too soon to tell what the outcome will be as we haven't yet received the offer. But sometimes a comparable isn't really comparable!

In Virginia a seller can choose whether than provide the would-be buyers with a property disclaimer or a property disclosure. I say "in Virginia" because this is fairly unique in the real estate world. In most states a disclosure statement is a must.

So, what are these two documents and what do they mean to you as either a buyer or a seller?

The property disclosure is a document that goes through all the major systems of your home and asks you what you know about them. It asks about problems you've encountered and fixed, the age of certain items, etc. While it is not an exhaustive inventory of everything connected with your home and the history of each item, it certainly can provide a substantial amount of information.

The property disclaimer is a much shorter document. Just about the only actual information it provides is whether or not the property is in a historic district. As far as the condition of the house goes the disclaimer says that the owner makes no representation as to the condition of the home. In a nutshell, it says the buyer is on his own.

The vast majority of sellers in Virginia elect to use the property disclaimer. And that's not entirely surprising. It requires less work on the seller's part, certainly. Check whether or not the property is in a historic district and sign your name! You're done! No need to rack your brain on when it was that you had the air conditioning unit replaced.

The other reason I'm frequently given for not using the property disclosure is that people are afraid of being sued over an honest mistake. While I've never personally seen a lawsuit based on a mistake on a disclosure, it's hard to argue that in our litigious society someone, somewhere, someday might not be tempted to sue. I'm not a big fan of fear-based decision making but it is a big factor in why most people choose the disclaimer.

One instance when I would definitely suggest a disclaimer makes more sense is when you are selling a home you do not occupy. If, for example, it's an investment property that's been rented out, the odds are you don't know everything that's going on with the home. It's best not to guess. And, even if you moved out two months ago, houses do not stay the same over time! Again, this is a good time to use a disclaimer.

If you're a buyer and see a disclaimer, I wouldn't assume that something's wrong with the house. Clearly there are a lot of sellers using disclaimers for reasons that have nothing to do with the condition of the property. However, if you do happen to run across one where the owner has used a disclosure I think it's potentially worth assigning some extra weight to that fact.

What have your experiences been with disclaimers and disclosures? If you moved to Virginia from elsewhere in the country were you surprised at the lack of mandatory disclosures here?