NVAR Staff recently had the opportunity to interview Meagan Longerbeam, Customer Success Manager for the NVAR Region at Bright MLS. Read NVAR's takeaways from our conversation with Meagan!

Article 1 of the Code of Ethics says, "Realtors® pledge...to protect and promote the interests of their client. This obligation to the client primarily, but it does not relieve the Realtors® of their obligation to treat all parties honestly."

The NVAR Citation System can address violations such as unauthorized access and advertising issues. The Citation System allows for a respondent to accept responsibility for the violation by paying a designated fine and attending appropriate educational courses. For more information, check out the NVAR Citation System here: NVAR Citation System

Legal Hotline Question of the Week: It’s lease renewal season! Can I use a lease addendum to renew a lease?

REMINDER: A new Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is available for all leases as of July 1, 2023. Landlords must provide this form to any prospective tenant for both parties to sign along with the lease. If your forms provider does not have the current version of the Statement, please find both the English and Spanish versions at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

What conclusions can NVAR members draw from these numbers? One trend that stands out is that NVAR has received fewer complaints – especially in the first six months of 2023. Is the current real estate market causing this drop? Are Realtors® more professional? Meaning, are there fewer issues to report? Is there not enough awareness about the available dispute resolution processes? Feedback from NVAR’s volunteer leaders tells us that fewer complaints are likely a result of a combination of these factors.

Imagine the following scenario: You have just completed a showing with your clients. As you exit the property, a person representing themselves as “Randy the Realtor®” approaches and informs you that he has the next showing appointment. Randy then asks if you wouldn’t mind handing him the key to save him the trouble of opening the lockbox. What should you do?