McLean Office Up and Jogging

We did our first day of settlements Friday in the new McLean space at 6824 Elm Street. Things were very smooth and the agents seemed impressed with the new office, which is nice, considering the only furniture in the place are two coference tables and 16 conference chairs. We pulled half the chairs into the lobby for seating, which worked for now. The decorators were here last week, so by the early next year we will actually have furniture, rugs, wall art, etc.

Courthouse Closing Schedules

Now that it's November it's time to start focusing hard on the upcoming Holiday Season (although Retailers have been trying to get us to think about it since August). In addition to working on getting your holiday cards out, planning your holiday party schedule, and shopping, real estate agents should take note of the schedule of courthouse closings. Failing to do so could cost your Sellers hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars!

Why?

Remember, the Regional Sales Contract requires the Purchaser to deliver the required funds on the Settlement Date and the Seller to deliver possession of the property (including keys) at settlement. Virginia's Wet Settlement Act, however, requires the Settlement Agent to record the Deed and any Deeds of Trust prior to disbursing proceeds, including the Seller's proceeds and funds to payoff the Seller's mortgage.

When the Courthouse is closed, disbursements are necessarily delayed. For instance, if you were to settle on Tuesday afternoon on November 25 in Prince William County, your seller would have to give over the keys but they wouldn't receive their funds and they would have to keep paying their mortgage interest until Tuesday, December 2! The Prince William County Courthouse will close at noon on Wednesday November 26, and probably stop taking recordings about an hour before that, which is 11 a.m. -- if your settlement documents aren't first in line to be recorded they may not get on record until Monday the 1st, and your payoff check wouldn't arrive at the lender until Tuesday December 2, 2008.

In Fairfax County a closing December 23 might no be recorded until December 29.

What can be done to avoid this?

• Check the Settlement Date!
• Be aware that the Settlement Company has two business days after the scheduled closing to record.
• Talk to the Settlement Agent to see if they can do better.
• Be very wary of a Purchaser's promise to settle early in the morning to allow for same day recordation. As mentioned above, the Purchaser won't be in default if the funds arrive any time on the Settlement Date.
• Remind the Purchaser of their duty to provide cashier's checks or bank wired funds. Encourage them to take care of this the day before settlement, rather than the day of. Any delay will slow down the recordation and disbrusement process.

Below is the current closing schedule for Northern Virginia Jurisdictions. Keep in mind the schedules are subject to change. Where hyperlinked, you can click to go to the official site of the Clerk's office.

Alexandria (City): November 11, (Veterans Day) 27, 28; December 24, 25; January 1, 2

Arlington County: November 11, 27, 28; December 24, 25, 31; January 1, and 19

Fairfax County: November 11, 27, 28; December 24, 25, 26, 31; January 1, 16 (Lee Jackson Day), and 19

Loudoun County: November 27, 28; December 24 (noon), 25; January 1, 19

Prince William County: November 26 (noon) 27, 28; December 24, 25, 26; January 1, 2, 19

The Chocolate Fountian Is Back - New Short Sale Form Under Development

Happy Columbus Day everyone!

The Chocolate Fountain makes its return tomorrow at 6523 Fairlawn Drive in Mclean, Barbara Bubel's listing that is being held open from 11:30 to 2:00 p.m.

The flyer is attached.
fairlawn.pdf

Hope to see many of you there.

The rest of October is booked for Broker's Opens, but it’s never too early to try and hold a spot for November.

Finally, I am part of a two member team tasked by the NVAR Standard Forms Committee with creating a new form to advise purchasers of the potential delays, pitfalls, and problems they may encounter when purchasing property that is listed as a Short Sale. Some of the bullets being considered include (in no particular order):

· Lender may condition their release of lien on the inclusion or removal of certain terms of sale, particularly items such as Seller contributions to closings costs or other terms that affect the creditor’s net proceeds.
· After Creditor approval has been received it may be difficult or impossible to get money for repairs, even if the Seller would otherwise be obligated to make such repairs under the warranty provisions of the contract. Many Purchaser’s elect to buy house in “As-Is” condition, and price their offer accordingly.
· Lender approval may take several weeks or months. Any changes to the contract that affect the Creditor’s net proceeds may need to be re-approved.
· A full title examination is required to ascertain the amount and identity of all creditors. Sellers who cannot afford their mortgages may have judgment liens, utility liens and homeowners association or condominium liens that affect the property. Purchaser may wish to avoid paying for an appraisal or home inspection until the title examination is complete.
· Because delays are likely many purchasers choose not to lock in their mortgage interest rates until lender approval is received. If you choose to lock in your interest rate it can be costly to get that rate lock extended.
· Sale could be held up by bankruptcy or foreclosure proceedings.
I would love to hear from any of you who would like to suggest additional bullets for the form, or to get your feedback on what you have seen so far.

Marcus Simon
marcus@ekkotitle.com
703-821-EKKO (3556)

October

Join me tomorrow for a Broker’s Open luncheon I am hosting with Karen Briscoe of Weichert Realtor’s Huckaby Briscoe Group at 6661 Sorrell Street in McLean, VA. The flyer is attached. The chocolate fountain will return at my next open on October 14 (look for the flyer next week). If you have a listing you’d like to feature with a Broker’s Open luncheon or dessert please send me an e-mail at marcus@ekkotitle.com I still have October 21 and October 28 available this month (if anyone has a Haunted House they’d like to hold open).

I realize I haven’t written in a while . . . fortunately I have found myself busy in August and September with legal work, settlements and working on the plans for the McLean Ekko Title Office. Our build out plans have finally been approved by the County. We expect to break ground this week on the demolition of the existing walls inside Suite 100 at 6824 Elm St, in downtown McLean.

Although I have been busy with settlements and operating out of temporary space at 6888 Elm Street, in McLean, I have continued to look for ways to do as much realtor education as possible for I.C.E., the Institute for Continuing Education, Ekko Title’s school of real estate. I’ve taught classes or done sales meetings for Weichert Realtors, Washington Fine Properties, and Keller Williams offices over the last two months, and I am always looking to do more.

I have had a number of requests from agents for specific classes, like Fair Housing, or Limited Service Agency, or Legal Updates lately. Although I am not able to get in to every real estate office to teach or do sales meetings (Ekko Title has no affiliated partners), I am happy to schedule a class for as few as 5 -10 agents at a time in my conference room or yours (or at a nearby coffee shop until the new office is open for business. If you need a particular type of credit send me an e-mail and I will let you know if we have a one, two or three hour class that will fit the bill. Together we can gather a group of agents who also need the class and I will be happy to teach it.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Marcus Simon

Ekko Title

Leggett, Simon, Freemyers & Lyon, Counsel

Direct:(703) 346-6536

Fax: (888) 821-EKKO [3556]

E-mail: marcus@ekkotitle.com

P.S. if you talk to someone in your office who says they don’t get my e-mails, let them know they can visit http://lists.ekkotitle.com/listmanager/listinfo/ekkotitlemclean to subscribe. You can use the same link to unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive these e-mails.

Free CE / PL Classes August and September

The Institute for Continuing Education (I.C.E.) is offering a series of Continuing Education Classes in McLean this month and next. Classes will be held at the 6820 Elm Street, Suite 100, in McLean Virginia in the Keller William Realty training room. I will be the instructor.

The first class will be held on August 20, 2008 from 11 am -12 noon and will cover Legislation and Laws Affecting Your Virginia Real Estate Transaction. It will include an update on the recent substantial changes to Virginia's Condominium and Property Owner's Association Acts as well as the Wet Settlement Act and Virginia Property Disclosure Act.

The second class on September 3 will be from 11-2 and will be my take on everything you need to know about the Regional Sales Contract.

The third class, on September 17 is a on hour presentation from 11-12 noon on Short Sales.

Please mark your calendars!

Reston Grand Opening Party 2 Weeks from Today

Ekko Title Listserv

Hey all. I am trying to create an Ekko Title Mclean Listserv to push out important information about Ekko events, classes, news and soon our new address and a projected opening date.

You can subscribe to the listserv here.

Let me know if you find it easy to sign up.