
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 16, 1993                   TAG: 9305180118
SECTION: AMERICAN HOME WEEK                    PAGE: 8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By ANNE PIEDMONT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

REALTORS INVOLVED IN LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

The Roanoke Valley Association of REALTORS and its Legislative Committee have every reason to be proud of themselves. The legislative agenda the REALTORS lobbied for in the Virginia General Assembly passed and failed.

The legislative efforts of the RVAR are supported by funds raised by RPAC, the REALTOR Political Action Committee. Through RPAC, local REALTORs are part of one of the nation's largest lobbying organizations.

The "hot topic" this year, according to committee chairman Paul Dotson, a Roanoke Valley REALTOR, is seller disclosure. Beginning July 1, when the law goes into effect, sellers must disclose what they know to be the condition of the house, or they must "put the buyer on guard" that the house is being sold as is, explained Dotson.

"We like it," he said. "It helps the consumer and it helps us." He noted that by requiring the seller to tell all, the law will help REALTORS do their jobs better, because they, too, will know everything about the condition of the house.

Other REALTOR legislative victories come when legislation they oppose fails. Dotson said they lobbied against an increase in the transfer tax per document on a sale, and saw the bill go down in defeat. Likewise with a law that would have imposed impact fees as a deterrent to development. "Developers would have been hurt by it," he said.

Another successful opposition involved the regulation of telephone solicitation in the evening hours. Dotson explained that most telephone solicitation comes from out of state and is computer generated, and could not be regulated by the state Department of Commerce. The law would have required parties to register their intent to solicit with the department. It would have handicapped REALTORS by "entangling" them in burdensome rules and regulations.

The RVAR keeps in close contact with local lawmakers. One of the ways it does this is through a political forum held each October. Last year it featured area candidates for U.S. Congress. This year the House of Delegates candidates will be invited.

"It gives them a forum to express their positions, and the REALTORS a chance to ask them questions," Dotson said.

Dotson gives legislators in Richmond high marks for being well informed. He said every legislator they visited knew about the issues of importance to REALTORS.

by CNB