Forms Guy weighs in on Offer to Purchase

Revisions to Offer to Purchase and Contract

by Will Martin

NCAR General Counsel

Courtesy: Insight Magazine, the North Carolina Association of REALTORS®

Dear Forms Guy: I’ve just been told that the Offer to Purchase and Contract has been completely rewritten. Is it so? Sincerely, Lumpy

Dear Lumpy: It’s true that significant changes to the Offer to Purchase and Contract (form 2-T) were recently approved by the NC Association of REALTORS® and the NC Bar Association, but the form hasn’t been completely rewritten. A great deal of the content of the current form (copyright July 2008) has been carried forward into the new form. The organization of the current form has also been significantly changed to group-related provisions in a more logical way. For example, defined terms are grouped together in a new “Terms and Definitions” paragraph at the beginning of the new form, and buyer and seller representations and obligations are grouped together in paragraphs 5 through 8. Sincerely, Forms Guy

Lumpy: What are the big changes?

Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline, flood insurance: Crucial extensions PASSED!

After a close brush with the deadline, Congress has passed an extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623). The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 that have not yet closed. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension the new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010. There is will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.

NAR worked closely with Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to enact this important legislation. Extending the Tax Credit Closing deadline will help provide additional stability to real estate markets across the nation.

For additional information on the extension visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs

Additionally, the United States Senate has passed the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5569) an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program until September 30, 2010. This will allow transactions to move forward. The bill is retroactive and covers the lapse period from June 1, 2010 to the date of enactment of the extension.

For more information on the flood insurance program visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs

Lead-Based Paint Rules: Enforcement delayed until fall

The Wall Street Journal is reporting important news out of the EPA about the new Lead-Based Paint standards for property owners (see the brief at the end of this page):

The Environmental Protection Agency decided to delay enforcing a new lead-paint regulation following pressure from home builders and members of Congress ... The rule would require contractors who work in older homes to become certified by a government-approved trainer and follow a series of safety precautions.

The EPA will delay taking action against contractors who haven't yet completed their training, putting off enforcement until Oct. 1.

The National Association of Home Builders has more:

In revised guidance released on Friday, EPA acknowledged that remodelers in many parts of the country have been unable to obtain the required training to comply with the rule – a problem that NAHB has urged the agency to solve since the rule was announced two years ago...The issue came to a head in May after floods devastated parts of Tennessee and there weren’t enough certified remodelers to complete much-needed home repairs. NAHB and its state home builders association proposed a delay in enforcing the rule -- a decision EPA consented to in its letter on Friday.

NCAR Legislative Day

This week marked NCAR's 2010 Legislative Meetings, which culminated on Wednesday when REALTORS

® from around the state

visited their representatives at their offices. Greensboro had a strong showing, with a group of GRRA leaders visiting the offices of Sens. Phil Berger and Katie Dorsett, and Reps. Earl Jones, Maggie Jeffus, Pricey Harrison, John Blust and Alma Adams.

(See more photos at the GRRA Facebook Page)


Here are a few topics they discussed:

GDOT visits the GRRA

Craig McKinney with the Greensboro Department of Transportation spoke to a packed house at our Roads and Highways Brown Bag on June 8. When we scheduled the event, we anticipated that the new draft TIP would be out; unfortunately, it has been delayed. If you missed the Brown Bag, Craig has graciously offered to do a follow-up Brown Bag on August 17, at which point the TIP should be available.

In the meantime, here's a snippet from his talk on Tuesday, in which he discusses the progress of the Urban Loop:

And here's the PowerPoint presentation:Greensboro regional realtors assoc 06 08-10

NAR economist: Pending sales up

NAR's Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, talks about how the tax credit has affected national pending home sales.

RPAC Auction Eve: One last sneak peek

We're down to the zero hour -- the 2010 RPAC Auction is happening tomorrow, June 2, 2010! Get to the GRRA at 11:30 a.m. to make sure you're present when bidding starts!

Here's one last preview to mark the occasion -- view more here.

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