If there is one thing we seem to be able to count on from the Virginia General Assembly, its frequent amendments to the statutes regarding association resale certificates and 2017 was no exception.

Under the “News You Can Use” section of this site, Jeanne Lauer explained the new legislation regarding “For Sale” signs in condominium and homeowners associations which became effective July 1, 2017. That posting is a must read for anyone preparing resale certificates for an association because “For Sale” sign regulations in your Declaration (and/or Bylaws for a condominium) must be disclosed in association resale certificates. Unless you are familiar with the new “For Sale” sign statute regarding limitations on an association’s ability to regulate signs, you could easily disclosure incorrect information to prospective purchasers and that’s no way to get off to a good start with new members of the community.

Other changes affecting resale certificates that became effective July 1, 2017 are: (i) if an owner designates a licensed real estate agent as the unit owner’s representative in writing to the association, the association must recognize such representation without the requirement for a formal power of attorney; however, the representative will not have the right to vote on behalf of the owner without a valid proxy; and (2) the Common Interest Community (CIC) Board may now assess a monetary penalty to the association or the association’s common interest community manager (as the case may be) for failure to deliver the resale certificate within 14 days.

Section 55-79.97 of the Virginia Condominium Act and Section 55-509.4 of the Property Owners Association (POA) Act provide a complete list of the information and documentation required to be part of the resale certificate. It’s a prudent business practice to compare your resale certificate to the appropriate statute after July 1 of each year to make sure your association remains in compliance.