Property and Conveyances Passed HB455 Property lease. Authorizes the Department of Conservation and Recreation to lease 32.1 acres of property, known as the Smiley Block Company property, to Amherst County. Patron - Bryant HB506 Property Owners' Association; annual report. Clarifies the uses of the Common Interest Community Management Information Fund and requires the Real Estate Board to survey those associations which contribute to this Fund. In addition the bill provides that whenever the unobligated balance of the fund exceeds 25 percent of the total amount of fixed fees which were due for the previous year, the Board shall reduce the amount of the fixed fee for the next year. Patron - Watts HB642 Appeals from general district court; landlord tenant. Provides that in case of appeals from a default judgment based on the nonpayment of rent, the writ of execution shall be issued immediately upon entry of the judgment for possession. Currently, a writ of execution may not be issued during the ten day period for the filing of an appeal. Patron - Cantor HB644 Property; estates in trust. Increases the maximum value of a trust estate which may be made exempt from the liabilities of the beneficiaries from $600,000 to $1,000,000 (conforms to federal tax law). Patron - McClure HB779 Property conveyance. Authorizes the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to convey certain formerly submerged lands of the James River to Chesterfield County for the county to use as a wildlife management area. Patron - DeBoer HB802 Addresses of trustees in deeds of trust. Requires that the full residence or business addresses of trustees be set forth in deeds of trust rather than just the locality address in order to provide greater opportunity to locate a trustee in the event a legal action is necessary. While the bill becomes effective on July 1, 1998, deeds of trust, mortgages and other recorded instruments recorded without such address prior to January 1, 1999, are as valid as if the required address was furnished. Patron - Howell HB821 Property conveyance. Authorizes the Department of Conservation and Recreation to convey Fort Boykin State Park to Isle of Wight County for maintenance and use as a public recreation area. A reversion is included. Patron - Barlow HB830 Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; notice to tenants. Requires notice to be served at the tenant's last known place of residence. Currently, notice to a tenant is deemed received when it is served at the address of the dwelling unit or at the tenant's last known place of residence. Patron - Woodrum HB834 Property Owners' Association Act; special assessments. Clarifies the board's power to levy a special assessment if the purpose in doing so is found by the board to be in the best interests of the association and the proceeds are used primarily for upkeep and maintenance of the common areas and such other areas of association responsibility which are expressly provided for in the declaration. Patron - Cantor HB835 Escheators' bonding requirements. Makes changes to conform the section with the 1996 amendments to the escheats statutes. The 1996 amendments require one escheator per judicial circuit and that each escheator must reside within that circuit. The bill requires the escheator to post a $3,000 bond in the circuit court for the locality where he resides. If property escheats in another locality within the circuit, he must give bond in the circuit court for that locality. While the penalty of the bond must be a percentage of the property's assessed value, the percentage amount is unspecified in the bill. Patron - Cantor HB879 Property conveyance; property held by VPI&SU. Allows for the lease of property to the Town of Saltville by VPI&SU and provides that at any time within the next 20 years, Saltville may purchase the property for $64,500. The property is approximately 64 acres located on the north side of the Town of Saltville in Smyth County and must continue to be maintained for educational, historical, cultural or public purposes. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University once used the property as a field station but it is now used by the town for the Museum of the Middle Appalachians. The conveyance of this property to the town is subject to approval of the Governor and Attorney General. Patron - Tate HB976 Property exchange. Authorizes the Department of Conservation and Recreation to engage in an approximately acre-for-acre exchange of land in Natural Tunnel State Park with owners of land adjacent to the park. Following current surveys, the bill would require cash payments from one party to the other to equalize any differences in fair market value. Patron - Kilgore HB1105 Virginia Real Estate Time-Share Act. Adds and clarifies certain definitions, especially "material change." The bill also (i) changes the term "amenities" to "common elements;" (ii) removes the requirement that time-share associations be incorporated under the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act; (iii) removes the ability of a time-share purchase to have a recordable statement of any unpaid regulator or special assessments levied against the time-share; (iv) limits attendance at board meetings to those members eligible to vote and in good standing in the association; (v) removes the requirement that the developer, during the developer control period, prepare and distribute the annual report, and instead makes the association responsible for this; (vi) relieves the developer of the obligation to maintain general liability insurance and places that responsibility on the association; and (vii) exempts any product registered with the Real Estate Board from the Virginia Home Solicitation Sales Act and the Prizes and Gifts Act. Patron - Almand HB1204 Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act. Requires the disclosure and disclaimer forms used by owners selling real property to contain a notice to purchasers that they should exercise whatever due diligence they deem necessary with respect to information on any sexual offenders registered pursuant to Title 19.2 and notice on how to obtain such information. Patron - Woodrum HB1242 Broker's liens. Provides that a purchaser acquiring fee simple title to commercial real estate and having actual knowledge of terms of a lease agreement which provide for the payment of brokerage fees due and payable to a real estate broker shall be liable for payment thereof, regardless of whether the real estate broker has perfected the lien in accordance with this chapter. The bill excludes from the term "purchaser" a trustee under or a beneficiary of a deed of trust, a mortgagee under a mortgage, a secured party or any other assignee under an assignment as security, or successors, assigns, transferees or purchasers from such persons or entities. Patron - Cantor HB1247 Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; abandoned property. Removes the requirement that a landlord store personal property left in the premises after the rental agreement has terminated and delivery of possession has occurred and eliminates the tenant's right of reclamation. The landlord may dispose of the property provided ten days' written notice is given to the tenant. Patron - Drake HB1355 Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; interest on security deposits. Clarifies that a landlord shall pay interest on security deposits at an annual rate equal to the Federal Reserve Discount Rate as of January 1 of each year beginning January 1, 1995. The bill removes the requirement that interest be accrued in six-month increments. Patron - Almand HB1356 Property and conveyances; Subdivided Land Sales Act. Provides that the Subdivided Land Sales Act is superceded by the Property Owners Association Act. As a result, homeowner associations created under the former Subdivided Land Sales Act will be governed by the provisions of the Property Owners Association Act. The bill also contains technical amendments. Patron - Almand HB1357 Real Estate Board; filing of annual reports by certain associations. Clarifies that sellers under the Condominium, Real Estate Cooperative, and Property Owners' Association Acts must certify that they have filed the required annual report with the Real Estate Board and which certification must indicate the filing number issued by the Real Estate Board upon the filing of the annual report. Currently, the law incorrectly refers to a registration number issued by the Real Estate Board. Patron - Almand HB1367 Landlord and tenant; prevention of judgment of forfeiture. Clarifies that a tenant may pay all rent in arrears at the first court return date in an action of unlawful detainer seeking possession of a residential dwelling based upon a default in rent. Currently, it must be paid before. Patron - Almand HB1390 Condominium and Property Owners' Association Acts; powers and duties of such associations. Authorizes the board of directors of a property owners' association to convey common areas taken by eminent domain. Currently, the association is the party in interest in such a proceeding and the board of directors has the power to negotiate with the condemning authority and agree to an award or payment amount for the condemned common areas. This bill goes a step further by allowing the board of directors to convey the subject common area and the president of the association to unilaterally execute and record the deed of conveyance for the subject common area to the condemning authority. The bill also reduces, from 90 to 60 days, the time that consent of a mortgagee is presumed to be received by an association. The bill authorizes associations to send notice of amendments to governing documents requiring the consent of mortgagees to the address filed in the land records or the local tax assessor's office, where the mortgagee has not filed an address with the association, and provides that no mortgagee consent is required if the governing documents are silent on that issue and if the amendment does not specifically affect the rights of the mortgagee. In addition, the bill provides that limited common elements once assigned to a particular unit may be unassigned and converted to common elements with the agreement of the unit owners affected by the reassignment and that the declarant may unilaterally record an amendment to the declaration converting a limited common element appurtenant to a unit owned by the declarant into a common element as long as the declarant continues to own the unit. Current law provides the process by which limited common elements are assigned and reassigned. Additionally, the bill conforms the resale disclosure requirements of the Condominium and Property Owners' Association (POAA) Acts. The bill also (i) eliminates the restriction in the Condominium Act that a proxy terminates at any recess or adjournment of a meeting held within 30 days, (ii) clarifies the purposes for which a board of directors of a POAA may levy a special assessment, and (iii) clarifies the applicability of the POAA to homeowners associations. The bill also contains numerous technical amendments. Patron - Scott SB24 Property conveyance; National Guard Armory. Conveys the existing National Guard Armory, located in Richlands, to the Town of Richlands after the construction of the new National Guard Armory on the grounds of the Southwest Virginia Community College is completed. The town will pay all costs. The conveyance of this property to the town is recommended by the Governor's Commission on Conversion of State-Owned Property. Patron - Reasor SB54 Irrevocable preneed funeral trusts. Clarifies that irrevocable inter vivos trusts, to the extent created for the purpose of paying a grantor's funeral and burial expenses, are not against public policy. Patron - Quayle SB59 Transfer of property from the Virginia Retirement System to the Science Museum of Virginia. Directs the transfer of a rail car and related artifacts formerly owned by RF&P Corporation from the Virginia Retirement System to The Science Museum of Virginia. Patron - Lambert SB240 Property lease. Authorizes the Department of Conservation and Recreation to lease for up to 90 years 32.1 acres of property, known as the Smiley Block Company property, to Amherst County. Patron - Newman SB321 Corporate trustees; substitution. Allows the beneficiaries of a trust to petition the court to have a new resident trustee appointed whenever a corporate trustee moves the management function over the trust to another jurisdiction for good cause. Patron - Quayle SB385 Landlord and tenant; who may recover rent or possession. Corrects a scrivener's error. The bill contains an emergency clause. Patron - Gartlan SB411 Lease of property by Department of Conservation and Recreation. Authorizes the Department of Conservation and Recreation to lease a portion of the Mason Neck State Park in Fairfax County to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Under the terms of the lease, the Foundation is required to make substantial renovations to existing improvements and to conduct environmental education programs on the property. Patron - Gartlan SB590 Condominium Act; limitation on occupancy. Removes the provision that an occupancy limitation imposed on a unit owner by the unit owners' association be no more restrictive than the applicable local zoning ordinance. As a result, such limitation need only be reasonable. The bill contains a cross-reference to the nondiscrimination section of the Condominium Act and requires disclosure of any such limitation upon resale of the unit. The bill also contains technical amendments. Patron - Ticer SB640 Property owners' associations; amendment of declaration. Provides that a declaration may be amended by agreement of owners of two-thirds of the lots subject to that declaration. The bill also authorizes an association created before July 1, 1998, to "opt-in" to the two-thirds amendment provision created under this bill, provided the "opt-in" is accomplished by a two-thirds agreement of the association. The bill clarifies, however, that it does not invalidate any declaration recorded prior to July 1, 1998. The bill also provides (i) that an action to challenge the validity of an amendment may not be brought more than one year after the amendment is effective and (ii) when an amendment is effective. Patron - Mims Failed HB987 Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; definitions. Add the definition of "guest or invitee of a tenant" and authorizes a landlord to bar such persons from the rental premises for violation of the lease, or state, federal or local law. Patron - McEachin HB1008 Deeds of conveyance. Requires that a current survey or current metes and bounds be recorded with each deed of conveyance of real estate. Patron - Rhodes HB1164 Property conveyance. Requires VDOT, with the approval of the Governor and the Attorney General, to convey its Victoria Maintenance Office to the Town of Victoria and requires the Town to make half the facility's office space available to the Virginia Department of Forestry. Patron - Ruff HB1177 Escheats; notice. Requires each local treasurer to provide notice to adjoining property owners prior to providing the annual list to the state escheator, whenever a property owner dies intestate without known heirs or testate without disposing of all of his property and with no known heirs. Notice must be given by mail or posting. Patron - O'Brien SB508 Number One Hampton Roads. Provides for the development by the Commonwealth of a multipurpose complex to be known as Number One Hampton Roads. The complex would include an office building, museum, environmental awareness center, and a state waterfront park. Patron - Quayle Carried Over HB387 Property; loan of property to museums; unclaimed loans. Provides that, except as may be otherwise provided in a written agreement between a museum and a lender, no action may be brought against a museum to recover property on loan to a museum when more than 25 years have passed from the (i) the receipt by the museum of written communication concerning the property from the lender or (ii) any display of interest in the property by the lender as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file prepared by an employee of the museum. Property on loan to a museum is deemed to have been donated to the museum if no action to recover the property is initiated within seven years after the museum gives notice of termination of the loan. This bill requires museums to provide notice of termination of loans of property to the lender, and if no proof of receipt of notice is received, to publish notice in the newspaper. Museums must also inform lenders, in writing, of the provisions of this chapter prior to accepting loans of property. Patron - Van Landingham HB645 Property; rule against perpetuities. Removes trusts established by a revocable inter vivos trust agreement from the dictates of the rule against perpetuities, provided that at least one trustee is a corporate trustee licensed to do business in Virginia. Patron - McClure HB760 Uniform Principal and Income Act. Gives trustee discretion to invest funds in consideration of the combined total return of income and principal. Patron - McClure HB842 Uniform Principal and Income Act. Replaces the prior uniform act to reflect modern trust investment practices in the allocation of principal and income. The bill provides procedures for trustees administering estates in separating principal from income, and ensuring that the intention of the creator of the trust is the guiding principle for trustees. The bill is recommended by the Virginia Commissioners to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Patron - Clement HB1020 Time-Share Act; developer control. Requires, after 10 years from recordation of the time-share instrument, the developer to transfer title to the association, without charge, exclusive of the units comprising the time-share estate project. The bill also provides that the developer is not exonerated from his responsibility to complete any amenities and facilities promised by the developer. Patron - Grayson HB1158 Virginia Residential Real Property Disclosure Act. Requires the builder of a new dwelling to disclose in writing to the purchaser thereof that portion of the purchase price, expressed in dollars, which relates directly to the cost of complying with local government requirements governing the construction of the dwelling. Currently, a builder is required to disclose all known material defects which would constitute a violation of any applicable building code. The bill provides that failure of the builder to provide written disclosure as to the cost of complying with local regulation shall not affect the validity of the purchase contract nor shall such failure establish any additional rights of the parties to the purchase contract. Patron - McClure HB1263 Conveyance of property to the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Conveys the State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach, also known as Camp Pendleton, to the Department of Conservation and Recreation for operation as a state park. Patron - Croshaw HB1369 Notice of use of pesticides; registry created. Creates a registry, maintained by the Pesticide Control Board, of tenants, condominium owners and proprietary lessees who have requested in writing that they desire a 48 hours' notification of an application of a pesticide within their apartment premises, condominiums or cooperatives. The bill requires commercial applicators of pesticides to notify such persons in writing or by direct telephone contact, and provides for damages of $100 for violations. The bill also requires landlords, condominium unit owners' associations and proprietary lessees' associations to post conspicuous signs at least 48 hours before pesticides are applied in common areas. Patron - Almand SB536 Property and conveyances; required disclosures. Requires disclosure and disclaimer forms to contain a notice to purchasers to exercise whatever due diligence they deem necessary with respect to information on any sexual offenders registered under Title 19.2 of the Code of Virginia as well as how to obtain such information. Patron - Howell < PREVIOUS | CONTENTS | NEXT >