Blog
Updates & Industry News
Mika Dewitz Cryan Esq. & Jacob Hilburn Esq.
You painstakingly research and educate yourself prior to purchasing important items such as automobiles, car seats, computers, or smart phones – it should be no different when purchasing your largest asset, your home. Surveying the property is an important part of that research. So, what is a survey and how does it protect you, as the buyer of real property?
Throughout Virginia form contracts are provided by Realtor Associations to the membership they serve to create efficiencies through the use of legally enforceable contracts for the purchase and sale of residential real estate. These form contracts provide a familiarity and comfort level for real estate agents, who in Virginia enjoy an exception to the unauthorized practice of law rules for contract work they engage in for clients they represent.
On July 1, 2012, Virginia became the first state in the country to authorize remote online notarization. There are roughly 23 states that have approved remote online notarization laws, yet despite becoming law in Virginia almost 8 years ago, it seems only recently we have been bombarded with articles and talks about the promise of E-closings. Most recently, a bill was introduced by U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) called the “Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act of 2020 (the “SECURE ACT”). This SECURE ACT would permit immediate nationwide use of remote online notarizations.
