Key Facts: The General Assembly has not taken a comprehensive review of the Condo and POA Acts since their inception. Any study of these acts should look at the practices of charging transfer fees and requiring association-specific For Sale signs. PROPERTY OWNERS' AND CONDO ASSOCIATION ACT POSITION: The Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS (NVAR) supports a comprehensive review of the provisions of the Virginia Condominium Association Act (Condo Act) and the Property Owners' Association Act (POA Act). BACKGROUND: These two acts govern the activities of homeowner and condo associations. They grant certain powers to associations regarding the appearance of the property, allowance of accessory structures or signs, resale documents and other matters. The law has been amended piecemeal over the years without any comprehensive review since its creation. Recently, NVAR has been made aware of several association practices that would appear to overstep the authority granted in the POA and Condo Acts and serve only to enhance the revenue of the association. NVAR recommends that the General Assembly pay particular attention to these two new requirements. The first such practice involves charging transfer fees. Homebuyers are charged these fees when first moving into the association which, to date, have ranged from $250 to $500. Raising assessments across the board seems to be a more equitable method of raising funds for community improvements that all enjoy, rather than charging only new residents. The second practice requires real estate licensees to purchase For Sale signs directly from the association. Agents have already invested in signage that bears the company name, color and logo that can be used virtually anywhere else in Virginia. Rather than using signs that are readily available, agents must now order signs that are specific to the neighborhood and await their delivery. Since these signs are typically only available from the association's designated vendor, they can also be significantly more expensive than the standard For Sale sign. Some associations are then willing to charge a "storage fee" to REALTORS who would like to keep these signs at the association for future use. STATUS: Over the years, the General Assembly has made many changes to the POA and Condo Acts but has not conducted a comprehensive review of the regulations. NVAR is supportive of a General Assembly study of the Acts and will actively work with legislators to explore these topics.