The 2011 Virginia General Assembly unanimously passed legislation making future transfer fee covenants unenforceable in Virginia and the Governor approved the legislation March 26. (2011 Acts of Assembly Chap. 706) “Transfer fee covenants” are provisions in recorded documents requiring payment of fees to real estate developers or other private parties when property is transferred in the future. Many state and federal governments have outlawed these transfer fees. The Virginia legislation only will make any transfer fee covenant recorded after June 30, 2011, unenforceable, so any existing transfer fee covenants still may apply. The new law also does not affect requirements to pay transfer fees to owners associations in common interest communities.
Real estate purchasers should ask their settlement attorney or agent whether any recorded document affecting title to property they are purchasing contains any transfer fee covenants. Only an attorney representing a purchaser client can advise the purchaser about the legal effect of a transfer fee covenant or any other document affecting title to property being purchased. Real estate attorneys at MartinWren, P.C., carefully review title work and title insurance commitments for their purchaser clients to be able to advise their clients about the legal effect of documents affecting title to property being purchased.
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MartinWren, P.C. attorney Lewis A. Martin, III practices real property law and estate administration law in the firm’s Charlottesville office. For more information regarding property foreclosures and other real estate issues, please call Lewis at 434-817-3100 or email him at [email protected]. With offices in Charlottesville and Harrisonburg, Virginia, MartinWren, P.C. is a dynamic law firm offering legal services to individuals and small and large businesses across the Commonwealth. MartinWren, P.C. represents clients in diverse practice areas: Business, Corporate & Tax Law; Estate Planning & Administration; Personal Injury; Intellectual Property and Technology Law; Healthcare Law; Commercial & Residential Real Estate; Civil and Commercial Litigation; Startups and Emerging Companies; Family Law & Adoption; and Nonprofit Organization Law. To learn more about MartinWren, please visit www.martinwrenlaw.com.
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