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By criminal defense attorney Thomas Soldan, who is barred and practices in the state of Virginia, with Price Benowitz LLP. Soldan has focused his practice on reckless driving, DUI/DWI, traffic, and personal injury litigation.

We are all aware that you can be cited for driving too fast, but many drivers do not realize that you can also be cited by police for driving too slow. Traveling well below the speed limit can be just as dangerous as speeding.

This can be particularly true when you are traveling on the highway. Drivers should be aware that anyone who is traveling in the left lane should be going the speed limit. If you are traveling below the speed limit, you need to be in the right lane of the highway.

And now in Virginia, lawmakers have passed a law that says if you are traveling too slow in the left lane, you can be fined.

Although it can be frustrating for drivers who get stuck behind a slow-moving left-lane driver, the law was passed because of the serious safety issues that occur when this happens. Many times, the faster-moving vehicle is forced to swerve into another lane when they suddenly come upon a slow-moving one. Another danger that can happen when the faster-moving vehicle comes upon the slow-moving one is they may be forced to quickly reduce speed, which can lead to a domino-effect, multi-car crash for any other vehicles traveling in the left lane.

For drivers who are slowly traveling in the left lane and get stopped by law enforcement, the fine is up to $250. Another thing to keep in mind is that this is a primary law, meaning police can pull you over for the violation and also use the stop to check for other, secondary violations.

Attorney Thomas Soldan reminds drivers that any traffic violation you receive can eventually affect your driving record and that is why you should contact a Virginia traffic violation attorney. “Drivers who receive multiple citations can end up with added points to their license, resulting in increased insurance premiums. Depending on a person’s driving history, enough points can eventually lead to a suspension of their driver’s license.”

This column is written and sponsored by D.C. real estate agent and Edgewood resident Jessica Evans. Email her questions at  [email protected].

Whether you are planning to buy a house in 2018 or 5 years from now, it’s never too early to start planning. I’m sure that I sound like a broken record when I say that buying any kind of real estate is one of the biggest financial investments you will ever make, and that careful planning and preparation will help to ensure that your investment fits your objectives.

Knowing where to start when you are thinking about buying a home can be more than a little overwhelming, but let’s take it one step at a time. Like many aspects of buying a home, I can’t promise that it will be fun, but I can promise that it will be worthwhile.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing with you my recommendations on each step of the home buying process, from planning and figuring out how you will pay for the house to the actual search.

Step 1: Define your objectives

I know that those email alerts that you get from Zillow or Redfin are super tempting, but I would caution that until you have a clear outline of your objectives it’s really easy to get off track and distracted before you ever even begin your search (If you’ve already done this, thats OK too, we can always work backwards if you’ve gotten ahead of yourself).

It’s completely natural to be excited and want to jump right into a home search, but I can’t caution strongly enough that in order to have a successful experience and outcome, planning is needed. (note: for the purposes of this post, and all of my posts, a house or home is not defined by a specific type of physical structure, whether its a condo, tiny house, McMansion or anything in-between).

The number one mistake that I see buyers make is getting ahead of themselves, finding a home that they think they want to buy before they have clearly defined their objectives. I definitely understand that the charm and character are irresistible, or the location is amazing, and that you will feel like you have found a once in a lifetime opportunity. (more…)

This weekly column is written and sponsored by D.C. real estate agent and Edgewood resident Jessica Evans. Email her questions at  [email protected].

For the first time in a long time, buying a home in DC has gotten less expensive! While it may not offset rising prices, every little bit helps. In October 2017 a new benefit to first time homebuyers in DC went into effect, reducing the recordation tax that eligible buyers pay when they purchase their first home in DC.

The reduction is between 1-1.3% depending on the sales price, which is not a small amount of money with DC prices being what they are. In my research, there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of information available on this subject, so I wanted to share with you the specifics.

What is recordation tax?

Recordation tax is a one time tax that is paid at settlement on the purchase or sale of a property. This goes by different names and is a different amount in different areas, but in all cases it is essentially a tax on the sale that goes to the state, county or other jurisdiction that is calculated as a percentage of the sales price. This is different from property taxes which are paid annually or semi-annually. Recordation tax is one of the closing costs of purchasing real estate.

In DC, it is customary for a seller to pay the transfer tax and a buyer to pay the recordation tax. Before the first time home buyer (FTHB) recordation tax reduction, the amount paid for the transfer and recordation taxes were equal.

What is the new recordation tax amount?

How to Qualify

This gift doesn’t come without restrictions and is not automatically applied, rather buyers need to apply and qualify for the reduced recordation tax. The application with additional details can be found here. The main requirements include:

• First-Time District Homebuyer
  • Either a current DC resident or plan to immediately become a DC resident after purchasing
  • Has not owned a residential property in DC

• Income Restrictions
  • Calculated by the combined federal adjusted gross income for anyone who will live in the home
  • Maximum income limits based on number of people in household
    • 1: $139,140, 2: $158,940, 3: 178,740, 4: $198,540

• Eligible Property
  • Property purchase price must be $625,000 or less
  • Houses, condos and co-ops are all eligible

• Homestead Deduction Application must be included in application
  • Applicants must simultaneously apply for and qualify for the Homestead Exemption
  • Verifies that the property will be used as a primary residence and owner occupied

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