REALinfo August 2016

REAL info August ● 2016

News and Resource for MEMBERS

feature Musings from RAHB CEO George O'Neill – page 2

MLS®/TECHNOLOGY

Revisiting MLS® policies – page 4 Is a Status Certificate available? – page 4 Matrix Phase 2! – page 5

RAHB News

Charity Golf Tournament — the numbers are in! – page 6 Karina Gould in the “bear pit” – page 6 RAHB welcomes new members! – page 6 Milestone — Retirement – page 7

Services spotlight RAHB annual elections: your vote counts! – page 7

Member services Professional Development for REALTORS® – page 8 RAHB members and directional signs – page 9 RCN — Mark your calendars! – page 9 Realty Shoppe – page 10 REALTORS®4Kids – page 11

Mark YOUR Calendar What's coming up at RAHB – page 12

Empowering REALTORS® to Succeed

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News and Resource for Members

Musings from Rahb Ceo George O'Neill Established in 1921, the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) represents more than 2,900 real estate brokers and salespersons from Hamilton, Burlington, and surrounding areas. Members of the association may use the REALTOR® trademark, which identifies them as real estate professionals who subscribe to a strict code of ethics. The Association operates the local Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System and provides ongoing professional education courses for its members. In addition, RAHB is an active participant in the Home Ownership Affordability Partnership (HOAP) and holds an annual auction in support of local charities. Advertisements of local MLS® Property listings and information about the services provided by a REALTOR® can be found at www.REALTOR.ca. More information about RAHB is available at www.rahb.ca.

Mission Statement Empowering REALTORS® to succeed.

President

Kim Alvarez 905.407.7046

Last month I took a look back at what had been accomplished at RAHB in the first half of this year. Now I’d like to focus on the second half of the year and, of course, the regional MLS® System is still the big story as we are approaching its completion.

At their June 30 meeting, the RAHB Board of Directors decided that, instead of giving up management of our MLS® System by fully cutting over to the regional Matrix system, RAHB would upgrade our Fusion system to our own Matrix system. This system will be compatible with the regional one and put in place listing sharing with all regional boards/ associations. This approach will still achieve the original goal of the regional initiative but in a way that mitigates risks for RAHB members. The goal is for RAHB and all regional REALTORS® to be able to access active and sold listing information from across the region.

The Directors came to this decision after comparing the benefits of continuing with our own MLS® system for RAHB against the risks of adopting the governance of ORTIS, the governing body of the regional system. Our Board’s decision was on the side of protecting RAHB members; therefore we have now entered Phase 2 of sharing regional MLS® data.

We understand that there has been some inaccurate information distributed about this approach, and I want to be very clear about what has and has not transpired.

First, what has NOT transpired:

President-Elect

Lou Piriano 905.628.6625 Vice-President

Jack Loft 905.304.3303 Immediate Past President

Donna Bacher

905.520.1946

Directors

RAHB has NOT left the Regional MLS® System. We are still uploading MLS® listing information from Fusion to the regional Matrix system every 15 minutes and RAHB members can still access all listing information in that Matrix system. We intend to continue working with ORTIS and the regional boards and associations going forward.

Ann Forbes Arndt 905.574.3038 Nikola Bucalo 905.388.1110 Kathy Della-Nebbia 905.574.4600 Gary Herron 905.388.1110 Paul Martindale 905.572.9465 Andrew Robertson 905.308.8333 Bob Van de Vrande 905.332.4111

RAHB has NOT taken this route because we want to “control” ORTIS and the Regional MLS® System. In fact, RAHB has gone to great pains to attempt to bring more equitable decision-making to the ORTIS organization so that no one board or association can be disadvantaged by majority decisions that do not suit or cannot be afforded by their association.

Realinfo is published monthly by the REALTORS® Association of HamiltonBurlington (RAHB)

What HAS transpired:

505 York Boulevard, Hamilton ON L8R 3K4 T.: 905.529.8101 F.: 905.529.4349 MLS® F.: 905.529.6636 Help Desk T.: 905.667.4650 Realty Shoppe: T.: 905.529.5979 F.: 905.529.7109 Email: info@rahb.ca Web site: www.rahb.ca Intranet site: www.realtorlink.ca Editor: Valerie Webster Editorial Assistant: Sheila Sferrazza Design: Maggie Inglis In-house Products: RAHB Print Services

The original goal of sharing MLS® active listing and sold data among the regional real estate boards and associations has been met in the current Regional Matrix system. We are now considering this to be Phase 1, and it’s a major achievement benefiting RAHB and all regional REALTORS®.

RAHB’s Directors had concerns about the risks posed by the business and financial models developing at ORTIS, the body that manages the Regional MLS® System. RAHB attempted on several occasions to discuss the risks and suggest changes that would reduce the risks for all boards and associations involved, but those discussions failed to reach mutually beneficial outcomes.

The only viable option available that would still maintain the benefits of a shared MLS® System for RAHB members and regional REALTORS® was to proceed in an alternate way to achieve the same goal of shared information.

That has led to Phase 2 of regional MLS® data sharing.

August

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continued on page 3

News and Resource for Members continued from page 2

RAHB’s Matrix system will be launched before the spring market in 2017. It will be compatible with the regional Matrix MLS® System so that active and sold listing information can flow freely between systems.

RAHB remains committed to sharing MLS® listing information with the boards and associations participating in the Regional MLS® System. RAHB’s Board of Directors has every confidence that the real estate boards and associations participating in the Regional MLS® System have the same goal we do: that their members benefit from access to the widest compilation of listing data in the region. That was the original goal when this project started, and it remains the goal today.

On July 18, RAHB President Kim Alvarez and I sent a letter to each member explaining Phase 2 – a synopsis of that letter is on page 5 in this issue of REALinfo. We have also compiled questions and answers we have received through our webinars, Facebook and other sources; there is a link to the most up-to-date version posted on the same page.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to get in touch with us – you can post your question on RAHB’s Facebook group, email your question to mls@rahb.ca, or call me at 905.529.8101 x230.

Next month I’ll talk more about what else is coming up between now and the end of the year.

Regards,

August

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News and Resource for Members

MLS®/technology Revisiting MLS® policies regarding contact information MLS® Policies – MISCELLANEOUS 5. No personal contact information relating to the REALTOR® may appear in the REALTOR® remarks section of a listing.

If the REALTORS® personal contact information is included, MLS® staff is to remove it and a $50 fine levied to the Member.

Where the seller directs the listing REALTOR® in writing to do so, the seller’s contact information may appear in the REALTOR® only remarks (non-public) section of the listing on the Association’s MLS® system.

6. No personal contact information relating to the REALTOR® with the exception of a direction to visit the REALTOR®’s website to obtain more information may appear in the internet ad copy/public remarks. If the REALTOR®’s personal contact information or specific website address, with the exception of a direction to the REALTOR®’s website is included, MLS® staff will remove it and a $50 fine be levied to the Member.

What is the “personal contact information” referred to in the policies?

• Member’s first name, last name or both; team name • Member’s office name • Member’s phone number (cell phone, direct line, etc) or fax number • Member’s office phone number or fax number • Any toll-free number or direct appointments phone number • Any email addresses or website links • Note: Multi-media links (virtual tour, brochure, additional images) must appear in their respective fields and not in the remarks If any of the above items are found in either REALTOR® or public remarks, they will be removed and the member will be fined, according to the policy.

Is a Status Certificate available?

There has been a situation reported where a bank requested a Status Certificate for a property that was listed Residential – Freehold with Condo Road.

At the present time, Fusion does not allow you to indicate “yes” or “no” if a Status Certificate is available when your property Listing Type is “RE” – the field is blocked.

When you have a listing that is Residential – Freehold with Condo Road, please indicate in the REALTOR® Remarks if there is a Status Certificate or not.

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News and Resource for Members

Matrix Phase 2!

At their meeting on June 30, the RAHB Board of Directors decided to enter into a new phase of regional MLS® data sharing.

Following is a brief summary of the letter from RAHB President Kim Alvarez and CEO George O’Neill, forwarded to all members on Monday, July 18, explaining the Board’s decision and how Phase 2 will proceed. Read the entire letter at (http://bit.ly/2a3vd15)

Matrix – Phase 2 of Regional MLS® data sharing For almost two years, RAHB has been working with seven other real estate boards and associations to develop and launch a regional MLS® system, and Phase I of that goal has been achieved – access to regional MLS® listing data on Matrix.

RAHB has been receiving positive feedback from members who are using Matrix. The most frequently asked question is, “when are we going fully live on Matrix so we can stop using Fusion?”

The answer to that question is in early 2017, just prior to the spring market.

In keeping with their desire to provide RAHB members with the best, broadest and most cost-effective MLS® information, the RAHB Board of Directors has chosen to build on what has been accomplished through the regional MLS® System. This will be achieved by upgrading RAHB’s Fusion system to Matrix, and negotiating directly with ORTIS (the organization managing the Regional MLS® System) and the other real estate boards and associations to share information between the two Matrix systems.

RAHB’s Matrix will be compatible with the regional Matrix system so that information can flow seamlessly between systems.

The Directors made this decision because of concerns that business and financial policies being developed

by ORTIS may jeopardize RAHB’s ability to make business decisions that are in the best interests of RAHB members.

By launching a RAHB Matrix system and sharing active and sold listing information with neighbouring boards and associations, RAHB can still achieve the original goal of providing RAHB members and all regional REALTORS® with access to regional active and sold MLS® listing information.

It is important to note that RAHB is still part of the Regional MLS® System until at least the launch of our own Matrix system. Until then, RAHB members can expect to continue to:

• Have access to Matrix and all the active and sold regional MLS® listings from eight real estate boards and associations

• Load your listings in Fusion, and they will be uploaded automatically to Matrix every 15 minutes • Use RAHB MLS® Rules and Regulations and policies • Use the same Property Information Forms as you have been using RAHB’s Board of Directors is committed to having RAHB members enjoy the benefits of access to listing information from neighbouring real estate boards and associations. The goal of sharing listing data was achieved in Phase 1; we are now kicking off Phase 2 to complete the initiative.

See the updated Q & A about Phase 2 here! (http://www.rahb.ca/MLS/Q&A-0726-2016.pdf)

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News and Resource for Members

RAHB News Charity Golf Tournament — the numbers are in!

Over $4,500 was raised at RAHB”s Annual Charity Golf Tournament held on June 23, 2016. All proceeds went to the Karan Barker Scholarship Fund. Thank you to all our sponsors and golfers for making it a great day!

Karina Gould in the “bear pit” Burlington Member of Parliament Karina Gould was the featured guest at Burlington Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee’s event on July 6, 2016. RAHB was gold sponsor of this event which gave participants an opportunity to speak casually and directly with the MP. Ms. Gould spoke briefly about Canada’s place on the world stage and various initiatives, then joined Chamber Chair Heidi Cowie in the “bear pit” to answer questions from the audience.

RAHB was represented by President Kim Alvarez and President-Elect Lou Piriano, with other directors and members of the Government Relations Committee.

RAHB welcomes new members!

The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington extends a warm welcome to its newest members (June 23 to July 22).

Kim Stala

Apex Results Realty Inc.

Leigh Ann Stapleton Patricia Snowdon Chase Realty Inc.

Greg de Denus City Brokerage

Anna Cumming

Coldwell Banker Community Professionals Inc.

Justin Venancio

Colliers Macaulay Nicolls Inc.

Xue Geng Maureen Smith

Homelife Professionals Realty Inc.

Sunil Daljit

Keller Williams Realty Solutions Inc.

Sebastien Dusseault Michael Churm Nancy Workman Ayman Hammoudah

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Meaghan Lavalley

Keller Williams Complete Realty Inc.

Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services Inc.

Letitia Baillie Malak Zaki Irina Savostina

Royal LePage G. Bruce MacDonald Real Estate Inc.

Keller Williams Edge Realty Inc.

Anna Kalat Diana Barreca Becki Moellgaard

RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc.

Perry Poirier

RE/MAX Garden City Realty Inc.

Abbas Mohammadi Moayed Michelle Wydra Tyler Pearson Right At Home Realty Inc.

August

Aimee Wesson

Rock Star Real Estate Inc.

Chad Watt

Stacey Larocque Vicki Steele

Royal LePage Macro Realty Inc.

Steve Mahler

Royal LePage State Realty Inc.

Jason Lesky

Sutton Group Innovative Realty Inc.

News and Resource for Members

Milestones — Retirement The Association would like to recognize members who have recently retired after achieving at 40 plus years of consecutive membership. If you know of a member who has achieved 40+ years and has recently retired, please contact Camryn in Membership at camrynh@rahb.ca or 905.529.8101 x251.

Congratulations to Erna Willem (Royal LePage State Realty Inc.) on her recent retirement!

Services spotlight This month we cast the Spotlight on one of the most important processes that takes place in the RAHB year, where only you, the member, can make a difference.

RAHB annual elections: your vote counts!

RAHB’s Board of Directors is your voice at RAHB, and every year you have a say in who speaks for you.

Very soon, RAHB’s Nomination Committee will be circulating information about the election process for the 2017 Board of Directors. They will be asking qualified candidates to step forward and run for one of the vacant positions on next year’s Board.

Whether or not you qualify or want to run as a Director, this is important information for you.

RAHB’s Directors set the direction for the association. They are there to work in the best interests of members because they are, themselves, RAHB members and they understand the issues facing REALTORS® and the real estate profession. They also have to be aware of how market, technological and other changes affect the association. Based on their knowledge of these factors, Directors decide on the present and future direction for RAHB and its members.

With that kind of responsibility, it’s important that Directors have the skills and knowledge to carry out their duties on behalf of all RAHB members.

And that’s where you come in. Elections are important for all members because: • Qualified members can run for a place on the Board of Directors • All members can vote for who will represent them on the Board When you see the Nomination Committee’s email with information about nominations for next year’s Board of Directors, read through and see what it takes to be a Director. Do you know someone you would nominate because they would make a good Director? Would you run yourself? Would you like to meet the candidates so you can talk about their platform and what you think is important? Find answers to these and other questions in the Nominations Committee package coming to you at the end of the summer.

Be part of the election process and have your say in how RAHB’s future will unfold.

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News and Resource for Members

Member services Professional Development for REALTORS® SRS – Seller Representative Specialist

e-PRO® Day 1 – New!

Monday, October 24 & Tuesday, October 25, 2016 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (both days) — $325+ HST

Thursday, August 18, 2016, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. $ 199+HST (Note: Day 2 is completed online)

Price Indexing

Staging Sells – FREE

Wednesday, October 26, 2016, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. $ 199+ HST

Wednesday, August 24, 2016, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

REIC: 2280 – Legal Issues

Tuesday, October 18 & Wednesday, October 19, 2016 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (both days) — $495+ HST

Top Ten Tax Traps a Real Estate Professional Should Avoid – FREE

Thursday, October 27, 2016, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

All courses will be held at the RAHB office, McCullough Room (lower level). For complete details and course descriptions, contact Angela (angelam@rahb.ca or Camryn camrynh@rahb.ca).

Watch for our monthly Professional Development update in your email inbox!

Mark your calendar!

Professional Development Days at RAHB will be held October 12 — 14, 2016. Plan now to take advantage of free courses, networking opportunities, daily door prizes and more!

Course line-up: • Financial Planning with Ed Ounpuu • RECO Updates with Kelvin Kulcey • Power of the Inbox with Mark Brodsky • Building a Dynamic Database with Lorne Andrews

• Economic Update and Mortgage Programs Available with Bernice Flegg • The Un-Sick Home with Andrew McCarthy

Watch for more details about Professional Development Days!

August

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News and Resource for Members

Ethics Corner — RAHB members and directional signs RAHB members are required to comply with all municipal sign bylaws: MLS® Rules & Regulations, Section 10 – Advertising 10.03 Signs giving notice of sale, rent, lease, development, exchange or open house…may only be erected on locations that conform with Municipal and Provincial sign legislation, all applicable laws, regulations, codes and bylaws.…

Members must abide by the sign bylaws of the municipality/region in which the listed property is located: Burlington – By-law No. 034-2007 - http://bit.ly/29LT5Ik (Click on “Download Original By-law” – see especially page 19) Grimsby – By-law No. 97-45 - http://bit.ly/2a8QpnJ Haldimand – By-law No. 1064/10 - http://bit.ly/29TBZWw (references throughout the document) Hamilton – By-Law No. 10-197 - http://bit.ly/29LLSIg (see especially page 27) Why is it important?

Open house/directional sign bylaws exist to ensure that sight lines for drivers and pedestrians are unobstructed and, in some cases, so that signs are not left to clutter boulevards, medians, etc.

If RAHB members do not comply with municipal sign bylaws, they may be seen as causing a visual distraction, adding to what may be perceived as unsightly clutter, and as lacking professionalism.

Consequences  Municipalities have fines for removing and storing signs that don’t comply with their bylaws  A complaint may be filed with RAHB’s Professional Standards Committee If you see a sign that doesn’t comply with municipal bylaws, you can:  Contact the owner of the sign and remind him or her of the sign bylaw for that municipality  Contact the municipality in which the sign is located and let them deal with it as a non-compliant sign  Take a time-and date-stamped photo clearly showing the location of the sign and forward it to the RAHB Professional Standards Committee (c/o Angela at the RAHB office – angelam@rahb.ca) along with a letter of complaint that cites the bylaw that is being breached. Note: RAHB cannot enforce the municipality’s sign bylaw; it can only enforce its rule requiring compliance with the bylaw Be aware that bylaws differ from municipality to municipality, so what is non-compliant in Burlington, for example, may be compliant in Grimsby or Hamilton or Haldimand.

If you see a sign that doesn’t comply with municipal bylaws, you should NEVER remove the sign – members may never interfere with another member’s sign.

Mark Your Calendars!

What: When: Where: Featured Speaker:

RCN Networking Luncheon Friday, December 2, 2016 Scottish Rite Club, 4 Queen St. S., Hamilton Jason Thorne, General Manager of Planning and Economic Development, City of Hamilton

Stay tuned for further details!

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News and Resource for Members

Realty Shoppe 1 Marketing product is arriving soon!

#

6 designs will be available to choose from, while quantities last An economical marketing tool that your clients will appreciate receiving; just remove the cover from the adhesive magnet and attach your business card.

Special features include:  Calendar begins November 2016  Removable magnet punch-out reduces mailing cost and makes 2 products out of 1! Use the punch-out as a second business card magnet  Each page has either a Home Tip/Recipe/Quote and/or Memo lines (depending on the calendar)  Canadian holidays indicated  A reorder page (for next years’ calendar) for clients to use to contact you  Emergency and important numbers page  Envelope included Contact the Realty Shoppe to pre-order yours today!

2016 Summer attraction discounted tickets — May 1 to October 30 Perfect for personal use and client gifts Any ONE operating day: $ Child (age 3+ under 48”)/Senior (age 60+) $ Adult (ages 3–59 and over 48” tall)

Pay ONCE, Visit TWICE ticket: Valid for two visits by the same person $ All ages

38.00 43.00 56.00

All ticket prices above include HST tax. Pick up only/final sale/ no refunds or exchanges, while supplies last. www.canadaswonderland.com

"Welcome Summer" draw winners Congratulations to the following lucky winners of tickets to Canada’s Wonderland: Andrée Craig (Keller Williams Edge Realty)



Carlo Silvestri (Sutton Group About Town Realty)

* All applicable taxes are extra. Prices subject to change.

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Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

T.: 905.529.5979 F.: 905.529.7109 E.: realtyshoppe@rahb.ca

News and Resource for Members

4k ds

REALTORS

®

What: RAHB Annual Charity Auction When: Thursday, November 17, 2016 Where: Michelangelo Event & Conference Centre 1555 Upper Ottawa, Hamilton Cost: $60 per ticket

What's Happening Sit-down Dinner Linda the Auctionista Beer Barrow and Booze Suitcase Raffle Live Auction Silent Auction Feed-the-Need Door Prizes Gift take-away Mark the DJ

in support of the AM900 CHML/Y108/95.3 Fresh FM

Mark your Calendar # 11922 2578 RR0001

Contact Sheila at sheilas@rahb.ca for more information or to purchase your ticket(s).

Call today! Sold out last year!

SERVING THE GREATER HAMILTON REGION - STONEY CREEK • HAMILTON MOUNTAIN • ANCASTER • DUNDAS SERVING THE GREATER HAMILTON REGION • STONEY CREEK • HAMILTON • ANCASTER • DUNDAS

We are the ONLY

PUBLICATION

in HAMILTON to Provide

Full Market Penetration.

Reaching 108,500 Households Weekly!

Call

TimLawson 905.664.8800

Ext.

tlawson@hamiltonnews.com

255

August

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News and Resource for Members

Mark YOUR Calendar Held at RAHB – 505 York Blvd.

Lower Level: C – Chambers Room M – McCullough Room First floor: T – Thompson Room P – Purnell Room

Computer 

New Member Computer Training Level 1

Thursday, August 11: C, 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Thursday, August 18: C, 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Professional Development 

Staging Sells – FREE



Price Indexing

Wednesday, August 24: M, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Wednesday, October 26: M, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 

Top Ten Tax Traps a Real Estate Professional Should Avoid – FREE

Thursday, October 27: M, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Certification/Designation Courses 

e-PRO® Day 1 NEW



REIC: 2280 – Legal Issues



SRS – Seller Representative Specialist

Board of Directors, Committee and Task Force Meetings 

Government Relations



Auction

Tuesday, August 9: T, 9:30 a.m.

Wednesday, August 10: T, 11:30 a.m.

Upcoming Events 

REALTORS®4Kids

Thursday, November 17, 2016 Michelangelo Events and Conference Centre 1555 Upper Ottawa St., Hamilton (Tickets must be purchased in advance) Doors open at 6 p.m.

Office Closure The RAHB office will be closed Monday, September 5 – Labour Day

Thursday, August 18: M, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

(Note: Day 2 is completed online) Tuesday, October 18 & Wednesday, October 19: M, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. both days Monday, October 24 & Tuesday, October 25: M, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. both days

OREA Articling Course 

Ross & McBride LLP is proud to support the Realtors Association of of REALTORS® Association Hamilton-Burlington.

Hamilton-Burlington.

Real Property Law

Wednesday August 3 to Friday August 5 and Wednesday August 10 to Friday August 12: M, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

TEL: 905.526.9800 FAX: 905.526.0732 1 King Street West Hamilton, ON L8P 1A4 www.rossmcbride.com August

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Lawyers in your corner.