January 2015

Issue #307

January 2015

Court date set for QFREB action against DuProprio Page 3

Reach your goals in 2015 Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 42218523 - Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to 2255B Queen St. E., #1178, Toronto ON M4E 1G3

Page 18

Meet David Weir’s exit strategy Page 26

In conversation with CREA president

Beth Crosbie Page 8

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REM JANUARY 2015 3

Court date set for QFREB action against DuProprio The Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards is seeking authorization to institute a class action against for-sale-by-owner company DuProprio.

By Danny Kucharsky

C

iting misleading advertising, unfair competition and unenforceable guarantees, the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB) is seeking authorization to institute a class action against for-sale-byowner company DuProprio.

“All we are seeking is for the court to order that misleading ads put up by DuProprio be withdrawn,” says lawyer Éric Vallières of the Montreal law firm McMillan, which is representing the more than 13,000-member QFREB. “We’re not saying they shouldn’t be in business. We’re just saying they shouldn’t run this ad campaign.”

A Jan. 8 court date has been set to establish an agenda for the hearing to authorize the class action. If the court authorizes the motion,

the class action goes ahead.

In its action, the QFREB alleges that DuProprio has been engaging in deceptive advertising campaigns for years and misleading Quebec consumers about the supposed savings associated with DuProprio’s services as well as the advantages of its real estate services compared to those of brokers. The suit also alleges DuProprio presents real estate brokers in a negative manner, systematically denigrates them and questions their competence and integrity.

Vallières says DuProprio exaggerates the potential savings consumers can gain by using its services. “They say, for example, (consumers) will save $22,000. It’s based on commissions of five per cent. The calculator they have on their website does not allow for

variations in the per cent rate of commissions despite the fact not all brokers charge five per cent – some charge more, some charge less. So they inflate the savings.”

For example, the action notes that Julie Gaucher, vice-president at Sutton Quebec, posted recently on Facebook that the commission in her brokerage averages 3.84 per cent or 23 per cent lower than the rate used by DuProprio to calculate savings. It also notes there are other low-cost models in the industry from accredited brokers, such as the $499 to $1,499 rate from Vendirect Agence Immobilière if the seller finds their own buyer and Propriodirect’s twoper-cent commission rate if the seller finds a buyer.

The action also notes the final sale of a property is a fundamental

Why clients should give us a hug

By Tina Gardin

W

e still hear more lawyer jokes than Realtor jokes. I prefer the candid teasing to the veiled hostility I sometimes sense around my beloved profession.

Realtors are the life blood of the cornerstone of our wealth portfolio. How’s that? Realtors have established a reliable market for real estate over the past 100 years by creating a complex infrastructure that establishes a predictable market for properties.

Without this infrastructure, it would be impossible to correctly price and successfully market a property. Realtors fund this infrastructure in its entirety.

They pay local board dues, provincial and national association and regulatory dues. Realtors lobby for property rights and monitor the climate. Typically they are

volunteers in this process. They establish pricing based on their industry’s data with surprising accuracy using our beloved, Realtor-funded and populated MLS system. This Realtor-created market has helped our portfolios yield an incredible, leveraged return.

The MLS is not always successful, by the way. In a balanced market, less than 40 per cent of the MLS properties sell. In a downturn, it can be as low as one in 12.

That means that while MLS is necessary to the successful sale and pricing of a property, it is not sufficient. Having a good agent is still key to the process.

On that point, I also suggest to clients that before a hug is warranted, they should be sure that the Realtor is the real deal. That would mean that they are full time

and serious about the business.

They would work at a brokerage that feels that they have a duty of care in the training, supervision and conduct of their sales staff.

They would also participate in the conversation by being involved in the industry to help elevate the profession, or they are working at a brokerage that is active in that regard.

We are seeing more warehouse models where agent numbers far exceed appropriate management ratios. I fear this might ultimately diminish us all. Maybe just a handshake for those guys?

Tina Gardin is the creator of the New Age Agent Program offered exclusively at Sutton Quantum Realty Inc. in Mississauga and Oakville. www.suttonquantum.com REM

element that DuProprio ignores in its ads. “Being deprived of a sale that’s 10 per cent higher in the name of saving a commission rate of five per cent will not result in any overall savings to the seller.”

DuProprio declined to be interviewed for this article.

However, in a news release, DuProprio called the class action “another attempt orchestrated by the real estate industry to slow the growth of property sales without intermediaries in Quebec and undermine public confidence in this otherwise very popular option for consumers.”

In its statement, the company said: “DuProprio regrets that the real estate brokerage industry invests so much effort into a strategy that ultimately aims to deprive consumers of the freedom to choose the service that best suits them to sell their property.” The QFREB is trying to “create a false sense of distrust” of FSBOs, DuProprio added.

Broker Patrick Juanéda, president of the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board, is the designated representative for the class action.

The class action aims to represent all brokers who have an OACIQ permit and operate in Quebec’s residential market.

Another court challenge against DuProprio was previously launched in Quebec Superior Court by Quebec’s industry regulatory body, the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier (OACIQ).

The actions show how willing the real estate industry is to attack DuProprio and its business model, DuProprio noted in its statement.

In an interview last month with the Montreal newspaper La Presse, DuProprio president and CEO Marco Dodier said that real estate in Quebec is “probably the most difficult industry to change.”

Its restrictive rules serve consumers poorly as they make it difficult to introduce new models, he said.

In its action to authorize the class action, the QFREB notes DuProprio offers a guarantee that “there will be more money in your pockets by selling your property using our services rather than paying a commission.” It also offers to reimburse double its registration costs if a real estate broker can do better.

But the action alleges the guarantee fools consumers and there is no proper description as to how it would work.

Vallières also alleges that DuProprio falsely states that brokers do not offer any guarantees against hidden defects. In fact there are many legal insurance programs offered by real estate agencies such as Re/Max’s Tranquili-T program.

DuProprio also expressed surprised that it’s being accused of denigrating real estate brokers. Effie Giannou, senior director of communications at DuProprio, says clients face the challenge of having to defend their legitimate choice to sell their property without an intermediary in the face of aggressive solicitation from brokers.

In its news release, DuProprio said that if the QFREB really took consumers’ best interests to heart, it would evaluate their satisfaction with the services of Realtors. It cited a 2013 poll on professions by Leger that found only 28 per cent of respondents said they trust real estate brokers, a CAA-Quebec survey that found 99 per cent of DuProprio clients would recommend the company and a Leger survey of Quebec’s most-admired companies that placed it in 16th place.

However, Vallières says DuProprio is comparing apples and oranges. “What they invoke regarding brokers is not a consumer satisfaction survey. If they would have done so, they would have noted that many real estate banners rank in the top 50 mostadmired businesses.” REM

4 REM JANUARY 2015

Multiple Listings

By Jim Adair, REM Editor Do you have news to share with Canada’s real estate community?

Let REM know about it! Email: jim@remonline.com

P

rudential Sussex Realty, with five offices in the Lower Mainland of B.C., has joined the Royal LePage network. Operating as Royal LePage Sussex, its team of close to 300 agents join Royal LePage’s company-owned brokerage operation.

Alan Stewart of Sussex will remain on board as general manager.

Royal LePage says it now has a more than 25 per cent share of the North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Sunshine Coast markets combined and has almost quadrupled its share of the luxury real estate market in the Greater Vancouver Area.

Royal LePage Sussex has offices in North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Gibsons, Sechelt and Pender Harbour (Madeira Park).

In November 2013, the Royal LePage corporately owned brokerage acquired real estate companies in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Surrey, now operating as Royal LePage West Real Estate Services.

LePage Connect Realty banner, the combined operation brings together 370 agents in six locations in the Greater Toronto Area from Toronto’s west end to Pickering and Ajax. The brokers/owners are Kira Cope and Darren Martel.

“We have been a successful brokerage for six decades because we have always put our agents and their success first,” says Case Realty owner Pamela Case in a news release.

Cope says: “The Case Realty team of talented agents brings a culture of success, much like our own…We are excited about working together in this next chapter – now as one of the largest Royal LePage brokerages in Canada.”

technology. “We made the decision to select Coldwell Banker because they offer considerable resources to help us grow and develop within the Calgary marketplace and support us in delivering high value to our Realtors and clients.”

■ ■ ■

Toronto, Mississauga, Muskoka, Collingwood, Prince Edward County and Haliburton.

■ ■ ■

Lance Berrington is the new managing broker for the Coast Realty Group Comox Valley and Campbell River offices. He is a 26year veteran of the financial and real estate industries with extensive experience in managing and sales.

Berrington was formerly an associate broker/manager with Royal LePage. In addition he was broker/owner of a new real estate brokerage that grew to include 40 salespeople. He has also earned a number of sales awards, which included the MLS Million Dollar Club Award, The Directors Platinum Award and The Award of Excellence.

Coast Realty Group in Vancouver Island celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2014.

recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of our company. Now, we’ve expanded and are well positioned to move forward and grow through the next 20 years,” he says.

Arul has 10 years of experience in commercial banking and corporate finance in Edmonton. He obtained his real estate license in 2007 and originally focused on commercial real estate practice, assisting business owners in Alberta to execute acquisitions, with the sale of their businesses and joint-ventures. Since 2010, he has personally transacted more than 55 companies in Alberta.

■ ■ ■

The Aventure Realty Network has expanded into Germany.

MAGRA Immobilien GMbH of Dunningen, Germany is the newest member of the network.

“Martin Gramlich, broker/ owner, and his organization will become a gateway for Aventure members into the vital German market,” says Bernie Vogt, president of Aventure. “Today’s consumer expectations include a global service capacity and this expansion together with the First National Real Estate of Australia and New Zealand alliance will strengthen the offering of Aventure members.”

The network has 58 member companies in Canada and focuses on strengthening the brands of independent brokerages.

The former Case Realty has merged with Royal LePage Connect Realty. Under the Royal

The Calgary real estate brokerage formerly known as MaxWell City Central has joined the Coldwell Banker network. The full-service firm and its 35 real estate professionals will now operate under the name Coldwell Banker Mountain Central.

Broker/owner Rob Vanovermeire says, “Our company is known for its commitment to customer service and advanced

John Lusink has joined Chestnut Park Real Estate as regional vice-president.

“John, over the course of his career, has developed a solid reputation in the real estate industry for his work ethic, professionalism and his strong managerial abilities, which will all translate into tremendous value for our organization,” says Chris Kapches, CEO of Chestnut Park.

Lusink, a certified coach, instructor and trainer, currently serves as a director on the Toronto Real Estate Board and is the chairman of the Government Relations Committee. Over the course of his career, while attaining his CCIM, CRB, SRS and FRI candidacy, he has worked in high-level senior management positions with both Royal LePage and Re/Max. The brokerage has offices in

Alan Stewart

Darren Martel

Kira Cope

Rob Vanovermeire

Jey Arul

John Lusink

Lance Berrington

Martin Gramlich

■ ■ ■

■ ■ ■

From left: Frank Mihalek, Roberta Case and Pamela Case have now joined Royal LePage Connect Realty.

■ ■ ■

A Coldwell Banker Commercial franchise has launched in Edmonton and is combining with the established residential operation of the former Coldwell Banker Panda Realty.

The expanded operation will now operate as Coldwell Banker Venture Realty. The rebranding is part of an overall strategy, repositioning the company for growth.

Jey Arul, president and broker of the newly renamed brokerage, acquired ownership of the residential company earlier this year. “We

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Continued on page 6

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6 REM JANUARY 2015

Continued from page 4

Century 21 People’s Choice Realty in Toronto has expanded from just four real estate professionals almost 10 years ago to more than 350. The company recently opened a new building to accommodate its expansion.

Broker/owner Virendra Srivastava says his success is because “I primarily focus on understanding how to provide the best service in this market and mentor Realtors to achieve that result.”

The new office was inaugurated by Brian Rushton, executive VP, Century 21 Canada at a grand opening celebration last month.

Bal Gosal, federal minister of state (sport), was also in attendance.

Srivastava came to Canada from India in 1990 and became a top-producing sales professional before he opened his own office.

He also provides real estate advice on a local radio program, giving consumers information about market conditions and what to know before buying or selling a home.

■ ■ ■

Kathy White, managing broker at Coast Realty Group in Nanaimo, has been promoted to manager of the Coast Realty Group Rental Property Management Department. Dave Curry takes over as managing broker for the Nanaimo brokerage.

White joined Coast Realty Group Ltd. in 2001, bringing a strong background in real estate project management and sales.

White was also a top-performing sales rep before taking on the role of managing broker in 2008. She is taking the helm of six regional rental property management departments in Campbell River, Powell River, Comox Valley, Port Alberni, Parksville/Qualicum Beach and the Nanaimo Region.

Curry brings more than 40 years of experience in real estate

Cover photo: RANDY DAWE

sales, management and mortgage origination. He has been recognized on numerous occasions for his corporate contribution and award-winning office performance, the company says.

■ ■ ■

Claudia DiPaola, broker/ owner of Re/Max Aboutowne Realty, has moved the brokerage to a new Southeast Oakville, Ont. location. The new upscale location has 12 private offices and a variety of work from home stations. A grand opening celebration will be held in late January.

sellers. Completion of the course resulted in membership in The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, which includes a profile in the luxury agent directory on www.LuxuryHome Marketing.com, access to targeted mailing lists and a free standard account with ProxioPro, an international website for consumers.

Orange Square Realty of Toronto, now celebrating two years in the business, recently surpassed the 100-agent mark and broker/owners Michel Friedman and Eva Liu say they are looking to acquire some small brokerages in the GTA. The brokerage is also looking for brokers or sales reps who have

been licensed over two years that have their own location and/or operate as a team to open their own branch office. Friedman says Orange Square is also providing services to teams/brokerages that have or are in the process of incorporating and wish to run their own brokerage and save on administration fees. REM

Kathy White

Eva Liu

Claudia DiPaola

Dave Curry

Michel Friedman

■ ■ ■

■ ■ ■

With more than 200 salespeople, Century 21 Green Realty in Mississauga, Ont. recently relocated to a highly visible business centre at 6980 Maritz Dr. “What makes our office unique is that we give our Realtors oneon-one mentorship. We even bring in guest speakers to share their expertise so our agents always exceed clients’ expectations,” says broker Lakhvir Randhawa. “Our ongoing education covers topics from networking to online marketing to time management.”

Randhawa has more than 25 years of real estate experience. He is an active member of the community, supporting local multicultural outreach, and he speaks English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.

From left: Bal Gosal, federal minister of state (sport); Virendra Srivastava, Century 21 People’s Choice Realty broker/owner; and Brian Rushton, Century 21 executive VP.

■ ■ ■

Recently Re/Max agents had the opportunity to attend a luxury home marketing course.

Completing the course is the first step towards earning the Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS) designation and counted as 16 units of elective credit towards NAR’s certified Residential Specialist (CRS) Designation.

Attendees learned about the luxury market segment, why the top of the market is still healthy and facts about luxury buyers and

Century 21 Green Realty in Mississauga celebrates the opening of its new office.

Re/Max agents take part in the luxury home marketing course.

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Phone: 416.425.3504 www.remonline.com REM complies fully with the Canadian Real Estate Association's Rules for Trademarks (CREA Rule 16.5.3.1) REALTOR® and REALTORS® are trademarks controlled in Canada by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify licensed real estate practitioners who are members of CREA. MLS® and Multiple Listing Service® are trademarks owned by CREA and identify the services rendered by members of CREA. REM is published 12 times a year. It is an independently owned and operated company and is not affiliated with any real estate association, board or company. REM is distributed across Canada by leading real estate boards and by direct delivery in selected areas. For subscription information, email distribution@remonline.com. Entire contents copyright 2014 REM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The opinions expressed in REM are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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Multiple Listings

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8 REM JANUARY 2015

In conversation with CREA president Beth Crosbie

Recently REM editor Jim Adair interviewed CREA president Beth Crosbie at the association’s offices in Ottawa. Crosbie is a sales representative with Coldwell Banker Pro Co in St. John’s, N.L. Also sitting in were CREA CEO Gary Simonsen, vice-president of government and public relations Randall McCauley and media relations officer Pierre Leduc. This is an edited account of the interview. A longer version is available at www.remonline.com.

Jim Adair, REM: When you started your year as CREA president, what were your goals?

Beth Crosbie: Under president Laura Leyser in January, we did a five-year strategic planning session… and it was a thing of beauty.

It’s one of those things that once you make a change, you wonder why you didn’t do it far sooner. This time, rather than just having the CREA directors and staff dealing with it themselves, we invited members and association and board staff from across the country. We had somebody from NAR, we invited a franchiser (and some other consultants) – so we brought a lot of outside stakeholders into the room.

We established that we have one key stakeholder – the Realtor, our member. The beauty of that is, once you have established that’s the person who you are planning your tools and services around, then as you consider anything new you say, “Does this benefit the Realtor?” and secondly, “Are we the right organization that’s in a position to provide that tool or service to them?”

The other piece that came out of it was that over the years we got to the point where we talked about levels of organized real estate, but we are all serving that same client. It’s really a community of associations that is working on behalf of the Realtor.

So once you understand that you also can look much more collaboratively on how you bring those tools and services forward and who provides what.

I thought it was an excellent

exercise and we’ve seen some spinoff where some other associations and boards are inviting outside stakeholders into their meetings as well, and it’s really formed a nice foundation on how we are building over the next five years.

REM: How do you deal with members from different parts of the country? With big and small boards?

Crosbie: I think you have to go back to basics.

Our association is all about the Realtor. They are our key member – and Realtors face very similar challenges across the country and yet there are always challenges they face that are specific to their area. So I think one of the key pieces we have done is increasing our commutation and having a two-way dialogue – and not just explain what we are doing and the value we are bringing, but also the why behind what we do. We concentrated a lot since the beginning of (the Futures initiative) on communication and better understanding and I think at this point we are really seeing some dividends from that.

We are now doing Open House sessions with members across the country. As Realtors we know that getting in front of the client and understanding them and dealing with them face-to-face is the best way to build a relationship, so the Open Houses are reaching out both to leaders and to members directly to explain some of the tools and services that CREA is offering. We are tying those meetings into existing

provincial or local meetings.

We’ve done it over the last couple of months and I think it has been very successful.

REM: What are the members asking about? Do they want to talk about apps and Realtor.ca or do they want to talk about broader issues like FINTRAC and the Competition Bureau?

Crosbie: Because of antispam legislation and FINTRAC we’ve had staff attending a lot of meetings across the country, trying to build the understanding of what those changes are and what they mean to Realtors.

In the Open Houses, I think the members are enjoying all the information but what they are really responding to is just having somebody explain, “these are some of the tools that CREA is offering and this is how I use them in my business.”

And you can almost see the light going on for people in the audience…they’re thinking, I could do that. Most of it is very easy; it’s just an awareness issue.

REM: The membership in CREA keeps growing (it’s currently more than 109,000).

Is it hard to keep staff levels down and keep costs in check when there are so many more members?

Gary Simonsen: We pay great attention to our financial situation. We look at things related to best practices, such as for a non-profit organization, what’s the portion of our annual revenue that is dedicated to staff costs. There are some benchmarks in the industry and we pay attention to those and

Beth Crosbie at home in St. John’s, Newfoundland. (Photos by Randy Dawe)

make sure that we are bettering those benchmarks.

was governance. Is that still an ongoing discussion?

One of the advantages of the planning sessions, the outcome is very focused and that’s to insure that we deliver on those things that we can do very well, and not try to be all things to everyone.

Sometimes that’s a danger with associations, because you want to make everybody happy. The reality is that nobody can do that so you have to pick those things that are most valued by members and that you can execute very well. I think that for technology products and services, federal affairs and our lobbying efforts, statistical information and research, we do a great job. That’s where our focus will continue to be.

Simonsen: Last year our Board of Directors was reduced from 19 to 16. That was one of the initial pieces of the governance review, to try and have as effective and responsive a board as possible. You still must be able to insure that you have the appropriate input coming from across the country.

REM: One of the issues that was much-discussed during the Futures sessions

Crosbie: We have a very active governance committee – and we’re continuing to work on looking at what we need to do to put ourselves at the forefront of good governance practices. In Banff (at the Western Connection conference in January) we are going to take the entire governance committee and meet with the board and get them up to speed on what we are looking at. It’s always about

Continued on page 10

10 REM JANUARY 2015

In conversation continued from page 8 trying to streamline and make sure the practices we have in place are the right thing for the members.

REM: In 2012 and 2013 when we interviewed the presidents of CREA, a big topic was about the Quebec boards leaving the association, but now it seems there is peace.

Crosbie: Both parties have worked hard to ensure our relationship is growing stronger. We are very happy to have them back with us and moving forward.

We learned a lot from the experience – lessons we are taking across the country.

REM: This year there were questions in the media about CREA’s statistics and a suggestion that CREA was protecting its president so she wouldn’t have to talk to the media. Was there any kind of attempt to avoid the media?

Pierre Leduc: It’s not a question of protecting the president, it’s more a question of making sure the proper expert is available. We have a chief economist, Gregory Klump, who is well-known, who does presentations to banks, the IMF and CMHC all the time, talking about the stats and how we collect the numbers. He is the numbers guy.

So when media keep calling and say we want to talk to Beth about what you are providing and not providing, we are not going to have Beth talk to that because it’s not her bailiwick. It’s Greg’s decision what numbers we make available to our subscribers and what numbers we keep to ourselves for our own analysis.

Simonsen: There is a real misnomer and there is misleading information with respect to the whole issue of statistical information that is being provided by CREA. It is the best, bar none, in this country.

When our Housing Price Index was created, we used the best experts in the world. We had

the whole methodology feted through Statistics Canada, the Department of Finance, the Bank of Canada, CMHC…We wanted to ensure that it wasn’t just good, it was great.

All of those folks have had input into verifying and validating that the information we are producing is absolutely valid. So the notion that has been portrayed by some people who are quite frankly ill-informed and certainly not experts in the field is completely fallacious. We stand by both the quality and calibre of the information that we provide and Pierre is absolutely right – I can’t speak to someone about the methodology of the Housing Price Index, I’m not the expert in it, but I certainly know the process that we went through for the creation of it and the credibility of that information.

Crosbie: My job…for one year I chair the board, which I consider to be one of the most important pieces of what I do, and I am spokesperson, but I’m not an expert in any of these other more technical fields.

We as an organization believe in having experts deal with the various things that we’re looking at, so it’s wrong for me to step in and speak when we have an expert in our offices.

REM: Another always controversial topic is CREA’s consumer advertising campaign. I thought the SWAT team ad was the best one ever, but how was it received?

Crosbie: It was very well received, both by the public and by Realtors. You never get unanimous support of something like this, and the thing to remember when people do have differing opinions is that it’s not really about what they are thinking; it’s about what we know. And we know that campaign is doing its job.

The purpose of our campaign is to help convert those people

who are sitting on the fence about whether or not they will use a Realtor. And we’ve seen significant numbers from this campaign. We’ve had the biggest amount of recall – 39 per cent in our target age range recall the ad, which is an important piece of selling the message. So we are very pleased with that ad. And I still chuckle every single time it comes on.

Randall McCauley: I think one of the interesting things is the feedback we got from across the border from NAR. Several states expressed an interest in using the ad. You can’t get much better than that, when you have NAR with an ad budget that’s (up to) seven times ours, saying your creative is so good, we want to use it.

REM: What are the main priorities for CREA’s government lobbying?

Beth Crosbie

directly. A lot of them don’t know that they have the ability to do that. They don’t know that CREA built this. It takes them 30 seconds to sign up and through our collective efforts, we can message like no one else in Canada.

Crosbie: We’re concentrating a lot on the lobby for indexing the Home Buyer’s Plan. We have an election a year out, and this is a prime opportunity to speak to government and opposition parties on that subject. I think even Realtors sometimes forget that we originally initiated that plan. We’ve seen over two million people use it over the years and so the ask is just to see that it doesn’t lose value because of inflation.

Realtors need to know that there are effects of dealing with the government on a constant basis. You have seen that with FINTRAC and anti-spam, with nine and 10 changes to the regulations and legislation to each one. Their participation helps us to do those things. The efforts we can deploy on their behalf on spam and FINTRAC will save them time and effort that they can spend elsewhere.

We have also started the Realtor Action Network, which is a way for every Realtor in this country to participate in our lobbying. It’s an opportunity to have your voice heard.

Crosbie: I do put a lot of time in on the road. I have done 80 flights. I’m a bit different than others because I’m coming out of Newfoundland so it adds that extra distance for me.

But I really enjoy getting out and meeting the members and having an opportunity to speak to them and (explain) what we are facing and why we dealing with it the way we are.

McCauley: The Realtor Action Network is a unique tool that only organized real estate has in Canada. It’s a technological tool that we brought in from the United States, modeled on what NAR does – and it allows all members equal access to all of our lobbying efforts and it allows them to reach their MPs

REM: How has your year been? Fun, a lot of work?

This is something I knew I was signing up for. I don’t really look at this as my year as president, I look at it as time I have had on the board – a

seven-year landscape of being involved at this level. It’s been great, I love what I do. When I got up to this level I invested a lot of time trying to be on top of the files and reaching out to understand member concerns.

I’m quite enjoying my year and I take the responsibility and the trust very seriously. I’m very grateful that I have the opportunity to do it.

REM: Are you able to keep your real estate business going?

Crosbie: No. I had plans in place when I knew I was going to be doing this – so my business is referred at the moment.

REM: So if someone wants to be involved in organized real estate, do they have to be prepared to sacrifice their own personal business?

Crosbie: I don’t see it as a sacrifice. It’s like public service in any area, there are tradeoffs you have to make and if your only concern is the bottom line, there is some loss, there’s no question. But there is also a lot of benefit to better understanding the whole business. The building of relationships is what Realtors are all about and that’s what this side of things is all about as well, building relationships both internally and externally and with government, as well. I see it as a win-win. REM

12 REM JANUARY 2015

Dealing with sellers’ pets W

hen it comes to selling a property, pets and people don’t mix. From an unpleasant odour that turns off prospective buyers to damage that can result in disclosure issues and lawsuits, pets can cause trouble for sales reps.

Karri Flattla of Re/Max Real Estate in Lethbridge, Alta. says, “Pets can really make a home feel too personalized and put people off. When they are looking at a home they want to be able to imagine it as their home with their things in it. It’s always best to get the pets out of a home during a showing when you can.”

There are people who love dogs and cats and people who don’t like them at all. Some prospective buyers may have mild discomfort around a certain type of pet while others could be seriously allergic to them. For Flattla it is a balance between communication and doing the basic steps to stage a home for others to view and imagine as their own.

“I’ve read of a case where the

sellers had pets and there was urine damage in the carpet – but sometimes it will pass through the carpet and the underlay and go straight on to the subfloor. In this case, they’d cleaned it all up really well but when the new buyers moved in they discovered damage to the sub floor. Suddenly you’ve got a lawsuit about how the place was presented and whether or not the sellers knew about the flooring and if it should have been disclosed,” says Flattla.

“Think of the safety issues as well as the liability issues,” she says.

“All kinds of people will come to an open house or a house showing.

Elderly, small children, people related to the potential buyers.

While they may be perfectly okay with pets being home during their house tour, there may be a safety problem.”

Fish are harmless, but the damage if water is spilled in large amounts is not so harmless. If the home has a tank with more than 10 gallons in volume, ask if there has ever been a big leak or spill.

Reptiles in tanks can fall under the heading of health hazard. Some turtles and fish carry salmonella and other tank or cage critters run the risk of an escape. Birds can be loud and disruptive. Highlight the safety and welfare of the pet in relation to it being with the owner and not at the house during a showing.

Cats, well behaved, still plant themselves on the floor and other spaces where people may walk or be tripped up – including stairways and shelves near stairways. Dogs may be easy-going when the homeowner is around but suddenly territorial when strangers are going through their house.

Dogs in yards are also a bad idea. “Don’t just leave dogs chained up in the yard or in the garage,” says Flattla. After all, when buying a property a buyer will want to see the whole property, garage included.

Highlight damage that you see to the seller so they might repair things such as scratched doors and baseboards. Sometimes they need a

By Yvonne Dick little reminder to keep the litter box spotless (and out of sight) or not to let the dog jump up on the windowsill during everyday life so that it is easier to get the home ready for prospective buyers to come and take a look around.

If your seller is a co-operative sort and the pets are not around during home showings, there is still the pet’s gear, food bowls, bedding and evidence the pets leave behind in their everyday life at home.

What dog owner hasn’t dealt with nose prints on mirrors and windows? Sales reps can make a plan of attack that will work in minutes to minimize the evidence and odour of pets in residence.

1. Take a small bottle of glass cleaner, neutral odour sanitizing spray such as Lysol, paper towels, a rechargeable handheld vacuum and a travel-sized lint remover to each open house. (The spray is to make the air the freshest, not to be used on pet items or furniture.)

2. When you get there, check for nose prints, hair on furniture and little “accidents” that can be

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taken care of quickly and easily.

3. Stash pet bowls and bedding in as unobtrusive a location as possible.

If damage is unusually large consider disclosure issues when working on your contract with the home seller. For most situations, a little bit of extra elbow grease will be all that is needed to take a home with pets into a home with possibilities when open house time comes around. REM

Contact us today Liz Garcia egarcia@trebnet.com 416-483-4337 Darren Slavens darrenslavens@trebnet.com 416-944-1818

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We still listed homes. That is the ultimate business dream and I just thank Craig and his system for allowing me that opportunity to do that. One of the biggest benefits of building my business the way Craig has shown me to is that it’s allowed me opportunities to do things I could never have done previously. I couldn’t do those things and still make money. I would have lost my job. We just copy everything Craig does and it works exactly the way he says it will.� n

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ing past clients, and I had none of those. So they told me to jump on phone calls, answer the up-time phone, sit at open houses . . . things they no longer needed to do and didn’t want to do, so they had somebody do it for them -- i.e “me�.

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14 REM JANUARY 2015

METES & BOUNDS

By Marty Douglas

H

appy New Year!

Imagine you’re a civilian. You are meeting a real estate licensee for the first time, considering whether or not to list your home and then perhaps buy another. Because you owe all of them money, you can’t ask friends or family for a recommendation so you simply call a local brokerage – you’d seen a couple of signs – and ask to speak to an agent. You have a brief chat, exchange names and arrange an appointment. You Google the agent, find a couple of generic references and then connect to their website for a quick review.

During the interview, because this isn’t your first rodeo, you ask, “Are you a full-time agent?” They answer, “Well no, I have a parttime job as a Walmart greeter. I find the high-traffic count beneficial to my real estate clients.”

What do you do?

Let’s back up and have another

Part-timers and disclosure run at the same scenario only this time it is your first rodeo and you don’t ask the question about fulltime employment. A few days after the sign goes up and the agents’ tour and open house have circled the drain, you have a 7 pm reservation at a new restaurant across town and the hostess looks familiar. It’s your agent in another “high-traffic” scenario. To make matters worse, they don’t recognize you, you get a lousy table after a half-hour wait and the food doesn’t merit the delay. The good news: attached to the cheque is your agent’s card – apparently her idea of networking. The bad news: the fortune cookie message reads, “That wasn’t chicken!”

What do you do?

All this rhetoric is prompted by last month’s REM column by Michel Friedman, Give a person a fish, in which he suggested parttime agents must disclose to their buyers and sellers their employment status. All hell broke loose in the readers’ comments section but I leave that for your entertainment at www.remonline.com.

Michel’s suggestion that parttime agents should disclose made me think about my office. I have one agent who has another job, several on pensions, two volunteer firefighters and one who gets a small stipend to rescue idiots on

the water. Those are the agents with other “jobs” known to me and all participate in the day-to-day business of real estate as though they were full time. In fact only one would meet the test of “part time”as is generally accepted.

And that is the problem. If we want them to disclose, we have to define.

Let’s stop there for a second. Do we want them to disclose? Must they disclose? Agency requires that we disclose anything that might influence a client’s decision and you could argue that the seller’s listing decision could be influenced by the agent’s day job. The Code of Ethics to which we subscribe says in Article 2 that a Realtor “shall fully disclose . . . . the role and nature of the service the Realtor will be providing.”

That seems clear to me but probably debatable to others.

Article 12 requires us to “render a skilled and conscientious service.”

Well, I’m sure you know full-time agents who can’t jump that bar so there’s little help from Article 12 until after the fact when we are pursuing discipline.

What do the regulators say?

They agree that definition is troublesome. Two sales per year in commercial sales can be a full-time job. Realtors who are married to a high-income spouse can withdraw

for extended vacations or market fluctuations. Those who are stepping towards retirement may reduce their involvement to old clients or friends and family.

If “part time” means another source of income, then pensioners (private, public or CPP) would be included. That clearly would impact many licensees who have joined the industry following a long career in a pensionable job.

And what about alimony?

A non-starter definition.

Okay, so what about a job that pays an income and takes time away from real estate? Closer, but still we have politicians, writers, artists and entertainers who are licensees. In the past I have had licensees who were municipal counsellors and reserve military personnel. None of them set the world on fire but more importantly, they didn’t set my hair on fire!

But did they disclose to clients?

Probably not.

Seven hundred words later I’m of the opinion that part-time agents are a red herring. They are no different than the agent who spends eight or more hours a day in our business doing the crossword puzzle, waiting for the phone to ring or napping at an open house.

They may accidentally get a deal or two a year but they are likely getting them from family or other

WE SEE

part-time agents. Brokerages will be known by the people they keep.

Part-time agents, by any definition, are easy to outperform. “A tiger doesn’t lose sleep over the opinion of sheep.” – Shahir Zag By the way – CREA’s Code of Ethics says thou shalt not disparage the sheep. To my mind, suggesting another Realtor is part time might attract unwanted attention. A clever riposte, “I didn’t know they were out of jail!” or “Good for them, that methadone treatment is rough!” is always funnier in rehearsal than at the hearing.

Hope to see you at the Banff Western Connection, Jan. 29 - 31, the best little real estate conference in North America. There’s still time to register at www.banffwesternconnection.com. See you there!

Contact Marty Douglas by email at mgdouglas247@gmail.com .

Follow or connect with Marty on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. He is a managing broker for Re/Max Ocean Pacific Realty in Comox and Courtenay, B.C. He is a past chair of the Real Estate Errors and Omissions Insurance Corporation of B.C., the Real Estate Council of B.C., the B.C. Real Estate Association and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board.

REM

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16 REM JANUARY 2015

LEGAL ISSUES

By Donald H. Lapowich

I

n a significant Ontario Court of Appeal decision (Toronto Standard Condominium Corporation No. 2095 v. West Harbour City (I) Residences Corp., 2014 ONCA 724), the court dismissed a condo corporation’s appeal from an agreement limiting liability for construction deficiencies.

The developer entered an agreement with the corporation through the condo’s founding board, limiting the developer’s liability and warranties for the common elements to the minimum mandated by the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act. The agreement barred the condo corporation from suing by

A significant decision restricting it to warranty claims for common elements administered

by Tarion. The elected board of directors (it should be kept in mind) replaced the declarant board after the developer turned the building over to the condo purchasers.

This is a very significant decision and obviously lawyers should be vigilant (as well as real estate agents) to see what the declarant agreement is when warning any purchasers of limitations in their purchase of a condominium unit.

repairs could not be transformed into an exemption clause relieving the landlord of its duty to provide the common areas “reasonably safe”. The court held that the landlord was liable because its inspection program did not meet the standard of care required.

However, since the tenant was aware of a gap in the staircase, it was determined she was 25 per cent contributory negligent for failing to exercise a degree of care.

(Hickey v. New Brunswick Housing Corporation, 2014 NBCA 36)

■ ■ ■

■ ■ ■

A tenant of the owner of an apartment building fell on an outdoor stairway in front of the building. The lease indicated that the tenant was to report to his landlord any “need for repair”.

The tenant’s claim was for negligent failure of the landlord to do repairs. The landlord had to keep the common areas in a “reasonable safe condition”.

The defence that the tenant had not reported the need of the

Environmental cases are not for the weak at heart.

Canadian Tire Real Estate Ltd. owned property bordering on land owned by Huron Concrete Supply in Goderich, Ont. Canadian Tire issued a claim in negligence, trespass and breach of statutory obligation pursuant to the Environmental Protection Act. It claimed that Huron Concrete is responsible for contamination of the Canadian Tire property by

petroleum hydrocarbons.

After a trial the claim was allowed and Canadian Tire was awarded damages of $3.6 million to remediate its property plus $1,115,693 for out of pocket expenses, including monies spent for site investigations, interim remediation and ongoing monitoring by Canadian Tire.

(Canadian Tire Real Estate Ltd. v.

Huron Concrete Supply Ltd., 2014 ONSC 288) ■ ■ ■

The plaintiff company retained lawyer Gregory Govedaris in its action against the defendant companies. The defendants were represented by Milton Davis and had a longstanding relationship.

During the course of the action, Govedaris called Davis and asked him about a mortgage question, to which Davis provided an answer. The plaintiff company then moved to remove Davis as solicitor for the defendants.

On a motion the court refused

to remove Davis. Govedaris did not disclose confidential information about his client, the plaintiff company. He did not even identify the litigants in the actions to Davis and the information that Davis gave to Govedaris was contained in the pleadings of public record. In fact, Davis gave general legal information that Govedaris could have found in any textbook “on the law of mortgages,” the court ruled.

Under all these circumstances, no solicitor/client relationship was created through Govedaris connecting Davis to his client, the plaintiff company. In this initial decision (as it may be appealed) the courts stated that a lawyer receiving a request for legal information from a junior colleague can assume general advice will not give rise to a conflict of interest. (1623242 Ontario Inc. v. Great Lakes Copper Inc., 2014 ONSC 782) Donald Lapowich, Q.C. is a partner at the law firm of Koskie, Minsky in Toronto, where he practices civil litigation, with a particular emphasis on real estate litigation and mediation, acting for builders, real estate agents and lawyers. REM

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18 REM JANUARY 2015

Reach your goals in 2015 “It’s difficult to score a goal if you don’t know where the goal posts are.” – Dan Johnson

By Toby Welch

G

oals are a powerful tool to have in your real estate arsenal. They point you in the direction you want to go, like a roadmap.

Without goals, you can be easily distracted by external influences and spend time on back roads instead of on the freeway straight to your destination.

As real estate coach Jan O’Brien mentioned in a recent blog post, “In my 22+ years in the real estate industry, it has been my experience that the agents who actually write down their goals and utilize a real business plan always meet and usually exceed their desired outcomes. Unfortunately, less than 20 per cent (probably closer to 10 per cent) of real estate agents actually prepare a written business plan and set annual goals.

I have witnessed the amazing

results of those who actually create and use a business plan and set goals in all areas of their life.

Statistics and various reports state that about three per cent of adults have clearly written goals and accomplish five to 10 times more than those who do not have written goals.”

Tony Dekeyser, a sales rep with Century-21 All-Pro Realty in Cobourg, Ont. is celebrating 30 years in real estate. As Dec. 31 is the end of Century 21’s fiscal year, he spends the month of December going over his goals for the next calendar year. Dekeyser says, “Setting goals helps me stay focused and keep me on track.”

Many salespeople swear by setting S.M.A.R.T. goals – these goals are specific, measureable, attainable, relevant and timebound. For example: “I will have

Tony Dekeyser

Dan Johnson

Holly R. Rideout

50 closings by Dec. 31, 2015.”

This goal is more effective than, “I’ll get more closings than last year,” or “I’ll make more money in 2015.”

What’s the big deal with writing down your goals? The act of doing so is like a firecracker to your mind; your subconscious knows what to work on and won’t stop until it’s accomplished.

Here’s how to reach your real estate goals: • Establish what you want to accomplish and detail your goals; list them by order of importance.

• Make an action plan with steps and deadlines as to what you need to do to achieve your goals; this allows you to track your progress.

• Review your goals often to

keep you motivated and focused.

• Revise your goals as you go along, if needed.

• Celebrate with a reward when you achieve a goal.

Dan Johnson, a representative with Pemberton Holmes in Duncan, B.C., shares what he considers an essential aspect of goal setting: “With any goal the most important ingredient is

Congratulations Royal LePage Connect Realty Congratulations to Kiira Cope and Darren Martel on n your exciting expansion, and a warm welcome to o Case Realty professiionals, who are now part of Royal LePage Connec ct Realty*, one of the largest Royal LePa age brokerages in Canada.

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All offices are independently owned and operated, except those marked as “Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage”, “Royal LePage West Real Estate Services” and “Royal LePage Sussex.” ©2015 Brookfield Real Estate Services Manager Limited. All rights reserved.

REM JANUARY 2015 19

‘Why?’ If your why isn’t large, powerful and clearly defined, your business won’t be either. Your why must be attached to a powerful emotion. If you consider your why to be a matter of life and death, then I guarantee you will be able to achieve your goals (or at least you’ll die trying!). Once you have established your why, you can set short-term, medium-term and long-term goals. Make sure they are realistic but at the same time don’t short-change yourself by creating ‘way too easy to attain’ goals.

Make sure you stretch yourself.

You’ll be impressed with your progress and success will breed more success.”

People often don’t set goals because the time commitment to do so can be intimidating. But don’t let that hold you back; it’s a proven fact that for each minute spent on goal setting, you save 10 minutes in the long run. Goals also keep us from settling into the comfort of unproductive behaviour patterns. How often have you had a day where you were busy but accomplished nothing? Goals help you avoid those days.

Holly R. Rideout, the broker/owner of Rideout Realty in St. John’s, N.L. makes goal setting a part of her business plan at the beginning of each year. Her goals include which membership organizations to be a part of, volunteer commitments, how she will campaign, markets to target, social media usage and activities, among other things. She is a proponent of goal setting. “If you don’t know where you are going, how do you expect to find your way?” she says.

What about those times when your momentum is flagging?

Linking rewards or incentives to your goals is a proven technique.

Even better, link others to those rewards. For example, if you get everything accomplished by noon on Friday, you’ll spend Friday afternoon swimming with the kids or having date night. Telling the pertinent people on Monday that you’ll do XY and Z with them Friday if you get your tasks done is a huge kick in the butt to be productive.

Johnson finds having goals is motivation enough. “Just having a goal before you generates enthusi-

asm and that enthusiasm is contagious. Not having any goals is like sitting in front of a window and staring aimlessly out of it – nothing happens, you just watch the world go by.”

Rideout finds that taking a break to regroup and recharge helps her stay motivated. As well, “To stay motivated, I like to change things up, change tactics or change organizations or groups.

Also, I find it helps to read about successful agents. I recently read The One Thing by David Keller of Keller Williams and found it insightful and helpful. (After reading the book) the question I asked myself was, what is the one thing you are the most good at and the one thing you want to accomplish in real estate? I found the ‘one’ thing to be very inspiring because sometimes you do get discouraged.”

Goal setting has been proven to have the greatest impact on your life compared to any other achievement skill. Don’t settle for being mediocre – aim high and reach your real estate goals this year. REM

Retail real estate contributes $6.9 billion to economy

C

apital investment in the retail real estate sector totaled $6.9 billion in 2013, says a report released by the Real Property Association of Canada (REALpac). It says $4.7 billion was spent on new buildings, with $2.2 billion invested in capital improvements, renovations and the upgrading of existing buildings.

“As a real estate asset class there is no better investment than really great retail and you will continue to see smart owners enhance and reinvest in these assets,” says Blake Hutcheson, president and CEO, Oxford Properties Group. “This is what our tenants and customers want and the payback is convincing for both owners and the economy at large.”

The ongoing operations of retail buildings also generated about $1 billion in building management fees and approximately $1 billion in commercial brokerage fees from sales and leasing of retail real estate sector properties.

Taken together, the construction and investment in retail buildings and the ongoing operation of these buildings make a substantial contribution to the Canadian economy, producing $18.3 billion in annual economic activity. REALpac says these activities add to the economy in various ways by: • Supporting 97,700 jobs each year, many of which are high-paying professional jobs; • Generating $6.0 billion in income, related to personal income and other sources of income; • Generating $3.9 billion in corporate profits earned by many small and medium companies and some of the largest companies in Canada, such as pension funds and insurance companies; and • Contributing $2.2 billion in personal and corporate income tax revenues for the federal and provincial governments. REM

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Attracting the best brokerages coast-to-coast

IS WHAT WE DO Royal LePage Terrequity Realty* Toronto, ON Royal LePage Reardon Realty St. John’s, NL

Royal LePage Atlantic Homestead St. John’s, NL

Royal LePage Premium One Realty* Vaughan, ON

2013 Royal LePage Cité Montreal, QC Royal LePage Extra Ormstown, QC

Royal LePage New Concept* Toronto, ON

Royal LePage Global Force Realty Surrey, BC

Royal LePage Connect Realty* Toronto, ON

Royal LePage Vidorra Saskatoon, SK

Royal LePage Sussex Surrey, BC

2014 Royal LePage Premier Realty Langenburg, SK

Royal LePage Benchmark High River, AB

Royal LePage Realty Plus Oakville* Oakville, ON Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty* Georgetown, ON

Royal LePage Niagara Real Estate Centre* St. Catherines, ON Royal LePage Flower City Realty* Mississauga, ON

2014 has been an exceptional year for growth at Royal LePage. Seventeen top-quality brokerages chose to affiliate with us throughout the year, growing our network to over 16,000 REALTORS® nation-wide. Watch for our momentum to continue throughout 2015.

Be a part of a winning team. Join Royal LePage.

royallepage.ca/joinus *Brokerage, as in Ontario. This is not intended as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, including a solicitation of any sales representatives or broker that is currently under contract. Any copying, reproduction, distribution or other use of these materials is prohibited. All offices are independently owned and operated, except those marked as “Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage”, “Royal LePage West Real Estate Services” and “Royal LePage Sussex.” ©2015 Brookfield Real Estate Services Manager Limited. All rights reserved.

Attracting the best brokerages coast-to-coast

IS WHAT WE DO Royal LePage Terrequity Realty* Toronto, ON Royal LePage Reardon Realty St. John’s, NL

Royal LePage Atlantic Homestead St. John’s, NL

Royal LePage Premium One Realty* Vaughan, ON

2013 Royal LePage Cité Montreal, QC Royal LePage Extra Ormstown, QC

Royal LePage New Concept* Toronto, ON

Royal LePage Global Force Realty Surrey, BC

Royal LePage Connect Realty* Toronto, ON

Royal LePage Vidorra Saskatoon, SK

Royal LePage Sussex Surrey, BC

2014 Royal LePage Premier Realty Langenburg, SK

Royal LePage Benchmark High River, AB

Royal LePage Realty Plus Oakville* Oakville, ON Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty* Georgetown, ON

Royal LePage Niagara Real Estate Centre* St. Catherines, ON Royal LePage Flower City Realty* Mississauga, ON

2014 has been an exceptional year for growth at Royal LePage. Seventeen top-quality brokerages chose to affiliate with us throughout the year, growing our network to over 16,000 REALTORS® nation-wide. Watch for our momentum to continue throughout 2015.

Be a part of a winning team. Join Royal LePage.

royallepage.ca/joinus *Brokerage, as in Ontario. This is not intended as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, including a solicitation of any sales representatives or broker that is currently under contract. Any copying, reproduction, distribution or other use of these materials is prohibited. All offices are independently owned and operated, except those marked as “Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage”, “Royal LePage West Real Estate Services” and “Royal LePage Sussex.” ©2015 Brookfield Real Estate Services Manager Limited. All rights reserved.

22 REM JANUARY 2015

STOP SELLING HOUSES & START MAKING MONEY

Real Estate Marketing Solutions

HOT SAVINGS

Market Connections Inc.ÂŽ 94 Scarsdale Road Toronto, ON M3B 2R7 Courtney Brown Real Estate Agent

realtyreport

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Compliments of Courtney Brown

The annual Emerging Real Estate Trends report from the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts that the overall real estate market in Canada will continue to be steady well into 2015, while Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver will take it up a notch as ‘best bets’ based on investment, housing and development.

Courtney Brown R l Estate Real E Ag Agent

Market Connectionss In nc.ÂŽ 94 SScarsdale Road To oronto onto, ON M3B 2R7 7 Teel: Tel (800) (80 00) 387-60 387-6 7 60 058 58 Faax: Fax (800) (8 800) 800-7 800 8 00-7 70 7 0 093 93 cou urttn ney@mark ey@m y@ @maarrketc keetcco connections.com Greetings Greetings! eeeting ! You’r You rree rece reeceivving this neewsl sletter with hop pes ess th hat a you ďŹ nd it informa iinform nformativ fo ative an nd entterttaining. a Iff yo you’re re tth nki nkin ing of making a mo ove, or aaree justt ccuri urio rious ass to o reeal estatte trends re ds in you yo ou ur areeaa, pleease feel freee to o call at any tim me.. It’’s alw ways goo od to hear ear ar fro from yo you!

All the best, All

CCourtney Court Cou ourtneyy Brown Brow wnn

The study predicts, “Economic growth in western Canada will continue to drive signiďŹ cant opportunity in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Saskatoon in the residential, commercial, and ofďŹ ce sectors. Despite continuing and ongoing concerns about overvaluation, Toronto’s housing market continues as a solid performer, while ofďŹ ce and industrial sectors remain strong.

Montreal ntreal looks to revitalize its treasured retail district to boost an increasingly condo-driven core. In Atlantic Canada, Halifax will build up commercial and ofďŹ ce space whille hoping ing for the residential market’s sluggishness s to end.

And everyywhere, industry players will search h for op and aroun nd the ci capiitalizin ng on th urbaanizatiion and migration that sh sign o off ab bating ba atiing.�

Iff this hiss iss the yeear plaan on n ma maakkin makin ng a ng pleeas ase call to today t discuss disc usss yo ou ur buyi yiin

Market Connections Inc.ÂŽ

POSITIVE HOUSING FORECAST FOR THE NEW YEAR

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POSITIVE PREDICTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR

and selling goals. We’ll sit down and review your current housing situation and the latest market activity in your current location, and the area you’re interested in moving to. Taking the time to do your research now, before the market gears up for the busy spring season, makes sense for both buyers and sellers.

Please call today for your no obligation g real estate review!

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EAST END REPORT

Volume ume 8, 8 Issue 12

ÂŽ

RIVERDALE MARKET WATCH

The he annu h annual Emerging Real Estate Trends report from the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts that the overall real stitute s ea estate in Canada will continue to be steady well into 2015, state market s ma while Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver will take it up a hile Calgary, h Calg notch as otch a o s ‘best bets’ based on investment, housing and development.

h study predicts, “Economic he rrowth in western Canada will ontinue tto drive signiďŹ cant o pportuniity in Vancouver, Calgary, p dmonton d n, and Saskatoon in he residential, commercial, and ffďŹ ce secttors. Despite continuing nd ongoing concerns about n vvervaluation, Toronto’s housing arket co ontinues as a solid eerformerr, while ofďŹ ce and dustrial sectors remain strong. d ontreal looks to revitalize its eeasured retail district to boost an ccreasing gly condo-driven core. In ttlantic C Canada, Halifax will build p commeercial and ofďŹ ce space hile hop h ping for the residential

market’s sluggishness to end. And everywhere, industry players will search for opportunities in and around the city cores—capitalizing on the trends of urbanization and reverse migration that show little sign of abating.�

NOVEMBER 2014 NO. SOLD

AVERAGE PRICE

DAYS ON MARKET

2 BEDROOM

25

$ 331,098

25

3 BEDROOM

54

$ 384,591

23

DETACHED

4 BEDROOM

16

$ 497,222 7,222

22

5+ BEDROOM

10

$ 5588,500 5 0

35

45

$ 308,624

20

SEMI-DETACHED SEMI-DE ACHED HE

If you’re y planning on making a mo ove in 2015, please call today to discuss your buying and selling goals. We’l you ur curren thee latest m you ur curren areea you’re

2 BEDROOM BEDROO

TOWNHOUSE

Pleease call obligation

a based on MLLSÂŽ sales as reported by the Canadian Real Estate Association. M are Market values de of bedrooms. Ovverall condition, square footage, upgrades, lot size and specific lo o ocation are some Canadian Real Estate Association C

From om o m the th he desk of Courtney Brown ow wn Whether W Wh hetherr you you’re re thinking of buying orr sselling elli your home, or are just curious as to real estate ea e al e esta sta ate values alues in your neighbourhood, neighbou urhoo urho hoo od you’ll want to make sure you talk to a real estate knowledgeable and familiar with the area. eal e al e esta sta ate professional a professional who who is kno ow owled wled edg ge ge I invite you to call me at 800-387-6058 for the most up-to-date market information!

SSpring pr is just around the corner...

Courtney Brown

realtyreport r Volume

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JUST LISTED!

Market Connections Inc.ÂŽ

Compliments C omplim me ents of Courtney Brown Courtney Brown 11,MarketConnections Issue 1 POSITIVE 94 Scarsdale RoadPREDICTIONS

FOR THE NEW YEAR

Toronto, ON M3B 2R7 The annual Emerging Real Estate Trends report from the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts that the overall real estate market in Canada will continue to be steady well into 2015, Your Client’sand Name while Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto Vancouver will take it up a

123 Main Street, Suite 123 City, Province M2N 6S6

notch as ‘best bets’ based on investment, housing and development.

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Vivian Giraldi Sales Representative

Direct: 416-223-2250 ext. 246

Client

vivian@marketconnections.com www.realtyreport.org

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By Debbie Hanlon

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1-800-387-6058 www.realtyreport.org

n our last column we talked about subdivisions and the salesperson’s role as midwife to the birth of a new community.

That puts you in a slightly nontraditional position as not just a salesperson but as someone with an active role in the shaping of a series of empty lots into a cohesive whole that is a neighbourhood.

Breaking with tradition can be a great way of standing out in a sea of subdivisions all vying for the buyer’s dollar. I’m going to expand on our last column so you have a better idea of what your role is and some easy tips and techniques you can use to ensure the birthing pains are as minimal as possible.

Recently I picked up a subdivision that, to put it mildly, had not been selling well. It had gone through other real estate companies without generating the level of sales required to make it a happening spot and the owners were very concerned about this. They asked me if I would take a look for them so I checked the place out. It was beautiful, a treed area with one side skirting a small pond just minutes from the city in a hightraffic area. Given the location and privacy afforded, I was surprised it wasn’t selling so I agreed to take over the subdivision and started to look at why sales weren’t happening.

The first thing I changed was the sign on the side of the highway advertising the place. It was a typical real estate sign with a map of the lots available (you know, that green and brown thing that looks about as inviting as a crushed caterpillar). Most of the sign was taken up by two or three smiling heads along the bottom with contact info. It looked like an advertisement for a subdivision, not for a community, so I changed it.

My sign has a full-length, welcoming picture of me taken on

Long division, short division, Part 2 that spot with the pond behind me on the left side. It can be changed out to match the seasons. So it’s a picture of me literally in my subdivision advertising my subdivision.

A sign that never ever grows stale.

That gave it a more human element immediately. The other two-thirds of the sign has lots of white space, my contact information and open house info under the name of the subdivision with a

it was more than empty lots and roads. It is becoming a place with a life of its own, a community they could be a part of, if they chose to make their home there.

I knew instantly that the pond was the unique selling point and by selling it as a place where children swam and skated, as opposed to “lake-side lots available�, I gave prospective buyers a glimpse of the community they would join. They

Breaking with tradition can be a great way of standing out in a sea of subdivisions all vying for the buyer’s dollar. tagline I thought said what I wanted the place to be: “You’re home.

Naturally.�

With the cosmetic side of things worked up, I turned my attention to making that subdivision a community in other ways. I knew that before the roads had been put in, before the lots were cleared, before a blade of grass or tree limb had been touched, that place had a history and I needed to uncover it. For every subdivision you handle, get the back story.

What was it before? What are the memories people have of it?

To bring it to life I will be using social media and traditional doorto-door campaigning to launch a story contest. All the people who lived near those woods and that pond had to do was email me a brief memory of the place to qualify. The response so far is amazing.

People are telling me about summers spent swimming and winters skating on the pond and all those memories are good. We are tweeting excerpts out and adding them to our marketing material so that anyone who came to check the place out leaves with a sense that

could easily picture themselves and their children enjoying a day of swimming or skating in the beautiful outdoors minutes from their home. That was a better selling strategy than the typical, unemotional approach most salespeople take.

When you get a subdivision, don’t try and sell someone a lot, sell them a lot of memories waiting to be made in their new neighbourhood. Make it more than just a place where they can live, make it a place where they can build a life. That’s a community.

Debbie Hanlon is a real estate broker who has helped train hundreds of sales reps and brokered and managed a national real estate franchise. She also founded an independent real estate firm.

Currently she coaches sales reps all over the world. She is the CEO of All Knight Inc, a global educational mobile company, as well as a published children’s author and the creator of the national I’m No Bully Show. https://www.facebook.com /missdebbieandfriends REM

REM JANUARY 2015 23

AS I SEE IT FROM MY DESK

By Stan Albert

S

o, I’m sitting with about 45 other seniors at an orientation session at the North York Geriatric Centre in November and trying to absorb two things: one, that I’m a senior citizen and two, that I’m in a rehabilitation program that could last up to 10 weeks. The first four are dedicated to an overall assessment of issues that I and other seniors like me will be facing.

Whoa! How did I get here? A bit of background to my situation: About the end of August of this year, I was afflicted with sciatica and at the same time was having trouble with my “plumbing�. I had taken several falls and had

Retirement? Me? Maybe yes, maybe no some trouble with balance issues and was in a great deal of pain and taking some pretty heavy-duty pain killers.

I underwent a series of X-rays, scans and an MRI that showed no apparent heart attack or stroke (thank God) but they did discover that I had two cracked ribs and a crack in the sacrum (lower back), suffered during one of my many falls. Hence the terrible pain of the sciatica compounded by the cracked ribs and sacrum. The issue of the plumbing was eventually resolved as well so I won’t bore you with details of catheters and visits to the emergency department.

That’s why, dear readers, I didn’t have an article in the December issue of REM. Happily, I’m back. No, I haven’t officially retired from real estate, but I’m taking sick leave from my brokerage.

Although my wife and family have gently suggested that I con-

A NEW WAY TO GROW “Leading Real Estate Companies of the WorldŽ has provided an invaluable platform.�

sider retirement for awhile now, I doggedly trudged on and never really gave it a second thought. But this recent illness has forced me to begin thinking about life after 45 years in this exciting real estate business.

Most of us, including me, have never thought seriously about retirement. Most of us, including yours truly, never set up a specific plan about retiring, establishing time frames and financial considerations that don’t include a steady income stream. Sure, over the years, like many of you, I’ve set goals and time lines to achieve them. Many of them I’ve attained, but somehow I never got around to really facing the reality of not being employed as a manager or a trainer in a brokerage.

Okay Albert, so what are you going to do now that you have entered into the Golden Age and are back on the road to full recovery? Well, I’ve gone back to paint-

ing. I’m getting involved in volunteer work, gone back to swimming at the gym and am really enjoying the regimes set out for me at the NYGH Geriatric Centre.

I’m still keeping my real estate license active but I don’t plan on being involved in a management role. I am considering registering as an independent brokerage so that I can freelance in consulting in the industry. My most daunting goal is to accept my lawyer’s invitation to co-author a book on our industry.

Reality sometimes forces us to face what we least want to see – the fact that we are getting older and may not be as marketable as we once were. Our egos don’t like the sound of the word redundant.

When I sat down and reviewed my life in real estate, I pondered whether I’d made a difference in people’s lives that I have come into contact with. I hope that perhaps I have done so. I believe, dear readers, that it’s not the money we

make in the business, but the friendships we manage to carve out of our all-too-brief life on Mother Earth that are important.

I guess what I’m really all about here is that we take what is given to us as a sure thing. Take good care of yourself and your body will take care of you. The benefits outweigh all the other stuff that gets in the way of being of healthy mind and body.

Read about good things that prolong your life and lifestyle and take that advice to heart. Nothing is perfect in an imperfect world, but one can strive for perfection every day.

May this year bring you all your heart’s desire and most of all, peace in your life. I am truly excited about the next chapter in my life and look forward to sharing it with you.

Until next time we get together, have a great start to 2015!

Stan Albert, broker/manager, ABR, ASA at Re/Max Crossroads’ iRealty office in Toronto can be reached for consultation at stanalb@rogers.com. Stan is now celebrating his 45th year as an active real estate professional. REM

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- Jonathan Cooper, Vice President, Operations, Macdonald Realty Group, Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia

Leading Real Estate Companies of the WorldŽ has brought its unique and compelling “We are grateful this alternative to franchising is available to strong independent companies like ours across Canada.�

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business model to Canada – one that has helped create a real estate powerhouse responsible for over 1,000,000 transactions valued at $314 billion in annual home sales.

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LeadingRE.com | sbarr@LeadingRE.com | 312.361.8632

24 REM JANUARY 2015

Ellicottville ‘near and dear’ to Canadians

By Connie Adair

C

hris McNally wasn’t keen on packing his four young kids in the car and making the trek north from Burlington, Ont. to the ski hills, so when a friend recommended Ellicottville, NY, he decided to give it a try.

“We loved it,” says daughter Jennifer McNally, who has been skiing since she was eight. A few years later, the family bought a “modest place” in the community.

“We have a history of going to Ellicottville for more than 20 years.

It’s near and dear to our hearts.”

So when the Canadian developer and his daughter were looking for a venture they could undertake together, their thoughts turned to Ellicottville, about a 45-minute drive from Buffalo. “We were more comfortable doing a project in the U.S. based on our experience,” says McNally, the project manager.

The pair had noticed more luxury properties (three-storey condos in the $800,000 price range) being built in Ellicottville and had a frank discussion, realizing that if

their family had gone to the area today, “we couldn’t afford to buy,” McNally says.

They decided to build Glen Burn Trail, which when completed will have 1,600 to 2,080square-foot homes consisting of 38 two-storey townhouses, 10 duplexes and six triplexes with three to four bedrooms. Prices start at $260,000 for homes with quality finishings and a comfortable and classic look inside and out. Exteriors have gable fronts, double windows, grey stone, white trim and black roofs.

Inside, the open plans feature high ceilings, elegant kitchens and bathrooms and plans suited to a variety of buyers.

One plan has its living space on the second floor to take advantage of views. The bedrooms are on the lower level. Living spaces on the upper levels have vaulted ceilings.

However the plan isn’t perfect for every buyer, McNally says.

“Downsizers don’t want to have to carry groceries to the second floor,

so we flipped the ski development plan to have the kitchen, living and dining room on the main floor and the bedrooms upstairs, she says.

The “patio plan” is popular choice with a variety of buyers. It has the kitchen, living, dining and laundry rooms on the main floor, but also has its master suite located on the ground floor. The secondfloor bedrooms are for guests.

Downsizers love it but so do younger buyers, whose children or teens make use of the upper level.

The site is “close to town but not right downtown, with access to an existing trail and a new recreational trail being built. What buyers like is its location within walking distance of downtown so they can walk for groceries,” McNally says.

Ellicottville is a four-season resort town, with everything from hiking and walking to shopping, dining and nightlife. The emphasis is on lifestyle, she says. The New York Times once called

Ellicottville “the town Aspen used to be.”

Thirty per cent of Ellicottville real estate is owned by Canadians.

Glen Burn Trails, the area’s first residential town home community, offers a Try Before You Buy program so that people who are unfamiliar with the village can visit and check it out for themselves.

“Prospective buyers are encouraged to come visit and tour the Glen Burn Trail model homes and at the same time enjoy a two-night stay at the Ellicottville Inn, in the heart of downtown, as well as a dinner for

two at one of the area’s premier restaurants,” says McNally. “If you decide to purchase at Glen Burn Trail, upon closing, the cost of your two-night stay and meal will be fully refunded.”

Agents can accompany their clients, getting to spend quality time with them and learning about Glen Burn Trail at the same time.

The Pritchard Team will do the leg work and referring agents receive a 25-per-cent commission.

For more information visit www.glenburntrail.com or visit www.teampritchard.com. REM The great room in the Glen Burn Trail model home.

Sussex joins forces with Royal LePage We are pleased to announce a major expansion into Briitish Colu umbia’s Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast with the addition of Royal LePage Sussex.

A warm welcome w to Sussex’s almost 300 REALTORS® who o now w join Royal LePage’s company-owned brokerage: the number one brokerage in the nation*.

Partner with a leader.

Join Royal LePage.

royallepage.ca/franchising *Based on sales volume. The corporate brokerage includes “Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage”, “Royal LePage West Real Estate Services” and “Royal LePage Sussex”. This is not intended as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, including a solicitation of any sales representatives or broker that is currently under contract. Any copying, reproduction, distribution or other use of these materials is prohibited. All offices are independently owned and operated, except those noted above. ©2015 Brookfield Real Estate Services Manager Limited. All rights reserved.

Thank you!

This year, Lone Wolf celebrated its 25th year in business. Our goal has always been to provide the backbone for real estate brokerages across North America.

What all started with brokerWOLF, has developed into the most comprehensive line of real estate management solutions available on the market.

As an organization, what we value the most is the opportunity to form and cultivate long lasting relationships with our clients. From poor market conditions to booming real estate sales, we know we are doing our part when the operations of your business are running at maximum efficiency. Your feedback has allowed us to enhance our programs, and as a result we have a lot of exciting new things planned for the future.

For this, we would like to extend a heartfelt and gracious thank you to all who have been a part of our growth thus far and continued growth moving forward.

We strive to continue providing you with seamless and integrated enterprise solutions for your real estate business.

This Season Give your Office the Gift of

‘REAL-TIME’ REPORTING AND INSIGHT! Time is precious and at Lone Wolf we want to ensure your office invests its time into cost-effective tasks. brokerWOLF automates the tedious tasks for your business with a single point of data entry! brokerWOLF is the simple yet comprehensive program that provides complete back office management.

The fully integrated program combines accounting with transaction data to provide unrivalled, real-time reporting capabilities for the broker.

CanAmera Realty

[8.F.8]

Detailed Recruiter Agent Value Report Close Date From January 01, 20XX To December 31, 20XX Sorting By: Agent Name Agent #

With 100s of reports outlining where your money is coming from and going to, you can: • Manage your office and agents with unrivalled ‘real-time’ reporting • Simplify management of office and agent expenses • Automate commission plans and monthly agent billing • Move beyond the limitations of QuickBooks® and MS Excel®

Mortgage Company Real Estate Ends Value Ends Value

Agent Name

Recruiter: BAKRO BAKRO

Title Company Ends Value

Ends

Value

14.0 1.0Summary300 10.0 3,000 Sources42,039 Of Business Report - All Offices

26.0

45,339

CanAmera Realty

Baker, Robert

Baker, Robert

Existing Recruits ALLDA Allen, David ASHBI Ashford, Bill BONHO Bond, Howard CD Description CLALA Clark, Larry A NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING DRETR Drew, Trevor B FOR SALE SIGN # of Recruits: 5 Totals: C REPEAT BUSINESS

3.0 8.5 9.4 10.0 10.2 41.1

Based Upon Closed Date From January1.0 01, 20XX To July 31, 24,047 300 1.020XX

Total [2.P.5.3]

650 6.5 24,997 [8.F.2.2] 1.0 300 6.0 1,850 16.5 25,574 Seller Buyer Totals Net Worth7.0 Executive2,620 Summary 1.0 300 19.8 36,403 # Value % # Value % # Value % 20XX To September 30, 20XX42,509 0.0From January 150 01, 9.0 2,600 20.5 1.00 11,250 2.6 1.00 14,040 3.4 2.00 25,290 3.0 0.0 0 9.0 2,550 19.7 38,779 2.00Works 17,310 3.9 2.00Expense 22,620 5.5 39,930 4.7 Net To Commission Gross 4.00 Expenses 3.0 1,050 32.0 10,270 83.0 168,262 5.00 13.2 1.00Earnings 22,500 Earnings 5.5 6.00 Allocated 80,640 9.5 Office Agent # Agent At Home58,140 Deductions Agent% Net Report For Agent #210 - Beams, Office: 66,860 North Office Total Recruited: Totals: 55.1 198,982 4.0 Worth41,300 1,350 42.0 13,270 109.0Maryanne D 5 PERSONAL LEAD 3.00 9.4 2.00 25,560 6.3 213,602 5.00 7.9 Office: 002 - South Office From January 01, 20XX To October 31,2.00 20XX8,317.18 BROKER-LEAD/REF 0.00 N 0 0.0 2.00 18,120 4.4 18,120 2.1 011 Gray, Teresa 35,195.98 13,576.35 48,772.33 40,455.14 29.70% Recruiter: COLLA E Colt, OTHER Lawrence Various - Various Chrageable Items 9,056.07 OFFICE WALK IN 1.00 2.44.0 Fees 2.004,915.00 5.9 19,079 3.00 34,740 4.1 009 Wallace, 5.0 Jonathan 17,729 43,037.62 38,896.54 28.55% COLLA Colt,FLawrence 0.0 N 10,620 0 1,35024,120 10.047,952.62 G RELOCATION004 1.00 N 14,040 3.2 3.005,356.45 43,170 34,979.26 10.6 4.00 7,639.81 57,210 6.7 Murphy, Joanne 29,622.81 27,339.44 20.07% Existing Recruits 44,640.00 11.83% Gross Commissions Earned H BILLBOARD ADVERTISING 1.00 N 10,3502,896.32 2.4 2.00 24,750 23,095.79 6.1 3.00 6,969.63 35,100 4.1 010 Bower, James 20,199.47 16,126.15 DAN Gibson, Dan 10.6 11,279 2.0 600 8.0 2,180 21.2 14,059 I BUS BENCH 008 2.00 N 25,620 5.8 2.002,850.00 23,100 19,691.40 5.7 4.00 7,637.97 48,720 5.7 Fernendes, Jeremy 16,841.40 12,053.42 8.84% Earnings From Transactions MAB Hammond, Matthew 8.5 11,179 1.0 300 8.0 2.00 2,20032,220 17.5 7.9 13,679 J DIRECT MAIL013 0.00 0 0.0 2.00 32,220 3.8 Ian, Janis N 9,886.28 5,825.00 15,711.28 7,447.68 8,263.59 6.06% 4% Deduction 1,992.00 MACJE Macmillan, Jeff 12.5 33,148 1.0 N 44,817 3002,338.16 11.0 1.003,204.67 3,25013,020 25.0 5,542.83 K DRIP MARKETING 3.00 10.2 3.2 36,698 4.00 7,080.02 57,837 6.8 017 CAMPAIGN Edson, Carleen -1,537.19 -1.12% Split Fee 9,963.00 MOSMO Moser, 2.5 14,585 1.0 300 6.42.0 4.002,222.50 72550,7756.012.4 15,610 L MollyCOLD CALL 015 7.00 7,503.72 79,020 9.3 Feth, Ashley 5,848.87 -1,654.85 -1.21% Total Fees Received:3.00 N 28,2453,626.37 # of Recruits: Totals: 34.1 70,193 5.0 N 13,950 1,5002,152.50 29.0 1.001,035.00 8,35510,350 69.7 3,187.50 M 4 OPEN HOUSE014 1.00 3.2 2.5 80,048 2.00 6,918.76 24,300 2.9 Ryan, Chelsey -3,731.26 -2.73% Expenses S 4 AGENT WEBSITE 7.6 0 204,781.88 0.0 99,127 2.00 68,570.88 33,420 3.9 Office - South Office2.00 Totals: 33,420 145,597.44 59,184.44 136,210.99 100.00% Total Recruited: Totals: Earnings 39.1 002From 87,922 5.0 1,500 33.0 0.00 9,705 79.7 45 Desk Fee 10,200.00 T SOCIAL MEDIA 2.00 38,190 8.7 1.00 13,770 3.4 3.00 51,960 6.1 Report Totals: 145,597.44 59,184.44 204,781.88 68,570.88 136,210.99 100.00% Recruiter: CRACI WCrawford, Cindy 50 Franchise Fee OFFICE WEBSITE 7.00 92,640 21.1 5.00 70,707 17.3 12.00 163,347 19.2 2,009.00 CRACI Crawford, Cindy 24.5 61,452 2.0 600 20.0 5,850 47.0 67,902 52 Management Fee 34.00 439,892 100.1 31.00 408,822 100.1 65.00 848,714 99.8 4,500.00 Expense Earnings Included Commission DeductionsTotal Included Expenses Recovered: New Recruits FAX CHARGES (14) Advance (77) $47,248.24 SCOTY Scott, Tyler 6.0Gross Earnings 29,372 To Office: 1.0 300 4.0 950 11.0 30,622

CanAmera Realty

23,424 33,483 39,759 36,229 156,942

[8.F.2]

CanAmera Realty

Who is your biggest brand advocate?

What they brought in

# of Recruits: 1

Commission Split Fee

Totals:

Existing Recruits GAZAL Gaze, Al GRURA Grummett, Ralph HILKE Hilsen, Kelly # of Recruits: 3

$98,349.20

6.0 29,372 1.0 Expense Totals Allocated

300

4.0

# of Agents on Staff (Code A): Gross Commissions (Code V): 5.5 Office16,633 1.0 300 11.2 29,456 1.0 300 62101 RENT 8,426 & OCC. - RENT 15.0 1.0 EXPENSE300 62103 RENT & OCC. - UTILITIES 31.7 54,516 3.0 900 62104 RENT & OCC. - REPAIRS & MAINT. 62.2 145,341 6.0 1,800 64101 SELLING - MLS FEES

Show your agents the importance of being remembered

11,955.00

16,709.00 28,664.00

INTERNET (98) ADVERT FEE (20) 950 11.0 30,622 LAWN MAINTENANCE (99) ADVERT. - OTHER (24) LONG DISTANCE (01) 15.87 BOARD ANNUAL DUES (13)

Invest in these tools

$202,941.00 5.0 BOARD 1,400 (11) DUES & 11.5 FEES (10) 18,333 MLS CATALOGUES 9.0 BUSINESS 2,650CARDS 21.2 32,406 PAGER COSTS (04) (07) 75,000.00 15.0 CELLULAR 4,150PHONE 31.0(02) 12,876 PHOTOCOPIES (05) 834.96 (08) 63.7 Totals: 29.0 COURIER 8,200 63,616 SIGNS (15) SOCIAL CLUB (09) 1,492.96 DESK FEE (45) 53.0 15,000 121.7 162,141 Total Recruited: 4 Totals: 4,072.10 STATIONERY SUPPLIES (06) E & O INSURANCE (35) 64102 SELLING - SIGNS 3,687.50 Report Totals: 156.5 432,246 15.0 4,650 128.0 37,975 310.5 474,871 WEBSITE (97) 65102 ADVERTISING - OTHER MEDIUM 7,194.50 Selected Options 65103 ADVERTISING - YELLOW PAGES 276.08 Statuses: 70102 LABOR EXP. - SALARIES 26,916.55 75102 OFFICE EXP. - OFFICE SUPPLIES 12,086.82 Closed 75104 OFFICE EXP. - POSTAGE 28.53 75105 OFFICE EXP. - COURIER SERVICE 80.24 Fees: 75112 OFFICE EXP. - PHOTOCOPIES 315.42 ADMIN FEE BROKER FEE CMN E&O FEE 72103 COMMUN. 980.00 FRANCH 4% PROPM SPLIT EXP. FEE - PAGERS 72104 COMMUN. EXP. - CELLULAR 1,051.85 69101 FRANCHISE COSTS - PARTICIPATION 2,856.00 Chargeable Items: 64199 SELLING - MISC. 187.14 ADVERTISING - BROKERAGE (AD) BOARD DUES & FEES (BD) CREDIT (RC) 72199 COMMUN. EXP. - MISC. 482.44 where is half INTERNATIONAL the battle. The other DESK FEE (DF) E & OKnowing INSURANCE (EO)leads have come from, FRANCHISE DUES half (RI) 75199 OFFICE EXP. - MISC. 152.16 is knowing what they turned into! Generate this report, by office or by Total Allocated Expenses: agent, to Net seeEarned the source of business for all your transactions and the

By Office:

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4,724.72 52.60 94.05 256.53 232.30 1,582.54 17.39 5,921.64 761.42 1.80 5.05 19.87 61.74 66.26 179.92 11.79 30.39 9.59 14,029.60 14,634.40

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26 REM JANUARY 2015

Meet David Weir’s exit strategy “It’s nice to be able to take your kids forward and pass something over to them. Who better to continue the (team) and service so you haven’t invested all that time, energy and money for nothing?”

By Susan Doran

V

eteran broker David Weir has been in the real estate business long enough to have witnessed the proliferation of teams become one of the biggest phenomena in real estate.

“This business model certainly wasn’t in vogue when I started in real estate almost 20 years ago – there were very few teams at all,” says Weir, who is a top producer with Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty in Quinte West (Trenton) and Brighton, Ont. He’s a registered government relocation specialist as well as a retired Canadian Forces air traffic controller. A large percentage of Weir’s clients are federal government employees serving Canadian Forces Base Trenton.

“That’s my niche,” he says.

Recognizing a potentially productive trend, around 2005 Weir decided to jump on the real estate team bandwagon. “This seemed to be the way of the future,” he says.

But the team concept is a double-edged sword, he soon discovered. On the plus side, “You can increase your income and/or minimize your time working, plus improve your bottom line via economies of scale.” On the other hand, “You could be taking time and effort to train future competition and be giving business away without even realizing it.”

Given the amount of team breakdowns he has witnessed in the industry, Weir is aware that the team approach is not for everyone.

“You can lose control of quality and have people who in the long term aren’t going to stay. And you can have conflict amongst the team and fireworks will fly.”

Weir believes he has found a solution to all that... namely, multi-generational family teams.

He thinks that such teams could be the key to a successful “exit strategy” when older real estate professionals prepare to slow down or retire.

“There are more and more multi-generational teams in the industry – parents and their chil-

Weir jokes that he has given his children the nicknames “Exit” and “Strategy”.

The Weir family, from left: Kyle, Donna, David and Chelsea

dren forming teams,” Weir says.

“It’s nice to be able to take your kids forward and pass something over to them. Who better to continue the (team) and service so you haven’t invested all that time, energy and money for nothing?”

In order for this strategy to work, sufficient income must be generated to support all parties and the younger generation must be interested in becoming involved.

Weir speaks from experience.

His own team, comprised of six people, includes his wife Donna and now their two children (Kyle and Chelsea), as well as Victoria Parker, his son’s girlfriend. The

other team member is salesperson and non-family member Doug Bald.

“Frank and open business discussions can certainly facilitate the process of bringing your children into the business. Of course, these discussions should probably not happen at the Sunday dinner table ... or so my wife has told me,” says Weir with a laugh.

He also recommends bringing children into the family business well before their parents’ retirement, so the younger generation has time to get extensive training and mentoring, become familiar with protocols, and build a rapport with existing clients,

builders, lawyers and other business associates.

“We represent an example of a possible future business model for our profession,” Weir says. “My wife and I, both in our mid-50s, represent the average age of Realtors in Ontario. Unfortunately I would suggest that this doesn’t bode well for the future of our industry. Without younger, welleducated people entering and being successful, I think our profession may languish.”

The multi-generational team approach seems particularly apt in this economic environment where so many young adults are having a tough time finding sustainable employment, Weir says.

Entering real estate as part of a family team can help them get up to speed and meet the industry’s ever-increasing expenses and challenges quickly “and gain instant credibility within the marketplace by aligning themselves with a proven performer,” Weir says.

Admittedly, partnering with family members “doesn’t alleviate all issues within a team environment,” and care must be taken to ensure that business stress does not sour the family dynamic, he says.

“However, it would appear to provide a platform where younger people can find employment in a challenging job market and older experienced Realtors can transition to a slower-paced life without giving up all of their income.”

The latter point is notable in a business where most people traditionally expect to retire without even the benefit of a small pension.

“With a family member taking over the business there is an opportunity to leave the industry and have some form of income through a business arrangement with your children,” Weir says. “This could be accomplished by them buying your business outright or through some sort of partnership going forward whereby they slowly take over and you get paid a referral” or some other type of fee on a regular basis.

As well, semi-retired parent/salespeople who still want to keep a foot in the door could continue to earn income through providing various services to the family team, such as mining leads, or working with the team part of the year, Weir says.

From a business perspective, it’s good to know that “you aren’t going to leave the profession and not have some residual income for all your years of hard work and the goodwill you have created with your database of loyal clients,” he says.

A similar strategy could be worked out between two unrelated salespeople. However, says Weir, the arrangement appears to have more of a chance for success if it is between a parent and child or other close relatives.

“You would expect that clients would be more apt to deal with the offspring of their former Realtor than with a stranger who has replaced the agent who they have had the successful relationship with,” says Weir. “You would also hope that the level of service given your clients would be more in line with your own standard.”

Despite joking that he has given his children the nicknames “Exit” and “Strategy,” Weir seems in no particular hurry to leave the business.

“Except for boating I don’t have any hobbies,” he says. “I really like what I do but I want to take more time off.” He estimates that he and his wife will be “going into transition mode in the next two years, throttling back and letting the kids go to the forefront.”

We all want what is best for our children and hope that when we decide to slow down or retire the income will be there to provide us with some comfortable golden years. Having your children take over the family business is one way that may all be possible, Weir says.

“Just make sure the kids have lots of pre-signed cheques and selfaddressed envelopes to your Florida address!” he says. REM

REM JANUARY 2015 27

A history of clunkers

By Dan St. Yves

I

have a very particular skill.

This may not be the best skill if you need to get around reliably with clients for showing homes and such. My skill is with respect to mobility, though. I possess a keen eye for picking out specific used automobiles for myself. I can survey an extensive fleet of varied vehicles, and then unerringly pick out the one lemon among the entire group. I’ve done this successfully and consistently for years – ever since I made my very first purchase, Big Red. Big Red was a shiny station wagon that once had something called a “tie rod” fall off, en route to a movie with a young lady that I was trying to impress. She would have been even more impressed had the wheel attached to that oddly named part not fallen off as well. Four wheels are generally considered the optimum number for a smooth ride.

Sadly, that loosely tied tie rod was just one of several parts that had no desire to remain attached to that particular rolling soup can. After assessing the cost of restoring a $300 vehicle to roadworthiness ($1,200), Big Red was pointed towards the closest glue factory.

The Green Machine that replaced my clunker station wagon was scrutinized in advance by a buddy and I, to ensure that any obvious rods or bolts had nuts at the end – not just behind the steering wheel. Happily, nothing ever fell off of that car while I was driving it, but perhaps I should have looked a little harder at the vehicle’s undercarriage. Every nut was certainly bolted, but rust had

somewhat loosened the major structural portions of the body.

You could literally push your foot right through the floorboards.

That old saying, “the feel of the road” beneath the vehicle? I could literally feel it!

The car that replaced The Green Machine had a lot of bells and whistles, but they occurred mostly after I got it up over 60 km an hour. My latest vehicle carries on with this glorious and consistent tradition. One item in particular decided to keep me highly entertained recently, without even being asked to.

While driving along the other day, the horn suddenly started to honk. Loudly and repeatedly, without any prompting from myself. Panicking, I hit the steering wheel, slapped the dashboard, fiddled with knobs and eventually managed to shut it off. For some reason, the volume controls for the radio seemed to help settle it down. I don’t know why.

As I was on my way to pick up my wife at her workplace, I had just a short drive left, before we could return home and I would decide where we might take this beast out to shoot it.

A block away from her office building, I was behind a gravel truck that was stopped at a traffic light, waiting to turn left. I intended to pass him, when the honky horn decided to have one last laugh at my expense. As the horn blasted repeatedly and I hit every knob on the dashboard, I noticed a shadow come over the driver’s side window.

The drive back home from the emergency room was uneventful. I disconnected the horn with a hammer after my nose was straightened back out and braced with gauze and medical tape. First thing tomorrow, I’m looking at the classifieds.

Humour columnist and author Dan St. Yves was licensed with Royal LePage Kelowna for 11 years. Check out his website at www.nonsenseandstuff.com, or contact him at danst.yves@hotmail.com. REM

28 REM JANUARY 2015

Announcement RE/MAX Professionals Inc. opens upscale office.

RE/MAX INTEGRA, Ontario-Atlantic Canada would like to congratulate Leah Ambler, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Professionals Inc. on opening their new trendy upscale office that’s perfectly situated to serve luxury clientele in the Kingsway Area.

RE/MAX Professionals Inc. now has three convenient office locations throughout the GTA. Please join us in congratulating RE/MAX Professionals Inc. on their new home.

Leah Ambler

Broker/Owner RE/MAX Professionals

Announcement

REIC Toronto presents awards

Phil Soper named 2014 CEO of the Year

The Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC) Toronto Chapter recently recognized members, related associations and companies that have contributed to the advancement of REIC and the real estate industry.

The winners for 2014 are:

Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper was recently named the 2014 CEO of the Year and recipient of the CEO Award of Excellence in Public Relations by The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) of Toronto.

Created in 1991, the CEO Award of Excellence recognizes communications excellence and advocates that a successful CEO must be an excellent communicator who can express a clear mission and shared values with a broad range of stakeholders, supported by outstanding business performance.

Soper is the first CEO from the real estate industry to be recognized with this honour.

In a news release, CPRS Toronto says, “Soper’s work in defining the company’s vision and communicating it with impact across Canada has been a demonstration of how communications can be a game changer in business strategy and business

• Ken Finch - Member of the Year • John DiMichele, Toronto Real Estate Board CEO Association of the Year • Babyfoot Developments Greening Award • McMillan LLP - Corporate Citizen of the Year • Gareth Jones - Education Award • Vijitha Bulathsinghala Community Services • Alex Pino - Creative Writing

OREB Commercial Division honours Josee Biggs Josee Biggs of Century 21 Explorer Realty in Carleton Place, Ont. was recently presented with the Distinguished Service Award from the Commercial Services Division of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The award recognizes “exceptional leadership and devoted service” to the division.

Pinnacle Awards Daryl King, sales rep and team leader at Royal LePage Your Community Realty in Toronto, and Sam McDadi of Sam McDadi Real Estate in Mississauga, Ont. were recently presented with The Pinnacle Award for Real Estate Entrepreneurship by Keller Williams. The award recognizes agents who have built exceptionally strong businesses that dominate their local markets. REM Josee Biggs is presented with her plaque by Joel Edelson, 2014 chairman of the OREB Commercial Division.

RE/MAX Aboutowne Realty Corp. opens in downtown Oakville.

RE/MAX INTEGRA, Ontario-Atlantic Canada would like to congratulate Claudia DiPaola, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Aboutowne Realty Corp. on opening their new very fashionable centrally located office, in the heart of downtown Oakville at 309 Lakeshore Road East.

results. Since assuming his current role at the helm of Royal LePage in 2002, the business has more than tripled revenue and doubled agent count.”

The CPRS Toronto CEO award is presented annually and determined by a selection committee comprised of the society’s past presidents. The award will be handed out on Jan. 28 at a celebratory event in Toronto, where Soper will deliver a keynote address.

Phil Soper

Daryl King

RE/MAX Aboutowne Realty Corp. now has three prime office locations, with the newest upscale office perfectly situated to provide uncompromising service to Oakville’s luxury clientele.

Please join us in congratulating RE/MAX Aboutowne Realty Corp. on their new home.

Claudia DiPaola RE/MAX Aboutowne Realty Corp.

Sam McDadi

Ken Finch, right, broker with Royal LePage Signature in Toronto, is presented with the Alice Constantino Memorial Member of the Year Award by REIC president Walter Lui, broker/manager of Century 21 Leading Edge.

REM JANUARY 2015 29

Ontario’s landlord-abusive act

By Chris Seepe

L

andlords may be surprised and even angry to learn that the Ontario government operates an agency that primarily targets landlords who allegedly breach the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), generally responding within 24 hours of a tenant filing a complaint. This is in stark contrast to the three to 12 months that the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) generally takes through its onerous processes and forms to resolve landlord complaints.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s (MMAH) website states, “There are 40 core offences listed in the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 that apply to residential tenancies.” The agency’s website lists 43.

A review of the listed rights of the landlord and the tenant show that the act contains 34 provisions that specifically benefit tenants (against landlords) and eight that balance the rights of the landlord and tenant (such as changing locks). How many uniquely benefit landlords? Zero.

Particularly offensive is that politicians included in that act a

provision that allows canvassing politicians or their agents to solicit votes on a landlord’s property.

What was a jaw-dropping shock to learn was that the act doesn’t even provide the landlord with the fundamental right of entitlement to collect rent.

With the news regularly reporting critical rental housing shortages in Ontario, one would think that government wisdom (is that an oxymoron?) would prevail and seek ways to encourage the private sector to build more purpose-built rental housing. If not that, then what? More condos? Rental condos are too expensive for many tenants and that still requires landlords willing to invest under oppressive legislation. Government housing?

Who pays for that? Everyone – including tenants.

After readjusting your jaw, get ready for the uppercut. The Ontario Government, via MMAH, established the 18-person Investigation and Enforcement Unit (IEU), a mostly redundant agency to the LTB whose mandate is to inform landlords and tenants about their alleged breaches of the RTA. They proactively telephone or try to make other contact with the offender – for free – and pride themselves on resolving most complaints within 24 hours.

However, unlike the LTB, which spends literally two-thirds of its operational hours and its taxpayers-financed budget adjudicat-

The act doesn’t even provide the landlord with the fundamental right of entitlement to collect rent. ing non-payment of rent (about 90 per cent of all filed LTB complaints are from landlords, of which about 75 per cent are for non-payment of rent), about 85 per cent of the IEU’s complaints are from tenants.

Of 20,000 to 25,000 phone calls received annually by the IEU, about 2,500 (10 per cent) become cases. Thirty-eight per cent are against landlords withholding vital services, 21 per cent against landlords changing locks, 10 per cent against landlords failing to provide rent receipts and seven per cent against landlords allegedly entering a tenant’s premise illegally. The remaining complaints comprise six per cent against tenants who refuse landlords entry after proper notice, three per cent against tenants changing locks and 15 per cent for all other offences. Seventy-six per cent of all IEU cases target the

landlord, perhaps not surprising since 79 per cent of listed RTA offences are specifically in favour of tenants.

One could reasonably speculate that the majority of landlord offences reported to the IEU were caused by, what else, tenants not paying their rent. IEU prosecuted about 60 cases with a 100-per-cent success rate in court. The breakdown of landlord versus tenant was not available but reasonable speculation would suggest that most cases were against legitimately outraged landlords who weren’t protected by their government from the abuses foisted upon them by unbalanced tenant legislation.

Some tenants assuredly have legitimate complaints and slumlords do exist. But slumlords are the exception, not the norm. Yet heavy tenant-biased legislation treats all landlords at the lowest common denominator.

Why are tenants afforded a FREE 24-hour IEU response service while landlords suffer a brutal and cripplingly expensive 2,160to 8,760-hour LTB response service? Why is the government spending taxpayers’ funds duplicating services that arguably should be consolidated within the Ministry of the Attorney General? Why are landlords not legislatively entitled to collect rent for the vital housing service they provide? Why are rent rates (income) capped but legitimate operating and capital cost

expenses are not permitted to be recovered? (No other business or industry in Canada is hampered in this way.)

How can the RTA legislatively require a landlord to provide electricity consumption information to a tenant while privacy legislation prevents a landlord from obtaining that required information from utility suppliers? Why can a fire department fine an innocent landlord for a fire code offence committed by a tenant? Why can a municipality add a utility bill not paid by a tenant on to a landlord’s realty tax bill? Why is there no financial deterrent against careless and malicious tenants trashing a property?

The above “why” list is much longer than this space allowed but landlords must start speaking up and asking their elected officials why there are two different judicial, legislative and even bureaucratic standards for tenants and landlords within a democratic nation that is supposed to guarantee equal rights and treatment before the law.

Chris Seepe is a commercial real estate broker and broker of record at Aztech Realty in Toronto, specializing in income-generating and multi-residential investment properties, retail plazas, science and technology related specialty uses and tenant mandates.

(416) 525-1558 Email cseepe@aztechrealty.com; website: www.aztechrealty.com.

REM

RE/MAX Supports Luxury Agents RE/MAX INTEGRA Ontario-Atlantic Canada is proud to congratulate the over 75 graduates s of the 2014 Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist p designation that took place this November.

RE/MAX knows that representing luxury homebuyers and sellers requires specialized knowledge along with a distinct marketing approach. RE/MAX provides designation courses and the exclusive marketing program, The RE/MAX Collection.

30 REM JANUARY 2015

P

ancakes and positive outcomes for marginalized city residents were the order of the day recently as the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) in cooperation with Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), Habitat for Humanity Greater Toronto Area, the City of Toronto Affordable Housing Office and Evergreen City Works brought together a panel of experts for a discussion that took a fresh look at affordable housing issues in support of National Housing Day. Held at Scadding Court Community Centre in Toronto, the event began with a hot breakfast served to local residents, representatives from the organized real estate community and elected leaders from all three

levels of government.

Taking part in the discussions were panelists Greg Spearn, interim president and CEO of TCHC, Sean Gadon, director of the City of Toronto’s Affordable Housing Office, Joe Vaccarro, CEO of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association and Steve Rohacek, senior VP at Infrastructure Ontario.

Habitat for Humanity GTA’s CEO Ene Underwood moderated the exchange of ideas, which focused on the innovation, partnerships and political leadership needed to facilitate affordable housing solutions. The discussion spanned a range of topics from new materials that make construction more cost-effective to ideas for greater cohesiveness among social

housing organizations. Panelists agreed that more opportunities to streamline regulations, to develop partnerships with private enterprise and to engage local residents in the planning process are needed, as is a commitment from all levels of government to take ownership of the issue and work together towards solutions.

“With more condominium developments under construction than any other city in North America, Toronto has grown rapidly in recent years and achieved formidable status among world cities,” says Paul Etherington, TREB president. “As we continue to do so, we have a real opportunity to set a first-rate example, to move the needle on this issue by working together to facilitate the development mixeduse communities,” he says.

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The Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC) and the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) recently announced a joint partnership to deliver quality advanced education to AIC members.

REIC will provide AIC mem-

bers with access to the institute’s courses and designation programs, which cover all sectors of the real estate industry, at a preferred rate.

REIC’s advanced credential programs are based on the core values of education, experience, ethics and a commitment to life-long learning.

“This partnership will help our members to take courses or obtain a new designation that will diversify their experience and practice, expand their network within the real estate industry and continue to become leading-edge professionals within Canada,” says AIC CEO Keith Lancastle.

REIC executive director and CEO Maura McLaren says, “Our designation programs, in particular the Certified Reserve Planner (CRP) and Accredited Reserve Planner, will prove to be valuable extensions to AIC member credentials.” The CRP designation is recognized in legislation in Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick and is recognized in Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba.

■ ■ ■

Taking part in TREB’s National Housing Day event, from left: Greg Spearn, interim president and CEO of TCHC; Steve Rohacek, senior VP at Infrastructure Ontario; Joe Vaccarro, CEO of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association; and Sean Gadon, director of the City of Toronto’s Affordable Housing Office.

In 2014 the North Bay Real Estate Board donated $10,500 to local charities such as The Gathering Place, Santa Fund, North Bay Food Bank, Powassan Food Bank, Mattawa Food Bank, Bonfield Food Bank, Temagami Food Bank, West Nipissing Food Bank, Callander Food Bank, Transition House, Amelia Rising, NADY, Community Living/Breakfast Program and the Salvation Army. Here the NBREB Board of Directors pose with representatives of some of the charities.

Dean Lapointe

Mark Wolle

REIC and AIC launch their education partnership agreement.

From left: AIC president Scott Wilson, AIC CEO Keith Lancastle, REIC executive director and CEO Maura McLaren and REIC national board immediate past-president Ron Fraser.

Dean Lapointe of North Vancouver is the 2015 president of FIABCI-Canada, a position he has held previously. He has also served internationally as president of the Americas and is currently president of the Vancouver Chapter of the Real Estate Institute of Canada. Lapointe is managing broker of Coldwell Banker Legend Real Estate Group.

“The secret of success is to be active in FIABCI life internationally and to utilize the federation, not only as a source of information and education but also as a means of effective networking and marketing,” he says.

Secretary-general Jerry England says: “In spite of everincreasing advances in digital information-sharing, attending international events and networking one-on-one are as essential as ever for success in the global marketplace.”

Rose Marra of Re/Max Aboutowne Realty in Oakville, Ont. is the FIABCI-Canada president-elect. Newly elected to the Board of Directors is Don Kottick of Peerage Realty Partners in Toronto. He joins Rick Linklater

Presenting the ASR cheque, from left: Bill Madder, ASR CEO; Kristy Rempel of the Saskatoon Community Foundation; Joanne Kerr, co-chair of ASR’s Quality of Life in Saskatchewan committee; and Rich Jeanneau, ASR director.

Donna Bacher

At the RGHA grand opening, from left: ASR director Kevin Wouters; Mitzi Munro, RGHA board member; and Deb Honch, member of ASR Quality of Life Committee.

REM JANUARY 2015 31

of Edmonton; Adrian Schulz of Winnipeg; Margaret Liu, Randi Emmott and Carlos Sousa of Toronto; Betty Fitzpatrick of Fredericton; Ursula Morel of Whistler, B.C.; Calvin Lindberg and Nora Valdez of West Vancouver; and Tim Crosbie of St. John’s, N.L. FIABCI is represented by chapters in 48 countries. It holds at least two international congresses each year.

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Mark Wolle has been elected president of the KitchenerWaterloo Association of Realtors (KWAR), succeeding Lynn Bebenek.

Wolle is a second-generation Realtor and the broker of record/owner of Royal LePage Wolle Realty. A licensed sales representative since 1998, he earned his broker’s licence in 2005. Wolle has been a director of the KWAR since 2012.

“New technology tools, enhanced MLS services and greater integration of third-party data are just some of the developments members can look forward to using to help serve the needs of their clients in the year ahead,” says Wolle.

Joining him as officers of the association are 1st VP Charlotte

Zawada of Re/Max Twin City Realty, 2nd VP James Craig of Coupal Markou Commercial Real Estate, past-president Lynn Bebenek of Team Realty K.W. and EO Bill Duce.

New to the directors this year are Colleen Koehler of Re/Max Twin City Realty and Tony Schmidt of Howie Schmidt Realty.

Returning directors are Andrew Fielding of Royal LePage Grand Valley, Jane Gardner of Royal LePage Wolle Realty and Brian Santos of Peak Realty.

■ ■ ■

Carl Vandergoot has been elected president of the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors. Joining him on the Board of Directors are past-president Jim Holody, president-elect Stacey Evoy and vice-president Jim Smith.

Earl Taylor will continue to serve as St. Thomas director along with returning directors Heather Arnott, Dan Grantham, Peter Meyer and Jeff Nethercott.

As the incoming chair of LSTAR’s Regional Commercial Council, Jack Lane, a previous LSTAR president, returns to the directors’ table in 2015, joining new directors Norm Chesterfield, Randy Pawlowski and Lindsay Reid.

■ ■ ■

Ricky Cormier, president of Greater Moncton Realtors, presents the cheque to Kenneth McQueen of Harvest House.

Delivering turkeys, from left: Greater Moncton Realtors director Trent Wilkins, former president Shirley Powell, EO Kerry Rakuson, past-president Roxanne Maillet, a local firefighter and drive organizer Sue Stultz.

Donna Bacher, a broker with Royal LePage State Realty, has been elected president of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB). She succeeds Tim Mattioli and will lead the 2,700-member association in 2015.

Bacher has been a member of the association since 1983. She was first elected to the RAHB Board of Directors in 2012.

Joining her on the 2015 board are: Kim Alvarez, presidentelect; Lou Piriano, VP; Tim Mattioli, immediate past-president; and Ann Forbes Arndt, Gary Herron, Peter Holgate, Jack Loft, Sean Morrison, Dave Nichols, Gloria Payton and Heidi Van der Marel.

■ ■ ■

The Association of Saskatchewan Realtors (ASR) recently presented $38,345 to the Saskatoon Community Foundation.

The funds were raised through the second Quality of Life Legacy Gala held in April in Saskatoon, where Realtors from all over the province participated to support the cause. That evening the ASR also awarded $5,000 grants to six community organizations, all from different regions of the province.

“Because of our fundraising success in 2014, we are well able to finance grants for 2015,” says Joanne Kerr, co-chair of the ASR’s Quality of Life committee. “We have seen first-hand the results of last year’s grants and know what a huge difference they have made for so many of our less-fortunate citizens; we are delighted to put out the call for applications for 2015.”

Applications for the 2015 grants will be accepted until March 10, 2015. For more information, visit www.saskatchewanrealestate.com/quality-oflife/legacy.

A $5,000 grant funded by the ASR Quality of Life Legacy and awarded to the Rose Garden Hospice Association (RGHA) in April has been put to good use; the RGHA recently hosted the grand opening of its development office in Prince Albert.

Another $5,000 grant to the Riverside Mission in Moose Jaw was used to fund a walk-in freezer for their community kitchen.

■ ■ ■

The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) raised just over $6,000 for KidSport B.C. at the 2014 President’s Cup Golf Tournament.

Gary Gray, VIREB past-president, presented a cheque for $6,073 to Ron Doetzel, an active KidSport B.C. volunteer and representative for the organization’s Port Alberni chapter. The money raised will be distributed among four of KidSport’s five Vancouver Island affiliates.

“Too often, families are unable to afford the costs of sport registration fees. As a result, kids are left on the sidelines,” says Doetzel.

“KidSport helps by issuing grants to cover the cost of registration fees for a season of sport. In the Port Continued on page 35

A WELCOME ADDITION TO OUR CANADIAN NETWORK

The Coldwell Banker ® network is pleased to welcome the established Calgar y brokerage formerly known as MaxWell City Central to our Canadian system. Our newest Canadian affiliate will now operate as Coldwell Banker Mountain Central.

The full-ser vice firm and its thirty-five productive and experienced sales representatives joins our global network of 3,100 residential real estate offices and over 87,000 affiliated agents worldwide.

“Our company is known for its commitment to customer service and advanced tecÚology. We made the decision to select Coldwell Banker® because they offer considerable resources to help us grow and develop within the Calgary marketplace. There’s something for everyone at Coldwell Banker, from the Previews™ program to target the luxury market, to a new digital platform that engages consumers like never before. We’re excited about our new affiliation, and how it will help us deliver high value to our REALTORS® and clients.”

Rob Vanovermeire, Broker/Owner Coldwell Banker Mountain Central Calgary, Alberta 1.403.775.6950

Join us in wishing Broker/Owner Rob Vanovermeire and the experienced sales professionals of Coldwell Banker Mountain Central enduring success.

For a confidential conversation about franchise opportunities with the Coldwell Banker sytem in Canada, call Mark Lindsey, Regional Vice President, Franchise Sales, or Andy Puthon, President,Coldwell Banker Canada Operations ULC

1.800.268.9599 ext. 402

© 2014 Coldwell Banker LLC. All Rights Reserved. Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker LLC. Each sales representative and broker is responsible for complying with any consumer disclosure laws or regulations. Any use of the term “sales associate” or “agent” shall be replaced with the term “sales representative” in Canada. Not intended to solicit Brokers under a current franchise agreement.

32 REM JANUARY 2015

Good Works S

cott Benson, a sales rep with Sutton Group Quantum Realty in Mississauga, Ont., and his team recently donated $10,000 to ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development. ErinoakKids acknowledged its sponsors and celebrated the children that it serves recently at the Pride & Joy Awards. More than 300 guests, including Benson and his team, attended the gala dinner.

“Having two children of my own, the ErinoakKids awards night helped me put into perspective the need for community and support for children with disabilities,” says Benson.

ErinoakKids is Ontario’s largest youth treatment centre providing physiotherapy, vision services, hearing screening and many other

services. ErinoakKids has 600 staff members and numerous volunteers at 10 sites throughout the Halton, Peel, Dufferin, Waterloo and Wellington areas.

The Scott Benson team, from left: Ni Ni, Lisa Milroy, Leslie Hawkins, Scott Benson, Troy Challe, Hannah Manesh and Shauna Simmonds.

■ ■ ■

NorthEast B.C. Realty’s Ron and Theresa Rodgers recently delivered pet oxygen mask kits to fire departments in northeast British Columbia.

Fire departments have had to use infant masks that cannot efficiently deliver oxygen to animals due to the various muzzle sizes. Pet Oxygen kits consist of three specially designed oxygen masks to fit over the muzzle of a pet that is in distress from smoke inhalation or exposure to toxic fumes. Each kit also has an instructional video outlining use of the masks manually or

Theresa Rodgers presents a pet oxygen mask kit to the Dawson Creek fire department.

Annette Olive, associate broker and Lisa Jerred, sales rep with Atlas Realty in Medicine Hat, Alta. recently held their annual Girls on the Go client appreciation party. With help from clients, they donated $1,500 to the Medicine Hat SPCA.

Re/Max Group Four in Fredericton has supported the Re/Max Relay For Life for the past six years and has raised more than $52,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Royal LePage announces major expansion in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast Alan Stewart

Gino Romanese

We are pleased to announce the addition of Prudential Sussex Realty to the Royal LePage network, effective Dec. 2, 2014. Operating as Royal LePage Sussex, its team of close to 300 agents join Royal LePage’s company-owned brokerage operation, the number one brokerage in the nation.

This is truly the coming together of two celebrated real estate companies. Sussex, a top player in Vancouver and Sunshine Coast, and Royal LePage, Canada’s leading national real estate service provider, creating a dominant force in the Lower Mainland. With this announcement, Royal LePage now has a more than 25 per cent share of the North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Sunshine Coast markets combined, and has almost quadrupled its share of the luxury real estate market in the Greater Vancouver Area.

The transaction is a game-changer in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, adding more strength and quality to Royal LePage, the nation’s largest real estate company. Sussex was established in 1975 in West Vancouver. It is one of the most admired names in real estate, with a long history of successfully marketing some of Canada’s most valuable homes. †Royal LePage is a trademark used under license.

Sales reps and volunteers at Century 21 Lanthorn Real Estate in Napanee, Ont. with some of the collected food.

Alan Stewart of Sussex will remain on as General Manager of the region, reporting to Gino Romanese, Senior Vice President, Brokerage, Royal LePage. Alan started selling real estate in 2003, closing 106 transactions in his first year. He moved to management in 2011.

Royal LePage Sussex will operate out of five locations, and can be reached at: 2397 Marine Drive West Vancouver, B.C. V7V 2K9 Phone: 604-925-2911 Fax: 604-925-3002 AlanStewart@royallepage.ca 2996 Lonsdale Avenue North Vancouver, B.C. V7N 3J4 Phone: 604-984-9711 Toll Free: 1-888-682-9711 Fax: 604-984-3350 AlanStewart@royallepage.ca

117 -1100 Sunshine Coast Hwy Gibsons, B.C. V0N 1V7 Phone: 604-886-2277 Toll Free: 1-888-466-2277 Fax: 604-886-3753 AlanStewart@royallepage.ca 12874 Madeira Park Rd. Madeira Park, B.C. V0N 2H0 Phone: 604-883-9525 Toll Free: 1-800-416-6646 Fax: 604-883-9524 AlanStewart@royallepage.ca

5561 Wharf Road Sechelt, B.C. V0N 3A0 Phone: 604-885-3295 Toll Free: 1-888-385-3295 Fax: 604-885-5422 AlanStewart@royallepage.ca

Please join us in welcoming Alan and the entire team at Royal LePage Sussex to Royal LePage. †

From left: Kaitlin Gordon, development co-ordinator, Halton Women’s Place, Fionna Gossling and Kim Kennedy, Royal LePage Real Estate Services.

The Re/Max Blue Chip Realty agents in Yorkton, Sask. donated more than $2,400 of groceries to the local Salvation Army recently.

The food was purchased with donations from the Yorkton agents and matched by brokerage owners Jack Wruth and Doris Shank. Front row: Rosanne and Glen Fraser of the Salvation Army, Doris Shank. Back from left: Bill Harrison, Brent Haas, Shawn Pryhitka, Lloyd Seymour, Pat Pugh, Stacy Neufeld, Wade Windjack, Cheryl Kustra, Sandi Shewchuk, Chantel Balaberda, Jackie Berube and Audrey Kemp.

REM JANUARY 2015 33

with oxygen connection and presentations about dealing with pets in need of help.

“We have two dogs, Reo and Buddy, who come to work with us every day,” says Ron Rodgers, managing broker of NorthEast B.C. Realty, which is based in Fort St. John. “Our clients are greeted the moment they enter the door and have come to expect them as part of the team. Our dogs are part of our family and we would be lost if anything happened to them. If these kits can prevent the loss of even one family pet then it will be well worth the investment.”

■ ■ ■

In early November, Re/Max agents Bruce Johnson, Lori VanDinther and Jennifer Evelyn organized an initiative to collect toys at Re/Max & You, a biannual event attended by sales reps from across Canada, hosted by Re/Max Integra, Ontario-Atlantic.

Through promoting their idea on social media and word of mouth in the Re/Max community, the small table they set up quickly began to overflow. By the end of the day, they collected thousands of dollars worth of toys (12 full bags and three full boxes) that were donated directly to the CP24/CHUM Christmas Wish Program.

■ ■ ■

Beaver Valley 180 Bike Ride is an intense, 180-km cycle event in the Oakville, Ont. area to raise money for Special Olympics Ontario. Since 2008, participants have raised more than $700,000 to ensure that children, youth and adults with intellectual disabilities are able to use sports programs and resources. The team at Sutton Group - Quantum Realty in Mississauga contributed $1,000 and broker Tina Gardin’s husband, Dan O’Brien, volunteered his day to drive a truck pulling a 30-foot trailer with supplies and the riders’ gear. This was his fifth year as a volunteer driver.

to abused women and their children in Oakville, Milton and Burlington, Ont. The event raised $7,190, which is donated to Halton Women’s Place via the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. In five years, the event has raised more than $35,000 in support of the organization.

■ ■ ■

Sales reps at Century 21 Lanthorn Real Estate in Napanee, Ont. went door to door on Halloween, but instead of asking for candy, they collected food for the Morning Star Mission food bank.

The initiative “filled up two half-ton trucks. It was crazy,” sales rep Dave Pinnell Jr. told the local newspaper.

The event was part of the Trick or Eat campaign. For more information: www.trickoreat.ca.

■ ■ ■

People in need in Vernon, B.C. have clothing and blankets this winter thanks to the 4th Annual Sutton Warm & Fuzzy Shelter Collection organized by Sutton Group - Lakefront Realty. Donors dropped off enough sweaters, coats, scarves and other winter gear to fill half a room from floor to ceiling.

A highlight for organizers was a special gift of 50 warm wool blankets. All of the donations benefit clients of local charities including the John Howard House Society and the Women’s Transition House.

■ ■ ■

Royal LePage Locations North participated in the annual Collingwood Holiday House Tour for the third time this year.

Attended by more than 750 people, the tour raised more than $17,000 for local charities.

The brokerage was a platinum sponsor and hosted a concurrent silent auction at the Toronto Ski

Club, featuring donations from more than three dozen local business owners.

The silent auction raised more than $5,600, with all proceeds going to the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation and local shelter, My Friend’s House in Collingwood.

■ ■ ■

C21 Hot Cocoa 4 Kids Day on Dec. 13 supported Easter Seals Canada by harnessing the warmth of holiday hot chocolate.

Participating Century 21 offices across the country invited their communities to a hot cocoathemed fundraiser. All proceeds will be donated to Easter Seals, in support of local families living with disabilities.

“Who doesn’t love hot chocolate? This holiday season, we (brought) our family of offices together with their communities to help kids,” says Brian Rushton, executive VP, Century 21 Canada.

■ ■ ■

Bright Nights in Stanley Park, a festive mini-train through a forest illuminated with more than three million lights at Stanley Park in Vancouver, is a holiday favourite now in its 17th year. It requires the efforts of countless volunteers and again this year those volunteers included representatives from Sutton Group - West Coast Realty.

It’s one of the key fundraisers for the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund. Partial proceeds of train ticket sales and all donations at the gate go to support Burn Fund programs, such as treatment for burn victims at the B.C. Children’s Hospital and the Vancouver General Hospital.

Representatives from the Coquitlam and Vancouver offices donated their time to this cause.

Susan Dailly, Anca Ardelean and Rosa Rezansoff joined firefighters to hang lights, paint gingerbread men and decorate the train.

■ ■ ■

Royal LePage Real Estate Services sales reps Fionna Gossling and Kim Kennedy recently hosted the 5th Annual Gossling Kennedy Shelter Foundation Dinner. At this invitational event, 70 women enjoyed a light meal and an address from beneficiary Halton Women’s Place, an organization that provides shelter and support services

REM

Kira Cope

Darren Martel

Pamela Case

Roberta Case

Frank Mihalek

Royal LePage Connect Realty - expands!

Greater Toronto Area, Ontario

We are pleased to announce that Case Realty Inc., formerly Coldwell Banker Case Realty has joined forces with Royal LePage Connect Realty, effective Nov. 13, 2014. Operating as Royal LePage Connect Realty, the combined operation brings together greater than 350 agents in six locations in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), spanning from the west end of Toronto to Pickering and Ajax.

Case Realty was established in 1952 by the late Robert Case. Mr. Case was prominent in organized real estate throughout his career winning many awards and accolades. Two of his four daughters Roberta Case, Pamela Case and his son-in-law Frank Mihalek all joined the company in the 1980s, each obtaining their broker’s license. In 1995 Roberta, Pamela and Frank acquired the company.

“We have been a successful brokerage for six decades because we have always put our agents and their success first,” says Pamela Case. “In this increasingly competitive market, this new affiliation with Royal LePage, one of the most respected and prominent names in Canadian real estate, will ensure our agents have the strongest presence and recognition in their communities and for their customers. Roberta, Frank and I look forward to this new chapter in our careers and our brokerage.”

Kira Cope began her real estate career in 1994 selling with Royal LePage. In 1998 she earned her broker’s license and became Royal LePage’s Durham Region Area manager.

Darren Martel joined the industry in 1991. In 1998, he earned his broker’s license, and in 2000, joined Royal LePage when he and Kira opened Royal LePage Connect Realty in Pickering. They started their company with just 17 agents and set the course for an upward trajectory. In 2003, they acquired the the corporately-owned office in Scarborough, and over time, grew their sales force to 125 agents, prior to today’s announcement.

“The Case team of talented agents bring a culture of success, much like our own, and we are excited about working together in this next chapter – now as one of the largest Royal LePage brokerages in Canada – to create an even stronger business for everyone involved,” added Kira Cope, broker/owner, Royal LePage Connect Realty.

You can reach Royal LePage Connect at any one of their six locations, starting with the brokerage’s newest: 1415 Kennedy Road #22 Toronto, ON M1P 2L6 Phone: 416-751-6533 Fax: 416-751-7795 kennedy@royallepage.ca

950 Merritton Road Pickering, ON L1V1B1 Phone: 905-831-2273 Fax: 905-420-5455 pickering@royallepage.ca

836 Danforth Avenue Toronto, ON M4J 1L6 Phone: 416-461-0925 Fax: 416-461-7802 danforth@royallepage.ca

2202- 4525 Kingston Road Toronto, ON M1E2P1 Phone: 416-284-4751 Fax: 416-284-6343 westhill@royallepage.ca

311 Roncesvalles Avenue Toronto, ON M6R 2M6 Phone: 416-588-8248 Fax: 416-588-1877 roncy@royallepage.ca

335 Bayly Street West Ajax, ON L1SSM2 Phone: 905-427-6522 Fax: 905-427-6524 ajax@royallepage.ca

Please join us in congratulating Kira and Darren, and welcoming Roberta, Pamela, Frank and wishing everyone at Royal LePage Connect Realty continued success. † †Royal LePage is a trademark used under license.

The team from Sutton Group - Lakefront.

34 REM JANUARY 2015

A primer on cloud computing for brokerages

By Lloyd R. Manning

A

MARKETPLACE

lthough it has been around for several years it appears that there is still much uncertainty as to what “the cloud” is, its benefits and how it works. Or, is it that this old guy is just catching up? Probably the latter as one seldom realizes in this technological age how soon we get out of date and are left behind.

Yet, as I asked questions about “the cloud” to real estate professionals and others I found that I am not alone.

The term “cloud computing” is a catch-phrase for accessing computer power to run software and store information on a third party’s computer, using their know-how and infrastructure. Its purpose is to take advantage of the latest technological devices, to facilitate and reduce the volume of paperwork through the office, increase accessibility, increase productivity and reduce expenses.

With cloud computing real estate agents can work remotely, reducing the need to come into the office. Business can be conducted from your home, a client’s home, a client’s office or from a mobile device. You can pull up listings, pending offers and compa-

rable sales data at a booth in a restaurant.

Although they may not realize it, most people and businesses use the cloud daily, for banking, sending and receiving emails, credit card purchases, e-commerce and a host of Internet originated applications. Although not identified as cloud computing, it has become an integral part of many real estate offices. Providing multiple storage options, cloud computing is a way for businesses, including real estate brokerages, to store data and related information on world-wideweb platforms – the large, high powered computers that are operated by Amazon, SalesForce, Google and others.

Instead of a program residing on a PC or an agent’s laptop, it exists on another computer, usually that of a large powerful server under the domain of a service provider. When you use the program you are running from that computer, not yours. You view the information received on your computer but its source sits elsewhere, allowing you access from any Internet connected device. In the future the most significant technological changes will centre on computing services “in the cloud”.

Web-originated real estate marketing is now coming into its own. The cloud concept suggests the “paper-free” office. This may

work for some businesses.

However, with real estate brokerages, due to the multitude of government regulations and forms that require the retention of substantial paper records, many of which must be maintained almost into perpetuity, any thought of developing a completely paperfree real estate office may be wishful thinking.

The cloud’s impact will be to lower the cost of ownership while enjoying greater access to a broader array of computer capabilities.

Simply put, advanced technologies should allow agents to be more productive and be better connected with their clients and intervening partners such as appraisers, lenders, lawyers, associates and the like. For most real estate brokerages, in the future cloud computing is the only way to go, While the risk is very low, there could be some concerns about confidentiality and related matters. All of your data, and that of all other users, is well protected.

Still, you will want to know what your exposure is, who is looking at what you have placed on the server’s computer, what benefit, if any the snoop would derive from it, and what you can do about ensuring this does not occur.

One of the biggest cloud security risks is theft or loss of transactional and other private data. If

the leaked information is proprietary only to your company, liability isn’t a concern. But if your confidential information goes astray you need to know where responsibility lies. Usually it is the salesperson who placed the information on the cloud in the first place.

It’s seldom the provider that’s on the hook.

Technology is just another enabler, another tool if you will.

You must provide the vision of where you want to take your brokerage and the direction to get it there. All that cloud computing can do is improve the way you operate. It is not a miracle made in heaven. It is you who must focus on efficiency and improved marketplace acceptance and strive to improve on how you deliver services to your clients while keeping the cost of doing business at the minimum.

In an email discussion with a leading cloud computing broker (yes, there are several of them) I asked, “How does cloud computing benefit the typical non-franchised, independent residential real estate brokerage with five to 10 or so agents.”

The reply: “It may not.”

On the other hand, Aaron McGowan, developer for Appnovation Technologies, a major software development company, says that by using Software as a Service (SaaS), which oper-

ates in the cloud, cloud computing would have positive benefits for all businesses, including small ones.

For example, Google provides a service known as “Google Apps”.

This entitles businesses of all sizes to leverage their applications and services under their own brand name without incurring increased overhead, keeping their data safe and secure. Google offers a document processing application (Google Docs) spreadsheet (an alternative to Microsoft Office Excel) mail (an alternative to Outlook), a calendar and much more. While Microsoft is slowly trailing behind they do offer a service known as Microsoft 360 that enables Office applications that have typically been desktop oriented to be enabled by the web and “in the cloud”.

Before joining the ranks in the cloud, do your own investigation.

Shop around. Be meticulous.

Don’t rush into it. Talk to your staff, the sales agents in particular, and examine your operation. See where improvements can be made in your paper handling methods.

See where you are in this wonderful world of advancing technology, how you can profit from it and then go from there. Do your homework and ensure that cloud computing is the right fit for your brokerage.

Lloyd Manning, AACI, FRI, CCRA, PApp is a semi-retired commercial real estate and business appraiser and broker who now spends his time writing for professional journals and trade magazines. He resides in Lloydminster, Alta. Email lloydmann@shaw.ca REM

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REM JANUARY 2015 35

Navigating the luxury realm

Establish yourself and harness opportunity in the growing luxury market

By Kelly McCain

S

uccessful agents specializing in the luxury niche have three things working for them: credibility as a luxury agent; access to networks and promotional resources to target luxury buyers and sellers; and quality materials to market their listings.

As the economy continues to strengthen, the luxury market has become a focus for agents seeking growth. According to the World Wealth Report released in June by Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management, the number of Canadian millionaires climbed to 320,000 in 2013, up 7.2 per cent from the prior year. This has impacted property sales in excess of $1 million, with lower borrowing costs helping to drive growth in this segment. There is increased activity as high net worth individuals move up, move in or invest.

While the health of the luxury market is apparent, capturing your slice of the pie requires panache, with your credibility bubbling to

Boards and Associations Continued from page 31

Alberni chapter alone, we’ll help 200 kids play sports this year.”

■ ■ ■

Greater Moncton Realtors donated more than $21,000 to community causes in 2014.

Among support recipients were Crossroads for Women, Breakfast for Learning Programs in both the Anglophone East and Francophone Sud districts and Harvest House.

“Some of our fundraising partners have large projects, like the remodel of a newly acquired house to assist women and children at Crossroads for Women. Others are utilizing the funds for ongoing activities; things like making sure children have food in their bellies to help them learn,” says president Ricky Cormier.

the forefront of your efforts. Luxury property buyers and sellers expect more knowledge and expertise and demand performance and a higher level of service. So, how do you hone those attributes?

Canada is a desirable destination for relocation and investment due in part to excellent educational opportunities and economic and political stability. The ability to reach key prospects and agents internationally is another key to success. With that in mind, your networking and marketing should include a focus on international.

Look for affiliations, advertising programs and print publications that attract an international high net worth audience.

What else is important to luxury? The prevalence of print is a big one. We hear a lot about being online, from websites and apps to social media. While all of those avenues are still important for luxury home marketing, print can’t be ignored. High net worth individuals read more publications and look for tangible quality to put between their fingers. And with a focus on The association also raised funds at their annual holiday get together to buy Christmas turkeys for people in need.

A group of Moncton members delivered the bounty to the Sue Stultz Turkey Drive at the local fire station. Over 500 pounds of turkey were delivered, which will feed more than 50 families.

■ ■ ■

Members of the North Okanagan Zone of the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB) in B.C. donated $1,000 to the B.C. Schizophrenia Society (Vernon Branch) to build a shed at the Patchwork Farms project. Located at the Kalamalka Campus of Okanagan College, the program was established with the help of volunteers to provide a community gardening and farming program for people with menREM tal illness.

print comes the expectation for professional photography and welldesigned marketing pieces.

Your marketing pieces should not only showcase a luxury property’s distinctive visual attributes, the copy itself should go beyond a statement of facts. Tell a compelling story to persuade high net worth buyers who may be attracted to a lifestyle, a historical element or a renowned architect, for example.

Make sure your copy speaks the language of your unique property’s prospects. Meet your seller’s expectations with a variety of print and web marketing materials that leverage a distinctive and consistent iconography. And keep in mind, print materials demand high-quality stock to give the best impression.

Accreditation and experience are core to establishing your credibility within the luxury market.

Seek out the best training available, preferably through a program that comes with a marketable designation. One such program is the Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS) designation through the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing (ILHM). It provides training and requires sales performance in the top 10 per cent of your local market to earn the designation. Delivered by luxury real estate trainer Laurie MooreMoore, CLHMS is available live or online. (Royal LePage has retained Moore-Moore to deliver live sessions in Toronto and, for the first time, Calgary this May.) With the right training, networking opportunities and marketing, it is possible to break into the luxury market. For those already established, staying current, continuing to expand your network and keeping an eye on economic and marketing trends will keep you on top of your game.

Kelly McCain is director, business services at Royal LePage Canada, where last year she helped to relaunch the company’s Carriage Trade luxury property marketing program.

KellyMcCain@royallepage.ca.

REM

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36 REM JANUARY 2015

Building a real estate investment portfolio – Part 4 Property analysis

By Eddy Boudiwan and George Hill

I

n our last three articles, we have walked together up to the point of undertaking the analysis of an investment property.

For you to know if a property would be a good acquisition, you need to understand how to evaluate the property.

The key metrics to be ana-

lyzed include (but are not limited to) the net operating income (NOI) and the area’s capitalization rate (CAP rate).

NOI is the income produced by a property after all operating expenses and before the mortgage payment. CAP rate is defined as the percentage return (yield) of a cash purchase on a property. Other fundamentals affect the CAP rate, such as sales in the immediate area, condition of the property and other factors. As the value of an income product asset equals NOI divided by CAP rate, it is very important to be in tune with the CAP rate of the submarket where you decide to buy. Fundamentally, you either attempt to increase income or reduce expenses, in order to increase your property value.

Let’s consider a scenario in

which we purchase an investment property that generates an annual NOI of $10,000 and the purchase price for this property is $100,000.

Based on the purchase price, you are receiving a 10-per-cent return, assuming no debt (mortgage to pay from your NOI).

Another popular rule of thumb states that, if the gross income of a property is less than 10 per cent of the purchase value, it may not be a lucrative investment. Do use this general guideline, but be mindful of possible other factors. The 10per-cent rule simply does not take into account if the building is distressed, half vacant or if the rents are below market. These can be very effective opportunities for you to capitalize on and increase your NOI. The seller’s goal is to maximize the NOI to fetch the best value for

the property, so their proforma may not always be accurate. Your goal should be to reconstruct the income and expenses as the building is operating today and acquire based on this value – not on how it may perform in five years.

Accuracy in the income and expense analysis is very important.

Validate rent amounts claimed on the seller’s proforma via leases and bank accounts. Get to know the rents in the neighbourhood.

Review CMHC rent reports, Gottarent, Kijiji and Rentometer as general tools for validation.

Speak with other investors and property managers in the area to validate your online findings.

Sometimes sellers attempt to reduce the expenses in order to increase the NOI, maximizing sale value for a building. Review the expenses and make adjustments

where needed. Common traps you need to avoid are: vacancy rates, property management expenses and repair and maintenance standards. Dig deeper.

Always use market vacancy rate as an expense (three to five per cent for areas we invest in).

Your building will not be rented 100 per cent of the time.

Property management costs should be accounted for between three and six per cent. In the event that you manage the property yourself, you should still account for this because the next buyer will. Or you may decide to expand and need a property manager in the future. Appraisers also allocate a percentage when evaluating a property.

The last items to account for are repair and maintenance. The market standard is approximately $750-$850 per unit/year. If you are buying a 10-plex, you can expect to account for $8,500 per year.

This does not include any deferred large and immediate capital expenditures such as roofing or windows. You need to review these capital items and ensure that the selling price reflects them.

Current CAP rates in Toronto are around five per cent for some buildings; for each dollar overstated by the seller and missed on your NOI review, if it is not reduced, you will pay 20x for it in value that is not there currently ($1 divided by a CAP rate of five per cent); $10,000 missed immediately translates to $200,000 in value that you might overpay.

In our next article, we will provide an overview of the offer and due diligence stages.

Real Estate Rangers is a real estate investment team that locates, operates and maintains properties for investors. Eddy Boudiwan (eddyb@realestaterangers.ca) and George Hill (georgeh@realestaterangers.ca) are the co-founders of the company. They have partnered with Taft Forward Management as their acquisition arm. For more information, visit www.realestatREM erangers.ca

REM JANUARY 2015 37

Trade Shows and Conferences

For complete listings, visit www.remonline.com.

To add a listing to this calendar, email jim@remonline.com

Get out your calendar

Banff Western Connection Jan. 29-31 Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel www.banffwesternconnection.com

In the year ahead, if you do just one thing to move your professional career forward, note the date of the events you see advertised in these pages and attend one or two of your choice. New products and services come on the market every year and you must ask yourself: “Can I afford not to attend a trade show or conference this year?”

Now is the time to plan the year ahead, with fresh new planners ready for you to write in the dates to make your life better. See you at the shows!

Century 21 Kickoff and Awards Gala 2015, Supplier Fair Tuesday, Jan. 27 Hyatt Regency Montreal Montreal Carla Ty – supplier.expo@century21.ca Century 21 Kickoff and Awards Gala 2015, Supplier Fair Wednesday, Jan. 28 The Westin Harbour Castle Toronto Carla Ty – supplier.expo@century21.ca

Ontario Real Estate Association Regeneration Thursday, March 12 The Westin Harbour Castle www.orea.com

Compiled with the assistance of Bob Campbell at Colour Tech Marketing, www.colourtech.com

What’s New Luxury marketing program unveils new website Luxury Portfolio International, the luxury marketing program of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, recently introduced a new version of its website at www.LuxuryPortfolio.com.

Originally launched in 2005, the site is the cornerstone of Luxury Portfolio’s marketing program, annually promoting more than 25,000 homes represented by the independent brokerages that are members of Luxury Portfolio. The site has more than three million

high net worth visitors each year, the company says.

The new site improves accessibility to mobile users. It also has “a deeper exploration of luxury lifestyle topics – from trends in high-end decor and finishes to what is new in experiential travel and entertainment,” the company says in a news release.

“Since its inception, the site has placed an emphasis on stunning photography, but the latest iteration takes it to the next level,” says Stephanie PfefferAnton, executive VP of Luxury REM Portfolio.

38 REM JANUARY 2015

THE PUBLISHER’S PAGE

By Heino Molls

I

would not dare to presume that I know what it is like to guide a buyer looking for a family home as a real estate professional. I have plenty of advice but no credentials or claim of expertise. With that said, I note what seems to be a difference to home buying now compared to decades ago.

Today, most of the families looking for a home have two incomes. That was not so much the case before. It is just a given now that both are working folks and if there are children in the family, day care is a main concern

The stay-at-home parent when buying a house. Is the home close to day care? What kind of day-care facilities are there?

I am not sure this is the best way to raise a family. I will be the first to admit that this kind of thinking probably sets me apart firmly in the mindset of old-school thinking. I have argued this point with many people including my own children about my own grandchildren. I am told how advantageous it is to have a child grow up in a good and qualified day-care situation where children learn social skills and elevate their speaking level and school preparation. Above all, children in day care learn the concepts of sharing that will be invaluable tools that they apply into adulthood. The key to it all is a good qualified and licensed day care.

Dare I say, much like real estate? Anybody can buy a house, but it takes the guidance of a good, qualified real estate professional to help a person make decisions that can help them avoid disaster.

My argument is that for all the talk about qualified day care; what could be better than care at home from a committed parent who gets professional training through courses on child development?

Someone who takes the child out for social interaction at community centres, plays learning games and teaches sharing well? What if the spouse at home additionally takes courses in home maintenance and repair so they will be ready to apply those skills to renovation and adding value to the property while the other spouse works?

The bottom line question for me is, why is the stay-at-home spouse still looked at like they are some kind of lesser partner than the one who leaves the home to join another social network at work?

Take for example John and Margaret. They have a son and a townhome in the suburbs.

Margaret has a marketing degree and works outside the home man-

aging a grocery store. John works at home looking after the needs of their active two-year-old son Bobby. Every afternoon John takes Bobby out to the playground to play with other kids his age. John has organized a number of parents in the community with children in this age category. They have even brought in a professional who will spend an hour with the group teaching certain skills that are practiced by the group in subsequent days.

John took a night course in carpentry. He enjoys it so much that he is slowly rebuilding the kitchen, finding time occasionally at Bobby’s nap time as well as one evening per week to do the work.

After five years, their home has increased far greater in value than the other homes around them due to John’s carpentry work and Bobby has turned into a good student at school, a tremendous soccer player and a gracious young boy with good manners. Margaret is credited with keeping the grocery

store in business during a challenging economy. John has mentored a young boy who may one day be a leader in his community and maybe his country. Who did the most important work?

When John and Margaret are asked what they do for work at events and gatherings, Margaret produces a business card that says she is a “manager”, John says he stays at home with their son.

Seems to me John does the most important work and he is looked at like he is some kind of laggard.

That is so inappropriate.

Life is like that. I know some sales reps who say they are the best on their business cards. I know others who don’t do that yet they provide far greater service for their clients.

It makes you want to throw up your hands and smack your forehead.

Heino Molls is publisher of REM. Email heino@remonline.com.

REM

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