May Issue by Real Estate Magazine (REM)

Issue #263

May 2011

Meet Trevor Bolin

He’s an author, an entrepreneur, a trainer, Re/Max’s top B.C. sales rep – and he’s only 31. Page 8

Sales rep saves a life Page 12

Buy a house, get a Glock Page 14

How to make great YouTube videos Page 19

Marketing on the radio Page 24

REM MAY 2011 3

Mainland Chinese buyers heat up B.C. market By Jean Sorensen n influx of offshore buyers, predominately Mainland Chinese, has caused a groundswell of real estate activity and turned the B.C. winter period into a sizzling market that shows no signs of stopping. “It is on fire at the moment,” says sales rep Susie Goodall of Angell Hasman and Associates Realty in Vancouver. Goodall works in the North and West Vancouver markets. Realtors say the Mainland Chinese buyers have money to spend, are motivated, often well informed and are quick to make a decision. Goodall will participate in the China International Luxury Property Show, to be held this year in Shanghai, China in September. “I tried to get in last year, but couldn’t,” she says. This year she is destined to be “the first Canadian Realtor to take a booth.” The show attracts international buyers and sellers from around the world who are interested in luxury properties. (A link on the show’s website offers Steven Spielberg’s $200 million yacht for weekly rentals of $1.3 million.) Goodall has also paid a Korean company to write a software program that allows Asian buyers to tap into the MLS through her web-

site to see what’s available in her sales areas. The interface program translates the available listings into Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and English. “No one else has done this,” said Goodall. She says the North and West shore of Vancouver is drawing increasing attention as many shoppers realize that prices in the West Side of Vancouver (Shaughnessy, Kerrisdale and Kitsilino) have gone up dramatically but the dollar still buys good value in the North and West shoreline. Park Royal Shopping Centre also now has a Chinese supermarket. Jennifer Podmore Russell, real estate advisor for Deloitte, says that B.C. benefits from strong international immigration with an average of 43,000 immigrants coming to the province every year. Close to 90 per cent of these immigrants choose to live in Greater Vancouver. Recent immigration levels have been exceptionally high. The majority of immigrants coming to B.C. do so under Canada’s investor classification and almost all of those in this classification are from Mainland China. To quality for entry, they must have a proven net worth of at least $1.6 million, Russell says. The movement to Canada is a

move aimed at “preservation of capital and real estate is still believed to retain its value,” she says, adding “real estate in Vancouver, unlike other places in the world, has escalated in value.” The investing trend is also seen by real estate lawyers such as James Lin, who has clients that buy multiple properties over the course of a year. The communist government in China has recently imposed restrictions on the number of properties that an individual can own there. The impact of the influx of Mainland Chinese investors is being felt most in three main areas, Russell said. Richmond (has been a favoured location as it has a solid community support system), Vancouver (also with a good support system) and Burnaby (now taking some of the spill over from the two favoured areas) are seeing the heaviest demand. Offshore buyers are particularly interested in new homes. Russell cautions that not all the activity is the result of new money streaming into the market. “There is money pre-existing in Richmond and Vancouver,” she says. Those traditional markets have buyers who may feel more integrated and ready to move other

Jennifer Podmore Russell

Howard Or

communities or areas to make way for new immigrants. Both Vancouver and Richmond have large Asian populations. While the majority of the real estate action has been in the Vancouver and Richmond area, Burnaby and the suburban areas can’t be ignored. Howard Or, assistant manager of Sutton Group – West Coast Realty in Coquitlam, is seeing Asian buyers looking for newer, larger homes around five years old or less. “It’s mainly the high-end homes – those selling for $1 million or $1.2 up in areas such as Westwood Plateau,” he says. Or advertises in the Chinese language paper Sing Pao Daily, which also has a Chinese website, providing international Internet access for readers. Or says this allows many China-based buyers

Susie Goodall

York Regional Police arrest wanted sales rep in Bucharest I t took four years, but York Regional Police in Ontario have tracked down a former real estate sales rep who fled the country while facing several conspiracy and drug charges dating back to 2002. In 2000, police began investigating an increase in large-scale indoor marijuana grow operations within the region. One investigation identified a licensed real estate agent operating out of Richmond Hill by the name of Jennifer Wu. Wu used her position as a real estate agent to obtain rental properties to be used to grow marijuana, police say. Wu was arrested in 2002 and

linked to over 55 indoor marijuana grow operations across the Greater Toronto Area that resulted in the seizure of more than 30,000 marijuana plants. On Feb. 13, 2006, Wu was scheduled to stand trial before the Superior Court of Justice in Newmarket but failed to appear. A warrant was issued for her arrest. York police investigators continued to work on locating Wu, believing she might have fled from Canada. On Nov. 19, 2010, investigators located Wu, who was operating a daycare in Bucharest, Romania. An extradition request was

sent to the Romanian authorities and she was arrested. Investigators from York Regional Police went to Bucharest and took custody of Wu from the Romanian authorities. She was transported back to Canada. Wu, 46, faces a variety of charges including production of a controlled substance, possession for the purpose of trafficking, theft of electricity, possession of proceeds of crime, income tax and Goods and Services Tax evasion, failure to comply with a restraint order, breach of recognizance of bail and failure to appear. Wu was originally arrested at

the same time as another sales rep, Phu Nhi (John) Trac. Along with his wife, Trac controlled and operated two numbered bank accounts with cash deposits totaling approximately $760,000, which represented the minimum in proceeds he received from trafficking the marijuana, say court records. Wu allegedly worked for Trac, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison, with some terms to be served concurrently, making the actual jail time five years. He was convicted for drug trafficking, money laundering, income tax evasion and electricity theft. REM

to peruse the real estate ads here before coming over, so many are already aware of what the market offers before knocking on the door of a real estate office. “They also make decisions much faster,” says Or, adding it doesn’t take more than one or two visits before the client has decided to buy. Real estate lawyer Florence T. Wong, who also hosts a talk show on a Chinese language station, says callers are telling her that White Rock has become a popular location, not only because of its ocean views but because it is known to have an excellent school system. Real estate lawyer Lin said it is not uncommon for those buying homes here to leave the family here to gain an education while the father returns to China, where there are more entrepreneurial opportunities as China changes. These individuals will commute every three months back and forth and are dubbed “astronauts” because of the hours they spend in aircraft. Goodall, who has honed a business out of dealing with Asian and Mainland Chinese buyers, couldn’t be happier with the market today. Asian buyers are ideal clients, she says, because they are eager buyers and demonstrate strong family values and concerns. “I love dealing REM with them,” she says.

4 REM MAY 2011

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 ndrew Wildeboer, Bill Wildeboer and Frank Gray Jr., owners of Royal LePage RCR Realty have acquired Royal LePage Complete Realty in Alliston, Ont. Brent Bailey, former owner of Royal LePage Complete Realty, will remain with Royal LePage RCR Realty as a member of the sales team. This expansion adds 30 salespeople to the Royal LePage RCR Realty/Royal LePage York North Realty team, bringing the combined sales force to more than 400 sales reps in 20 offices.

■ ■ ■

Finding a location for their new brokerage, Century 21 Legacy, was the biggest challenge for owners Sanjeev P. Singh Ahluwalia, Sunil Kumar Saini and Ravi Inder S. Simak. “We really wanted to find a space that was convenient and accessible for our clients,” says Sanjeev Singh. “We saw a lot of spaces before finally finding a great location that borders our three major markets” The office is at 7370 Bramalea Rd. in Mississauga, Ont. The company will serve residents in Mississauga, Brampton and Toronto.

“We started in the residential market and have built up great relationships in the new developments sector,” says Ahluwalia. “Ravi also has a lot of experience in commercial real estate, making us a well rounded company.” Ahluwalia and Saini have been in real estate for seven years. They are active in their local communities and are also certified Canadian Immigration Consultants, helping immigrants settle into their new neighbourhoods. Simak has four years of real estate experience. ■ ■ ■

Realty’s 25 sales reps have joined Royal LePage ProAlliance. ■ ■ ■

Keller Williams Lifestyles Realty recently opened in London, Ont., led by operating principal Richard Thyssen. Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty International, says, “Our company has a policy of limiting its market presence by selecting only the premier partners in any given area. These individuals are top producers.” Keller Williams Realty Lifestyles Realty is located at 509 Commissioners Rd. W. ■ ■ ■

Desmond von Teichman has acquired Royal LePage Locations North Realty, the brokerage formerly owned by Sharon Gray and Jim Gray. The company will continue to operate under the same name. Royal LePage Locations North Realty has a team of 13 sales professionals with offices in Meaford and Thornbury, Ont. Sharon Gray will continue in the practice as broker of record and Jim will contribute in a sales capacity.

Mary Ann and Rodney Keary, owners of Brockville, Ont.’s Royal LePage Riveredge Realty, have merged their operation with Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty. With this merger, Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty, owned by broker Mark Rashotte, now has close to 400 salespeople in offices from Port Hope to Brockville. Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty serves Kingston, Belleville, Trenton, Cobourg and the surrounding areas. Royal LePage Riveredge

Century 21 Precision Realty recently opened for business in Montreal. Owners Clifford and Ann Segal have been working the Montreal real estate market since 1983.

■ ■ ■

Located at 7005 Kildare, Ste. 16 in Côte St Luc, Century 21 Precision is a full-service brokerage. The sales reps are multilingual, offering services in English, French, Russian, Italian, Hebrew and Romanian. ■ ■ ■

Randy Kerr has partnered with his wife Sharon Shortt in the ownership of Exit Realty Group, in Belleville, Ont. Kerr, a 37-year veteran in the business is a pastpresident of the Belleville & District Chamber of Commerce as well as a past chairman for several organizations in the Quinte area. “Randy is precisely the calibre of individual with whom we are intent on growing this organization. We are proud to have him as part of our Exit family,” says Ed Martens, senior vice-president – franchise sales for Exit . ■ ■ ■

Kelly Roberts has acquired Royal LePage Selkirk Realty, the brokerage formerly owned by Ken Marshall in Nakusp, B.C. The company will continue to operate under the same name. Robarts, a long-time resident of the Nakusp area, began her real estate career in 1988, working for Ken Marshall. She took over management for the office in 2007, and when Marshall retired last summer she decided to purchase the business. Continued on page 6

Andrew Wildeboer

Bill Wildeboer

Frank Gray Jr.

Sanjeev P. Singh Ahluwalia

Mark Rashotte

Randy Kerr

Richard Thyssen

Sunil Kumar Saini

Ravi Inder S. Simak

Desmond von Teichman

Kelly Roberts

Manny Andrade

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6 REM MAY 2011

Continued from page 4 ■ ■ ■

Royal LePage Supreme Realty in Toronto has been acquired by Manny Andrade. Previous owners Lucy and Lucio Ramos will stay on with the brokerage in sales. Andrade first started selling real estate with Local Real Estate Ltd. in 1987. He later purchased the company and franchised with the HomeLife brand. ■ ■ ■

Coldwell Banker’s International Conference in Las Vegas recently featured the theme “Generation Blue”. Chief marketing officer Michael Fischer led the closing session at the conference with the debut of the company’s new commercial spots as well as the new Coldwell Banker tag line: “trusted agents…with the right tools…to make smarter decisions.” Other highlights of the closing general session included Sam Sebastian from Google showcasing how online research, mobile devices and video have all changed real estate. Earlier, breakout sessions included classes about social media, blogging, how to find investment buyers, mobile “must haves,” how to price a listing and more. The company’s new marketing campaign emphasizes the importance of a skilled real estate agent who can help buyers and sellers through the process of homeownership. This integrated effort includes 30 and 15 second spots that underscore how the right agent and the right tools combine to ensure smart real estate decisions. “Our consumer research shows us that home buyers want protection against making a wrong decision, whether it be financial or in choosing the right home,” says Fischer. “Our campaign illustrates how people can empower them-

Cover photo: SEE & BELIEVE PHOTOGRAPHY www.seeandbelieve.ca

selves with information online. And no matter how daunting the process may seem, a trustworthy real estate agent can give them the confidence and guidance to make the right move.” One of the spots, Wrong Decisions, follows a couple starting the home search on their own. They soon realize many homes come with a catch: one home is sinking into the ground, another has hazardous levels of radiation and the last is dangerously close to an airport runway. After consulting with a Coldwell Banker agent and using the brand’s platform of online tools, the couple finally finds their dream home. The lighthearted commercial emphasizes that buyers need assistance from a trusted agent because “the wrong home” may not be that obvious. “It comes down to a simple equation; trusted agents, plus the right tools, equals smarter decisions,” says Fischer. ■ ■ ■

Century 21 turned 40 in March with a celebration in Las Vegas. A new international management team led by president Rick Davidson was introduced. “It was an incredible event. We had close to a 100 Canadian representatives with us,” says Don Lawby, president of Century 21 Canada. “I remember one group breaking out in O Canada at the International Regions Cocktail Reception.” The closing ceremony brought a memorable, jaw dropping presentation by rock climber Aron Ralston. In April 2003, after five days of being trapped in a canyon in Utah and having no way to contact anyone, Ralston was forced to amputate his right arm with a dull knife in order to free himself. His ordeal was depicted by James Franco in 127 Hours. A 1,500 pound, 12-foot-long cake was presented by The Cake Boss, Buddy Valastrof. Made in Hoboken, N.J. and transported tenderly across the U.S., the cake

was wheeled in to a cheering crowd. The Century 21 brand is now active in 72 countries around the world. ■ ■ ■

Karen Kinsley was recently reappointed as president and CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. Kinsley, a chartered accountant, was first appointed to the post in 2003. Prior to her appointment, she served in a number of senior positions within CMHC, including vice-president insurance and securitization, vice-president corporate services and chief financial officer. She has also held the position of vice-president finance for a number of private sector real estate developers. Kinsley received the Award of Excellence in 2004 from the Canadian Home Builders’ Association in recognition of service to Canada’s home building industry. In 2006, she was inducted into the Canadian Mortgage Hall of Fame by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals. She is also a three-time recipient of the Women’s Executive Network Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award (2008, 2009 and most recently in 2010). ■ ■ ■

The Independent Mortgage Brokers Association of Ontario (IMBA) has named Joe Rosati as executive director. “In this newly created role, Mr. Rosati will champion the vision and values of the association and provide critical leadership in the development, implementation and delivery of products and services designed to meet the needs of our growing membership,” says the association. Rosati has more than 25 years of experience in mortgage financing, working exclusively with the mortgage brokerage industry. Prior to joining IMBA, he was a regional vice-president with

Publisher HEINO MOLLS email: heino@remonline.com

Editor JIM ADAIR email: jim@remonline.com

General Manager JOHN COOPER email: john@remonline.com

Senior Editor KATHY BEVAN email: kathy@remonline.com

Director, Sales & Marketing DENNIS ROCK email: dennis@remonline.com Brand Design SANDRA GOODER

Art Director LIZ MACKIN Graphic Design SHAWN KELLY

MCAP and was with Scotiabank for 16 years as national director of mortgage broker sales. ■ ■ ■

The Re/Max network recently announced five new offices in four countries in the Caribbean and Central America. In Honduras, the broker/owners of Re/Max Bay Islands in Roatan have opened a second office in West Bay. Larry Schlesser and Janine Goben have named the new office Re/Max Western Sunsets, and staffed the location with experienced agents who are long-time residents. Schlesser and Goben hope to double the staff at Western Sunsets this year. “Tourists are returning to this area and many of them are prospective investors,” says Goben. “We expect to see as many as a million prospective clients come in on cruise ships this year and we have to be ready for them.” In Puerto Rico, one new office is open and another will launch in June. Enrique Morales is the broker/owner of the new Re/Max Divine office in greater San Juan. Broker/owner Sandy Ramos will open Re/Max Real Estate Group in the heart of the island’s tourist area. The office will serve the townships of Rio Grande, Canovanas, Luquillo, Fajardo and Humacao. “The buyers we see in the area around Rio Grande are second home buyers who live outside Puerto Rico,” says Ramos. In Panama, Yenci Milano converted her independent office in Panama City to Re/Max Golden Dream Realty. “The market has started to move again and there is great interest from investors from other Latin American countries,

especially from Venezuela,” says Milano. In Costa Rica, a new office is scheduled to open in Playa Dominical, in the province of Puntarenas. New broker/owners Dave and Debra West are longtime real estate professionals. “We’re focusing on the coastal region surrounding Playa Dominical and extending to where the mountains meet the ocean,” says Dave West. “This area is truly unique and once you’ve experienced it, it’s hard to leave.” ■ ■ ■

Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates has further expanded its global real estate network across Spain with the addition of Costa Blanca Sotheby’s International Realty. The firm is owned by Josef Fischer and will serve the Costa Blanca region of Spain, from Denia to Benidorm. The Sotheby’s International Realty network already includes firms in Madrid, Marbella and the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Menorca and recently announced office openings throughout Costa Brava. Fischer says his goal is to develop the Sotheby’s International Realty brand throughout the region with the immediate opening of Costa Blanca Sotheby’s International Realty in Altea, Albir and Moraira. “The luxury market throughout Spain remains stable and demand is still high for quality, well-priced luxury properties,” he says. The network currently has more than 11,700 sales associates located in approximately 550 offices in 44 countries and territories worldwide. REM

Correction Through member donations, WinnipegRealtors have raised more than $1.4 million in support of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR). Incorrect information appeared in the April issue of REM. REM

2255B Queen Street East, Suite #1178 Toronto, ON M4E 1G3

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. Subscriptions are $40.95 per year (including $1.95 GST), payable by personal cheque. Entire contents copyright 2011 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. ISSN 1201-1223

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Multiple Listings

T:11.25 in S:10.25 in

THERE’S A PLACE FOR AGENTS LIKE OURS: FIRST. The expertise of Coldwell Banker® sales representatives led to $159 billion CAD1 in sales last year in North America. A number that makes us the industry leader.

Our dedicated sales representatives also scored a 98% overall customer satisfaction rating

date

in our Ultimate Service ® platform for the 14th consecutive year. An achievement

initial

unparalleled in our industry.

REAL Trends 2010 NORTH AMERICAN ANNUAL SALES VOLUME (CAD in billions)

$160 $140

With numbers like this, it’s

$120 $100

Premedia Artist: Katy Clove

Producer: Suzanne Moore

than a real estate brand.

$60

We’re the undisputed North

$40 $20

American leader.

$0 Coldwell Banker

RE/MAX

Prudential

Keller Williams

Royal LePage

Average 2009 exchange rate as reported by the Canada Revenue Agency

approvals

Hear what top sales representatives are saying about Coldwell Banker Real Estate at coldwellbanker.ca/join.

Get the free mobile app at

Watch this and see why others have made the switch.

http:/ / gettag.mobi

© 2011 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. A Realogy Company. All Rights Reserved. Each Ofﬁce Is Independently Owned And Operated. Coldwell Banker,® the Coldwell Banker Logo and “We Never Stop Moving” are registered service marks licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. 1

According to 2010 REAL Trends 500 report among brokers with greater than 500 closed sales and the REAL Trends Canadian 200 (Ranked by Closed Sales Volume for 2009). Prudential numbers do not include HomeServices of America.

cb13161PM_11.25x12_Canada_REM_QR February 16, 2011 3:28 PM

Job: cb13161 Client: Coldwell Banker Links Name ColdwellBanker_Ntag_3d_4c.ai CB9883_Coldwell.tif CB11035_AgentYoungBuyer.tif CB9883_Banker.tif CB11921_CB_Homepage.tif CB11921_YoungFemaleBuyer-Agent.tif CB11673_iPhone.tif CB13161_Mobi_Tag.pdf

Status OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK

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Publication: REM March Issue-Canada First Insertion: March

Headline: There’s a Place for Agents Like Ours Media Type / Magazine Substrate Trim: 11.25w x 12h in. Live: 10.25w x 11h in. Bleed: NA Colors: cmyk Pages: 1 Round: 1

Closing: 2/17/11 Premedia: Katy Clove, 919.313.4157, katy.clove@mckinney.com Producer: Suzanne Moore, 919.313.4156, suzanne.moore@mckinney.com Notes:

T:12 in

Project Leader: Jessica Brown

$80

S:11 in

Art Director: Greg Dixon

easy to see why we’re more

8 REM MAY 2011

Northern B.C.’s dynamic 31-year-old sales rep

Trevor Bolin, the No. 1 Re/Max sales rep in B.C., is holding a contest. You can win a free training session and he’ll fly to your home town to deliver it. By Susan Doran

e’re all aware that life is more wild and woolly in the Canadian Great White North than in the rest of the country. If you’ve ever wondered how this difference in local character manifests itself in your real estate brethren living way up there along the Alaskan highway, meet 31-year-old Trevor Bolin, a hall-of-famer who was Re/Max of Western Canada’s No. 1 sales rep for British Columbia last year. Bolin lives in Fort St. John (population 20,000), a 16-hour drive north of Vancouver and six hours south of the border for the Northwest Territories. His family goes back five generations, a rarity in the community, when the norm sees oil, gas, mining and forestry workers coming and going on a regular basis. “My great-grandfather came here to bootleg… and the family’s never left,” he says. With partners Rich and Doug Petersen, Bolin owns three Re/ Max offices in the area (Action Realty; Action Chetwynd Realty and Dawson Creek Reality – the former was Re/Max’s top small market office in western Canada last year). He has his fingers in a lot of other real-estate-related pies as well, including a property management company. He’s a city councillor. He has selfpublished a motivational ragsto-riches book. And he heads up Bolin & Co. International, offering intensive coaching, seminars and publications to those who are keen to get ahead. Especially if you’re from a big city and are used to the machinations of corporate image making and media training, you’d expect Bolin to be pretty slick. Instead, he’s a “ground up kind of guy,” as he puts it.

Take for instance how he handled the following situation. He received some local media attention thanks to his hardhitting marketing tactics, which have his face plastered all over town on everything from billboards, arena boards and bus benches to flyers, magazines, buyers’ guides, postcards, television ads and even ads on the screen at the local theatre. I asked him to email some of the local newspaper articles his marketing campaign has helped generate. I waited days. The federal budget was drafted and rejected sooner. Just as I was beginning to feel like I was dealing with the bureaucracy of a third-world country, the articles came through. Bolin apologized profusely, explaining that his office Internet had been down (“the joys of the north,” he says) and that he had spent four hours over the weekend personally searching for what I wanted. “It tells me I should be more organized,” he laughed. I was floored. Not only had he gone to a great deal of trouble, he was guileless – not something you see every day, at least in Toronto where I live. In tandem with his pervasive, ‘gorilla’ marketing tactics and his genius for generating brand-name recognition (with his name and face as the brand) it’s a winning combination. He’s a nice guy, but a nice guy with a $250,000 yearly budget for marketing. To ensure that he’s the only sales rep with his face on the local bus benches, he bought the bus bench advertising company. Now, with his book Take Charge and Change Your Life Today just released (available at Chapters and on Bolin’s website)

he’s planning on entering all Canadian sales reps who buy the book into a contest. The prize is a free training session and Bolin will fly to the winner’s home turf to give it. Be forewarned that his coaching is not for everyone, Bolin says. “It’s extremely intense and is for people who are absolutely serious” about boosting their business, he says. Life was not always thus for him. After he left a job as an airline ticket handler 11 years ago to become, at 20, the youngest sales rep in the local board (he claims he initially went into real estate solely because he wanted to be able to put a big picture of himself on his vehicle), he found himself $130,000 in debt. “Debt collectors were calling up to seven or eight times a day,” he says. With the help of his broker he realized that what he needed was training. “It’s key,” he says. “I went to Realtor boot camp,” Bolin says. Among his trainers were Terry Paranych, Brian Tracy and Jim Rohn. When he returned to sales a few months later he had “put all the pieces together.” Subsequent years saw his income multiplying like the Jolie-Pitt family, with his various commercial acquisitions and start-ups made along the way. “Some people are in the business five or 10 years. They know what they want but not how to get there,” he says. “I just needed some guidance. I think at the end of the day that’s what everyone needs.” He finds it’s best to combine systems – repeat and referral business; direct marketing and blasting the area with flyers. “One system is great. You’ll make $100,000 a year. But what

Trevor Bolin. (Photo by See & Believe Photography)

if you want to make $500,000 or more? Don’t go to coaches who say they can double your income or help you earn $100,000 per year. Think big.” His key advice for new or struggling sales reps: • Get training/mentorship. • Have a life plan. • Know what you do well and stick with it. • Advertise everywhere. Work at getting brand-name recognition.

• Manage your time. • Take regular vacations so you don’t burn out. “Sales is 85 per cent mindset and 15 per cent tools,” Bolin says. “People think it’s the other way around. You need to have the right mindset and know where you want to be … knowing is half the work. Then you must figure out how to put it in play.” To enter the contest to get training from Bolin or to purchase his book, visit www. bolininternational.com. REM

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10 REM MAY 2011

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Elizabeth Taylor In the June 2005 issue of REM Magazine you featured me on the cover with a feature story about my Elizabeth Taylor collection. I was very saddened by Elizabeth Taylor’s recent passing and I was besieged by the media for interviews. I did spots on CBC For the lo Radio and TV, RealtvoreHanonof Liz n Elizabeth C K Y - C T V , is just oneTaofylhiors pacoBellell’sctioamnazing ssions Global, CITY TV Breakfast TV, CJOB’s Karen Black radio show and articles in the Winnipeg Free Press and Winnipeg Sun. This weeks Winnipeg Real Estate News did a beautiful editorial of two pages on my collection. I can’t believe it! So I feel it’s only fitting to offer a comment on Elizabeth Taylor that you may want to put in REM. Elizabeth was a rare and treasured gift to the world. Her incredible beauty, unique and brilliant talent as an actress from 1941 to 2001 is part of her legacy. More important was her devotion, care, concern and compassion for humanity, most notably her work in the area of AIDS research to find a cure. The world has truly lost a special light in the dimness of reality. My condolences go out to her family. I will miss you dear Elizabeth. Real E state

Issue #1 93

Marke

ting

July 2005

Page 12

Hannon Bell Sales representative Coldwell Banker National Preferred Winnipeg

More on disclosure forms Gene Bystryk commented (REM, April) that 49 cases

News

against registrants in Ontario since 1993 concerning disclosure forms is not a big deal, which is not correct. What Mr. Bystryk failed to observe is that most lawsuits never get to court. Many settle, many die. In my professional life, I have testified as a real estate expert in more than 500 cases and I am guessing that overall I have been involved in more than Laugh an d learn Floyd Wic with 5,000 cases, kman based on the The peril s of presentin not g your fact that about own offer one in 10 make Defending heritag designatio e it to court. I do ns not know how many cases that I have worked on in the past four decades have involved registrants in Ontario but I know this, I have at any week at least three open files I am working on in respect to agency and the various acts across Canada. Based on my own experience, the 49 cases that made it to court represent at least 500 cases that were commenced. It would be interesting to know how many insurance settlements were made over the years. Many people commence a legal action against a Realtor but due to the high costs of litigation and frankly the fact that many chose the wrong lawyer (not all lawyers know real estate law and rules) their cases wither and die. In my experience, the seller property information statement in its present state can contribute to litigation and even a totally innocent and dedicated professional Realtor can find themselves dragged into a mess. Forty-nine cases are not a big deal but 500+ are. Mortga

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Barry Lebow Toronto, Ont. REM

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12 REM MAY 2011

Stem cell donor saves a life in Florida “It’s quite humbling when you look at the whole picture. I’m thrilled that my cells have kept this great man alive,” says sales rep Jo Pillon By Melanie Epp

ore than 10 years ago, inspired by a neighbour’s story about an ill granddaughter, sales rep Jo Pillon of Buckhorn, Ont. joined the Canadian Blood Services’ OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network. When she was contacted by the organization in 2008, it had been so long that Pillon had completely forgotten that she’d signed up at all. “It was a bit of a shock to all of the sudden get this letter that says, ‘You could potentially be a match to save someone’s life, are you interested?’” From there, Pillon had to decide if she would like to proceed with the preliminary tests. The procedure, which isn’t as invasive as it sounds, does require a certain amount of commitment. “It’s a hard decision to make because, of course, you get all of this selfish stuff that comes like, do I want to do this? Can I do this?” she says. Her deliberation was shortlived. Soon afterward, Pillon

decided to do the preliminary testing, not only to further the matching process, but also to ensure that she was healthy enough to donate. The letter was careful to remind her that even though she may be a willing donor, there was no guarantee that she would indeed save someone’s life. “They really push the fact that you are only giving someone hope,” says Pillion. “Because once the patient gets to the stage of having to have a transplant like this, they have exhausted all other options.” Joe Scott of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., who was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in 2005, was told that there was a 20 per cent chance that the cancer would ever go into remission. A stem cell transplant was really his only hope. The risks were high, but Scott was game. On April 9, Jo donated her stem cells through an eight-hour procedure, similar to dialysis, at Princess Margaret Hospital in

Toronto. “The procedure is fast. It is not invasive. There is a drug administered for five days prior to the donation. That drug is the only nasty part of the whole process.” The purpose of the drug, called Filgrastim, is to stimulate stem cells and bone marrow so that it will leave the bones and circulate in the bloodstream. In the wee hours of April 10, Scott received his transplant in Florida. The procedure was remarkably successful and he has since resumed his life of teaching and playing music. “Joe is well – very well, in fact. His doctors are so amazed, and because I had a hand in that, I feel amazing!” says Pillon. “I feel great! It’s quite humbling when you look at the whole picture. I’m thrilled that my cells have kept this great man alive.” Pillon says the only “tangible negative” is that the drug used to promote stem cell growth causes flu-like nausea and bone aches. “But,” she says, “That’s a really

Homes getting smaller A

recent study by the U.S. National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows that while consumer hesitations on home buying is waning in the U.S., the recent housing downturn has changed what Americans are looking for in their next home. The survey research on consumer preferences suggests that the severity of the recession has left an indelible mark on prospective home buyers, who have shifted their perspective on the housing they want and need. Builders surveyed expect homes to average 2,152 square feet in 2015, 10 per cent smaller than the average size of singlefamily homes started in the first three quarters of 2010. To save on square footage,

the living room is high on the endangered list, says NAHB, with 52 per cent of builders expecting it to be merged with other spaces in the home by 2015. Thirty per cent said it will vanish entirely. “As an overall share of total floor space, 54 per cent of builders said the family room is likely to increase,” says Rose Quint, NAHB’s assistant vicepresident for survey research. “That makes it the only area of the home likely to get bigger.” In addition, the relative size of the entry foyer and dining room are likely to be diminished by 2015. However, opinions were fairly evenly divided on the fate of the kitchen, master bedroom and bath and mudroom, she says. The average new home of

2015 is likely to feature a great room comprised of the kitchen, foyer and living room; a walk-in closet in the master bedroom; a laundry room; ceiling fans; a master bedroom on the first floor in homes with two storeys; and a two-car garage. In addition to floor plan changes, 68 per cent of builders surveyed say that homes in 2015 will also include more green features and technology, including low-E windows; engineered wood beams, joists or tresses; water-efficient features such as dual-flush toilets or low-flow faucets; and an Energy Star rating for the whole house. The full study and survey methodology can be found online at www.housingeconomics.com. REM

small price to pay to save someone’s life.” The donation happened to take place on Pillon’s son Trevor’s 21st birthday. “He put it into

Joe Scott

Jo Pillon

words so well when he said, ‘Mom, you have given life twice on that same day.’ I hadn’t thought about it that way, but as soon as he said it I thought, that’s very powerful.” Since the transplant, Pillon and Scott have met in person and have become good friends. Scott teaches music at a university and plays piano in a jazz band. To show his gratitude, Scott held a “celebrating life” concert in Pillon’s honour in his home state of Florida. Pillon is a sales rep for Royal LePage Frank Real Estate in Peterborough. She says that she takes the Royal LePage motto, Helping You Is What We Do, to heart. “It sounds cliché to say this, but that is really my motto, as well as the Royal LePage motto.” It is Pillon’s hope that her story will inspire others to sign the registry. “Not enough people do it, and that’s why I’ve agreed to this article. There are many Realtors in Canada – even if a few people who read this article sign the register after reading it, I’ll feel like I’ve helped the cause.” REM

• OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network is a program that is dedicated to seeking out healthy volunteer donors for those in need of stem cells. • OneMatch’s database includes over 200,000 individuals who have agreed to donate to patients around the world, no matter where they are located. • Of those who find donors, fewer than 30 per cent of them find a compatible donor from within their own family. The rest of them rely on volunteer donors. • Stem cells become one of three things: red blood cells, which carry oxygen; white blood cells, which fight infections; or platelets, which help to stop bleeding. • Stems cells treat a variety of diseases and disorders, including immune system disorders and leukemia. • Stem cells are taken from both bone marrow and circulating blood. • If you would like to sign the registry, you can do so if you are between 17 and 50 years old. You will need to meet certain health criteria in order to have your application accepted. • To join, visit www.blood.ca, or call 1-888-236-6283. You can also email onematch@blood.ca for more information.

14 REM MAY 2011

Buy a house, get a Glock

Everyone loves to get something for free but do incentives work when selling a home?

nnovative marketing ideas are necessary to draw attention to a listing in tough real estate markets. An often-used tactic is to offer freebies to buyers. From flat screen TVs to boats, cars, vacations and shopping sprees, sellers are doing whatever they can to get that SOLD sticker on their front yard. Everyone loves to get something for free but do the incentives work? A desperate East York, Ont., home seller wasn’t having much luck selling his $379,000 detached two-storey house so he decided to throw in a $15,000 car to sweeten the deal. The sales rep and the property gained from the increased exposure but ultimately the house didn’t sell with the car. The seller had to lower the price and remove the vehicle incentive to move the property. Penny Naldrett, a sales rep with Sutton Centre Realty in Burnaby, B.C., had buyers that offered an incentive. “The sellers owned the gym on Bowen Island. They offered two annual memberships to the buyers of their home. I don’t think it was the deal maker/breaker but it certainly gave them good exposure for their new business and the buyers enjoyed the perk.” Lisa Salt has never used these types of incentives. The 17-year

disclosed to potential buyers.” When offering incentives, check with your broker to find out how to do it properly. If you have any additional questions, CREA recommends you check with your provincial real estate association or council.

Penny Naldrett

Lisa Salt

veteran sales rep with Re/Max Vernon in Vernon, B.C., says, “I find a price reduction is the best answer to a property that isn’t selling. I would much rather see the seller reduce the price than throw in incentives unless it is something they don’t want.”

Canada. My clients offered a $10,000 cash bonus on a $3.6 million sale. The house did not sell and expired at the end of its term. I remember one house that had a Bentley as the bonus to the sale.”

A lot of brokers and sales reps agree that the selling price is the bottom line. Some buyers are scraping together every penny they can find to purchase a home and could care less about a fantasy vacation. They would rather have a lower purchase price than a price that masks the cost of sending the buyers on vacation. Naldrett makes an interesting observation; incentives are used a lot more in the United States. “I used to sell real estate in Naples, Fla. Down in the States it was much more prevalent to offer a bonus to the buyer’s agent than I have seen up here in

No matter what incentive the sellers plan to offer, make sure it’s all on the up and up. Suzanne Anderson, a sales rep with Re/Max Fort McMurray in Fort McMurray, Alta. says, “Offering incentives…has to be done through a real estate brokerage with the broker’s approval…these are Real Estate Council of Alberta rules. The seller can offer any incentives direct to the purchaser, through the brokerage. However, we cannot advertise any incentives to the public unless it is approved through our brokerage, or approved by the seller, and any terms or conditions attached to these incentives must be

There are three instances when incentives may be especially helpful: * When a home is listed in order to distinguish it from the competition. * When a home has been on the market for a number of months and sellers don’t want to lower the cost but need to get buyers interested. * During negotiations when the buyer needs a nudge to get the deal closed. As Naldrett points out, in the U.S. the use of incentives is more commonplace. Here are some examples of this practice: * A Realtor in Texas offers a Glock pistol with the purchase of any home from her. Although you don’t need a license to own a handgun in Texas, this offer is only valid for people in law enforcement. * A sales rep in Rhode Island tailors the incentive to the house he is selling. In the past he has offered landscaping services

By Toby Welch

for a year and a free bathroom renovation. * One North Carolina brokerage offers free lodging for out of town buyers who are in town to look at properties. Some U.S. brokers and sales reps even offer incentives to entice people to look at a property. One Rhode Island Realtor gave 30 days worth of free groceries to anyone who looked at the property. A sales rep in Georgia offered the first 200 people who became a fan of their Facebook page a $10 Starbucks gift card. In 2009, a sales rep in Newmarket, Ont. was trying to sell a number of new homes but couldn’t unload the properties in a slow market. She offered to throw in a 2010 KIA sedan, a vehicle with a $15,000 value, with the purchase of a home. No one took her up on the offer, preferring to get rebates instead, but the incentive got more potential customers through the door. Another sales rep in Ontario was offering a free parking stall (in some cases a $35,000 value) with the purchase of certain condo units. In a challenging real estate market, sales reps and sellers have to find a way to stand out. Is offering incentives the right way to achieve that? REM

Duh, winning bidders lose Sheen taping T

he Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board (OMDREB) was thrilled recently when it raised more than $40,000 in an auction to raise funds for charity Habitat for Humanity. Three auction guests donated more than $13,500 each for invitations to a live taping of Two and a Half Men in Burbank, Calif. But before OMDREB could send their guests on the

trip, former show star Charlie Sheen “had his famous meltdown and the rest was history,” says the board in a news release. Through connections, an OMDREB member obtained an invitation to the taping. “It was the headliner of an already exciting auction and the buzz it created was enormous,” says the board.

Now OMDREB says it is “caught up in the meltdown ripple.” It says it wants to honour its commitments, both to the donors and to Habitat, and is “looking at options and hoping for a bit of a miracle. In the meantime, it’s interesting how one meltdown thousands of miles away can impact the lives of under-housed families in another country,” says OMDREB.

“The generosity of our gala guests was overwhelming and we greatly exceeded our goals for the year,” says 2010 board president Jeff Mahannah. “But we never anticipated that something happening so far away would impact our ability to make our donation to Habitat.” The Toronto Star later reported that the winning bidders were

offered tickets and a chance to meet Sheen at his stage show in Toronto. Anne Swarbrick, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Halton, says the board “has been very supportive of Habitat’s work in the community and we appreciate the concern this situation has caused them.” REM

16 REM MAY 2011

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By Donald H. Lapowich

s readers of REM will know, causation and proof of same against professionals is one of my favourite defences to malpractice. An oral maxillofacial surgeon leased space in a hospital that was being renovated. A patient complained of disorientation and dizziness. The patient sued, alleging a disability caused by hazardous materials that were released into surgeon’s work environment during renovations. The Court of Appeal in Eastern Canada applied the standard that the patient must show (prove) that “but for” the renovations (causation), she would not be ill. The patient was not able to prove that heavy metals were released into the air during the renovations, causing the illness. ■ ■ ■

An owner of a ranch was being foreclosed and sought the help of a friend, L. That friend contacted D who took title in trust, paid off the mortgage and therefore saved the owner’s equity in the property. L then dealt with a real estate company as the agent for the owner and signed, “through D”, an MLS contract. The owners then sold the property to a purchaser, but they refused to pay commissions to the real estate company. The company brought a motion, in British Columbia, for judgment of its commission. The court held that the plain-

tiff realty company knew that D, as the registered title holder, was not the seller of the ranch but was simply “agents” for the owner and signed for the purpose of binding the owner to an MLS contract. Therefore, the owners were liable to the real estate company for the commission of sale. The court also ruled that it was obvious in this circumstance that the real estate company was acting for the person holding in trust “for the owner”. The owner wished to sell the property. The real estate company was successful in achieving the sale and therefore it earned that commission. ■ ■ ■

A plaintiff agreed to buy a new home from a builder. It was to be constructed in a new subdivision. The completion date was set but an extension of 90 days was given to accommodate delays. By the construction date completion, actual construction had barely begun. No one took any steps to enforce the contract. The house was not completed and the plaintiff bought a smaller house in the same subdivision on another street. The plaintiff then sued for “specific performance” by the builder for not completing the original home. The court refused specific performance. It ruled the plaintiff had bought another home that was also new, in the same subdivision that was similar though somewhat smaller. The second house cost more (due to the passage of time) but it was demonstrated to the court that it was a suitable alternative. The court ruled that where the plaintiff can lead no evidence that damages would not be adequate, specific performance is not a proper remedy. 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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REM MAY 2011 19

How to make great YouTube videos By Ingrid Menninga

ideo is exploding in popularity among real estate professionals, with more and more sales reps jumping on the amateur promotional video trend. Videos are low in cost, easy to make, provide a lot of useful information in a short period of time and take almost no effort for your audience to watch. Videos also give your audience clues about you, your service and your professionalism that can never be obtained from a postcard, newsletter or other marketing materials. Through your video, clients assess the way you speak, your choice of words, your physical presence, your confidence in your delivery and your comfort discussing your work. A video makes prospects feel like they already know you before you’ve even met them, and is a great way to convert leads into clients. On the flipside, poorly made videos can turn away prospects and make clients reconsider their choice in you as their Realtor. To avoid this, make sure you follow

these basic guidelines when making videos to promote your business. First, you must prepare your setting: • Ensure you have good lighting, and that the light source (sun or bright light) is in front of you. Your face should be fully lit and shadows kept to a minimum. • Tidy up your space, remove anything that is not necessary, and if possible have as few distractions in the background as possible. One sign or a picture can look good, but a lot of visual noise can be distracting. • Put on a solid coloured professional-looking shirt or jacket. Avoid wearing busy patterns or faded colours because they do not present as well on camera. • Set up your camera at approximately one metre from you – allowing enough space so that it’s not a close up but your mic will pick your voice clearly. Once you’ve done the background work, you’re ready to prepare your message. You don’t need to have a memorized script for your video, but you should have basic speaking points to follow. Here are some important points to keep in mind when preparing your message: • Have a focus. There should be one main idea you would like to articulate to your audience per video – any more than that and you may appear disorganized and

your video will not be effective. • Think only of your target audience. You should have a clear idea of who you want to speak to, or attract with your video – be it first-time buyers, families looking to move up or residents in a specific neighbourhood. If you want your message to speak to your target audience you must think of them – what they want to know and what they are interested in. • Prepare your format to follow an introduction where you state what your video is about, followed by supporting statements in order of most important to less important, and then a summary at the end. • Keep your video under one minute if at all possible. At the 30-second mark, most viewers will stop watching. You can stretch your video up to 1.5 minutes if you really must, but at the two minute mark you’ve more than likely lost your audience. Now you are ready to start taping. • Rehearse one or two times and then make your video. • Once you’ve taped three or four times, you’re likely to get frustrated and make more errors. It’s best to relax, do a few takes, and then move on. • Spend approximately 30 minutes taping each video. The longer you take, chances are very high that you will not look or

A video makes prospects feel like they already know you before you’ve even met them, and is a great way to convert leads into clients. sound any better, so accept that you can make a decent video in 30 minutes and give it your best effort. After you’ve taped your video, upload it to YouTube and promote it. • Add a keyword-rich description along with one form of contact, preferably email, so people can get in touch with you, • Add your personal branding logo and colours to your video using movie editing software. It’s important to keep your branding consistent, so when your clients and prospects go from your Facebook page to your YouTube channel to your blog to your listings page, they have seen your logo, branding and colours throughout. This helps increase your brand recognition and your familiarity, making people feel more comfortable and confident in you as their Realtor of choice. • Once you’ve uploaded your

video, make sure you also add it to your website/blog. Share the link with your other social media profiles such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and add your video link to your enewsletter and email signature if it’s suitable. HOT TIP: The video set up and preparation can take some time, so making several videos at once can save you a lot of time. To keep each video looking different you can change your outfit for each of them. It’s also a good idea to make your videos after you’ve had your hair cut, or just got your jacket back from the dry cleaner, to present yourself as polished as possible. Ingrid Menninga is a director at Jolt Marketing (www.joltmarketing.com) where she works with real estate and mortgage agents and organizations to develop their branding and execute highly successful marketing campaigns. REM

2011 Election of Directors — Here are your candidates Election of Directors is conducted by online voting only. Online voting instructions were mailed to registrants the week of April 11, 2011. Online voting closes at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, 2011.

Region 1 AMIR S. ALI, Salesperson E-mail: amiralicanada@hotmail.com Re/Max Realty One Inc., Brokerage, Mississauga Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 7

Member, Advisory Board, Institute of International Marketing Professionals; Member, Business Strategy Professionals Association; President & CEO, Friends of Environment Association; Member, Executive Committee, Peel Muslim Cultural Association; Member, Red Cross since 1967; Former Co-Chair, Stephane Dion Leadership Team; Director, Brampton West Riding Association, Writer of 3 books including “The Secret Economy and Us”.

MICHAEL BAEUMLER, Salesperson E-mail: baeumler@rogers.com Century 21 Millennium Inc., Brokerage, Brampton Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 9

My name is Michael Baeumler; I’ve been a REALTOR® SINCE February 2003. I assure you in all my activities I am guided by the principles of honesty and integrity. If nominated, I promise to accept the responsibilities that your trust has provided for. I respectfully submit my nomination with full knowledge of the time commitments required for this position taken into full consideration. Subsequent to a successful corporate life, where my last position was Vice-President/General Manager, I chose a career in real estate. I believed it would be a good fit for my personality and work ethics. After careful consideration, I’ve decided I am ready to embark upon another level of real estate and apply my experience, my creativity, and my energy to support the RECO Board of Directors. The ability to provide leadership and direction has played a major role in many of my successes. My practical and academic experience have assisted me during my volunteer activities on both appointed and nominated professional, charitable, and local community boards. I am committed to uphold the “CODE OF CONDUCT FOR DIRECTORS”, and to protect both consumers and registrants. I request your support for this position on the RECO Board of Directors, and will campaign on behalf of their principles.

AJAY JAIN, Broker E-mail: ajayjain@rogers.com Homelife TJT Realty Inc., Brokerage, Markham Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 7

Education: MBA from The Rotman School of Management (U of T), HBSC in Molecular Biology from (U of T). Experience: Commercial and Retail Land Development Association at Smart Centres, Marketing Strategy Associate at Royal LePage Corporate Office, Retail Leasing Manager for CMC Medical Centres, Founder and President of iBidBroker.com, Mortgage Broker at TJT Mortgage Alliance, Realtor with Century 21 TJT Realty and Homelife, Real Estate Coach for one of Toronto’s leading new Condo teams, Chair of External Affairs for the South Asian Professional Association, President of The Rotman South Asian Business Association. Skills: Strong communication skills; Ability to understand an issue and create a game plan to solve it while taking all stakeholders into account; Ability to suggest out of the box solutions; and be a strong team player.

RAJINDER LALL, Broker E-mail: rlall@trebnet.com Re/Max 2000 Realty Inc., Brokerage, Toronto Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 8

8 years in real estate business, Presently with Re/Max 2000 Realty Inc., Brokerage. Other Experiences: President/Owner – Umbica Machine Inc. (Since 2008), Supervisor in Metal Manufacturing Plant(s) (1994-1998), Humber College Graduate (1991) IMM (Packaging)

3250 Bloor Street West, Suite 600, East Tower, Toronto, Ontario M8X 2X9

Region 1 Continued CECILIA LUU, Broker Gold Mountain Realty Inc., Brokerage, Toronto Years Registered: 71/2 Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments: TREB – Education Committee – Past, Davenport Liberal Association – Past - Fundraising Committee - Vice-President, Rotary Club of Toronto – Past - Membership Committee, Queen’s Park Toastmasters Int’l Club – Past - Area Governor

DERICK M. PARSONS, Broker E-mail: dparsons@trebnet.com Re/Max Rouge River Realty Ltd., Brokerage, Toronto Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 32

Licenced since 1979, Broker in 1982, Served on TREB Professional Standards Committee, Broker/Manager 24 years

MAHDI RAZA, Salesperson E-mail: info@mahdiraza.com Re/Max Dynasty Realty Inc., Brokerage, Markham Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 7

13 years of management experience in various business settings – developed strategic partnerships in multi-level business settings and relationships – created and managed business planning internally and externally – spearheaded financial planning in creation of business. Managed IT departments of 6 IT staff. Responsible for development of various IT programs on various platforms and languages. Familiar with RECO’s IT uses – involved in Real Estate since 2003 – involved with Generation x,y,z. Constantly involved in understanding consumer needs in the real estate marketplace. Conducted and responsible for Board meetings – Involved with Strategic direction of organizations – involved with annual budgets of organizations – involved with non-for-profit organizations for the last 8 years.

MICHAEL SCHULER, Broker E-mail: mschuler@cbci.ca Coldwell Banker Commercial Integrity Real Estate Inc., Brokerage, Oakville Years Registered: 25+ Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments: With more than 35 years of business experience, Michael brings to the RECO board the balanced perspective of a Commercial Realtor and successful business person. A 13 year member of the Society of Industrial & Office REALTORS® (SIOR) Michael was first licenced in 1976 and began as a Commercial Realtor with Royal LePage in 1987. Michael joined Coldwell Banker Commercial Integrity Real Estate as a Broker and partner in 2006 after leaving the real estate firm he co-founded some years earlier. He is familiar with change having been involved in the successful introduction of desk top word processing, the start of the PC revolution. He has served on the SIOR fall seminar committee, President of the Canadian Owners & Pilots Assn., Flight 28, 1993-1995, the COPA Fund Raising Chair 1993-2006 and a member of Toronto Real Estate Board Commercial Council. He is currently the Fintrac Compliance Officer at his firm. He brings a well rounded realistic perspective about the challenges faced by Realtors and Commercial Realtors in today’s changing regulatory environment. 3250 Bloor Street West, Suite 600, East Tower, Toronto, Ontario M8X 2X9

Region 1 continued CHRISTOPHER H. SEEPE, Salesperson E-mail: cseepe@thebehargroup.com The Behar Group Realty Inc., Brokerage, Toronto Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 2

Board Member Objectives: Contribute to improving the public’s perception of Ontario’s real estate industry and community, and pursue meaningful changes that improve the communications and the relationship between RECO and its registrants. Please email me for a link to a webpage I’ve set up that expands on the topics that I would like to see addressed. Qualifications: 30+ years of strategic business and financial planning experience and expertise, primarily sales and marketing in information technology; 15 years senior executive roles’ 2+ years commercial realtor (primarily retail plazas, land development, multi-residential); CEO of public company; past board member of 2 public companies; past board member of non-profit ‘newcomer’ agency; founded consumer software company and grew it to $10 million revenue in 6 years with IPO, winner of the Canadian Government’s 1996 Canada Export Award for outstanding achievement in export development, Notable Mention for Canadian Airlines’ Entrepreneur Award; 3.5 years with Hydro One as a senior IT architect; familiar with RECO regulatory framework.

ROBERT SOPRONEY, Salesperson E-mail: rsoproney@trebnet.com Re/Max Realty Enterprises Inc., Brokerage, Mississauga Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 36

Member of RECO Discipline and Appeals Committee (since 2000), TREB Hearing Panel (10 years), MREB Investigation/Hearing Panel (1995-2000), MREB Director 1998/99, MREB Chairman of Operations/Social Committee, Chair/Member of Nomination Committee/Web Design Committee. City of Mississauga – Public Advisory Committee – 3 Terms (9 years), Last term as Vice-Chair. When elected, expect my duties to be carried out in a precise conscientious manner. No disappointments!

KEITH TARSWELL, Broker E-mail: ktarswell@bosleyrealestate.com Bosley Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage, Toronto Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 31

Residential and Commercial. RECO - Vice Chair, Board of Directors; Region 1 Director since 2008; Chair, Premium Stabilization; RECO–Governance, Finance; OREA–Ethics and Arbitration; TREB–Vice Chair, Arbitration. Past; RECO–Finance 2008-2009; RECO – Premium Stabilization 2008-2009; Governance 2009-2010; Chair, Audit 2010; Vice Chair, Discipline 2000-2001; OREA – Arbitration and Ethics 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010; OREA – Finance 2003, 2002, 2001, TREB – Vice Chair, Arbitration 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010; TREB – Vice Chair, Ethics 1993 -2000; TREB - Presidential, Award of Appreciation – 2000, Numerous committees and task forces at TREB since 1989, Additional Comments; As your representative I intend to continue to serve you fully and accomplish these key goals; 1) Complete a full review of advertising compliance; 2) Review REBBA 2002; 3) Review insurance program and its options; 4) Review the education program and options; 5) Continue to foster positive relationships with OREA and stakeholders in the real estate sector; 6) Promote fairness, cooperation and transparency between RECO, consumers and our over 59,000 members; 7) Increase public awareness of the value of working with real estate professionals. I pledge to use my best efforts to continue to be informed, committed and fully participatory in working to have RECO fulfill its vision, mission and mandate for us all.

Region 2 LEROY D. DIRCKX, Broker of Record E-mail: leroy@atlasworld.ca Atlas World Real Estate Corporation, Brokerage, Lions Head Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 19

I am the Broker of Record for Atlas World Real Estate Corp.; I have worked as a licensed salesperson and Broker since I was 18 years old. I have an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree from York University in Toronto. I have served on local board task forces. My experience in Real Estate has been broad, ranging from Recreational to Residential to Commercial. I also have a good grasp on rural real estate concerns as they are unique from those which are often found in larger centers. From my education to my nearly two decades of experience I would offer a well rounded set of values as a director. 3250 Bloor Street West, Suite 600, East Tower, Toronto, Ontario M8X 2X9

Region 2 continued TAMER E. FAHMI, Broker of Record E-mail: tamer@TamerFahmi.com Hearth & Home Realty Inc., Brokerage, Burlington Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 34

Currently serving as a Director on the RECO Board, concluding the third year of a 3 year term. Chair of RECO’s Legislation & Regulations Committee and current member of Audit Committee. Previously served on Premium Stabilization and Governance Committees. Former President of the Ontario Real Estate Association and the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington, also having served and chaired numerous committees and task forces on both organizations. Volunteering within the local community on the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Board, in addition to involvement with various organizations. Owner and Broker of Record of Hearth & Home Realty Inc., Brokerage since 1989, and continue to remain actively involved in sales and management in the Real Estate profession. My previous involvement and experience in the industry and in the community provide me with clear direction and insight to effectively continue with my service on the RECO Board. My current participation has given me precise understanding with respect to the role of a volunteer from the perspective of a Regulator in charge of Consumer Protection, while at the same time effectively communicating the Registrants’ needs to properly serve and protect their clients’ interests, provide a high standard of care and respect that the public and fellow Registrants deserve.

REBECCA RYDER, Broker E-mail: rebecca@royallepage.ca Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage, Burlington Years Registered: 25+ Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments: Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services, Burlington – Broker/Area Sales Manager – since year 1999; Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington – RAH-B President 2005; Committee Chair – Executive Committee, Bylaw, Finance, Burlington Council; Committee Member – Professional Standards, Member Area Representation Committee, MLS & IT, Election, Scholarship; Ontario Real Estate Association – Legal Resource Committee Member – years 2003-4 & 2006-7; Executive General Manager – Re/Max Realty Properties Inc., Mississauga – 1985 – 1991, Sales Representative – Re/Max Aboutowne Realty Corp., Oakville – 1994 – 1999. It would be my privilege to serve as a RECO Director representing Region 2. I am a very active Broker, who has continuously held positions in the Brokerage side of the real estate industry for over 25 years. Please feel free to contact me before or after you cast your ballot; your feedback is important to me, and I would be happy to discuss any concerns or issues you may have. If I am elected to represent you, I promise you a voice of experience, integrity and strength.

Region 3 – Acclamation In accordance with Section 7 of RECO By-law No. 9 – Acclamation, Tom Wright, President/CEO of RECO, declares George Watson elected as a Director in Region 3.

GEORGE WATSON, Broker E-mail: george10902@sympatico.ca Lifestyle Realty Associates Inc., Brokerage, Wasaga Beach Area(s) of expertise, committee experience (RECO, real estate, other), additional comments:

Years Registered: 37

RECO registrant since 1973. Broker since 1976. Broker of Record 1995 to 2008. Sold Royal LePage Franchise in 2008 and managed new company. Formed new Brokerage in early 2010. Member Georgian Triangle & Toronto Real Estate boards. Designated Appraiser Residential (DAR) Canadian National Assoc. Real Estate Appraisers. Owner Mortgage Brokerage. Director Georgian Triangle R.E. Board 1994 – 2009. Past President 2005. Ont. Commercial Federation Member and Ont. Commercial Council Member 2010/11. Member of RECO’s Discipline & Appeals Committee since 2002. Municipal Councillor Town of Wasaga Beach – 3rd term (11 years) 3250 Bloor Street West, Suite 600, East Tower, Toronto, Ontario M8X 2X9

24 REM MAY 2011

Consider radio for a marketing edge F

or six years, Cameron Nolan demonstrated Real Estate Made Simple. Nolan, broker at Re/Max Escarpment Realty Inc. in Hamilton, Ont. hosted the radio show on AM900 CHML and garnered “quite a following” during his six-year stint. “I’m not sure the precise genesis. I was listening to CMHL and noticed that on talk radio, most shows had an “ask the experts” segment – car experts, mortgage experts and people who redo sewers, but there was no real estate show. I thought there should be and wondered if they (CMHL) would be interested.” An inquiry soon revealed that he would have to pay for the privilege. “I didn’t realize people pay to have a show,” Nolan says. But after talking to his wife Angela, a sales rep, he decided to go for it. “I found a time slot and an affordable arrangement,” says Nolan, who did the show one Saturday a month. “Radio was a way of doing two things: 1) I had my own philosophy that the better educated a

client is, the better I can serve them. Educate the public is what I do, and 2) it was a quick way to gain credibility. When I started (radio) I had just over two years as a Realtor. The show exponentially increased my credibility.” It wasn’t direct business, where people would call in and ask him to sell their homes. “I would meet people and they would say, ‘I know who you are’ and want to do business,” says Nolan, who produced his own show and came up with all of the topics. “It was a quick way to gain some credibility, and then it was good fun, with positive feedback. I’ve done about 70 in total,” he says. Ideas were relatively easy to come by. “There is a whole series of things clients need to know. How to interact with a stager and what they do, how to choose a lawyer, how to know if mortgage people are right for you, listing a home in winter or in summer and what to keep in mind,” he says. “The second way to come up with ideas was to interact with someone” and

then talk generally about their questions or concerns. Nolan had a few wheelchair accessible homes for sale. Using soft marketing, he did a show about how to find and market accessible homes, and then talked about the listings in the same show. Each show would feature Nolan and Shiona Thompson, producer of the morning show on CMHL, who acted as a host. Nolan chose the format and had full control of the topics to fill his 42.5 minutes. (The rest of the hour featured news and ads.) Nolan, who recently completed his last show, says radio is a good way for agents to market themselves, but it’s not for everyone. “My wife says I have a good radio face, which means I have a reasonably good voice,” says Nolan, who has no formal radio training. Since he was 15 or 16, he has conducted interviews and has been involved in presentations. His work experience also helped. Nolan attended his hometown university, McMaster, and then went to work at the Junior

Achievement of Canada’s national office. From 1983 to 1988, he worked for the electrical and mechanical associations in Hamilton. An 11-year stint in labour relations with the Hamilton Construction Association followed. It was there that Nolan gained “lots of experience in negotiations,” he says. He worked for Alberici Constructors, an international construction company, for 2.5 years and later worked as a consultant. Unfortunately, he says, “People don’t want to pay a consultant.” Around 2003, when his wife had been a sales rep for about four years at a Hamilton brokerage, Nolan got his license. “I became a professional to help Angela,” he says. It wasn’t long before he was involved in real estate full time. He sells residential and commercial real estate in the Greater Hamilton Area, which includes Burlington. “I was still having fun and educating people, but now we’ll be putting our dollars into different

By Connie Adair

Cameron Nolan

forms of advertising,” he says. Radio is a “significant budget item,” costing around a couple of thousand dollars a week. “As we move forward, we’re looking to hire an assistant. It was a good idea to pull back (from radio) and refocus the dollars.” Nolan’s radio experience won’t go to waste. He is president-elect of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington and will be its 2012 president. “The president has to interact with the media and assist membership in communicating their message,” he says. He’s ready. REM

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26 REM MAY 2011

Don’t worry, Wal-Mart will hire us

By Terry LeClair

t’s time that someone finally comes out and tells all you Realtors that you don’t have to worry. Wal-Mart will hire us...when they put their real estate offices in their stores. Did you catch that? I said “us”. Yes, the jerk writing this article is a Realtor himself. Why as an industry are we so slow to adapt? Why do we not embrace change and decide to make a difference early in the game? Why do we wait until our backs are against the wall and a gun is pointed at our heads before we wake up and decide to do something about it?

Now think about this for a moment: there is huge pressure by the Department of Justice in the United States and the Competition Bureau in Canada to open up the MLS to anyone and everyone. They want non-members, or members who decide they do not want to compensate selling agents, to have complete access to “our” MLS systems. The systems that our fees and thousands of man hours put in by Realtor volunteers built. The system we regarded as our “value proposition” and our “unique selling proposition” will be infiltrated by the public, the discounters or the shameless entrepreneurs trying to change our business for their shameless so-called profits. But don’t bitch about it: we’ve done it to ourselves. It’s time we stopped whining about what is happening to our sacred MLS system and start to do something about it. Now don’t get me wrong, I still want to defend what we

have built with as much passion and persistence that I can muster, but I am a realist and a planner. I want to look to the future and see that it’s NOT our use of MLS, but one of engaging the consumer. Quite frankly, you can NEVER engage and, more importantly, captivate the consumer with the data found on MLS. So then why are so many Realtors relying only on MLS and the data contained in it for their web content? If you were to list your own home do you think that one paragraph of text and a few dimensions is enough to compel someone to come and see your home? I didn’t think so. Consumers are not idiots! They are demanding, and expect service and a professional to “market” their home the most effective way possible. For those of you who think that the MLS is the best marketing solution for your listings, I have a fantastic little blue apron with a pretty name badge

on it that is made just for you. For those of you who really don’t want to end up at Wal-Mart, listen up: we Realtors need to take charge right now and change the way we do business. We MUST re-invent, re-develop, embrace and execute Real Estate 2.0. We need to start work harder and stop thinking that MLS and its technology is the tool that’s going to make our jobs easier. In fact, it’s going to be the tool that puts us out of work if it’s the ONLY thing/tool we rely on. What’s stopping Wal-Mart from putting in company-owned real estate offices in each of their stores, hiring out-of-work “goober” Realtors for $15 an hour and offering full MLS access for $499? “Bring in your photos and fill out this form and we will put your home on MLS”. Is it possible? Yes! Is it inevitable? No! We all must make an effort to create that Real Estate 2.0 experience. We must embrace great tech-

nology that makes us leaders in our market places. Technology that engages the consumer and gives them a captivating experience that they just can’t get from MLS – or Wal-Mart for that matter. One thing’s for certain, the consumer will not stop expecting more, and there will be entrepreneurs that will be ready, willing and able to give them what they want. Let’s make a deal: why don’t we all decide to be the innovators, the creators, the professionals that people use to buy and sell real estate? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have no plans to wear a blue apron and work for someone else. Terry LeClair is the CEO and founder of RealtySites PLUS, a suit of software and online tools that were built by Realtors for Realtors. www.RealtySitesPLUS.com. REM

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30 REM MAY 2011

How to avoid hidden mortgage costs

By David Larock

f Canadians shopped for cars the same way we shop for mortgages, most of us would be driving around in old beaters that would be better used as lawn ornaments. That’s because all of our focus would be on price (interest rate), and not on potential repair costs (interest rate penalties). If choosing a car based solely on its purchase price seems shortsighted to most of us, why do we make this mistake with mortgages? It’s probably because most people just don’t think they will need to break their mortgage contract early. But with so many variables – such as job transfers, an expanding family, an inheritance, the chance to buy your dream home, divorce, job loss – can you ever really be sure? If you do need to pay out your fixed-rate mortgage early, you may be shocked when you see the penalty charged by your lender, and even more so when you realize that you could have avoided most of that cost by simply choosing another lender offering the same interest rate. This column will use four different hypothetical borrowers to compare how fixed-rate mortgage penalties are calculated. In each case, we’ll figure out the extra penalty charged by some lenders, and then calculate the reduction in their interest rate necessary to make the overall cost of their mortgage equivalent to the cost of borrowing from other lenders who use more reasonable penalty calculations. (If that sounds confusing, fear not. It’ll become clearer when I show you the numbers.) First, let’s understand the different ways that lenders calculate fixed-rate mortgage penalties. In your mortgage contract, it will say something like “your penalty will be calculated as the greater of three months’ interest or the

interest rate differential (IRD)”. Alas, in the majority of cases, your penalty will be based on the dreaded IRD calculation. In principle, the lender calculates the IRD by taking your interest rate and comparing it to the interest rate they currently offer for whatever term most closely matches the time remaining on your mortgage: For example, if you have a five-year mortgage at 5% with three years remaining, and the lender’s current three-year rate is 3%, some lenders will take 5% minus 3% = 2%. This number is then multiplied by your mortgage amount and then multiplied again by the time you have left on your mortgage, divided by 12.

I know. Ouch. While the original headline interest rate offered by the two different lenders was the same, the difference in penalties charged was $8,600 on a $100,000 loan. That’s 8.6% of the original amount borrowed! In the chart below, for the original rates, I used the Bank of Canada’s average five-year posted conventional mortgage rate for the appropriate month and year, and subtracted 1.42%, which a recent Bank of Canada report indicated is the long-term historical average discount offered on posted rates. I used the same interest rates for both lender groups and I used mortgage rates from April 4, 2011 to calculate the appropriate comparison. This gives you an estimate of

borrowers will only be charged three months’ interest. Look at the difference in the bottom line. Shocking, no? So what is the difference in the IRD penalty calculations worth to the four fixed-rate mortgage borrowers in the examples above? Since they could have secured the same upfront interest rate from either group, the only difference in their relative borrowing costs is the extra penalty they had to pay the Big Five. Now for the fun part. I wanted to figure out by how much the Big Five would have to drop their interest rates to make the cost of borrowing offered by them (rate + penalty), equivalent to the cost of borrowing offered by the Some Other Lenders group.

even wrote a post earlier this year imploring Finance Minister Flaherty to follow-up on his 2010 budget promise and address this issue. Unfortunately, nothing has been done to date. If you’re among the twothirds of Canadian borrowers who opt for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage each year, what is this difference in the way mortgage penalties are calculated worth to you? For the four borrowers in my example, the additional rate discount required to make the Big Five’s cost of borrowing equivalent to the cost of borrowing offered by the Some Other Lenders group starts at .44% and goes up to a whopping 4.46%. Those numbers tell us that even if you’re still convinced that you

Using a $100,000 mortgage, the penalty would be 2% x $100,000 x (36/12) = $6,000. But here is where the shenanigans start. If your mortgage is from a lender who uses posted rates (we’ll call this group the “Big Five”), they won’t use your actual mortgage rate. Instead, they’ll use their higher “posted rate” that was in effect at the time you got your mortgage. (So that’s what posted rates are for!) That means your actual 5% rate will be arbitrarily increased by 1.4% to approximately 6.4% for this penalty calculation. What’s more, that same 1.4% is then also applied to the comparison rate on the term that most closely matches the time remaining on your mortgage. Here is what that does to your penalty: 6.4% – 1.6% = 4.8% then 4.8% x $100,000 x (36/12) = $14,400

what your penalty would be, if you had these rates and mortgage balances, and the same number of months remaining on your mortgage. Once you have regained consciousness, I will direct your attention to the two penalties that come with an asterisk (*). In both of these cases, the borrower’s mortgage rate was close enough to current rates that the Some Other Lenders group charged a penalty of only three months’ interest instead of the IRD. By contrast, by the time the Big Five lenders had grossed up the contract rate by 1.42% and reduced the comparison rate by the same amount, their IRD penalty was still alive and well. This is significant because if rates start to rise, Big Five borrowers will in many cases still be paying huge IRD penalties, while the Some Other Lender

The table above shows the analysis, and no, the negative rate in the fourth example is not an error. The difference in the penalty charged by the Big Five on this mortgage is so large that they would have to PAY this borrower an interest rate of .39% to make an equivalent offer! And if interest rates start to rise, this borrower’s profile (an interest rate at or even a little below today’s rates), will look an awful lot like the profiles of people who are considering fixed-rate mortgages today. The saddest part is that I really shouldn’t have to be writing this post. The Big Five do not have to disclose their method of calculating mortgage penalties. If they did, borrowers would better understand the huge risk of higher penalties they face and would aggressively look for alternatives. I

won’t end up having to break your fixed-rate mortgage early, you should think twice before betting thousands of extra dollars in mortgage penalties that you’re going to be right. To revisit a familiar theme, you don’t expect your house to burn down but you still pay for fire insurance. Insuring against outrageous penalties on your mortgage can be free – you just have to choose the right lender. David Larock MBA, AMP, PFPC, CSC is a Toronto-based independent mortgage planner and longtime industry insider who specializes in helping clients purchase, refinance or renew their mortgages. He is an active blogger on mortgage related topics and his posts have been distributed in national media and by Realtors and financial planners. www.integratedmortgageplanners.com. REM

32 REM MAY 2011

By Mark Brodsky

ll the effort and thought you put into your email newsletter can be wasted if people aren’t opening, reading or even receiving it. With the barrage of email we receive on a daily basis, getting people to open a newsletter is a balancing act. Here are five things you can do to get your emails opened. Have a compelling subject line – Nothing will get a client to delete your email faster than a dull subject line like “April Newsletter” or “Market News from George”. Hint at the subject matter and keep it to 10 words or less. Are you featuring new listings? Event information? A contest? Try something like “Two new listings + discount tickets to the home show”. You can also experiment with subject lines to see which ones work. Divide your database in half randomly and try a couple of different ones. Take a look at which email has a higher open rate. Content is king — Interesting content is crucial if you want people to open your emails month after month. You’ll find that your listings will generate the highest click-through rate, but with a little effort you can find out what kind of information your clients are interested in. In recent months, I’ve had clients get a high number of clicks to a video on how to properly carve a turkey, a step-by-step guide to parallel parking and a city document that inadvertently detailed ways to get out of parking tickets. A little personality in the newsletter can go a long way, whether it’s through a cause you’re supporting, a personal interest in a sport or art or a business you want to feature. Don’t get caught by a spam filter — Sending an email from Outlook or another personal email program is straight-forward, but if your Internet Service Provider

5 ways to get your emails read thinks you’re sending out too many emails, your address can get flagged. On the receiving end, if someone else’s ISP detects that an email is going to a large number of people, they may mark you as spam and your email won’t even get to the intended recipient – even if they want it. Use a bulk email provider. They are designed for sending hundreds or thousands of emails at once and most have a built-in spam check you can use that will alert you to common words that may be flagged. Perfect timing – Because so many of us check our email outside of office hours, it’s not an exact science. As long as it’s not Monday morning, Friday afternoon or around a long weekend, if you’re sending it consistently, you should find a loyal readership. This is where it will help to check your open rates to see if people are opening it right away, or if they’re checking in a couple of days later. Who’s it from? – Make sure that when you’re sending the email, it’s clear who it’s coming from. If you don’t have your own site, your name should be part of the email address, even if it’s a Gmail address. Some email programs show the name of the sender while others just show the email address. If you’re part of a team, you can use that address, as long as people immediately know who it’s from when it arrives in their inbox. Mark Brodsky runs Mark Brodsky Digital Communications, a company that specializes in email marketing and social media. In addition to email newsletters and targeted campaigns, MBDC co-ordinates the setup for major social networking sites and ensures that they’re co-ordinated, so one piece of content gets shared many ways. www.mbdigitalcommuniations.com; Email mark@mbdigitalcommunications.com REM

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eal estate reps, like other sales professionals, are sometimes accused of being full of hot air. While that’s the kind of wildly misleading notion I’d rather not perpetuate, I would like to talk about the issue of hot air. I’m referring to that stifling, oppressive heat we sometimes suffer during the summer months. There are low-cost, green ways to fight the rising mercury levels in and around your clients’ home or commercial property. Not only do these methods cool homes and buildings and reduce energy costs, they also offer the added luxury of beautifying properties, which naturally serves to increase property values. Believe it or not, trees, shrubs, vines and vegetation are a highly economical way of keeping your house cool and comfortable at an affordable cost. Trees and vegetation cool properties by providing shade, deflecting winds and blocking unwanted sunlight. Temperatures near trees are cooler than temperatures away from trees. The larger the tree, the greater the cooling. By using trees in the cities, we can moderate the heat-island effect caused by pavement and buildings in commercial areas. Well designed landscaping can reduce cooling costs by 20 per cent or even up to 100 per cent in areas that don’t have significant cooling demands, according to B.C. Hydro. Thanks to shading from leaves and branches, the amount of solar radiation reaching the ground is reduced. This process decreases surface temperatures below the canopy, which in turn lessens the amount of heat transmitted to buildings and the atmosphere. Another way of lowering your home’s outdoor thermostat is a

Cool your hot air natural process called evapotranspiration, a combination of evaporation and transpiration from plants. It cools the surrounding area in much the same manner as mammals sweat to keep cool. Aside from blocking sunlight, the water vapour that is released makes the surrounding environment fresher. While homeowners may be tempted to consider evergreen trees to block the shade, deciduous trees are better because they shelter your home from the hot summer sun, without blocking the good winter sun. In some climates, particularly in windy locations, evergreens work well as they tend to be more resilient. Just make sure you don’t plant evergreens where they will block winter sunlight from warming south and west windows. Junipers, spruces, firs, Douglas fir and evergreen shrubs are good choices for wind protection. So while your clients are thanking you for helping lower their cooling bills and prettying up their properties, know that the planet is also sending an appreciative nod your way. That will be for the reduced energy clients use for air conditioning, which results in lower greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants. Knowing about these simple, practical and low-cost solutions and sharing that know-how with clients bodes well for your credibility as a real estate professional. You’ll look good this summer, no matter how hot the air gets. The National Association of Green Agents and Brokers (NAGAB) provides a Greenbroker and Greenagent certification program to Realtors across Canada. To get more information or to sign up for a course, visit www.nagab.org. Elden Freeman M.E.S., AGB, broker is the founder and executive director of the non-profit organization. 1-877524-9494 Email elden@nagab.org. REM

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36 REM MAY 2011

Industrial, Commercial & Investment T

he Canadian commercial real estate market maintained its steady postrecession recovery during the opening months of this year, according to the National Office and Industrial Trends First Quarter 2011 Report by CB Richard Ellis Limited (CBRE). National absorption in the first quarter was 704,431 square feet, up from 441,310 square feet in the same period last year. The overall national office vacancy rate dipped to 9.3 per cent in the first quarter, compared to 10.1 per cent for the same period in 2010. In the industrial market, the national availability rate fell to 7.3 per cent from 8.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2010, while space under construction rose to 5.6 million square feet from 3.8 million square feet over the same period. “We’ve had a relatively uneventful quarter, with the exception of the performance of the Calgary market, which has been, in a word, spectacular,” says John O’Bryan, vice-chairman of CBRE. “Each market has its own nuances, but the national trend is positive absorption and lower vacancy rates, with steady rental growth.

“From a local perspective, we’ve seen particularly strong results in the industrial sectors in the Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton markets, and there’s real pressure building as tenants continue to seek more space to operate their businesses. This demand will tend to push rental rates up throughout the remainder of 2011.” O’Bryan says the firm is also “seeing no let up in demand from investors in the Canadian commercial real estate market. They’re feeling comfortable about acquiring additional assets because the economic fundamentals in Canada are strong and interest rates are still compelling. We’re likely to see continued buying momentum from the previous quarter in the months ahead.” ■ ■ ■

Jones Lang LaSalle has appointed Patrick Langdon as senior vice-president, Michael Thompson as vice-president and Douglas Scarlett as senior vicepresident. Based in Toronto, Langdon and Thompson will specialize in representing office tenants in lease transactions and advise on occupancy and real estate strategy. Scarlett, based in

Mississauga, Ont., will advise local and national clients, both owners and tenants, on their industrial real estate needs. “Canada is a key strategic market for Jones Lang LaSalle with increasing demand from our clients,” says Jim Becker, head of Jones Lang LaSalle in Canada. With more than 20 years of commercial real estate industry experience, Langdon previously headed his own brokerage firm and worked for one of Southwest Ontario’s largest developers. He joins from DTZ Barnicke where he was national director of business development. Thompson brings seven years of experience in office leasing and has worked with some of the country’s largest organizations. His experience includes tenant representation, disposition and occupancy strategy. He joins from Avison Young. Scarlett has 13 years of experience in industrial sales and leasing and has been involved in numerous facility and land transactions on a provincial and national level. He joins from DTZ Barnicke.

most recently with Colliers International in Vancouver. With 17 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, Thies has specialized in lease negotiations and sales of commercial, office and industrial properties on the North Shore for the majority of his real estate career. He began his commercial real estate career in 1993 with Colliers. Whitchelo started his commercial real estate career with Colliers in 2005 and specializes in the commercial real estate market of the North Shore, as well as the surrounding areas of East Vancouver and North Burnaby. In addition to the acquisition and disposition of

commercial assets, he has established himself as an expert in both the landlord representation and tenant representation sides of corporate real estate leasing. REM

Michael Thompson

Patrick Langdon

Douglas Scarlett

Terry Thies

Ian Whitchelo

■ ■ ■

Commercial real estate brokers Terry Thies and Ian Whitchelo have joined Avison Young’s brokerage operations in Vancouver. Thies joins as a principal and senior vice-president, leasing and sales, focusing on the North Shore market; while Whitchelo joins the company as a leasing and sales associate, focusing on the North Shore, East Vancouver and North Burnaby markets. They were

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38 REM MAY 2011

STOP SELLING HOUSES & START MAKING MONEY

By Debbie Hanlon

hen most real estate agents think open house, they think 2-4 on Sunday with lots of yawning and checking the time to see when they can finally leave. Ho-hum, another Sunday, another open house. Well, when I got into real estate I decided to shake things up a bit when it came to open houses and it helped me get the listings I needed to become No. 1 in Canada. Sometimes you have to think outside the box, other times you need to think outside the open house.

Friendly neighbourhood open house One of the innovations I brought to my real estate career was introducing a neighbourhood open house. It’s just what it sounds like; an open house intended for the neighbourhood where the house was listed. I would hold one on each property I listed and instead of competing with all the Sunday shoppers, I held them in the evenings throughout the week from 7 to 9 pm. People in the area knew I’d listed a house because they’d received my Just Listed flyer, which I distributed in the surrounding area of any house I listed. It’s an easy, inexpensive way to introduce yourself to the area. After the home was staged and ready for showing, I’d send out another round of flyers – this time an invitation announcing the time and date for the exclusive neighbourhood open house. I’d use Canada Post to mail out most invitations except for the street the house was on. Those I delivered myself.

In the flyer I had the usual stats about the home, but I also included an offer for a free home evaluation for anyone who showed up. There were a couple of reasons why I held a neighbourhood open house. One was I knew that a lot of homes are bought by family and friends of people who already live in the neighbourhood. This makes perfect sense as it allows those people to live closer to each other and their kids can play together, or they can see the grandchildren easier. By holding an exclusive open house for the people living there, they could come see the place and pass on the info to their family and friends who might be looking for a new home. Then, if they were interested they’d show up at my regular Sunday open house. Yes, I got a lot of listings from people like that who bought the house I was selling and then had to sell their own. The second reason I held them was, as with everything I did in real

estate, I wasn’t just selling a house – I was selling myself. The neighbourhood got my Just Listed flyer and a week later got an exclusive invitation to an open house. That made me look busy and it made me look like I was trying different things from other agents. I stood out from the competition. Now, as a bonus, there was usually at least one other home for sale in the neighbourhood. The person selling it was no doubt wondering why their agent wasn’t doing all this for them. And yes, I got a lot of calls from people who wanted an agent who tried harder when their listing expired. The neighbourhood open house is one of the easiest, least expensive ways to sell yourself to a group of potential clients. With the templates I have done up, a picture of the house was on each piece I sent and, of course, a picture of me – the agent who was thinking outside the traditional open house. Give it a try on your

I got a lot of calls from people who wanted an agent who tried harder when their listing expired. current or next listings. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to generate a positive buzz about the new agent in the neighbourhood. Debbie Hanlon is the founder of Hanlon Realty and CEO of All Knight Inc. She is a three-time top 50 CEO winner and was named one of the top 100 female entrepreneurs in Canada. She is currently an elected city official in St. John’s, Nfld. and is available for motivational and training seminars. Email debbie@allknight.ca. REM

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40 REM MAY 2011 ■ ■ ■

Good Works V

ivian Risi, broker of record for Royal LePage Your Community Realty, is a key driver behind the Yellow Brick House campaign to open and operate a second emergency shelter in York Region of the Toronto GTA. As the chair of

the Second Chances Capital campaign, Risi is hoping the office will reach an ambitious goal of raising $4 million. They recently donated more than $41,000, raised in 2010 through commission donations, a golf tournament and other initiatives.

Vivian Risi, left, presents a cheque for more than $41,000 to Yellow Brick House executive director Lorris Herenda, centre. The pair are joined by Shanan Spencer-Brown, executive director of Royal LePage Shelter Foundation.

JoAnn Jusdanis and Royal LePage Burloak broker/owner Rob Landry

The WinnipegRealtors second annual Gimme Shelter fundraiser to support the Manitoba Real Estate Association Shelter Foundation raised almost $50,000 in March. “For all the things we have done over the years to engage our members to support worthwhile causes, I cannot think of one like Gimme Shelter that truly sees such a genuine outpouring of support from so many of our 1,600 members,” says Sheldon Zamick, a WinnipegRealtors director responsible for heading up the organizing committee in 2010 and 2011.

Roberta Weiss, the chair of MREA’s Shelter Foundation, says, “What really tugs at the heartstrings for me this time around is knowing how much the money we raised last year means to the needy shelter organizations and Manitobans requiring charitable support. To realize Gimme Shelter has raised that much more money this time around allows the Shelter Foundation to help more Manitobans with their shelterrelated needs.” Last year the foundation provided $45,000 to The Interfaith Immigration Program, New Directions, Habitat for

The WinnipegRealtors second annual Gimme Shelter fundraiser raised almost $50,000.

More than $13,000 was raised for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel at a recent bowling event. The Prudential Rocka Rollas from Prudential Select Real Estate in Bolton, Ont. donated $2,786 to support the organization’s mentoring program. Front row, from left: Chris Thompson (who raised more than $1,000 through her database and Facebook page) and Pat Vanwagner. Second row: Denise Leonardo, Rob Conte, Jeff Williamson, Jean Dunn, Susan Fulcher and Sharon Hooker.

A two-day sale of gently used clothing and accessories, coined “Yesterday’s”, was a fun way to raise funds for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. Organized by Royal LePage Team Realty, and hosted in their office, the sale raised $2,200 for Chrysalis House in Kanata, Ont. A nearby shelter also benefited by the donation of unsold clothing from the sale. Pictured at the sale are sales reps John Lindsay, Stephanie Briscoe and Sylvie Dehays.

Humanity (Virden build) and to Esther House. ■ ■ ■

JoAnn Jusdanis, broker/manager with Royal LePage Burloak in Oakville, Ont. served as gala committee chairperson for the 16th annual Halton Women’s Place Gala. Success this year came under the auspices of “A Chocolate Affair,” which promised, and delivered, many tasty delights. This year’s gala raised more than $80,000 for Women’s Place, which last year served 800 women and 1,000 children. In addition, Royal LePage Burloak agents Richard Harrison and Dan

Richard Harrison

Dan Posavad

REM MAY 2011 41

■ ■ ■

Lisa Hales, a sales rep at Sutton Group – West Coast Realty in Duncan, B.C. is appealing to the public for support for Maddison Rose DraperEarl, a two-year-old who was recently diagnosed with hepatoblastoma. This is a very rare cancer with only four or five cases in B.C. each year. It typically affects babies and toddlers. Long-time family friend Hales created a Facebook page called Prayers and Love for Maddison and Family to connect with a growing community of 2,400 well-wishers. She keeps the page updated with news about the girl’s condition and various fundraisers taking place in the Cowichan Valley and elsewhere. The Facebook page can be accessed directly at www.facebook.com/?ref=home#! /home.php?sk=group_11839177 1572267&ap=1. ■ ■ ■

Brian Albert of Sutton Group Results Realty in Regina is taking lessons he learned raising money for Habitat for Humanity and putting it towards a new fundraising effort to help the local humane society. “Our humane society is in a bad state. Two out of every three cats has to be put down and the dog population is overcrowded to say the least. The building has been retrofit so many times that a new building is in the planning stages and hopefully will come to be in the near future,” he says. Last year Albert launched an annual golf tournament to support Habitat for Humanity in Regina. “My broker and manager Keith Bartlett and Rob Pederson got involved and we put on a great event, raising nearly $30,000 with more to come each year. Now that this is running smoothly I approached the humane society with the same thought in mind.” Albert is now the tournament chair for the fundraiser, and he has an annual date at the Wascana Golf Club, the same location as the Habitat Fundraiser. “I currently have several sponsorships in place and have recruit-

ed some others to help,” he says. “We made connections with the Saskatchewan Roughriders for celebrity golfers and have several autographed jerseys for our silent auction. The biggest thing I can provide is my connection with other agents. I have approached all other real estate companies and spoke about it at our association general meeting. If we can fill this tournament with 152 golfers, I anticipate a cheque payable to the Regina Humane Society for $50,000 to $75,000 and more each year.”

Realty in Langley, B.C., donated $1,000 for a scholarship to Clayton Heights Secondary school in the Cloverdale area of Surrey, B.C. The scholarship is called the “Robbie Johal entrepreneurship award,” and it will be rewarded to a 12th grade student who displays salesmanship or entrepreneurship through a self-started small business or other form of employment. The scholarship strictly considers the drive for business success without weighing academic achievements or grade point

averages. Johal says he believes that business-savvy students who don’t necessarily have the grades to show for it should still be rewarded for their entrepreneurial spirit and forward thinking ideas. Johal also donates a portion of every personal real estate sale to Children’s Miracle Hospital and he supports the Adopt a Street program, participates on the Clayton Elementary Parent Advisory Council and is a volunteer coach for a youth t-ball league. REM

■ ■ ■

Despite the cold and wet weather, hundreds came out to take part in the Royal LePage Frank’s five and 10 km Walk/Run for Shelter. Hosted in partnership with the Running Room and taking place along the Whitby, Ont. waterfront, participants raised their heart rate and much-needed funds for women and children who are fleeing violence in the home.

Andrew Grossman

Posavad raised another $750 for Halton Women’s Place with baked goods they prepared and sold in the office.

■ ■ ■

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42 REM MAY 2011

Hilton unveils new extended stay brand By Jim Adair

ilton Worldwide recently launched its latest brand – Home2Suites by Hilton – and has aggressive expansion plans that include Canada. The first Home2Suites opened in Fayetteville, N.C. and business media including REM were invited to tour the new facility. The extended stay hotels (aimed at those who need to stay five consecutive days or more) “combine the strength of a Hilton brand with a fresh, hip and humble hotel concept,” says Christopher Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton Worldwide. They are designed to serve a mid-scale segment of the market. Instead of a hotel lobby, Home2Suites features an “Oasis”, a community space that includes individual work and conversation spaces, wireless Internet access and a large-screen TV. The Fayetteville property also includes a couple of computer workstations. Board games are available and some of the bright, funky furniture can be shuffled around to suite impromptu gatherings. The Oasis includes the “Inspired Table” where a complimentary continental breakfast, including hot items, is served each morning. The area includes a long breakfast table with built-in data ports for laptops and other media. There’s also a small store that offers a selection of snacks and desserts,

as well as frozen dinners ready for the microwave. Guest suites include a “working wall” that incorporates the kitchen and flexible working space connecting living and bedroom zones, which can be separated with a curtain. The kitchen includes a refrigerator/freezer with icemaker, dishwasher, place settings for six, a microwave oven and a coffee maker. There’s no cooktop but you can borrow one from the front desk. The media/working zone in the suites include a queen size sofa/sleeper, 42-inch flat screen TV, roll-around ottoman, ambient task lighting, alarm clock with iPod port and MP3 jack, and various pieces of furniture that can be moved around to create customized living spaces and adjustable storage options. Some units also include a data hub that can be used for connecting a laptop to the TV or for using an Xbox or Wi. A clever touch is Spin2 Cycle, a combination laundry room and fitness centre. Guests can start a load of laundry and then work out on fitness equipment in an adjacent room. The hotels also come with a saline pool, patios with grills, outdoor seating areas and an exercise trail that circles the property and allows for dog-walking (yes, dogs are allowed). The new chain features a num-

ber of “green” features, including the use of recycled carpet squares and other recycled building materials, low-flow showers and dual flush toilets. Hilton is also using Home2Suites to introduce its LightStay system, which will measure energy and water use as well as the carbon output of its properties. “When we first conceptualized this brand we knew we could take advantage of the four rights – right segment, right time, right price and right product,” says Bill Duncan, global head, brand management, Home2 Suites by Hilton. The company built a prototype of the Oasis in its headquarters in Memphis, Tenn. and installed a mock-up of a guest room in a nearby Hampton Inn. The prototypes were used for focus groups and to show off to potential investors. Duncan says it took only about two years from the conception of the brand to the completion of the first hotel. “It’s a very efficient build,” he says, adding that from ground-breaking to opening day at Fayetteville took about nine months. Designed to cost an average of $75,000 per key (excluding land costs), the first hotel at Fayetteville came in at about $90,000 per key. It is larger than the prototype, which has 108 suites. Since the media tour, another Home2 Suites has opened in Utah and several others will be finished

Home2Suites by Hilton is the newest extended-stay hotel brand.

The “Oasis” community meeting area replaces the traditional lobby.

soon. In all, Duncan says there are 77 deals in place in the U.S., and a Toronto location is expected to be announced soon. The company has already been to Toronto and Vancouver to speak to potential investors, and it views Edmonton,

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Calgary, Ottawa and the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. areas as other prime markets. “We really want to be firmly positioned in North America,” says Duncan. “Then we’ll think about going out internationally.” REM

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44 REM MAY 2011

Long-term prosperity linked to financial literacy Tim Graham Royal LePage York North Realty, Brokerage: opens a second location in Newmarket, Ontario Yvonne Ratigan, Vice President Network Service is pleased to announce that Bill Wildeboer, Andrew Wildeboer, Frank Gray Jr. and John Lusink, owners of Royal LePage York North Realty, have opened their second location in Newmarket, Ontario. Royal LePage York North’s newest location has 23 sales professionals, some of whom have joined the brokerage from competing brands. Tim Graham, who is a top producing sales representative with Royal LePage since 1989, manages the office. With Newmarket’s top share-of-market, Royal LePage York North Realty is first in both units and dollar volume sold in 2010.

Royal LePage York North Realty’s newest office is located at: # 11 - 1111 Davis Drive Newmarket, Ontario ON L3Y8R1 Office Telephone: 905.836.1212 Office Fax: 905.836.0820 Toll-Free: 866.773.9595 Contact: tgraham@trebnet.com

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n the 2009 federal budget, Canada’s finance minister announced his intention to establish a national task force dedicated to providing advice and recommendations on a strategy to strengthen Canadians’ financial literacy. Appointed in June 2009, the Task Force on Financial Literacy was comprised of 13 members drawn from the business and education sectors, community organizations and academia. The task force released its final report – Canadians and Their Money: Building a brighter financial future – in February. This report suggests the need for urgent action on a national strategy to strengthen Canadians’ financial literacy. (The report can be found at: www.financialliteracyincanada.com.) The 30-point recommended plan of action reflects the views and priorities of Canadians. It’s concrete, practical and affordable, and falls into five priority areas: shared responsibility; leadership and collaboration; lifelong learning; delivery and promotion; and accountability. The task force defines financial literacy as having the knowledge, skills and confidence to make responsible financial decisions, where: • Knowledge means understanding personal and broader financial matters. • Skills are the ability to apply that knowledge in everyday life. • Confidence means feeling self-assured enough to make important decisions. This is often a key factor in galvanizing people into action. • Responsible financial decisions means that people will be

able to use the knowledge, skills and confidence they have gained to make choices that are appropriate to their own circumstances. The recommendations are tailored to meet the diverse needs of Canadians by enhancing formal education, integrating with federal government programs, creating a single-source website, delivering clear communications and building awareness. The task force strongly believes that financial literacy is critical to the prosperity of Canadians and the nation. Increasing the knowledge, skills and confidence of Canadians to make responsible financial decisions will help them meet their personal goals, enhance their quality of life and make Canada more competitive. The task force’s main message is that Canadians need to become increasingly knowledgeable and sophisticated with respect to their finances – from personal spending habits to recognition of the need to save and invest. The fact that the timing of the task force’s creation and its subsequent report is coincident with the global financial crisis should not be missed. While Canada weathered this crisis better than most other industrialized economies, it shook our confidence and awakened us from our erstwhile complacency concerning the soundness of the global financial system’s sustainability. A major cause of the worldwide financial meltdown was (and remains) the unsustainable size of government budget deficits and national debts. Despite Canada’s limited hit this time around, we too carry an enormous debt load (estimated in the $1 trillion range), which will take an entirely different approach than we have taken up until now to pay off. Ironic, isn’t it? On one hand, we have a federal government advocating the need for increased individual financial literacy and, on the other, we have an outstanding public debt, the percentage to GDP of which would force an individual into bankruptcy. Global central banks, spear-

headed by the Federal Reserve Board in the U.S., have expended enormous effort to keep interest rates artificially low since the dawning of the current economic crisis in an attempt to do two things. The first is to encourage borrowing and spending in an effort to jumpstart a moribund economy. The second is to keep the cost of government borrowing from escalating beyond its ability to service interest charges. These are the economic realities overshadowing the question of whether our government has either the interest or the intention of reining in its profligate spending and deficit financing habits. While the debate rages on concerning the government’s willingness – and ability – to adopt more prudent fiscal policies and practices, individual Canadians should focus on two of the task force’s recommendations: shared responsibility and lifelong learning. It’s not that Canadians need to start fresh on the journey towards financial self-sufficiency. We have a long history of saving and investing, as well as receiving advice and guidance from the likes of financial planners and accountants. More recently, we have turned to the advice and help offered by mortgage originators (independent, licensed mortgage brokers/agents) in our quest to consolidate highinterest consumer debt into lowerinterest mortgage debt. But while lowering debt is a worthwhile enterprise, it’s only half the solution necessary to achieve financial independence. What seems to be lacking is an educational package addressing both the need to reduce and control personal spending, while at the same time giving direction with respect to safe, effective and affordable longterm investment strategies. Larry Bull is a licensed mortgage agent with Dominion Lending Centres Bankfighter based in Thornton, Ont., and creator of The “Know Bull” Wealth Creation Seminar. He can be reached at 416-414-1484; lbull@dominionlending.ca; www.larrybull.ca. REM

REM MAY 2011 45

THE UN-COMFORT ZONE

By Robert Wilson

eventeen years ago, I became the president of my community association. It was a lively organization with scores of activist members who were busy gentrifying an inner city neighbourhood. One of my responsibilities was to deliver a monthly speech and conduct a formal meeting with a loud and raucous crowd. Over the course of my twoyear stint, I always spoke from behind the lectern with my hands

Motivating your sales staff firmly attached to the sides in a white knuckle grip as I read from my notes. When my term ended, I felt that I might have been a more effective leader if I had some real speaking skills, and if I wasn’t so afraid of being in front of an audience. So I joined a Toastmaster’s club and began my training as a public speaker. A year later, I had completed 10 speeches and the basic program, but I was still firmly attached to both the lectern and my notes. My mentors encouraged me to work without notes and to move away from the lectern. “At least stand to one side of it,” they cajoled. But I was not about to leave my comfort zone. I was plenty uncomfortable just giving a speech. Besides, no one could see my legs shaking behind the lectern. Then the club held a humorous speaking contest. Now, I can tell jokes, so I was game. Four of us entered the competition and I

managed to win the third-place ribbon without venturing an inch beyond the safety of the lectern. I can’t recall who placed second, but I’ll never forget the winner. Les Satterfield talked about an airplane flight and he soared about the room with his arms spread wide and the audience roared in laughter at his comic yarn. Later on, as I watched him receive his shiny gold statuette for first place, I knew I had to have one. I was motivated... but not quite enough. The next contest was for a motivational speech. Once again, I sought refuge behind the lectern. I managed to win the secondplace ribbon, but the gold went to Doris Posey, who moved about the room and interacted with the audience. I finally took first place with the Tall Tales contest. I wrote my speech, and then practiced, practiced, practiced. On the day of the competition, I did it – I stepped

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out from behind the lectern. I told how I would pretend to be Tom Hank’s younger brother whenever I flew first class, and how much fun it was to fool my fellow passengers…until the time I sat next to his mother. I loved the recognition that came with that first-place trophy. It motivated me to go further and forced me to get better. In order to win at higher levels within Toastmasters, I had to develop excellent speaking and speechwriting skills. I went on to win 13 contests. Years later, when I was hired to give my first professional speech, I wondered whether or not I was truly worthy of getting paid to speak. As I began to have doubts, I looked at those 13 gold trophies in my office bookcase. They represented the acknowledgment that I was indeed worthy. A few years ago, I visited successful professional speaker David Greenberg in his home. I smiled

in understanding as I saw, prominently displayed in his living room, several Toastmaster contest trophies. Recognition doesn’t have to be tangible to be effective. A clap on the back, a verbal “Good job!” in front of peers and co-workers or a blurb in the company newsletter works too. Even so, nothing works quite as long or as powerfully as something hard and shiny with a name engraved on it. However, you don’t want someone resting on their laurels; to keep them motivated, put a date on those plaques and trophies. Then encourage them to renew it every year. Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. is a motivational speaker and humorist. He works with companies that want to be more competitive and with people who want to think like innovators. For more information on his programs visit www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com. REM

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ettle down class. Our topic today is how to fail in the real estate business. It should be on every provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mandatory education list. For credit. I could write a book but a column will suffice. In no particular order, and you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to do all of these things, any of them will ensure you are a turnover statistic with a short career span. Nothing sharpens your mind like a pending deadline and just as I despaired for the lack of topics, a faxed contract of purchase and sale arrived on my desk. The good news â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it was legible and accepted. The bad news self-inflicted when I wondered how the offer had gone from the buyer to the seller. Was it presented in person by the buyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agent or, to use a colloquialism, did they just â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;phone it inâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;? One of the obligations of receiving a substantial portion of the commission derived from any real estate transaction is to act as the agent for your client, whether the buyer or the seller. As sellersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; agents we are quite used to presenting offers in person. But as buyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; agents, due to a combination of geography, sellersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; instructions or availability or â&#x20AC;&#x201C; dare I whisper it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; bad habits or outright laziness, the evidence is clear that buyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reps too often fax or scan the offer to the listing rep and wait for the call. (Okay, there are exceptions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s written instructions, seller in Labrador â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t try to tell me it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen.) More than once in my latenight patrols of the office Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve found a fax that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go through â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the line was busy, the area code wrong, the access code forgotten. It was kind of scary when it turned out to be a time sensitive offer sent by an agent who rushed out the door right after hitting the start button. Pretend you are the buyer on

How to fail in real estate an average priced house (in my community) with a sell side (buyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agent) commission of $6,500. Wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you expect your agent to do battle face to face whenever possible? To answer the question raised by the seller about the offer, the question the sellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agent canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t answer? The next rung down the ladder of failure from the faxed offer is the oral offer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My client will pay $295,000, should I bother writing it up?â&#x20AC;? Or â&#x20AC;&#x153;See if your buyer will come up another $5,000.â&#x20AC;? A long time ago â&#x20AC;&#x201C; during the era of the statute of frauds â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I heard this skilled explanation of how real estate works from a salesperson: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry about a verbal offer. We have this special form we fill in and you sign and then we take it to the seller.â&#x20AC;? Something requiring very little activity in order to guarantee failure is exactly that â&#x20AC;&#x201C; very little activity. Novelist Elmore Leonard could have been describing those cobweb draped shapes in the corner of your office: â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were looking, not for something to do, but for something to happen.â&#x20AC;? I spent my first six months in real estate waiting for the walk-in traffic. No one told me that going out to find the client was more important than doing something to get the client to call. Yes, you have to advertise but advertising alone leads to an office account with no revenue. Next â&#x20AC;&#x201C; too much preparation. Motivational speaker Rosita Perez said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of people die â&#x20AC;&#x201C; stuck in three to get ready â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as in one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, three to get ready, three to get ready . . .â&#x20AC;? You have to take the next step. Discussing dance in his novel Valediction, Robert Parker wrote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Performance is different. You can take classes all your life and rehearse forever, but you make more progress in one performance than you do in a year of lessons. Performance is the real thing. The other stuff is getting ready.â&#x20AC;? As an alternative to too much preparation, try winging it. Howard Brinton, sometimes brutally frank in his motivational pep

talks, says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have to practice and memorize your presentation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the reason a magician can pull a rabbit out of the hat is that he put it there before the show began.â&#x20AC;? My favourite trainer in the old Realty World system, Dick Burnham, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You would never give an Academy Award to an actor who made up their lines as they went along. Sellers shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give listings to salespeople who make up the words as they go along.â&#x20AC;? Insight from Michael Caine: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Actors donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get paid for the minute or two they spend in front of the cameras. They get paid for the preparation and the waiting around.â&#x20AC;? One more characteristic of failures â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they have no idea where their business comes from. Mitzi Bryant says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Knowing where your business comes from allows you to eliminate those activities that arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t productive.â&#x20AC;? Think about that as you review the mound of expenses at month end. Is that classified ad you placed in the Moose Jaw Gazette years ago still working? Failures look for shortcuts. In an old TV series, Police Story, the desk sergeant bellowed: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been in this business for a lot of years looking for shortcuts. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be the first to let you know if I find one. Meantime, hit the streets and turn over stones.â&#x20AC;? E. Bunker Hunt, in amassing his billions, paused to reflect on success: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Success is simple. First you decide what you want in life. Second, you decide if you are willing to pay the price. Then you pay the price.â&#x20AC;? In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research indicated the price for success in any chosen venture was about 10,000 hours of practice and timing. Once achieved, however, success can lead to failure. Success is like a sword â&#x20AC;&#x201C; very useful but you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sit on it. And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not like this is a complicated business or rocket science. Some people who earn a lot of money in real estate are neither bright nor personable â&#x20AC;&#x201C; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a requirement. My boss Randy Forbes reminds managers from time to time: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Remind your staff how simple their job is â&#x20AC;&#x201C; list prop-

REM MAY 2011 47

erty, find people, give them reasons to buy.” One of the truisms of sales comes from Merle Ace: “Salespeople usually quit a long time before they leave the job.” And that takes us to…. The last word has to be a shot at real estate managers and comes from an old friend in the business, Barry Watchorn: “We are too soft as managers in this business. We spend too much time herding turkeys up and down the runways, hoping they’ll fly.”

You can follow Marty Douglas on Twitter @40yrsrealestate or on LinkedIn and on Facebook. He is a managing broker for Coast Realty Group (Comox Valley) Ltd., with offices on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast of B.C. Marty is a past chair of the Real Estate Errors and Omissions Corporation of B.C., the Real Estate Council of B.C. and the B.C. Real Estate Association. He’s a current director of the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. mdouglas@island.net; 1-800-7153999. REM

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48 REM MAY 2011

AS I SEE IT FROM MY DESK

By Stan Albert

ecently one of the rising stars in our office asked me my opinion of her. I told her that she’s a great student of our profession and commented about other real estate related things that were somewhat obvious to me. That was not what she had in mind at all. We had a most pleasant and revealing discussion about the real answer she was looking for: what did I think were her positive characteristics as an individual? She wanted to know what were her strengths as a human being

What are your pillars of character? that I’ve seen over the nearly two years we’ve gotten to know each other in a business atmosphere. It got me to thinking about five pillars of character that I believe most of us have and that I try to reenforce at all times, although sometimes the fates tempt us to sway from them. Here is what I believe are the fundamental pillars of character to live by: 1. Family is of utmost importance. We must always place them first in our lives. The family unit should always be respected and hopefully the respect is reciprocated. Without family ties, most of us would just drift from one situation to another without the anchor of strength that family represents. Families nurture the soul and give it meaning and reasons to feel alive. 2. Caring for others who are less fortunate than we are. Giving part of what we earn back to society and also working towards a common good for those less endowed than we are gives true

meaning to our purpose in life and in business. And it’s not just to give back, but it is for us to take a leadership role in our society. To be an example to others who will follow our path. To be a living example to be admired and imitated. 3. Learning the crafts of becoming a leader in our business or industry or whatever faith we choose to follow. Learning to be unselfish with our time. Devoting ourselves to be honourable examples within our circle of friends and business associates. Passing those learned traits on to our family and close associates is most important as well. Taking as many educational courses and reading about our profession can only add to this character trait as well. 4. Being financially responsible to our family and learning the value of money and what it can bring to us. Whether it’s security or fame, the respect of what earning money can accomplish is sometimes a challenge. But each of the characteristics mentioned so far are a challenge, aren’t they?

Believe in what you do. Love what you do and do what you love. Be the best you can every day. Sometimes it takes time to realize our true potential in earning money and what it can do. It takes a wise man to save money and a fool to spend it. 5. This last pillar I wrestled with somewhat, because in many respects it is a culmination of 1 to 4. Whatever you do in life, there are some basic precepts that have held true in all faiths and all great leaders. Believe in what you do. Love what you do and do what you love. Be the best you can every day. It is a given that we’re to be honest and forthright in all our dealings with our fellow man. We are on this Mother Earth for a very short time. When we go on, we hope that others will say

good things about what we did for our fellow man. We will be more remembered for that, than in all the enterprises we may have accomplished in whatever span of life our maker has given us. This article is sort of a benchmark for me, as I believe it is number 75. Coincidentally, my 75th birthday is in July. The years go so fast! Stan Albert, broker/manager, ABR, ASA at Re/Max Premier in Vaughan, Ont. can be reached for consultation at stanalb@rogers.com. Stan is now celebrating 40 years as an active real estate professional. REM

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GOURMET COOKING for real estate professionals

By Carolyne Lederer

ere is an easy summer recipe that I put together quite by accident recently and it was so delicious that I thought I should share it. Gather as much special tender spinach (flat-leaf tender young leaves) as you require for a good plate-full of salad (washed and dried in a tea towel); one or two cold quartered boiled eggs (or as many as you like); a handful of very fresh chopped or sliced white button mushrooms; and sweet black olives, whole (as many as you like – they are absolutely delicious!). On a serving plate or bowl, place equal parts of your favourite olive oil and top-of-the-line balsamic black vinegar. Add a pinch of dried basil and a pinch of dried mint and sprinkle with fresh ground peppercorns. Add a little sweet paprika powder to the chopped hard-boiled eggs. There is no salt in this recipe (unless you crave it). Garnish with large shrimp or tomato wedges. That’s it! Just add a portion of the spinach mixture, and you have as many individual servings as you need. Toss with two forks on your own plate (this way the leftover greens mixture can be placed in the fridge in a sealed plastic food bag for later in the day, or if you are lucky, for the next day’s lunch). Enjoy! Here’s another spinach recipe you can enjoy any time of the year. Wash spinach well to remove sand particles. Shake off excess water, but do not dry the leaves. Place in a covered skillet, and “sweat” the spinach the way you would onions, until spinach is “just wilted”. The excess water will be in the bottom of the pan. Drain spinach in a colander. Push out the excess water from the spinach and toss out any leftover water from the skillet.

No excuse to not eat delicious spinach In the same skillet, on medium high heat, cook finely chopped rashers of bacon until nearly crisp, but not crunchy. Remove bacon from pan and keep warm on a covered plate, leaving the stuck-on bits on the bottom of the pan. If there is a lot of excess fat, remove some of it, but not all. Leave perhaps three tablespoons of the bacon fat, for an average familysize serving of spinach. In the same skillet, sauté a halfcup of finely chopped sweet white onions, until they are “just” done, not overcooked. When the onions are nearly cooked, add a smashed garlic clove, keeping the heat down. Careful not to burn the garlic or you won’t be able to eat it. Toss gently and add a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the chopped, cooked bacon back into the skillet. Turn off the heat and set aside to keep warm for a few seconds while you finish the spinach. After all the excess moisture has been pushed out of the spinach, place it on a cutting board and gently chop with a sharp knife. Add chopped spinach to bacon, onion and garlic mix. Place in a serving dish that you have warmed with boiling water, because spinach cools rapidly.

Now deglaze the skillet with your favourite brandy or cognac. The alcohol will vanish, just leaving the flavour. Just a few tablespoons will do it. Scrape the bits from the bottom of the pan using an egg turner backwards and pour the spirits over the spinach mixture. Serve with your favourite vegetables and meat for dinner. This same mixture can be used for stuffing a rolled veal or pork roast, and can also be used to stuff an omelette or crepe for a nice light lunch or brunch. If you really want to go overboard, serve a dollop of sour crème with the omelette or crepe. YUMMMM! There won’t be leftovers. Carolyne Lederer is broker of record at Carolyne Realty Corp. Proudly putting her name to her work for 29 years, she serves Burlington and Brampton, Ont. residential real estate clients. She taught gourmet cooking in the mid 1970s prior to going into real estate, and wrote a newspaper weekly cooking column. She also has a cookbook in the works. Email Carolyne at BurlingtonHomes@Carolyne.com if you have any questions. www.Carolyne.com or www.MillcroftHomes.com REM

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50 REM MAY 2011

Q & A for real estate kiosks By Dan St. Yves

MARKETPLACE

You have just arrived for your shift at the shopping mall real estate kiosk. People are already milling about looking at the various property boards. Do you: a) Jump right in and start prospecting for new leads? b) Keep your eyes lowered and head over to Starbucks with last night’s Karaoke-O-Rama still ringing in your ears? c) Dispense incorrect advice on each of the listings because it’s your competitor’s kiosk?

2) You are conversing with a very odd, extensively talkative fellow who keeps asking about retail lease space availability in the upper level of the mall. The mall is just one expansive ground-floor level, so it’s pretty obvious the gentleman is receiving transmissions from the planet Krypton. Do you: a) Prepare a lengthy prospectus on numerous spaces that are available? b) Draw random dots on a map of the mall and send him on his way? c) Ask him if he remembers that old R.E.M. song, What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? 3) You need space in the kiosk to display your seven over-priced mobile home listings in rural Nakusp, B.C. Do you: a) Hide your local top produc-

er’s listing boards under the display units? b) Slide them randomly over the listings of office colleagues you don’t particularly care for? c) Staple-gun them in an area with the highest foot traffic? 4) The buyers you’ve waited for your entire career are asking about lakeshore properties they could buy TODAY. Your scheduled kiosk shift has just started. Do you: a) Leave a 15x17-inch picture of yourself on the desk and sprinkle some business cards on the counter? b) Leave a voicemail for your partner to drop everything and stop by the kiosk to discuss a brilliant new prospecting idea you’ve just come up with? c) Is this even a decision? GO SELL THE PROPERTY!

5) It’s your day off and while wandering around in the mall, you notice that the kiosk is unmanned. Do you: a) Jump right in and do a quick shift yourself? b) Call the office and snitch out to management that someone has failed to appear for their shift? c) Wait a minute…wasn’t there something you were supposed to add to your day-timer? 7) Proper etiquette (and professionalism) suggests that when there are people looking at the property boards you should: a) Stash your food court pizza in the drawer and approach them helpfully? b) Put your Kindle in the drawer – you can always finish reading the Twilight saga later? c) Ensure that you used sepa-

rate drawers to store both the Kindle and the pizza? 8) Someone “just wants a feature sheet” on a listed property. You know you’ll never see them again. Do you: a) Give them something written in 11th-Century Mandarin, but scribble your cell number prominently on the feature sheet just in case? b) Tell them that even though the listing is clearly on display in a public place, only select clients will be chosen to receive information, requiring verified identification? c) Give them the feature sheet and head for the hills – your shift is over and you made the semi-finals round in Karaoke-O-Rama! 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 ThatDanGuy@shaw.ca. REM

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eaching by example, Ruthe Penner, 2010’s recipient of the Manitoba Real Estate Association’s (MREA) Distinguished Realtor Award, is proving that you can take the teacher out of the classroom, but continue to share knowledge and experience with others through hard work, dedication and a drive to succeed. A former teacher for the River East School Division, Penner has been an active member of the real estate industry since 1987 and received the award from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) recently. “This award recognizes individuals who have given of themselves not only to the real estate industry, but to the community in which they live,” says Judy Walsh, regional manager, business development, CMHC, who was present at the MREA’s Annual General Meeting. In business with her husband Wayne Penner at Royal LePage Prime Real Estate, Ruthe has worked in the resale market, project selling, the new home market and condominium communities in the completion stages. In addition, she has chaired many committees at the community board level and served as president of the MREA in 2009 and president of the WinnipegRealtors in 2005. “The opportunities I’ve had serving the real estate community over the last 10 plus years have allowed me to grow as an individual and I have learned so much about what it means to be a leader in the industry,” she said at the ceremony. “Being able to pay it forward has been a wonderful way of using my experiences and giving back to our industry. My philosophy about how to live life is simple – make each day count by trying to make a difference in the lives of others.” Penner currently serves on the Board of Governors for the MREA Shelter Foundation, which raises funds for shelter related causes throughout Manitoba. She was also awarded the Royal LePage

Shelter Foundation philanthropic award in recognition of her contributions in support of the Shelter Foundation in 2009. ■ ■ ■

The New Brunswick Real Estate Association (NBREA) bestowed this year’s Dave Hawkins Award on Carla Bouchard, a Moncton Realtor with over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry. The award is presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the real estate industry in New Brunswick. Bouchard served as a director of the NBREA, president of the Greater Moncton Real Estate Board, and director of the Greater Moncton Planning Commission. She has also been professionally involved in the Bathurst region serving as founder and vice-president for the Greater Bathurst Downtown Revitalization Corp., chairperson for the Bathurst Downtown Planning Advisory Committee and director of the Bathurst Chamber of Commerce. “Carla is an amazing person who has a tremendous passion for the industry,” says NBREA president Dwayne Hayes. “She has been a pioneer for real estate in New Brunswick and her professional resume and achievements only highlight that.” Beyond her professional commitments, Bouchard still finds time to give back to her community. She is a member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Atlantic Association of Women Business Owners, director for Junior Achievement and an instructor for the YMCA Entrepreneurship Program. She has also been heavily involved in fundraising for charities including Crossroads for Women/Autumn House, Headstart, school breakfast programs, the pediatric units of Moncton City Hospital and Georges Dumont Hospital and the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. ■ ■ ■

The late Gordon Harmon of Prudential Sussex Realty in Vancouver was named Broker of the Year during a ceremony at a Prudential Real Estate Sales Convention recently. Harmon died Jan. 30 after a fight with cancer. PRERS president Earl Lee said Harmon set high standards for real estate professionalism and integrity and even higher standards for the way he treated his associates. PRERS chairman Jim Mallozzi described Harmon as generous, caring, respectful and compassionate. “To his associates, he was a dear friend, mentor and ‘the voice

of reason’ on all issues – not just real estate. He was a true gentleman who loved his trade and the community he served.” Prudential Sussex Realty broker Fred Brown accepted the award on behalf of Harmon, Harmon’s wife Lee and the sales professionals and associates of Prudential Sussex Realty. ■ ■ ■

Willy Berger of Re/Max Williams Lake Realty was recently named Realtor of the Year by the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board. A 20-year member and consistent top producer, Berger has been

heavily involved in his community and in organized real estate. Community involvement includes volunteer work for the Canadian Mental Health Association, Williams Lake Stampede, Williams Lake Advisory Planning Commission, B.C. Winter Games, the German Club and Rotary. He has served as director and president of the board and currently sits on the B.C. Real Estate Association Standard Forms Committee and the B.C. Northern Professional Standards Committee. ■ ■ ■

Continued on page 52

Ruthe Penner Harvey Exner B.C. Northern Real Estate Board past-president Claudia Holland with Realtor of the Year award recipient Willy Berger.

Carla Bouchard

Patricia Simpson

Georges Pahud with Shirley Fillmore

Rick Kerr

The management team at Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty accepts the Chairman’s Circle Award: From left: Tim Ingold, broker, New Homes Division manager; Peter Benninger, president and broker of record; Peter Kritz, broker and operations manager; John Geha, president, Coldwell Banker Canada Operation; and Scott Mills, broker and residential sales manager.

Kenan MacKenzie Rob Jeeves

52 REM MAY 2011

And the honour goes to... Continued from page 51

Greater Moncton Realtors du Grand Moncton has named Shirley Fillmore of Royal LePage Atlantic the 2010 Realtor of the Year. CREA past-president Georges Pahud was at the ceremony to present the award recently. Fillmore is celebrating her 40th year in the real estate industry. She served as a director and president of Greater Moncton Realtors du Grand Moncton. Her dedication to organized real estate stretched beyond the local level and included the New Brunswick Real Estate Association and CREA, says the association. “My devotion to the industry is because I love it,” said Fillmore when receiving the award. ■ ■ ■

Harvey Exner became the third recipient of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s (REBGV) Professional Excellence Award recently. The award is presented to a Realtor who exemplifies the highest level of professional knowledge, ethics, peer and client relationships, and community involve-

ment. Exner was one of eight Realtors nominated by his peers for the award, and was chosen by a panel of four judges. Exner served on the board’s Agency Task Force in 1992, which was responsible for developing a system that represents buyers’ rights in real estate transactions that continues to be used today. He was manager of member services at the board between 1996 and 2005, where he authored a popular series of articles about professional ethics called the eXner Files. He also assisted with the development of the current system that provides Realtor access to the MLS and served on the British Columbia Real Estate Association’s Standard Forms Committee. He has been an instructor for many Realtor education programs and is widely considered a role model and mentor. Exner is currently the manager of two Macdonald Realty offices, in Coquitlam and Maple Ridge. ■ ■ ■

Three Greater Vancouver Realtors were recognized for their deep commitment to charitable causes in 2010. Rob Jeeves, Kenan

MacKenzie and Patricia Simpson were named 2010 recipients of the Realtors Care Awards during an event hosted by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). The award is presented annually to Realtors in Greater Vancouver who work to support their communities through fundraising or volunteer activities. Jeeves, of Re/Max Lifestyles Realty in Maple Ridge, is one of the founders of the Drive for the Cure golf tournament, which has raised approximately $1 million in its 12-year history. In 2010, Jeeves expanded the tournament to include a second one in Victoria. The funds raised each year support Ridge Meadows Hospital, Langley Memorial Hospital and the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. MacKenzie, of Prudential Sussex Realty in Gibsons, plays a central role in several charitable initiatives on the Sunshine Coast. He sits on the board of directors for both the Sunshine Coast Habitat for Humanity and the Sunshine Coast Hospice Society. He is a cochair of the Prudential Rock Solids Easter Seals 24 Hour Relay Team and regularly volunteers with St. Mary’s Church and the Sunshine

Coast Equestrian Club. Simpson, of Macdonald Realty in Coquitlam, chairs the Evening of Caring Gala for the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation, which raised $235,000 in 2010. She also works with the Soroptimists of the TriCities, organizing monthly dinners and clothing give-aways for women and sponsoring needy families during the holiday season. She is a longstanding volunteer with the Realtors Care Blanket Drive, and her efforts have helped to directly benefit six local charitable organizations in the Tri-City area. ■ ■ ■

Coldwell Banker Canada is producing a series of YouTube videos to recognize its top national performers. “The Coldwell Banker organization is built on the accomplishments of outstanding people. Our 2010 Award winners exemplify the dedication and commitment that are the hallmarks of the Coldwell Banker brand,” says John Geha, president of Coldwell Banker Canada Operations. Among Coldwell Banker’s top award winners: No. 1 Company in Canada:

Coldwell Banker Terrequity Realty, broker Andrew Zsolt, Toronto. Chairman’s Circle (closed adjusted gross commission income of $8 million or more in 2010): Coldwell Banker Case Realty, broker Roberta Case, Toronto; Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty, broker Gary August, Kelowna, B.C.; Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty, broker Peter Benninger, Kitchener, Ont.; Coldwell Banker Sarazen Realty, broker Colin Sarazen, Ottawa; Coldwell Banker Terrequity Realty, broker Andrew Zsolt, Toronto; and Coldwell Banker Westburn Realty, broker Paul Prade, Burnaby, B.C. Top Ultimate Service Provider: Rosita Chan-Geddis, Coldwell Banker Terrequity Realty, Mississauga, Ont. Top sales representatives in GCI: Colin Hartigan, Coldwell Banker Fort McMurray, Fort McMurray, Alta.; Lisa HartiganMiddlestead, Coldwell Banker Fort McMurray, Fort McMurray, Alta.; and Chris Kelos, Coldwell Banker Case Realty, Toronto. Top sales representatives in total units: Angelo Sol, Coldwell

ARE YOU A PART OF CANADA’S LARGEST REAL ESTATE CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW?

MAY 4 & 5, 2011

TORONTO CONGRESS CENTRE

THE PULSE OF THE PUBLIC

Come hear from one of Canada’s most respected and witty pollsters, John Wright, Senior Vice President, Ipsos, as he presents results of a public opinion poll, conducted for TREB, on how the public feels about government issues relevant to REALTORS®, their clients, and real estate markets. This invaluable information will give you insight into what the public thinks about important real estate issues. Wright also delves into his years of experience as a pollster and author to give insights on what Canadians think on just about everything. May 4 at 2pm – OREA Centre Stage

HEALTH & WELLNESS FAIR

JOHN WRIGHT

The Toronto Real Estate Board and its insurance partner, TREB Member Beneﬁts, are pleased to announce the return of the Health and Wellness Fair.

TRADE SHOW FEATURES OVER 200 EXHIBITORS! WEB: www.realtor-quest.ca s EMAIL: realtorquest@trebnet.com s TEL: 416.443.8136

REM MAY 2011 53

Banker Terrequity Realty, Toronto; Marj Eschak, Coldwell Banker Redwood Realty, Whitehorse, YT; and Chris Kelos, Coldwell Banker Case Realty, Toronto. Top teams in GCI: The Jane Hoffman Group, Jane Hoffman, Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty, Kelowna, B.C.; Team Johnston, Sheldon Johnston, Coldwell Banker Johnston Real Estate, Edmonton; and Rhodes & Barker, Tony Rhodes, Coldwell Banker Rhodes & Company, Ottawa. Top teams in total units: Team Johnston, Sheldon Johnston, Coldwell Banker Johnston Real Estate, Edmonton; The Jane Hoffman Group, Jane Hoffman, Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty, Kelowna, B.C.; and Szklarz Team, Julian Szklarz, Coldwell Banker Panda Realty, Edmonton. ■ ■ ■

Peter Benninger, president and broker of record at Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty in Kitchener, Ont. has won the 2010 Coldwell Banker Ambassador Award in recognition of his continuing commitment to community service. Every year, Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty provides financial assistance to more than 30 charities, business organizations and community groups. Last year, Benninger’s company sponsored its third Habitat for Humanity home after holding a gala that raised more than $100,000 for this nonprofit organization. As an International Fire Safety Ambassador, Benninger also uses his personal and professional influ-

ence to move the importance of fire safety to the forefront. ■ ■ ■

Associates from Re/Max of Western Canada were recently recognized at the Re/Max LLC. R4 Convention in Las Vegas, where the company announced its 2010 worldwide top producers and honourees. Re/Max of Western Canada was honoured for being the top contributing region to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Other award winners from Re/Max of Western Canada included: Circle of Legends: Sam (Salvatore) Corea, Re/Max House of Real Estate, Calgary; and Gordon W. Ross, Re/Max Real Estate Central, Calgary. Leadership, Distinguished Service: Verne Gatzke. Re/Max 2000 Realty, Surrey, B.C., Re/Max Sabre Realty, Port Coquitlam, B.C., and Re/Max Treeland Realty, Langley, B.C. Broker/Owners of the Year: Single Office - Tim Walsh, Lance Bussieres, Re/Max Fort McMurray Realty, Fort McMurray, Alta. Multi-Office - John Lichtenwald, Re/Max Crest Realty, North Vancouver, Re/Max Masters Realty, West Vancouver, B.C. and Re/Max Central & Central (North), Burnaby, B.C. Manager of the Year: Camil Morley - Re/Max Real Estate (Mountain View), Calgary. Making the “top 10” international lists were:

Top 10 Teams – Worldwide Residential & Commercial: #3 Joyce Tourney, Re/Max Crown Realty (North), Regina; #10 Terry Paranych - Re/Max Elite, Edmonton. Top 5 Teams – Worldwide Commercial: #1. William (Bill) Goold, Re/Max Real Estate Services, Vancouver; #2 Peter Hall, Re/Max Central, Burnaby, B.C.; and #5 Pete Vanderham, Re/Max Medalta Real Estate, Medicine Hat, Alta. Top 5 Individuals, Commercial Worldwide: #1 Noel Lewellyn, Re/Max Commercial Advantage, Vancouver. Top 10 Individuals, Worldwide Residential & Commercial: #2 Sam (Salvatore) Corea, Re/Max House of Real Estate, Calgary; and #4 Victor Kwan, Re/Max Select Properties, Vancouver. Top Offices, Sales Volume – Worldwide and Canada: MultiOffice - John Lichtenwald, Elaine Lichtenwald, Craig Muskeyn, Deborah Upton, Re/Max Crest Realty, North Vancouver, Re/Max Masters Realty, West Vancouver, Re/Max Central & Central (North), Burnaby, Re/Max Crest Realty (Westside), Vancouver, Re/Max Crest Realty (Westside) City Centre, Vancouver and Re/Max Crest Realty (Westside) South Granville, Vancouver. Single Office: Re/Max Real Estate Central, Calgary, Pat Hare. Franchise sales, North America: #3 Roy Anderson, Re/Max of Western Canada, Kelowna.

■ ■ ■

Rick Kerr, broker of Century 21 Sparkling Waters Realty Inc. in Washago, Ont. was awarded the Police Exemplary Service Medal for his long-time service with the RCMP and Toronto Police Service. RCMP assistant commissioner Steve White presented Kerr with a medal during a luncheon recently. Kerr was recognized along with 71 others who received long-time service awards. The medal recognizes police officers who have served in an exemplary manner, characterized by good conduct, industry and efficiency. Kerr plans to pass the

medal down to his son and grandchildren. After a stint as a private investigator, Kerr joined the RCMP in 1986. He worked in several detachments including Toronto, Barrie, Newmarket and Orillia. He was involved in various roles throughout his career, including supervising two surveillance teams that busted a car theft ring in Cornwall. Kerr retired from the RCMP in 2003 and is now focusing on his other passion – real estate. Century 21 Sparkling Waters Realty is located at 3405 Muskoka St. in Washago. REM

Regional executive vice-president Elton Ash presents the #4 worldwide individual award to Victor Kwan.

John Lichtenwald, left, receives the award for Top Office, Sales Volume from Elton Ash.

54 REM MAY 2011

THE PUBLISHER’S PAGE

By Heino Molls s I wring my hands and worry about readers, I am grateful that Realtors across the country continue to read REM with loyalty and enthusiasm. I have heard that readership at some of the large mainstream newspapers has been down by as much as 30 per cent due to the Internet. We have held our own a little better but we aren’t taking anything for granted. We have worked hard but we have also been a bit lucky that our readers comprise the real estate industry in Canada. This is arguably one of

Realtors and The New York Times the most engaged business communities for all things that matter to every neighbourhood and walk of life in the country. We keep in mind that even after all these years, we cannot count on owning this readership for a minute, nor can we fool this industry for one second. We will remain vigilant in producing the most relevant, important and timely information and news that we can. With that said I bring your attention to the parallels between newspapers and Realtors. Both industries are being attacked by critics who say neither are professionals. They claim no university degrees, technical abilities or scientific skills are required for this work, so anybody can do these jobs. Anybody can write and anybody can sell a house. All anyone needs to be a reporter is a chance to have what they write published in the paper, and all anyone needs to sell a house is a chance to put their property for sale on MLS. Up until now, critics say, they

have been denied these chances and are demanding that they be handed to them. The challenge for newspapers and Realtors alike these days is to show that their business is not as easy as it looks. The ultimate insult is that both Realtors and newspapers are supposed to have marketing savvy, yet are unable to counter the critics. How could we have let ourselves down like this? It seems to me that we are so busy explaining that others can’t do what we do, we can’t see that they are actually right! Others can in fact do what we do. The major difference is that we are not explaining that as professionals, we do these things far better. That’s the message we are not getting through. We must create understanding among cynics that the investment, learning and experience that we respectively have is real and substantial value. It isn’t free. It has a price that should be paid just the same as any service or product.

Anybody can get statistics from the net and express an opinion. But to write an accurate meaningful report on what those statistics reflect can only be done by a professional writer who checks facts, researches the topic and delivers the information in an objective piece with no hint of opinion. You have to learn how to do that. It is hard work and it has value. Anybody can sell a house. But to be a Realtor and professionally market the property and maximize the value….I don’t have to tell you of all people, REM reader. My worry is that the reason a lot of Realtors lower their commission is for fear of losing business. It is similar to all the newspapers in the world that rolled out website versions of their papers and were afraid to charge for access. They were afraid to ask people to pay for news and information on the web even though it is accurate, objective, researched, fact checked and costly. They all

made it free because they were afraid if they charged money they would lose customers. Now there is something of great significance happening. The New York Times recently announced that it is going to begin charging for its newspaper on the Internet. The cynics are having a field day and are they howling loudly. Sarcasm is flowing. They say it will never work. Yet one of the most iconic newspapers in the world is standing up to declare, “We have value”! I urge you to follow this issue and what develops here. Because I think the success of The New York Times charging people to read news and information on the Internet will have a direct impact not just on newspapers but a lot of other professions. I would say Realtors would be one of them. Heino Molls is publisher of REM. Email heino@remonline.com. REM

The results speak for themselves.

36%

33% 30%

34%

CREA vs. KW Canada | 2010 Agent Growth

27% 24% 21%

18% 15% 12% 9% 6% 3% 0%

CREA

Source: Canadian Real Estate Association 2010

Keller Williams Realty is outpacing the market. Find out why.

www.kellerwilliams.ca | canada@kw.com | 855.637.8340

Help your customers do their homework.

Homeownership is often the biggest investment of a lifetime, so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to educate your customers about the various costs of homeownership. Make sure they understand all the available mortgage options, the impact of rising interest rates and that purchasing within their means are the keys to success. We provide easy to understand homebuyer information about purchasing responsibly at www.HomeownershipHelp.ca

ÂŠ 2010 Genworth Financial

Tuesday, May 17 , 2011 th

Mississauga Convention Centre 75 Derry Road West, Mississauga, ON

& YOU

is a complimentary event, designed to educate agents on RE/MAX benefits, tools and resources. It is a great networking event and after lunch, complimentary C.E. credits are offered.

Featured Speaker Walter Schneider,

President and Co-Founder of RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada Inc.

Guests are welcome to register with Leah Ambler at

For more information visit

lamber@remax-oa.com

remaxevents.ca