October 2014 by Real Estate Magazine (REM)

Issue #304

October 2014

Branding the community Page 3

The end of disclosure forms? Page 10

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REM OCTOBER 2014 3

Branding the community is a win-win A group of real estate professionals, land developers, home builders and municipalities join together to brand a community as a great place to live – and everyone wins. By Jim Adair

ince the introduction of the MLS system, real estate professionals have understood the value of co-operating with their competitors. In Ontario’s Bay of Quinte region, a group of municipalities, land developers, home builders and the country’s largest air force base is joining with real estate agents and brokers to give the area a boost that will benefit everyone. The goal of the coalition is to “promote the unique attributes of the Bay of Quinte Region as a place to live through collaboration and community partnerships.” The area is about 1 1/2 hours east of Toronto and 2 1/2 hours southwest of Ottawa, along Hwy. 401, on the shores of Lake Ontario. It includes Belleville, Quinte West, Prince Edward County, Brighton, Napanee, Stirling-Rawdon, Tyendinaga Township, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Deseronto, Tweed, Madoc, Marmora and Campbellford. Rivalries between municipalities have existed for years but now Quinte West Mayor John Williams says, “We get along just fine. There are differences between the cities but it’s all one area and whatever we do to promote one municipality helps in the others.” The group, which complements the local economic development and tourism councils, recently hosted REM for a tour of the area and a look at how it is working to attract new residents. The area offers a diverse range of living options, from rural areas to towns on the waterfront, and from century homes to new developments. It is attracting a lot of retirees from Toronto and Ottawa as well as young families. It’s also a popular vacation spot, with a variety of recreational opportunities including golf, fishing, biking and skiing. The Sandbanks Provincial Park is here, as is the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area. Day-trippers can tour the Cheddar & Ale Trail, visiting a number of cheesemakers and craft brewers, or take a winery tour. Sandbanks Summer Village, where REM’s writer was a guest for

a night, is a unique development that allows buyers to purchase a new waterfront access cottage for less than $200,000. Cottages come with luxury features such as granite countertops and vaulted ceilings. The development offers swimming pools, tennis courts, kayaking and childrens’ activities. There’s a rental program for when the owner isn’t there. Affordable second homes are attracting buyers to the area who don’t want the hassle and expense of going to Ontario’s traditional “cottage country”. The biggest thing the real estate market has going for it is affordability. The average residential sale price in August was $233,528. “People in the Greater Toronto Area sell their homes and move here, where they can buy a home for half the price,” says David Weir, broker at Royal Lepage ProAlliance Realty in Trenton. On the new-home side, prices start in the low $300,000s. Steven Tobey, president of Gordon Tobey Developments, builds custom homes aimed at the retirement market, featuring luxury finishes and upgraded energy-efficiency packages. The average price for a detached home in one of Tobey’s developments is less than $500,000. Like municipalities across the country, the towns and cities in the Bay of Quinte region have had to deal with serious infrastructure issues, but they are facing the problems head-on. “Unfortunately, it’s been the perfect storm. A lot of our infrastructure was built just after the war and we’ve let it go too far,” says Neil Ellis, mayor of Belleville (population 49,454) . At the same time that bridges, pipes and roads needed replacing, the downtown area was suffering. A mall and big-box stores in the suburbs, along with new residential development, pulled retail business and people away from downtown, resulting in empty buildings and fewer taxes being paid. There was little incentive for new businesses to locate there. “The challenge is there are so many projects and only so much

money,” says Ellis. “We had bridges that were actually falling down.” The first bridge repair cost $18 million. City council’s task was then to convince residents that redeveloping the downtown area should take priority over other projects. The city conducted an economic impact analysis, which says that taking advantage of short-term “low-hanging fruit” redevelopment opportunities could create up to 1,280 new homes and more than 400,000 additional square feet of commercial/employment downtown. A $21-million revitalization project, which will include all below-ground services and ground street renewal, has now begun. The goal is to spur new residential and commercial development downtown and it appears to be working, with several new residential projects on the go and new stores and restaurants opening in the area. Ellis says that while most municipalities pay for capital improvements on a “pay as you go” basis, it makes more sense for Belleville to borrow needed funds because interest rates are so low. Through the provincial government’s Infrastructure Ontario corporation, the interest rates are locked at a guaranteed low rate for 20 years. The neighbouring municipality of Quinte West, which includes the former municipalities of Trenton, Sidney, Murray and Franklin, also embarked on a downtown redevelopment project. The community has about 43,000 people, of which 60 per cent live in rural areas. In the former town of Trenton, a new $12million marina project is taking shape. “It’s a huge investment for us,” says Mayor Williams. “Some residents get upset because they say it’s just for people who have boats, but that’s not what this is about.” He says in other communities along the shore of Lake Ontario “where they have done this right, they have been able to get people to come and bring their money…and the money spills out to downtown, encouraging more stores and different types of stores.”

A custom new home by Gordon Tobey Developments in Brighton is aimed at the retirement market.

In Belleville, $21-million revitalization project is underway.

Williams says there have been tentative plans for residential development in the area for years and he believes the 380-slip marina project will get these projects underway. The marina will include a 6,000 s.f. building, docks, a boardwalk, new walking trails and a park. “We think it’s going to be a real attraction,” says Williams. Quinte West’s downtown revitalization program cleans up one street every year and offers stores a funding package so they can freshen up storefronts and add new signage. Quinte West is home to 8 Wing Trenton, the largest Royal Canadian Air Force Base in the country. A 400-acre expansion that will include a new training and administration campus is underway, which will add to the 3,200 regular force, 600 reserve force and 500 civilians who

already work at the base. The municipality benefits from having the base because of the federal government’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes program. Government properties don’t have to pay local property taxes, but the program gives funds back to the municipality. “That’s a lot of money that comes back to us and it allows us to do these projects without raising taxes,” says Williams. “It makes a huge difference for us.” Neither Ellis nor Williams are seeking re-election in this fall’s municipal elections. Ellis plans to run for the Liberal party in the next federal election and Williams is retiring. However, both mayors believe that with the coalition in place and the cooperation of all parties, the Bay of Quinte region will continue to grow and thrive. REM

4 REM OCTOBER 2014

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

ate Murray has been named chief executive officer of the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO). Murray was with the Ontario Public Service for 26 years, most recently as the assistant deputy minister of central services for ServiceOntario. She held the statutory appointment of director of titles under Ontario land legislation for more than 20 years. RECO says she was a leader in the transformation of the land registration system from a paper-based system to a fully electronic land titles system. She also led the implementation of the ministry’s real estate fraud initiatives involving extensive legislative and procedural changes. RECO says Murray is well known in Ontario’s real estate bar and was the 2010 recipient of the Ontario Bar Association Award for Excellence in Real Estate. She has spoken at numerous public and legal events and has been called upon by jurisdictions from around the world for her expertise in the transformation of Ontario’s land registration system.

Royal LePage Carolyn Ralph Realty in Gander, Nfld. was acquired by Gaye Turner and her son Mike Turner. The brokerage will operate under the name Royal LePage Turner Realty. Carolyn Ralph started her

Kate Murray

Gaye Turner

Michael Griffith

■ ■ ■

Michael Griffith has acquired Coldwell Banker Burnhill Realty in Burlington, Ont. The company’s ownership passes from founding broker Lee Pagliaro, who established the franchise 25 years ago when the Coldwell Banker brand first entered Canada in 1989. Griffith has consistently ranked in the top one per cent of Coldwell Banker sales reps internationally. The Michael Griffith Team has ranked as a Top Ten Team nationally for the franchise every year since 2008. Griffith was recruited by Pagliaro more than 10 years ago. “I’m delighted that Lee Pagliaro will be remaining with the organization to ensure a smooth transition,” says Griffith. ■ ■ ■

Mike Turner

career in real estate as a sales representative in 1988 after a nineyear career with The Royal Bank of Canada and a 10-year period as a business partner with her husband Frank. In 1999 she joined the Royal LePage network as a franchisee. The couple is looking forward to enjoying some rest and relaxation, the company says. Gaye Turner has been in the real estate industry for 40 years. She started out selling with Kevin M. Joy Ltd. at the age of 18. In 1998 she completed her broker’s licence and opened her own brokerage, Turner Realty. In 2007 she joined Royal LePage in Gander. Michael has been selling with her for five years and will manage the office. The brokerage has a team of six sales professionals. ■ ■ ■

The Aventure Realty Network and First National Real Estate based in Richmond, Australia have formed an exclusive alliance aimed at connecting the markets of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, with a combined 460 offices throughout these markets. “First National Real Estate, operating since 1981, and

Aventure share a focus on integrity, exceptional service and leadership in their membership groups and through this alliance will strengthen their members’ competitive positions, expand service capabilities with wider global reach and add to their proven referral platforms,” says Aventure president Bernie Vogt. Aventure has 58 member companies across Canada. ■ ■ ■

A. J. Hazzi, managing broker/ owner of Vantage West Realty in Kelowna, B.C. says his new office is “the real estate office of the future. “The old brokerage model has existed more than 100 years and hasn’t really changed; it creates a sink or swim environment for agents while homebuyers are paying for a service that’s not meeting their needs,” says Hazzi. “Generally, a Realtor is wearing 20 hats, juggling the many parts of the home buying and selling process. Here, all of our agents spend no time searching for the next client or dreaming up new marketing plans, and no time doing administrative tasks. All they do is serve their client.” The brokerage says this super team concept is more efficient as resources are pooled for marketing. It says Vantage West is seeing increased productivity, with agents selling more than three times that of their competitors. Vantage West sales grew by 77 per cent last year, while the Kelowna real estate market saw

an increase of 22 per cent, the company says. ■ ■ ■

Lenard Lind is opening a new Re/Max office in Aurora. The office is affiliated with Re/Max Hallmark and Lind is the first broker to join the new Re/Max Agent Brokerage Program recently launched in Ontario. The firm is operating as Re/Max Hallmark Lind Group Realty. Lind began his career in the corporate world but made the switch to real estate in 1989. Now he is top-producing salesperson in Aurora and is the only residential Realtor in Canada who is ISO 9001:2008 certified. A broker of record, he’s also a licensed mortgage broker and a registered Tarion builder, relocation specialist and designated appraiser. He says his favourite part of the job is “having a 99.9-per-cent satisfaction rate.” ■ ■ ■

Chestnut Park Real Estate has acquired Mississauga-based Bayshore Realty. It will be converted to the Chestnut Park brand. Bayshore Realty is the exclusive Christie’s International Real Estate affiliate for Oakville, Mississauga and Milton. It services the Mississauga and Oakville luxury market, including luxury condominiums and Continued on page 6

Donna Brookes

From left: Vantage West agent Jared Franczak, Kelowna City Councillor Colin Basan, brokerage owner A.J. Hazzi, Argus Properties director Rob Smith, senior partner Nick Hazzi, Kelowna Chamber CEO Caroline Grover and client care manager Gayle Helbig.

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6 REM OCTOBER 2014

Multiple Listings Continued from page 4

new home developments. Donna Brookes, president of Bayshore Realty, says the sale and transfer of the Christie’s affiliation means she can now “focus on my true passion – real estate sales.” Chris Kapches, CEO of Chestnut Park says, “The addition of such a consummate sales professional as Donna Brookes serves to expand our sales presence in the western region of the GTA.”

Ruth Anne Winter

Ara Balabanian

■ ■ ■

Celebrating the opening of Re/Max Hallmark Lind Group Realty, from left: Ken McLachlan, broker/owner, Re/Max Hallmark Realty; Barbara Brindle, broker of record/manager, Re/Max Hallmark York Group Realty; Lenard Lind, broker of record, Re/Max Hallmark Lind Group Realty; Debra Bain, broker/owner, Re/Max Hallmark Realty; and Steve Tabrizi, general manager, Re/Max Hallmark Realty.

Kim Saxton

Dwayne Groome

■ ■ ■

Wendy Saunders

Patricia Place

Arun Sahni

Sanjeev Chowdhary

Macdonald Realty recently added three new managing brokers. Ara Balabanian is managing broker at the Salt Spring Island, Qualicum Beach and Victoria locations. He has been in real estate since 1986, serving as managing broker for three real estate offices prior to taking on his role at Macdonald Realty. He is currently an instructor for BCREA’s Post-licensing, Ethics and the Risk Management PDP Courses and is a director of the Victoria Real Estate Board. Dwayne Groome has been

appointed managing broker for the Coquitlam and Maple Ridge offices. After years of top production in the industry, Groome turned his focus to a platform for education across North America, the company says. He has been a sought-after management consultant, advisor, trainer and speaker all over North America. Patricia Place’s passion for real estate started in 1979, when she was a manager and designer at Contour Kitchens in Kerrisdale and later opened a second showroom in North Vancouver. After

starting her family in 1989, Pat, her husband and their two daughters moved to Squamish from Deep Cove, where she started working for a real estate brokerage firm. She advanced to a management position within the company and was the managing broker and general manager for the Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton offices. Place has joined Macdonald Realty as the manager for the North Shore offices and managing broker for the Squamish and Whistler offices.

The Ruth Anne Winter, Wendy Saunders and Kim Saxton Team has rejoined Royal LePage from Sotheby’s and will work from a new Johnston & Daniel office in Oakville, Ont. “Ruth Anne and her team are well-established, highly respected Realtors and are excited to be on the forefront of expanding the Johnston & Daniel brand,” says Gino Romanese, senior VP at Royal LePage. The office will be managed by Lynn Hoffmann, who has been broker/manager of the Royal LePage Oakville

Lakeshore office since 2008 and is a life-long Oakville resident.

■ ■ ■

Publisher HEINO MOLLS heino@remonline.com

Editor JIM ADAIR jim@remonline.com

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Digital Media Manager WILLIAM MOLLS web@remonline.com

Art Director LIZ MACKIN

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.

Graphic Design SHAWN KELLY

REM is published 12 times a year. It is an independently owned and operated company and is not affiliated with any real estate association, board or company. REM is distributed across Canada by leading real estate boards and by direct delivery in selected areas. For subscription information, email distribution@remonline.com. Entire contents copyright 2014 REM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The opinions expressed in REM are not necessarily those of the publisher. ISSN 1201-1223

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■ ■ ■

Broker/owner Terry McFadden recently opened Coldwell Banker Access in Bala, Ont. McFadden was an award-winning Coldwell Banker sales rep for many years prior to opening his own company and was formerly on the District of Muskoka Council. He has been a Bala resident and business operator for many years and is well known throughout the Continued on page 8

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Mississauga-based independent Great Lakes Real Estate, owned and operated by Arun Sahni and Sanjeev Chowdhary, recently joined iPro Realty. “We were looking to increase the level of support, services and resources for our salespeople and iPro Realty was a perfect fit for us,” says Sahni. iPro Realty has more than 600 sales reps and brokers. With this merger, iPro has become the seventh largest brokerage in the GTA, the company says. It has nine Ontario offices in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Milton, Orangeville, Georgetown, Shelburne, Oshawa and Muskoka.

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8 REM OCTOBER 2014

Multiple Listings Continued from page 6

hub community, which is located at the west end of Lake Muskoka, at the foot of Bala Bay. The company will specialize in waterfront properties in Bala, Port Carling and Mactier as well as year-round residences and seasonal properties throughout the surrounding area. ■ ■ ■

Sukhdev Grewal, owner of Global Force Realty in Surrey, B.C., recently joined the Royal LePage Network. The brokerage is operating as Royal LePage Global Force Realty. Grewal began his career in home renovations and later moved into home building. By 2005, he had evolved his business into land development and two years later opened his brokerage. Rounding out the management team are Shari Boyal and Nat Dhaliwal, both formerly of Sutton Group Medallion Realty, and Don Fults. ■ ■ ■

The Real Estate Council of British Columbia has suspended the real estate licence of 8th Avenue Elite Realty of Surrey, B.C. The council says it “suspended this licence in the public interest as a result of the failure of 8th Avenue Elite Realty Ltd. to account for trust monies held on behalf of clients.” The brokerage had about 70 sales reps. The broker/owners were husband and wife team Rup and Ash Dawodharry. The council also suspended the real estate licence of Diversified Properties in Victoria on Sept.10, “as a result of Diversified Properties Ltd.’s unauthorized withdrawal of funds from one client’s trust account and subsequent failure to comply with the direction of council to cover the shortage in that trust account,” it says in a news release. Consumers or real estate professionals with questions can contact the council at 604-683-9664 or toll-free at 1-877-683-9664.

Ont. Guindon has almost 30 years of experience as a top producer in real estate. Most recently he was with Sutton Group but he was also a Hall of Fame winner during his earlier years with Re/Max. He will partner with his nephew and fellow top producer Dan Guindon to create The Guindon Team. ■ ■ ■

“We had the pleasure of meeting fellow swimmers (and medal winners) from India, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, all over Europe including Spain, Greece, Germany; and the USA and Canada,” says Hormann. “We both have been training since February at 8 Wing Trenton RecPlex Pool and swimming together for many years.” Hormann knocked seconds off her times and placed 31st in the 100m freestyle, 32nd in 200m freestyle and 40th in the 50m freestyle.

Davidson is also a member of the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Commercial Committee (formerly the Commercial Division). Re/Max Commercial is now in 42 countries with approximately 3,000 commercial practitioners. ■ ■ ■

he worked up to VP of operations. He then worked for a development company for several years before venturing out on his own and becoming a real estate professional. ■ ■ ■

Global property services firm DTZ has named Jennifer Teufel director of business development for Canada. Working from the firm’s Toronto office, Teufel will draw on her strengths in client relations, proposal development and negotiations to expand DTZ’s Global Occupier Services businesses throughout Canada, the company says. Teufel joins DTZ from GDI Integrated Facility Services, where she served as director of sales. Previously, she was director of sales at Durabond Janitorial Services and worked as a sales rep for Coldwell Banker Home & Family Realty. REM

Michael Davidson has transferred from Re/Max West Realty to Re/Max Realtron Realty in Toronto to join the brokerage’s new commercial division. He deals with commercial condominiums, retail leasing, tenant mandate/site selection and investment property sales.

The Daryl King Team at Royal LePage Your Community Realty in Richmond Hill, Ont. is launching a new commercial industrial division led by broker David Mendel. “The addition of a broker with the experience David brings to the team will expand our reach and effectiveness in the commercial industrial market,” says Daryl King. Mendel spent several years working at an engineering consultant firm in building systems. He then moved on to the property management industry, where

Michael Davidson

David Mendel

Catherine Mason and Joanne Hormann

Lynn Hoffmann

Sukhdev Grewal

Nat Dhaliwal

Renald Guindon

Terry McFadden

Shari Boyal

Don Fults

Dana Clowater

Dana Clowater is the new general manager of Exit Realty Advantage in Fredericton, N.B. “Dana brings 11 plus years of experience as a well-known Realtor with 15 plus years in management. His real estate knowledge and management skills will be a definite asset to our growth,” says franchisee Philip Duplisea, who coowns the brokerage with David Sawler. ■ ■ ■

Joanne Hormann, broker with Re/Max Quinte in Trenton, Ont. participated in competitive swim events at the 16th FINA World Masters Championships in Montreal recently, which included more than 3,500 swimmers. Horrman, a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces, took part with her friend Catherine Mason, a corporal with the Forces. Every two years, the event welcomes swimmers, divers and water polo players aged 25 to more than 100 years old from all corners of the world.

■ ■ ■

Renald Guindon has joined Re/Max Centre City in London,

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10 REM OCTOBER 2014

Is this the end of disclosure forms? By Bob Aaron

recent decision of a discipline panel of the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) could spell the end of the Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS) in Ontario. The SPIS is a disclosure form published by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA). Some real estate agents swear by the form, while others are strongly opposed to it. I have been very critical of the SPIS because in my opinion the questions are ambiguous, technical or complicated, and they require expertise in property law, building code, zoning and other issues – which most homeowners do not have. Some agents feel the form exists to protect them from allegations of failure to disclose property

defects, but it now seems that the form will only create problems for agents who fail to verify its contents. Across Canada, the SPIS and similar forms have resulted in about 200 reported court cases since 1997. Many more have no doubt been filed and settled. A disclaimer on the forms attempts to shield real estate agents from responsibility for the accuracy of the seller’s answers, but that disclaimer may not be effective in light of RECO’s recent discipline decision. Dale Godfrey is a real estate broker in Sault Ste. Marie. Back in 2010, she represented both buyer and sellers in a purchase agreement for a $105,000 home. Both parties had consented to dual agency and signed a Confirmation of Co-operation and Representation. That document stated, among other things, that the listing brokerage has a duty of full disclosure to both buyer and sellers, including a duty to disclose all factual information regarding the property. Before the purchase agreement was signed, Godfrey provided a

Letters to the Editor More about FINTRAC Re: Time to rethink FINTRAC (September REM) As an established consultant in the anti-money laundering compliance field here in Canada, I have made it a practice to be open to the opinions from professionals working in the various sectors governed by Canada’s money laundering legislation. Since 2000, when the new AML legislation came into force and FINTRAC emerged as the regulatory authority governing the legislation, I have seen all reporting sectors go through a series of stages as they struggle with the

new compliance requirements. Real estate officials have been quite vociferous in the first decade of compliance about why these requirements are needed in the first place; and specifically, why Realtors need to do this when all they are doing is selling properties and trying to make a living. This rather tunnel-versioned perspective seemed to be disappearing somewhat these past few years, with more and more Realtors demonstrating that they truly get it now and can see how they can be used quite effectively to launder the proceeds of crime through the selling and buying of property – residential or commercial.

SPIS to the buyer. It stated there were no known problems with moisture or water infiltration. The buyer relied on that representation in deciding to buy the property. A subsequent home inspection revealed that the foundation had significant cracks and was vulnerable to basement water leakage. The inspection company estimated the cost of repair at $12,000. The buyer’s bank would not advance funds in the face of the home inspection and the buyer was unable to complete the transaction as a result. Godfrey was charged with breach of several sections of the RECO code of ethics. In an agreed statement of facts submitted to the discipline panel, she admitted to acting unprofessionally by failing to verify that the SPIS was accurate, and failing to promote and protect the best interests of the buyer. Godfrey also admitted that her conduct was unprofessional or dishonourable, or both. The panel ruled that, by failing to ensure that the SPIS was accurate, Godfrey failed to treat her Then along comes Hannon Bell with his rant in REM, which makes me really wonder what he has learned and understood about this whole program in the first place. It is clear to me that he only wants to sell real estate and make a living and leave all the compliance to someone else – despite the ever-increasing evidence from across the world that real estate continues to be one of the most popular means through which criminals can hide their dirty money. Hannon has certainly done a disservice to the real estate sector through his narrow thinking in my view. AML compliance is here to stay I am afraid and Hannon needs to get over his feelings of being a pawn in someone’s chess game and start being a part of the solution – other Realtors seem to have got that message. Chris Walker About Business Crime Solutions, Inc. Merrickville, Ont.

clients fairly, honestly and with integrity, and that she failed to promote their best interests. As well, it found that she failed to exercise reasonable knowledge, skill, judgment and competence in providing services to her clients. In admitting that she had an obligation to verify the contents of the SPIS, Godfrey allowed the discipline panel to find her in breach of several sections of the RECO Code of Ethics. The panel ruled she violated section 3 (fairness, honesty), section 4 (best interests), section 5 (conscientious and competent) and section 21(1) (material facts). The panel’s reasoning seems to be based on an agent’s obligation to discover and disclose material facts relating to a property despite the disclaimer on the SPIS form that the agent is not responsible for its contents. Godfrey was fined $6,000. The discipline panel’s decision may well send a chill through the ranks of Ontario’s agents because it ruled that Godfrey failed in her obligation to ensure that the SPIS was accurate. Well said Hannon Bell! There is no need to make suggestions about what needs to be done, it’s really quite easy – give the task to the lawyers who actually handle and transfer funds as they are better positioned than agents to assess any risks. Though I doubt that they do the job unpaid as we do! If I wanted to be a policeman, I would have joined the Mounties. Furthermore if customs and border protection didn’t let these crooks in we wouldn’t have to be involved at all. John Zimnoch Re/Max Hallmark Realty Toronto REM

I interpret this case to mean that agents in the future will now be required to verify all the contents of an SPIS or face the consequences in a regulatory hearing. If that is now RECO’s position, it is not difficult to imagine that no agent will ever use the form again. In the past OREA has said that it takes pride in the SPIS form because it acts as “an excellent tool” to inform buyers and protect sellers over many years of use. In 2009, OREA’s then-president emailed me to say, “The Seller Property Information Statement also has proven to be an excellent tool to inform buyers of the condition of a property they are considering. Through the use of a SPIS, a buyer has pertinent information about a property that will assist them in their decision making process.” When asked to comment on the Godfrey decision, an OREA spokesperson emailed me to say that “the SPIS is another tool in a registrant’s tool kit which can be helpful in determining information about a property.” In 2009 the SPIS was “excellent.” Now, it’s just “another” tool. As I read it, OREA’s enthusiasm for the SPIS is distinctly waning. If RECO’s decision in the Godfrey case now represents its official position on the SPIS form, it seems that RECO is likely to hold that a significant misrepresentation by a seller will now be deemed a “material fact” for the purposes of the RECO Code of Ethics. Agents who personally fail to verify the statements in a SPIS run a significant risk of being ruled in violation of several sections of the code. As I see it, the disclaimer in the SPIS may or may not protect an agent from a suit by the buyer, but it will not shield the agent from an allegation of breach of professional standards. It’s a risk not worth taking. If OREA truly wants to keep its own agents out of trouble, it should kill the form now. Bob Aaron is a Toronto real estate lawyer. He can be reached at bob@aaron.ca, on his website aaron.ca, and on Twitter, @bobaaron2. REM

12 REM OCTOBER 2014

9 essential email campaigns P

art of being a real estate professional is meeting a lot of people with a lot of different motivations. When you’re building an email campaign, you want to make sure your campaigns are set up to target the exact motivations of your prospect with the right material. This will help turn your leads into clients. Website signup: Best practice on website signups would be to segment them from your website to automatically be followed up with the correct campaign. You can do this type of email segmentation by having different types of lead capture tools on your website. For example, if you have an eBook offer for first-time buyers, require an email for download. When they sign up for that offer they should automatically be added to your first-time buyer email campaign. Open house: Hopefully at the open house you found out what type of motivation they have (buyer/seller) but, if you didn’t, create a somewhat generalized marketing plan with local market information. On top of having that information, you’re looking to engage with these people to find out if they are planning to move soon. Ask questions that are easy to answer and start getting responses that will help you build that relationship. Buyer: If they’ve been through the buying process before, focus on sending material that shows them

why you’re the agent who can get them the best price for any house on the market. Show some past sales that you had some rock star negotiating on, as well as testimonials. First-time buyer: Focus on sending them content that will help make them comfortable with the whole process, and with you. Seller: The type of material to help convince them will include testimonials, your marketing strategy and proof of expertise. Investor: True investors are interested in one thing. ROI. This type of campaign should be targeted with data and your past sales that have made investors some great returns. Income property: This is different than an investor campaign. Think about people who are interested in income properties – middle class looking for a safe investment that will help benefit their family. Distressed property: These people are looking for help and it’s safe to assume most of them want this kept private. Address both of those issues with this type of campaign and focus on getting in contact with them as soon as possible. Newsletter campaign: I would put everyone from all the campaigns above into this newsletter. You don’t want to spam them so make sure you’re only sending out a newsletter around once a month with your best stuff that’s relevant

to them. In your monthly newsletter campaign you might include a monthly local market update, important local news, events, a local feel-good story and a mortgage rate update. Creating campaigns for each one of these types of prospects is not hard. At first it’s a little timeconsuming but once it’s done you can use it forever. Some great email services that you can use to create awesome email campaigns easily are: • Mailchimp – It’s really easy to use and starts off free. I would recommend this over the other email service providers, although all of these are really good. • AWeber – Starts at $19/mo. One of the more popular services. • Constant Contact – Starts at $20/mo. Another great service. • Campaign Monitor — Starts at $9/mo. Has some of the best email designs out of all the competitors. • Get Response – Starts at $15/mo. Includes a landing page creator that is cool. As you send out these campaigns you’ll get data on them such as: • Bounce rate – How many emails were not sent successfully. • Unsubscribe rate – How many people unsubscribe from the email you sent. • Open rate – How many people open the email. • Click-through rate – How

By Andrew Gale

many people click a link in your email. You’re going to want to focus on always improving these numbers throughout the campaign. You might have five to 20 automated emails set up for each campaign to deal with all the different types of prospects you have and you want to make sure that on email four, people don’t start unsubscribing at an alarming rate. Monitor all the data you’re

getting and always try to improve it. Getting everything set up is time-consuming and might seem like a distraction, but how many agents in your office do you think are actually building custom email campaigns tailored for every type of lead they get? Probably not many. Be the first and get ahead of the game. Andrew Gale is the founder of https://FlyerCo.com, an easy-to-use real estate flyer creator online. He is passionate about all things marketing and start-up related. REM

Century 21 email program to boost agents’ success

entury 21 Canada recently unveiled CareerXpress, a program designed to maximize real estate agents’ success in an industry where a high percentage doesn’t see their second anniversary. The company says that in just 31 days, the email-driven course drives progress through action, implementation and accountability. “This program breaks down theory into targeted tasks, giving agents the practical skills they need to confidently go out and bring in more leads, faster,” says Kevin Stanley, the company’s director of knowledge and learning. “When the basics are mastered sooner, they become bolder, more successful real estate agents.” The course features: • Daily emails that develop effective habits through expert advice and targeted tasks. • Applied use of integrated tools to build their database, generate marketing pieces and create a personal website. • Accessibility on any smartphone, tablet or laptop. • More than 300 pages of professional real estate industry insights, broken into 31 easy-to-absorb lessons. • Sessions that build on previous progress and videos at milestones to congratulate and motivate. All new agents in the Century 21 organization are automatically enrolled in the course. REM

Hamilton’s Most Productive Agents 14.0 11.0

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I Walked in Monday Morning to $2.3 Million in Contractss Just from the Weekend By Steve Poulos My name is Steve Poulos, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a Realtor from Olympia, WA which is about 3 hours south of Vancouver. Let me tell you how it was BEFORE I totally adopted the Quantum Leap Real Estate Success System: First off, my average work week was 7 days a week, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. including the Open House Schedules for both Saturday and Sunday almost every weekend. My week would start Monday morning trying to make my ad deadlines and, when I look back now, I realize I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t create my ads with the conscious idea of Lead generation. I know that sounds odd, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also very typical of what I saw other agents doing. In effect, what most agents do when they run ads is to protect the status quo by building the typical looking ad, hoping their bold print, feature dumping and clever sayings will create sales. I was no different. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t track the success of my ads. In fact, I had

no idea how or why they performed the way they did. All I knew was that I had X amount of dollars to spend per subdivision, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what I did. If I was lucky enough to get one, I would take a sign call, drop everything I was doing, and tear across town, hoping to sell the house to the caller. The caller was the boss, I was the slave, responsible for jumping for the boss when I was told. It was just a treadmill though, because even though I was able to get sales put together, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t create predictable success this way. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t grow my business the way I was told I would, and I felt completely disorganized the whole time. Somehow, I car ved out a relatively decent living, but I had ZERO personal time. I was absolutely living for the business. Then I came across Craig Proctor and his Quantum Leap System. I never could have predicted how dramatically my life would change. Life NOW is a 100% turnaround. First and foremost, the important factor - my income is WAY UP and my life is totally on track. My real

estate business doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t control me anymore. Take today as a typical day. This morning, I showed up at the office at about 8:30 a.m. and looked at the lead generation from the weekend. I looked at the sales weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d done â&#x20AC;&#x201C; about $2.3 million in contracts just from the weekend, and I had to smile. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true â&#x20AC;Ś I have my life back. I have a purpose, a method, success, and predictability. I now work about half the hours I used to. I have help -- I understand the principle of leverage â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as an example, my team manager arrived at the office this morning before me and dealt with ALL the weekend leads, transactions, and administration. I have a business now, just like Craig promised, and I could not be happier. I can take time for myself, and my family. My young daughter really knows me because I spend so much time with her, and I feel as if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in complete control of my life. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a quick snapshot of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Then and Nowâ&#x20AC;?: Two years ago, I did $210k in GCI. Last year I closed $415k GCI â&#x20AC;Ś a 100% increase. And

these numbers represent my own personal production. I am currently building a team and my production and GCI will increase exponentially again this year. I have 3 ISAs, 4 OSAs, an office manager and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m generating hundreds of leads per month. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t thank Craig enough for giving me my life back. Take it from me. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m living proof this system works. n

Hi, my name is Craig Proctor, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had the privilege of sharing my proven real estate system with over 30,000 agents from all over the world. This is the same system I used myself in my own highly successful real estate career right here in Canada. (As you may know, I was twice named the #1 RE/ MAX agent in the world and was in the top 10 for RE/MAX International for 15 years.) You may have seen my information in this publication before and wondered if it was for real. Well, Steveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience is NOT unique. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s indicative of what

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14 REM OCTOBER 2014

Sotheby’s to expand under new ownership

President and CEO Ross McCredie says the company’s challenge is to let people know it doesn’t sell only luxury real estate. By Kelly Putter

hen you hear the name Sotheby’s don’t be embarrassed if your mind automatically conjures up images of caviar, luxury automobiles and champagne flutes of freeflowing Dom Perignon. But that would only represent a small and clichéd side of the Sotheby’s story in Canada. Lifestyles of the rich and famous it is not. Hard work, ingenuity, a high set of standards and a bit of Irish luck is more like it. That’s what the company will continue to ride as it enters its second decade. Acquired recently by Canadian asset management company Dundee Corporation, Sotheby’s International Realty Canada has heavy-duty expansion plans that include 10 new offices in the next three years and potentially as many as 50 new offices in the next five to seven years. How the company rolls out that kind of growth will likely be how it’s always performed – by adhering to exacting rules around branding, marketing and a code of conduct for its 400 licensed agents. To hear Sotheby’s president and CEO Ross McCredie put it, the company would never hasten the process for the sake of numbers. Having uncompromising standards, after all, can be a time-consuming undertaking. “The one thing I’ve learned in this business is not to rush it,” says McCredie, 47. “If we find the right people then we’ll go there but the whole concept of building an office overnight is a big mistake and it doesn’t work. A lot of offices will have 1,600 agents working in one office and that doesn’t fit with our model and our brand.” McCredie tells the story of a Quebec broker who joined

Sotheby’s after making the tough decision to leave her previous firm. The reason? The firm had hired a broker who the week before had been her mechanic. “I’m not saying you can’t do that but the point was she saw the company kept adding more people and it meant nothing to them as a brokerage owner. The question is, is this truly a profession they will be successful in? When someone joins Sotheby’s we make sure we get the right people and we make sure they understand how difficult this business is. Because I would say two-thirds of the people who go into real estate won’t make it and most of those brands and brokerages out there know that but they don’t care. We care.” Currently with 30 offices in B.C., Alberta, Quebec and Ontario, the luxury housing brokerage has clearly blossomed from its start in 2004 when it had one office and 10 sales reps. The Sotheby’s business model, which puts quality ahead of quantity and views mediocrity as the enemy, is what wooed Dundee to the company, says McCredie. “Prior to working at Sotheby’s I worked at Intrawest as a developer and from my view everything was so fragmented and the industry was all over the map because there was everything from great shops to mediocre shops and mediocre agents,” says McCredie. “And I thought, here is a huge opportunity to pick a powerful brand like Sotheby’s and build a great institution or sales centre for our outstanding clients.” A self-described control freak, McCredie convinced Sotheby’s of London to provide him with the first master franchise ever

President and CEO Ross McCredie says: “Two-thirds of the people who go into real estate won’t make it and most of those brands and brokerages out there know that but they don’t care. We care.” (Photo by Darla Furlani)

awarded outside the U.K. Today, Sotheby’s Canada is the largest international master franchise of all Sotheby’s offices operating in more than 60 countries. The Canadian franchise is in the top five internationally. It has operations in the country’s key metropolitan and resort real estate markets, seven of which are in Ontario. In 2012, the company was ranked 22nd on Profit Magazine’s annual list of fastestgrowing Canadian companies. But Sotheby’s isn’t resting on its laurels no matter how gilded. Discount brokerages and new unproven entrants in the real estate market will continue to challenge the more traditional players, says McCredie, but he believes there will always be a market for clients wanting a brokerage that offers full service. “We’re selling service and you get the same level of service regardless of whether you’re selling a $400,000 condo or a $4-million Rosedale mansion,” he says. “And the same code of conduct. That’s why we don’t allow our agents to put their pictures on the backs of buses. We’re very controlling on how

people market themselves, how they conduct themselves.” Last year, Sotheby’s was forced to fire a successful sales rep whose sales tactics left a little to be desired. “We look at how business is conducted and how it reflects on the brand and if any individual behaves in a certain way that we don’t deem appropriate… If we don’t have the right people, we get them.” While the Sotheby’s name invokes thoughts of high-end, multi-million-dollar properties, the company’s challenge, says McCredie, is letting people know that it also handles real estate that falls into lower dollar categories. Still, the Sotheby’s sweet spot is the top 40 per cent of the real estate market. Part of the company’s marketing machine is exclusive software that helps agents manage the entire real estate portfolio for clients plus its capacity to market real estate nationally and internationally. It’s obvious that McCredie takes pride in the company’s ability to inform clients on the good, the bad and the ugly of the

Canadian real estate market. “The whole point to everything we do is, if you were my sister and you were thinking of buying a condo in downtown Toronto and you were seeking advice, I’d give you good solid advice backed with good data points, whether it’s positive or negative.” The high-end real estate market – homes valued over $1-million – is booming in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal. That has other sales reps taking notice and rebranding themselves to target the higher-end market. “They’re reacting very much to our marketing and in many cases they copy a lot of our marketing and our language around what we do but at the end of the day they don’t do what we do in terms of marketing. I believe there will always be a full-service real estate brokerage model that high-net-worth individuals want and we think we own that space – that is my own quite arrogant view. We think we’re the only ones in Canada.” REM

Extend your reach. Expand your resources. Be part of our truly connected worldwide network. The local market leadership of our agents and the global recognition of our brand come together to provide the highest level of international real estate service in markets around the world. Each of our 4,700+ agents operating in 38 countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and North America, are truly connected by our propriety global technology and a culture that is united by our three core values – competence, exclusivity and passion. Be part of this extraordinary network and enhance the services you provide to your clients. Engel & Völkers Canada 2 Bloor Street West · Suite 700 · Toronto · Ontario M4W 3R1 · Canada · Phone +1-416-323-1100 info@evcanada.com · evfranchise.com

©2014 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. This advertisement is not an offering of a franchise, and where required by law, an offering can only be made 14 days after delivery of the applicable franchise disclosure document.

16 REM OCTOBER 2014

Radon is a silent killer By Jay Gregg

here are many things about a home’s condition that even a first-time home buyer naturally considers before the deed is signed. Water damage. Structural integrity. Faulty wiring. Cracks, stains and warping of surfaces. Faced with an already lengthy list of obvious and visible architectural flaws to look for, it’s not surprising that something like air quality is rarely at the forefront of a homebuyer’s mind. But it should be and radon is why. The radioactive gaseous result of uranium breaking down into soil, water or rock, radon can enter the home through cracks and holes in the foundation, support posts, floor drains, construction joints and other entry points. Measured in Becquerels per cubic meter (Bq/m3), radon exists in low levels in most environments, with an average outdoor level of 10 Bq/m3 and indoor level of 45 Bq/m3, a difference explained by the build-up of radon that confined spaces allow. But it’s when levels reach the government’s guideline of 200 Bq/m3 that homeowners need to take action. According to Health Canada, radon is second only to smoking as the leading cause of

lung cancer in Canada. Worse, like carbon monoxide, radon is tasteless, odourless and invisible. Fortunately, radon has finally started to gain the attention among health officials and homeowners it deserves, inspiring a two-year 2009 study by Health Canada. It found approximately seven per cent of Canadian homes have high levels of radon. Homeowners now have multiple options to test for and mitigate excessive levels of radon. Owing to the detrimental health effects of heavy levels of radon, officials recommend that homeowners have their house tested before or just after movein. To determine if a house has an unhealthy level of radon, homeowners should hire a certified radon measurement professional like a qualified home inspector to ensure that their home is accurately tested. Both short-term and long-term tests are available, with the former taking as little as two days and the latter lasting as long as several months. If a test indicates unacceptably high levels of radon, homeowners are advised to consult a professional radon mitigation service, which can provide rec-

ommendations for how to best deal with the situation. Methods to lessen the amount of radon include sealing suspected entry points, improving ventilation and venting air from the house back into the soil to reduce the amount of radon that can enter the home, a process known as soil depressurization. Already besieged with a host of home problems to be mindful of, homeowners will doubtless view the issue of radon as yet another obstacle standing in the way of stress-free homeownership. Nevertheless, it is important to remain vigilant of the presence of radon in any home. An estimated 3,000 Canadians die each year from exposure to excessive levels of radon. Take the time now to ensure that you won’t be one of them. Jay Gregg is Pillar To Post’s director of marketing as well as a certified home inspector based in Orangeville, Ont. He began his relationship with Pillar To Post as a franchisee in 2005 and in 2011 became its director of marketing. Founded in 1994, Pillar To Post is now the largest home inspection company in North America with over 450 franchisees. www.pillartopostfranchise.com. REM

Brekland Realty Group fined $600,000

onster Realty Corporation, operating as Brekland Realty Group, has been fined $600,000 after pleading guilty to charges relating to the improper handling of the brokerage’s real estate trust account. The charges stem from a shortfall of funds in Brekland’s bank accounts, which the Real Estate Council of Ontario discovered during a routine inspection in January 2012. RECO suspended Brekland’s registration to trade in real estate and issued a proposal under REBBA 2002 to revoke its registration permanently. Without registration, the brokerage and its employees could no longer trade in real estate. RECO also issued a freeze order to secure the brokerage’s bank accounts and any lands in which it might have an interest. Charges were laid against Brekland, its owner, Jason Laramee, and its broker of record, Matthew Cappuccitti. Laramee is currently facing criminal charges, says RECO. The charges under REBBA 2002 have been placed on hold until his criminal prosecution has concluded, it says. In 2012, Cappuccitti pleaded guilty to one count of failing to prepare a trust reconciliation statement and one count of failing to authorize a transaction involving money that came into the brokerage’s hands in trust for another person. He was sentenced to a fine of $16,250 per count for a total of $32,500, plus a victim surcharge of $8,125. The new fine levied on Monster Realty Corporation “will serve as a deterrent to others who would violate the regulations,” says Joseph Richer, RECO’s registrar. “But it’s important to remember that this kind of misconduct is extremely rare, and the vast majority of Ontario’s brokerages, brokers and salespersons comply with the law.” RECO has a consumer deposit insurance program that provides coverage up to $100,000 per claim in the event of fraud, insolvency or misappropriation of funds. No consumers are out of pocket as a result of the misconduct by Brekland, says RECO. REM

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18 REM OCTOBER 2014

How to stay out of court Avi Rosen interviews Toronto real estate lawyer Martin Rumack

vi Rosen, a 40-year veteran real estate broker and a paralegal who specializes in real estate matters, recently interviewed Toronto real estate lawyer Martin Rumack, who wrote Legal Responsibilities of Real Estate Agents, Third Edition with Rosemary Bocska (LexisNexis Canada). Here’s an edited transcript of their discussion.

Avi Rosen

Avi Rosen: The work that you do is 60-per-cent real estate related. What are some situations for sales reps that may get them in trouble? Martin Rumack: I start with accuracy. So let’s talk about an agent taking a listing. Whether it’s a house or a condominium, a commercial property, a farm or a cottage, agents have to be accurate in getting the full information. So if it’s a vacant lot it’s lot size. If it’s a condo it’s the unit number and level number. Is there parking and/or a locker? Are they owned or is it only exclusive use? Let’s talk about the issues of a house. Is it a single-family or multifamily? Can there be any commercial or professional uses permitted on the property or any retail uses? What are the taxes? I find a lot of sellers don’t have the necessary information. They are not sure. You need accurate information. The owner may say, “I think the taxes are...” This is not good enough. The agent needs to say that he must see a piece of paper – a current tax bill. We don’t want to have a problem down the line. Get a copy of the seller’s deed. Ask them for the copy. The deed might show the registered owner as being Joseph Shakespeare Smith. The listing must reflect the actual name

on the deed; in other words not Joe Smith. Rosen: When an agent takes a listing, it’s mandatory for us to accurately describe the property including the name of the registered owner – making sure the listing reflects the full name(s) the property is registered in; lot size including frontage, depth and area if it is a large piece of land; and the legal description. With a condominium, we must know what is actually owned; what is exclusive use only; what is non-exclusive use; the amount of the monthly common expenses and what they include; if there are any special assessments or extraordinary increases in the maintenance fees and/or in the reserve fund contributions in effect or being contemplated; and any legal actions involving the condominium corporation. Rumack: Correct. Check the name on the deed carefully. If there are the names of two people on title then the question is whether

discuss the division of funds between the husband and the wife, the husband’s lawyer advised the wife’s lawyer that the husband was not going to pay any commission. The husband’s position was that the wife alone signed the listing and therefore it was her responsibility to pay all of the commission. An agent should investigate the matrimonial status of a seller. If a seller indicates that they are divorced and/or separated and that the other party has released their interest in the matrimonial dwelling, ask to see a deed reflecting the transfer of interest, or evidence of a separation agreement indicating the spouse has released all of their interest in the matrimonial dwelling. If you have concerns or questions you should ask to speak to the lawyer representing the proposed seller in order to confirm the actual situation. If none of these documents exist, then you must have both spouses sign the listing agreement and any Agreement of Purchase and Sale that is received.

The courts are certainly coming down harder on people who do not provide full disclosure. there is a spouse, is it a matrimonial home and is spousal consent required? During one of my seminar courses I presented, I was told of a case involving a house that was a matrimonial home. The owners were separated. The listing was signed only by the wife, who occupied the property at the time in question. An offer was received by the wife and the husband agreed to accept it. When it came time to

Rosen: Let’s look at other issues. How important is disclosure, for example? Rumack: That’s a very good question and I do get calls about disclosure issues from time to time. The courts are certainly coming down harder on people who do not provide full disclosure. If a client knows of any problems or defects, whether latent or patent, they have to tell their agent. Some

Martin Rumack

examples would be a leaking roof; a leak in a basement wall behind a book shelf that is not readily visible; renovations that required a permit but were done without a permit being obtained; knowing a furnace is on its last legs but not disclosing this fact. There is no confidentiality provision for these situations. If a vendor knows about problems they must be set out in the listing and in the offer to avoid future complications for both themselves and their agent. Similarly, if an agent is aware of any defects or other issues that may impact on a buyer’s decision they must reveal such information. Rosen: How do you differentiate between negligence and misrepresentation? Rumack: When something is a misrepresentation and you are aware of this fact or you ought to have known of the misrepresentation, as an agent you must convey this information to the buyer and to the buyer’s agent. Another example: let’s say you as an agent know that a unit in a condominium is 1,000 sq. ft. (based on an actual measurement) whereas the floor plan provided by the builder to the current owner/seller states the area is 1,075 sq. ft. If you attach the floor plan to the offer saying it is 1,075 sq. ft. and know the measurement is incorrect, that’s a deliberate misrepresentation. Another example is an agent knowingly indicating that the maintenance

fees include all utilities or additional fees for lockers and/or parking spaces when in fact they don’t. On the other hand an example of negligence is a situation where an agent should do something that is part of normal practice but fails to do so. For example, if an agent is showing a condo unit that includes a parking space and/or a locker, potential buyers should be shown the parking space and the locker in order to determine if their vehicle would fit in the parking space and whether the locker is of sufficient size to meet their needs. Following closing the purchaser discovers their vehicle does not fit the parking space and/or the locker is too small. The agent should have shown the purchaser the parking spot to the buyer at the same time as showing the unit. Another example arises with respect to basement apartments. If there is a basement apartment in the house, it is the agent’s responsibility to ask the owner if the apartment was constructed legally and had all required permits. The offer must state unequivocally whether it complies with all bylaws to be a legal retrofitted basement unit, or clearly state that it is not a legal retrofitted basement unit. Again, the agent would be negligent if he/she failed to check this out and failed to insert a clause in the offer to protect the buyer and/or the seller. Avi Rosen says you can “get free legal advice” by calling him at 416818-6130. REM

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20 REM OCTOBER 2014

STOP SELLING HOUSES & START MAKING MONEY

By Debbie Hanlon

o make it in real estate, and by “make it” I mean be a success, not just eke out a living, there are two things you need more than anything else: an inflated ego and the ability to keep it under control. Without the first you would never be able to walk into someone’s home and convince them that you are the absolute best person to represent them on the sale of their home, better than all the other agents out there. For most people selling their home is a roller coaster ride of emotions and you need to gain their confidence and instil in them a sense of trust and security. It takes confidence bordering on swagger to be able to do that and we have to do it on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. No small feat. No big deal. Now, psychologists tell us that an inflated ego is a healthy thing because it’s better to think too much of yourself than too little. During the low points in our lives, the belief that we deserve better

Check your ego at the door allows us to get through it, as opposed to thinking we have no choice because it’s all we deserve anyway. However, these same psychologists also warn us that, if not kept under control, our inflated ego can turn on us and harm us in a hurry. You’re probably thinking, well that’s all fine and dandy Debbie, but are we going to have to send out a search party to find the point you’re trying to make here? The point was driven home just last week when I was asked to do a CMA on a home. As soon as I got there the owners told me another agent had been in a couple of days earlier. By the tone of their voices and their expressions it wasn’t hard to tell that they had not been impressed. I knew the agent well. She is with a local firm and from the story they told me it was obvious this agent had an extreme case of the “all about me’s”. Over a cup of tea they said she spent an hour going through her listing presentation and the first 55 minutes had been all about her. “We kept waiting”, the woman said, “for her to talk about our house, its worth, the current market and stuff, but she just went on and on about how wonderful she was.” Finally, after an hour of “I did this” and “I did that”, she finished by telling them what she thought their house was worth without bothering to explain clearly how she had landed on that

price. Hardly a mention of what her plan of action would be to get a sold sign on their property. Imagine that! As agents, we have to sell ourselves to prospective clients. We have to showcase our accomplishments, our strong points and our skill sets, but only in relation to how those points can help the client buy or sell their real estate. We must explain what’s in it for the client. Otherwise, what’s the point? For instance, I’ve won three Top 50 CEO Awards and I’ve been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs out of over 800,000. But if I just throw that out as a “look at me” statement, the homeowner is going to think, well that’s nice but how does it help me? So I always bring my achievements back to their needs. I’ll tell them that those awards speak to my negotiating skills, skills I will use to help them get a better deal. That’s what they want to hear. They want to know what’s in it for them. We all have certain skills. It may be as simple as knowing the neighbourhood and that means you can confidently sell the location and not just the house. It is about you, but only as it relates to what you can do for your client. I realized this and that’s why I signed up that deal and the other agent didn’t. I’m sure she’s a fine agent, but she got lost in herself.

So the next time you have to do a CMA, walk into that home loud and proud with your ego inflated like a helium balloon, but for goodness sake don’t over inflate it or you’ll just get carried away. I hate to burst your balloon but that is just the way it is. Debbie Hanlon is a real estate

broker who has helped train hundreds of sales reps and brokered and managed a national real estate franchise. Currently she coaches sales reps all over the world. She is a proven business woman, a published children’s author and the creator of the national I’m No Bully Show. https://www.facebook.com/missdebbieandfriends REM

RECA course wins education award

he Real Estate Council of Alberta is this year’s recipient of the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) Education Award in the PostLicensing/Continuing Education category for its Real Estate Update 2014 course. Real Estate Update 2014 is offered entirely online, using a variety of multi-media teaching tools. ARELLO recognized the course because of its mobile-friendly design, which allows industry professionals to complete it through most smartphones and tablets. The course provides information that is relevant to real estate professionals’ current practice, including material on identifying properties in flood zones and advising buyers, tenants, landlords and sellers regarding such properties. RECA incorporated this information in the course’s content in light of the significant 2013 floods in Alberta. RECA asks those taking the courses to complete a short survey at the end of each course. “Real estate professionals provided this course with an over 96-per-cent approval rating,” says Joseph Fernandez, registrar of RECA. “This is an unprecedented rating considering that this course has to be taken by real estate professionals practicing in commercial and residential real estate, and in the property management sector.” “Real estate professionals like to take the courses anywhere, at any time and at their own pace,” says RECA. Past courses have been offered online, but this was the first course RECA developed that is smartphone and tablet friendly. REM

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22 REM OCTOBER 2014

Fairness and equity

LEGAL ISSUES

By Donald H. Lapowich

airness and equitable concerns of the court: The owner of two condominium units failed to pay common expenses since the inception date of the registration of the condominiums. The condominium corporation did not register a lien for the common expense payments that were in default until late in the year 2012. In the meantime, a bank that held the mortgage against the condominium units determined they were in default and the units were subject to power of sale. It was only at that point that the condominium corporation sought an order to lien the owner

to pay all arrears since January 2009 and claim priority over the bank. The sale price of the two units would not be sufficient to pay the entire mortgage debt. The court, using fairness and equity, determined that any right of the condominium corporation to seek a lien for the arrears prior to late 2012 “had expired” and as far as priority was concerned, the equities lay with the bank. By not complying with the condominium statute requiring lien rights to be registered, prejudice would accrue to the bank by reviving lien rights that the condominium corporation had allowed to expire. (Toronto Standard Condominium Corporation No. 1908 v. Stefco, 2013 ONSC 7709) ■ ■ ■

Convenient jurisdiction: In a recent Ontario Court of Appeal case, an individual was sued in North Carolina and hired a North Carolina law firm. The defence was unsuccessful. The party then sued in Ontario alleging negli-

gence against the North Carolina firm of lawyers. On bringing the action in Ontario, the claimant admitted that there was no real and substantial connection to Ontario but argued that the Ontario Court could exercise a discretion and assume jurisdiction based on common law forum of necessity. The Ontario Court of Appeal held that the complainant failed to satisfy a very high onus required to prove that the forum of necessity doctrine applied. In other words, the complainant had not established that there was no other forum in which it could reasonably seek relief. This is a stringent requirement and is only applied (forum of necessity) in “exceptional cases”. (West Van Inc. v. Daisley, 2014 ONCA 232) ■ ■ ■

Make sure you are ready when trying to enforce a contract: The defendants agreed to sell a property to the plaintiffs and the closing date was extended a

number of times. The parties attempted to close on a certain date and the plaintiff complained that it did not have certain documents from the defendants. The defendants said they were not obliged to deliver those documents. As was inevitable, the plaintiffs brought a motion for specific performance and summary judgment. The defendants were unsuccessful both on the original hearing and the appeal. Even assuming that the defendants’ version was correct, the judge found that “time was of the essence” but that clause had been waived. The defendants could not rely on that clause “as they were not ready to close on the specified date.” Therefore, the only conclusion was that the defendants, in order to reinstate the time of the essence clause, would have had to give the plaintiffs reasonable notice of a new closing date and state that time was of the essence in order to set up the new date for the closing. (2329131 Ontario Inc.

v. Carlyle Development Corp., 2014 ONCA 132) ■ ■ ■

Registration of professionals: The plaintiff, a mortgage agent, knew the defendants socially by reason of a prior business relationship. The mortgage agent introduced the defendants to the buyer of the defendants’ home. The mortgage agent then claimed $21,000 for that introduction and went to court to collect it. The court easily dismissed that claim because the agent was not registered under Ontario’s Real Estate and Brokers Business Act, which prohibited the arrangement on which the plaintiff based her claim. Full case summaries www.canlii.org.

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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26 REM OCTOBER 2014

Social media recruiting tips By Amanda Ross

ecruiting is the most important thing to your business...yet it’s the one thing that most brokers put off until it’s too late. Social media is often overlooked by brokerages as a recruiting and retaining tool because of the unknown factor. Questions like, “What should I say?”, “Who should I say it to?” and “Will anyone care?” pop up. The most important of those questions in the last one, and the answer is yes, if you care about them. Social media isn’t a tool to blast things all about you to the world; it’s about connecting with others. It’s not about you – it’s about them. So before we even get started, let me cover a couple of basics to help you move forward. • If you aren’t on social media...what on earth are you waiting for? At the minimum you should have a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn account. • Be authentic in a professional manner. While it’s impor-

tant to “be real” on social media, we all have slightly different faces that are still us. Leave the “rants” to live conversations with people who will easily forgive you. • Don’t overwhelm yourself. Focus on spending only 45 minutes a day on social media. For example, I use 25 minutes in the morning, then I “check in” for a couple of minutes here and there throughout the day on my mobile. • Use tools that can help you manage everything. I’ve written about this before, so I won’t go into too many details, but there are amazing tools out there to help you manage all of this so you don’t want to stab yourself in the eye with a hot poker! • The goal is for people to see that you care about this business, about your agents and about helping others grow. Always think that way and you’ll post things that fit that goal. Tip #1: Get a little personal on Facebook: Recruiting also means retaining. There’s no point in recruiting 25 agents if 25 of your current agents are walking out the back door. Or, maybe there’s a specific agent or two that you would really like to impress and bring over to your brokerage. Every week, choose one per-

son to “get personal” with by connecting on a different level. For example, one of your current agents or an agent you would love to join your brokerage posts, “I’m so upset. I missed the soccer game. I heard it was a great one!” Ah ha! You respond in real life by sending or dropping off a full-colour photo book for that team, or a team jersey or a soccer ball with a note that says, “Sorry you missed the game, hopefully this will help until the next one!” Guess what? The first thing they’re doing after that is posting on their social media about how great you are. Who doesn’t want to work with a broker who cares that much? Tip #2: Connect with agents on LinkedIn: When you don’t know someone personally, LinkedIn and Twitter are easier connection points than Facebook as people view Facebook as a more personal venue and are wary of accepting friend requests if they don’t really know you. Why LinkedIn? Well, it’s far easier to stand out and connect on LinkedIn than Twitter and you can learn more about them on LinkedIn because it allows a ton of profile information whereas Twitter only offers 140 characters.

Plus, you can add tons of great stuff to your LinkedIn to showcase your brokerage, your personal knowledge and what others think about you (recommendations from your current agents go a long way). Check out my profile to see how I’ve beefed it up.

and understand what being in real estate is really like or maybe they’re struggling with some course material that you can shed some light on. Social media may seem overwhelming, but with a little time you can be a serious expert, start bringing in amazing talent and

Recruiting is the most important thing to your business...yet it’s the one thing that most brokers put off until it’s too late. Tip #3: Use Twitter to search for newbies: Twitter has a great advanced search option. Why not use it for recruiting? Search for things like, “real estate license” in “Calgary” (your city) or “real estate courses” in your city. Do this every week or so to see if anyone’s talking about this on their accounts. If so, reach out to them and offer a free coaching session to help them with whatever issues they may be having. Perhaps it’s just to learn

build relationships with your agents who never come in the office. Amanda Ross is the owner and creator, educator and strategist of RealtyBoost (www.RealtyBoost.ca), where she helps brokerages and sales reps build strong brands, smart strategies and more knowledge that brings value to their clients. Follow Amanda on Twitter, @ImAmandaR and/or RealtyBoost at @RealtyBoostCA. REM

Niagara’s Most Productive Agents 16.0 Royal LePage

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28 REM OCTOBER 2014

SALES COACH

By Bruce Keith

here are two kinds of salespeople: 1) Those who actually sell their product by creating value in the eyes of the customer; 2) Those who do business by discounting their price because they are either not clear on how to “sell” or are too lazy to do so. Category #1 requires skill and therefore pays a lot more money. Category #2 is always out there but they don’t really last that long. They come and go. Their customers don’t get the same value. Their customers always shop at the dollar store and have zero loyalty. When you are competing

The dollar store against the dollar store you need to have an answer ready to help the client see the benefit of doing business with a true professional. Objection: “We are thinking of going with a discount broker.” Objection handler: “I understand but let me ask you... why would you want to do that? “We want to save money.” “Well, that sort of approach may not serve you very well. There are always discount brokers out there trying to buy your business by cutting corners. The problem is, when they cut their price, you are the one who suffers. “As you know, you get what you pay for. It’s sort of like the dollar store versus a higher-quality store. Sometimes getting full value isn’t such a big deal. Other times it is critical. This is a very important transaction for you. You need to get the most money possible for your home, right?” “Absolutely.” “This is definitely not the time to cut corners. This is not a situa-

tion when you want to shop at the dollar store. My plan offers that all-important full value. Let’s do the right thing and put me to work so you can get top dollar for your home.” Never take a backseat and fall into the trap of having to buy your business. Practice the above objection handler. Even if you have to walk away, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you didn’t lower your standards below an acceptable level. True salespeople demonstrate their value and get paid for it. You deserve that and so do your customers. Be proud of what you stand for. No excuses. ■ ■ ■

A personal success formula: Here’s a great quote from Winston Churchill that really simplifies the approach the great salespeople take to selling. Churchill said, “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” Read that one again... it’s the continuous effort, the consistency of perfor-

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mance plus hard work that reaps huge benefits and unlocks your potential. The big question is, what do you need to be consistent about? You need to be consistent with the “core” items that ensure your success. Your core items are the things that always work for you personally – your special success items. Here’s how to take advantage of your core items: 1. Think about the times when you have been highly successful, not somebody else, just you. What did you do that worked so well? (Example: asking for referrals, starting out early five days a week, working a particular niche market such as condos, old homes or firsttime buyers, contacting 10-20-30 people every day, exercising regularly, reading positive material). 2. Write down these core items... the fundamentals that made the difference for you. 3. Put those items on a piece of paper in bold lettering and post them on your office wall, your screensaver, your smartphone and maybe even your bathroom mirror! Keep them highly visible. 4. This is your personal success

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Bruce Keith is a leading trainer for sales organizations in North America. He was trained in the corporate world as a marketing and sales manager for 15 years. His education then moved to 25 years in the real estate industry, 10 years as a successful sales rep, followed by the last 15 years as a keynote speaker, seminar leader, author and one-on-one coach. He says, “It’s all about Results”. BruceKeithresults.com REM

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GREEN REAL ESTATE

By Elden Freeman

s we express gratitude for the light in our lives this Thanksgiving, perhaps we should also take a page from the Japanese viewpoint that finds joy in imperfection and send a little nod to the beauty within our own flawed corner of the world. This esthetic ideal is known as wabi-sabi and it dates back centuries, emerging as a reaction to tea ceremonies that had become ridiculously drawn out and ostentatious. Some decided to return these communal get-togethers to their roots as simpler, quieter occasions that employed local materials and artisans. The Japanese have embraced the attitude of wabi-sabi for years,

Giving thanks to our imperfect world finding beauty in a world that is imperfect, simple, rustic, impermanent and old. Wabi-sabi is not just a style of design but more of a way of life, says Robyn Griggs Lawrence, who was instrumental in introducing North America to the concept through her two books, The Wabi-Sabi House and Simply Imperfect: Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House. “It’s not going out and buying hot-house flowers from Brazil but finding native plants from right where you are,” she explained recently from her home in Colorado. “It’s about practicing and developing your sense of gratitude and contentment for what is right there.” Lawrence believes those who embrace wabi-sabi will naturally learn to become more appreciative of their lives and have more freeflowing gratitude. She believes it can help people to accept and embrace their homes as sacred, nurturing spaces. “Wabi-sabi is everything that today’s sleek, mass-produced, tech-

nology-saturated culture isn’t,” she says in The Wabi-Sabi House.” It’s flea markets, not warehouse stores; aged wood, not Pergo; rice paper, not glass. Wabi-sabi celebrates cracks and crevices and rot and all the other marks that time and weather and use leave behind. “Wabi-sabi is all about clearing away the clutter and dreck so that we can appreciate our homes as beautiful, just the way they are,” she says. “It’s not how to be Martha Stewart and impress the hell out of your guests. There’s a whole piece on soul in the book,” she says. In an effort to embrace wabisabi, you need to accept the imperfection of your home, a move Lawrence says will prove wonderful and freeing because we all know a “to-do list can make you unhappy in your own home.” Here are some simple steps from Lawrence’s book for incorporating wabi-sabi into your life right now: • One day a week, wash the dinner dishes by hand. Taking on

this task allows you quiet, uninterrupted time to think – or not think. • Pay attention to your daily bread. Is the food you’re eating in season and is it available locally? Through the meals you choose and prepare, you can connect with the earth’s cycles and with the place where you live – and live a healthier life. Buy food from your local farmers’ markets and ask the produce manager at your grocery store where different items came from. • Next time you sweep the floor, consider it a meditation. Opt for the broom over the Dirt Devil whenever possible. • When you’re invited to someone’s house or even just to a meeting, bring a small gift – nothing extravagant, just a small gesture (a jar of homemade jam, apples from your tree or a luxurious bar of soap) that lets them know they’re appreciated. • Offer everyone who comes to visit a cup of tea. Serve it in pretty cups with a little something sweet.

If no one comes by, enjoy a cup of tea by yourself in the late afternoon. • Keep one vase in your home filled with seasonal flowers. • Take a walk every day. Let this be your opportunity to open up your senses and to experience the changing seasons. • Learn to knit or crochet. • Next time you buy something, stop and ask questions. Who made it? How was it made? Where does it come from? Who knows – slowing down a little may give us the presence of mind to appreciate more. 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.

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32 REM OCTOBER 2014

VisitAble Housing promotes accessible homes B

eing able to visit friends and neighbours is a simple pleasure, but not one that can be enjoyed by everyone. Barriers such as stairs at entrances, narrow doorways and hallways, and bathrooms on upper or lower levels can exclude people with disabilities and seniors with mobility issues. That will change if VisitAble Housing Canada has its way.

VisitAble Housing is the concept of designing and building homes with basic accessibility features on their main levels, offering conveniences for visitors of all ages and mobility. It also makes everyday living easier for its occupants through various stages of their lives. What qualifies a house as being a VisitAble home? It has a no-step entrance at the front,

CREA launches .realtor top-level domain

eginning on Oct. 23, a new .realtor top-level domain will be made available to CREA members in Canada and members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in the U.S. CREA will provide the first 10,000 members who register for a .realtor top-level domain with a free one-year licence on a first-come firstserved basis. The new domain will be made available to Canadian Realtors, their local boards and their provincial associations through an agreement that CREA has entered into with NAR, which began the application process for the domain eight years ago through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This is the organization that co-ordinates domains and Internet protocol addresses globally. CREA is NAR’s exclusive marketing partner and is responsible for the .realtor domain in Canada. CREA says the majority of homebuyers begin their searches online and a .realtor top-level domain will allow members to stand out from other real estate professionals. It will also ensure consumers know they are dealing with licensed real estate professionals who adhere to CREA’s Code of Ethics. “We are excited to offer this new and unique branding opportunity to our members,” says Beth Crosbie, president of CREA in a statement. “A .realtor domain communicates the positive attributes of trust, professionalism and community that consumers associate with the Realtor name.” REM

back or side of the house; wider doorways and clear passage on the main floor; and a main-floor bathroom or powder room that is accessible to people who use mobility devices. The Visitability Project is a three-year national initiative that runs until March 2016 and is partially funded by the federal government’s Social Development Partnerships Program’s disability component. Its goals include increasing awareness of VisitAble Housing to buyers, builders, policy makers and other stakeholders. For example, the Kitchener-Waterloo task force, one of six teams working across the country to increase awareness, plans to develop a workshop and resource package for real estate agents about the benefits and selling features of VisitAble Housing. A checklist so agents can determine if a house they’re selling is VisitAble is also in the works. “Although VisitAble Housing was first introduced in consideration of people with physical disabilities, the concept is now widely accepted as a desirable home design for a wide range of residents,” the program’s website says. VisitAble Housing features benefit all homeowners – a nostep entrance makes it easier to get strollers, large or heavy items and things such as groceries into the house. Fewer stairs will also

VisitAble Housing is the concept of designing and building homes with accessibility features. (Photo: Canadian Centre on Disability Studies)

reduce the risk of falls in the home. It also means more homeowners can age in place. VisitAble Homes are being built in various parts of Canada, though currently in small numbers. The Bridgwater Project in Winnipeg is still in development and had a little more than 200 VisitAble Homes occupied as of 2013. Bridgwater will build more than 1,000 single-family homes by 2017. More than 25 homes have been built in Winnipeg in the last decade.

The Bridgwater project is the Manitoba government’s housing development initiative. The government is also the land developer of the project, says Youn-Young Park, senior researcher and project manager of the Canadian Centre on Disability Studies in Winnipeg, which leads the national initiative. For more information, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=S0i2xQ4_rbI for a video or http://VisitAbleHousingCanada.c om. REM

Ottawa’s Most Productive Agents 14.6 Royal LePage

Sutton Group

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Based on closed transactions by national real estate brands, who have conducted a minimum of one transaction from August 1, 2013 - July 31, 2014. Source: Ottawa Real Estate Board/Renfrew County.

REM OCTOBER 2014 33

The evolution of real estate

By Dan St. Yves

’ve often wondered how the world of agent-assisted real estate sales evolved over the centuries, but I’m not really big on reading thick, picture-less history books. I’m not even all that keen on reading thin picture-less history books, truth be told. Wikipedia is certainly breezier, but it can also be a bit sketchy at times. Most times really, I suppose. So, I decided I would just use my own imagination to surmise how we civilized humans came to trade properties over the centuries and ultimately ended up involving professional real estate agents in the process. My “findings” are below: Prehistoric Times: After a long day of hunting and gathering, Oog returned home to his cave full of screaming Cro-Magnon toddlers and a spouse whose last nerve was just about ready to grab a club and pummel him right into the faded cave drawings on the wall. Determining by early body language that they needed a larger cave in the shortest order possible, Oog left immediately in search of a solution to his family’s housing woes. As real estate agents, wheels and even fire hadn’t been invented yet, Oog was left to his own devices – primarily his own two feet. In his wanderings, he happened upon a spacious cave with some lovely adjacent catacombs, perfect for his growing brood. He speared the current owner to death and moved his family in. Clearly, a real estate agent would have been vital in ascertaining a better outcome for the previous owner. Ancient Egypt Times: With barely enough pyramids to go around for the assorted pharaohs at any given time, opportunities to

move into bigger pyramids were tough and slow going, with long waits for stone hauling and lifting by “workers” in the boiling Egyptian desert. As a creative upand-coming pharaoh, King TutTut Tutte came up with what he felt was a brilliant solution to his pyramid envy. Sending a representative out to all the other pyramid owners in the area, he was eventually able to find a fellow pharaoh willing to let one go. Ram C’s had been experiencing some leaky pyramid issues, so he happily unloaded his dwelling on to his unsuspecting neighbour. It would be many centuries (and one wet, mouldy mummy) before home inspectors became a common part of the real estate process. Jolly Olde England Times: Sorry, this was just the title of a Sherwood Forest newspaper. I’m not sure they even had a section for classified ads way back then, but that could have been handy for promoting vacant castle rental units. Vacated in haste after viewing approaching Scottish armies and volleys of flaming arrows. Pioneer Times: Skipping ahead in history, real estate agents had really come of age by pioneer times. Yes, most were very, very old. This did, however, lend them credibility during negotiations, even if they did tend to need frequent naps between offers and counter-offers. Wild Bill Hitchup famously used a real estate agent to sell his 100-acre spread, or at least a 100-acre spread. He falsely sold a property whose owner had been vacationing in the Klondike at the time. There may have been gold in them thar hills after all. Thus concludes my ruminations on the early years of organized real estate, at least for this entry. I am going to try to verify some of these theories online before I speculate more in further entries. Happy selling until then! Humour columnist and author Dan St. Yves was licensed with Royal LePage Kelowna for 11 years. Check out his website at www.nonsenseandstuff.com, or contact him at danst.yves@hotmail.com. REM

34 REM OCTOBER 2014

Benefits of adding an arbitration clause By Lance Soskin

ou or your clients are vulnerable without an arbitration clause in your real estate agreements. It could prove disastrous for your deal and devastating for you or your client. Contracts are relatively useless if you cannot enforce them without too much hassle; enforcing them via litigation is often too costly and time-consuming to be practical. This becomes especially apparent when the real estate market takes a turn for the worse. An “arbitration clause” is simply a short provision in an agreement that requires the parties to the agreement to resolve disputes through private arbitration, rather than litigating them in the public courts. These clauses have become popular of late since, more than ever before, legal representation is expensive and the litigation process has become even more inconvenient and time-consuming. Litigation requires at least a

couple visits to court and often more, a few meetings with a lawyer, time off work and typically many months or years of waiting for a judgment or settlement. Suing someone in court seems like the obvious thing to do to encourage someone to fulfill their contract obligations. But if they have a lot more money to spend on high-priced attorneys and delay tactics, they are going to have the case tiedup in hearings and motions and pre-trial discovery for so many months, or possibly years, that your client will go broke before they ever get the chance to present their case at trial. According to the Ministry of the Attorney General for Ontario, for example, last year cases took an average 8.5 months to make their way through small claims court. In general division court, for claims over $25,000, it took longer than 1.5 years. That is just an average, which includes cases that were dropped or otherwise settled or disposed of. A Canadian Lawyer Legal Fees Survey found that it can cost anywhere between $13,500 and

$40,000 for a civil action up to and including a two-day trial. Arbitration is usually a lot less expensive, more convenient and a lot quicker than going to court. Many arbitral institutions have simplified rules, procedures and forms that are much easier to understand than those governing litigation. In addition, an arbitrator has more flexibility to move the process forward and thwart any attempts by one party to drain the other party of their resources. The benefits are even more evident when an online arbitration service is used, similar to that provided by my company, eQuibbly. The entire process takes place online in a private and secure virtual room, where the parties explain their disagreement, upload and exchange evidence, answer the arbitrator’s questions and receive a legally binding and enforceable arbitration award. Although enforcement of the arbitration award is not necessary in the vast majority of arbitrations (on eQuibbly, the disputing parties sign a pre-arbitration agreement, where they agree to cover all costs of enforcement, including legal

fees, if they fail to comply with the award), arbitration awards are legally binding and enforceable in court by virtue of the various provincial arbitration acts in Canada. There is even an international Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards that can be used relatively easily to enforce crossborder arbitration awards. In a situation where no arbitration clause exists in an agreement, the contracting parties can still agree to arbitrate a dispute after the fact. Even after litigation has commenced, a judge will usually agree to place a lawsuit on hold to allow the parties to resolve it by way of arbitration. But, these situations call for both parties to agree to arbitration at a time when it is less likely they will agree on anything. The benefit of having an arbitration clause in an agreement is that where one party refuses to participate, an arbitrator can make a binding and enforceable decision in their absence. To avoid the costs and inconvenience of litigation, be prepared and insert an arbitra-

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tion clause similar to this one into all of your real estate agreements: “Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this contract, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by final and binding arbitration administered by (insert arbitration service name here) under its Arbitration Rules, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof for enforcement purposes.” As always, seek independent competent legal counsel for any legal advice. Lance Soskin is the president of eQuibbly, an arbitration service where arbitrations are conducted entirely online by retired judges who presided over courts of law. Soskin completed law and MBA degrees at Osgoode Hall Law School and Schulich School of Business, was called to the Bar, worked at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt law firm, and subsequently was an investment banker for Scotia Capital in Toronto and then Merrill Lynch in New York. Since then he has pursued various entrepreneurial ventures. REM

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36 REM OCTOBER 2014

METES & BOUNDS

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fter this column, 12 issues more. One year to get it all out, to swallow the emetic, to achieve catharsis, to settle scores, to apologize, to be at peace with the decision. Yikes – sounds like a eulogy. Actually, it was intended as a lead-in to the ramble because once again, my deadline looms and I have no clue where this chapter is leading. So let’s start with one of my favourites – people watching. Have you noticed we spend a lot of time studying failure? The homeless, the jobless, the challenged, the illiterate – entire government departments are tasked, billions are spent – frequently for the same studies to begin again in a new format a decade or government or two down the road. The real estate industry is splattered with task forces and studies, navel gazing as to why certain things happened or forward peering into the gloom, predicting how things will turn out. Of the latter, all too often it seems the purpose of predicting the future of real estate is to give astrology a good name. We shoot an arrow in the air, where it lands we know not where, but we’ll call the landing spot the target. Royal commissions, commissions of inquiry, ad hoc committees – all meet the definition as referenced by Sir Barnett Cocks, clerk of the British House of Commons, “A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled.” And on the theory that there is no such thing as a horse so dead it doesn’t have one more flog in it, merrily off we go, clutching our per diem. But we should ask ourselves, or our boards of directors, isn’t that issue a dead horse? As Richard Mendenhall, NAR past-president observed, “When you find yourself on a dead horse, the best thing you can do is dismount – not form

Studies of successful salespeople another task force to change the form or lower the standards.” Speaking of lowering the standards… What I would willingly pay for and do pay for judging by the books on my shelf, is more studies of successes. Never mind what the mediocre salesman is doing, what is the above-average salesman doing? Never mind giving the rookie a list of networking ideas, task them to study a top producer or several of them, to determine if they have the work ethic to do what it takes to create a rewarding career. There are plenty of role models for a subsistence career, if that is their choice. When I interview a prospect for a career in real estate, the best indicator is their past work experience and the attitude they have toward “work”. Did they own the job or just rent it? Were they respectful of their chosen trade? Do “their loyalties fade as fast as a Zeller’s apron” as Peter Newman once offered or do they follow the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius: “Give your heart to the trade you have learned and draw refreshment from it.”

cups and glasses that had accumulated in the kitchen sink, saying, “There, now people can be happy!” None of the cups were hers. Just a random and anonymous act of kindness taking three minutes out of a hectic schedule to do something – get this – for the team. Part of what it takes to be a top producer – early bird gets the worm, in business for yourself but not by yourself and caring for those you work with. Top people do attract resentment – you remember resentment, defined by Paul Beckow as “the poison you drink hoping someone else will get sick.” One of our top producers shrink-wrapped a trailer for use by his clients and legally parked it beside a busy street. Then he wrapped his pick-up truck. Then a smart car. When the smart car remained overnight in the office parking lot, the paranoia dam burst. Convinced potential clients were attending the lot after hours or on weekends and copying down his contact details, some in the office came to a boil. We are currently

Rather than focussing on what others have, we should be asking if we can learn from their success. I’ll quickly hire the check-out clerk, car or furniture salesperson, teacher or nurse who shows enthusiasm, empathy, product knowledge and work ethic and who wants to take the next step in their life-long earning. I was in the office early – 0745 – not by habit, more as a result of my Rotary Club meeting ending ahead of schedule. The next two people through the door were my two top producers. One of them took the time to rinse out a few

negotiating the release of the hostages by moving the car to spot that is just as visible, but out of our line of sight. Like all good negotiations, from management’s point of view, everyone should feel like they won. But what I think in my inside voice is: “What a waste of time!” Rather than focussing on what others have, we should be asking if we can learn from their success. Continued on page 37

REM OCTOBER 2014 37

Women in commercial real estate By Lloyd R. Manning

ot long ago, some of the major real estate brokerages in Canada would not hire women, except in clerical positions. Now, women constitute about half of agents with the percentage growing. Almost all are in residential sales, which is far easier to break into than commercial real estate. But times are changing. Women are a growing presence on the commercial side. They are now accepted in corporate boardrooms, where some hold highly placed executive positions. Doors that were slammed shut only 10 years ago are now opening. All evidence indicates that a greater number of women are entering the commercial field but they earn less than men and still have a long way to go before achieving parity. Go on the web. See how many female commercial real estate practitioners there are. You will find very few, but the gap is narrowing. So why are there not more female commercial real estate agents? It takes considerably more education, on-the-job training

and persistence to be successful. You don’t see the “green horns” testing the commercial sales field to see if they can make it. It cannot be a part-time occupation. Although the deals are larger and the commissions greater, they are far fewer. It may take a year or more to put together the sale of an office building or a shopping centre with no guarantee of completion along the way. Residential agents are not expected to have a college degree; with commercials, it is almost mandatory. A clear understanding of business principals is required. People identify with owning a home, but not everyone wants to own a $2 million industrial warehouse. In many larger markets, commercial real estate is still a “good old boys” network where overt sexism applies. Laura Heffner of Re/Max of Lloydminster in Lloydminster, Alta., a successful broker with considerable commercial experience, says that in the smaller centres this seldom occurs. The professional commercial real estate brokerages have far more stringent hiring practices than do their residential counterparts. They will only hire a person who they feel has a high probability of success, one who can survive and continue if having to go without any income for several months. They look for a person who understands or is willing to learn about capitalization rates, returns on

investment, returns on equity, amortization, financing, points and discounts, the effect of taxation, real estate legalese and all that goes with the selling, buying, ownership and leasing of investment properties. This is education not easily come by. Learning requires dedication and persistence. Taking the courses offered by the Appraisal Institute of Canada would prove to be beneficial. Be it success or failure; women must create their own destiny. Women may also have a harder time balancing family and home life with career success. Although laptop computers that are perpetually at one’s side have narrowed the concerns, with many women it is still family first, career second. To argue the merits of this stance is beyond the purpose of this article but any woman considering commercial real estate brokerage must determine where her priorities lie and act accordingly. Heffner says it is absolutely necessary that you have a clear-cut understanding and acceptance of the home life constraints from your spouse. You will not always be there to change diapers or make supper when required. The bottom line is that in the larger markets you must decide if you want to sell residential or commercial. It is usually difficult to mix them. In the smaller market communities it is necessary to sell residential and perhaps farmlands along with the commercial.

Selling and leasing commercial properties requires a different mindset than does residential. It takes more time, more patience, know-how and greater adaptability. The procedures are different and one’s patience is more frequently tested. There is more to learn. An attributes check-up is required. Analytical talent is often more important than persuasive. If you feel up to it and are willing to spend the time to learn and overcome the starting aggravation, by all means give it a go. Commercial real estate is a tough business and full of conflict, where aggressiveness, self confidence and persistence are basic requirements. Women are well-equipped –

Studies Continued from page 36

Not all top people shrink-wrap their vehicles or even have any evidence on their car they are in real estate. How do those top people maintain their altitude? How did they get there in the first place? Networking? Cold calling? Farming? Were they Bresserized or Buffinied? Did they drink from Richard Robbins’ fountain? Do they – gasp – write personal notes? In summary, three fast quotes. E. Bunker Hunt: “The price to be paid for success – is paid before.” Mike “Pinball” Clemons: “If

maybe better equipped than most men – to handle conflicting and multi-task situations. They’ve been handling men for years, usually quite skilfully. However, there are no handouts. Women who want to get into commercial real estate must develop a clear image of themselves and their attributes to not just keep up but set the pace in this male-dominated field. Lloyd Manning, AACI, FRI, CCRA, PApp is a semi-retired commercial real estate and business appraiser and broker who now spends his time writing for professional journals and trade magazines. He resides in Lloydminster, Alta. Email lloydmann@shaw.ca REM you’re not passionate about what you do then we’d rather you went somewhere else.” Or if you prefer succinct, Henry VIII to his wives: “I won’t keep you long.” Contact Marty Douglas by email at mgdouglas247@gmail.com. Follow or connect with Marty on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. He is a managing broker for Re/Max Ocean Pacific Realty in Comox and Courtenay, B.C. He is a past chair of the Real Estate Errors and Omissions Insurance Corporation of B.C., the Real Estate Council of B.C., the B.C. Real Estate Association and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. REM

Peterborough’s Most Productive Agents 14.2 12.6

Bowes & Cocks

Royal LePage

10.0

Century 21

9.6

Based on closed transactions among top competitors with a minimum of one transaction from August 1, 2013 - July 31, 2014. Source: Peterborough Association of Realtors.

38 REM OCTOBER 2014

Building a real estate portfolio Part 1

By Eddy Boudiwan and George Hill

uring our experience investing in real estate, we have often been asked: â&#x20AC;&#x153;How can I learn to do this too?â&#x20AC;? It motivated us to put together a basic guide to multifamily real estate investments. Real estate has always been a popular investment venue and is

used by many pension funds and large retail companies as a major portion of their investment portfolios, due to its predictable and nonvolatile returns. If you are new to the idea of real estate investments and becoming an active investor (building your own portfolio), rather than putting your money in the stock market, you will need to assess your time commitments and determine your monthly cash-flow expectations, investment time horizon and risk tolerance. Do you have or can you make the time to: â&#x20AC;˘ Learn about real estate investing in order to understand the many facets of it or partner with an experienced real estate investor to minimize the learning curve? â&#x20AC;˘ Research your area of investment interest? â&#x20AC;˘ Manage the properties yourself, or hire a property manager? Additionally, you must ask yourself: â&#x20AC;˘ What are your passive cashflow expectations per month

as an income source? â&#x20AC;˘ Will this be a part-time activity until the portfolio produces enough cash-flow to do it fulltime? â&#x20AC;˘ Can you sleep at night if you have placed personally signed guarantees on mortgages for investment properties? Begin with an end-goal in mind, and then work backwards. For example, if your goal is to generate a passive income of $3,000 in cash-flow per month, you may need a few rental properties over a period of time that comprises a total of 30 rental suites. We suggest you start with three-plexes and four-plexes first before moving up in size. Based on 25 per cent down payment and 75 per cent mortgage in general and assuming that the property is bought right, each normalized rental unit should produce approximately $100 of free cash flow per month, after paying all operating expenses and mortgage. Now you can see how the goal of generating $3,000/month would require ownership of

approximately 30 rental units. Keep in mind, above and beyond the cash-flow you generate, the properties typically appreciate and the mortgage is always being reduced. This is equity growth. We will show you, during the series, how you can tap into this equity growth, allowing you to expand your portfolio as needed by your investment goals. From this, you will be able to figure out how much cash you need to complete the acquisitions over a realistic period of time. Imagine you are focused on Barrie, Ont., one of the fastest growing cities in Ontario. On average, your price per rental unit ranges between $100,000 and $130,000, depending on building size, suite mix, condition and other factors. At 30 per cent down (25 per cent down payment plus five per cent start-up/working capital) and a 30-rental unit target at $100,000 per unit or door, you will need approximately $900,000 to reach your end goal. Thirty doors at

$100,000 per door would equate to $3 million and your capital needed is $900,000, which is 30 per cent of $3 million. This may seem like a large undertaking, but if you begin now and take 12 years to build the portfolio, it no longer seems as daunting. You can break down this target by buying one property with four to six apartments every two to three years, until the target is reached. Now that you have a goal in mind, in our next article we will delve into selecting an investment area while selecting and building your team. Real Estate Rangers is a real estate investment team that locates, operates and maintains properties for investors. Eddy Boudiwan (eddyb@realestaterangers.ca) and George Hill (georgeh@realestaterangers.ca) are the co-founders of the company. They have partnered with Taft Forward Management as their acquisition arm. www.realestaterangers.ca REM

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If you have a client whose property is set for major renovation or demolition, please refer them to the ReStore inÂ your community. It may have useful items for re-use such as appliances, old doors and other building materials. Most stores offer a pick up service. You would be helping people right in your neighbourhood. Â ReStores benefit Habitat for Humanity.

40 REM OCTOBER 2014

The new reality of mobile home living By Jean Sorensen

obile home living conjures up images of cluttered homes, trailertrash talk and the iconic Trailer Park Boys TV show. Those stereotypical images belie the reality of the modern mobile home development. B.C. real estate agent Sharon Lenning of Macdonald Realty Olympic in Surrey does approximately 90 per cent of her business dealing with first-time home buyers and downsizing retirees who are scrambling to get into manufactured home developments. The buy-in for a new home, an hour’s drive from downtown Vancouver, can be less than $100,000. A refurbished home can be purchased for as little as $69,000. Lenning moved into a manufactured home in Parkbridge’s Langley Grove Estates with the intent of moving closer to a family member. “It was just for a year, but we ended up staying for nine,” she says. “I liked the people and the sense of community. I had every-

thing I needed in my home.” It was only after her family quadrupled in size that she moved to a detached house on half an acre. “The quality of manufactured homes has risen (during) the past decade and they are an affordable alternative,” says Parkbridge vicepresident of sales and marketing Rob Tallis. Pre-fabricated construction is growing in popularity in B.C. as it provides for enhanced quality control in the plant environment compared to on-site construction. “As well, there is the environmental footprint,” says Tallis, adding the number of trucks normally delivering product to the traditional building site is reduced. Today’s manufactured home is a far cry from old mobile home that was plopped on blocks and skirted. It can be moved, but is intended to stay on site and looks like a detached family home on a small lot or pad. Parkbridge creates a community feel to its developments, says Tallis, by offering amenities such as a pool and com-

munity centre, co-ordinated activities and an on-site manager. Parkbridge, which has five retirement communities and five family developments in B.C., recently announced new and refurbished products at three of its B.C. sites: Crestway Bays, Crispen Bays and Breakaway Bays in Surrey. There are three ways that individuals can buy into a Parkbridge development. They can purchase a new approved manufactured home through the company, which earns a margin on the sale. The home is delivered to a lease site that Parkbridge owns. The company also buys existing homes from individuals leaving the community, refurbishes them and puts them back on the market. The other option is to buy directly from a homeowner within the site. However, individuals cannot move their own home on to the Parkbridge site. “We want to have some control over quality,” says Tallis. Lenning says an experienced national property owner and management company such as Parkbridge is integral to creating and maintaining community standards and environment. There are still some “mom and pop” operations around, she cautions, but anyone buying into a complex should ensure the management is financially sound and able to maintain the community’s standards and amenities. She began selling manufactured homes with leased pads by referral. “One referral led to another,” she says. The quality of manufactured homes and good manage-

Royal LePage Global Force Realty Shari Boyal

Nat Dhaliwal

Don Fults

Sukh Grewal

Surrey, British Columbia

We are pleased to announce that Sukhdev Grewal, owner of Global Force Realty, has chosen to join the Royal LePage Network. The brokerage will operate as Royal LePage Global Force Realty, effective August 20, 2014.

Don Fults is Royal LePage Global Force Realty’s General Manager. Don’s real estate career spans 34 years, beginning in 1980 with his first post at Block Brothers. Don is active in his community and serves as chairman of the People’s Church in Surrey.

Sukh began his career in home renovations and later moved into home building. By 2005, Sukh had evolved his business into land development and two years later opened his brokerage Global Force Realty.

Royal LePage Global Force Realty has a team of 42 sales professionals servicing a trading area of approximately 500,000 people, including the communities of Surrey, Delta, Langley, White Rock, Aldergrove, and Abbotsford.

“We were looking to take our company to the next level, and our decision to join Royal LePage centered on being associated with a well-known, prestigious company,” says Sukh. Rounding out Sukh’s management team are Shari Boyal, Nat Dhaliwal both formerly of Sutton Group Medallion Realty, and Don Fults. Shari Boyal, Manager of Business Development started selling with Block Brothers 25 years ago, and has been active in land assembly, and new home and condo developments. Nat Dhaliwal, Managing Broker, has been in the real estate industry for 25 years, and looks forward to helping the brokerage’s sales force reach their business, and personal goals.

ment within these complexes has become a game changer for many seniors entering the market. “I do a lot of estate sales,” she says, adding that once retirees move into one of these communities specifically designed for retirees and realize the benefits, they are reluctant to move again. The developments often have RV parking. “We paid $25 a month when we lived in ours,” she says. As well, there is the convenience of having neighbours who will care for your property should you decided to travel. There is also the freedom of not having a large lot to attend to and some complexes offer a maintenance package as well. Abdul Safi, mobile mortgage specialist for TD Canada Trust, says retirees are also seeing lowercost manufactured homes as a means of freeing up equity. “They might have another home in Florida where they want to spend time,” he says. Both Safi and Lenning are seeing an influx of retirees coming from central or

WHAT DO YOU DO IF:

Sukh, Shari, Nat, and Don and the Royal LePage Global Force Realty’s team can be reached at:

Your clients’ property taxes are high? Your client has a tenant from hell? You received a letter of complaint from RECO? Let’s talk.

201- 13049- 76 Avenue Surrey, British Columbia V3W 2V7 Phone: 604-596-1800 Fax: 604-596-1885 SukhG@royallepage.ca shariboyal@royallepage.ca natdhaliwal@royallepage.ca DonFults@royallepage.ca

416.818.6130

Please join us in welcoming everyone at Royal LePage Global Force Realty to Royal LePage.

† †Royal LePage is a trademark used under license.

Parkbridge’s Langley Grove Estates

In addition, I'm a real estate broker with over 40 years of experience. I can provide you with valuable insight into the law.

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eastern Canada as many seek the milder winter climate of B.C. But new entrants – young families – are also finding the detached manufactured home advantageous, he says. For many it becomes a means of building equity rather than renting. Safi, who has worked in financing mobile homes for the past 12 years, says it is possible to purchase a home for as little as five per cent down as CMHC is underwriting the bank loans. However, the minimum loan is $20,000. “The individual also needs a decent credit score,” he says, and the monthly payments of mortgage, rental pad and other related obligations cannot be more than 42 per cent of income. He says that pad rentals vary – they can range from $400 to $850 per month depending on the pad size and the development. An individual might also opt for a maintenance package such as lawn care and snow removal. It is a growth business as homes in urban centres become too pricey for many first-time buyers and empty nesters. Manufactured homes are also becoming popular in areas outside the major population bases, where individuals can find lower-priced lots. Realizing the potential, Parkbridge is bringing forward new projects in B.C. ‘We will continue to look for development opportunities,” says Tallis, as more retirees move to B.C. The company is bringing forward a project in Kelowna and another project on Vancouver Island. REM

REM OCTOBER 2014 41

Pricing an investment property to pass the financing clause By Chris Seepe

ales reps generally agree that financing is the No. 1 reason real estate transactions fail. Why do lenders refuse to approve a loan even when the buyer and seller both agree on a purchase price? Often, sellers and their agents didn’t determine whether the property’s cash flow could carry the financing costs when they set the asking price. The higher the price, the greater the amount of money the buyer has to borrow and the greater the carrying costs, which are paid by the property’s cash flow. For most investors, buying three $1 million properties with $250,000 (25 per cent) down payment on each is better than purchasing one $750,000 property. Even if they could afford to pay all cash, most investors still want to leverage their money. It’s a fundamental tenet of real estate investing – use other people’s money. Many commercial listings focus solely on the property’s net profit (net operating income or NOI) and agents divide that by the percentage return on investment they think a buyer should receive; that

is, the cap rate (assuming an allcash purchase), to determine a property’s price. However, the property’s value for most investors is whether the net profit can carry the financing costs (cash flow) and most listings don’t state cash flow (before taxes, or CFBT). Cap rate is a principal consideration in assessing investment property value but it doesn’t reflect cash flow (and financing costs), state of repair of a property (and potential capital costs), geographic growth potential, proximity to amenities (transit, shopping), crime rate, tenant demographics and other considerations. So, what indicators help determine whether a property can carry its anticipated debt load? Lenders look at many variables and ratios but two key metrics are break-even ratio (BER) and the property’s (not the buyer’s) debt service coverage ratio (DSCR). BER tells a lender how vulnerable a property might be to defaulting on its debt in the event that the property’s rental income stream should decline. If cash flow decreases, the owner might miss a loan payment or have to make the payment themselves. BER tells the lender what percentage revenue must decline before cash flow would break even with the

loan payment(s) and operating expenses. BER = (Debt Service + Operating Expenses) / Gross Operating Income is displayed as a percentage. Generally, lenders want 85 per cent BER or less, meaning rents can decline 15 per cent before the property’s income stream breaks even; the lower the BER, the better for the lender. Lenders use the property’s (separate from the buyer’s personal) DSCR to measure a property’s ability to pay its operating expenses and financing costs. Debt service is the total of all interest and principal paid on a property’s loan(s) in a given year. DSCR = NOI / Annual Debt Service is expressed as a ratio. A DSCR greater than 1.0 indicates that enough funds remain after servicing the mortgage, whereas less than 1.0 means there isn’t enough income to pay the mortgage. In today’s market, many lenders want at least 1.3 to 1 for a commercial loan; the higher the DSCR, the better. However, in both metrics above, this also means more of the investor’s money is tied up as equity in a property. Other lender considerations include a buyer’s credit rating, sufficient personal income, small

(leveraged) down payment and/or limited financial reserves. A lowerthan-expected appraisal can affect the loan amount too, even if the buyer and seller (and the market) agree on a higher price. A low appraisal may occur because of the state of repair of the property, local market, historical factors or environmental concerns that weren’t known or considered. A common surprise for investors is the lender’s discounting of the appraisal price to reduce the amount of the loan they are willing to underwrite in order to mitigate their risk exposure. There are some additional “sanity” checks (guidelines) that can help establish an investment property’s selling price. Each one separately carries little weight but collectively they may have a bearing. Municipal property tax authorities strive to assess property value within 20 per cent or so of market value. A property that is priced significantly higher isn’t necessarily wrong but the reason for the difference should be wellunderstood. Services are available that collect the historical prices. A common metric for multi-family properties is price/door. Six-plexes may go for $100,000/door while 50-

plexes fetch $60,000/door. There should be a compelling reason for why a per-door price is far above the norm. The “one-per-cent guideline” is another quick check. If the monthly gross rent divided by the purchase price is below one per cent, a solid business/financial reason should be found for why this is so. All the above factors should be considered to ensure the greatest chance of passing the financing condition, or better still, triggering multiple competitive offers. When setting the asking price of an investment property, cap rates tell part of the story but properly factoring in the lender’s loan risk assessment criteria substantially increases the buyer’s prospects of procuring other people’s money. A longer version of this story is available at remonline.com Chris Seepe is a commercial real estate broker and broker of record at Aztech Realty in Toronto, specializing in incomegenerating and multi-residential investment properties, retail plazas, science and technology related specialty uses and tenant mandates. (416) 525-1558. Email cseepe@aztechrealty.com. Website www.aztechrealty.com. REM

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42 REM OCTOBER 2014

rnestine’s Women’s Shelter, which Toronto Real Estate Board members have supported through the Realtors Care Foundation since 2008, has supported more than 5,000 families with immediate, critical care services. Offering a crisis line, shelter services and transitional and outreach programs, it strives to help women rebuild their lives. These services are vitally important not just to the victims of abuse, but to all Canadians since according to the organization, health-related costs of violence against women in Canada exceed $1.5 billion a year. Executive director Jill Cunningham says one client who was helped by Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter went on to complete her education, find affordable housing and day care and establish a successful company. “Women and children that stay at Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter learn that the violence and abuse is not their fault, they’re not alone and that they can live independently,” says Cunningham. TREB’s grant allows the organization to provide family start-up kits to women and children leaving the shelter or escaping an abusive relationship. Each kit consists

of the basics required for beginning again, along with some financial relief. ■ ■ ■

Sir Augustus Nanton is the WinnipegRealtors Citizens Hall of Fame’s most recent inductee. Established in 1986, the Citizens Hall of Fame honours outstanding citizens who brought recognition to the city or made outstanding contributions to Winnipeg’s quality of life. Each inductee has a likeness sculpted and prominently displayed in Assiniboine Park. The board says Nanton was at the centre of the halcyon days of Winnipeg’s boom at the turn of the 20th century. “He really took to heart his assignment when he was relocated from Toronto to Winnipeg with an investment firm he was a partner in,” says Rick Preston, chair of the program. “With considerable assets to invest in developing Winnipeg and opening up the Canadian West, it was a mission he absolutely relished. And with great pride and integrity, Nanton’s insatiable drive and indelible footprint on Winnipeg’s commerce benefited the city immensely.” Among his accomplishments: By 1896 his firm of Osler,

Hammond and Nanton had become “the largest and best mortgage business in the West,” says Preston. His firm acted as agents for the sale of Galt Coal and in the first year sold 50,000 tons. In 1902, he successfully finalized the sale of 800,000 acres in Saskatchewan, a deal worth several million dollars. In the early 20th century Nanton was a director of 30 corporations and associations. ■ ■ ■

The London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) recently presented a cheque to Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) for $3,732.76. The funds were raised through the association’s Kool Wheels Charity Bike and Auto Show. Cole Powell, 2013 NASCAR Whelan Series Rookie of the Year, made a special guest appearance and the Ghostbuster Car was on hand for inspection . . . and sliming. Among this year’s entrants were a 1955 Chevrolet pickup truck, a 1985 Ferrari GTO, a 1988 Cadillac Limousine and a 1995 Rolls Royce Flying Spur, as well as a 2005 Ultima Chopper and a 2001 Smith Custom Motor Bike. Music was provided by the band Mutual Release and breakfast and lunch was available onsite from YOU’s Cornerstone Café. “It was a fun day for a great cause,” says Jim Holody, LSTAR president. “YOU is performing a vital function in our community – making sure troubled kids don’t fall through the cracks and are able to go on to realize their full potential.” REM

The Rideau-St. Lawrence Real Estate Board recently presented five local area food banks with funds raised during their Annual Charity Golf Tournament. From left: Ron David, Program Committee chair; Lisa Cyr-Auld, Program Committee; Christianne Newton, EO; Connie McNamee, Program Committee; Angela Schultz, Prescott Food For All Food Bank, Brandy MacGregor, Program Committee; Linda McLaren, Perth Table Community Food Centre; Bonnie Pidgeon Gommert, Prescott Food For All Food Bank; JoAnne Systma, Brockville and Area Food Bank; Jeffrey Weir, Program Committee; and Elaine Farley, Athens Good Bank and Crisis Fund.

In recognition of support from the Durham Region Association of Realtors (DRAR), the Charles H. Best Diabetes Centre for Children and Youth recently presented DRAR with a plaque. Laura Mountjoy, left, executive director of the centre presented the plaque to Nancy Shaw, EO of DRAR.

GTA’s Most Productive Agents 8.8 6.8

Keller Williams

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Based on closed transactions by national real estate brands, from August 1, 2013 - July 31, 2014. Source: Toronto Real Estate Board.

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44 REM OCTOBER 2014

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Good Works R

e/Max of Western Canada is once again offering $16,000 in bursary funds through its annual Quest for Excellence Program. One recipient, in addition to the bursary, will receive a hot air balloon ride for two. The program recognizes the pursuits in leadership and community contributions of Western Canadian students. High school

students graduating in 2015 from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and Northwest Territories are encouraged to write an essay to convey the contributions they have made to enrich the lives of others and their communities through leadership, motivation, volunteering and participation in charitable events or fundraising. Sixteen winners will be select-

Erin Clarke

Greg O’Donnell Century 21 Dome Realty in Regina raised $21,365 at a golf tournament for Easter Seals.

AT HOME! Kevin Skipworth and David Peerless take the Ice Bucket Challenge.

12 ISSUES

FOR ONL LY $24.99 9*

Royal LePage fishing derby organizer Jim Morris (left) with Marv Beer of Royal LePage Access Realty in Salmon Arm, B.C. and their catch of the day.

Viisi s t remonline.com/home-subscription to le earrn mo ore r ! *Plus Pluss app Pl applicabl p licable ab e sales ale tax tax x

Rhonda and Brandon Grant Re/Max Escarpment Realty raised $3,700 for CMN at a recent barbecue.

REM OCTOBER 2014 45

ed from entries received online at remax-western.ca. Each winner will receive a $1,000 Re/Max Quest for Excellence bursary. The application deadline is March 9, 2015. ■ ■ ■

With temperatures well above normal for weeks in Fort McMurray, Alta., the summer heat was a health problem for the homeless population. The Centre of Hope drop-in centre put out a call for donations of bottled water and easy-to-serve meals such as instant noodles in a cup. Erin Clarke, a sales rep with Sutton Group - Fort McMurray, dropped off three cases of water and three cases of noodles and helped spread the word about these simple but important ways to make a difference in lives of people who are homeless. A common perception is that high-pay jobs are plentiful due to the booming oil and gas sector. However, Clarke says, “many people come to city unequipped. They come here thinking they will get off a bus and land a greatpaying job the next day. That just isn’t the case. Many people find themselves unable to pay rent fairly quickly…The centre provides important services to help people live with dignity and make positive changes so they can have a better future.” ■ ■ ■

Shivering fawns abandoned after human contact, coyotes tangled in barbed wire, turtles injured on roadways… the modern world is hazardous for wildlife. This year Rhonda and Brandon Grant, also known as Your Grant Team from Sutton Group - Masters Realty in Kingston, Ont., along with daughter Brittanie Grant organized a golf tournament in support of the Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre. “Brittanie is a past volunteer at Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre and she saw first-hand the needs of the animals,” says Rhonda. “We met with Sue Meech, the founder and director, who told us that she was trying to raise funds for a wildlife hospital…We wanted to help.”

The golf tournament raised $6,334. Construction of the new hospital broke ground in August. ■ ■ ■

Plant Your Flag Commercial Real Estate Services in Ottawa recently launched a program for young entrepreneurs, giving them a chance to meet and talk with successful entrepreneurs and business people. “We ask people to place their card in a hat at various events that we have partnered with. We pick five names and match those mentees with the five mentors we have arranged for the event,” says Plant Your Flag broker of record Greg O’Donnell. “The parties agree to meet for a coffee and the mentee agrees to make a donation in the name of the mentor’s favourite charity. We designed this to be very simple and informal, and in place of an expensive lunch or dinner the funds go to a local charity.” O’Donnell says events like this are rare in the commercial real estate world, “but as we are aligned with small- and mediumenterprise and people that have something to prove, we thought this might be a good way for our firm to give back.” ■ ■ ■

The first annual Royal LePage broker/owner fishing derby near Campbell River, B.C. included 16 participants from brokerages across Western Canada. “The weekend was a terrific team-building event as we enjoyed great fishing, great company and raised more than $4,700 for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation,” says organizer Jim Morris, manager, network development at Royal LePage, adding that he plans to organize the derby as an annual event. During several guided outings in the Discovery Passage, which runs between Campbell River and Quadra Island, everyone landed a few and prizes were awarded based on total weight caught plus bonus points for funds raised for the foundation. First prize, calculated on total weight plus bonus points, was awarded to Michael Trites of Royal LePage Northstar in Surrey, B.C.;

largest fish went to Gerry Storoschuk, Royal LePage Northern Lights, Bonnyville, Alta. for a 16.9-pound sockeye and the “Miss Congeniality” award went to Stuart Muxlow, Royal LePage Wheeler Cheam, Chilliwack, B.C., who was skunked this time out.

Announcement Renald Guindon

RE/MAX Centre City Realty Inc.

■ ■ ■

Kevin Skipworth and David Peerless, broker/owners at Dexter Associates Realty in Vancouver, were nominated to do the Ice Bucket Challenge by Jerry Jackman of Verico Versa Mortgages. Instead of just one bucket each, they invited the sales reps to buy buckets of ice/water to dump on them for $25 each. “We ended up raising $1,000 to donate to ALS Canada and as a result had many buckets dumped on us,” says Skipworth, adding that it was cold but for a great cause. ■ ■ ■

Century 21 Dome Realty in Regina recently held a golf tournament for Easter Seals to send kids living with disabilities to camp. The event raised $21,365. To add to the total, a team at their office rappelled down a 20-storey building in Regina as part of the Easter Seals Drop Zone event and claimed the spot of top fundraising team. In total this year, the brokerage has raised more than $50,000 for Easter Seals. ■ ■ ■

Recently Re/Max agents across Canada took part in Miracle Treat Day in support of the Children’s Miracle Network. Re/Max Escarpment Realty in Stoney Creek, Ont. hosted an annual barbecue fundraiser and raised more than $3,700 for CMN. Broker of record Conrad Zurini says, “One of our company’s core values is ‘giving back’, so it is at events like this where we can come together as a family to raise awareness and additional donations for the CMN.” To date, Re/Max Escarpment agents have contributed over $252,000, raising $32,000 this year. REM

RE/MAX INTEGRA along with RE/MAX Centre City Realty Inc. in London, Ontario is pleased to welcome Renald Guindon back to the RE/MAX family. After spending some of his early years as a “Hall of Fame” award winner with RE/MAX, Renald moved on to Sutton Group where he has been a top producer in real estate contributing to his nearly 30 years of experience. With the strong brand recognition and international exposure, Renald is looking forward to both the service and support offered by RE/MAX Centre City Realty Inc. and Broker Carl Vandergoot. Upon his arrival, Renald will be joining his nephew and fellow top producer Dan Guindon to create “The Guindon Team”. Together they will achieve their goals through the use of tools offered by RE/MAX such as the “Virtual Assistant” system and other full service marketing systems. Please join us in congratulating Renald and wish him the best of luck on his future with RE/MAX.

Announcement Lenard Lind RE/MAX Hallmark Lind Group Realty Ltd. RE/MAX INTEGRA is pleased to announce that Lenard Lind will be the first Broker to be joining RE/MAX through the new RE/MAX Agent Brokerage Program recently launched in the Province of Ontario. Through his 25 years in the real estate industry, Lenard is not only the top producing sales person in Aurora, but he is highly credible as a licensed REALTOR®, broker of record, licensed mortgage broker, registered Tarion builder, relocation specialist, and designated appraiser. With a deep commitment to his community through his contributions to local associations, sports teams, local charities, and nonprofit organizations, coupled with his passion for real estate, there is no doubt Lenard will continue to establish himself as a trusted member of the business community. He will be operating as RE/MAX Hallmark Lind Group Realty Ltd. in Aurora Ontario where he will continue to service the Aurora, Newmarket, and surrounding areas. Please join us in congratulating Lenard and welcoming him back to RE/MAX. We wish him the best of luck on the continued growth of his brokerage with RE/MAX Hallmark.

46 REM OCTOBER 2014

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

M A R K E T PL A C E

New

Capital Growth to provide commercial real estate commission advances Capital Growth of Calgary has expanded to include a dedicated department covering commercial real estate commission advances. Company president Ryan Suchet says the move â&#x20AC;&#x153;represents a new challenge for us, as well as a new market opportunity. Commercial Realtors have unique needs and we are ready to exceed their expectations in speed, cost and service.â&#x20AC;? The company currently provides commission advance services to res-

idential real estate agents. It says its proprietary risk management system is expected to make the step into the commercial area profitable, â&#x20AC;&#x153;even though this sector is often larger, more complex and risky. The company has every confidence in its success,â&#x20AC;? it says in a news release. www.capitalgrowth.ca.

CommNet launches new commercial real estate network CommNet â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Commercial Real Estate Network recently launched â&#x20AC;&#x153;with promises

of filling the void in the commercial real estate market,â&#x20AC;? the company says. The web-based network has 82 professionals and companies as members, featuring their property listings through CREAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DDF and promoting their real estate specialties and services. CommNet president Sam Kamoutsis says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We built a unique commercial real estate platform for Canada, one that has been missing from the Canadian real estate marketplace for a very long time. In the commercial world, while many properties are sold and leased through the MLS, we know that a very large number of properties, certainly the most important ones,

are all sold exclusively. No commercial real estate website we know of offers a true, feature-rich, social media engaging platform, where a commercial salesperson can promote their properties (and) a commercial company can promote their salespeople, services and properties,â&#x20AC;? he says. The site â&#x20AC;&#x153;also features a very strong online marketing toolset,â&#x20AC;? says Kamoutsis. He says it â&#x20AC;&#x153;allows the salesperson or company owner/marketing manager to deploy the tools daily in order to gain maximum online exposure.â&#x20AC;? The company is offering a free 30-day trial. www.CommNet.ca REM

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THE PUBLISHER’S PAGE

By Heino Molls

n 1972 I decided to buy a new car. As I walked through an array of cars at a dealership, I took a long envious look at a vehicle that was loaded with options. Like the old gag, it had luxuries in places that I did not even know there were places in an automobile. I knew I would have to buy the standard model with no bells and whistles but the salesperson consoled me by saying; “Think about it, the more stuff you have in a car, the more likely something is going to go wrong.” That was a great piece of advice. I ended up buying a basic car with no options but I made the mistake of buying a foreign car. It was great but back in 1972, foreign car parts were made in foreign countries, so even if one small thing went wrong, it ended up costing me an absurd amount of money to fix it. I didn’t think that good advice through. Keep it simple but use some common sense. I confess I did the same thing when I first bought a house during the ’70s. I bought a simple house with an enormous lot, just beyond the city limits. I was a pretty smart guy back then. The city was growing in leaps and bounds and I figured it would not take long for developers to reach the area I had bought in and I would cash in. The problem was that the 1980s came along and just at the time I had to renew the mortgage, interest rates went through the roof. The mortgage broker told me I should sign for 19 per cent now because rates would be going even higher. That was pretty good advice because rates hit 21 per cent right after I signed. I had to leave that place

Without a net behind and I lost money. But I was right in my theory. Development did reach the area shortly after I left and people who still had property made a fortune. I bought my place with too little down and mortgaged it for far too much money. I had a simple plan. It was brilliant. I did not have a contingency plan for when the economy tanked, however and although I could argue the case, I should have used more common sense. I should have learned from

that is what endears me to the real estate community the most. I cannot say the people I have met in this business are in any way odd. They are quite the opposite. They are thoughtful, kind hearted, knowledgeable and extraordinarily wise. I know am making sweeping statements about thousands of people and of course there are exceptions but real estate people are my kind of people. The entire industry works without a net. These are people who will take a chance.

I know am making sweeping statements about thousands of people and of course there are exceptions but real estate people are my kind of people. all these experiences but I confess I cannot shake my penchant to try a good idea without a net. For some reason I have a willingness to take a chance. I am not sorry I ended up doing what I am doing today, in fact I enjoy this publishing endeavour. I could not imagine working somewhere where some boss tells me to have a report on their desk in the morning or do this and that. But I look longingly at colleagues I knew many years ago back at the Toronto Star where I started out working in my 20s. They are all long retired today with fat pensions and benefits that I can only dream about. I sure don’t make the money they did but it has been, and the Good Lord willing, it will continue to be a blast doing this. With all that said, I think

They will look at all angles, thoroughly think an idea through, give all sides a good looking over and then take a chance. They will take their best shot and at the end of the day they know that’s all it is. A shot. You can take every measure of a chance but you have to remember that at the end of the day it is what it was to begin with; a chance. There are no sure things anywhere. So as we head into the fall season, a time when sales traditionally are supposed to be a little better, I commend you all for taking the chance to be in this business. I am proud of you all. I am proud to be in this entire affair right along with you. Heino Molls is publisher of REM. heino@remonline.com REM

Trade Shows and Conferences For complete listings, visit www.remonline.com To add a listing to this calendar, email jim@remonline.com Royal LePage National Sales Conference, Trade Expo Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 Sheraton Centre, Toronto www.royallepageevents.ca Sharon Promm – sharonpromm@royallepage.ca Brampton Real Estate Board Expo 2014 Thursday, Oct. 9 Embassy Grand Convention Centre, Brampton, Ont. membership@breb.org

National Association of Realtors Realtors Conference & Expo Nov. 7 - 10 New Orleans www.realtor.org/convention.nsf/ Durham Region Association of Realtors Realtor Connect Thursday, Nov. 13 Deer Creek Golf & Banquet Facility Ajax, Ont. www.realtorconnect.wordpress.com

WinnipegRealtors Technology Conference and Trade Show Thursday, Oct. 16 Victoria Inn, Winnipeg Lucy Hajkowski – lhajkowski@winnipegrealtors.ca

Realtors Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound Trade Show Tuesday, Nov. 18 Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre Owen Sound, Ont. Marilyn Newbigging Marilynn@ragbos.com

Realtors Association of Edmonton Conference and Tradeshow Wednesday, Oct. 22 Ramada Edmonton at Kingsway Edmonton Lixmila Serrano specialevents@ereb.com Text: 780-868-4978

Mississauga Real Estate Board Home & Trade Show Wednesday, Nov. 19 Mississauga Grand Banquet & Convention Centre Mississauga, Ont. Gay Napper – events@mreb.ca

Barrie & District Association of Realtors 2nd Annual Education Day and Trade Show Thursday, Oct. 30 Holiday Inn, Barrie, Ont. Bonnie Hunter – bonnie@barrie.realtors.ca

International Council of Shopping Centers NOI+ Asset Management Conference Nov. 20-21, Chicago RetailGreen Conference Dec. 2-3, Phoenix www.icsc.org

Ottawa Real Estate Board Trade Show Thursday, Oct. 30 Ottawa OREB.Admin@oreb.ca

CAAMP 2014 Mortgage Forum Nov. 23 - 25 Palais des congrès Montreal www.caamp.org

REBarCamp Westend Thursday, Oct. 30 Mississauga Living Arts Centre Mississauga, Ont. Tickets at Eventbrite Virginia Munden vmunden@live.com

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

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