October 2015 by Real Estate Magazine (REM)

Issue #316

October 2015

Real estate and the federal election Page 3

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Martyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final column Page 12

Electronic signatures Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 42218523 - Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to 2255B Queen St. E., #1178, Toronto ON M4E 1G3

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Merrily Hackett A competitive spirit leads to $11 billion in sales Page 10

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REM OCTOBER 2015 3

Real estate and the federal election The voice of the real estate industry is being heard in the federal election campaign. Here’s a look at what some of the candidates – including some who are real estate professionals – have to say. By Don Procter

ffordable housing is a key platform issue to Azim Rizvee, broker of record at MinMaxx Realty, a firm he launched in Milton, Ont. in 2006. He is the Liberal candidate for Milton. Lack of infrastructure funding by the federal government has resulted in higher development charges by developers, which are passed on to homebuyers through higher home prices in cities like Milton, Rizvee says. “It’s an indirect form of taxation.” Rizvee says to help curb rising home prices, major infrastructure commitments by the federal government are paramount. He calls the current government’s move to drop interest rates “a political ploy. They have used that as a vehicle to provide breathing room or space to build the economy, which is in recession already.” He says tightening mortgage insurance qualifications for firsttime buyers while reducing amortization periods took a lot of poten-

tial buyers out of the market. That is not good for the economy, he says, adding that when home ownership levels are high, research shows it provides more value through social benefits to a community. Rizvee says tax breaks proposed by the Liberals for the middle class are “core elements that will help boost the economy. It is the middle class that drives change.” Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Rizvee immigrated to Canada 15 years ago. His passion for real estate began more than 20 years ago when he first built a house in Lahore. “Building a dream home is the biggest asset anyone has,” he says. Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, the incumbent NDP MP for Hochelaga, Que., is the official opposition housing critic and deputy critic for infrastructure, communities and disability issues. She says Canada is the only G7 country without a national housing strategy. That would change under an

Laura-Leah Shaw

Azim Rizvee

Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet

Gabriel Purcarus

The Greens advocate a program called Housing First, which would provide the poor with housing followed by a network of social services to keep people from ending up back on the street. NDP government, she says, noting that among the top priorities would be addressing the right-tohousing issue. The NDP platform would also look at refocusing Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) to its original mandate with input from partnerships with the provinces, municipalities, the development industry and other stakeholders. Sustainable construction would also be on the agenda. The CMHC “could definitely play a role,” she says. Energy efficiency is a case in point, because “it is an industry of the present, not an industry of the future.” Housing affordability is a major issue in some cities, she says, but the NDP’s housing strategy would “have to be flexible enough” to deal with each region separately. She says in Montreal and other cities the surge in condo construction has let rental construction fall behind. Condos that are sold for rental purposes are often not designed for families. “We need to build rental units that are large enough for families as well,” she says. Prior to her role in the NDP, Boutin-Sweet was a guide at the Musée d’archéologie et d’histoire de Montréal, Pointe-à-Callière. She is the co-founder of her trade union at Pointe-à-Callière.

Green Party candidate LauraLeah Shaw in Steveston Richmond East, B.C. says providing more affordable housing is a high priority of her party. Shaw is a sales rep with Re/Max Crest Realty Westside in Vancouver. She says the Greens advocate the development of a national housing strategy through the Council of Canadian Governments. The plan would cover affordable housing – taking into account the homeless. “As Realtors we sometimes see people living in what seems like ridiculous luxury compared to the people we pass on the street with nothing,” she says. The Greens advocate a program called Housing First, which would provide the poor with housing followed by a network of social services to keep people from ending up back on the street. Shaw says the party would eliminate the government’s Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Pilot Program, which allows foreigners to purchase Canadian properties, because it is a big factor in the rising prices of homes. A proponent of an immigration program based on merit rather than “how rich you are,” she says immigrants working in Canada pay taxes that can go towards infra-

structure and other needs. Not a big fan of lowering interest rates to stimulate the economy, Shaw says the economic solution is more complex. “We need better paying jobs (and we need to keep jobs here in Canada) and then people can afford to buy homes.” Born and raised in Vancouver, Shaw has had a career in real estate in greater Vancouver for 26 years. Gabriel Purcarus, the Conservative candidate in AlfredPellan, Que. is a broker at Adresz Realty. He says affordable housing is an important issue in the area near downtown Montreal, where sales have dropped by 30 per cent in the past three years, after a boom from 2004 to 2012. One of the reasons prices have risen in parts of Canada is the influx of foreign buyers, he says. Among other things, he says a re-elected Conservative government would protect home buyers by offering CMHC-backed 30- to 35-year loans. He also cites plans to increase the allowable down payment from tax-free RSPs to $35,000 from the current $25,000, and maintaining the CMHC-backed low down payment program for Canadian residents only. A new tax credit for renovations of up to $5,000 annually should also be available to residents only, he says. Purcarus says the government has and will continue to act responsibly with tight lending rules that discourage people with poor credit histories of securing real estate loans. That is why Canada has “a very low rate of foreclosures” compared to the U.S., he says. While home prices have remained stable over the past year in the riding close to downtown Montreal where transactions have tailed off, Purcarus expects to see a slight improvement in the market next year. He was born in Bucharest, Romania and immigrated to Canada in 1999. He has been a computer programmer and a journalist but in the past 11 years has made his living as a real estate broker. He has been with Adresz Realty since 2009. REM

4 REM OCTOBER 2015

Multiple Listings By Jim Adair, REM Editor Do you have news to share with Canada’s real estate community? Let REM know about it! Email: jim@remonline.com

he Royal LePage network recently welcomed its first all-commercial brokerage. APM Commercial in Charlottetown has joined the network and is operating as Royal LePage APM Commercial. The brokerage has more than 30 years of experience in real estate development, construction, property management and leasing. Owner and CEO Tim Banks has represented top-tier clients in property development projects throughout Atlantic Canada and negotiated thousands of leases representing both tenants and landlords in all industry sectors. “We are excited to make this move to Royal LePage

John Evans, broker/owner of Re/Max of Coast Mountains in Terrace, B.C. has decided to stop listing and selling so he has more time to focus on the growth of the brokerage’s Prince Rupert office, he says.

Tim Banks

John Evans

Commercial as it is a natural fit with APM’s property development, construction and property management expertise,” says Banks. “We also felt a strong historical connection with Royal LePage founder A.E. LePage, who was born on Prince Edward Island and went on to build Canada’s premier real estate brokerage. We’re proud to add to that rich heritage.” ■ ■ ■

“After 29 years of sales and 24 years as a selling broker, it’s time for a change. However, I have no intentions to leave the industry anytime soon,” Evans says. He will manage the Prince Rupert office, while Sheila Love, who was licensed in 1992 and came to Re/Max in 1994, becomes the managing broker in Terrace. The brokerage was originally founded as Re/Max of Terrace in 1991 by Evans and his father, J. Richard Evans, who retired in 2002. It has 15 agents in the Terrace office and five in Prince Rupert, along with a support staff of four in the two offices. ■ ■ ■

The team of Rooney Cronin + Valentine has joined independent brokerage Real Estate Professionals in Calgary. The strong brand of

Donna Rooney, Gary and Warren Cronin and Sue Anne Valentine has achieved many sales production milestones, including No. 1 in their Calgary brokerage from 2007 to 2014 and No. 2 in Western Canada (2013/2014) as well as No. 4 globally in the Re/Max organization for those years. Ken Lamb, broker/owner of Real Estate Professionals, says the team’s focus on excellence and community support is key to their success. The brokerage, a member of the Aventure Realty Network, has more than 275 salespeople. ■ ■ ■

More than 300 agents from Macdonald Realty in Vancouver – more than half of the brokerage’s sales force – have received the Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE) designation. “In decades past, agents were the conduits of listing information,” says Macdonald Real Estate Group (MREG) CEO Lynn Hsu. “Now, there is an enormous amount of listing data readily available to the public online and the value proposition for the real estate agent has changed. Agents

must provide cogent analysis of the data available, and expert negotiation skills to resolve conflict, build bridges and bring deals together for the benefit of all parties involved.” Offered by the Real Estate Negotiation Institute (RENI), the CNE course applies up-to-date research in negotiation dynamics to the real estate sales process. Suze Cumming, the Canadian director of the RENI, says Macdonald Realty is “the only brokerage in Canada to have successfully certified over 300 of their real estate professionals in this critical area of expertise.” ■ ■ ■

Marcus & Millichap, a commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout the United States and Canada, is opening an Ottawa office at 343 Preston St., 11th floor. This is the firm’s fourth Canadian office, including Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. The new office will be Continued on page 6

Mark Paterson

Fraser MacDonald, second from right, is pictured with tournament finalists Greg Bois (far left) and Patrice Resseau and his doubles teammate Bob Excell (far right) after winning the men’s national over 55 doubles championship. Russ Bougie

The Rooney Conin + Valentine team

Sales reps participated in a tour of homes by bicycle organized by Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty in Oak Bay, Vancouver Island.

Sheila Love

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6 REM OCTOBER 2015

Continued from page 4

focused on retail, mixed use, office and multifamily in the Ottawa office, says Gary Lucas, regional manager and senior vice president. “Ottawa has one of the most coveted multifamily markets in the country and the demand for highquality rental units has seen the development of purpose-built rental units,” says Mark Paterson, Ottawa broker of record with Marcus & Millichap. The firm says Ottawa’s investment market provides steady and consistent rates of return. “While office vacancies in Ottawa have been on the increase due to government downsizing, this is likely to recover should a new party win the election and have a different, higher spending approach,” says Lucas. Victoria Blackburn, a broker at the new office says, “The appeal of Marcus & Millichap to me as a broker is the fact that it brings a unique perspective into the Ottawa market. The focus on real estate investment services and the fact that our office is the latest to become a part of the largest private client investmentcentered brokerage in Canada allows me to maximize value and provide optimal results for all clients.” ■ ■ ■

Veteran industrial sales and leasing specialist Russ Bougie has been named a principal of Avison Young. Based in the company’s Vancouver office, he will focus on industrial sales and leasing in Metro Vancouver, working with investors, owner users, landlords and tenants on building and land sales as well as lease transactions. Prior to joining Avison Young, he spent 17 years with Colliers International in Vancouver, most recently as a senior vice president in the com-

Cover photo: DARLA FURLANI

pany’s industrial division. Bougie brings 20 years of commercial real estate brokerage and appraisal experience to Avison Young. Before moving into the brokerage field he spent three years as an appraiser and consultant at Collingwood & Associates, where he worked mainly with oil companies in an advisory role valuing land and service stations. During his career, Bougie has negotiated more than $550 million worth of sales transactions and five million square feet of leasing deals. ■ ■ ■

The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is inviting condominium managers, boards, owners and consumers to weigh-in on the proposed regulatory model for condominium managers in Alberta. In December the Government of Alberta passed legislation that will require licensing for condominium managers. When the legislation takes effect, RECA will be responsible for setting standards, licensing and regulating individuals who provide condominium management services. RECA has released a consultation paper and is hosting town hall meetings across Alberta to gather feedback from condominium industry stakeholders. The paper, which details the proposed regulatory model for condominium managers, is available on its website. Stakeholders are invited to respond to the consultation paper in writing via email to condomanagers@reca.ca by Dec. 9 and attend a town hall meeting. In the new year, RECA will launch a second consultation on the standards of practice for condominium managers. ■ ■ ■

A cycle-friendly community in the Oak Bay area near Victoria inspired organizers from Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty to

arrange a bicycle tour of homes for sale. About eight Realtors joined the two-wheel tour of properties where new listings in the area were toured to allow sales reps to provide feedback and learn about the homes. Typically done by car, not only was the bicycle tour more environmentally friendly, but participants found it easier too. Rather than parking six or seven vehicles at each stop, they simply pedaled to each destination and rested their wheels in a handy spot. “The feedback from the Realtors was terrific,” says Bill Ethier, president and managing broker for Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty. “We are already planning a second bike tour in September and will start up the initiative once again in the spring once the winter weather passes.” ■ ■ ■

Fraser MacDonald, a commercial sales rep with Royal LePage Real Estate Services in Toronto has chalked up several big tennis wins over the summer. Coming off an Ontario provincial doubles over 55 championship, MacDonald and his national teammate Bob Excell of Vancouver won the men’s over 55 doubles category at the senior national tournament held in Montreal. MacDonald also owned the title in Toronto in 2014, with Len Simard from Florida. “Bob and I came into nationals as the No. 1 seed, but we really didn’t know who we’d meet in the finals,” says MacDonald. His recent tennis doubles success comes after having both hips replaced in 2008 and 2009. “I love the game and had the replacements so I could keep at it and I am happy to find myself training hard and winning tournaments.” MacDonald has his sights on qualifying for the four-man national team to play in Finland in May REM 2016.

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Drew Keddy named president and CEO of Sutton Group S

utton Group Realty Services has appointed real estate industry veteran Drew Keddy as its new president and CEO. Keddy has been involved in the real estate industry for over 20 years. He was with Colliers International for 15 years and has participated in many key milestones for Colliers, including several mergers and acquisitions both domestically and internationally, as well as the eventual sale of Colliers International to FirstService. Scott Shaw, co-founder and former president, says in a news release: “We have been very patient to wait for the right leader to take the reins of Sutton. Drew’s proven ability to build high performance teams and grow companies both organically and through acquisitions will help accelerate our growth in the years ahead.” Lance Tracey, co-founder, says: “While Scott and I will continue to be involved with the company at a board level, we are in alignment with Drew and know that he will be a complement to our team for the benefit of our franchisees and all of the real estate professionals that make Sutton the company it is today.” Sutton was founded in Vancouver in 1983 by Shaw and Tracey. The brand has more than 200 offices and 8,000 real estate agents across the country. “I cannot be more honoured or excited to be tasked with leading a Canadian company with Sutton’s pedigree,” says Keddy. “I will have the benefit of being able to leverage Sutton’s best in class service to create sustained growth for our franchisees, agents, shareholders and investors.” Keddy says his mandate will be to strengthen the Sutton brand by working with and investing alongside franchisee partners to strengthen existing markets and enter new ones. REM

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Phone: 416.425.3504 www.remonline.com REM complies fully with the Canadian Real Estate Association's Rules for Trademarks (CREA Rule 16.5.3.1) REALTOR® and REALTORS® are trademarks controlled in Canada by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify licensed real estate practitioners who are members of CREA. MLS® and Multiple Listing Service® are trademarks owned by CREA and identify the services rendered by members of CREA. REM is published 12 times a year. It is an independently owned and operated company and is not affiliated with any real estate association, board or company. REM is distributed across Canada by leading real estate boards and by direct delivery in selected areas. For subscription information, email distribution@remonline.com. Entire contents copyright 2015 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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8 REM OCTOBER 2015

Veteran EO Ross Godsoe retires – sort of The former RAHB EO was instrumental in forming the shared MLS system for eight Ontario boards By Danny Kucharsky

oss Godsoe has just retired as CEO of the Realtors Association of HamiltonBurlington (RAHB) but that does not mean his more than 40-year real estate career has come to an end. Godsoe, who left the association at the end of August after a 14-year stint, sees himself doing volunteer work in the real estate industry and stepping up his consulting work. He’s had a company for 16 years called Reasman (Management) Services, which has done consulting work for board associations across Canada in governance and leadership priorities. “Frankly, I really enjoy working with those associations and I sort of see myself carrying on that and probably expanding that,” says Godsoe, noting he’ll now have more time on his hands. About four years ago, Godsoe

was involved in the formation of a shared MLS system for RAHB and three other associations in Southern Ontario – Niagara, Brantford and Simcoe. The shared system has given about 4,500 members better access to data. “It’s functioned very well for every Realtor in Southern Ontario because there’s no such thing as boundaries any more. It’s one huge and large trading area.” More recently, associations in Oakville-Milton, KitchenerWaterloo, Guelph and Cambridge were looking for an improved MLS system. Godsoe suggested they come under one umbrella and form a regional MLS system. The challenge to take eight associations – each with its own rules, regulations, policies, forms and data schema – and to merge everything under one system is huge, he says. “It really was a major project, a huge initiative, but it’s

quite rewarding. By the end of October, the one regional MLS will include about 7,800 Realtors in Southern Ontario. “The good thing about this, the way it’s set up it has the opportunity for expansion in the province,” Godsoe says. He says the regional project is “a major accomplishment in Ontario and in Canada for that matter because we set up a separate corporation to run and manage this MLS system.” While there are many models in the U.S. of separate organizations or corporations running and operating the MLS system, it’s the first time in Canada that a separate organization is doing this. “We’ve had a lot of eyes on us right across Canada. I’m really pleased to see we’ve succeeded.” Godsoe admits that if he had been asked nine to 12 months ago whether all eight associations would be onside for the “mega-pro-

Godsoe retired as CEO of RAHB. (Photo: Lipman Still Pictures)

ject” at the end of the day, “I would probably say, ‘I wouldn’t bet any money on it.’” Building consensus and getting everybody onside to work together for the best interests of members were major challenges, he says. “I’ve always been very passion-

ate about this business and this industry. I started very young in it and from my personal perspective, I think it’s time to move on,” he says of his departure from RAHB. During Godsoe’s tenure there, membership has grown from about Continued on page 35

Use FINTRAC rules to grow your business By Mark Weisleder cannot tell you how often salespeople complain to me about having to comply with all FINTRAC identification requirements when meeting potential clients. Remember, lawyers have the same obligations. Rather than look at this exercise negatively, I want you to consider five reasons why following the FINTRAC requirements will not only keep you out of trouble, but will also increase your referrals. 1. When lenders are suspicious, deals don’t close. Since lenders have started being more careful in qualifying buyers, there is much more oversight taking place, even on the day of closing. It is not uncommon to see appraisals being required very close to the final closing date.

It is not just about verifying employment or gift letters. I have seen lenders refuse to complete a transaction when the client’s driver’s license or passport expired just before the closing date. Lenders are also suspicious when a deposit for a home purchase comes from multiple bank accounts at different institutions. By being careful to check identification properly when you meet a client and verifying where the deposit is coming from, you are making sure your deal will close on time. 2. How did you find me? This is the most important question to ask any potential buyer prospect who contacts you to assist them in buying a home. If the answer is a referral or other relationship that you know, it is very unlikely that this will lead to issues later. However, if the answer is, “I found you on the Internet”, probe further. A Realtor told me recently that

they were contacted by an overseas investor who wanted to purchase a local property and would pay the deposit through a local stock broker. They gave a passport and other identification with their home address. Using Google Earth, the salesperson looked up the address and right away the building looked suspicious. After further due diligence, he quickly contacted the authorities and refused any further contact with this person. 3. Protect your brand image. Scam artists or thieves can destroy the reputation of a salesperson or broker, even if the real estate professional is innocent. It doesn’t matter. If a newspaper or online service picks up the story, any time your name is Googled, the association with the crook will also show up. This is why checking out identification and asking the right questions right away will prevent you from falling into a scam situation. For example, let’s say a scam

artist buyer ties up a property by giving you a phony deposit. If there is a bidding war and you lose other legitimate buyers, your seller is going to be very upset. Our law firm now accepts only wire transfers, so we can be sure that the funds in our trust account are verified instantly. 4. Knowing your clients builds relationships. Successful coaches will tell you that to build relationships with new prospects, ask them to tell you about themselves, their families and what they do for a living. In my practice, I enjoy talking to clients about what they do. If the client says they are retired, I ask what they did before they retired. People are proud of their careers. By being interested and asking questions, not only will you fill out the form properly, but more importantly, you will start building a relationship with this client that will lead to repeat business and referrals.

5. Be able to satisfy any FINTRAC auditor. More and more brokerage firms across the country are being audited for FINTRAC compliance. While most firms do not accept cash deposits, the list of violations I have seen includes not completing the identification forms properly, not having proper training or FINTRAC policies for both Realtors and company employees in place, and not preparing proper risk assessments every two years. My seminar, How to Survive a FINTRAC Audit, continues to be very popular in Ontario. By understanding the benefits of FINTRAC compliance, this will hopefully assist you in explaining the forms to your clients as well as salespeople and company employees. Mark Weisleder is a partner, author and speaker at the law firm Real Estate Lawyers.ca LLP. Contact him at mark@realestatelawyers.ca REM

10 REM OCTOBER 2015

A competitive spirit leads to $11 billion in sales

Merrily Hackett, managing partner of Sutton Group - West Coast Realty says, “When people say that I can’t do it, that tends to motivate me even more.” By Gayle Mavor money because “the mortgage amount was higher than the property value.” She says two major influences have been her mother and longtime Realtor Eileen Smith. “If my mother hadn’t chosen to stay at home, she would have been Bill Gates.” Her mom was always her “safety net, waving the flag… believing in you absolutely.” But it was Smith, who passed away in 2014, who encouraged her to invest in her first real estate office at 25. Smith had started Sutton Excel, one of the early Sutton Group franchised offices in Burnaby, now called Sutton Centre Realty. “She saw in me potential that I hadn’t visited.”

Merrily Hackett (Photo by Darla Furlani)

s managing partner, general manager and shareholder of Sutton Group - West Coast Realty, Merrily Hackett is not what I expect when I meet her at one of her suburban offices – one of 25 offices in B.C. with more than 1,700 real estate professionals under her leadership. While mentioning her appearance seems sexist, to not mention it would be a significant omission. At 5'11" she’s modellike, soft spoken with an English accent and the picture of refinement, to the point of seeming a little out of place at a suburban franchise 30 minutes from Vancouver. “I have been underestimated many times,” she says, agreeing that can be an advantage. “I have a very strong competitive spirit. It started when I was about six-years-old in pony club, show jumping and cross country. Sales brought that (competitive spirit) out in me. I strive for excellence. I’m driven. When people say

that I can’t do it, that tends to motivate me even more.” Last year, U.S.-based author and speaker Stefan Swanepoel ranked Hackett at No. 15 on his list of the Most Powerful and Influential Women in Residential Real Estate. Sutton - West Coast made 16,500 unit sales and over $11 billion in sales volume in 2014, which Hackett calculates brings them in at No. 5 in North America. It didn’t come effortlessly. Hackett arrived in Vancouver at 17 from the U.K. Born in Northern Ireland, raised in England and South Wales, she thought she’d attend UBC. Her older brother, Andrew, suggested she try real estate instead. Her first job was at Realty World. “It was a tough market. Horrendous interest rates,” she says. At her first listing appointment she had to recalculate the numbers twice before telling her clients that if they wanted to sell, they were going to have to contribute some

With Smith’s backing, she grew her first brokerage (Sutton Group Elite Realty) to 125 agents. Five years later, she sold it to Smith and opened Sutton Group Killarney Realty on Vancouver’s East Side. “I had a lot of people betting on how fast those doors would close. You follow through on your word and you drive things forward with passion and energy…people see the leadership that ties into that.” She grew that location to 200 agents and took over the third location with 45 agents, growing that to 200 as well. In 2009, all offices were brought under a common ownership group launching an expansion mode, enabling a better value proposition for sales reps and brokers. “Being able to reach out to agents, but more importantly building an environment within the office that makes it a destination brokerage for agents to move to” is what helped her grow her team, Hackett says. She lists some of the reasons for the brokerage’s success

– centralized daily training programs; strong in-house conveyancing systems; a centralized resource centre for agents offering greater services, support and tools; large networking events and monthly managers’ meetings at the head office in Burnaby. “We have new agents and more seasoned agents who need help being empowered with technology.” Hackett cites some examples: reaching more consumers and simplifying the transaction – a key for millennials – while showing older agents how to use e-signatures, electronic document management systems and social media. Hackett prefers to keep her private life private. “I was very high profile and I needed to create boundaries to maintain my own sanity and personal health,” she says. “As a young Realtor doing extremely well, I didn’t know how to draw those lines.” She says her two daughters, now 17 and 19, are “her greatest accomplishments”. She has been a single mother since they were very young and that forced her to find a balance. Now she takes an annual vacation, which she considers part of her girls’ education. As a young sales rep, she admits she was guilty of initially resisting lead generation. “It’s what I see over and over with agents that fail. I used to block off three to four hours daily for lead generation. That included calling expired listings, door knocking and cold calling, reaching out to a sphere of influence on a daily basis, asking people for referrals and to keep me top of mind. I was on the phone connecting with people, ensuring that pipeline was full. Consistency was key.

You need to believe in yourself. Many times as a commissioned salesperson, you have those fearful thoughts and moments. A new agent has to have the expectancy and positive feeling that it’s going to come together.” It was a work ethic that helped her and a partner sell 110 to 135 houses per year. Focus is important, she says. Creating the time and environment so that you can focus on the “A’s” and being firmly committed to letting go of the “B’s” and “C’s” is critical to being at maximum effectiveness, as is a commitment to excellence, she says. “Ask: How do I deliver excellence to my customers so they become card-carrying fans and give me referrals, and we both walk away knowing it was the best transaction we could have made.” She isn’t that concerned about new technology focused sales models such as Zillow and Redfin. “Technology is always a disruptor. We’ve seen it with Uber and Airbnb… Potentially there could be something around the next corner but we’ve been around for 30 years and we can adapt and change.” But she adds, “Real estate agents are going to want to continue to align as the industry becomes more complex and competitive, especially with brokerages that give them the guidance and leadership that can help with those disruptors. “As legislation changes, the transaction becomes more complex. I believe that the consumer is recognizing they need someone to have their back to guide them through the process.” She sees the role of sales reps increasing in value. REM

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12 REM OCTOBER 2015

METES & BOUNDS

Marty’s 250th – and final – REM column The most frequent question I’m asked about writing for REM is the source of the monthly columns. And the answer is always easy – the business itself.

By Marty Douglas “It all started in a 5,000-watt radio station in Fresno, California. With just a $50-a-week pay cheque and a dream.” – Ted Baxter. “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . .” lad you asked. My REM writing experience began in December 1994 with an opinion piece entitled The West Coast Real Estate Fishery – in Peril? Apparently I thought the analogy of the dearth of migrating salmon to the Adams River would ring a nationwide bell as we experienced yet another downturn, not only in buyers but in applicants for a real estate license. We had experienced a doubling of our average price over the prior five years and a corresponding increase in real estate licensees. Then the feed ran out. REM was looking for a west coast flavour and suggested a regular column. Jim Adair and Heino Molls have been putting up with me ever since. Those were the technological dark ages. My first columns were submitted by that new gadget, the fax machine, which was, of course, long distance to Toronto. I remember

complaining to Jim about the cost, suggesting meekly that since my column was gratis, would they entertain some reimbursement for the long distance charges. Jim asked if I had heard of email and so I was dragged, without expense, into the 21st century. It’s been a blast. REM has been full of surprises along the way, the best being a cake delivered to my west coast office door, decorated to mark my 100th column. My coffee gets cold in a REM mug, one of a case lot our office won in photo contest, and on my dresser is a REM engraved watch. Not a Rolex but still, the thought . . . and so we arrive at column #250. And they said it wouldn’t last. The most frequent question I’m asked about writing for REM is the source of the monthly columns. And the answer is always easy – the business itself. My involvement in the industry at the board and provincial levels, in a regulatory role on the B.C. Real Estate Council and on the Real Estate Errors and Omissions Insurance Corporation, left me with anecdotes and opinions, some even my own. As my monthly deadline approached, notes from the REM file would coalesce into about 900 words – or

Helping with dragon boat timing in 2011.

REM surprised Marty with a cake to celebrate his 100th column in 2003.

not. I was always aware of my surroundings and respected confidences. I avoided dancing to tunes directed by others. At industry meetings I smiled as the chair inevitably asked if there were any members of the press present. I usually sat up front with my notebook but garnered more material from the cocktail and luncheon chatter than the dull business of the annual meeting. I received a lot of emails. The archives suggest Gary Robinson was my most prolific critic. Now, more frequently, online commentary follows my columns. The online commentary, unlike personal email, is read by any who go to www.remonline.com and inevitably the postings turn into a debate between responders, frequently leaving my column gasping for air on the river bank, as opinionated barbs from regular readers ricochet around the Internet. Heated exchanges were originally between me and one or two letter writers. Now, usually I’m the innocent bystander, albeit

A frequent community theatre actor, Marty is seen here in his role as Underling in The Drowsy Chaperone.

the one who lit the fuse. My August column prompted this request from a 30-plus-year veteran: “Marty, can you speak to why more people don’t just work on their own, under their own banner? Can it be as simple as they feel the need for engaging in the group office atmosphere?” It’s not that simple because we are dealing with people. Have you ever participated in personality profiling? The program I first took was DISC, which revealed I was a “High I”. A later, more fun analysis was called True Colors (I think I was ‘Blue’). Most high rolling, type A personalities were ‘D’s or ‘Orange’, while accounting types were ‘C’s or ‘Green’. My groups were the huggers, the social crowd who were always afraid if there was no one in the office, it was because there was a party to which we hadn’t been invited. Real estate, while containing readily recognizable “personalities” is made up of all types; yes, even accountants and teachers

Marty appeared as one of Cinderella’s step-sisters in a Rogers & Hammerstein review called A Grand Night for Singing. “Here’s what happens when you get old in musical theatre – you either play a bad guy or they put you in drag,” he says. “Not sure which this is!” (Photo by Ross Robinson)

have succeeded in our business! Not everyone can work from home or a small office. Whether they lack the incentive or self-discipline or whether they need to absorb the “noise”, the kinetic energy of a bull pen, the activity of others demands comparison in yourself. Franchises, in addition to usually having an office environment, bring the value of the brand, meaning you don’t have to invent your personal banner. Selfbranding, whether inside a franchise or as an independent, is one of the goods too many Realtors have been sold as essential to success. Poppycock. (Never used that in a column before!) October finds us in a federal election. In every past federal elecContinued on page 14

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14 REM OCTOBER 2015

Marty’s 250th Continued from page 12

tion I have urged REM readers to vote. Consistently voter turnout has declined. Coincidence? I think so. But the excuses remain the same. You get the government you deserve. Think about that as you curse Prime Minister Mulcair/Trudeau/Harper later after Oct. 19. If you don’t vote, then have a cup of “shut the hell up!” And since most advice has been given in the past, hence the study of history, here are 10 tidbits pertaining to real estate from real life – you know, TV and Hollywood. 1. Police Story TV series, 19731978 – “I’ve been in this business for a lot of years looking for short cuts. I’ll be the first to let you know if I find one. In the meantime, hit the streets and turn over stones.” 2. United Airlines TV commercial, 1980s – “When you become satisfied with your performance as a team, that’s when you’re finished as a team.” 3. Thelma and Louise movie, 1991 – “You get what you settle for.” – Louise 4. Jerry Maguire movie, 1996 – “If this (gestures to heart) is empty then this (gestures to head) doesn’t matter.” And, “Success consists of simply getting up one more time than you fall.” 5. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back movie, 1980 – “Do or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda 6. Fellowship of the Ring movie, 2001 – “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” – Gandalf the Grey 7. Any Given Sunday movie, 1999 – “You find out that life is just a game of inches . . . the inches we need are everywhere around us.” – Al Pacino 8. Michael Caine, academy award winning actor – “Actors don’t get paid for the minute or two they spend in front of the camera. They get paid for the preparation and waiting around.” 9. Will Smith, on training for the movie Ali, 2001 – “I desire perfection. I desire being the best that I can be. I don’t wanna take time to eat, I don’t wanna take time to sleep. I wanna let the other guy be eatin’ and sleepin’ while I’m working and while I’m trying to achieve my best earthly perfection.”

Marty’s 1994 column photo

Marty in 2008

10. Howard Brinton, not an actor but a favourite real estate trainer and showman – “You have to practise and memorize your presentation – the reason a magician can pull a rabbit out of the hat is that he put it there before the show began!” Th-Th-Th-That’s all folks! – Porky Pig. 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

16 REM OCTOBER 2015

Choosing to waste your time “Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice.” – Ayn Rand

By Ross Wilson

e each have to decide how to spend 24 hours every day. Many agents have a tendency to waste time on relatively mundane activities such as checking email, whiling away their time on social media websites or gabbing with friends during extended lunches. Many mistakenly believe they’re working toward their goals, but are wasting a lot of time on daily minutiae. Not you? Keep a daily activity log for awhile and you’ll see what I mean. Is your work fun for you? If you’re not enjoying your business, then maybe you’re in the wrong business. You don’t have enough time to do all this stuff? How about hauling your butt out of bed an hour earlier each morning? An hour of extra work time for every day of a five-day work-week results in six extra 40-hour business weeks annually. What do you think you could accomplish with an extra six weeks? “Waste your money and you’re only out of money, but waste your

time and you’ve lost a part of your life.” – Michael LeBoeuf Before participating in an unscheduled social event, ask yourself if it will contribute in a constructive way to the attainment of your goal. Your old employee time-killing self might leap at it, but your new entrepreneurial self, the one who’ll make your business plans a reality, might decide otherwise. Which self you listen to will determine your path. Either way, your strength of conviction regarding the achievability of your goals will determine the priority of that activity. As an agent, you’re no longer trading time for money. In this context, time is money! When you’re scheduled to work, don’t waste it; leverage it. If a social opportunity arises, that’s fine, go for it. But do this too often and you’ll jeopardize your business, unless it’s an opportunity to generate leads. Financial wealth is normally created and accumulated by anyone whose disposable income permits them to increase their assets well beyond their personal liabilities. Aside from inheritors and lottery winners, entrepreneurs, successful business people,

professionals, investors and upper-echelon bankers fit into this group. Salaried employees rarely accumulate any significant wealth, not only due to limited incomes, but because of limiting beliefs and a dependant – sometimes victim – mentality. They often can’t even imagine being unemployed. If you still hold the irresponsible employee mentality of trading time for money from when you were a drone in the labour force, or you habitually goof off, you’ll never accumulate any significant wealth and will likely remain a debt slave for life. Where do you fit in? Obviously, to be successful, you must be an entrepreneur. By assuming responsibility for your own success, by choosing calculated risks, by skilfully selling yourself with empathy and by having and respecting your own priorities, you’ll undoubtedly create wealth. And the choice to diligently apply yourself to this endeavour by serving a growing clientele, means future business will be lining up for you. Now that’s leverage. “Lost time is never found again.” – Benjamin Franklin Time is undeniably valuable.

Do you consider your time to be more valuable in a monetary sense than that of someone who cleans houses or pools or mows lawns for a living? I’m not saying the people who perform those important tasks are inferior, for they require special skills too. And if they’re happy, that’s great. Here’s my point, though. If you’re earning, say, an average of $100 per hour, why invest time into labouring on the more mundane aspects of life when you could hire someone else to do it at an hourly rate of $20? Why do your own repairs – and poorly – when you can hire an expert to do it well at $35? Don’t waste your time during your peak earning years trying to be an expert at everything and doing it all yourself. If you really enjoy an activity as a hobby, save it for your personal days or retirement years when you have ample puttering time and are enjoying multiple income streams from numerous capital investments. If you’re thinking you can’t afford to hire help, then you’re right. It’s certainly smart to live within your financial means. But you should also realistically consider the element of calculated risk. Just don’t get crazy about it.

You’ll never be able to afford to hire help with an attitude of scarcity. Ask yourself what’s the highest and best use of your time; cleaning your own house or prospecting for new clients? Hmm? If you think you’d better wait until you can afford it, you probably won’t. But if you do it now, you’ll have dramatically increased the odds of achieving fantastic wealth and more importantly, becoming the type of person who possesses the ability to not only create, maintain and enjoy it, but also to sustain the business necessary to continue building it. “Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.” – John Lennon Ross Wilson, broker with iPro Realty, has enjoyed a rewarding four-decade career encompassing a highly productive referral sales practice and extensive experience as a brokerage owner, manager, trainer and mentor. His new book, The Happy Agent – Finding Harmony with a Thriving Realty Career and an Enriched Personal Life is available where print and e-books are sold, including the TREB, BREB, RAHB and OMDREB stores. Visit REM Realty-Voice.com.

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16 REM OCTOBER 2015

Choosing to waste your time

“Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice.” – Ayn Rand

By Ross Wilson

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

18 REM OCTOBER 2015

Another disclosure decision LEGAL ISSUES

By Donald H. Lapowich

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ere is another case involving Ontario’s Seller Property Information Statement. It was heard recently in the Ontario Court of Appeal. It involved an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (with “an entire agreement clause”). The clause read: “(The Agreement of Purchase and Sale [APS]) including any Schedule attached hereto, shall constitute the entire Agreement between Buyer and Seller. There is no representation, warranty, collateral agreement or condition, which affects (the APS) other than as expressed herein.” Before the transaction closed the vendors signed the Seller Property Information Statement. It stated that the property was not subject to flooding. The vendors did not tell the purchasers of a pre-closing basement flood. After closing, the purchasers experienced a flood in the basement, found out about the earlier flood and sued the vendors for damages for negligent misrepresentation. At trial the judge ruled that the entire agreement clause barred the action. The Divisional Court reversed that and found in the purchasers’ favour. However, on an appeal to the Court of Appeal, the statement was made that an entire agreement clause only operated retrospectively and not prospectively (in the past – not in the future). Therefore that clause was restricted to limit representations, warranties, collateral agreements and conditions made prior to or during negotiations leading up to

the signing of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale. Since the Seller Property Information Statement involved vendors’ representations after the Agreement of Purchase and Sale was completed and signed, the entire agreement clause was spent (over and non-enforceable). However, the purchasers’ negligent misrepresentation claim failed because of lack of evidence that they relied on the vendors’ representations when they closed the transaction. (Soboczynski v. Beauchamp, 2015 ONCA 282) ■ ■ ■

No doubt most of you have received email scams citing a sum of money that must be extricated out of an overseas country into your trust account or bank, to be shared with the person who has written you the email. There are many versions of this scam. The most recent I heard should be noted. An organization that holds annual meetings for its members reports an XYZ housing service, which states to members that they are calling on behalf of the organization and that they can book rooms for the annual meeting at a much reduced rate. Aggressive, persistent and high pressure tactics are used, including the offer of a prepaid hotel reservation at a significant discount, requiring your credit card information. Even if the procedure turns out to be legal, resulting in a room rental, a sizeable booking fee is charged to the credit card, plus the hotel room rate. A further problem is that this alleged housing company resists any refund or cancellation of the organization member’s stay no matter what reason may be given. 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

Are you doing well enough that you have no need for an income boost of $10,000.00 a month? Or every couple of weeks? This cheque is fake. But it doesn’t have to be. What if I told you that you could EASILY increase your income from real estate by this much or more EVERY MONTH, if you will take only THREE simple actions…. FREE ONLINE VIDEO WAITING FOR YOU Wait. I’ll tell you about the video in a minute. First, let me tell you why you should bother to watch this online presentation and why virtually every real estate “guru”, trainer, “coach”, etc. hopes you never do. I was a highly successful AGENT for more than 20 years. No one can even come close to matching my track record. THIS INVITATION IS ONLY FOR YOU IF YOU PLACE A HIGH VALUE ON SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCE. On methods that are working now but have also proven themselves in every kind of market over time and can be counted on. I know from that experience that: This market is good enough, just about everywhere, to reward an agent “with the right stuff,” with a solid 6-figure to a 7-figure income right now, and going forward. Of course, a lot of people would rather have a good excuse than a good plan or have the “love” of their miserable, negative, complaining buddies than a big income and their jealousy. If that’s you, turn the page and forget I came around. But I’ll tell you: there is no legiti g mate excuse for not hav-

ing all the good prospects and clients coming to you right now, for you to have a $200,000 or $300,000 or $500,000+ income you want – and still work sane hours, have a real personal or family life, and be able to “enforce” your time off with your cell-phone off without the desperate fear of loss that comes with poor positioning and utterly unpredictable income and a sense of a “bad market.” Listen, aren’t you SICK AND TIRED of the worry and anxiety of income uncertainty? Of defending your careerr to spouse or family or relatives at holidays – and to yourself? Of believing others are making more, easier, and wondering what’s wrong with you? Of being stuck at a level you can’t rise above? Of feast ‘n celebration, then months of famine? Maybe worse: being “successful” but still feeling anxious about it, trapped by it, working much harder for it than you should have to? I literally re-invented real estate once, and made myself a multi-millionaire agent by doing so. Now I’m doing it again. And the new video presentation I’ve posted for you at www.BecomeAMillionaire Agent.com m - available anytime within the next 30 days (then gone) – tells you my “back story” but more importantly, tells you how I’m reinventing the real estate business….. basically putting my very, very, very proven system on steroids, and tells you how you can be a part of

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it. You may even get that fake $10,000.00 cheque at the top of this ad replaced with a real one, from me, as a “bonus”, on top of the $10,000.00+ increase in your monthly income I create for you. This video reveals the three – just three – simple actions you must take, to separate yourself from the confused, whining, suffering crowd of agents AND from the normal ills and evils of being an agent, so that, bluntly, as they starve out, you prosper. I’m sure you’ll be tempted to ignore this. That’s your prerogative. But cynicism can only lead to resignation. Here is the dictionary definition of a ‘cynic’: cynic y

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happen or whether it is worthwhile : E.g.: the cynics were silenced when the ‘crazy’ invention actually worked. E.g.: they all laughed when I sat down at the piano – until I started to play! First, as hard as it may be to believe when a stranger shows up at your door like this, I really DON’T need your money, I’m NOT out to get you, and unlike some charlatans I expose, I am NOT peddling the newest, shiniest, social media-est promises that sound so magnificent in a seminar room but evaporate into dust in the real world. You have nothing to fear from me. And I’ll give you overwhelming proof that you can trust me as a truth-teller in a land of gypsies, tramps and thieves. Second, I am actually doing what I’m doing for reasons other than / in addition to making more money. Even Buffett, newly entered as a “brand name” into our world, won’t work for free and neither will I. But I am out to prove something publicly, from which you might well benefit greatly (and that I’ll even guarantee your

benefit from), and I am also motivated by a sincere empathy for the honest, hard-working, successoriented agent and a desire to help such a person. I am honestly appalled by the ways in which the “hot guru-coaches” are misleading and confusing agents, even dooming agents, themselves cynics, and I want to create a “truth and sense zone”. Simply, I am out to create 1,000 New Millionaire Agents within the next 36 months and document their rising up by the same “good sense” system. You can find out all about it by watching the free video. Your “ticket” is www.BecomeAMillionaire m and you have Agent.com 30 days to do it. It’s about 15 minutes long, so go to it when you are in a private place and have arranged to watch the whole thing (if it holds your interest). Or you can turn the page. The first choice has possibilities. The second does not. Go to www.BecomeAMillionaireAgent.com

today.

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22 REM OCTOBER 2015

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

By Chris Seepe

anada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) states that a person who spends more than 30 per cent of their income on shelter can’t sustain their residence. CMHC put 26.4 per cent of Canada’s renters and 6.5 per cent of homeowners in that category in 2011. Costs are rising by nearly five per cent a year; wages by 0.6 to three per cent. A May 2013 Globe & Mail article, The Rental Housing Shortage is now a National Disaster, stated that 42 per cent of adults between 20 and 29 are living with their parents, up 10 per cent from the early 1990s. There were 156,358 people waiting for affordable housing in Ontario. Vancouver seniors on $1,200 monthly pensions are trying to afford that city’s average one-bedroom rent of $982. A May 2015 Financial Post article cited a 2015 report from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). “The long, steady decline in federal subsidies for social housing has left … municipalities struggling against market forces that are making it … difficult for low- and modest-income renters. With 850,000 lower-rent units lost in the last decade, our rental sector is ill-prepared for any downturn in the housing market.” Twenty per cent of renters pay more than 50 per cent of their income on housing. Only 11 per cent of housing starts since 1996 have been rental unit builds. FCM’s subtle but slippery operative phrase to place blame on “market forces” is misdirection. The government created and continues to perpetuate this crisis. The opening sentence of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) June 2015 report, Removing Barriers to New Rental Housing in Ontario,

states, “…it’s been hard to find affordable housing in the past; it is hard to find it now; and it looks to be even harder in the future. There is little new affordable housing being built; current stock is in need of major renovation; and finances are of heightened concern for all parties.” This is true for most of Canada. The report outlined seven actions government could take today to address the housing crisis including introducing housing agreements to create new homes, reducing costly development charges, preserving the 1991 rentincrease exemption, eliminating expensive municipal licensing schemes and creating a portable housing allowance initiative. However, the report failed to address several critical issues – all government-driven – that led to the housing crisis. The Recoverable Capital Cost Allowance and Capital Gains Tax are huge disincentives for aging owners to sell their rental properties to new operators that statistically spend the most on upgrades and repairs. While a great vote-winning tactic among the large tenant electorate, the 2.5 per cent annual rent increase cap in Ontario exacerbates existing property neglect, lowers tenants’ quality of life and discourages industry investment. What other industry or business in Canada (or the world) prevents operators from passing on true operating costs to their customers? Electricity costs alone increased about 65 per cent in the past five years. Tenants can have their disputes addressed within 24 hours using free government services but landlords must suffer brutal and costly landlord-tenant board (LTB) processes for four to 12 months, with little recourse to recover their often substantial lost rental income after a hard-won judgement. Sixtyseven per cent of all LTB applications are to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent. The Ontario Residential Tenancies Act comprises 34 of 43 provisions that uniquely benefit tenants. No provisions – zero – uniquely benefit landlords, not even the right to collect rent. But vote-soliciting politicians are pro-

tected from being escorted off private property. Rental housing typically has disproportionately higher property taxes, which tenants ultimately pay when the unit becomes vacant. Rent control is the government’s answer to preventing the real world “market forces” from correcting the housing shortage that the government created. The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics states, “Economists are virtually unanimous … that rent controls are destructive.” It cites a 1990 American Economic Review poll of 464 economists: 93 per cent of U.S. respondents agreed that, “A ceiling on rents reduces the quantity and quality of housing available.” Another study reported that over 95 per cent of Canadian economists polled also agreed. Nobel laureate Gunnar Myrdal, a “leftist” architect of the Swedish Labor Party’s welfare state said, “Rent control … may be the worst example of poor planning by governments lacking courage and vision.” His fellow “rightist” Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck asserted, “… rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city – except for bombing.” No other industry in Canada is more constrained by short-sighted government interference than rental housing. Every other type of real property has been built in abundance – condominiums, office towers, hotels, warehouses, retail – many with notable vacancy rates. Until these huge disincentives are re-evaluated and new incentives are developed, government will continue to resort to building a massive bureaucratic subsidized housing organization to inefficiently undertake with a large chunk of the public purse what thousands of available private sector experts could accomplish for a fraction of the cost in a fraction of the time. Chris Seepe is a commercial real estate broker and broker of record at Aztech Realty in Toronto, specializing in income-generating and multi-residential investment properties, retail plazas, science and technology related specialty uses and tenant mandates. (416) 525-1558 Email cseepe@aztechrealty.com; website: REM www.aztechrealty.com.

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24 REM OCTOBER 2015

STOP SELLING HOUSES & START MAKING MONEY

By Debbie Hanlon

f I were to ask you what a habit is, you would no doubt be able to give me a fairly good explanation. It would probably be along the lines of, “Something I do without thinking” or “Something I do automatically” and you would not be wrong. However, you would only be scratching the surface of what a habit really is. I didn’t think about habits a lot, let alone understand how they work, until quite recently. One of the salespeople I coach talked about all the bad habits she had developed during her career and how they were stopping her from being really successful. She wasn’t a failure by any means and had made decent money for years in the industry. Still, she felt she could do better. We all can. As her coach, I knew I had to help her

AS I SEE IT FROM MY DESK

Habit your way

A habit is not as simple as it seems and actually has three separate parts break those habits and make new ones if she was going to achieve the level of success she wanted. So off I went to explore the wonderful world of habits and what I learned was nothing short of amazing. A habit is not as simple as it seems and actually has three separate parts: the cue, the routine and the reward. To break this down, let’s look at one of the first habits we form as children, lacing our shoes. Today when we lace our shoes we don’t have to think about it. We don’t have to picture a rabbit going around a tree and down a hole or anything like that. No, we can think about what we’re going to say to our client to get that much-needed price reduction, or picture what we’ll have for lunch. The habit of lacing our shoes that we’ve formed frees our mind to deal with more important things. It wasn’t always that way. At one time a cue, I want to go outside, was followed by a routine, the rabbit goes around the tree and down the hole, which in turn was followed by a reward, I can now go outside. The reward could also have been a parent telling us what a big boy or girl we were for lacing them properly. After a while those three, repeated often enough,

People who make a habit of exercising more end up using their credit cards less. No one knows why but it happens. became the habit we all have today. Another habit that follows the same pattern is one that smokers know all too well. We have the cue, craving for a cigarette; the routine, lighting up; and the reward, the craving goes away. Exact same pattern with very different results. One is positive – I won’t trip over my laces – while the other negative – I now have more poison in my body. If you look at any habit you have formed in your life, good or bad, from brushing your teeth to checking your email the first thing when you wake up, and break it down, you’ll find those three components at work: cue, routine, reward. Another strange thing about

habits is that some seem to have a domino effect. One good habit can help you form other good habits and one bad habit can curse you to forming other bad habits. And here’s the real shocker. No matter what you’re doing there is a chance that it will become a habit without you even knowing it. If you reexamine your own life you’ll find a host of habits you’ve formed that you weren’t even aware were there. If you examine those habits even closer you’ll begin to see the habit tree with the other habits branching out from it. Ready to go one layer deeper? Some of the secondary habits on your habit tree don’t seem to have any connection to the original habit. For instance, studies have conclusively shown that people

who make a habit of exercising more end up using their credit cards less. No one knows why but it happens. So whatever habits you’re forming, they’re going to have impacts in other areas of your life. A habit you form today can impact a completely different area of your life, negatively or positively, in a month, a year or five years from now. It’s a scary thought and that’s why it’s important to understand habits. In my next column I’ll tell you about the bad real estate habits my student had formed and what we did to break them and make them over as great real estate habits. Check it out, you just might find it habit forming. Debbie Hanlon is a real estate broker who has helped train hundreds of sales reps and brokered and managed a national real estate franchise. She also founded an independent real estate firm. Currently she coaches sales reps all over the world. She is the CEO of All Knight Inc, a global educational mobile company, as well as a published children’s author and the creator of the national I’m No Bully Show. https://www.facebook.com/missdebREM bieandfriends

Can we clean up our act? Sloppiness and apathy are what get us in trouble

By Stan Albert

uring the last four decades I have observed, with some chagrin, an increase in complaints about agents who are not exercising their due diligence and who are exhibiting a lack of professionalism. Every Monday, it seems, many of us in management get a call or email outing an agent for a flagrant breach on an offer pre-

sentation or for failing to respond to a fellow agents’ inquiry. Our registrar has seen complaints mount every year. Many complaints are about non-compliance with regulations. The real estate board here in Toronto has seen many more complaints from the public and fellow agents. I have long lobbied for our disciplinary body to institute a mandatory ethics update course every two years, and it finally arrived in Ontario this summer. However, since then I have been mystified at how many issues we still have to handle on a weekly basis. Is it because some agents out there just don’t give a damn? I wonder how many agents were

truthful when they took the online update. Sure, some of us make the occasional error or blunder, but there are reports of continuous ethical breaches. Often when I ask agents who did this or that, the answer I get is, “Oh, I don’t have the time to lodge a complaint” or “I don’t want to get him in trouble...” Good grief! Then how do they expect to help us clean up this growing number of miscreants? Many more great agents abide by proper practices and unfortunately get painted with a broad brush of negativity about our profession. Getting back to why some blunders occur, I think it’s because we don’t say, “Wait a minute” enough.

The rush to complete listings and agreements of purchase and sale often results in downright sloppiness. Ask, have I checked the details of the listing? For example, is there a locker included? Or, is the hot water heater leased or rented? Or, one of the most common errors: Is that roof really new? (“It’s two years new!”) Here are some hard and fast rules to avoid potential breaches or errors. Review the document. Check it more than once – then check it again. If you are not positive about something in it, call one of your brokers or managers. Think it over before you commit your-

self and your brokerage. Be respectful of all who are involved with your dealings. Don’t make up any of your own clauses that haven’t been approved. The same goes for any documents that may put you into conflict with provincial or federal guidelines, such as a valid Power Of Attorney. Until I see you in REM next month, if I remember the deadline from my editor Jim, you can now reach me at Stan@Remax-premier.ca or stanalb@rogers.com. Stan Albert, ABR, ASA is a consultant with Re/Max Premier in Vaughan, Ont. Stan is now celebrating his 45th year as an active real estate professional. REM

26 REM OCTOBER 2015

Listings cause unintentional giggles The fourth instalment of Peggy Blair’s Real Estate Bloopers column

By Peggy Blair

e’ve all done it. Typed the wrong numbers into the wrong space on the listing, hit “send,” and then realized we screwed up. But sometimes we miss the obvious mistakes. Like this Ottawa listing where the good news is that property taxes will be coming down. The bad news is it’s going to take a while. “Taxes $2015/ 5304.” Then there are those typos that cause unintentional giggles. “Regina Realtor” was sent listing instructions that said “appointments are a must as a god has to be let outside.” Imagine the hail and brimstone if you didn’t comply with those directions. And I worry about letting cats out. Crikey. I saw a listing this week that

featured a “Bright kitchen with breakfast bar, espresso cabinetry and mosaic tile backslash.” Ouch. Catherine Swift of Royal LePage Team Realty in Stittsville ran across one that referred to “panty drawers in the kitchen.” Now there’s a multi-purpose space – you can store your undies and your linguini in one convenient drawer! She also mentioned seeing a listing that was “as cute as a bottom.” (I sure hope it wasn’t the same one. Those are pictures I can do without.) On the topic of clothing, here’s another one I saw this week: “This spacious open-concept home offers a legal granny suit.” Now my granny used to wear dresses and I never asked her if they were legal or not, but I honestly don’t think that’s much of a selling point, do you? (The listing for that same property, by the way, refers to it having “hen and chicken coupes” and a four-car garage. Phew! Now, whether those birds can actually

drive those sports coupes into the garage is a whole other matter, but those are pics I’d love to see.) Sometimes we mess up because of errant punctuation. Like this brand new Ottawa listing that includes a “finished loft-man cave!” Holy panties in a drawer, Batman, watch out – it’s Loft-Man! Then there’s this unintentional gem: “Plenty of guest parking; suitable for single family or shared accommodation.” Now a parking lot that can hold a couple of families is pretty impressive, although unless it’s covered parking, I think I’d rather put my guests up somewhere that has a roof. And maybe walls. Unless I don’t want them to come back, in which case the guest parking sounds perfect. Sometimes parking comes with other perks, as in this recent Ottawa listing: “Heated underground parking with a car wash bay, new dishwasher.” I love that you can wash your car as well as your pots and pans in the garage, but I’d prefer to have the dishwasher in the kitchen. Occasionally the problem is awkward wording: “Beach house right on water with full bath,

kitchen and dining area on river.” Hmm. Since I’m not much of a swimmer, I’d feel more comfortable if the house, and the main rooms, were on the ground. Sometimes Realtors choose a word that just slightly misses the mark. I ran across this listing for a home with a “Well-Sized Living Room.” I can’t help visualizing a little bucket on a rope and wondering where you’d put the TV. Rob Angus of Coldwell Banker Slegg Realty in Victoria saw a listing that advertised a “laundry shoot.” I guess that’s one way of dealing with the washing, but it seems a bit like overkill. Rob says you could hang your laundry on the line and blast away at it. Unless you had a “legal granny suit,” I suspect you’d need a permit. Occasionally it’s the phrasing that’s a little awkward, for example, in this Ottawa listing: “Watch the sun rise, forest or tennis every morning on the 20-foot balcony or 11-foot wall of windows.” Watching tennis on an 11-foot window would be almost as good as seeing it on a big screen TV, although I’d love to know how they got that forest to grow on the

balcony. I saw another listing recently where the agent was very precise in her salesperson remarks: “A fireplace is not in the home.” Hmm. I wonder why. Maybe the last agent who showed the property let it out. Along with the cats. And the god. And finally, I stumbled across this listing for an Ottawa home with an “open concept main living area with large bedroom and complimentary den/office.” Man, I would love to have a complimentary den, but then, wouldn’t we all? Me: “Do I look fat in this?” Den: “No, you look wonderful. That granny suit looks great. Love the hair.” Peggy Blair is a sales representative with Royal LePage Team Realty in Ottawa. A former lawyer, she is the award-winning author of the Inspector Ramirez series published by Penguin Canada and Simon and Schuster Canada as well as internationally. Her most recent book, Hungry Ghosts, is now in bookstores. If you come across any real estate bloopers that tickle your funny bone, be sure to send them to her peggyblair@royREM allepage.ca.

You ought to be blogging Proudly Announces the Appointment of:

JOHN S. GEHA Strategic Growth Geha will focus on franchise growth through mergers & acquisitions. He will directly support brokers at every stage, from succession & exit strategies, to recruiting, retention, & business planning. With 38 years of industry experience, Geha is known for building & implementing successful organizational plans. He spent 16 years with Realogy in high-level business development roles.

*Independently Owned and Operated. ®/™ trademarks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC used under license or authorized sub-license. © 2015 Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership ®™ Trademarks of AIR MILES International Trading B.V. Used under license by LoyaltyOne, Inc. and Century 21

By Ozzie Logozzo

he real estate profession shows no signs of waning in spite of the explosion of the Internet. However, constantly changing technology does impose new demands on those practitioners who value professionalism, survival and making money. Technology, like real estate, is all about people. To blog is to connect genuinely with people in our digital era. Blogging is a platform for communicating, chatting, and community building through the posting of articles wherein you journalize your interest, your personality and your brand. Blog from your computer. Blog from your tablet. Blog from your smartphone. It matters naught. Neither does knowing the intricacies of the blogging platform. You do not have to call the I.T. geek. You do not have to know every-

thing about C++ machine language. Displaying yourself and your expertise is basic and fundamental. Just blog, blog, blog. A blog-less Realtor can be a lonely, poor soul. If you shun the challenge of positioning yourself out there, then how do you set yourself apart from the competition in our techie planet? Become a blogger and defy Copernicus. Become the centre of your universe. It can have quite an effect on relationships and sales. Outside of an expenditure of time and effort, blogging is free. Perhaps that is why so many shy away from it. Don’t. As a business tool, blogging is a modern day Excalibur. One last caveat, courtesy of the poet Dylan Thomas: “Do not go gentle into that good night.” You must be authentic. You must be

transparent. You must be consistent. You must be present. Essentially, you must be professional. Failing that, you will remain nameless rather than become famous. Best yet, blogging is a prime tool for Realtors who want to dispel any notion that Obi-Wan Kenobi’s famous words can be applied to our profession: “a wretched hive of scum and villainy.” Excuse my Trekker faux pas but, “Blog well, and prosper.” Ozzie Logozzo is executive director of the Ontario Real Estate Association Real Estate College. He is a Fellow of the Real Estate Institute of Canada and was the 1993 recipient of OREA’s Education Merit Award and the 1997 recipient of Real Estate Educators Association’s prestigious Educator of the Year Award. REM

26 REM OCTOBER 2015

Listings cause unintentional giggles The fourth instalment of Peggy Blair’s Real Estate Bloopers column

By Peggy Blair

You ought to be blogging Proudly Announces the Appointment of:

JOHN S. GEHA

Senior Vice President, Strategic Growth Geha will focus on franchise growth through mergers & acquisitions. He will directly support brokers at every stage, from succession & exit strategies, to recruiting, retention, & business planning. With 38 years of industry experience, Geha is known for building & implementing successful organizational plans. He spent 16 years with Realogy in high-level business development roles.

By Ozzie Logozzo

28 REM OCTOBER 2015

Setting up systems for your business By Ken Goodfellow

hat makes a business successful? Is it the CEO? Customer service? A talented and/or motivated team? The answer is yes and no. While these factors are essential ingredients in the recipe for success, they are not the whole story. Without processes and systems in place, no business can be at the top of its game. What exactly do I mean by processes? Processes are the steps and actions needed to achieve a goal. Processes are essentially the playbook of how your business operates and encompasses progress, actions and methods. Industry leading companies have developed and implemented

processes for every aspect of their business. These processes are reinforced with each team member until they become a habit. When processes are in place and adhered to, your business will run more smoothly and efficiently, increasing productivity and profitability and at the same time setting you apart from your competition. When it comes to capturing online leads for conversion, without solid processes and systems in place, your conversion rate will be low and many good prospects will fall through the cracks or end up doing business with your competitor. When a step-by-step process is developed and applied to every online lead, you will see a dramatic improvement in your lead conversion rate. Before setting up your online lead conversion process, consider the following: • What form do you have to capture the lead with contact info? • What’s the auto reply message the user will get? • How long will it take to get a

message received? • Who’s assigned the lead in the business? • Do you have a business development specialist or team? • Will the lead be set up on a drip campaign? • When would a virtual assistant or sales agent call the lead to qualify them? It is important to recognize that instituting new processes will bring about change that is likely to involve many departments or team members. Not every one likes change and most organizations can identify at least one maverick who balks at change or attempts to do things “their” way. These rogue employees need to be brought on side and must understand the importance of processes if they are to stay on your team. Every successful company is constantly changing and evolving, especially the top echelon businesses – that’s how they keep their competitive edge. Companies that reach the top

have an employee roster that embodies confidence and confidence equates to success. When each and every player knows exactly what processes should be used, how those processes work and the chain of command for performing their job, the entire business gets a boost and team morale skyrockets. A happy team is a productive team, and a productive team results in escalating profits and business success. You need to have processes for every aspect of your business, but I’ve listed a few of the key areas below. Recruitment: You need to be recruiting and conducting interviews on a regular basis to grow the team. Training: Every business big or small should be training every single week using a combination of formal and informal techniques. Part of that training should involve driving home processes. Advertising: Includes your Facebook and/or digital marketing strategy. It must have continuity.

Finance: Involves procurement as well as profitability. Referrals: Keeping in touch with your database and staying in touch with past clients. Process analysis: A periodic review of current processes looking for ways to improve them. Process control: As team leader you must make sure the processes are being followed correctly and continually. If setting up systems for your business seems a little too daunting, consider hiring an expert to design and create an implementation strategy for you. This way you get a second set of eyes on your business and proven workable systems for a successful real estate team. Ken Goodfellow is one of the top real estate coaches in North America for agents, brokers and teams. He is well-known for taking high-producing agents and real estate companies to the next level. www.goodfellowcoaching.com or email ken@goodfellowREM coaching.com.

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30 REM OCTOBER 2015

he played a major role in bringing a new era of leadership to FIABCI and redefining its mission,” says England. “My activities were to provide liaison and administrative support in English, Spanish and Portuguese at the regional level.” ■ ■ ■

téphane Bisson has been named president of the Board of Directors at The Chambre immobilière de l’Outaouais for 2015-16. Bisson is a chartered real estate broker and holds the titles of DA and FRI as well as an MBA from the University of Ottawa. He has 27 years of experience in real estate brokerage. Since 1997, he has been owner and CEO of the Olivex Real Estate Agency, which became Keller Williams Distinction Agency in 2014. ■ ■ ■

Canadians Calvin Lindberg and Jerry England have been recognized by FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation, for their significant contribution to the Americas Region since May 2012.

Lindberg was first elected regional vice president, then as president for two further terms. England was initially appointed and subsequently elected as regional secretary general during that time. Both have extensive experience in Canadian organized real estate. Lindberg is a past president of CREA and the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board and most recently served as a director on the International Board of Directors of FIABCI. England was a two-term president of Toronto Real Estate Board and also served as a director of CREA and the Ontario Real Estate Association. He became secretary general of the Canadian Chapter in 2004. “Calvin’s involvement extended beyond the Americas Region as

During the summer months, members of the Toronto Real Estate Board celebrated the communities they serve by supporting various festivals throughout the Greater Toronto Area. TREB was represented at Salsa on St. Clair, the Caribbean Carnival Grand Parade and Festival of South Asia. These events featured the tastes of exotic cuisines and highlighted art, costume and culture, while providing entertainment for everyone. At each event, the TREB booth offered free giveaways.

The Cornwall and District Real Estate Board (CDREB) recently presented $10,000 to the local chapter of the Heart & Stroke Foundation. The board raised $5,000 at its annual golf tournament and Scotiabank chipped in a donation to match. From left: Lynn White, CDREB Golf Committee member; Cindy Rowe, Heart & Stroke Foundation area manager; Joanne Ouellette, Scotiabank home financing advisor; Robert Juhasz, CDREB Golf Committee chair; and Dani Tedesco-Derouchie, CDREB assistant EO.

■ ■ ■

The Manitoba Real Estate Association’s annual golf tournament in Winnipeg recently raised funds to benefit people who need safe shelter. CREA past president Laura Leyser hosted the Brian Collie Memorial Shelter Challenge at one of the holes. Her plan raised

The Chambre immobilière de l’Outaouais Board of Directors for 2015-16. Front row, from left: Rachel Viau, director; Stéphane Bisson, president; Louis Sabourin, vice president; and Gilles Séguin, director. Back row: Zohra Soufiani, director; Guy Huneault, treasurer; François Vincent, director; and Chantal Legault, secretary and general director.

Stéphane Bisson Backpacks and school supplies were delivered to Jerry England, left, and Calvin Lindberg the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kawartha Lakes just in time for back to school. Realtors from the Kawartha Lakes Real Estate Association spent the month collecting items for local children to prepare them for a brand new school year.

Lorne Weiss and Laura Leyser hosted the Brian Collie Memorial Shelter Challenge at the MREA annual golf tournament. TREB members supported several festivals in the GTA during the summer.

TREB was a sponsor at the Caribbean Carnival Grand Parade.

From left: Ramsey Hart, The Table Community Food Centre; Jeffrey Weir, Royal LePage Advantage Real Estate; Bonnie Pidgeon, Food For All Food Bank; Brandy MacGregor, HomeLife DLK Real Estate; Elaine Farley, Athens Food Bank; Alex McLeod, HomeLife/ DLK Real Estate; Kathy MacDonald, Mincom Island City Realty; Tanya Edmunds, Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty; Joanne Sytsma, Operation Harvest Sharing; Ron David, Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty; and Christianne Newton, Rideau-St. Lawrence Real Estate Board. Absent: Christine Cloutier-Glenn, Smiths Falls Community Food Bank and Connie McNamee, Royal LePage Advantage Real Estate.

REM OCTOBER 2015 31

$3,830 with draw prizes including a luxury outdoor grill and a Bose stereo unit. In April, MREA’s former CEO Brian M. Collie died suddenly. As a show of respect for his life and recognizing his commitment to giving to the less fortunate, MREA president Roberta Weiss announced that the popular golf tournament would be renamed in Collie’s honour, in perpetuity. MREA past president Dan Wachniak demonstrated his professional auctioning skills and drove up the bids to $500 for a free lunch with Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman. Bowman appeared as a giant standing cutout display of himself, which was a hit for everyone who lined up to be photographed with the popular mayor. The tournament raised more than $21,000 for the Manitoba Real Estate Association Shelter Foundation. I I I

The Vancouver Real Estate Board (VIREB) has launched a website with the goals of increasing citizen engagement and improving voter turnout for this year’s federal election. No Vote, No Voice is a free non-partisan “virtual podium” for electoral candidates running in the four ridings in the VIREB area: North Island-Powell River, Courtenay-Alberni, NanaimoLadysmith and CowichanMalahat-Langford. Voters can obtain details on a particular candidate at www.novotenovoice.ca. “As Canadian citizens, we enjoy the right to vote, a privilege that individuals in many other countries can only envy,” says VIREB president Jason Finlayson. “However, voter turnout in B.C. has traditionally been low. We believe No Vote, No Voice will encourage more Vancouver Island residents to participate in the democratic process by providing candidate information on one online portal.” Offered during British Columbia’s 2013 provincial election and 2014 municipal elections, the site gives candidates an opportunity to tell their story to voters. The site includes an interactive map with the various ridings to ensure people can find their local candidates quickly. “By providing this level of 24/7 exposure, we offer voters a powerful resource to help them make

informed choices on Election Day,” says Finlayson. All candidates running in the VIREB area have been invited to participate. I I I

The Rideau-St. Lawrence Real Estate Board’s Annual Charity Golf Tournament has raised more than $35,000 for local food banks in recent years. The most recent tournament raised $6,485. It was attended by 80 golfers. Cheques were presented on behalf of the board’s 170 members to five local area food banks: Smiths Falls Community Food Bank, The Table Community Food Centre (Perth), Athens Food Bank, Food for All Food Bank (Prescott) and Operation Harvest Sharing (Brockville). I I I

Dr. Allan Ronald is this year’s WinnipegRealtors Citizens Hall of Fame inductee. He joins an illustrious group of 41 other individuals inducted since the program’s inception in 1987. Ronald was honoured for his years of dedication to medical science through his teaching, research and administration and his choice to specialize in microbiology and infectious diseases. “One real delightful development which must give Dr. Ronald so much satisfaction, is the recent success Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory has had with its work on the Ebola vaccine,” says Rick Preston, chair of the Citizens Hall of Fame program. “His earlier and seminal work internationally treating HIV/AIDS in Africa played a part in bringing the infectious disease laboratory to Winnipeg. And now Africa, a continent where Dr. Ronald committed many years of time and research to manage and control infectious diseases, is the epicentre of another deadly disease and Winnipeg is garnering international attention for efforts to help prevent its spread.” Established in 1986 by WinnipegRealtors, the Citizens Hall of Fame is a unique program honouring citizens who brought recognition to Winnipeg or have made outstanding contributions to the city’s quality of life. Each inductee has a likeness sculpted and prominently displayed at the Citizens Hall of Fame site in Assiniboine Park. REM

32 REM OCTOBER 2015

Good Works

owntown Soccer Toronto (DST) is Toronto’s first official LGBTQA+ recreational soccer league. Players enjoy the fitness and social benefits of playing soccer knowing they are in a safe, inclusive environment. Kelly MacKendrick, a sales rep with Sutton Group - Heritage Realty in Markham, Ont. is a team sponsor. Her donation pays for the team’s expenses for the year including their sweaters, which they donate at the end of the season to people in need. MacKendrick has long been active in her community, especially supporting the interests of her three active sons. “When my three boys went off to university, the volunteering slowed down so when my oldest son joined Downtown Soccer Toronto, an LGBTQA+ league, I jumped at the opportunity to sponsor his team with approximately $900 annually. It’s great to watch the games in Withrow Park, Toronto and support the players. It is also rewarding to meet new people. I never know if they will become a new friend, a client or both.”

LGBTQA+ is an acronym that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, asexual or ally and others.

“We’re here because we know that cancer is too big a disease to ignore and like many of you we have seen what it can do to those close to us. With so many friends and family around us, it is all too easy to forget that this disease does not discriminate or let you decide who it afflicts,” says David Peerless, president of Dexter Associates Realty. “In seven years we have raised over

$300,000, and we want to add to that total this year.” ■ ■ ■

Brokers/owners from across Canada converged on Campbell River, B.C. in August to participate in the second annual Royal LePage Fishing for Shelter Derby. Jim Morris, manager, Western Canada for the company says more than $4,000 was raised in support

The Dexter Realty Associates team, from left: Marty Pospischil, Kevin Skipworth, Marcus Maia, Su-Marie Baird, Michael Langdon, Tyler Peerless, Connie McGinley, Margo Peerless and David Peerless. Absent when the photo was taken: Scott Evans, Stephen Jackman, Adam Pospischil, Simmy Sandhu and Alex Operacz.

■ ■ ■

The August Family Foundation recently raised more than $70,000 for the Central Okanagan Hospice Association in honour of the late Gary August, founding partner of Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty in Kelowna, B.C., who passed away last year following a battle with brain cancer. August’s family was touched with the outstanding care the hospice provided during his last days and arranged the fundraiser and auction to show their thanks by giving back.

Kelly MacKendrick

■ ■ ■

A team from Dexter Associates Realty in Vancouver recently took part in The Ride to Conquer Cancer presented by Silver Wheaton benefiting the B.C. Cancer Foundation. The brokerage has taken part in the event for seven years. They cycled more than 240 km from Vancouver to Seattle during the two-day ride.

Fishing in support of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation are from left: Steve Grant, Gregg Hart, Paola Stewart, Debbie Morris, Gary Gray, John Byers, Mike Duggleby, Rick Siweck, Alan Stewart, Jim Morris, Claudette and Tom Edenoste and Randy Ryalls. Absent: Michael Trites, Gerry Storoschuk, Dale Panteluk, Bryan Watkins and Ron Pheifer.

The August Family Foundation raised funds in honour of the late Gary August.

Sales reps test their mettle on trek Royal LePage group raises more than $480,000 for shelter foundation on journey to Machu Picchu

t started more than a year ago with a call for participants and ended in late August at the historic lost city of the Incas, Machu Picchu. Tears of joy and exhaustion combined with laughter, hugs and high fives at the end of eight days of a physically and emotionally demanding endeavour that brought 60 Royal LePage agents, staff and family members from across Canada to take part in a Peruvian journey. “When the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation first introduced this unique fundraising initiative, the response was immediate and overwhelming,” says Shanan

of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. “We had 18 Royal LePagers attend this year’s broker retreat and fishing derby and managed to catch an incredible amount of salmon while raising funds for this very important cause,” says Morris. “We are already looking forward to next year’s event at Painter’s Lodge, which will take place Aug. 18-20, 2016.” REM

Spencer-Brown, executive director of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. “Royal LePagers from across Canada took on the challenge of raising $5,000 each to support local women’s shelters along with preparing for the physical demands of hiking long days at high altitude.” Along the way, each group of approximately 20 trekkers learned as much about themselves as they did each other, while enduring headaches and nausea from the extreme elevation, cold nights shivering in tents and grueling days of climbing through the mountains of

the Lares Valley and along the famed Inca Trail. “Most of us were surprised by how truly challenging the trek was,” says Spencer-Brown. “Many of us required the help of our group doctor, who traveled with us to provide oxygen, medications and first aid.” Many participants raised much more than the minimum fundraising required. The top individual fundraiser, Loretta Phinney from Mississauga, raised more than $40,000. The top team fundraisers, David Halls and his spouse RobinLee Norris from Guelph, raised more than $32,000. Many others

this experience so unique.” For information on the participants who took part in the Machu Picchu Challenge for Shelter, or to make a donation, visit https://royallepage.myetap.org/fundraiser/mac hupicchu/ REM

set a goal of raising double the minimum amount, reaching $10,000 or more before departing for Peru. Along with the beauty of the landscape and the aweinspiring scenes of Machu Picchu, spending time with her fellow trekkers was another highlight for Spencer-Brown. “We came together as strangers, we left as family. The power of supporting one another through the more difficult moments The trek raised more than $480,000 for and celebrating our collective the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. achievements is what made (Photo: Cory Permack)

REM OCTOBER 2015 33

Network built for Canadian commercial market A

n online real estate destination for commercial buyers, sellers and investors, CommNet organizes the commercial real estate agent’s business and saves them time by offering everything they need under one virtual roof, the company says. “CommNet was built specifically around the idiosyncrasies of the Canadian real estate marketplace. Together with our proprietary database of commercial properties, we have integrated the latest MLS technologies,” says president Sam Kamoutsis. “These technologies simplify the experience.”

The network connects all of the industries involved in buying, selling, leasing and investing in commercial real estate. MLS listings are integrated seamlessly with thousands of commercial properties, business opportunities and lease vacancies from all sources, including property managers, builders, developers and property owners. The network connects all of the industries involved in buying, selling, leasing and investing in commercial real estate. “It is a unique system that will change the way commercial Realtors do business,” says Kamoutsis, who has been in the commercial real estate market since 2005 and has extensive technical background. He says CommNet helps Realtors build a professional and permanent online presence. It’s the only Canadian commercial real estate destination that integrates a number of online systems

to deliver the best destination for commercial real estate, he says. “We promote commercial sales and leasing listings from all sources and companies. Each property is displayed both in the search engine area as well as on the member’s profile page.” Information is provided free to visitors. Leads generated go to the owner of the listing. The site currently has 7,000 to 10,000 public searches per month but hits are expected to reach 40,000 plus as the service expands to the United States. Having everything in one place saves agents time they would otherwise spend searching individual sites for elusive exclusive listings, Kamoutsis says. The ability to create professional profiles is another layer of service, offering a place where agents can build their own page with listings, reviews, testimonials and even their own blog spot. Having a professional profile is

It’s also ideal for residential agents who may occasionally do a small commercial deal. important to agents who deal only with commercial properties, but it’s also ideal for residential agents who may occasionally do a small commercial deal, he says. “Thirty to 40 per cent of Realtors do commercial deals, such as a small lease,” he says. Having a separate commercial profile helps these agents look more professional to those in the commercial market. The property management section lets you manage your listings online. “Links on our search results are targeted to a specific property listing and visitors to

your website will have access to view or search for available space options in your buildings,” Kamoutsis says. CommNet offers a network so Realtors can communicate with Realtors away from forums and hidden from public view. It also has marketing materials, advertising, IT support and discounts for products and services. The company recently introduced a training site that “gives commercial real estate agents everything they need to know,” he says. In Canada, CommNet is an approved CREA DDF third-party

destination, delivering leads automatically to commercial Realtors across the country. Introduced in September 2014, but revamped this May following CREA’s approval, CommNet now has more than 325 members and 5,700 properties on its website. “We have local representation in the eastern provinces, Quebec and Calgary, as well as an office in Detroit and one opening at the end of September in New York. We’re able to integrate any MLS system in North America,” Kamoutsis says. The cost, on a membership basis, is $49 per month for individuals and $69 per month for companies. You pay only once for unlimited properties and leads and there are no hidden charges, he says. “CommNet integrates all of the systems commercial Realtors need to maximize online exposure and deliver commercial buyers and sellers.” – Connie Adair

A first for Royal LePage Commercial We are thrilled to announce the openin ng of Royal LePage APM Commercial in Prince Edward Isla and d, th he first Commercial-only brokerage in our growing network. APM Commercial eclipses all other comm merci ca all offffer erin ngs gs on Prince Edward Island with more loc cal expe perien rien ence ce and ce and d expertise in commercial and multi-resid den ntia al pr prop perty than any of its competitors within the regio io on. We’re pleased to welcome Tim Banks and nd d hiss tte eam ea to the Royal LePage Commercial familly! Trusted everywhere in Canada. Join Royal LePage Commercial. royallepagecommercial.com/joinus This is not intended as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, including a solicitation of any sales representatives or broker that is currently under contract. All ofﬁces are independently owned and operated, except those marked as “Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage”, “Royal LePage West Real Estate Services” and “Royal LePage Sussex”. Any copying, reproduction, distribution or other use of these materials is prohibited. ©2015 Brookﬁeld Real Estate Services Manager Limited. All rights reserved.

REM

34 REM OCTOBER 2015

Electronic signatures gaining acceptance

Ontario recently became the sixth Canadian province to allow e-signatures for real estate transactions. By Neil Sharma A built-in feature for all these products is an audit trail. As soon as sales agents or customers log in, everything they do – whether providing signatures, initials or simply changing pages – is time stamped right down to the second. Their IP addresses are also recorded. Everything is meticulously recorded, should a transaction become subject to litigation.

lectronic signatures, already sweeping through a myriad of other industries, became legally binding in Ontario real estate transactions on July 1, despite the province’s initial trepidation. Ontario joins Québec, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island as provinces that allow e-signatures in real estate transactions. The amendment to the Electronic Commerce Act originally was expected to occur under Dalton McGuinty’s government, but his resignation and the election tabled the motion. An unusually long subsequent review by the Law Society of Upper Canada caused further delay. Many brokerages throughout the province have already trained their sales agents in software and protocol in preparation for the ECA revision. “We’ve seen it being used in other provinces; it’s been used in the U.S. for a while and in Europe,” says Gurinder Sandhu, executive vice president of Re/ Max Integra in Mississauga, Ont. “Online transactions have been around for years now and security levels have given peace of mind to consumers, and this is just

another step in that direction. It just seemed inevitable that buyers and sellers wanted flexibility with the Internet.” Concerns over security have been allayed. Sandhu says e-signature companies adopt the same impervious security measures that banks use for their online services, rendering hacking wellnigh impossible. “When (online) banking was new, it was hard for people to comprehend, not knowing what kind of security there was,” he says. “We’ve gotten over that and we’re looking at companies endorsed by industries like CREA, and they operate with the same level of security as banks. At the end of the day, it’s encryption of signatures. It will help eliminate forgery and tampering. It also improves legibility of actual offers. When offers are faxed back and forth a number of times, legibility diminishes drastically.” Re/Max Integra uses DocuSign, a San Francisco and Seattle-based company, and one of the first two e-signature companies chosen by CREA (the other was Instanet). “We’ve made tremendous inroads, but it has taken time to get people accustomed to whether or not they can sign electronically,” says Glenn Shimkus, vice

president of product for global real estate at DocuSign. “Now you hear about how they just can’t imagine running across town to get a signature.” He says, “I’ve been following what’s happening in Ontario for a couple of years. At DocuSign, we have a bigger vision for transaction management to make sure we can help from when a listing is taken to the point where keys get turned over.” Toronto-based DealTap, another electronic signature company, consulted with Ontario’s provincial government on going digital. DealTap has benefitted from a 50 per cent boost in sales since July 1. “We played an educator role for key stakeholders on the benefits of going paperless and what the value is for all parties involved, especially for the consumer,” says Dusan Baic, head of marketing at DealTap. “It changed perceptions about security and legal issues that would arise from going digital.” Many electronic signatures companies are cloud-based. The first company to do it, and enhance security in the process, was Montreal-based Silanis. Its e-Sign Live software started with Amazon Cloud but has since partnered with IBM Cloud.

“One of the biggest issues when it comes to security and reliability is nobody will deny they were involved in a transaction,” says Michael Laurie, vice president of product strategy at e-Sign Live. “They might claim the documents are not what they originally thought or they have concerns that documents have been modified. So, by recording the entire process, there’s proof. “In addition to Autotrail, digitally signed PDF documents are at the end of the process. When finished signing, we apply a digital signature to the documents for each electronic signature. Digital signature is a form of encryption – the most powerful encryption you can use – that ensures we can detect if anybody tries to modify PDFs after they’ve been signed. Security is engraved in the process from beginning to end,” Laurie says. Martin Scrocchi, president and CEO of Instanet, says real estate agents stand to gain the most because of the time they’ll save completing transactions electronically. “If you look at Toronto, getting to Scarborough from the other side of the city to get a signature in an hour just won’t happen on a Friday afternoon,” he says. “Clients in Park City, Utah (a tourism hotspot where the Sundance Film Festival is held) don’t actually

live there; they live in England, the Emirates… everybody from everywhere else buys property there. Electronic signatures are especially helpful there. “It also facilitates the sale faster. The consumer gets the document signed faster and it frees up more time for the Realtor, allowing them to do what they really do and not push paper.” Scrocchi also says that in Toronto, where bidding wars are pervasive, time-stamped e-signatures could resolve disputed tenders. “If the last bid comes in at five o’clock, the deadline, and another one comes in five minutes later, the time stamp will let you know.” Electronic signatures are slowly creeping their way into Canadian real estate transactions, but their implementation is seemingly more pragmatic than necessary at this early juncture, says Tristan Pungartnik, a broker with Royal LePage Heritage in Montreal. “I’d say most brokers don’t make that their only way. They use it as an option for people who are limited by not having fax machines or are on vacation and not in town,” he says. “Another big reason is clients wouldn’t really know how to work it yet. It’s not so common, so for that reason it’s more of a backup plan now. Moving forward, I can definitely see it becoming the norm.” Michel Côté, a broker for Re/ Max Platine in Brossard, Que., has more than 20 years of experience in the industry. He doesn’t use e-signatures, but he says that’s going to change. “We have to adjust ourselves,” said Côté. “It’s the new technology and it’s much easier for the buyers and sellers, especially if they’re not locals. I’ve heard good feedback from clients, too.” REM

REM OCTOBER 2015 35

Prospects apps designed strictly for agents By Danny Kucharsky

hen Charles Drouin looked at the app landscape about five years ago, he noticed there was a problem when it came to the real estate industry: clients sometimes had more information than agents. “We said, ‘You know what, we need to make an app for the agents,’” says the president and CEO of Montreal-based Prospects Software. Consumers have access to a lot of information from apps like Realtor.ca and Zillow-Trulia in the U.S. Drouin says he thought, “Their goal is to serve the consumer. We need to make something that is not for consumers.” Enter Prospects Mobile in Canada and MLS Touch in the U.S., which launched in Montreal and Los Angeles in 2011. (The company can’t use MLS in Canada, where the term is trademarked by CREA.) “We serve the agents. That’s how we differentiate ourselves. Every feature we build is for an agent,” Drouin says of his 30employee company, which launched in 1999 with customer relationship management (CRM) software. The app provides agents with access to all active, sold and expired listings, and all the search criteria, market stats and sales comps – everything the consumer doesn’t have. He says the aim was to build an app that would offer as much as possible to agents and be indis-

Veteran EO Ross Godsoe Continued from page 8

1,700 members to about 2,850 but now it’s time to bring new blood into the organization and take it to the next level, he says. Godsoe opened his first brokerage in 1973 in Oakville, Ont. and expanded it into Mississauga and Barrie. The brokerage did both residential and commercial real estate. Godsoe wound it up when he started to work for the association in 2001. While running the brokerage, he spent 18 years volunteering at all three levels of organized real estate, including serving as president of the Mississauga Real

Prospects Mobile is now available to about 40,000 Canadian Realtors.

pensable while they’re out showing properties to clients. Agents can search active, sold and expired listings and sold comparables, plan tours for buyers, get live market stats and more. Prospects Mobile is now available to about 40,000 Realtors in Canada and is offered to them as a benefit by their boards. It’s being used throughout Quebec, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Winnipeg, Northern B.C., Okanagan Mainland and all boards that are with ListCentral, among other places. In the U.S. it’s being used by about 100,000 agents, with clients such as Navica, an MLS provider with 160 boards and 40,000 members, and boards in California, Staten Island, N.Y, Vail, Colo., and Austin and San Antonio in Texas. “We’re really a mobile MLS system,” says Drouin. “We can provide the same experience (agents) have on their computer

on a mobile device.” Boards that sign up with the company have their core MLS systems but those systems are not focused on mobile. “When we show it to boards, they’re really like, ‘This is what they need.’” “They have all the search criteria that they have in the MLS system that you don’t find usually on consumer websites.” As well, the app is synced to the MLS system every 10 to 15 minutes. He estimates about 70 per cent of users have the app on iPhone, 28 per cent on Android and two per cent on Blackberry. As of early September, the app had 219 reviews on the App Store, with 136 reviewers giving it five stars and 44 offering up four stars. Drouin says there are two features that “are killing it” on the current version, Prospects Mobile 2.0. One is called Instaview. When clients see a property for sale while they’re being shown listings and

Estate Board in 1986, president of the Ontario Real Estate Association in 1994 and president of CREA in 2000. He says this was rewarding: “Giving something back to an industry or profession that you actually support and you’re passionate about, I think is very good.” When Godsoe arrived at what is now the RAHB it was called the Metropolitan HamiltonBurlington Real Estate Board. The aim of the name change was to put members and Realtors first, something that was well-received by members. It was so wellreceived that a lot of associations across the country followed suit and replaced the word “board”

with the word “association” in their names. Godsoe also quickly took steps to replace the association’s MLS system with a new state-of-the-art system that was clearly superior. “We’ve made it a purpose here at the association to try to stay not only up to speed with technology but ahead of technology,” he says. Godsoe sees real estate becoming increasingly more challenging for Realtors, with regulatory issues far more prevalent than they were even five or 10 years ago. “In the ’70s or ’80s I had to go for a course for a week and I had my brokers’ license. That’s not the case anymore. The education requirements are far greater.”

Charles Drouin

say, “Oh, what about that one? You didn’t send us that one,” the agent can just point the device at the listing, click on Instaview and obtain the listing info. The other feature is comps or sales comps, which agents need when they go meet a client to list or are working with a buyer. From the settings, agents can define how the app will find comparables, whether that means going back six months or two years or All levels of organized real estate face major challenges in keeping up with rapid changes to technology. “At the end of the day, consumers are getting a lot more demanding for information and there are a lot more facilities out there from a technology perspective that will give them that information.” The newly retired Godsoe plans to spend time at his home on Florida’s West Coast, where he put his real estate savvy to use by buying when the market there was at a low following the 2008 recession. That’s where he plans to “raise the bar on my golf game” to get it back to where it once REM was.

finding properties priced within 20 per cent of the asking price. “You can define criteria and the app will find the comps you need and want.” Also added recently was a hot sheet feature that gives agents all the new listings, price reductions and sales in the previous five days. New features that are on the way will allow agents to plan showings on the phone and not just on a tablet, or to set up market reports and send them to clients with just one touch. Drouin says competitors, who are mainly in the U.S., “are all going towards the consumer and we’re sticking to our plan to focus on the agents.” He expects market share for the app to grow in Canada but says there will be more growth in numbers of users in the U.S., given the size of the market. In November, the company plans to launch Prospects 3.0, with a new user interface and added features, including integration of its CRM software that still provides the company with a large chunk of its business. “We get suggestions every day from members,” he says. “We’re building new features almost every REM week.”

36 REM OCTOBER 2015

App streamlines the rental process C

asalova, a real estate app that streamlines the rental process for tenants and landlords, will make life easier for real estate agents too, says the app’s developer. “Our plan is not to eliminate agents, but rather to make it easier for them to do their jobs,” says Casalova CEO and co-founder Ray Taaeb. The platform lets agents list and find rental properties, and speeds the process by letting users do everything from searches to paying rent online. Agents can help those who are unsure about neighbourhoods or the rental process, such as clients’ children who are entering the rental market for the first time. Casalova will also make it easier for agents to find suitable tenants for clients who bought an investment property but want to be passive landlords, Taaeb says. The idea for Casalova was born from Taaeb’s own bad rental experience. He and two roommates were moving to Toronto and needed a three-bedroom condo. It was a manual and lengthy process, with everything done on paper, he says. It was also inconvenient because

the three roommates all had to be available at the same time for meetings and to sign papers. Once they moved in, their problems weren’t over. The building was relatively new, so they were shocked to have to deal with broken elevators and garbage chutes, and a bad concierge, he says. “This is stuff residents know” and that would have been handy to know about before we rented, he says. “How is it that I can find 100 reviews of a sushi restaurant that I’ll be eating in for an hour but no reviews of a building that I’ll be living in for a year?” So Casalova recently rolled out a new feature that will allow residents and renters of buildings across the Greater Toronto Area to leave ratings and reviews. “The feature comes as a result of feedback from users and the general renting population, who have found themselves without a platform to voice and express their opinions and experiences about their living arrangements,” he says. “With the influx of horror stories from poorly built condos to questionable management practices, this feature is intended to weed out slumlords and reward builders who

are providing quality service while giving renters valuable decisionmaking information.” The user demographic is young professionals and couples aged 22 to 36 years. In Toronto, the average age for a first-time buyer is 37years-old because of high house prices, which means lots of young people are looking to rent. “There is also an increase in the renting culture, a more ‘access over ownership lifestyle’,” he says. “Access over ownership means this demographic uses things when they need them and are not interested in holding on to or hording them.” It explains the popularity of Uber and Airbnb. Casalova has listings for apartments, houses and rooms. Tenants can search for rentals, schedule viewings, make offers and pay rent all online using a single profile. It eliminates paper applications and also weeds out rental scams because Casalova verifies listings and landlords. Tenants are able to view the profile of the person listing the unit and view verifications and references to reduce the risk of scams. Landlords, property managers and agents can list their properties, handle all viewings, easily compare

By Connie Adair

Casalova founders Curtis Layne, left, and Ray Taaeb.

and accept tenant applications and collect rent into their bank account. Casalova recently integrated RentMoola into its platform. It is a rental payment processing company that lets tenants pay directly to their landlords or property managers using their credit or debit card. The platform is agent friendly, allowing listings to be promoted. They are attached to the agent’s profile and also show the agent’s other listings. There is no cost to sign up. Packages are available for $5 for three days to more extensive packages for $65. Credit checks can be

done for $20. Casalova was founded in September 2014 by Taaeb and CTO co-founder Curtis Layne. Taaeb, who has a background in business, accounting and finance, was formerly with KPMG’s private real estate practice. Layne was formerly a software engineer with Amazon. Taaeb and Layne recently filed an application for partnership with CREA. That would allow agents to submit listings from realtor.ca directly to Casalova. For more information, visit casalova.ca and click on the landlord page. REM

Leverage social media to generate leads By Riti Verma

igital growth and expanded access to the Internet has caused a huge shift in how marketing campaigns are planned and advertising dollars are spent. Instead of focusing on traditional channels, savvy agents are increasingly turning to digital marketing to build their reputations and manage their brands. Across all age brackets, 42 per cent of last year’s homebuyers reported starting their property search online, without professional assistance. Only 17 per cent (a number that shrinks further among young buyers) of those who took

action contacted a real estate professional from the outset of their search. The agents who are able to successfully create a high-tech, hightouch approach to their customer service are the ones who rise to the top of their game. Leveraging the power of social media, while maintaining personal relationships, is the key to building a strong professional brand that resonates with the next generation of real estate buyers. Key stats: • 88 per cent of consumers trust reviews as much as a personal recommendation. • Visitors who read reviews are 68 per cent more likely to convert to a sale. • Those who read reviews are 30 per cent more likely to take action. These stats demonstrate the power of social proof. Social proof

or informational social influence is a third-party validation that can be a useful tool when it comes to consumer decision-making. In the era of digital marketing, it is absolutely essential to leverage the power of social proof to turn reviews into revenue. How do you do that? By doing what social media does best: sharing! Promote your personal brand and user-generated reviews using your social media channels. Your website, eblasts, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many others are free platforms for you to share this valuable content. Here are five tips on how you can kick-start building social proof by using the power of online reviews: 1. Explain the importance of reviews. Many clients may not understand exactly how important

reviews are in today’s digital age. Make sure that you point out how their feedback is instrumental in helping others just like them make an informed decision about the real estate professional they decide to use. 2. Don’t try to influence their feedback. Trustworthiness and integrity are at the core of a successful review platform. Instead of trying to influence what your clients write about you, make sure you provide the top-notch service that would warrant great positive feedback in the first place. 3. Rely on quality service, not incentives. Avoid offering any kind of incentive in exchange for a positive review. It is acceptable, however, to offer a small token of your appreciation to anyone who leaves feedback for you regardless of what they write. 4. Send passive reminders. Feel

free to follow up with your clients after a successful transaction and ask them to leave feedback for you, but be aware that bombarding them with email or phone requests is likely to be counter-productive to establishing a great reputation. Instead, focus on passive methods of reminding clients to leave a review, such as posting links to your online profile across social media and through your newsletters or email signature. 5. Always acknowledge posted reviews. Make it a habit to acknowledge all reviews, regardless of whether they’re positive or negative. Riti Verma is founder and president of RankMyAgent.com, an online platform that connects real estate professionals and brokers to consumers by providing unprecedented customization of the real estate experience. REM

REM OCTOBER 2015 37

Portal consolidates every type of property for sale B

rokers/owners are suspicious, and you can’t blame them. They don’t want to get involved with systems that are affiliated with other brokerages or that want a piece of the commission pie. So when they hear about ListNet.ca, they’re pleasantly surprised, says VP and co-founder David Lloyd. ListNet.ca is a property marketplace portal that consolidates every type of property for sale, presale, rent or lease in Canada. It is unbiased, independent and is not affiliated with any media or real estate brand, Lloyd says. Its goal is to help salespeople find clients by offering them an exceptional online presence, while becoming a top resource for visitors searching for properties online, Lloyd says. MLS listings are automatically downloaded through CREA’s DDF feed. It’s free for an unlimited number of properties, Lloyd says. Listings are updated every 24 hours, direct from CREA for accuracy. Lloyd, a mortgage broker by trade, and CEO and co-founder Phil York came up with the idea in September 2013 after York’s niece

called wanting more information about rental apartments she had seen online. Lloyd and York wondered why there wasn’t a site that compiled such listings and decided to create one. It stared as rentals only but because Lloyd is a mortgage broker, including properties for sale made sense, he says. They also decided to include ICI properties. The next step was to eliminate the need to input properties multiple times. ListNet.ca is part of CREA’s DDF feed so everything is loaded automatically. “No one has to do any extra work,” Lloyd says. They launched ListNet.ca at RealtorQuest, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s annual trade show, in May 2015. “The first question brokers/owners asked is, ‘Is it a brokerage?’ We aren’t and never will be a brokerage, and we’re not selling leads,” Lloyd says. As soon as they heard that, they were on board. “We had about 900 conversations with brokers/owners and the feedback was positive, except for three people.” If an agent is on the listing, he/she is featured front and centre. When someone clicks for more

Trade Shows and Conferences To add a listing to this calendar, email jim@remonline.com CREA Canadian Commercial Conference Sept. 30 - Oct. 1 Delta Winnipeg, Winnipeg www.events.crea.ca

Durham Region Association of Realtors Realtor Connect Thursday, Oct. 15 Deer Creek Golf & Banquet Facility communications@DurhamRealEstate.org

Century 21 Canada Conference and Supplier Expo Oct. 5 - 6 Delta Prince Edward Charlottetown, PEI supplier.expo@century21.ca

Barrie & District Association of Realtors R.E.I.G.N. Event Thursday, Oct. 22 ANAF Club, Barrie bonnie@barrie.realtors.ca

Activate 2015 - Hosted by Re/Max of Western Canada Oct. 14 - 16 Victoria Conference Centre, Victoria mdepaul@remax.net

information, an email goes to the Realtor through Realtor Link. The only reference to ListNet is a tagline on the email. “We work with the industry, not against it,” says Lloyd. ListNet.ca has more than 20,000 listings and almost 5,000 Realtor profiles, Lloyd says. When users go to the site, they don’t have to search a city. Their IP address lets the system know where they are located, and automatically pops up an area map with homes in their area. Future plans are to have listing fees on rentals for anyone who is not a Realtor. Listing enhancements and ads for related services are also in the works. ListNet provides marketing (increased visibility of listings) and leads directly to Realtor Link for Realtors at no cost. No effort is required because listings are added and updated automatically. Profiles are managed with one account and one login. It’s free and it’s easy, so what’s not to like? The worst case scenario – agents get a lead for no effort, Lloyd REM says. – Connie Adair Realtors Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound Trade Show & AGM Tuesday, Oct. 27 Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre, Owen Sound ea@ragbos.com Re/Max Integra Re/Charge Agent Conference Wednesday, Oct. 28 Universal EventSpace, Vaughan, Ont. http://goo.gl/XOq9TS Ottawa Real Estate Board Trade Show Thursday, Oct. 29 Ottawa OREB.Admin@oreb.ca WinnipegRealtors Association Annual Technology Conference and Trade Show Thursday, Oct. 29 Victoria Inn, Winnipeg lhajkowski@winnipegrealtors.ca

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

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38 REM OCTOBER 2015

THE PUBLISHER’S PAGE

By Heino Molls

MARKETPLACE

f I had a nickel for every minute I have sat through meetings for work or with various community organizations, I swear I would be a millionaire. I am so wary of meetings now that when people ask me to come out, my first thought is to find a way to not attend. So here are a few thoughts for anyone who is thinking about holding a meeting at work or in their community. I hope it will be helpful and you do not read this as sour grapes from an old war horse

On meetings and Marty who has been to a lot of community meetings and business-related committee gatherings. To start with, you can’t meet with an overwhelming number of people. The ideal number of attendees is about six, and no more than eight. Once you get beyond that you have a recipe for pandemonium or boredom, depending on the dynamics of the people in attendance. As you add to the number of people in the room you are making it more difficult to accommodate everyone’s ideas and the opportunity to have full and thoughtful consideration to the contributions of everyone attending. More than 20 people at a meeting is not a meeting. You cannot have any meaningful back and forth discussion with those numbers. You can have a town hall gathering or a learning seminar

that can be very productive but that is a whole different thing and a rant for another day. A meeting with more than eight people needs a skilful chair to move it along. The success of a meeting depends almost entirely on the ability of a good facilitator and some good planning to keep it from bogging down. The greatest challenge is always the inevitable one or two individuals looking to hoard the time of the whole group. Even with a good chairperson, a few strong-minded people in attendance can easily reduce a productive meeting into long argument. Time is important, so setting out an agenda and making certain everyone receives it ahead of the meeting is critical. The chairperson has to clearly explain that the agenda must be followed and any discussion that wanders away from

Canada's Real Estate Answering Service Specialists

the topic will quickly be returned to the agenda item. Those coming to a meeting should know the agenda, they should be prepared to speak to those topics only and they should understand that they are not to digress. Speaking of time, it is critical to move a meeting along and that begins with telling everyone to arrive on time. I realize that a person can be delayed due to unexpected circumstances and I can understand that at a meeting of 12 people, maybe one person might be late but not more than that. If you have a meeting of 20 people and five or six people arrive late, I would take that as a sign of arrogance and disrespect for everyone who came to the meeting on time. Personally, I would say if you are late, you should wait outside for a break in the discussion or a stop for refreshments and then join the

meeting at that time instead of coming in at your convenience, disturbing everyone with your personal arrival. I I I

On a completely different topic, we have a big change at REM. We are going to be printing issues and running e-newsletters without the contributions of Marty Douglas. I know it sounds like I am in denial but I am hoping that Marty will be unable to stay away from pontificating to the real estate industry in Canada and that we may see at least some occasional columns from him in the future. His contribution has been powerful and thoughtprovoking to the point that it has caused conversations at sales meetings and directors’ tables right across Canada. Marty, you have an open invitation to come back to our pages any time. Heino Molls is publisher of REM. Email heino@remonline.com. REM

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