October 2016

Issue #328

October 2016

Rent-to-own offers new revenue source Page 3

Full house: Multi-generational housing Page 10

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Don Kottick wants the real estate

industry to ‘raise the bar’ Page 8

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Rent-to-own offers new revenue source By partnering with an RTO investment company or starting your own, you may gain access to a whole new segment of the population who wouldn’t normally be clients.

By Tony Palermo n simple terms, a rent-to-own (RTO) agreement is where a client agrees to rent the property from the owner for a specified period of time (usually three to five years) and then has the option to purchase the property at the end of the lease period, generally at an increased price, and as long as the specified contractual conditions are satisfied. The benefit to real estate professionals is that is by partnering with an RTO investment company (or starting your own) you may gain access to a whole new segment of the population who wouldn’t normally be clients.

Typically most rent-to-own investors allow the client to find their perfect house, within an agreed budget, and the real estate sales rep (who works in partnership with the investor) takes the RTO client around as they would any other client. Once the perfect

I

house is found and the terms negotiated and accepted, the investor purchases the property and then leases it back to the client for a specific term and with specific conditions, with the option that the client can purchase the property at the end of the term.

The agent earns commission as the buying agent on this initial transaction. Agents don’t typically get anything on the other end if the client purchases the house from the investor at the end of the lease period.

Brett Scheidl, a salesperson with Realty Executives Saskatoon, has been working with RTO clients for about two years. He says the RTO opportunity found him after an investor came across his business card and happened to be looking for an agent. Scheidl says he was somewhat hesitant when the investor first called.

“Rent-to-own can have a nega-

tive connotation to it, especially when you don’t really understand it,” says Scheidl. “But I knew the investor so I heard him out and liked what I heard.”

Scheidl says what he liked most was that the investor created a winning situation for all of the parties involved: the salesperson, the investor and the rent-to-own client, who Scheidl says was truly being set up to succeed to eventually own the home.

For the agent, Scheidl says it’s important to realize that RTO is just another revenue stream that has high and low periods like anything else. The biggest advantage, he says, is that it’s repeat business once you develop a relationship with the RTO investor or company.

Brendan Kelly, a broker with Re/Max Realty Enterprises in Mississauga, Ont. echoes Scheidl’s thoughts and says RTO is a great

way for an agent to make use of their real estate expertise to create another source of revenue.

Kelly, who also is a real estate investor, completed his first RTO deal after one of his long-time tenants was looking to own their own home. As he says, while it still required research, it was an easy first deal to complete because he knew the person.

Kelly is also partnered with an RTO investment company and represents them as their Realtor.

He agrees that not all companies are created equal and don’t always set the client up for success. He says there are essentially two types of RTO clients: those who don’t have enough of a down payment to purchase a house and those who have credit issues.

“Most of the people looking at RTO have credit issues, for whatever reason, and can’t get a mortgage,” says Kelly, adding that a rep-

utable investor will carefully screen and income-qualify the client to ensure they are a good candidate.

The goal is to set the client up for success so that, at the end of the term, they will be able to afford and qualify for a mortgage. This Continued on page 32

A.J. Hazzi

Advice from a rent-to-own expert Mark Loeffler is an expert on real estate and real estate investing. He’s a salesperson with Keller Williams Complete Realty, which serves the Hamilton and Greater Toronto Area, an experienced real estate investor who purchased his first investment property as a 19-year-old and who now has a portfolio of more than 50 properties.

He’s the author of Investing in Rent-to-Own Property: A Complete Guide for Canadian Real Estate Investors and Fix and Flip: The Canadian How-To Guide for Buying, Renovating and Selling Property for Fast Profit.

Loeffler says he was introduced to rent-to-own by another investor. It was a strategy he liked – so much so that it was one of the reasons he decided to become a Realtor.

“I was doing up to four rent-to-own deals a month and making anywhere from $4,000 to $5,000 a deal,” says Loeffler. “But the agent was making anywhere from $7,000 to $8,000 for each of my deals.”

Loeffler laughs, then adds, “Needless to say, a few months later I had my real estate licence.”

He agrees that not every rent-to-own investor has the client’s best interests in mind.

“Look, there are good people in the rent-to-own industry and there are bad ones, no different than Realtors or any other industry,” he says. “The difference is the rent-to-own industry isn’t regulated, and that’s a big difference.”

He says his book will help real estate professionals not only understand rent-to-own investing better, but will give them a solid understand-

ing of how to differentiate between which investors create win-win scenarios for both themselves and the rent-to-own client, and which ones don’t.

The client qualification process, he stresses, is key.

“Realtors should be asking the investor what their client qualification process is,” says Loeffler. “If they answer something like, ‘whoever has a big enough down payment wins’, that’s usually not a good prequalification. You want someone who literally takes the client through the mortgage application process and figures out what the client needs to do (to be able to qualify for a mortgage at the end of the lease term.)”

At the end of the day, he says, “it’s the be all and end all.”

He says a good rent-to-own client has good income but bad credit, for whatever reason. That leads to two more questions that agents should be asking a potential investor they’re considering working with: what sort of support they offer the client in terms of repairing their credit and if there is any accountability.

Loeffler says in all of his contracts, he builds flexibility and plans for contingencies to accommodate circumstances like whether the client wants to extend the lease or simply get out.

“Rent-to-own is a great investment strategy,” says Loeffler. “If a Realtor is working with a couple of people who are doing a few deals a month, it can be a profitable venture. You just want to make sure you’re doing it right and are working with the right people who have everyone’s best interests in mind.”

Mark Loeffler

Brendan Kelly

Brett Scheidl

4 REM OCTOBER 2016

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

C

entury 21 President Realty owners Gurcharan (Garry) Bhaura and Sukhwinder (Sukh) Bhaura have moved into their dream office: a state of the art, open concept location in Brampton, Ont. The brokerage has grown to more than 120 agents since 2009 and has placed in the top 30 Century 21 companies across Canada. It also ranks in the top three per cent of all real estate

offices in the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), the company says.

Bhaura is also on the Board of Directors of TREB, serving as a chair on the Finance Committee and a member of the Executive Committee. He is also a director of the Real Estate Institute of Canada’s Toronto Chapter and the founder, director and vice president of the Asian Real Estate Institute of Canada’s Toronto Chapter.

■ ■ ■

Engel & Völkers recently opened its newest shop in Bromont, Que., led by real estate professionals Luce Deslauriers and Alexandre Fortin. The shop will serve Bromont and surrounding neighbourhoods including Shefford, Brome-Lake, Dunham, Bolton-West, Bolton-East, Sutton and Frelighsburg in the Eastern Townships.

The office will focus on residential properties, large acreage lands and estates.

Bromont is 45 minutes east of Montreal. It was the host city for the equestrian competition at the 1976 Olympics and features many outdoor activities including skiing, hiking, biking, tennis and golf.

Listings will include prime resort property with ski-in/ski-out capabilities, in addition to equestrian properties, the company says. The commercial/industrial sector of Bromont is home to large manufacturing plants for IBM, GE, Pratt & Whitney and other prominent companies.

■ ■ ■

Jamie Johnston, broker/owner of Re/Max Condos Plus in Toronto, is handing off broker of

record responsibilities to GianPiero Furfaro.

Furfaro comes from a real estate family. He entered the real estate business in 1995 in residential investment sales and became a top 10 salesperson at a major brokerage, the company says. He transitioned to management as a branch manager and later became an area manager and alternative broker of record.

Johnston says he will now focus on working with top agents and agent incorporated companies.

Re/Max Condos Plus has five locations in downtown Toronto with 150 salespeople, including three agent incorporated companies under its umbrella.

■ ■ ■

Century 21 In Town Realty has opened a new location on trendy Homer Street in Vancouver. The company has grown to more than 120 Realtors and can offer specialized real estate services in over 28 languages – a powerful asset in a Continued on page 6

From left, Bill DeJong, Dean Piett and Michael Schuler enjoy the Coldwell Banker 2016 Global Commercial Conference in Orlando, Fla.

At the Century 21 President Realty grand opening, from left: Garry Bhaura, Larry Cerqua, president of TREB; Dinesh Bhatia, consul general of India Toronto; Brian Rushton, president of Century 21 Canada; MPP Harinder Malhi; and Sukh Bhaura.

Michael LaPrairie

Century 21 UNIC owner Nicolas Xynogalas with Maya El Ajam of the support staff.

Luce Deslauriers

Jamie Johnston

Gian-Piero Furfaro

Heather LaPrairie

Robin Metz

From left: Jafar Hussain, owner of Century 21 Active Realty, Syed Amin, Ghulam Murtaza, Irfan Kazi and Faizan Siddiqui.

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Continued from page 4

city as culturally diverse as Vancouver, the company says.

Owners Heather and Michael LaPrairie have built a team that ranked in the top 15 for sales production out of nearly 7,000 international Century 21 offices worldwide.

■ ■ ■

Robin Metz has been named general manager at Forest Hill Real Estate’s Toronto Signature Branch. Metz has more than 25 years of experience in growing teams, with a strong background in real estate, real estate board and MLS systems, recruiting, legal, human resources and business management, the company says.

In a statement, Forest Hill Real Estate president David Fingold and company founder Ronni Fingold say: “Robin brings a fresh face and an approachable, winning attitude, with a proven track record of developing and growing successful businesses and teams.

She is a strong believer in a culture of collaboration and support, and giving back to the younger generation and community” Bella Levy will continue in her role as sales manager of the branch.

■ ■ ■

The latest addition to the Re/Max Integra family is Tony Johal, who recently opened Re/Max Inspired Realty in Breslau, Ont. Johal began his real estate career in 2006 as a sales rep with Re/Max. In 2014 he decided to obtain his broker’s license and open an independent company, and now he is re-joining Re/Max. The brokerage will service the Waterloo Region including Breslau, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Cambridge.

■ ■ ■

New owner Nicolas Xynogalas

is now leading the team at Montreal’s former Century 21 Max-Immo Pointe Claire branch office. He is moving the branch to a new office and changing the name to Century 21 UNIC. The Century 21 Max-Immo main office location in Laval remains unchanged and under the guidance and ownership of Andre Charbonneau.

Xynogalas first discovered a passion for training and motivating others while working in the food service industry for 25 years and operating multiple restaurants, the company says. He then built an award-winning real estate career as a mortgage broker and then as an agent. He previously worked at Re/Max and Sutton.

Xynogalas travelled to real estate offices in Europe and North America to learn what made some thrive and is applying what he discovered. He noticed that top offices focus on training and offering unique value, so he named the office Century 21 UNIC. ■ ■ ■

Canadian delegates gave top marks to Coldwell Banker’s recent 2016 Global Commercial Conference in Orlando Fla. The event, attended by more than 400 professionals, included a full-day management program focused on recruiting and succession planning. The following two days offered sessions from deal generation to leadership and the launch of a new commercial real estate marketing program.

“I met several top producers and was able to connect with other Canadians from Ontario and Quebec and also networked with international members from Brazil, Mexico, U.K., and Colombia,” says Jey Arul, president of Coldwell Banker Venture Realty in Edmonton.

■ ■ ■

Century 21 Atria Realty has moved to a state-of-the-art loca-

tion on what Vogue Magazine says is one of the hippest streets in the world: Queen Street West in Toronto. The newly renovated, open concept office offers 4,000 square feet of space to accommodate the brokerage’s team with private offices, an area dedicated to ongoing education and a new condo sales centre.

In 2015 the company received the Century 21 Centurion office award for top sales and owner Stephen Chow was voted national Franchisee of the Year by his Century 21 peers across Canada.

■ ■ ■

Real Property Management Premier in London, Ont. recently opened to provide professional property management solutions.

Owners and brothers Martin and Mike Van Bommel managed their own rental properties for years.

“My brother and I own four rental properties together and found that the hardest part was property management. When we looked for help in the area, there were few choices,” says Mike Van Bommel. “We thought if we had troubles with this, so must others.”

Mike’s son Adam will be managing the business. He spent nearly five years helping his father manage and invest in real estate.

“There is significant growth in rental properties in the area.

London is a university and college town and there are thousands of student renters creating demand in the market,” says Adam Van Bommel. “We really feel we can help owners make the most of their investment without the stress and make it easy for those who want to get started renting properties.”

■ ■ ■

Century 21 Active Realty has moved to a new, high traffic area in Mississauga, Ont. Owner Jafar Hussain has personally mentored many agents and

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provides guided training and coaching in the office, the company says. He has also helped educate local youth through Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) Ontario, which partners businesses with students to develop their confidence, employability and leadership skills.

■ ■ ■

Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates has a new alliance with Juwai.com to generate Chinese buyer interest on the site, which boasts more than two million monthly visitors.

“We are constantly looking for opportunities to expand globally by adding new distribution opportunities that showcase properties to affluent consumers in key growth markets. The alliance with Juwai.com achieves that by giving us better access to a market that is already one of our most important, and which promises great future growth,” says Wendy Purvey, chief marketing officer, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates.

Because of its rapid economic growth, the number of Chinese dollar millionaires is expected to reach 2.3 million by 2020, a 74 per cent increase compared to today, says the company. Largely due to China, Asia was responsible for 70 per cent of all new billionaire wealth in 2015.

The company says China is already the second-largest source of visits to sothebysrealty.com, only after the United States, and accounts for one out of every 10 visitors.

“One of Juwai.com’s key advantages is that it is hosted on both sides of China’s Internet firewall, so its listings are visible online both within China and outside of China,” says Purvey.

■ ■ ■

The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) is asking consumers, “How much would you go over budget to win a bidding war

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Phone: 416.425.3504 www.remonline.com 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 2016 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.

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 complies fully with the CREA’s Trademark Policy (section 5.3.2.6.1).

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for your dream home?”

A new study of recent Ontario home buyers and home sellers, commissioned by RECO, found that 47 per cent of those polled would consider paying up to 10 per cent over their budget and 31 per cent would consider offering 10 to 20 per cent more to outbid the competition. In the Greater Toronto Area, where bidding wars are more likely to occur, 57 per cent of respondents would consider offering up to 10 per cent over budget and 38 per cent would consider going over their budget by between 10 to 20 per cent.

To help consumers overcome the challenges of a hot market, RECO launched the Be Home Smart Tour, a community outreach campaign that will travel to 13 locations across Ontario this fall and into 2017. The campaign includes an interactive display booth targeting those in the buying and/or selling stage of their lives – engaged/newly married couples, new parents and downsizing boomers.

“Our research findings make it clear that too many Ontarians may be struggling to keep a cool head in the hot and highly competitive real estate markets that are becoming the norm,” says Joe Richer, registrar of RECO. The survey found that 35 per cent of recent homebuyers said they let their emotions influence them more than they should have the last time they purchased a home. Among millennials 18 to 34 years of age, the number jumped to 42 per cent.

Stops in the RECO Be Home Smart Tour include the London Baby Expo at the Metroland Media Agriplex on Oct. 1 and 2; the Zoomer Show in Toronto at the Enercare Centre on Oct. 29 and 30; and the BabyTime Show in Toronto at the Metro Convention Centre from Nov. 11 to 13. More shows around the province will be added in 2017.

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Kottick hopes industry can ‘raise the bar’

Don Kottick, REIC president and Peerage Realty Partners EVP, says, “I believe the real estate industry has suffered negatively through the actions of a few of its members and we need to regain the confidence of the consumer.” By Susan Doran

T

he real estate business and Hotel California have something in common. You can never leave either of them, says seasoned executive and Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC) president Don Kottick.

“You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave,” is a famous phrase from the Eagles’ classic song Hotel California, fondly remembered by those of us who listened to it while lounging on bean-bag chairs and waterbeds in rooms lit by lava lamps.

Like most of us, Kottick did manage to escape the 1970s. He was never able to abandon the real estate business though. And for that he’s now grateful.

“When things weren’t going well in the past, I thought about leaving real estate. But something has always come up to prevent that, be it the advent of theninnovations like the Internet or the launch of an exciting new venture,” says Kottick.

“Real estate is embedded in me,” he says. “Life could not be better.”

For the past two years, Kottick – formerly president of Right at Home Realty and also a former vice president of Royal LePage – has been executive vice president of corporate development for Toronto-based Peerage Realty Partners (PRP), a partner-driven network of real estate brokerages and ancillary companies founded in 2007 by mega-wealthy entrepreneur Miles Nadal.

PRP is currently in growth mode. Partner companies now include Chestnut Park Real Estate; Baker Real Estate; the new StreetCity Realty; and Fifth Avenue Real Estate Marketing, as well as various asset management firms and a storage company aptly christened Peerage Storage. More

acquisitions are expected soon.

worst leaders, he adds.)

Nadal has been quoted as saying that of the top Canadian industries, real estate is the one that provides the most opportunity and the greatest ability to build wealth.

When he brought Kottick aboard PRP, Nadal knew he was hiring the pick of the litter – a senior executive with proven leadership skills and vast experience in real estate, web-based initiatives and business development.

Keep in mind as well that when you give back, good things come to you, Kottick says.

Besides being REIC president and a certified Fellow of the Real Estate Institute (FRI), Kottick has received various awards for excellence from REIC. He is also a director with the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), FIABCI and numerous other real-estaterelated committees.

Let’s not forget that as well, Kottick is a regular guest writer for REM and other real estate focused publications, wherein he gives readers advice on such topics as the importance of outstanding leadership (“It is rare to find a culture of success without a great leader”) and good real estate managers (“One of the few remaining management training programs is available through REIC, on behalf of NAR, called the Certified Real Estate Brokerage Management program.”)

The need for strong leadership is a common theme of Kottick’s.

While making the standard pronouncement that networking, setting goals and believing in yourself are all critical to success, he also stresses that not all companies are created equal.

“Join a brokerage that has a great leader or leadership team....

You get what you pay for in this industry,” he says. (That said, he learned some of the best lessons – what not to do – from some of the

“Get out there and join a charity, a committee or an organization such as REIC, your local real estate board, CREA, your provincial organization or FIABCI.” As REIC president, Kottick is committed to the institute’s mandate of embracing continuing education through such avenues as its numerous professional accreditation offerings, which include the FRI and CPM (Certified Property Manager).

Accreditations are a “great way to differentiate yourself in the marketplace,” says Kottick. REIC also provides the opportunity to “network with like-minded individuals across the industry and get best practice information from various areas of the business.”

You are only as strong as your network, he says.

“I became president of REIC to assist this organization in responding to the need to increase awareness and work towards improving the level of professionalism in our industry through education and training…. and accreditation.... I believe the real estate industry has suffered negatively through the actions of a few of its members and we need to regain the confidence of the consumer.”

In a nutshell, Kottick hopes to “raise the bar.”

Real estate wasn’t always his passion, although he has forever been a big believer in education, thanks largely to his mother, who worked at University of Toronto as a counselor.

Both of his parents wanted him to study business, but he “rebelled”

Don Kottick

and wound up taking a circuitous educational path that finally resulted in a degree in geology from U of T along with some “bizarre minors” that he now has difficulty recalling.

“I have a broad view of the industry,” he says. “I am fortunate to have been with progressive operations. I’m a proponent of change. I find that usually when I take a risk it pays off.”

“My mother jokes about this,” he says.

His geology degree promptly proved useless – as soon as he graduated, the oil industry collapsed and took the job market with it, he says.

With his immersion in real estate both foreign and domestic, Kottick is optimistic about Canada’s real estate market.

He is certain that Canada is positioned as one of the safer havens for international buyers.

So he returned to school again, this time to become a computer programmer and systems analyst.

When he finished, without much thought he joined a thenprominent Toronto real estate firm as an analyst, although he was not sure he would stay in the business.

“I don’t see the market collapsing, barring some unforeseen global event,” he says. “We are becoming one of the ultimate global destinations.”

“Real estate was not something I’d planned on,” he says.

Be that as it may, Kottick’s diverse business background has served him well.

But he has seen plenty of ups and downs in his years in the business.

“It’s been an interesting ride,” he says. “Real estate has been wonderful to me. Yes, it’s akin to the Eagles’ Hotel California, but the difference here is that you don’t ever want to leave.” REM

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10 REM OCTOBER 2016

Full house: Multi-generational housing While multi-generational housing is commonplace in most parts of the world, it is only now becoming common in Canada. By Toby Welch

C

anada currently has 363,000 multi-generational homes, which accommodate three or more generations under one roof, and that figure is growing by the day. While multi-generational housing is commonplace in most parts of the world, it is only now becoming common in Canada.

Barbara Mitchell, professor of Sociology & Gerontology at the Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., says, “The norm in Canada has historically been small nuclear households, but we’re seeing a rise in multi-generational families across cultural back-

grounds and people are living long enough that we’re seeing more four-generation households.”

It is a common misconception that the sole reason behind multigenerational homes is cultural. In some cultures it is typical and expected that multiple generations of families will live together, but that makes up a small portion of multi-generational houses in Canada. Other reasons behind the skyrocketing trend include: • Have help with childcare • Have others around to keep an eye on the house • Financial reasons, including

CREA’s biker ad ‘misleading’ says advertising watchdog The group says “this execution over-promised what a buyer’s Realtor customarily delivers, and, therefore, was misleading.”

A

dvertising Standards Canada says CREA’s television ad featuring a motorcycle gang is misleading and has violated the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.

The self-regulating advertising industry council says it received two complaints that the commercial “was misleading by identifying services a Realtor does not customarily provide to his or her buyer client.”

Advertising Standards Canada says, “The general impression conveyed by the commercial to council was that a buyer who uses a Realtor would be protected because of the intimate knowledge the buyer’s Realtor has of the negative aspects of the neighbourhood in question. While the seller’s agent may take it upon herself or himself to become knowledgeable about the makeup of the client’s neighbourhood, there was no evidence that both buyers’ and sellers’ agents assume the same degree of responsibility to become thoroughly knowledgeable about the social or less desirable aspects of the neighbourhood in which a house is located.

“Council understood that the commercial was humorous and exaggerated. However, the use of humour in this commercial did not negate the overall impression conveyed to council. Council recognized that the commercial was intended to make the public aware that Realtors in general possess expertise that ordinary buyers do not. However, council found that this execution over-promised what a buyer’s Realtor customarily delivers, and, therefore, was misleading.”

In its reply to the council, CREA says, “The advertiser respectfully disagrees with the council’s conclusion that the ad is misleading.

However, the advertiser does agree with the council’s finding that the ad is humorous, exaggerated and intended to make the public aware that Realtors possess expertise that ordinary buyers do not.”

The council received two complaints about the CREA ad. REM

economic advantages of shared housing costs • Strengthen family ties • Higher than average unemployment rates in some parts of Canada • Desire to be around to help aging family members • Prevent a sense of social isolation • Rising cost of home ownership • Health care reasons, including limited options for assisted living in some parts of the country • Reduced stigma of adult children living at home, a result of the higher cost of living, a tough job market and a high student debt load (42 per cent of 20-29 year olds currently live in the parental home.)

It’s not just kids moving home, either. Parents moving in with their grown children are making up a growing percentage of multigenerational homes. The average age of Canadians continues to rise, with 16 per cent of our population now at 65 or older.

John Geha, a past-president of Coldwell Banker Canada, had the following to say in a Coldwell Banker press release about the trend of multi-generational homes: “While saving money is certainly an incentive for buying a home that accommodates multiple generations, the benefits go beyond financial reasons. With two or three generations living under one roof, families often experience more flexible schedules, more quality time with one another and can better juggle caretaking responsibilities as health care issues arise.”

Peggy Blair, a sales representative with Royal LePage Team Realty in Ottawa, says, “I’ve represented clients whose children had both lost their jobs and wanted a home with enough space to help them out by having them move home. They wanted separation of space and the ability to be supportive without being invaded. I have also had clients who are looking at housing their own aging parents, so they want to find homes where the living space is easily navigable not just for their parents but themselves down the road. A lot of peo-

Peggy Blair

Suzanne Botsifaras

ple in their 50s and 60s are very conscious of the fact that before long, stairs could be a real problem.”

The building industry across the country is responding to this trend. More cities are loosening zoning regulations to allow for multi-generational homes and neighbourhoods are being built to cater to these homeowners.

Tamarack Common in Edmonton is one such community.

Builders are making the features that multi-family homebuyers want a priority in the homes they design. Metric Homes based in Ottawa offers a “Home Within a Home”, two separate dwellings that look from the outside like one large single family home. Each ‘home’ has its own private entrance and there is a common area between the two.

Some of the most popular features for multi-generational homes include: • Separate entrances • Renovated basements • Addition or wing with extra bedrooms and/or another kitchen • Wider doorways and hallways • Main floor in-law suites • Dual master bedrooms • Additional living space above detached garages • Converted attic spaces • Insulated garages (to increase usable square footage) Suzanne Botsifaras, a Re/Max Real Estate Centre broker in Burlington, Ont., indicated in the MLS listing for a multi-family home she sold that it was suitable for two generations. “I added an ‘in-law suite’ rider to my sign and

promoted it as a unique property to my database and colleagues,” she says. Botsifaras recommends promoting multi-generational homes in advance of the listing.

Some sales reps are turning multi-generational households into a niche. By brushing up on cultural expectations and educating themselves on how to adapt properties to accommodate multiple families, agents can target these buyers and sellers. Keep an updated tally of listings in your area that are geared for multi-families so you are prepared when the call comes.

Understanding the specific needs of multi-family buyers and targeting them just might label you a multi-generational homes expert.

Blair offers a twist on marketing these types of homes, “I recently had a listing that would have been well-suited for a multi-family home but it didn’t sell until we shifted the listing from residential to multi-family duplex. Investors, needless to say, are an entirely different kettle of fish, but they can see the potential in having a basement unit for extra income in a way that family members often can’t. If your board allows it, you may want to list the multi-generational residence both as a residence and as a multi-family unit, as we did, and emphasize its rental potential. If it’s only on the residential side, the investor won’t find it, whereas the person looking to bring in a little supplemental income won’t think to check the multi-family listings.”

Multi-generational housing may not be mainstream yet in Canada but at the rate that it’s growing, it may eventually overtake prototypical nuclear family homes. REM

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12 REM OCTOBER 2016

Earning CCIM designation isn’t easy but has its rewards

By Neil Sharma

I

nvesting in commercial real estate can be a tricky undertaking, made all the more arduous by insufficient education. But an American-conceived designation, Certified Commercial Investment Member, or CCIM, which has established a foothold in Canada, promises to endow members with the wherewithal – and connections – to provide investment returns in some of the world’s hottest commercial real estate markets.

Toronto and Vancouver’s real estate booms make CCIM designation a particularly attractive option for Canadian real estate professionals. Perhaps because of its promising returns, designation is a rigorous endeavour. Offered both in classrooms and online, as well as in hybrid format, accreditation can take up to two years.

The 2016 president of CCIM’s Central Canada chapter, which is more than 20-years-old, says the benefits reaped, especially for real estate brokers, are vast because CCIM members draw upon each other internationally.

“If you look at the stats for the breakdown of membership for CCIM worldwide, you’re sub-50 per cent brokers, but in Canada the

breakdown is higher because most are brokers,” says Adam Powadiuk, who is also business development manager at First National Financial in Toronto.

“It appeals mostly to brokers and it’s very concentrated. People within this industry recognize the designation,” he says. “The other big benefit for brokers is CCIM likes to do business with each other within the chapter and it extends provincially. When U.S. players come here with larger mandates, they’re calling CCIM here to do it, so you’re ending up with larger deals.”

Eight to 10 courses of online and classroom work plus real-world experience, which in total translates to roughly 250 hours, comprise the CCIM designation.

CCIM encompasses over 15,000 members, 300 of which are Canadian. The crux of CCIM designation allows members to navigate and profit from commercial real estate’s fast-moving markets. It also offers webinars, workshops and online courses in specialized topics through the Ward Center for Real Estate Studies.

Powadiuk says Toronto’s market in particular yields abundant intra-

CCIM business, and while Canada’s largest city isn’t as remunerative as American markets, it is quickly growing.

Under his tutelage, Powadiuk has updated CCIM’s Canadian website, ensuring that it is mobileready and otherwise as practically efficient as it modern, and firmed the hybrid coursework since most registrants are busy professionals.

As important, Toronto will be hosting one of CCIM’s bi-annual conferences in Oct. 2017. Its current VP of Central Canada and incoming 2017 president, Sunny Sharma, intends to double the chapter’s membership during his tenure, as well as develop additional educational material for members and prospective members.

CCIM designation is also career enhancing for government employees, engineers and lawyers.

“We’re planning on showcasing Toronto and how it’s a great place to invest globally,” says Sharma.

“To all of the people that are international who will visit in October 2017, the emphasis will be to showcase our city and areas around our city for investment purposes.”

Real estate partnerships are crucial to Central Canada’s growth

Adam Powadiuk

Sunny Sharma

strategy. Sharma hopes Canadian real estate professionals and service providers, especially on the commercial side, will attend the Toronto conference so that international partnerships can be forged.

Locally, though, Sharma says Markham’s tech sector can be an especially lucrative investment milieu, because – due in part to its favourable tax rate – commercial real estate opportunities are aplenty.

Sharma, broker at Century 21 Leading Edge Realty, will be flying to Shanghai later this year to embrace about 80 CCIM graduates. It is another example of how this designation bequeaths interna-

tional investment prospects, as well as of its emerging global prominence, he says.

Domestically, CCIM courses are now being touted by the Toronto Real Estate Board, which is a fairly recent development.

Sharma believes will likely attract professionals from other provinces.

“Being able to spread the word now more effectively, people that truly are serious about being able to look at real estate globally and evaluate it would probably opt to do this CCIM designation,” he says.

In order to maintain its giltedge, lofty requirements must be satisfied before application to the designation can even be considered.

“It is not as easy as taking a course — there are other requirements like tenure and (sales) volume,” says Sharma.

Courses include CCIM’s strict code of ethical business practice, as well as financial and market analysis.

Sharma says the designation is tried, tested and true for opening international gateways. It has helped him acquire international property for clients because he had fellow designees to rely upon. He calls the networking capabilities unparalleled.

Still, CCIM is about more than merely acquiring desirable parcels of real estate in hot spots.

“There’s a lot of sophisticated players within the market here and they’re in urban centres,” says Powadiuk. “Some people bought real estate because they thought it was great and the yield has been generous, but the way CCIM looks at real estate, it’s about optimizing.”

Dealing with cash flow woes R

ecently I interviewed a number of managers and salespeople, asking them for the most common reasons why real estate salespeople fail. My top 10 reasons are here: http://www.remonline.com/top-10reasons-why-real-estate-salespeople-fail/ Now in a series of columns I’m going to take a closer look at each of the 10 pitfalls. #1 Lack of cash flow – As a general rule I advise new salespeople (and experienced salespeople) that they can only spend 50 per cent of commission earned. The other 50 per cent goes toward brokerage fees, GST/HST, annual taxes (or instalments), advertising and general expenses. The best way to do this is to have two separate

accounts from your general account: a tax account and an expense account.

When a commission cheque is received, most of the brokerage fees are taken except for additional expenses invoiced through your brokerage. Then 20 per cent should go into the tax account and 20 per cent should go into the expense account. Many salespeople end up with serious issues with Revenue Canada because they don’t have the funds to pay when GST/HST or income taxes are due.

In addition to the separate accounts, I recommend doing quarterly GST/HST filings so at the end of the year there is only the final quarter to submit and basically your taxes are done.

Many agents never do a home

budget either, and this is essential because everyone needs to know how much money they need to pay all their home expenses and have some savings.

For example, if your personal budget is $5,000 per month, that’s $60,000 per year. That means you need to make $120,000 GCI to be able to take home $60,000. This is why many agents are always behind in their income and have to use lines of credit and credit card debt to keep things going.

Having a business plan and knowing exactly what tasks are required on a daily basis is not only recommended but is really essential to meet all your financial goals. Of course, the number of daily contacts and lead conversion will depend on the type of business one is doing. It

By George E. Zanette

is always advisable to have at least three sources of new leads (such as circle of influence, geographic farm and for sale by owner). And probably the most important is to stay in contact with all past clients and ask for referrals. This is a guarantee of future cash flow.

If you would like a template for a home budget and business budget, please email me.

George E. Zanette is a trainer and manager at Royal LePage Your Community Realty in Toronto. He says he has a passion to lead, teach and inspire others to be their best in all areas of life. His goal is to help people new to the real estate profession have an easier and more successful transition than he did. www.geozan.com; email george@geozan.com REM

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14 REM OCTOBER 2016

Dealing with open house junkies “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” – Henry David Thoreau

By Ross Wilson

H

ave you ever met a prospective buyer who said they’re just looking and prefer to remain uncommitted to any particular agent? They’d rather just visit open houses or respond to ads or lawn signs that catch their attention. They clearly lack the benefit of knowing a trustworthy agent or may be innocently unaware of the value of your usually free buyer service.

For a serious new buyer, searching solo is not a bad way to begin, but like fishing, they may catch something or may not. To continue the metaphor, if they enjoy fishing for a home (or a fish) as an amusing pastime, then that’s fine. But dragging themselves around town every

weekend with methodical intent, plodding through house after house, maybe with kids in tow, certainly isn’t my idea of a joyful way to spend a weekend. It can consume a lot of time and be exceptionally frustrating, plus an unrepresented buyer may be exposed to pressure sales tactics. After all, many agents hold opens hoping to sell that particular house.

While unrepresented buyers are awaiting lawn sign installations and open house announcements, they may miss potential golden opportunities. A listing agent may have placed an open house ad for a hot new listing, but due to a quick sale, didn’t have time to hold it.

They may not even have installed a lawn sign! Buyers could completely miss the boat. If – and that’s a big if – they find and respond to the ad and arrive at the house, they could find a big red sold sign on the lawn. It’s a clear case of the early

bird catching the worm.

On the other hand, exploring opens affords a buyer the opportunity to determine preferences.

They can develop a feel for a special neighbourhood, learn what their money might buy and where to focus their search. They’re able to investigate various styles, sizes, floor plans, features and price ranges, as well as local schools, parks, recreational facilities and other public services. Seeing lots of homes up close can also help a couple clarify their individual and collective wants and needs, leading to agreed objectives. Visiting open houses can also provide an informal interview process wherein they have the chance to meet, question and learn from more than one agent.

When they finally comfortably connect with an agent – hopefully you – a serious search can begin in earnest. With hands-on guidance,

your new buyer can satisfy their quest more efficiently and usually with a lot less stress. In a hot market, they can now be among the first to view sharp new listings in their target area and price range.

Your MLS system’s search and email program can automatically notify them – on their smart phone – as soon as new listings and price reductions are uploaded, possibly even on an hourly basis. They could be doing a drive-by moments later.

If you’re able to establish the beginnings of a friendly relationship with a guest, before you send them on their way to visit more opens, suggest they inform the attending agents that they’re no longer “orphans”. The agents will likely still show them the property and answer questions, but may be reluctant to invest their time with another brokerage’s client. Or better yet, instead of wandering

through inappropriate opens, they simply contact you for details. If it meets their pre-screened needs and affordability, you can arrange a private viewing. Since you’re working for them now, tell them they can take the weekend off and let you do all the legwork.

In the next column, I’ll address the subject of why it’s important to actively engage with visitors of an open house, rather than passively permit them to wander unattended through the building and grounds.

Ross Wilson, broker with iPro Realty, has 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 RealtyREM Voice.com.

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7 Canadian Real Estate Moguls (How You Can Duplicate p Their Success)

Tony Johal Cambridge, ON

François Mackay Lachine, QC

“It was in Phoenix in 2009 when I attended my 1st ever SuperConference. The system was working well for me and my business was up, but I thought I knew all and decided to go it alone. That was the single BIGGEST mistake in my 10 year career. In 2014 I came back to the Craig Proctor System. In our first full year we went from $93,000 to $500,000 in GCI. As Craig says, copy and you’ll succeed.

Craig has paved the path for us all and in 2016 we’re going for the $1,000,000 target.”

-- Tony Johal, Cambridge, ON François began his career in 1997 as a RE/MAX agent working from his home garage. Using the Craig Proctor System, he began to grow his team, working with Sutton Group from 20042010 before starting his own real estate company, Groupe Mackay, which became the #1 team in Quebec with over 460 transactions. Recently, Francois purchased two Sutton franchises and now manages 300 agents.

-- François Mackay, Lachine, QC

Len Wong Calgary, AB

Sam Shalforoshzadeh Toronto, ON

“I’ve been using Craig Proctor’s system since 1997 – almost 20 years -- and my life is completely different because of what he’s taught me. Before Craig, I was doing around 60 transactions a year. Last year I took 4 months off, worked only 3540 hours a week and still did 340 sales . . . that’s more than a home a day. This has multiplied my GCI by over 600% to about $2,000,000.00.

Craig’s systems have been proven successful by thousands of agents from right across the continent. Why reinvent the wheel when Craig already has something so successful?”

-- Len Wong, Calgary, AB “After 7 years of watching the business come and go with traditional methods, I found Craig Proctor’s System. It was as if I had found a sunken treasure! Everything made so much sense and I jumped on board immediately which was the best business decision of my life.

We did our first CP deal after the first month in his program and by the end of the

Steve Lombardi Montreal, QC

Masoud Badre Ottawa, ON

year we had earned $212,000 GCI. The next year we more than doubled our GCI to $480,000. Last year we projected GCI of $1 Million and hit that half way through.

We’ve never made more money than we do now.”

-- Sam Shalforoshzadeh, Toronto, ON “In 2011 I lost my job of 21 years and ended up going through a divorce. That entailed selling my house with a Realtor friend and he encouraged me to come into Real Estate. I had no real clue how to succeed as a Realtor, but through my research I happened upon Craig’s system. Not long after that, I discovered that Craig was scheduled to come to Montreal to do a 1 day seminar and without any hesitation I registered to be there. Again, this was before I had even got my real estate license. I came to his Toronto Superconference not long after, got involved with his coaching program which gave me the system for succeeding as a Realtor. In 2014 my first year as a Realtor I earned almost $90,000 GCI, doubling that

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Francis Lavoie Montreal, QC

last year to earn $178,000 GCI.” -- Steve Lombardi, Montreal, QC “The first time I met Craig was in 1999 in one of his seminars in Toronto. I signed for his coaching during that seminar and have not looked back since then.

I have not missed any of his conferences regardless of where they are and I can honestly tell you this has changed my life. Craig, unlike many other trainers, practiced what he preached and that was what I liked most. Craig’s system is about inexpensively attracting leads, converting them to appointments and turning those appointments into sales.”

-- Masoud Badre, Ottawa, ON In 2010, using the Craig Proctor System, Francis and his wife and partner, Audrey, earned over $1 Million Dollars GCI. They were only 26 years old at the time. Every single year since then, they have achieved over $1 Million Dollars in GCI, hitting $2 Million GCI in 2015 and on track to do $3 Million dollars in GCI in 2016.

Group Lavoie is currently # 2 in Montreal, Quebec and has risen to #14 in all of Canada for this year (2016).

-- Francis Lavoie, Montreal, QC

nnn

Hi, Craig Proctor here.

The 7 agents profiled on this page are proof that the system I teach agents really works, and the reason it works is because it was conceived in the real world you’re operating in.

You see, I was a highly successful AGENT for more than 20 years. No one in Canada has sold more homes than I have, and I’ve had the privilege of sharing my proven real estate system with over 30,000 agents, like the agents I’ve featured here, from all over the world. This is the same system I used myself in my own highly successful real estate career right here in Canada. As you may know, I was twice named the #1 RE/MAX agent in the world and was in the top 10 for RE/MAX International for 15 years.

In fact, for 6 years straight, no one listed or sold more homes in the Greater Toronto Area than I did.

(Source: TREB Statistics) If you do not have a clear, detailed business system (key word, system) that you are using to move methodically to your goals…a plan you could show a banker or investor or new partner or key associate…a plan you have reasoned, complete confidence in, then why wouldn’t you examine mine – free? Learn how to do exactly that at my upcoming Free Discovery Day. You can get more information or register at MoreMillionaireAgents.com

16 REM OCTOBER 2016

QUALITY. CONNECTIONS. INDEPENDENCE.

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WE’RE LOCAL. WE’RE GLOBAL.

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LEADING REAL ESTATE COMPANIES OF THE WORLD is a selective global community of the highest quality local independent real estate companies. We exist to make our members better – with an international referral network, marketing and technology resources, professional development programs, unique events, and connections to opportunities and people worldwide. ®

he Barrie & District Association of Realtors (BDAR) and the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) have entered into an MLS services partnership. The official agreement between the two boards was signed at a BDAR Special Board Meeting on Aug. 11.

“This MLS services partnership will be beneficial to members from both BDAR and TREB as well as consumers,” says Mike Douglas, BDAR 2016 president. “Members from both boards will have access to a larger database, creating an easy flow of information for Realtors so they can provide the best service to their clients.”

Recognizing the overlap in markets, the boards say in a news release that “this partnership is a responsible step forward that will remove barriers and open the flow of information.”

Partnerships like this one will be the way of the future, says Julia Price-Greig, BDAR EO. “BDAR members already extend into the TREB market and vice versa, making this partnership a natural progression. Access to a more extensive database will benefit all members, their clients and the industry as a whole.”

BDAR and TREB will remain separate boards, each with their own identity and member benefits; however, each board will have access to a better database and more resources, the boards say.

■ ■ ■

The London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors have given scholarships to Isabel Kim, the daughter of LSTAR members Jenny Park and Young Min Kim; Selena George, the daughter of LSTAR member Angee George; Nicholas Fournie, the son of LSTAR member Gregory Fournie; and Owen Thompson, the son of LSTAR member Michelle Lyon.

This scholarship is intended to recognize two university or collegebound males and two university or college-bound females in their last year of high school who have demonstrated academic excellence, a high level of involvement in school and/or the community, maturity and responsibility, initiative and/or strength of character and to promote their higher education through a bursary of $1,500 each. Eligible applicants must be either the children or grandchildren of an LSTAR member or staff.

REM

The BDAR Board of Directors with EO Julia PriceGreig, TREB CEO John DiMichele and TREB president Larry Cerqua.

If you are a leader of an independent company, we invite you to learn more about the value of aligning with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World . Contact Sheila Barr: sbarr@LeadingRE.com or 1.312.361.8632. ®

LeadingRE.com

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Isabel Kim with LSTAR president-elect Jim Smith

LSTAR president Stacey Evoy with Selena George and Owen Thompson.

We are where our clients are.

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18 REM OCTOBER 2016

For new agents: Six months in Part 3 of a 3 part series

By Joanna Dermenjian

S

ix months into your real estate career? How is it going? You have at least one or two commission cheques in the bank. Woohoo! But don’t get heady with your results and stop doing the basics. Here are a few more tips to keep in mind.

1. Don’t spend money on marketing until you know your market. Know who you are as an agent and what value you have to bring to the market and then maybe spend money on marketing. Maybe. Marketing cannot be an alternative to open houses and all the other ways you meet clients face to face.

2. Are you becoming an expert at presenting offers?

Negotiation is not about who wins and who loses. Negotiation is about win-win. Remember that everyone wants the same result – the seller and the seller’s agent, the buyer and the buyer’s agent.

Your job, no matter which end you are on, is to help to bring the seller and buyer to an agreement that is amenable to both parties.

Don’t get involved in bitter negotiations. Emotions have no place in professional negotia-

tions. Rise above the noise.

3. Do a great job for every client, no matter what size commission may come of it. Attend to the details. Do every part well.

Go above and beyond. Exceed expectations. Show up at closing.

Then your happy client will be out there getting you new clients and then they’ll get you new clients, and they’ll get you new clients and so on. Remember it is 20 times easier to satisfy and retain an existing client than it is to find a new client. Referrals can’t be your whole business, but they can become at least half. The more referrals you get, the less open houses you have to do in year two, three, four and five. A strong repeat and referral database of happy clients is the Promised Land.

4. Every day, consider the daily picture and the long-term view. You have tasks to do each day, but the future has to always be in mind. If you get so immersed in the “daily”, you will have no new clients when you come up for air.

5. Don’t commiserate around the water cooler. Don’t gossip, don’t speculate. Find one or two allies in the office, but only chat together about positive things, share successes and encourage each other. Ignore the politics and keep your head down.

6. Attend a real estate conference. This may seem like an expense you can’t manage, but try to find a way. You will have the opportunity to learn the latest and greatest techniques, plus lots of “tried and true”. You will also get to meet lots of agents who are not your direct competitors, who are willing to share advice and exchange information over dinner. And referrals. One referral will pay for the conference and more, and it may turn into years of referrals exchanged back and forth.

7. Say thank you. Write a personal note to everyone who helps you along the way. To agents who give you open house opportunities, teaching moments and pricing advice, to mortgage brokers who send you a lead or even just bring you up to date on rates and developments, to managers who take time to explain scenarios and outcomes, to anyone who gives you a lead or referral, even if it doesn’t turn into a transaction.

8. Be ethical. You will meet lots of agents and other professionals who aren’t. But be ethical anyway. What goes around, comes around. Act in your clients’ best interests, not your own.

9. Be humble. You may have finished all of your courses and done a few transactions, but you do not know one-tenth of what

Attend to the details.

Do every part well.

Go above and beyond.

Exceed expectations.

Show up at closing. you need to know to be a great agent. Always be learning, listening, consuming information and be humble about your knowledge as you grow. Don’t stop learning.

You will never know it all. One hundred transactions from now, you still won’t know it all.

10. Give back. Get involved in your community, just for a change of pace, to get outside yourself and the challenges of this business. Call local charities and see how you can get involved, even if just for a few hours once a month. You will receive back more than you give.

If you do all this, and really apply yourself, and still can’t gain traction by the end of your second year and turn real estate into your

career, don’t beat yourself up. It is not a career for everyone. It takes a great variety of skills – we say the 3 D’s: Determination, Dedication, and willingness to do the Difficult.

It takes tenacity and sacrifice and commitment to make a good living in real estate. If it doesn’t work for you, at least you know you did everything you could and gave it your best shot. And you learned something new about yourself, and life, and people and have greater respect for the challenges of this profession.

Joanna Dermenjian is a broker with the David Wilson Team at Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty in Kingston, Ont. REM

The inspector is always professional and very easy to talk to, especially with buyers wanting to understand the process and ask questions.

The inspector also gives a lot of detail about the inspection and answers all questions my buyers ask.

– Wendy Murray-Nicholson

RE/MAX ESCARPMENT GOLFI REALTY INC, Brokerage (Hamilton, Ontario)

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Robert Golfi

Owner/Broker of Record RE/MAX Escarpment Golfi Realty Inc.

Domenic Manchisi

Owner/Broker of Record RE/MAX Escarpment Manchisi Realty Ltd.

Lenard Lind

Owner/Broker of Record RE/MAX Hallmark Lind Group Realty Ltd.

Michelle Fraser

Owner RE/MAX Hallmark Fraser Group Realty

Joy Verde

Owner RE/MAX Hallmark Joy Verde Group Realty

22 REM OCTOBER 2016

Taking the cottage for a test drive Innovative program lets buyers try before they buy

By Connie Adair o one would dream of buying a car without taking it for a test drive, yet people buy multi-million-dollar cottages without knowing if the property will suit their lifestyle or if they’ll like the location.

It doesn’t make sense, so real estate agent Ross Halloran of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada (SIRC) decided to do something about it. He developed Test Drive Your Dream Home, a program that offers qualified potential buyers a low-risk way to get a feel for a luxury property and location before they lay out big bucks to buy.

Test Drive Your Dream Home, launched in May 2015, is market driven. Muskoka (“where real estate values are formidable”) has seen an influx of buyers who are interested in, but not necessarily familiar with, the area, Halloran says.

N

These newcomers to Muskoka don’t have the same knowledge about the area as legacy owners and some haven’t even tried the cottage lifestyle before. The traditional way is for buyers to see properties on realtor.ca and then call an agent to view the property. Or they will call a local agent with their needs and wants, and then view multiple properties in one day. These buyers would then make a decision after a quick walk through, says Halloran. The usual 30-minute tour of a property hardly gives buyers enough time to kick the tires, let alone look under the hood.

The program gives buyers a chance to rent for a long weekend, a week, a month or even an entire season. If they want to make an offer and it’s accepted, a portion of the rental fee is credited back.

Potential buyers love the program, says Halloran, adding that in the first year, it has resulted in eight

transactions worth more than $14 million.

If the property they are renting doesn’t suit their needs, Halloran and other Sotheby’s agents will find another suitable property. It’s a great way to develop buyer leads, he says.

Being able to experience the cottage, the location and area amenities can be the tipping point for those who are unsure about a property, he says. Having clients stay in the area for a longer period of time also gives agents time to show properties at a more leisurely pace.

The program also benefits owners, whether they are selling or not, to generate income from the property when they’re not using it.

Test Drive Your Dream Home has partnered with Muskoka District Rentals, which oversees the rental aspect of the arrangement, offering a hassle-free way for

owners to rent their properties.

If the property is for sale and a renter decides to buy, or if they want to look for something else in the area, they are referred to a Sotheby’s agent (usually Halloran since he developed the program).

Halloran was licensed in 2012 and was recruited to join the Sotheby’s team in Port Carling, Muskoka in August 2014. “It’s been a great fit for both parties as I am currently the No. 1 top-producing agent for Sotheby’s in Muskoka/Central Lakes Ontario Region… and the Test Drive Your Dream Home program has been a huge factor in this success.”

Cottages in the current rental inventory range from $5,000 to $15,000 per week, an income generating aspect that may also appeal to buyers. Owners can enrol in a luxury rental program to safely generate income, he says.

A significant trend is buyers

Ross Halloran

from the GTA migrating north.

Another trend is Asian investors, who are interested in the cost mitigation of rentals. These investors look at the revenues generated by a property and it factors into their buying decision.

One investor made more than $30,000 in rental income in the first year. “He actually made a profit. These buyers are different, happy to enjoy it when it’s not rented out but willing to step aside and go another time if a renter is available.

It’s a new trend,” says Halloran.

The program co-operates with all agents, says Halloran.

For information, visit http://www.lifestylepropertyadvisors.com/properties-for-sale-rent/

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By Jim Reid

L

egalized bondage is nothing new as millions of workers used to be called “indentured servants”. The fact is they were under contract to serve someone else, just like “independent contractors”. Of course the laws compressing their lives were quite different than the regulations that compress the lives of Realtors.

Certainly, there is no way we can consider ourselves as “indentured servants”… can we? We are free to make a living… aren’t we?

Many of us joined the industry because it is the only viable way we might make money after we turn 50. Our prior employers, private and government, don’t want expensive, experienced mature

Legalized bondage workers anymore, so we must find a way to become somewhat selfunemployed rather than totally unemployed and unemployable.

Real estate was definitely the road to the promised land during the past 25 years.

But looking back where we came from, at where we are now, and where this industry is going, is what my rants will attempt to share with you. Since our industry (residential structures, land and mortgages) represents more than 25 per cent of Canada’s Balance Sheet Asset Value, we are a cornerstone of Canada’s (grossly undervalued) $24 trillion asset value. Our 113,000 workers represent only six per cent of the work force, so our 13 per cent contribution to Canada’s national GDP of about $4 trillion makes us relatively significant players in Canada’s economy.

With about 500,000 home deals a year, there is a “one million deals” market up for grabs in the residential market alone. As independent contractors, most of us are

experiencing a rapid acceleration in multi-independent contractor team competition. (I was going to share your competitive advantage later, but I feel you may need the basics right away. Your clients need to know that you work for their interests more than a team member can. Team bench members must score the most deals, whilst individual salespeople are more like your clients’ all-star goalies on the defense and gold medalist superstars on the offense.)

Of course, many salespeople need to be on a team to survive.

With almost 80 per cent of deals going to teams, it can’t be ignored as a good career option.

But if teams gobble up 70 per cent of salespeople, our industry will drift into another oligopoly run by major associations, corporations, government agencies and lawyers. Without a clear strategy to stop and turn these forces, independent family business people could soon be cut out. Certainly we don’t want “ageism” and “indentured services” to become

the career path of the next generations of real estate salespeople?

Another competitor for individual salespeople is the technological functions seeping through our operating processes. We are not only developing our own technology competition weapons, but so are those who wish to control every aspect of this industry.

Regulators are working 24/7 with their legal corporations to leave no loose ends in our working environment. Governments have assumed we are a corporate giant needing controls instead of thousands of small family businesses. They don’t realize how much they are driving this industry into monopolization.

(When the most competitive industry left in Canada is perceived as corrupt, according to their naïve perspectives, there is no other conclusion than the government’s Competition Bureau is farcical… duh, do Realtors fix prices, markups and commissions like the oil industry?)

Oh, yes, there is another competitor invading our arena. The

15

real estate services sector for both our clients and us is booming in Canada. Technology has enabled lots of new business models.

These will certainly influence the competitive weaponry in our industry. (Hope you don’t mind the frequent military terminology, but if time permits, we must develop our strategic planning skills to a more professional level or look for another career elsewhere.)

The best small family business that can keep us fed in our senior years is facing a formidable corporatization foe. It is time to become strategic, which requires a vision for our industry in 25/50/75/100 years.) Perhaps we can begin to design our future.

Ring a doorbell!

Jim Reid is a strategic planning consultant and has been a corporate executive, university and college lecturer, business owner, real estate broker and wilderness canoeist. “Your average Canadian failed entrepreneur, wage slave, divorced former Realtor,” he says. jimreidcanada@gmail.com www.lifestylepropertysearches.com REM

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26 REM OCTOBER 2016

Crime prevention through environmental design

By using these principles at the design stage, an increase in safety and security will result. By Terrance Glover matured into a set of review tools known as CPTED. By using a few simple CPTED principles, you can significantly decrease the likelihood of crime occurring to and around your home.

I

Terrance Glover

n my urban planning practice, I find that most people know very little about Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). While this is not shocking news, since CPTED is an abstract approach to property safety and security, a simplified version should be in every homeowner’s proverbial toolbox.

Since the introduction of the “Eyes on the Street” philosophy by Jane Jacobs nearly half a century ago, the notion of a safer community through environmental design has significantly grown in popularity. This notion has

CPTED is a multidisciplinary, scientifically proven approach to deterring criminal behaviour. It relies on the physical environment to influence an offender’s choices prior to them committing the criminal act.

This approach can be used on any size building or property; from a small home to a large commercial or office building.

Given the current terrorist climate around the world, most governments now require a CPTED audit of all new and existing government buildings.

There are principles:

four

main

1. Natural surveillance – Maximizing visibility and the opportunity for observation through the placement and design of physical and social features. This refers to the placement of gathering spaces, points of interest, building orientation, lighting,

Natural access control is a logical and organized design to restrict, encourage and safely channel movement of people and vehicles into, out of, and within a site in a controlled manner.

entrances/exits, windows, parking lots, walkways, security stations, fencing, landscaping, vegetation, signage and any other physical obstructions.

This principle helps create the perception of risk to an offender, making them feel as though they are noticeable and even being watched.

2. Natural access control – A logical and organized design to restrict, encourage and safely channel movement of people and vehicles into, out of, and within a site in a controlled manner. This principle helps create the perception of control over the offender and easily identifies those who venture into areas not intended for their use, such as physically creating a landscaped pathway or sidewalk to a main doorway.

If people venture off this natural path, they will stand out and become noticeable to others.

3. Territorial reinforcement – Defined property lines and clear distinctions between public, semi-private and private spaces. These distinctions can be achieved through physical or visual designs such as a change of pavement material, subtle

landscaping or as obvious as privacy fencing. This principle helps create a perceived sense of permission for the rightful user and helps more easily identify those who venture into areas not intended for their use.

4.

Maintenance – maintaining a property’s image and cleanliness. Wellmaintained buildings and grounds inform potential offenders that “someone is home”. This principle helps create a perceived sense of occupancy to the offender; making them think twice before committing a crime.

By using these principles at the design stage, an increase in safety and security will result.

Furthermore, by conducting a CPTED audit of an existing building or property, key improvements will be identified that will significantly decrease the likelihood of crime occurring and may even lower your property’s insurance rates.

Another positive result of CPTED is the reduction a person’s “fear of crime”. This is the emotional anxiety that a crime is going to occur to or around a person. It is the

Territorial reinforcement provides defined property lines and clear distinctions between public, semi-private and private spaces.

primary reason why we no longer hitch-hike or allow children to walk to school on their own. If you are in a well-designed, well lit, physically maintained and highly visible space, your fear of crime significantly diminishes; hence the space is much more pleasant and inviting.

Given these positive aspects of CPTED and the simplicity of their application, I am continuously surprised that more of my clients aren’t already aware of the concept.

It is in everyone’s interest to have a basic understanding of CPTED so that they can apply these principles in and around their own home or workplace to create a safer, happier and more secure environment for everyone to enjoy.

Terrance Glover, MCIP, RPP, CPT, is a certified urban planner and CPTED professional. He is also the principal and founder of Urban in Mind Planning Consultants.

If you are interested in discussing a CPTED audit on your new or existing property, call 905-3208120 or visit www.urbaninmind. ca. Urban in Mind offers CPTED audits throughout North America. REM

Natural surveillance maximizes visibility and the opportunity for observation through the placement and design of physical and social features.

THE POWER OF BLUE OWNER PROFI LE NAME:

Jeff Neumann

OCCUPATION

Owner, Coldwell Ban ker Neumann Real MY COMMUN Estate ITY: Guelph, Ontario :

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People often assume that Real Estate has changed a lot over the years. I would contend that the keys to operating a successful brokerage have remained remarkably consistent since my father started a small independent brokerage almost 50 years ago. He was in the trust business, and we remain so today.

Our success and that of our salespeople is directly tied to how well we maintain the trust of those we serve. Coldwell Banker shares our core values of integrity and trust.

Jeff Neumann, Broker/Owner Coldwell Banker Neumann Real Estate Guelph, ON © 2016 Coldwell Banker LLC. All rights reserved. Each office is independently owned and operated. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker LLC. Each sales representative and broker is responsible for complying with any consumer disclosure laws or regulations, as well as applicable Real Estate Association rules and codes of conduct. The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA.

To discuss franchising opportunities in Canada: Andy Puthon President Mark Lindsey Regional VP Franchise Sales John Alexander Director, Franchise Sales coldwellbanker.ca/franchising 800-268-9599

28 REM OCTOBER 2016

Lessons learned from funny stories

By Mark Weisleder ust when you think you have seen everything in a real estate deal, something new occurs. The important thing is to learn something from whatever happens.

They only left us one key.

The front door has two locks!

This happens more often than you think. Calling the sellers won’t help because they probably left the rest of the keys on the kitchen counter. The likely choice for a buyer when this happens is to call a locksmith who offers 24-hour service to get you in and then send the bill to the sellers. In my experi-

J

ence this can cost up to $400.

Lesson: Sellers need to make sure that they give their lawyer enough keys to provide access to the buyer after closing. In our office, in most cases we give the sellers a lockbox and just ask them to leave the keys in the lockbox for the buyer on closing.

We walked in after closing and the entire home smelled worse than the Seinfeld car.

In most cases, it is hard to sue for these kinds of issues after closing, unless the seller did something to actively conceal the smell when the buyers were visiting the home in the first place.

Lesson: Be wary whenever you smell air freshener throughout the home during an open house.

Ask questions and make sure you have the home inspected.

I found out my tenant has a pet pig. Can I evict them?

This actually happened to a

client of mine. Interestingly, the city had a bylaw permitting certain licensed pigs as pets and since the tenant’s pig was licensed and was not damaging the premises, there was nothing the landlord could do about it.

Lesson: Always check social media when qualifying tenants. If they have an unusual pet, there will likely be a picture of them with the pet on Facebook.

The courier with the buyer certified cheques got stuck in traffic and their cell phone died.

This is really not funny. If the buyer lawyer does not make sure that the seller lawyer has the closing funds before 6 pm on the closing day, the seller may be able to cancel the deal. This can be very painful, especially when the seller’s lawyer needs these funds to close another deal for the seller who is buying that same day.

Lesson: More and more law firms are recognizing that it makes much more sense to just electronically transfer funds from buyer to seller lawyer trust accounts, usually using a wire transfer, to avoid these problems from arising in the first place.

The money transfer occurs immediately and the deals can close much more quickly and efficiently, especially when someone is buying and selling on the same day. This also permits our firm to close deals on time even if the buyer lender is late in transferring funds to our office.

To make this easier, always insert in your agreements that the balance due on closing is to be paid by wire transfer, using the Large Value Transfer System.

Who’s been sleeping in my bed?

I had buyers walk into their home after closing only to find

someone living in the basement, claiming to be their tenant. He was not there during the home inspection. This person claimed to have a “verbal lease” with the landlord. Police were called and fortunately, the person left within 24 hours.

Lesson: Always have a preclosing inspection of your home, even on the morning of closing, to make sure that there are no surprises after closing. This includes making sure that the seller removes all the junk and is leaving the home in a clean and broom swept condition, which is indicated on most real estate agreements.

Mark Weisleder is a senior partner, author and speaker at the law firm Real Estate Lawyers.ca LLP. Contact him at mark@realestatelawyers.ca or toll free at 1-888-876-5529 REM

5 steps to skyrocket website leads

By Robin Wilding

T

he biggest problem most real estate professionals have with their website is lack of leads. This isn’t surprising given that the average agent’s website lead conversion percentage (the amount of website visitors that turn into leads) begins with a decimal point.

In fact the average conversion ratio is between .2 to .3 per cent.

In hard numbers this means that if you get 1,000 visitors (which would be great in many markets!) you’ll get two or three leads (not great).

The website lead volume Holy Grail, sadly, isn’t a magic button – it takes a specific formula. And this formula requires time, effort, knowledge and cash investments.

There are a number of steps to getting more leads from your web-

site. The first two are absolutely necessary. The remaining three are ways to improve your results.

1. Traffic: You can’t squeeze blood from a stone, so your first step is to get traffic. The most popular sources are from Google Pay Per Click Ads and Facebook Ads – where you can pay to be seen or pay for specific results (like website visits). To put this in perspective, I have a client who advertises listing videos on Facebook, spending $50 per listing. It reaches thousands of people and gets about 250 clicks.

Having said this, however, it takes some perfecting to reach an average of 20 cents per click.

2. Lead gen: The next step is to ask for the business. You need compelling, in-your-face offers that convince people to give up their precious contact information. The more specific to your market, the more success you’ll have. For example, I worked with a client in Whistler. B.C. who had success with ski-in-ski-out properties under a certain price, and with others in university towns engaging people to purchase student rental income properties. Avoid

the uber-generic ones such as “free home evaluation” because the market is saturated with those.

3. Tinkering and testing: Once you have traffic and leadgen strategies that work, you need to continue to improve your conversion percentage (the number of website visitors who become leads). You do this by first being informed (through reporting and analytics), and then by A/B testing. A/B testing is where you show Form A to half the population and Form B to the other half. You continue with whichever form performs better and do another tweak with an A/B test. You continue doing that until you improve your lead-conversion percentage to a healthy rate.

4. Lead conversion: After you have traffic and leads, you need to nurture them into clients. An email-marketing drip campaign is a great option, especially with freemium tools like Mailchimp (which offers rich drag-and-drop tools and powerful analytics tools that tell you things like how many people opened it, how many clicked

A more personal and less automated approach can wield the best results . . . although it’s not ideal for busy agents. through to your website and more).

However, in my opinion a more personal and less automated approach can wield the best results…although it’s not ideal for busy agents.

5. Fuel: Once you have a successful traffic and lead-gen strategy – and know your conversion percentage (if I get X amount of traffic then I’ll get Y amount of leads) all you need to do is add more fuel to the fire to get your desired amount of clients.

To recap, the two absolute must-haves in order to get leads are traffic and lead-capturing technology. These will get some leads

flowing in. Then, if you add information via analytics, A/B testing and lead nurturing to the fire, you’ll earn enough to pour more fuel on the fire.

Robin Wilding is the creative mind behind Real Estate Websites Canada, www.real-estatewebsites.ca, a boutique real estate website company providing “differentiating-yet-laughably-affordable web solutions for agents across the country.” She says: “The company’s success is highly attributable to creating low-cost branded websites that highlight the personality of each individual agent. You’re unique; your website should be too.” REM

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The shelter of Thanksgiving Story and photos by Diane Slawych

O

ne of the rituals during the Jewish Thanksgiving (Sukkot), which happens from Oct. 17 to 25, involves the building of a temporary shelter. The sukkah is a hut-like structure designed to replicate the type of fragile dwellings that Jews lived in during 40 years of travel through the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt. During this holiday, some families will eat meals, study the Torah and even sleep in the sukkah. It’s a ritual that is practiced by Jews in Israel and around the world.

“Orthodox Jews would tend

to have one, but even some secular Jews will make one,” says Jerry Adler, director for Canada, Israel Ministry of Tourism, who plans to erect a sukkah this month on the patio of his Toronto home.

“It’s fun to eat inside, it’s different, not like sitting in the dining room. You can hear the birds, see the sunlight – and the roof of these structures is typically made of tree branches so at night you can see the stars in between the cracks. It’s very back to nature, almost romantic.”

The sukkah is typically made

This re-imagined sukkah designed by Dan Bergeron uses condo sandwich boards and was inspired by the need for affordable living spaces in densely populated cities like Toronto.

with natural materials that are strong enough to withstand strong winds. They have two complete walls and one partial wall, and a roof made of leaves and branches. They may be built in a backyard, on a balcony, porch or terrace and are often decorated inside with autumn or Judaic themes. Sukkot (Feast of Booths or Tabernacles) is an agricultural festival that was originally considered a thanksgiving for the fruit harvest.

Some sukkahs are very basic, using nothing more than wooden frame and tarp, while others

The “Roots” sukkah.

are quite elaborate. Last year as part of an international design competition, various artists were asked to re-imagine the sukkah.

About a dozen unique creations, including eight of the finalists, were put on display at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square.

One called “roots” was made entirely of rope; the “spiral sukkah” was constructed with wood, cloth and twine, in five fractured sections around a common centre; and the “guiding light” sukkah featured protruding wood of various lengths to characterize the enslavement of

the Jews. Another sukkah, which had previously been on display in Toronto, used colourful hand-painted silk fabric for its walls.

Designer Dan Bergeron constructed a sukkah using condominium sandwich boards and called it “///re-ply\\\ Phase 2.” It was inspired, in part, by the need for affordable living spaces in densely populated cities like Toronto.

If you happen to be in Israel around this time of year, you may encounter a sukkah and experience it first-hand as many hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions provide a kosher sukkah in which customers may dine.

“Chag Sameach!” (Happy Holiday) REM

The “spiral sukkah” – note the leaves and branches on the roof.

REM OCTOBER 2016 31

Historic gem or tear-down candidate?

By Yvonne Dick

W

hen real estate markets get hot, often property developers and home buyers buy properties in desirable neighbourhoods and then demolish the existing structure to build their own dream homes. This causes angst for local community groups and historic preservation societies.

If your client wants to buy and rebuild, how do you ensure a smooth transition for your client?

What clues tell you that a house you are offering for sale would be as valuable as a new home if left intact? What turns a character home into an historic treasure?

Caroline Adderson has lived in Vancouver since 1982. She is the owner of the Facebook page Vancouver Vanishes, which is dedicated to chronicling the demise of the houses sitting in older neighbourhoods of the city.

“Last year, Vancouver approved the demolition of 974 single-family homes and duplexes,” she says. “Around 40 per cent of demolitions are pre-1940s character homes, meaning that almost every second day we lose an original house built by hand from oldgrowth wood (a non-renewable resource). Many of these homes are completely upgraded and renovated. Working appliances are crushed along with reusable household goods and furniture.”

In her area, the lots that are left are then used for multi-suite buildings and houses much larger than their original counterparts.

Adderson says that having several older houses on the same street demolished begins the process of the street losing much of the “character” of the period in which it was originally created, something neighbourhoods may not want.

“I’d say all these pre-1940s homes have historic value because they bear witness to history,” says Adderson. “Lived in by many generations, they become repositories of narrative, which is all history really is: stories. (In Vancouver)

anyone can look up the history of their home using the online City Directories through Vancouver Public Library. The Heritage Vancouver Society Historic Building Permits Project is helpful too, as well as the Vancouver Archives.” Similar sources are available in other cities across the country.

A little research can go a long way. If you check out the history of the house, you may be able to talk to its former owners or at least look at any building or renovation permits they filed, and find out what repairs or changes were made while they lived in the house. This can tell you a lot about general upkeep and condition over the years.

If the house is to be demolished, it might be helpful to approach the people who live in the area surrounding the house with contact information. You could perhaps include a gift card for a restaurant so they can get away from the noise one day during the demolition.

Address their concerns the best that you can. Apologize on behalf of you or your client for the noise and explain why demolition is the best solution.

Some homes may appear a little under the weather but still be salvageable. A savvy investor can recognize the gem in a crowd of careworn contenders. A general rule of thumb is to avoid homes that will need new plumbing, electrical, foundation, roof and wall work or repairs. When selling the home later, no one sees these improvements and they don’t add to the home value.

Although your role as a sales rep will be minimal by the time your client’s contractors are done and the home project starts, you can help ease the transition by having your client offer a small gift (baked goods), with contact information to the neighbours. Suggest that your client have a barbecue once the dust clears, and sometimes lifelong friendships are the result! REM

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32 REM OCTOBER 2016

OUR 2016 READER SURVEY

WE WANT TO

HEAR FROM

YOU

Rent-to-own Continued from page 3

also means the clients need to be given the tools to help them repair their credit over the term of the RTO agreement.

The sad reality is some RTO investors don’t offer as much support to the client or build contingencies and flexibility into their contracts. So when the term comes up and the client still can’t get a mortgage, the investment company walks away with the

CRM

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down payment and accumulated funds and the client is left with nothing.

“You have to be doing this for the right reasons,” says Kelly, adding that its people’s lives you are dealing with.

A.J. Hazzi, Kelowna, B.C. real estate investor and broker/owner with Vantage West Realty, started doing rent-to-own deals in 2008 during the global financial crisis, but from a different angle: he started offering RTO as an exit strategy for homeowners who wanted to sell but couldn’t in the down market.

“I had a lot of customers who basically had to move, for any number of reasons, but couldn’t afford to sell because they had very little, if any, equity built up in the house,” says Hazzi. “Rentto-own became a great exit strategy for these people because it allowed them to move on with their lives with a nice option down payment, generally in the $20,000 to $30,000 range (received from the rent-to-own client as a down payment towards the future purchase of the house) while their house was being rented and looked after.”

As Hazzi says, the RTO agreement allowed these selling clients to build up greater equity in the house, while having their mortgage paid down, all while the market corrected itself over the next three to five years. At the end of the term, the RTO client would buy the house at a predetermined increased rate of appreciation, and it would turn out to be a winning situation for everyone involved.

What Hazzi didn’t expect was the number of quality buyer leads

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RTO would generate. He says around the same time, there was a tightening of mortgage qualifications, which squeezed out about 15 per cent of previous would-be buyers, creating a whole new market of RTO clients.

“I had so many prospects that I had to create a web landing page that prequalified people based on several factors like income, credit history and the amount of a deposit they had available,” says Hazzi. “It produced a steady stream of quality people who were eager.”

Hazzi says in the down market, he was one of the few brokers who offered a solution for the seller that replicated a hot market because there were more buyers than there were houses.

“By 2009 there were a tonne of listings but very few buyers, so it was hard to be a seller,” says Hazzi. “But as a seller of RTO properties, there was a maximum of about 20 properties on the market a buyer could consider and I had thousands of rent-toown applicants. We flipped the tables and created a win-win for everyone involved.”

A key piece of advice Hazzi offers is to make sure the RTO investor is working closely with a mortgage broker to prequalify the RTO client based on their current income.

“Income qualification is key,” says Hazzi. “You need to be sure the client can service the future mortgage payment based on their current earnings and not what they think they might be earning in three to five years time.”

The other key piece, he says, is to make sure the client is connected with a third-party credit repair service who can help them relearn their relationship with money and help them rebuild their credit.

“That’s where rent-to-own has been given a bad name,” says Hazzi. “Some investors are really hoping the client can’t afford the house in the end so that the investor walks away with everything: the house, the down payment option money, whatever.

That’s not right. I structure my contracts to account for all kinds of ‘what-if’s’ and with as much manoeuvrability and flexibility as possible to help make the arrangement a success for everyone.” REM

REM OCTOBER 2016 33

Blogging on Facebook may be hurting your business

By Kim Rempel

acebook can be a fantastic marketing tool for your business – if you’re using it properly. Many real estate agents, however, misuse it and hurt their business.

Many make the same mistake as my friend, for example, who launched his own business on Facebook. Unfortunately, every article, chart and link he shared led people to someone else’s site. He worked for that traffic and then instead of leading people to his own website (which doesn’t exist) he was leading them away.

“Have you ever considered having a blog?” I asked him one day.

“Well, what’s a blog?” he asked.

After I explained how a blog can educate and equip readers, and ultimately sell your own products or services, he said, “I already do that!”

“No, but the idea is to drive traffic to your site, not –“ He stopped me. “This is work-

F

ing just fine, Kim.” To him, Facebook was a blog.

Facebook is not a blog, so stop using it as one.

You don’t own your stuff: Technically, whatever content you share on Facebook becomes theirs.

Well, you “own” it, but they can “use” it however they want and “relicense” your content to whomever they please. Here’s how that looks in Facebook’s terms: “Sharing your content and information – You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook and you can control how it is shared through our privacy and application settings. In addition: 1. For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with

Facebook (IP License).

Sure, they open with assurance of ownership and control, but later we find out you “grant” them a broad license (“sub-licensable” and “transferable”, by the way) to “use any IP (Intellectual Property) content that you post on or in connection with Facebook”.

If you had your own website though, you would own and control your content.

The bottom line is this: on Facebook you don’t fully own and control your content, but on your own website you do. Use Facebook to drive traffic to your site where you have full control.

You can’t control visibility: Have you ever unfollowed a friend or opted not to see certain posts?

Yeah, so has everyone else. Your posts are not necessarily visible to everyone.

Posts can also become lost in the newsfeed. If you post at 2 pm and some people don’t log in until 4 pm, will they scroll through two

hours of newsfeed to find yours?

Then there is the ever-changing algorithm that decides who sees what. At any time they can also reconfigure or delete the very features you’re using (and the content you created). They are in control and their decisions have a direct impact on your visibility and reach.

The Social Media Examiner (www.socialmediaexaminer.com), in a post about how to use Facebook Notes, makes this disclaimer. “Before you decide to use Facebook Notes in lieu of a blog on your website, there are some important points to consider. First, you never know when Facebook may change its mind and take out the Notes app, in which case you could lose a lot of content. Even if you could back up the notes, you’d still lose all of the engagement.

“Second, all of the benefits of your content marketing (traffic, backlinks, social shares, etc.) would be directed to Facebook

instead of your website.”

The smart way to blog using Facebook: One agent, after consistently blogging for two to three years, noticed a definite increase in web traffic, engagement and Google ranking.

“People have hired me because of my blog,” she said. “When people look for a Realtor, I’m there.

I’m very visible in a Google search and it’s because of my blog.”

Here’s the thing about websites: they are findable and give you full control over your business.

As Daniel Miessler puts it in his article, If You’re Blogging On Facebook, Stop It, “Quite simply: if it’s worth saying, it’s worth saying in a more visible and lasting medium.”

If you want buyers and sellers to be able to find you online, your Facebook posts won’t top their Google search. Blog on your own website. Then share a link to your blog post. Get them to your site and steer traffic from there. REM

You’re the captain of a sinking ship Accountability and delegation is what keeps your business afloat

By Ken Goodfellow

I

t’s your vision.

It’s your journey.

It’s your success.

Right?

Wrong.

You’re a misguided fool if you think you can go at it alone.

Anyone who has ever achieved greatness has had help.

The real estate professionals who have the entrepreneurial mindset know they can’t turn their vision into a reality. Agents know they need other agents, administrators and team members to fully realize their vision.

It’s impossible to sustain a profitable business and maintain your

position as a top producer without a team. But simply having a team does not guarantee success.

Accountability and delegation are two critical factors when it comes to transforming a good team into a great team. Every team member must be accountable to every other member if you want to create a high performance team. Not only does this foster greater innovation, trust, honesty and productivity, but it also frees you up from being the playground monitor.

Moving your real estate business from a $1 million company to a $10 million company revolves around accountability of your team and your ability to delegate.

Your time is far too valuable to be spent settling squabbles between team members. I have worked with more than 700 teams in my coaching career and I have seen weak teams, mediocre teams and industry leading teams.

In a nutshell, here is the difference: Weak teams have little or no accountability.

Mediocre teams have the boss as their only source of accountability.

Industry leading teams have a culture of universal accountability, where the vast majority of problems are solved by team members themselves.

Delegation only works when the person or persons you are delegating to are on the same page when it comes to vision, goals and expectations. You must be willing to invest some time initially to train your team leaders, who in return will train your team. The days of the CEO leading team meetings from start to finish are over – today’s top team meetings involve input from the entire team.

For example, if a team member

is late for a meeting, anyone on the team should feel confident and comfortable respectfully questioning the tardy member and holding him or her accountable.

Here’s an overview of ideas I have shared with teams in the past for creating a culture of universal accountability.

Set expectations – Make it clear to all team members that you want and expect them to hold you and the other team members accountable.

Walk the walk – Confront your concerns directly. Failure to do this will result in the loss of moral authority from your team.

Teach it – The best leaders are teachers. Make a list of conflict resolution skills and teach one at every staff meeting. Have the team practice what you have taught by role-playing. Trust me, your team will complain, but this will make a huge difference in

transference to real-life situations.

As an entrepreneur, your role should not be to settle problems or constantly micro-manage, it should be to create a culture where peers address concerns immediately, directly and respectfully with each other. The basic principle should be that anyone should be able to hold anyone accountable if it is in the best interest of the team. Teams that embrace this culture are able to save time as problems get solved better and faster, therefore increasing productivity and your bottom line.

Ken Goodfellow is a real estate coach to top agents, brokers and teams across North America. He is well known for taking high-producing agents and real estate companies to the next level. Visit www.goodfellowcoaching.com or email Ken at ken@goodfellowcoaching.com.

REM

34 REM OCTOBER 2016

The other side of an open house October 26, 2016

Bayshore Community Centre | 1900 3rd Ave East, Owen Sound

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By Dan St. Yves

A

s a former Realtor, one of the things I will confess to missing the most is the ability to view inside interesting homes, if they’ve captured my attention while driving by.

I also miss the Realtor Tour/Open House that the industry typically did weekly to showcase new listings. Which I will also confess was frequently enhanced by snacks or meals to lure us all in, back when the market was soft.

Nothing like hot roast beef on a bun to take the sting out of a soft market.

I had a point somewhere with all this preamble. Recently, I was driving along and I spotted a new listing that I had always admired in my own neighbourhood and I just couldn’t resist. I fell victim to the curb appeal, the siren song of the clearly inviting home. While no longer part of the fraternity, my inner lookie-loo took control of my feet and drew me inside.

While it has been many years since I’ve been licensed, I did presume that after some 17 years of writing a regular column here for REM, the listing agent would recognize me and allow me to just wander alone to view the property.

It’s nice to have cachet.

I was not recognized though – or perhaps the agent hosting simply did a marvellous job of suppressing his enthusiasm at meeting me in person. I suspect he had me sign in to a “guest register” just to gain my autograph, or confirm his suspicion.

Even by signing in under my typical pseudonym though, I was not allowed to simply roam freely.

There was a brief disclosure form to fill out.

By the time I was starting to fill out the third page of the personal information preview agreement, I became aware of a colleague assisting with the open house. The listing agent had been busy distracting me while his partner applied a tracking bracelet onto my leg. As I glanced out the living room win-

dow, an appraiser was discreetly writing up a valuation on my SUV. Hearing a cough over in the kitchen, I spotted a mortgage broker laying out further documents to help qualify me, should I have further interest once I had a chance to look over the property.

Finally, I was free to tour the home. Both agents lagged a bit behind while I viewed the property. One excused himself after his smartphone buzzed, likely to follow up on information returned from my credit check.

It was as nice inside as I had imagined, but I couldn’t put my finger on why I seemed to like it even more than I thought I would.

Then I concentrated on the background music, which I had presumed earlier to be some sort of Gregorian chanting. It was, but the chant was “buy this house, buy this house” repeated over and over in increasingly compelling tones.

I determined that I had to get out of the home before I did something I would regret, like ask what the list price was. I retreated hastily past the group, drove off, but then spotted yet another open house down the block.

That’s when my ankle vibrated, as the tracking bracelet alerted the last agent that I was still snooping around. I stayed in my car and drove far enough away to have it quit sending a signal.

That’s also when I woke up, as it turned out to be my iPhone that was doing the vibrating. What a crazy dream. Maybe I better lay off reading the real estate section before I go to bed at night.

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

RECA wins award

T

he Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is this year’s recipient of the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR) Investigative Excellence Award for its investigation into Derek Johnson’s unlicensed real estate and mortgage brokerage activity.

The CLEAR Investigative Excellence award recognizes an investigative team in occupational or professional regulation. Winners demonstrate exceptional performance in a particular case or a history of excellent performance beyond what is expected or required, which resulted in a direct and significant impact to the protection of the public or consumer interests, says RECA. “While the primary purpose of RECA’s professional standards unit is consumer protection, having CLEAR recognize us in this way is an extremely rewarding recognition of the work RECA’s team put in on this file,” says Charles Stevenson, director of professional standards at RECA. RECA first began investigating Derek Johnson in early 2013. Since then, it has issued five administrative penalties against him for unlicensed activity, with fines totaling more than $100,000. In 2014, the Court of Queen’s Bench granted RECA an injunction against Derek Johnson and his associates, ordering them to cease and desist trading in real estate and dealing in mortgages without a licence. In April 2016, the court found Johnson and a number of his associates in civil contempt of court for breaching that injunction and later sentenced Johnson to two months in jail, says RECA. “While the Derek Johnson matter is likely one of the most high-profile investigations the RECA team has tackled, it is just one example of the work RECA’s team does to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to consumer protection, and investigative and regulatory excellence,” says Stevenson.

CLEAR is an international resource for stakeholders in professional regulation. REM

REM OCTOBER 2016 35

Court rules ‘discount’ mortgage provision void

By Martin Rumack

T

hose of you who have mortgages may know that the federal Interest Act contains a section that expressly governs post-default mortgage interest rates. Specifically, Section 8 of that act prohibits a lender from imposing a “fine, a penalty or a rate of interest� that has the effect of creating a higher charge on unpaid arrears than would be imposed on principal money not in arrears.

In plain language, this means that a lender cannot demand that the borrower pay a higher postdefault rate of interest as a penalty or fine for going into default.

A recent Supreme Court of Canada decision, Krayzel Corp. v. Equitable Trust Co. tackled an interesting related issue: Does this prohibition also cover those scenarios where the borrower gets a lower-interest rate “discount� while he or she is not in default, as compared to the higher rate payable if the loan goes into default?

What’s

New

The issue arose in relation to a mortgage that prescribed a defined “interest rate� of 25 per cent that took effect only if the borrower went into default. That threshold was triggered by (among other things) a failure to make set payments at a stipulated lower-interest “pay rate�, which was likely to be around 7.5 per cent. Essentially, the lower “pay rate� was to serve as an incentive to the borrower for paying promptly.

The borrower made some payments but went into default.

The lender claimed that this triggered the provision allowing for 25 per cent interest to be charged for arrears during the post-default period.

The Supreme Court was asked to rule on the validity of these mortgage provisions. It had to consider the proper interpretation of the mortgage, assessing the intention of the parties and reviewing the meaning and purpose of the legislation itself.

The court ultimately held that the “discount� provision was void under Section 8 of the act. As far as that prohibition was concerned, there was effectively no distinction between a higherinterest “penalty� for default and a lower-interest “discount� for punctual payment – they both made it more costly and difficult for borrowers who were in default.

There was no justification for differentiating between the two, in

light of the overall intent of the Interest Act, which was to protect landowners from charges that would make it impossible for them to redeem or protect their equity.

The court also noted that the lender’s use of (possibly) misleading terms like “bonus�, “discount� or “benefit� do not change the legal outcome. The validity of the mortgage provision is determined by its substance, not its form.

Returning to the mortgage at hand, when it was boiled down to its essence, the arrangement offered by the lender in this imposed a 25 per cent interest rate on arrears, as compared to 7.5 per cent interest on principal money not in arrears. This put it squarely within the wording of the Section 8 prohibition in the act. The court accordingly voided the 25 per cent interest provision and set it at 7.5 per cent or prime plus 5.25, whichever was higher.

See Krayzel Corp. v Equitable Trust Co. 2016 SCC 18 (CanLii), http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/do c/2016/2016scc18/2016scc18.html Toronto lawyer Martin Rumack’s practice areas include real estate law, corporate and commercial law, wills, estates, powers of attorney, family law and civil litigation. He is coauthor of Legal Responsibilities of Real Estate Agents, 3rd Edition, available at the TREB bookstore. Visit Martin Rumack’s website at www.martinrumack.com. REM

David Chilton to headline industry event David Chilton, former dragon on Dragon’s Den and best-selling author of The Wealthy Barber and The Wealthy Barber Returns, is this year’s headliner at the 7th Annual Team Summit, sponsored by Dan Plowman Team Systems. The event takes place Oct. 26 - 27 at the Westin Trillium House in Blue Mountain, Ont. Chilton will give the keynote address on the morning of Oct. 27. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have David as our keynote speaker this year,� says Dan Plowman, founder and CEO of Dan Plowman Team Systems. “David was a huge fan favourite on Dragon’s Den and as one of Canada’s best-selling authors and financial experts, he embodies everything we were looking for at this year’s summit. It’s a great chance to network with some of the best minds in the industry and with David’s financial and investment expertise, it’s a great fit!�

The summit is held every year for real estate teams from across Canada. The organizers say the event attracts top teams and their team members for two days of intense training, motivation and inspiration.

For information: http://dpts.ca/dpts-events/team-summit-2/ REM

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36 REM OCTOBER 2016

Representatives of Century 21 Shackleton Realty and The Running Room present the shoes to Youth Empowerment and Support Services in Edmonton.

Good Works R

e/Max First Choice Realty’s Vince Mirabelli has been selected as a finalist for Realtor Magazine’s Good Neighbor Award in recognition of the work he does as a volunteer in the community. The magazine is the official publication of the U.S.-based National Association of Realtors. Mirabelli, from Thunder Bay, Ont., is the first finalist who is an international Realtor.

He began his philanthropic career as a candidate for the annual bachelor auction for Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundations in 2003. In 2005 he founded the Save a Heart Ball, which has raised nearly $500,000 in the past 10 years.

On his 30th birthday, Mirabelli founded the Paediatric Endowment Fund with a donation of $25,000. His goal is for the fund to eventually reach $1 million. After receiving donations in lieu of gifts for both his 30th and 35th birthdays, the fund is now worth about $100,000.

On top of his work with the hospital, he also has built playgrounds, funded literacy programs, helped build a school in Ecuador and he helps with Camp Quality, a week-long camp for children with cancer allowing them to escape thoughts of their illness and treatment.

■ ■ ■

Royal LePage Atlantic Homestead in St. John’s, Nfld. hosted its fifth annual Chip for Charity golf tournament in support of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation.

More than 100 attendees enjoyed a day of golf, games, awards and an evening banquet at the event. More than $10,000 was raised, bringing the event’s five-year fundraising total to $50,000. It benefits local

women’s shelter Iris Kirby House.

Committee members included Karen Newman, Pauline “Chive” Jensen and Nick Vinicombe and Craig Blanchard, co-owners of Royal LePage Atlantic Homestead.

Vince Mirabelli From left: Chip for Charity Committee member Pauline “Chive” Jensen of Royal LePage Atlantic Homestead, Cathy Holwell of HouseMasters Home Inspections, Marie French of Sutton Aurora Realty and Susan Smallwood of The Telegram.

■ ■ ■

Century 21 Shackleton Realty in Edmonton and the Running Room worked together recently to collect 505 pair of gently used running shoes. The shoes will be used to help young kids at risk who use the services of Youth Empowerment and Support Services in Edmonton.

Bruce and Holly Johnson at SickKids Hospital.

■ ■ ■

Tina Gardin, broker of record at Sutton Group - Quantum Realty in Oakville, Ont. was a presenting partner for the Oakville Galleries’ Dinner in Gairloch Gardens, which supports quality educational and artistic programming.

“Sutton Group - Quantum Realty has been focusing on community sponsorship in the form of education, training and providing the necessities for children and young adults to thrive by taking part in a variety of programs,” says Jen Luchka, marketing and communications manager for the brokerage.

Earlier this summer the team also donated $2,000 to the YMCA’s Fill the Bus – Send a Kid to Camp campaign. The office also donated $2,800 to the Sutton Alberta Wildfire Relief Fund for the Canadian Red Cross. Scott Shaw of Sutton Group Realty Systems personally matched donations.

From left, Carlos Silva, sales rep at Century 21 Heritage; Jordan Arjoon, Millie Arjoon, Trina Arjoon and Luis Moniz, sales rep. (Photo: Lisa Fedele)

From left: Jim Morris, Royal LePage manager of network development, with Gary Gray, Mike Duggleby, Tom Shearer and Warren Behan, Royal LePage brokers/owners and managers from B.C.

Golfers at Royal LePage Dynamic Real Estate’s first annual golf tournament, from left: Doug Bowes (tournament organizer), Gina Cartman, Mike Zettler and Gary Danyluk.

Royal LePage owners and brokers from Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C., from left: Carmen Cartier, Gary Gray, Tom Shearer, Debbie Morris, Jim Morris, Warren Behan, Lou Doderai, Mike Duggleby, Bryan Watkins, Stephen Grant, Ian Mackay and Ron Pfeifer.

Missing: Gregg Hart.

■ ■ ■

Royal LePage brokers/owners and managers from the West coast gathered at Painter’s Lodge in Campbell River, B.C. for their fourth annual salmon derby, held

Kari Calder Left: Lynne Walker trained to take part in a rugged hike to benefit MS research.

REM OCTOBER 2016 37

in support of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation.

Ian Mackay, managing broker at Royal LePage ParksvilleQualicum Beach Realty, had the winning catch, bringing in a 32 lb. salmon. “We had a spectacular event and are proud to have raised $3,000 for a very important cause,â€? says Jim Morris, event organizer and Royal LePage manager of network development in Western Canada. “Everyone is already looking forward to next year’s derby, scheduled for Aug. 17-19, 2017.â€? â– â– â–

Bruce Johnson, a sales rep with Re/Max of Wasaga Beach in Wasaga Beach, Ont. and his daughter Holly rode a motorcycle 9,400 km from St. John’s to Vancouver in August, raising funds for and visiting each of the 14 local Children’s Miracle Network member hospitals.

Johnson has raised more than $100,000 for Children’s Miracle Network (SickKids Hospital in Toronto) since his first fundraising ride (Wasaga Beach to Costa Rica) in 2013. Bruce and his wife Mary lost their daughter Alyssa Rae in 1998 after she was born, despite the efforts of the doctors and nurses at SickKids. The couple chose to channel the painful experience into one of hope for other families by raising awareness and necessary funds.

For information, visit http://www.motorcycleformiracles.com. â– â– â–

An annual golf tournament founded by Luis Moniz, sales rep at Century 21 Heritage Group in Bradford, Ont., raised more than $13,000 this year to support a local child in need from the area of Bradford West Gwillimbury.

Millie Arjoon was born with Ulrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (UCMD). Since birth, Millie’s body has trouble producing collagen necessary for supporting strong muscle function. UCMD makes it difficult for Millie to use the muscles in her body, making tasks like eating or (at times) breathing a challenge.

The family plans to use the money to get a wheelchair-acces-

sible vehicle for Millie. It will serve as the “driving force� to take Millie on adventures.

Moniz founded the golf tournament in 2011. He works closely with co-ordinator Carlos Silva, also a sales rep at the brokerage, and volunteers to organize and execute the event each year. â– â– â–

Royal LePage Dynamic Real Estate’s first annual golf tournament in La Salle, Man. in support of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation raised $5,500.

The event was attended by 50 golfers. All funds raised will be directed to Willow Place, a local women’s shelter. It provides services and support to women and their children who have experienced family violence. “It was a sweltering day, but we all persevered and had a lot of fun and fellowship,â€? says tournament organizer Doug Bowes. “The support of committee members Jocelyn Nicholas, Jodi Walls, Alix McIntyre and Becky Parkes, and of course the generosity of the sponsors and golfers made it all possible.â€? â– â– â–

Century 21 Fusion sales rep Kari Calder in Saskatoon was the title sponsor for the Princess Shop’s Perfect Pink BBQ. The organization creates an enhanced graduation experience for female students in need and provides them with mentorship, support and the tools to pursue success after their graduation.

Young women graduating from high school are provided with a graduation dress, accessories and services donated by the community. The Princess Shop also has scholarship and work placement programs. â– â– â–

Lynne Walker, an associate with Sutton Group - Canwest in Calgary, planned to take part in a rugged 20-km hike to benefit the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society of Canada. Since its inception in 1948, the society has put $140 million into researching the mysterious disease. An estimated 100,000 Canadians are living with MS, including a few of Lynne’s friends

and one relative. “I’ve witnessed their sad deterioration and loss of mobility and wanted to do something to help,� she says.

The MS Hike 2016 was a challenging climb through the Upper Galatea Lakes in Kananaskis Country or along the scenic Terrace Trails, depending on permit approval for the MS Society.

Walker and other participants planned to camp at Mount Kidd RV Park the night before and the night after the hike. â– â– â–

Stefan Malloch was just three or four-years-old when he was matched with a volunteer grandparent through Big Brothers Big Sisters. It was such a positive experience that now, many years later, they still stay in touch and Malloch visits his “volunteer grandma� at a care home in Vancouver.

Malloch, a salesperson with Sutton Group - Seafair Realty in Ladner, B.C., decided to pay it forward by becoming a Big Brother. He highly recommends this special mentoring experience. “My ‘little brother’ is 10years-old and enjoys the outdoors and sports. We do all sorts of stuff: hikes, movies, fishing, going to the beach. It’s a lot of fun,� says Malloch, who has volunteered with the boy since the child was six.

Currently over 42,000 children are matched with volunteers in their mentoring programs.

For information: www.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca. â– â– â–

Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services in Burlington, Ont. recently celebrated its yearround commitment to supporting Halton Women’s Place and the Carpenter Hospice with a donation of $31,000. The money was raised at an annual charity golf tournament, Halloween Chili Bowl and sales reps’ commission-based donations. “Giving back to the community is a core value shared by everyone in our brokerage and something that we will continue to do with every coming year,� says JoAnn Landry, broker/president. REM

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THE PUBLISHER’S PAGE

By Heino Molls hen I was boy back in the 1950s, licensed tradespeople had badges. If you wanted to know if the plumber or electrician who came to your house was licensed and therefore could be trusted and was competent, you could just glance at his badge.

Most tradesmen carried their license badge on their belts. Some had them on their tool belts but most were simply on the belts they were wearing so you could see their credentials even if they put their tool bag aside. There was no bylaw that I remember that said they had to show it but it was a matter of understanding with everyone at a home or a work site that they had to show their badge on arrival.

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Show them your badge This was a metal badge. An engraved shield. They had documents that said they passed their licensing courses and were in good standing and licensed in their respective field but the metal license badge just told everyone at a glance who they were and what they were. It seemed back then that a lot of professions had badges.

The city got into the act by issuing badges for health inspectors, fire marshals and bylaw enforcement officers. Of course, the police had badges but so did almost everyone who had to be licensed by the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

The people who carried these badges were immensely proud of them and happy to display them. If one of the members in their profession conducted themselves in a manner unbecoming of their peers or did not do good work, their badge was taken away in short order, not just by their administrative body but by their peers. It was a matter of honour to the entire group that everyone in the profes-

sion conducted themselves with the highest work standards and exemplary personal behaviour.

This was back when it meant something to be licensed. Things are different today. There are just as many professions that require courses, training and education and in many cases apprenticeships before a professional license is issued. You still get papers and certificates that can be framed and put on the wall if you are awarded a license. What is different from the 1950s is that few of those professions have badges or shields anymore. The police still have badges but I honestly can’t think of any other profession that does.

I think they should bring them back. I am reminded that while many of the professional shields or badges were issued by governmental bodies, many were not. The actual license was government issued, but not always the badge.

Many were issued by the professions themselves. Sometimes it was a professional association, often it

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was a trade union or other professional group that proudly had their members carry a badge. These metal badges were far beyond token tin shields. They were revered by those who wanted to join the profession or association.

It’s too bad we don’t have that regard for all professions today.

I think it would mean a great deal to a real estate agent to carry a shield in their wallet that designated them as a professional. They would have something that others

don’t get unless they sat for all the exams, passed all the courses and achieved the designation that made them a bona fide part of a business community.

Today everybody thinks they can market and sell real estate.

Until they get in trouble. Then they need a professional. How will they know they are dealing with one? Show them your badge.

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

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