November Issue

ARE EXCLUSIVE LISTINGS GAINING TRACTION?

IS S UE # 3 7 3 OC TO B E R 2020

THE MASTER BEDROOM DEBATE FACEBOOK? TWITTER?

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DESMOND BROWN’S ECLECTIC CAREER

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DESMOND BROWN’S ECLECTIC CAREER ~ By Sohini Bhattacharya

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His journey has taken him from real estate to a career as a television and newspaper reporter and then back to real estate. “I don’t think I’ve reached my potential yet as a real estate agent,” says Desmond Brown.

and a partner. It was an ambitious hen Desmond Brown, move. “I thought I was hot,” he says. sales representative at Re/ But soon the business tanked. “We Max Hallmark Realty in lost everything. We didn’t have any Toronto, became a Realtor in the late business smarts, whatsoever,” says ’80s, he was a 26-year-old fresh-faced Brown. “With my tail between my rookie with his lack of experience legs” he went back to McLachlan at and age working against him. But his Re/Max Hallmark, who welcomed him uncle, who owned a small brokerage back. in Oshawa and was opening a branch But since his high school days, on the Danforth, thought Brown was “I had a dream. I always dreamed the perfect person for the job. of being a journalist,” he says. Poor “He looked at me one day and he grades prevented him from being said, ‘You would be a great Realtor. accepted to journalism school and All you have to do is go and knock community college was a struggle. on 50 doors a day. And I guarantee, Despite it all, with his decadeyou’ll make $50,000.’” Brown was a long record of salesmanship and trustworthy and personable young experience in real estate, along with man who loved talking to people. encouragement from his wife, Brown “Maybe that’s what he saw in me,” ventured into journalism one more says Brown. time. This time he came out with Back in the day, the promise of a degree from Ryerson’s School of $50,000 was enough to lure Brown, Journalism. who was also driving a taxi on the side.

It’s a rarity for a successful journalist A year into the job, Brown realised that to credit a career in real estate, real estate wouldn’t be as cut and dry but Brown says, “When I went into as he’d envisioned. It was then that journalism, I he met Ken THE PANDEMIC GIVES THE wasn’t afraid to McLachlan, ST RY AN O PP O R T UNI T Y INDU knock on doors CEO and TO REIMAGINE THE SELLING and wasn’t broker/owner PROCESS, SAYS BROWN. afraid to go of Hallmark in through a Group of side door when everybody was lined Companies. “Ken looked at me and up at the front door.” His go-getter said, ‘You really don’t know what attitude, primed by a decade in real you’re doing, do you?’” says Brown. estate, made it easy for Brown to get With that began a partnership good scoops that a lot of journalists between McLachlan and Brown that wouldn’t have found. Over another has stood the test of time.

11 years, Brown became a household For the next 11 years, Brown thrived name for many while broadcasting under McLachlan’s tutelage – enough high-profile stories for the National to buy a Realty World franchise and Post, CTV and CBC. set up a storefront with 20 employees

During his stint in the media, Brown covered everything from municipal politics to art openings to parades to homicides to a derailed freight train that fell over an underpass, killing two women during a snowstorm. “I thought I was going to be another Lloyd Robertson,” he says. But with no sight of how he could make that a reality, Brown decided to quit. His next port of call, albeit short-lived, was TD Bank, in corporate communications.

There, “I didn’t make it out of the three-month probationary period,” he says. “As my supervisor said to me, we were not a good fit.”

Soon real estate beckoned Brown once again, to bookend his eclectic career. “My old friend, Ken McLachlan, who’s always been there for me with every change in my life, asked me to take over one of the Re/Max Hallmark offices as manager,” says Brown.

“It would be nice to finish our real estate careers together in the many years to come,” McLachlan texted Brown one day, as they renewed their real estate partnership. “So here I am, back at Re/Max Hallmark, which has grown to become the No. 1 Re/ Max franchise in the world with 1,500 agents in 26 offices across Ontario.”

The pandemic gives Realtors an opportunity to market homes in a way that they’ve never been marketed before, he says. The crisis gives the industry a chance to reimagine the selling process, making it easier for buyers and sellers. To not use the opportunity would be a waste, he says.

Having spent seven years as a

PHOTO: ELIJAH SHARK

television reporter, Brown’s recognizable face and broadcasting skills have given him a rare edge in real estate today, when video has changed marketing rules, and even more so in a pandemic. But Brown remains realistic, saying, “It’s quite a compliment for people to recognize me. But does it translate into them wanting to list their houses with me? Probably not. I’ve got to show what I can do as a Realtor before anybody wants to deal with me in that capacity.”

He says, “I don’t think I’ve reached my potential yet as a real estate agent.

And that’s pretty good for a 62-yearold guy who thinks that he might still have some potential at that age. But I think we can be hard on ourselves, no matter how successful we are. We have to look at our shortcomings. I guess that’s the way I am.”

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HIGHLIGHTS

NEWS 6

A round up of the latest industry news

14

Obituary: Chuck Willes

18

Anne Squires gets jail term

8

Which social media channels should you be on?

President & CEO William Molls

20

Coaching your sellers for a better sale: Tips that might make the difference

Editor Jim Adair

PROFILES 26

3

Desmond Brown’s eclectic career

10

Salespeople the focus at the ‘un-franchise’ - Independent brokerage TrilliumWest.

12

14 18

OPINION

Fewer salespeople, more skills - Sutton Quantum Realty

A bedroom by any other name: Master and primary bedrooms

24

Making affordable housing unaffordable

Les Twarog wants to take on Zillow

28

Are exclusive listings gaining traction? Pros and cons

REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY 15

Standard of care owed by agents

19

Dual agency and low commissions - Green Hedge Realty

Condos sell virtually for $36 million

Meet the TEAM

ADVICE FOR SALESPEOPLE

COLUMNS 22

Dan St. Yves

31

The Publisher’s Page

DEPARTMENTS 23

Honours and Awards

30

Good Works

REAL ESTATE

MAGAZINE 2255B QUEEN ST. E, SUITE 1178 TORONTO, ON M4E 1G3 416-425-3504

Director Of Sales Amanda Rock Art Director Eilidh Harding

Contributing Writers: Connie Adair Sohini Bhattacharya Diane Slawych Mario Toneguzzi Toby Welch Columnists: Shaneka Shaw Taylor Christopher Seepe Dan St. Yves Ross Wilson

Brand Designer Sandi Gooder

Cover Photo Elijah Shark

Get in TOUCH advertising@realestatemagazine.ca 416-425-3504 x 1 Advertising jim@realestatemagazine.ca Editorial distribution@realestatemagazine.ca Distribution REM was founded in 1989 by Heino Molls. It is published 12 times a year. REM is independently owned and operated 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. For subscription information, email distribution@realestatemagazine.ca. Entire contents copyright 2020 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. ISSN 1201-1223

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Do you have news to share with Canada’s real estate community? Let REM know about it! Email: jim@remonline.com

~ By Jim Adair

REM EDITOR

C

hristan Bosley has been promoted to the position of president and broker of record of Bosley Real Estate in Toronto.

“Christan will become the first woman and fourth family member to hold this title over our 92-year history,” said Thomas Bosley, chairman of Bosley Real Estate, in a note to clients and colleagues. “Many of you have witnessed the evolution of Christan’s career firsthand, beginning when she was 12-yearsold, from a filing clerk in accounting, to front desk administration, from an extremely successful sales career to branch manager, and finally to general manager.

She has “dealt not only with a family move but our forthcoming corporate move and thanks to her vigilance and persistence the Vanderhoof building and indeed Bosley Real Estate will soon become the game changer of our industry,” says Thomas Bosley.

CHRISTAN BOSLEY

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f you are a fan of the TV series Suits, when it’s safe you may want to pay a visit to the Coldwell Banker RMR headquarters in Whitby, Ont. After the show wrapped its final season, a couple of auctions were held to sell off props and other material from the hit series.

Ralph Roberto and Joe Bolahood from Coldwell Banker RMR attended the auctions and came away with several interesting artifacts, including Lewis Litt’s shoes.

They also purchased set décor items including a boat propeller, a leather briefcase, glass doors from the office set, more than 3,000 square feet of carpet floor tiles, a silver oak board room table, Harvey Spector’s vest and numerous other building materials that have since been used in the new Whitby headquarters.

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e/Max Blue Chip Realty has purchased naming rights for the former BMO Sports Lounge at the Gallagher Centre in Yorkton, Sask. It’s now the Re/Max Sports Lounge, with Re/Max Blue Chip Realty owning the naming rights for the facility for the next five years.

“Re/Max sees the Gallagher Centre as a shining star of our community, and our company is very excited to be able to support that facility with this sponsorship,” says Robert Kozak, broker and owner with Re/Max Blue Chip Realty in Yorkton. “I, like so many people in our community, have used these facilities all my life,” he says. The centre includes a hockey arena, a curling rink, a water park, agricultural facilities, meeting and convention venues and more.

“We are very happy to have a new partner in supporting our lounge facility, one of the key elements of the Gallagher Centre,” said Yorkton Mayor Bob Maloney. “The lounge serves many of the groups involved in our facilities, and we welcome Re/ Max as a new city partner in helping us to continue providing top-notch facilities to our residents.” The value of the support is for $13,500 over five years.

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entury 21 Heritage House has opened a new office in Brantford, Ont.

This is the company’s 10th location in Southwestern Ontario. It currently has 28 agents.

“Our goal has always been to grow our business along the 401 and 403 corridors of Southwestern Ontario. This was a great move for us, and we look forward to growing significantly in the next three years,” says broker Anthony Montanaro.

Century 21 Heritage House has a total of 170 agents. Its headquarters is in Woodstock, with branch offices in Ingersoll, Tillsonburg, Stratford, Guelph, Seaforth, Mount Forest, Brantford and two in Kitchener.

ANTHONY MONTANARO

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anny Munir and his team have joined the Century 21 network and opened Century 21 Grand Realty in Brantford. Munir has been in real estate for 20 years, 15 of which have been spent with C21. The recent opportunity to acquire a franchise seemed like the obvious next step in his career, the company says. The office, at 14 Borden St., has 14 sales reps and six administrative staff.

MANNY MUNIR

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entury 21 Assurance Realty in Kelowna, B.C. recently appointed Dean Desrosiers as associate broker.

The company says Desrosiers is “a highly knowledgeable Okanagan Realtor and broker who has been a leading performer for many years.”

He has served on the board of the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board since 2018 and is currently vice president of the board.

“Dean’s positive leadership, Okanagan knowledge, coaching skills and business development talent will add even more value to our Realtors, their clients and our brokerage,” says Max Carbone, co-owner of Century 21 Assurance.

Prior to his real estate career, Desrosiers was a sales, marketing and business development executive. He also coaches and conducts training seminars on a regular basis for Realtors and real estate investors across the Okanagan.

DEAN DESROSIERS

Coldwell Banker RMR Commercial’s team (“Our Suits,” says sales rep Shawn Lackie) at the boardroom table used in the Suits TV series. From left: Graham Healer, Armani Bhatti, Tracy Hammer and Michael Goulbourne.

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FACEBOOK? TWITTER? INSTAGRAM? Which social media channels should you be on?

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ith limited hours in a day and dozens of social media channels, which ones should you be on? Tatiana Londono, head broker with the Londono Realty Group in Westmount, Que., says, “Facebook and Instagram are the No. 1 go-to channels. But TikTok is rapidly taking over with the younger audience.

Think of grandma and grandpa as Facebook who gave birth to mom and dad Instagram. Then they gave birth to TikTok. You will get left behind if you don’t use TikTok. Ideally you need to be on top of your game for all three.”

That said, don’t discount Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn and the rest.

Stephen and Alicia Olyniuk of Re/ Max Performance Realty in Winnipeg are huge proponents of Facebook.

“Facebook has definitely helped with lead generation; we account it for 40 per cent of our business. We spend a couple hours a day liking, commenting and engaging with our Facebook friends,” says the couple in an email. “We are truly genuine with our posts, showing our lives inside and out of real estate. I think if all you post is about real estate, people quickly stop following you.

Every Wednesday we try to explore a new place in our beautiful province and do a post about it. When we run into someone during the week we commonly get asked what we are doing this week.”

If you are looking to give TikTok a try, use it for yourself first to get comfortable with the platform. Then search hashtags relevant to your real estate career (even #RealEstate will

TATIANA LONDONO

lead you to a wealth of ideas.) The app is intuitive so the more you search and post real estate related material, the fewer videos you will get of dancing cats and techno rappers.

Post videos from 15 to 60 seconds accompanied by popular music that showcase the fun side of your personality. Post at least once a day but preferably more. Use language geared for the millennial demographic as that age group makes up the majority of TikTok users. But people 30+ are watching and posting videos, too, so don’t discount the value of TikTok. Londono has mastered Instagram and explains how she did it. “I started with an ad campaign and moved on to beautiful pictures of homes and eventually became an influencer. I hired a social media agency to keep me on point. But things really took off when COVID hit. We were all quarantined with nothing to do and convinced we were going to die. So I decided to change things up and make people laugh. I posted funny memes, around 40 a day. Engagement went through the roof. Now that I’m

~ By Toby Welch back to work, I post around 20 memes a day, sprinkle in a few sales posts and continue posting my influencer stuff.”

Londono has amassed 70,000 followers and offers advice on how to effectively use Instagram. “It isn’t about vanity. It’s about your return on investment. Invest in Instagram and it pays you back tenfold. When you do it right, your ROI is over six figures.

I’ve done over $200,000 in leads alone this year. But you must post daily. If you don’t, no one is seeing your posts so don’t bother.”

Consistency is the key to being effective on social media. It is necessary in order to grow your list of followers and create engagement.

Each social media avenue has an ideal number of daily posts. Instagram hovers over 10. Facebook is around eight. Five is the magic number for Twitter. LinkedIn likes daily posts.

You get the picture. These numbers are fluid so keep on top of your social media game. Posting consistently is better than posting frequently. If your always-changing schedule doesn’t

allow for consistent posting, consider automating your posts. Posting about events you are attending encourages potential clients to see you face to face. Other things to post include news about how the real estate market is faring, home improvement tips, client testimonials or reviews, live videos, business accomplishments, blog entries, surveys, contests and your successes.

The Olyniuks have additional tips: “Be consistent and genuine. You may not get a lot of likes and shares but people are silently watching. Video is very important – if they like you in video, then they will like you in person. It’s always so much easier to work with someone that likes you... and do you really want to work with someone that doesn’t?”

Londono leaves us with a parting thought: “Agents have to understand that tackling social media marketing is as important as hiring your first administrative assistant. If you do it right, it could be your only lead generator and you could be making a killing.”

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ALICIA AND STEPHEN OLYNIUK

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SALESPEOPLE THE FOCUS AT THE ‘UN-FRANCHISE’ ~ By Connie Adair

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Independent brokerage TrilliumWest in Guelph, Ont. offers a collaborative atmosphere that makes every salesperson feel valued.

n the world of traditional brokerages Sarah Rubenstein was a success, racking up over 80 deals a year. Simultaneously, she was raising small children, so it’s no wonder she was burned out. She was ready to give up her career in real estate.

Then she heard about independent TrilliumWest, which touts itself as an “un-franchise”.

“I watched them for a couple of years but my workload was so heavy I didn’t have time to make the switch,” Rubenstein says. But two years ago, after more than seven years with a big name franchise, she moved to TrilliumWest Real Estate’s Guelph, Ont. office. She hasn’t looked back.

“I’ve had an increase in pay, time to rest and time to spend with my family.”

To say she’s enthusiastic about her new work environment is an understatement. In fact when she saw a notice in REM asking for great real estate stories, she reached out because “TrilliumWest is never given enough credit.”

Rubenstein says when she arrived at TW, the adjustment wasn’t easy.

She was used to going it alone and had to get accustomed to having support.

“There are marketing people, an

amazing person for art. I’ve created my own logo. Professional photos, signs and business cards were taken care of. (Management) takes it all off your plate.”

She learned how to increase her income with fewer deals, and she learned to work in a collaborative atmosphere where salespeople are encouraged to work together.

Salespeople – new and experienced – work side by side, each benefiting from the other. “Newbies ask veterans (for help) and veterans get excitement from newbies,” Rubenstein says.

Curt Knight, broker/manager and director of Realtor education, says the company, which now has 105 agents, is interested in growing its own talent, to train, mentor and grow under one roof.

Rubenstein also loves that there’s no divide between front end and back end. “There are marketing people, web organizers, secretaries, (salespeople and management) in all of the meetings.”

Rubenstein is also excited about the financial structure – salespeople pay 25 per cent of every deal up to $100,000, then earn 100 per cent of their commission for the rest of the calendar year. Value-added services,

TRILLUMWEST’S “UN-FRANCHISE” MOTTO IS PAINTED ON ITS WALL.

such as the graphic designer, are included in the split.

All these measures were in place before COVID-19 but since then the trio of non-selling brokers – Alan Mason, Curt Knight and Erin Knight – have stepped up to offer support, including offering private loans and “tons of learning opportunities to keep us all up to date. They even brought in a mindset coach for everyone to benefit from, including front-house staff. The support definitely shows with the attitudes of the Realtors here (and the enthusiastic staff) and it’s because of their amazing efforts,” says Rubenstein. She says the three non-selling brokers-to-agents ratio allows them to get the support they need.

Social events, such as a weekly virtual games and poker nights, keep staff socially engaged.

Games night prizes – gift cards to grocery stores – support salespeople if the need is there, Rubenstein says.

Curt Knight says social events are great for retention. “When people like their co-workers, they stay.”

Erin Knight, whose title is director of Realtor happiness, says they’re there to support, educate and as her title suggests, keep their salespeople happy.

The collaborative atmosphere goes a long way to doing that. Curt says a lot of brokers have a hierarchy without knowing it. “The big dog has a big office and new agents sit in cubicles in the back as if they’re not valuable.”

TrilliumWest has office space with a tech vibe – open space, as well as

SARAH RUBENSTEIN

private meeting rooms.

Philanthropy is also important.

Rubenstein was instrumental in setting up a grocery shopping program.

Every Tuesday TW salespeople do grocery shopping for seniors in Guelph residences.

Mason, the broker of record, started TrilliumWest in 2014 and a year later, Curt and Erin Knight opened their independent boutique brokerage.

Curt says he always keeps an eye on what other independents are doing and wanted to know more about TrilliumWest. Although he and Mason didn’t know each other, he invited Mason for coffee. “Five hours later, the un-franchise was born,” says Curt.

“We see the industry in a similar way.

There were aspects we love and hate.

We were determined to change the way brokers are seen and how they interact with their agents…. It’s not a landlord/tenant type relationship where agents merely rent out space for a desk fee. If we’re looking at it from a business standpoint, desk fees are better, especially in times like COVID.” However, TW has “a vested interest.

We’re not just collecting fees,” says Erin, adding they want to help their salespeople grow their businesses.

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FEWER SALESPEOPLE, MORE SKILLS “Our objective is to increase the per capita production of a smaller population of highly skilled/ trained salespeople and to invest more per capita in support of our sales team,” says Tina Gardin, broker of Sutton Quantum Realty.

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radition is great, but sometimes change is better. Just over four years ago, broker Tina Gardin opened a new 7,000-square-foot designer space with a Google-inspired look and feel, and created a fresh management style to take Sutton Quantum Realty to a new level.

She expected it would take years for her Oakville, Ont. real estate incubator model to meet its goal – the most sales per capita in the area – but within 24 to 36 months, “we darted to first place in Oakville” (according to independent Realtor performance auditor IMS Inc.).

“The per capita metric allows us to measure our per-head production as a determinant of the success of our efforts,” Gardin says. “Our objective is to increase the per capita production of a smaller population of highly skilled/trained salespeople and to invest more per capita in support of our sales team. We would prefer to have 250 salespeople doing 10 deals a year than 1,000 agents doing 2.5 deals per year….

“The more transactions an agent does and the more closely we can support that particular agent, the

better experience the agent and the consumer will have. We feel the appropriate management-to-agent ratios enhance the professionalism of the office and translate into a better practice.”

The new office has about 175 agents and the goal is to cap out at 250. “We don’t want to get too monstrous that we don’t know each other’s names.”

Instead of the typical top-down management strategy, Quantum supports its agents and encourages innovation and collaboration. The office is run by a volunteer advisory board, which Gardin credits for the drastic increase in Quantum’s per capita production.

“It’s proven in more than principle that fostering agent participation and peer support is a very powerful approach to the success of a brokerage and individuals, particularly in the time of COVID-19,” she says.

Gardin says the virus has “the potential to magnify isolation, which is concerning in an industry that is already potentially a lonely journey. No matter how talented or experienced a sales representative is, facilitated connectivity to fellow salespeople is generally enriching.

Our peer-to-peer program encourages our agents to volunteer to help our community incubate ideas and mitigate potential increased isolation of our sales community. Staying motivated and engaged is important for the volunteer agents as well.”

Including strategic partners in the discussion “enriches the program as well. If the agents have more control

over the direction of the brokerage, their needs are more likely to be met.”

The agent-run advisory board includes volunteers from all demographics. There is transparency of budget and discussions regarding everything from human and financial resources to how to provide business continuity in case of a second wave.

If management has suggestions, they are presented to the advisory board for input. Gardin says the concept is so popular that there is a waiting list to join.

The new strategy also works to build on the strengths of its individuals, providing appropriate training and support after identifying gaps.

No one can be good at everything, so peer-to-peer programs allow agents to “bring a skill, take a skill,” she says.

Agents are clamouring to volunteer.

“It’s quite magical,” says Gardin, who has “25 years of brokering.”

Everyone, Gardin says, “brings value to the conversation.” One-onone training is also available.

During interviews, potential candidates are asked about their feelings regarding collaboration and peer-to-peer interaction and they’re

~ By Connie Adair

surprised by that, she says. “They’re used to an environment of scarcity and having to compete with each other.”

There’s also a new front desk strategy, which includes Broker Bay, an advanced communications system that “allows us to use our human resources more effectively.”

Quantum has moved from the classic receptionist model to a customer service team, “where we can offer a menu of assistant oncall items and a very robust menu.”

Staff worked many 12-hour days to develop the menu of services and associated costs, which helps agents budget more effectively.

“Our front desk team possesses more skill sets than the traditional reception model and we continue to develop our customer service team to improve the experience of the agent and our clients and customers,” says Gardin.

The sleek Oakville office has high seating for laptop work, café tables and some private space. But the “no doors” design creates a “very open vibe” that creates energy to fuel incubation of ideas and interaction.

It’s a safe place to collaborate that Gardin says people are raving about.

The office is also open for use by the agents working at Quantum’s Mississauga office.

TINA GARDIN

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14 LES TWAROG WANTS TO TAKE ON ZILLOW “We are going to disrupt the real estate business in the next two to three years with this,” says Twarog, who currently operates six websites.

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ancouver Realtor Les Twarog started his career in the real estate industry in 1988 and right from the start he embraced technology as a key to drive business. Today, Twarog’s passion for technology is on overdrive as he has built a system for lead generation that drives hot leads to his inbox.

Twarog, a sales rep with Re/Max Crest Realty, is looking for investors to expand his websites across British Columbia and Canada.

“The bottom line is I want to be the Zillow of Canada,” Twarog says. “Zillow is the No. 1 company in the United States for lead generation. They do $900 million in sales to Realtors a year.”

He says Zillow generates $1 billion a year in lead income. He has set up a similar platform in the lower mainland that currently only has condos, but he plans to expand it across B.C. by adding houses into the mix within 18 months.

“We are going to disrupt the real estate business in the next two to three years with this,” says Twarog, who

currently operates six websites.

The lead generation business gets 8,000 unique visitors per day. Its two flagship products are www.bccondos. net and www.fisherly.com. During the last 10 years, Twarog says he and realtor Sonja Pedersen have invested $6 million in realty mega data.

He says 90 per cent of the unique website visitors and signups are buyers and approximately 10 per cent of them are sellers. “We convert about two per cent to three per cent of our daily sign-ups into leads – cold leads into hot leads,” he says.

“We have over one million plus web pages with a current inventory of 12,500+building websites and data

LES TWAROG

OBITUARY: CHUCK WILLES Charles “Chuck” Willes, a long-time broker with Coldwell Banker R.M.R. Real Estate in Port Perry, Ont. died on Aug. 31 of mesothelioma lung cancer.

F

ollowing a career in the tire industry, Chuck joined Howard Forder’s company in 1980. In 1986, he teamed up with Cliff Crowell, Bill Ray and Al Bertrand to open Ridge North Realty in Port Perry. Almost 20 years later the business was sold to

Coldwell Banker R.M.R. Real Estate.

“He treasured his career in real estate, spanning 40 years, and was always ready to share his knowledge and experience with others,” says his obituary. “He had a way of lighting up the room with his sense of humour

~ By Mario Toneguzzi

for 1.5 million residential records,” he says. Twarog says the records in his database for B.C. include 900,000 houses and 600,000 condo units. They are not online yet but will be soon, he says. In addition, he says he has data for 500,000 properties in Alberta.

“I’m trying to raise $3 million because I’ve already spent $6 million of my own money to get to where I am to be the No. 1 player for condo buildings. So I’m looking to raise another $3 million.”

The investment would allow him to expand the number of condo buildings he has listed online. He currently has more than 12,000 buildings and plans to add another 13,000 buildings. He wants to create 350 pages with information about those communities. And he wants to create 33,000 videos for MLS listings that he would upload to YouTube.

“It’s a proven fact that 30 per cent of the Realtors that start in the real estate business, whether it’s the U.S. or Canada, quit within the first year and 87 per cent quit within five years because they can’t make it. They

and his optimism. He will be forever missed. The world has lost a bright light.”

E a r l i e r this summer, a group of Realtors in Scugog, Ont. organized a drive-by salute to Chuck and his wife Beth, who were married for 55 years.

can’t get leads,” says Twarog. “Since November, we have 25,000 leads in our system – 400 people signing up every day.”

In his real estate practice, Twarog specializes in downtown condos, west side homes and commercial land assemblies. Asked to describe the current Vancouver market, he used one simple word: “Sizzling.”

He adds, “There was a lot of pentup demand. In March, April and May, everybody was sitting on the sidelines and waiting for something to happen or not happen. Eventually people have to sell because they’re getting divorced or they’re moving from a one-bedroom condo to a two-bedroom condo or from a twobedroom condo to a townhouse or from a townhouse to a house. Or they’re people who are downsizing,” he says.

Twarog said when he began in the industry, he realized from the beginning how important a role technology would play in his career.

“I’ve always been ahead of the curve from everybody else. Right now I have probably over a hundred different software programs. I even have to have a password manager to manage all the different platforms I’m using,” he says.

“An avid gardener, Chuck was known for his roses. Many people were the recipients of his garden’s bounty.

He married into a musical family and was soon singing in a choir and in quartets. He was actively involved in the Prince Albert United Church for 55 years,” says his obituary.

Due to current Covid-19 restrictions on gatherings, a private family service was held.

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15

CONDOS SELL VIRTUALLY FOR $36 MILLION The sale of $36 million in pre-construction condos in Quebec over a two-day period at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic sounds impressive. But perhaps equally notable is the fact that all the transactions took place virtually.

T

he sale of $36-million worth of pre-construction condos in Quebec over a two-day period at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic sounds impressive. But perhaps equally notable is the fact that all the transactions took place virtually.

“I hear I’m the first to do a (real estate project) launch with Google Hangouts,” says André Parisien, sales rep with Engel & Vӧlkers Tremblant, adding he’s since received queries from other real estate agencies.

“Many people from the States called to ask how I did it and they’re copying my ideas.”

The projects in question are two luxury condominiums – Verbier Tremblant and Lago Tremblant – both in Mont-Tremblant, Que., a resort area in the Laurentians 130 km northwest of Montreal.

After the Verbier project was announced in January, a list of potential buyers was compiled. The plan was to have an official red carpet launch with a buffet and champagne, welcoming potential buyers who would travel to Tremblant to learn details of the development in person.

Then the COVID-19 lockdown happened and everyone was told to stay home. “I’m freaking out,” says Parisien. “I have people who want to buy and I can’t meet them.”

He scrambled to find a solution and decided on a virtual launch, even though he admits he was a bit nervous trying something he hadn’t done before. He sent an email with appointment times of 10 minutes each, and a project development kit

to a list of potential buyers.

On the appointed day, May 9, he conducted the launch – a real-time video presentation via Google Meet (formerly Google Hangouts). Floor plans and finishes were shown, questions answered, units selected and documents signed electronically.

Parisien says demand for property in Tremblant generally has been strong. “We have about 68 per cent more buyers than last year.”

Initially he estimated it would take two to three years to sell a group of units in Verbier Tremblant. Instead, in just one day, 21 couples bought condo units, resulting in $12.7 million in sales. “The way it’s going, I’ll be all sold out this year,” he says. “The momentum is really strong.”

When REM caught up with Parisien in late August, phase one (30 units) was sold out and phase two (with 40 units) was almost sold out. The project has four phases and 139 units in total.

Two weeks after the Verbier launch there was a similar event for Lago Tremblant, in which Parisien teamed up with Les Immeubles MontTremblant broker Jennifer McKeown.

In that launch, 28 units worth $23.9 million were sold.

Prices at the 72-unit Lago Tremblant, which is located on a lake, range from $587,000 for a twobedroom to $1.768 million for a fivebedroom.

Prices at 139-unit Verbier Tremblant, which is located on the edge of a golf course, range from $490,000 for a two-bedroom to

~ By Diane Slawych

JENNIFER MCKEOWN AND ANDRÉ PARISIEN

$930,000 for a five-bedroom.

Most of the buyers are Canadian.

Many are from Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa and, Parisien says, they want to leave the city. “It’s about lifestyle.”

COVID-19, he says, has prompted many people to buy property earlier than planned. A common refrain he hears goes this way: I was planning to buy within the next five years, but now that COVID-19 has forced me to work from home, I may as well buy now and be near a resort.

Parisien says all the time people use to spend commuting, they can now spend enjoying the recreational opportunities outside their door – hiking and cycling the trails, golfing, swimming, or skiing and snowshoeing in the winter.

The luxury and recreational property market is “really, really strong” because of COVID-19,” he says. “People want to come and live here. We’ll be short of inventory.”

Verbier isn’t even built yet and the prices have already increased. “I sold

a four-bedroom in phase one for $640,000. Today…in phase three, people will pay $820,000 for the same thing.”

He says buyers understand there is a sense of stability in buying real estate versus other types of investments.

“I say your money is more safe in real estate. The lake will never be empty, the mountain will never move, but the stock market is a yoyo.”

Meanwhile, Parisien’s first virtual real estate project launch has turned him into a convert.

“I will for sure try to do new projects this way,” he says. “It’s more direct. You don’t lose time. You don’t travel, you don’t make people drive from Toronto or other places to make a purchase. It’s really simple and there’s less expense,” he says, adding it also offers more privacy. “It’s just you, the client and maybe a sales rep.”

If other agents start adopting similar methods, you can be sure of one thing. There’ll be a lot less demand for red carpets.

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DUAL AGENCY AND LOW COMMISSIONS Green Hedge Realty advertises that homeowners can “trade houses using a Realtor without spending money on commission”.

~ By Sohini Bhattacharya

I

n 2018, British Columbia passed legislation to limit dual agency – a practice that allows a single agent to represent both the buyer and seller in a real estate transaction, or two agents from one brokerage to represent the buyer and seller. In Ontario, it’s still common.

When asked if it’s a conflict of interest for an agent to represent both a buyer and seller in the same sale, Arthur Kozlowski, broker of record at Toronto’s Green Hedge Realty, says, “That conflict of interest is eliminated by me having to ask the client if they’re okay with it and also by rules that I have to follow when representing both clients.”

His company says that by using their brokerage to both sell and buy, “Homeowners can break even on commission fees, effectively pay nothing, even if the new house costs less.”

Kozlowski admitted that if he were a client, he “wouldn’t want the same agent to also represent the other side.

That’s why they have a choice and can say no.” Agents are obligated to ask a seller for permission to represent the buyer as well.

“And most of the time they say yes,”

says Kozlowski. In a press release, he announced that Green Hedge Realty is a brokerage that helps Ontario homeowners to “trade houses without spending money on commission.” What this means, he clarifies, is that the brokerage charges “0.7 per cent whether we’re working with sellers or buyers. In the case of sellers, this would be a fee for the listing services. For the co-operating commission, they can choose their own commission as long as it’s 0.7 per cent or higher.”

For buyers, the company “keeps 0.7 per cent of any co-operating commission offered on MLS and pays the rest back to the buyer” as a cashback rebate.

Many factors affect the sale of a house – the listing price being, perhaps, the most important. In Kozlowski’s opinion, “If you’re not paying a high commission, you have the freedom to adjust your listing price a lot more than if you're with a ARTHUR KOZLOWSKI

ANNE SQUIRES GETS JAIL TERM

A

nne Squires, former broker/ owner of Exit Realty on the Rock in St. John’s, N.L. has been sentenced to two years less a day after she pleaded guilty to charges of theft, fraud, forgery and breach of trust.

The offences took place from 2014 to 2016. When the brokerage’s license was suspended on Feb. 4, 2016, it had

66 Realtors listed on realtor.ca, working from offices in St. John’s and Glovertown.

Squires pleaded guilty to stealing from Exit Realty on the Rock’s trust account and of defrauding commission advance company AccessEasyFunds. She created sales agreements to get money from the

traditional brokerage where you pay a higher commission.”

He says he has worked with this model of commissions his entire career, since he got licensed in 2006.

What motivated Kozlowski to follow this method, he says, is “the ease with which it’s possible to get listings. I don’t have to be an expert in a certain area, and I can still beat out local agents to get the listings.”When listing with Green Hedge Realty, homeowners are assured of standard services such as photography of their property, a lawn sign, open houses and help with negotiations.

What they are not assured of is staging. According to a 2019 report by the National Association of Realtors Research Group, a quarter of buyers’ agents agreed that a staged home increased the dollar value offered between one and five per cent, compared to other similar homes on the market that were not staged. But Kozlowski does not agree.

SANDRA MIFSUD

company, using forged signatures and sometimes for properties that did not exist.

There were 33 fraudulent transactions and $522,386 was advanced to Squires.

She has already repaid $50,000 but has been ordered to repay the rest to AccessEasyFunds.

“My impression of staging is that a lot of agents are just adding it to their own services to justify their high prices, but really in most cases the seller just has to clean their house or their apartment,” he says. The company’s somewhat controversial model of business has earned the ire of other agents. “We do get some comments from agents that don’t like the commission. But for every agent that has a comment like that, there are nine agents who are totally professional and they know how to talk to their own clients about their commission, and how to make offers on properties where the commission doesn’t meet their expectations.”

Kozlowski is joined by broker Sandra Mifsud in running their twoperson brokerage, which even in slow market conditions like those when the pandemic first hit, has yielded listings for the company.

“If it’s a slow market, it’s going to be slow for everyone, not just for those offering a lower co-op commission,” says Kozlowski.

“There are a lot of people out there who are having trouble with affordability and our services are a good way to make affordability a little better,” says Kozlowski.

“Ms. Squires made a conscious decision to engage in ongoing criminal activity,” Justice Robert Stack told the court, as reported by The Telegram. He said that a lengthy video address by Squires at her sentencing hearing was meant to be an apology, but instead was an effort to shift the blame for her crimes.

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OPINION

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A BEDROOM BY ANY OTHER NAME CREA recently announced it is creating the field “Primary Bedroom” on Realtor.ca. This would allow MLS systems across the country to feed their “master bedroom” data field to this display name on the public portal if they so choose.

~ By Trevor Koot

It seems today that there are many social topics that have evolved beyond being taboo but remain in the realm of sensitive. I recently had the privilege of working through one such topic with my team. Collectively, they are some of the best folks a person could have the opportunity to work with and navigate all situations with professionalism, sensitivity and their own (calculated) candor.

As you may or may not know, the Canadian Real Estate Association recently announced it is creating the field “Primary Bedroom” on Realtor. ca. This would allow MLS systems across the country to feed their “master bedroom” data field to this display name on the public portal if they so choose. My understanding is that CREA’s motivation for this was based on public and member inquiry.

I think the rationale is evident but, to clarify, the term “master” (as a noun) can be, and is, defined in the following ways: 1) A man who has people working for him, especially servants or slaves.

2) A man in charge of an organization or group.

Source: Oxford Languages (italics are mine) At one of the two real estate associations I support as executive officer, there had been requests historically to consider making a change to this terminology, but it carried little value if the display term to the public remained unchanged.

Needless to say, when CREA made their announcement, we thought it a perfect time to bring it to our membership.

The response was very mixed.

I know that when the feedback “seems ridiculous” is provided by a member, they are not delivering it with ill will. Rather, they see the term master as non-threatening and simply meaning what they intend it to mean, the primary bedroom. What may be lacking from this consideration is that there are others, across this great country, whose experiences may lead them to see this term very differently, perhaps even as threatening.

A few mornings a week all the staff from both associations I work with get together for a virtual coffee and visit. This started as a COVID initiative but has continued. It was at a recent morning coffee meeting that the group spent an hour discussing the terminology change, the polling of our membership and the responses we received. Three questions surfaced for me that I continue to contemplate: 1) Do we as staff simply act based on the response from the membership? That is to say, we asked for their feedback, if they (majority of responses) agree with the change, we change it; if not, we don’t.

2) Do we provide further information and context, or would that appear as though we are attempting to achieve a particular outcome?

3) What is our role when it comes to

I SSUE # 3 73

lobbying for social change? Is it incumbent on staff to lead this narrative? “If we hadn’t asked, nobody would have even noticed,” was one comment during our morning meeting. But that’s not the point, is it? If perceptions are going to change and if equal treatment will ever be achieved, then the narrative must change. I am happy to lead that conversation. On this one, though we will not unilaterally make a change, we will continue to provide more

information to the members so that they completely understand the impact of the seemingly insignificant change to one word or, even more importantly, the impact of not changing it.

Trevor Koot is the executive officer of the Kootenay Real Estate Board and the Kamloops and District Real Estate Association.

20

COACHING YOUR SELLERS FOR A BETTER SALE Here are a few tips that might make the difference between a quick sale and a better sale. Or in the case of a slower market, any sale at all.

A

ny man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. – Albert Einstein If you work an insanely hot market such as Toronto, in many cases, with the shortage of good freehold listings, you could plant your for sale sign into a lawn of virtually any property, regardless of its physical condition, and receive multiple offers. Even if this is the case, however, I feel it’s still prudent to advise your seller to put their best foot forward by preparing their property – and themselves – properly.

In this new series of articles, which are abridged excerpts from my book, The Happy Agent, I offer a few tips that might make the difference between a quick sale and a better sale. Or in the case of a slower market, any sale at all.

For a plant to procreate, it must entice pollinators to come hither.

This miraculous feat of nature is accomplished by producing attractive fragrant blossoms. If you want to sell your car, what better way to improve the odds than a good shining, maybe even tune-up, so it looks and runs its absolute best? What do you do to prepare for a first date? Ensure you’re well coifed and groomed. To best attract passing buyers, wouldn’t it make sense to apply the same logic by ensuring your seller’s property is as appealing as possible?

Many new sellers mistakenly let nothing, including the marketing of their home, interrupt their daily routine and do absolutely zilch to improve its showability. Hence, they

typically need coaching on how to effectively prepare, prettify and maintain their home prior to and during the listing term.

In addition to more significant undertakings, this guidance should include homework to be done immediately prior to each viewing, such as vacuuming, making beds and polishing plumbing fixtures. A seller’s contribution – be it enthusiastic or lackadaisical – helps or hinders a sale and has a direct effect on not only how long their property remains unsold, but also the ultimate sale price.

Remember that a buyer’s decision is based primarily on how they feel about it. Their level of excitement about making your seller’s home their own is, within reason, directly proportional to how deeply they dig into their pockets. Successful marketing preparation and culmination relies upon a simple formula: A pinch of cash + a dash of imagination + a stirring of creativity + a pound of effort + a dose of objectivity = a successful sale When someone buys a principal residence, they don’t primarily think of it as an investment, but as a home.

Thus, any major improvements are usually for lifestyle enhancement.

How those renovations might affect the eventual sale price may not even occur to them. Nevertheless, owning a home is indeed a great investment vehicle. But unlike a corporate stock or bond fund, the investor can physically live in it. And unlike the return on a passive stock investment, upon which the casual investor has

~ By Ross Wilson

effectively zero influence, an owner’s home improvement choices – as Goldilocks would say, may be too small, too large or just right – can critically impact the final return on that realty investment.

The eventual sale price will obviously depend on market inflation, but also on the quality, extent and frequency of maintenance and upgrades.

There’s no doubt that major endeavours can be expensive.

The good news is, though, that renovating can be done, at least in part, at someone else’s expense. By shrewdly choosing projects reputed to generate higher returns, such as kitchen, bathroom or landscaping, a significant portion of the costs may be passed on to the next owner by way of a higher sale price.

It’s common knowledge that sharp, updated homes usually command premium prices. But over the years, if a homeowner habitually neglects their property, when the time comes to sell, to optimize a sale price, they may have to play expensive catch-up by swiftly spending some serious cash that could have been incrementally invested – and benefits enjoyed – during their occupancy. If they refuse to spend a dime on their home before listing, since many buyers prefer to avoid the time and expense of renovation, you’d better prepare your sellers for possible lower buyer interest and corresponding sale price in the lower end of your recommended value range.

A homeowner often has resources from which to draw for renovation

expenditures, such as a home equity credit line.

A buyer, on the other hand, may not be able to afford to do the work because all their available cash is, by necessity, devoted to their down payment. Thus, even if they see the potential in the house, they may have to pass on the property. If they choose to offer anyway, with the guidance of their agent and home inspector, a prudent buyer will discount the offered price to reflect the cost of doing those repairs and renovations personally or with the assistance – and expense – of a hired contractor.

And to compensate for the nuisance factor, they may even deduct a little extra.

There are two categories of buyers who typically show interest in a deficient property. The first wants an affordable home to live in while doing the renovation work personally as resources become available. They’ll probably have a minimum down payment and will justify offering on a “fixer-upper” if they can buy it cheap enough. The second is a shrewd investor/renovator who’s looking for a bargain and refuses to pay anywhere near the asking price because they plan to “fix it and flip it”.

Their carefully calculated offer would probably be even lower than that of the novice renovator.

Should your seller prospect invest

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Continued on page 22

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22

DREAM HOME, THEN AND NOW It is a curious thing what a couple can collect after 30+ years together.

Well, more accurately what one member of that duo can accumulate.

O

~ By Dan St. Yves

ne of the side benefits of this COVID-19 pandemic general isolation (for my wife and I at least) has been an ongoing room-by-room reorganization of our home. My initial suggestion was just to enjoy a four-month review of the WKRP In Cincinnati TV series on my VHS tape collection, but I was quickly overruled and thus our journey to household clearing began. Along with that a purging of things like VHS tape collections.

It is a curious thing what a couple can collect after 30+ years together.

Well, more accurately what one member of that duo can accumulate, to the occasional chagrin of the other partner. My Travel Manitoba Fishing Guide 1985 was something we agreed could be recycled, along with roof racks for a vehicle we converted to paperweights back in 1995. I always presume there may be a future use for all of these varied items, so in some

dark corner of an attic or garage they stay. Until I can actually hear my wife’s blood pressure rising once we discover them.

One item that even floored me was an old book that I had packed into a box. I think I picked it up in my real estate days as a resource manual. How To Build Your Dream Home For Less Than $3,500.

Yes, $3,500. I’m not sure that in 2020 even a hobbit or a groundhog could build a home for $3,500 or less, but humans most assuredly cannot pull that feat off.

The book was published in 1950, which I was probably unaware of at the time, smitten entirely in the heat of the moment by the allure of the title. And my innate frugality.

What does a book like this offer one, to achieve such a lofty goal, you may well ask?

One suggestion early on is to live onsite while you’re building. “An

owner-builder is a hardy soul, and many a family has pitched tents right on the building site.” I offer that “many a family” hasn’t pitched a tent in Winnipeg between December and February, but given how building supplies often disappear from sites overnight, this may not be such a bad idea.

Another suggestion was to “pay-asyou-go” and purchase materials out of your weekly paycheque. Or pay check for American builders. This could be an obstacle in 2020, unless you don’t mind tenting in your future yard after your shift at A&W, and have a timeline to completion somewhere around 60 years.

The book does go into great detail around tools you’ll require, working with various building materials (wood, concrete blocks) and each varied step of the process. To make jokes about all of those processes would require a column somewhere around 7,500

Continued from page 20 their resources before listing? It depends. If the property is physically substandard, they should do some work. If they’ve neglected it during their tenure, it’s safe to assume it’s at least tired, if not in desperate need of tender loving care. Things wear out.

Fashion styles change. New trends appear, become popular and then disappear, only to be engulfed by the next big consumer crave wave. If their home exhibits pride of ownership and has been periodically upgraded and

regularly maintained, you may have few improvement recommendations.

It may be market ready without significant effort or expenditure.

Your seller should be careful, though, about over-improving for the neighbourhood. They don’t want to spend so much that they’re forced to demand a price that excessively exceeds the average market value range of neighbouring properties.

I’ve seen incredibly beautiful homes languish for months at a price that

would have been a fair asking price or even a bargain in a more upscale area.

How much is too much? It’s difficult to say with any accuracy. However, unless you’re in a declining market, it’s likely that whatever reasonable amount they agree to spend, they’ll recover at least some of it. And they may be blessed with a quicker sale.

Next time, I continue with this series with more specific advice on how to effectively prepare a property and your clients for marketing.

words, so I’ll try to find just a few more excerpts to comment on, to keep your interest.

Truth be told though, as I skim the table of contents and some of the topics outlined, I may have to tuck this book back into a locked drawer for further inspection. I mean, life has to get back to normal at some point, and we’ll get back to our ordinary lives. Surely “we” couldn’t possibly come across this book AGAIN? If we do, here’s hoping “our” memory has no recollection.

I must run – I want to read all about these cast-iron pipes and newspaper insulation techniques!

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.

Ross Wilson is a retired real estate broker with extensive experience as a brokerage owner, manager, trainer and mentor over a highly successful 44year career. His 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, MREB, RAHB and OMDREB stores. For more details, visit RealtyVoice.com.

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HONOURS AND AWARDS

J

oe Pearson, an associate broker with Re/Max Priscilla in Vernon, B.C. was recently recognized by the Okanagan Mainland Real Estate Board (OMREB) for his 50-year career as a Realtor, which is still going strong.

Pearson, a member of the Board of Directors at OMREB, was formerly president and CEO of National Real Estate and he has had a long career volunteering for roles in organized real estate.

“OMREB has a tradition of awarding long-service pins for those who have served our industry for 25 years or more. We typically award an average of eleven 25-year pins each year,” said Michael Loewen, OMREB’s pastpresident, during the board’s virtual AGM recently.

“We have awarded 30-year pins, even the occasional 40-year pin. It is very rare that we have the privilege of awarding a 50-year pin. In fact, we found it difficult to recall the last time we acknowledged 50 years of service at OMREB,” said Loewen.

“Joe is a well-respected Realtor within our board, provincially and nationally. He has not only provided exemplary service to his own residential and commercial clients, but he has also served our industry – on the OMREB Board where he was president in 2003, on numerous committees and in other capacities.

He has also volunteered at the provincial and national levels. And although fully entitled to rest on his many laurels, Joe returned to serve, even one more time on the OMREB

T

he Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) recently honoured Debi Pearce with a Realtors Care Award for her decision to help the son of a client by donating a kidney.

Pearce, a Realtor with Royal LePage Brookside Realty in Maple Ridge, B.C. responded to a public plea from past clients who needed a kidney donor for their son. She met the Dunsire family when she listed their home in 2018. At the time, their son Geoff’s health had been compromised for many years.

He was on a rigorous kidney dialysis schedule. The nature of his condition meant he needed a transplant and his family wasn’t a match.

“Debi’s donation helped save a person’s life. There aren’t many more words needed to describe the impact of her actions,” says Colette Gerber, REBGV chair. “Debi is a community-builder who embodies the charitable spirit within the real estate profession.”

Today, both Geoff and Pearce are healthy. Six weeks after the operation, Geoff was dancing at a family wedding, something that seemed impossible a few months earlier.

The Realtors Care Award honours Metro Vancouver Realtors who demonstrate a sustained commitment to charitable, fundraising or volunteer activities that strengthen communities and support people in need.

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Pearce was previously honoured by Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows’ joint Municipal Advisory Committee on Accessibility and Inclusiveness as a Community Champion for her kidney donation.

ROSEMARY BARNES

DEBI PEARCE

JOE PEARSON

board having been elected earlier this year. A remarkable record of service and dedication,” said Loewen.

R

osemary Barnes of Coquitlam, B.C. was recently honoured with the Professional Excellence Award by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

“Barnes is a leader in the real estate profession. She’s an associate broker with Park Georgia Realty in Coquitlam and has served as chair or president of four real estate organizations during

23

her 44-year career: the Real Estate Council of B.C., B.C. Real Estate Association, REBGV and Real Estate Errors & Omissions Insurance Corporation,” says the board. Barnes was the first woman to lead two of these organizations.

“At a time when there weren’t many women in leadership positions in real estate, Rosemary led the way for many of us,” says Colette Gerber, REBGV chair. “She’s a trailblazer who’s made it a priority to mentor and encourage women to pursue leadership positions in our profession.”

Barnes has long served as a real estate instructor with the Real Estate Council of B.C. and an arbitrator at REBGV. Throughout her career, she has also volunteered with the Realtors Care Blanket Drive and has fundraised for a variety of other charitable causes.

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24

OPINION

MAKING AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNAFFORDABLE Many pundits and government spokespeople say residential owner-occupied and investment housing prices will drop. Not a chance.

R

ecently, my partner and I invested just under $1 million to purchase a beautiful ranch-style bungalow that we converted into long-term affordable “home share” housing for seniors in Peterborough, Ont. The project has struggled and could possibly fail because of many surprisingly unlikely entities that contributed significantly to making the project unaffordable.

Statistics Canada’s 2016 Census Profile reported that more than one-third (36.3 per cent) of Peterborough’s population is over the age of 55.

Our rent is $950 to $1,095 for a private bedroom and shared common areas. Every amenity needed in a home plus housekeeping services are included. Retirement homes, while offering more services, average $6,000 per month. Our tenants pay the property’s operational expenses, which means their rent can decrease when they employ best practices for utilities consumption. I’m unaware of any other Canadian landlord who offers such a self-sustaining opportunity.

Eight building insurance providers wouldn’t insure it because it’s seniors co-living. Four companies quoted a premium three times higher than when the property was insured as student housing. The lowest quote was twice the original premium.

Every mainstream lender refused to provide financing because shared living among seniors was too risky.

One bank vice-president told me most banks don’t provide financing for any type of affordable housing.

Private lenders demanded four times higher interest than mainstream residential mortgage rates.

Three times we contacted the Peterborough mayor’s office to ask for assistance in spreading the word. No reply, despite Mayor Diane Therien’s 2019 10-point plan to build 2,000 affordable housing units by summer 2021. Peterborough Housing reported that the current waitlist for subsidized housing is nine to 12 years.

EIGHT BUILDING INSURANCE PROVIDERS WOULDN’T INSURE IT BECAUSE IT’S SENIORS CO-LIVING. Two CMHC program managers who oversee programs to foster thinking-outside-the-box innovative affordable housing solutions said our solution didn’t fit within their (inside-the-box) program guidelines.

We contacted many local and regional housing agencies: YMCA, YWCA, Red Cross, Salvation Army, several places of worship, municipal housing, Canadian Mental Health, Brain Injury Association, Trent Centre for Aging & Society, Activity Haven for seniors, Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre for seniors and a slew of other agencies. None offered to promote our housing availability to their constituents. Three said they can’t work with “for-profit” entities.

The government agencies wouldn’t allow even paid advertising to spread the word.

One bright light shone from two ladies from Age-friendly Peterborough, who actively embraced

~ By Christopher Seepe

the project and referred applicants to us. Our one monthly classified print ad yielded many more seniors responses than all our online initiatives.

Infrastructure Canada reported there were 252,450 total social and affordable housing units in 2016.

Statistics Canada’s 2017 Dwellings in Canada reported that 6,529,445 (46.4 per cent) occupied private dwellings in Canada were rental units out of a total 14,072,080. The private sector therefore has built 26 times more housing than the government. With the largest debt in Canadian history and multi-billion dollar debt-relief programs, government won’t be building more housing anytime soon.

Many of our applicants didn’t want “affordable” housing. They wanted to age-in-place with dignity and comfort in an all-inclusive downtown rental unit close to all amenities and pay rent equal to what the government support programs provide – perhaps $750/month. They effectively wanted free housing, and the agencies looking to house them are looking for the same thing.

The annual operational costs of our property is roughly $40,000 before tenant best-practices. Divided by eight tenants = $415/month.

Conventional 70 per cent loan-tovalue financing, 25-year amortization, with four-per-cent interest is about $390/tenant/month.

That $805 doesn’t include capital costs or a return on investment for providing the “affordable” housing. Ten tenants make the property a highly attractive investment.

Many pundits and government spokespeople say residential owneroccupied and investment housing prices will drop. Not a chance. Housing prices and rents will continue to rise despite mortgage defaults and rising unemployment.

Countries like China and India, which have suffered housing shortages for decades, have long included home share, co-living, rooming houses, roommates and other forms of shared housing in their standard housing options.

Until the government properly incentivizes the private sector, which is the ONLY group that can solve the housing crisis, and the government cleans up their own “house,” affordable housing in urban and suburban centres will be a fleeting dream for an ever-increasing majority of people.

Chris Seepe is a published writer and author of two books on “landlording,” course instructor, president of the Landlords Association of Durham, and a commercial real estate broker of record at Aztech Realty in Toronto, specializing in income-generating and multi-residential investment properties. (416) 525-1558 Email c s e e p e @ a z t e c h r e a l t y. c o m ; website: www.drlandlord.ca

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STANDARD OF CARE OWED BY AGENTS The Ontario Superior Court of Justice affirmed when an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) will be kept alive, preventing a buyer’s release from their contractual obligations.

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n Kazakevich v. Sychev, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice affirmed when an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) will be kept alive, preventing a buyer’s release from their contractual obligations.

The court also clarified the standard of care owed by a real estate agent to their clients.

On May 25, 2012, the seller, Klara Kazakevich and the buyers, Konstantin Sychev and Zarema Sychev signed an APS for 31 Saul Ct., Vaughan, Ont. The closing date was scheduled for Sept. 28, 2012.

At the time of signing the APS, the Sychevs had not yet sold their home at 191 Patricia Ave. in Toronto, the proceeds from which were to finance the purchase of 31 Saul Ct. Despite not selling their home, the Sychevs waived all the conditions of the APS, most notably the home inspection, lawyer’s approval and financing conditions. By August 2012, the Sychevs still had not yet sold 191 Patricia. In mid-September, the Sychevs advised Kazakevich that they would not be completing the purchase of 31 Saul Ct. Kazakevich sued for breach of contract.

The Sychevs brought a counterclaim against their real estate agent, Angelika Bekman, for breaching the standard of care of a real estate agent. They alleged Bekman failed to ensure the Sychevs fully understood the terms of the APS and to use her best efforts to sell their home at 191 Patricia.

When the matter went before the court, the judge determined that the Sychevs’ request to be released

~ By Shaneka Shaw Taylor & Christina Wang from APS clearly demonstrated their intention not to proceed with and perform their obligations under the APS and therefore the Sychevs were in breach of the APS. As a result, Kazakevich was entitled to the difference in purchase price and additional costs pertaining to the financing of the subsequent sale of 31 Saul Ct., amounting to $345,057.12.

The action against Bekman was dismissed since the Sychevs did not establish that Bekman failed her duties as their real estate agent.

The court evaluated the evidence and arguments advanced and found the following: Waivers: The Sychevs were not first-time buyers and had encountered similar conditions regarding lawyer’s approval, home inspections and financing from previous real estate transactions. In addition, Bekman reviewed the conditions with them along with the process of waiving the conditions. The Sychevs thus understood how these conditions operated and that if they did not waive or fulfil the conditions, the APS would be terminated.

THE BUYERS DID NOT ESTABLISH THAT BEKMAN FAILED HER DUTIES AS A REAL ESTATE AGENT. Further, the Sychevs’ failure to read the terms and conditions (which they claimed they had not) did not release them from the terms they willingly agreed to absent fraud or

misrepresentation.

Condition 1: Lawyer’s approval condition: The Sychevs’ alleged that Bekman had backdated the lawyer’s approval condition and therefore the condition had not been waived by the required date outlined in the APS, making it null and void.

The court did not agree. The court reviewed the email evidence from Kazakevich to Bekman stating that the “condition on buyer’s solicitor was due on May 31, 2012… I suggest the waiver dated May 31 will do”.

This, the court found, did not imply that the waiver was “(back)dated” on May 31 but merely meant that a copy of the waiver needed to be sent to Kazakevich.

Condition 2: Home inspection: The Sychevs also alleged that Bekman assured them they would be able to be released from the APS despite waiving the condition. The court found that this was highly unlikely to be true as no experienced real estate agent – such as Bekman – would make such a blatantly incorrect assurance.

The Sychevs were also experienced in the real estate market and it was implausible they would believe such a nonsensical assurance.

Moreover, at the time the Sychevs requested a home inspection, they had already requested to be released from the APS. As such, it was likely the request for the home inspection and the allegation that Bekman assured the Sychevs they would be able to be released from the APS

despite waiving the home inspection condition were disingenuous.

Standard of care for real estate agents: Generally, it is inappropriate for a court to determine the standard of care of a professional in the absence of expert evidence. There are two exceptions to the rule.

1) non-technical matters in which ordinary persons can be expected to understand; and 2) where the action is so egregious it is obvious the conduct in question has fallen below the standard of care.

In this instance, Bekman’s actions were not so egregious to obviously fall below the standard of care owed to her clients. Certain duties, such as explaining and reviewing the conditions of an APS with clients, do not require expert opinion as they are obvious. The evidence established that Bekman fulfilled this duty as she ensured the Sychevs understood the conditions and the consequences of waiving them.

Financial circumstances: There is no obvious duty, absent expert evidence, that a real estate agent must investigate and ascertain the financial circumstances of his or her clients in order to protect them from making a purchase beyond their means.

Any signs of financial difficulty that the Sychevs demonstrated during the real estate transactions could be

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NOTARY PUBLIC FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND THEIR CLIENTS

interpreted as hard bargaining and were not blatant red flags.

The evidence adduced did not demonstrate Bekman was negligent in the performance of her duties as a real estate agent for the Sychevs.

Sale of 191 Patricia: The initial list price of 191 Patricia was $1,460,000, which was exceptionally high based on the listing prices of other properties in the neighbourhood. The selling price of $1,460,000 aligned with the needs of the Sychevs at the time, since the Sychevs were required to produce $1 million to finance the purchase of 31 Saul Ct. and they had a $400,000 mortgage on 191 Patricia. It reasonably followed that the Sychevs requested 191 Patricia to be listed at such a price (as opposed to that price being recommended by Bekman) and understood the time frame to sell 191 Patricia was very narrow and a high listing price would not be conducive to the fast sale of the property.

In addition, the Sychevs were uncooperative with Bekman’s attempts to show potential buyers the house by placing restrictive showing hours, requiring very advanced notice of showings and declining showings on multiple occasions. Altogether, the court found that Bekman did not fail to advertise 191 Patricia to the best of her abilities and the failure to sell 191 Patricia in time for the closing date was the fault of the Sychevs.

What does this mean for prospective buyers and for real estate agents? Buyers need to be careful and certain when waiving or fulfilling conditions of an APS, because they will not be entitled to later terminate the APS without facing significant penalties in the form of damages incurred by a seller in the subsequent sale of their property.

Buyers will also not be able to rely on the argument that they did not

read the conditions of the APS since, absent fraud or misrepresentation, a signing party will be bound to the terms they willingly signed, particularly if the party is not a first-time homebuyer.

In addition, buyers will have to be mindful of their own financial circumstances.

Absent expert evidence, there is no obvious duty that a real estate agent should ensure their clients are purchasing a property within their means.

For real estate agents, the standard of care for them in some cases will be obvious, such as reviewing conditions to an APS and the consequence of waiving such conditions. However, expert evidence will generally need to be produced to affirm the standard of care owed to a real estate agent’s client.

Christina Wang is currently summering at Boghosian + Allen LLP while completing her J.D. at Queen’s University. During her time at Queen’s, she was president of the Queen’s Environmental Law Club and a student researcher for Pro-Bono Canada.

Shaneka Shaw Taylor is a partner at Boghosian + Allen LLP where she practices municipal, commercial and real property litigation.

She is also a licensed real estate salesperson with Forest Hill Real Estate. She has authored several articles and speaks regularly on topical municipal ligation and civil litigation matters. She recently authored The Annotated Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 and Regulations (LexisNexis Canada). Phone 416-367-5558 ext.

214; email staylor@boglaw.ca

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LAW SOCIETY COMPLIANT LANDLORD-TENANTS CASES OR LEGAL ADVICE VIRTUAL OR IN PERSON

AVI ROSEN REALTOR / PARALEGAL

414-818-6130 | AVI@AVIROSEN.CA AVIROSEN.CA

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OPINION

ARE EXCLUSIVE LISTINGS GAINING TRACTION? Exclusive listings have clearly picked up advocates during the 2020 pandemic. Though there is nothing inherently wrong with this type of listing, it has its pros and cons.

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he “exclusive” (or non-MLS) listing has been more widely used in our sellers’ market conditions in Ottawa during the last couple of years. While not widespread, it has clearly picked up advocates during the 2020 pandemic. Though there is nothing inherently wrong with this type of listing, it certainly has its pros and cons.

The exclusive listing has been around for some time, of course, but is rarely deployed in balanced or buyers’ markets, for the simple reason that the best guarantee of achieving market value for a seller is to get the widest possible exposure through an MLS listing on realtor.ca.

We have seen a proliferation of these kinds of advance, pre-announcement or “sneak peek” listings over the past couple of years in our market.

Sellers and listing salespeople may have several reasons for wanting to get a property noticed prior to a fullblown realtor.ca launch. These might include: •Allowing time to finish last minute tune-ups like painting, carpet cleaning, staging and shooting professional photos. In this instance, showings may or may not be allowed, but at least the property is exposed to the marketplace and buyers and their agents can keep an eye on it. In most cases, however, these types of listings are wide open and available for showings.

• Advance marketing through social media and other online methods can generate significant interest in a property and an increasing number are being sold without ever getting to

a realtor.ca or MLS listing.

Unfortunately, we lose the sales data for these types of sales and have no way of knowing how many properties are being sold in this “grey” market.

• Listing agents may generate additional buyer prospects for themselves to either “double end” the listing or to represent these new buyer prospects as a buyer representative on other properties.

• Some agents even market themselves as being the “off market” specialist who knows about hot new pending listings “before they hit the market” and thus try to differentiate themselves from the many others in their market.

Even before COVID-19, some sellers were amenable to avoiding the hordes of buyers lined up to trample through their home, as listing scarcity elevated demand and buyer sense of urgency. Many sellers have been forced to vacate their homes during the initial listing period where offers are being held back to a certain date.

Those wishing to minimize the number of visitors or showings to get a property sold might consider an exclusive listing. Though one can never really be sure what a property might fetch on the open market, some are deploying a dual pricing strategy, with the exclusive listing priced at a higher or premium price while the realtor.ca price may be different to obtain the widest buyer interest and is priced lower to attract multiple offers.

It also may be an easier scenario to manage for the listing agent and avoid the potential headaches associated

~ By Gord McCormick

with holding offers, managing showings, bully offers and offer-night management – in short, the inherent regulatory and board policy risks that are greater with an MLS listing in our many buyers-fewer sellers’ markets.

Using the term “exclusive” historically meant that a specific listing agent was marketing the property, without co-operating with other MLS members, but today that distinction has largely disappeared.

Most exclusive listings are marketed widely to the MLS community and available for showings. We have at least two Realtor Facebook groups in our market focused exactly on these types of listings.

Sales via exclusive listings have grown during our sellers’ market but they are not yet at an alarming level, though here are some of the risks: • If too many listings get published and sold without the use of the MLS Realtor-to-Realtor network, the system loses important sales data but also some credibility.

• If too many MLS listings are preannounced via an exclusive listing or listing agent marketing only, MLS listings may appear stale. It might also look to consumers that Realtors trading hot new listings without universal access via MLS is something akin to “insider” trading and detract from industry credibility.

• Also if Realtor-to-Realtor marketing can be facilitated successfully by online nonMLS marketing, aren’t we just demonstrating that buyer-toseller transactions could be equally successful and possibly without

Realtor involvement?

It is harder for a buyer representative to stay on top of all available listings if those listings are proliferated across the vast universe of social marketing and online real estate sites. Realtor. ca and our MLS is the best central repository for listings and data capture and we should do everything possible to have all listings posted there. It is also much easier for consumers to search a single site.

The biggest argument against the use of the exclusive listing is that one just cannot be absolutely sure that the best possible market price has been obtained without the widest exposure possible. In a market that recorded some 57 per cent of unit sales above listing price (Ottawa Real Estate Board stats, July 2020) the realtor.ca listing still delivers maximum market value but the exclusive listing has carved out its own niche.

Gord McCormick is the broker of record for Oasis Realty in Ottawa.

He and broker partner Dawn Davey focus on suburban and country residential property, as well as new construction in Ottawa and surrounding towns and villages.

They are also BGRS registered for the federal government relocation program.

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GOOD WORKS

he annual golf tournament held by Royal LePage Binder in Windsor, Ont. was cancelled due to COVID-19, but that didn’t stop the company from organizing an event to raise funds for local shelter Hiatus House.

Along with real estate marketing firm Windsor Real Estate Photography, the brokerage launched the Chip-In Challenge. Participants pledged a donation to Hiatus House, then grabbed a chipping wedge, five golf balls and a target such as a recycle bin, garbage can or cardboard box.

Then, participants filmed themselves for social media, attempting to chip as many of the balls into the target as they could. Once finished, they challenged three or more friends to do the same.

“If they match or beat your score, you match their donation up to your original donation amount,” says Royal LePage Binder. “It’s a great opportunity to have fun, connect with friends online in a socially distant way and raise funds for a great local cause.

Frank Binder, broker of record of Royal LePage Binder, kicked off the event with his own chip-in challenge video. “If everyone can chip in a little, we can all help support women and children in our community,” he says.

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ayissa Palmer and Sandy Bodnar of Sutton Group Old Mill Realty in Toronto recently supported the arts in an innovative way: driveway dance performances. Several dancers from Kalyna Performing Arts Company, a professional Ukrainian dance company, showed up on Rayissa’s driveway in Caledon, Ont. in full costume (plus masks) to perform for an audience of 60 neighbours, friends and politicians. The troupe gave an encore performance a few streets away for an audience of 25. Attendees donated more than $750 to Kalyna, which normally performs at festivals, concerts and other cultural events.

“We’ve been looking for a way to support the arts, which have been decimated without live performances in these COVID times, so I was thrilled when Kalyna’s director Stefan Kuziw reached out to offer a driveway dance performance,” says Palmer.

“Stefan and I are both members of the GTA Ukrainian community (my family immigrated from Ukraine and I’m a first generation Canadian) and he’s also a Realtor (with Royal LePage Real Estate Services in Toronto).”

Kuziw danced professionally for 15 years. His energetic style of Ukrainian dance often has audience members in awe of the highly athletic leaps, kicks and complex routines.

The driveway performance attracted a socially distanced audience of 60 people.

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Geoff Atkins, right, picks up his cheque from Realtors Bob Carnduff and Rachael Gaylard.

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utton Group - Lakefront Realty in Vernon, B.C. runs a sponsorship program for people who are trying to better themselves and society. The brokerage’s Realtors regularly donate to the sponsorship fund and an award is made quarterly. It welcomes nominations of people from the community.

The most recent recipient was “The Bubble Man”, Geoff Akins.

“Geoff tours North America with his inspirational show using bubbles,” says Tara Sopel, the office manager at Sutton Group - Lakefront Realty. “He starts out basic but progresses into more difficult bubble shapes to show his audience that when he puts his mind to it and with a little patience and persistence, he can make a square bubble! (Yes a square bubble!) The moral of his show is: don’t give up and keep trying!”

During COVID-19, Akins has had to adapt his live show for virtual audiences, but his message remains the same: with determination, a person can accomplish what is seemingly impossible.

Recently he visited the brokerage to collect his sponsorship cheque for $375. As a thank you, he treated the realty team to a spontaneous bubble show. Atkins plans to use the funds to host more virtual shows, which he began experimenting with out of necessity when the pandemic began in March.

very year the Cynthia Ostos Real Estate Team at Cloud Realty in Mississauga, Ont. hosts a Client Appreciation Event for its past clients.

This year COVID-19 restrictions limited the team’s options, but “we were still able to safely get everyone together over some ice cream this summer,” says sales rep Adrienne Cowall. The team organized an ice cream truck event in its office parking lot, abiding by COVID-19 protocols and social distancing measures.

“In addition to inviting all past clients, we extended the invite to the extremely friendly elders housed in a seniors residence adjacent to our building, for a dedicated seniors hour,” says Cowall. “Despite a global pandemic that has impacted the way we can socialize, it was a great turnout with so many smiling faces (be it with some masks!), happy tummies and a great time overall.”

The Cynthia Ostos real estate team hosted an ice cream truck event for past clients.

Residents from a nearby seniors home were invited to the event.

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THE PUBLISHERS PAGE

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AN ERA OF TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE History will not be sympathetic to those of us who rejected facts because we were busy scoring points on our ideological enemies.

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here is no way for us to know how future historians will look back on these dramatic and tumultuous times we find ourselves living in. We should know, by now, that they won’t be kind.

As I write this, smoke from runaway wildfires on the west coast hangs in the sky above Toronto. Meanwhile, stronger and more frequent hurricanes barrage the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Yet, the urgent and worrying problem of climate change doesn’t even rate among the top three crises this year.

The year will be best remembered for the COVID-19 pandemic. It has caused the greatest global recession since the Great Depression. SARSCoV-2, the virus behind the pandemic, has so far killed nearly one million people worldwide.

Yet, there is a significant, vocal contingent, both in the United States and here in Canada, who believe everything I just wrote above is an elaborate hoax or conspiracy. What they find most offensive is the idea that, to help contain the virus’ spread, we should all wear some type of covering over our mouth and nose when in public, which they, in response, absolutely refuse to do, leading to the deaths of others who encounter them, and the further, uncontrollable spread of the virus.

The second thing this year will be remembered for will be the result of the upcoming presidential election, happening next month in the United States. The incumbent is Donald Trump, a man who has so thoroughly mismanaged his country’s response to this virus as to leave the rest of the world to conclude the United States’

hopes of containing it are a total lost cause, leaving borders closed to Americans for the foreseeable future.

While Joe Biden may not be anyone’s first choice as an alternative to Donald Trump, the answer of who would best lead the country out of this mess of those two options should be obvious to all.

Yet, there is a significant, vocal contingent who believe Biden is part of a global conspiracy that involves Jeffrey Epstein, pizza parlours and kidnapping children in the night. They believe Trump – a man who called Jeffrey Epstein a “terrific guy” – is, somehow, the leader who will protect them from this conspiracy.

The third thing this year will be remembered for is the wave of protests in response to the horrific murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin.

The protests of 2020 have demanded that Floyd’s death – among countless others – be the catalyst for desperately needed reform of police departments in the United States, as well as here in Canada, to deal with what are not isolated incidents or “bad apples” but systemic issues with racism and abuses of power and authority.

The response by police departments to these protests has been heavy handed, militarized and violent, only further making the case for why such reform is necessary.

Yet, there is a significant, vocal contingent, both in the United States and here in Canada, who believe that saying “Black lives matter” is a threat to their way of life. The contrarian replies of “all lives matter” suggests “Black lives matter” is a call for a different kind of supremacy, rather

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~ By William Molls

REM PRESIDENT & CEO

than a reaction to police officers who clearly believe the opposite.

Over and over again, we see evidence that there is a significant minority who live in their own reality. A reality defined for them by anonymous social media posts. A reality that does not require citation, facts or sources.

A reality that tells them anyone who disagrees with them is wrong, stupid or, worse, a threat.

They have been conditioned by social media to believe that sources do not matter, so long as we are being told what we want to hear: If someone whose politics I don’t agree with says something, it must be wrong.

Therefore, there is no virus, there is

no racism against Black people by the police and Donald Trump is doing an excellent job.

History cares about facts. The facts are that people are dead, and more are dying every day.

History will not be sympathetic to those of us who rejected facts because we were busy scoring points on our ideological enemies.

Now, more than ever, we need wellfunded journalism to help us separate the facts from fiction.

And, hopefully, to help us in bringing some of our fellow citizens back to reality.

Paralegal for the Real Estate Industry

AVI ROSEN

FRI. SCMF. AMB

Real Estate Broker (Nearly 50 Years) • Paralegal

Direct: (416) 818-6130 • avi@avirosen.ca • www.rosen.ca

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