RAHB Calendar

Mark your Calendar

Held at RAHB – 505 York Blvd. Lower level room: T – Thompson    P – Purnell

Goverance & Bylaw Committee
Tuesday, May 16 – T, 9:30 a.m.

Goverment Relations Committee
Tuesday, May 16 – P, 9:30 a.m.

Finance Committee
Tuesday, May 23 – T, 9:30 a.m.

Board of Directors
Thursday, May 25 – T, 9 a.m.

MLS® Committee
Wednesday, May 31 – T, 9:30 a.m.

 
Upcoming Event

RAHB Charity Golf Tournament
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Beverly Golf and Country CLub
1211 2nd Concession Rd. W., Copetown
SOLD OUT

CREA News – New FINTRAC requirements soon in effect

New FINTRAC requirements that were announced in 2016 are just now coming into effect for REALTORS® on various dates starting June 17, 2017.

 

These changes will affect you in four ways:

1.The way you identify individuals has been improved to add more flexibility.

There are three methods for identification:

  • Using a single piece of government-issued photo identification
  • Verifying that the client’s name, date of birth and address match information obtained from a Canadian credit bureau that has been in existence for at least three year
  • Using two original, valid and current documents or information from independent and reliable sources, such as utility bills or bank statements

2. Whenever your brokerage uses a mandatary to identify a client on your behalf, you will now have to keep more detailed records of when you received identification information from the mandatary. You will also need to review the information to make sure nothing is missing.

3. The regulations expand on existing obligations to keep a record when you use reasonable measures to satisfy certain obligations under the law. The reasonable measure record obligations are reflected in:

  • New sections A.4 and B.1 in the Individual Identification Information Record
  • New sections A.3 and B.1 in the Corporation/Entity Identification Information Record
  • New section E of the Receipt of Funds Record (which has also been reorganized to reflect additional FINTRAC guidance)
  • New records related to large cash transactions and suspicious transactions

4. Clients who have been identified by your brokerage in the past do not need to be identified again if you or your Broker of Record/Manager have no doubts about the information you obtained previously.

 

This is only a very brief summary of the changes taking effect in June, 2017. To read the details and get the information you need about changes to forms and what it all means for you, go to the CREA site on REALTOR Link® and check out the new information in the Compliance Centre. [REALTOR Link > CREA > Resources and Compliance > Compliance Resources > Money Laundering (FINTRAC)].

 

Once you are on the FINTRAC page, be sure you check out the links to helpful documents near the bottom of the page – all the material has been updated. The FAQ document may be particularly helpful.

 

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All CREA forms have been updated to reflect your new obligations under FINTRAC.  Revised forms are now available on WEBForms®.
(Note:  you may use your old forms until June 17, 2017. After that time, only the revised forms will satisfy your obligations.)

Four advertising shortcuts that lead to consumer complaints

RECO often gets complaints from consumers about advertisements for the home they have bought or sold. Here are four advertising issues that often upset buyers and sellers. Each one could be a breach of the Code of Ethics if you don’t take proper steps and obtain the necessary consent.

 

  1. Their listing shows up where they didn’t expect it

When brokerages share data, listings often end up captured and advertised by another brokerage through a shared advertising agreement. This can catch consumers by surprise if this isn’t how they thought the brokerage would market their home. If the listing will appear across multiple sites, make sure the seller is aware and they’re okay with it. Fully explain the implications of advertising or promotional clauses in listing agreements, and keep in mind sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Code of Ethics.

 

  1. Ads that include images of the home they just bought

Before the transaction is completed, you only need the seller’s written consent to advertise the property. However, after the deal has closed, the buyer’s consent in writing is also required, even if you’re only placing a simple ad that shows the property as sold. See section 36 (8) of the Code of Ethics.

 

  1. Ads that contain info about the buyer or seller

Even if the owner of the property has consented to advertising their property, they may not want any information about themselves to be included. If you want to include any information about either party of the transaction, you must get written consent from that party. See section 36 (7) of the Code of Ethics.

 

  1. Ads that contain info about the transaction

If your ad will include pricing information, or any other aspects of the deal, you need to obtain written consent from both parties. Even if you’re only advertising that the property sold for over asking, that’s private information that requires their permission. See section 36 (9) of the Code of Ethics.

 

REMEMBER TO DEAL WITH THE OTHER PARTY VIA THEIR REPRESENTATIVE

When obtaining consent from the other party, it’s important to communicate with them via their representative. For example, if you are representing the seller, you must obtain consent from the buyer via their representative, unless the buyer’s brokerage has given you written permission to talk to the buyer directly. See section 7 (1) of the Code of Ethics.

 


This article was originally published by RECO on February 28, 2017. Reprinted with the permission of RECO.

 

Ethics

Disclosure – a quick Q & A

Q. If my brother lists his property through his good friend who also works in my brokerage, does the friend (who is the listing salesperson) have to provide a registrant’s statement?

A. Yes! Remember the listing agreement is with the brokerage and not the individual salesperson. Because you work for the same brokerage, you would be considered to be representing the seller, and so disclosure of your relationship is required.

 

Nine ways to show your professionalism

Being professional is good for your real estate business. But what about your colleagues? Here are nine steps to take so your colleagues will treat you as a fellow professional.

  1. Always use proper phone etiquette. Leave your full name, brokerage name, and return number when you call or page a fellow salesperson. Let them know a good time to call you back.
  2. Keep all phone messages short and to the point. Check your voice mail and email messages often during the day.
  3. Promptly return phone calls and emails from other salespeople. They may have an offer or need additional information to enable them to prepare an offer. Failure to return calls may be perceived as rude, and may also stand in the way of business getting done, possibly damaging your reputation and career.
  4. Keep your commitments. If you say that you will call a colleague by a certain time, then call by that time.
  5. Call ahead if you will be late for any meeting. Let the listing salesperson know if your buyers have changed their minds and don’t want to see the property.
  6. Respect another salesperson’s privacy.
  7. Avoid making late night phone calls about things that can wait until morning.
  8. Don’t make “urgent” phone calls or leave “urgent” messages or emails unless the matter is truly urgent.
  9. Extend a courteous and positive attitude to the staff in your own office and at other brokerages.

 
These tips are excerpts from “A Mentoring Kit for New Salespeople”, produced by the OREA Real Estate College.

This content has been reproduced with permission from the Ontario Real Estate Association.

Karan Barker Scholarship

Investing in the next generation

 

The Karan Barker Scholarship Fund was introduced in 2000 as a way to honour the significant and ongoing contributions of Karan Barker, RAHB’s Executive Officer at the time, and to help the children and grandchildren of RAHB members and staff pay for their secondary education.

That same year, a task force, which included Karan, was set up to develop criteria and eligibility requirements for scholarship applicants. A fundraising effort was also begun, and by the end of the year, over $1,100 was in the fund. The goal was to
eventually raise $100,000.

Sadly, Karan Barker passed away in February of 2001. By November of that year, the fund nearly reached its $100,000 goal thanks to gifts from more than 120 donors, with many of the donations made in Karan’s memory. The first scholarship was awarded at the end of 2001, to Abbie Howdon, daughter of Ron Howden (now of Chase Realty Inc.).

Since 2001, the scholarship fund has continued to grow from donations from individual member donors and from the proceeds from the RAHB annual charity golf tournament, the HBDREB income trust and staff “casual day” fund. Today, the scholarship fund is a healthy $200,000, which allows scholarships to be paid from the interest accrued.

Karan Barker Scholarships are presented annually at the RAHB Annual Election Meeting. To date, $86,500 has been invested in 65 students.

The Karan Barker Scholarship application is now available – see page 15 for a link to the application form and find complete details for submitting an application on the form.

“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin

Applications for the 2017 Karan Barker Scholarships are now available!

Next time you are at the RAHB office, check the donor and recipient wall opposite the members’ resource centre on the main floor!

Does your daughter or son – or granddaughter or grandson – qualify for a Karan Barker Scholarship?

Does she or he

1. Attend, or have an acceptance to attend, university or community college?
2. Demonstrate academic excellence? Get involved in school activities or the community?
3. Show maturity, initiative and/or strength of character?

If this sounds like your child, have them complete an application for a 2017 Karan Barker Scholarship!

Download the 2017 scholarship application from REALTOR Link® (look under the Forms and Member Changes tab) or here.

Application deadline is Friday, August 11, 2017.

Do you use Market Watch in the regional Matrix system?

Q:  When you follow Market Watch on your Matrix home page, you may notice that once you log in, the number of new listings, back on market listings, price changes, etc. doesn’t necessarily go up and down through the day.  Does that mean there are no changes to the listing inventory?

A:  The short answer:  No.  Changes are occurring all the time as members add listings, cancel listings, sell homes or change a listing’s status in other ways. You can see those changes when you look at the detail in the lists of listing changes. You just won’t see a change in the total  showing in the Market Watch widget.

There’s a long explanation of why the Market Watch numbers don’t change, and it has to do with the default 24-hour time period and how the totals on the widget don’t refresh. The more important issue, though, is: are you missing new listings and listing changes because you have been watching the totals on your home page all day?

The best way to make sure you know about all changes to listings is to click on the link to see the hotsheet layout of changes and see what’s new – that way you won’t miss anything.

In this fast-paced market, you need the most up-to-date information available, so be sure to go to the lists of changes to find the most recent changes.

Golf for Your Community

RAHB golf

This year, at RAHB’s 20th Annual Charity Golf Tournament, golfers will enjoy a round of golf at the exclusive Beverly Golf and Country Club and support two great women’s shelters: Interval House of Hamilton and Halton Women’s Place.

Interval House

About Interval House of Hamilton

Established in 1986, Interval House of Hamilton is a non-profit emergency shelter serving women who are fleeing relationship violence and abuse. In addition to the emergency shelter program, Interval House of Hamilton has three community-based programs that provide counselling, peer support and legal advocacy: the Women’s Centre of Hamilton,the Flamborough Women’s Resource Centre and Jared’s Place: Legal Advocacy and Resource Centre for Women.

 

Halton Women's Place

 

About Halton Women’s Place

First opening its doors in 1980, Halton Women’s Place is an emergency shelter that offers accessible crisis services and counselling to abused women and their children. The organization designs and implements strategies to inform and empower women to make decisions about their safety, rights and options, and works to promote and provide public education to end violence against women and children.

All proceeds from RAHB’s 20th Annual Charity Golf Tournament will go to Interval House of Hamilton and Halton Women’s Place.

Important change to preemptive (“bully”) offer process

To help clarify the steps you must take if your Sellers change their minds about “no offers until”, the Board of Directors approved several changes to Section 2 of the MLS® Rules and Regulations.

The chart below shows the original wording of Section 2, Subsection 2.15 of the MLS® Rules and Regulations in the left column, and the new wording in the right.

Note the changes to the first parts (2.15 and 2.15 (a)) have been amended by the addition of the words in bold, and section 2.15 (b), shown in all bold text, has been re-worded from the original to provide more clarity.

The complete rewriting of Section 2.15 (b) is based on the Registrar’s Bulletin from February 21, 2017, titled Written direction for multiple offers.  The Bulletin provided an excellent overview of how to convey offers to your clients in a preemptive offer situation and stressed the importance of using a fair and transparent process.

These changes are now in effect.

Bully offer

Preemptive Offers (UPDATED)

 

Useful links

  • Read the Registrar’s Bulletin (February 21, 2017) titled Written direction for multiple offers. Not only does it talk about how to deal with preemptive offers, but also discusses multiple offer situations generally.
  • View a video tutorial for OREA’s Seller’s Direction re: Property/Offers Form #244

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As always, if you have any questions, please contact our MLS® Department at 905.667.4650 or [email protected]. Our staff will be happy to assist you.

Sold Out at Trade Show – NOW RESTOCKED

These customized items really stand out!

Feature-Sheet-standFeature sheet holder – Includes business card pocket, copy keeper to help keep sheets in place and frosted look shield to protect your new holder from scratches.   The attractive graphics emphasize why using a real estate professional brings so much value!

Welcome-signWelcome signs – Double sided, 3 styles: Multi, Black & White, Tiffany blue

“Welcome” side for open houses and “Please” side for Appointment viewings

High-quality graphics come mounted on 1/8″ PVC and are accompanied with a 1/2″ rich black base for a classic finish and ease of positioning on any floor, ledge or countertop. Size: 8″w x 12″h

Business-card-signsBusiness card signs – Double sided, 4 styles: wood grain, multi, black & white and Tiffany blue

Display this side for Appointment viewings: Please leave your BUSINESS CARD
Display this side during Open Houses: Please take a moment TO REGISTER

 

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Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. T.: 905.529.5979 F.: 905.529.7109
E.: [email protected] * All applicable taxes are extra. Prices subject to change.