Dec 4, 2015 | REALTORS Care® |
RAHB’s 27th annual charity auction underwent a rebranding (remember the Christmas Tree of Hope charity auction?) and a change of format for 2015, and drew almost 500 REALTORS®, their clients and friends for an evening of great food, fun and – most importantly – fundraising for The Children’s Fund.
The evening included a four-course sit-down dinner, live and silent auctions, draws, door prizes, giveaways and the chance to make a difference in the lives of children in the Hamilton/Burlington area.
RAHB engaged the services of professional auctioneer Linda Leija, “the Auctionista,” to act as emcee for the event and to conduct the live auction. Guests were entertained and challenged to open their wallets for the cause.
The final tally of the proceeds from the evening was not available at the time of publications; watch Message of the Day (MOD) for the final number.
Dec 4, 2015 | RAHB News |
The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington extends a warm welcome to its newest members (October 24 to November 20).
David Bromstein
Ambitious Realty Advisors Inc., Brokerage
Christy Scalia
Colangelo Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage
Hussein Safieddine
Homelife Professionals Realty Inc., Brokerage
Bess Georgakakos
Christopher Henderson
Keller Williams Complete Realty Inc., Brokerage
Shannon Smith
Ashleigh Erwood
Keller Williams Edge Realty Inc., Brokerage
Wahid Atta
Realty Network: 100 Inc., Brokerage
Sarah Petta
Jason Delangis
RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc., Brokerage
Sam Sharkawi
Right At Home Realty Inc., Brokerage
Tammy Phinney
Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services Inc., Brokerage
Kabul Mann
Royal LePage Macro Realty Inc., Brokerage
Kevin Robb
Royal LePage State Realty Inc., Brokerage
Georges Partsalidis
Sutton Group Realty Systems Inc., Brokerage
Darlene Wissenz
Sutton Group Innovative Realty Inc., Brokerage
Dec 4, 2015 | RAHB News |
The RAHB office will be closed from 1 p.m. Thursday, December 24, 2015 until Monday, January 4, 2016.
MLS® Help and Photos
If you require help with Fusion when the association office is closed, the on-line Help is always available. Click on “Help” and “On-line help”, and you can read and download “how to” instructions and watch tutorials.
If you require help with Matrix, click on the blue “Help” tab where you will find training guides and video tutorials.
The association photographer will be unavailable to take photos for broker loaded listings entered from December 23 to December 26 and December 30 to 31.
Please upload your own photos in between these dates. Here’s how:
- Roll your mouse over the Add/Edit tab in Fusion. Click Edit Listings
- Click the Edit button beside the listing you would like to add photos to
- Click on the blue Images on the left hand side of the screen
- Click on Upload Images
- Use the Browse button, and navigate to where your image is located and select the image you want to upload. If uploading more than one image, click on the first image so it is highlighted in blue, then hold down your shift key and select the last image in your file, which will highlight all the photos in between
- Click Open and the pictures should appear on your screen
- You may click Edit under each photo to add a description, change the room name (Exterior Front is the default) or Show Crop Tool (zoom in on the photo so it fills the frame)
- You may click the Change Display Order button to change the order in which your photos appear. Drag and drop your images in any order you wish
- Click Save
- Once complete, click Close
Realty Shoppe
The Realty Shoppe will follow the RAHB holiday closure schedule. The Shoppe will also be closed:
- Wednesday, December 16 – closed for inventory
- Monday – Wednesday, December 21- 23 – closed to all on-site shopping due to renovations. Phone and on-line orders will be processed.
Listing Packages
The last delivery date to member offices (if scheduled) before the RAHB Holiday closure is Wednesday, December 23, 2015. Full schedule resumes on Monday, January 4, 2016.
Dec 4, 2015 | RAHB News |
The Karan Barker Scholarship is named for Karan Barker, a 25-year RAHB employee and former executive officer. Karan was an outstanding executive officer, and won both the Tony Kafun Award from OREA and the W. Frank Johns Award from CREA in recognition of her contributions to her real estate association and the real estate profession.
Scholarships are presented annually to students who are children or grandchildren of RAHB members or Association staff. They students are attending or will be attending university or college. They must demonstrate academic excellence and a high level of involvement in school and/or their community.
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This year, $2,000 scholarships were presented to four students. Scholarship Task Force chair Jamie Edwards made the presentations at the recent Annual Election Meeting.
(l-r): Liane Varga (mother of Emily Varga); Thomas Antony; Jamie Edwards; and Kayla Della-Nebbia; Christina Lee was unable to attend.
Thomas Antony is the son of Saji Antony of Royal LePage State Realty. He is a graduate of Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School and is now attending McMaster University in the Nursing program. His goal is to eventually become a Certified Registered Nurse Anaesthetist and practice in foreign countries.
While in high school, Thomas made a point of participating in his school and community. He participated in the Pilgrimage Walk, was a member of Run for Their Lives, the chess club, track and field team and the concert band. He volunteered at St. Joseph’s hospital as well as Pine Villa and Clarion nursing homes and the Saltfleet Public Library. He was a member of the Hamilton Malayalam Samajam Youth Committee, for which he organized annual summer camps and fundraisers.
Kayla Della-Nebbia is the daughter of Kathy Della-Nebbia of Royal LePage State Realty. Kayla is a graduate of Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School and is now studying the Humanities at McMaster University. While she isn’t sure yet what she will major in, Kayla would ultimately like to be an entrepreneur and open her own business in Hamilton some day.
In high school, Kayla played on the volleyball, badminton and track teams, and was on the music council, student council and stage crew, plus was in the band and choir. She was on the Honour Roll each year she was in secondary school.
Christina Lee is the daughter of Leslie Lee of Chase Realty. Christina is a graduate of Delhi District Secondary School and the University of Toronto, and she is now pursuing her Master of Arts degree in French linguistics. After that, the plan is to earn her Master of Teaching degree with a focus on French as a second language so she can teach; her long-term goal is to improve Canada’s bilingualism.
Christina says that extracurricular life is essential to a healthy academic career. At the University of Toronto, she participated in theatre and other community groups, served as artistic director in the Drama Society, and helped shape the University of Toronto Drama Coalition which fosters better cooperation among the nine theatre producing groups on campus. She also organized the Drama Coalition Awards, which recognizes the students involved in campus theatre. She was active in all areas of theatre on campus.
Emily Varga is the granddaughter of Erna Willem of Royal LePage State Realty. Emily graduated from Holy Trinity Catholic High School and is now attending Queen’s University in her second year of Engineering. She hopes to earn her bio-chemical engineering degree and work in pharmaceuticals to develop new natural medicines to help cure common diseases and illnesses.
When she began university, Emily was determined to be involved in her new school community, and served as the First Year Conference logistics coordinator for the Engineering Society, Welcome Week leader and manager of First Year Project coordinators. She also served as an Engineering Society Fix ‘n’ Clean volunteer and open house tour guide. She played intramural inner tube water polo and volleyball.
To date, including this year, RAHB has awarded $76,500 to 60 students.
Dec 4, 2015 | RAHB News |
Five new directors were elected to the 2016 Board of Directors at the Annual Election Meeting on November 25 at the Royal Botanical Gardens.
Congratulations to Nik Bucalo, Kathy Della-Nebbia, Lou Piriano, Andrew Robertson and Bob Van de Vrande on their election to the Board.
The election of officers has already taken place. Your 2016 Directors will be:
Kim Alvarez, President
Lou Piriano, President-Elect
Jack Loft, Vice President
Donna Bacher, Immediate Past President
Ann Forbes Arndt
Nik Bucalo
Kathy Della-Nebbia
Gary Herron
Peter Holgate
Paul Martindale
Andrew Robertson
Bob Van de Vrande
The new Board has been sworn in and will take office January 1, 2016. Watch January’s edition of REALINFO to learn more about your Board members!
Other meeting highlights:
- Karan Barker Scholarships were presented to four students
- RAHB members approved Bylaw amendments which:
- added a definition of “Meeting of the Members” to the list of definitions in Article 1;
- removed the appointment of a Regional Commercial Network (formerly Regional Commercial Council) member to the RAHB Board of Directors;
- removed the requirement for a Burlington member on the RAHB Board of Directors,
- changed the terms ‘President’ and ‘President-Elect’ to ‘Chair’ and ‘Chair-elect’ and removed the position of Vice-President; and
- removed and amended references to changes previously made to Section 7 of the Bylaw.
- The motion to amend the RAHB Bylaw to remove the requirement for three Brokers of Record or Managers on the RAHB Board of Directors was defeated.
All amendments pertaining to the makeup of the RAHB Board of Directors will take effect for the 2017 Board.
- The 2016 Board of Directors was sworn in by RAHB Past President and Area 2 RECO Director Rebecca Ryder.
Winners!
- Winner of the 2016 RAHB dues draw was Sheila MacKenzie (Right at Home Realty)
- Winner of a last-minute donation of tickets to the November 25 Buffalo Sabres hockey game was Bob Deamude (Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services)
Dec 4, 2015 | RAHB News |
Facebook –RAHB has a closed group exclusively for RAHB members. The closed page has over 660 members (and counting) – if you aren’t part of the group, ask to join now and get in on the conversation! https://www.facebook.com/groups/6228669666/
LinkedIn – RAHB also has a closed LinkedIn group page. The LinkedIn group has 514 members. https://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostRecent=&gid=1876507&trk=my_groups-tile-flipgrp
RAHB blog – the RAHB blog has all the latest articles from REALINFO plus other news such as CREA stats and forecasts. Use the handy tags to find information on particular subjects. Comment on the articles and get a conversation going! https://blog.rahb.ca
Twitter – follow RAHB on Twitter #rahbnews
Dec 4, 2015 | RAHB News |
Exciting changes have happened for RAHB members whose focus is primarily in commercial real estate.
The former RAHB Regional Commercial Council (RCC) is now officially the Regional Commercial Network (RCN) and has a new structure. 2015 RCN Chair Heidi Van Der Marel outlined the new structure at the RCN Networking Luncheon on Monday, November 2.
What has changed?
- The RCN has migrated from an election process to become a committee composed of volunteers. RCN committee members still have to be approved RCN members (i.e. have been an RCN member for more than one year), but will now be selected from qualifying and skilled applicants who express an interest during the annual call for committee volunteers.
- The RCN has a more welcoming approach to commercial REALTORS® from other Ontario boards/associations. The same membership criteria will apply as all RAHB RCN members, but the RCN membership fee has been removed.
What has not changed?
- The criteria for RCN membership has remained unchanged. Applicants must still provide evidence of commercial education, activity or approved designation. Also, full members in the RCN are automatically pre-approved for membership in CREA’s Canadian Commercial Network.
The RCN is taking this progressive, proactive approach to secure a strong future for the maintenance and growth of the group.
Interested in learning how to apply to be a RCN member? Contact Kathy Rubio kathyr@rahb.ca for an RCN membership application and a summary of qualifying criteria. You can also find the application on REALTORLink® under both the Member Services and RCN tabs.
Dec 4, 2015 | RAHB News |
The quarterly RAHB dues have been billed and e-mailed to you as part of your November monthly invoice. Please note that dues are due and payable no later than December 31st, 2015. If payment is not received, suspension will be immediate as per RAHB Bylaw Article 4, Section 3, Sub-Section 3.01.
Acceptable methods of Payment are:
In Person: Visa, MasterCard, Interac, cash or cheque
By Phone: Visa or MasterCard
Online through Fusion: Visa, MasterCard or AMEX
Online: CIBC/PC Financial, Royal Bank, Scotia Bank, TD Canada Trust – for assistance in set-up, please call Karin at 905.529.8101 x 258.
Pre-Authorized payment subscribers will be processed on Monday December 21st, 2015.
*To meet the Senior Membership criteria, you must be 65 years of age and a 25-year RAHB member. If you meet the criteria, please contact Camryn in the Membership Department with proof of age (e.g. driver’s license) – camrynh@rahb.ca or by fax to 905.529.4349.
Membership Terminations: Article 4 – Section 1, 1.02
It shall be the Brokerage’s responsibility to ensure that notice of all Membership resignations and/or other Membership terminations for Members registered with such Brokerage are received at the Association office within seven (7) business days of such termination. Notice of any resignation and/or other Membership termination received after such date, shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of $50.00 per incident, which sum shall be payable by the Brokerage to the Association.
Dec 4, 2015 | RAHB News |
If you need to take a leave of absence (medical leave, maternity/paternity leave or compassionate care), remember that:
- your RAHB account must be paid in full before you will be granted a leave of absence;
- you are responsible for maintaining your license with RECO, including paying your E&O Insurance, license renewal, etc;
- you will pay only current membership dues when you return from your leave of absence.
Here’s what you need to be granted a RAHB leave of absence:
Medical leave: requires a completed form accompanied by a letter from your physician; good for 12 months, you do not have to remit any fees.
Maternity/paternity leave: requires a completed form accompanied by letter from your physician or midwife; good for 12 months, you do not have to remit any fees.
Compassionate Care: requires letter of notice from Brokerage signed by both you and your Broker of Record/Manager; good for eight weeks, you do not have to remit any fees.
Forms for leaves of absence are on REALTOR Link® under the Member Services tab. For more information contact Camryn at camrynh@rahb.ca or 905.529.8101 x251.
Dec 4, 2015 | MLS®, Stats & Technology |
When you are reporting a sale or lease in Fusion and the selling agent is not a full RAHB member, please make sure you follow the steps outlined in RAHB’s MLS® policies, below.
SALES
When broker loading any sales where the selling salesperson is a non‐board broker, members will be required under Selling Agent 1 Code field to enter “NONMEM” and on the comment line “SOLD BY (NAME OF SELLING SALESPERSON) – (NAME OF SELLING BROKERAGE)”.
When you are reporting a lease, remember that:
Leases reported for the sold sheets must be on a per unit basis so that the listing and the lease price are reported in the same units. i.e., list price = $14.00 per square foot; lease price = $12.00 per square foot; the comments line of the sold sheet will give the breakdown and total volume for the lease.
*Note: Where the lease rate is on a per-month basis, you will enter the terms of the lease and the lease total in the “Selling Comments” field.
For example: the property leased for $1400/month and will be leased
for 1 year.
Enter: Leased for 1 yr @ $1400/month = $16,800
**Note: When the lease rate on a commercial listing is on a per-square foot basis, you will enter the terms of the lease and the lease total in the “Selling Comments” field.
For example: a 2000 square foot property is leased for $10/sqft for 1 year.
Enter: Leased 2000 sqft for 1 yr @ $10/sqft = $20,000. If the lease is for longer than one year and the lease rate will be adjusted each year, the breakdown will need to be entered.
As always, if you have any questions regarding reporting sales or leases, please call the MLS® Department at 905.667-.4650.
Nov 9, 2015 | RAHB News |
Time to Vote!
I may be new to the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington, but I am not new to what an association is all about.
One of the most important components of effective and proactive associations is their elected Board of Directors. The Directors are important because they represent the members at large, and it is the Directors who set the tone and direction for the association.
The Board acts as more than just chief cheerleader for the association. Ideally, a Board is made up of members who have experience in their business, understand the history and can glimpse the future for their profession and can make decisions based on their knowledge and experience.
Is that what we expect from our Directors? That they are experts and fortunetellers?
It would be wonderful if the Board could be that perfect, but that’s not the real world. As much as we need and want a skilled, thoughtful, experienced Board, we also need members on the Board who are willing to question the status quo, learn from others more experienced than they are and gain insights into how the staff and Board work together to effect the best results for all members and the association.
The RAHB election is coming up in less than a month, and this is the time for you to think about who you believe would make a good Director. The list of candidates is included in this issue of REALINFO and you will receive more information about them shortly. You will have the chance to meet the candidates in person, and view candidates’ videos to hear what they say, in their words, they believe their role as Director would be.
It’s important that you cast your vote for the five members you want to represent you on the RAHB Board of Directors.
You can vote electronically in mid-November, you can come to the Annual Election Meeting on November 25 or you can do both! Even if you vote ahead of time, it’s still exciting to come to the meeting and see the new directors as they have been declared elected and take the oath of office.
Be sure to be there on November 25 – we will have some important bylaw changes for you to ratify, you’ll see extraordinary children of members receive RAHB scholarships and if you register to attend ahead of time, you’ll even get a little something from us to enjoy later.
Nov 9, 2015 | RAHB News |
That all depends on you!
Do you know a RAHB member who demonstrates exceptional qualities, enthusiasm and perseverance or has gone above and beyond to serve their fellow RAHB members? Is that person currently part of a RAHB committee?
Then nominate that person as Volunteer of the Year!
Do you know a RAHB member who has shown exception-al dedication and service to RAHB and has contributed positively to RAHB for three or more years?
Then nominate that person for the Award of Merit!
Do you know a RAHB member who has shown out-standing dedication to the real estate profession and exceptional volunteer service to their community for three or more years?
Then nominate that person for the Outstanding Community Service Award!
RAHB service awards are presented to RAHB members who meet the stringent criteria for the three awards. A panel of RAHB members judges all nominations, so these really are awards presented by your peers.
Here’s what you need to know:
Nomination/Application forms are available on REALTOR Link® under the Member Services tab. Full details about the awards are found on the Application/Nomination forms.
The form can be used to nominate a colleague or to apply for the award yourself!
It’s easy to fill out the forms. If you don’t have all the information about your nominee’s committee/volunteer history, you can ask your nominee to help you. Or if you want to keep the nomination a secret, you can write “please verify” on the nomination form and your nominee’s history will be checked before the nomination is presented.
The Application/Nomination form can be completed online and emailed to Sheila at the RAHB office (sheilas@rahb.ca), or printed, completed and sent to the RAHB office.
Deadline for nominations is Friday, November 27, 2015.
If you have any questions about the awards or how to nominate a deserving RAHB member, contact Valerie (valeriew@rahb.ca,
905.529.8101 x294) or Sheila (sheilas@rahb.ca, 905.529.8101 x234)
at the RAHB office.
