Congratulations to RAHB members Norma Bond (Right At Home Realty, left)
and Jamie MacCorkindale (Right at Home Realty, right) – pictured here with
RAHB CEO George O’Neill (centre)! Norma and Jamie each won travel tech
kits for responding to CREA’s 2016 Member Survey.
Congratulations also to Lynne Riddell (Keller Williams Edge Realty,
pictured with George O’Neill), who also won a travel tech kit for
completing CREA’s 2016 Member Survey.
A message from Canadian REALTORS Care® Foundation Chair Ralph Fyfe:
I don’t need to tell you that the REALTOR® community in Canada is a generous bunch. As you know, REALTORS® across our country raise and donate tons of money and volunteer countless hours of their time for the charities close to their hearts. The Canadian REALTORS Care® Foundation is committed to sharing their stories with the hope of inspiring further good deeds.
We also think it’s important to try our best to measure the impact of REALTORS®’ generosity. To do just that, we asked REALTORS®, real estate boards, associations, franchisors and affiliated charitable foundations how much they gave and raised for charity over the past four years (2012-2015). We’re pleased to announce that the result is over $91 million, which speaks volumes about the generosity of Canadian REALTORS® and the meaningful role they play in the communities where they work and live.
Please take a moment to watch a short video we put together to celebrate the charitable achievements of Canadian REALTORS®.
This month, instead of focusing on one member service, we’re going to look at what members have had to say about the services that are most valuable to them.
In a large member survey done in 2014, members identified RAHB’s five most valuable member services as:
In a more recent survey performed by Kitestring Media on RAHB’s behalf, members said that RAHB’s most valuable services are:
Other services that didn’t make the “top” list were REALTORS® 4Kids Charity Auction, Karan Barker Scholarships, AD&D insurance and meeting room rentals.
Your RAHB membership provides numerous and diverse services. Which are most important to you?
As of Monday, December 5, 2016, when you visit GeoWarehouse through RAHB’s single sign on, Fusion or Matrix, you will land on the NEW version of GeoWarehouse. While GeoWarehouse will not be fully cutting over to the new version until January 2017, they are giving you the chance to become familiar with this new version well ahead of time. You will still be able to navigate to the more familiar version if you prefer, but you will always be landing on the new version when you visit the site.
Looking for zoning resources for properties in Hamilton and Burlington? Check out the following websites:
Hamilton Properties:
Hamilton Economic Development Zoning Lookup Tool
https://spatialsolutions.hamilton.ca/ZoningLookup/
**Tip: This new tool contains multiple information layers. You must type in “RD” instead of “road”, “ST” instead of “street”, etc. for the map to locate addresses.
City of Hamilton Mapping Site
http://map.hamilton.ca
Zoning Verifications
Contact the City of Hamilton at building@hamilton.ca or 905.546.2720.
Burlington Properties:
Zoning information & Map from City of Burlington
https://www.burlington.ca/en/zoning
Zoning Verifications
Contact the City of Burlington at 905.335.7642.
National Housing Day was November 22, 2016 and RAHB was a proud sponsor of two National Housing Day events in our community:
Halton National Housing Day
This informative session covered the issues and challenges of affordable housing in the Halton Region. The event featured a creative problem solving facilitation led by Sheridan College as part of a multi-year project being undertaken as part of a Social Science and Humanities Research Council Community Innovation Fund.
City of Hamilton National Housing Day
This year’s National Housing Day event from Hamilton’s Housing Services Division focused on bringing people together to participate in a facilitated discussion regarding how the City could develop balanced neighbourhoods in Hamilton. The event fostered an environment of common purpose and understanding between stakeholders in the housing sector. https://www.hamilton.ca/social-services/housing
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Master Lock lockboxes – with weather covers to protect from rain and snow!
Members are reminded to be particularly vigilant in the use of their lockboxes.
The lockboxes are an important tool to your industry – practice the following measures at all times:
Members are reminded of “Rules and Regulations” Section 2 – MLS® Listings, Sub-section 2.17
Members shall ensure that lock boxes installed on each of their listings are set with a unique code for the security of their Seller’s property. Further, members shall change the lock box combinations, as required during the course of the listing to maintain reasonable security, and not use any preset manufacturer’s code.
Fines of $50 for the first offence and $200 for a second offence will be levied against members found to be in breach of this policy.
_____________________________________________________________
Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
T.: 905.529.5979 F.: 905.529.7109 E.: realtyshoppe@rahb.ca
* All applicable taxes are extra. Prices subject to change.
The following article was written and published by Mark Weisleder, in his newsletter dated October 29, 2016. Reprinted with permission.
Now that we have all the new mortgage rules, it is more important than ever before to include the financing condition in any offer or be otherwise prepared for the consequences.
1. Pre-approvals are no guarantee you will obtain your financing
Too many buyers are cavalier about submitting offers without a financing condition, especially during the pressure of a bidding war. You must understand that even with a pre-approval, the lender must be satisfied with its own appraisal. The foundation for most appraisals is what would a willing buyer pay a willing seller, WITHOUT pressure? In a bidding war, there is almost always pressure on the buyer. This is why the appraisal will likely be lower than what the buyer offered and the lender will offer you less money than you hoped for. The answer is always to have an extra 5-10% of the down payment in reserve to protect you. In a condominium purchase, if it is conditional upon review of a status certificate, use that time to also make sure your financing is in order.
2. Lenders can change their mind right up until the day of closing
Even if you are approved after you sign your agreement, the lender can still change their minds based on anything which they may learn before they advance funds. There are usually many conditions attached to any loan approval, such as verification of income, down payment, employment. Make sure you work with your mortgage broker to satisfy all of these conditions and requirements as soon as possible in the process. The worst words a lawyer can hear from a lender on the day of closing is “The file is in underwriting”. This typically means that someone else is reviewing the entire file because issues have arisen. In some cases this can result in the entire loan being cancelled, right on the day of closing. In our firm, since we receive and send funds via wire transfer, we are fortunately able to complete deals even when lenders are late transferring funds to our trust account.
3. Always know the net amount you will receive from your lender
Every mortgage commitment is different. Some may contain up-front fees for arranging the loan, appraisals, CMHC fees and PST, interest to the interest adjustment date. All of these fees are deducted right off the top, before the balance is sent to your lawyer on the day of closing. The bottom line is you must know the exact amount that will be sent to your lawyer on closing, to make sure you have enough to make up the rest of the down payment, land transfer tax and legal fees. At our firm we remind clients to send us their mortgage instructions early in the process so that we can get them the net amount they will need to complete the transaction in a timely manner.
4. Get it in writing if buyer wants no finance condition in the Agreement
If the buyer does go ahead and tell you to put the offer in without a finance condition, get these instructions in writing. It is not enough to write the finance condition in the offer and then have the buyer strike it out and initial it. It is better to use a separate form. OREA has form 127 which makes it clear that the buyer is confirming to the buyer brokerage that they understand the risks in making an offer without conditions.
________________________________________________________
Mark Weisleder
Email: mark@realestatelawyers.ca
Website: www.RealEstateLawyers.ca
Direct Line:416.702.2499
Toll Free Tel:1.855.466.3801
RAHB Government Relations Committee representatives attended OREA’s Political Action Conference in Toronto (November 20-22) and met with area MPPs to discuss issues of importance to REALTORS® and homeowners.
The two issues under discussion were the land transfer rebate for first-time home buyers and the government’s proposed mandatory home energy audits.
OREA’s concerns are that the existing proposal would place an additional regulatory burden on REALTORS® and MLS® Systems, single family home owners would be unfairly targeted and the proposal lacks consumer protection from unregulated energy audit services.
Instead of the mandatory HER&D program, Ontario REALTORS® asked for a return to a program like the voluntary Energy Savings Program, which actually produced results, and regulation for the energy audit industry.
RAHB PAC representatives at Queen’s Park:
(l to r) RAHB staff Valerie Webster, Kathy Della-Nebbia (Royal LePage State Realty), Nicolas von Bredow (Royal LePage Macro Realty) and Nikola Bucalo (Coldwell Banker Community Professionals). Missing from the photo
is Lou Piriano (L. Piriano Real Estate Brokerage).
Meet the Candidates Chili Cookoff – Chili Days!
On Monday, November 21, 2016, RAHB held its first-ever Chili Days – A Meet the Candidates Chili Cookoff! Nine RAHB members competed with their best chili recipes to see who would reign Chili Supreme. While all of the dishes were truly delicious, it was election candidate Scott Bouman, that took home the title with his En Nogada – Chili Con Carne recipe. Congratulations to all that participated, and we look forward to holding this spicy election lunch event again next year!
Chili Days Participants:
Bacher’s Beanarama
Donna Bacher, Royal LePage State Realty
(Winner!) En Nogada – Chili Con Carne
Scott Bouman, Ambitious Realty Advisors Inc.
(Election Candidate)
Fearless Fart-free Chili
Gloria Payton, L. Piriano Real Estate
Hunks of Burning Love
Andrew Robertson, Keller Williams Complete Realty
Jan’s Chili
Ann Forbes Arndt, Royal LePage Macro Realty
(Election Candidate)
Marg’s Marvelous Chili
Margaret Reid, Royal LePage State Realty
Sans Viande
Nancie Mleczko, Coldwell Banker Community Professionals
The Shift
Richard Weima, Right at Home Realty Inc.
(Election Candidate)
Wack Jacky’s 7 Bean Chili
Jack Loft, RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc.
(Election Candidate)
We want to thank you, our members, for another successful REALTORS® 4 Kids Charity Auction all in support of the AM900 CHML/Y108 / Fresh Radio 953 Children’s Fund! We had a packed event full of REALTORS® who were eager to show their generosity. Whether it was bidding on our selection of live and silent auction items, purchasing raffle tickets, donating prizes or participating in the event itself, we couldn’t have done it without your time, dedication, and support for this great cause! We look forward to another successful run in 2017!
Congratulations to Our Raffle Prize Winners!
Beer, Barrow & Booze Raffle
Booze (Single Malt) – Hank Balfoort, RE/MAX Escarpment Golfi Realty Inc.
Bucket of Beer – Ron Lewyckyj, RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc.
Wheelbarrow of Wine – Bruce Moran, Chase Realty Inc.
Mystery Suitcase Raffle
$500 Best Buy Gift Card – Amy Gallant, Royal LePage State Realty
$500 Stock your Bar – Stephanie Lovie, Royal LePage Macro Realty
$500 Shopping Spree – Angelo Fazzari, RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc.
Heads and Tails Game
$3,000 Ring – Blair Gillis, Royal LePage State Realty
To learn how you can donate to next year’s REALTORS® 4 Kids Charity Auction, contact Sheila at sheilas@rahb.ca!
It has come to our attention that searching for mixed use or institutional listings in the regional Matrix system will not return the specific results for those categories of properties.
To find mixed use or institutional listings in regional Matrix, select Sub Type = Other. You will then have to look through the results to find the properties that interest you.
Looking to send holiday cards from your contacts in Matrix?
Check out our video on how to create a mailing list in Matrix at http://bit.ly/RAHBlabels