CREA is aware and investigating reports of a phishing email campaign targeting members of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
The subject line of this fraudulent email is “Violation of Crea code of conduct” and it appears to be sent from [email protected]. The email states, “We hereby inform you that you have violated CREA standard code of conducts. The facts of the case before you are in the documents attached in the email.”
The email also has a zip attachment, which seems to be infected.
If you receive a similar email, please do not click on any links, open any attachments or reply to the message. Delete the email immediately. It was not sent from CREA staff.
While CREA continues to take steps to help mitigate and investigate different fraudulent activities, unfortunately, fraudulent emails remain rampant in many industries. As always, please be vigilant when opening emails. CREA recommends that you:
– Delete unsolicited emails.
– Hover over a link to confirm its legitimacy before you click to see where the email is coming from.
– Do not open attachments from an account you don’t know.
If you have received a phishing email, please contact Member Support at [email protected].
The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 852 sales of residential properties located within the RAHB market area were processed through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in May 2020. Sales are down 42.2 per cent over May 2019, and up 43.4 per cent over last month. The average price for residential properties was $655,418, which is up 10 per cent from May last year, and up 6.3 per cent from last month.
Recently, RAHB has identified an issue in Matrix that occurs when users were trying to upload photo images to their listings. Select users would see the system would stall out when trying to upload 25 photos or more at one time and the user was left to attempt the photo upload again.
To resolve the issue, CoreLogic will have to develop a fix that will be built into the next Matrix update. Until that time, if you are experiencing this issue when uploading photos images, please use the following work around:
Restrict the number of photos you upload at one time to 20 or less at a time.
Example: If a listing has 43 photos
Batch 1 – Upload 20 photos and then Save
Batch 2 – Upload another 20 photos and then Save
Batch 3 – Upload the final 3 photos and then Save
If you have any questions, please contact the RAHB MLS Support Desk at 905.667.4650 or e-mail [email protected].
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) has issued new guidance and policy interpretations REALTORS® must abide by to satisfy compliance with Regime requirements.
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) continues to support REALTORS® by providing tools and resources to assist in complying to Regime obligations.
As a result, CREA has updated its FINTRAC compliance materials to reflect:
• Scanned or photocopied documentation may now be used as part of the dual process method of identification. Previously, only original documentation could be used. This change makes it easier for REALTORS® to identify their clients remotely. No in-person meetings are required. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a timely modernization reflective of CREA’s lobbying efforts in 2019.
• FINTRAC’s updated guidance on terrorist property lists.
• A new deadline for suspicious transactions as a result of a change in the law. The new deadline is “as soon as practicable” after measures have been taken to enable a REALTOR® to establish there are reasonable grounds to suspect the transaction or attempted transaction is related to the commission of a money laundering offence or a terrorist activity financing offence.
• The addition of a “wire transfer” check box in CREA’s template receipt of funds record.
• Other minor changes.
FINTRAC has committed to “a reasonable and flexible approach with respect to the implementation of recent regulatory amendments.”
Revised materials, which incorporate the changes, are now available on REALTOR Link®. Revised forms will be posted on CREA WEBForms® starting May 15, 2020.
Further to this, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, FINTRAC announced on April 23, 2020 that REALTORS® are temporarily allowed to verify their clients’ identities using government-issued photo identification over video conferencing technology where the use of the dual process method or credit file methods of identification are not available. Effective immediately, in such circumstances, a REALTOR® can ask their clients to display their driver’s licenses on video using programs such as Zoom or FaceTime, and rely on their judgement to verify the authenticity of the ID being displayed. However, REALTORS® that rely on this method should keep a record of why it was not possible to verify that client’s identity using traditional methods of identification. They should also keep a record of all clients identified using the temporary flexibility in order to re-verify their identity in accordance with the law when the physical distancing measures have been lifted by public health authorities.
As stated earlier, this is a temporary measure. Despite its temporary status, additional flexibility for identifying clients is welcome and provides REALTORS® with more options to safely meet their legal obligations. Given that the use of video conferencing technology for client verification is something CREA has advocated for years, we will continue to press the government and FINTRAC to maintain this position, once the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has subsided.
In the coming days, RAHB will be asking brokers of record, managers, brokers and salespersons to help us to determine the additional support and services that RAHB members need most during the pandemic.This survey will be sent via e-mail, be available for one week, and should only take a few minutes of your time.
By participating in this survey and providing us with valuable information, you could win a Realty Shoppe gift basket- valued at $50.Thank you in advance for your participation.
Recently, RAHB has received complaints surrounding the field “Possession”; specifically the pick “Flexible” is not being used as intended.
The field “Possession” has several picks to choose from as follows:
Immediate
Flexible
1-29 days
30-59 days
60-89 days
90+days
Other
The word “Flexible” means to be ready and able to change to adapt to different circumstances, or able to be easily modified to respond to altered circumstances or conditions. If “Flexible” is chosen, be sure your Seller(s) are in fact “Flexible”, in that they can adapt to different possession scenarios; otherwise choose a more specific pick as listed above that will suit your Seller(s) scenario.
“Flexible” does not mean the following:
“We are looking for 90-120 days”
“For the right price, we may be able to be flexible”
“It’s a split up, one party wants a long closing, the other party wants a short closing, so we chose Flexible”
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the MLS Help Desk at 905.667.4650 or e-mail [email protected].
Effective Wednesday June 17, the Realty Shoppe will now offer curbside pick-up two days a week! You can utilize the curbside pick-up on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Just a reminder that the Realty Shoppe will be modifying service delivery with curbside pick-up to serve our members better, and to adhere to the health and safety guidelines outlined by the province.
Supply orders must be pre-ordered by e-mail at [email protected], or by phone at 905.529.5979.
Orders must be pre-paid, and payment must be on your credit card or your RAHB account. Payment by debit and/or cash is not available at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience.
A twice weekly pick-up of pre-ordered supply orders will be available each Tuesday andFriday, via curbside pick-up only, at the parking lot entry door for the RAHB offices. Entry into the RAHB building and in-person shopping is not be permitted at this time.
Curb-side pick-up: A pre-determined pick-up time will be coordinated by Realty Shoppe staff with each member. Upon arrival, the member must wait in their vehicle within the RAHB parking lot, and Shoppe staff will bring the order out of the building and place it on a designated table in order to adhere to social distancing measures.
No RAHB staff have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and RAHB staff working within the Realty Shoppe do not have COVID-19 symptoms.
The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 482 sales of residential properties located within the RAHB market area were processed through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in April 2020. Sales are down 63.4 per cent over April 2019 and 56 per cent over last month. The average price for residential properties was $614,412, which is up 4.3 per cent from April last year, but down 6.6 per cent from last month.
A reminder that dropping off door-to-door materials is considered a non-essential service during COVID-19 under section 19 of the essential list provided by the Government of Ontario. Please hold off from dropping any materials door-to-door until the essential list is changed.
Recently, a RAHB member found their listing posted for rent without permission on an online classified website. Luckily, the member was contacted by a potential renter and confirmed that the posting was not real. Please remind your clients to be viligent when searching online websites and to refer back to REALTOR.ca for more information or to contact their REALTOR®.
If you see or are affected by a rental scam, Hamilton Police Services suggests reporting the ad to the website where the rental is posted, working with your financial institution if money has been sent, and reporting incidents to local police services. They also recommend reporting to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre to report – please go to https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/. Please note there are no telephone lines for the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre at this time.
In an effort to continue to deliver quick and meaningful solutions to members, ShowingTime is rolling out new listing controls for virtual showings the evening of Monday, April 27.
ShowingTime’s latest release gives listing agents more control over how they prefer showings are conducted on their listings and the capability to easily communicate appointment information for each listing.
Listing agents can now configure their listings for 1) Virtual Appts Only 2) In-Person and Virtual Appts or 3) In-Person Appts Only. This setting can be configured per listing by choosing from a drop-down menu on each listing’s setup worksheet, or agents can choose a setting for all their listings in their user profile.
When Virtual Appts Only is selected, the access details for the home are intentionally hidden from the buyer’s agent. They remain in the account should you decide to switch the listing back to allow In-Person Appts, but are not visible for Virtual Appts Only since no one will be accessing the home.
Notes added by the listing agent are highlighted for easy visibility by the buyer’s agent and include information on how the virtual showing will happen. When using the ShowingTime app, agents can easily share these notes by tapping the newly added ‘share’ button and sending the information via text or email.
