The natural effects of aging can sometimes make independent living more complicated than it once was. While some barriers to independence in aging are inevitable, it is essential that REALTORS® take the time to understand the importance of autonomy in senior living and look for ways to increase opportunities for independent living.
Many times, seniors are encouraged to sell their home and move to an acute care facility; however, not all seniors are at that stage of their life. It is important that REALTORS® encourage options other than acute care facilities that many times take away all senior independence.
Adult Lifestyle Communities*
Many people live in a home they bought years ago under different circumstances than those they are living in now. Adult lifestyle communities are growing in popularity for those 55 and older and are expected to continue to grow in numbers over the upcoming years as the population continues to age.
These adult lifestyle communities are created for active seniors:
The phrase “life lease” means that once an initial lump sum is paid out as a deposit, there is little change in rates, and the purchaser will own the home for life. In recent years, these communities have become increasingly popular, since they meet the housing and support service challenges faced by Canada’s aging population.
Life Lease communities allow residents to take an active role in managing the property and organizing activities and programs to help seniors have a sense of purpose that may not be possible if they are isolated in a single family home.
Additionally, a Life Lease community is restricted to adults 55 or 60 and older.
Garden Suites are a pre-made residential structure installed on a one unit basis in the backyard of an existing home, where a secondary suite may be contained within the primary residential dwelling of a family member. Both Garden Suites and Secondary Suites allow for independent senior living while still being close for family support.
The Ontario Government is attempting to make it easier to create secondary suites and garden suites as proposed in their Housing Supply Action Plan.
Wellness Support*
Many seniors wish to stay in their home; however, they may need some additional support to remain at home. There are many home and community healthcare services in Ontario that will help seniors retain their independence, while still providing some assistance.
Many home and community healthcare services offer:
Personal care services like companionship, meal prep, medication reminders, housekeeping, and fall prevention
Medical services like nursing, wound care, and therapy
In summary, there are many options available that are focused on allowing for greater autonomy for seniors during the aging process. Being aware of all the options and showcasing these options to a client or their family is vital to showing that you are supportive of the client’s needs and wants.
*RAHB does not endorse the resources above and there may be others that are comparable.
The RBC Canadian Open is now taking place until Sunday, June 9, at the Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Ancaster.
There are several road closures and parking restrictions in the area around the golf course, which will affect property showings and open houses. Notably, Golf Links Road from Southcote Rd./McNiven Rd. to Halson St. and Halson St. from Wilson St. E. to Golf Links Rd. will be closed to traffic from 6 a.m. each day to 8 p.m. (midnight on Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8).
In the green area highlighted on the below map, there are a number of parking restrictions, which will limit parking to residents with permits.
Click the below button for a printable PDF of the above map.
Of note, residents in the affected area will receive a couple of parking or road access passes in the mail. There are instructions in the letter that accompanies the passes. The home owner/resident may want to give an additional access/parking pass to you as their REALTOR®, which would allow you to bring potential buyers to the property during the event.
If you have any questions regarding these road closures and parking restrictions during the RBC Canadian Open, below is the contact information for the City of Hamilton:
Mark Bowden Senior Project Manager – 2019 RBC Canadian Open
Tourism and Culture Division Planning & Economic Development Department City of Hamilton 28 James Street North Hamilton, ON L8R 2K1
On behalf of the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB), we would like to apologize for the disruption you experienced yesterday with regard to your access of ORTIS listing data.
A configuration error in the user class for Appraiser Access Subscriber was discovered, thus allowing you to have access to the ORTIS listing data using RAHB’s Matrix System. RAHB is obligated to uphold the reciprocal terms of our data sharing agreement with ORTIS, which does not allow Appraiser Access Subscribers to have access to their data unless they have subscribed directly with an ORTIS Association / Board.
At the beginning of 2017 a communication was sent to all members providing an update on the RAHB – ORTIS Data Sharing Agreement. Within this communication access changes affecting all access subscriber members were outlined:
“ORTIS also advised that as of Wednesday, February 1, 2017, Access Members of RAHB (that is, users with computer access only) will no longer have login access to the regional Matrix system, and listings interboarded to RAHB’s MLS® System will no longer be forwarded to the regional system.”
For the full communication from January 11, 2017, please click the below button:
ORTIS and RAHB have agreed that access will be restored until May 24, 2019, to allow you time to make an Appraiser Access Subscriber application with one of the ORTIS Associations / Boards.
Below is a list of the ORTIS Associations / Boards with their contact information for you to arrange an Appraiser Access Subscriber Application. Please note, you are only required to apply to one of the ORTIS Associations / Boards in order to have access to all of the ORTIS listing data. For RAHB’s Data Listing Information you will still require membership with RAHB.
ORTIS Associations / Boards Contact Information:
Barrie & District Association of REALTORS®
Phone: 705.739.4650
Brantford Association of REALTORS®
Phone: 519.753.0308
Cambridge Association of REALTORS®
Phone: 519.650.4996
Guelph & District Association of REALTORS®
Phone: 519.824.727
Huron Perth Association of REALTORS®
Phone: 519.271.6870
Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS®
Phone: 519.576.1400
Mississauga Real Estate Board
Phone: 905.608.6732
Niagara Association of REALTORS®
Phone: 905.684.9459
Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board
Phone: 905.844.6491
Simcoe & District Real Estate Board
Phone: 519.426.4454
Again, please accept our sincere apology for terminating your access without notice.
Sincerely,
Kim Sanders
Manager, Corporate Services
Acting CEO
RAHB
Carolyn Infurnari
Manager, Executive Office
Acting CEO
RAHB
Hamilton, ON (May 1, 2019) – The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1,226 sales of residential properties located within the RAHB market area were processed through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in April, 2019. This is a 6.3 per cent increase from April last year, as well as an 18.8 per cent increase over March 2019 and a 66.8 per cent increase over February 2019. The average price for residential properties increased by 3.9 per cent from April 2018 to $589,324.
The Board of Directors is seeking three (3) RAHB members-at-large to participate on the CEO Selection Committee.
The committee’s Terms of Reference, as outlined in RAHB Governance Policy & Practices Manual, is as follows:
Selection Committee Membership
The Selection Committee will be comprised of the President of the Board, President Elect, one (1) Board of Director member, and three (3) members-at-large. The Committee may call upon resources as required.
Support
Corporate Services Manager
External Legal Counsel
Recruitment Firm Committee
Membership Criteria
Understands and is committed to the organization’s principles and plan for CEO succession, recruitment and selection
Credibility and confidence of the Board of Directors in their ability to execute the Board of Directors’ approved plan and objectively consider potential candidates
Understands the current organizational context, strategy and plan
Availability for expected time commitment of meetings
Responsibilities of the Committee
Review and understand the succession, recruitment and selection strategy and process
Review the CEO position requirements and the current context of emerging trends and patterns affecting the requirements
Implement the approved recruitment and selection process
Objectively identify the best possible CEO candidate based on the selection criteria and process
Objectives
The objective of the Selection Committee is to oversee the Board of Directors’ approved succession process and to recruit and select the best possible CEO successor
Accountability
The Selection Committee is accountable to the Board of Directors
Selection
Following are the key activities required to assist in the selection of the best candidate:
Selection Committee
The Board of Directors has approved the delegation of the shortlist interviews, identification of the preferred candidate and contracting of the new CEO to the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee will seek full Board of Directors endorsement of the preferred candidate prior to entering into the contracting phase of their work. The Committee shall call upon three (3) advisors, for example, RAHB Auditor, Corporate Legal Counsel, and Consultant. The Committee will oversee the selection process and will draw upon other resources as required to fulfill their terms of reference.
The Selection Committee will assemble an interview panel to conduct the short list interviews. The interview panel will be comprised of the Selection Committee members plus other non-board members, as deemed appropriate by the Selection Committee (e.g. senior staff and external advisors).
Interviews will be conducted with all shortlist candidates using the Board of Directors’ approved interview questions and candidate evaluation form.
Based on the interviews and evaluations, the Selection Committee will identify the preferred successor candidate and will enter into an offer for employment following full Board of Directors endorsement.
If you wish to apply, please provide a resume outlining your experience in the following areas:
HR Experience familiar with recruitment process in the corporate / nonprofit environment
Experience with Senior Executive hiring
Any other information that would be helpful for the Board of Directors’ consideration
Selection Committee participants must have no affiliation or conflict with members of the Board of Directors or possible candidates.
The Board of Directors will confirm the Selection Committee appointments by Friday, May 10, 2019. All participants will be required to sign a Confidentiality Agreement.
Please provide your submission in confidence to Kim Sanders ([email protected]) no later than Friday, April 26, 2019.
Hamilton, ON (April 1, 2019) – The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1,032 sales of residential properties located within the RAHB market area were processed through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in March, 2019. This is a 1.2 per cent drop from March last year; however, a 40 per cent increase over February 2019 and a 74 per cent increase over January 2019. The average price was up from March 2018 by 4.9 per cent to $575,099.
Hamilton, ON (January 2, 2019) – The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 534 sales of residential properties located within the RAHB market area were processed through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in December, 2018.
RAHB staff were honoured to support several local organizations that provide for many throughout our communities this holiday season!
RAHB staff donated:
– $400 worth of toys and $400 in financial support to Neighbour2Neighbour Centre
– $800 in financial support to Mission Services
– $800 worth of non-perishable food and toiletry items to Mission Services through the RAHB Santa 5K race
Thank you to these great organizations for all the great work they do!
Please be aware that MPAC Assessment Reports will not be available for purchase through the GeoWarehouse® e-Store from Friday, December 14 at 8 p.m. to Saturday, December 15 at 2 p.m.
The ability to use GeoWarehouse® to conduct property searches and purchase other e-store products will still be available.
If you have any questions please call GeoWarehouse® at 416.360.7542 or 1.888.237.5937 or e-mail at [email protected].
As previously reported, the City of Hamilton Rental Licensing Pilot Project Plan for wards 1 and 8 was to go before the Planning Committee on September 17. We have been informed that this has been delayed until November 5.
We will continue to keep you informed and updated on this issue.
For more information on the Hamilton rental licensing issue, please click the below button.
At the City Council meeting on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 the Hamilton City Council directed City staff to draft a plan for a potential rental licensing pilot project in Wards 1 & 8. This includes education for landlords and tenants, considerations of financial offsets and a review for all affordable housing and potential displacement issues.
We thank the City of Hamilton Council for listening to our concerns.
The report will go to the Planning Committee for review and additional delegations in 2019.
On Tuesday, December 11, 2018, the City of Hamilton Planning Committee met to evaluate the rental licensing pilot project proposal. For information on the pilot project proposal, please visit https://blog.rahb.ca/?p=23462. The recommendation/motion for the pilot project insinuated that the pilot project would be voted on at the Planning Committee, then go to Hamilton Council on December 19 for final vote, and then be implemented within the first quarter of 2019.
We are happy to inform members that the decision on a rental licensing pilot project in Wards 1 and 8 was postponed until at least the next Hamilton Planning Committee meeting to take place in 2019.
During the meeting there were 17 delegates – 15 spoke in opposition of rental licensing and two (McMaster Student’s Union and ACORN) spoke in favour. The incoming RAHB Government Relations Chair, Margaret Reid, spoke to the issue reiterating RAHB’s concerns with the pilot project as proposed. RAHB also co-authored a letter with the Hamilton and District Apartment Association, that was sent to Hamilton City Council and media on December 10 highlighting the issues with rental licensing. The letter can be found at https://www.rahb.ca/RentalLicensingLetter_10Dec2018.pdf.
After the delegations and much discussion by the Planning Committee, it was decided that amendments would be made to the proposal. Hamilton City Staff are to develop a comprehensive plan for the potential rental licensing pilot project, that includes:
concrete metrics for success
education for both tenants and landlords
an analysis of staffing levels
an analysis of the financial offsets for such a project, and
a review of the affordable housing and potential displacement issues of such a project.
This draft plan will need to go to another Planning Committee meeting, where delegates will again be able to speak. We will be sure to keep members informed of any developments.
We thank Margaret Reid for speaking on behalf of RAHB, as well as other RAHB members, such as Paul Martindale and Donna Bacher, for voicing their concerns in an effort to postpone a decision on rental licensing. We also thank Bob Van de Vrande, Nic von Bredow, Lou Piriano, Andrew Robertson and other RAHB members who attended the meeting to support our efforts.
We will continue to work with our partners at the HDAA, Hamilton Councillors, Hamilton City Staff and other important stakeholders to ensure we are a part of the discussion and that our members are fully informed.
The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 862 sales of residential properties located within the RAHB market area were processed through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in November, 2018.
A Broker of Record / Manager Meeting was held on November 8, 2018 at the RAHB Offces. Below is a synopsis of what was discussed at the meeting:
VOW Status
As a result of the Supreme Court of Canada decision, REALTORS® will be required to publish sold data but it must be behind a password protected website. In conjunction with RAHB’s legal counsel a VOW contract has been prepared and MLS® policies have been drafted. Any RAHB member requesting access to the sold data will be required to sign the VOW contract with RAHB in order to receive the data feed. There may also be a fee, which is still to be determined. As instructed by the Board of Directors, the MLS® Policies will be reviewed by the MLS® Committee, and once they are finalized a final review will take place of the MLS® Policies in conjunction with the final contract by legal counsel. Completion is anticipated by the end of the first quarter of 2019, or sooner.
Concerns were expressed as to why the VOW contract/MLS® policies will not be in place sooner. RAHB’s IT staff are prepared to start working now on the data feed with any brokerage, however the feed cannot go live until the VOW contract and MLS® policies are in place.
Update on CREA REALTOR.ca
Following receipt of the announcement from CREA regarding sold prices being included on REALTOR.ca, the President and CEO of RAHB, along with the CEOs and Presidents of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® and the Ottawa Real Estate Board, attended a meeting with CREA to discuss concerns. There are provinces in Canada where sold data is already published and available. However, in Ontario you cannot publish sold prices on a standard website – sold data can only be displayed within a password protect area. CREA has since acknowledged that they did move too quickly with their announcement and have since forwarded a communiqué indicating that more work is required before the sold data can be displayed on REALTOR.ca.
Data Sharing
RAHB continues to work with TREB to establish a fair and equitable data sharing agreement for all members to have access to the gap listing data, which are listings taken by TREB members within RAHB’s area, and not put on RAHB’s MLS® System. RAHB has also prepared and proposed an IntraMatrix data sharing contract to the Collective Group, who are not using Connect. Although both initiatives are not certain, we will continue to push forward to find ways to bring closure to these items so our members have access to more data.
Zillow Conference in Toronto
Zillow has been approaching brokerages in Canada and recently held a meeting in Toronto to discuss the services they are currently offering. Any RAHB brokerage can be set up with Zillow provided they sign the necessary RAHB contract to receive a RETS feed of their listings.
GEOWarehouse®
Discussion took place regarding the number of search requests RAHB members are allowed each year. Currently this is 1,000 per member, per year.
City of Hamilton Signage By-laws
The City of Hamilton is currently on a campaign to clamp down on the misuse of REALTOR® for sale, open house and directional signs that are not in compliance with the City’s bylaw. Some of our own RAHB members are the root cause for this ongoing issue, and if the misuse continues the City has advised RAHB they may not allow any open house signs at any time. It was also noted that Hamilton and Burlington have different sign bylaws. It was recommended that the Government Relations Committee consider reopening the discussions with the City and the use of real estate signage. The Government Relations Committee will examine establishing a sign by-law task force for this issue.
