Featured News
CREA responds to your WEBForms feedback
The leadership of the 11 real estate boards in BC met with their counterparts at the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) last week to discuss your dissatisfaction with the new WEBForms.
CREA partnered with LoneWolf to deliver the new WEBForms platform to you more than a year ago. Over that time, we’ve heard you repeatedly express frustrations with this change.
Last month, more than 1,000 REALTORS® across BC responded to our WEBForms survey, with over three-quarters of respondents expressing dissatisfaction with the new platform.
From these results, the participating real estate boards in BC sent a joint communication to CREA, along with the full survey results, urging the national association to take immediate action to resolve these issues.
In response, CREA and LoneWolf have committed more full-time technical staff to fixing the system going forward and have struck a national working group, comprised of members and real estate board staff, to have direct input on WEBForms performance.
“Continuously improving and working on CREA WEBForms remains our priority,” Michael Bourque, CREA CEO said in a recent communication.
The critical areas within WEBForms that your feedback identified as needing the most immediate improvement were: ease of use, auto-populating forms, and the consistent display of information and font sizes—particularly when a contract needs to expand to a new page.
Here is CREA’s latest response on what they’re doing to improve these aspects of WEBForms:
Improving ease of use
- Updated forms are now automatically replaced in your templates with all content retained. See how to set-up templates with this brief video.
- Page numbers are now automatically created instead of requiring manual entry.
- BC Forms Guides will be introduced this fall to coincide with the release of BCREA’s forms update, making this transition easier for you.
- A new Clause Manager will be introduced later this year, enabling date and time pickers to be inserted directly into clauses. In addition, clauses copied from external sources will maintain formatting, and a full-text search will be added in the clause library.
- Enhancements to the Form Editor are currently being made to make it easier to insert clauses throughout documents.
Consistent display of information
- New pages are now automatically added to the bottom of a form to fit any overflow text.
- Work has been done to reduce the impact of automatic font resizing and we are working closely with our partner, Lone Wolf Technologies, to further refine this solution, including mitigating font resizing issues when forms are printed or emailed.
Auto-populating Board/Association MLS® Systems information
- In consultation with members from various regions, hundreds of forms have been updated. A comprehensive list of the many adjusted forms can be found on the WEBForms Status Hub.
- In the case that further errors and omissions concerning cross-population between your MLS® System and WEBForms are discovered, they will be addressed at the highest priority and with urgency.
CREA resources
Join CREA’s weekly webinar or access pre-recorded webinars.
You can view the most popular tutorial videos in their quick start guide or access the full library of tutorial videos here.
REBGV’s Help Desk also remains available to help you with WEBForms issues: 604-730-3020 or support@rebgv.org.
We’ll continue to advocate for improvements to the new platform and share details of enhancements and any other news from CREA as we get it.
You're invited to the REALTORS Care® and Professional Excellence Awards Announcement
Tune in on Thursday, August 27 at 2 pm for our live webcast announcement of this year’s REALTORS Care® and Professional Excellence Awards recipients!
Click here to register. (The event is expected to last about 20 minutes.)
Help us celebrate the best of our profession at this online event. Watch live as REBGV Chair Colette Gerber unveils the REALTOR® recipients of this year’s awards.
About the awards:
REALTORS Care® Award
The REALTORS Care® Award recognizes the significant contributions Realtors and their companies make to our communities. These are the charitable all-stars in our profession who consistently raise funds and volunteer for worthy causes and who do other good deeds in the community.
Professional Excellence Award
This award recognizes Realtors who have conducted themselves, over the course of their career, in a manner that should be emulated and celebrated by their peers in the profession. To receive this award means that you’ve consistently demonstrated professionalism, knowledge, leadership, community service, mentorship, and life-long learning.
Previous recipients are Judi Whyte, Sheila Francis, Harvey Exner, Sadru Mitha, Eileen Smith, Sandra Wyant, Cal Lindberg, and Josh Bath.
Who will this year’s recipients be? Find out on August 27!
New standard forms, clauses coming September 16
The BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) is releasing new standard forms and clauses, alongside a collection of changes to existing forms on September 16.
This change will include seven new standard forms, three new clauses and a variety of revisions to existing forms, including updates to the signature blocks on 20 forms.
The new forms will have guides that'll be posted alongside them on WEBForms. More information on these forms will be available on BCREA’s Standard Forms Resource Centre website.
BCREA will release a full list of changes on August 28. In the meantime, you can find the latest information on these changes here.
We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.
Do you really want to play that card?
Is putting privacy protection on a listing your card to play? No, it’s the seller’s, and it’s up to them.
A seller’s right to privacy protection comes from the Personal Information Protection Act. If a REALTOR® suggests privacy protection to their seller, and if they do this in their own self-interest, the question might be asked whether this constitutes a breach of the agent’s fiduciary duty of loyalty to the client—that is, doing something in their own interest that may not be in line with their client’s interest.
In short, privacy protection is not intended to be used to further your own commercial interests, such as filtering out colleagues from contacting the seller about the property in the future.
So why would sellers want to play this card, and how does it affect you, as their designated agent?
Maybe they’re concerned that the personal information they provide to you will somehow be used for a different purpose: for example, for solicitation by other Realtors after your listing expires. If this is the case, your sellers may instruct you to enable one or more of the privacy protection opt-out boxes on the Privacy Notice and Consent Form.
You can read more about the opt-out provisions in “Using the updated Privacy Notice and Consent form.” (Note you have to sign in to www.rebgv.ca.)
Here are two related articles that I recommend you also read:
- “Privacy protection: who benefits,” Realtor News, January 29, 2011
- “Never say never,” Realtor News, February 25, 2011
Having an understanding of the opt-out provisions, you may be wondering what standards would be relevant if a privacy protection complaint were made to the Board?
For starters, we generally only accept a complaint from the injured party, which in this case would be a seller (not the seller’s Realtor) who'd been contacted contrary to the Privacy Notice and Consent Form they had signed.
However, there may be an exception to this if you can provide evidence that a solicitation/contact took place. To quote from recent Professional Conduct Committee meeting minutes dealing with a member’s privacy protection related concern, “…. a large segment of the membership in general, does not appear to appreciate the severity of the infraction…It was agreed that, where a seller has provided documentary evidence of a breach but is not willing to submit a letter in support of a formal complaint, that evidence be accepted as sufficient to support a complaint filed on that seller’s behalf by the listing brokerage.”
Circling back to the relevant standards: Rules of Cooperation, Rule 6.06, Privacy Protected Listings” says, “No Member shall use MLS® listing information for the purpose of communicating with a seller of an MLS® listing to determine whether the seller requires additional real estate services when that seller has expressly opted-out of their personal information being used for this purpose.” (Note: the sentence doesn’t say, “no other member: it says, “no member.” This means all members, including the seller’s Realtor.”)
As well, Realtor Code Article 3 may also be relevant if it appears a Realtor convinced a seller to ask for privacy protection when the seller didn’t feel there was a need for it.
To emphasize, in case you’re unclear: if a seller opts out of clause 2a or 2b on the Privacy Notice and Consent form, your future contacts with this seller are limited. This includes no contact by you as the seller’s designated agent to discuss anything but the current listing.
“Huh?” you say?
I suggest you take a look at the “Opt-Out Box” information in BCREA’s FAQs document on the Privacy Notice and Consent Form, specifically regarding opt-out 2a and 2b: Are you sure your seller wants to limit your future contact with them in this way?
That should help further your understanding of the issue. Or, “I hope you’re now confused on a higher level,” as my math teacher used to say.
Three top tips
- As a follow-up to my last column, “Doesn’t CREA have more important things to do,” a member asked, “How do you make a registration mark like this ®?” It’s as easy as making a smiley face if you use a PC. Simply type an open parenthesis, then a lower case “r,” and then a close parenthesis, and press enter. It looks like this before you press enter: (r). If you want to complicate your life you can go to the insert menu and accomplish the same thing with multiple clicks. Or, you can ask an eight-year-old to create something called a macro to automatically insert the registration mark every time you type a trademarked word.
- A member called to ask whether it’s okay to advertise other members’ listings on websites other than their designated realtor or brokerage websites. The answer is no, under Rules of Cooperation, Rule 8.12. Social media, WeChat; Facebook, Instagram and similar aren’t considered to be “reciprocity” websites because they’re not owned and controlled by you or your brokerage. Be careful about this.
- Is it okay to extend a listing contract on a verbal from the sellers? Sure, if you want to risk a Council suspension, a Board complaint and a possible lawsuit and vilification in social media. Executing contracts for someone who isn’t there can be done if you have the proper power of attorney or you are using electronic signature applications. Make sure you read Rules of Cooperation, Rule 3.08 on signing documents. Don’t sign for someone else on a verbal, even if they’re your best friend of 30 years. It’s not a great idea to sign on behalf of your client even if you do have a power of attorney, because what if your client later says, “I never told you to do that”? It’s potentially messy. Why take the risk? Life’s too short.
Goodbye Dennis Wilson, Professional Standards Manager, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board
Dennis Wilson, very ably assisted by Paul Cowhig, does for the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board what I do for this Board. Dennis has retired after a long and distinguished career in real estate. I wish Dennis a very long, happy and healthy retirement. (Lucky fellow!)
A closer look at bank rates and more affordable housing coming to Vancouver
A closer look at bank rates
How is the bank rate determined and what does it mean for the mortgage rate your clients eventually negotiate?
More housing for your potential clients
Vancouver City Council approved two affordable rental buildings on Vancouver’s Westside. This means there are more options for renters looking for less expensive accommodation so they can save more to buy their own home.
Search for specific types of land titles in Paragon
Are you looking for lease-hold land, co-op shares, or other types of land titles for a client or CMA? You can search specific land title types in Paragon. These include:
- First Nations Lease
- Freehold NonStrata
- Freehold Strata
- Leasehold not prepaid-NonStrata
- Leasehold not prepaid-Strata
- Leasehold prepaid-NonStrata
- Leasehold prepaid-Strata
- Shares in Co-operative
- Time Share
- Undivided Interest
- Vacation
Click here for a step-by-step guide.
Obituary: Noreen Davis
Noreen Davis will be remembered for her beautiful smile, her zest for life and her incredible strength.
Noreen was born on May 24, 1962, in Dauphin, Manitoba, to Albert and Olga Kozak. She and her three siblings grew up in various communities across the Prairies, including Leaf Rapids, Man., a northern mining community that her father, a construction professional, helped to build.
Noreen is survived by her older brother Raymond (Rosemary) of Brandon, her older sister Carla (Eric) Wenger of Winnipeg, and her younger brother Leon (Randeen) of Kamloops, and all of her nieces and nephews—Clayton, Erin, Niki, Ben, Hilary, Lexi, and Mason—and great nieces and nephews.
After leaving Winnipeg for the promise of adventure and warmer climates in Vancouver, Noreen reconnected with friend June Quiroga, who had also worked at an insurance brokerage in Winnipeg and had moved to the Lower Mainland. June introduced Noreen to a colleague, Tony Davis.
Tony had emigrated from the UK to Canada in 1987. He still remembers the night he met Noreen, dancing on a table at Carlos & Buds. In 1995, the couple was married at the Kozak family home in Brandon.
Together, Tony and Noreen pursued many passions, including skiing, boating, golf, and travel. Noreen became a fantastic skier and a first-class first mate as they sailed along the BC coast and Gulf Islands. She adored the Greek Islands but looked most fondly on a trip the couple took to Africa, where they helped build two schools through Rotary International, and then went on a safari together.
Wherever she went, Noreen made friends and lit up rooms. She always treasured her time with June, lifelong friends Judy Culbertson and Cheryl Taylor of Brandon; Joan Probert, with whom she traveled to Europe and South America; Jennie and Carmen deFoy, friends she became close with through work; and Lisa Telford, a friend and nurse at Lion’s Gate Hospital. Other special friends include Dale Schreyer, Michael Aucone, Kellie and Michelle Tornai, and so many more dear friends in Canada and abroad.
After her career in insurance, Noreen pursued the world of real estate, working in various roles, including as an agent, before she began her role with the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). Twenty-two years later, she was still with the REBGV, overseeing the Member Services Department including the MLS® division. Even in the most difficult recent months, Noreen remained a focused, positive leader, and was adored and admired by her team and many of her peers.
In December, 2019, Noreen was diagnosed with colon cancer. She fought it valiantly, and Tony is grateful for the special times they shared enjoying each other’s company in recent months, and rediscovering all of her amazing qualities. Even though she was often in pain, she always smiled.
The family would like to thank the many gracious people who were a part of Noreen’s care team, including oncologist Dr. Howard Lim, Dr. Janelle Bellerive, Dr. Noelle Davis, all of the nurses, doctors, and care providers at North Vancouver Hospice, and the BC Cancer Agency.
A small service was livestreamed on August 14 and is available to watch on YouTube here. To share your sympathies, please visit this website.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the BC Cancer Agency or North Shore Hospice and Palliative Project.
Watch our tribute to Noreen below:
Other News
The effect of COVID-19 on home sales
The COVID-19 pandemic began in March, which is historically one of the strongest months each year for home sales. The subsequent lockdown depressed sales through the spring, but pent-up demand and low interest rates have helped sales rebound during the summer months. Our new graph shows how 2020 sales through July look compared to typical historical averages.
Click here to share this comparison with your clients and on your social media accounts.
New arbitration decision available
Stay on top of the work your Board does to uphold and enforce professional standards within the profession and resolve disputes between members.
Our Arbitration Committee works to resolve disputes between members. Click here for their latest ruling.
Suspicious man targeting female REALTORS®
We’ve received a report that a man posing as a woman is targeting female REALTORS® to try to get them to video chat with him.
He originally reached out via WhatsApp posing as a woman named Andrea looking to purchase a home. He then requested to call via FaceTime and performed lewd acts.
The phone number he messaged from was 504-3159-9006, which is an international number.
If you’ve encountered this individual, please contact your local police department to file a report, then contact Mark Moldowan at mmoldowan@rebgv.org with the case number and any relevant information about the incident.
What to do if you’re being harassed
If someone is harassing you, note the time and date, as well as the name and phone number of the harasser. Tell them to stop contacting you and file a report with your local police detachment.
If your harasser is making threats, or if you believe you’re in danger, call 911.
Safety tips for Realtors:
- Always have another Realtor at your showing or open house.
- Jot down your client’s car descriptions, license plate numbers, and physical descriptions.
- Trust your gut — if you sense someone is up to no good, keep a close eye on them.
- Do whatever it takes to remove yourself from an uncomfortable situation.
- Always walk behind the attendee and show the house by directing, not leading, them.
- Notify someone in your office or a friend that you’ll call every hour on the hour when conducting an open house or showing. If you don’t call, they should notify police.
Make an appointment if you need to come see us
While our office on Spruce Street in Vancouver is open for a limited number of staff, it remains closed to walk-in traffic. You can still make an appointment to receive in-person services if needed.
We’ve implemented safety measures at the office to ensure we’re following all public health orders and guidelines set out by WorkSafeBC.
This includes spacing out staff workstations to ensure physical distancing, installing plexiglass shields, providing hand sanitizer stations throughout the building, and adjusting the office layout to avoid crowding in smaller spaces like hallways.
Note that while our Schoolhouse Training Facility in Coquitlam and Vancouver classrooms are closed, our full course complement is available to you online.
Making an appointment to visit our office
You can contact any REBGV staff member and access all of our services virtually. (Click here for our staff and services contact list.)
If you need to come to the office, please follow these steps:
- Contact the person or department you need to see to set up your appointment. You’ll need to complete a health questionnaire.
- When you come to the office for your appointment, enter from the lobby doors on Spruce Street or via the elevators from the parking garage.
- Please sanitize your hands and proceed immediately to reception to sign in.
- You’ll be required to wear a mask for the duration of your visit. We recommend you bring your own; one will be provided for you if you don’t have one.
- Keep two metres (six feet) of physical distance between yourself and others while in the building. Always read and follow the signage posted around the building.
- When your appointment is finished, please sign out at reception.
If you have questions, please call us at 604-730-3000.
Standing out on Instagram and Facebook
Nearly 60 members attended our August 12 virtual fireside chat with Ashley Smith and Morgan Browne of Oakwyn Realty about standing out using social media. At this event, members had a chance to hear Ashley and Morgan discuss strategies and tactics you can use on Facebook and Instagram to grow your business.
Click here to watch a recording of the event.
More events coming in September
Watch for more information on our upcoming September events, including important information about privacy and data security and the development plans for the City of Maple Ridge.
Missed our last events?
Strata Insurance Update Part Two
On July 23, over 200 members joined us online for our follow-up Q&A event on strata insurance with Condominium Home Owners Association Executive Director Tony Gioventu. Tony answered questions and shared his insights on this issue and offered advice you can give to your clients.
Click here to watch a recording of the event.
Understanding Consumer and REALTOR® Safety and Open House Protocols
On July 10, approximately 800 members joined our virtual event on the guidelines and protocols members need to follow when conducting open houses in today's environment. Trudi Rondou from WorkSafeBC and Marty Douglas from the Real Estate Council of BC answered questions and shared their advice.
Click here to watch a recording of the event.
Working with Landlords and Tenants
On July 9, approximately 80 members joined our virtual event that focused on working with landlords and tenants in today's environment. Hunter Boucher and Kimberly Coates of LandlordBC discussed the nuances of buying and selling tenanted properties and answered questions from members.
Click here to watch a recording of the event.
Click here for all our event recordings.
REBGV scholarship application deadline is August 28
Each year we award five $1,500 entrance scholarships to children of members entering post-secondary education.
Do you have a child who graduated from high school in 2020? Encourage them to apply for one of our entrance scholarships! Click here for a copy of the application package.
The application deadline is on August 28. Applicants must submit a certified copy of their final transcript (including all grade 11 and 12 marks along with provincial exam results). The applicant’s transcript will be mailed to them by the provincial government. The student’s graduating secondary school may also certify copies.
We award scholarships based on performance in academics, athletics, fine arts, and community service. The recipients are chosen by a team of independent adjudicators. Adjudication will take place in September, and successful applicants will be notified in October.
Click here for more information.
Online education during the COVID-19 pandemic
We’re now into 23 weeks (or five months) of online course delivery. Many of our members have taken this time to pursue completing their professional development program requirements.
Here are some common questions members have asked during this time:
- How do I know if the course is accredited for PDP hours?
- Can this learning opportunity count toward self-directed PDP hours?
- What’s the difference between “accredited” and “self-directed” PDP?
- How many PDP hours do I need to complete to comply with the PDP?
For answers to these questions, and many more, we’ve updated our PDP FAQ that you can download here.
We’re here to help. Have more questions? Contact us at 604-730-3087 or education@rebgv.org.
Help UBC develop home price survey
The University of British Columbia Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate is developing a survey to learn more about how people form beliefs about home price growth, and they want your help.
The survey authors are asking REALTORS® to complete the survey before they release it to the public to see if there’s feedback from your perspective that could inform changes to the final version of the survey.
The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. Click here to access the survey.