ICYMI: COVID-19 recommendation on open houses lifted, REBGV reaffirms rule that ensures access to MLS® listings for showings

As BC's entered step three of the COVID-19 re-opening plan, we’ve removed the recommendation that REALTORS® not hold open houses. We’ve also re-affirmed Rule 3.22 of the Rules of Cooperation that requires members to make active listings accessible for showings.

Since March 2020, BC’s real estate boards and regulators have asked Realtors to refrain from holding open houses. We also relaxed Rule 3.22 to help reduce the risk of Realtors and their clients spreading COVID-19 at in-person showings.

Today’s announcement means two things:

1. You, your brokerage and your clients can decide whether to hold an open house. (Note: We’ve re-enabled the Open House feature on Paragon for your use.)
2. You must make your MLS® listings available for members to show to their clients.

Rule 3.22 says, “any new listing that cannot be shown for an undefined period or a period that exceeds five calendar days from the effective date of the listing will not be acceptable for listing on the MLS® System, and the Listing Brokerage will be advised accordingly.” Click here and scroll to page nine to read the rule in full.

“While it’s an encouraging sign that we can ease these restrictions, remember that the pandemic is not over. Please continue to take reasonable actions to make the health and safety of yourself and those around you a priority,” said Brad Scott, REBGV CEO. 

The Real Estate Council of BC, the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate and BCREA issued a statement June 30 about easing COVID-19 restrictions. Read it here.

During step three, employers can stop implementing their COVID-19 safety plan at their workplace and shift to a communicable disease prevention plan. These plans will continue to include physical barriers at many business and retail settings. However, capacity limits, formal health screening tests and directional arrows, as well as other physical distancing measures will no longer be required, according to the latest government release. 

Brokerages should review WorkSafe BC’s new Communicable Disease Prevention Guide for Employers to know more about what this means for your business.

To learn more about what moving from step two to step three includes provincewide, click here to read the government’s announcement. 

We’ll continue to update you on these changes, and how they could impact your work, as we learn more.

Keeping the Competition Act in mind

As REALTORS®, you’re constantly searching for innovative ways to distinguish yourself from your competition. Your quest for the proverbial “leg up”, however, must be balanced against your obligations under the Competition Act. Violating the Competition Act can result in severe penalties, including significant fines and jail terms.

The Competition Act is federal legislation designed to promote fair competition in the marketplace. It applies to virtually all sectors of business – including real estate boards, firms, Brokers, independent contractors and salespeople.

Failure to recognize and avoid anti-competitive conduct can result in criminal prosecution, Competition Tribunal proceedings and civil court actions for damages.

We strongly encourage you to visit the Competition Compliance Centre on the Canadian Real Estate Association’s (CREA’s) website and review their Real Estate Competition Guide. Another great resource to review is the Misleading Advertising Guide.

CREA’s Competition Compliance Centre also features a series of four animated videos covering key competition issues for REALTORS®. The videos are titled ‘Collusion & Conspiracy’, ‘Don’t Mislead’, ‘Setting Your Prices’, and ‘Doing Business with Competitors’.

The relevant provisions of the Competition Act can be simplified to three basic rules:

• Don’t collude. Make independent business decisions without discussion or consultation with competitors.
• Don’t discriminate against or refuse to do business with competitors or other persons because of their pricing policies.
• Don’t mislead the public in your advertising.

If you’re not familiar with the basic rules of the Competition Act, you could find yourself in hot water. Comments made in casual conversation may seem harmless but could contravene the legislation. The Competition Guide warns particularly about what is called “loose language”, defined as any conversation or phrase that can be interpreted as anti-competitive by nature.

Investigations can be time-consuming and extremely expensive. For this reason alone, compliance with the Competition Act involves avoiding conduct that creates the appearance of illegal activity as much as conduct that actually constitutes illegal activity.

Here are a few examples of statements that can suggest or imply involvement in anti-competitive activity:

• “This is the rate that everyone charges.”
• “I’d like to lower the commission, but no Board member will show your house unless the commission is X per cent.”
• “Before you list with ABC Realty, you should know that no one will work on their listings.”

In relations with clients, Brokers and REALTORS® should explain and justify their pricing and other business policies in terms of the value their office provides. Promote your firm’s track record, detail your marketing or negotiating expertise, explain the functions and the value of the services performed by a real estate professional, and defend your qualifications. Use the language of competition, not conspiracy.

A copy of the Competition Act is available at http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-34/. 

REBGV donates $10,000 to Lytton fire relief

In response to the wildfire that devastated Lytton, your Board donated $10,000 to the Red Cross British Columbia Fires Appeal.

The wildfire tore through the Village of Lytton on June 30, leaving little time for residents of the area to gather their things and evacuate. The fire destroyed over 90 per cent of the village and forced the evacuation of the nearby First Nations.

“Our hearts go out to the people of Lytton who have lost so much in this fire. To lose your home in an instant is unimaginable,” said Brad Scott, REBGV CEO. “That’s why we’ve decided to donate, and we encourage our members to do the same.”

You can donate to the Red Cross British Columbia Fires Appeal here.

REBGV member raising funds for Lytton First Nation

REBGV member Troy MacBeth Abromaitis is also raising funds to help the Lytton First Nation. Troy, who is a member of the Lytton First Nation, created a Go Fund Me to help the First Nation with relief efforts and to rebuild damaged and destroyed homes.

You can donate to Troy’s fundraiser here.

If you’re helping with the Lytton wildfire relief efforts, let us know by contacting Fiona Youatt at fyouatt@rebgv.org.

Vegan leather? Who knew?

“What is this jacket made of? It feels like buttery-soft leather,” I ask. The very serious and earnest salesperson replies, “Oh, it’s made of vegan leather.” I pause for a few seconds to process the answer. “Vegan leather?” I repeat, as I try to understand what he’s saying. “You mean it isn’t real? Is it like what we used to call pleather?” A pained look is visible from behind the mask.

“It just means there were no animal products used.”

“So, it’s made of plastic then,” I say, beginning to savour the situation.

“Er, yes,” they respond.

I thought it unkind to point out that plastic is made from dinosaurs and other organic materials. The shop assistant seemed so earnest and nice. Who wants to be thought of as “that guy in the store”? Certainly not me. Besides, it was “take my daughter to lunch and then buy her stuff day.” I really didn’t want there to be a sour note.

Accompanying my daughter on a clothes shopping spree is not something to be undertaken lightly. It’s an event of titanic proportion with lots of dad-learning moments to be had along the way. It seems daughter no. 2 has been invited to a formal event at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Like you, I’m in the solution business. Her problem—namely, “I haven’t got a thing to wear”—was something I offered to solve with what I thought would be a visit to a couple of shops, along with a liberal application of much credit card plastic.

About five hours later with lunch half-way through, we had lift-off, as they say. A suitable formal dress with a side order of accoutrements, along with a pairing of shoes, handbag, and sunglasses had been bought. Naturally, the purchase was made at the very last shop, after we had tried all the other ones at Park Royal and Pacific Centre malls. Thank goodness we didn’t need to go to Tsawwassen Mills. Still, it was a fun day and a very large problem had been solved. How often does one get to say that at the end of a day?

Are you wondering how I plan to connect this with what you do out there in real estate land? Read on.

On this outing, I was struck by how easily impressions are made when shopping, which isn’t something I do a lot of now. (Check out the giant lapels on my now too-tight suit when we all get together again to see what I mean.)

What’s the real estate equivalent of the “Just what’s out there” answer we get when we ask if a certain missing size or colour is not on the rack. Have a think and let me know. You know before you ask, you’re going to get this answer, but you can’t help asking in the vain hope that, this time, there will be an XXS in chartreuse that someone forgot to hang on the rack.

Other stuff creates impressions, too, when you’re shopping: a jumble of mannequins with signs plastered all over the place tells me the shop is probably one of those where you’d have to be a detective with an electron microscope to find the clothing you might want to wear, but probably won’t. Is there a real estate advertising equivalent of that, too? Sure, there is. And if that’s what you want to do, fine. But know that you will, indeed, leave an impression, and perhaps not the best kind.

A few of the shops we visited had one elegantly dressed mannequin in the window holding one handbag, not accompanied by loud, pounding music. I’ve been to cathedrals noisier than some of these places. They’re nice though if you have someone helping you who doesn’t hover. Or someone who knows how to listen.

In one such shop, I asked, “Have you got something formal for my daughter to wear?”

“Certainly,” replied the clerk. “How about this microscopic skin-tight see-through mini-dress, suitable for giving any self-respecting dad a stroke?”

“Er, it’s a formal event,” I sputtered. “Shouldn’t the dress be about 20 inches longer?”

“How about this one?” they offered.

It looked exactly the same as the previous one.

What’s the real estate equivalent of this one? Not listening to the client, I suppose. Or trying to force feed the client with something they just aren’t ready to hear or deal with. Yet.

I could go on. During the dog days of summer yet to come, now that Monsieur Heat Dome has left the building, have a think of all the dreary stuff we say out of habit to the questions we get. Is it time for a tune-up or, at the very least, to add a little zest to what we say?

Good impressions count. And they usually pay off with repeat and referred business. So, I was impressed with that vegan leather motorcycle jacket with the studs, poppers, patch pockets, and straps. Plus, if we had bought it, I would have had a good story to tell.

A vegan leather jacket? Who knew?

Top Tip video: Don't talk with my client

In the video below, Kim offers a reminder on our rules about respecting agency relationships and the requirement to have a licensee supervise a showing and/or inspection.

Updated residential data input forms and reports available now!

An updated residential data input form (DIF) and new two-page versions of your full REALTOR® and full public report are now available. Please ensure you’re using the updated version of the DIF—you’ll find it on WEBForms.

The updated DIF includes:

• expanded Realtor remarks with a 500-character limit, up from the current 300-character limit;
• a new field to report square footage for a second detached residence on a property (i.e., a laneway or coach house);
• space to add six additional rooms for a total of 36 rooms, up from the current 30;
• a new field called “ABOVE MAIN 2” to report finished floor area square footage for a floor above the main floor; and
• increased number of selections you can include on certain fields, including:
  • two options for foundation type (field 230);
  • two options for driveway finish (field 248);
  • four options for floor finish (field 272); and
  • 10 options for amenities (field 330).

Check out the full rundown.

The updated full Realtor and full public property reports:

• keep all fields in the same place as much as possible;
• keep as much information as possible on the first page;
• group the strata fields together; and
• highlight the new laneway/coach house information, making lot acreages more visible.

Questions? Contact MLS® at 604-730-3010.

Learn how to use Paragon Connect with our new quick start guide

Do you want to learn the basics of Paragon’s new mobile version, Paragon Connect? Check out our new Paragon Connect quick start guide.

Click here to download it. You can also watch our recorded Paragon Connect webinar below:

What is Paragon Connect?

Paragon Connect is a simplified interface designed to work on your mobile devices. 

The platform is not an app, it’s a web-based interface accessible on any device with a web browser and includes both a residential and commercial version.

How do I access Paragon Connect?

If you’re using a mobile device, like an iOS or Android-based tablet or phone, you'll be able to access Paragon from REBGV.ca or via the direct web address:

Paragon Residential: bcres.paragonrels.com

Paragon Commercial: bccls.paragonrels.com

The system will detect your device and ask you if you’d like to use Paragon Connect. If you select the option to “remember my choice”, you’ll default to the selection you made next time you access Paragon on that device.

If you’d like to access both Paragon Connect and the traditional interface on your device, make sure you leave this box unchecked.

While designed for mobile, you can also access the new interface from your laptop or desktop by choosing the “Resources” button on the navigation bar at the top of the Paragon home screen. On a laptop or desktop, your system will always default to the traditional Paragon interface.

What’s different about Paragon Connect?

Paragon Connect is intended to complement Paragon’s existing interface rather than replace it. It’ll provide a more streamlined experience on the go where you can: 

• search for listings and share them with your clients; 
• view client activity on Collaboration Centre; 
• see activity on your seller’s listings; 
• view and reply to comments;
• search and view hotsheets; 
• save searches and set up Collab Center notifications;
• access your listings cart; 
• access your contact manager; and
• view tour and open house information.

Questions? Contact Help Desk at 604-730-3020. 

Obituary: Ian Abbott

We’re deeply saddened to share that long-time REBGV staff member Ian Abbott passed away on June 1. He was 56.

Born Bruce Ian Abbott in Victoria on July 1, 1964, he was always proud of his Vancouver Island roots. He attended Sir James Douglas and Vic High, maintaining lifelong friendships with many of his classmates. He worked a variety of jobs in his youth – for a family fishing company, his own cleaning service, and as a manager for local video store chains on Vancouver Island and in Metro Vancouver.

Ian completed an information technology program at Vancouver Community College (VCC) and was hired by REBGV in May 1997. His connections to VCC resulted in several VCC grads joining REBGV over the years, many of whom still work here.

Ian’s technical expertise was a valuable part of the ongoing national discussion on real estate technology. He was a member of several technological peer groups and we’ve received messages of sympathy from across Canada since the news of Ian’s passing spread.

At the REBGV office, Ian brought laughter, joy, and a sense of ease to staff whether he was doing his best impression of HAL the robot from 2001: A Space Odyssey, to let us know a system was down (EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!), or to drop a birthday glitter bomb on someone’s desk on their special day. He was also fond of making anagrams of his colleague’s names, many of which wouldn’t be fit to print.

Outside of the office, Ian enjoyed the company of his family and loved being an uncle to his nieces. He never missed his Sunday afternoon phone calls with his mother.

At REBGV, we take a small measure of comfort in knowing that Ian is now reunited with our former Member Services manager Noreen Davis, who passed away last summer. No doubt Ian and Noreen are somewhere laughing loudly at one of their jokes.

Ian is predeceased by his father Donald and his partner Mark Leo. He’s survived by his mother Maria, brother James (Jo-Ann), sister Sarah, nieces Railey, Chloe, Brynn Augusta, and their families, and countless other friends, associates, and colleagues.

Please join us in extending our heartfelt condolences to those he touched during his life.

Watch our video tribute to Ian below.