Rob Hahn on why you should attend our March 30 annual general meeting

Our March 30 virtual annual general meeting (AGM) features one of North America’s most sought-after real estate speakers – Rob Hahn.

As the head of 7DS Associates and the man behind the Notorious ROB real estate blog, Rob’s established himself as one of the most thoughtful and provocative real estate commentators today.

Hear from Rob himself about why you should attend our AGM:

Don’t miss Rob’s presentation – click here to register now!

AGM details

Don't miss out! Our AGM starts at 10 a.m. on March 30. This free meeting is your chance to hear how the Board has adapted to the COVID era from Chair Colette Gerber and CEO Brad Scott.

Click here to download the AGM package for full details.

To help us prepare, please confirm your attendance with Member Services by calling 604-730-3090 or emailing memberservices@rebgv.org. You can also register online (login required).

Technical details

You'll receive the link to the meeting closer to March 30. We recommend you join the meeting early using the link we send you to test the audio and video with your system.

Mobile devices will not work to access the AGM. You need to use a desktop or laptop computer with a highspeed internet connection. A computer with the latest Windows 10 or MacOS (Big Sur) operating system is recommended.

You’ll need the most up-to-date version of the Chrome or Firefox web browsers. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser will not work for the AGM. Make sure your default browser is either Chrome or Firefox, or copy and paste your custom AGM link into one of these browsers

We look forward to seeing you online!

Chair's message: Amalgamation talks with FVREB come to an end

We announced to you last fall that we’d struck a steering team to explore a possible amalgamation with the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB).

Since then, the leadership from both organizations have held meetings and discussions to explore this possible union and assess the strategic and cultural fit between the organizations.

This work didn’t materialize into an amalgamation proposal as we hoped it would. Different visions and philosophies exist between the two boards. These differences ultimately led to the end of this process. The steering team for this initiative will be disbanded.

While this effort didn’t create the change we sought, we remain committed to exploring other options and partnerships that’ll help our members thrive over the long-term.

Sincerely,

Colette Gerber
Chair
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

Participate in our #ShowHowYouShow safety challenge

Be a part of our COVID safety hashtag challenge and show the public that REALTORS® are making safety a top priority! Here’s what some of your colleagues are sharing on their social media:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Carmen McCracken (@call_carmen_mccracken)

Show the public that you’re following safety protocols and conducting your day-to-day business safely! It’s easy, all you have to do is:

Let’s get #ShowHowYouShow trending with positive posts about how you’re doing your part to follow the rules and limit the spread of COVID-19!

“This call is being recorded for quality assurance purposes”

We’ve all heard this recording, and probably most of us tune it out as a prelude to dealing with automated phone system hell.

“Press 1 to do this.” “Press 2 to do that.” Then, the 15th choice on the list is “press 0 to speak to a human.” The message is often accompanied by relentless music, punctuated with commercials and assurances that “your call is important to us.”

I don’t think in these situations there’s any doubt in the caller’s mind that their words are being recorded. Most of us accept it’s useful to record these conversations for quality assurance purposes. We also understand knowing a call is being recorded helps keep our behaviour civil.

While we accept service providers recording us, many of us give little thought to whether we’re being recorded at other times. The Internet never forgets. A mobile phone or surreptitious recording device also doesn’t forget. Think about all those security cameras in stores and malls, on highways and traffic lights, and, most important for our purposes, in homes. The unblinking eyes of all these devices guarantee what we do (and perhaps say) is being watched and recorded.

What if a seller (or seller’s REALTOR®) decides to record what’s said and done at a showing or what’s said in the driveway between the buyer’s Realtor and the clients after the showing? Is it legal for someone to record what you say and do without telling you? I was asked this question recently and I didn’t know the answer, so I turned to our lawyers. Here's their response. (Please remember: you should get your own legal advice if you have specific questions on this subject.)

A seller who surreptitiously records communications between individuals attending an open house or a property viewing commits a criminal offence in doing so. Further, a seller who engages in such activity also runs the risk of being sued civilly by prospective or actual purchasers of real estate. This applies to both the commercial and residential real estate context.

In the commercial real estate context, an organization that surreptitiously records communications between individuals attending an open house or a property viewing for one of its commercial properties breaches private sector privacy statutes (PIPA or PIPEDA) and runs the risk of a complaint being made to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, which could result in an investigation, a public finding, or an order being issued against the organization by the commissioner and a resulting civil claim for damages by the affected individuals.

A Realtor who knowingly uses information obtained through such surreptitious audio recordings described above commits a criminal offence.

Further, this Realtor breaches private sector privacy statutes in using such information and likely breaches the REALTOR® Code as well. Realtors who knowingly use information obtained through surreptitious video or audio recordings also run the risk of being named in a civil lawsuit for damages brought by individuals affected by such surreptitious recordings.

Practical considerations and recommendations

It's prudent for a Realtor to routinely and proactively raise this issue with sellers they represent, clearly telling them that they're expected not to engage in surreptitious video- or audiotaping. Further, the Realtor should make clear that they can’t be involved in, or make any use of information obtained by, such conduct.

A Realtor may explain to sellers that if they wish to video- or audiotape an open house or property viewing, anyone attending that open house or property viewing must be notified that their communications and/or actions will be recorded, and they must be told the purposes for the recording. Any notification should be done both verbally and in writing. Realtors should retain documentation of this notification to minimize the risk of any liability arising from the situation.

A Realtor who becomes aware that a seller has surreptitiously video- or audiotaped individuals at open houses or property viewings, notwithstanding having been cautioned as set out above, should advise the sellers that they can no longer act as the seller’s representative.

In light of some vendors surreptitiously video- or audiotaping individuals at open houses or property viewing, it’s prudent for Realtors to advise their purchaser clients to refrain from discussing the merits of the property or any possible offers while attending an open house or property viewing, and to wait to discuss these matters until they are in a private setting.

If a Realtor acting for a purchaser has reason to believe that surreptitious video- or audiotaping is occurring during an open house or property viewing, they may wish to reinforce the cautions noted above with their clients and also raise this issue with the seller’s Realtor at the first reasonable opportunity.

Maybe we should consider adding a postscript to the “Please remove your shoes” sign: namely, “Everything you say and do is being recorded.”

Sadly, it seems this may be necessary to give our buyers a heads-up. Just pretend the sellers are home (even if they aren’t) when you show properties from now on.

REBGV course registration, brokerage transfers, lockbox, other services unavailable March 31 until April 6

At the end of this month, your Board will complete the transition to a new customer relationship management (CRM) system. This change will modernize the core system we use to serve you every day.

During the transition period, some of our regular services won’t be available.

From 5 pm on March 31 until April 6*, you won’t be able to:

• Make changes to your membership (e.g., transferring between brokerages, changing phone numbers)
• Register for an REBGV course or event
• Purchase or sign up for a lockbox

(*Note that most of these dates fall over the Easter long weekend, which runs from April 2-5 this year.)

If you anticipate needing any of these services within this blackout period, we ask that you plan ahead.

Services like Paragon, WEBForms, and Autoprop will not be affected by this change.

This move to a new CRM will allow us to serve you better and enhance your ability to access our services, and your account information, online.

This change is a significant technical undertaking, so we ask for your patience if it takes staff a little longer to process your administrative requests related to PDP, Medallion, brokerage transfers, or lockboxes in the first week of April as we complete the transition.

We’d like to thank you for your assistance and understanding.

A sole regulator for real estate in BC, rent freeze extension, and more

Crown agency to become single regulator for real estate in BC

The provincial government is amending legislation to make the BC Financial Services Authority the sole regulator for real estate in British Columbia later in 2021. 

Read more. 

Rent freeze extended; renovictions, disputes addressed in proposed legislation

The BC government has introduced legislation to extend the residential rent freeze to December 31, 2021, create regulations to prevent renovictions, and improve dispute resolution.

Read more.  

Home Owner Grant and other municipal updates

Apply for your Home Owner Grant through the province, not your municipality, and find out what’s happening in your neighbourhood.

Read more. 

Cannabis fact sheet

Cannabis is regulated at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels. Here’s a summary and a matrix of how it’s dealt with in Greater Vancouver municipalities.

Read more. 

Get the latest WEBForms Working Group news

The WEBForms Working Group (WWG) met for the first time this year in February. Here are highlights from the meeting:

Latest enhancements

Recent enhancements to the system include:

• The clause manager now allows you to insert clauses directly at the spot where you’ve placed your cursor on the screen. Clauses now hold their formatting when being printed or downloaded. You should also see better formatting when importing PDFs.  
• New form guides that’ll help you understand when and which of BCREA’s forms to use are now available. Members have requested these guides since last year.
  
• Background functionality has been enhanced to improve system speed and load times.

New forms release process

The WWG shared an update on their planning to ensure the quick delivery of new forms onto the system, including:

• A dedicated email to submit new forms and a master form tracker for boards to monitor progress;
• The development of a standards guide for designing new forms; and
• A ticketing system for form testers using SharePoint within a dedicated testing environment.

2021 roadmap

Here are some of the enhancements and upgrades the WWG is prioritizing for 2021:

• Retaining dynamic fields within transaction templates in the clause manager.
• The ability to bundle documents when sending to third parties.
• Implementation of a font size policy to ensure consistency across forms.
• Adding pop-up messaging to help users with workflow issues and provide more information where applicable.

The WWG will meet again in May. If you have questions about WEBForms, contact CREA’s Help Desk at support@crea.ca.

Give yourself more time to renew your licence this year

The Real Estate Council of BC (Council) notifies you approximately six weeks before your licence expiry date. However, we recommend you give yourself more time than usual if you need to renew your licence this year.

We’re hearing from members that many of the mandatory courses required for licence renewal fill up quickly, and that it’s difficult to register at short notice. The Legal Update course alone can require up to three weeks to complete.

If you’re not proactive about completing your mandatory relicensing courses, you may find yourself becoming unlicenced while you wait for a seat in a mandatory course to open.

REBGV staff are unable to provide either technical or registration support for these courses.

To renew your licence, you need to complete the following Council courses:
 

If you’d like to check your completion status for these courses, you can use Council’s new portal.

Please remember that these courses are in addition to your PDP requirements. You can check your PDP status here.

Council’s transition to a new service desk has resulted in slower response times. They're informing REALTORS® that their response time for emails is four to five business days. They’re working through these issues with UBC staff to improve technical support for learners who need assistance accessing the online courses. For more information, including contact details for support with your relicensing requirements, please refer to Council’s website.