Resources to help you with BCREA’s standard forms update

Yesterday, the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) released new standard forms and revised existing forms. 

Watch our new video that highlights the resources available to help you with this change.

There are multiple resources available to help you with these changes: 

• Watch BCREA’s recorded presentation about these changes, including a Q&A period. You can also review the presentation in PDF format.  
• Review a Q&A of questions submitted for the event but not answered on the event recording.  
• Review the pre-launch package that has copies of all of the new and revised forms along with guides on how to use them. 
• BCREA's Standard Forms Resource Centre website was updated yesterday with new resources and help guides to help you with this change. 

What’s changed?

There are seven new standard forms, three new clauses, and a variety of revisions to existing forms including updates to the signature blocks on 20 forms. You can learn more about the changes at these links: 

• Review the new forms and clauses 
• Review the revisions to existing forms 
• Review the updated signature blocks

The new forms, along with guides for how to use them, are available on WEBForms. BCREA said this morning that they’ve experienced some issues migrating the new forms to WEBForms and CREA is working to resolve the issues as soon as possible. We’ll share more details about this as we learn more.

BCREA is hosting a webinar on September 29 at 10 a.m. to give you an opportunity to ask follow-up questions about the new forms. Click here to register.

These changes reflect new regulatory and practice requirements. They were developed with input from across organized real estate and other key stakeholders.

Provincial government changes strata insurance regulations

The provincial government announced changes on September 13 intended to address rising strata insurance costs that have affected strata owners throughout the province.

Here’s a summary of the changes:

• Effective immediately, referral fees to strata property managers from strata insurance transactions are prohibited.
• Effective November 1, strata insurers and agents must provide 30 days advance notice to strata corporations if they intend to not renew an insurance policy or make material changes to the policy.
• Strata insurance agents will also be required to disclose their commission amount, or a reasonable estimate, to strata corporations. Failing to meet these requirements can result in penalties of up to $25,000 for an individual or $50,000 for a corporation.

Click here to read the government’s announcement.

These changes follow the BC Financial Services Authority’s June report that found strata premiums have risen by approximately 40 per cent across the province year-over-year and deductibles have risen as well, sometimes with triple-digit increases.

We’ll share more analysis on these changes in future communications.

Other articles on this issue

Strata insurance – where are we at?

Government steps in to address rising insurance costs for strata owners

Where can you find floor plans to put on MLS®?

With physical distancing measures in place, pre-screening homes before a showing is more important than it’s ever been in the housing market.

Good quality photos can go a long way in presenting a home and floor plans may be necessary for some buyers to visualize the space before they commit to attending an in-person showing.

Strata floor plans on myCondoPlans

MyCondoPlans is a database of strata floor plans that we've integrated into Paragon. Just look for the myCondoPlans action icon beside any strata listing. 

The database includes: 

• detailed drawings of unit floor plans; 
• building key plans or site plans; and 
• the building position in its neighborhood indicating the potential view from the unit. 

Every month, members can display up to 45 unique floor plans of properties listed with their firm on MLS®. 

There are more than 1,400 buildings and 132,700 units mapped through this service, and we're always adding more.

If you have questions, call our Help Desk at 604-730-3020. 

Traditional floor plan companies

Floor plan companies, like Measure Masters or Pixilink, will also provide accurate floor plans for you to post on an MLS® listing.

These companies typically measure the space accurately and provide traditional Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) diagrams of the floor plan.

CADD diagrams are typically black and white line drawings with added measurements.

“Dollhouse” and 3D renderings

While not an accurate floor plan, many members are opting to use 3D renderings of the homes they list. These “virtual tour” renderings can be viewed in first person, as a “dollhouse” 3D image, or as a floor plan.

This kind of service, provided by companies like Cupix Homes or Matterport, is typically software you use in conjunction with a 3D or 360-degree camera. Some companies, like Matterport, offer technicians who can perform the 3D photography for you.

Small things do, indeed, make a big difference

The end of the Labour Day weekend usually finds me feeling a mix of wistfulness and anticipation. “Another summer gone,” I think. Or, as my father could be relied on to say, “Another summer shot to hell.” I miss that. And this fall, I’ll miss those sunny, top-down, wind-in-the-hair drives through the countryside, and our small family BBQs that forestalled our small bubble from being pricked by the virus. All that’s soon going to be a distant memory when the rains start lashing down and shorter days come calling.

So, what about the “anticipation” part, you’re thinking? The autumn usually brings a resumption of “Ethics Guy® visits the brokerage meeting” gigs, member linking sessions, and the normal toil, but this time not being interrupted by the usual comments heard over the summer: “They’re away on holiday right now,” or, “Let’s do that when they get back.” It’s funny how the mundane has a life of its own, notwithstanding these COVID-19 times. Professional life ticks on: calls come in, concerns are aired, files advance inexorably to their final destination, strategic planning soldiers on and suddenly it’s almost Remembrance Day with Christmas and a new year around the corner.

So, I say, bring it on. Let the fall begin – we’re all ready to get back at it. Except for those who write the CMHC news releases and chicken-little doomsday evangelists, we should be in for a busy season. There’s been some pent-up demand so, unsurprisingly, sales numbers have ticked up. We’re beginning to learn to live with this virus and life must go on. People still reach those milestone times in their lives when selling or buying real estate becomes a necessity. Virus or no virus, we’ll continue to be there to help them get where they need to be, as we have for the last 101 years.

At the time of writing, we have 114 days left till year’s end. How are you planning to fill them?

The small stuff you do this week and next is going to determine your bank balance when it comes time to do your December shopping. Is your prospecting plan sufficiently massaged to account for the COVID-19 market? Now’s the time to create your autumn advertising campaign and to resume your intensive prospecting for buyers and sellers. You don’t want to be going into November without some irons in the fire. So that’s the big picture—now how are you going realize it? Have a think about that now, rather than later.

Which brings me to our column’s title. All those little things we do every day add up. Small things like making five warm calls a day throughout the month. You could continue this through September and October, telling everyone on your contacts lists you’re just checking in to ask how they are, hoping they’re well, and offering to give them a market update. If the opportunity presents itself, you could ask if they know anyone who’s thinking about buying or selling. Start with those you know—that’s why they’re called warm calls. They’re much easier to make than the cold variety. I used to shudder at the thought of calling a for-sale-by-owner or anyone I didn’t know. Those five simple calls a day that will take up, maybe, an hour of your time—a small portion of the day with large potential.

Other seemingly small things can also make a difference. Heeding your image and polishing our collective reputation is something you can do every day, too. Moving mountains is tough. But mountains can be moved, one stone at a time. For example, paying attention to what your for sale signs look like, as well as where your open house arrows are positioned. Do your signs do you credit? When someone sees them what impression do they give? Are they clean and presentable? Are they stuck into private or public property? If they’re on public property, I can guarantee you they’re in breach of a sign bylaw. Local governments usually turn a blind eye to this on weekends during open house time. But leaving them up after your opens, posting directional “house for sale” arrows or, heaven forbid, nailing an advertising sign on a telephone or lamp pole is an absolute no-no. You don’t want to raise the ire of local officials with your signs because the officials could, if they wanted to, forbid all signs on public property including open arrows on weekends. There’s also the potentially negative impression everyone gets when they see illegally placed signs infesting their neighbourhood. That’s not a good thing in a time when we want to get our numbers up. We want everyone to have confidence that we all respect laws, regulations, and rules, and the neighbourhoods where our customers live.

There’s more. Any advertising must have your brokerage name on it. This is a Board and Council requirement, but lately I’ve noticed an uptick in this infraction, with excuses such as “Oh, I forgot to put my brokerage name into the ad, website, social media or real estate flyer advertising.” Maybe it seems like a small thing to you, but believe me, it’s not. Our regulator and the public judges us by our actions. If we can’t all do the small things like place our signs with respect and include our brokerage name in all our advertising, how are we going to get the big stuff done, like improving our collective image? Currently, less than 50 per cent of Canadians have a positive view of REALTORS®. We need to move this number significantly upwards.

So remember: small things count and they add up. I wish you the very best of success for the remainder of the year.

Top Tip

A member phoned this morning to vent his peeves. This kind of call usually turns out to be good column fodder, so here’s a heads-up for something to consider while I have a think how I’ll write about this in the future. He asks, “Why are some members unable to resist writing redundant clauses in their contracts of purchase and sale?” He said he receives quite a few offers with bespoke clauses, somewhat duplicating clauses already in the standard form language. One must ask, why when the contract of purchase and sale very ably deals with GST/Residency/Title issues. What’s the risk of writing your own clauses? For starters, we’re not lawyers. And, if your clause conflicts with the contract of purchase and sale’s fine-print lawyered-up clauses, it will probably cause uncertainty, which isn’t good. More on this to come.

P.S.: September will bring us some new and revised standard forms. BCREA’s Standard Forms Committee has done a lot of work on this file, and BCREA has done a good job of giving the Boards lots of advance notice. Go to BCREA’s website to read all about the new forms.

ICYMI: Innovation Series: Housing supply and affordability with UDI

Our Innovation Series of videos is aimed at helping REALTORS® discover new practices, tools, and knowledge.

In our latest video, we asked Urban Development Institute (UDI) CEO Anne McMullin about the trends affecting housing supply and affordability in our region, the barriers keeping us from building more affordable housing, and how COVID-19 has affected the way the development community thinks about building homes.

Watch the video below. 

Council to manage all aspects of the Legal Update course on October 1

Starting October 1, the Real Estate Council of BC (Council) will take full control over the registration and delivery of its required Legal Update course. Previously, your Board handled registration and member support for this course on behalf of Council.

Here’s what you need to know about this change.

Registration times

Council will offer fewer spaces per class with this change. This means it might take longer for you to find and register for a Legal Update course after October 1. Please plan to complete Legal Update well in advance of your compliance deadline.

Council has hired more staff to help them handle this change.  

Technical support for Legal Update

When you take this course and need technical support, you’ll need to contact Council at education@recbc.ca or call 1-877-927-2077 and select option 2 to get assistance.

Council will release more resources to help you with this change, including FAQs, in the coming weeks.

Legal Update and Council’s education requirements

To renew your license with Council, you’re required to complete Legal Update every two years. If your renewal is:

Before October 1, you'll need to complete these courses: Legal Update, Rule Changes: Agency and Disclosure, and Anti-Money Laundering in Real Estate.

After October 1, you'll need to complete these courses: Legal Update, Anti-Money Laundering in Real Estate, and Ethics for the Real Estate Professional.

Visit Council’s website for more information.

Our Professional Development Program vs. RECBC’s Continuing Education Program for Relicensing

The provincial Continuing Professional Development Program, or PDP, was introduced in 2006 by all boards in BC to provide members with a competitive edge necessary for success, resulting in enhanced professionalism and stronger relationships with your clients. This program is different from the continuing education you need to complete to renew your licence. The following summarizes the differences for you.

Continuing Professional Development Program

As a member, you must complete a minimum of 18 PDP hours to maintain your Board membership every two years, coinciding with the renewal of your licence cycle. Failure to comply with the PDP Educational Requirements on or before your licence expiry date will put your Board membership at risk of being suspended and/or terminated.

For more information please contact us at education@rebgv.org or 604-730-3087, or visit PDP Education Requirements. We’ve also developed PDP FAQs for any additional questions you may have about this program.

RECBC Continuing Education Program for licence renewal

All real estate licensees are required to complete continuing education courses to renew their real estate licence with the Real Estate Council of BC. These courses are over and above the PDP education requirements of the boards and do not qualify for PDP hours. After October 1, boards will not be involved in the registration, delivery, or tracking of these courses, and all enquiries should be made directly to RECBC.

Here is what you will need to complete before submitting your application to renew your licence:

• If your renewal is after April 1, 2020 and before October 1, 2020, you must complete these mandatory courses: Legal Update, Rule Changes, and Anti-Money Laundering.
• If your renewal is after October 1, 2020, you must complete these mandatory courses: Legal Update, Anti-Money Laundering, and Ethics for the Real Estate Professional

Your renewal application must include proof that you’ve completed these courses in the last two years or your licence won’t be renewed until you’ve done so. For more information, contact the RECBC at education@recbc.ca or 1-877-927-2077, or visit the Council’s Continuing Education page.

Have your say: Superintendent and Council seeking consultation on administrative penalties

The Real Estate Council of BC (Council) and the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate (OSRE) are looking for feedback from REALTORS® on proposed changes to rules around administrative penalties. 

The proposed new rules are intended to: 

• Encourage greater compliance, while eliminating the uncertainty and delay of a full discipline process and its potentially greater penalties (e.g. fines up to $250,000 for individuals, suspensions, enforcement costs); 
• Expedite relatively minor complaints and disciplinary matters, with the continuing protection of a subsequent review process if requested; and 
• Maintain Council’s discretion to refer matters to full discipline and hearing when warranted, and continue to protect the public interest by ensuring serious contraventions go through the full discipline process. 

You can review the proposed changes here. 

Once you review the changes, you can provide your feedback here. 

Learn More 

Read the backgrounder.  

Find out about the four categories of contraventions for administrative penalties. 

Read Council’s Questions and Answers about administrative penalties.