REALTOR® NEWSREALTOR® NEWS
September 30, 2020



Featured News

Are you ready to run?

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Preparations are underway for REBGV’s 2021 election. Our Board Development Committee (BDC) is looking for candidates with the attributes to strengthen and diversify the talent around the Board of Directors’ table. 

Each year, the Board of Directors appoints the BDC to guide the process of identifying and recommending candidates for election.

This is a year-round process that begins with determining the skills and experience needed at the table. The BDC reviews a skills matrix that identifies the benchmark strengths at the current board table and a summary of the Board of Directors’ last peer review process. The team also meets with REBGV’s elected Officers to gain further insight as to the competencies the Board of Directors believes it needs for the near future.

“The Board Development Committee follows robust processes to identify the most qualified and experienced people to help govern REBGV,” says Randy Ryalls, BDC Chair and General Manager at Royal Lepage Sterling Realty in Port Moody. “The purpose of this work is to ensure that our association has a strong Board of Directors year in and out. A strong Board of Directors means more effective leadership and better decisions, which we all benefit from as members.” 

This year, candidates with the following experience, knowledge, and characteristics have been prioritized:

  • Knowledge of succession planning as REBGV’s CEO and other managers will retire in the next few years.  
  • Financial acumen.
  • Members who are either managing brokers or practice commercial real estate.
  • A balance of female and male directors who come from diverse ethnic backgrounds and cultures.
  • Diversity of thought and high emotional intelligence which is a characteristic necessary for the teamwork that helps the directorate innovate and responsibly lead our organization.
  • A service-first attitude where the desire to serve on the Board isn’t driven by self-interest.

Does this sound like you? If so, our Board Development Committee wants to hear from you. 

You can reach out to any of our BDC members:

The application deadline for next year’s election is November 15. 

Learn more about the work directors do and the process of running in REBGV’s election here.

COVID-19: Keeping safe at open houses

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The provincial government and real estate boards across BC have permitted in-person open houses now for nearly three months. While no COVID-19 incidents have been reported at an open house in BC, cases have been rising across our province. 

There has also been a report from Toronto where a COVID-19 case was linked to an open house. 

WorkSafeBC, alongside the Real Estate Council of BC and the BC Real Estate Association, released safety guidelines for open houses that mitigate the risk of exposure. It’s important to familiarize yourself with these guidelines if you plan on holding an open house.  

You can read these guidelines online

Safety procedures 

The safety practices for open houses focus on documenting consent, enforcing public health protocols, and employing enhanced cleaning and hygiene practices. These include: 

  • Documenting your client’s consent to hold the open house and to the agreed safety procedures. 
  • Limiting the open house to serious buyers using technology to pre-screen them. 
  • Requiring that attendees wear masks and other personal protection equipment when appropriate. 
  • Keeping two metres or six feet of physical distance between everyone in attendance at all times. 
  • Using marked signage and instructions, at all entrances and elsewhere, that remind attendees to follow required health protocols. 
  • Employing sanitary protocols after each open house, including hand sanitizing. 
  • Keeping a log of visitors for contact tracing. 

For your clients 

We produced an article about open house safety that you can share with your clients to help them understand what to expect. You can also share this article that outlines seven things consumers can expect when attending an open house today. 

Open house signage 

We’ve developed signage you can use to guide open house attendees. These posters are intended to cover Council and BCREA’s signage recommendations. 

These include: 

  • Reminders to wash your hands and keep physical distance. 
  • Instructions to ”look not touch”. 
  • Guidelines on who can enter. 

Download the posters.  

PPE suppliers 

We've also developed a list of potential suppliers for personal protective equipment and sanitizing products. 

Download the list of suppliers.  

ICYMI: Resources to help you with BCREA’s standard forms update

On September 16, the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) released new standard forms and revised existing forms. 

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

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

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: 

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

A member benefit: Our beloved standard forms

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Clint Eastwood’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is one of my all-time favourite films. It’s nice and clear, and there is no ambiguity. You know who’s who and what to expect—just like our standard forms. In the movie, the bad guys end up being dispatched in a satisfying way and sticking to the tried-and-true Western formula, the good guy rides off into the sunset at the end. And that, friends, is the usual outcome for us when we use standard forms (assuming we choose the right ones, correctly fill them out and get them signed and delivered. More on this later.)  

That’s why I couldn’t resist using Eastwood and his many films as my prop for this column. Who could resist citing a title like The Good, The Bad and the Ugly? Not me. It’s such a great all-purpose lead-in to a discussion about our standard forms that are probably top of your mind right now. There’s a great deal of good to them. Not much is ugly, and they’re definitely are not bad. On September 16, 2020, some new and revised standard forms became available and have been posted on your WEBForms platform. 

For us, using standard forms to clinch deals and confirm relationships goes back at least 60 years. 

When I walked through the door on my very first day in the real estate business, I was given an “Interim Agreement” (the precursor to our current Contract of Purchase and Sale), a listing contract (exclusive and MLS®), a price-change form, and probably some others that I can’t now remember. The manager told me to choose an office listing, fill out a listing contract for it, and then to write an offer for a fictitious buyer, so he could check my work. He gave me an 8 1/2-by-15-inch sheet of mimeographed all-purpose clauses to write into the Interim Agreement. We’d use clauses like, “All cash for clear title,” and “Subject to suitable financing.” 

The Interim Agreement was only one or two pages long, I recall. The blank space in its centre was very small. There wasn’t a lot of space to get creative with clauses, not that we used many, which was fine because the wisdom back then was keeping things simple. “Hey,” we thought, “if there’s a problem, the lawyers will figure it out.” 

Heavens, all of this, against the backdrop of “no errors and omissions” insurance, with us often unclear about who we were acting for. Were we agents, sub-agents, or dual agents? Were we all three? Who knew? Things were a tad foggy back then. We didn’t give much focus to thinking about what we were to our customers and clients and others we dealt with. If asked, we’d have said, “We’re salespeople. Getting someone’s signature on that paper is what we do.” 

Obviously, things have changed for the better. What hasn’t changed though, is the idea that using standard forms and clauses is a great way to manage legal and professional risk. When our building re-opens and yours truly is sitting at his desk again, drop by my office to look at the large standard form mortgage contract I have framed on my wall. Written on velum (lamb’s skin), it dates back to 1761. The form itself was pre-written with a scratching quill pen by some Bob Cratchit in Mitre Court, London, England. 

Standard forms aren’t suitable for all situations, but in most cases, they work admirably well. Why? Because they take care of a lot of housekeeping items in their fine print. And they ensure the contract basics are nailed down—like establishing the parties to the contract; what is being listed, bought, or sold; what’s being paid for; and the specific promises each party is making to the other. Standard form contracts also describe when the promises made must be kept, and what happens if foreseen circumstances, written about in the contract’s fine print, arise. 

The boatload of standard clauses we have access to buttress our standard forms because they can personalize the standard form to individual situations. Another benefit of using standard forms is that the real estate and legal ecosystem we inhabit accepts the practices and commercial reality the forms describe, meaning we know what the forms say and what is expected. There’s comfort in this. 

Standardization makes everything simpler and more efficient, and because everyone knows what to expect, less risky. Can you imagine having to review, consider, and explain contracts of purchase and sale if we all used our own versions? I’d be willing to bet our good errors and omissions sales-to-claims record* would be shattered, and not in a good way, if we didn’t have a stable of good, lawyer-proofed, standard forms to use. 

The standard clauses on that mimeographed sheet of paper from long ago were eventually replaced by a little booklet of clauses provided by the Board. 

I don’t doubt other boards did the same for their members at some point. REBGV eventually “gave” its clauses (or perhaps off-loaded the responsibility, I’m not sure) to BC Real Estate Association (BCREA). BCREA managed the clauses for a while, bolstering them with useful add-ons like Legally Speaking to enhance REALTORS®’ understanding of the forms and the court cases deciding important issues of the day. And then, as I recall, Council incorporated the clauses into its Licensee Practice Manual, shipping one to all licensees in the province every year or two. Later this publication’s name was changed to Professional Standards Manual and its content was made available on Council’s website. 

Now our standard forms are created and maintained by BCREA’s Standard Forms Committee. 

BCREA says, “BCREA works with BC’s 11 real estate boards, lawyers and other industry experts to draft and update the standard legal forms that are the backbone of every real estate transaction. We also provide Realtors with ongoing education in working with the forms so consumers can have full confidence in the profession.” Forms for Realtors are created and changed when there are new court decisions, changing practices, and new regulatory requirements. 

But, and here is the nub, the standard forms and clauses are only a tool. They’re not a substitute for our considered thought and advice. We’re not making widgets when we act for people. We’re professionals exercising judgment as we advise and help our clients. They are relying on us to help them find or sell a property without getting them into a bad situation. That means we must understand the forms, what they say, which ones to use. We need to know how to deal with them and when to select suitable clauses from our library of standard clauses housed in WEBForms. Could you explain what each standard form clause means? If you can’t, go to Standard Forms Resource Centre. Our REALTOR® Code Article 1 requires us to “be familiar with the contents of most forms currently used in real estate transactions.” Your regulator, the Council, has a similar expectation. And, our “skilled and conscientious” requirement in the Code’s Article 12 and Council’s Rules (Section 35, Real Estate Services Act), underlines the importance of competence, for example, understanding and using the standard forms for our clients’ benefit. 

So, I say, hats off to Standard Forms Committee members and the work they do. You can rely on these forms. They represent input from industry practitioners in all areas of real estate and, of course, the best advice from our industry partners, the legal profession. Now all you need to do is to find someone willing to sign on the dotted line. 

*There are three to four claims made against BC Realtors for every 1,000 sales made. 

Top Tip 

It’s no secret that those we deal with are entitled to receive a copy of the documents related to a deal, listing, or relationship we have with them. And we know we’re required to explain what the documents say to ensure we get informed consent. I’ve a few calls recently from unhappy buyers and sellers.  

Being in the complaints business, that’s called inventory.  

Complaints come in all shapes and sizes, but recently a common theme seems to be “I didn’t get a copy” of a document. Two of these callers said they didn’t get a copy of their listing contract. Another said they didn’t have a copy of a price-change form which, they alleged, had extended the listing’s expiry date without their knowledge.  

That turned out not to be the case because they had, indeed, signed the form so the concern changed from “I never agreed to that” to “he should have pointed out the new expiry date.” Notwithstanding, the caller’s signature on the form was about three inches below the new expiry date. If quality of life is important to you, and you want to avoid the heartburn that comes with these sorts of conversations, do three simple things: 

  1. Explain what all documents mean before asking someone to sign them. 
  2. Document that you did so with a follow-up email saying something like, “I’ll be filing the listing/sales/price change contract/form with my office today, if you have any questions about it please don’t hesitate to ask,” saving the email/text/post in your file. 
  3. When using electronic signatures, remind signors there’s a “print” button to click so they can have a copy for their records. If there isn’t, make sure you email them a copy of the document. If the document is making the rounds to collect signatures, you could write a reminder to press the print button to get a copy of the final agreement with everyone’s signature on it. I’m beginning to think that clients and customers just aren’t seeing that print button. So, make sure you point it out to them. 

BC election, federal throne speech, and affordable market housing

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Provincial election October 24 – are you a candidate?  

Are you running as an MLA in the upcoming October 24, 2020 BC election? Do you know an REBGV REALTOR® who is? Do you know Realtor-friendly candidates? Make sure to let us know.  

Read more

Federal throne speech highlights  

In the recent federal throne speech, creating jobs and addressing the COVID-19 pandemic were named as top priorities for the coming year – and wage subsidies for business and individuals will continue. There’s also an incentive for first-time buyers coming. 

Read more

Affordable market housing proposal defeated 

If you have clients with household incomes under $120,000 eager to buy a home in Vancouver, a new proposal from the city – had it passed – likely would’ve interested you.

Read more

Check out our Innovation Series video library

We developed our Innovation Series of videos to help REALTORS® discover new tools, practices and knowledge. The Innovation Series features experts on marketing and advertising, the economy, the mortgage market, new home developers, and more.

Watch these videos to get a better understanding of how these subjects connect to real estate and learn what these experts have to say that you can share with your clients and help your business grow.

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.

Click here to access our Innovation Series video library.

Other News

Register for our October events

We've got three member events coming up this month. Check out the details below.

Development Plans for the City of New Westminster - October 8

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Learn about current and future developments in New Westminster from Emilie Adin, Director, Development Services, City of New Westminster, and Lisa LeBlanc, Manager of Transportation, City of New Westminster. They'll discuss the Riverfront Vision plan, the Pattullo Replacement Project, current developments around transit, and more.

This event is PDP-eligible. Click here to learn more and register.

Working with Landlords and Tenants Update – October 15

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Back by popular demand, LandlordBC Director of Operations Hunter Boucher will discuss the process of selling and purchasing a tenanted property during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our expert panel will also include REBGV Past-President Darcy McLeod.

Registration will be open for this event soon.

The Future of Richmond – October 21

We're gathering an expert panel to discuss new development plans in the City of Richmond. We'll share the details as they're finalized.

Registration will be open for this event soon.

Missed our last events?

Click here for recordings of all our recent events.

Take our new course on REALTOR® safety

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One of the best parts of being a REALTOR® is the relationships you build with clients– but working with complete strangers or working alone can be a risk to your safety.

Predators can view Realtors and open houses as easy targets. The most recent incident was that of a suspicious man 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.

Social media is increasingly used by potential offenders to track their victims. Many members are easy to find online, and predators can sometimes trace your whereabouts based on your social media posts.

Realtors don’t always think about personal safety risks. It’s impossible to predict if a potential client may actually be a predator. So, what can you do to assure your own safety?

Our new three-hour, self-directed PDP course explains how real estate professionals can reduce the risk of being targeted by predators. You’ll learn about predatory behaviours, steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of getting into an unsafe situation while on the job, and how to protect your personal safety during an open house, while driving in your car, when working alone at the office, and when landing listings or meeting prospects in places that are new to you.

Through a few simple safety tips, you can have the peace of mind to promote your business and sell homes without having to worry about your safety.

The first course is scheduled for October 5. Visit our course catalogue to register.

Questions? Call 604-730-3087 or email education@rebgv.org.

REALTORS Care® Shelter Drive helped house and support those in need last year

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Your support of Board activities and programs has delivered a total of $20,787 for our 2019-20 REALTORS Care® Shelter Drive charities.

Members helped contribute to this total by buying our Teldon REALTORS Care® calendar and home show tickets and participating in other fundraising events. Each of our recipient charities have received almost $7,000!

Since 2009, the Shelter Drive has raised more than $359,000!

The funds will help build a playground at a shelter for mothers and their children, provide a life-skills and job-hunting program for at-risk youth, and help maintain another shelter for women and children.

“These charities are grateful for every donation they receive, especially today as the global pandemic causes them so much uncertainty,” said Colette Gerber, Chair, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. “Please continue to give so we can help more people, especially while COVID-19 continues to affect our world.”

Learn about the charities we're supporting in 2020-21:

Aunt Leah's Place, New Westminster

Aunt Leah's Place helps prevent children in foster care from becoming homeless and mothers in need from losing custody of their children.

Funds we raise will help Aunt Leah's build additional housing that'll allow more mothers and babies to stay together.

Dixon Transition Society, Burnaby

Since 1973, Dixon Transition Society has provided safety, shelter, and hope for women and children fleeing violence.

Funds we raise will help provide amenities in their new housing development such as a furnished communal space in which to hold workshops, a children's area, and computers for learning and upgrading skills.

Zero Ceiling, Whistler

Zero Ceiling is committed to ending youth homelessness in BC. They help young people (19-24) facing homelessness with a healthy transition to adulthood. They provide stability, support, and opportunities so young people can focus on personal growth.

Funds we raise will help implement a case management system to allow case workers to manage the needs, goals, progress, and success of their clients.

Commercial real estate sales decline in the second quarter

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As the COVID 19 pandemic intensified in the second quarter of 2020 (Q2), the Lower Mainland's commercial real estate market experienced fewer sales while dollar values fluctuated depending on property type.

Commercial real estate sales totalled 324 in the Lower Mainland in Q2 2020, a 26.5 per cent decline from the 441 sales in Q2 2019, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland was $1.497 billion in Q2 2020, a 1.1 per cent decrease from $1.514 billion in Q2 2019.

"As COVID 19 forced an economic slowdown in the spring, sales activity in our commercial real estate market predictably followed,” Colette Gerber, REBGV Chair said. “The pandemic has caused employers to adapt how they view and use commercial space. We'll need more time and data throughout this year and beyond to fully understand how these changing perspectives are affecting our commercial real estate market.”

Q2 2020 activity by category

Land: There were 76 commercial land sales in Q2 2020, which is a 27.6 per cent decrease from the 105 land sales in Q2 2019. The dollar value of land sales was $582 million in Q2 2020, a 21.3 per cent decrease from $739 million in Q2 2019.

Office and Retail: There were 137 office and retail sales in the Lower Mainland in Q2 2020, which is down 29.4 per cent from the 194 sales in Q2 2019. The dollar value of office and retail sales was $612 million in Q2 2020, a 59.4 per cent increase from $384 million in Q2 2019.

Industrial: There were 104 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q2 2020, which is a 19.4 per cent decrease from the 129 sales in Q2 2019. The dollar value of industrial sales was $265 million in Q2 2020, a 10.9 per cent increase from $239 million in Q2 2019.

Multi-Family: There were seven multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q2 2020, which is down 46.2 per cent from 13 sales in Q2 2019. The dollar value of multi-family sales was $38 million in Q2 2020, a 75 per cent decrease from $152 million in Q2 2019.

Top three calls to the Help Desk for September 30, 2020

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Here are the top three calls our Help Desk regularly gets and the solutions they offer to members.

1. How do I map my listing? 

Listings in Paragon must now be manually mapped. Choose "Listings" from the navigation bar in Paragon. Then, under "Maintain", choose "Listings" to see a list of your active properties. Click "Select an action" on the column farthest to the right, then "Change Geocode". Now you can verify that the listing is mapped accurately. Click on the pin if the listing is mapped correctly. If it"s not mapped correctly, drag the pin to the correct location and then click "Save". For a more visual walkthrough, refer to this help guide

2. How do I save my search?

Once you've created a search that has your desired criteria, you can add it to your saved searches. Click on "Save" to open a drop-down menu, then choose either "Save search" or "Save search as" to open a pop-up box where you can name the search and choose to save it with or without the criteria values. When you click "Save" in the pop-up box, a green "Search saved" box will appear in the upper right-hand corner to let you know that you"ve correctly saved your search. For a more visual walkthrough, refer to this help guide

3. How do I edit listings in Paragon?

First, click on "Listings" from the top menu, and then choose "Listings" again in the menu that appears. Click "Search" to display a list of your active listings. From here, you can choose the listing you"d like to edit. Select a listing to open the "input maintenance" page where you can make changes to the fields in your listing. When you"ve finished with your changes, click "Save listing." If any fields are missing or improperly filled in, a "Listing not saved" message will appear in the upper-right corner along with a list of errors or warnings. You must resolve those errors before your listing will save. A listing maintenance guide for Paragon is available here.

Obituary: Marion Annand

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Former REALTOR® Marion Elsie Annand passed away in early September. She was 89.

Marion was originally from Calgary and moved to North Vancouver as a child with her family. She married the love of her life, Gerry, and they raised a family together.

When her children were older, she began a career in real estate starting with the Block Bros. Realty in 1981. She also worked for Royal LePage Sterling Realty and Sutton Group – West Coast Realty during her career. She was with Homeland Realty when she retired in 2013.

Outside of real estate, she was active in her community. Marion was a founding member of the Tri-Cities chapter of Soroptimists, a global volunteer organization that improves the lives of women and girls, and she was instrumental in raising funds that helped build Eagle Ridge Hospital. She also loved to be outdoors and enjoyed long-distance running and dragon boating.

Marion is survived by her children Larry (Anita), Dianne (Greg), Margaret (Lorne), and Christina (Kevin); grandchildren Christopher, Stephen (Lindsay), Malissa (Michael), Adrian (Alecia), Marina, Jackson, Sophia and Carter; great grandchildren Jack, Fynn, Ava and Theodore; sister-in-law Rhelda; and many other nieces, nephews, friends, and associates. She's predeceased by her husband Gerry, her sister Alice, and her brother Bill.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Soroptimists International of the Tri-Cities. Learn how on their website.

REALTOR.ca changing to "primary" bedrooms in October

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Note that the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) will replace the term "master bedroom" with "primary bedroom" on their REALTOR.ca website starting in October. CREA is making this change to eliminate terminology that may have a perceivable connection to slavery.

There will be no change to the French-language version as the term "principale" will continue to be used.

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