Read our 28-page Medallion Club supplement in the Vancouver Sun

We published our annual Medallion Club supplement in the March 16 edition of the Vancouver Sun. This two-section, 28-page insert is our largest to date.

“This long-standing partnership with the Vancouver Sun allows us to engage the public about the value of working with a REALTOR® and other key real estate issues,” Jill Oudil, Board president said.

This year’s supplement also includes recommendations for improving Metro Vancouver’s affordability challenges, resources and tips for home buyers, sellers and owners, information on our REALTORS Care® initiatives, and analysis on residential and commercial market activity.

Click here to read the supplement.

We encourage you to share this supplement with your clients and on social media.

REBGV AGM: Come for the meeting, stay for the panel discussion and CREA lunch presentation

Our annual general meeting (AGM) is Tuesday, March 27, at the Delta Burnaby Hotel and Conference Centre in Burnaby. Register today. With no special resolutions to vote on this year, we’ve invited guest speakers to add to the event. Here’s everything you need to know:

AGM (10 a.m.)

Registration and breakfast will begin at 9 a.m. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. with presentations from REBGV CEO Brad Scott and President Jill Oudil. Click here to download the AGM package.

Panel discussion (10:45 a.m.)

We’ll then host a panel discussion on the future of housing and transportation in our region, featuring TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond, District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton, and long-time housing demographer Andrew Ramlo, Vice President of Market Intelligence at Rennie Group.

CREA lunch and presentation (12 noon)

The event will conclude with an “open house” lunch sponsored by the Canadian Real Estate Association. Hear updates from your national association on REALTOR.ca, WEBForms, CREA’s advertising campaign, federal lobbying initiatives, and more.

Registration

The event is free to attend, but we ask that you register in advance so we know how much food to provide. Register by calling 604-730-3090 or emailing memberservices@rebgv.org. You can also register online here.

Questions?

Contact Tina Creed at tcreed@rebgv.org.

ShowingTime service to be discontinued in April

Beginning next month, we’ll remove ShowingTime from our suite of MLS® services and Touchbase will again become our sole member-to-member messaging system.

Over the last three months, we’ve engaged with REALTORS®, Brokers, and office administration staff to help inform this decision. We conducted a member survey and hosted focus groups with members from our Board and the Fraser Valley.

Our goal in making this change is to keep REBGV and Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) members on a common messaging platform.

ShowingTime will no longer be accessible on Paragon listings as of April 4. Access to the ShowingTime app will end entirely on April 25. In between these dates, you’ll only be able to access ShowingTime via the preferences menu on Paragon.

If you’ve been using ShowingTime, we encourage you to reorient yourself with Touchbase over the next two weeks. Click here for a refresher. Please don’t schedule any more showings in ShowingTime. If you’ve used ShowingTime to set up an appointment for April 26 or later, we’ll email you instructions explaining how to move it to Touchbase over the next week.

We launched ShowingTime as a Touchbase replacement on December 4. Soon after, members began expressing concerns about functionality that was missing in the new app.

We were quick to reach out to Realtors and Brokers to better understand these concerns. As a result, we re-enabled Touchbase later that week.

“Eliminating this functionality without providing you with a satisfactory alternative failed to meet the high customer service standards you expect of us,” Brad Scott, Board CEO said. “Since then, we’ve engaged members to help us find the best option going forward.”

Our research also identified improvements that members would like to see on Touchbase. We’ve provided a list of enhancements to the company that provides Touchbase. They’ve expressed a willingness to make these improvements.

Longer term, we’ll continue to assess different products in the marketplace to identify the most effective services for members.

Thank you for your patience during this transition.

If you have comments or questions about this change, email us at feedback@rebgv.org.

The Ethics Guy®: Silver-tongued devil

Circle June 15 on your calendar. This is the date when we have to change what we’ll say to our clients and customers — our scripts — and accuracy will be paramount. Lately, I’ve been talking about scripting in these pages. You should start thinking now about the various scenarios you’ll likely encounter when the superintendent’s new rules come into effect. Jot down ideas on a white board and give yourself time to refine and practise your own scripts.

I was reminded of the importance of our scripts when I was speaking to a long-time member recently. He’s had a lot of success over the years. He’s done more deals than I’ve had hot dinners, and his hair now matches his silver tongue. This fellow has such an engaging personality — the hallmark of someone who’s spent his life explaining things to people. And that’s where scripts come in. We, as Realtors, explain stuff to people. When we do it well, we lessen our clients’ fear and they’re more comfortable making the big decisions that come with buying and selling real estate. Scripts help us explain things in a simple and direct way.

Here are two of classic scripts I’m sure you are familiar with:

• “Sign here, the second copy is yours.” (This simple script may have worked well in the days when we used carbonized listings and contracts of purchase and sale.)
• “Sure, you can set your house at that price; it’s your home. But, remember, there are only so many buyers looking for homes like yours. Right now, there are seven properties like yours for sale in the area. How does your asking price stack up against your competition? Would you buy your house at your asking price?”

I’m sure you can think of many other scripts you’ve used. As you think about the scripts you’ll be developing when the new rules are upon us, remember that no script should ever be considered a shortcut or used as a substitute for explaining things in detail. Clients can only give their informed consent when they know the good, the bad, and the ugly of every decision they’re being asked to make.

My friend, the “silver-tongued devil”, brought this to mind when we were speaking about the superintendent’s new forms. He joked that he could get someone to sign the form even if it said the signer would catch a disease. You know what? I think he probably could, the old rascal. But jokes aside, we should never forget that no matter how smooth, fluid, and brilliant a script may be, it’s a bad script if the client doesn’t understand what’s being asked. So, while saying something like, “Don’t worry about the form, sign here, and you’ll get the condo you’ve always wanted,” may, indeed, get the formed signed, the contract could go sideways later. If your client hasn’t given you informed consent, you risk being asked some hard questions later — possibly in court, at Council, or at the Board — if the client says, “It wasn’t explained to me and I didn’t know what I was signing.”

Conflict corner

For the next while, I’d like to use this new “Conflict Corner” to highlight interesting conflicts of interest you may encounter in your work as REALTORS®. Think about these and to let me know about them, if they’re unusual. I may use them as fodder for a general discussion in future columns. Council has asked that REGBV not interpret or give advice on the new rules. I respect this request, but I may be able to discuss conflicts in general terms, similar to what I did in my last column. As always, your Managing Broker and the Council are your go-to resources for detailed answers to specific questions you have.

Top tip: Amending the MLS® Listing Contract

A member says, “My seller wants to amend the listing contract. His lawyer insists that the contract be changed. Can the member do this?” Rules of Cooperation, Rule 3.03 says, in part:

All listings shall be contracted for on the appropriate standard MLS® Listing Contract of the Board which may not be altered or amended except as provided herein, and SHALL BE COMPLETE IN EVERY DETAIL.

The rule goes on to say:

An MLS® Listing where the standard form MLS® Listing Contract has been altered will not be accepted by the MLS® except where the seller has crossed out and initialed specific provisions as follows:

a ) MLS® Listing Contract

Restriction of advertising of the property to the Listing Brokerage only

Placement of “For Sale” and “Sold” signs on the property

The Multiple Listing Service® is operated by the Board on behalf of members. As such, the Board is entitled to make rules related to the MLS®. There’s no obligation by members to use the MLS®. If a seller doesn’t like the language contained in MLS® Listing Contract, he or she can consider listing their property exclusively. The Board doesn’t require brokerages to file MLS® documentations with the Board. The expectation is that a brokerage will review MLS® contracts and documentation to ensure compliance with all MLS® requirements before they’re submitted to the Board. Listings submitted to the Board in violation of the Rules of Cooperation may result in the member brokerage and member being subject to scrutiny and sanction by the Board’s Professional Conduct Committee.

Update on the proposed speculation tax and ways to help clients save money

The government’s proposed speculation tax will cost owners of modest $200,000 cabins $4,000 per year. The BC Real Estate Association and member boards, including REBGV, are advocating for property owners and the finance minister is listening.

Read more. 

Count the ways — 31 in total — that your clients can save in grants and rebates. We’ve collected the best rebates, offers, and grants available for home buyers and owners. Share this with your clients.

Read more.

If one of the ways your clients plan to save is by building a laneway home and either renting it or living in it and renting out their larger home, your clients should first make sure they understand what’s allowed in their community. To make this easy, we’ve created a matrix summarizing municipal requirements for laneway homes across the municipalities in our Board area.

Read more.

Owning an electric vehicle is also seen as a way to save on fuel and maintenance costs. But what about charging requirements, particularly if you live in a strata?

Read more.

Superintendent proposes new rules on conflicts of interest and is seeking input

The Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate (OSRE) proposed rule changes on March 21 regarding the handling of conflicts of interest, continuing professional education, language proficiency requirements and disclosure of remuneration to sellers.

Click here to read the proposed rules.

With respect to concerns about double recusal, OSRE included the following in his announcement:

“In the unexpected event that a licensee finds themselves potentially representing multiple clients in a transaction, a licensee has two options:

1. The licensee can recuse themselves from all clients in the transaction. In this situation, the licensee cannot continue to work with any of those clients as unrepresented parties for the transaction.
2. The licensee can continue to represent only one client in the transaction if they obtain the written agreement of all clients. The written agreement must be obtained at the time the conflict arises using a form developed by Council. It is a licensee’s responsibility to ensure that all clients in the transaction fully understand the risks of entering into the agreement, and to recommend that all clients seek independent professional advice.”

We now have until April 20 to review the information and provide input. We’re working with the BC Real Estate Association and the other BC boards to analyse these changes, consult with members and submit feedback.

To give your own input to OSRE on these changes, you can complete this online survey or email your comments to osrepolicy@gov.bc.ca.

We’ll continue to provide information on these issues as we learn more.

Board president Jill Oudil reflects on her time serving as your president

In this video message, Jill discusses the key issues and achievements from the last year and she looks ahead to our AGM.

What’s Happening in Real Estate — March 2018

Watch our new video that looks at the latest news affecting real estate in Metro Vancouver. 

CREA launches 2018 ad campaign

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) launched their 2018 ad campaign on March 19. This year’s ad, entitled “House Rules”, highlights how REALTORS® protect consumers from some of the problems and pitfalls that arise when going it alone.

You can also view this ad on CREA’s YouTube channel. Feel free to share it on your websites and social media channels.