President's message: REBGV's REALTOR® advertising campaign launches next week

Thanks to everyone who attended our annual member breakfast meetings in October. Over four meetings, we engaged and consulted with nearly 900 members.

One of the topics was about a new Realtor advertising campaign. This initiative is aimed at improving the public’s understanding and appreciation for the value that comes with working with a Realtor.

We hired Wasserman and Partners, a highly regarded marketing and advertising firm. After months of research, strategy work and creative-development, we’re now ready to launch the campaign with radio, newspaper, and social media advertisements. We’ll add television and online video to the campaign in January.

The campaign will cost approximately $2 million annually to reach the mass audience necessary to affect public perception. To fund it, your Board of Directors has approved a $10 per member, per month dues increase starting January 1, 2019.

This is our first fees or dues increase in 10 years. While most organizations raise dues annually to keep pace with inflation, we’ve been able to maintain a high level of service without raising your dues over many years. However, we believe this initiative is important enough to the long-term health of our profession to ask you to pay an additional monthly cost.

At our four member meetings, 79 per cent said a public image campaign is important; 15 per cent were undecided; and six per cent said it wasn’t important.

This campaign is in response to the government, media and public scrutiny our profession has received in recent years. A combination of serious housing affordability issues and a laser focus on some Realtor wrong-doing has damaged the Realtor brand.

We’ve conducted public opinion polls and other research that’s confirmed this. The research also indicates that people considering buying or selling a home often feel overwhelmed, not in control, and nervous about the process.

We developed a creative strategy that focuses on educating prospective home buyers and sellers about how taking the time to choose and work with the right Realtor is worth it. The ads call on the public to “Take ownership of home ownership and choose the Realtor who’s right for you.”

Click here to listen to our radio ad.

You’ll notice that the ads encourage the public to do their homework and find the “right” Realtor for them.  The word “right” was chosen carefully. It implies there’s a right Realtor for everyone. It also subtly acknowledges that not all Realtors are the same.

The “right” Realtors are those within our profession of whom we can all be proud. They’re the people who work every day in the best interests of their clients.

To learn more about the strategy and research behind the campaign, we recorded Wasserman’s presentation from our last member meeting. View it below.

You can view a PDF of Wasserman's presentation from our member meetings here.

We value your feedback and will share the metrics we’re using to measure the success of this initiative over time.

Sincerely,

Phil Moore

REBGV president

Rules of Cooperation changes take effect tomorrow: What you need to know

Changes to the Rules of Cooperation take effect on November 1. The changes range from minor modifications to new rules and a new form.

The Rules of Cooperation govern members’ conduct and obligations to each other in their day-to-day business.

These changes are in response to member feedback and requests we’ve received over the past several years.

What’s changing?

The most significant changes are in Section 3 — Listings and Section 4 — Offers. A new form, the Direction Regarding Presentation of Offers form, will be required if the seller has instructions to delay offer presentations and/or to specify whether a buyer’s agent can attend the offer presentation.  

Other changes to the rules deal with attachments to listings like documents and photos, contingent listings, showings, title searches, and manufactured/modular homes. There are also changes in other sections affecting offers and presentations, sales reporting, open houses and showings, signage, and lockboxes. 

Resources to help you with these changes

New videos

Ethics Guy® Kim Spencer has created a series of new ‘Top Tip’ videos to explain the changes in simple language. Watch our latest videos below.

Rule 3.24 Unauthorized Accommodation and/or Use

Rule 6.02 Appointments

Rule 6.03 Title Searches

Rule 9.01 Lockboxes and Access Cards

Click here to review the other videos in this series.

Documents and articles

We’ve also prepared a comparison guide displaying the old and new rules side-by-side so you can see what’s changed. You can also download a copy of the new Direction Regarding Presentation of Offers form here.

Finally, Kim’s written about these changes in a series of in-depth columns. You can read the first installment here, and the second installment here. These columns contain an overview of the rule changes and rule-by-rule breakdowns and rationales for changes.

Please review these resources ahead of the new rules taking effect November 1.

Sub area boundaries are changing

Your Board is changing sub area boundaries in Vancouver, North Vancouver, and Ladner to better reflect changes in our communities over time. The last sub area changes we made were over five years ago.

You can see the changes on this page in a series of maps that show before-and-after versions of the boundaries.

The changes go into effect November 27.

See areas, sub areas, school catchments, and zoning

To see the most up to date map of areas, sub areas, and school catchments in our region, you can use our Community Maps. Find this tool in the REALTOR® Toolbox on the homepage of rebgv.ca.

What's the Community Maps tool?

We’ve taken available mapping technology and added layers of information. This includes our area and sub-area boundaries, municipal zoning designations (for some of our areas and sub-areas), and school locations.

The result is an REBGV-crafted tool that displays information at the click of a button. You can browse areas and sub-areas in a list and see the boundaries live on the map, or you can enter an address to find a property’s exact location.

What other info can I find?

Clicking on the zoning tab allows you to choose an area, and the zoning designations will appear on the map. Clicking on the schools tab brings up a menu that allows you to select between elementaries, middle schools, secondaries, and post-secondaries. Click on the school type and the catchments will display on the map.

Need help? Call our Help Desk at 604-730-3020.

The Ethics Guy®: Cannabis, scotch and cigarettes - choose your poison

What’s the difference between a case of scotch, a carton of cigarettes and a bag of weed? Depending on the bag of weed’s size, they’re all legal to have, so feel free to choose your poison.

But what about your seller’s four cannabis plants? Assuming they aren’t visible from the street, they’re not a problem, if you’re the police. But if you’re a REALTOR®, do you have an obligation to disclose them to buyers? Wouldn’t life be grand if we could get a yes or no to that question? Read on.

Assuming there’s no physical property damage caused by the four cannabis plants, you might ask, what is there to disclose? The plants are legal to have and, if there’s been no property damage caused by them, what’s to disclose since they’re now in the same category as anything else Canadians are allowed to possess and use.

But cannabis isn’t in the same category as alcohol and cigarettes in everyone’s mind. For some, cannabis carries with it a stigma, tainting the properties where it’s been grown. This is why the Property Disclosure Statement has been asking, “Are you aware if the premises have been used as a marijuana grow operation or to manufacture illegal drugs?”

As of October 29, the question’s wording will be changed to:

“Are you aware if the [Premises/Building/Land/Unit] has been used to grow marijuana (other than as permitted by law) or to manufacture illegal substances?”

The question’s wording change supports, at least in my mind, that sellers and their agents shouldn’t be obligated to disclose cannabis plants “as permitted by law.” Summing up, if your seller had a bottle of scotch or a carton of cigarettes at home, would you disclose this to potential buyers? I doubt it. But “shouldn’t” isn’t an absolute term, meaning there may be circumstances where it would be advisable to disclose that the sellers have maintained four plants in their home.

Suppose the growing of the four plants had caused some physical damage to the property. If the damage wasn’t obvious for all to see, it’s likely the Council would expect you to follow its “material latent defect” rule, Council Rule 5-13. It requires physical property defects not easily discoverable on reasonable inspection to be disclosed in writing to buyers. In other words, the property has a hidden wart – make sure the buyers know about it in writing.

It isn’t so clear when there’s been no physical damage caused by the four plants. Just because Council Rule 5-13 isn’t triggered and just because the four cannabis plants are otherwise legal to have, doesn’t mean there aren’t other considerations. For example, what do lenders and property insurance providers have to say? Their silence has been deafening.

If you’re acting for the buyer, I think it would be prudent to suggest your buyers ask their lender and insurance providers in advance if their lending and underwriting requirements would change if the buyers wanted to buy a property containing four cannabis plants. If you’re acting for sellers, it would be prudent to talk to them about their four plants and how they want you to deal with them. They could instruct you not to reveal them and could refuse to answer the PDS question above. But they’ll want to weigh, in consultation with their lawyer, the pros and cons of giving this instruction, or doing the opposite and disclosing. And you’ll want to weigh your comfort level with whichever instruction they may give you.

For properties where cannabis was grown before October 17, you’ll continue to do what you’ve done in the past: namely, if there’s been physical damage caused, it’ll be disclosed per Council Rule 5-13. If there was no damage — or the damage has been properly repaired and blessed by the city/municipality — there’s still the stigma to deal with. And stigma can cost money. As noted, lenders and insurers can treat former grow properties differently, even if repaired and blessed.

There’s more. Let’s think about the likelihood of the neighbours telling the buyers they’ve just bought a former grow-op shortly after they’ve moved in. A legal friend of mine says just because cannabis is now legal in certain circumstances doesn’t relieve one from the obligation to disclose a property's known history as a grow-op (or from disclosing other related problems). In a recent decision, a Surrey Property Assessment Appeal Board discounted a property’s assessed value by 10 per cent to “reflect the effect of the stigma due to the fact the property was a former grow op.” Based on that scenario, whose shoes would you rather be in – the buyer’s agent who disclosed this information before a contract was entered into, or the buyer’s agent who made no disclosure at all? 

For these kinds of properties, I think it’s still advisable to disclose that a property has been used to grow cannabis in the past. But “advisable” isn’t the same as “must.” It’s up to you and your managing broker to decide how you want to manage that risk. Members have strong opinions on the subject. Talk to your managing broker. Ask your sellers to talk to their lawyer and instruct you if there’s any doubt. And be guided by a healthy dose of looking after number one.

In my book, it’s better to disclose than not, but it’s up to you to decide. Stay tuned for announcements about any new expected practices from the Council/BCREA and/or the government.

P.S. I think we now have a definition of what an illegal grow-op is, after all these years: Given that a four-plant grow is OK, it seems logical to suggest that a grow with more plants could be called a “grow-op” thus, triggering a “yes” answer to the PDS question.

Top tip: You don’t have to, but it would be nice if you did

The new Rules of Cooperation 3.12 requires members to upload a copy of the basic title search to Paragon’s Associated Documents tab within 24 hours of the listing going “live” unless, of course, the seller has otherwise instructed in writing.

Members are asking if this rule is retroactive to listings taken before November 1, 2018? The answer is no. But, for the same reason the rule was enacted in the first place, giving buyer agents access to a basic title search is good risk management and a time-saver. So while you don’t have to post title searches for listings taken October 31 or earlier, many buyer agent colleagues would likely appreciate it if you did.  

Realtor advocacy, recommendations to make home ownership more affordable, and rent increases

Making the REALTOR® voice heard

To keep the voice of Realtors and their clients front and centre, your Board regularly meets with federal, provincial, and local politicians and policy makers. Here’s a summary of what we’ve been up to.

Read more.

Here’s how we’d spend some of the BC budget

Each year, the BC Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services tours the province to hear recommendations on how to allocate funds in the upcoming budget. Your Board made these recommendations.

Read more.

When rent controls backfire

The BC government has capped rent increases. Here’s our letter to the housing minister on the unintended consequences: Owners of older, affordable rental buildings may not be able to cover the costs of repairs and maintenance, which would force them to sell, paving the way for high-rise condos.

Read more.

Two weeks away – the REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive is November 13–20

We’re launching the 24th annual REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive in two weeks.

Last year, more than 38,000 people received a blanket, coat, or other donation from the Blanket Drive. Your support is essential to the success of this program. Donations from you and your clients are invaluable to the working poor and homeless in our region, and they need your help again this year.

Since the Blanket Drive began in 1994, Realtor volunteers from across the Lower Mainland have helped more than 345,000 people in need stay warm and dry. This is the longest running and most successful program of its kind in the region.

Here’s how you can help

• Donate new or gently used clean blankets, sleeping bags, coats, gloves, scarves, hats, and new socks and underwear.
• Promote the Blanket Drive to your clients, friends, and other Realtors, and encourage them to donate too. Use #RCBD2018 in your social media posts about the program and like our Facebook page.
• Collect and drop off donations at a participating office if your clients can’t do it themselves.
• Volunteer your office as a drop-off location.

Click here for a list of drop-off locations.

Learn more at blanketdrive.ca.

Contact: fyouatt@rebgv.org or 604-730-3068.

Congratulations to our 2018 scholarship recipients!

Each year, we award five $1,500 entrance scholarships to members’ children who are entering university. We award these scholarships based on performance in academics, athletics, fine arts, and community service.

We’re pleased to announce this year’s recipients:

Anna Gao, daughter of Al Gao, Multiple Realty Ltd.	Maxwell Botsis, son of Jacqueline Wennes, Coldwell Banker Westburn Realty	Miao Zheng, daughter of Morning Yu, LeHomes Realty First.	Sophia Clermont, daughter of Tracey Clermont, Kore Realty Central	Vina Su, daughter of Alan Su, Royal Pacific Realty Corp.