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CREA, TREB to appeal Realtysellers court rulingPage 3

Carl Oake’s swimathon celebrates 25 yearsPage 30

Whistler brokers launch private listing servicePage 4

Issue #273 March 2012

Each office is independently owned and operated. *Based on 2011 closed transactions. Source: CREA, RE/MAX. **Source: Independent Research December, 2011

REM MARCH 2012 3

awrence Dale says he’s notgoing away until he gets an“acceptable result” from his

$540-million claim against theToronto Real Estate Board(TREB), CREA and 49 directorsand officers. The co-founder ofRealtysellers moved a step closer tohis goal when Superior CourtJudge Kenneth Campbell dis-missed a motion by the defendantsto dismiss the claim.

“TREB and CREA spent twoyears trying to win this motion andlikely hundreds of thousands ofdollars,” says Dale. “I was 100-per-cent successful and they even haveto pay my costs. This is a fatal blowto them and their attempts toavoid having to pay substantiallyfor what they did.”

In a statement issued to itsmembers, TREB downplayed theimportance of the ruling, calling it“a procedural motion.”

TREB said: “We are confidentthat when the court ultimatelyaddresses the merits of the plan-tiff’s claim, it will be rejected bythe court.”

CREA and TREB will bothappeal the ruling. TREB says it will“aggressively seek leave to appeal”.CREA confirmed that it was alsoappealing, and told REM that “wehave no further comment at thistime.”

Dale and his cousin StephenMoranis, a former TREB president,have filed several claims againstTREB and CREA over the yearsrelating to Realtysellers, the realestate company they formed inNovember 2000. The companyoffered discounted flat fee services.In 2002, TREB enacted new rulesthat required listing brokers to beinvolved in the offer negotiationprocess. Realtysellers sued TREBand filed a complaint with the fed-eral Competition Bureau.

In January 2004, TREB andRealtysellers reached a settlementin which Realtysellers received$700,000 in compensation. TREBchanged its rules to allow the flatfee program access to the MLS,and Realtysellers withdrew itscomplaints to the CompetitionBureau, which closed its investiga-

CREA, TREB to appeal Realtysellerscourt rulingJudge won’t dismiss $540-million claim against CREA, TREB and 49 directors and officers

L tion into the matter.But Dale and Moranis allege

that in 2006, TREB and CREAconspired to force them to closedown Realtysellers. CREA imple-mented new offer negotiation rulesin 2007. The Competition Bureausubsequently filed a complaint,which CREA and the bureau set-tled in 2010 with a 10-year bindingconsent agreement.

The current $540-millionstatement of claim, which hasbeen amended four times and is 53pages long, names the original con-spirators as Pierre Beauchamp,CREA’s CEO at the time; AnnBosley, TREB’s president at thetime; her husband Tom Bosley, aformer TREB and CREA presidentand a director of the Real EstateCouncil of Ontario; MaureenO’Neill, a TREB director whobecame president in 2008; andAlan Tennant, who becameCREA’s president.

The claim, which is also seek-ing $10 million in punitive, aggra-vated and/or exemplary damages,names each of them individuallyalong with all the other TREB andCREA directors at the time, aswell as TREB EO Don Richardsonand Treb-Ren ventures, the entitythat ran Real Estate News, theboard’s now-defunct newspaper.None of the allegations have beenproven in court.

Dale told REM: “The onlyissue under appeal is (CREA andTREB) are trying to get their indi-vidual defendants out of theaction. All claims against CREAand TREB themselves are not partof the appeal and will proceed intheir entirety as we alleged. TREBand CREA are going to pay fortheir actions and it’s now really justa matter of whether or not theindividuals will have to also paysomething themselves at the endof the day.”

In his ruling, Justice Campbellsays the defendants moved tostrike out the claim on the groundsthat it discloses no reasonablecause of action against them.

“In my view the plantiff’s claimdiscloses a cause of action inbreach of contract against thedefendants,” wrote JusticeCampbell. “The plaintiffs haveclearly alleged that: (1) all of thedefendants, except Tom Bosley,were parties to the initial settle-ment agreement; (2) this settle-ment agreement required thedefendants to change and/or main-tain their rules so as to permit theplaintiffs to provide their new flatfee business program to consumers,together with the authorized use ofMLS services, without providingtraditional offer negotiation ser-vices; and (3) the defendants ‘bla-tantly’ breached the express and/orimplied terms of that settlementagreement by unlawfully causing

CREA to subsequently enact newoffer negotiation rules which pro-hibited the plaintiff’s innovativeflat fee business model.”

The Justice concluded: “Itseems clear to me that the plain-tiffs have properly alleged a breachof contract on the part of thedefendants.”

As well as having ongoing liti-gation with TREB, Dale was grant-ed leave to intervene in the latestCompetition Tribunal proceedingsbetween the Competition Bureauand the board. Last yearCommissioner of CompetitionMelanie Aitken filed an applica-tion alleging that TREB’s MLSrestrictions and its virtual officewebsite (VOW) policies are anti-competitive. Dale was grantedintervenor status becauseRealtysellers could bring “uniqueperspectives to the case,” a judgeruled. The hearings are scheduledto begin on Sept. 10. REM

New brand, image for Sadie Moranis Realtyig changes are afoot atSadie Moranis Realty inToronto. The new year has

brought a new franchise agree-ment, a new business direction anda new location for the company co-founded by Sadie Moranis and herson, Stephen, in 1976. The 170-agent company has joined theSutton network and began operat-ing as Sutton Sadie Moranis Realtyon Jan. 1.

“We want to provide a platformthat will best allow our agents andcompany to meet the competitivechallenges in the real estate indus-try in the years ahead,” says compa-ny founder Stephen Moranis.

Although he and the manage-ment team looked at severaloptions, they decided to go withSutton, choosing the Canadiannetwork that has almost 9,000agents.

“There are a lot of great net-works with a lot of sizzle, but weliked the more professional and

quiet approach,” Moranis says.“We’re excited about becomingpart of the (Sutton) network.We’re strong locally. Sutton isstrong in Vancouver and Quebec.It’s a great opportunity to replicatethat success here. We are partner-ing to provide the best possibleplatform for the legacy of SadieMoranis.”

Among her achievements,Sadie Moranis was the first femalepresident of the Toronto RealEstate Board. When she started inreal estate in 1963, her biggestchallenge was to find a broker whowould hire a woman, Moranis says.

The last few years have beentough for Stephen Moranis, whosays he was “at my wits end,” hav-ing lost his sister, Realtor TerriMoranis, in 2006 and his parents,47 days apart, in 2009. “But busi-ness continued. We have a strongresilient management team. Ourfour senior management peoplehave more than 50 years of

collective experience.”Sadie Moranis Realty was

affiliated with Prudential for 17years, but with the purchase ofPrudential by Brookfield, andtheir franchise agreement comingto an end, Moranis and his man-agement team decided to choose

a new business direction.Stephen Moranis was also co-

founder of the controversialRealtysellers franchise in 2000, andalthough he is not affiliated withthe current Realtysellers opera-tions, he is still involved in litiga-

B

Stephen Moranis (left), founder of Sadie Moranis Realty, which is nowoperating as Sutton Sadie Moranis, and director of business developmentfor Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd., Richard Brinkley.

Continued on page 4

4 REM MARCH 2012

t might seem that a search forreal estate in the resortMunicipality of Whistler

would be straightforward comparedto a search in Vancouver orToronto. The popular B.C. ski destination is, after all, tiny bycomparison. But finding the rightproperty in this village of 10,000residents can be anything but apiece of cake.

Many out-of-towners are look-ing to buy Whistler properties butthey can be quickly overwhelmedby a set of unfamiliar residentialoptions. Whistler has more than 25 residential property zonesincluding designated touristaccommodation properties withusage restrictions. Nightly rentabletownhomes, hotel stratas and frac-tional ownership of condominiumunits are among the options opento buyers.

But the search for the rightproperty could be a whole lot easier for buyers (many of whom are foreigners) throughWhistlerListings.com, a privatelisting service officially launched inDecember by local companyWhistler Listings System, which is

Whistler brokers launch private listing service“We wanted to make it easier for our customers to be able to find what they are looking for,” says Rob Palm,president and executive director, Real Estate Association of Whistler (REAW). By Don Procter

owned by two local brokers.The local real estate association

fully supports the new listings ser-vice. “We’ve wanted to make iteasier for our customers to be ableto find what they are looking for,”says Rob Palm, president and exec-utive director, Real EstateAssociation of Whistler (REAW).

Without the assistance of aknowledgeable local Realtor andthe listing service, buyers – 75 percent of whom don’t reside in thevillage – might be lost.

Palm says the listing serviceisn’t designed to trump realtor.ca –just simply offer potential buyers asite more specific to what is avail-able in Whistler. “Whistler isunique because of its resort statusand it hasn’t been served as well asit could be,” he says.

“As a resort our properties aredifferent than the typical commu-nity (city),” says Marika Koenig, asales rep with Whistler Real Estate.“We have phase one and two zon-ing; there are time shares, quarterownership and all sorts of othertypes of properties.”

Prior to the development of theprivate listing service, real estate

agents in the mountain resortsometimes found they couldexchange information amongthemselves quicker than theycould receive it through the localreal estate board.

Realtors in Whistler have usedvariations of the listings service forabout a decade as a “back-end” sys-tem that organizes properties inpart through the village’s zoningregulations, says Palm. However,last December it was fine-tuned. Itis more user-friendly for buyers andnow incorporates apps for iPhone,iPad and iPod to better serve themarket, which includes nearbyPemberton and properties through-

out the Sea-to-Sky corridor.Koenig, who sits on REAW’s

board of directors and has played akey role with Palm in organizingthe site’s recent launch, says it hasthe most current and comprehen-sive database of properties listed forsale in the resort. Buyers can weavequickly through the propertysearch process to pinpoint theirneeds because the service is orga-nized by property type and neigh-bourhood.

With more than 1,000 proper-ties listed, the site includes every-thing from single-family vacantlots and parking stalls to luxurymansions and rural properties innearby Pemberton. Users cansearch for properties by date listed,type, price, location, address andneighbourhood. Photo tours andinteractive maps are available.

REAW signed a licensingagreement with Whistler ListingSystem late in 2010 to market the

Rob Palm

I listing service. All of the 140 or solicensed Realtors in the Whistler/Pemberton area pay a monthly feeto Whistler Listings System toaccess WhistlerListings.com, Palmsays. For a fee home sellers can alsolist their properties on the site.

The site is not intended tomake a large profit. The objectiveis to provide a service thatRealtors, buyers and sellers simplyweren’t getting, says one of theservice’s founders, Pat Kelly ofWhistler Real Estate Company.“As long as it breaks even, we’rehappy.”

REAW brokers and agents allremain members of the CREA andBCREA.

Whistler attracts thousands ofpotential second-home ownersfrom out of town. “We have 10,000residents but on a busy weekend wecan be populated by 50,000 touristsand second homeowners,” saysKoenig. REM

For anyone thinking of developing a private listings service intheir city or town, one of the owners of WhistlerListings.com hassome advice: make sure that your community has enough “criticalmass” (Realtors and properties, for example) and only proceed ifyour “brand” is not being heard through the MLS, says Pat Kelly.

Kelly is the owner of Whistler Real Estate Company, the largestcompany in the region known as the Sea-to-Sky corridor. He co-founded the listings service with Anne Chiasson, managing broker ofSea To Sky Premier Properties.

“I don’t know if what we’re doing would work for everyone, but ifyou identify that you have a unique brand that is not getting out thereor heard, then something like this is worth looking into,” Kelly says.

Whistler was ripe for the listings service because it wasn’t beingadequately served by realtor.ca, he adds. “Because we are a recre-ational resort marketplace, some of the information that our vendorsand purchasers want is different from what the standard urban data-base provides. We have a lot of property that falls between residen-tial and commercial with restrictions on use.

“What we did wasn’t any different than what an individual com-pany would do on its own website with listings. We just extended itover seven companies (the broker members in REAW) to create acommon presentation for all of us.”

Kelly advises anyone thinking about a private listings service toretain a good provider that can maintain and support the database.Kelly and Chiasson chose Tarasoft because the price was right andthe database is “very dynamic”, which allows operators to quicklyand easily address and make changes to the site.

Kelly says to ensure ongoing success of such a service, Realtorshave to be prepared to do broker load and provide daily trou-bleshooting. “It wouldn’t work if you had to hire people to do dataentry.” REM

tion with the Toronto Real EstateBoard and the Canadian RealEstate Association.

Sutton Sadie Moranis Realtyhas a new location directly acrossthe street from TREB, and issporting an “upscale and high-brow new image”, Moranis says.

“Sadie was a trail blazer and afirst in so many things. Suttonhas done the same,” Moranissays.

Sutton Sadie Moranis willcontinue to concentrate on offer-ing full support services and acomprehensive compensationmodel. The company has “livedthrough the cycles. We have theexperience and background tohelp our agents list, sell and meet

their financial goals.”Sutton Sadie Moranis’ new

“one-stop real estate shop” offers“hundreds of thousands in tech-nology”, and an on-site 94-seatstate-of-the-art training centre,he says. Also on-site are a cafe-teria and exercise facilities. The10,000-square-foot office alsohas front and back office supportand in-house lawyers. Althoughnot affiliated with the company,there is an environmentalassessment company in thebuilding, a convenience thatwill be appreciated as the com-pany expands into commercial.

The company will continueto be strong in its traditionalhigh-end neighbourhoods, suchas the Bridle Path, Forest Hill andRosedale, but plans to expandinto the 905 area code regions.

“The location turned out to

be perfect. It’s on busy Don MillsRoad, which has great visibilityand is close to the parkway and401. Agents can work anywhereand be properly serviced. There isalso public transit for administra-tive staff.”

Joining the Sutton networkpromises to be a “huge opportuni-ty for us. There’s great agent-to-agent referral potential,” Moranissays. “I met with (Suttonfounders) Lance Tracey and ScottShaw. They’re terrific, committedto business, understand businessand want people to be successfuland profitable. I like their styleand approach. Sadie would havesigned up for this partnership. Ihave a sense she would have feltgood. We have made a long-timecommitment to keep the SadieMoranis tradition going.”

– Connie Adair REM

New brand, imageContinued from page 3

properties: 8

reputation: +9

cash flow: $2,352,244

net worth: $8,262,243

Smarter. Bolder. Faster.Independently Owned and Operated. ®/™ trademarks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC used under license or authorized sub-license. © 2011 Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership ®™ Trademarks of AIR MILES International Trading B.V. Used under license by LoyaltyOne, Inc. and Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership.

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FIND OUT HOW I DID IT ON

MARCH 1, 2012Propertymogul.ca

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REALTOR® and REALTORS® are trademarks controlled in Canada by The Canadian Real Estate Association(CREA) and identify licensed real estate practitioners who are members of CREA. MLS® and Multiple ListingService® are trademarks owned by CREA and identify the services rendered by members of CREA.

REM is published 12 times a year. It is an independently owned and operated company and is not affiliated with anyreal estate association, board or company. REM is distributed across Canada by leading real estate boards and by directdelivery in selected areas. For subscription information, email [email protected]. Entire contents copyright2012 REM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is pro-hibited. The opinions expressed in REM are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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Continued on page 8

Multiple ListingsDo you have news to share with Canada’s real estate community?Let REM know about it! Email: [email protected]

By Jim Adair, REM Editor

David Lipton of Exit RealtyPEI has purchased the Exit licenserights for the entire province ofPEI and has big plans for theisland. “The core of the plan is forExit to become the agency ofchoice for PEI real estate agents,property owners, buyers and busi-ness affiliates. There is a tremen-dous opportunity here in PEI,” saysLipton.

His main office is inCharlottetown and he has plans todouble his agent count in 2012 andopen a branch office to give hisoffice more presence on the island.

“David has an incredible teamand is poised to own the island,”says Joyce Paron, Exit’s Canadianpresident. “His serious, action-ori-ented demeanour is mired in qual-ity and value-driven thinking thatwill set his real estate companyapart from all others. He meansbusiness and is ready to rock androll.”

■ ■ ■

Warren Neufeld has opened abrokerage in Portage La Prairie,Man. His new company is operat-ing as Royal LePage PortageRealty. Orvil Cairns will serve as

the company’s broker, drawing onhis extensive real estate career.The brokerage services an area ofapproximately 25,000 residents,including Portage La Prairie andthe surrounding communities ofMacGregor, Oakville, St. Claude,Delta Lake, Austin, Gladstone,Treherne, Elm Creek, St.Ambroise, Sydney, Langruth,Westburne, High Bluff andPopular Point.

■ ■ ■

Melissa Rivers of ColdwellBanker All-Points Festival Realtyin Goderich, Ont. is a finalist forColdwell Banker’s highest honour,the Chandler Barton Spirit Award,given annually to recognize “an

outstanding individual who exem-plifies a can-do attitude and holdsfirmly to a business purposethrough innovation, creativity andthe drive to preserve despite obsta-cles or setbacks.”

Rivers is president and founderof All-Points Festival Realty,Brokerage Charitable Fund, whichprovides relief to the sick by grant-ing a wish to children or parentswith a life-threatening illness. Thefund also provides financial assis-tance to needy people with a life-threatening illness for medicine,treatment, food, housing, travel orother necessities.

The winner of the award willbe announced at the“Generation Blue Experience”event in New Orleans Feb. 29 toMarch 3. The Coldwell Bankerevent will also feature a HousingTown Hall, headlined by formerpresidential advisors Karl Rove(R) and Robert Gibbs (D), whowill share their unique experi-ences from the White Houseinner circle. The RockyMountain Silhouettes, known for

Dave Roach Tim Thiessen Erin McMartin and Curt Knight Warren NeufeldDavid Lipton

wo high-profile teamsrecently joined KellerWilliams Golden Triangle

Realty in Kitchener, Ont.Dave Roach and Tim

Thiessen, previously with Re/Max,have had 60 to 80 transactionsannually in recent years.

“Having respected Dave as atop producer and a mega agent at acompeting brokerage for manyyears, it is a pleasure to have himand Tim on board,” says TonyOlajide, team leader at the broker-age.

Erin McMartin and CurtKnight, another of Kitchener’stop-producing real estate teams,also joined the brokerage. Formerlywith Royal LePage, they are bothunder 30 and have been highlysuccessful in the four years theyhave been in the real estate busi-ness, the company says.

“Not many agents are as suc-cessful this early in the business asthe duo of Erin and Curt, theKnight Team. They are forwardtrending and dynamic,” saysOlajide.

Keller Williams GoldenTriangle Realty has 105 associates.

■ ■ ■

T

their stint on America’s GotTalent, will perform.

■ ■ ■

Christie’s International RealEstate has awarded affiliate statusto Niagara-on-the-Lake Realty.Owned by Thomas Elltoft andbroker Chris Bowron, the firmjoins Bayshore Realty ofMississauga and Oakville,Chestnut Park Real Estate ofToronto and Marilyn Wilson’sDream Properties of Ottawa tobecome the network’s fourth affili-ate in Ontario. It will exclusivelyrepresent the Christie’s brandthroughout the Niagara Region.

Wholly owned by Christie’s,the well-known art business,Christie’s International Real Estateis represented in more than 40countries.

Kathleen Coumou, vice-presi-dent of the Northeast Region, says,“Niagara-on-the-Lake Realty willbe an integral part of our affiliatenetwork, having served the real

Melissa Rivers Wayne Picyk Orvil Cairns

Celebrating the grand opening Royal Canadian Realty in Mississauga, fromleft: Sawarnjit Lakhman; Gurinderpal Hundal; Jaspreet Nanra; IqbalHundal (president of Royal Canadian Realty); federal Minister of State(Sport) Bal Gosal; Pushpinder Gill (broker of record); and HarcharanBhullar.

The Farquhar Team

8 REM MARCH 2012

Multiple ListingsContinued from page 6

estate needs in the town for morethan 30 years. The firm is knownfor its premier service and expertisein the local marketplace.”

Often called the prettiest townin Canada, Niagara-on-the-Lakehas a distinguished history datingto 1781.

■ ■ ■

Former independent brokerWayne Picyk will open his newCentury 21 Insight Realty broker-age on March 1 in Stoney Creek,Ont.

“It became pretty apparent thatbrand recognition is a really impor-tant part of the business,” saysPicyk. He has been in the realestate industry for over 21 years.He opened an independent realestate office in 2008 and has part-nerships with homebuilders inNiagara Falls, Thorold and StoneyCreek. Picyk says he hopes thatwith the launch of the new broker-age he will be able to expand histeam to 20 sales professionals, spe-cializing in all areas of real estateincluding residential sales, invest-ment property and new home salesand development.

“In my experience as a realestate professional, I’ve found thatproviding the very best service isessential for success in this indus-try,” says Picyk. “Keeping myselfaccessible, being a good listener aswell as a good communicator have

helped me make it to where I amtoday.”

■ ■ ■

Jeff McInnis, an 18-year indus-try veteran, has joined Re/Max ofWasaga Beach in Wasaga Beach,Ont. McInnis will transition fromindividual sales associate to a salesteam, forming and launching theWasaga Real Estate Team withlocal Re/Max Realtors ErynHilliard and Ava Alward. Withlong-standing roots in the commu-nity, the team plans to place astrong emphasis on its charitableefforts.

Marilyn Ruttan, broker/ownerof Re/Max of Wasaga Beach, saysMcInnis “is a well-respected,accomplished professional whosecommitment to others not onlymakes him a great Realtor, but acredit to our community. We areproud to support him in his team’sgoals and welcome him to thefold.” The office has close to 30sales associates and support staffoperating out of two offices. It wasestablished in 1989.

■ ■ ■

Royal Canadian Realty, a newindependent brokerage, opened inMississauga, Ont. at 2960 DrewRd. early this year. PushpinderGill, the broker of record, is also anAccredited Mortgage Professional.Federal Minister of State (Sport)Bal Gosal was a guest at the grandopening to help cut the ribbon.

Gill says the company vision is

to “believe in the best….We try todeliver the best whether it is officesupport to our sales team or cus-tomer service to our clients. Wehave a zero tolerance policy oncompromising with customer ser-vice. Our honest and professionalcustomer service is our keystrength. We offer the most com-petitive commission packages andtraining programs to our salesteam. We believe that the compa-ny success is in the success of thesales team,” Gill says.

■ ■ ■

Royal LePage North Bay RealEstate Services was recentlyacquired by Sue Symons. Thebrokerage continues to operateunder its existing name.

Symons earned her broker’slicense in 2010, complementingher four years in real estate. Thebrokerage has a team of 20 salesprofessionals, four of who wererecently hired from a local formerbrokerage. Don Dubytz, formerbroker/owner, will stay on with thecompany in a sales capacity.

■ ■ ■

Industry veteran Jim Engineerhas joined Right At Home Realtyas branch manager for theMississauga and Brampton office.“Jim is highly recognized and expe-rienced manager who brings withhim a wealth of knowledge andexperience,” says Don Kottick,president of Right At HomeRealty. “Jim is a proven profession-

al who knows how to create a cul-ture of success and develop agentpotential.”

■ ■ ■

The Royal LePage NoraltaReal Estate location in Vegreville,Alta. has been acquired by AnnWaters. Under Waters’ ownership,the office is now operating as RoyalLePage Homewise Realty. Ken

Shearer remains broker/ owner forRoyal LePage Noralta Real Estatein Edmonton and Sherwood Park.

■ ■ ■

Tasi Farquhar, Norm Farquharand Adrienne Farquhar, one ofWest Toronto’s top producingteams, have joined Keller Williams

Clayton Lindberg Leo Ronse Jamie Schreder Sterling Stephens Giorgio Carloni

Sue Symons Jim Engineer Ann Waters Jeff McInnis Dave Jarvis

Continued on page 8

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Realty. The Farquhar Team, previ-ously with Re/Max, will spearheadthe launch of a new KellerWilliams office in the Bloor WestVillage area of Toronto.

“They are high performing,learning-based individuals who arecommitted to serving Realtors andthe public at a very high level,”says John Furber, director, KellerWilliams Realty.

■ ■ ■

Royal LePage WolstencroftRealty in Langley, B.C. was recent-ly acquired by Dave Jarvis,Clayton Lindberg, Leo Ronse andJamie Schreder. The companycontinues to operate as RoyalLePage Wolstencroft Realty.Dougal Shewan remains as man-aging broker and BridgetHoughton as the general managerfor the brokerage and its sales forceof 87 real estate professionals.

■ ■ ■

Main Street Realty, an inde-pendent brokerage in Newmarket,Ont. has just become an autho-rized agent to offer resale homewarranties. Broker of record MikeCartwright says, “This will be agame changer” for the company’sclients. “Not only do Main Street’sclients have the peace of mindwith a home inspection; they cannow sleep at night knowing thatthey have a warranty in place forone full year,” says Cartwright in a

Multiple ListingsContinued from page 8

news release. “With no deductibleon any claim, they are covered formajor issues on their purchase.This covers structural, roof, electri-cal, plumbing and much more.This venture shows how the inde-pendent brokerage is making itsmark on real estate today.”

■ ■ ■

Sales reps Kirk Chamberlainand Patrick Murphy of Re/MaxOrchard Country inSummerland, B.C. recentlycame up with a unique promo-tion to give their town a boost.“The town of Summerland, B.C.has been hard hit with job lossand population decline over thelast number of years,” saysMurphy. “Main StreetSummerland, still beautiful,unfortunately has a number ofvacant buildings and there are anumber of businesses for sale.”

The two Realtors recentlysponsored the Re/MaxSummerland Night with the(Penticton) Vees at the SouthOkanagan Events Centre. Theyhosted a main concourse displaytable that also featured promotion-al information from select busi-nesses as well as a display from TheSummerland Chamber ofEconomic Development andTourism.

Robert Hacking, municipalcouncil liaison to the SummerlandChamber of EconomicDevelopment and Tourism says,“We are so pleased to see this effortby small businesses working

together to promote Summerlandin innovative ways.”

■ ■ ■

Sterling Stephens, franchiseeof Exit Realty Citadel in Halifax,recently upgraded his operation to4,000 square feet. The new officespace adjacent to the HalifaxShopping Centre boasts unlimitedparking and fantastic accessibility,says Mike McCarron, supervisor ofgrowth and development for Exitin Canada. “The appointments inthe office are beautiful. You canfeel the warmth when you walk inthe door.” The recent open houseto celebrate the new location drewhundreds of agents from theHalifax area.

“Sterling, a recent recipient ofExit’s International AmbassadorAward, has continued to grow hisreal estate office year after year,earning a place in the top 10 inproduction in the entire province.He is an exceptional individualwho genuinely cares about the suc-cess of all of his people. He sets afabulous example for everyone,”says Joyce Paron, Exit’s Canadianpresident.

■ ■ ■

Terra Realty of Vaughan, Ont.has joined the Aventure RealtyNetwork. Broker/owner GiorgioCarloni and a strong team ofRealtors operate from a new loca-tion at 4000 Steeles Ave. W., offer-ing residential real estate, newhome sales and land developmentservices. REM

ormer CREA president Calvin Lindberg ofWest Vancouver , B.C. was elected 2012/2013president of the Americas of the International

Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) at the FIABCIBusiness Meetings in Lisbon in December. He was alsoappointed chair of the Residential Division of thenewly formed World Council of Brokers. In addition,incoming world president Judy Shenefield has appoint-ed Lindberg as a FIABCI representative at the UnitedNations in New York City. In May, following the nextWorld Congress in St. Petersburg, Russia, Lindbergwill serve on the international directorate.

Lindberg assumed the 2011/2012 presidency of theCanadian Chapter of FIABCI last October. He is apast president of the Greater Vancouver Real EstateBoard, a former director of the British Columbia RealEstate Association and a founding director of RealtorLink. REM

F

Chapter presidents from Mexico, DominicanRepublic and Brazil, and the current president ofthe Americas, Dean Lapointe, celebrate the elec-tion of Calvin Lindberg (centre) in Lisbon.

Calvin Lindberg elected FIABCI president of the Americas

Coldwell Banker® pioneered Ultimate Service® in Canada 15 years ago, providing a signed written pledge

to deliver quality service based on an individual consumer’s specific needs. So it’s probably no coincidence

that for a remarkable 15th year in a row, Coldwell Banker® Real Estate received a 98%* overall customer

satisfaction rating in a survey of more than 60,000 Canadian home buyers and sellers.* It’s a claim no other

real estate brand in Canada can match!

If you want to know about the quality of service

that Coldwell Banker agents deliver, don’t take our

word for it – ask our customers. They’ve given us

what you might call the “ultimate” compliment.

*results tabulated by an independent third-party

Who’s the best in customer satisfaction?

© 2012 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. A Realogy Company. All Rights Reserved. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. Coldwell Banker,® the Coldwell Banker Logo and “We Never Stop Moving” are registered service marks licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

Hear what top sales representatives are saying about

Coldwell Banker Real Estate at coldwellbanker.ca/join.

Watch this and see why others made the move.

REM MARCH 2012 13

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or the last two years, RealTrends, a Colorado-basedresearch and consulting

firm that focuses on the residentialreal estate industry, has put togeth-er a ranking of some of the largestresidential brokers in Canada.This year the company has part-nered with Lone Wolf Real EstateTechnologies to try to expand par-ticipation and to simplify theprocess for brokers.

“We got a lot of great feedbackfrom brokers last year and feel thissurvey is not only being viewed asa valuable report for the industrybut is slowly but surely gainingmomentum,” says Steve Murray,publisher of the list and presidentat Real Trends.

“Our goal once again thisyear is to increase participationso that this survey is as accurate areflection of who the real moversand shakers in the Canadian res-idential brokerage industry are aspossible.”

The list will rank residentialbrokers by both closed sides and

Real Trends annualrankings open

sales volume. For more informa-tion, visit www.realtrendscanadi-an.com or email [email protected].

Real Trends also has a surveyfor a Broker Performance Reporton its website, an intensive bench-marking survey of residential bro-kers throughout North America.As with last year’s report (whichhad participation from firmsthroughout Canada and theUnited States), final results will beavailable by various company sizeranges and regions, detailing per-formance on brokerage operationsin a 75-page report. Any brokerwho confidentially submits theirdata on the Real Trends securewebsite will receive a complimen-tary final report. To find out more,brokers should visit http://real-trends.com/products/brokerage-performance-report.

Both surveys will remain openthrough March with final reportsdelivered at the annual RealTrends Gathering of EaglesConference in early May. REM

F

he Registrar of the RealEstate Council ofOntario (RECO) has

issued an immediate suspension ofregistration to Monster RealtyCorporation, which operates asBrekland Realty Group. RECOhas also charged the Mississauga-based real estate brokerage withfailing to disburse trust funds inaccordance with the terms of thetrust. The bank accounts of thebrokerage have been frozen.

RECO says that under theReal Estate and Business BrokersAct (REBBA), all employees of asuspended brokerage must also beserved with suspension orders. Asa result, the brokerage and its 213employees can no longer trade inreal estate. The employees canapply to RECO for transfers toanother brokerage.

“The suspension order and the

charges relate to a significantshortfall of funds from the broker-age’s trust account. After RECObooked a routine inspection, itwas revealed that a large sum ofmoney was missing from the bro-kerage’s trust account,” saidRegistrar Allan Johnston in anews release.

Brekland Realty Group’s headoffice is in Mississauga and it oper-ates three branches inMississauga, Milton and Oakville.The company is owned by JasonLaramee of Oakville.

“The investigation is ongoingand further charges may be laid,”says Johnston.

Any home buyers or sellerswho have representation agree-ments or deposits with BreklandRealty Group can visitwww.reco.on.ca for further infor-mation. REM

RECO suspendsBrekland RealtyT

14 REM MARCH 2012

Jason Stephen, president of the Saint John Real Estate

Board (SJREB), has a passion for politics and “can chat about every politician like a kid who knows all the hockey players,” says the board’s executive officer, Angela Boudreau.

It’s no surprise to anyone who knows him that Stephen, a native of Saint John and a committed political junkie, was recently elected president of New Brunswick’s Progressive Conservative party. He was nominated by Transportation Minister Claude Williams and after two months on the campaign trail, beat out the only other candidate for the job – a Fredericton orthodontist – by a landslide during the PC party’s annual general meeting in early October.

Up until that point Stephen was regional director of the New Brunswick Real Estate Association (NBREA) and chair of the association’s government

policy committee. But he says he resigned from those positions as they could present a conflict of interest in light of his new standing in the PC party.

He will stay on as president of the local real estate board though, as in that capacity there is no conflict, he says. “As president of the local board we lobby federal MPs,” he says. The two big issues currently are, 1) pushing to increase the allowable limit home buyers can take from their RRSPs for down payments; and 2) time issues around capital gains rollover, Stephen says.

He says that he believes the Saint John board gets “great value” out of CREA because the national organization’s large size offers advantages that would otherwise be unavailable to a small board.

Stephen has taken on the PC party presidency at a time when the Conservatives are the governing party in New Brunswick. A main focus of

his job as president will be to ensure the party is ready for the next provincial election in 2014.

He told the close to 800 voting delegates at the Tory party’s general meeting that he has a keen interest in increasing party membership, and that the key will be attracting more young people.

“More youth need to be engaged in the political process and I want them to be members of the party under the leadership of David Alward and show them that we can build a better province,” Stephen says.

The 35-year-old apparently practises what he preaches; he’s been involved with the PC party for 18 years, since he was still a youth himself. The roles he has held include youth president, riding president and regional vice-president. In the last federal election, he served as campaign manager for Saint John MP Rodney Weston.

His knowledge of politics earned him a position as a radio political commentator during coverage of the 2010 provincial election. (“I’m very gregarious. I can think on my feet,” he says.)

Stephen has been interested in politics for as long as he can recall. It was part of his upbringing. His father, a lawyer, was also an active PC party member, he says.

After graduating from the University of New Brunswick (UNB) with a degree in history and political science, Stephen spent a couple of years in Ottawa “absorbing the political process.” While working on Parliament Hill he served as assistant to

former Prime Minister Joe Clark.

“It was a unique opportunity...I really respect Joe,” Stephen says.

But he was homesick for New Brunswick and eventually decided he wanted to return and join the business world. In the fall of 1999, his career in real estate in Saint John began. He’s now with Royal LePage Atlantic, and has won an Award of Excellence from the company for production for the past five years.

Asked if he thinks some potential clients might steer away from him due to differing political affiliations, he says, “Not that anyone has ever told me.” The truth is, he says, having his name out there across the province is good for “branding” and business.

“I’ve never let my political leanings affect my business,” he says. “I know my party is not the only one in the world...I’m not on Facebook saying vote Conservative...I have a mutual respect for all political sides. I never close a door on people. When I won the PC presidency I had as many people on the Liberal side congratulating me as Conservatives. We’re going to the same place; just using a different road map to get there...I’ve got friends on all sides of the political spectrum. ”

His attitude towards business is, “People first, money second,” he says. “If you take care of the first, the second will follow.”

For the past five years he’s taken a team approach to selling, which no doubt has helped with time

management.“I’ve done a decent job

of not allowing my PC party presidency to consume time away from my work,” he says. “Real estate is how I make my living and I need to be aware.”

The same holds true for other parts of his life. As his website notes, he’s also a husband, father (of two), a golfer, a coach (girls’ basketball) and a volunteer (this year he won an Alumni Award of Honour from UNB for volunteer work there).

His tips for new or struggling Realtors?

“Keep current,” he says. “Knowledge and advice are what people are now gravitating to agents for. I go to a lot of seminars and training... The knowledge and advice piece will always be ours, like with a financial advisor. ‘Is this a good buy?’ type of questions – I don’t think will ever be something consumers look to the Internet for.”

People want answers much faster now, he says.

“We used to give buyers a real estate catalogue that was two weeks old. And if they called on your pager, you didn’t need to call back for a day or two.” Those days are long gone and today there’s a sharper competitive edge, he says.

Stephen says his political career has been a huge advantage.

“There’s a lot of commonality between real estate and politics,” he says. “I’ve had training on how to build a political ‘brand.’ For real estate, I just turn that training to myself.” REM

A passion for politicsSaint John Real Estate Board president Jason Stephen is also president of the province’s Progressive Conservative party. “There’s a lot of commonality between real estate and politics,” he says. By Susan Doran

Jason Stephen (Photo by Mike Capson)

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Call for Nominations2012 Election of Directors

Real Estate Council of Ontario

Starts February 24, 2012

ELECTION

Members of the Real Estate Council of Ontario who are interested in serving on its Board of Directors are required to submit theirNomination Form no later than:

Three Directors will be elected — one in each of the three regions of the province as established by RECO. A copy of the Nomination Form and CandidateInstructions are posted on RECO’s website at www.reco.on.ca or on MyWeb at https://myweb.reco.on.ca.

On March 26, 2012, RECO’s office will move to: 3300 Bloor Street West, West Tower, Suite 1200, Toronto, ON M8X 2X2.

2:00 p.m. Monday, April 2, 2012

For more information contact:Shelley Westlake-Brown

Tel: 416-207-4800Toll-free: 1-800-245-6910E-mail: [email protected]

Real Estate Council of Ontario

3250 Bloor Street WestEast Tower, Suite 600Toronto, ON M8X 2X9

ecently I entered into adebate in which a frustrat-ed Realtor was ranting

about the lack of professionalismwithin our industry, about buyeragents failing to provide feedbackon their showings of sellers’ homes.

The agent felt that the sellerswere paying good money toRealtors for performance, so theleast the buyer’s agent could do wastake a minute and respond to afeedback request. Judging by thenumber of other Realtors whoshared his sentiment, it must be aburning issue.

I have a couple of observationsand comments of my own and Itrust that this article will, if noth-ing else, cause folks to discuss theage-old practice of sharing feed-

R

16 REM MARCH 2012

Buyer feedback: Today’s rules(or yesterday’s tactics)

By Ronn James

back. Let me begin by saying thatshowing feedback is, at best, apractice that we simply adopted,like showings being booked withinthe hour, and agents providingsnacks or lunch at open houses.We were indoctrinated with a “thisis way we have always done busi-ness” attitude.

Every seller wants a tempera-ture gauge of the buyers’ interestand/or at least buyer feedback as towhat they can do to improve theirodds of selling their home. Somego to great lengths to gather thisintelligence. I have experiencedhome sellers who have “bugged”their homes with everything fromnanny-cams to baby monitors thatcan be listened to next door. We allwant to know what people think.

Prior to buyer agency (circa1992), Realtors working with buy-ers were all sub agents working forthe seller, who paid commissions tolisting brokerages, who in turn paidout the buyer’s agent side through

sub-agency agreements. But thoserules have been expanded toinclude buyer’s agency, where thebuyer is now offered a choice ofhaving their own representation.

Most Realtors are aware of theresponsibilities and documenta-tion required to establish a “Buyerunder contract” relationship. Infact, many real estate offices actu-ally ask or qualify listing showingsby asking, “Is this a buyer agencyshowing?” Armed with this knowl-edge, it surprises me that we use oldsub-agency practices like “requestfor feedback” after buyer agencyshowings.

As a true buyer’s agent, repre-senting the directives of my buyers,it is my duty of care to protect, edu-cate and ensure that the buyer canbuy a home of their choice at theprice and time frame that theywish. It also means that our discus-sions and strategies are ours to keepand protect from sellers or sellersagents. So what’s up with the

request for feedback?As a practicing Realtor I often

get calls and emails for feedback. Ihave used a pre-typed email mes-sage to the listing agent thankingthem for allowing me to show theirlisting. Just that, a thanks.However, I stopped because mostagents would call up to a week laterasking for feedback, not botheringto read the email I sent shortlyafter showing their listing. Nowwhen I am called, I simply statethat I am a buyer’s agent. And thephone goes dead on the other side.No one seems to understand thestatement.

So here is the question: is buyeragency (fiduciary) status reallyunderstood? Under a buyer agencyI could ask my clients (and they areclients) what they would like meto say (if anything) becausealthough the property may not beof interest today, it might betomorrow, and the buyer may notwant their intentions, likes and

dislikes known, especially if theywant to negotiate a price suitableto them.

As it is an industry norm (a his-torical practice never addressed byby-laws or education), Realtorscontinue to utilize a practice thatseems to no longer fit the contrac-tual agreements between buyersand their agents, and are frustratedby Realtors who are following theletter of their agreements withtheir buyers.

With a track record that spans 27years, Realtor Ronn James says hisambition is to educate the public andRealtors alike. He has landed appear-ances on Breakfast Television,CityLine, Real Life and a host of radio shows. James has also been a regular contributor to New Homes and Condos For Sale Magazine, Toronto Sun and Canadian Homeplanner.www.RealEstateCommissionMatters.ca, phone 289-242-9050. REM

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18 REM MARCH 2012

Shed some lightGREEN REAL ESTATE

By Elden Freeman

f travelling to warm, sunnyspots is impossible at this timeof year, consider brightening

the interior of your home or officewith lighting. But not just any oldlighting. We’re talking about eco-lighting.

Lighting your interior space thegreen way is a good first step on thepath to environmental awarenessand action. It’s comparativelyinexpensive to other eco initiativesso if this is your client’s first forayinto going green, it’s a good way togo. Keep in mind, too, that theireco efforts are likely to pay off inreduced energy bills so the returnon investment is well worth it.

We all know about incandes-cent light bulbs, those energy guz-zling lights that cast a beautiful,warm glow unparalleled, some say,by compact fluorescent lamps(CFL) and light emitting diodes(LEDs). Many governments havepassed measures to phase outincandescent bulbs in favour ofmore energy-efficient choices. InCanada, that ban was scheduled totake effect in 2012, but the govern-ment has postponed it until 2014.

Incandescents waste energybecause they need to heat up sub-stantially to operate, have a shortlife span and need to be repeatedlyreplaced and discarded, whichjams up landfill sites.

CFLs have long been touted asthe ideal replacement for incan-descent light bulbs. They use upless than 25 per cent of the energyrequired to run incandescents andare known to last up to 10 timeslonger. While the benefits are con-siderable, these lights are far fromperfect. The bulbs issue a harshlight that doesn’t compare toincandescent. More importantly,they contain mercury, a toxic sub-stance, and they should be special-

ly disposed of, a fact of which manyconsumers aren’t aware.

LEDs are viewed as the nextgeneration in home lightingbecause they’re more energy effi-cient than CFLs, burn little heatand contain no poisonous gases.Their life spans are remarkable,lasting up to 35,000 hours orabout 16 years based on six hoursof daily use.

LED lamps can be easily recy-cled with regular glass productsand should they end up in a land-fill heap, no lasting environmen-tal damage will be sustained,since they contain no toxicchemicals. Finally, unlike CFLs,LEDs have improved technologyso that light bulbs are available inwarm, cool and neutral tones.They also come in many differentmodels and styles.

LEDS are made using asmany as 180 bulbs per cluster,and encased in diffuser lensesthat spread the light in widerbeams. When they were first pro-duced they were limited to sin-glebulb use in instrument panels,electronics, pen lights and, morerecently, strings of indoor andoutdoor Christmas lights.

On the down side, LEDs arenot known for their brightness.And they’re expensive, starting ataround $35 and up. This expensewhen compared with incandescentand CFL lighting seems to be themajor sticking point in the market.Still, consumers are beginning tounderstand how economical LEDsare to operate. As the price contin-ues to drop, many are warming tothe idea of installing LEDs in theirhomes and offices.

A cost comparison bywww.eartheasy.com on runningthe three main types of lights for50,000 hours shows incandescentsat over $350, CFLs at nearly $90,while LEDs come in at almost $66.

The National Association ofGreen Agents and Brokers(NAGAB) provides a Greenbrokerand Greenagent certification programto Realtors across Canada. To getmore information or to sign up for acourse, visit www.nagab.org. EldenFreeman M.E.S., AGB, broker is thefounder and executive director of thenon-profit organization. 1-877-524-9494; Email eldennagab.org. REM

I

REM MARCH 2012 19

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etter Homes and GardensReal Estate Canada(BHGREC), recently

expanded to include 11 offices inAlberta and Saskatchewan. Thebrokerage added seven Alberta-based and four Saskatchewan-based Signature Service RealEstate offices to the brand.

“The Western Canadian realestate market is uniquelydiverse,” says Rob VandenBroek, president of BHGREC. “Igrew up in Alberta and under-stand how varied the real estateneeds are in this region ofCanada. We see an incredibleopportunity to explore urbanand rural real estate services inAlberta and we’re excited tobuild on the strong and vibrantconnections to those communi-ties which Signature ServiceReal Estate has built.”

Vanden Broek says: “There’s atendency for the large brands tooverlook these communities. Theyrepresent a strong opportunity forus because of the productivity theyoffer on a per agent basis.”

Better Homes andGardens expandsto WesternCanadaB The four offices in

Saskatchewan include MooseJaw, Weyburn, Swift Currentand North Battleford. InAlberta, the offices are inCoaldale, Taber, Hanna,Medicine Hat, Wainwright,Lloydminster and Bow Island(home town of VandenBroek).All offices will now be under thebanner of Better Homes andGardens Real Estate SignatureService.

Nelson Goulart, vice-presi-dent of network services for thecompany, says “The economy isrobust in Western Canada andconsumers have a thirst for a realestate brand that embodies theimportance of home andlifestyle.”

BHGREC launched inCanada last October in Ontario.

“We are seeing tremendousinterest in the brand from coastto coast,” says Vanden Broek.“We are in different stages ofnegotiations, and we’ll havemore announcements in thespring.” REM

From left, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Canada’s Rob VandenBroek, president; Yvonne Thomas, director of operations for Alberta andSaskatchewan; Nelson Goulart, vice-president of network services; SherryChris, CEO; and Matt Dominguez, broker at Better Homes and GardensReal Estate Signature Service in Moose Jaw.

was at a real estate seminar theother day and overheard aconversation about Twitter,

Facebook and the social network-ing scene. One of my associates, agentleman in his 50s, was tellinghis friend that he had a Facebookaccount but “I’m not using it.”His friend did not have an accountand replied, “I have absolutely nointention of getting one.”

This struck a chord. Kind ofmade me squirm a bit. In my questto become a hip Realtor with asolid social networking presence, Iput myself through hell. I foundmyself wondering if this social net-working scene was a young person’sthing or if it was it something anaging 62-year-old agent couldembrace.

20 REM MARCH 2012

IBy Duncan Fremlin

Twitter: The 5 stages of changeThere’s been a lot of pressure to

buy into Twitter and the like eventhough many of us are not particu-larly inclined that way. I decided todo something about it.

Over time, I signed on to theseaccounts. I had no idea what theheck to do with them but by golly,I had a Twitter nom de plume (ban-jodunc). Eventually, I took theplunge and joined the MargaretAtwoods of the world and began toTwitter.

Looking back, it appears I wentthrough the five stages of change(denial, anger, negotiation, depres-sion, acceptance) described byElisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969book On Death and Dying.

I began my foray into social net-working by DENYING its impor-tance. I had convinced myself itwas a fad that appealed to thosewho had absolutely nothing betterto do with their time. I have agood friend who is a commissionsalesperson and he’s so stubbornabout this, his business is sufferingbecause of it. That wasn’t going to

be me. Deep down, I knew I had todeal with this if I wanted to contin-ue being a full-service Realtor.

I knew I was at the ANGERstage when I began to feel resent-ment towards those who had pro-gressed beyond me. That angerescalated when I saw them actual-ly profit from this web tool. I wouldlash out at the Twitter logo everytime I saw it. My competitors whowere just starting out in the busi-ness were actively Twittering andthis too raised my ire. “Who arethey kidding?” was my internalmantra. The smug Twitter usershad this holier-than-thou attitude,or at least I thought they did.Apparently I can be a very smallperson when the circumstances areright.

I’m not sure how long Iremained at this stage but I knew Ihad entered the NEGOTIATINGstage when I hired a young Twitterguru to teach me how to do it andperhaps explain why it was impor-tant. I didn’t quite get what shewas talking about. I hadn’t yet

written or published a tweet.However, in my little Twittermind, I didn’t feel it was necessaryif I wanted to make my point. I wasnow at peace and figured my jour-ney was over. My conscience hadother ideas.

I woke up one day and readsome statistics in the business sec-tion of the Globe and Mail that thetop salespeople in their professionswere actually solidifying businessrelationships and profiting fromtheir online tweets. My stomachknotted up. I didn’t want to getout of bed. I was sad and TwitterDEPRESSION had set in. I realizenow that I was on the verge of abreak-through.

Then one day, I started sendingmy blog entries to my Twitter andFacebook accounts. I figured, whatthe hell? What’s the worst thatcould happen? Public ridicule?Bah. So what. I’ve been laughed atand belittled many times before.That won’t kill me. Funny thing is,as it turns out, nothing bad hap-pened. In fact, one day someone

actually re-tweeted one of myposts. I had arrived at the ACCEP-TANCE stage and my life as aTwitter user was born.

For those sceptics who thinkthis is still a fad, my bank is nowresponding to some of my feeds.Recently, I wrote a tweet about anissue I had with my bank accountand their Twitter Guy (who knewthey had a Twitter guy?) fixed it forme in short order. I was mightilyimpressed.

There’s no turning back now. Ieagerly devour Margaret’s feedsand often re-tweet them. Mydream is for her to re-tweet one ofmy little 140 character gems.

Duncan Fremlin is a broker withRe/Max Hallmark Realty in down-town Toronto. He’s about to celebrate25 years in the business. He’s also an avid blogger and writer.Duncansblog.com is now in its sixthyear. Email [email protected]; Phone 1-877-462-1888.Of course, there’s always Twitter@banjodunc. REM

Visit www.royallepage.cato learn more about joining Royal LePage.

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promise – my next columnwill actually be relevant to thereal estate industry. However

for this month’s offering, I am a lit-tle jazzed over my experience ofwitnessing first-hand the innerworkings of an iconic Canadianwinter sporting tradition. I hadbackstage access to a live broadcastof Hockey Night In Canada!

How cool was it, you ask? It wassomewhat like being a wide-eyedkid in a candy store, but way betterthan boring old candy. There werespeeding pucks, bone-crunchingbody checks, and beer!

Special Disclaimer: CBC hadnothing to do with the beer.Nonetheless, beer and NHL hock-ey are as closely intertwined as

24 REM MARCH 2012

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IBy Dan St. Yves

Backstage at Hockey Night In CanadaBarbie and Ken, Celine and René,or more appropriately (and infi-nitely more masculine) RonMacLean and Don Cherry. Youcan’t really imagine one withoutthe other.

The evening began withwatching the start of the hockeygame. About midway through thefirst period a cordial tour guidestopped by and led a small handfulof us fortunate souls out behind thescenes. First stop, a trip across thecatwalk that leads up to the broad-cast booths, overlooking centreice. High above the common rab-ble – high above even the nose-bleed seats. Well, maybe not thathigh...but well above the commonrabble, anyway.

In the broadcast booth we hadan amazing view of the on-iceaction and the broadcasters as theycalled the game. Which actuallyseems to move much slower at thatelevated perspective. Slow or not itwas still exciting as heck, but if Iever want to see a media passagain, I’ll have to try and be morecareful with my gum while hang-

ing out over the ice, cheering awayat a sudden two-on-one breakaway.

Say, why did I think this col-umn wasn’t relevant to the realestate biz? From the “bird’s nest”perspective, we had exceptionalviews of the real estate company adspainted onto the boards of the rink.

We were then escorted downfrom the booths into the cata-combs of the arena, right past thataforementioned bubbly compo-nent of any NHL game night – thestorage area for the beer. The mas-sive distribution centre for beer iswisely kept behind locked chain-link fencing. It is a sight to beholdthough.

Leaving the locked beer distri-bution centre on our way outsidethe arena, we entered the high-tech broadcast trailer, which is thetrue Hockey Night In Canada nervecentre. Directors and multipletechnicians work in these cosyquarters, constantly and rapidlyswitching the action from all thevarious live cameras in the arena towhat we eventually view on theTV screen at home. There are at

least a dozen different cameras,each jockeying for the best shot tobroadcast on national television.There were four directors I spotted,all paying rapt attention to thescreens, and firing out orders toeach of the camera people.

Well, except for one guy, whokept switching his feed to a broad-cast of Little Mosque On The Prairiewhenever his colleagues weren’tlooking.

The final stop before returningto our seats and the game was the“Green Room”, or backstage inter-view area where western HNIChost Scott Oake was cooling hisheels, awaiting the first intermis-sion. He was ascordial and affa-ble as our tourguide, allowingfor pictures andgeneral chit-chat.A real stand-upguy, even thoughhe was sittingdown for ourvisit.

I can’t begin

to imagine how many broadcasts ofHockey Night In Canada I’vewatched over the years. Seeing thebehind-the-scenes effort that goesinto each broadcast was astound-ing, and something I won’t soonforget. Seeing how many beer kegshave to work in tandem to do justas important a job is somethingthat’ll probably linger for awhile aswell.

Humour columnist and authorDan St. Yves was licensed with RoyalLePage Kelowna for 11 years. Checkout his website at www.nonsenseand-stuff.com, or contact him [email protected]. REM

Scott Oake (left) and Dan St. Yves

here is a great little bookwritten by John G. Millercalled QBQ... The Question

Behind the Question. It is one ofthose books that you pick up at theairport while waiting for your flightand one hour later are very gladyou did. Miller shares some greatideas on how to “eliminate blame,complaining and procrastination”.By the time you are done reading,you have some very good insightson how to “practice personal

26 REM MARCH 2012

T

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S A L E S C O A C H

By Bruce Keith

Taking responsibilityaccountability in business and inlife”.

The author uses a comfortablemetaphor by stating that there aretwo kinds of sailors. There is Sailor#1 “who blames the wind” andSailor #2, “who adjusts to thewind”. He then goes on to ask,which kind of sailor are you? Wecould ask the same question as itrelates to all salespeople. Look at itthis way. The salesperson whoblames the wind asks why and whoquestions like: Why is this happen-ing to me? Who dropped the ballhere?

The salesperson who adjusts tothe wind asks how and what ques-tions: How can I make this workfor everyone concerned? 2. Whatcan I do to turn this around?

It all boils down to whether youassume the role of the victim or

you assume the role of beingresponsible. The weaker salespeo-ple are looking to blame someonebecause “it is not my fault”. Thestronger salespeople take action. Ifyour results are not satisfactory,take action (find more business). Ifyour skills are not satisfactory, takeaction (practice more often). Ifyour mindset/attitude is not satis-factory, take action (expose your-self to positive influences). Be a“doer” not a “blamer”. No excuses.

■ ■ ■

In 1948 an amazing book waswritten by Claude M. Bristol, enti-tled The Magic of Believing. Bristolcreated one of those timeless mas-terpieces that bear scrutiny nomatter how long ago it was written.The title is self-explanatory andthe material is extremely enlight-

ening. He cites many exampleswhere false beliefs have ruled theworld for many years.

In Chapter IV, Suggestion IsPower, he tells a story about falsebeliefs. “For centuries tomatoeswere looked upon as poisonous.People dared not eat them untilsome fearless person tried themand lived.” Pretty incredulouswhen you think about it today... Iwonder what false beliefs we arecurrently harbouring that humani-ty will be chuckling about 100years from now.

Here are some sales myths youcan discard:

1. It’s okay to be five minuteslate for an appointment.WRONG.

2. My customers like it betterwhen I “dress down”. It makesthem more relaxed. WRONG.

3. My past clients and centresof influence know what business Iam in. If a referral opportunitycomes up, they will call me.WRONG.

4. The market controls how

well I do. I can’t do anything ifthings slow down. WRONG.

5. I will always have debt. It hasalways been that way for me. Theredoesn’t seem to be a way aroundthat. WRONG.

6. The salespeople who sell themost are very lucky. Besides, whowants to work that hard?WRONG.

Some of the sales myths exist asdefence mechanisms. Some sales-people tell themselves false storiesjust to justify their behaviour. Thegood news is you can change yourstories. You can rewrite yourbeliefs...anytime you want! Youcreated them and you can changethem. How liberating is that?Believe that you can do more andyou will. No excuses.

Bruce Keith, the “Sales Coach”,began his sales career at IBM and 15years later used his marketing andsales expertise to develop a highly suc-cessful real estate business. He is amaster of teaching “what to say andhow to say it”. His high energy andentertaining training style has allowedhim to create a popular coaching andseminar business for numerous salesorganizations during the last 12 years.www.brucekeithresults.com REM

oasted golden beet saladwith arugula and goatcheese, pistachios, pome-

granates and citrus dressing.Makes four salads.

Citrus dressingZest of 1 orangeJuice of three orangesExtra virgin olive oil 125mlSalt a pinch

In a small jar with a tight-fit-ting lid, combine the zest, juice,olive oil and salt. Place the lid onthe jar and shake vigorously.

Beet Salad4 medium sized golden beets3 large handfuls of arugula1/4 cup of toasted pistachios1/4 of pomegranate seeds1/2 cup of goat cheeseSea saltCitrus dressing

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Placethe beets in an oven-proof dishand place in the oven. Cook thebeets until a paring knife insertedcomes out easily (about twohours). Once the beets havecooled down, gently peel off theskins. Slice the beets into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

To serve, lay down four plates.Arrange each beet in a circularpattern on the plate, place a smallhandful of arugula on top of thebeets, scatter the pistachios,pomegranate seeds and the goatcheese over the four plates anddress with the citrus dressing.Finish with a pinch of sea salt.

Christopher Palik is executivechef at L’eat Group (PaeseRistorante, L’eat Catering, L’eatExpress), Toronto . REM

Recipes for realestate professionalsBy Christopher Palik

R

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Re/Max Prairie Realty ofVermilion, Alta. was theproud recipient of theVermilion & DistrictChamber of Commerceannual award, Spirit ofVermilion. In the photo,from left: Tina Zayac,client care specialist;Diane Bodurka, client

care manager; Shawn Jacula, broker/owner; Kaitlynn Odden, sales asso-ciate; and Natasha Niehaus, sales associate.

28 REM MARCH 2012

he Calgary Real EstateBoard (CREB) has namedKevin Stone and Rick

Campos of Re/Max First the recip-ients of this year’s T.W.H. (Bill)Saunders Memorial Award. Alsoknown as Realtor of the Year, theaward recognizes Calgary Realtorswho exemplify high standards ofprofessionalism, leadership andoutstanding dedication to thecommunity.

Campos has been a Realtor forover 30 years. Throughout theyears, he has been a constant con-tributor and champion on numer-ous committees and task forcesincluding the ProfessionalStandards Committee, the RuralList/Labels Committee and theCREB Critical Illness Society.Actively involved in his commu-nity, Campos has been a volunteercoach for junior high volleyballand basketball, and has enjoyedleading youth groups. Staff andRealtors describe Campos as “aman of true character with a con-sistent interest and love for thecommon man,” CREB says.

Stone has been a Realtor forover 20 years and has been active-ly involved in numerous commit-tees as well as the CREBCharitable Foundation, providingfunding to local charities and non-profit organizations. Also activelyinvolved in his community, Stonehas devoted his time to volunteercoaching and acting as a scoutmaster and Venturer leader withBoy Scouts of Canada. Closefriends and family describe him as adiplomatic leader, someone whospeaks to improve professionalismand is always willing to roll up hissleeves and lend a hand with anytask or any chore, the board says.

CREB also recently presentedDick Oakes of MaxWell Realtywith an Honorary LifeMembership Award. Oakes hasbeen in the real estate industry inCalgary since 1975. He has taughtreal estate education programs andover the years has been a part ofand chaired many board commit-tees. His CREB contributions also

include time working with theCREB Charitable Foundation andserving as its president in 1998.

Oakes and Ron Stannerslaunched MaxWell Realty in1999. In addition to MaxWell’sCalgary offices, franchises havebeen established in Airdrie,Canmore, Cochrane, Edmonton,Irricana, Lethbridge, MedicineHat, Red Deer, Stettler,Strathmore and Invermere, B.C.

■ ■ ■

The Kitchener-WaterlooAssociation of Realtors (KWAR)recently awarded the first KWARVolunteer Award to veteranRealtor Peter Gingerich. Theaward was created to recognize thevital contribution of volunteerswithin the association and honourstheir significant efforts.

“Peter Gingerich exemplifies

the passion and desire of Realtorsto improve the Quality of Life fortheir communities,” says KWARpresident Sara Hill.

Gingerich, a Realtor since1977, spent 28 years as a volunteerfirefighter with Wilmot Township,Baden Station, where he climbedthe ladder up to senior captain. Hewas responsible for training acrossthree fire stations but still managedto make time and help people findtheir dream homes. For his dedica-tion he received medals from boththe federal and provincial govern-ments marking 20th and 25th yearof fire service, respectively.

He has contributed to a majorrenovation at his local church,taught handicapped children to skiat Chicopee for six years and drovecancer patients to Toronto,Hamilton and London for treat-ments. He also participated in theBaden Christmas parade for 25years and raised money for theWilmot Family Resources throughhis local church by offering wagonrides led by his Haflinger horses.As an integral member of theKWAR program committee, hehas been involved in the annualtoy drive, the Adopt-a-Highwayprogram and Waterloo RegionFood Bank collections for numer-ous years. REM

T

Dick Oakes Peter Gingerich

Kevin Stone Rick Campos

The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton reported that the all-residential average price for realestate sales through the MultipleListing Service® for 2011 (includinall single-family dwellings, condos, duplexes and townhouseproperties sold in the GreaterEdmonton Area) was $325,457,compared to $329,019 in 2010.There were 10,962 sales of singlefamily dwellings in 2011 – an increase of 5.5 percent – but 4,63condo sales, with a decrease of 0percent. The number of residentisales totaled 16,893 units, showian increase of 3.8 percent from year-to-year, while listings weredown slightly, at 30,906 units.

“With economic uncertaintyimpacting Europe and depressed

compares in today s market andwhat the housing forecast isfor 2012? Please call for ano-obligation discussion today!

2011 DEFINED BY HEALTHY, STABLE MARKET

Real estate boards typically review home-buying and selling

activity from the previous year at the beginning of each

new year. The conclusion from the REALTORS® Association

of Edmonton is that 2011 was a stable, healthy year for the

Edmonton real estate market, creating a solid base for 2012.

EDMO

Market Connections Inc.®94 Scarsdale RoadToronto, ON M3B 2R7

Bus:Bus: (800) 3(800) 387-605887 6058Fax: (800) 800-7093 [email protected]

Greetings! You’re receiving thisnewsletter with hopes that you findit informative and entertaining.

If you’re thinking of making a move,or are just curious as to real estatetrends in your area, please feel freeto call at any time. It’s always good to hear from you!

All the best,

Danny Brown

Danny BrownReal Estate Agent

realtyreport®

Volume 8, Issue 2

Compliments of Danny Brown Market Connections Inc.®

e ng

e

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380.4alng

housing markets in parts of theUnited States, it is a relief toreport on the stability and health of the local real estate market,” said REALTORS® Association of Edmonton President (2011) Chris Mooney. “With prices and salesvarying within a small range there is a solid base going forward into the 2012 market.”

Looking back over the year,Mooney concluded, “Homeownersgenerally saw an equity increase in the value of their homes in 2011.”

Wondering how your home compares in today’s market and

NEW

2011 RINGS OUT WITH

A “BALANCED” MARKET

2011 began with heig

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housing market in 2011

reflected a healthy balance

between seller supply and

buyer demand.

Market Connections Inc.®

999 West Broadway, Suite 720

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1K5

Bus:Bus: (800) 387-605(800) 387-60588

Fax: (800) 800-7093

[email protected]

Greetings! You’re receiving this

newsletter with hopes that you find

it informative and entertaining.

If you’re thinking of making a move,

or are just curious as to real estate

trends in your area, please feel free

to call at any time. It’s always good

to hear from you!

All the best,

Danny Brown


realtyreport®

Volume 8, Issue 2

Compliments of Danny Brown


CREB

d®

final 2011. e alf

d erall n

e

increase of four percent over 2010. Condo prices, however, remained persistently low in 2011, with the year-end average price coming in at $287,172 – one percent lower than the previous year. Looking ahead to 2012, CREB®President Sano Sante reflected, “Throughout 2011, elevated levels of inventories have limited price growth as consumers benefited from sufficient supply of housing to choose from; however, as these inventories drop to levels more consistent with a balanced market, we can expect some moderate price growth moving forward.”

Wondering how your home fits into today’s market? Please call for a no-obligation discussion today!

Calgary Market Shows Steady Improvement

Danny Brown

realtyreport®

Volume 8, Issue 2

Compliments of Danny Brown


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TREBCourtesy of the Toronto Real Estate Board.

2011: The Second-Best Year for Toronto Home Sales!

Toronto rang out 2011 with news from Greater Toronto REALTORS® that, ®

with 89,347 sales within the currentToronto Real Estate Board (TREB) boundaries, 2011 was the second-bestyear on record!

“Low borrowing costs kept Buyersconfident in their ability to comfortably cover their mortgage payments along with other major housing costs,” said TREB President Richard Silver. He added, “If Buyers had not been constrained bya shortage of listings over the past 12months, we would have been flirtingwith a new sales record in the GreaterToronto Area.”

The average selling price for December2011 was $451,436 – up four percentcompared to December 2010. For all of 2011, the average selling price was$465,412, showing an increase of eight

percent in comparison to the averageof $431,276 in 2010.

“Months of inventory remained below the pre-recession norm in 2011. Very tight market conditions meant substantial competition between Buyers and strong upward pressure on selling prices,” said Jason Mercer, TREB Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Mercer continued, “TREB’s baselineforecast for 2012 is for an average price of $485,000, representing a more moderate four percent annual rate of price growth. This baseline view is subject to a heightened degreeof risk given the uncertain global economic outlook.”

Wondering how your home fits into today’s market and what the housingforecast is for 2012? Please call for a no-obligation discussion today!

SALES & AVERAGE PRICE BY MAJOR HOME TYPE

DECEMBER 2011 SALES AVERAGE PRICE

416 905 Total 416 905 Total

Detached 581 1,512 2,093 $701,846 $525,360 $574,351

Yr./Yr. % Change 4% 12% 10% 3% 4% 3%

Semi-Detached 202 289 491 $517,152 $365,417 $427,842

Yr./Yr. % Change 20% 12% 15% 10% 9% 10%

Townhouse 199 517 716 $372,164 $333,359 $344,144

Yr./Yr. % Change 3% 20% 15% -7% 8% 2%

Condo Apartment 943 363 1,306 $351,104 $275,173 $330,000

Yr./Yr. % Change 7% -3% 4% 3% 9% 5%

Market Connections Inc.®94 Scarsdale RoadToronto, ON M3B 2R7

BusBus (800) 387-605(800) 387-60588Fax: (800) 800-7093 [email protected]

Greetings! You’re receiving this newsletter with hopes that you findit informative and entertaining.

If you’re thinking of making a move, or are just curious as to real estate trends in your area, please feel freeto call at any time. It’s always goodto hear from you!

All the best,

Danny Brown


realtyreport®

Volume 8, Issue 2

Compliments of Danny Brown Market Connections Inc.®

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AR REM ad 2012 1/9/12 3:40 PM Page 1

30 REM MARCH 2012

Service above self ’ is the creed of the Rotarians, and if there

was ever a Rotary Club member who embraces this sentiment, it’s Carl Oake.

Oake, broker with Century 21 United Realty in Peterborough, Ont., has an admirably lengthy list of good works and community service awards. Over the years, these have run the gamut from Peterborough Citizen of the Year to the Easter Seals Society’s Helping Hands award. Oake has won so many civic and merit awards in fact, that when asked to elaborate on what each was for, he claims to have trouble recalling. He’s obviously a modest guy. For example, in the 1990s he was named senior male athlete of the year for the City of Peterborough, but he says he doesn’t understand why.

“The mayor called me about that one because of my swimming, I guess,” he says. “But I’m not really an athlete.”

Many people would beg to differ. Oake, 66, is the driving force behind a swimathon at the Peterborough YMCA that has raised more than $750,000 for local causes over the past 25 years. Currently, 75 per cent of the proceeds support Rotary projects and 25 per cent go to the

Peterborough and District Easter Seals Society. Each year at the event Oake completes at least 100 laps doing the Australian crawl, having prepared by swimming regularly year-round.

This year’s annual Rotary/Carl Oake Swimathon will be held on Feb. 24 starting at 7 am.

It’s non-competitive. The goal is to have fun and raise $50,000, says Oake. (Almost all of that goes to the causes, he adds.)

Every year at the swimathon, Oake – who used to be a jogger but took to the water after dislocating his knee – swims one lane of the 25-metre YMCA pool non-stop for an hour, while the teams of various local businesses each take short turns swimming in the other lanes that have been blocked off for the event. Pledges are donated for total laps completed by both Oake personally and the teams.

“The idea is that each team brings in at least $500 in pledges,” says Oake.

Local causes that have benefited from the funds raised over the years include the Five Counties Children’s Foundation, the Peterborough Regional Health Centre and the YMCA.

Oake swam solo for the first

few years of the event, after it began in 1987 at the suggestion of one of his fellow Rotary Club members. The event raised $4,000 that year and continued to grow. Oake brought in teams in the 1990s on the suggestion of the local newspaper – one of various local media providing coverage – which was clearly under the impression that watching someone swim endless laps was not exactly the height of excitement. (Oake’s friends were of the same opinion. He’d been told that “watching one guy swim lengths is like watching paint dry.”)

There’s no shortage of excitement at the event now, Oake says, citing as an example the extent that various teams will go to in order to win the award for wackiest outfits. (There are also awards for top corporate fundraiser and top individual fundraiser.)

“One year we had four guys dressed as reindeer swimming down the pool pulling Santa on a sleigh,” Oake says. “Last year we had a ‘Brazilian bobsled team’ running around with a raft.”

The swimathon attracted over 30 teams last year (there are four or five swimmers per team)

and the hope is there’ll be more this year. Past participants have included the local real estate board, and another local real estate office, says Oake.

For the past 20 years, the child who’s the local Easter Seals ambassador has been in attendance at the swimathon. This year the ambassador is 10-year-old Mitchell McColl, who has been diagnosed with A l l a n - H e r n d o n - D u d l e y syndrome, a rare condition that is similar to cerebral palsy. He has many physical challenges and uses a walker.

“Mitchell was the ambassador at last year’s swimathon as well,” says Oake. “At the media kickoff in January last year, he showed up wearing a cowboy hat, guns and a really thick pair of glasses. A local optometrist’s office called me and said that the glasses were too big for him and that they wanted to donate a new pair. So Mitchell’s mother was called. She said he doesn’t need glasses. He just insists on wearing those ones with the outfit – they’re safety goggles! That’s just Mitchell ... but the optometrist ended up putting a team in the water.”

The clerical work involved with the swimathon is punishing (collating pledge sheets, collecting money, so Oake was relieved when the local Rotary Club agreed to take over administration for the event several years back. Rotary Club of Peterborough’s Dan Shaw, who is event chairman for the swimathon, says he would like to see more corporate teams get involved.

Brian Martindale, an independent media liaison for the event (and a regular contributor to REM’s online story comments sections), takes that further. He used to work

with Oake and deems him “a real gem of a human being.” Having observed the swimathon since its early years, Martindale has become so enthusiastic about it that he says he’s made it his personal mission to catapult the event to a national level next year. He’d like to see swim teams across the country joining forces to raise funds.

Attempting to get things rolling and drum up national coverage for the swimathon, Martindale recently drove into Toronto from Peterborough in order to drop press releases about the event off at a major television network. Somehow, he managed to talk his way past security and all the way to the office of the national news director, whose assistant exclaimed, “How did you get up here?”

Martindale got close, but he didn’t make it into the inner sanctum that day, although he hopes his press releases did.

“I’ll keep pushing,” he says.

Clearly, his pal Oake is a man who inspires loyalty.

Send donations to:Rotary/Carl Oake Swimathon P.O. Box 172 Peterborough, Ontario K9J 6Y8

Or contact Oake directly at 705-743-4444; or Dan Shaw, Rotary Club of Peterborough, at: 705-745-1324, ext. 212. All donations over $20 will receive a tax receipt. REM

Carl Oake’s swimathon celebrates 25 yearsPeterborough broker is the driving force behind a swimathon at the Peterborough YMCA that has raised more than $750,000 for local causes over the past 25 years. Could it expand into a national event? By Susan Doran

Carl Oake (Photo: Brian Slemming)

‘

The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA.

REALTOR.ca APP for Android Take possession Feb. 29, 2012

Visit REALTOR.ca or the Android Marketplace to download the APP

ollowing his inauguralVictoria-to-Thunder Bayride in 2010, Don Patterson

of Royal LePage Kingsbury inMississauga, Ont. is embarking onan even loftier goal this July – toride 7,200 km from Vancouver toSt John’s, Nfld.

Patterson is a passionate sup-

32 REM MARCH 2012

FGood WorksGood Works

porter of fitness programs to pro-mote healthy and active lifestylesamong youth. He has partnered forseveral years with his local YMCAto run a youth triathlon program(swim, bike, run).

For his extended ride, the 57-year-old grandfather of two isworking with the YMCA to estab-

lish the means for communitiesacross the country to support hisventure and have the funds godirectly to youth programs in theirlocal YMCA. He funds the entirecoast-to-coast rides himself, so alldonations received go directly tosupport youth programs at theYMCA.

To learn more about the adven-ture, visit www.ykids.blog.com

■ ■ ■

When Izabela Wasiela first metMichael, the non-verbal autisticboy was frustrated that he couldnot speak or run and play likeother children. Now after a decadeof effort, Michael can use simplelanguage and has greater confi-dence and physical strength. The

difference in his life is dramatic.His story is just one of the reasonsthat Wasiela volunteers eachSaturday with Special OlympicsB.C. Vancouver. In 2010, the salesrep at Sutton Group – Seafair inRichmond began coaching swim-mers and weight trainers with spe-cial needs.

“I studied at UBC and com-pleted a Bachelor of HumanKinetics majoring in PhysicalEducation with a minor in FamilyStudies and Social work,” saysWasiela. “In my third year, I wasrequired to do some volunteerwork involving people with dis-abilities and physical activity. I vol-unteered at the KitsilanoCommunity Centre in their TLClife skills program for special needs

teens and was hooked! I found it soincredibly rewarding and felt I hadsomething I could add to the pro-gram with my education and back-ground as an athlete.”

One day, a parent approachedWasiela and asked if she would bewilling to spend time once a weekwith her special needs daughter. Atthe time, Jassie was in her mid-20s.

“It was through Jassie that I gotinvolved in the Special Olympics.I’d take her out on a Saturday to gofor lunch then to her swimmingand soccer practices. As I satwatching, I knew I wanted tobecome a coach.” She now coach-es Special Olympians of all ages.The youngest she has worked withwas 12-years-old and the oldestwas 50.

Don Patterson

From left: Jim Bridgeman, sales rep with Royal LePage Saskatoon RealEstate; Sharon Cunningham, executive director of Saskatoon IntervalHouse; Jean Hennig of Saskatoon Interval House; and Lionel “LB”Betker, sales rep with Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate.

Jassie Chan with Izabela Wasiela

From left, Sutton Group - Canwest’s ShannonMacLeod, Pat West and Helen Milton.

Jehan Chaudhry ofSandgate Women’sShelter with JohnLusink, broker/owner ofRoyal LePage YorkNorth Realty.

Exit Realty Group in Belleville,Ont. recently participated in theWalk For Memories, an event to

raise funds for the AlzheimerSociety. It is the society’s largest

provincial fundraiser, and theBelleville event raised over

$54,000. From left: Valerie Davies, Mary Thomas, Sylvia Smith, Heather Plane, Janice Davis, SharonShortt, Randy Kerr, Jonathan Kerr, and Tobin, Gwenyth and Christy Wagner.

The more than 60 sales reps at RoyalLePage Wolle Realty in Kitchener,Ont. weighed in with contributions ofmore than 2,000 lbs. of food and$10,000 in cash to help the localfood Bank with its Christmas Drive.More than 800 of the firm’s cus-tomers, families and friends filled fivetheatres at Empire Theatres for thefamily-friendly movie Happy FeetTwo. The price of admission was atleast one non-perishable food item perfamily member and cash donationswere made by local businesses.

REM MARCH 2012 33

� � �

Royal LePage Saskatoon RealEstate, in collaboration with theSaskatoon Granite Curling Club,hosted the 10th annual FunSpielrecently. The event raised $12,507for Saskatoon Interval House, ashelter providing a safe haven forwomen and children fleeingdomestic violence. The eventincluded a curling bonspiel, dinner,raffle and prizes for the winningteam.

� � �

The team at Sutton Group -Canwest in Calgary pitched in todeliver warmth and joy to peoplein need during the holidays.

“Through a local school, welearned we could assist two familieshaving a difficult year,” says bro-ker/manager Helen Milton. “Onewas a family of six and the other afamily of five. We personallyshopped for each person trying tofind the toys they would like andclothing in the right size. Two ofthe children have special needsand don’t read well, so we foundsome beautiful picture books forthem.”

Sutton Group Canwest alsodonated 40 bags of used apparel totwo local charities: Women inNeed and the Mustard Seed.

Milton estimates that the officespent $350 on new clothing andtoys plus $350 in grocery store giftcertificates for each family. Moneywas raised through a 50/50 draw atMonday morning meetings and aportion of a $2 per month dona-tion from each sales rep. Holiday

giving is an office tradition thatspans more than 25 years.

� � �

Royal LePage York NorthRealty in Newmarket, Ont.recently donated $6,329 to theSandgate Women’s Shelter. Thefunds were raised through the bro-kerage’s sales reps, who donated aportion of their commissions to theRoyal LePage Shelter Foundationfrom each home sold.

The funds will be used to helpthe shelter support women andchildren who have experiencedviolence. Sandgate providesemergency crisis shelters, a 24-hour crisis telephone support line,and housing and outreach programs.

� � �

Renald Guindon and DanGrantham, sales reps at SuttonGroup Preferred Realty in London,Ont. have donated more than$9,500 to over a dozen local charities, including the YouthOpportunities Unlimited, Women’sCommunity House, LondonHumane Society, London FoodBank and Boys & Girls Club. Theyhave a donation program that seesthem make a charitable donationeach time they make a sale. Thecharity is chosen by the client.

During the last nine years sincetheir program began, Guindon andGrantham have donated morethan $100,500. They received theLondon and St. Thomas RealEstate Board’s Community ServiceAward in 2004. REM

Avison Young’s Vancouver office raised more than $12,000 forMovember, the worldwide moustache-growing charity event that raisesawareness and funds for prostate cancer.

Renald Guindon Dan Grantham

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appy graduation! I gotyou a business.

Hiring a kid to workin the family business after grad-uation is one thing. Buying thema business for graduation is quiteanother. According to the WallStreet Journal, more and moreparents are buying businesses,especially franchises, for theirkids to take over when they grad-uate. According to the story,“many parents see business own-ership as a better bet for theirkids’ future than a graduatedegree”.

Though there are obviousrisks involved, one parent whobought his son an Internet-con-sulting franchise told theJournal, “As a parent, the bestgift you can ever receive is tosee your children happy andsuccessful.”

In this era of renewed interestin entrepreneurship, some par-ents we interviewed described it

34 REM MARCH 2012

By Martin Greenspon

H

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Congrats, graduate.Here’s a franchiseas a way of recapturing for theirchildren a stake in “theCanadian Dream” – the opportu-nity to control their destiny andhave a chance at gaining wealth.

Parents considering such aventure need an attorney experi-enced in representing fran-chisees, and both an accountantand an experienced businessmentor familiar with both fran-chising and the target industry.

None of the parents inter-viewed expect any short-termreturn on their investment. Afew viewed it as a gift. Somestructured it as a loan anddeferred repayment. Others tookstock in the business, with anagreement that their child woulduse future earnings to buy it back.Some parents look farther aheadhoping their child’s business willsupport them in retirement.

Canadian unemployment hashit the highest recorded levelsince The Depression. With onlya gradual return to economichealth predicted, self-employ-ment is becoming an increasinglyrealistic and necessary alterna-tive to being a member of thesalaried work force.

For many, graduating withtens of thousands of dollars instudent loans debt and workingfor minimum wage, it is a bitterpill of reality to swallow.Working for a corporation, onenever really knows what the jobsecurity is.

Most of Canada’s universitygraduates are hardworking high-achievers – a trait passed on fromtheir Boomer-era parents. Theyfind themselves discouraged atthe dismal number of opportuni-ties to showcase and practicetheir newly acquired knowledge.The traditional model of “work-ing your way up the corporateladder” and the resulting long-term faithful employment isquickly fading to make room for“job hopping.

In a society of rapid changeand no guarantees, resourcefuluniversity graduates will thriveworking for the company called

Me Inc. They must brace them-selves for a future that mayinclude running their own busi-ness. The entrepreneurial revolu-tion has certainly come of age.

Over 2.5 million Canadiansrun their own businesses; most ofwhom have prospered throughfranchising. They have focusedon the belief that franchising isthe way of doing business in thefuture. Many university graduatesare discovering that franchisingoffers a sound strategy for estab-lishing a small business and pro-viding a means of good personalincome in these tough times.

To meet the needs of thou-sands of university graduatesseeking new business opportuni-ties as a means of realigning theirfuture careers, my company, M-Four International, developed aspecial program to assist universi-ty graduates across Canada. M-Four has selected those franchis-es offering low start-up costs andabove average income and equityappreciation. Most of the fran-chises being marketed by M-Fourrepresent “service type” business-es – home improvement, auto-motive after markets, healthcare, environmental control,educational, fitness – and requirenominal investments to acquirethe franchise.

To be in charge of one’s owndestiny and have the ability ofbeing their own boss is of greatappeal to most. When this iscombined with the financialawards that a successful franchisecan provide, the outlook fortoday’s university graduate isencouraging.

Parents often say they woulddo anything for their child.Setting a child up in business issurely one big test of that bond.

Martin Greenspon founded M-Four International, which this yearcelebrates its 30th year in business,representing franchisees and fran-chisors. His career has included themanufacturing sector as well asbeing a director of one of Canada’sleading investment firms. [email protected]. REM

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†Royal LePage is a trademark used under license.

George Heos, Senior Vice President, NetworkDevelopment is pleased to announce that WarrenNeufeld has chosen to join the Royal LePage franchisenetwork, and has opened a brokerage in Portage LaPrairie, Manitoba, effective Feb. 1. His new company willoperate as Royal LePage Portage Realty. Orvil Cairnswill serve as the company’s broker, drawing on hisextensive real estate career, described further below.

Warren Neufeld and his family have lived in Portage la Prairie for the past twelve years. Having held management positions in a variety of media companiesover the past twenty years, Warren entered the realestate profession in 2011.

Although relatively new to the industry, Warren is activein the business community. He has served as Chair ofthe Board for the William Glesby Center and asPresident for on the Portage and District Chamber ofCommerce. In addition, he is a board member of theSouthport Aerospace and co-Chair of the PortageRegional Recreation Association. In 2004, Warren wasvoted Executive of the Year by the Portage and DistrictChamber of Commerce.

Orvil Cairns began his real estate industry in 1976.

A lifelong resident of Portage La Prairie, Orvil is well-known to the community. He has sat on the boards ofthe Chamber of Commerce, the Portage Rotary Club as

well as the board of Southport AreoSpace. Orvil alsoserved as president several times for the Portage LaPrairie Real Estate Association. He also served as aboard member on the Manitoba Real EstateAssociation.

A top producer, Orvil has consistently earned awardsconferred by the Manitoba and Portage real estateboards.

Royal LePage Portage Realty services an area ofapproximately 25,000 residents, including Portage LaPrairie, and the surrounding communities ofMacGregor, Oakville, St Claude, Delta Lake, Austin,Gladstone, Treherne, Elm Creek, St Ambroise, Sydney,Langruth, Westburne, High Bluff, and Popular Point.

Warren and Orvil can be reached at:190 River Road Box 755Portage La Prairie, Manitoba R1N 3C2Phone: 204-239-6767 • Fax: 855-285-9776Email: [email protected]: [email protected]

Please join us in wishing Royal LePage Portage Realtymuch success.

For information on the Royal LePage franchise program, please call (416) 510-5700 or email:[email protected]

Royal LePage Portage RealtyPortage La Prairie, Manitoba

†

Warren Neufeld Orvil Cairns

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he Association of ReginaRealtors (ARR) will cele-brate its 100th anniversary

year with Mike Duggleby of RoyalLePage Regina Realty as its 2012president.

“We are among the oldestreal estate organizations in thecountry, so there are only a fewRealtor organizations that hitthis milestone before us,” saysDuggleby. “Realtors have playedan integral role in the develop-ment of this wonderful city. Weare really pleased to be able tospend a year celebrating thework and dedication of many ofour early members.”

Born and educated inSaskatoon, Duggleby moved toRegina with his family in 1987. Heentered the real estate business in2002 as an owner at Royal LePageRegina Realty. Prior to this, hespent seven years with SaskPowerand 15 years as a commercial salesrep with Michelin Tire of Canada.

Others serving on the associa-tion’s 2012 Board of Directorsinclude president-elect StacySvendsen of Realty ExecutivesRegina; past-president LaneBoghean of Century 21 DomeRealty Inc; and directors TimChicilo of Sutton Group ResultsRealty, Carmen Howells of RoyalLePage Regina Realty, Basil Pappasof Re/Max Crown Real Estate andPhil Robertson of Royal LePagePhil Robertson Realty. DavidMarkus of Century 21 Dome

36 REM MARCH 2012

T

COMPENSATION:

Attractive base salary plus performance based bonus PLEASE SEND RESUME TO:

Richard BrinkleyDIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

at [email protected]

Successful candidates will be responsible for

recruiting, managing,

Sutton Group Realty Services has immediate openings for Brokers to

REQUIREMENTS:

and

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EXPERIENCED REAL ESTATE BROKER MANAGER

...maintenant

en français !

www.remenligne.com

Oui! You are reading this correctly! You can now stay up-to-date with the latest in Canadian real estate news, en français!

Visit our new French website, and watch for REM Revue

Immobilière, coming 2012!

Sign-up for our French virtual newsletter now at remenligne.com!

For more info, contact:

Michel [email protected]

Realty and Marina Rist of RealtyExecutives Dale Ripplinger &Associates were newly elected tothe Board.

In a separate election, IanJohnston of Century 21 DomeRealty was elected for a two-yearterm to the Association ofSaskatchewan Realtors Board ofDirectors, as the Regina RegionDirector.

■ ■ ■

The Alberta Real EstateFoundation has appointed RonEsch of Calgary to its Board ofGovernors on behalf of theAlberta Real Estate Association.Esch was a Realtor for 15 yearsbefore he joined the EdmontonReal Estate Board as the memberservices administrator. In 1984 hemoved to Calgary to serve as CEOof the Calgary Real Estate Board, aposition he held for 25 years untilhis retirement last year.

■ ■ ■

Shirley Przybyl is the 109thpresident of the 1,600-memberWinnipegRealtors. She takes overfrom outgoing president RalphFyfe.

Active in real estate for 19years, 10 as a broker, Przybyl is thebroker manager of record forCentury 21 Bachman &Associates. Her educational back-ground in business administrationwith a major in accounting servesher well in her current position as

manager of an office with over 70Realtors. She received many MLSmedallion and Centurion awardswhen she was an active salespersonwith Century 21.

“I really enjoy the dynamism ofour industry and the opportunity itpresents people like me to getinvolved and give back,” saysPrzybyl. “One thing I am mostproud of in the last few years is howour association is becoming moreactive in the community throughsupporting the Manitoba RealEstate Association ShelterFoundation, Take Pride Winnipegand raising over $1.6 million forthe Canadian Museum for HumanRights.”

■ ■ ■

The London and St. ThomasAssociation of Realtors recentlyheld its 15th annual Homes forHope Bonspiel. The popular eventis a fundraiser for Mission Servicesof London.

“Mission Services has beenproviding shelter and assistance tothe homeless and disadvantaged inour community for over a half acentury. We’re proud to be count-ed among their supporters,” saysBarb Whitney, LSTAR president.This year’s event raised over$11,000 for the charity, bringingthe total raised by the bonspielsince its inception to over$113,800 and the total raised bythe association through the bon-spiel and other fundraisers, includ-ing selling Homes for Hope pins, towell over $263,800.

■ ■ ■

The Kitchener-WaterlooAssociation of Realtors (KWAR)recently presented Reaching OurOutdoor Friends (ROOF) with acheque for $6,255 to assist withprograms and services that helpbreak the cycle of youth homeless-ness. They include job and life

Mike Duggleby Ron Esch Shirley Przybyl

REM MARCH 2012 37

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skills development, alternativeschool options, medical care,behavioural and impulse controlskills, counselling and shelter.ROOF also provides food, hygiene,care and support for homeless orat-risk youth in Waterloo Region.

The donation is the result ofROOF’s grant application to theRealtors Care Foundation. Since199, KWAR has donated morethan $500,000 to support localcharities.

■ ■ ■

The Durham Association ofRealtors (DRAR) raised morethan $10,000 this year at itsAnnual Christmas Dinner &Charity Auction. The funds havebeen divided between two localcharities. Durham Deaf Services isa non-profit organization that pro-vides educational programs andservices to the Deaf, deafened andhard of hearing community withinDurham Region. Nova’s Ark is aregistered charity that providessocial and communication oppor-tunities for people of all ages andabilities involving a wide range ofexotic, gentle animals.

Last year DRAR raised morethan $12,000 to support four char-ities: Precious Minds, MuslimWelfare House, Hearth PlaceCancer Support Centre andBethesda House.

All four charities recentlyreceived additional funding fromthe Realtors Care Foundation.

Since its inception, the founda-tion has granted more than $2 mil-lion to shelter-based organizationsacross the province. REM

Winners atthe LSTARannual Homesfor Hope bon-spiel, fromleft: ChrisAllen, DonBarrett andGlen Gordon.

Sara Hill, presi-dent of KWAR,

presents thecheque to

Reaching OurOutdoor

Friends boardchair Henry

Dejong.

From left: Atiya Siddiquei, manager, Muslim Welfare House; SharonSimmonds, executive director, Precious Minds; Christine Marquis, presi-dent, DRAR; Andrea Shaw, executive director, Hearth Place CancerSupport Centre; Debbie Dawson, Realtor-governor, Realtors CareFoundation; and Jaki Mackinnon, executive director, Bethesda House.

DRAR presents a cheque to Durham Deaf Services. From left,DRAR EO Cail Maclean, president Christine Marquis, CharityAuction Committee chair Catherine Ayotte, Durham Deaf Servicesexecutive director Yvonne Brown and resource development officerJohn Calderón.

DRAR president Christine Marquis and Charity Auction Committeechair Cathy Ayotte present the cheque to Nova’s Ark founder, Mary-Ann Nova, surrounded by her volunteers and furry friends.

38 REM MARCH 2012

More than 1,000 Members Across Canada & Growing!

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The only course for Canadian REALTORS® wanting to work the mature/senior market niche that is written and taught by Canadians for Canadians. That matters to your clients, and it matters to you.

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Winning withCommercial RealEstateBy Lloyd R. Manning$23.95 (ebook $14.95 US)

Author Lloyd Manning is asemi-retired commercial real estateand business appraiser and brokerfrom Lloydminster, Sask. who nowspends his time writing for profes-sional journals and trade maga-zines, including REM.

He says that after 30 years inthe business, “I cannot recall thenumber of times that I have seen aproperty or business sold to someunwise soul who in the examina-tion and analysis process asked allthe wrong questions….”

This book gives you all theright questions to ask. Major sec-tions deal with the first steps offinding a property, analyzing thefinancial statement, the appraisal,financing the purchase, leasing andmanaging the property andreselling it. There’s also a sectionabout choosing a real estate agent,feasibility studies, buying raw landand more.

“Sorry, there are no get-rich-quick schemes in the followingtext,” says Manning in the intro-duction. “Although this book willtalk about the many ways to makemoney in real estate, it is all aboutmaking money the old-fashionedway – earning it.”

Available as an ebook-PDF from www.Booklocker.com or in paperback from www.chap-ters.indigo.ca.

Investing inCondominiumsBy Brian Persaud and RandyRamadhinWiley$39.95

There are more condos underconstruction in the GreaterToronto Area than in any othercity in North America. Along withall the marketing hype, concernshave been expressed that the city isbeing overbuilt and that the con-struction of some of the buildings isless than stellar.

Investing in Condominiums is aprimer for anyone who is thinking

about investing in the Torontocondo market. “How can youensure you make a wise investmentdecision when buying a pre-con-struction condo? This is the mostimportant question we aim toanswer in this book,” say theauthors.

It includes case studies thatoffer tips for investing wisely,choosing the right building, taxand estate planning and having anexit plan.

Available at most bookstores.

Fat Cats & LuckyDogsBy Barry Seltzer and Gerry W.BeyerPrism Publishing$19.95

Barry Seltzer, a real estatelawyer and former Ontario RealEstate Association instructor,expanded his business some yearsago to include estate planning.Along with Gerry W. Beyer, a pro-fessor in Lubbock, Texas, he haswritten a book about how to pro-tect your pet if you become sick ordie.

“You may die of a heart attackin a neighbourhood shopping mallor in a car crash many miles fromhome. It might be days before any-one thinks to check (or gets autho-rization to enter) your home tolook for, or check on, pets,” theauthors warn. “If you have madeno provisions outside of your will, awell-meaning friend, relative oremergency service person may

ome years ago, probablyaround 1998, Barry Lebowapproached me to do an

interview for REM regarding mylongevity as a real estate manager.

Barry and I have known eachother since around 1979 whenCentury 21 first came intoOntario. Our paths crossed againnearly 20 years later at my formeroffice at Humbertown inEtobicoke. Barry asked me if I’d beinterested in being interviewed fora future column in the magazine.

And so a friendship rekindleditself through the auspices of thisgreat vehicle called REM!

This new article is dedicated toBarry, who has made some signifi-

cant contributions to the realestate industry.

In the interview, Barry discuss-es how the real estate industry haschanged, the impact of “mere post-ings”, the Accredited SeniorAgent designation that he found-ed, and where the real estate indus-try is going. There was just toomuch to fit into the print pages ofREM, but the entire story is avail-able online.

Read the story now atwww.remonline.com. REM

AS I SEE IT FROM MY DESK

By Stan Albert

This month onREMonline.com: Stan interviews Barry

S

REM MARCH 2012 39

trundle your pets to the pound…Atrip to the pound can be a deathsentence.”

The book outlines what stepsyou should take to legally protectthem, even before your will is read.It also includes chapters andsources for dealing with a pet’sdeath, exotic pets, surveys andresearch about pets, animal retire-ment homes and sanctuaries andmore.

Available at www.fatcatsand-luckydogs.com

You Can Make It inReal Estate (ebook)By Charles D. Lank$7.75

A veteran of the real estatebusiness in Prince Edward Island,Charles D. Lank has written anebook that is “designed to helpnewer agents get off to a profitablestart,” he says.

“I offer tips from my 30+ yearsexperience working with both newand seasoned real estate salespeo-ple. I am now retired (except forsome rentals); however I continueto take an active interest in thebusiness.”

Lank says there’s no single

ingredient that separates “themoney makers from the rest, butthere are some common attributesthat separate the mediocre fromthe top producers. This ebook willhelp you decide if the real estatebusiness is for you.”

Download directly fromwww.charleslank.com.

The DefendantInsights andMotivation for theSales Professional (In Everyone)By Dominic Spano

The Defendant is now into itssecond printing after its originalprinting in 2004. It’s a novel that isintended to be a motivational toolfor salespeople who work on com-mission. Author Dominic Spanosays, “In a nutshell, it follows thetrials and tribulations of a realestate salesperson, and his subse-quent encounters that lead to agreater insight and a new perspec-tive of his approach to the busi-ness.”

In the forward, Spano writes,“In ways that some of us neverthought possible, or perhaps even

considered, successful selling forcesus to become better people. Thistext strives to contribute to thatprocess by stimulating the reader touncover the habits and attitudesthat can lead to greater success inhis sales career.”

The book is available atwww.amazon.com.

The Home ReferenceBookBy Carson Dunlop HomeInspections$69

Home inspection firm CarsonDunlop’s Home Reference Book isnow in its 25th edition. The bookwas developed as a report writingtool that was given to the firm’sclients to supplement the specificinformation about their house withmore general stories on maintain-ing and replacing components ofthe home. It is now called theencyclopedia of homes, and coversall aspects inside and out, includ-ing appliances. It has detailedcolour illustrations throughout anddescribes common problems andsolutions, as well as outlining howthings work in a typical home orcottage. There’s also a section that

gives ballpark replacement costestimates for the various compo-nents of a home.

The book is being given free toCarson Dunlop clients and also

offered for sale to real estate agentswho could use them as closinggifts. Discount rates are availablefor bulk purchases. www.carson-dunlop.com REM

oooo – don’t you just hatethe Ides of March? Butbefore my rant, a little

Latin never did anyone harm.According to infoplease.com andWikipedia, long before they scut-tled cruise ships, the Romans, hav-ing invented several of themonths, decided they neededinternal reference points. So theKalends (recognize the root wordof ‘calendar’?) was the first day, theNones was the seventh (nine daysbefore the Ides) and the Ides wasthe 15th day, Ides meaning halfdivision. But only in four of themonths.

If Will Shakespeare and Brutushad killed Caesar on the first orseventh of the month, everyEnglish Lit student would have adifferent single Latin word vocabu-lary. But, it was not to be, or to beor not to be, or…. oh stop it!

My wife and I were in Victoriafor a weekend and decided to dropin to an open house for a TrevorLinden (you remember, VancouverCanucks, about five years ago,that’s BB – Before Boston.) condoproject on the edge of Chinatown.

The host Realtor, who I shan’t

40 REM MARCH 2012

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METES & BOUNDS

By Marty Douglas

Beware the drop-in Realtorname, whose initials are TracyMenzies of Pemberton Holmes,was very gracious after I had iden-tified myself as a busman’s holidaylicensee from the sticks of the mid-island. She ushered us to the eleva-tor, only to discover it was tem-porarily not available, meaning wehad six floors of stairwell to con-quer. She quickly estimated myage, had an appraising glance at mymuch younger wife and said,“Good luck!” I had occasion toponder the meaning as I rested onfour, but the chest pains were a dis-traction. I’m sure she meant well.

It’s a great project by the way;right downtown, six floors of won-derfully functional design, someoverlooking a Zen garden, startingaround $250,000. (www.601her-ald.com/contact) That’s right, nomisprint, $250,000. Probably soldout by this date but for those of youplanning your retirement onVancouver Island, that’s how weswing!

Ah, the drop-in Realtor. I’mreferring to the one who has neverseen your listing, perhaps fromanother real estate board or city,who has a client in search of yourcommission. Here in the west weused to shoot them but since guncontrol has become such an issue,we began a more passive approach– don’t pay them.

Although the poaching issuehas been with us for decades, the most recent discussions arose in a conversation onwww.linkedin.com in the CREA

Discussion Group. The lead com-ment was, “I would never put alockbox on my own listing,” fol-lowed by 89 reactions – and over-reactions – from Realtors acrossCanada. The thread is fascinatingto follow and gives great insight,hopefully to CREA executiveswho monitor the mutterings of thegrass roots.

The point-counterpointincluded remarks about out-of-board Realtors showing and thenwriting offers on lockbox accessedlistings, mostly in Ontario. It fol-lowed then, for me to comment onthe selling Realtor who wrote thecontract without the benefit of

showing the property, usuallybecause the buyer had seen it andwanted to deal with “their ownagent”, ostensibly for representa-tion but frequently for a slice of thecommission pie.

This “drop-in” practice was/isparticularly rampant in the territo-ries of the Vancouver and FraserValley Real Estate Boards whereboundaries are easy to cross.Eventually, someone had had

enough and decided to force show-ings on the selling salesperson,with the seller’s consent of course.Phrases began to appear in theMLS Realtor remarks such as“Comm: $1,000 if Realtor not pre-sent at 1st & all subsequent show-ings” or “S. Comm 3.22% 1st100k/1.15% on balance upon firstphysical introduction to the prop-erty, otherwise $500.”

You get the idea – if you wantto be paid the full selling commis-sion, we want you to be involvedfrom the first showing. No fairsending your cousin unannouncedthrough open houses and projectsales or remote corners of Haida

Gwai and then surprising us with afaxed offer.

CREA and the legal team haveopinions on this issue – no kid-ding! Seriously? And yet the onlydiscussions ongoing about thepractice apparently are betweenthe boards that – wink, wink,nudge, nudge – allow it and thosethat don’t. My board, theVancouver Island Real EstateBoard, would not publish a listing

that, in their words, “dictated thelevel of service a selling broker pro-vided” and so we have the uniqueexperience of a listing contract fora property located in one of theseveral condoning boards in theprovince being rejected by themember’s own board, despite aspirit of co-operation agreementbetween boards.

Way above my pay grade.Back to Shakespeare. I wanted

to show off my university learningby dropping a quote like, “I praythee cease thy counsel, which fallsinto mine ears as profitless as waterin a sieve.” But instead decided onresearch in my Oxford Dictionary ofHumorous Quotations where I cameacross this gem from RobertWilensky: “We’ve all heard that amillion monkeys banging on a mil-lion typewriters will eventuallyreproduce the entire works ofShakespeare. Now, thanks to theInternet, we know this is not true.”

Enjoy your Ides.

You can find Marty Douglas onTwitter – http://twitter.com/41yrsrealestate – Facebook andLinkedIn. He is a managing brokerfor Coast Realty Group, with officeson Vancouver Island, the Discoveryand Gulf Islands and the SunshineCoast of B.C. Marty is a past chair ofthe Real Estate Errors and OmissionsCorporation of B.C., the Real EstateCouncil of B.C. , the B.C. RealEstate Association and the VancouverIsland Real Estate Board. [email protected]. REM

Here in the west we used to shootthem but since gun control has becomesuch an issue, we began a more passive

approach – don’t pay them.

n Thanksgiving weekendin 2011, I wrote my thirdexam, completing the

three mandatory courses needed toget my entry-level real estatelicense. In the parking lot after-wards there was a general sense ofexcitement and jubilation amongstmy classmates. We talked aboutthe exam and lingered a few min-utes before heading off in our indi-vidual directions to start our newcareers.

After I was licensed, everythingabout my world looked outwardlythe same but… well, it wasn’t.Familiar neighbourhoods hadbecome farms, and friends andneighbours were now prospects. I

REM MARCH 2012 41

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THE REAL ESTATE ROOKIE

By Peter D. Wilton

The first week on the jobviewed friends’ homes as housesand noted the slope of their roofs.I looked for dampness in theirbasement while, prior to my newreal estate career I had just enviedtheir big-screen TV. I praisedflower gardens but wondered ifthere were oil tanks buriedbeneath. I speculated about secretsin their attics like knob and tubewiring or worse still was, was UFFIbehind their walls?

This speculation wasn’t just aone-way street. Friends and neigh-bours looked at me differently,wondering if my small talk was justa ruse so that I could list theirhome. Why was I asking abouttheir mother’s health? Or attend-ing their father’s funeral?

I even received negative feed-back from family that exam week-end over Thanksgiving dinner.Their comments ranged from theusual, how tough and competitivea business real estate is, to onebrother-in-law announcing, as hechewed on a mouthful of cranber-ry-covered turkey, that “all realestate agents are scum”. I finished

that family dinner and even man-aged seconds, though I was feelingdiscouraged.

Afterwards, my wife rationalizedthe negative feedback as follows: “Isuppose being a real estate represen-tative is akin to being a medicaldoctor— every friend, relative andacquaintance wants to show youtheir disfiguring warts or in yourcase, their real estate horror stories.”

The following week, I startedlooking for a brokerage to hitchthe wagon to. Overwhelmed bythe process, I called a friend whohappens to be an award-winningsales rep and she told me thatchoosing a brokerage was a keycareer decision and that manyrecent graduates made the mistakeof not taking the time to ensurethat their brokerage of choice wasthe right fit.

“Remember, ask a lot of ques-tions, and don’t rush to sign!” Shepaused and added: “Like a mar-riage, it’s a lot easier to say ‘I do’than to get out of a brokerage onceyou have consummated theunion.” While my head was still

swirling with images of brokerages,marriage and consummation, shetook a sip of her frothed coffee andwent over questions to ask.

1) Set aside the time to go andmeet with a number of brokerages.It is best to phone or email the bro-ker of record or the office managerto set up an interview. If they arenot busy, you should probably won-der why.

2) Think about the location ofthe brokerage. It is easier to popinto a brokerage that is a five-minute drive from your home topick up a form or hopefully a com-mission cheque than to driveacross the city.

3) Find out the monthly bro-kerage fee. There is a huge rangebetween brokerages.

4) Find out about the commis-sion split – but keep in mind, acommission split that is very gener-ous to you does not mean a greatdeal if you don’t make a sale!

5) Training, training, training.Does the brokerage offer it? Is therea cost?

6) Find out if the broker of

record or the office manager areselling agents. This may not mat-ter, but they may not be as avail-able as you would like them to bewhen you are stumbling throughyour first couple of deals.

7) Find out how available theyare at night and on the weekends.A real estate deal is like having ababy – they often take place atinopportune times.

8) Find out about hiddencharges. Is there a charge for pho-tocopying or office support?

9) Do they have reciprocalrights with other brokerages?

For me, one of the turningpoints as to why I chose my bro-kerage was simple. They said ‘con-gratulations’ to me for getting mylicense! This was the first time Ihad heard those words.

I suppose like many things inlife it is the little things that some-times make all the difference.

Peter D. Wilton is a sales repre-sentative with Sutton Group - SadieMoranis in Toronto. 416- 449-2020.

REM

am so old now that I wonderif at the end of the day theywill take my old bones and set

them up in the museum beside theother dinosaurs. I have seen somany cycles in the real estate busi-ness that I wonder if anything inthis business can even make meblink anymore.

I remember during the ’50sand ’60s many real estate brokersowned their own storefront officesas well as the buildings them-selves. There was a greater assort-ment of real estate shingles hang-ing in front of those offices. If youwanted to be a real estate salesrepresentative back then, you hadto apply and then submit to a vig-orous interview and scrutinyprocess before the broker wouldconsider offering you a job. Backthen a broker invested heavily intheir sales reps by helping pay forlicenses as well as paying foreverything else in the officeincluding desks, typewriters, car-bon paper and rotary telephones.In those days a lot of real estatebrokers were also insurance bro-kers. It seemed as though if youtraveled through the city, youwould come upon several realestate offices before you got half-way across town.

I remember a couple of veryastute Realtors told me that oneday there would be even more realestate offices. I recall thinking howamazing it was that the predictionhad come true. During the late ’70sand early ’80s it seemed like therewas a real estate office on every cityblock, sometimes two or three. Iknow that to be true because I usedto park my car and walk thoseblocks selling advertising to thoseoffices.

Around that time I met a cou-ple of future-thinking Realtorswho told me that things would

42 REM MARCH 2012

THE PUBLISHER’SPAGE

By Heino Molls

ICentury 21 Kickoff 2012Friday, Feb. 24Palais des congrès de MontrèalMontrealGarlice Mak - [email protected]

Dominion Lending CentresMortgage Agent and BrokerUniversitiesEvents open to Realtors – “Greatkeynote speakers and social mediatraining”Calgary – Feb. 29 - Coast PlazaHotel & Conference CentreEdmonton – March 2 - Four Pointsby Sheraton Edmonton SouthLondon – April 16 - Four Points bySheraton – Four Points Hotel &Suites LondonToronto – April 18 - ParamountConference and Event Venue,Woodbridge Ottawa – April 23 - BrookstreetVancouver – May 9 - TheFairmont Vancouver – (not confirmed)Victoria – May 11- Four Points bySheraton Victoria GatewayHalifax – June 20 - Four Points bySheraton HalifaxTo register for all cities:www.dominionlendingevents.ca

Century 21 Kickoff 2012Thursday, March 1The Toronto Congress CentreTorontoGarlice Mak - [email protected]

New Brunswick Real EstateAssociation AGM & ConferenceMarch 15 – 16 Fredericton, N.B.www.nbrea.ca

Realtors Association ofHamilton-BurlingtonRealtor Connections AGM,Conference & Trade ShowThursday, March 22Hamilton Convention CentreSheila Sferrazza – [email protected]

Canadian Real EstateAssociationAGM - Saturday, March 24Leadership - Sunday, March 25Westin Ottawa, OttawaAnik Aubé – [email protected]

The Oakville, Milton andDistrict Real Estate BoardHalton Symposium and TradeShowOakville Conference CentreThursday, April 19Cyndi Amodeo –[email protected]

London and St. ThomasAssociation of Realtors TradeShowTuesday, April 24London Convention CentreTracy Marino – [email protected]

Toronto Real Estate BoardRealtor Quest 2012May 2 – 3The Toronto Congress CentreTorontowww.realtor-quest.ca

Kitchener/Waterloo Real EstateBoard REALTOR XPO 3.0 Thursday, May 10Details to be confirmed. For questions about exhibiting contact [email protected]

2012 HomeLife InternationalConferenceMay 10 – 11Casino New BrunswickMoncton, N.B.1-800-668-0186

Trade Showsand ConferencesTrade Showsand Conferences

For complete listings, visit www.remonline.comTo add a listing to this calendar, email [email protected]

Compiled with the assistance of Bob Campbell at Colour Tech Marketing,www.colourtech.com

Somebody shouldwrite a bookchange again and there would befewer real estate offices but therewould be far more agents. It washard for me to believe that therecould be more than the 14,000Realtors already working inToronto but they were right. Ithought about those astute futurethinkers when that number dou-bled to 28,000 during a seven-yearperiod between 1979 and 1986.

I remember a time when folkslaughed at the idea of condomini-ums. The concept of someoneowning a home within a buildingwas inconceivable. How could thatbe? Then we saw Realtors promot-ing themselves as “CondoSpecialists”. All those who laughedabout that were left in the dust andtoday hardly anyone calls them-

selves a condo expert anymore, it isjust so common place.

I can barely imagine how thebusiness of real estate and the facil-itation of home ownership willchange in the days ahead.

All this should be documentedand in a book. This industry needsto commission a team ofresearchers to write the history ofthis incredible business. I don’tmean just an account of the indus-try all laid out in good order anddry notation.

The story of this business needsto be written in a compelling man-ner. It should be told in an enter-taining way. The real estate busi-ness is a business community. It hasall manner of characters that

shaped the industry with theircharm, style and most assuredlytheir integrity. These grand gentle-men and ladies should be writtenabout, especially because this busi-ness is almost all about people.

The story of all the technologythat was first developed by the peo-ple in this community also needsto be told. It was the real estateindustry that pioneered multipleimage capture and data processing– not just the brilliance of gather-ing information efficiently but alsoguarding its integrity. The processof demanding accuracy from indus-try members was an achievementin itself. Marshalling the ethics andarbitration related to this informa-tion is a staggering feat and it is atrisk every day. Especially today!

The story of the real estatecommunity is an ongoing diarythat should be written as it devel-ops, not just for public relationsand media releases but for themembers of this industry to access.I fear that there are photos ofoffices and industry pioneers thatare lost each month. We are busyembracing new technologies andcommunication tools. We have tolook back. We have to documentthe past. We have to appreciatehow we got here.

If we don’t, we won’t knowhow to go forward.

Heino Molls is publisher of REM.Email [email protected].

REM

The story of the real estatecommunity is an ongoing

diary that should be written as it develops,

not just for public relations and media releases but for the members of this

industry to access.

Whenever Canadians are ready for the responsibility of homeownership – no matter where they liveor want to live – Genworth Financial Canada is there to help.

We work with more than 250 financial institutions in every part of the country. Since 1995, we’vemade homeownership possible for more than 1.2 million families.

Genworth provides mortgage default insurance needed to qualify for today’s affordable, low down-payment mortgages.

To find out how we can help grow your business and increase your potential, visit genworth.ca

© 2011 Genworth Financial, Inc.

Helping Canadians buy homes–from coast to coast to coast.

March 2012

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