january 2011

Issue #259 January 2011

Make 2011 your best year everPage 3

Beware of homes with secondary suitesPage 40

Canadian developer makes good in Grand CaymanPage 26

Laura Fernandez Singer, songwriter, illustrator and award-winning sales rep2

W H E R E W I L L YO U B E ?

VANCOUVER IS WHERE THE BEST AGENTS WILL BE FEBRUARY 3-5.

For three days, the most successful agents in Western Canada will be under one roof. Learn. Network. Evolve.It’s where you should be.

For career opportunities, call your local RE/MAX office or visit us at joinremax.ca.

RE/MAX of Western Canada 28th Annual Conference

February 3-5, 2011 – Vancouver, BCVancouver Convention Centre

For Registration and Information go to

www.remax-western.ca/evolution Each office is independently owned and operated.

REM JANUARY 2011 3

Making 2011 your best year ever

There’s no better time to ensure that 2011 is your best

year ever.

Brian Wilson, the broker of record at GlobeCorp Realty in London, Ont., says, “I am expecting that 2011 will pose some unique challenges for mainstream professional Realtors. Faced with challenges of a slower

market, coupled with the revised CREA rules, Realtors will be forced back into working for their business and not just waiting for it to fall in their laps. I will be getting back to the basics of networking and prospecting. I am also continually looking into new technologies to engage potential clients, including Microsoft Tags, texting and social networking, to name but a few. As a broker/owner, I will also be renewing my recruiting drive.”

How will the changes to the MLS rules affect Realtors’ game plans? Anne Ireland, broker at Century 21 Market Realty in Truro, N.S., says, “I believe

the changes reflected with competition law and the access of MLS (means) that Realtors will need to embrace the evolution of our industry and accept private sellers as an opportunity rather than a threat. The Realtors who make gains in 2011 will be the ones who direct their energies into tapping this new market opportunity rather than trying to fight it or continuing to practice real estate using the old model.”

To make 2011 a more successful real estate year than 2010, Uta Marshall of Team Powerhouse Realty in Prince George, B.C., has established a few goals:

“I recently read somewhere that 80 per cent of business comes from following up, so I will be diligently following up on every lead and inquiry that I receive. I have just begun implementing the Exclusive Buyer’s Agency into my business and will continue to do so in 2011 to make sure that buyer leads are serious. To strike a good balance between home and business life (as we all know this business can be all-consuming), I will schedule clients into my calendar around my other appointments, be it business or personal.”

Linda Loftus, broker of Sutton Group Incentive Realty (Squarefoot.ca Team) in Barrie, Ont., shares her plan: “We are and continue to be more than an MLS service provider. We investigate market statistics and governmental roles and how they contribute to development costs/delays/savings. We evaluate the time and space versus cost or savings and what that means to a particular client and then based on our investigations/evaluations, we recommend a series of five choices to a client. The model works well for clients because we look well beyond the immediate real estate requirement. The real estate deal is only 10 per cent

of what we do and it comes at the end of the 90 per cent time invested to get to know the client and their business requirements.”

Shirley Powell, the owner and manager of Let’s Deal Real Estate Ltd. in Moncton, N.B., has been in real estate for 27 years and plans to have her best year ever in 2011.

“Recently I hired a young, smart multi-media tech who will revamp my web presence and deliver better advertising to the

public, reaching a target audience. I will take the time to really pay attention to all the opportunities in marketing being offered to the private sale sellers by unlicensed ‘wanna be’ Realtors because this kind of marketing will become more aggressive in 2011. I am ready for a change in how I will do business and welcome it with open arms. The time is right and it is the consumers and the competitors that lead me to this

approach in doing business the new way.”

Janet Bossert of Re/Max Real Estate in Edmonton sees the bigger picture for 2011. “When the market slows down, rather than panicking or getting down in the dumps, look at the big picture.

Look at real estate history; ups and downs – but in the end, the straight line is UP. Take advantage of the extra time you have. Look at it as a gift you rarely give yourself: time. Use a lull or downward shift in the market to do all the things you were too busy to do before, such as spending real time with your friends and family, reading or viewing inspirational material, catching up with the less exciting aspects of our business (paperwork, checking out new ideas for marketing), and doing whatever you have been neglecting – you know, the things that are always sent to the bottom of your to-do list.”

Will 2011 be more even-keeled? “After a tumultuous 2010, we’re anticipating a more stable marketplace in 2011. Our approach in this more traditional market is actually to maintain the status quo,” says Chris Suffel, sales rep for Re/Max Hallmark Realty in Toronto. “My partner Terra and I plan to continue what our clients say sets us apart – providing exceptional service at every step

in the sales cycle. Real estate is no longer simply a transactional business. In 2011, it’s all about demonstrating value.”

Dan Keeley, a Realtor with Re/Max Little Oak Realty in Abbotsford, B.C., says he’ll have a year of positive changes. “2010 was the first year that I had an unlicensed assistant so learning how to utilize that in my business was a great thing for me. Looking

forward to 2011, I plan to continue to change how I do things so that I am more organized and more effective with my time. I will be bringing another associate or two alongside this year so it will be another year of change, but am totally looking forward to it. You can’t be waiting for the phone to ring like it did in 2006 or 2007, you have to get out there and make it ring.”

Do what it takes to make 2011 your best year ever in real estate. REM

Brokers and sales reps from across the country share their plans and goals for the coming year. By Toby Welch

Brian Wilson

Anne Ireland

Chris and Terra Suffel

Linda Loftus

Janet Bossert

Shirley Powell

Dan Keeley

4 REM JANUARY 2011

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

By Jim Adair

a Capitale Real EstateNetwork has won the con-tract to sell Canada

Mortgage and Housing Corp.(CMHC) residential mortgageforeclosures for all regions ofQuebec, following a call for pro-posals. The contract calls for LaCapitale to market and sell theportfolio of foreclosures of one to50 units. The residential proper-ties are subject to mortgage fore-closure by various financial insti-tutions as part of the CMHC’smortgage loan insurance program.La Capitale Real Estate Networkhas joined with Services immo-biliers Truscan to manage the real

L estate portfolio. The contract is for three years

with two one-year renewaloptions.

Nicolas Ayotte, La Capitale’spresident and CEO says, “Giventhe number of mortgage foreclo-sures in the last few years, therehas been stiff competitionbetween the various agency net-works and certain independentagencies. Obviously the fact thatwe have real estate agencies inevery corner of Quebec played inour favour, as did the sales perfor-mance of our brokers and the visi-bility of our agencies in theirrespective markets.”

■ ■ ■

A new branch of SuttonGroup - Heritage Realty opened in Ajax, Ont. in December. The 10,000-square-foot buildingaccommodates 120 sales reps with

room for an additional 30 people.The team previously worked froman office at a mall in Pickering.

Broker of record RosalindMenary says, “We are occupyingapproximately 7,500 square feetand the plan is to rent the addi-tional space out to someone whowould provide services that arebeneficial to our clients. We havea boardroom where we can meetwith groups of 10 to 12 people anda training facility upstairs that canseat approximately 50 people.Continuing education courses areoffered to our own agents and wewelcome those from other compa-nies to participate as well.”

The brokerage is co-owned byRosalind and her husband RonMenary. “Some of our salespeoplehave been with us since weopened our doors 18 years ago,”says Rosalind.

■ ■ ■

Century 21 Canada recentlycreated a new Marketing andCommunications Department,which will provide communica-tions and marketing support to its7,700 system members.

“Created to help generateimproved competitive analysis,information gathering, proactivecommunication and social mediainitiatives, the department willincrease marketing research,strengthen brand strategy andincrease the level of brand visibili-ty,” says the company in a newsrelease. The new department isheaded by Nadège Parent.

She is joined by Aliza Fung,the new social media and commu-nications co-ordinator, who wasformerly employed by the RealEstate Board of GreaterVancouver. Graphics and webdesigner Darcy Paterson is also anew addition to the department.He is also a part-time designinstructor with the Art Institute ofVancouver.

■ ■ ■

Re/Max Finest Realty Inc. hasopened it doors for business inNapanee, Ont. The office will behome to four full-time Realtors,led by industry veteran and former

Kingston & Area Real EstateAssociation president (2005)Cindy Haggerty. Haggerty plansto expand the sales force to 12within two years.

“Napanee and its surroundingcommunities continue to benefittremendously from the expansionof nearby major centres,” saysHaggerty, broker/owner of Re/MaxFinest Realty. “Affordability is asignificant draw for purchasers,and that’s best illustrated by thefact that nearly half of all salesoccur between $100,000 and$200,000. Average price hoversjust under the $200,000 mark, andbuyers benefit from excellentaccess to the 401, with Kingstonlocated within a short 15-minutecommute.”

While the office is a newcom-er to the marketplace, its goal is to eventually capture 40 per centmarket share in Napanee and surrounding areas, includingLoyalist Townships, Stone MillsTownships and the Town ofDeseronto, Re/Max says.

■ ■ ■

Century 21 Panorama inKnowlton, Que. recentlyannounced that David Barakett

Cindy Haggerty

David Barakett

Stella Price

Chris Brothers Melvin Gee Laverne and Candace Link

An ad for Mike Montague’s TV showThe new offices of Sutton Group – Heritage Realty in Ajax, Ont.

Continued on page 6

THANK YOU CENTURY 21® SUPERHEROES

Thank you to all CENTURY 21® superheroes across the country who have challenged themselves to change lives by taking the DROP ZONE challenge.

They faced their fears and sent a kid to camp!

www.century21.easterseals.ca www.century21.ca www.thedropzone.ca

Chayse, 12Josh, 15with Easter Seals Coordinator

Dawn PlaveticSpencer Chilliak

Jordan, 13

6 REM JANUARY 2011

PublisherHEINO MOLLS

email: [email protected]

General ManagerJOHN COOPER


Director, Sales & MarketingDENNIS ROCK


Brand DesignSANDRA GOODER

EditorJIM ADAIR


Senior EditorKATHY BEVAN


Art DirectorLIZ MACKIN

Graphic DesignSHAWN KELLY

REM complies fully with the Canadian Real Estate Association's Rules for Trademarks (CREA Rule 16.5.3.1)

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. Subscriptions are $40.95 per year (including $1.95 GST), payable by personal cheque. Entirecontents copyright 2010 REM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission fromthe publisher is prohibited. The opinions expressed in REM are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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Cover photo: MARKO SHARK Pr

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Multiple ListingsContinued from page 4

will join its management team asowner. Born and raised in the area,Barakett made the transition toreal estate sales in 2006 after beinga professional builder.

■ ■ ■

Stella Price has moved toRe/Max Sabre Realty Group inPort Coquitlam, B.C. Price wasPrudential Real Estate’s No. 1 pro-ducer in North America in 2007and 2008. Her team of onelicensed agent and a licensed assis-tant, along with 61 listings, camewith her to the Re/Max brokerage.

Price credits her success tofocusing on a specific area. “Don’ttry to be everywhere. Choose asubdivision or neighbourhood youwant to dominate and market likecrazy,” she advises new sales reps.“Start with smaller properties likecondos and work your way up. Ifyou’re new to the business, youhave to sell yourself because youdon’t have listings to work withyet.

“Don’t let people see you sweator tell prospects that you’re new.They won’t work with you.”

■ ■ ■

Claude Gagnon, GastonAllard and Carole Strasbourg,brokers/owners of Royal LePage LaRenaissance in Outaouais, Que.,along with brokerage managerJean-Guy Savoie, have acquiredJean Cadieux Immobilier, a smallindependent real estate brokeragein Gatineau. The acquisition willfurther solidify the company’sstrong position in the Outaouaismarket, says Royal LePage.

■ ■ ■

Simcoe County, Ont. RealtorMike Montague is lending voiceto local real estate in a new week-ly TV show called Eye on RealEstate, hosted on Rogers TV.Montague is with Sutton GroupIncentive Realty, which has officesin Barrie, Innisfil, Orillia and

Alliston. He will be visiting a dif-ferent Simcoe County communityeach week, talking with municipalleaders and people on the streetabout their personal passions, con-cerns and anticipations for theplace they call home. The showgives people an up close look atthe real estate market and the pur-chase and sales process withinsights provided by the peoplewho work within the industry andvarious related products and ser-vices.

In the premier episode airingin January, Montague takes a lookback to Barrie’s humble begin-nings summing up more than twocenturies of population growthhistory and bringing the viewersup to date on what has been one ofCanada’s fastest growing citiesover the past two decades. Hespends some time with Barrie’snew mayor, Jeff Lehman, then dis-cusses the mortgage process andfinancial preparations necessaryfor the first step into home owner-ship. The 30-minute show wrapsup with a “mailbag” question fromviewers, which in this episodesheds some light on the best timesto buy property.

Montague has been a Realtorin the Simcoe County area for 10years. Previously he worked in theresidential and commercial con-struction industry for 18 years.

■ ■ ■

Century 21 Island Realty,which has a main office in CornerBrook, Nfld., recently opened asatellite office in Stephenville,Nfld.

Chris Brothers, owner of thebrokerage, says, “This expansionwill enable us to better serve theareas in Western Newfoundlandand I look forward to the contin-ued growth of our business.”

The office has been servinglocal homebuyers and sellers since2005.

■ ■ ■

Candace and Laverne Linkhave joined the Royal LePage

franchise network in Steinbach,Man. Their company will operateunder the name Royal LePageLink Realty. They say they arelooking forward to “offering aunique and competitive suite ofservices to the residents ofSteinbach.”

■ ■ ■

Melvin Gee recently openedCentury 21 Ferrari Realty inEdmonton. Gee has been aRealtor since 2004. His prior realestate experience came frominvesting in commercial and resi-dential properties.

“Our goal at Century 21Ferrari Realty is to create a hub forreal estate activities and providevalue-added products that set usapart from the competition,” Geesays.

■ ■ ■

Cathy Travis Personal RealEstate Corporation in Victoria is now affiliated with Sotheby’sInternational Realty Canada.Travis’ new office is in downtownVictoria at the ConferenceCentre.

■ ■ ■

Dan Grantham, a sales repwith Sutton Group PreferredRealty in London, Ont., has beennamed to the Board of Directors ofTourism London, a public-privatesector partnership with the City ofLondon that is responsible for thepromotion of leisure travel, con-ventions and sports tourism to thecity. The board is made up of hos-pitality sector officials represent-ing tourism businesses in London,elected by Tourism London mem-bers or appointed by the board.Tourism in London is a $456.8million industry that supports6,170 jobs.

■ ■ ■

Re/Max International hasexpanded by adding theCaribbean country of Dominica tothe organization.

New broker/owners Alistair

and Ann Grell opened Re/MaxMillenia Realty in Roseau,Dominica’s capital city. The newoffice is part of the Millenia Group– an architectural, engineeringand environmental services firmthat has been serving Dominicasince 2004.

“Our office is the only one-stopreal estate and development firmin the country,” Alistair Grell says,adding that Dominica is a growingmarket that’s quickly becoming ahaven for second homes.

Dominica, located in theLesser Antilles between theCaribbean Sea and the NorthAtlantic Ocean, was the last of theCaribbean islands to be colonizedby Europeans. France ceded pos-session of the island to GreatBritain in 1763, which made theisland a colony in 1805. Dominicagained its independence in 1978.

■ ■ ■

Face paint, wild wigs and crazycostumes were part of the fun atthe first annual Sutton SpookyBowl hosted by Sutton Group -Lakefront Realty in Vernon, B.C..Nearly 200 clients, friends andfamily joined broker TamaraCinnamon, her partner Ken Robband the whole Lakefront team forbowling, pizza and snacks atLincoln Lanes. This Halloween-themed, client appreciation event

was so successful that the officehas already booked the venue fornext year.

“It’s hard to imagine a moreeffective, well-received clientappreciation event,” says RealtorBeth Marks. “It is beautifully sim-ple to do and relatively inexpen-sive. Most importantly, it allowedus not just to give something toclients, but to be with our clientsplaying and laughing.”

■ ■ ■

Sotheby’s International Realtynow has an office in Istanbul,Turkey. The firm, owned by EminHitay, will first serve the Istanbulmarket. Hitay’s firm has an exclu-sive 25-year master franchiseagreement with the Sotheby’sInternational Realty brand forTurkey and plans to open addi-tional offices in key markets acrossthat country over the next severalyears.

“Turkey is a critical part of ourgrowth plan as it represents animportant gateway betweenEurope and the Middle East,” saysMichael R. Good, CEO,Sotheby’s International Realty.“Istanbul is a melting pot of cul-tures that continues to expanddramatically, with a population ofmore than 13 million spread overthe European and Asian sides ofthe Bosphorus.” REM

Husband convicted ofkilling Mississauga broker

arry Ryan has been convicted of killing his wife Susan Ryan, awell-known Mississauga real estate broker and past-president ofthe Mississauga Real Estate Board.

Court heard that Ryan shot his wife at close range with a .22 calibrerifle while she was making breakfast on Nov. 9, 2008. Ryan’s lawyer saidhis client admitted he was guilty of manslaughter, but was too drunk toknow what he was doing when he killed his wife. But the Crown saidRyan, a retired Toronto police officer, knew exactly what he was doingwhen he snuck up behind her and fired four bullets at her head. He wassentenced to the mandatory life sentence.

Susan Ryan owned Susan A. Ryan Real Estate in Mississauga andwas active in the community and at the real estate board. REM

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hree high-profile membersof the British Columbiareal estate profession are

the newly elected executive of theCanadian Chapter of theInternational Real EstateFederation (FIABCI), which heldits Annual General Meeting inOakridge, Vancouver recently.

Joining North VancouverRealtor Dean Lapointe as 2011chapter president is WestVancouver’s Calvin Lindberg asvice-president and Ursula Morelfrom Whistler as immediate past-president.

Lapointe is currently theFIABCI president of the Americasand as such serves on the FIABCIinternational directorship. He isalso a director of the VancouverDivision of the Real EstateInstitute of Canada and has servedat numerous levels of organizedreal estate in British Columbia.Lindberg is a past-president ofboth CREA and the GreaterVancouver Real Estate Board.Morel specializes in luxury resortand second home property mar-keting and is a member of theInstitute for Luxury HomeMarketing.

Elected as directors were PeterDagg (Whistler, B.C.), Li Read(Salt Spring Island, B.C.), NoraValdez (West Vancouver), JamieEdwards (Burlington, Ont.),Margaret Liu (Toronto), GinoMatrundola (Richmond Hill,Ont.), Randi Emmott(Woodbridge, Ont.), BettyFitzpatrick (Fredericton) andCarlos Sousa (Toronto).

Lapointe says the chapter has anew dynamic and his leadershipteam will focus on bringing realestate professionals from aroundthe world to B.C. and Canada bymeans of trade missions and hold-ing the Americas Regional RealEstate Congress in 2013.

With its headquarters in Paris,The International Real EstateFederation (IREF) or FédérationInternationale des ProfessionsImmobilièrs (FIABCI) is a world-

T wide network operating in over 60countries, representing 1.5 millionreal estate professionals.

■ ■ ■

Realtors from across Ontarioattended the annual PoliticalAffairs Conference of the OntarioReal Estate Association (OREA)recently.

In meetings with MPPs,Realtors lobbied to allow realestate salespeople to incorporate.This is not currently allowedunder the Real Estate and BusinessBrokers Act (REBBA), 2002.

“Allowing real estate salespeo-ple to incorporate is ultimatelyabout fairness,” says OREA in anews release, stating it “wouldalign their rights with other regu-lated professions, lower taxes onOntario businesses and help mem-bers of the real estate professioncope with the introduction of theHST.

“Allowing personal real estatecorporations will not affect con-sumer protection and has limitedimplications for provincial rev-enue,” says OREA.

Realtors also discussed a pro-posal to create a new propertyassessment class for brownfieldsunder remediation. It says this newassessment class would reduce thefinancial burden of redevelopmenton brownfield property owners byapplying a lower property tax rateto brownfields under remediation.

Conference keynote speakersincluded Tim Hudak, leader of theProgressive Conservative Party ofOntario, Andrea Horwath, leaderof the New Democratic Party ofOntario and John Gerretsen,Minister of Consumer Servicesresponsible for REBBA, 2002.

OREA has about 49,000 mem-bers.

■ ■ ■

Members of the Toronto RealEstate board have donated morethan $178,000 to 35 shelter-relat-ed organizations throughout thecity. The organizations were cele-

brated at TREB’s annualGathering for Giving reception onNov. 29, a date that also markedthe board’s 90th anniversary.

For a number of years, TREBhas committed to supporting theRealtors Care Foundation, whichmakes annual grants to shelter-based organizations throughoutthe province. This year TREBdonated more than $357,000 tothe foundation, $178,000 ofwhich was channelled directlyinto GTA communities.

TREB contributes to a numberof other causes throughout theyear as well, including sponsoringone of 29 Habitat for Humanitytownhomes under construction;providing nutritious breakfasts andsnacks to 28,000 children in 16different schools each month; andan annual scholarship program.

“Ninety years ago a group ofreal estate practitioners cametogether to establish standards inour profession,” says Bill Johnston,

TREB president. “Today, weregard it as our responsibility toexpand on their spirit of co-opera-tion by working together to buildstrong communities in our greatcity.”

TREB currently has more than31,000 members.

■ ■ ■

Basil Pappas, a board memberwith the Association of ReginaRealtors (ARR), recently made aspecial presentation to an out-standing University of ReginaRams player, during the Rams’2010 Awards Ceremony. AdrianCharles was awarded the LesLudwig Memorial Award, as theRams’ most OutstandingOffensive Back for the 2010 sea-son. Charles was the second lead-ing rusher in the CanadianInteruniversity Sport (CIS) regu-lar season, with 972 yards gainedon 139 carries for an average ofseven yards per carry and an aver-

age 122 yards gained per game. “We are very pleased to be able

to sponsor this award. The Ramsplay an important role in our com-munity. It’s exciting to be able tohelp the team honour one of theiroutstanding young players,” saysPappas.

Les Ludwig was an offensiveback with the Rams in the 1970s.In 1975 he set a 170-yard recordfor Most Attempts – Rushing.Sadly his career was cut shortwhen he died in a car accidentduring the off-season in the mid-1970s. The ARR has sponsoredthe Les Ludwig award for morethan 25 years.

■ ■ ■

A new board of directors hasbeen appointed to govern theKitchener-Waterloo Real Estate(KWREB) board and GeorgePatton, a broker with RoyalLePage Wolle Realty, will serve as

Newly elected FIABCI-Canada executive, from left:Dean Lapointe, Ursula Morel, Calvin Lindberg

Among those taking part in the OREA PACwere, from left: Durham RegionAssociation of Realtors president DierdreMullen; Debbie Dawson, chair of theDRAR Political Affairs Committee; WayneArthurs, MPP for Pickering-ScarboroughEast; Ann Briscoe, past DRAR presidentand TREB director; and Cail Maclean,DRAR EO.

At TREB’s Gathering for Giving event, from left: BillJohnston (president); past-presidents Maureen O’Neilland Carl Fox; CEO Don Richardson; and past-presi-dents John Hutton, Dorothy Mason and Tom Lebour.

George Patton ARR director Bail Pappas, Adrian Charles.

The Mississauga Real Estate Board 2011 Board ofDirectors – from left: John Kaunds, Linda Pinizzotto,Jerry England, Allan Todd, Asha Singh, MichaelMills, Walter Hayde (president), David Cobban,(past-president), Nigel Purai, Carmela Kapeleris,Fawzi Mattar (president-elect) and Garry Klassen(vice-president).

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president. A Realtor since 1985 and bro-

ker since 1987, Patton has servedas a KWREB director since 2005.During that time he has chairedthe MLS Services Committee,Education Committee, BylawCommittee and FinanceCommittee.

Joining Patton George as offi-cers of the association are 1st vice-president Sara Hill of Re/MaxTwin City Realty, 2nd vice-presi-dent Dietmar Sommerfeld of CBRichard Ellis, past-president TedScharf of Royal LePage ScharfRealty and EO Bill Duce.

New to the directors this yearis Roy Singh, broker of record withCentury 21 Home Realty.Returning as directors are LynnBebenek of Team Realty K.W.Inc., Horace Coelho of ColdwellBanker Peter Benninger Realty,Karen Shartun, Royal LePageScharf Realty, Brian Spall ofRe/Max Twin City Realty andNeil Strickler of Royal LePageWolle Realty.

■ ■ ■

The Mississauga Real EstateBoard (MREB) held its AnnualElection Meeting and Trade Showrecently, with a new approach tothe event. The trade show was at anew and larger venue, featuring 53exhibitors. The board opened itsElection Meeting to non-mem-bers, and more than 350 peopleattended.

President David Cobban spokeabout expanded communicationsand upgraded marketing strategiesthat have provided increasedboard visibility throughoutMississauga and the GTA.Industry challenges such as theHST and the CREA-Competition Bureau agreementand the commitment to membereducation and consumer aware-ness was a focus in 2010. Finally,the board’s development of newpolicies and procedures regardingnew business partnerships andsponsorships are designed toincrease member services and ben-efits.

President-elect Walter Haydesaid he is looking forward to con-tinuing MREB’s evolutionthrough good leadership and anincrease in member involvementboth in the industry and theboard.

■ ■ ■

The Realtors Association ofHamilton-Burlington’s 2010Annual Charity Auction in sup-port of the CHML/Y108Children’s Fund – Christmas Treeof Hope was held recently. Now inits 35th year, the Christmas Treeof Hope has channelled more than$4 million to children’s causes.

Rachelle Aurini, chair ofRAHB’s Charity Auction TaskForce, says, “We have seen a cou-ple of especially hard years, andthe need in our communities hasgrown accordingly.”

RAHB has been the charity’ssingle largest contributor. Thisyear’s donations for the auctionincluded offerings ranging fromcoffee makers and gift baskets tothe more unusual, including a pin-ball machine and a Victory motor-cycle. There were also trips to LasVegas and Cuba, sports tickets,getaways, electronics, personal ser-vices, dance lessons, a handmadequilt, a gas barbecue and a bicycleup for bids.

■ ■ ■

OREA is throwing its supportbehind a private member’s billthat would establish a marijuanagrow operations and clandestinedrug laboratory registry. Bill 139,Clandestine Drug OperationPrevention Act, 2010, was intro-duced by MPP Lisa MacLeod.

“Grow-ops are a major prob-lem for homebuyers in theprovince and we have been urgingthe Ontario government to estab-lish a registry to protect con-sumers for almost 10 years,” saysDorothy Mason, OREA presi-dent. “We urge the government topass this bill in order to protecthomebuyers.”

Realtors are obligated by law todisclose to potential homebuyers ifa home has been used as a mari-juana grow-operation or a druglab, but OREA says OntarioRealtors are hindered by the lackof a central registry, which is cru-cial to protecting homebuyersfrom the potential health and safe-ty hazards of properties formerlyused to manufacturer clandestinedrugs.

Bill 139 defines a clandestinedrug operation to be an illegaloperation where any substancelisted in the schedules I throughIV in the Controlled Drugs andSubstances Act of Canada can beobtained by any method orprocess. REM

Boards and AssociationsContinued from page 8

12 REM JANUARY 2011

Singer/songwriter/illustrator/radio host Laura Fernandez

admits she is so creatively driven that she’s “almost afraid not to live life to the fullest.”

What she clearly isn’t afraid of is change – she’s re-invented herself more times than Madonna. Her most recent incarnation is as a Realtor. She has been with the same office, Royal LePage Johnston and Daniel division in Toronto, since she started in the business three years ago.

A sales award is in the offing for her this year, which she considers a “huge deal.” It has helped boost her confidence …not that that appears to be a quality Fernandez lacks.

She describes her life as “an adventure” and notes that she makes an effort to say yes to new experiences wherever possible.

Born in Spain, she was seven when she came to Canada and remembers how hard she worked to learn English and to lose her accent. Before long, frustration was replaced with “love of the versatility of English, the economy of words, the wacky pronunciations,” she says.

The experience of trying to fit in to a new culture pointed Fernandez in a direction - actually, several. “I think my desperate need to express myself and to be accepted led me to turn to art, drawing, painting and later music,” she says.

Today she still has a foot in both cultures, as her recently released second solo album, Un Solo Beso, performed entirely in Spanish, attests. Her debut album, The Other Side, was pop/folk and had only one Spanish track.

The catalyst for the transition

to writing and singing in Spanish has been her role as producer and host of Café Latino, a weekly radio showcase of Latin music on Toronto’s JazzFM.91.

“You could say I’ve rediscovered my roots,” she says, adding, “I don’t stick to convention in life, so why should I in music?”

The contacts she’s made through the show haven’t hurt either. To make the new record (which she describes as Latin/jazz/pop), Fernandez says she found a musical soul mate in Juno-award-winning producer Billy Bryans, who many years ago enjoyed Canadian pop fame as a key member of the Parachute Club and is now a leading Latin music promoter and DJ.

“When we met we knew it would be the right combination,” Fernandez says.

Her past included art college, and then a highly successful career as an illustrator, teamed with her then-husband Rick Jacobson. Illustrating children’s books and working on international ads, billboards and magazines, they won heaps of prestigious awards. You’ve seen their work – they illustrated Air Canada’s well-known leaf logo, and the trillium on Ontario drivers’ licenses.

“We had the big house” and all the rest of it, says Fernandez.

But then the illustration industry went digital and the work for traditional painters/artists like her and her husband dried up. Their marriage followed suit, although they remained close.

The upside was that, even with three children, Fernandez had time to concentrate on making it as a musician. Having had quite a bit of training when she was a a teenager, she bought

a piano.

It was “a life-changing experience,” she says. “The flood gates opened and songs poured out. I started performing on open stages and was asked to do an album by musicians I’d met at the Free Times Café (where she hosted an open mic night for five years).”

Released in 2003, The Other Side was themed around the changes she was navigating with the break-up of her marriage. It was well received on the Toronto club circuit and was the key to Fernandez playing such legendary venues as Madison Square Garden, being asked to perform at the New York Independent Music Festival (where she was a winner in the soft rock category), and being the only North American artist at the World Music Festival in Varadero, Cuba, performing in front of 20,000 people.

“There were all these microphones in my face when I came off stage – lots of international press,” she says. “It was like being a rock star.”

But with music there’s always been one major drawback. Says Fernandez, “I loved the immediate feedback of music, the spiritual bond with the audience, creation for the love of it … but I had to make a living and music wasn’t bringing in enough.”

She turned to real estate on the advice of her sister, Montana, then a Realtor in the U.S. Real estate appealed to Fernandez, who has an interest in houses and design thanks to her late, beloved architect father. She thought the challenges of real estate could focus her creative energies and fill a social need that she didn’t get working alone.

And sure enough, “I fell in love with it,” she says.

“My first clients became the people I’d been working with in music. I was finding them homes when I had to sell mine and find a new life, so I knew the stress of moving first-hand.

“The first year was tough. I did a bunch of leases … I was terrified – I was the novice where I used to be (in illustration) the expert.”

She has her sea legs now, and as soon as her sister gets her license here they look forward to working together as a team.

Currently Montana is her assistant.

A full-time Realtor, she still leaves plenty of room for artistic accomplishments, the most recent being the new album. Its name means “a single kiss” in English.

So far the reaction to the album has been great, she says, adding that there’s been a good amount of airplay and “a ton” of downloads.

“I’m working on all my passions simultaneously!” she says. “I’m always working, but none of it feels like work.” REM

Life’s an adventure for multi-tasking Laura FernandezA successful full-time real estate sales rep, an accomplished illustrator, a radio host….Laura Fernandez says she’s always working, but “none of it feels like work”. By Susan Doran

Laura Fernandez. (Photo by Marko Shark)

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hree brokers/owners wererecently recognized byRe/Max Ontario-Atlantic

Canada for their outstanding con-tribution to the Re/Max network.John and Ray Jarvis, Re/MaxNorth Country; David Pearce,Re/Max Rouge River; and TariqKhursheed, Re/Max Legacy, allreceived honours for exponentialgrowth, commitment to technolo-gy and exceptional leadership at aretreat held in late November.

John and Ray Jarvis purchasedRe/Max New Lifestyles andRe/Max Lake Country in theMuskoka region in early 2010. “Injust 11 months, they’ve doubledtheir market share under theRe/Max North Country bannerand are ideally positioned forfuture expansion,” says Re/Max ina news release.

Tariq Khursheed, broker-owner of Re/Max Legacy inMississauga, opened a state-of-the-art office in February 2010 “thathas attracted some of the brightestand best Realtors in the area. Inonly nine months, he’s exceededhis one-year growth target by 20per cent,” says Re/Max.

David Pearce, broker/owner,Re/Max Rouge River inScarborough – a former TREB

president and current director atRECO and TREB – has consis-tently contributed to the advance-ment of the real estate industry,the company says. “His outstand-ing leadership has fostered thecareer development of countlesstop-tier Realtors over the yearsand has established his own com-pany, Re/Max Rouge River –which just celebrated its 25th yearin the business – as a market fron-trunner.”

� � �

Exit Realty Corp.International recognized the bestin North America at its galaAnnual Convention held recentlyin Dallas, Texas. Steve Morris,Exit Realty Founder and CEO,was on hand to present theLeader’s Leader Award to JoyceParon, president of Exit’sCanadian Organization.

“This award is given for leader-ship above and beyond the call ofduty,” said Morris. “Joyce com-mands the absolute respect andappreciation of everyone in ourCanadian Organization. Shebuilds and stabilizes with deliber-ate intention, consistency and per-sonality. She is most definitely aleader’s leader.” REM

David Pearce

Tariq Khursheed

Tami Bonnell, Exit’s U.S. president (left)and Exit Realtyfounder and CEOSteve Morris pre-sent the Leader’sLeader Award toCanadian presidentJoyce Paron.

John and Ray Jarvis

T

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n a recent guest column inREM (November 2010), bro-ker Ari Lahdekorpi wrote in

praise of commission-based com-pensation. The author commentedthat “any flat fee or a la carte type offormula removes some aspect of moti-vation or creative thinking on the partof the agent.”

We are in favour of commis-sion-based compensation models.We disagree that the commissionmust be percentage based. Webelieve the author’s opinion por-trays real estate professionalsunfairly. Most successful agents caremore about bringing about a suc-cessful transaction where everyone

By Mary LaMeres & Lyle Martin

You get what you pay for

I

wins, than the compensation.Successful agents are motivated bymuch more than compensation.

As co-founders of the largest“discount” real estate company inNorth America, we’ve heardnumerous attacks on compensationmodels that challenge the typicalpercentage commission model inuse by most brokerages. None areparticularly convincing and mostare simply untrue. For example:

“You wouldn’t go to a discountdoctor or attorney, would you?”

Really? While we have tremen-dous respect for our fellow realestate professionals, we hardlythink a comparison to professionsthat require years of education,testing and experience is a faircomparison. Let’s face it, this is notbrain surgery! The requirements toobtain a real estate license pale bycomparison.

“You get what you pay for.”Do you? A prospective home

seller calls a local brokerage to seeabout listing their home. Whichagent do they get, and how muchof a commission do they pay? Is it a

top producing agent in the officewho has sold lots of homes, is askilled negotiator, knows the mar-ket and is working with active buy-ers? Or is it the brand new agentwho just passed the exam and hasno experience, no buyers and not aclue on how to value or market ahome? Truth is, it could be eitherone or most likely someone in-between and the commission is thesame regardless of which agentthey end up with. However, whenit comes to the commissioncharged it is usually the same. Dosellers get what they pay for?Maybe, maybe not.

“If you don’t pay a ‘full com-mission,’ agents won’t sell yourhome.”

There is no direct correlationto the amount of commission paidand the results in selling price. Intheir book Freakonomics, authorsLevitt and Dubner conclude thathaving a real estate agent sell yourhome won’t necessarily result in ahigher sale price.

Flat fee versus percentages.Whether a seller pays a flat fee or

percentage fee makes no differ-ence. If we charge a flat fee of$12,000 to sell a $200,000 home, itis the same as charging a six percent fee. How is it that simplycharging a flat rate fee, as theauthor says, “removes some aspectof motivation or creative thinkingon the part of the agent?” Weunderstand the argument thatmaking more money is motivating.We just don’t agree that one needsto make all of it from one seller.We know that by charging a com-petitive low flat fee we attractmore sellers. More sellers, com-bined with effective marketing,skilled caring agents and a well-runbusiness, will result not in lesscompensation, but greater overallcompensation. Our experienceover the past 23 years with hun-dreds of offices throughout NorthAmerica and thousands of homesales is that our agents typically sellmore homes and make moremoney that the average agent. Yesthey work hard and make less persale, but they handle more businessin one year than most agents get to

do over a three-year period. You’veheard the adage “if you want to getsomething done, give it to a busyperson.” Who would you want per-forming your brain surgery? Thedoctor who does it once in awhileor frequently?

We are in favour of commis-sion-based compensation models.We disagree that the commissionmust be percentage-based. It isunfortunate that some real estateprofessionals attempt to discredit“non traditional” brokerages mere-ly because of the lower fees theycharge.

Competition is good! Sellersare entitled to choices. Limitedchoices may have worked forHenry Ford in the early 1900s(“People can have the Model T inany colour – so long as it’s black.”),but that’s not true today. There isroom for other business models inthe real estate industry to helphome buyers and sellers.Consumers will vote with theirpocket books and may the bestsolutions win.

Mary LaMeres and Lyle Martinare the co-founders of the real estate franchise Assist2Sell.www.Assist2Sell.ca REM

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hile systems and tech-niques were crucial tokick starting my real

estate career, it might not havehappened if I had only sold myselfto the public. There was anothergroup much closer to home that Ihad to have on side to make thatclimb a lot easier.

I’m talking about a group of peo-ple with whom it is vital to have agood relationship if you want tosucceed. It’s a group of people whocan make your life a lot easier or alot more difficult. That group isyour fellow real estate agents.

In this business we all competefor the listing, but we all co-operatefor the closing. Once you list ahouse you’re going to need your fel-low agent’s help to sell it. Let’s faceit, we’re in a very tight-knit indus-try and your reputation, good orbad, is out there for everyone to see.That means if agent A has a clientlooking for a house in the pricerange of one you have listed, theycan push their client towards you ortowards another agent with a simi-lar property. Which direction theygo depends on their knowledge ofyou and the other agent – howyou’ve done business with them inthe past, how you’ve treated themand how you’ve dealt with them asa fellow professional will determinehow, and if, they deal with you.

Over the course of my careerI’ve dealt with hundreds of multipleoffers situations for properties I hadlisted. Many times the offers wereidentical. I would make my deci-sion the same way I made every realestate decision, what was in thebest interest of my client. I wouldguide them towards the agent whowould get the deal closed in thefastest time with the least amount

Industrial strength18 REM JANUARY 2011

W

STOP SELLI NGHOUSES & STARTMAKING MONEY

By Debbie Hanlon

of headaches. That meant an agentwho replied promptly to emails,would have the paperwork com-pleted correctly and who had donetheir homework on their clients sono nasty surprises popped up. Inshort, I always chose the agent whowas the most professional. Whowouldn’t?

So, how do you make choosingyou the easy choice? You treat allyour fellow Realtors with therespect, courtesy and professional-ism that you want them to treat youwith. It really is that simple.

Now there are other things Idid that you can do as well that willhelp stack the deck in your favour.Anytime you do business withanother agent, send them a hand-written thank-you note after.Anytime you learn something fromanother agent, be sure to let themknow and thank them.

Whenever they contact you,get back to them immediately. Ifthey’re asking for information youdon’t have, don’t wait until you do,send them a quick reply sayingyou’re on it.

If you show a client a compet-ing Realtor’s listing, let the Realtorknow how that showing went assoon as you can. We all know whatits like to have anxious vendors –they want to know how the show-ing went. Wouldn’t you? Yet manytimes I’d find myself contacting theRealtor time and time again to getan update! Be ahead of the game,inform the listing Realtor immedi-ately. It’s the respectful thing to do.

These are simple, easy courte-sies we can all extend to each other.Most of it has to do with basic com-munications. You should treat theagents you deal with as anotheropportunity to sell yourself and setyourself apart.

Just imagine what an amazingindustry we’d have if we all treatedeach other like the professionals weare. That’s something for which wecan all be agents of change.

Debbie Hanlon is the presidentand founder of Hanlon Realty. She isa three-time top 50 CEO winner andwas named one of the top 100 femaleentrepreneurs in Canada. She is cur-rently an elected city official in St.John’s, Nfld. and is available for moti-vational and training seminars. [email protected]. REM

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METES & BOUNDS

By Marty Douglas

appy New Year! I recent-ly asked our sales team,“What question do you

get asked the most?” They all knewthe answer, as do you. The ques-tion most often asked, by the pub-lic and other sales reps, is “What’sthe market going to do?”

The trouble started when Iasked them, “What was youranswer?” Got some traditionalanswers, some innovative ones,some long silences. The reality is –it doesn’t matter. The market iswhat it is. What matters is – whatare you going to do?

To help you get to a conclu-sion, here are some folks’ thoughts

Market conditions don’t matter

H

on the topic. George BernardShaw in 1893: “People are alwaysblaming their circumstances forwhat they are. I do not believe incircumstance. The people who geton in the world are the people whoget up and go and look for the cir-cumstances they want, and if theycan’t find them, make them.”

Bruce Lee: “Circumstanceshell! I make circumstances.”

Amy Tan: “In America,nobody says you have to keep thecircumstances somebody else gaveyou.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Nochange of circumstances can repaira defect of character.”

Yogi Berra: “If you don’t knowwhere you’re going, you’ll probablyend up there.”

Yoda, The Empire StrikesBack: “Do or do not. There is notry.”

Some attitudes for the new yearstolen, er, gathered from intensiveresearch at the recent NARConference in New Orleans, most-ly from Mike Aubrey, Realtor starof HGTV. (He’s worth a Google,

really!): “No one gets in my caruntil I know they can get money.”

To market fence-sitters, askthis: “How do you feel about infla-tion? Do you think it might go up?Shouldn’t you buy now?”

And to the techno cavedweller client: “Give me yourphone. I’m going to program it so Ican text you daily.” They don’thave a cell phone? Then they’reaging baby boomers – make surethey have money and be patient.

To the buyers who calculateeverything: “Should you buy now?Well, if rates go up two per cent inthe next three years on your$300,000 mortgage, you’ll saveabout $4,000 per year over theterm of your mortgage. Five-yearterm times $4,000, let’s see, that’s –holy crap, that’s a lot of money.And if you locked in for 10 years –well you do the math. And wehaven’t talked about the great dealyou made on the price because ofthe market.”

To the market timers who arerenting: “So let me get thisstraight. You’re going to rent until

the market hits bottom and thenyou’ll buy. How will you know? Doyou think they ring a bell? And letme ask you this – when was the lasttime your rent went down? Buynow and you can lock in your rentfor the next five to 10 years. But –it’s up to you.”

For some Canadian content,former CREA president AllanTennant: “In any market, even aslow one, some numbers of housesare going to sell. Yours could beone of them.”

Of course, in any challengingmarket there are those who refuseto identify the suspect staring backat them from the mirror everymorning and insist that a changeof company or the application ofanything other than elbow greasewill polish the turd that is theircareer. For those so tempted, con-sider this – three of the biggestnames in Victoria real estateescaped the chains of ownership oftheir own real estate brokerage andwith their manager joined one ofthe larger independent firms abouta year ago. They are there still.

As we grow longer in the toothin this business and take more timefor ourselves and families, theattraction of a well-managed bro-kerage is far greater than the lure ofbeing your own boss. The ability to“stick to your knitting” and to relyon a framework of competency isan asset frequently undervaluedand under appreciated.

There’s an appropriate Scottishproverb: “No matter where you go,there you are.”

See you in Banff at the end ofJanuary for the best little confer-ence in North America. Have alook at www.banffwesternconnec-tion.com

You can follow Marty Douglas onTwitter 40yrsrealestate or onLinkedIn and on Facebook. He is amanaging broker for Coast RealtyGroup (Comox Valley) Ltd., withoffices on Vancouver Island and theSunshine Coast of B.C. He’s a cur-rent director of the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. [email protected]; 1-800-715-3999.

REM

22 REM JANUARY 2011

“I was able to see what I wantedto do. I could see the opportunity evenwhen others could not, and I stayedcommitted to doing it and doing it well,no matter what.”

– Magic Johnson,

ate last month, after goingthrough the car wash, Ientered the 407 toll road

that I sometimes take to the officewhen in a hurry. A fraction of aminute later, I hear a thud.Looking around quickly, I discov-ered my right-hand rear-view mir-ror was missing. Perhaps the brush-es at the wash were misaligned andjarred it loose.

You know how hard it is to passanother car without a right-handmirror? Let me tell you, in case youhave never lost one. It is a crazyfeeling. It is one of extreme anxietywhen you cannot view the vehiclein the lane you just passed, or whatis coming up from behind you onthat side.

How long, I wonder, have theright-hand mirrors been around?Asking at the office, nobody couldtell me and for the life of me, Icould not remember ever drivingwithout one. And I have been dri-ving since I was 16!

During the few days that I wasinconvenienced, I started to thinkabout what was in our “rear viewmirrors”. My thinking evolved tothis: what did we do this past year?Are we about to repeat the samethis year? Can we improve on whatwe did? Would we be able to say, Igave back to my community? Did Ihelp my fellow colleague in a timeof need? Did I devote myself to my

AS I SEE IT FROM MY DESK

By Stan Albert

I see the possibilities

L

family when they needed me most?These are all tangible and valid

questions that only you, my dearreaders can answer.

When we come to the end ofthe year, are you able to see in yourpersonal “rear-view mirror” and seesome possibilities for 2011?

Are you going to make thatextra effort to ensure you completeeach and every detail so that yourclient and your brokerage are wellserved?

By making just a little extraeffort to achieve your goals/businessplan, will you make a difference inyour life and your lifestyle? Or areyou just going to look in that rear-view mirror next year and say, “Iwish I did, I wish I could have”. Orwill you make a difference in some-one’s life by doing a better job?

Take a moment in this monthto reflect, to review and to thinkabout the many wonderful oppor-tunities available to help you tosucceed.

Our business has indeedevolved from the stereotypicalvision of the back slapping and“pushy” salesperson that we wereperceived to be in the past.

Today, the modern and up-to-the-minute agent has all the toolsnecessary to be on top of the latesttechnology at hand. The agent ofthe future will be better equippedand more skilled as more and morebrokerages segue into providing theeducation and teaching of skillsthat are necessary to compete inthe changing world. Those who donot choose to be up-to-date willnot be as successful as those whodo.

I leave you with this quote fromone of the best trainers in theindustry: “A clear vision, backed bydefinite plans, gives you a tremendousfeeling of confidence and personalpower” – Brian Tracey.

May I wish you and your fami-lies the very best of 2011 and maythe coming year bring you onlygood health, happiness and pros-perity.

Stan Albert, broker/manager,ABR, ASA at Re/Max Premier inVaughan, Ont. can be reached forconsultation at [email protected] is now celebrating 40 years as anactive real estate professional. REM

Visit www.royallepage.ca/careers to hear more from our team on Why Royal LePage?

HistoryOur founder, A.E. LePage, was a pioneer whose innovation and belief in

customer service helped transform the real estate industry. With a commitment

to these same core values for nearly a century, Royal LePage has grown to

become one the strongest and most trusted brands in Canadian real estate.

Brand ValuesRoyal LePage’s brand values are best expressed in our company motto:

Helping you is what we do. Our suite of innovative marketing programs

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your clients and grow your business.

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26 REM JANUARY 2011

n 1997, Mike Ryan saw a sign.Literally.

Standing in the lobby ofan old Holiday Inn in GrandCayman, he thought the propertywas perfect for development.Sadly, it was too small for the pro-ject he had in mind. Then helooked up. A sign said the 130-acresite across the street was for sale.

He contacted the planningdepartment and although it tookalmost 10 years to overcome vari-ous obstacles to build, TheResidences at The Ritz-Carlton,Grand Cayman opened in late2005. Four phases of the develop-ment are now complete, but thereare a dozen more to come beforeDragon Bay, a 360-acre sea-to-searesidential and resort community,is complete.

The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman spans 144acres from Seven Mile Beach tothe North Sound on one of theCaribbean’s most prosperousislands. The $600-million resorthas 365 guest rooms and suites, aspa, five restaurants and theisland’s largest ballroom. TheResidences, along with privatelyowned vacation houses, TheDeckHouses, and a waterfrontcommunity dubbed SecretHarbour, are anchored by the hoteland together form the foundationof Dragon Bay.

“Canadians have long been acrucial part of the market, ahead ofthe Americans,” says developerRyan. “There are two direct flights,the island is welcoming and safe –the safest in the Caribbean – andwith (a variety of nationalities) it’sdiverse.”

Along with those features,The Ritz brand and the provensuccess of the four existing phasesmakes buying here a great oppor-tunity and because there are somany phases yet to come, buyingnow is a great chance to “get in onthe ground floor,” Ryan says. “Wehave a long-standing referral pro-gram for Realtors. It’s easy to reg-ister, easy to get here and easy toget paid.”

Realtors receive a two-

Canadian developer makes good in Grand Cayman Realtors are invited to get clients in on the ground floor of the development By Connie Adair

per-cent referral fee.Clients will enjoy the resort’s

Endless Service program, whichincludes a fleet of luxury automo-biles and 36-foot motor yachtsavailable for use when people arein residence. A restaurant by chefEric Ripert of New York restaurantLe Bernardin; a tennis centre bycoach Nick Bollettieri; anAmbassadors of the Environmentfamily program by Jean-MichelCousteau; and a Greg Norman-designed nine-hole golf course areamong the highlights.

Ryan’s inspirations for DragonBay are culled from a collection ofexperiences and places he has vis-ited. He was born in Hamilton,Ont. While other kids were relax-ing, 14-year-old Ryan had his ownconstruction business in theGeorgian Bay area. He hired otherteens to paint houses and do minorrepairs. At 17, he left Canada and

headed to Europe. “Hamilton wasa great place to grow up in the ’60sand ’70s. It was safe and enough ofa city with culture, but the oppor-tunity was not there. I was keen togo out and see the world,” he says.

He took a flight to Amsterdam– the destination with the cheap-est ticket offered by CP Air thatday – and worked as a chamber-maid. There, his 6’ 2” stature camein handy. “I could stand on oneside of the bed and make bothsides,” he says. His hard work soonmade an impression on the owner,and the then-bearded but under-aged Ryan, looking older than hisyears, was soon running the barand raking in more money than

the establishment had madebefore.

“Instead of sitting around, I liketo build something, make moneyand meet people. I like creatingand making things happen,” saysRyan, who studied medieval litera-ture and philosophy at McGillUniversity and had a big hand inorganizing concerts there.

Along the way, Ryan haschalked up experience – as a pilot,an entrepreneur, a sailor and asecurities broker, as well as a sea-soned traveller.

He was later drawn back intoconstruction and development. “Iwould see an empty field and(want to) make something of it,”he says.

He developed a 588-acre siteon Cicique del Mar peninsula andplanned two major resorts and pri-vate homes. The project ran intofinancial trouble, but as luck would

have it, that’s when The Ritz-Carlton approached him to createa project that would bear theirbrand name.

Ryan had worked as a generalmanager with Mont Ste. Anne inQuebec. The 256-room hotel has100 chalets and extensive ski andgolf facilities. It was then that herealized the potential of developingprivate residential communities ofsecond and vacation homes alongwith a full-service luxury resort.

Travels to Venice, Singapore,the Greek Islands and Parry Soundin Muskoka, where he says it wasinteresting to see how people trav-el by water, were inspirations forthe design of the DeckHouses.

Reminiscent of the canal archi-tecture of Venice, TheDeckHouses offer seamless outdoorand indoor living, oriented to thewater and in most cases access toboating. Homes consist of 19 five-bedroom, five-bathroom single-family homes with wrap-arounddecking and an infinity pool. Eachhome is on a private island. TheDeckHouses, priced from $4.4-mil-lion, are in the heart of the resortand are connected by waterways.

Secret Harbour homes,

inspired by European marina vil-lages, start in the $1-million range.The 125 one to four-bedroom resi-dences are also surrounded bywater.

The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton offers 69 oceanfronthomes.

Cayman Island, a British over-seas territory, is a one-hour flightsouthwest of Florida. There is nolegal restriction on ownership ofreal estate by foreigners. GrandCayman has no sales tax, noincome tax, no capital gains, noproperty tax and no inheritancetax. Local banks will generally lendbetween about 50 and 75 per centof the property value to non-Caymanians, says a company newsrelease.

For more information aboutDragon Bay, visit www.drag-onbayrealty.com. A portal allowsRealtors to find additional infor-mation and incentives to sellDeckHouses and other residentialofferings at The Ritz-Carlton.

REM

Mike Ryan

The DeckHouses

The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton

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“WHY DIDN’TI DO THIS

5 YEARS AGO?”

28 REM JANUARY 2011

he weather outside mightbe frightful but even morefearsome are the meters

doing their fast-forward spin onwinter energy costs.

As a real estate professional, itbehoves you to serve your clientswell by knowing about the envi-ronmental shape of that propertyyou’re showing. The averagehouse consumes about $2,000 peryear in energy costs. Help yourclients define what they’ll need tospend to make their purchase ahappy, efficient and affordableone.

So let’s start our tour on how togreen your home:

Basement or utility room: Ifthe furnace is more than 15 yearsold, consider replacing it. Newermodels are 90 per cent or moreefficient compared to older ones,which may be as low as 60 per centor less. Turn down the heat onyour water temperature and besure to maintain your heating andcooling systems. Make sure waterlines are insulated.

Kitchen: Electrical appliancesuse a whopping 30 per cent ofenergy in a typical home withrefrigeration taking up about eightper cent of that. New appliancesare up to three times more effi-cient than their older counter-parts. Be sure to unplug secondaryfridges and freezers and only runthe dishwasher when it’s full.

Family room: Because heatingand cooling represent about 45 percent of total energy costs, use aprogrammable thermostat so youcan set it cooler in winter andwarmer in summer. Be sure toclose the damper on your fireplace

Help clients saveby going greenGREEN REAL ESTATE

By Elden Freeman

and unplug electronics whenthey’re not in use.

Bedroom: Bedrooms use upto about 11 per cent of a home’slighting consumption. Replaceincandescent lights with compactfluorescent lights.

Bathroom: The most obviousway to save energy in the bath-room is to use less water, espe-cially hot water. Showers andbaths use over 50 per cent of ahouse’s water consumption whiletoilets use 20 to 30 per cent.Install low-flow toilets, faucetsand showerheads. Take shorter,cooler showers.

Roof: Up to one-third of theheat produced in a house is lostthrough the roof, walls and ceiling.Add insulation to hike R-values to32 or more. Use ceiling fans to staycool in summer and install a solarhot water system.

Windows and doors: Whilehighly efficient, new windows anddoors aren’t always affordable. Asan alternative, caulk and weatherstrip leaky windows and doors.Consider adding low-e glazing tostorm windows.

Landscaping: Smaller lawnsmean less maintenance and lesswatering. To reduce the effects ofharsh winter winds, plant a wind-break along the windward side ofthe house. Deciduous trees plant-ed along the south side help withcooling.

Being in a position to take theenergy pulse of a property will putyou ahead of your colleagues.Clients will appreciate your exper-tise and you’ll take pride knowingthat you’ve done the right thingfor our environment by taking thehigh road.

For more information abouthow to help your clients greentheir homes, visit www.nagab.org.

Elden Freeman B.A., M.E.S,broker is the founder and executivedirector of the non-profit NationalAssociation of Green Agents andBrokers (NAGAB). Freemanbelieves that Realtors across Canadacan play an important role in educat-ing their clients on increasing energyefficiency and reducing greenhousegas emissions. (416) 536-7325;[email protected] REM

T

REM JANUARY 2011 29

town sold a piece of landunder a tax sale. As itturned out, the land

allegedly was formerly used as alandfill site and was unsuitable forresidential development. This wasnot disclosed by the town.

However, when the developerwho purchased the land took legalaction, the action was dismissedinter alia on its merits. The act gov-erning municipal tax sales statesthat the municipality makes norepresentations on title or anyother matters relating to the landto be sold.

The court also found that theplaintiff was a knowledgeable landdeveloper and could have madeinvestigations of the suitability ofthe land.

■ ■ ■

I have always been a propo-nent of having insurance, whetherit’s E & O as a professional, gener-al liability for home, or office orbusiness insurance. In a differentvein, consider automobile insur-ance and the following scenario:

A woman walked out of a storeand hit her head on a pole pro-truding from a parked truck(parked the wrong way in front ofthe store). This resulted in a seri-ous head injury. The truck’s ownercould not be identified, so thewoman (owner of a motor vehiclepolicy) sued her own insurancecompany for injuries sustainedwhen struck or hit by an unidenti-fied vehicle.

The Appeal Court allowed thecoverage, even though the truckwas stopped when the injuredwoman was struck by the pole pro-truding from it.

■ ■ ■

In an Alberta case, the pur-chaser agreed to buy some land,intending to construct industrial

LEGAL ISSUES

By Donald H. Lapowich

Morerecent rulingscondominiums. In the agreement,the purchaser agreed to undertakethe expense of access.

Subsequently, the vendor uni-laterally demanded that the pur-chaser guarantee payment of thecosts of access and prepay certainexpenses.

The purchaser refused and thevendor treated the contract as if it

were at an end. The purchasersued for specific performance.

The vendor attempted to use asummary count procedure to dis-miss the purchaser’s action for spe-cific performance on the basis thatthe property was not unique. Thiswas refused. The court ruled thepurchaser had an “arguable” casesince the property was close to thepurchaser’s location and the pur-chaser had spent some moneydesigning buildings for the specificproperty elevation. The vendorhad also represented to the pur-chaser that this property was the“best available”.

Donald Lapowich, Q.C. is apartner at the law firm of Koskie,Minsky in Toronto, where he prac-tices civil litigation, with a particularemphasis on real estate litigation andmediation, acting for builders, realestate agents and lawyers. REM

A

The courtfound that theplaintiff was aknowledgeableland developer

and could have made

investigationsof the

suitability ofthe land.

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Royal LePage Stateunveils newmobile service

Royal LePage State Realty inStoney Creek, Ont. recentlyunveiled a new service that willallow homebuyers to find informa-tion about real estate listings intheir area using their mobiledevices. Known as MobileKeyword, people with smartphones can text the word “state” to65656 and can instantly view thebrokerage listings in their area.

The technology is made avail-able by Lone Wolf Real EstateTechnologies of Cambridge, Ont.Based on the location of the per-son making the text, MobileKeyword, using GPS technology,zeroes in on where the person is

Real EstateTechnologyReal EstateTechnology

and sends them information abouthomes available in that specificgeographic area. Homebuyers canthen view information about a par-ticular property, including imagesand property details.

“We’ve always understood thattechnology plays an important rolein getting the word out about ourofferings,” says Joe Ferrante, brokerof record of Royal LePage StateRealty.

The technology allows home-buyers to keep track of all of theproperties that they are interestedin as they navigate the market.The homebuyer can request ashowing right from their phone.

“Buying a home requires a lotof information on the part of thehomebuyer, and this technologywill provide up-to-the-minuteinformation that will help themmake an informed decision,” saysFerrante.

Century 21 supportsAgent SOS Link safety software

Century 21 Canada is encour-aging all real estate professionals touse Agent SOS Link to improvethe level of safety for all in the

Joe Ferrante, broker of record withRoyal LePage State Realty, demon-strates the company’s new technol-ogy that allows homebuyers to findinformation about homes in theirgeographic area.

f you own a small business, youneed insurance. But how muchand what kind?

“Insurance can be one strategyto manage your risk,” says char-tered accountant Vic Skot, princi-pal, Benefit Partners Inc. in Barrie,Ont. “It can give the businessowner and the corporation ways tomanage and mitigate their risksthat are both tax and cost effec-tive.”

Life insurance is important,whether you are a sole owner orhave a business partner. “If a soleowner dies, life insurance can helpthe business continue and/or liqui-date in an orderly manner,” saysSkot. “If you have a partner andone of you dies, insurance can pro-vide the cash the surviving partnerneeds to acquire the shares of the

business and keep it running.”If you become ill or have an

accident, disability insurance canprotect your income stream whileyou are unable to work. “A subsetof disability insurance is critical ill-ness insurance,” says Skot. “It canprovide the cash you might need toseek treatment to restore yourhealth without having to tap intopersonal savings.”

Be sure to insure your property,inventory and equipment againstsuch risks as fire and theft. “Youneed insurance to protect you frombusiness interruption and employ-ee dishonesty,” says charteredaccountant Eric Walker, a partnerwith Cookson Walker LLP inToronto. “You can customize yourcoverage to the size and nature ofyour business.”

Liability insurance is alsomandatory. “Accidents on yourproperty may injure your staff orothers,” says Walker. “Manyowner-operators don’t realizethat court settlements for someinjuries can run up to $10 mil-lion. Talk to your insurance bro-ker about having enough liabilityinsurance to cover the worst-casescenario.”

Most small business ownersprovide group insurance benefits totheir employees, which mayinclude life, accidental death ordismemberment, extended health,dental, long-term disability and/orcritical illness insurance.

“For key employees, you maywant to provide additional disabili-ty or critical illness insurancebecause you want to get these keyindividuals back to work quickly orbecause you need to immediatelyhire someone to replace them if

they cannot return,” says Skot.“Banks often require key personcoverage so that their loans to abusiness are well protected and willbe paid back if something happensto the business’s key person.”

Talk to your CA about yourinsurance needs. “Your CA canhelp determine how much cover-age you should have for yourinventory, property and equipmentby advising your insurance brokeron their value,” says Walker.

Adds Skot: “There are manydifferent insurance products avail-able and it can be very difficult fora layperson to determine what isnecessary versus what is marketing.Your CA can help assess your risk,analyze the options and identifythe right solution for you.”

This article was written by theInstitute of Chartered Accountants ofOntario. REM

industry. The new safety applica-tion software runs on most smartphones as an alerting system incase of emergency. It also allowsreal estate professionals to notifycoworkers about properties thatmay be unfit to view (due to van-dalism or other property damage),and capture images of wrongdoingsin their communities.

“Century 21 Canada agents arelocal experts and are in a greatposition to spot suspicious

activity,” says Century 21Canada’s president Don Lawby.“SOS Link is another tool that willhelp real estate professionals stayconnected and safe while helpingconsumers buy and sell theirhomes.”

It is available for iPhone (3G,3GS, or 4G), Blackberry, Androidand soon other smart phones.

To activate, an agent pressesthe “start” button and the smartphone will begin taking photoswhile simultaneously emailingthem to pre-registered helpers,along with information such astime, date and a current GPS loca-tion displayed on a map.

For more information, visitwww.soslink.com. REM

Personal Finances

Small business– big insurance

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f you specialize in condo andtownhouse sales, your life justgot a whole lot easier.

Brokers and agents know thatthe documents required in acondo or townhouse sale canstack up and be time consumingto manage. This documentation,referred to by such names as statuscertificates, strata documents orestoppel certificates (dependingon what part of the country you’rein), details the financial health ofthe building and can include theoperating budget, financial state-ments, reserve fund studies, main-tenance fees, insurance documen-tation, declarations and bylaws(such as whether dogs or satellitedishes are allowed), assessments,engineering reports, site surveysand more.

Using traditional methods,sales reps needing to obtain suchdocumentation have to contactthe condo management company

Condo documents go electronicDealing with status certificates, strata documents or estoppel certificates (depending on what part of the country you’re in) is now a whole lot easier By Susan Doran

and then either drive to the site orsend a courier to pick up the paper-work – often hundreds of pagesworth. Frequently, additionalcopies for buyers and lawyers mustbe made as well.

“The industry was paper heavyand very manual processed,” saysDarryl Deen, president of D-TechConsulting in Toronto. “We saw itas an opportunity to provide prop-erty managers and Realtors withefficiency across the board.”

A select few other forwardthinkers across the country alsonoted that the time was ripe forchange, with the result that hereand there, fully electronic condocertificate delivery systems havebecome available. D-TechConsulting’s Conduit system wasamong the first, having beenlaunched a couple of years ago.

There still aren’t many compa-nies offering similar systems. But asa rule, where they’re available,

such systems tend to be free toproperty management companies,while sales reps pay a small ‘conve-nience/administration’ fee per cer-tificate on top of standard charges.To use Conduit, for example, salesreps in the Greater Toronto Areapay an additional $25 per certifi-cate.

Deen tells sales reps that it’sprobably cheaper in the long runthan using the old method of send-ing a courier or taking time out ofyour day to drive to the manage-ment office. And it’s certainlymore convenient.

“We’ve taken a seven- or eight-step process that might take days,down to minutes…Now you canreceive the certificates electroni-cally without leaving your desk,”says Deen. “That impacts not justthe industry but the environ-ment…”

He says that “close to 50 percent” of condo management com-

panies in the GTA have signed upto be on board with his firm’s elec-tronic system, and the number isgrowing monthly.

“It makes things much easierfor them too,” he says. For starters,there’s immediate savings in paper,printing and storage costs. Andthere’s no further need “to dealwith cheques, deciphering hand-writing, or people coming in thedoor,” since electronic transactionsare paid for online by credit card.

“Real estate agents are becom-ing our unpaid sales force,” Deensays. “Once they use the system wefind they’re pushing the manage-ment companies to come onboard.”

Nevertheless, says StevenMartin of Re/Max Ocean PacificRealty in Courtenay, B.C., “it’s aparadigm shift for condo manage-ment and there are those who arestill reluctant to change theirdecades-old ways of operating.

Some of them are very old school.They haven’t been forced tobecome tech savvy the wayRealtors have.”

Martin, who a few monthsback launched the siteStrataDocsNow.com to offer“access to a fast and secure” docu-ment delivery system, expects a sixto 12 month acceptance curve.

“The site is robust to handlevery large volume. Our mandate isto make sure it’s expandable,” hesays.

He also points out that “withour site, when a Realtor has acondo listed for, say, 10 months,the minute the strata uploads newdocuments the Realtor is notified.So they are on top of any newinformation the whole time theyhave the listing.”

Another advantage of the newelectronic systems is that they pro-vide Realtors with the assurancethat all certificates will be deliv-ered before deadline. And everydocument is saved onsite, ready tobe retrieved if you misplace itand/or need it for future reference.

It’s definitely another wave ofthe future. Realtors (and propertymanagers) may be well advised tojump in. REM

I

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Joan W. Donaldson is credited with saying “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going!”

Christine Rae, President of CSP Internationalheard this phrase back in the 80’s when shestarted her corporate career and has beenmotivated by the message throughout herworking career.

Rae, the highly regarded pioneer of stagingtraining standards and best practices for stagers in Canada, the USA and countries around the world, recently stated “after adecade of changing the way real estate is sold, the real estate staging industry tooka giant leap forward today. CSPInternational Training Academy is changingthe way stagers will be measured in thefuture by opening up our quality training and education opportunities to all stagers industry wide and o�ering them an opportunity to achieve a higher degree of education and level of recognition for years of experience in the �eld”.

“The quali�cation di�erential for the “International Master” designation isthe recognition of experience”. CSP is mirroring real estate professionals acrossNorth America who must provepro�ciency in their �eld as part of theirrelicensing process. Rae is a �rm believer that staging is part of the realestate industry, not the decorating industry; she acknowledges it is anon- regulated industry, withoutlicensing or standardized requirements. Which is why “Our core mission for CSP International has from the onset, is one of setting standards, self-regulation and instituting mandatory, standardized testing and competency requirements toensure the consumer a baseline value andmethod of measurement.”

T. Fisher, real estate agent of 33 years recently said “A measurement of success in

any industry is how well it serves the consumer. Consumers want a measurementof pro�ciency and commitment, CSPInternational gives the practitioner that and more”

This is accomplished with a completeprogram of foundation training, skill set and competency training, support, mentoring, specialization and continuing education. CSP International has modeled their training and programs to help theirgraduates’ businesses succeed, not to just train, send them on their way and leave them to their own devices. CSPInternational sets standards and leads the�eld in education development to inspire the practitioner and protect consumers. “The staging industry is more competitivethan ever and more confusing for potential students. Stagers with little or no businessor teaching experience start staging trainingprograms of their own, luring potential students with low rates; the adage” when you buy cheap price you sacri�ce value” springs to mind. The only one who gains with cheap training is the company providing it. Undoubtedly, the di�erencefor the student is signi�cant. But how does a novice know this at the onset? They don’tknow what they don’t know and unfortunately Caveat Emptor is in e�ect! By extensive research and exploration of CSP International, its comprehensivebusiness training programs, mentoring, specialties, continuing education andsupport, there is nothing to compare it toin the marketplace.

Many attempts have been made to replicate the CSP program but it will never be duplicated. There is absolutely nothing thatcan compare to the CSP experience. Elizabeth Buetow recently stated on Linked In “ I personally �nd recognition of quality andprofessionalism among REA's when I say I am CSP certi�ed”

CSP International Business AcademyGets Tough on Stagers by Taking the Industry to a Whole New Level

“We want the consumer to have more con�dence in professionalwork standards for this industry and move beyond “caveat emptor”. Rae believes this step will cement the acceptance of theprofession within the real estate community.

Earning the International Master Designation requires a prerequisiteof 2yrs work experience, completion of an application process including a portfolio of work, client testimonials/references in addition to 28 Continuing Education Credits awarded through the CSP International Business Training Academy. Non CSP stagers willneed to achieve a passing grade of 75% or higher in an equivalency exam.

“With the growing number of professionals in the staging industry, it is more crucial than ever to set high standards, encourage lifetimeand specialized industry learning” says Christine Rae, President of CSP International Business Training Academy. “We opened the program to all stagers, regardless of their initial staging training to enable everyone to achieve higher standards. The public will demand it eventually; our business mantra is to “be where the puckis going, not where it has been”. If a stager meets the requirements,passes the equivalency test, then CSP International will be honored to award a quali�ed professional stager the designation plus access to the resources, advantages and the support CSP o�ers its existing members.” All CSP International Master Graduates will be eligible for the Marketing Advantage Program including the unique Staging Standard Magazine. CSP believes certi�cation and designationsto the consumer are an important proof of skill. For a complete listof CSP Continuing Education Courses email [email protected]

Certi�ed Staging Professionals is the global leader for stagingtraining with o�ces in Canada, USA and Australia. Founded by internationally acclaimed, staging expert and author, Christine Rae. Starting as a training program and expanding to a school, The CSP International Academy delivers comprehensive training programs for staging, decorating, EcoStaging and green build science as well as business and marketing. It provides unparalleled after-trainingsupport to real estate professionals, stagers, professional organizers,decorators and entrepreneurs.

“Opening the gates to higher sindustry tandards”

“Opening the Gates to Higher Industry Standards”

eal estate investors lookingfor a “recession resistant”business were wooed in

Toronto recently by a group ofhotel executives representing fourHilton brands.

The focus was primarily onbrands that specialize in extendedstay (five consecutive days ormore) bookings. “Extended stayreally is recession resistant andoffers great value to both to ourcustomers and our investors,” saysDawn Koenig, vice-president,hotel performance and support forHomewood Suites and a newbrand, Home2 Suites by Hilton.

In Canada, Homewood Suiteshas nine hotels and three more inthe pipeline. It has seen occupancyrise by 9.2 per cent during the lastyear, and REVpar (revenue peravailable room) go up by 19.6 percent. The newest HomewoodSuites property in Canada (fea-tured in REM in October) is part ofa dual brand strategy. It shares itsToronto property with a HamptonInn. Each brand has its own towerof rooms and a lobby, but they

34 REM JANUARY 2011

R

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.

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Hilton hotel brands woo investors By Jim Adair

share conference rooms, businessand fitness centres and a swimmingpool.

The new brand, Home2 Suitesby Hilton, is about to open its firstproperty in Fayetteville, N.C.Koenig says it’s a mid-tier extendedstay hotel that will host 70 per centbusiness travellers and 30 per centleisure guests. Among the groupsthe brand is targeting are consul-tants, trainers, governmentemployees, people who are relocat-ing and auditors. A second groupwould include those in the enter-tainment business (for example,those with theatrical groups in lim-ited-run shows or people in townto make a movie) and airlineemployees.

Suites will have living and bed-room space separated by a curtain.Along one side of the suite will bea “working wall” that incorporateskitchen facilities and a flexibleworking and media space. Thehotels will feature “the Oasis”, acommunity space that providescasual meeting space as well asindividual work tables. It also

includes the serving area for a com-plimentary continental breakfastthat will feature some hot items.

Rates at Home2 Suites will beabout $30 per night less thanHomewood Suites. The buy-in forinvestors is also less. Under twoacres of land are required for aHome2 Suites site, and the cost isabout $75,000 per key excludingland costs, says Koenig. AHomewood Suites developmentrequires three to four acres andranges from $86,000 to $126,000per key.

Another brand on theinvestor’s tour was Embassy Suites.Shawn McAteer, vice-president,brand performance support, saysEmbassy Suites offers “upper-upscale” accommodations. “Wedefine and dominate our own mar-ket category,” says McAteer.“Embassy Suites represents about70 per cent of the supply of roomsin this category.”

However, the brand has onlytwo properties in Canada so it haslots of room for expansion. ItsNiagara Falls, Ont. hotel is the

largest in the2 0 7 - p r o p e r t ychain, and capa-ble of hosting upto 2,000 guests ata time. The otherEmbassy Suites isin Montreal in aconverted condo-minium building.

All of thehotels in thechain include anatrium as a luxu-rious signaturestatement, but the company foundthat having that element as a cen-tral component made expansionand retrofitting existing spacemore difficult. It adopted a newdesign that moved the atrium tothe entrance, which allows newhotels to be built on three acresand cut construction costs by$10,000 to $15,000 per key. Thecost to investors is now in the$115,000 to $125,000 range.

McAteer says Embassy Suiteshopes to have “12 to 15 propertiesapproved and under construction

within five to seven years” inCanada.

The largest chain representedon the investors tour and the onlynon-extended stay hotel wasHampton Inn. Scott Schrank,vice-president, brand performancesupport, says the chain has morethan 1,700 locations around theworld, with 34 in Canada and ninemore to be completed by 2012.

Schrank says 77 per cent of allnew properties are developed byexisting franchisees. “Their loyaltyis as important as the loyalty of ourguests,” says Schrank. REM

The studio layout for the new Home2 Suites by Hilton.

REM JANUARY 2011 35

By Ian Grace

Top 10 tips forwriting greatadsTip No. 4 - Put people in your photos

s we established in my lastcolumn, photos and head-lines should work together.

Choosing a photo that is not thefront of the house as the main pho-tograph in your ad, is a paradigmshift for most Realtors, as theindustry has been doing the sameold thing, for so long.

However, once we make thatbold step, then we can take pho-tographs that will complement andwork with the headlines and theresults can be quite amazing – veryoften, just like clicking on a lightswitch, from bad, dull, boring adsto great ads that instantly producefabulous results for your sellers.

So now we take the next boldstep by putting people and/or petsin your photos – it’s a great way toshow people what they will be ableto DO when they live there.

When I sold my home, my adincluded a photo of my wife and Ienjoying our hot tub. That made iteasy for the prospective buyer toproject themselves into that pic-ture, visualizing themselves relax-ing after a hard day.

When the buyer (who lived atwo-hour plane flight away)phoned me on the fourth day ofour advertising campaign, he onlyhad two questions for me – “Doyou get any noise from the high-

Realtor couldn’t sell the home for$259,000. With a very different adcampaign, John had the propertysold in just a few weeks, for a stag-gering $289,000 – $30,000 morethan the previous Realtor couldn’tsell it for. How is that for results?

The headline on the mainphoto was Ron and Janet recall themany family barbecues and get-togethers enjoyed on this patio.

The photo? I’m sure you’veguessed it – a photo of a smilingRon and Janet on their patio, nextto the barbecue. Imagine how thatad stood out among all the otherusual boring real estate ads show-ing nothing but fronts of houses.

Photos like these give life tothe properties for sale and theprospective buyers can match it tothe picture they already have intheir own minds, of what it will belike to live in their new home.

Known internationally as “Mr.Real Estate Advertising”, Australianborn Ian Grace is acknowledged asone of the world’s leading authoritieson real estate advertising. Since 1994,he has delivered his programs through-out Australia, New Zealand, U.S.A,Canada and the U.K. His articlesabout real estate advertising have beenpublished around the world.www.iangrace.com REM

way” (which he saw from GoogleEarth, was about one km away)and “Is that you and your wife inthe spa?”

As you can see, I practise whatI preach.

Another example of the mainphoto not being the front of theproperty and showing people, iswhen we worked with a localRealtor to sell an investment prop-erty of ours.

The caption on this photo was,“Watch the waves... and the $$$’sroll in!”

Once again, see how the photocomplements the headline andspecifically targets the investormarket? We wanted an investor tobuy it as a going concern, includ-ing all furniture and that wasexactly who we attracted, achiev-ing $6,000 more than the price inthe ad after the campaign had onlybeen running for six days.

John McKenna is aPennsylvania Realtor who hasn’tmissed a listing for over 22 monthssince he began putting this adver-tising system into place. Todemonstrate how a great ad cam-paign can make an immediate dra-matic difference in results, Johnpicked up the listing for a propertythat had been on the marketalmost three years. The previous

Watch the waves... and the $$$’s roll in!

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36 REM JANUARY 2011

n today’s interest-rate envi-ronment, using a rental prop-erty’s free cash flow to deter-

mine its value will significantlyunderstate its potential return asan investment.

Free cash flow is the money youare left with once mortgage pay-ments, property taxes and mainte-nance/upkeep expenses are paid.Some rental investors take theamount they are left with (the freecash flow) each year and divide itby the amount of their investmentto calculate their return. For exam-ple, if you make a down payment of$150,000 on a rental property andat the end of the first year you have$1,500 of rental income left overafter paying all expenses includ-ing your mortgage payments, yourinvestment return using free cashflow would be one per cent($1,500/$150,000). It should comeas no surprise then that investorswho value income properties thisway are not lining up to buy rightnow.

One of the golden rules of suc-cessful real estate investing is thatthe rent cheques must go straightto the bank to pay off the mort-gage. Every time this happens, themortgage shrinks and equityincreases. The hidden value intoday’s low interest-rate environ-ment is found in the percentage ofeach mortgage payment that goesto principal.

To illustrate, let’s compare twoscenarios. In scenario #1 we’ll usean interest rate of 8.5 per cent,which is Canada’s average five-year mortgage rate over the last 25years. If you borrowed $500,000amortized over 25 years, your totalpayments made in the first yearwould be $47,722. Of that amount,$41,533 would be eaten up byinterest and only $6,189 would beused to reduce mortgage principal(13 per cent of the total).

In scenario #2, if we change thefive-year interest rate to the cur-rently available 3.7 per cent and

The hidden value in rental properties …when interest rates are low you borrow $500,000 under thesame terms, your total payments inyear one would be $30,592. Of thatamount, $18,151 would be allocat-ed to interest and a whopping$12,442 would be used to reducemortgage principal (41 per cent ofthe total paid).

So in today’s interest-rate envi-ronment, not only are the pay-ments lower, but even more impor-tantly, the proportion of each pay-ment that goes toward principal ismore than three times greater. Inscenario #2 you’re not just payingless interest, you’re paying off yourmortgage twice as fast.

In the box below is a summaryof what the two scenarios wouldlook like over a five-year period,using the details from a rentalproperty currently listed for sale byone of my Realtor partners at$669,000. (I have assumed a 2 percent annual increase in rents andexpenses because this is the lowerend of the central bank’s inflation-ary target band.)

Note that in these examples,we are assuming no appreciation inproperty value. The returns shownare based solely on the free cashflow generated, combined with theamount of equity built up as themortgage principal is reduced. Ifwe assume annual house priceappreciation of three per cent, thecumulative five-year return oninvestment at a 3.7 per cent inter-

est rate jumps from 47.6 per centto 119 per cent.

Most people know that you canwrite off the cost of your mortgageinterest against your rentalincome, but you can also depreci-ate all of the major appliances aswell.

The flip side is that there is nocapital gains exemption when sell-ing an income property, but I don’tthink that’s a bad trade-off if youcan write off your mortgage inter-est instead. On balance, mortgageinterest is a certainty while a capi-tal gain is not, and what’s more,since you only incur a capital gainas a result of having just made aprofit, it’s not the worst time tohave to make a tax payment.

If you’ve been evaluating rentalproperty investments using the freecash flow method, take a secondlook including mortgage princi-pal payments in the calculation ofyour returns. You’ll be surprised atthe difference it makes.

David Larock MBA, AMP,PFPC, CSC is a Toronto-based inde-pendent mortgage planner and long-time industry insider who specializes inhelping clients purchase, refinance orrenew their mortgages. He is an activeblogger on mortgage related topics andhis posts have been distributed innational media and by Realtors andfinancial planners. www.integrated-mortgageplanners.com. REM

By David Larock

SCENARIO #1 – 8.5% Interest RateYear 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Rental Income $42,000 $42,840 $43,697 $44,571 $45,462- Taxes & Expenses $11,000 $11,220 $11,444 $11,673 $11,907- Mortgage Payments $49,535 $49,535 $49,535 $49,535 $49,535= Net Revenue -$18,535 -$17,915 -$17,283 -$16,638 -$15,980+ Equity Build Up $6,424 $13,406 $20,993 $29,240 $38,202= Cumulative Return on Investment -8.1% -3.0% 2.5% 8.4% 14.8%

SCENARIO #2 – 3.7% Interest RateYear 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Rental Income $42,000 $42,840 $43,697 $44,571 $45,462- Taxes & Expenses $11,000 $11,220 $11,444 $11,673 $11,907- Mortgage Payments $31,756 $31,756 $31,756 $31,756 $31,756= Net Revenue -$756 -$136 $497 $1,142 $1,800+ Equity Build Up $12,915 $26,312 $40,209 $54,626 $69,581= Cumulative Return on Investment 8.1% 17.5% 27.1% 37.2% 47.6%

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few years back, syndicatedhumour columnist DaveBarry made Talk Like A

Pirate Day famous, and it’s now“celebrated” (or at least observed)by aspiring swashbucklers everySeptember 19. I will confess tohaving uttered a few shiver-me-timbers over the years – whetherthose timbers have needed shiver-ing or not.

“Arrr mateys, pluck me a parrotand pour another pina colada – let’sget caught in the rain!”

As fun as talking like a piratecan be, I’ve often wondered whatTalk Like Antonio Banderas Daymight sound like. Or even TalkLike Donald Duck Day, whichwould perhaps require some com-mon-sense restrictions, such aswearing pants, unlike Donald’sinappropriate nautical semi-wardrobe. Somewhat of a briskweather fan, Mr. Duck.

Considering last year’sannouncement of talk-show queenOprah Winfrey mothballing hersyndicated TV show in 2011, itmay be even more prudent to con-sider starting this new year bylaunching a commemorative TalkLike Oprah Day. I’m talking ofcourse about that trademark exu-berant crescendo of hers, heard sofrequently at the end of many gush-ing, descriptive sentences: “People,here’s Michael Booooo–BLAAAY!!!!!”

“After the break, Rachael Ray –how to make a summer salad withfresh tossed greens, diced hazelnuts,and Rocky Road EYES –CREEEAM!!!!”

“Give it up, for John TRA-VOL-TAAAAHHH!!!”

Hey, why shouldn’t we be ableto punctuate our own sentenceswith a little over-the-top enthusi-asm? How many deathly dull peopledo YOU know who deliver eventhe most incredible news like theywere some monotonous drone?Come on, be honest – which sen-tence is more compelling:

1) “Why yes Mr. and Mrs.

38 REM JANUARY 2011

ABy Dan St. Yves

Talk LikeOprah DayJones, I believe that this currentoffer would reasonably address mostof your expectations and likelyensure an expedient sale of yourhome”, OR

2) “Looks like someone’s notgoing into FORE-CLO-SUU-URE!!!!”

Oprah’s “Emphatic Pronun-ciation Technique™” would be ablast to use in so many commonreal estate situations:

• Presenting an awkward, low-ball offer? Consider defusing the sit-uation by explaining “We know it’sa little lower than you may havebeen expecting, but don’t worry, weprobably can’t close A-NY-WAAAAY!!”

• Reading the classifieds sec-tion in the local daily newspaper,you notice your freshly expired list-ing is now trying to sell privately.Don’t curse and fuss – try insteadseeing how it feels if you just stickyour head out your front door, andholler: “Oh, no – they’ve gone Fizz-BEAUUUUU!!”

• While touring some obviouslookey-loos through your nextopen house, liven things up with arobust: “Alright people, we’re nowgoing to peek into the owners’homemade S & M CHAAAM-BRRRR!!”

When you think about it, thereare millions of applications ineveryday situations where youcould possibly add a little expres-sive punctuation into your delivery.Without Oprah now (at least onbasic cable), we’re all going to haveto take up the slack. So go ahead,try something bold the next timeyou’re at the grocery store check-out counter, or waiting in line atthe bank.

I guarantee, you’ll make some-one’s D-AAAY!!!

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

Mortgage Allianceupgrades proprietarybroker software

Mortgage Alliance says it haslaunched “the most comprehen-sive proprietary broker softwaresystem in the mortgage brokerindustry.” MortgageBoss wascommissioned by MortgageAlliance three years ago, based onthe experiences of hundreds ofusers, months of development andfeedback from the broker net-work. An updated version of the

software was recently introduced.“We listened and built around

the broker’s workflow and weemployed Mortgage Alliance pro-fessionals from across the countrywho were directly involved in thedesign and beta testing of the newMortgageBoss,” says MichaelBeckette, president and CEO.

Markham stagernominated formajor award

Markham, Ont. area homestager Monica Stanciu of Staged 2Sell Solutions has been named asa finalist in the Real EstateStaging Association (RESA)Home Staging Industry Award inthe Professional Stager of the YearCategory. Home stagers from allover North America submittedtheir applications for considera-tion for the award.

The finalists will be judged bya panel of industry professionalsand the winners will beannounced at the RESA Home Staging InternationalConference, Jan. 24 in Las Vegas.

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s municipalities acrossCanada move moretowards increasing hous-

ing density on land once zoned forsingle-family homes, real estateagents are being challenged with abarrage of conditions related tosecondary living quarters.

The danger comes, says MartyDouglas, managing broker forCoast Realty Group in Courtenay,B.C., when the sales rep advertis-es “mortgage helper suite with$700 or $800 revenue” and thebuyers qualify because of the extrarevenue. Douglas says: “If it is nota legal suite and they (buyers)faced evicting the tenant, theproblems can really begin for theRealtor. He really has to be cau-tious on suites even when themunicipality turns a blind eye.”

The blind eye is more of a shiftof political outlook. There has

40 REM JANUARY 2011

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Beware of homes with secondary suitesThe difficulty for real estate agents lies in sorting out the grey areas around legal and illegal suites under amixed bag of conditionsBy Jean Sorensen

been a general trend in the mar-ketplace for homeowners to put insuites or convert suites illegallyand municipalities largely didnothing unless a complaint waslodged. But now municipalitiesare passing bylaws allowinglicensed suites. Even WestVancouver city council this yearbowed to pressure on secondarysuites and gave those with extraliving units (estimated at l, 000 inthe area) until Sept. 30 to registertheir suites or face a fine of $300per day. (Only an estimated l0 percent were registered when thebylaw was passed).

The difficulty for real estateagents lies in sorting out the greyareas around legal and illegalunder a mixed bag of conditions.An average of one case a year isnow landing before the highercourts as municipalities and

homeowners fight over who haswhat rights. In most cases thathave been decided, the home-owner has lost and the B.C.Supreme Court has ordered theunits to be removed or demandedextensive renovations.

“There is a rule in real estate –if you are unsure, disclose, discloseand disclose,” says ScottCarpenter of Vancouver’s TheCarpenter Group, a Re/Maxgroup of real estate consultantsand associated professionals rang-ing from a conveyance lawyer tomortgage brokers and home stag-ing specialists. The group workson the City of Vancouver’s westside, dealing in high-end proper-ties.

Issues can be complex.Owners may often think theirunits are legal when they are not.Or, like the film Lost inTranslation, the legality of whatthey own has become garbled. Inthe recent court case of theCorporation of the Township ofEsquimalt v. Crosson (2010 BCSC1490), an Esquimalt couple werefound in breach of bylaws whentheir duplex actually had threesuites (three kitchens and threemail addresses – although onlytwo were legal). Court recordsshow the previous owner convert-ed the house to a duplex with thecity approval in the early 1990s.The previous owner testified incourt he was given the right to dothe conversion and he submittedan amended plan indicating athird kitchen was being installedon an amended plan. The couplerelied upon the amended plan inthe city files, which “appeared tobe the approved plan with someadditional handwritten notes.”The previous owner couldn’tremember the name of the indi-vidual who made the red noteson the plan. But, he felt he hadapproval and went forward. Staff subsequently wrote theowner a note in 1993, sayingwhile the third kitchen in the downstairs basement wouldbe allowed, it could not

however be used for a suite. The judge found that the

question to be determined was“not whether three kitchens wereinstalled with permission, butwhether three dwelling units wereinstalled with permission” andwhile bylaws allowed for a duplexconversion, whether they alsoallowed for three dwelling units.He ruled that two bylaws in effectallowed only for a duplex conver-sion and the suite didn’t qualify asone of non-conforming but per-mitted. He gave the owners sixmonths to remove the third suite.

The case clarifies some of thesituations that can arise betweenowners and the municipality andzoning laws. The judge in the casepoints to Port Coquitlam (City) v.Hoffer (l988) BCSC VancouverA871964, which stated “a munic-ipal officer cannot give valid per-mission” to use land for somethingoutside the bylaws and the citycan’t be stopped from takingaction even if the officer has madea commitment.

In Langley (City) v. Wood(1999), the city stopped the use ofa two-family dwelling in a single-family area even though theowner had met with the buildinginspector and plan checker andobtained permission for its use formore than one family. When thehome was moved on to the site, itwas deemed that it did not fallinto the category that would havemade it legal non-conforming.The home could therefore only beused for one family.

Sales reps taking any listing fora suite within an existing buildingneed to check with municipalauthorities to determine thevalidity of any such property, saysDouglas. “The owner might say itis legal, but I tell them that I amgoing to have to check anyway,”he says. If the owner is not tellingthe truth, then “he usually sayssomething like – oh, no, don’t dothat.” That then brings the issueof whether the suite is legal intoquestion again. (Carpenter saidhe also does due diligence check-

ing out what owners say – and, hedoes a walk-through looking for“red flags” or tell-tale signs such aslow ceilings or other constructionfeatures that may signal it is notbuilt to any standard or has notbeen inspected.)

Once a suite is determined tobe unlicensed or illegal, there areother questions that emerge. Wasit properly built and were theproper inspections carried out forthe work completed? Douglas saidthere was a case in Comox onVancouver Island where the citygave approval for an in-law suiteover the garage. However, whatthe owner constructed exceededthe bylaws and the suite could notbe used. Douglas has also writtenin REM about the problems of aNanaimo homeowner who had toremove an in-law suite when aneighbour in a single-familydevelopment (with covenantsrestricting it to single family)complained. As Douglas pointsout, the removal occurred eventhough the city permitted suchsuites.

The lesson to Realtors is that“if you have checked the city hallzoning and the city says ‘no prob-lem’ you still have to check thebuilding scheme and see if it doesconform,” Douglas says.

The Nanaimo case is backedup by another judgement in 2009Robins v. Cranbrook (City) 2009BCSC 355, 58 M.P.LR. (4th) 87.The court there stated that theissuance of a permit, which is inany event governed by bylaw, can-not amount to a promise that arestrictive covenant in favour ofthe city would not be enforced.

Today, Douglas says, agents areposting the documents relating tosuites online with listings. He saysthe selling agent has a responsibil-ity to check with the city (anddocument who he or she speakswith) “and the buyer’s agent alsohas a responsibility to make surethe documents are correct,” hesays.


REM JANUARY 2011 41

The ensuing problems thatcan result when a house is listedwith illegal suites can cause moreheadaches than a sales reps wantsto deal with. In Burnaby (City) v.Chiodo 2008 BCSC 491, the1950s house provided the originalowner/builder with a temporaryoccupancy permit to have akitchen and live downstairs whilethe upstairs was finished – a com-mon practice of the era. Thoseliving quarters were to be onlytemporary but later owners madethem permanent. There was alater permit in the late ’60s to putin a bathroom, but the existingold bathroom was to have been

torn out and that was never done.In summer 2006, the owner

decided to sell and the house waslisted with two suites downstairs.A complaint was made to the cityand a city inspector called the list-ing agent to tell her there was aproblem with non-compliance.The owner then attempted to suethe city (the case was dismissed)claiming for damages as heblamed the advice given to thereal estate agent prevented himfrom selling the house. The judgesided with the city and ordered alist of upgrades, tear-outs andinspections to the property.

Vancouver lawyer RichardBell, whose firm Bell Alliancedeals mainly with real estate lawand property purchase law, says

there is a growing trend for home-owners who have illegal suites toget them licensed before sellingthe house. “They are asking thecity to come in and inspect themso they qualify for a legal suite,”he says. Still it is the buyer’s dutyto disclose and the real estateagent’s duty “to fully advise on theproperty” with the clients aboutthe perils of buying a house withan unlicensed suite, he says.“When we do see an unauthorizedsuite, we make sure that it is abuyer-beware situation,” he says,adding that the owner runs therisk of having to evict tenants orcarry out costly renovations.

“The cost of renovation canfar exceed any income revenue,”says Bell. REM

By Dan Steward

ome people think theCanadian housing market isin a bit of a bubble; most feel

that the current economic policiesin place are creating a steady foun-dation that will enable the marketto go steadily higher.

But your personal feelings onthis matter, as an agent, are rela-tively immaterial when it comes tothe universally tricky topic of deal-ing with first-time sellers.

What’s more important isknowing where the seller is comingfrom – and giving that seller all thetools he needs not only to sell hishome, but to make you the realestate agent he’ll keep comingback to. Knowing how to deal withfirst-time sellers will enable you tostay as consistent as possible inboth up and down markets. Hereare some tips for doing so:

1. Get a read on the customer’sfears. You can’t adequately servicea customer if you aren’t aware ofhis feelings about the market ingeneral. Take an hour before doinganything else, to talk about themarket, and the process of selling.

Tips for dealing with a first-time sellerWhat does the customer think

about the local real estate market?If he is apprehensive, do somehomework and provide him withsome statistics and research thatmight allay his fears. If he thinkshis house will never sell, use com-parables to point out his home’sstrong suits and demonstrate thevalue of his property (while gentlymentioning areas in which thehouse can be improved pre-sale)and mention the motivatingopportunities available to buyers inhis province.

Nothing helps a nervous cus-tomer like providing him with spe-cific, concrete information andgiving him a clear picture of theinterest you can generate in hisproperty. Assure him you know afirst-time sale is a daunting process,but exude the confidence thatyou’ll get him through it because ofyour knowledge.

2. Become a geography expert.Keep informed about not only theseller’s local real estate market, butthe local economy and culture aswell – don’t generalize based oncountrywide statistics. When talk-ing to the seller, focus squarely onthe particular issues in the area.And that doesn’t just mean realestate. Knowing about local ser-vices – from bars and restaurants tothe best dry cleaner in the area –will make your seller see you asauthentic. If he feels that youunderstand and appreciate the lit-tle world that is his neighbour-

hood, he’ll feel more comfortablewith you throughout the saleprocess and may begin to trust yourrecommendations.

3. Be the decorator – but besubtle about it. Home staging isimportant to selling these days, butthe first-time seller might be jarredby your calls to get rid of personalitems and transform the Quebecone-bedroom from antique-accented to minimal Bauhaus chic.An experienced seller likely knowsthat he has to stage his home; but,for a first-time seller, this processcan be a surprise.

Choose things that absolutelyneed to be done – like new wallpa-per where it’s obviously peeling, orthe removal of dozens of stuffedanimals on the living room sofa.Focus on the bigger problems,rather than reorganizing someone’sLimoges collection by cool andwarm colours. Never ask the sellerto decorate in a style that’s notappropriate for the area, no matterwhat TV design experts say – acountry home in New Brunswicksimply doesn’t need to have theslick modernist vibe that aMontreal loft might, as the audi-ences for the two are completelydifferent.

Asking too much of a first-timeseller, including on the designfront, might alienate him – andjeopardize a successful sale. Keepthe home staging focused on thebig, saleable points.

4. Conduct a home inspection.

Gently remind the seller that, asscary as it may sound to hear aboutpotential problems with the home,a home inspection is helpful for asmooth, successful sale. Doing ahome inspection will help you,along with the seller, come to arealistic price that builds in anyinfo given by the inspector – so youaren’t surprised later when a buyeris asking for cash to cover repairs. Italso might inspire the seller tomake necessary repairs themselves,rather than giving the buyer themoney to do it.

Buyers ask for $2 to $3 in pricereduction for every $1 in perceivedrepair. So if there’s a termite prob-lem that they perceive will cost$1,000 to fix, you could avoid a$2,000 - $3,000 price reduction topay to fix it yourself. Encouragingthe seller to save as much money aspossible by conducting the repairswill go a long way toward estab-lishing your credibility, as you showthe seller you’re looking out for hisbottom line.

5. Keep the seller focused on,and excited about, the future.

Nothing can motivate a first-timeseller like getting him excitedabout the new house he’s going tobuy. But rather than doing thisfrom an abstract perspective, do itwith detail. Inform him aboutopportunities and comparables inhis area – but not just with print-outs and emails. Take him to see afew properties, especially if he’shaving a tough day and needs somemotivation. Continually referencethe future, and how satisfying itwill be when the sale is made andhe’s in a new home that he loves.Connect on a personal level – ifyou know the seller treasures hispiano, tell him about a great moveryou know that is especially astutewith packing musical instruments.It may seem unrelated, but it isimportant – building the seller’sfaith in a positive, worry-free saleprocess will help that sale processgo faster.

Dan Steward is president of PillarTo Post Professional HomeInspections. www.pillartopost.com

REM

S

BewareContinued from page 40

†Royal LePage is a trademark used under license.

Andy Puthon, Executive Vice President,Network Development, is pleased toannounce that Candace and Laverne Linkhave chosen to join the Royal LePage franchise network in Steinbach, Manitoba.Their company will operate under the nameROYAL LEPAGE LINK REALTY.

Laverne Link is a top producing agent andhas had a long successful real estatecareer in the Steinbach community.Laverne’s daughter Candace was previously a business owner in anotherindustry and joined her father in the realestate business 3 years ago. Candace and Laverne are excited to be joining the Royal LePage network in the expandingcommunity of Steinbach. They are lookingforward to offering a unique and competitivesuite of services to the residents ofSteinbach. Candace is the broker of recordwhile Laverne will continue to focus on thesales side of the business.

Royal LePage Link Realty is proud to servethe town of Steinbach, and the surroundingcommunities.

Candace and her team can be reached at:

Unit B-118 PTH 12NSteinbach, Manitoba R5G 1T4Phone: 204-326-4455Toll Free: 1-855-326-4455Fax:204-326-4450Email: [email protected]

Please join us in welcoming Candace, andwishing Royal LePage Link Realty muchsuccess.

For information on the Royal LePage franchise program, please call Andy Puthondirectly at (416) 510-5827.

Laverne Link & Candace LinkRoyal LePage Link RealtySteinbach, Manitoba

†

Email: [email protected]

42 REM JANUARY 2011

Good WorksGood Worksn 2010 Exit Realty was thefull corporate sponsor of fivemore Habitat for Humanity

homes, bringing the total to 16completed across the U.S. andCanada since the beginning ofthe company’s partnership withHabitat for Humanity. At thecompany’s annual conventionrecently in Dallas, Exit Realtyrecommitted its support bypledging another $313,000,bringing the total amount dedi-cated to $2 million to date.

Exit real estate agents fromacross the continent participatein home builds and a portion ofevery transaction fee collectedby Exit Realty Corp.International is pledged toHabitat for Humanity.

“Generosity leaves its mark,”said Christine Ireborg, ExitRealty’s liaison with Habitat,during her address in Dallas.“Something very extraordinaryhappens during the months of ahome build as volunteers cometogether to make the dream ofhome ownership a reality;because home builds don’t justchange the future and lives ofpartner families across the conti-nent, but also those of everyoneinvolved. Volunteers leavetouched by an expression of lovethat they have witnessed, know-ing that something extremelyremarkable has been shared.”

■ ■ ■

Century 21 Canada presidentDon Lawby is taking the EasterSeals Drop Zone plunge by rap-pelling down the side of a sky-scraper to raise funds for theEaster Seals Kids to Camp pro-gram. Despite his confessed fearof heights, Lawby has committedto dropping down the side of anoffice building in the provincewhere the most money is raisedby Century 21 system members(highest amount raised per sys-tem member, within a province).

I “Children with disabilitiesovercome challenges every dayin their lives, so the least I cando is to overcome my fear ofheights” says Lawby.

Century 21 Canada launchedthe Century 21 Kids to Campfundraising initiative in 2008.With every $2,100 raised, mem-bers are able to send a disabledchild to camp. The summercamps have camp fire stories andsongs, swimming, kangaroo courtand even a climbing wall, highrope course and a giant swing –all fully accessible to kids withdisabilities. The facilities aredesigned to ensure that every-one, no matter their disability,has the support they need tohave the time of their lives.

■ ■ ■

Sutton Group - Select Realtyin London, Ont. has held anannual charity golf tournamentfor the past 18 years, raisingfunds for a variety of charitableorganizations in the community.This year’s proceeds were dedi-cated to the London BlockParent Program.

The Golf Committee,chaired by Jim Smith and co-chaired by Andrea Ferreira,together with Bruce Sworik, bro-ker of record, spent six monthsplanning the event. Fundraisingwas accomplished through auc-tions, raffle tickets and the gen-erosity of corporate sponsors.This year the tournament raised$12,000.

■ ■ ■

Recently the MacdonaldRealty Vancouver andCommercial offices made a$20,492 gift to the ArthritisResearch Centre of Canada.Formed 10 years ago to focus onthe urgent need for research intoarthritis, the centre has grown


Bill Dick, managing brokerof Macdonald Realty

Vancouver, presents acheque to Dr. John Esdaile,

scientific director of theArthritis Research Centre of

Canada.

Exit Realty onthe Rock raised$100,000 forthe localRonaldMcDonaldHouse.

At the annual barbecue, fromleft: Dayle Murray, Tanya

Vanderhoek, Glen Seymour,Vasya Seymour and Leanna

Maslyuk.

Presenting proceeds from theSutton Group – Select annu-al charity golf tournamentare, from left: James Smith,Golf Committee chair, RonMcDougall and KellyBalderston of the LondonBlock Parent Program andBruce Sworik, broker ofrecord at Sutton Group-Select Realty.

At the Moncton Real Estate Board’sannual Christmas Party, funds wereraised with games, a silent auctionand donations to buy turkeys for theAnnual Sue Stultz Turkey Drive.The turkeys are donated to familiesin need at Christmastime. Last yearthe board donated 63 turkeys, butthis year there was enough moneyto buy 101 turkeys. Left, boardstaff collects the turkeys at a Sobeysstore.

REM JANUARY 2011 43

from a group of four to a facilitywith more than 45 people. It iscurrently the largest arthritisclinical research centre in thecountry, and is committed tofinding answers to reduce theburden of arthritis, and to givepeople better, more timely andcost-effective solutions for livingwith their disease.

■ ■ ■

With the help of family andfriends, sales rep Glen Seymourof Sutton Group - MedallionRealty in Surrey, B.C. kept thegrill sizzling with salmon, hotdogs and hamburgers at the 2ndAnnual Glen “Seemore” ResultsSalmon BBQ. The event raised$3,250 for the B.C. Children’sHospital.

“Last year, my barbecueraised $3,005 for the CanadianCancer Society. This year, Idecided to change it up a bit.Having children of my own andhaving attended the B.C.Children’s Hospital with mychild, I found the staff to be mostcaring and professional.Through that experience, Ilearned that sick children inB.C. need extra funding and sup-port. I decided that the B.C.Children’s Hospital was a worthycause for the proceeds,” he says.

■ ■ ■

Exit Realty on the Rockhosted a black tie gala sit-down

dinner for 700 people, with liveand silent auctions at the StJohn’s Convention Centrerecently. The evening includedperformances by FatimaAccordion Group, CrookedStovepipe and StephanieBarbour. The keynote addresswas delivered by national televi-sion personality PeterMansbridge (anchor of CBC’sThe National). The event raised$100,000 for Ronald McDonaldHouse Newfoundland andLabrador.

Brokerage owner AnneSquires says, “The need for aRonald McDonald House inNewfoundland and Labrador istruly great. For those children andfamilies that travel great distancefor care, there is an added finan-cial and emotional burden relatedto the uncertainty of where theywill live. By providing affordableand comfortable accommoda-tions, Ronald McDonald HouseNewfoundland Labrador willremove this burden for many ofthese families and enable them toconcentrate on helping their sickchildren to get well.”

■ ■ ■

Recently Exit Realty Fusionpartnered with Rosewood ParkAlliance Church in support ofOperation Christmas Child forits Big Open House event. Thepublic and Exit agents donatedcash or gifts to the worthy causethat gives thousands of under-privileged children across theworld a chance to truly enjoy

Christmas. With Exit RealtyFusion’s help, the church col-lected 1,000 shoeboxes filledwith gifts on their first collectionday.

As an incentive to donate,the brokerage entered everyonewho donated in a draw for a freecruise for two to the Caribbeanor Mexico.

Earlier, broker LorettaHughes and agents Curtis Bonar,Alice King, Clair Whittington,Mike Boyce, Bonnie Stanley,James Newman, Mona Crandell,Darlene King, Alix McLellan,Zelda Luchenski, ShirleyMacFarlane and Kandas McLeodvolunteered at and sponsored ahome in Kids Help Phones’annual Homes for the Holidaysevent. Every year, with helpfrom sponsors, Kids Help Phonesget designers to transform agroup of homes in Regina intoChristmas wonderlands in orderto raise donations for their orga-nization.

No sooner was that eventover than the residents of Reginacould catch a glimpse of the ExitRealty Fusion float in Regina’sSanta Claus Parade. A group ofstaff and agents bore the sub-zerotemperatures in order to spreadsome Christmas cheer. Thosewho attended and helped set upthe float were Meggie Freed,Zach Wong, Hughes, WillAmichand, Denise Carr, JoeSenger and Clair Whittington.Clair and Jon Whittington pro-vided the truck and float.

REM

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Good WorksContinued from page 42

Avison Young’s Vancouver office has raised more than $6,000for Movember, the worldwide moustache-growing charity eventthat raises awareness and funds for prostate cancer.

Royal LePage Atlantic recently held a Monte Carlo Night inorder to help raise money for several charities, including Tree ofHope, Wee Care, Youth House in Dieppe, the Royal LePageShelter Foundation and the Down Syndrome Society. The eventraised $33,000. Tickets were sold for a chance to win a flightfrom WestJet. In the photo, from left: Shirley Fillmore of RoyalLePage Atlantic; ticket winners Kelley and Roland LeBlanc;and Roger LeBlanc of Royal LePage Atlantic.

ones Lang LaSalle has appointed Jean-MarcCharland as vice-presidentin its industrial practice.

Based in Montreal and reportingto John Faratro, Charland willprovide expert advice to individ-uals and companies leasing, pur-chasing, developing and dispos-ing of industrial propertiesthroughout Montreal but with afocus on the East End.

Charland brings 15 years ofexperience in real estate and oper-ations management with specialistknowledge of the manufacturingand distribution sectors. He joinsfrom Colliers International.

This new hire follows the latestJones Lang LaSalle office opening

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44 REM JANUARY 2011

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in Ottawa and the recent additionof landlord representation expertsMax Francischiello, Claudio Celliand Maria Yannakis based in JonesLang LaSalle’s Montreal office.

■ ■ ■

Laurent Benarrous has beennamed managing director ofAvison Young’s Quebec opera-tions. Benarrous will overseeAvison Young’s operations inQuebec, including the company’sMontreal and Quebec City offices.One of Montreal’s top tenant andleasing brokers, Benarrous joinedthe leasing team in Avison Young’sMontreal office in July 2010 asvice-president. He has 18 years ofexperience in the commercial real

estate industry and, prior to joiningthe company, specialized in tenantrepresentation services in theMontreal market for Jones LangLaSalle.

■ ■ ■

Brian T. Aronovitch andLindsay Ward have joined AvisonYoung’s brokerage operations inWinnipeg. Aronovitch joinsAvison Young as senior representa-tive and Ward as senior executive,investment sales. Seasoned profes-sionals in the commercial realestate business, both were formerlywith Cushman & Wakefield inWinnipeg.

Aronovitch has 45 years ofexperience in the commercial realestate brokerage and managementbusiness. His professional achieve-ments include: past-president,Better Business Bureau ofWinnipeg; Member of the YearAward (1999) for professionalism,Lifetime Achievement Award(2004) and Largest Office LeaseAward (2006 and 2008),WinnipegRealtors - CommercialDivision.

Ward has been active in the

Canadian real estate investmentand development business for 30years and has been associated withmany of Canada’s premier realestate assets. His backgroundincludes senior portfolio manage-ment positions with real estatedevelopment and institutionalinvestment advisors.

■ ■ ■

British Columbia InvestmentManagement Corporation(bcIMC) recently celebrated theSouthcore Financial Centre’s top-ping-off ceremony of the PwCTower, and a groundbreakingevent for another office tower anda new flagship Delta Torontohotel.

The 650,000 sq. ft. PwC Towerat 18 York St. will be headquartersto accounting firm PwC, and isscheduled for occupancy in fall2011. The placing of the finalbeam on the rooftop of the PwCTower concludes SFC’s first phaseof development, involving 542construction days by the EllisDonteam. Following the topping-offevent, a groundbreaking ceremonylaunched SFC’s second phase of

development: a second officebuilding – the 30-storey, 700,000sq. ft. Bremner Tower – and the 45-storey Delta Toronto – a premiumfour-star hotel.

Encompassing a full block fromYork Street to Lower SimcoeStreet and within walking distanceof King and Bay, the SFC complexwill be built to a high level of sus-tainability with PwC Tower andBremner Tower targeting LEEDGold certification.

The new Delta Toronto, set toopen in 2014, will provide 566well-appointed, generously sizedguest rooms, including 24 extend-ed-stay suites for travelers who arein the city for a longer period oftime, the company says. Thehotel will feature the latest in sus-tainable design including heat-recovery ventilation, low-flow fix-tures, smart cards to control roomlighting and air based on suiteoccupancy, and green roofsthroughout the building.

“This four-star hotel will serveas a flagship property for Delta and,through its many innovative fea-tures, will allow us to exceed theexpectations of our guests,” says

REM JANUARY 2011 45

Hank Stackhouse, president andCEO, Delta Hotels and Resorts.“The Delta Toronto will be strate-gically located within walking dis-tance to Toronto’s financial andentertainment districts, allowingus to fulfill the needs of both busi-ness and leisure travellers and con-nect them to the city in a conve-nient way.”

Centrally positioned betweenthe PwC Tower and the DeltaToronto, SFC’s Bremner Tower –projected to be completed byDecember 2013 – will bridge theadjacent buildings and form theheart of the SFC complex alongBremner Boulevard. The project isbeing developed by GWL RealtyAdvisors Inc. on behalf of bcIMC. For information:www.southcore.ca.

■ ■ ■

The Absolute Towers, two dis-tinctive residential towersdesigned by Beijing-based designcollaboration MAD, topped outrecently at 170 meters inMississauga, Ont.

MAD associate partner PingJiang says, “We are happy that somany people like the building. Webelieve the two towers are uniquearchitecture which links the cityand nature by introducing thosebeautiful curves. It is exciting tosee these towers from outside now,but it will be more exciting to liveinside.”

Design of the Absolute Towers,nicknamed the Marilyn Monroetowers, started in 2006. The top-ping out of the second 50-storeytower is expected next spring whilecompletion for both towers isscheduled for fall 2011. REM

The PwC Tower (left) recently cel-ebrated its topping-off ceremony. Aground-breaking was also held forthe Bremner Tower and the DeltaToronto hotel.

Jean-Marc Charland Laurent Benarrous Brian T. Aronovitch Lindsay Ward

Mississauga’s Absolute Towers

rudités are very popular allyear round – as hors d’ouvresor just as everyday snacks.

The name comes from the wordcrude, which means in its raw ornatural state. Save this recipe forthe summer, when all the Canadiangrown vegetables are so plentiful –that’s the time to make large platesfull of carrot strips, celery sticks,broccoli and cauliflower flowerets,green onions, green, red, yellow andorange peppers and cherry tomatoesin all colours. The sky’s the limit.

Any or all of these vegetables canbe presented in a most appetizingway on kitchen dishes, fine dinnerchina, or even on paper plates.

With summer being such a shortseason in this country, you’ll want totake advantage of your garden good-ies as often as possible and there’s nobetter way to acquire all your body’sfood requirements than to munchon raw vegetables. Keep a bowl ofprepared dip on hand and alongwith those barbecued steaks, chick-en or fish, you’ll have a full-course,nutrition-packed meal. Here are afew recipes for favourite dips.

3/4 lb. creamy cottage cheese2 green onions, chopped finesalt, pepper and a sprinkle of parsleyCombine all ingredients well.Chill. Serve with fresh vegetables.OR1/2 lb. cream cheese (Philadelphia)1/4 t ground oregano1/4 t Italian seasoning1/4 t loose dry thyme

sprinkle paprikasprinkle garlic salt1-1/2 t vermouthdrop of Tabasco sauceCombine all ingredients well.Chill. Serve with fresh vegetables.OR1 small carton of sour cream3 t finely chopped chives (or substi-tute chopped dill)salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients well.Chill. Serve with fresh vegetables.

You can mix and match any ofthese variations. Try it. You’ll comeback for more.

Carolyne Lederer is broker ofrecord at Carolyne Realty Corp.Proudly putting her name to her workfor 29 years, she serves Burlington andBrampton, Ont. residential real estateclients. She also has a cookbook in the works. Email Carolyne [email protected] or www.Mill-croftHomes.com REM

GOURMET COOKINGfor real estate professionals

By Carolyne Lederer

Delicious dips

C

IF YOU CAN READ THIS YOU SHOULD BE

AN EXECUTIVE

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SMART?

Find out at BWC 2011

January 27-29

Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

S e e Yo u T h e r e !

w w w . b a n f f w e s t e r n c o n n e c t i o n . c o m

Twitter: @BWC2011Facebook: search Banff Western Connection

ome months ago I had aconversation with a youngman who worked at

McDonald’s to earn extra moneyfor university tuition. He told meabout a customer who threw a colaat him because he had mistakenlygiven it to him instead of theorange drink he had ordered. Thecola was sticky and was stuck onhis skin for the rest of his shift untilhe could get home to shower it off.The customer walked away think-ing that he was justified and mostassuredly showed no remorse forhis behaviour.

An episode like this is unusual,of course, but truth be told, things

46 REM JANUARY 2011

Calgary Real Estate Board’s AnnualForecast Conference & Trade ShowTuesday, Jan. 18BMO Centre (formerly the StampedeRoundup Centre)Calgarywww.crebforecast.com

The Banff Western ConnectionJan. 27 - 29Fairmont Banff Springs HotelBanff, Alta.www.banffwesternconnection.com

Re/Max of Western Canada 28thAnnual ConferenceFeb. 3 - 5Vancouver Convention andExhibition Centre, Vancouverwww.remax-western.ca/evolution/

Royal LePage Eastern CanadaConferenceFeb. 4 – 5MonctonShayne Trites – [email protected]

La Capitale Real Estate NetworkNational Performance GalaSaturday, Feb. 5Sheraton [email protected]

Fraser Valley Real Estate BoardConference and Trade ShowFeb. 9 -11Langley, B.C.1-877-286-5685

New Brunswick Real EstateAssociation AGM & ConferenceMarch 29 – 31Delta Beausejour HotelMoncton, N.B.Erika Smith – [email protected]

Muskoka & Haliburton Associationof Realtors Trade ShowWednesday, April 20Huntsville, Ont.

London St. Thomas Association ofRealtors Trade ShowTuesday, Apr. 26London Convention Centre, LondonJenny True – [email protected]

Toronto Real Estate Board RealtorQuestMay 4 – 5Toronto Congress Centre, Torontowww.realtor-quest.ca

Kitchener-Waterloo Real EstateBoard Realtor XpoThursday, May 12Bingemans, KitchenerMedina Moseley –[email protected]

Trade Showsand ConferencesTrade Showsand Conferences

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

THE PUBLISHER’SPAGE

By Heino Molls

S

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

The Golden Ruletimes of great pressure and peril.When things are tough, when allseems lost, these are the momentsof gallantry by gentlemen andladies who step forward withbenevolence and kindness to others.

The Golden Rule is universal.It has no boundaries of country soit has no immigrants. It has nodivisions of culture. The Goldenrule appears in all Good Books ofall faiths. Even in the poorest oflearning places on earth commoncourtesy can be taught and under-stood by the very youngest and themost vulnerable of all societies.

The Golden Rule will functionwell and work in the most isolatedareas. It works just as well in themidst of cities with the highestdensities and mesh of humanity.

How much more simple can itbe to do unto others as you wouldask others to do unto you? Howhard can it be to say please andthank you? The Golden Rule is

like that happen more frequentlythese days than they ever didbefore. It seems immature impul-sive actions are no longer solely inthe realm of young kids andteenagers. Many adults in their 30sand 40s behave badly by lashingout verbally with mean words orbiting sarcasm, and even physicalaction as in the case of that cus-tomer at McDonald’s.

I have heard a lot of theoriesabout why people behave so badlymore often in our world today. I amtold that the pressures of life are fargreater these days than they everwere before. I have heard thatimmigrants to our country havebad manners and they bring badlifestyles here from their old coun-tries. I have been advised thatcomputers and the Internet havemade us all insular and taken awayour need for real interaction so oursocial skills have been lost. Whatnonsense.

We have not been practicingand we have not been teaching theGolden Rule. It’s as simple as that.

The Golden Rule works best in

basic and easy. If we have nottaught this rule to our children andothers by our own example, thenthe fault lies with me and you. It’son us to get it back.

When was the last time yousaw someone give a seat to some-one else on the bus or the subway?When was the last time it wasunderstood to let a motorist infront without the car behind tryingto sneak past as well? We have lostthe fundamental concept of takingturns. Back in the day if I everwent through a door without hold-ing it open for a lady I would findmyself with a thick ear to remem-ber not to let that happen again.Those days are long ago.

It’s not as if I have forgotten. It’snot as if you have either. We justdon’t do or see these simple courte-sies day to day so much anymore.

It is understood that selling isthe key to almost any business. Itshould be basic that the GoldenRule is paramount in sales and

marketing anything. Yet we tradestories about looking for storeclerks when we want to buy some-thing. We dread having to phoneabout cable TV or government ser-vices and being put on hold forhours.

There is no sales and marketingprofessional who understands orshould understand the GoldenRule better than a real estate pro-fessional. There is no person to seta better example in business and inlife than a real estate salesperson.

As we move forward throughthis year and contemplate all thegreat things that are unfoldingbefore us in technology and inmanufactured goods, Lord let usnot forget civility. Let us not forgetthe Golden Rule.

I wish you success in the yearahead.

Heino Molls is the publisher ofREM. Email [email protected].

REM

ASSOCIATIONEXECUTIVE

With Tons of Useful Experience!

I am an experienced association executive looking to make a

contribution to your association.

I have gained extensive knowledge of business andindustry through hands-on work with over 2 dozen

different industry trade associations and successfullyblend a strong team player, cooperative approach

with good entrepreneurial skills.

I am bilingual and have worked in Montreal, Ottawaand Toronto for associations both large and small in

all facets of association management.

If your association is looking for help with a project or for a longer term contract commitmentplease send me an email at [email protected]

Paul Rushforth, Sales Representative, Ottawa Canada

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© 2010 Genworth Financial

Homeownership is often the biggest investment of a lifetime, so it’s important to educate your

customers about the various costs of homeownership. Make sure they understand all the available

mortgage options, the impact of rising interest rates and that purchasing within their means are

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To: All Real Estate Professionals

RE: Is it time to rethink REALTOR.ca?

For many Canadians, the Internet is the first stop on the road to homeownership. Yet, public access to real estate information remains limited, in large part due to the rules and regulations regarding the display of listing data. This is a nationwide issue that has put the industry at a competitive disadvantage at a time when for-profit businesses—designed to compete with REALTOR.ca, local boards, and real estate company sites—are establishing a foothold.

RE/MAX has been working together with other industry leaders to create an open environment through the co-operative advertising of each others listings, with the ultimate goal of allowing any member of organized real estate to participate in the data share. Obviously, our preference would be to reach an agreement on shared listings with CREA, local boards, and associations, but that remains ever elusive, despite our best efforts.

What’s clear is that CREA, local real estate boards, and associations are not serving the best interests of their mem-bership. Real estate franchisors – whose brokers and sales associates comprise the vast majority of CREA mem-bers—are considered third parties with damaging restrictions on the use of listing data. The system, as it stands, is far from fair and equitable. REALTOR.ca is the top website in the country at present because it is the only site where you can view all real estate listings from coast-to-coast—regardless of brand. But the website itself is anti-quated and difficult to maneuver. Our lone Canadian system pales in comparison to the abundance of innovative websites south of the border that are now taking listings to the next level, including REALTOR.com—the American counterpart of REALTOR.ca. Offering exceptional mapping capabilities, enhanced image display for listing photos, more in-depth property information, neighbourhood profiles (including property history, school districts and ameni-ties etc.), as well as the ability to develop a vast array of interactive mobile applications, these sites are light years ahead of the Canadian standard. The status quo simply must change for the good of the industry, its stakeholders and consumers, who quite frankly, are well aware of the existing shortcomings.

While the tech-savvy U.S. market grows in leaps and bounds, Canada is slowly dropping off the radar of the pro-gressive new real estate world. Our closed system has stifled creativity. Why would any real estate organization in this country build over-the-top websites with hot applications when they can’t display all product available? It would be virtually impossible for any brand or independent brokerage to be competitive, given current restrictions on Canadian listing data. Ultimately, the lack of cutting-edge technology hurts the real estate industry and greatly impedes the consumer experience.

The industry’s future is dependent on an open listings system. The time has come to level the playing field. CREA and the local boards must release their stranglehold on the listing data and start working with real estate organi-zations to improve the delivery of information and services. The move to free the listing data is the first step in introducing Canadians to real estate in the 21st century, a world with unlimited technological potential where the sky is the limit.

Let’s challenge CREA and the local boards to act in the interest of their members and take a leadership role in ex-acting positive change through a truly co-operative system. If you are in agreement, let your broker know, let your board know, and let CREA know. The bar must be raised. Complacency and progress cannot co-exist. I welcome your feedback at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Michael PolzlerExecutive Vice President and Regional DirectorRE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada Inc.

Ontario-Atlantic Canada Inc.7101 Syntex Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5N 6H5 . Phone: 905-542-2400 . Fax: 905-542-2318 . Web Site: www.remax.ca

December, 2010

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