BRAMPTON Real Estate Board

2019 07 23 OREA Letter to Minister Thompson

Dear OREA Leaders:

 

Earlier this week, OREA CEO Tim Hudak sent a letter to the Honourable Lisa Thompson, Minister of Government and Consumer Services, that outlined OREA’s recommendations to improve the broken real estate disciplinary system.

 

A copy of the letter is attached to this email for your reference.

 

In light of recent media coverage of a failing RECO disciplinary system and the impact it is having on the profession and consumer confidence in real estate professionals, OREA wanted to take the opportunity to share where we stand.

 

It is our position that individuals who have been found guilty of severe ethical violations and illegal activity should have no place in the real estate profession.

 

In order to achieve this, under OREA’s recommendations for a modern Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 (“REBBA”), we have put forward a three-point plan to bring necessary change to the disciplinary system.

 

OREA’s Three-Point Plan

 

1. Give RECO’s Discipline and Appeals Committee the authority to revoke and suspend licenses.

 

1. Eliminate any financial incentive for bad behaviour by ordering a registrant to repay either all, or a portion of, any financial gain resulting from a breach of REBBA and its Code of Ethics.

 

1. Provide RECO with clear legislative power and greater authority to proactively investigate violations under REBBA and its Code of Ethics.

 

We believe these three changes will send a powerful message that Ontario REALTORS® will not tolerate unethical activity in the real estate profession.

 

Media Coverage

 

We are happy to report that since the release of the letter, we have gained considerable attention from a number of media outlets highlighting our three-point plan.

 

Here are just a few pieces of coverage we received:

 

• The Record

 

• Kitchener Today

 

• Globe and Mail (must be a Globe subscriber to access)

 

Minister Lisa Thompson also shared a positive statement with the Globe, supporting OREA’s position on creating a safe, secure and efficient system with clear rules for real estate professionals.

 

 

A broken disciplinary system affects both individual registrants and consumers alike while significantly undermining the profession as a whole. As the Provincial real estate association representing Ontario’s 78,000 REALTORS®, it is critical that we continue this important work and focus on remedying the broken disciplinary system in Ontario.

 

If you have any questions about OREA’s three-point plan, please feel free to contact me at lindsays@orea.com.

 

Regards,

 

 

Lindsay Stevens

Manager, Government Relations & Policy

416-385-4005

lindsays@orea.com

Brampton Cuts Red Tape for Global Talent

 

The City of Brampton has become a referral partner for the Global Skills Strategy program. The program cuts red tape and makes the process for accessing global talent quicker and easier.

 

Learn more

Introducing Clare Barnett – Brampton’s New Director of Economic Development & Culture   As the new Director of Economic Development and Culture, Clare brings a global approach and focus. She is committed to building a business retention & expansion program, attracting foreign direct investment, growing entrepreneurship and igniting Brampton’s global brand.   Learn more

More headlines:

http://www.brampton.ca/EN/Business/economic-development/Pages/Welcome.aspx

 

 

They will be making a stop at 9am here at 60 Gillingham Drive!

 

 

Report on Mandatory Continuing Education spells out action plan for enhancements

A new report covers key findings on RECO’s Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) program. CamProf Inc. gathered data on registrant sentiments, and developed recommendations for program enhancements. The report spells out RECO’s action plan for MCE, which includes:

• Implementing technology enhancements to provide access from tablets;
• Investigating opportunities to provide an in-class or virtual classroom option; and
• Looking at opportunities to make course content even more relevant and understandable.

Check it out

 

2019 insurance collection launching soon
RECO’s annual insurance collection period will begin in early July.

 

The $465 payment is due by August 16, but why wait? Pay your insurance early to avoid stress as the payment deadline approaches.

 

RECO will send out an email notice once payment processing is open. Keep an eye on your inbox for updates, and be sure to check your spam folder in case emails from RECO are being filtered.

Shape the future of real estate education. Be a facilitator.

 

Are you interested in making an impact on the real estate industry? Humber College is seeking Real Estate Education Professionals to work as facilitators in the new Real Estate Salesperson Program.

 

Learn more

REM Online: Improving RECO’s service standards
Registrar Joe Richer writes about RECO’s Service Standards Report Card.

 

RECO is striving to be a modern regulator, and providing helpful, timely services is critical. Our complaint timelines provide an interesting example: the Report Card sets a target of 120 days to process a complaint.

 

Initially, RECO was far behind that target, but after taking bold action, we  now have a much more timely and efficient process. By the end of 2018, it took just 59 days to process a complaint, on average.

 

Read more at REM Online

On June 26^th, 2019,  the Town of Caledon and Town of Erin hosted our Economic Update for Real Estate Professionals at the Brampton Real Estate Board office.

With over 50 in attendance, REALTORS® received information on Economic Development, Population Growth, Future/Strategic/Master Plan, Erin’s Wastewater, Transit,  Planning Update 2031 and Beyond by Town of Caledon plus so much more.  We would like to THANK both the Town of Erin and the Town of Caledon for providing us with informative and valuable information.

Please click on the link for the Towns presentations.

Town of Caledon_Economic Udpate

 

Town of Caledon_Planning Update

 

Town of Erin _Economic Update

Maximize Your Listing’s Exposure with Alternate Feature Sheets

Are you trying to sell your client’s home?

Keep reading to discover how you can use an Alternate Feature Sheet to maximize exposure for your clients’ listings and have more control over how buyers view your listings in real time.

 

WHAT IS AN ALTERNATE FEATURE SHEET (AFS)?

An Alternate Feature Sheet (AFS) is a relatively new BREB service on listings.breb.org that allows listing salespeople to create a custom-branded compilation of listing data, photos and videos.

Adding an AFS to BREB’s public listings site, listings.breb.org, lets consumers view a custom web page for your listing, anytime and on any device.

 

HOW CAN I START USING AN AFS?

Adding an AFS to your listing is an easy one-step process. Simply paste the link of your custom-branded compilation, or in other words, your AFS, into the “Alt Feat Sheet URL” field in Stratus Add/Edit.

 

 

BREB’s public listings site will then recognize that you have provided a URL and will display your custom-branded web page in a new browser tab when the listing is clicked.

 

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF USING AN AFS?

One great perk of adding an AFS to your listing is how it could help you sell your client’s property by sparking extra marketability and visibility to the public.

Plus, the customizability of the AFS allows you to gain more control over how home buyers view your listing.