Susan Doran

Susan Doran is a Toronto-based freelance writer who has been contributing to REM since its very first issue.

The post The industry abroad: India’s push & pull of growth, professionalism and tradition appeared first on REM.

Web of Words

Web of Words is an award-winning creative marketing agency passionate about helping entrepreneurs use their voices, share their stories and grow their businesses. Specializing in copywriting, web design, branding and social media marketing, they’ve helped hundreds of small businesses expand their impact online and off. Find out more at webofwords.ca.

The post Five common website mistakes realtors make (and how to fix them) appeared first on REM.

The Salesforce State of the Connected Customer report says that 48 per cent of Baby Boomers, 58 per cent of Gen Xers, 63 per cent of Millennials and 61 per cent of Gen Zers expect companies to anticipate their needs. This expectation is a result of the personalization and instant support they receive when doing almost all of their shopping, traveling and generally living.

As more Millennials and Gen Zers, who are willing to pay for experience, enter the marketplace, they’ll want to work with real estate professionals who understand how to deliver top-notch service. In fact, a cursory review of the complaints submitted to the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) shows that most complaints are about poor delivery of service and a failure to anticipate the needs of buyers and sellers. Examples from RECO’s summaries of complaints hammer home that you can avoid complaints by consistently delivering experiences of exceptional quality. Here are some examples:

The buyer’s representative booked a showing, which he attended alone without his clients, without clarifying the intent of the showing with the sellers. Additionally, the buyer’s representative left his shoes on during the appointment.

The listing for the subject property indicated that showings would start on a specific date. The buyer’s representative called to book an appointment closer to that date and was informed that the property was sold.

The buyer’s representative paid a visit to the unit without prior notice to the seller.

During a home inspection, the buyer’s representative failed to ensure that the buyer did not bring their children to the appointment and failed to supervise the buyers, who used the seller’s blanket and toys without consent.

The buyer’s representative failed to attend and cancel the showing appointment.

The property manager found the registrant’s advertising board placed in front of their property signage, without permission. The registrant stated that he did not place the signage at that location and when he went to remove it, the sign was no longer there.

What’s the theme? Common courtesy, certainly. But more than ever there is demand for top-quality delivery of service. Agents must have a five-star level of service; especially as poor service will likely result in a loss of future business.

However, in one’s efforts to deliver excellent service, this shouldn’t be conflated with an overzealous interpretation of one’s fiduciary duties. For example, slightly more than a year ago, RECO’s Discipline Committee fined a Realtor who knew that the seller concealed a broken hot tub by covering it with a wooden deck. The buyers obtained a house inspection, but the inspector never identified that a hot tub was on the property, as it was hidden. The buyers found out about the broken hot tub sometime after they bought the home because it started to smell (it was filled with water and decomposing rats).

In my years working with Realtors, I can imagine that the selling agent thought he was protecting the interests of his client by not revealing what he likely thought was a problem that no longer existed. After all, discretion and fierce loyalty to one’s client is part of what it means to deliver exemplary service.

What agents must learn on top of legal, structural and zoning matters is the difference between exemplary service and not lying about the state of the property. Understanding this distinction is imperative to not only ensure you have a happy client and that you meet new customer expectations but also because RECO will be broadening its powers to investigate a registrant’s conduct whether or not there is a formal complaint. As such, Realtors everywhere should ask questions of their customers as to how their customers would like to communicate and their expectations of the Realtor. And then the Realtor better deliver on these expectations. It’s clear that the new consumer demands it – and so will RECO.

Natalka Falcomer

Natalka Falcomer is a lawyer, real estate broker and Certified Leasing Officer who started her real estate career in private equity. She created, hosted and co-produced a popular legal call-in show on Rogers TV and founded and recently sold Groundworks, a firm specializing in commercial leasing law. She is currently the Chief Real Estate Officer of Houseful.ca, leading the development and expansion of the company’s personalized home buying and selling experience for the Canadian market. She sits as an advisor on NAR REACH Canada and is the former multi-year board member of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

The post Why ‘five-star service’ is the new standard appeared first on REM.

But integrity isn’t merely wanting to do the right thing. It’s about taking your responsibilities seriously and seeking out the knowledge and skills you need to deliver better results. That’s why the more knowledge and skills you have, the better you sleep.

Knowledge is the deep chest of information you rely upon to make informed and intelligent decisions and recommendations to your clients. But knowledge doesn’t create success on its own. You need skills to fully utilize and monetize your knowledge.

Skills are how you bring everything together to accomplish more with ease and confidence.

A highly skilled agent with high integrity and a deep chest of knowledge is unstoppable.

It’s possible to have high integrity and a deep chest of knowledge but low skills.

These agents know what their clients should be doing, but somehow they can never get the message across. As a result, they often become disillusioned with their careers.

It’s possible to have high integrity and highly refined skills but lack the deep foundational knowledge that those skills should be built upon. These agents make an excessive number of mistakes and often quit the industry out of sheer frustration, ironically, because they have high integrity.

It’s possible to have deep knowledge and highly refined skills but lack integrity.

These agents focus on their own needs rather than their clients’. Despite the never-ending bluster and bravado, they’re not nearly as successful as they like to portray. They rarely get repeat business or referrals, so they need to continuously spend heavily to attract new business. As soon as they stop advertising, their business grinds to a halt.

To become a great agent, you need all three elements: Integrity, knowledge and skills.

When you can honestly say, “I care, I know, I can,” it’s impossible not to become highly successful in real estate. And you can stop chasing after low-quality “leads.”

The integrity part is a critical prerequisite that can’t be taught.

Knowledge and skills? The more you gain, the easier it gets.

Wait. Is this a blatant advertisement to sell my course? Sort of, but actually, I’ve got an ulterior motive.

Here’s how you can become the best Realtor you can be with unlimited lifetime access to the Agent Skills Master’s Program (do it at your own pace), and 100 per cent of the proceeds go directly to support Ukrainian refugees.

Simply click on this link.

It’s the lowest price ever offered and I don’t even want to see the money – only the charitable receipt. The offer ends on April 15 or when there are 50 sign ups, whichever comes first.

What do I get out of it? The knowledge that me and you are making a real difference to people who desperately need our help.

Ted Greenhough

After Ted Greenhough’s first year as a Realtor, he earned between $590,000-$865,000 every year for 12 consecutive years, all as an individual agent, without ever once making a cold call, reciting a canned script or doing any other “salesy” stuff. Now he runs Agent Skills, an online learning program for agents across North America.

The post The 3 most critical elements of every great real estate agent appeared first on REM.

Well, the two go hand-in-hand in this case. Professionalism and credibility can both be torn down through your marketing and your actions. Watch!

David Greenspan

David Greenspan, CEO and founder of #MindShare101 is a nationally recognized keynote speaker, trainer and coach who helps sales professionals and businesses improve their sales and marketing efforts by
bridging the gap between online and offline marketing to achieve a higher ROI on every marketing dollar spent. His direct, raw, and real approach is designed to motivate you and give you the advice you need to know.
David’s goal is to help you build MindShare, creating a top-of-mind intuitive, instinctive reaction so when people think of the product or service you offer, they think of your name first, always putting you
in the right place at the right time to take your business to the next level.

The post This is the easiest way to lose your credibility appeared first on REM.

Real estate professionals who are skilled in properly pricing a home and negotiating a sale get no respect in the current market, he says, when it seems everyone is pricing homes well below market value to create multiple offers.

He asks, “What is happening in these insane times as real estate prices continue to escalate and more and more people decide to become Realtors? What will the next three to five years bring?”

Barry Lebow

Barry Lebow, FRI, Master-ASA, ABR, SRES, is one of Canada’s most recognized real estate authorities. Now in his 54th year of professional real estate, Barry has been honoured by many real estate associations for his work in the profession. He has testified in more than 500 trials across North America. He is the founder of the Accredited Senior Agent designation program. A teacher, trainer and educator, he is an active broker at Re/Max Ultimate Realty in Toronto. Visit barrylebow.com to contact Barry.

The post Barry Lebow on part-timers and no respect for real estate skills appeared first on REM.

I’m referring to logging in late, and by late I mean arriving at exactly the appointed meeting time. I learned the lesson decades ago as a university student at a business class where they had invited a vice president of Trimac Transportation as guest speaker to share real-world advice on unwritten rules of advancing your career and enhancing your workplace reputation.

One of his tips was the importance of arriving for meetings on time. He explained that if you arrive 10 minutes early, the client may feel rushed. And it looks like you didn’t have much else to do. If you arrive just one or two minutes early or at exactly the appointed time, it seems like you barely made it, and they might have already been wondering if you’d show up. Let’s not even talk about arriving late! “The ideal time to arrive for a meeting,” he advised, “is five minutes early.”

I believe that five-minute rule still applies, particularly for virtual meetings. I was reminded of it recently when I was asked to mentor a business student as a favour to a colleague. The student and I scheduled a Zoom meeting, and he arrived at exactly the appointed time. I was slightly annoyed. He requested the meeting, yet he isn’t there to greet me as I arrive? Imagine if you were invited to someone’s home and you show up a few minutes early (which you shouldn’t, but that’s a different tip), only to find the host doing chores and surprised to see you. Doesn’t exactly make you feel special or welcome, does it?

More importantly these days, we all may be suffering from a lack of in-person connections with customers, colleagues and coworkers. Arriving at meeting start time means losing the opportunity for pre-meeting chit chat. In person, you arrive for a meeting five minutes ahead of time, get settled in and quietly ask your colleague next to you, “How is your mom doing after her surgery?” We lose that kind of intimacy when there are five people on a Teams call covering agenda point #3. Plus, with technology there’s a chance we may have some technical glitches that take some time to get sorted.

What do you think – is just in time really on time? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Jeff Mowatt

This article is based on the bestselling book Influence with Ease by customer service strategist and Hall of Fame motivational speaker Jeff Mowatt. To obtain your own copy of his book or to inquire about engaging Jeff for your team, visit www.jeffmowatt.com.

The post The rudest thing you can do in a virtual meeting appeared first on REM.

Based on cases that I have dealt with over the years, here are some recommendations on how not to get sued by doing a proper job when buying or listing.

One that I believe should be primary: Always go into MLS, search the address of the property you are going to list or sell and go back to see all listings as far back as your system permits. Look for the major criteria – lot size is a big one – easements if noted, broker’s comments. Maybe it had UFFI, a marijuana grow-op, non-zoning compliance and more that your seller today is not disclosing.

If you are in litigation and there were conflicting previous listings, then why did you not check? If someone can find the former listings to hold against you, then you should have found them as well.

Flood plains are a major issue and have resulted in too many cases where agents have been sued for not disclosing. Depending on where you are in Canada, did you go into the website for the local conservation authority or did you look at flood plain maps? I currently have three cases where the agents did not verify these facts and told the buyers that they could build. One involves a multi-million-dollar commercial complex that can never go forward.

Termites are a big deal in some cities. You should know the termite areas. Toronto is one of the most infested of Canadian cities but there are termites in Southern Alberta and on the West Coast as well.

In Toronto, a prudent agent calls the leading termite pest control firms to see if they have a record of treating the house. Recently when I checked on a new listing of mine, I was informed that the attached house next door was treated. That led to a termite inspection of my listing and now, treatment. When acting as the buying agent in a known termite area, a simple clause that the seller to the best of their knowledge did not know about termites nor have treatments is mandatory. In two cases, the agents never inserted such a clause and guess what was found after closing? Yes, termites.

Zoning: If your client tells you it is a legal duplex or whatever, do you just take their word? No, you go physically to the municipality, you log the time you arrived, who you spoke to and what they reported to you. I can attest to this. You can phone in to some municipalities but I have found too many wrong answers from city clerks who just want to shrug us off. Take the time and physically go. In older sections of larger cities, I do not trust my clients when they say they have onsite parking. I always go to city hall to verify and while there, I ask about building permits.

The law is clear, if the information is in the public domain and anyone could have easily accessed it, then why didn’t you?

Always Google, then Bing, then Yahoo (yes, all three) every civic address that you are working on – always! Surprises do pop up, especially if that property was a crime scene or had a fire or other damage.

There are many more acts of a lack of diligence but these are the dominant cases of late. Too many of the cases that I write expert reports about would never have happened if the agents had exercised diligence, checked facts and asked the right questions. You cannot take a seller’s word for anything. Court cases (Krawchuk v Sherbak) have determined that in Canada.

Be careful, be cautious, be diligent and never be sued!

Barry Lebow

Barry Lebow, FRI, Master-ASA, ABR, SRES, is one of Canada’s most recognized real estate authorities. Now in his 54th year of professional real estate, Barry has been honoured by many real estate associations for his work in the profession. He has testified in more than 500 trials across North America. He is the founder of the Accredited Senior Agent designation program. A teacher, trainer and educator, he is an active broker at Re/Max Ultimate Realty in Toronto. Visit barrylebow.com to contact Barry.

The post Mistakes that land salespeople in litigation appeared first on REM.

Jennifer McIntosh

Jennifer McIntosh, a real estate agent with eXp Realty in Calgary and the owner of The Big Pink Chair Real Estate, lists her pet peeves with other agents:

• “Agents who refuse to talk on the phone when dealing with an offer, only texting or emailing (sometimes, things get lost in translation).
• “People who don’t follow protocols for COVID-19 (not wearing masks in homes or having too many people in showings).
• “When agents ask their clients to call the selling Realtor to show the listing because they are too busy.
• “When agents feel that the negotiations need to be adversarial – you get more bees with honey…
• “When you show a home and the Realtor hasn’t put a keychain on the key in the box (CRAZY EASY TO LOSE). It may fall into the porch or cracks and then we need to hire a locksmith (and yes, this has happened!)
• “When your photos that you paid for or took the time to take yourself are stolen from a previous listing of yours (expired or terminated).”

Speaking of pictures, some sales reps use a heavy hand with Photoshop. It’s happened to most agents – their buyers find an MLS listing that looks perfect for them so you set up a showing. But when you get there, the home doesn’t even resemble the pictures that have been Photoshopped to the point of absurdity. What a waste of time! We won’t even get into descriptions of listings that don’t even begin to accurately represent the property.

Amber Jenings

Amber Jenings is the broker of record and owner of Peak Point Real Estate in Sauble Beach, Ont. (the location of my current favourite Netflix binge, Motel Makeover). I laughed out loud at a call she had from an agent regarding her location. “It triggers me when out-of-town agents call and ask if Sauble Beach, in fact, has running water and electricity. (Insert hand slapping own face emoji here.) Good Lord.” I doubt Jenings laughed at the idiocy as she was too busy cringing.

Incorrectly written offers are a huge annoyance for every agent I contacted for this piece. Jenings says it best, “The amount of offers I receive from other agents that are poorly written is literally mind-blowing. I’m not sure the multiple-choice exams for new registrants are doing anyone any favours. Back in my day, we actually had to write out the full answers on exams, not just pick ‘C’.” Offers that go ignored for days are not cool either, another peeve of many.

Showings are a hotbed of frustration when dealing with other agents. Not just being late for showings but overstaying past appointment times, causing the next appointment to have to wait. Or being a no-show without giving the listing agent (or anyone else) a heads up. It’s a blatant lack of respect for everyone else’s time.

Jenings has her own pet peeve with showings. “It triggers me when out of town agents call to book a showing but say they’ll just give their clients the lock box code as they can’t make the three-hour drive this weekend. Ya no, sorry bro. Is this an alternate universe? In what world are we sending clients to view properties on their own, much less giving out lock box codes to non-registrants?” We won’t even touch the safety issues with that scenario.

MLS listings are another deep well of frustrations when it comes to fellow agents. Not updating a listing for a ridiculous amount of time once it is sold is a huge irritation. Agents often slack on changing a listing to “sold” (or leave sold listings on their websites for months) with the hopes of getting their phone to ring, but it’s still irksome to other agents.

“I love when I see pictures posted to MLS with dark rooms, or ones that are literally upside down, or where you can tell the agent has taken a picture with their smartphone,” says Jenings. “It really underscores to the public the value of using a Realtor.”

A number of agents were happy to share their pet peeves about other agents off the record. Here are some of their comments:

• While it is a few bad apples that make the rest of us look bad, agents who don’t ask for help when they are clueless are doing everyone a disservice.
• Agents who are only focused on making a lot of money and could care less about the best interests of their clients.
• Agents who don’t identify themselves when they call.
• Agents who treat real estate like a hobby instead of a business; they are usually impossible to reach when they are working their day jobs.
• Making statements that they have no knowledge about.
• Agents who never call you back.
• Realtors who suck at communication.
• Agents who submit an offer to purchase before qualifying the buyer.

Boyd (Cowboyd) de La Boursodiere

Boyd (Cowboyd) de La Boursodiere is president of Cowboyd Realties in Montreal, vice-president of the West-Island Brokers Association in Montreal and a real estate agent with Sun Realty in Naples, Florida. He shares one of his main annoyances with other agents: “It would trigger me when agents would call me on one of my listings and their first question was, ‘Why is the price so high?’

“I would then answer them, ‘Do you have a buyer for my property or are you just calling to bug me?’ Inevitably they did have a buyer, and I would say, ‘Why don’t you look at the 3.5 per cent commission you’re getting?’ Then they would say, ‘How do you work on ½ per cent?’ My answer was, ‘Why is that? My sellers are very generous and pay me seven per cent, not four per cent, and that’s why you’re getting 3.5 per cent. Now why don’t you just let your buyers decide if they want to visit the property or not? Then let them decide if they would like to make an offer or not?’”

Thankfully it’s a small percentage of real estate agents that seem to make it their life’s mission to annoy everyone else in the industry. No matter how much an agent bugs you, try not to let anyone ruin your day. As Cowboyd says: “Don’t let anybody irk you, nobody.”

Toby Welch

Toby Welch is a contributing writer for REM.

The post Those annoying things that real estate agents do appeared first on REM.

It often means the person isn’t happy about something. Naturally, our mind starts thinking about going into defense mode or apologizing.

No matter where you are or who it is that is speaking to you, this is how you should handle yourself – and how you can help them get they came for. This is how you always come out on top.

David Greenspan

David Greenspan, CEO and founder of #MindShare101 is a nationally recognized keynote speaker, trainer and coach who helps sales professionals and businesses improve their sales and marketing efforts by
bridging the gap between online and offline marketing to achieve a higher ROI on every marketing dollar spent. His direct, raw, and real approach is designed to motivate you and give you the advice you need to know.
David’s goal is to help you build MindShare, creating a top-of-mind intuitive, instinctive reaction so when people think of the product or service you offer, they think of your name first, always putting you
in the right place at the right time to take your business to the next level.

The post How to think on your toes in any situation appeared first on REM.