I am both pleased and shocked to advise you that this column marks 25 years for me in service to the real estate industry. My last job at a “main stream” newspaper was with the Globe and Mail in 1979.
It’s an old line, but I cannot help but say it. It seems like yesterday. [...]

By Jerry Heed

 
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board has approximately 2,000 members. Each year members pay about $4 million to create and maintain the MLS database, which is the main function of the board. That works out to $2,000 per member. There are some 72,000 Realtors in Canada. If we apply the same formula, it means [...]

During precontractural negotiations with their customers, Realtors can and often do make various types of representations. This may include many things that take place before the future client signs on the dotted line. Such representations can be conveyed either by words or by conduct and may involve past or present material facts, with the intent [...]

I read with interest Malcolm Morrison’s article in the July issue of REM (Get ready for inevitable interest rate hikes).
Gavin Graham, vice-president and director of investments for the Guardian Group of Funds, says in the article: “Anybody who hasn’t locked in their mortgage — at least a three-year if not a five-year mortgage, at (current) [...]

These are the dog days of summer, the worst time for a deadline column writer, the first week after the August long weekend and nothing is happening. Well, some things are happening, nothing of interest though — the same old, same old — as it should be.
Politicians are slogging each other, tuning up for [...]

The Toronto Real Estate Board’s new photography fleet has been transformed into mobile billboards using a technology called vehicle wraps. The wraps are printed on durable vinyl that is designed to last up to five years. The graphics used on the vehicles mirror that of TREB’s public website and are anchored by TREB’s slogan, “Make [...]

Re/Max Hallmark Realty in Toronto recently introduced a new home detailing service designed to help vendors maximize their resale potential and net the highest possible price for their homes. Developed in co-operation with FabriZone Cleaning Systems, the service is exclusive to Re/Max Hallmark Realty, and the company says it’s the first of its kind in [...]

Michael Krisa and Sheila Hensley were named Pinnacle Award recipients at the National Association of Real Estate Consultants national conference recently San Antonio, Tx.  The annual founder’s award is in recognition of the most significant annual contribution to NAREC, real estate consulting, and fee-for-services.
“Sheila and Michael have worked tirelessly for NARECR to share our [...]

Rosemary Barnes of Park Georgia Realty, Coquitlam has been elected chair of the Real Estate Council of British Columbia. Dougal Shewan of Royal LePage Wolstencroft in Langley was elected vice-chair. Seventeen members of the Real Estate Council are agents and salespersons elected to represent all areas of the province. There are also two government-appointed public [...]

CREA past-president James Lowden passed away suddenly at the age of 88. He is survived by his wife Cecilia and sons James and Blake, as well as three grandchildren. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held in Ottawa in September. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be directed [...]