Real Advice E-News Issue 2 (December 21, 2017)

Real Advice is a weekly e-newsletter helping licensees prepare for regulatory changes.

December 21, 2017

Working Together to Put Consumer Protection First

Welcome to week two of RECBC’s Real Advice e-newsletter, bringing you information to support you in complying with new Consumer Protection Rules being introduced by the Superintendent of Real Estate in March 2018.

Beginning March 15, 2018 all BC real estate licensees will be required to:

• No longer provide limited dual agency
• Use a new mandatory Council form to disclose expected remuneration (i.e. payment)
• Use a new mandatory Council form to explain to consumers the difference between being an unrepresented party and being represented by a real estate licensee as a client, and
• Use a new mandatory Council form to explain the risks of being an unrepresented party in a real estate transaction.

In this brief video, Erin Seeley, RECBC’s Executive Officer, explains why these changes were made, the goal of the new rules, and how RECBC will help you navigate the new landscape of real estate services.

Answers to Your Questions

Since the Rules were announced in November, we’ve been encouraging licensees to send us questions. So far, more than 100 have been submitted, on a variety of issues.

Today, we’re answering some of the questions that we’ve heard most frequently, and each week we’ll continue to post new answers to your top questions.

• Can a team acting as designated agent for a seller deal with an unrepresented buyer?
  • Yes, with appropriate disclosures. However, dealing with someone as an unrepresented buyer presents risks. Read the full explanation on our FAQ page.
• Can you stop acting as a designated agent for a seller client as a member of a team, in order to begin acting for a buyer in the same transaction as their sole designated agent?
  • No. You should encourage the buyer to seek independent representation. Read the full explanation on our FAQ page.
• How narrow is the exemption to the rule prohibiting dual agency?
  • Extremely narrow. Read the full explanation on our FAQ page.
• Is double ending a deal still allowed?
  • The new rules address dual agency, not double-ending. Read the full explanation on our FAQ page.
• Do you need to make disclosures of expected remuneration when acting for lessors of property?
  • No. Read the full explanation on our FAQ page.

Find answers to these questions and more in the New Rules FAQ on our website. Do you have a question that hasn’t been covered in our online FAQ? Send it to us, using our online form.

Here’s a snapshot of other questions we’ve received that we will be answering in the weeks ahead:

• What will the ban on dual agency mean for small brokerages?
• How should licensees handle former clients?
• How should referral fees be handled?
• How should licensees make disclosure of expected remuneration in multiple offer situations?
• When is it appropriate to treat someone as an unrepresented party?
• What will the ban on dual agency mean for niche markets, and for commercial transactions?

Published on Dec 21, 2017