april 2013

Terminating an employee is never easy Page 8

Top 10 simple truths for

salespeople Page 26

Roots of Re/Max are 3 generations deepPage 3

Issue #286 April 2013

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Frank Polzler

An exclusive excerpt from the memoir of

the co-founder of Re/Max in Canada

Page 38

To join an outstanding organization with outstanding agents, talk to your local RE/MAX Broker Owner or visit

joinremax.ca

hen Frank J. Polzlerco-founded Re/MaxOntario-Atlantic in

Canada more than three decadesago with his business partnerWalter J. Schneider, little didPolzler know at the time that hewas helping to create a companythat would one day become areal estate empire of over 2,300franchised offices and 27,000sales associates in 35 countries.The Austrian-born immigrant,who came to Canada in 1953,would be the first to say thatmuch of the company’s success isdue to the strong bond of hisfamily, whose lives are rooted inreal estate, and that Re/Max isthe common thread that bindsthem.

The current chairman contin-ues to play a leading role in thecompany’s growth and success (seethe story on page 38). REMrecently talked to his daughter,grandson and granddaughter whocurrently work for Re/Max in var-ious capacities.

Pamela Alexander, CEO andmanaging director, NorthAmerican operations, Re/MaxOntario-Atlantic Canada andIntegra Enterprises Corporation

As a 15-year-old girl answeringthe telephone in her father’s realestate office after school, PamelaAlexander noticed several thingsabout her father, Frank Polzler,which would shape her work ethicand influence her to follow hisfoot-steps into the world of realestate.

“He was such a hard worker,”she says from the company’sMississauga head office. “He

REM APRIL 2013 3

W

Roots of Re/Max are 3 generations deepBy Dennis McCloskey

“The only rock that I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family.” – Lee Iacocca, former president of Ford and Chrysler

became a fantastic mentor and Iwas greatly influenced by his posi-tive and optimistic manner.”

It wasn’t written in stone thatPolzler’s daughter would enter thereal estate field; in fact Pamela saysinitially she had no interest in realestate after completing university.She got a job in sales but realizedbeing a salesperson didn’t fit herpersonality and was simply not herforte. But then she discovered sheenjoyed – and was very interestedin – the management and opera-tions side of business.

So in March 1980 sheentered the field of real estate by establishing Re/MaxProfessionals, the first Re/Maxfranchise to open in EasternCanada. She and her husbandJohn were responsible for theexponential growth of theProfessionals franchise. Pamelasubsequently held numerouspositions in office administrationand operations developmentwithin the organization and lit-erally worked her way from theground up to the executivesuites.

Today she and John have fouradult children and the couplelives in Mississauga. WhenPamela was asked to furtherexplain the influence her fatherhad on her life and career, shewas not at a loss for words. “First,he allowed me to be my own per-son. He was always in the back-ground but he allowed me tomake my own mistakes and

develop my own style.” She addsthat he was very supportive butnot a micro-manager.

Pamela also speaks highly ofher mother, who has beendivorced from Polzler for 35years but they remain goodfriends. “She is a very confidentand focused individual whoearned English Literaturedegrees much later in life.”

Alexander, whose brotherMichael Polzler is a senior VP ofthe company and managingdirector for Re/Max of Europe,says she is aware that the vastmajority of family businesses donot survive through second andthird generations, but shebelieves her family’s success canbe attributed to many factors.

“My brother and my childrenare natural ‘people people’ whoinherited a can-do attitude,” shesays. “And we have no sense ofentitlement. We have all earnedour own stripes. I am my father’sdaughter and I knew I had toprove myself.” She adds thathaving her dad’s respect was ahuge motivator.

Another possible key to theclan’s success is that while theyare always there for each other,according to Pamela they areable to separate the businessdynamic from the family dynam-ic. “We don’t talk real estate allthe time at the cottage or atother family gatherings. Theyare separate worlds,” she says,adding that the enjoyment theyexperience in the social/businesssetting extends to their relation-ship with the Schneider family,whom she describes as “incredi-ble people.”

It is evident there is a goodmix of business and pleasurewithin the family. While she andher father are “passing the torch”to two of her children who areinvolved in the business, Pamelaspeaks fondly of her love ofnature, bird watching, walking,biking, skiing, swimming andtravel. “We are very family ori-ented,” she says. “Life for me isfamily and work…in that order.”

Leah Ambler, broker/ownerand director of agent productivityat Re/Max Professionals

Frank Polzler’s granddaughteris following in her motherPamela Alexander’s footsteps.As a young woman, Leah workedat the front desk and in account-ing at her parents’ brokeragebusiness. But after graduatingwith a BA from WesternUniversity in Family Studies,and studying Sales andMarketing at Sheridan College,Leah did not work in the familybusiness at first.

Pamela Alexander receivesDiamond Jubilee Medal

In recognition of contributions made to improve the lives of chil-dren and families throughout the global community through PlanCanada, Re/Max Ontario-Atlantic Canada CEO Pamela Alexander wasdecorated with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

The medal was created to mark the 60th anniversary of Her MajestyQueen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne. It was presented to60,000 citizens nationwide.

Alexander was honoured for her 30-year commitment to advancingthe vital work of Plan Canada, the world’s largest international devel-opment agency. Plan Canada is a global movement for change, mobi-lizing millions of people around the world to support social justice forchildren in developing countries. In 2012, Plan’s work impacted thelives of over 174 million people – including 84 million children – in over90,100 communities around the world.

“I believe that when you have the ability and the opportunity tomake a difference, you should seize it,” says Alexander. “Even a smallcontribution is enough to prompt change – every little bit helps.Whether at home or abroad, there is always a need to be filled or a life-altering advancement to be made. We are all inherently global citizens,and there is no better way to celebrate humanity than to be a stewardof its progress.”

Money raisedthrough sponsor-ships provides achild with life-sus-taining essentialsincluding adequatenutrition, access toclean water and san-itation, health care,education and familyincome. Alexander’scommitment to PlanCanada and its pro-grams began in1982, with the spon-sorship of her firstfoster child.

Pamela Alexander receives her award fromSasha Jacob, Canadian Board member, PlanCanada.

Continued on page 6P

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4 REM APRIL 2013

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

By Jim Adair, REM Editor

educating new immigrants withtheir business and housinginvestments.

■ ■ ■

Valerie Haskett-Chugg, bro-ker of Prudential HighlandProperties in Antigonish, N.S., hasjoined the Royal LePage franchisenetwork. The office will now oper-ate under the name of RoyalLePage Highland Properties.

Haskett-Chugg has operatedPrudential Highland Properties for20 years.

In addition to Antigonish, the office serves the areas ofGuysborough, Pictou County andPort Hawkesbury.

n independent realestate company ownedby Maziar Ahanin of

Toronto is now Century 21Bayview Real Estate. The com-pany specializes in new homesand condominiums. Ahanin sayshis team expects to expand itsservices in the resale market aswell as their marketing initia-tives with new developments.He has 10 years of experience asa brokerage owner and is ofteninterviewed on Canadian andIranian radio, newspaper andtelevision. He also speaks at var-ious universities. Ahanin is awell-established figure in theIranian community, assisting and

A

agents into great agents,” saysDuplisea.

■ ■ ■

Real estate runs in the family,so it is was with great pride thatTerry Trembinski, a former presi-dent of the Ontario Real EstateAssociation and owner of ExitRealty Lake Superior, recentlyannounced that he was turningover his brokerage operation to hisson and daughter, Rob and KristenTrembinski. “Our father has setthe bar high here in the city grow-ing the brokerage to one of the topmarket positions. We have bigshoes to fill,” says Rob.

“When I shifted from sellingand started working on the man-agement side of the business lastyear, I knew this was for me. Thento have the opportunity to workside-by-side with my brother tobuy the business and take it to thenext level was absolutely irre-sistible,” says Kristen. “We totallycomplement each other and are sovery fortunate to still have ourfather’s guidance whenever weneed it.”

Joyce Paron, Exit’s president –Canada says: “Terry Trembinskiwas part of the original group ofpeople who helped to launch ExitRealty. He was instrumental inExit’s growth in the early years andcontinues to be an invaluablemember of our organization.”

■ ■ ■

Natalka Falcomer, the host ofToronto Speaks: Legal Advice onRogers TV recently joined RightAt Home Realty as a salesperson.Falcomer graduated from OsgoodeHall Law School while receivingnumerous awards for her academic

achievements. Following a briefperiod on Bay Street, she movedinto the world of media.

Toronto Speaks: Legal Adviceairs live once a month on Mondaysat 9 pm and is repeated throughoutthe month on Channel 10(Toronto) and 63 (Scarborough).

■ ■ ■

Louise Parker and ValerieKnol are expanding their Exit fran-chise to Truro, N.S. They are thecurrent owners of Exit Realty 1stCall in Elmsdale and will create asecond office in Truro.

“Truro is a fabulous market-place for us to grow our brand. Thearea agents have been very recep-tive and we feel this is a perfect fitfor our business plans,” says Parker.

■ ■ ■

An enthusiastic crowd of ExitRealty associates from acrossCanada gathered in Monctonrecently for Exit’s annualFranchisee Conference and SalesRally. “Everywhere you lookedwere real estate champions – somethe top in their city – learning,sharing, laughing and enjoying thespecial camaraderie that Exit isknown for, “ says Mike McCarron,supervisor for growth and develop-ment for Canada. “Watching fran-chisees who are part of Real TrendsTop 250 brokerages in Canadamingling with newer owners andagents, offering their assistance andwords of advice, was inspiring.”

Event speakers included BobMcKinnon, Victoria Rivadeneiraand Craig Witt, three of Exit’s newU.S. regional presidents; SharronRichardson, vice-president ofExit’s broker services; and toptrainer Johnny Loewy. REM

■ ■ ■

Philip Duplisea and DavidSawler, franchisees of Exit RealtyAdvantage in Fredericton, haveexpanded their operation with anew office in Oromocto, N.B. “Tocontinue our growth momentumwe knew this was the best businessdecision. This new location putsour firm on the doorstep of one ofthe most active military bases inCanada,” says Sawler.

The branch office comple-ments their current brokerage,which boasts 10,000 square feet ofspace and offers specialized in-house training for their agents.“Our focus is to transform good

Maziar Ahanin Valerie Haskett-Chugg

iPro Realty recently opened itsninth location in Muskoka, Ont.Patti Secord, above, iPro regionalmanager for the MuskokaHaliburton region, shows off thesign. Philip Duplisea David Sawler

Natalka Falcomer Louise Parker and Valerie Knol Kristen and Rob Trembinski

THE

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“I wanted to prove myself,” shesays, reflecting her mother’s earli-er, youthful feelings. She workedas a mobile mortgage specialist atRBC for two years and became amortgage broker. She got her realestate licence in 2005 and soldreal estate for three years, becom-ing an award-winning sales associ-ate with Re/Max Professionals.

Her uncle, Michael Polzler,recruited her to Re/Max Ontario-Atlantic Canada’s head office towork in franchise development.She is currently the broker ofrecord for the family firm inEtobicoke, responsible for agentproductivity and the long-termgrowth of the company. Leah, 31,and her husband, Paul, are theparents of one-year-old Jackson.

She says she was totally influ-enced to get into real estate by her

Roots of Re/MaxContinued from page 3

grandfather, who told her that itwas important for her to makesomething of herself and to do it onher own so she would have some-thing to call her own. “He was anexcellent mentor,” says Leah. Shealso describes her parents as rolemodels, and when asked to describethe benefits of having parents and agrandparent in the business, Leahsays she never feels judged. “Wehave open and honest conversa-tions and I don’t feel that I have tohold back.”

As a “talent scout” for Re/Max,one of her goals is to recruityounger people into the companyand help make their jobs easierthrough technology and supportsystems. A snowboarder who lovesto exercise and travel, Leah ismindful of the family dynasty andadmits there is a lot of weight onher shoulders to do well. “I justwant to make my family proud,”she says.

Christopher Alexander, salesrep, Re/Max Professionals

Like his mother, uncle andolder sister, 27-year-oldChristopher Alexander grew up inthe real estate business.

As a Grade 10 student,Christopher did a school projectthat initially sparked an interest inreal estate. He remembers think-ing at the time that he mightenjoy a career in the business.During summers in high school heworked for his family’s company in

the accounting department. Buthe attended Carleton Universityand got a BA in Art History.

When he decided he did notwant to pursue a career in teach-ing, his mind reverted to thethought that he had in highschool, about working in realestate. He also admits today thathis grandfather Frank had aninfluence on his career choice.

“I knew he had a dream for me and my sister to get involved in Re/Max Professionals,”Christopher says. So he enteredthe business and worked his wayup through various administrativepositions with Re/Max until hebecame licensed in 2010.

Today, after three years of sell-ing, he declares that he loves thebusiness. “I want to make my markas an agent before consideringother growth opportunities,” hesays. “My grandfather instilled inme that I’d have to make it on my

own; nothing would be handed tome.”

Christopher believes that anysuccess he might enjoy in the busi-ness is up to him because “the con-sumer cares what I can do forthem.” He believes that the market-ing tools and negotiating skills hehas developed came from the bestteachers and mentors: his family.

When asked what it’s like tohave his mother as “the boss”, hemaintains that she listens to himand often takes his advice. “Wevalue each other’s opinions andexpertise,” he says.

Christopher, who is single andlives in downtown Toronto, is anavid snowboarder and traveler. Healso enjoys basketball, gatherings atthe family cottage at Pine Lake inthe Muskokas, and he is an activeparticipant with his family and col-leagues raising funds for theChildren’s Miracle Network.

REM

6 REM APRIL 2013

PublisherHEINO MOLLS

email: [email protected]

Director, Sales & MarketingDENNIS ROCK


Manager, French EditionMICHEL [email protected]

Digital Media Manager WILLIAM [email protected]

Editor in ChiefJIM ADAIR


Distribution & ProductionMILA PURCELL

[email protected]

Art DirectorLIZ MACKIN

Graphic DesignSHAWN KELLY

Brand DesignSANDRA GOODER

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. For subscription information, email [email protected]. Entire contents copyright2013 REM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is pro-hibited. The opinions expressed in REM are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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Cover photo: MARKO SHARK

splashy private receptionin the penthouse at theTrump International

Hotel and Tower in Toronto, withan appearance by World Seriesbaseball hero Joe Carter, launchedthe country’s newest real estate brokerage, Canada Realty Inc.

The new firm is owned by pres-ident and CEO ChristopherSamdeo and broker of record AriusIri. Initially they hope to attract 25sales reps as they launch the firm in downtown Toronto, offeringboth residential and commercialservices.

“We have a big vision butwe’re going to start small,” saysSamdeo, adding that he “wantsmy agents to feel they can growfrom the residential side to thecommercial side. We’ll give themopportunities to learn the com-mercial business.”

The firm will offer 100-per-centcommissions. Samdeo’s background

is in marketing and promotions,and for the launch of CanadaRealty he showcased some of therelationships he has built. As avideo of Samdeo chatting withactor Charlie Sheen played duringthe reception, other guests attend-ing included Michael Tait of WNPharmaceuticals, Andrew Hamblinof AirSprint Private Aviation, a pri-vate aircraft provider and lawyerLarry Ellis of Cassel Brock.

“It speaks volumes if you have agreat network of friends,” saysSamdeo.

“For me, real estate is alwayssomething I wanted to do. I grew upin the Jane and Finch area inToronto. I was on my own fromwhen I was 16-years-old and Ivowed then that I would alwayshave a place to live. I think that’swhere the passion for real estatecame from,” he says.

Broker of record Iri bought hisfirst condo when he was 22,

obtained his real estate license at 25and became a broker at 28. He’sbeen working in the industry foreight years. He says he believes thecompany can expand across thecountry within five years.

“We think we can bring a freshface and a fresh image to real estatethat will make Canada Realty ahousehold name,” he says.

At the event, Samdeo used hiscontacts to create a great signingbonus for the first three sales reps tojoin the company – a trip to New

York City on one of AirSprint’s pri-vate jets for a stay at the TrumpTower in New York.

“We have a lot of fun,” he says.“We don’t do a project where wedon’t have fun.

Carter says he is pleased to workas a spokesperson for CanadaRealty. “I don’t just lend my nameout to anybody,” he says. “In the lastthree or four years, we have donesome pretty good deals withWebber Naturals, Blackberry andthe TD Bank. It’s about loyalty and

not just chasing the money. It’smaking a name for yourself andbeing out there in the communityand giving back to the community.”

A little known fact is thatCarter and his wife Diane are bothRealtors. “I just use my license forreferrals,” Carter says. “Diana is aninterior designer. She likes to findold houses and fix them up. Twoyears ago we built one of the firstLEED certified green homes inKansas City. She’s very talented.”

REM

Splashy lead-off for Canada Realty By Jim Adair

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Christopher Samdeo Arius Iri Joe Carter

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Ad Number: ROB_MOR_P13148Publication(s): REM Real Estate Professionals

This ad prepared by: SGL Communications • 2 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ontario • phone 416.413.7495 • fax 416.944.7883 File Location: SGL_N-Z:Volumes:SGL_N-Z:RBC_SRB COR:RBC_Divisions:MORTGAGE:Mortgage_2013:Mortgage_Magazine_2013:O30189_Letter Layout Revised:ROB_MOR_P13148.indd

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PREPRESS

Dear Real Estate Professionals of Canada,

We are pleased to celebrate the 3rd Annual RBC® REALTOR‡ Appreciation Week!

This event is our way of saying thanks for all your efforts and commitment to our mutual clients. We understand how critical the role of the real estate professional can be in helping Canadians to fi nd the perfect home to suit their needs and budgets.

Whether it’s working with fi rst time homebuyers to make their home ownership dreams come true, or getting a family into their next home, your commitment and hard work make a difference. With innovative tools like the RBC Inside AccessTM website, together we can build your business and continue helping clients fi nd the right home.

The strong relationships we have with you and our shared clients are key to our success. Your continued support played a role in the honour we received as the Best Retail Bank in North America 2012*.

On behalf of everyone at RBC Royal Bank, thank you for your ongoing efforts.

Sincerely,

Mike Linehan,National Head, Mortgage SpecialistsRBC Royal Bank

TM

®/TM Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. *Retail Banker International Awards, held May 18, 2012, in partnership with Retail Banker International and exclusively sponsored by Fiserv recognizes the best within retail banking globally. Just under 300 banks were nominated globally in 22 award categories. RBC Royal Bank was the only Canadian fi nancial institution to win an award. ‡ All other trademarks are the property of their respective owner(s).

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Terminating an employee is never easyDischarging a sales agent or other employee will always be stressful for both you and the employee. To avoid having the situation get out of hand be certain to go about it carefully, methodically and with forethought By Lloyd R. Manning

8 REM APRIL 2013

In my many years in the realestate and appraisal business,

from time to time it was necessary to discharge an employee. I foundit difficult the first time and equally hard the last.

If you must discharge a salesagent or a clerical employee, particularly one who has been with you for some time, it will be difficult. When this personaccepted a position within yourfirm, both parties were optimistic. However, sometimes thingsdon’t work out as intended and there must be a parting of the ways. Some may go amicably; some will be fuming, while others threaten legal action for wrongful dismissal. It always engenders intense emotions for all parties – you, the departing person and those who remain.

If the situation is not handled with discretion, it could generatea costly lawsuit. This could also apply to “constructive dismissal”, which is where by creating an oppressive environment, theemployee is forced to leave.Oversights made before, during the exit interview and after the discharge can significantly affect both broker and employee.

Terminating for just cause –“For just cause” means that the employer has a valid reason to fire this person. The reasons are numerous and could include such

infractions as poor performance, overstatement of qualifications,incompetency, violation of professional ethics, inappropriate behaviour, sexual misconduct,using drugs or drinking on the job or being belligerent to other staff members and clients. Too often it is easy to assume that if the difficulties are ignored for long enough, they will just disappear. This is wishful thinking. Inmost cases the problems become exacerbated with time.

Wrongful dismissal – Today’s labour laws appear to be structured in favour of theemployee. One only has to readthe multitude of advertisements by law firms to see that few are for the benefit of the employers. However, this does not limit your right to discharge an employee for a good reason. Just ensure that the discharge is not prejudicial or could be classified as “wrongful dismissal.” This would include discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, age, nationalityor sexual orientation. You cannotfire an agent or employee who filed a discrimination claim,refused to commit an illegal act or has a statutory right.

However, the law is not unfair. It provides the employerthe opportunity to prove thatthe dismissal was not wrongful or prejudicial. Still, be careful!

Methodically document thereasons and the steps you have taken in bringing about this action. Once you have decidedto do it, it’s a good idea to consult with your lawyer and lay outthe procedure. You may haveto defend your actions before a judge. You might not be guilty of wrongful dismissal but the cost of proving your innocence could be exorbitant. If you must appear in court, never take with you anynotes that could be construed as having even the slightest hint of prejudice. Better yet, don’t take any papers of any kind.

Some years ago, when defend-ing a major project foreclosure,opposing counsel snatched mysheath of notes and used some of that information against me.Destroy any such data that maybe in your files.

Before terminating –Discharging an employee shouldnever be a “shoot from the hip”reaction to a specific situation. It should be a well-thought-out yet timely process. Don’t delay it unnecessarily. Some years ago Ispent many hours debating withmyself whether to fire one of my best sales agents. He was a goodproducer but very disruptive and would steal newer agents’ clients under the guise of helping them out.When eventually fired, he stomped out the door with a, “You haven’theard the last of this!” Discharginghim brought peace and harmonyto the office. It should have beendone much earlier.

In another case an employeeappraiser struggled with appraisals and I struggled with him for aboutsix months. He was good at booklearning but poor in practice. There was no way to correct hispoor performance. He had the desire to be an appraiser but lacked the ability. By discharging him I did both of us a favour. He couldnow seek employment where his

talents could be used. When insimilar situations, you must satisfyyourself that you have taken allsteps to ensure that terminatingthis individual is the correct actionand doing so is best for all.

The steps:• Unless you have prior

knowledge, begin with a detailedinvestigation into cause and probable action.

• Ensure that the problem or allegations are real and have been or can be substantiated.

• Have a sit-down with the employee or sales agent and in an open, non-prejudicial manner discuss the problem or allegations.

• Give the employee every opportunity to respond.

• Seek an alternative solution to dismissal.

• Most importantly, when you are certain that the problem(s) cannot be resolved, do not sweep it under the rug. Act with discretion and candour.

Doing the deed – Having concluded that there is no alternative, take a day or three to plan the exit interview so that it creates the minimum of anguish for both you and the employee.Be certain to provide a detailed explanation of why you are taking this action. Be clear about the reasons. Document those reasons.

Whether to provide theemployee with a termination letter setting out your reasons is your call. Avoid personal, degrading or vague statements and don’t say anything that might suggest the situation is reversible. Consider the possibility of an irrational, negative combative reaction and perhaps a tear-stained appeal.Having reached this point, do it now, not tomorrow or next week. Now! Never allow an employee a few days or weeks to get his/her things in order. This only

permits this person to do nothing to further your brokerage but toperhaps bad-mouth you. Resolve the issues about confidentiality, listings, ongoing files, clientretention, return of your property and the employee becoming a competitor.

After the termination – Some remaining staff members maythink you have acted too harshly and prematurely. Others willwonder what took you so long. Saying, “It’s not your concern” or something of this sort, may not cut it. You must gauge yourself as to how much explanation isrequired and you are preparedto give. There is no definite ruleas to how to deal with these situations. Play it by ear and hopefor the best.

The bottom line – Discharging a sales agent or other employee will always be stressful for bothyou and the employee. To avoid having the situation get out of hand be certain to goabout it carefully, methodicallyand with forethought. Know andunderstand the protection given to employees by the laws of your province. You could be sued fora tort action, wrongful dismissal and prejudice including punitive damage for pain, suffering and anything else that comes to some high-priced lawyer’s mind. It may be wise to consult your own lawyer and let this person draft the dismissal letter should you choose to use one. You can legally discharge an unsatisfactory employee but doing it hurriedly can too easily backfire.

Lloyd Manning, AACI, FRI,CCRA, PApp is a semi-retiredcommercial real estate and business appraiser and broker who nowspends his time writing for professional journals and trade magazines. He resides inLloydminster, Alberta. Email [email protected]. REM

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originally wrote this articlefor the Toronto Real EstateBoard’s Success magazine in

1995. I went over it to see if thereis anything I needed to change tomake it relevant in 2013, but I didnot find anything that needsupdating.

We are all talking aboutchange in 2013. How the industryis changing. How much more diffi-cult it is to do business these days.How much harder it is to chargefull commission.

The number of licensedRealtors has grown, the market ismore competitive, FSBO sites aremore popular and taking chunks ofbusiness away from us. TheCompetition Bureau, the PrivacyAct and CREA are not making lifeeasy for us. On the other hand, thenumber of real estate transactionshas also gone up substantially since1995 and so did the average priceof properties. Ways of communi-cating with prospects are easier andmaybe cheaper (social media, web-sites, mass emailing).

Change? What change? Readand judge for yourself.

In my years of managing realestate offices, the most commonanswer I received when askingsales representatives what theirexpectations of earnings were forthe year was $100,000 plus.However, practically none of thepeople I asked had a plan or strate-gy for achieving their goals.

Here then, is a plan that willhelp you organize and structurework towards any goal.

1. Change your attitudetowards yourself. Ask yourself: Isreal estate my job or my hobby? DoI treat it like a job? Am I happywith my productivity? Am I aweak, average or good agent anddo I know what to do to improvemyself?

2. Change your attitudetowards your prospects. Do youknow when to refuse a listing? Didyou ever initiate a cancellation of a

10 REM APRIL 2013

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By Michel Friedman

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Secrets to success aretimelessHere is a plan that will help you organizeand structure work towards any goal.listing? Did you ever refuse a buyer?Or in real estate terminology, areyou qualifying people you workwith or just taking on anybody? Inmany cases agents who don’t qual-ify their prospects end up workingmore hours, with more prospectsand with much lower results.

3. Establish your work priori-ties. Do active prospecting – coldcalling, FSBO. Don’t wait for thebusiness to come to you – go outand get it. Do personal promotion.In today’s era of the independentcontractor and high turnover ofcompanies, the only asset that youhave is you. Promote yourself.

Place high emphasis on listings.Your best and cheapest promotionalways was and always will be asold sign with your name on it.Establish control mechanisms overbuyer and seller.

Follow your plan religiously.Otherwise all you will have is adetailed explanation of why youdon’t produce what you aimed for.

4. Establish an annual goal.Have a set dollar amount that youwant to achieve. Set realistic num-bers for sales, number of listingsand appointments. Break downyour goals from annual to monthlyand then to weekly to help yourselfestablish a daily routine.

5. Establish a daily work plan.It should include prospecting,viewing other agents’ open houses,office work, follow-ups andappointments. Establish breaksand time off. Operate as a business,establish a budget. Pre-allocatemoney for promotional items witha long shelf life, advertising listingsand professional development/education.

6. Prospect every day. Organizedaily prospecting hours. Knowyour dialogue because speakingwith confidence will enhance yourimage as a professional. Know theanswers to objections, since thereare usually no new objections –only unrehearsed ones. Be persis-tent and follow up on your leads.

Remember, a lead not followed upis the most painful loss. Two leads aday equals 10 leads a week, whichequals 40 leads a month, whichresults in 480 leads a year. On theother hand, two leads a month canalso remain as two leads a year, ifyou stop prospecting daily. Whichoption is it going to be for you?

7. Build a good personal pre-sentation manual. To be effective,your presentation manual shouldinclude the following: your compa-ny background, personal back-ground, your marketing plan, agraphic for price negotiations (forobjections and answers), and agraphic about FSBO (for objec-tions and answers).

8. Have a comprehensive mar-keting plan. A 25-item action planlooks better than a 16-item actionplan. Make promises and keepthem. The vendor listens to everyword you are saying, especiallypromises that you make.Disregarding promises is disrespect-ing your vendor, which may costyou not only his business, but alsoyour reputation.

Have an offer presentation rou-tine that will include showing upat your vendor’s home 20 minutesprior to the presentation and goingover a blank offer sheet to familiar-ize the vendor with the form andall the various common clausesthey can expect.

Take responsibility for youractions. You are performing theway you are because of things youdon’t do properly or don’t do oftenenough, not because of the econo-my, the broker, the weather or yourspouse. Get back on track and feelgood again.

Michel Friedman is the broker ofrecord of Orange Square Realty, aprogressive real estate brokerage inToronto. “How to earn $100,000 inreal estate commissions” and “StarAgent” are selling techniques trainingcourses developed and offered exclu-sively at his brokerage. REM

“Every day, the more people wholearn The Golden Rule, like perfect it,the more people master it, the betterthe earth will get, every day.”

– Max, 8, Tecumseh PublicSchool, talking about

The Golden Rule.

he Golden Rule. It hasnothing to do with politicsand nothing to do with

religion. Treat people the way youwant to be treated. It’s a simpleconcept, and Erin Henry is teach-ing kids how they can use it tochange the world.

Henry, a sales rep with RoyalLePage in The Kingsway neigh-bourhood in Toronto, founded theChildren’s Charter for Compassionafter attending the VancouverPeace Summit in 2009. The “gath-ering of compassionate-gearedorganizations” was attended by theDalai Lama. Religious scholar andauthor Karen Armstrong was alsoat the summit, launching theCharter for Compassion, a globalcode of conduct.

12 REM APRIL 2013

T

Realtor teaches compassion, positive energyBy Connie Adair

Regardless of faith, or if youdon’t have faith, The Golden Ruleis a logical process, thought Henryat the time. But the mother of twowondered if young children, likeher own, would “get it.”

Several months later, with thehelp of friends, she created the Children’s Charter forCompassion, which teaches chil-dren about empathy. It focuses onthe positive in hopes of getting tothe issues, such as bullying, beforethey happen.

One charter is designed foryounger children and the other isfor children 13 to 18-years-old.Henry also created two activitybooks, doing all the work herselfand paying material costs out ofher own pocket.

“I’m affiliated with organiza-tions who promote the charter, butall the leg work, communicationsand class visits are me. I’ve had nofunding from Day 1,” she says.However, now a printer is helpingher out by printing the activitybooks at cost.

Henry visits classrooms acrossthe GTA and reads books to thechildren, talks about compassionand has the class take the oath toobserve The Golden Rule.

The class creates a Tree ofCompassion, with leaves that carrymessages of acts of kindness andcompassion. “Little kids draw pic-tures of what makes them happy,”Henry says.

A school in London, Ont. was

the first in the world to embracethe charter. The second school,in Kincardine, Ont., recently goton board. As compassionateschools, they, for example, mayraise funds to donate to thehomeless or work together to stopbullying.

More generally, the code ofconduct reminds everyone of thestandards of behaviour, she says.

“There is no religious connota-tion. It differentiates so many dif-ferent faith groups. It’s in no wayreligious, in no way anti-religionand is not political. It’s very muchabout character and mindset.”

The one-hour presentationsare geared to spreading positiveenergy and to teach kids to be goodpeople.

The project takes many hoursin the week. Henry has lost track ofthe number of classrooms andschools she has visited. The flexi-bility of her job as a Realtor helps,she says.

Visits are during school hours,so it also doesn’t interfere with her

own children, who help the causeby cutting out leaves for the trees.They have also visited classroomswith their Mom.

It’s tiresome trying to balance itall, says the 20-year real estate vet-eran.

Her work doesn’t go unnoticed.She says clients are very supportiveof her work. “It’s a feel-good pro-ject. I want to touch as many peo-ple as I can.”

Henry will be one of three peo-ple to be recognized for their com-passionate work at the 2013International Conference onCompassionate Organizations inLouisville, Kentucky May 16-18.

The program has taken off –Henry no longer has time to helpeveryone who calls. She’d like tofind volunteers who can help herby doing classroom presentationson their own.

For more information or to getinvolved, contact Erin Henry at647-242-1327 or visit children-scharterforcompassion.com orerinhenry.ca REM

Erin Henry in the classroom.

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hat do I work on next?Great salespeople arealways looking for ways

to improve their customer service.When you do so, typically yourresults improve right along with it.Here is a four-step program thatwill keep you laser focused,improving both.

1. Have a look at this laundrylist of items that comprise the var-ious components of your business:

■ Time management■ Lead generation■ Prequalification■ Lead follow-up■ Listing presentation■ Pricing property■ Buyers■ Handling objections■ Negotiating■ Closing skills■ Social media■ Administration■ Business planning and

tracking■ Practicing and developing

skills■ Mindset■ Money management and

budgeting2. Rate yourself for every item

on a scale of 1 to 10.3. Pick out four items – two at

which you excel and two that needimprovement.

4. Get to work on all four ofthese right away. If someone isholding you accountable, makesure they know which ones youpicked. This will speed up yourgrowth.

Why do you suppose I am sug-gesting that you work on twoareas...weaknesses and strengths?

14 REM APRIL 2013

S A L E S C O A C H

By Bruce Keith

W

Evaluatingyourself

The answer for your weaknesses isobvious. It’s developing yourstrengths that is sometimesignored.

Think about it this way: you docertain things very well becauseyou like to do them... and theywork! If you’re already doing some-thing well, you will get even moreresults by raising the bar on thoseitems too.

Bonus point: Start with thetwo areas in which you excel,your strengths. Really rampthem up and this will give youmore confidence to go after theareas that need improvement.Work on your strengths first andyour weaknesses will improvefaster. Better strengths give youmore confidence. When youkeep your attitude and yourmindset strong, your overallgrowth will be amazing! Noexcuses.

■ ■ ■

I came across a very interestingdefinition recently. It’s probablynot new. It was a rather unique def-inition of wisdom: “Wisdom iswhat we learn after we know it all.”

The extension of this philoso-phy would be that no matter whatyour experience level, there isalways more to learn. An ego-freeapproach would be for every sales-person to permanently be on aquest for more knowledge...neverending.

Here’s a great thought to pon-der: “I’m not a finished product...are you?” There are lots of sales-people who resist growing. Makesure you’re not one of them.

It doesn’t take long to realizethat we never “get there”. Thegood news is we can always growwhile we are getting there. That’show you stand out from your com-petition and that’s how youdemonstrate your superiority as agreat salesperson. No excuses.

Bruce Keith, the “Results Coach”is a sales and marketing coach andseminar leader, teaching what to sayand how to say it. His high-energy, high-impact training style is sought after and acclaimed across North America. www.brucekeithresults.com REM

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File Name: BOR_AD_KPP_HomeFin_R1_0213Trim: 10.25” x 11”Bleed: 0" Safety: Mech Res: 300dpiColours: CMYK

Publication: REMMaterial Deadline: February 1, 2013 Insertion Dates: March 22, 2013

Canadian Marketing 100 Yonge Street, 16th Floor

Toronto, ON M5C 2W1

BOR_AD_KPP_HomeFin_R1_0213.indd 1 13-02-13 2:12 PM

e recently had ourbrokerage’s annualAGM and it was a

huge success. The energy in theroom was high and like all of ourmeetings, lots of valuable infor-mation was shared. During mypresentation, I shared a recentconversation I had with a groupof people that asked me a ques-tion that made me think.

They asked, “What sportsteam would best describe theenvironment within a real estatebrokerage?”

It was a great question and inmy mind, I quickly went throughall the various sports. I thought

16 REM APRIL 2013

By Tim Syrianos

W

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Sell More Real Estate in 2013. Here’s How …If getting your next good client is STILL uncertain…..if you feel trapped in a nuclear arms race of ever escalating ad

spending….if you are STILL anxious about the stability of your business and income….if you are STILL competing head

to head and losing listings to less qualified, damp behind the ears agents and STILL getting resistance and rejection from

prospects --- there’s a lot WRONG!

My successful students have included or now include agents ranked #3, #13, #28, #31, #38, #45, #46 and #70 out of

90,000 ReMax agents; #5, #6 and #21 out of 70,000 Coldwell Banker agents; #1 in Keller Williams….agents with as much

as 30 years’ experience…agents producing $3-million a year.

Each of these agents followed my system to success by learning how to:

Screen Out Difficult, Disrespectful, Uncooperative Clients – without worry over having enough new clients

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Coached more Canadian agents to Millionaire status than any other trainer.

At this point, it seems just about everybody has an “opinion” about me. It’s up to you whether to rely on

others’ opinions or whether to investigate for yourself. Everybody’s entitled to their own opinions but nobody’s

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Our real estate sports teamabout soccer, hockey, basketballand football and realized thatnone of these would describe asuccessful real estate office team.The more I thought about it, themore I realized the obvi-ous……baseball!

Let’s think about how base-ball compares to our industrywith agents. All the players arefocused on their individual statsand achievements. The bettertheir stats are, the bigger theircontracts. Some have a battingaverage of .350, some average.225. Some players are specialistsin the long ball (home runs) andothers in short base hits with lotsof singles and doubles. Somehave an exceptional on-base per-centage and some are specialistsin fast base running. Some arestarting pitchers and some areclosers.

The team consists of sea-soned pros, rookies and risingstars. At times true leaders with-in a team tell another player to

smarten up and/or remind themthat we don’t act or do thingslike that on this team.

Every day and at every game,if they want to succeed they allhave to go to bat and take aswing. The truly great playerswho want a long career take bat-

ting practice seriously and pre-pare for every game.

Finally the team has a man-ager. They encourage the team,

advise on when to run or stopand cheer them to run for home.They assist them with battingpractice, pitching practice andthe mechanics of the game.Sometimes they simply talkthem through a slump until theybecome productive again by tap-

ping into their God-given natur-al talent that they alwaysbelieved in.

The managers work with the

many personalities to make surethey stay focussed on theirstrengths. They are a huge partof the winning formula of theteam. Sometimes they also knowwhen to say nothing and stay outof the way.

We also have free agencyand recruiting to improve andbring people in to be part of theteam.

The bottom line is that play-ers always want to be part of awinning team. At the end of theyear all the different people, withdifferent backgrounds, personali-ties, talents and skill sets, hope-fully come together to be worldchampions.

Tim Syrianos is the broker ofrecord and owner of Re/MaxUltimate in Toronto, with close200 Realtors. He started his realestate career at the age of 19, some24 years ago. Email [email protected] or phone 416-487-5131. REM

The truly great playerswho want a long career

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File Name: BOR_AD_KPP_HomeFin_Right_0113 Trim: 10.25” x 11” Bleed: 0" Safety: Mech Res: 300dpi Colours: CMYK

Publication: REMMaterial Deadline: January 15, 2013 Insertion Dates: January 25, March 22, February 28, 2013

Canadian Marketing 100 Yonge Street, 16th Floor

Toronto, ON M5C 2W1

BOR_AD_KPP_HomeFin_Right_0113.indd 1 13-01-16 8:06 AM

n Ontario real estateagent found a home for apurchaser and drew up

the offer conditional on a homeinspection. The purchaser made itknown to the agent and the homeinspector that she was allergic tomould. The agent put in a termthat the purchaser could abort thedeal if she was not satisfied withthe inspection report. The inspec-tor observed no mould and nomoisture penetration, but did notinclude in the report that pargingon an exterior wall at the drivewaywas a major defect.

The purchaser waived the con-dition and closed and later had anallergic reaction to mould. Thepurchaser sued the agent, the real-ty brokerage, the vendor and thehome inspector. The judge appor-tioned 50 per cent of the blame tothe inspector, 25 per cent to theagent and 25 per cent to the pur-chaser (contributory negligence).

But the Appeal Court foundthe trial judge erred in finding theagent liable for not reading theinspector’s report, reviewing it withpurchaser and discovering the pos-sibility of moisture from thatreport. Negligence against theagent was set aside and the inspec-tor was found 100 per cent liable.(Halliwell v. Lazarus, 2012 ONCA348)

■ ■ ■

The British ColumbiaSupreme Court was asked to ruleon the purchase of a condominiumunit from the developer. Thedefendant purchaser, althoughentering into the agreement with adeveloper and having received dis-closure statements, failed to close.The purchaser said the unit had anindividual hot water tank and wasnot part of a “central hot water sys-tem” as indicated in marketingmaterials.

The court ruled that the fact

18 REM APRIL 2013

A

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LEGAL ISSUES

By Donald H. Lapowich

Recent rulingsthe developer did not file anamended disclosure statement stillallowed the developer to sue, andfor a declaration that theAgreements to Purchase wereenforceable. The change from ahot water system to individual hotwater tanks did not render theinformation in the DisclosureStatement untrue because it wasnot a change of a material fact onthe basis of affecting the value ofthe unit, its price or its use.

The judge wrote, “Consideringall of the evidence, it is my conclu-sion that the real reason that thedefendants did not complete wasbecause of the admitted change inmarket conditions. I doubt that thechange to have a hot water tankinstalled had any real bearing ontheir decisions not to close, otherthan providing an excuse not toclose.” (Bosa Properties [Esprit 2]Inc. v. Kim, 2012 BCSC 1013)

■ ■ ■

In the purchase of a residentialproperty, the vendor provided aseller’s statement that the propertywas not subject to flooding.

When the purchasers viewedthe property it was dry. However,one month after closing, rainfallin the backyard accumulatedwater from a couple of inches to afoot deep, rendering a large partunusable. It was obvious the ven-dor knew of this problem since hisneighbours also had a similarissue.

The court (affirmed by theCourt of Appeal) found the ven-dor’s statement was a negligent orfraudulent misrepresentation,which was relied upon by thebuyer. Court ruled the flooding wasa latent defect (when property wasviewed). Damages were awarded.(Costa v. Wimalasekera, 2012ONSC 6056)

Full case summaries are avail-able at www.canlii.org.

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

20 REM APRIL 2013

avid Ursino’s next clientwill likely be a recent vis-itor to his website or a

new connection on LinkedIn.That’s because one of every twohomes sold by the Royal LePagesales representative is from anonline referral by a search engineor social media networking web-site.

Real estate professionals likeUrsino are trading print ads fortweets, brochures for blog postsand in-person tours for virtual vis-its – and they say they’re gettingreal results. Sales reps are convert-ing Facebook fans and YouTubeviewers into buyers and sellers,and they’re striking deals fasterand for more.

“I’ve stopped all print media asof 2012,” says Ursino, who hasbeen serving communities northof Toronto in Thornhill,Kleinberg, Woodbridge andMaple for six years. “People areable to see my personality andrelate to me online even beforewe meet.”

Ursino says just hammering a

DSelling homes in 140 characters By Christina Pellegrini

for sale sign on a lawn or listing ahome on a popular residential realestate website is no longerenough. He builds a website foreach of his clients’ properties thatincludes a virtual tour inside thehome, a detailed description ofthe layout and photos captured bya professional photographer.Then, he promotes the propertyon his personal website, Facebookfan page and Twitter account –places where, he says, 90 per centof buyers begin their search for ahome.

In 2008, Joe Chiovitti’s KingCity property was on the marketfor six months without a singleoffer when he hired Ursino.Chiovitti received 10 offers in 10days and sold his home for 122 percent of his asking price. He saysUrsino’s marketing plan was“thoughtful, clear and solid.”

Digital marketing isn’t new toUrsino. He purchased a URL in2007, started operating his per-sonal website in 2009 and beganproducing two-minute videos anduploading them to his YouTube

channel in 2010. Ursino, whocalls himself “Vaughan’s first realestate video blogger,” has sinceuploaded nearly 170 video clipson York Region schools, localbusinesses and market perfor-mance.

Aleksandra Oleksak, a 29-year-old sales representative forSage Real Estate, uses her person-al website and Twitter, Facebookand Pinterest accounts to sellhomes and apartments inToronto. She says during the lastyear, four clients connected withher through Twitter, two through

Facebook and one through herblog, Realty Queen TO.

“It has shown my audiencethat I’m an active agent who isvery knowledgeable,” saysOleksak, who also buys fixer-uppers and posts pictures of therenovation and redesign processon her website. “One of myclients wanted to buy a fixer-upper and said he truly trustedand believed everything I said tohim after reading my blog.”

Oleksak, like Ursino, createsvirtual tours and custom websitesfor her properties. But what sets

her apart is the “human element”to her online professional profile.She syncs all her social mediaaccounts with her Instagram,where she posts pictures of herdog, Roxie, her boyfriend, Amir,and her latest manicure, cupcakes.Oleksak’s Facebook profile isaccessible to anyone who views it.Her posts vary from check-ins at alocal restaurant, pictures of hand-written notes from clients andlinks to new content on her web-site. She even wrote about thedeath of her dog, Harley.

“The general public wants tosee the face behind the brand,”she says. “People can relate betterto you and are more willing towork with you if they feel theyknow you professionally and per-sonally.”

While Ursino and Oleksak saythey are converting fans and fol-lowers into clients, many realestate professionals aren’t, saysChad Bowe, a member of theAmerican Marketing Associationand the owner of Toronto-basedmarketing firm GTA Consultant.

“Online marketing is a tool forRealtors that helps bring moreprospects to their door,” saysBowe. Many Realtors, he says, are“drunk with the idea” that a web-site, Twitter and Facebookaccounts or a YouTube profile willalways turn a lead into a sale.

“If a Realtor can’t sit in frontof a potential client and ‘seal thedeal’ through old-fashioned sales-manship and personality, noamount (of time) spent on onlinemarketing will be enough.”

Ursino and Oleksak say theiryoung, tech-savvy clients are vis-iting their websites instead ofknocking on their doors. They’reselling themselves and theirclients’ properties, 140 charactersat a time. REM

David Ursino Aleksandra Oleksak Chad Bowe

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22 REM APRIL 2013

eeling a little “scratchedand dented” these days?

You can usually get adeal on a major appliance thathas a few marks or dents on it,but it’s still useable and pre-sentable in your home.Sometimes I get the feeling thateven experienced agents feel abit scratched and dented some-times. We take a look at what theheck we’re doing because we’renot getting the results we need.We’re still pretty presentable, buthave been knocked around a lotby mass rejections to our mail-ings, cold calling and/or doorknocking. So some of us will fleethe business or go to another bro-kerage because it has fewer feesor whatever.

Or, some of us will actuallyconsult with our brokers aboutthe lack of consistency and thelack of production. The fact is,during the last few years ofobserving some agents whobought into “coaching for a fee,”I see they are very frustrated bythe meagre results they get afterhours and hours of calling withthe same scripts. Or maybe theyhave new scripts that are suitablefor the Canadian market. I actu-ally heard a respected trainerfrom the U.S. stating that hisfirm has developed a tailor-madedialogue for our fellow Canucks!

Hmm. Yes I can see that insome respects our market is dif-ferent because we don’t have themortgage defaults that we seesouth of the border. But reallyfolks, a seller in need of our ser-

Scratched and dentedAS I SEE IT FROM MY DESK

By Stan Albert

F

vices isn’t exactly hanging out aHelp Wanted sign unless he’s aFSBO or a “mere posting”.

Look, I’m not denigratingwhatsoever the merits of coach-ing for a fee. But what happens toour colleagues is they overlooksome other aspects of what’savailable to them in the way ofmarketing and branding them-selves as a unique salesperson inany particular neighbourhood.

Over the years of training,I’ve always presented to bothnew and seasoned agents the fol-lowing idea: develop a V.I.P Listof Service Providers andSpecialists in your area.Regulatory bodies usually requirethat we suggest three of each tobe fair. So how many providerscan you name, starting with A -accountants, appraisers….and so on.

Make some new friends withsay 30 or so categories and guesswhat you have? A new batch ofpossible buyers and sellers orrenters that have made most oftheir money in real estate. Askthose who provide materialsalong with services if they’d givea 10-per-cent discount if you usedtheir name when referring them.

Think that they’d be goodprospects to send MLS listings toin the event that they may knowsomeone who’d be interested, ifnot themselves?

This is a tried and true systemof marketing. Call it a V.I.P. listor a concierge list or whatever. Itwill take some time to get itgoing, but think about doing itafter you’ve had umpteen rejec-tions on the phone.

Happy marketing and let meknow if you take up my sugges-tions.

“There’s only one thing betterthan a referral from a client, andthat is a referral from his friendsand/or associates!” - S. Albert

Stan Albert, broker/manager,ABR, ASA at Re/Max Premier inVaughan, Ont. can be reached forconsultation at [email protected] is now celebrating his 43rd yearas an active real estate professional.

REM

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92% 91% 89%

Jeff Jaffari Visions Realty Inc. 416-321-2228 Former Brand: Coldwell Banker

Dave Sachko First Realty Ltd. (905) 655-1144 Former Brand: Keller Williams Former Brand: Coldwell Banker

Zara Bahmani Realtron Realty Inc. (416) 222-8600 Previous Brand: Century 21mer Brand: Coldwell Banker

Michelle Fraser Hallmark Realty Ltd. (416) 494-7653 Former Brand: Royal LePage

Former Brand: Coldwell Banker

“I decided to leave my previous brand and join RE/MAX after attending a very impressive RE/MAX event. It was clear to me the level of professionalism associated with the Brand is truly above the crowd. With RE/MAX standing for high service, I knew my business would benefit.

“I’ve always liked the RE/MAX brand. I work in an area where RE/MAX has over 35 percent market share and wanted to be part of the success. I like the leadership and work ethic of RE/MAX professionals and feel the environment at RE/MAX is the best place for me to continue to build my team and my business”

“RE/MAX has the strongest corporate culture and I knew by coming over to RE/MAX that I would improve my business by being sur-rounded by the best!”

Top Agents Joining

Ipsos Understanding Agent Perceptions in Canada, October 2012.

For more information regarding opportunities with RE/MAX

“We felt strongly that our move to RE/MAX would support that goal by ultimately providing greater property exposure, an expand-ed buyer pool and unparal-leled marketing muscle. With the changing real estate climate, this was an ideal time to increase our value proposition and give our cli-ents a distinct edge. RE/MAX has allowed us to do that. The com-pany’s support of their network and the consumer is beyond in-credible.”

is the #1 Brand

respected by Agents

89% 74% 61%

Agree

All statistics and testimonials are for RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada.

Doinis Padron Legacy Realty Inc. (905) 795-1900 Previous Brand: Royal LePage


RE/MAX was a natural choice for me. Coming to RE/MAX helped me achieve my long term goal of being an Interna-tional Real Estate Agent. With the networking opportunities RE/MAX provides their agents and the state-of-the-art web-site, global.remax.com my de-cision to come to RE/MAX was one of the smartest decisions I have ever made.

Jeff McInnis of Wasaga Beach Inc. (705)-429-4500 Former Brand: Royal LePage

Former Brand: Coldwell Banker“I used to think I was leading edge until I starting learn-ing how to use the RE/MAX tools. I was behind the times. The consumer was more ad-vanced than I was. Now I feel I am back on top of my business all thanks to RE/MAX being on the leading edge of technology.”

Alex Lombardi Premier Inc. (905)-856-1111 Previous Brand: Royal LePage

Former Brand: Coldwell Banker“I was looking for a brokerage that provided opportunity for growth and expansion in my busi-ness. Working with the world’s most productive agents along with the support from staff and commendable effort from man-agement to provide training and development opportunties has already increased my business since joining in August. I can now look at expanding internation-ally. Something that wasn’t avail-able before.”

Domenic Manchisi Legacy Realty Inc. (905)-272-5000 Previous Brand: Prudential

Former Brand: Coldwell BankerI came to RE/MAX not only for the strong brand identity, but also because I knew there was a road to success which I could walk alongside some of the in-dustry’s best Real Estate Agents. The amount of support avail-able, ranging from the tools, net-working opportunities, and con-tinued learning and education I was opened up to, ensured me that my business would flourish and my envisioned plan to suc-cess would be possible.

Angele Roy Chay Realty Inc. (705)-722-7100 Previous Brand: Century 21


“The brand is so well known, that I can focus on explain-gin what my individual ser-vice provides my clients. The Brand value sells itself.”

contact Adrian Burry (905) 542-2400 or [email protected]

is the #1 Brand

26 REM APRIL 2013

METES & BOUNDS

By Marty Douglas

Top 10 simple truths for salespeopleshould only have to hear the mes-sage once, perhaps with a refresh-er in a five-year cycle, but oncelearned; surely the same truths areevident. As Richard Robbinsrecently pointed out – to a sold-out audience – if you ask yourself,“What do I have to do today?”and the answer is “Not much,”then prepare for your next slump.With that knowledge, surely weneed only dust off the old workbook to get back on track.

Here’s more insight, includingthe Bible in case that is your bookof choice. Speakers echo similarfundamentals. I recall getting thenecessary steps to success in aFloyd Wickman Sweathog pro-gram. The four things you have tohave are attitude, training, oppor-tunity and response. But note;only “response” determineswhether or not you get paid!Brian Buffini encourages H.A.S.in his Peak Producer series –Habit, Attitude and Skills. DaveLiniger, at this year’s Re/MaxInternational conference, sharinghis remarkable recovery from a

devastating health crisis, remind-ed delegates that E + R = O.Event plus Response equalsOutcome.

In a REM column, Don Kyleobserved that the Bible helps us getthrough a bad day, week, month oryear. The Bible says “it came topass” 363 times – not “it came tostay”.

History repeats itself with eachnew cycle of salespeople, in partbecause we fail to observe thelessons of the past. We look at themost successful and believe theyare lucky, have the inside track, theboss’s ear (or other body part!) andsteadfastly refuse to believe simpletruths.

Here they are, in the style ofDavid Letterman, in top 10 format:

Top 10 simple truths:10. The world is run by those

who show up.9. You have to practice and

memorize your presentation. Thereason a magician can pull a rabbitout of the hat is he put it therebefore the show began. (HowardBrinton)

8. Character is the ability todeliver a promise you made evenafter your mood changes. (FloydWickman)

7. People don’t buy products,they buy value. People forget peo-ple who bring no value to their life.(Richard Flint)

6. Act like you’ve got themoney in your pocket. (LeeTrevino)

5. Things don’t get easier, youjust get better. (Sign on a gymwall)

4. The problem with socialismis that sooner or later you run outof other people’s money. (MargaretThatcher)

3. Results! Why, man, I havegotten a lot of results. I know sev-eral thousand things that won’twork. (Thomas Edison)

2. Do what you can with whatyou have, where you are. (TeddyRoosevelt)

And the number one truth: 1. The thing I hate about the

Christmas office party is lookingfor work the next day. (PhyllisDiller as told by Roland Wickett)

Really Marty? No, I just likethat one so much I thought I’d slipit in to check the ambient roomtemperature. Seriously, the numberone truth is:

1. Having a tattoo used tomean you lived outside the law.Now it means you’ve been to amall. (Penn Gillette)

Got you again! Okay, seriously,this time I mean it:

1. People who deliver the mostvalue are paid the most money.(Jim Rohn)

Warren Buffet adds a reminder:“If history was all there was to thegame, then the richest peopleshould be librarians.”

The thing about the schoolof experience is that it willrepeat the lesson if you flunk thefirst time.

Contact Marty Douglas by email at [email protected] or connect with Marty onTwitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Heis a managing broker for Re/MaxOcean Pacific Realty in Comox andCourtenay, B.C. REM

am now convinced. Before Iwas uncertain, or as DanielBoone is reported to have

said, “I’ve never been lost but Iremember once being bewilderedfor two or three days.”

Over and over I have heardmotivators and trainers statingboldly there are no secrets, no newinventions and no shortcuts to suc-cess. And yet, every year at everyreal estate conference, a new cropof gifted gabbers join with veteransto take our money and sell theirDVDs. There’s a new audienceborn every minute, eager to listento the same message because it’sfresh to them.

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use a chiropractor. For years, Ihave had aches and painsthat leave me walking around

thinking about the Robaxacetmarionette that was jabbed withpins on TV commercials.Recently after starting a routine oflearning to run intervals, I foundout I was crooked. Actuallycrooked. Bent enough to barelywalk. I blamed everyone andeverything before finally asking forhelp.

The health care providers whoassessed me sought the root of mypain: fatigue, weight gain and gen-eral malaise. Mostly it was my poorposture. They looked at my daily

By Ronn James

How technology is hurting youactivities and the time I spent inpositions that are less than idealfor me. Voila. I am nearly a newman today.

I am a fan of technology andall it does for me and my business.Ironically, this was largely respon-sible for the aforementioned crip-pling pain. Mercedes Reeb, anoccupational health therapist, saysthe current configuration of mosttechnology is not just bad; it’sactually doing severe damage toour bodies. Reeb suggests thebiggest perpetrator is the laptopcomputer.

The proper alignment of all ofour equipment is off. Way off.The screen should be directly ateye level when you’re sittingstraight in a chair. In laptopterms, this makes the keyboardawfully uncomfortable. An ancil-lary keyboard suddenly becomesnecessary, aided possibly by a key-board shelf. There is a reason theyare lower.

Your chair and seating posi-

tion are also a vital part of theconversation. Reeb says thebiggest challenge is the lack ofcore muscles to properly use thechair in a manner that positionsthe spine in proper alignment.The 90-degree rule, as it pertainsto sitting position, is one you’llwant to investigate.

The gear should include anexercise ball used as a tool every30 minutes or so to help you devel-op and strengthen the core. Manypeople have gone so far as to adoptit as a seat at their desks with alook to encouraging a superhealthy posture. Apparently thispoor alignment is the cause of themajority of disability claims thatarise. The good news is that withthe proper adjustments and guid-ance, you can repair many of theaches and pains by simply sittingup straight. Seems that mom wasright after all!

As this information came tothe surface and I started to makethe necessary changes, I was

shocked how quickly thingsimproved. My energy increased,my overall health improved andthe change in posture likely does-n’t hurt my overall aesthetic. Infact, I started reviewing how I usetechnology in a much broadersense.

How many times are youcaught at a seminar, lookingdown at your smart phone in theaudience? Now consider the fishhook position of the head andspine you’re left in as you try tomulti task by attending the event,listening to the presenter andsolving the world’s problems viaInternet.

Are you reading this andcatching yourself suddenly con-scious and adjusting your posi-tion? If not, why not? It’s hard,and awkward, and it will take timeand practice, but you’ll knowwhen it’s working because you’llfeel the changes. You’ll also likelybe surprised how quickly you feelbetter.

Consider this golf lesson anal-ogy. If, at your first lesson, theytold you in one long stream whatyou have to do and what you haveto remember, you’d likely handthe club back to the instructor andcall it a day. But as they explainthe mechanics and the resultsimprove over time, you’ll be thatguy muttering to himself besideme, running through every lessonhe ever took. Head down. Eye onthe ball. Reach in pocket, handcredit card to chiropractor…

With a track record that spans 31years, Realtor Ronn James says hisambition is to educate the public andRealtors alike. He has landed appear-ances on Breakfast Television,CityLine, Real Life and a host ofradio shows. James has also been a regular contributor to New Homes and Condos For SaleMagazine, Toronto Sun andCanadian Homeplanner. Website:www.RealEstateCommissionMatters.ca, phone 289-242-9050. REM

I

30 REM APRIL 2013

ith Ontario’s legislatureback in session, theOntario Real Estate

Association (OREA) is endorsingtwo bills that address long-stand-ing concerns of the organization.

The first bill would facilitatethe use of electronic agreements ofpurchase and sale of real estate.Currently, Ontario Realtors arereluctant to use electronic agree-ments of purchase and salebecause they are exempt from thelegal protections afforded by theElectronic Commerce Act, 2000,says OREA.

The legislation comes in theform of a private members billsponsored by MPP Todd Smith(Prince Edward-Hastings). It wasfirst introduced by Smith andLiberal MPP (now Minister ofLabour) Yasir Naqvi in May 2012.

“Deleting the exemption fromthe Act will remove a cumber-some piece of red tape for the realestate industry and it won’t costthe province a dime,” says RonAbraham, OREA president. “Byenhancing legal protection forelectronic agreements of purchaseand sale, both consumers andRealtors can benefit from technol-ogy that makes real estate transac-tions more efficient, accessible andsecure.”

The second initiative is a rein-troduction of a grow op registrybill.

The Clandestine DrugOperation Prevention Act, 2013,was introduced by MPP LisaMacLeod (Nepean-Carleton) toestablish a marijuana grow opera-tions (MGOs) and clandestinedrug laboratory registry.

“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 consumersfor over 10 years,” says Pat Verge,an Ottawa Realtor.

In October 2012, OREA com-missioned a study by Ipsos Reid,which found that 93 per cent ofOntario residents want to know ifa home they are planning to pur-

W chase was formerly used as a MGOor clandestine drug lab. Theresearch showed that 88 per centof Ontarians support the creationof a province-wide registry.

“The prevalence of thesehomes in Ontario is quite franklyalarming,” says Verge. “AndRealtors want to be able to warntheir clients as early in the pur-chasing process as possible.”

While Realtors are obligatedby law to disclose to potentialhomebuyers if a home has beenused as a marijuana grow-opera-

tion or drug lab, they are hinderedby the lack of a central registry ofsuch properties, OREA says.

■ ■ ■

The Okanagan Mainline RealEstate Board (OMREB) has elect-ed Karen Singbeil of Re/Max atMara Lake, Sicamous as presidentfor the 2013-2014 term. She wasinstalled along with 11 directorsrepresenting the CentralOkanagan, North Okanagan andShuswap zones at OMREB’sAnnual General Meeting recently.

Singbeil replaces outgoingpresident Rob Shaw of RoyalLePage Downtown Realty,Vernon, who stays on as past-pres-ident. She has been an OMREBmember for nine years and hasserved as a director since 2009,holding the membership and pro-fessional standards portfolios, act-ing as zone media contact for twoyears and sitting on the Finance

Committee. She is an associatebroker and has been a Realtor for17 years.

Darcy Griffiths of RoyalLePage Downtown Realty,Vernon, was installed as vice-pres-ident of the Board of Directors.

Also elected to the board:Kent Jorgenson, Re/MaxKelowna; Scott Mayne, PointsWest Realty Group, Kelowna;Cliff Shillington, Re/MaxKelowna; Tanis Read, ColdwellBanker Horizon Realty;Christopher Miller, Royal LePageKelowna; Joe Pearson, Re/MaxVernon; Don Gilowski, RoyalLePage Downtown Realty,Vernon; Steve Lewis, RoyalLePage Access Real Estate,Salmon Arm; and Tara Gallant,Royal LePage Access Realty,Salmon Arm.

OMREB and the Kelowna FireDepartment have announced apartnership to launch a collabora-

tive public safety effort betweenRealtors, fire fighters and home-owners.

The purpose of the Kelownacampaign is to get homeownersthinking and talking about smokealarms with the help of Realtors toensure that they have functioningalarms in their homes. The FireDepartment supplied copies of theCanadian Association of FireChiefs brochure, How to Stay Safeat Home, which has been distrib-uted to Kelowna real estate officesto be included with listing docu-ments and left with home sellers asa community service in March.

■ ■ ■

Greater Moncton Realtors duGrand Moncton installed its newBoard of Directors recently. Thenew president, Roxanne Mailletbrings five years of Board of

Continued on page 32

Roxanne Maillet Ron Todson

Karen Singbeil Darcy Griffiths

From left: DRAR Charity Auction Committee chair KathyMcFadden; Distress Centre Durham executive director VictoriaKehoe; and DRAR EO B. Cail Maclean.

Back row, from left: DRAR EO B. Cail Maclean; Grandview Children’sFoundation senior development officer Brigitte Tschinkel; DRARCharity Auction Committee chair Kathy McFadden; Grandview chiefdevelopment officer William Pace. Front row: Grandview studentsenjoying “Pajama Day”.

Mike McCarron, right,supervisor for growth anddevelopment for Exit RealtyCorp. International, chatswith speaker FloydWickman at the BanffWestern Connection conference. “The organizersdeserve great praise andaccolades for the obvioushard work that goes intoputting on something thislarge, and that is so welldone,” says McCarron.

32 REM APRIL 2013

Directors and 14 years of industryexperience. She takes over frompast-president Peter Dickson.

“Our industry is changingrapidly and servicing the con-sumer in the new digital age is veryexciting,” says Maillet. “Ourvision is to be an industry leader,providing innovative member ser-vices and we accomplish this byengaging our membership, provid-ing leading technologies, servicesand support that equip our mem-bers to deliver exceptional serviceto consumers.”

The other executive membersof the association are: 1st vice-president Ricky Cormier; 2ndvice-president Chantal Albert;secretary treasurer KevinMacKenzie; and directors MichaelRyder, Andre Malenfant and TimLyons.

■ ■ ■

The Fraser Valley Real EstateBoard (FVREB) elected its newBoard of Directors for 2013/2014at its Annual General Meetingrecently. Ron Todson will replaceoutgoing president Scott Olson.Todson has been active in realestate since 1981 and is a manag-ing broker of Re/Max Little OakRealty in Abbotsford.

“It’s a tremendous honour tovolunteer for an organization thathas been serving the real estateneeds of the Fraser Valley since1921. Our mission as a board is toensure that our members haveaccess to the best tools and support

t was Sunday afternoon andI was conducting an openhouse in the north-west

part of the Greater Toronto Area.It was a well-appointed town-home owned by a young, profes-sional woman and it was immac-ulate.

I was about to finish up and wasjust walking out to pick up my signswhen two young men asked if theycould see the place. Of course!

As they walked through thehouse, they became more and moreengaged and it was clear to me thatthey liked the house. They werealso trying to be careful to hidethese obvious buying signals fromme, the Realtor.

After viewing upstairs, theyasked me when the open housewould be finished. I replied that Iwould remain there until theycame back with their family anddecided whether they wanted topurchase the house. They asked mehow I knew that this was the ques-tion on their mind. I replied that itwas just a lucky guess.

About 20 minutes later theyreturned with the family, and whata family it was…17 people. I won-dered if they were all going to fit inthe townhouse. But still, if theycould fit in two minivans….I soonrealized that some were merelyadvisors and well-wishers.

Everyone loved the house, theyand ’ooohhh-ed’ and ‘aahhh’ ed

and then talked rapidly and excit-edly in some deliciously polysyllab-ic language.

They asked about the drapes,the appliances, the closing datesand the downpayment and finallythey told me that they wanted tosubmit an offer that same night. Ilocked the front door. It was timeto get down to business.

I sat down with the youngmen and began taking all of thepertinent information…and sud-denly we heard a scream! It wasthe scream of a male member ofthe family. Everyone rushed to thesound and I realized that some-thing terrible must have hap-pened …..something so terriblethat…. there would be no dealthat night!

I rushed to see what the patri-arch had found and as I cameupstairs, I realized that they wereall pointing at something.

You would not believe whatthey were pointing at. Nothing inmy real estate courses and feng shuistudies prepared me for this.

They were pointing at the toi-let bowl. I had not heard a flush, soI assumed there must be an offend-ing turd I missed on my initial pre-open-house inspection. I rushedover and flushed the toilet withoutlooking inside.

Then I asked what the “issue”(never the “problem”) might be.

At first, it was all that I could

do to keep from laughing, until Isaw how very serious (and utterlydisappointed) they all were. Thetoilet was facing in the wrongdirection! It would be the ultimatesign of disrespect to their God.

They loved that house andwondered if there was a way theycould change the ‘direction’ of thetoilet bowl. I am a master ofObjective Handling Techniques,but it occurred to me that this wasneither the time nor the place. Thespherical nature of the earth, themetaphysics of ‘direction’, the fac-ing east is the same as facing west ifyou travel far enough – all seemedout of place in this context. Faith isthe kind of thing that should betreated with respect.

I pointed out that this was atwo-piece powder room and thatthere was no room to make anyadjustments, although they werewelcome to try after and if theypurchased the home.

They left saddened, lookingback in regret. I waved from thefront door as they piled into theminivans. I realized that I wouldnot be selling that house that night. . . . but I had learned yet anotherimportant lesson about anotherculture.

Carl Walwyn is a sales rep withRe/Max Legacy Realty inMississauga, Ont. Email [email protected]. REM

The toilet bowl By Carl Walwyn

I

Boards and AssociationsContinued from page 30

to provide the highest level of pro-fessional service to our clients,”Todson says.

Todson started volunteeringon behalf of the Board eight yearsago and has served as a directorsince 2008.

The incoming president-electis Ray Werger, Royal LePage -Coronation Park, Surrey. Thevice-president is Jorda Maisey,Re/Max Little Oak Realty, FortLangley.

Also elected to the Board ofDirectors: John Barbisan, Sutton -Premier Realty, Surrey; SandraBenz, Re/Max PerformanceRealty, Delta; Manny Boparai,Century 21 Coastal Realty, Surrey;Dennis Germyn, MacdonaldRealty, Surrey; Ishaq Ismail,Sutton Group - West CoastRealty, Surrey; Gopal Sahota,Sutton Group - West CoastRealty, Surrey; Ralph Visser,Century 21 Ace Agencies,Abbotsford; and Charles Wiebe,Landmark Realty, Abbotsford.

■ ■ ■

The Durham RegionAssociation of Realtors (DRAR)recently donated more than$10,000 to two local charities.Funds raised through DRAR’sAnnual Charity Auction will sup-port Distress Centre Durham, aregistered charity that providesemotional support, crisis interven-tion and suicide prevention tothose who need it. The associationalso donated to GrandviewChildren’s Centre, which serves5,000 children and youth withspecial needs each year. REM

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34 REM April 2013

The real estate market in Cabo is hot, and you

can get involved by referring clients, or enjoy the locale yourself and sell real estate in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. Century 21 Paradise Properties managing partner Terry Curtis says, “The door is open. Any Canadian citizen who has an active real estate licence qualifies to work for me. Getting a work visa

takes about three weeks.”Those who prefer to refer

clients can expect a 30-per-cent referral fee.

Century 21 Paradise Properties sells in Los Cabos, including Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, Tados Santos and the East Cape, Curtis says. “Fifty per cent of our clients are Canadians. The majority of Canadian buyers buy with the idea to use the property as a holiday home and rent it out the rest of the year for now, with the intention of using it as a permanent home down the road.”

There are many reasons Canadian buyers are attracted to Cabo instead of the U.S. or other parts of Mexico, he says. “We have lots of Canadians, and Canadians like Canadians. We also have a fantastic climate. Expect one month with lows of 55 F and lows of 75 F for the

other 11 months. It’s also not super expensive, and it’s clean and safe.”

The housing selection is good, he says. “We have 50 months of inventory and prices are stabilizing. A year ago, a $100,000 property would go for $85,000 to $89,000. Now owners are holding out for more money and $100,000 properties are going for $95,000 or $98,000. Prices are good but it’s still a buyers’ market,” Curtis says.

Century 21 Paradise Properties sold 10 properties in the first month of this year, and average 35 to 40 in a year. The average house sells for $350,000. Condos sell for $90,000 and homes can go for in excess of $5 million.

Los Cabos, comprised of the towns of San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas and connected by a 20-mile corridor of resort properties and beaches, offers

a range of activities, including golfing, fishing, sailing, scuba diving, horse back riding and swimming with the dolphins. Off-road vehicles, cruises and zip lines are other activities.

Curtis is originally from Corpus Christie, Texas. When he first arrived in 1989, the population was 10,000. It’s been booming since and the popula-tion is now between 250,000 and 300,000 people between here and San Jose, he says.

When he first arrived, he had a water sports company that employed 45, but says the market became flooded with similar companies. He decided to sell real estate, buying the franchise in 2009 with co-owner Ari Kreiss.

When the partners purchased it, the office was doing less than $5 million in sales annually. “Now we’re up to $16 million a year,” Curtis says. The company

currently has 90 listings valued at $60 million.

The brokerage guides buyers through the paperwork. “We’ve lived here so long and understand the system. We help buyers. It’s part of the service.” Curtis has lived in Cabo San Lucas since 1989 and bought and sold property in Los Cabos since 1995. He has also operated several businesses and says he knows about working in Mexico as an American. He has been a Mexican citizen since 2005 and lives with his wife and four children in the community.

Century 21 Paradise Properties has 12 sales reps in two offices, in Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.

For more information, email Terry at [email protected], phone 310-691-5451 or visit www.c21cabo.com. REM

Have a client who needs to clear the clutter before

they can put their house on the market, someone who is downsizing or someone who is handling an estate sale and simply doesn’t know what to do with all the stuff they no longer want or need?

A new online auction, MaxSold.com, can help. “It’s like Kijiji meets eBay,” says MaxSold.com founder Barry Gordon. “eBay is a good way to sell one item to someone in California and Kijiji is a good way to sell your guitar to someone down the street. MaxSold.com is a good way to sell lots of items in your general area.”

The entire process is hands-off for the seller. MaxSold.com staff visit the home and photograph and catalogue items.

The company creates a digital catalogue for online viewing, promotes the auction and sometimes sets up a preview at the house. Previews last a couple of hours and are hosted by the company. “Twenty per cent of bidders view ahead of time and 80 per cent sign up online and bid” without seeing items in person, Gordon says.

Auctions are promoted digitally and to the company’s large following on Facebook and email.

All items start at $1 and the highest bidder wins. Auctions have included everything from garden hoses to crystal to cars.

A big benefit of the MaxSold.com concept is that it is civilized, Gordon says. Unlike estate sales, “there’s no benefit to being there first, there are no line ups

or mayhem. It’s organized and good prices are achieved through competition.”

Auctions have averaged $30 to $75 per lot depending on the mix of items, with an average of over 10 bids per item and average of over 25,000 item views per event, he says. “The bulk of bidding is in the last few hours of an event….In our experience the price per item is higher than other methods of sale and more items are saleable in this process than in other methods, meaning the seller generates more money due to unit pricing and the fact that more items sell. Our average sell rate is 98.5 per cent over the 50,000 items sold to date.”

After the auction closes, money is collected by the company online. “It’s a digital and transparent system, which

is important for the person who may have a power of attorney. The digital trail – what was sold and what they got – lives on,” Gordon says.

The company then supervises pick up of the items from the home and then provides a cheque, less commission, to the homeowner. No money is paid upfront. The commission is 30 per cent.

The whole process takes about two weeks.

Households that have taken advantage of the service range from modest to high-end, and Maxsold.com works well for most items, Gordon says. If you have a lot of antiques you may want to go to a fine auction house, but for household items, Maxsold.com is the way to go, he says.

Realtors can also refer clients who are looking to furnish rentals or new or resale homes.

Although the parent company, Gordon’s Estate Services, has been in the auction business for 50 years, the new Maxsold.com concept is only four-years-old, says Gordon, who conceived the idea. It’s “a fully managed event-based online auction. It’s a prototype in Canada.”

The Toronto-based company currently works in the area from Ottawa to Sarnia, as well as the GTA, but is expanding to other parts of the country and into the United States.

The company works with Realtors and offers a referral fee.

Contact Barry Gordon at 877-257-7799 for more information or visit maxsold.com. REM

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By Connie Adair

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Terry Curtis

36 REM APRIL 2013

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Hungry for new business?

he Coldest Night of theYear is a non-competitivefive and 10-km winter

walk fundraiser supporting selectcharities that serve the hungry andhomeless in communities acrossCanada. The evening walk in thedead of winter is a reminder of thechallenges that homeless peopleexperience. Sales rep Kim MacKayof Sutton Group - QuantumRealty in Oakville, Ont. and threefriends bundled up recently to raisemoney and awareness. Theirteam, called Maple Grove –Outreach, was the fifth highestfundraiser in Oakville. They raised$2,355 and helped to bring theOakville total to $36,548.Nationally, 6,847 walkers raised$1,399,614.

■ ■ ■

Coldwell Banker Heroes, theColdwell Banker brand’s charitablerecognition program, recordeddonations of more than $4.7 mil-lion and 45,000 volunteer hours tolocal charities in its inaugural year.

Coldwell Banker All Points-Festival City in Stratford, Ont., ledby owners Donny Rivers and PatSimons, had 27 different charitable

Good WorksGood Worksinitiatives in 2012. Activitiesincluded multiple sponsorshipsand volunteering for local sportsteams and events; a Heart &Stroke fundraiser, and a year-longweekly 50/50 draw with $1 perweek per person donation toUnited Way.

Coldwell Banker Rhodes &Company in Ottawa, led by brokerof record Jim McKeown, supportsThe Hospice at May Court, a com-munity-based organization sup-porting families dealing with life-threatening illness. Through theirfund-raising efforts, the companyhas raised $135,000.

■ ■ ■

The 27th annual Carl OakeSwimathon, sponsored by brokerCarl Oake of Century 21 United inPeterborough, Ont., aimed to raise$50,000 for Easter Seals and localRotary Club projects. The finaltotal from the event will be knownlater this year.

Annaleise Carr, 14, theyoungest person to swim acrossLake Ontario, attended the eventalong with local Easter Sealsambassador Aidan Cameron, 8.

■ ■ ■

All nine agents from RoyalLePage Access Real Estate inSalmon Arm, B.C., are now offi-cially Royal LePage ShelterFoundation supporters. Their firstdonation of $1,080 was raised bythe agents directing a portion oftheir commission to the ShelterFoundation for every sale theymade. Broker/owner Marv Beersays he is proud his office has nowachieved 100 per cent support oftheir local shelter, with all agentsin the office making a donationfrom each deal.

■ ■ ■

Until June 18, Royal LePageLandco Realty in London, Ont. ishosting a fitness challenge in sup-port of the Royal LePage ShelterFoundation. Participants canchoose to challenge themselves inthree different ways: Reach a cer-tain weight loss goal; lose inchesaround the areas they would liketo shape up, or create their ownFitness Challenge, such asincreased visits to the gym over the100 days, or working up to run adistance.

All funds raised will bedonated to the Royal LePageShelter Foundation in support ofViolence Against WomenServices Elgin County in St.Thomas, Women’s CommunityHouse in London and Women’sRural Resource Centre inStrathroy to provide life-savingservices to women and childrenescaping violence. To learnmore or sign up, email Sarah [email protected].

REM

T

From left: MorarMurray-Hayes, DianeHunt, Sue Andersonand Kim MacKaytook part in theColdest Night of theYear fundraiser.

Carl Vandergoot, broker of record andowner Re/Max Centre City Realty in

London, Ont. presents $15,954 toStacey Johnson, community relations

associate of the Children’s HealthFoundation. The funds are the 2012

Re/Max City Centre agents and staff contributions to Children’s

Miracle Network. During the past 12 years the brokerage has

contributed more than $200,000.

Marilyn Kalke (far right) of the Shuswap AreaFamily Emergency Society accepts a cheque pre-

sented by, from left: SteveLewis, Susanne Rahn, DougHubscher, Lisa Nobbs, JeremyOsborne, Al Bingham, ShirleyBarker, Gary Osborne andMarv Beer of Royal LePageAccess Real Estate. TaraGallant, who also contributed,was not present when thephoto was taken.

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rank Polzler, a native ofGraz, Austria, obtained hisreal estate license just six

years after coming to Canada. Hebuilt a real estate business and in1980, along with partner WalterSchneider, established Re/MaxOntario-Atlantic Canada, layingthe groundwork for Re/Maxgrowth outside the United States.Re/Max International founderDave Liniger has said that withoutthe early work of Polzler andSchneider, the franchise may nothave survived.

Later Polzler and Schneideropened offices in New Englandand the U.S. Mid-West, and in1994 they established Re/MaxEurope, which now includes 36countries.

In April, Polzler will celebratehis 80th birthday. Recently hepublished Journey of a Lifetime: AMemoir. The following is an exclu-sive excerpt.

By Frank Polzler withJennifer Campbell

A few years ago, I bumpedinto one of my classmates fromgrade five or six. He became aprofessor of physics, obviously avery smart man. We reminiscedabout our childhood and ourschool. He said to me, “Frank, Iremember you in school. I satbehind you. You didn’t excelacademically, but you sureshowed leadership.” It’s true; Iwasn’t a No. 1 student. If I wasinterested in a subject, I was verygood at it, but the ones I didn’tlike and I figured I’d never needin my life, the heck with it!

My strength has always beenthat people looked to me forleadership. I don’t know whyexactly, but that’s something inme. All along, even from when Iwas a kid, people gatheredaround me and I would inspirethem to do certain things. Andthey’d do it and we’d all benefit.I was always good at things whenI had to work by myself, too,when I had to make my ownsales or something, but my fortewas that I could delegate.

I learned long ago that every-one has something to offer and

38 REM APRIL 2013

FFrank Polzler: The simple secrets of success

not everybody has everything, soI learned how to make a dealwith them so we could help eachother. For instance, when I was akid and my aunt sent me a soccerball – which at that time, believeme, was a prized possession – I’dsay to my buddies, “I’ll let youplay soccer with my ball if youhelp me out with my home-work.” And it worked!

When I was crossing theocean and met Alan Mentl, thefact that he could speak Englishwas a huge advantage and I knewthat. Besides the fact that I justliked him and we got along, Iknew that he could be a safetynet for me. When I didn’t under-stand something, he’d help me.And if we both didn’t under-stand it, we’d look it up in a dic-tionary. When you team up, it’salmost always better than goingit alone.

A leader has to be visionary, astrategist. He has to be honest sopeople can trust him. You can’tforce people to trust you; you haveto earn and create trust. It’s verysimple, really. I think I’ve donewell because I’ve always had anopen mind. I don’t just fixate on acertain way to do things and bar-rel my way through. If there areobstacles, I figure out a wayaround them – and there’s almostalways a way. If it doesn’t workhere, it will work there. Most peo-ple give up. The real key to lead-ership is to find a way around theobstacle or the challenge. If youcan’t get over the mountain, thenbuild a tunnel through it or a roadaround it. If that doesn’t work,then burrow under it. One way oranother, you’ve got to get to theother side. I think people aroundme have come to trust that I amgoing to find a solution one way oranother. One thing for certain;I’m not going to give up.

You’ve got to have faith inyourself if you expect other peo-ple to have faith in you. I thinkif you were to ask the people inEurope, they’d say they trustWalter and me implicitly, with-out question. We’ve never giventhem a reason not to.

Some people want the easyway out rather than doing theless pleasant things. Forinstance, to build a Re/Max fran-

chise, you have to recruit people.I don’t know any way to recruitpeople other than talking tothem and building a relation-ship.

Well, some people don’t liketalking to other people. That’sokay, but that means they haveto be realistic about their choic-es and chance of success.

Sometimes being a leadermeans doing the things thatother people don’t want to do.For instance, I always sold hous-es in the summertime, wheneveryone was on vacation. Allthe other agents figured it was aslow time and no one would beinterested in buying a house.Once, back in the ’60s, it was aGrey Cup Saturday or Sunday,and of course everyone was athome gathered around their TVsets to watch the game. I wasthere, too. But there was somuch fog they had to stop thegame. I watched the TV for a

while, then thought, “Well, thisis a waste of time. I’ll go up to mymodel house and open it for awhile. Maybe somebody willdrift in. At the very least I’ll getsome paperwork done.”

By the time I got to themodel home, you couldn’t see 50metres in front of you. I sat lis-tening to the radio – I was a bitof a football fan but not crazyabout it – and a couple walkedin. The man’s name was Basiland he was English – I don’tremember his second name.They looked around and I said,“What can I do for you?” Hesaid, “We have to find a house.”And I sold them a house thatday, when every other agent wasat home watching the game.

The same positive, optimisticattitude will see you throughrecessions, too. You have to starteach day like that, and thingswill happen positively for you. IfI wake up with a bad cold and

feel lousy, I think to myself,“Well, I’m going to make thebest of this day.” That’s the wayyou get rid of the obstacles inyour life. You are mentally welland you are physically well.That’s where it’s at.

I guess I’ve always had thatpositive attitude. I sure did whenI packed my green suitcase andheaded off for Canada. And Isure had it when I didn’t shyaway from a crappy first job. Ijust did it, because I knew thatonce I knew enough English, Icould get a better job.

Customer service Customer service is what

makes or breaks a salesperson, orin fact any company or business.

Today, real estate agents haveto go to school to inform them-selves about real estate laws andtransactions and everything, butI don’t think they get a lot oftraining on customer service andsales techniques, which are real-ly important.

Intelligence is not every-thing. There are a lot of PhDsaround who are not doing wellfinancially – not doing well inlife, never mind money. Youhave to have a little bit of entre-preneurship in you. You have tohave a good way with people.

Some people have a naturalgift to be gregarious with people.It’s good to be outgoing andfriendly so people relax and tellyou about what they want andwhat they need. At the verybasic level – and it’s unbeliev-able to me that some salespeopledon’t do this – you have to smile.

My great-grandson, Jackson,has a smile that would floor any-body. If he keeps that smile,there will be no holding himback. There’s something about aperson who smiles a lot. It breaksthe ice right away. I think I’vebeen that way all my life. MaybeI smiled like that when I was hisage – I don’t know, because Idon’t have any baby pictures ofme and, even if I had any, I’dprobably have a stern facebecause that’s what photogra-phers made you do in those days.

At Re/Max, we teach our

Frank Polzler (photo by Marko Shark)

REM APRIL 2013 39

people to constantly prospect.We are building relationshipswith people out there, the peoplethat we are selling for, the peoplethat we represent as buyers. Wehelp them negotiate a deal andtake care of all the details for thecustomer. If the agent does agood job, the buyer or seller willprobably go back to him/her. Weteach our people, “Stay intouch.” It’s not a case of makethe sale, grab the commissionand run. Once you’re in businessfor a while, most of your activityis going to be referrals and repeatbusiness. That’s the key. This isthe type of agent that we aredeveloping, and this is what weteach him/her. This was neveraround before.

I’ve always been adamantabout a code of ethics for mypeople. At one point I served onthe real estate board’s EthicsCommittee. You have to estab-lish trust.

When I started Re/Max inCanada, and it was even more so inEurope, a real estate agent was onthe same level as a used-car sales-man. We tried to change that.There are still some bad apples butyou’re going to get that in any busi-ness. But we do a good job of weed-ing them out. We don’t want thehucksters, the guys that want tocon somebody into a deal. Youdon’t have to be pushy or aggres-sive. My philosophy has alwaysbeen, “If you like what you see, ifyou can afford what you see, thenyou make the decision. I’m justhere to help you.”

Positive attitude You also have to have a posi-

tive attitude – all the time, dayin and day out, no matter whathappens. Some people are liketoilet seats, up and down all thetime. One day they feel horrible– they don’t feel like doing any-thing. The next day they’rejumping up and down. You haveto be constant and you have tobe able to handle the downs inthe business, and there are lots ofthem.

Real estate is a very attractivecareer at any time. I’ve been in itfor almost 55 years. But you haveto be an innovator and a sur-vivor, and you’ve got to have thestomach to hang in there. It’s notan easy business. When the mar-ket is good, it’s easy. But a lot ofpeople fall by the wayside whenthe market toughens up. It’s agood business to be in if youwant to work really hard and ifyou want to give good customerservice. If you’re not hesitant totalk to people, you will alwayshave business.

I took a lot of courses in theearlier years. My personal growthwas always very important.There were two themes to thesecourses: sales and marketingskills, and keeping a positiveattitude. Somewhere in thesemotivational training classes,somebody said, “Your security isbetween your ears.”

Real estate pays by commis-sion. There’s no security, no pay-cheque there unless you dosomething. If you go through my

whole story, youmost probablycould see that Ihave alwaysthought that it’sme that has tomake it happen.I’m lucky thatmaybe I wasborn with a pos-itive attitude.

I’m not oneof those guyswho goesaround with acrappy attitudeall the time andtakes days outof his life to feelsorry for him-self. I’m not

talking about people who trulyhave depression and need help; Imean the people who thinkthey’re entitled to money andsuccess just because they showup. When they get hit withsomething going wrong, theyeither moan that “it’s impossi-ble” and give up or they blamesomeone else.

There are more No’s thanYes’s, so you just live with theNo’s and exploit the Yes’s.

Sometimes you’re going toget too many No’s and you’retempted to throw up your armsand give up. But don’t! Just keepgoing. It’s only a No. There aregoing to be lots of times that youhave to deal with disappoint-ment. You put in a lot of timewith a customer and you thinkyou have an honest and straight-forward relationship; then youcall them up one day and tellthem you found a house forthem, and they tell you they justbought one from somebody else.That’s why I get upset whensome idiot reporter writes anewspaper article about how realestate agents rip you off. Heshould try just one year in realestate and he wouldn’t say thatanymore. It’s not an easy busi-ness. People don’t try real estate;real estate tries people. It’s atough one. But you have to keepat it. If someone says to me, “Igot nothin’ goin’ on,” I say,“Make it happen.” Nobody’sgoing to do it for you. You haveto get out there, talk to everyoneyou know, and business willcome. That’s the way it happens.

A lot of the franchises wesold originally have failed, butit’s not because the system isn’t

any good. In the U.S. andEurope, people bought into whatthe media was saying or whatpeople on the street were saying.That’s when it got bad! Theydidn’t have the motivation any-more to carry on or implementthis fabulous system.

When people say, “How isthe market?” I say, “Well, itdepends. Are you selling or areyou buying?” Right now, thingsare slow. It’s really a great time tobuy. But because people are likesheep, they buy when everybodyelse buys and prices are on thetop end.

The market is also betweenyour ears. It’s the way you think!When you listen to the news andthe market is good, everyonegoes, “Aha, ha-ha, let’s go andsell a lot of real estate.”

Easy. If the market crashes,which it has done in my careerabout five or six times, and youbelieve the headlines in themedia about how bad it is outthere, you might be expected tothink, “What’s the sense of goingto work? It’s bad, anyways.”That’s what we’re going throughwith our European business rightnow. A lot of not going to work.

However, I always did theopposite. I went out there andbeat the bushes. I always gotbusiness.

When I’d interview prospec-tive salespeople, they would say,“Well, I’m going to try realestate.” I’d say, “Excuse me. Idon’t think you’re going to tryreal estate. Real estate needs acommitment, and I think realestate will try you. We’ll know ina few months if you’ve got thestomach to hang in there.”

Real estate is great whenyou’re closing deals. Go to any ofour Re/Max offices and you’ll seeMercedes, Cadillacs, Jaguars andAudis, all the big cars. But whenthere’s a dry season, you don’tknow how you’ll pay the bills.

I read a book once about the American Revolution.Apparently, George Washingtonhad a terrible army. It was madeup of farmers that were fightingthis highly polished British army.The story goes that Washingtontold them, “Guys, just shoot,shoot, shoot until you learn toaim. Let’s make lots of noise,okay?” And we did the samething. Just go for it!

Assertiveness andgood impressions

In the old days, we used tocanvas on the telephone. Nowthere’s a law against phoningpeople. This is stupid, becausethese people are trying to make aliving. If you don’t want to bedisturbed by a salesperson at din-ner, then unplug the phone.

Why do you need a law? Thisis government intrusion intobusiness. I would say that at leasthalf the people I ever called werealways very friendly to me,because I knew how to handlethem. When I recruited sales-people, I was polite and consid-erate, which made them relaxand listen to me. They wouldmelt. You can’t just yak-yak-yakat people. You have to acknowl-edge them being there.

We’d also go around knock-ing on doors. We might knockon 50 doors in a day and maybe

The cover of Frank Polzler’s memoir.

Frank Polzler with Dave Liniger and Walter Schneider at the company’s 25th anniversary celebration.

Continued on page 40

40 REM APRIL 2013

half of them wouldn’t answer thedoor or weren’t home. But with thepeople who did come to the door, Iwas always careful to leave themwith a good impression.

That’s where your trainingkicks in. If someone said, “No,I’m not interested,” then I’d say,“I understand. However (and I’dalways have a smile on my face),“if I can ever do anything in realestate for you or any of yourfriends, here’s my card. Thankyou very much.” You don’t walkaway with a long face becausesomeone said no.

What makes a good sales-man? You don’t give up. You justkeep going! Do what you have todo. You know what to do. It’s not

Frank PolzlerContinued from page 39

rocket science – it’s easy in thatyou know what you have to do.You don’t have to solve hugeproblems, like how to inventsomething to prevent a car fromguzzling too much gas. That’s ascience. Real estate is not a sci-ence. It’s a people business, arelationship business. It’s allabout how you interact withpeople and what kind of impres-sions you make.

Adaptation and perseverance

This is not a business foreverybody; lots of people aban-don their real estate careersbecause they’re not good at sales,not good with people, or theycan’t stand the downturns.

That’s fine for them. For me, I

never once thought about leavingthis business. I’m one of the sur-vivors who have been in it forsuch a long time and it’s becauseI’ve moved with the times. I paid$5 for my real estate licence. Iwent from salesman to broker,sold new houses, sold resales, thenthe brokerage, back into resales,and expanded, expanded.

In the ’70s, I started to realizethat things were changing, andthat’s when I began looking atfranchises. I had a pretty goodlocal name here in the regionbecause of my offices inMississauga and Etobicoke, inMilton and Brampton andBurlington. So I had that region-al name but I did not have anational name.

There was tremendous com-petition from the trust compa-

nies and so on and I had tochange, so I did. I looked for abrand to join. Re/Max didn’thave much of a brand name atthe time, but Walter and I likedthe system. The fact that it wasunheard of up here didn’t stopus. We believed in it from thebeginning.

It was a win–win situationwhen Walter and I started buildingthe Re/Max brand. We sold thesystem. It attracted and held thebest salespeople. They had all theadvantages of being independentas well as having the support of thebrand and the system. And if theychose not to join one of our teamsand wanted to go out on their own,that was fine, too – we’d sell thema franchise! Now everybody’s copy-ing us.

A key element of success is to

just keep going. It sounds so sim-ple and it is simple.

The same thing goes withselling franchises. Walter has asaying, “You have to kiss a lot offrogs to find a prince.” You justhave to keep kissing, you know?You don’t give up after you’vetalked to five people and heardtheir sob stories. People willcome to you with all kinds ofrationalizing why it doesn’twork. Well, as a leader you havetwo choices. One is to agree withthem, and one is to turn thething around and show themhow it can work. You have to beable to make people see theother side of it.

Rationalizing is the easiestway to avoid doing something.“Oh, it’s tough.” Sure it’s tough.So what? REM

ew Realtors in an areawill say, “I have to makemyself known,” so they

go knocking on doors, cold can-vassing. Unfortunately, so domany experienced Realtors aswell. The sad reality is that thepeople out there don’t care thatyou have to make yourself known.

I often ask my real estate audi-ences, “Who likes cold canvass-ing?” With rare exceptions, theanswer is no one. Then I ask if thepublic likes being cold canvassed,and again the answer is no.

So for the life of me, I cannotunderstand why salespeople whohate cold canvassing continue todo it to people who hate havingit done to them. It makes nosense at all.

The pure arrogance of coldcanvassing, knocking on some-one’s door and offering to helpthem, with no prior knowledgeabout them, defies belief.

Jim Reitzel is a U.S.

By Ian Grace

Never cold canvas againRealtor/broker who I’ve knownfor about 10 years. Many yearsago I watched him go from 250personal sales referrals per yearto over 500 in a few short years.I even brought him to Australiato speak at a conference I ranback in 2006, to tell the audi-ence exactly what he does.

The interesting thing is, hisfocus is never on cold canvass-ing, but rather on referrals andeverything he does is focused onthe customers, not himself. Let’sface it, if potential customersdon’t like being cold canvassed,then persisting in doing it isextremely bad customer service.

There are so many thingsthat can be done instead of coldcanvassing.

Julie is a salesperson I’veknown for several years. She hadan area that she farmed, ofaround 1,200 houses. Here inAustralia we celebrate AustraliaDay once a year. Julie purchaseda quantity of very cheap smallAustralian flags and with thehelp of some friends, she placedone in the front yard of everyhouse in the area, with her busi-ness card stapled to it, merelysaying happy Australia Day.

The people absolutely lovedit and in no time at all she hadspoken to around 450 of the peo-

ple in the area. Some hadphoned to say they had two orperhaps three children and oneof them had the Australian flagand did she perhaps have anyspare flags for the other children?How simple and powerful wasthat!

At Christmas time, everyhousehold that decorated their

home with lights received a cer-tificate printed off Julie’s com-puter, rolled up with a ribbonaround it with card and contactdetails, saying thank you forbrightening our Christmas withyour lights. By the time theythen receive the Australia Dayflag as well, she’s got them won.

Others use devices as simpleas a voucher saying, “Have a cof-fee on me and let me know if you

have any real estate needs orwould like to receive regularupdates on prices in the area.”

The salesperson just does adeal with a local coffee shop,which provides the vouchers. Aswitched-on coffee shop realisestheir investment is not large andthey will always get a return,because most people will bring a

friend with them and perhapsbuy something to eat to go withthe coffee. And for the price of afree coffee, they may have abrand-new repeat customer.Everybody wins.

Another version of this – I’veseen others who provide a busi-ness card with 10 numberedsquares on the back of their card.Each square entitles them to afree coffee when they spend $5

or more at the particular coffeeshop.

This means they have to lookat that particular agent’s cardand perhaps photo 10 times, asthey pull it out to be stamped atthe coffee shop.

There are innovative ways toget these things noticed. Makingsure it is not a windy day, canyou imagine a row of houses in astreet, with cheap helium bal-loons flying from each letterbox,with strings attached to thevoucher, inside the box? Theballoons can even be printedwith the real estate office andagent. And boy, would that benoticed.

There’s plenty more butthat’s enough for now. I hopethat makes sense and moves youaway from old-fashioned coldcanvassing.

Known internationally as “Mr.Real Estate Advertising”,Australian Ian Grace is acknowl-edged as one of the world’s leadingauthorities on real estate advertis-ing. Since 1994, he has deliveredhis programs throughout Australia,New Zealand, U.S.A., Canadaand the U.K. His articles aboutreal estate advertising have beenpublished around the world.www.iangrace.com REM

Let’s face it, if potential customers don’t like being coldcanvassed, then persisting in

doing it is extremely bad customer service.

N

REM APRIL 2013 41

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ou can’t flip through theTV channels these dayswithout some sort of home

renovation, home relocation orhome improvement show turningup. I had the chance recently totalk with someone who spent eightseasons on a hit TV show dealingwith one of those very topics. As asort of Jiminy Cricket to guns-a-blazin’ “expert” Tim Allen,Richard Karn became widely rec-ognizable for his role as Al Borlandon their popular show HomeImprovement. He has also enjoyedsuccess in movies, on stage and as ahost of Family Feud.

When he was in Calgary, Iinterviewed Karn and asked if hefelt their show may have helpedspawn some of the plethora ofserious shows that are on the airnow.

“Home improvement is a pop-ular subject. It affects everybody.Whether we’re nesting or fixing upour apartment – or we’ve bought a

Home Improvement’s Richard KarnBy Dan St. Yves

Y new house...a lot of people want todo things themselves...”

He was quick to add that HomeImprovement may not have alwaysset the tone for proper tips on ren-ovations.

“We did an episode on drywalland we were on drywall stilts. Timput a pneumatic lift on his, and hewent up through the ceiling. Butwe had some things, you know –we had Helpful Hints. We showedhow to take out a broken light bulbwith a potato. That was kind ofinteresting...”

Mostly what Richard and therest of the cast on the show did wasprovide millions of viewers withhilarious impressions of how reno-vation tips could go wrong. Al wasmost often the voice of reason toTim’s dismissive “expertise”.

The show runs worldwide insyndication now. Early on duringthe series, Karn discovered theshow was a hit with TV audiences,and that his own role was secure. I

found a tidbit online that he hadkept a job as an apartment buildingmanager through the first season ofthe show, until he knew it wasn’tgoing to be cancelled.

“Almost true – I only kept itthrough about half of the first sea-son,” he says. “After a while, afterthe show started to air, I would getthese phone calls from people...oursink is all stopped up... So, I’d godown and take a look, and there’dbe about 15 people in there, andthey’d go, “See, I told you Al wasour apartment manager.” And Ithought, okay, maybe my day job issecure now.”

Karn also worked with aCanadian national treasure, earlyin her career – actress PamelaAnderson was a Tool Time Girl.He shared a fun story about hisfather meeting her, but I will directyou to my video interview for thatfull excerpt from our chat.

Visit my site (http://thatdan-guy.libsyn.com/) to download and

view it, or if you prefer, watch it on my YouTube Channel:http://www.youtube.com/user/thatdanguy1?feature=guide

Richard Karn was in Calgaryappearing in a Stage West Theatreproduction somewhat more rele-vant to his time spent on FamilyFeud. In Game Show he hosts a fic-tional televised recording, whichinvolves audience members. Itmoves to Stage West Mississaugafrom April 25 to June 30, 2013.

While Karn won’t be in that pro-duction, another TV star willappear – Charles Shaughnessyfrom Mad Men, the sitcom TheNanny and the soap opera Days ofOur Lives.

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

Richard Karn (left) and Dan St. Yves

42 REM APRIL 2013

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Invidiata team namedNo. 1 worldwide forRe/Max

The Invidiata Team, lead byChristopher Invidiata of Re/MaxAboutowne Realty Corp. inOakville, Ont., was named the No.1 Re/Max Team Worldwide for2012 during the Re/MaxInternational convention held inLas Vegas recently.

The Invidiata Team was alsoawarded with the Luminary ofDistinction award, for earning $20million in commission over a 20-year period.

“Success is rooted in our abilityto listen and respond effectively tothe needs of our clients. Our teamis dedicated and passionate of whatthey do,” says Invidiata.

Invidiata began his real estatecareer in 1985. He has specializedin selling Oakville’s waterfrontproperty since 1987. His specializa-tion in luxury real estate has madehis team No. 1 in Canada for 11years.

Recently The Invidiata Teammade a $250,000 donation to thenew Oakville Hospital. It has alsobeen a consistent supporter of

many charities, including TheHospital for Sick Children,Children’s Miracle Network,Circle of Care, Run For Life,Dreams Take Flight, The FightAgainst Breast Cancer and theRed Cross.

Judy Gray is VIREBRealtor of the Year

Judy Gray of Re/Max Mid-Island Realty in Ucluelet wasrecently presented with theVancouver Island Real EstateBoard (VIREB) Realtor of the Yearaward. It recognizes those individ-uals whose dedication to excel-lence has had a profound influenceon the professional image ofVIREB Realtors and exemplifiessuch characteristics as leadership,industry stakeholder participationand active community involve-ment.

A Realtor since 1992 and anoffice owner since 1998, Gray hasearned multiple professional desig-nations, is the past chair of theVIREB Commercial Council, is aparticipant in the BritishColumbia Real Estate Association(BCREA) Advisory Group, and is

a passionate supporter of the B.C.Children’s Hospital Foundationamong other charitable activities.Earlier this year, she was awardedthe Re/Max of Western CanadaSpirit of the West Award for herextensive community based chari-ty work.

The 2012 RealtorsCare Awardswere presented to Matt Breedlove,Royal LePage Parksville QualicumRealty; Erika-Leigh Haley, RoyalLePage Advance Realty inCampbell River; Dave Koszegi,Re/Max of Nanaimo; DebbieMeiner, Re/Max of Duncan; andBernie Poole, Re/Max OceanPacific Realty in Comox. Thisaward, which has been presentedannually since 2007, recognizesindividual Realtors for their out-standing community service andprofessional leadership.

CIR Realty winsWorld AchievementAward

CIR Realty in Calgary was therecipient of a Leading Real EstateCompanies of the WorldAchievement Award presented atthe network’s annual conference inLas Vegas. The event was part ofthe network’s Conference Week,which attracted nearly 2,000 realestate professionals from 17 coun-tries.

CIR Realty was presented theMost Innovative BrokerageAward, which honours one broker-age that “has made an extraordi-nary difference for their companyand their business community

through a program that hasdemonstrated a high level of inno-vation and creativity,” the compa-ny says. LeadingRE president andCEO Pam O’Connor presentedthe award in recognition of thebrokerages’ commitment to in-house technology solutions,unique agent recruiting and reten-tion strategies, transparent com-munication systems that relayinformation about real estate trans-actions to not only CIR Realtorsbut also to Realtors from other bro-kerages, and the brokerage’s on-line, live meeting and training sys-tem.

Kirsten Faverin, marketingmanager at CIR Realty, says thetechnology enables the brokerageto focus on people, not paperwork.

“The benefit of being an inde-pendent brokerage is that we canreact to market trends and tech-nology almost instantly… There isno red tape. We are empowered tobe innovative and find creativesolutions to Realtors’ needs,” saysFaverin.

CIR Realty is Calgary’s largestindependent brokerage with over650 Realtors, staff and managers infour Calgary and 10 Alberta satel-lite offices.

Cal Crawford honoured by FVREB

The 2013 recipient of theFraser Valley Real Estate Board’sJohn Armeneau Professional of theYear award is Cal Crawford, man-aging broker of Landmark Realtyin Mission, B.C.

The award is the highest hon-our the board bestows, recognizingoutstanding leadership and dedica-tion professionally and within thecommunity.

After more than 30 years inreal estate (24 in Mission),Crawford is well-known for hisexpertise in management, trainingand sales. For 10 years he hasserved organized real estate by vol-unteering on behalf of the board,most notably on its Brokers’Council.

“Cal is one of our most knowl-edgeable, dependable and respect-ed Realtors and brokers. He hasdedicated himself to our professionelevating it to the highest level bydisplaying impeccable standards ofbusiness ethics and teaching thosesame standards to hundreds of col-

leagues over the years,” says ScottOlson, FVREB past-president.

Over the years, the City ofMission has honoured Crawfordwith a Special Citizen Recognitionaward; a Citizen of the Year awardand a Business Leader of the Yearaward.

Lucky Gill, SuttonGroup - West CoastRealty honoured as‘good neighbours’

The FVREB also presented itshighest honours for communitygiving. For the first time, the indi-vidual and corporate RealtorsMake Good Neighbours awardsrecipients were from the sameoffice. The individual award wentto Lucky Gill, with her brokerage,Sutton Group - West Coast Realtyin Surrey receiving recognition forbeing the most community-mind-ed office in the Fraser Valley.

Sutton Group - West CoastRealty, located in Newton, donat-ed significant time and money toover a dozen charities and eventsin 2012, including the CanadianCancer Society, the Heart andStroke Foundation, Guru Nanak’sFree Kitchen and the B.C. FireFighters’ Burn Fund. The officerepresents 70-plus Realtors and islead by Ishaq Ismail, managingbroker.

In addition to selling real estateand volunteering her time with theMannkind Charitable Society,Lucky Gill heads Global GirlPower Foundation, a non-profitorganization committed toempowering, educating and sup-porting women and girls locallyand across the globe. She’s ledannual walks to raise awareness offemale feticide, organized candle-light vigils for Amanda Todd andall victims of bullying, rape andextreme acts of violence such asthe shooting at Sandy HookElementary School in the U.S.She has also held empowermentworkshops for high school girls onbody image and health.

Re/Max Kelowna honoured for CMNdonations

Re/Max of Western Canadarecently presented Re/MaxKelowna with the Champions of

REM APRIL 2013 43

†Royal LePage is a trademark used under license.

Effective March 4, 2013, Valerie Haskett-Chugg, broker of Prudential HighlandProperties, has joined the Royal LePagefranchise network. Valerie’s office willnow operate under the name of RoyalLePage Highland Properties.

Valerie began her real estate career 22 years ago. After obtaining her licensein 1989, she promptly became qualified as a broker and within a year had purchased the office where she wasworking. Valerie has successfully operated Prudential Highland Propertiesfor the past 20 years.

Valerie is excited about making thischange. She says that “Royal LePagehas a great reputation in the world of realestate” and she looks forward to growingher business with the assistance of theRoyal LePage brand.

In addition to Antigonish, Royal LePageHighland Properties services the areasof Guysborough, Pictou County and Port Hawkesbury.

Valerie and her team can be reached at:

219 Main Street, Suite 104Antigonish, NSB2G 2C1Phone: 902-863-1878Fax: [email protected]

Congratulations to Valerie and the teamat Royal LePage Highland Properties.

For information on the Royal LePagefranchise program, please call:Tel (416) 510-5827 or email:[email protected]

Royal LePage Highland PropertiesAntigonish, NS

†

Valerie Haskett-Chugg

Hope Award, which recognizes theoffice for the highest amount ofcontributions ever made by a sin-gle office to Children’s MiracleNetwork.

The network funds B.C. chil-dren’s hospitals, where one in fourof the province’s children will beseen in their lifetime.

“Re/Max Kelowna continuesto rise above and beyond in theregion, and has made an enormousdifference in the lives of manychildren through its donations,”says Elton Ash, president ofRe/Max of Western Canada.“We’re proud to present this awardto Cliff Shillington, broker/ownerand we are excited to see the com-mitment that this group ofRealtors has to both Children’sMiracle Network and their com-munity.”

Re/Max Kelowna is celebratingits 30th anniversary this year.

Sutton Group – Selecthonours Linda Wilson

Linda Wilson, a sales rep withSutton Group – Select Realty inLondon, Ont. was presented withthe 13th annual Michele MontourAward. The award is presentedannually to a sales rep in the bro-kerage with a positive, profession-al, enthusiastic and giving attitude.

A Sutton - Select sales repsince 1996, Wilson “is the first tovolunteer and readily helps orga-nize as well as participates in allcompany functions and events,specifically our charity golf tourna-ment, taking a leadership role,” thecompany says.

The brokerage awards theMichele Montour Award forExcellence in Real Estate annuallyto honour the late MicheleMontour, a sales rep who was aninspiration to her peers.

Royal LePage ShelterFoundation

The Royal LePage ShelterFoundation and its supporters wererecently honoured with the 2013Youth Impact Award from theRotary Club of Toronto West. Thisaward recognizes the leadership ofindividuals, community organiza-tions and businesses that promotethe importance of helping youth.

Funding from the ShelterFoundation has enabled women’sshelters across the country to pro-vide counselling and other supportto children and youth who havewitnessed family violence. RoyalLePage was recognized for hostingfundraising events, providing com-mission donations and participat-ing in the National Garage Salefor Shelter in support of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation.

REM

Christopher Invidiata

Ishaq Ismail and Lucky Gill.

The teamat CIRRealtyreceivestheaward.

Accepting the 2013Youth Impact Awardfrom the Rotary Club ofToronto West is ShananSpencer-Brown, execu-tive director of theRoyal LePage ShelterFoundation (centre),presented by SimoneLaronde of Pepsico andDennis Good, presidentof The Rotary Club ofToronto West.

Cal Crawford Judy Gray

Bruce Sworik, broker of record withSutton Group – Select Realty with salesrep Linda Wilson

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HOME DELIVERY

Since 1989, REM has been offered free to every real estate board and association in Canada to distribute to their members. That’s not about to change, but as we approach a quarter century of publishing we recognize that many aspects of the industry have.

Responding to environmental concerns, REM is now “green” – printed on paper certified by FSC, an international system for forests and forest products supported by WWF Canada, Greenpeace and the David Suzuki Foundation.

Many real estate professionals now work out of their home offices. We’d like to give those who prefer to receive delivery at home the option of receiving REM directly. Home delivery of REM is now available for $19.89 (plus tax) per year. We ask only that you cover the cost of postage. We’ll take care of the rest.

Get REM at home! Call 416-425-3504 Ext. 4 or contact [email protected] and start receiving REM Home Delivery.

REM APRIL 2013 45

FCT strengthensunderwriting guidelines

First Canadian Title (FCT), aprovider of title insurance, recent-ly revised its guidelines to trackgrowing incidents of commercialreal estate fraud.

In past years, FCT says it hasprimarily reported on residentialreal estate fraud – fraud committedagainst homeowners and theirlenders – in order to advise thepublic on how to protect them-selves from becoming victims ofreal estate fraud. In 2012, withgrowing incidents of commercial

What’s

New

What’s

New

frauds, FCT is now alerting pur-chasers of commercial properties,commercial lenders and their legalcounsel about the increasing num-ber of incidents.

“In 2012, FCT’s commercialunderwriting team suspected fraudin commercial transactions valuedat $28 million. These frauds repre-sented a tiny percentage, less thanone per cent of the commercialdeals that FCT underwrote in2012. However they average apotential $3.5 million loss to acommercial lender, so the impactof one commercial fraud can besubstantial,” says Eric Haslett, vice-president and chief underwriter atFCT.

In contrast, FCT suspectedfraud in residential deals that werevalued at a total of $23.5 million.The average suspected residentialfraud is estimated at approximatelyone-tenth the value of an averagesuspected commercial fraud, thecompany says.

“While I don’t want to tip offfraudsters as to what we are track-ing, I will say that we are particu-larly concerned about transactionsinvolving vacant commercial land.We subject these deals to extrascrutiny,” says Haslett.

intelliMortgage joinsVerico Network

Robert and Melanie McListerand Tim Mezik, the brokers/own-ers of intelliMortgage, based inVancouver and Toronto, havejoined Verico Canada.

Robert is the writer behind one of the most-well known mortgage blogs in Canada,Canadianmortgagetrends.com,which is known as a source for bal-anced, intelligent opinions andread by over 600,000 professionalsand consumers annually. Robert isalso a mortgage columnist for theGlobe and Mail and is regularlysought out by the media for mort-gage-related commentary.

Melanie, Robert’s wife, is a veteran broker and lead mortgageplanner at intelliMortgage. She co-founded MyVirtualMortgageBroker.com in 2006 and helpedbuild its online origination vol-umes into the tens of millionsannually.

Mezik is CEO of intelli-Mortgage, after having spent fiveyears as president of FirstLineMortgages, helping it attain a peakof $16 billion in annual funding.Prior to that, he was vice-presidentof GE Money and district

Manager, Western Canada of TDCanada Trust.

Lone Wolf partnerswith eRelocation

Eliminating real estate referraloversight and tedious dual dataentry is an opportunity to save realestate brokers time and money.Lone Wolf Real EstateTechnologies is partnering witheRelocation, a Dayton, Ohio-basedreal estate technology companyspecializing in broker relocationsoftware, to create seamless con-nectivity for referral processing andaccounting, the companies say.

Through the partnership, relo-cation referral data originating ineRelocation will pass through tothe brokerWOLF back office man-agement solution in two ways.Once a referral is assigned ineRelocation, it will be capturedthrough WOLFconnect, LoneWolf’s virtual front office manage-ment solution, and passed along tothe brokerWOLF accounting sys-tem. There it will be available formatching to real estate transactionsas they are processed. This closesthe loop and will help to ensurethat the proper commission sharingoccurs between the referring com-

pany, the brokerage and the agent,the company says.

Second, referrals that go topending status in eRelocation willseamlessly be integrated intobrokerWOLF, eliminating the needfor duplicate entry. For informa-tion: www.lwolf.com.

Monica Stanciu winsstaging award again

Monica Stanciu, owner ofStaged 2 Sell Solutions and a mem-ber of the Real Estate StagingAssociation, the trade associationfor professional real estate stagersand re-designers, was named as the2013 RESA Professional Stager ofthe Year for Canada. She also wonthe award last year.

Stanciu has been a professionalreal estate staging consultant since2007. Her company services theGreater Toronto Area.

“Being the recipient of thisaward two years in a row comeswith a responsibility that I do nottake lightly. I will continue to edu-cate home sellers and real estateagents on the value home stagingbrings when selling a property,” saysStanciu. REM

46 REM APRIL 2013

THE PUBLISHER’SPAGE

By Heino Molls

MARK

ETPL

ACE

Trade Showsand ConferencesTrade Showsand Conferences

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

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

Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington Realtor ConnectionsConference & Trade ShowWednesday, March 27Hamilton Convention CentreHamiltonSheila Sferrazza - 905-529-8101 Ext. 234

HomeLife International Conferenceand Awards GalaApril 11 – 12Fallsview Casino ResortNiagara Falls, Ont.1-800-668-0186

Coldwell Banker Canada Conference& National Awards GalaApril 17 – 19Sheraton Centre, Torontowww.coldwellbankercanadaconference.ca

London St. Thomas Association ofRealtors 2013 Annual GeneralMeeting and Exhibitor Trade ShowTuesday, April 23London Convention CentreLondon, Ont.Tracy Marino - [email protected]

Mississauga Real Estate Board2013 Annual General Meeting andExhibitor Showcase Monday, April 29 Mississauga Grand Banquet &Convention Centre Mississauga, Ont. Jennifer Vogel - 905-849-5151 or [email protected]

Toronto Real Estate Board RealtorQuestMay 1 – 2Toronto Congress Centre, Torontowww.realtorquest.ca

Kitchener Waterloo Association ofRealtors Realtor XpoThursday, May 9Bingemans Conference CentreKitchener, Ont.www.kwar.ca/XPO/

Windsor-Essex County Association ofRealtorsWednesday, May 15Ciociaro Club of WindsorOldcastle, Ont.www.tradeshow.windsorrealestate.com

Centre of the universeTaking things further along, it isunderstood by everyone that thebest country and therefore the cen-tre of the entire world is Canada.The one place that is at the centreof Canada for culture, music, art,business, languages spoken, trans-portation, real estate and anythingelse you can name is, of course, theCity of Toronto.

The accepted middle of theCity of Toronto is downtown nearthe lake. That would be exactly atthe foot of Bathurst Street.

Out of amazing coincidence, Ilive at the foot of Bathurst Streetin Toronto. So I guess I can offi-cially declare that I am writing toyou today from the centre of theuniverse. It’s an honour to be here.

As ridiculous as all the abovemay seem, I know there are peoplewho think the residents of Torontobelieve that nonsense. I would liketo dispel that suggestion and tellyou honestly that in all my years asa resident of Toronto, I have nevermet anyone in this town thatbelieves this city is the centre ofthe universe, much less Canada,like everyone claims they do.

I have traveled this countryfrom coast to coast. I have metwonderful souls in every villageand town that I have come upon.Everything you have heard aboutthe people in Atlantic Canada istrue – everybody out there is my

darlin’ or my son, my son to all andsundry. I can tell you that almostevery woman in Edmonton is asendearing as Diamond Lil herselfand every man is a jolly Canuck –not to be confused with the hock-ey fans in Vancouver, who arepolite to the point of their ownendearment, which brings to mindthe stylish girls in Montreal, thecowboys in Calgary, the old salts inHalifax and the uptight yet inde-fatigable politicos in Ottawa. HaveI missed anyone? Other than myold pal Terry up in the Sault?

Everyone in our country isfamously pleasant, polite and hastheir own unique, local charm. Yetthere is this nagging resentment ofthe poor folks in Toronto by peopleeverywhere else.

Poor Toronto. It gets pickedon, verbally abused, sneered at andin all manner abused as the ash canof Canadiana. It is known fornothing and it is disliked because ithas everything.

For as wonderful as everyone inthis fair land is, can I ask you all to cutthis city some slack? Come and visitToronto. Join the great unwashedand mingle with the crowd. Take in aball game, grab a hot dog and a beerand give us a break.

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

REM

am pleased to humblyannounce that I have discov-ered the centre of the uni-

verse. My discovery does not followyears of research nor is it the resultof studying lengthy charts with ateam of engineers from the mostprestigious universities in the world.

I came to this astounding infor-mation after thinking about it oneafternoon this winter while I waswaiting for my tea to steep. It is sosimple that I understand why sci-entists have not come upon itthemselves. I know everyone willagree with the logic of my think-ing. Please pay attention and fol-low along:

It is obvious that our galaxy,the Milky Way, is at the middle ofthe universe. All you have to do islook out at the stars at night to seethat. Our solar system is in themiddle of the galaxy and right inthe middle of our solar system, dis-counting the gas planets, is ourown beautiful planet, Earth.

I

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#1 RE/MAX Team Worldwide Christopher Invidiata

Christopher Invidiata, Leader of the Invidiata Team- the #1 Team in the world for 2012, and one of only 12 recipients of the Luminary of Distinction Award, in a one on one interview with Amanda Lang, co-host of CBC TV’s “Lang and O’Leary Exchange”.

Christopher Invidiata,Leader of the Invidiata Team, RE/MAX Aboutowne Realty Corp., Brokerage

The Power of Why Amanda Lang

“The Power of Why” shows how curiosity and the ability to ask the right questions fuels innovation and can drive change not just in business but also in our personal lives. Learn how to reignite your innate curiosity and overcome long-standing barriers—leaving you more creative, productive and fulfilled in your job and happier in your relationships.

Amanda Lang, co-host of CBC TV’s “Lang and O’Leary Exchange” and author of “The Power of Why”

Superbowl Champion Joe Theismann

Learn how to succeed under pressure - when it’s “4th and 1” - and how to adapt quickly to unexpected situations - when you’re faced with a “blitz” instead of a “zone”.

Joe Theismann Superbowl Champion

April 9th , Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto

TOULA Restaurant 38th floor

Westin Harbour Castle, TorontoTEAM Leaders and Guests by Invitation only.

Join us April 8th for a Mix & Mingle at...

A panel of Top RE/MAX Team Leaders who will cover their management and leadership tactics, marketing methods, and how they achieve their ultimate goals - moderated by Amanda Lang.

april 2013

Documents

wroots of remax

cofounder of remax

thereal estate field

field of real estate

fathers realestate office

remax isthe common thread

local remax broker owner

rooted inreal estate