RECO’s Toolkit #1
What follows is a series dealing with some publications by RECO to help the Consumer:
Real Estate Council of Ontario
Buying or Selling a Home?
Working with a real estate representative
Buying or selling a home is the biggest transaction most of us will ever go through. That’s why it’s so important to be informed and take advantage of expert advice. If you decide to work with a registered real estate representative, you’ll have help navigating the buying or selling process along with the added benefit of valuable consumer protection from the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO).
All brokers and salespersons in Ontario are registered with, and regulated by, RECO. RECO’s job is to protect your best interests by maintaining a fair, safe and informed real estate marketplace. This includes enforcing the laws that all real estate representatives in Ontario must follow, on behalf of the provincial government. Working with a real estate representative means you’re automatically backed by RECO’s three pillars of protection, including:
Knowledge
Real estate representatives must complete education courses before they are allowed to trade in real estate, and they complete mandatory continuing education courses every two years to keep their knowledge up-to-date and their skills.
Professional standards
All brokers and salespersons in Ontario are required to uphold professional standards that stress fairness, honesty and integrity. They must follow rules and regulations that are designed to protect consumers.
Insurance
Deposit insurance provides you with peace of mind knowing that the buyer’s deposit will be held in trust, and insured against loss, insolvency or misappropriation by a brokerage until the deal closes and the money is paid out to the right people. Additionally, real estate representatives must hold errors and omissions insurance to pay for damages and legal costs arising from claims related to their involvement in a real estate transaction.
how reco can help
Found the perfect real estate representative? Check out RECO’s search function (www.reco.on.ca/realestate-pro-search) to make sure they are registered in Ontario. You can also find information regarding their brokerage location, up-to-date contact details, and registration history, including whether they were the subject of a charge, conviction or disciplinary decision within the past five years. RECO’s site also features plenty of information to help you navigate the home buying and selling process.
looking for more information?
For more information on how RECO protects the public’s interest, please visit www.reco.on.ca or call 1-800-245-6910.
Brian Madigan’s Annotated RECO Publication Toolkit #1
I have altered the presentation, but not changed any words, added italics and highlighting, as well as some “notes”.
Real Estate Council of Ontario
Buying or Selling a Home?
Working with a real estate representative
Buying or selling a home is the biggest transaction most of us will ever go through.
That’s why it’s so important to be informed and take advantage of expert advice.
Note: How can you be sure this is expert advice? That would be too high a standard. There are about 80,000 registrants, they can’t all be experts!
If you decide to work with a registered real estate representative,
Note: there are two categories of registrants: 1) sales representatives, and 2) brokers (who take 2 additional courses).
- you’ll have help navigating the buying or selling process
-
along with the added benefit of valuable consumer protection from the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO).
All brokers and salespersons in Ontario are registered with, and regulated by, RECO.
RECO’s job is to protect your best interests by maintaining a:
- fair,
- safe and
-
informed real estate marketplace.
Note: this role is restricted completely to the general rules. When it comes to technology, economics and pricing RECO has no role whatsover.
This includes enforcing the laws that all real estate representatives in Ontario must follow, on behalf of the provincial government.
Note: actually this statement should emphasize that this is RECO’s only role.
Working with a real estate representative means you’re automatically backed by RECO’s three pillars of protection, including:
Knowledge (Pillar 1)
Real estate representatives must complete education courses:
- before they are allowed to trade in real estate, and
-
they complete mandatory continuing education courses every two years to keep their knowledge up-to-date and their skills.
Note: it used to be 3 Courses, now, it’s 5 before registration. Then, we start the 2 year provisional registration status during the articling period. It is noteworthy that there are no actual rules or regulations which would require supervision during the articling period. There is a technical rule that the Brokerages supervise everyone, but no one ever has to check or be knowledgeable about what someone who works for them is really doing. So, a registrant with one day’s experience can buy or sell the CN Tower without assistance. Any restrictions are self-imposed!
Professional standards (Pillar 2)
All brokers and salespersons in Ontario are required to uphold professional standards that stress
- fairness,
- honesty and
-
integrity.
They must follow rules and regulations that are designed to protect consumers.
Note: this is very, very important. This is set out in section 3 of the Code of Ethics, a Regulation under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002.
Insurance (Pillar 3)
Deposit insurance provides you with peace of mind knowing that the buyer’s deposit will be:
- held in trust, and
-
insured against loss, insolvency or misappropriation by a brokerage until the deal closes and the money is paid out to the right people.
Note: Well, the deposit may not be held in trust. If it is, then it’s likely either the Seller’s lawyer or a registrant Brokerage. Assuming a Brokerage, then, we would have insurance, but only up to its limits, and shareable, of course, with the claims of others intervening. This is also similar to a lawyer’s trust account.
Additionally, real estate representatives must hold errors and omissions insurance to pay for damages and legal costs arising from claims related to their involvement in a real estate transaction.
Note: this is a significant positive. The individual registrant together with the Brokerage both have insurance. This means that there will be money available to pay your successful claim if you sue your real estate sales representative, broker or Brokerage.
how RECO can help
Found the perfect real estate representative?
Check out RECO’s search function (www.reco.on.ca/realestate-pro-search) to make sure they are registered in Ontario. You can also find information regarding their brokerage location, up-to-date contact details, and registration history, including whether they were the subject of a charge, conviction or disciplinary decision within the past five years.
RECO’s site also features plenty of information to help you navigate the home buying and selling process.
Note: Don’t hesitate to look people up online. You might find something which concerns you. Sometimes, some very excellent registrants have made mistakes. So, tell them that you found and issue and would they like to have an opportunity to explain.
looking for more information?
For more information on how RECO protects the public’s interest, please visit www.reco.on.ca or call 1-800-245-6910.
COMMENT
Here’s the link to the RECO website for a “PDF”:
http://www.reco.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/RECO-Buying-or-selling-at-home.pdf
If you would like some additional information about any of the issues raised here, then please give me a call.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker
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