Saturday, April 30, 2016

Maria Mak REALTOR® Professional Real Estate Services for over 27 years

Maria Mak REALTOR® Professional Real Estate Services for over 27 years. Serving her clients in Metro Vancouver with a big heart and with a big smile! 

www.mariamak.com

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Buying or Selling an Owner-Built Home

home inspectorEarlier this year the Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) released a revised Regulatory Bulletin on “Buying or Selling an Owner-Built Home.” Available on the HPO’s website, the newly updated bulletin is recommended reading for property owners building their own home, real estate licensees, legal professionals, notaries, lenders and home buyers. The bulletin clarifies the Registrar’s position on offering to sell an owner-built home prior to obtaining an Owner Builder Disclosure Notice. Licensees representing either owner builders or prospective home buyers may find this information useful prior to buying or selling ownerbuilt homes.

The bulletin includes information on:

  • Occupancy and disclosure requirements for owner-built homes:
    An owner builder must occupy their new home themselves for at least one year after obtaining an occupancy permit and are not permitted to sell or rent the new home during that one-year period. Owner-built homes may not be sold within the first 10 years after occupancy without providing an Owner Builder Disclosure Notice to the prospective purchaser. The Disclosure Notice must be provided to prospective purchasers prior to entering into a Contract of Purchase and Sale. Disclosure notices can be obtained from the HPO and will not be released until the one-year occupancy requirement has been verified by the HPO.
  • New Homes Registry:
    The easiest way to determine whether a home can be offered for sale is to search the HPO’s online New Homes Registry at www.hpo.bc.ca. New homes not found on the Registry or by calling the HPO should not be sold until verified by the HPO.
  • Illegal Sales:
    Selling a home without providing prospective purchasers with an Owner Builder Disclosure Notice is an offence under the Homeowner Protection Act. This includes signing a Contract of Purchase and Sale without first providing an Owner Builder Disclosure Notice. Offering to sell or selling an owner-built home within 12 months after receiving an occupancy permit is also an offence under the Act.

This means that offering to sell an owner-built home for which an Owner Builder Disclosure Notice has not been issued is risky:

  • If the seller has not met the minimum occupancy requirement they may be committing an offence by offering to sell too early.
  • Even if an owner builder has met the 12-month occupancy requirement, if they list the home before receiving an Owner Builder Disclosure Notice, they may receive an offer to purchase without having provided an Owner Builder Disclosure Notice to the prospective purchaser as required by the Homeowner Protection Act. The offer may fall through while the owner waits for the Owner Builder Disclosure Notice from the HPO, or the owner may accept the offer prior to providing the Owner Builder Disclosure Notice, thereby committing an offence under the Act.

The Registrar strongly recommends obtaining an Owner Builder Disclosure Notice from the HPO before offering to sell an owner-built home. The Owner Builder Disclosure Notice confirms that the home may be offered for sale.

The Council will be reviewing the information for licensees in the Professional Standards Manualrelating to ownerbuilt homes to determine if any updates or revisions are required, and will advise licensees in due course of any changes.

www.mariamak.com


Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Maria Mak-Burnaby REALTOR® -President's Message: The latest on the media, the Council, and more


The media continues to focus on our profession. We continue to work hard to ensure your voice is heard in the media, public, and with government. The issues you’re reading about in the press are fast evolving. Here’s an overview of developments over the last week.

Media breaches 

On April 6, our legal counsel issued cease and desist letters to two newspapers after learning that reporters working for those publications gained unauthorized access to content on our MLS® and www.rebgv.ca websites and reported on confidential information. 

That’s why we conducted an MLS® system password change on April 4. We’re committed to preserving the integrity and security of our systems.

Real Estate Council investigations

On April 8, the Real Estate Council of BC announced it had imposed several license conditions on a local real estate brokerage while it conducts an investigation into the company. Click here to read Council’s statement. This matter is also before our Professional Conduct Committee for review and recommendation.

Independent Advisory Group releases interim report

On April 12, the Independent Advisory Group (IAG), formed by the provincial government to review the effectiveness of license requirements, submitted an interim report to the Real Estate Council. Click here to read the report. It highlights ten areas the group will address in its recommendations:

  1. Additional enforcement tools for Council, such as requiring the reporting of all contract assignments directly to Council;
  2. Limiting the ability of licensees to represent buyers and sellers in the same transaction;
  3. Significantly increasing penalties for violations of the Real Estate Services Act and creating greater flexibility in the types of infractions subject to penalty;
  4. Authorizing Council to require disciplined licensees to disgorge commissions and profits over and above penalties received;
  5. Simplifying the complaint process for consumers by eliminating duplication between the real estate boards and Council, and increasing transparency;
  6. Ensuring that expectations for managing brokers and Council’s power to hold managing brokers accountable are sufficient;
  7. Examining business models, like unregulated ownership structures for brokerages, to ensure they don’t weaken managing brokers or Council’s ability to ensure compliance;
  8. Restructuring the proportion of public and industry members on Council’s governing board to reflect best practices for governance;
  9. Removing deterrents that may prevent licensees from reporting misconduct; and
  10. Ensuring the public has access to resources and services in multiple languages.

The IAG asked all BC boards to respond to questions about professional conduct processes. We will provide our response next week. 

The IAG will submit its final report with recommendations in June. 

Vancouver Sun and Globe and Mail editorial board meetings

I attended editorial board meetings with the Vancouver Sun (April 13) and the Globe and Mail (April 15) newspapers along with other representatives from REBGV and BCREA. We talked with senior editors and reporters about coverage of our market and profession.

We said that REALTORS® believe in high standards and accountability for those who fail to meet those standards. We told them you’re upset by the allegations of Realtor misconduct and feel that all members have been tarred with the same brush. 

We urged the press to work with us to ensure the information and statistics used in reporting on the housing market are credible, accurate, and in context.  

We worked with BCREA on an Op-Ed article that appeared in the April 15 edition of the Vancouver Sun. Click here to read that article.

You can also see excerpts from the meeting with the Vancouver Sun here: http://vancouversun.com/life/homes/buying-selling/video-real-estate-executives-face-the-music.

VanFun.com

On April 13, media reported about a Chinese-language website owned by a company in Shanghai, called www.vanfun.com, that’s allegedly pulling information from our MLS®, arranging local property tours, and earning commission proceeds.

We’re concerned that this site is illegally accessing MLS® data, manipulating MLS® information, and facilitating real estate transactions in violation of the laws and regulations that govern BC real estate. 

(Here’s a link to a Global News report on this issue that includes comments from the Board.) 

We’re investigating this and other similar sites. We take action where possible. In 2013, we expressed our concern to FICOM that unlicensed people associated with the site may be involved in real estate transactions in our region.

Conversations about real estate today have become emotional and political. As a result, our profession is under intense scrutiny. We’re working hard to represent your best interests and those of your clients. I’ll continue to update you on these matters as information becomes available. 

Sincerely,
Dan Morrison
President, REBGV

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Selling and Buying real estate is an ART! Let the professional takes care of it!

Selling and Buying real estate is an ART! Let the professional takes care of your real estate business.

Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty, you'll be smiling too. Premium Real Estate Services for over 27 years.

www.mariamak.com

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® 一筆字 '道' Calligraphy of 'My path'

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR®

一筆字'道' Calligraphy of 'My path'


Buying and Selling Real Estate is an ART


Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty for all your premium Real Estate Services. Your home is your important asset and investment, let the Professional takes care of it.  


www.mariamak.com