Guide to Board Services G A directory of services offered to Ottawa Real Estate Board Members August 2013
Contents RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBERSHIP 1 Board Services 2 Use of Trademarks and Logos 12 Communications 13 Senior & Manager Member Section 15 Discounts available to OREB MEMBERS 18 OREB STAFF CONTACT LIST Please feel free to contact us at 613-225-2240 or via email with any questions you may have. Executive Vice President s Office Carol Mallett carol@oreb.ca Jane Bejder jane@oreb.ca Accounting Bill Jenkins bill@oreb.ca Donna Gagne donna@oreb.ca Building Services David Lavergne david@oreb.ca Commercial Services Lee Freeman lee@oreb.ca Finance & Events Wilda Brown wilda@oreb.ca Mail Room Kelly Burke kelly@oreb.ca Receptionist Dawne Moses dawne@oreb.ca MLS Services Claire Parrott claire@oreb.ca Michelle Montpetit michelle@oreb.ca Communications Officer Valerie Powell valerie@oreb.ca Multimedia & Design Dave Holmes dave@oreb.ca Gonzalo Lazo gonzo@oreb.ca Operations Noeline Penchuk noeline@oreb.ca Debby Boisclair debby@oreb.ca Nancy Labonté nancy@oreb.ca Maryse Paré maryse@oreb.ca Membership Mary-Ann Mayhew mary-ann@oreb.ca
Welcome to the Board! This booklet briefly outlines the various services that the Board offers to its members. For more information about any of these services, we encourage you to contact the Board Office at 613-225-2240. Our receptionist can put you through to the staff member best equipped to answer your questions. RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBERSHIP Membership in the Board has both privileges and responsibilities. Some of the responsibilities of all OREB members include: Timely payment of your Board account. Late payments can result in fines and suspension of services. Safeguarding your MLXchange username and password. Don t share them with anyone, not even an assistant or a colleague. This helps ensure that the MLS database remains a valuable asset for members. Using the REALTOR and MLS trademarks correctly. CREA has a trademarks manual available on REALTOR Link that clarifies how to do that. Keeping listing information accurate and up to date, for example reporting sales or conditional sales within 24 hours. Abiding by OREB s MLS Rules and Regulations. Not doing so can result in a complaint being made about you to the Professional Standards Committee. 1
Board Services MLS System The Board maintains the Ottawa MLS system, and members use the MLXchange software to access it. If you have an assistant who you would like to have access to your account in order to make changes to your listings, you can contact the Board to obtain access for them through the Multiple Simultaneous Access Agreement. Please refer to the policies section of the Members Handbook on REALTORLink.ca. Arrangements can also be made for access by secretaries of Managers and Senior Members. Please refer to the policies section of the Member Handbook on REALTORLink.ca. Once you enter a listing on MLXchange, portions of the listing data are automatically sent to the Board s public-facing website OttawaRealEstate. org as well as to CREA s website REALTOR.ca. Whenever you make changes to listing information on MLXchange, those changes are carried over to the public websites the next time they are updated, usually by the following day. 2 MLXchange has many features beyond simply allowing members to enter and maintain listings. The Board offers technology training courses on MLXchange if you would like to learn more about these features.
Kurio Mobile Access Kurio provides mobile access to your MLS system, and real-time access to listing information directly from your mobile device. Kurio is optimized to work on any web-enabled mobile device iphones, Androids, BlackBerrys, and ipads. Kurio allows you to get a complete picture of the real estate activity in your market area, and gives you one-click access to your active listings. Using the Smart Search feature, you can instantly search listings by address, MLS number, or agent name. Kurio delivers access to location based search technology, where you can search nearby listings within a specific radius that you specify. You can also search by a variety of other criteria including beds, baths, price, status, and date range. www.ottawarealestate.org m.ottawarealestate.org Board Website OttawaRealEstate.org is the Board s public-facing website. Portions of all OREB members active listings appear on the site and are searchable by members of the public. The site includes two ways to search for properties for sale in Ottawa: a new interactive map search function and an older-style wizard search. In addition, the site contains other useful information for buyers and sellers, such as a membership roster, annotated samples of commonly used real estate forms that explain the legalese, a list of upcoming Open Houses that is updated daily, a mobile version of the website for smartphone users, and an iphone app. 3
Connect Connect is a joint venture among some of Ontario s real estate boards that allows members of participating boards to search and view the active listings, two years of sales history for residential listings and four years of sales history for commercial listings, of all other participating Boards. A link to Connect is on MLXchange. Mac Users The Information Delivery System, or IDS, is a software solution that allows Mac users to access programs that normally run on a Windows computer, such as MLXchange. Once you have downloaded the software and logged into the IDS, Mac users will be able to access MLXchange from an icon on their Mac desktop. GeoWarehouse 4 GeoWarehouse is Ontario s land registry system. Click on the GeoWarehouse link from the MLXchange Home page under Smart Links, and you will be taken to the main GeoWarehouse page no need to log in again. Members can view 6000 property reports per calendar year at no additional charge. You can purchase additional reports from GeoWarehouse if necessary. Through GeoWarehouse members can also obtain MPAC data. There is a FAQ document linked from the main GeoWarehouse page, as well as an online tutorial to help members learn how to use the system.
Open Houses If you are holding an Open House on one of your listings, you can input the time and date information into MLXchange, and the system will automatically pull that information to the Open Houses page on OttawaRealEstate.org, which includes Open Houses scheduled in the next 10 days. The list is updated every night. Personal Photos If you would like your personal business photo to appear in the online roster of members on OttawaRealEstate.org, you will need to email it to the Board Office to the attention of Maryse Paré (maryse@oreb.ca) who can upload it for you. Website/ Email Links If a member of the public wants to email you or visit your personal website, you can enable them to do so directly from the Board s website. Just advise the Board Office of your e-mail and/or web address. There is no charge for either of these links. The Board can also arrange to provide a link between a member s personal website and a View My Listings Button which produces a list of all the active listings belonging to that member. Since the View My Listings Button links directly to the OREB website, the information regarding your listings is automatically updated anytime you make a change to your listing on the MLS system. 5
REALTOR Link REALTOR Link is the Board s intranet site, and it contains many great resources for members including current and archived monthly Ottawa sales statistics and trend reports, news about upcoming Board events, links to useful information about current issues affecting the organized real estate industry, such as FINTRAC reporting obligations and HST regulations, and an archive of weekly membership newsletters. There are also links to CREA and OREA information pages. Go to www.realtorlink.ca and log in using your MLXchange username and password. WEBForms WEBForms, accessible from REALTOR Link and from MLXchange, is where members can get upto-date OREA standard real estate forms. RECO requires that you use the most recent versions of forms, which are always available on WEBForms. (The Board only sells hard copies of the No Carbon Required forms; an order form can be found on REALTOR Link.) 6 Interboard Listings If you have a listing you want to promote to members of another board in Ontario (by having the listing added to that board s MLS database) you can do so under the terms of the interboard listing agreement. Contact the MLS department for additional information.
Social Media Links The Board provides the ability to add social media links to your membership profile so that they will display on the CREA websites (REALTOR.ca and ICX.ca) and the Board Public Website (including the iphone/ipad apps and the Mobile Web site). Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are the currently supported social media channels. Links can be added through the OREB Members Intranet at http://members.oreb.ca. Login with your MLXchange username and password; all letters must be uppercase. Board Networking & Business Events The Board hosts several networking and business events throughout the year, including the Tribute to Success, the Annual Charity Golf Tournament in May, the Annual Trade Show in the fall, the Annual General Meeting, and the Christmas Cocktail Reception. These events are a great way to meet your fellow REALTORS and to put a face to some of the people you may regularly speak with on the telephone. Continuing Education RECO requires that you complete 24 credits of mandatory continuing education (MCE) every two years after you complete your articling period. As an approved provider, the Board offers education courses at the Board Office throughout the year. We also offer technology training courses in our computer lab. Education courses are advertised weekly in Membership News, and a calendar of courses is available on REALTOR Link. For more information on RECO s new mandatory continuing education program, visit www.reco.on.ca. 7
COMMERCIAL Services Division O T T A W A R E A L E S T A T E B O A R D Commercial Services Division The Board has a Commercial Services Division (CSD) for those members who primarily practice commercial real estate. There is no additional cost to join the CSD but membership criteria must be met, including: completion of commercial real estate education courses; sales, leasing, appraisal, development or property management experience; and an endorsement by a Manager or Senior Member. CSD services include a quarterly commercial e-newsletter, breakfast and lunch information sessions with guest speakers, a separate commercial roster on the Board s website, and the use of the RealTrack database. Commercial members may enter exclusive listings on ICX.ca 8 Computer Training Lab The Board has a computer lab available for members to rent to conduct technology courses. The lab has 11 student computer stations and an instructor station with a computer and a projector. The software on each computer includes Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Excel, Office Outlook, Office PowerPoint, Office Publisher and Office Word. No other software may be loaded on the computers.
Electronic Lockboxes The Board newly introduced Bluetooth iboxes to all of its members. These new iboxes (aka ibox BT) can be opened with either an ActiveKEY or an ekey, which you can choose upon registration. The ibox is equipped with both Bluetooth and infrared technologies. Many smartphones work directly with the ibox BT using Bluetooth and do not require any additional hardware. The ibox BT stores activity data every time it is opened, and allows you to track activity with real-time information. You will always know who has entered the property, and when. It also has a large key container to hold multiple house keys and gate cards, and its shackle releases in one step for easy placement on properties. For more information, see the ibox Basics document included in your registration package. The Ontario REALTORS Care Foundation collects funds raised by real estate Boards and Associations across Ontario and provides grants to shelter-based organizations located in the communities where the funds were raised. The Ottawa Real Estate Board fundraises for the Foundation through our charitable golf tournament held every spring, by collecting one dollar per member per month via membership bills, and through a member discount partnership with local RONA stores, which provides a yearly donation to the Foundation. 9
Deliveries & Supplies The Board provides an internal mail service between the Board Office and member offices every Thursday (known as the Board bags ). We try to distribute most materials electronically; however, we still provide the quarterly membership roster in hard copy and we distribute the REM magazine and the OREA Edge newsletter. Please let your manager know if you do NOT want to receive these publications in hard copy so we can save paper. The Board sells some supplies for member use, including maps, No Carbon Required forms, signs and laser tape measures. The order form is available on REALTOR Link and your supplies will be delivered via the Board bag and billed to your Board account. You can also come in to the office to make purchases in person. 10 Bulk Electronic Mail The Board offers a service called bulk electronic mail to assist members in promoting their MLS listings and agent open houses to other Board members. The service costs $50 plus applicable taxes per flyer/sheet (subject to change). Members can e-mail their flyer in PDF format to the Design/Multimedia department (bulkmail@oreb. ca). Design services are also available. Please consult staff for pricing information and turnaround time. The bulk electronic mail broadcast is sent to Members on Tuesdays, and flyers will also be linked to Membership News which is sent to members on Wednesdays. The flyer file must be provided to the Board no later than 8:30 a.m. Monday to be sent out on Tuesday. The link to the flyers will remain active for seven days.
Subscribing to another Board/ Association Depending on where you do most of your business, you may wish to have access to all the MLS data of another Board or Association, not just that data available to you through Connect. In those instances you may be able to become a subscriber member of their MLS system. Meeting Facilities & Audio Visual Equipment REALTOR Halls A & B at the Board office can be rented by members when space is available. The rates per hall are $200 + applicable taxes for a half day (3 hours) and $400 + applicable taxes for a full day (9:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.) which includes 50 cups of coffee (additional cups $0.75 cup). Rates are subject to change. No evenings or weekends. The rooms are not available for meals or social functions. Other restrictions may apply. Both halls have LCD projectors and screens available. Auto-debit Service A monthly statement of your Board account will be sent to your office. You can pay your account in person at the Board Office or, if you prefer, the Board can autodebit your monthly fees from your credit card or bank account, but you must request this option. Professional Standards The Board s Professional Standards Committee deals with complaints brought against members involving alleged violations of the MLS Rules and the Board s By-law. The Discipline Committee determines what penalties are levied against members who are found to have breached the Rules or the By-law, or the REALTOR Code. 11
Use of Trademarks and Logos COMMERCIAL Services Division O T T A W A R E A L E S T A T E B O A R D The terms MLS, REALTOR and Multiple Listing Service are trademarks that are owned by the Canadian Real Estate Association, and there are very specific rules about how they must be used. As members of CREA, all OREB members do have the right to use these trademarks, but they must be used correctly. The sanctions for infringement can be substantial and may include the loss of the member s right to use any of CREA s trademarks. CREA has created a comprehensive trademark toolkit that is available on REALTOR Link. OREB permits members to use a version of its logo that contains the word Member. This logo is available for download at http://photos. oreb.ca. The terms of use for the logo are also available there. Full CSD Members can obtain an electronic version of the CSD/ Member logo by contacting the CSD Department. 12
Communications MemNews, our weekly electronic Board newsletter, is sent out every Wednesday to all members who have provided OREB with their email address. It contains articles about issues relevant to your business and the industry, as well as reminders about Board services and events, and a list of upcoming education courses. The Message of the Day (the box that pops up whenever you log into MLXchange) is used to post urgent and time-sensitive information such as a notice about MLS system down time. Senior members and managers receive a quarterly e-newsletter, and Commercial Services Division members receive a quarterly e-newsletter. OREB maintains a presence on Facebook and Twitter. 13
Lobbying The Board s Government and Community Relations Committee is responsible for tracking issues that affect the real estate industry at all three levels of government: municipal, provincial and federal. They lobby City Hall on local issues such as sign by-laws, and work with OREA and CREA to lobby on issues that affect REALTORS in Ontario and across Canada. Promotion of Members 14 The Board promotes its members to the public in various ways. Some regular promotion of members include participation in CREA s REALTOR image radio ad campaign; billboard and transit ads; digital marketing; and monthly ads in the Ottawa Real Estate Book. The Board s commercial roster is promoted in media outlets such as BOMA Commercial Space Directory and the Ottawa Business Journal.
Senior & Manager Member Section If you are a Senior Member (Principal broker) or Manager with the Ottawa Real Estate Board, here is some information that pertains specifically to you. Information Sessions The Board holds four Senior and Manager Member Information Sessions per calendar year, and brings in guest speakers to address current issues of interest to you. There is a small fee for attendance. Flyers are sent out in advance of these events and a notice appears in the Senior and Manager Member newsletter. Arbitration In the rare event that Senior Members are unable to resolve a commission dispute between their brokerages, the Board provides arbitration services to help resolve the dispute. Contact the Executive Vice President for more information. 15
Statistical & Brokerage Data You have the ability to download statistics specific to your brokerage and salespeople at http://stats.oreb.ca. Login with your MLXchange username and password; all letters must be uppercase. Please refer to the policies section of the Member Handbook on REALTORLink.ca. Removal or Modification of MLS Listings When a Senior Member closes his/her firm, ceases to be a member of the Board, or is no longer registered with RECO, that Brokerage s MLS listing agreements are no longer valid and the listings will be reported as cancelled by the Board. There are some circumstances under which it may be necessary for a Senior Member to obtain new listing agreements for listings already on the MLS System or to modify listings. The Board has procedures in place to assist the Members. Complete information may be found in the Policies section of the Member Handbook available on REALTORLink.ca. 16
Partial Exemption from Board Fees & Dues The Directors may, at their discretion, grant an exemption to any Member from payment of monthly fees and dues where, in the opinion of the Directors, such exemption is justified. Examples include a member suffering from a long term illness, recovering from an accident, or unable to work while on pregnancy leave. Complete information may be found in the Policies section of the Member Handbook available on REALTORLink.ca. DataLink Through a process called DataLink, the Board can make available the MLS listings of a Senior Member on a password protected FTP site. The Senior Member is then able to make the information available for the purposes of populating websites of his/her choice. Contact the Executive Vice President s Office for direct inquiries. Member & Brokerage Information Through agreements with two third party vendors of front office software (LoneWolf and Emphasys), Senior Members can be provided with selected member and brokerage information to assist with appointment making processes. Contact the Executive Vice President s Office for direct inquiries. Newsletter Senior and Manager Members receive a quarterly electronic newsletter containing information about issues specific to their roles as managers or brokers. If you have ideas for articles please contact the Communications Officer. 17
Discounts available to OREB MEMBERS Certain Ottawa businesses and companies offer special discounts and rates to OREB members. Here is a current list: CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) The Canadian Automobile Association has a corporate sales division offering new CAA memberships at a special up-front discount to all interested employees and members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. CAA memberships cover the member in any vehicle as a passenger or driver, on or off the job, anywhere across North America, 24/7. For more details on the CAA discount program, call Bill Bousada at 613-820-1890 ext 394, or 1-800-267-8713 ext 394, or e-mail: wbousada@caaneo.on.ca Rogers Wireless Business Discounts Rogers offers special cellular phone programs to OREB members. Each plan differs based on usage times. For the most current rates contact Ashley Gorman at 613-238-7533 or ashley.gorman@beyondwireless.ca. Telus Telus offers special phone and smartphone combo plans to OREB members. To view the plans go to www.smartcell.ca and enter the Corporate Login Username: OREB - Passcode: OREB. You can also contact Robert Vogelsang, at 613-355-0333 or e-mail: Robert@smartcell.ca. Staples Canada 18 Staples Canada is pleased to announce that OREB members are now members of their Business Discount Plan for 10 Copy and Print locations in the Ottawa area. This plan is set up so that the more members that use their services, the larger
the discount available to everyone. This discount applies to printing done at any Staples Copy and Print location. Please contact your closest Staples location for more details. Sun Business Solutions Inc. Sun Business Solutions is offering OREB members preferred pricing on all of their products and services such as: Promotional Products Company Apparel Corporate Gifts Tradeshow Giveaways Some of the most common items used by REALTORS include magnets, mugs, pens, apparel, calendars and cards. For more information, please call: Ottawa East 613-841-4813 (Head Office) Ottawa West 613-769-7369 or 1-866-711-6611 or e-mail info@sunbsi.com. Business Discounts (continued) Scott Photography For all your photography needs including home interiors, headshots and portfolios for business cards or brochures, weddings, family portraits and much more. Business portfolios (head-shots) available on location for as low as $75 (min. 4 agents). For more information contact info@scottphotography.ca or 613-291-0787. www.scottphotography.ca. Jiffy Photo & Print Jiffy Photo & Print is pleased to offer special pricing for OREB members on all services. Specializing in printing feature sheets, listed/sold flyers, brochures, business cards and more. They offer special camera packages, portrait and home photography, photofinishing services, promotional items and more. For more information contact Jiffy Photo & Print at 613-831-2121, email at info@jiffyonline.com or online at www.jiffyonline.com. YMCA-YWCA National Capital Region The YMCA-YWCA has extended special membership pricing to OREB members under the Y Active Employer corporate 19
wellness program. Members and their families are offered access to six Y facilities across the National Capital Region at advantageous corporate rates. Please indicate your interest in this program by sending an email to yactiveemployer@ nationalcapitalregionymca-ywca.ca. If you are currently a member of the YMCA-YWCA they will gladly switch your membership to a Corporate Membership. Business Discounts (continued) Mini Storage Ottawa Mini Storage Ottawa is offering a discount to OREB members and their clients 50% off the first three months of storage for new customers of Mini Storage Ottawa. Members would receive a $50 dining gift card for every two new referrals. Mini Storage Ottawa is locally owned and operated with over 800 units in the City. For further details please contact Vickey Apperley at 613-739-7696 or e-mail vapperley@ministorageottawa.com. Import Auto Leasing Auto Leasing Import offers all makes and models, new or used. Since 1984 they have been servicing clients by offering vehicles of their choice and tailoring a leasing program that fits your personal needs. All OREB members can expect to receive fleet pricing and Imports corporate discount. Contact Crystal Green at 613-722-7535. 20 Other Discounts As members of the Ontario and Canadian Real Estate Associations, OREB members are entitled to other discounts negotiated by those organizations on behalf of their members. Visit www.orea.com & REALTORLink.ca for details on other member savings programs. Through the Ontario Real Estate Association and The Canadian Real Estate Association, OREB members can join extended health and dental care plans, as well as home, auto, office and life insurance.
Albert at Bay Suite Hotel 435 Albert Street (at Bay St.) Ottawa, ON K1R 7X4 Phone: 613-238-8858 / 800-267-6644 Aristocrat Suite Hotel Hotels 131 Cooper Street Ottawa, ON K2P 0E7 Phone: 613-236-7500 Best Western Victoria Park Suites 377 O Connor Street (at Gladstone Ave.) Ottawa, ON K2P 2M2 Phone: 613-567-7275 / 800-465-7275 21
Helpful websites and contact phone numbers for OREB Members http://oreb.mlxchange.com The Board s MLS system; includes link to GeoWarehouse http://members.oreb.ca for access to website hits and managing your social media links. http://stats.oreb.ca to download statistics for members and brokerages http://photos.oreb.ca to download OREB logo for member use www.ottawarealestate.org The Board s public website, where portions of member listings are posted daily www.realtor.ca CREA s advertising website for MLS listed properties across Canada www.realtorlink.ca the Board s intranet site; log in with your MLXchange username and password www.orea.com The Ontario Real Estate Association; includes OREApedia, an information resource for Ontario REALTORS www.crea.ca The Canadian Real Estate Association www.reco.on.ca The Real Estate Council of Ontario www.realtorscareontario.com The Ontario REALTORS Care Foundation, supported by OREB OREB................ 613-225-2240 MLXchange Tech Support. 1-888-825-5472 Tech Helpline........ 1-877-573-5610 (for computer hardware/software issues) Supra Tech Support...... 1-877-699-6787 OREA............... 1-866-411-6732 RECO............... 1-800-245-6910 Kurio.............. 1-888-935-8746