by Gerald Tostowaryk | Jan 29, 2025 | Columnists
I set out to write an article on the contradictions and complexities of dual agency (sometimes referred to as double ending a deal) in real estate but in reviewing the different court cases and literature, I soon had so many thoughts on paper that I decided to make it...
by Jordana Springgay | Jan 20, 2025 | Legal Issues
Alan Hu/pacificevergreenrealty.com The Supreme Court of British Columbia has ordered Alan Hu, a Surrey-based Realtor, to surrender his profits from the sale of a $3.35-million property after breaching his fiduciary duty to a client. According to a court decision...
by Gerald Tostowaryk | Nov 21, 2024 | Columnists
Ethics is a cornerstone of the real estate profession, but the question of authority—who decides what is ethical?—is one that continues to challenge us. As professionals held to high ethical standards, we must ask: Who determines these standards, and what gives them...
by Gerald Tostowaryk | Oct 11, 2024 | Columnists
No surprise to most of us, the Competition Bureau (CB) is investigating the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)’s MLS commission policy requiring a commission be paid to buyers’ agents, and the Cooperation Policy requiring all listings to be on the MLS within...
by Gerald Tostowaryk | Dec 19, 2022 | Advice for Agents
Very early in my career, I listed an acreage property, the home of an acquaintance of mine and his family. Sure enough, one day I got that fateful anonymous phone call in which the caller informed me that the seller had problems with their septic system freezing up in...