Well-known Toronto real estate broker David Rossi died Sept. 17 after a battle with leukemia.

Dave Rossi had a distinguished career in real estate and was known as an expert on real estate ethics: indeed, he helped write the Real Estate Council of Ontario’s Code of Ethics.

In 2007, he was presented with the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President’s Award in recognition of the contributions he made to all levels of professional real estate in Ontario. He was a former director and honourary life member at TREB; former chair of the Ethics and Arbitration Hearing Panel at OREA  and founding director and past chair of the Board of Directors of the Real Estate Council of Ontario. He was a broker at Re/Max Professionals in Toronto’s Kingsway area at the time of his death.

In a 2007 interview with REM’s Kathy Bevan, Rossi said that chairing the Code of Ethics Committee at RECO was “one of my most cherished roles, to actually develop with a group of very knowledgeable people, a Code of Ethics that lives on. It demonstrated that we wanted to be professionals, and that we were willing to do what it took in terms of a Code of Ethics and education.”

Rossi said another philosophy of his “is that there are two bottom lines in business: one is to make a lot of money; two is to enjoy the journey. I’ve always concentrated on enjoying the journey, because when you do, the money comes. And if you focus on making money, you may not enjoy the journey. That’s what newer people don’t understand yet. There’s a lot of pressure on them to do a lot of presentations, get a listing, make a sale – but they have to enjoy what they’re doing.”

He was a big Toronto Blue Jays fan and posed for a baseball-themed photo on REM’s cover. His son Michael was team ball boy when the Jays won back-to-back World Series Championships in 1992 and 1993.

Dave Rossi is survived by his wife, Aleksandra, and children Michael, Mathew and Joseph, and grandchildren Nicholas and Ava.

The family has asked that donations in Dave’s memory be made to Princess Margaret Hospital, Leukemia Research.

On his website, Dave Rossi listed his 10 ideals that never go out of style, learned during his more than 35 years in real estate:
– Relationships
– Honesty
– Dedication
– Integrity
– Follow-through
– Knowing the territory and doing your homework
– Paying attention to details
– Troubleshooting problems before they occur
– Striving for perfection- And most importantly…putting client’s interests ahead of your own

To read the full Dave Rossi interview from September 2007, click here.