The Register
Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission
SREC Newsletter
THE REGISTER
November 2015
Executive Director/Registrar’s Message
Aaron Tetu, Executive Director/Registrar, SREC
The Commission has recently undertaken a review of the current legislation with the goal of
obtaining a new self-governing model. Part of this process involved consultation with the real
estate industry in Saskatchewan to obtain feedback from our registrants. As much as The
Register is a means for the Commission to provide information to you, I would like to take this
opportunity to express the importance of the information we received from you.
While the consultation process with respect to the proposed new legislation is an important step and we
value the commentary received to date, I would like to invite your feedback in a more general sense.
Registrant feedback is vital to almost every aspect of the Commission’s operations. So what does the
Commission do? Here is an overview: http://www.srec.ca/comminfoov.asp.
From investigations and audits, to registration and education, information from the industry is relied upon
every day in the Commission’s work. As such, we encourage registrants, whether brokers or salespeople, to
contact the Commission with their questions or concerns. There are no stupid questions, and there are no
issues too big or small. We would much rather answer a question and educate, than receive a complaint
and investigate.
If you have a question, call or email, and we will do our best to reply in a timely manner. If you are meeting
to discuss the issues of the day, invite us out, and we would be happy to take part. Remember:
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
Henry Ford
We hope that you find this edition of The Register to be of interest.
In This Issue...

Registrar’s Message p.1

Buying and Selling Revenue
Properties p.2-3

Coming Soon Listings
p.4

Professional Corporation
Renewals p.5

Commission Disciplinary Action p.6

What’s Going On with Industry Education? p.7

Commission Information p.8
Ensure both you and your clients are protected by completing the mandatory forms properly
Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission
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24 November, 2015
The Register
From the
Annual Meeting
Interesting Stats
247 Brokerages (27 new)
237 Professional Corporations
247 Brokers
135 Associate Brokers
22 Branch Managers
1,446 Salespeople
805 Female registrants
1,042 Male registrants
Buying and Selling Revenue Properties
Registrants assisting clients in the purchase and sale of revenue properties should be aware of the
unique challenges posed by these transactions. Issues exclusive to transactions involving revenue
properties must be considered, especially when the buyer will be assuming the role of a landlord under
an existing tenancy agreement.
Clients purchasing revenue properties that are already occupied by tenants should be made aware of
The Residential Tenancies Act (the “Act”) and its potential implications. When the buyer takes
possession of an occupied revenue property, he or she will be deemed to have notice of, and will
assume, all of the former landlord’s rights, liabilities and obligations under the subsisting tenancy
agreement. The Act also places obligations on a person who is selling an occupied revenue property. For
example, former landlords are required to deliver certain records to new landlords.
Registrants should advise clients who are interested in buying or selling revenue properties to consult
with a lawyer about how they may be affected by the provisions of the Act.
Registrants should be aware of the following additional sources of information about revenue properties:
• The Office of Residential Tenancies can provide information about outstanding orders or pending
applications
• The local municipality can provide information about building inspectors’ reports
• The local health region can provide information about public health inspectors’ reports.
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24 November, 2015
The Register
Continued from page 2
Your client may wish to contact one or all of these organizations to gather
information about a property he or she is thinking of buying, and may wish
to make being satisfied with the information a condition on the offer.
While many of the details regarding the purchase and sale of a revenue
property are handled by the lawyers representing the buyer and seller,
there are often items that should be dealt with in the initial agreement.
For example:

Does the buyer want to make the purchase conditional on a review of
the current tenancy agreement?

Does the offer address which party is entitled to receive unpaid rents?

Does the buyer want a written representation by the seller that the
information provided with respect to tenancy agreements, rents and/or
security deposits is accurate?

Is the seller prepared to make this representation?

Is the buyer going to continue leasing the property to the current tenant
or will the tenant be asked to leave?
By the time the documents reach the lawyers, it may be too late to
adequately address these items.
Registrants would be well-advised to suggest to clients that they involve
their lawyers early on in the buying or selling process. If the clients consult
with lawyers before the contract of purchase and sale is written, it is more
likely that the contract will adequately reflect the agreement the buyer and
seller want to make. Clarity in a contract is a key element in preventing
future disputes between a buyer and seller.1
1
All information in this article is provided with the permission of the Law Society of
Saskatchewan.
Dale Beck, “Sale, Purchase and Foreclosure of Residential Rental Property”, Office of
Residential Tenancies
Bob Kasian, MLT, “The Purchase and Sale of a Residential Revenue Property”
Brokerage
Succession
Planning
While you may not be envisioning ever leaving the
industry, at some point, it
is inevitable.
Increasing numbers of
brokers are leaving the
industry. The question is,
who will be there to take
over the reigns of responsibility?
Succession planning is
not an event, it is a process. Allow yourself ample time to plan a smooth
transition. You will need
to identify and begin developing key registrants
to choose from to take
over your brokerage
when you are ready.
Developing and implementing a succession
plan now will allow you
the luxury of certainty
when deciding on who
will continue your business. If you begin grooming the best and brightest
for leadership roles now,
they are more likely to
remain with your brokerage for the long term and
will be ready to step into
the role of broker.
Developing leadership
talent is a long term investment, but it will allow
you to get the right people in place to build upon
the successful foundation
that you have spent your
career establishing.
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24 November, 2015
The Register
“Coming Soon” Advertising
Are you considering placing a “Coming Soon” advertisement?
“Coming Soon” advertisements are neither specifically permitted nor prohibited by The Real Estate Act,
its Regulations, or the Commission’s Bylaws. A “Coming Soon” advertisement must comply with the
same legislation and bylaws as any other advertisement. This includes:




Bylaw 726, which provides that advertisements must not be false, inaccurate, or misleading
Bylaw 727, which requires written authorization be obtained from the owner before the property is
advertised, and that the advertisement is in accordance with the lawful instructions of the owner
Bylaw 728, which requires the written consent of the owner to have a sign on the property which
designates the property as being on the market
Section 55 of the Act, which requires the brokerage’s name to appear on the advertisement.
REALTORS® should also consider local MLS rules prior to advertising a property as “coming soon”.
“Many MLSs require listings to be submitted to the MLS within a specified, usually fairly brief, time period
after the listing contract has been executed; some may permit listed properties to be advertised as
“coming soon” while being kept out of general distribution on the MLS as long as such advertising is not
targeted to the general public; and some require participants to obtain sellers’ written consent to keep a
listing out of the MLS.”1
1
Katherine Johnson, “Coming Soon – Is it in the Seller’s Best Interest?”, National Association of Realtors (June 16, 2014),
online: http://www.realtor.org/articles/coming-soon-is-it-in-the-seller-s-best-interest.
Important Note
Questions? Contact the Commission’s Legal & Compliance department at [email protected], or
call 306-374-5233.
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24 November, 2015
The Register
Advertising as a
Professional
Corporation
Professional
Corporations
The due date for registering your professional
corporation is here!
Prof. Corps. must complete their registration information
by December 21, 2015 and send it to the Commission
office via:

email at [email protected]

fax at 1-306-373-2295

mail at 237 Robin Cres., Saskatoon, Sk, S7L 6M8
Office Closure
The office of the Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission
will be closed for the holiday season on December 24,
2015 and will reopen on January 4, 2016.
The Commission extends seasons greetings to everyone
and wishes you a very happy and prosperous 2016!
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Though registrants who
have formed a professional
corporation are not required
to use the prof. corp. name
when advertising, if you
choose to do so, note that
there are some guidelines
to keep in mind.

As per the Act, all ads
must contain the name
of the brokerage; a prof.
corp. is NOT a
brokerage, so any
advertising containing
the prof. corp. name
must also contain the
brokerage name.

Must appear in the prescribed format of Name,
Industry Identifier,
Corporate Identifier
(ex: John Smith Realty
Prof. Corp.)

You may use your professional corporation
identity on a Residential
Contract of Purchase
and Sale provided the
brokerage is clearly
identified as the buyer’s
or seller’s brokerage
while the professional
corporation is identified
as a salesperson acting
on behalf of a
brokerage.
24 November, 2015
The Register
Commission Disciplinary Action
Complete Commission hearing decisions can be found on our website
through the links provided with each summary.
The Commission is also proud to announce our presence on CanLII, here
(full coverage from 2014).
Alvin Schweitzer (former broker), Schweitzer Realty Ltd.
File # 2014-27
Reminder
You must notify the Commission in
writing, within five days,
of:

Criminal charges

Criminal
convictions

Commencement of
lawsuits against you

Settlement or
judgments in
lawsuits against you

Name changes

Bankruptcy

More (see Bylaw 723)
Date of Decision: July 22, 2015
Violation: Mr. Schweitzer was charged with professional misconduct contrary
to:


section 39(1)(b) of the Act by failing, within a reasonable time, to properly account
for or pay over any money received in trust to the person entitled to it, and
section 39(1)(c) of The Real Estate Act, in that he breached:
 Section 71(1)(b) of the Act by failing to deposit into a trust account all money
received by the brokerage in trust in connection with a trade in real estate;
 Section 8(4) of The Real Estate Regulations by failing to respond, in writing,
to a request made by the Commission by the date set out in such request;
and
 Commission Bylaw 702 by failing to protect and promote the interests of his
client.
Details: In March of 2014, Mr. Schweitzer represented a corporate buyer in the
purchase of a property. Mr. Schweitzer received a deposit in the amount of $50,000
from his client.
Rather than depositing this money into his brokerage’s trust account, Mr. Schweitzer
deposited this money into his general business account. Thereafter, Mr. Schweitzer
made several cash withdrawals of the money provided by his client for unknown
purposes.
The transaction collapsed prior to the buyer removing conditions. The buyer
contacted Mr. Schweitzer requesting the return of the $50,000 deposit.
Mr. Schweitzer presented the buyer with a cheque for $30,000. As of the date of the
hearing, Mr. Schweitzer still had not returned the remaining $20,000 to his client.
Disposition: The Hearing Committee found Mr. Schweitzer guilty of all charges
and ordered that:





with respect to the breach of section 39(1)(b) of the Act, he should receive a
$5,000 fine and an order of reprimand and that his certificate of registration
should be cancelled;
with respect to the breach of section 71(1)(b) of the Act, he should receive a
$5,000 fine;
with respect to the breach of section 8(4) of the Regulations, he should receive a
$2,500 fine;
with respect to the breach of Commission Bylaw 702, he should receive a $2,500
fine; and
he should pay restitution in the amount of $20,000 to the buyer.
Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission
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Failure to do so may result in disciplinary proceedings.
For more information,
see the article in the
February 2015 issue of
The Register, and
Commission decisions
2015 SKREC 2 and
2015 SKREC 3.
24 November, 2015
The Register
What’s Going On with Industry Education?
The real estate industry is one of change: changes in the market, changes in the cost of housing, changes
in legislation and governance, changes in client needs, and changes in demographics.
In order to keep up with the way the industry and the world around us is changing and how these changes
influence the way a real estate professional does business, it is imperative that education also change.
Education to enter the industry and to stay registered in the industry must fit the needs of the
professionals in the industry. To that end, the Commission is working closely with our education provider,
the Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS®, on several educational projects.
You may already have noted how CPD has changed for 2015/16 with improved online delivery and
interactivity and environmentally-friendly downloadable manuals. Beginning with the 2016/17 CPD year,
we will be providing 3 CPD offerings for registrants to choose from: Standard, Commercial and Broker.
Each offering will continue to address the pertinent legislation and bylaw changes, and hearing decision
information common to our current annual CPD, but will also include subject-specific information.
Registrants will be able to choose any one of the offerings in any given year, or do more if they like. Each
year the subject matter will change to reflect current topics of interest in each of those subjects (the
“Standard” having a more generalized, industry-based selection of “hot topics”).
Another project underway over the last couple of years is the creation of an Exam Task Force made up of
subject matter experts (SMEs) currently registered in our province, who are undertaking rewriting of exam
questions for all of our pre-licensing education. These “SMEs” were trained in examination question
writing, and their experience working with the course content will be utilized in our efforts to rejuvenate all
of the current pre-licensing education content, materials and delivery practices. Once the exams have all
been rewritten and launched, the Task Force will continue to review the performance of the new exams
and perform necessary revisions in order to align them to the courses implemented under our education
rejuvenation project.
The Association is undertaking the educational rejuvenation
project over the course of approximately 2 years. All current
course materials will be evaluated for applicability and usability
and rewritten to fit current trends and applications in the industry.
People wishing to enter the industry will be able to access their
education in a variety of media (including in-class and online
options), and will fulfill practical components as well as more
traditional assignments.
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24 November, 2015
The Register
Commission Staff Contacts
Contact Us
The Commission would like to welcome a new staff member.
Laura Mychan joined the staff as Legal & Office Assistant this fall.
Welcome Laura!
Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission
All of our staff can be reached by phone at the following
extensions:
Phone:
Toll Free:
Fax:
1—Gail Armstong (Registration/Office Administrator)
2—Laura Mychan (Legal/Office Assistant)
237 Robin Crescent
Saskatoon, SK S7L 6M8
1.306.374.5233
1.877.700.5233
1.306.373.2295
Website www.srec.ca
3—Nina Criddle (Compliance Officer)
@SREC_comm
4—Reché McKeague (Legal/Compliance Manager)
6—Susan McCrae (Education/Communications)
7—Jason Weiler (Systems Administrator)
Commission Staff
8—Aaron Tetu (Executive Director/Registrar)
Aaron Tetu, Executive Director/Registrar
([email protected])
Gail Armstrong, Registration/Office Administrator
([email protected], [email protected])
Reché McKeague, Legal & Compliance Manager
([email protected], [email protected])
Nina Criddle, Compliance Officer
([email protected])
Laura Mychan, Legal & Office Assistant
([email protected])
Susan McCrae, Education & Communications Coordinator
([email protected])
Jason Weiler, Systems Administrator
([email protected])
CPD 2015/16
Now Open!
Commission Members
Register for an in-class session or take
it online
www.saskatchewanrealestate.com
Remember, time flies quickly and June 30th
isn’t that far away. Do it NOW!
Trevor Koot, Chair, Swift Current
Paul Jaspar, Vice Chair, Saskatoon
David Chow, Moose Jaw
Mike Duggleby, Regina
Dave Hepburn, Saskatoon
Murray Lang, Regina
Jeff Markewich, Moose Jaw
Vern McClelland, Lloydminster
Al Myers, Saskatoon
Tim Ward, Saskatoon
Bernie Weinbender, Regina
Submit your photos of Saskatchewan landscapes,
architecture or seasons (along with your information
and the location the photo was taken), to
[email protected].
Each issue of The Register will feature at least one
qualifying submission.
Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission
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24 November, 2015