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A local realtor is throwing his support behind proposed rules many of his peers are railing against.
A Kelowna realtor is taking a stand against the president of his real estate board, and throwing his support behind proposed new laws he believes will help protect consumers.
Mark Walker, who runs Walker Real Estate, is at odds with the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board over its opposition to a provincial government plan that would stop realtors from representing both a buyer and seller in the same transaction.
The practice is known as dual agency, and last month the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate said it plans to limit realtors ability to use it, starting early next year.
According to the office’s official website, the proposed changes are based on the recommendations of an independent panel, and “aim to enhance consumer protection.”
The changes have sparked debate in the industry, with many (including OMREB) coming out against them. Unlike many of his peers, however, Walker said he’d like to see the changes happen.
“I’ve been in dual agency situations before, and I think the proposed new rules…are a benefit to consumers and realtors alike,” he said in a recent statement.
“Think about it: how can you truly represent both the buyer and the seller in a transaction? How can you negotiate for them? You can’t. It’s a total conflict of interest and a recipe for trouble.”
Tanis Read is the president of OMREB. She said that, while OMREB is unhappy with the changes the provincial government has proposed, the organization understands dual agency is problematic.
“We’re not suggesting there doesn’t need to be some changes made… but they need to be better thought out,” she said Oct. 13.
Read said there are lots of instances where having the same realtor represent both sides of a transaction makes the most sense, and to take away their ability to do that could actually cause harm.
She said she knows of one realtor, for example, who specializes in selling care homes.
“What disadvantage to the public is it to deal with that person? They know everything there possibly is to know about that market, and nobody else is qualified to do that, so you’re actually putting the public at risk by [limiting their ability to represent both sides],” she said.
Even though Read said dual agency is useful in certain circumstances, she and OMREB recognize there are some problems with it.
She said many in the industry have actually approached the government asking for changes, but that the government has gone ahead and laid out a plan without properly consulting the industry.
Meanwhile, Walker said he believes most of the outcry against the changes is rooted in one specific consideration: money.
“Whether it’s admitted to or not, I feel most of the opposition comes from the potential loss of income,” he said.
“At the end of the day, to represent both sides of a single transaction to their best interests is completely impossible. The best you can do is become a facilitator rather than a negotiator, but from there you should be paid accordingly: in other words, less.”
Read roundly dismissed suggestions that OMREB’s opposition to the proposed changes is financially driven, reiterating her stance that changes definitely need to be made, but should just be made more intelligently.
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