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i -- BUSINESS Contact: Rod Jerred Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 5559) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: rjerred@haltonsearch.com RECO levels playing field', says president By Mary-Louise Langlois S P E C IA L TO THE BEAVER Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver SMART COOKIES: A fter w inning thousands of dollars of books courtesy of the Mr. C hristie S m art Cookie P rogram , M eaghan (front left) and Lynne Gibson generously donated $4,500 w orth of volumes to Pilgrim Wood Public School. The pro g ram challenges elem entary students to read as m any books as possible in fo u r weeks betw een Jan . 7 an d Feb. 15. Also shown in back (from left) are L inda Scott, D irector of M arketing R andom House of C anada; Anthony R asetta, K raft C anada, and Ellen Bailey T eacher/L ibrarian. Though we have long been in an era of consumer rights advocacy, many first time homebuyers may not be aware of the protection available to them. This protection comes in the form of a regulatory body -- the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO). At a recent breakfast meeting for brokers from the Oakville, Milton Real Estate Board, guest speaker Tom Wright suggested the coun cil is indeed fulfilling its mandate. Wright, the newly-appointed presi dent and CEO of RECO, was making his first public address since taking over the position on Jan. 1. Wright's talk focused on the development and evolution of RECO since its inception almost five years ago. In May 1997, the Ontario gov ernment mandated RECO to administer the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act (REBBA) on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services. Wright indicated that RECO's inaugural board of directors identified various objectives it wanted to achieve in order to satisfy the needs of both the industry and government. "All of these were intended to protect consumers -- either directly or indirectly, through higher professional standards, " said Wright. "These goals consisted of a continuing education program, a code of ethics, an insurance program, increased inspections and improved registration services. These goals have all been achieved." What does that mean to the layperson who is buying or selling a home? Essentially, RECO was created to administer the regulatory requirements of the real estate industry. It was also man dated to protect consumers in a fair mar ketplace and create a greater sense of trust in the real estate marketplace. One way of doing that is to ensure all its members are similarly qualified, so that any consumer in Ontario knows that all real estate board members have taken the same mandatory courses. Insurance programs are now available to ensure the safety of the consumer's deposit. When RECO was created, near ly 30 per cent of the registrants (agentsbrokers) did not maintain errors-andomissions insurance protection prior to the program coming into effect. They were at risk, as well as the consumer. "As far as real estate is concerned it lev els the playing field for everyone. A lot of agents took education courses on their own, but not everyone, " said Wright. "Now everyone has to have to meet the same minimum requirements. There will be a higher professional standard." To date, there is only one course that is mandatory -- an update program that covers developments in laws and new statutes, designed to bring people up to a certain standard of knowledge. Consumers clearly want the most knowl edgeable person possible to deal with when they make such a large transaction. The consequences -- both financial and emotional -- are often huge. Wright acknowledged that, early on, brokers and agents were somewhat wary about RECO. "Initially there was some apprehension, no one knew how RECO was going to operate. It was a new organ ization now regulating the real estate industry. There was a time getting to understand it. There was a real effort made to educate and inform people." "The most important thing is -- and we can't get around it -- RECO is a reg ulatory body and a regulatory body regu lates," Wright said. "They (RECO) decide whether or not someone is going to be registered, whether they might lose their registration, suspended or whether there may be terms and conditions. That is something that is still not clear with some. (Agents and consumers) don't dis tinguish between the Real Estate Association and RECO." Longtime Oakville real estate broker Annell Francis, of Coldwell Banker Annell Francis Real Estate, sees the con tinued implementation of RECO as a positive move for the real estate industry as well as for the consumer. "I'm totally satisfied with RECO. It has raised our standards. RECO is there to handle and eliminate cases of mislead ing advertising." Marta Sponder, general manager of the Oakville. Milton District Real Estate Board commented that RECO has some what more influence these days in han dling cases on the part of the public. "One of the most noticeable differ ences since RECO was created was the fact that it now handles ethics complaints against Realtors. Previously, this was handled entirely at the local board level. The board still is involved in the process, but to a much lesser degree. In addition to being bound by their own board's by laws, rules and regulations. Realtors must abide by the RECO code o f ethics. If a complaint (is made) related to that code, the matter is referred to RECO. If a com plaint relates to a local board rule, then it is handled at the local board level." 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