Anthon Pang, Broker, e-PRO, SRES

So you want to be a REALTOR? You're enrolled in a pre-registration or articling course and you're feeling a little lost. You see individuals offering to tutor, teach, and/or assist in exam preparation for OREA's real estate exams, but some look a little dodgy. Some may even tempt you with the lure of obtaining your "license" in as little as four months. Rest assured, I'm not one of those people. I'm different.

Instead, I am going to present you with an irresistible offer so amazing that I will confidently back it up with a no-questions-asked, 100% money back guarantee. Read on.

By the way, to thank you just for reading this far, I'm going to start with a no-obligation gift -- that's right, "GIFT" as in "FREE".

Your Free Gift. The "Top 10 Questions to Ask a Prospective Tutor":

• What professional qualifications do you have as a tutor?
• What is your professional real estate experience? Are you a registered real estate salesperson or broker, mortgage agent or broker, lawyer, or appraiser?
• How long have you been in the business of providing tutoring services? How long have you had this phone number and web site?
  
• How many students have you tutored?
• What is the pass/fail rate among your students?
• How many of your students have completed the articling phase and are still in the business? Can you give me some names and numbers to verify these "references"?
• How have you adapted your tutoring/materials as a result of the closed book policy effective January 1, 2008 and resulting changes to exams?
• How have you adapted your tutoring/materials to reflect changes to the Provincial Reference Manual?
• How have you adapted your tutoring/materials to reflect changes to the workbooks as a result of REBBA 2006?
• Do you provide a money-back guarantee? If so, how many requests for refunds have been given vs. denied?

But wait, that's not all. When you order, I'm also going to throw in an amazing bonus offer.

Your Bonus Offer. "Diggin' Deeper" (TM)

• Google search the tutor's name. Can you verify anything he/she says? How credible is this person?
  
• Check the Better Business Bureau and consumer complaint sites, like RipOffReport.com.
  
• Ask yourself how this tutor markets his/her services. Does he post signs on lawns, lamp standards, etc? (FYI: these signs are usually a violation of local sign by-laws.)
  
• Does this tutor send spam or bulk post his ads on lots of websites, multiple times, across numerous boards/forums?

You must be satisfied with all the answers to the above, and all before you even ask, "how much" or hand over your credit card and/or cash.

But before I get to the offer ... there's more. If you continue reading, you'll receive a mystery gift containing some incredible, little known, and underutilized tips.

Your Mystery Gift. If you have any course content questions, you can:

• in class, raise your hand or seek out the instructor at the break or after class, and ask your question
• call OREA's Instructor Support Line (1-866-444-5557, M-F 9:30am-4:00pm)
• post your question on the new My OREA Community forums and receive responses from course administrators and fellow students
  

Don't be afraid to ask for help, to admit you don't know, or to question your understanding. Now is the time to seek clarification.

And remember:

• The mini-review CD is just $10.
• If you fail an exam, you can request a review with an instructor to discuss problem areas requiring further study. ($50 admin fee)
  
• If you fail an exam, you can schedule a rewrite for a 2nd attempt. ($50 admin fee)
• You have 18 months from the successful completion of Phase 1 to complete your final pre-registration course (either Phase 3 Residential or Phase 3 Commercial).

And now, what you've all been waiting for, the Offer. The offer is this piece of advice.

Do your due diligence when selecting a tutor. "Caveat emptor" applies -- buyer beware! Tutors are unregulated, and in this capacity, are not bound to any standards of practice or code of ethics.

You get all this, the free gift, yours to keep, the bonus offer, the mystery gift containing free assistance information, sage advice, and my personal guarantee, for the amazingly low low price of ZERO DOLLARS and ZERO CENTS. That's right folks, all this, the complete package, absolutely no-strings-attached F-R-E-E, FREE.

Order now. Operators are standing by.

The Ontario Real Estate Association's Government Relations Department is reporting that the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services is backing away from establishing a province-wide grow-op registry due to liability and privacy concerns. Instead, the Ministry is looking at the possibility of registering work orders on title, which I'd argue (1) does not eliminate the liability and privacy concerns -- moreover, impossible in any scenario -- and (2) is cumbersome and costly for users for the little added information that it provides. (Requesting a copy of the parcel register off GeoWarehouse is $28 for the first page and $3 per additional page.)

But let's take a step back. Do we even need a central registry?

The legislation changes introduced by the Law Enforcement and Forfeited Property Management Statute Law Amendment Act already requires municipalities to inspect grow-ops reported by police and order repairs. And the Agreement of Purchase and Sale includes, within clause 10 (Title), the opportunity to file an objection to any outstanding work order by the requisition date.

It would make much more sense to make compliance reports the norm (similar to obtaining status certificates on condos). For example, one can purchase a property compliance report from the City of Mississauga ($100 for the initial report, $30 for subsequent updates). And as one can see from these reports, they show a lot more than just outstanding work orders:

• Roll Number
• Legal Description
• Subdivision Assumption Date (where available)
• Outstanding Violations and Works Order (Building, Plumbing, HVAC, Sign, Fire, and Bylaw - Property Standards)
• Outstanding By-law Enforcement Complaints
• In Force Zoning Designation
• Zoning Attachments - excerpts from the Zoning By-law (general provisions)
• Committee of Adjustment (variances and consents) - includes attachments of the decisions
• Property Heritage Status - specifies if the property is currently Designated under by-law
• Outstanding Building Permit Applications
• Outstanding Inspections on Issued Permits
• Fire Prevention Inspections - displays last date of Fire Prevention Inspection

But once again privacy issues intervene. According to the City of Mississauga's by law enforcement division, their compliance report does not show work orders for the remediation of a grow op.

It also appears that Bill 18 (Grow Ops Disclosure Act) -- a private member's bill which requires (among other things) municipal police and the OPP to publish lists of busted grow op locations -- may not receive second reading.

How do you protect yourself? Get written disclosures, inspect, and test!