Looking for Cottage Properties? Why Not Use Connect?

WEBForms™ and Digital Signatures Need Toronto Zoning Information? Watch This New Video!

Commercial Data Now Available Through Altus InSite Pay-Per-Use Module

Need Condo Content for Your Newsletters or Blogs?

AUGUST 2013

ACROSST H E B O A R D

Table of Contents

Looking for Cottage Properties? Why Not Use Connect?

Page 3

WEBForms™ and Digital Signatures Page 4

Need Toronto Zoning Information? Watch This New Video!

Page 4

Complete and Up-To-Date Commercial Data Now Available Through Altus InSite

Pay-Per-Use ModulePage 5

New Training Video Theatre at TREBPage 5

Need Condo Content for Your Newsletters or Blogs?

Page 6

Protect Your Clients and Yourself with Member Alerts

Page 7

GTA Commercial Outreach Session for All Members

Page 7

Don’t Miss This Great Video Workshop!Page 8

2

During the summer, your clients may be eager to explore the possibility of purchasing a cottage.

If your client is looking for lakefront cottage properties, other than those on the south shore of Lake Simcoe, TREB’s listing data doesn’t offer them a lot of choice. There is, however, a great place to search for these types of properties: Connect.

Connect was launched in 2009 as a joint venture of Ontario’s four largest Boards. It allows access to two years of Residential Active, Sold, and Conditionally Sold listings, and four years of Commercial history. Since 2009, Connect has grown to include 17 Boards and Associations, giving 95% of the REALTORS® in Ontario access to the MLS® data of the participating Boards.

To search Connect from TorontoMLS and New Stratus:

1. Click Connect from the top of TorontoMLS or from the Links menu in New Stratus.

2. Accept the User Agreement, then click Submit.

3. Select the Board or Association you wish to search. In this example, we selected Muskoka Haliburton Orillia – The Lakelands Association of REALTORS®.

4. Select the Class of property to search. In this example, we chose Residential.

5. Click Continue. A listing search form appears.

6. Select the criteria for your client’s search. You can narrow down the geographic region by Area, Municipality, and Community.

In this example, we searched for:• Area: Haliburton;• Municipality: Lake of Bays; and• Status: Active.

Note: Some Boards provide hyperlinks to their maps (the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® and the Tillsonburg District Real Estate Board are examples). In this example, there are no maps to assist our search.7. Click Count to see how many listings are

available based on the selected criteria. With so few criteria selected, more than 200 results are found. Connect shows a maximum of 100 listings, so we’ll narrow down the criteria further. In addition to Area, Municipality and Status, we selected:

• Price max: $325,000;• Bedrooms: 3-3;• Washrooms: minimum of 1;• Type: Cottage/Rec Properties and

Single Family;• Waterfront: Yes.

Note: You may also utilize some ”flex search” capabilities by selecting additional fields not present on the search form by using the Add a Field drop-down at the bottom of the page.8. Click Submit. In this example, 10

search results appear, sorted by price in ascending order. If the results are not to your liking, click Revise Criteria.

9. Click View to view all of the results. To view just a select group of listings, check mark the listings first, then click View.

3

Looking for Cottage Properties? Why Not Use Connect?

Continues on page 8.

The City of Toronto enacted a new zoning by-law in May 2013. The City has several useful tools on

their website to help you search for and understand zoning information, including an interactive map.

To help you understand how to work with the City’s zoning map, we’ve created a brief tutorial video that highlights the site’s key features. If you want to view it in the future, this video will be housed within the Learning Centre of TorontoMLS/New Stratus. To watch the video now, click the image below.

Click here to visit the City of Toronto’s zoning by-law website which provides complete details of the new zoning by-law, including:

• An interactive map, discussed in the video link below;

• City-wide maps;• Zoning by-law text;• Information regarding transition

provisions;• City Staff presentations, explaining

details of the new zoning by-law.

For additional information, you may download a workbook and a PDF version of a presentation provided by City Staff.

Education sessions on the new zoning by-law, for TREB Members, are being planned for the coming months. Details will be announced when available. n

4

Need Toronto Zoning Information? Watch This New Video!

If you’re a WEBForms™ user you will have noticed that the capability to use digital signatures within WEBForms™ was activated on July 24, 2013. This means that you now have the ability to subscribe to either DocuSign® or Authentisign to add digital signatures to certain forms within WEBForms™. However, it must be emphasized that the use of electronic signatures on Agreements of Purchase and Sale is currently not permitted in the Province of Ontario.

The recent 2013 Ontario budget bill contained an amendment to the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 (ECA), which would remove any uncertainty about the use of electronic signatures on Agreements of Purchase and Sale. However, the amendment has not yet been proclaimed into law. n

WEBForms™ and Digital Signatures

5

BACKGROUNDYour salespeople now have access to a new Commercial Data module provided by Altus InSite. The Altus InSite database contains the most complete and up-to-date information on available office and industrial space in the GTA, as well as select available retail space in the GTA.

Currently, TREB Members have free access summary information for available commercial space at www.altusinsite.com. Rather than paying the full Altus InSite quarterly subscription fee, the new service allows TREB Members access to enhanced reports on available commercial space in the GTA on a pay-per-use basis. This information will compliment commercial listings on TorontoMLS/New Stratus, giving Members access to a broader array of available properties.

For many properties, additional information will include the asking rate, additional rent, and full contact information.

COSTFor each set of one (1) to eight (8) buildings, including an unlimited number of spaces within those one (1) to eight (8) buildings, users will be charged $24 plus HST for their report. Each additional set of one (1) to eight (8) buildings will cost an additional $24 plus HST. There are no refunds.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/ACCESSMore information on this new tool, including links to register, log in, view a training video and read an FAQ, can be found on TREB’s Altus InSite page. Click here to access TREB’s Altus InSite page. This page can also be accessed from two permanent links on TorontoMLS/New Stratus:

From the TorontoMLS/New Stratus home page:• Click on the “More Resources” slider

on the right-hand side of the page. • Select the Altus InSite logo.

From the Commercial Resource Centre:• Click on the “Commercial Division

Information” button on the top, left-hand side of the TorontoMLS/New Stratus home page.

• Select the Altus InSite logo.

Complete and Up-To-Date Commercial Data Now Available Through Altus InSite

Pay-Per-Use Module

When you’re visiting TREB, drop by the Resource Centre located across from the Auditorium.

It has a new addition: a Training Video Theatre. Eight, brief training tutorials on a variety of topics are available for you to watch. Just tap the icon for the tutorial you want to view on the wall-mounted touch screen, take a seat on one of the retro-looking barstools, and watch the tutorial play on the flat screen TV. If you want to change the tutorial that’s currently playing, just tap another icon on the touch screen. We will change the tutorials every couple of months to keep things fresh. So, when

you’re between classes here at TREB, take a seat and learn something new!

If you can’t make it to TREB, you have access to the same tutorials plus many more in the Learning Centre of TorontoMLS/New Stratus. These training videos are also accompanied by downloadable, step-by-step instructions for additional information on the selected topic.

New Training Video Theatre at TREB

6

Need Condo Content for Your Newsletters or Blogs?

Do you write a blog, website or newsletter to communicate with your clients or the public? Coming

up with fresh, interesting information can sometimes cause even the best writer to run up against writer’s block. Due to the recent revisions to the Condo Corner, writer’s block is now less of a problem because there is a link to the Canadian Condominium Institute’s quarterly newsletter, the Condo Voice. The Condo Voice offers information on living in a condominium, dealing with condo boards, legal issues with condos and more.

To read the Condo Voice:1. Click Condo Corner found on the

home page of TorontoMLS/New Stratus. The Condo Corner appears in a new window.

2. Click Resources. A pop-up window appears informing you of this section’s content.

3. Click Link to CCI’s Condo Voice Newsletter. The Condo Voice archive appears in a new window.

You can read the current issue, or browse through past issues of the newsletter. A useful search feature allows you to search all issues for articles related to a particular topic. If you intend to use one of the articles, please note CCI’s Policy for the Use of Condo Voice Content found in the Resources’ pop-up window.

If you have ever had an unsettling experience as part of your work in real estate, you are not alone.

Members report incidents of concern to TREB on an ongoing basis, so that warnings can be shared on TorontoMLS.

Member Alerts, developed as a service to help safeguard Members in their daily business activities, are in fact, some of the most frequently viewed headlines on TorontoMLS.

To review archived Member Alerts that may describe circumstances similar to those you have experienced, click Your Information Centre on the home page of TorontoMLS/New Stratus, then select REALTOR® Safety.

While you are reading the Member Alert archives, please pay attention to the other valuable tools available on this page such as the Fraud Red Flag Checklist, CREA’s ‘The Safe Side’, and REALTOR® Safety Tips.

New incidents of concern may be reported to memberalerts@trebnet.com

7

Protect Your Clients and Yourself with Member Alerts

GTA Commercial

Outreach Session for All

MembersDo you want to learn about the Commercial Division, have an opportunity to network with Commercial Members, and earn up to 5 CE credits? The Executive Council Commercial Division is presenting a Commercial Outreach Session for all TREB Members.

Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Location: Mississauga Real Estate Board, 3450 Ridgeway Drive, Unit 1, Mississauga

The program includes:

• GTA Research & Resources (1 CE credit)

• Due Diligence (1 CE credit)

• Multi-Residential: The Ins and Outs (3 CE credits)

For details, and to register for the September 10 session, click here. For the next Commercial Outreach Session around the GTA, click here.

Suggestions & FeedbackIf you have content suggestions for Across The Board or comments about this publication, feel free to email us at acrosstheboard@trebnet.com

8

NEW COURSE! Get In Focus:

Creating Video With Your iPhone or iPad

DATE: Wednesday, August 28 TIME: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.4 CE credits COST: $45.20 (HST incl.)

WHERE: TREB’s Classroom #3

If you’ve wanted to start using video, then this new course by Video Evangelist Bruno Marsala is a ‘must-take’!

Designed for the beginner, you’ll benefit by seeing actual real estate samples plus hands-on demonstrations including video shot using the iPhone and iPad.

TOPICS INCLUDE:

• The basics of video production (the 3Ps);

• Recommended equipment and accessories;

• Types of videos and how to shoot them;

• Shooting quality video with your iPhone or iPad;

• Basic editing techniques;

• Capturing, editing, and publishing your video online. n

GET SOCIAL WITH TREB

Note: If the location of the properties is of importance, click Map to see the search results plotted on a map. If the appearance or “curb appeal” of the properties is important, click Photo to see just the primary photo of each listing, but this view can’t be used to select properties.

While looking at a listing, if you want to email it to a client, click More Photos to open REALTOR.ca in a new window, then select E-MAIL TO A FRIEND.

Connect is not just for listing searches. It can also be used to search other REALTORS®, Brokerages, and public open houses through REALTOR.ca.

For additional information and help on using Connect, click Help at the top right corner of Connect. n

Looking for Cottage Properties? Continued from page 3