Duties and Obligations of the Broker

PRACTICES SERIES

Information about two components of the legal warranty : the warranty of ownership and the warranty of quality.
 

Practices Series

Our Info ACAIQ Telephone Information Centre frequently answers questions pertaining to the legality of a practice that seems to be growing, i.e. that of indicating on the detailed description sheet the fulfilment deadline of the conditions contained in a promise to purchase that has been accepted by the seller.

PRACTICES SERIES

Depending on the circumstances, the certificate of location, the cadastral plan or the acquisition title will be used to determine the square footage of an immovable.

As part of their professional knowledge, real estate agents should understand certain types of criminal behaviour that might be part of real estate transactions. Awareness of different types of fraud may help a broker advise his clients.

The Real Estate Brokerage Act will continue to oversee mortgage brokerage in 2006. Thus any person or company carrying out mortgage brokerage activities in 2006 will still be required to hold a real estate broker or agent certificate issued by the Association des courtiers et agents immobiliers du Québec.

In a notice issued in October 2004, the ACAIQ notified its members that the transfer of mortgage brokerage from the ACAIQ to the Autorité des marchés financiers, scheduled for January 1, 2005, had been postponed by at least a year, i.e. to January 1, 2006. Now the government has pushed this deadline back again. The brokerage of loans secured by immovable hypothec will not be removed from the field of application of the Real Estate Brokerage Act and come under the Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services until January 1, 2007.

With Synbad Technologies Assisted Purchasing (TM), the ACAIQ gives Québec real estate brokers and agents access to a team of experts to assist them with the purchase of office and computer equipment. This team, made up of a purchasing manager and two advisors, is on the lookout for technological advances and answers the requests and questions of ACAIQ members regarding the purchase of computer hardware.

The year 2004 was an exceptional one in terms of certificate renewals. A total of 13,659 certificates were renewed, whereas the ACAIQ membership numbered 12,190 at the beginning of the year. The pilot project for online renewals was very successful.

In addition, the number of candidates to the entrance examination increased by 62% this year. Candidates numbered 3,045 for the affiliated agent examination and 171 for the chartered broker or agent examination. The success rates were 86.9% and 75.4% respectively.

As a member of the ACAIQ, you are cordially invited to submit your candidacy to sit on the Association’s Discipline Committee. You may apply verbally or in writing to the office of the Committee at:

Telephone: 450-462-9800, ext. 430 or 1-800-440-7170, ext. 430
Fax: 450-676-5876

The ACAIQ Discipline Committee is a tribunal created under the Real Estate Brokerage Act. It is completely autonomous and independent from the Association’s Board of Directors and staff.

Its role is to review complaints of professional misconduct by real estate brokers or agents and to hand down sanctions to guilty parties. For more details on the workings of this committee, see the booklet entitled “Discipline Committee” available at the Association’s reception desk or on the website.

Technology offers new ways for real estate brokers and agents to perform their work. It also gives them access to more information anywhere, any time, in response to professionals’ ever-increasing need for mobility. Aware of information technology’s potential for increasing productivity within our profession, the ACAIQ has taken steps to help members make the most of it.

Last April, the new Synbad Technologies Assisted PurchasingTM service was officially launched at the 2005 ACAIQ Education Event. This new service provides real estate brokers and agents with unsurpassed purchasing power for office automation equipment, access to helpful advice and the ability to choose from a wide variety of leading brand products.

A real estate or mortgage broker whose licence is suspended or revoked is no longer authorized to practice his profession or carry out brokerage transactions. He must cease any real estate or mortgage brokerage-related activity.