Duties and Obligations of the Broker

The ACAIQ presents a new form for the exclusive use of its members, i.e. the “Exclusive Brokerage Contract – Purchase of an Immovable”. With this contract, the buyer retains the services of a real estate broker – “purchasing broker” – to search for an immovable to purchase. This form creates a contractual bond between the parties and outlines the rights and obligations of each party in order to clarify the “buyer/broker” relationship for the purpose of this search. However, buyers are not obligated to sign any such agreement with their real estate broker.

The Association strongly recommends that users attend an education activity before they start using this form. The activity will help participants to understand the implications of the brokerage contract to purchase in the context of a real estate brokerage transaction, to understand the scope of the obligations stemming from each of the clauses in the contract and make proper use of this form. See the continuing education activities schedule for training locations and dates on our website.

Starting this month, the Professional Inspection Department offers startup sessions for all new chartered real estate brokers. These sessions are replacing the first inspection that used to be done at the broker’s establishment in the year his certificate was issued.

In order to provide beginning brokers with the tools and advice they need quickly, these startup sessions will be given to several brokers at once and will be facilitated by an inspector. These sessions will be given in an informal atmosphere using a format that promotes exchanges and focuses on real-life scenarios on these major themes: setting up and maintaining records and registers, managing trust accounts, conflicts of interest, disclosure notices to be completed before any commitment, disclosure of compensation agreements, and compensation methods.

All new brokers will be invited to attend a startup session, at their convenience, in lieu of what used to be the first inspection visit.

For more information on date availability, please contact the Professional Inspection Department at:(450) 462-9800, ext. 476 or 1 800 440-7170

On Wednesday May 26, 2004, the Quebec Council of Ministers appointed the two representatives who sit on the ACAIQ Board but are not real estate brokers or agents. They are Jean Mathieu, re-appointed to the Board of Directors of the Association des courtiers et agents immobiliers du Québec, and Louise Clément, new on the Board but well-known in the profession.

A graduate of notarial law, Jean Mathieu is Director of Training and Qualification at the Bureau des services financiers. He has been a member of the ACAIQ Board for several years now.

Louise Clément is General Manager of the Association des médecins d’urgence du Québec since 2003. Prior to that, she was General Manager of the Chambre immobilière de Québec. She has an MBA from Université du Québec à Montréal and Université Paris-Dauphine.

It looks like we’re going to have to wait until Parliament reconvenes in the fall before a Bill is tabled for the creation of a professional liability insurance fund by the ACAIQ. You will recall that Finance Minister Yves Séguin agreed in principle to the creation of this fund back in December.

In order to be ready in any event, the Association’s management has requested an updated actuarial report to determine the amount of the premiums that real estate brokers and agents would have to pay to this new insurance fund. Based on current data, these premiums would be about $350, plus about $100 more to capitalize the fund.

By creating a professional liability insurance fund for real estate brokers and agents, the ACAIQ is seeking to remedy the problem of the shortage of insurance companies prepared to cover brokers and of exorbitant premium hikes. Some brokers saw their premiums increase by 200% last year, and there have been reports of recent increases of over 30%.

Robert Chabot was elected to the ACAIQ Board as Director for the Québec region, following the counting of the votes on May 25 at the Association’s offices. Pierre Paradis and Mario Potvin were the other two candidates vying for the position in this election, the first in ten years in this region.

Four other individuals completed their terms in 2004, including the directors for the Eastern and Central regions and the two for the Montreal region. Raymond Desbiens (Eastern), Daniel Pelchat (Central), Diane Bourbonnière and Georges Halasz (Montréal) were elected or reelected by acclamation on March 12.

On the strength of its expertise in the field of real estate brokerage, the ACAIQ develops and offers various continuing education activities to meet the needs of brokers and agents. Several real estate boards and real estate brokers have shown a keen interest for these events by signing up in large numbers, especially the Chambre immobilière des Laurentides and the Chambre immobilière de Québec, which took part in the same record number of activities in 2003.

To thank them for their participation, Robert Nadeau, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association, presented a commemorative plaque to Gilles Corbeil, President of the Chambre immobilière des Laurentides, and Gina Gaudreault, General Manager of the Chambre immobilière de Québec. On the broker side, the firm Re/Max 2001, represented by Jocelyne Harton, took part in the greatest number of continuing education activities presented by the ACAIQ in 2003. This recognition was given as part of the ACAIQ Education Event 2004 held on April 21-22, 2004 in Saguenay.

A chartered real estate broker’s certificate may be issued to a legal person (a company), a partnership (an association of persons) or a natural person. A real estate broker which is a legal person or a partnership must be represented for purposes of applying the REBA by a person called the representative. Unlike a natural person who is a chartered real estate broker, a partnership or legal person cannot pass academic courses or acquire real estate brokerage experience. A natural person who is a real estate broker holds the certificate personally (in his own name), whereas a legal person or partnership receives a certificate through a natural person. This natural person is identified by the REBA as the representative.

We are not talking about a sales representative or a real estate agent who represents a broker, but a natural person who bears the title of representative for purposes of the REBA. The representative of a broker which is a partnership or legal person is obligatorily a natural person who has the qualifications required to be a holder of a real estate broker’s certificate. This is one of the first requirements stipulated by Section 7 of the REBA.

Duration: 3 hours

Duration: 3 hours

Duration: 3 hours