OREA says ‘yes” and that needs to change, they must be registered!
But, why? They never have been and they don’t do that many transactions, and the deals that they do, don’t seem to present problems.
I would have thought that that there would be a significant number of legal cases against auctioneers. There aren’t. So why the change now? Why not just leave them in place?
In a number of cases, they can be helpful.
In fact, the new TRESA legislation enables open bidding etc. The problem is that it is very uncommon. No one is doing it. There was lots of talk. However, that was it, just “talk”.
This is what OREA says:
“Eliminate the Auctioneer Loophole: Eliminate the two-tiered system of consumer protection by requiring auctioneers who transact real estate to register with RECO.”
Further,
“The lack of regulation of real estate auctions has potentially frightening consumer protection implications, including:
ڱ Buyers have no way of knowing if participants in a virtual real estate auction are legitimate.
ڱ If an auction goes badly, consumers have very few remedies available to them: there is no independent body to complain to and no penalties in the event a consumer feels they were treated unethically.
ڱ Real estate auction companies have no obligations to protect deposits — putting thousands of dollars at risk if the company goes bankrupt. ڱ Owners of real estate auction companies are not vetted for past criminal or fraudulent activity, which matters if they are helping to manage someone’s life savings.”
Essentially, OREA is concerned about auctioneers and their lack of ethics, their ability to misrepresent and deceive, and apparently the fact that a consumer might be left without recourse. I might mention that there still is a Court system which protects the public.
All of this sounds good, but there seems to be little to no evidence that any of this is really taking place. There should be lots of examples. And, if there were, then there would be a need a change.
It sounds more like a situation that doesn’t exist. There’s no problem, but OREA wants to fix it anyways. Sounds more like OREA needs something to do with its time!
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker