When Does a Person become a Self-Represented Party?

Good question! That’s important because under TRESA, a registrant cannot provide services to self-represented parties.

But, that’s limited to a “trade”. Other than that, no one cares!

Once we move over to a trade, there are only two service levels:

1. Clients, and
2. Self-Represented Parties.

The significant issue is that we must first have a “trade”.

So, what the definition of trade? Let’s have a look, here it is:

“trade” includes a disposition or acquisition of or transaction in real estate by sale, purchase, agreement for purchase and sale, exchange, option, lease, rental or otherwise and any offer or attempt to list real estate for the purpose of such a disposition, acquisition or transaction, and any act, advertisement, conduct or negotiation, directly or indirectly, in furtherance of any disposition, acquisition, transaction, offer or attempt, and the verb “trade” has a corresponding meaning;

OK, that was certainly a mouthful, let’s look at that definition line by line, word by word:

“trade includes a disposition or acquisition of or transaction in real estate

1. by sale, purchase, agreement for purchase and sale, exchange, option, lease, rental or otherwise and
2. any offer or attempt to list real estate for the purpose of such a disposition, acquisition or transaction, and
3. any act, advertisement, conduct or negotiation, directly or indirectly,

in furtherance of any disposition, acquisition, transaction, offer or attempt, and

the verb “trade” has a corresponding meaning;”

No Deal: No Trade!

A trade has to do with either buying or leasing property. It doesn’t cover just simply looking at a property. This is definitely associated with the “deal. No deal, no trade. Also, that means “no self-represented party” because we only get there with a trade.

RECO Opinion

RECO’s current opinion is to the effect that a registrant cannot show a property to a self-represented party. There is one exception, that being your own Listing. In that situation, you are providing a service to your own client, not the self-represented party. So, it’s permissible.

Visitors, Tourists and Uninvolved Individuals

There are all kinds of people in society, including visitors, tourists, individuals who are uninvolved with anything, residents, non-residents, in fact this list could simply go on and on until we get close to 38 million people.

All of them have nothing to do with a particular piece of real estate that is listed for sale. They are all in “no man’s country”. They don’t get reclassified as “self-represented” UNTIL we have an actual deal in the works.

Categories

There are several categories:

1. Clients,
2. Customers, for 120 days following 31 March 2023
3. Self-Represented Parties, effective 1 April 2023, and
4. Consumers (that’s everybody else).

Showings

You might as a real estate agent have some new issues arising with respect to # 3, the self-represented group.

There would not be a problem, just like now, or just like anywhere else in North America, showing a property as a real estate agent to a person in society who identifies themselves as a consumer. So, that’s my personal opinion after reading TRESA.

For a contrary view, be sure to check in with RECO and OREA.

Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker

www.OntarioRealEstateSource.com