TREB's DATA SHOULD BE AVAILABLE BUT NOT IN MELANIE AITKEN'S WAY

In my last post, "Deconstructing Melanie Aitken's Claim Against TREB," I stated that I don't have a problem with legitimate buyers and sellers seeing days on market, sold listings, sales price versus listing price and the number of times a property was relisted. The key to that statement is the word, "legitimate" and the meaning it construes.  My reasons are twofold: 1) to make an informed decision when determining the list or purchase price of a property 2) To make an informed decision when interviewing a REALTOR® who makes claims along these lines.


A legitimate seller is in my opinion someone with whom a REALTOR® has met in person; verified they are who they say they and confirmed that they are the rightful owner of a property being sold. Similarly, a legitimate buyer is also identified and is one who can demonstrate they have the means by which they can purchase a property.


Otherwise, none of this information should be provided to just anyone who asks for it.


Legitimate buyers and sellers are not:

• The person who, using a psuedonym and obscure email provider, contacts you via your web site to find out the sales price of a certain house.
• The person as above who contacts you to find out the sales prices of various houses in various municipalities.
• The person who contacts you via email, claims to be the owner of 123 XYZ Street, in Markham, asks for a comparative price, tells you nothing else about the property, and provides an inactive telephone number with a Brampton area code. Then on checking you learn that the name as provided is nowhere to be found on title.
• The person who asks you to show them a 4 bedroom listing, shows up by himself, breezes through the living areas but spends a long time in the empty basement and checking out the laneway to the garage. 
• The person who calls you to ask how much either XYZ property is listed for or has been sold for yet hides his name and telephone number.
• The person who calls you for the above and wants you to believe that his phone number is really 123 456 7890 and his name is abcde.
• The person who advertises an MLS® listed property for sale or rent on craigslist, kijiji or otherwise and who is either not the listing brokerage; the name on title or has the authority to do so.
• The person who, according to your web site traffic reports, searched google for "sale price of XYZ Street."
• The person who sends you an email telling you they have XYZ property to rent or sell and will send you the keys to it once you forward a money order to them in some far off land.

All of the above are scenarios I have encountered. There are liars, thieves and fraudsters in every walk of life, profession and vocation who continue to find innovate ways to carry on illegitimate business and the internet has given them easier and even more clandestine ways to do so.


REALTORS® are required to follow several government imposed statutes and codes of ethics when it comes to upholding the privacy of those with whom we deal and to protect the best interests of our clients.


Here is Ms. Aitken of another governmental body trying to force TREB to release details we are statutorily required to protect and she obviously presumes this can be done by farming out this information to registered brokerages that institute a password protected VOW.




Undoubtedly the government of Canada employs the most expert computer security people in this country, yet Canada's treasury Board, Finance Department, Defence Research and Development Canada have all been hacked.
 
They are free from impunity, we are not. REALTORS® and the public who care about protecting private information need to make it known to Ms. Aitken that it is not in their best interests to make such information easier to obtain nor should REALTORS® be caught in a squeeze between upholding the privacy and money laundering legislations and her seeming disregard for same.