by Baldev S. Gill, Chief Executive Officer
We know these are difficult, challenging and unusual times; nevertheless, we must all persevere, remain determined, and be resolute; we will get through this at some point and enter a new normal.
FVREB has been closely monitoring the developments on COVID-19 and we realize that many of you are striving to find a balance between being there for your clients and prospects, while maintaining your business at a time when we are in constant flux.
We are still in the early stages of understanding the full impact and gravity of COVID-19, on the industry, our communities, as well as on us at the Board.
Your Board has been working tirelessly, along with other real estate boards, BCREA, and CREA, and we all remain committed to working together to advocate on your behalf to ensure government is listening to the voices of REALTORS®, and ensure government is aware of the unique challenges and significant impacts COVID-19 is having on our livelihoods and our day-to-day business. This is something we will continue to do on your behalf to find ways to ease the financial and other burdens stemming from COVID-19.
We appreciate that some of you may be wondering whether the Board might be contemplating and/or looking at some relief on dues. As you can appreciate, member dues allow us to continue providing you with the critical tools, resources and services you have come to expect and rely on us for.
This includes offering virtual and online PDP courses, to ensuring our HelpDesk remains open and available to you, through to monitoring, analyzing, distilling and communicating to you, the impact of new developments, government announcements and related, on your business. Please know that our staff remains fully operational, and you can continue to reach us by phone, email as well as on all our online channels.
As much as we would like to offer you some relief on dues, the truth of the matter is we need to be prudent, particularly because costs associated with running the Board continue to be incurred. We need to focus on strategically maintaining and running our operation on your behalf at this time, while taking the necessary steps and action to ensure we are doing what we can and must, to ride out this crisis. As we look to 2021 and our centennial, we want to make decisions now that allow us to be there for you for many more years to come.
As context, your monthly dues to FVREB are $64.50, which includes the cost of your monthly SentriLock subscription. MLS® Success Fees charged by FVREB on completed sales are $185.00 ($100 to the selling and $85 to the listing side). Your BCREA dues are $12.00 and if you are a member of CREA, you pay $25.84 per month.
While at times like this, the roles we play get lost in the noise, please know that your clients and prospects value the trust they have placed in you, and that you have earned from them. Adapt your business as much as possible, and leverage and embrace the power of technology, social media and digital tools to keep doing what you do best – being the trusted advisor your clients and prospects have come to expect from you.
In closing, I want to re-assure you that the Board remains committed to continuing to monitor the ever-evolving situation on COVID-19. We will pivot, make the necessary adjustments, and take the necessary action to ensure we are representing and doing what we can to champion and advocate for your best interests in these uncertain times.
Please stay well, stay safe and stay as healthy as you can.