New FVREB Vice President Works for REALTORS® and Consumers

Surrey, B.C. – Larry Anderson, Broker at Sutton - Premier Realty, brings three decades of real estate experience to his new role as Vice President of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB). He has also served as the FVREB’s Chair of the Broker’s Council and as a Director for the past five years.

In these leadership roles, Larry has been working diligently to improve safeguards for clients and REALTORS® and hopes to launch a new province-wide initiative.

As Vice President, Larry will advocate for the establishment of a lawyer working on behalf of the entire B.C. membership. The lawyer would communicate with the Real Estate Council of B.C. to interpret their rules, then release the outcome to all members.

“Currently, if one of my REALTORS® comes to me with a problem, I may consult our Board, but they may not have the answer, so then I phone the Real Estate Council looking for an interpretation of their rules. They often say, ‘if you are relying on our opinion, you should seek independent legal advice.’ Well, we have 24,000 members across the province. It is possible that they will receive different answers from different lawyers. That is a concern, especially since fines have increased tremendously: up to $250,000 for an agent and $500,000 for a brokerage. A person wants to know the right answer.”

Larry also helped to establish a B.C. Broker’s Advocacy Group. In general, the group aims to help the real estate industry become proactive rather than reactive in terms of government regulations. The B.C. Broker’s Advocacy Group is a resource for sales associates, brokers and boards.

The three Lower Mainland boards have joined together to work with the Superintendent of Real Estate, BCREA and the Real Estate Council to deal with such issues as the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) report and the federal government’s Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).

Sutton is a 100% Canadian-owned and operated company with more than 7,500 REALTORS® in over 200 offices nationwide. To find out more about Sutton, visit www.sutton.com. To learn more about Sutton Spirit, visit www.suttonspirit.com.

Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. Contact:

Brooke Matthews

604-691-1689

stories@suttonspirit.com

Sutton - Premier Realty Contact:

Larry Anderson

604-581-8400

anderson@sutton.com