This week, we’re sharing tips from CREB® Member Practice on properly working with your unlicensed assistant. 

The sun begins to set over a long day of showings and client meetings. Exhaustion settles in as you contemplate the day’s remaining tasks. You have a property to preview, a lock box to install, a listing to start inputting, and an open house to attend in the morning. You feel a slight sense of relief, remembering that this is why you hired an unlicensed assistant. You pull out your phone to text them your requests without realizing an unlicensed assistant can only perform two of those tasks.

Unlicensed assistants are a fantastic resource to have. They tie up loose ends, answer communications you can’t get to, handle bookkeeping, and keep your calendar in place. They keep your business running! However, unlicensed assistants can become so relied upon that REALTORS^® can forget that RECA does not allow them to do it all.

An unlicensed assistant operates under RECA Rule 46.1, meaning they can only engage in unlicensed activities that their REALTOR^® appropriately supervises. When an unlicensed assistant inputs a listing, drafts a contract or prepares marketing materials, these must be reviewed and given your stamp of approval as you are licensed to be held accountable for their accuracy.

This supervision extends to open houses or previewing properties. While there is a benefit to having an unlicensed assistant along to help, an unlicensed assistant cannot enter a property without their REALTOR^® present. This means they cannot host public open houses, show properties for sale or lease, or preview properties without their licensed REALTOR^®. Unlicensed assistants cannot answer questions from the public about real estate transactions or discuss any real estate documents associated with potential transactions. A licensed REALTOR^® must perform these responsibilities.

While handling your business on the frontlines, your unlicensed assistant can cover several bases behind the scenes. They can maintain and update your website, schedule showings of properties, make changes and corrections to listings in Pillar 9, place signs and lockboxes on a property, and distribute your marketing materials. They can also drop off marketing materials such as feature sheets and open seller’s properties for professional service providers like inspectors or appraisers if you’ve obtained written permission from your seller.

As the sun rises the following day, you hear your phone ding with a calendar notification for that open house. Your unlicensed assistant follows with a text saying they’ve got the feature sheets in hand and asks if they should get there early to set up. You reply that you have a quick meeting beforehand with a new client to review some agreements but will arrive with enough time for you both to set up together. They inform you that they have copied the keys you requested and have a lockbox ready to be installed at the next property after the open house. They also tell you they’ve created a spreadsheet on their tablet so potential leads that attend the open house can input their contact information. You thank them and let them know you will be sure to answer any questions about real estate transactions that may come up.

You set your phone down, feeling reassured to tackle the day. You know you have listing inputs to review, commission and referral fees to negotiate, and a showing to wrap up the evening. But you also know that while you handle the frontline of your business, your unlicensed assistant is there to keep your desk running. The two of you might be the best power duo yet!

For more information about the dos and don’ts of unlicensed assistants, please reach out to CREB^® Member Practice at crebmp@creb.ca. Also, check out CREB^®’s online unlicensed assistant course to inform and prepare your assistant!