A managing broker says his REALTORS® are frustrated when a seller’s Realtor suggests, when they’ve been asked to arrange a showing appointment, that the property is subject to an Irrevocable Direction Regarding Presentation of Offers (IDRPO), when it’s unclear whether steps have been taken to put one in place. It may be that the seller’s Realtor has talked to the seller about the strategy of implementing an IDRPO  or not, but at the time the buyer’s Realtor makes contact with the seller’s Realtor, there isn’t one in place.

Rules of Cooperation, Rule 4.02 is relevant in this situation. The rule does not say that an IDRPO can only be put in place at the time of taking the listing. Rather, a seller can ask that an IDRPO be put in place at any time during the listing term, and rule 4.02 governs the requirements for doing that. It describes the seller’s Realtor’s obligations when their listing is subject to an IDRPO; for example, “You mustn’t present an offer or describe what’s in an offer” to the seller before the appointed IDRPO presentation time; “You must use the IDRPO form without alteration, get it signed and upload it as an associated document;” and you must make a reference to the details of the IDRPO (presentation date and time) in the Realtor Remarks.

Anecdotally, I hear that some members want to keep their powder dry by waiting to see what the market reaction is to their new listing. If there isn’t much action, the trigger isn’t pulled to put an IDRPO in place. In other words, the default setting of 4.02 applies to offers (if any) that are to be presented “without delay.”

But if the market suddenly heats up with the seller’s Realtor getting lots of action, they will talk to the seller about whether a delayed offer situation, facilitated by filling out the IDRPO form, would be appropriate.

I’ve heard members say, for example, “We put an IDRPO on the listing, but no one came to the party by making an offer. So we were sitting there on IDRPO day with egg on our faces.” They have a fear that the lack of offers will somehow taint perceptions about the property.

So the question becomes, “Do we put one in place when we list or do we wait to see what happens?” And perhaps decide, “If things get busy, then we’ll put an IDRPO on the place.”

It's a free country, as they used to say. Whether to have an IDRPO or not, and when, is the seller’s decision to make after consultations with their Realtor.

I’d like to point out to buyer’s Realtors that if an IDRPO form hasn’t been uploaded as an associated document with a corresponding reference to it in the REALTOR® Remarks, then the listing doesn’t appear to be subject to an IDRPO at that moment.

If you have a written and signed offer at the time, I’d suggest the seller’s Realtor has an obligation to present it to the seller “without delay.”

Here’s where the “but” comes in: an IDRPO instruction can be added at any time, potentially affecting when the offer you just wrote will be presented.

Let’s say there is no IDRPO referenced on the listing. You do a showing, and your buyer wants to write an offer. You alert the seller’s Realtor that you’ll be writing an offer (but haven’t yet).

Unbeknownst to you, other buyer showings have been booked, causing the seller’s Realtor to discuss strategy with the seller, resulting in the seller deciding to hold off offers until all the scheduled showings have been done. You send your offer in after the IDRPO has been signed but before it has been posted.

Remember, the rule gives 24 hours to post the IDRPO form and to amend the REALTOR® Remarks. This results in the expectation that your offer will be presented “without delay.” But the seller’s Realtor has now become subject to the IDRPO, which explicitly prohibits them from presenting any offer early.

In this scenario, there’s no breach, but if you’re the buyer’s Realtor, I wouldn’t blame you for feeling frustrated. Be sure to talk about this with your buyers so they aren’t surprised if it happens.

These can be delicate situations. You can throw down and put on the boxer’s gloves if you want. Strategy-wise though, why would you want to risk picking a fight when goodwill is so important in a negotiation? I’d suggest talking to your managing broker. Perhaps they’d be willing to contact the seller’s Realtor’s managing broker to confirm what the story is. They can remind your colleague’s managing broker about the seller’s obligation under Rule 4.02 to present offers without delay (if there's no IDRPO).

The seller’s Realtor’s managing broker may, in turn, remind your broker that they’ve just become subject to an IDRPO. It’s a bit of an impasse, which reminds me of the adage, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” You can only do your best. Keep your cool, get your offer in front of the seller, and hope for the best.

I wish you the best.

A city hall staffer contacted me this week asking for help answering our member’s question that had come their way. The member had been told by someone to “phone city hall” for an answer. I suspect their message had bounced around like pinball for a while before it ended up on the desk of the person who contacted me. The member was trying to deal with a clause inserted into the Contract of Purchase and Sale; namely, the buyer wanted to know how they could find and review a copy of the developer’s original disclosure statement and addendums.

I would have assumed visiting the Land Title & Survey Authority’s website and paying a fee would be a way to get this (now) historical document. It would be good information to access at the same time as doing a title search and getting the strata plan. But it turns out that isn’t the case.

When the Real Estate Development Marketing Act (REDMA) came into effect along with the Real Estate Services Act (RESA) in 2005, the Financial Institutions Commission (FICOM) administered REDMA and the Real Estate Council administered RESA.

When the Council merged with FICOM and other regulatory entities to create the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) in 2022, FICOM and all its records and responsibilities were moved to BCFSA.

The “REDMA Team” at BCFSA is the entity you need to contact for more information about getting a copy of a developer’s disclosure statement. If it’s a resale, the best way to track down a copy of the statement and any addendums is to contact BCFSA’s Records Department at records@bcfsa.ca. It keeps copies of all the disclosure statements filed by developers. The person requesting the disclosure statement must fill out a form, Disclosure Statement Request Form (bcfsa.ca). There’s a $38 retrieval fee, and a $1 fee per page to scan the document. Once everything is scanned, BCFSA sends out a PDF copy of the documents to the person requesting the file.

You could also try contacting the original buyer to get a copy of the developer’s disclosure statement from the original buyer, or you could contact the original developer or perhaps, their lawyer. Note, however, they may be neither under any obligation to provide you with the statement nor required to keep them on record after the sale of the units have been completed.