What a real estate broker does
Under TRESA, a broker is a registrant who has met RECO's additional education and experience requirements, including at least 24 of the 36 months before applying spent registered and employed as a salesperson, plus completion of the Real Estate Broker Program. Many brokers keep selling. Others manage offices, mentor new salespersons or review deal files. Every Ontario brokerage must also designate one of its employed brokers as broker of record, the person responsible for ensuring the brokerage complies with the Act and its regulations.
That responsibility is why the search matters. If you are opening a brokerage, adding a branch office or replacing a broker of record who is retiring, you need judgement on trust accounts, advertising, representation agreements and complaints, not only a strong sales history. Finch handles these searches discreetly, approaching brokers who are not actively looking and screening them on management and compliance experience before you meet them.
Typical responsibilities
- Supervise salespersons and review their agreements, disclosures and deal files
- As broker of record, oversee the brokerage's compliance with TRESA and its regulations
- Oversee real estate trust accounts and deposit handling with the brokerage's accounting staff
- Approve advertising and marketing material before it is published
- Recruit, train and coach agents, and respond to client complaints
- Continue listing and selling where the role includes a personal book of business
Qualifications and credentials
- Active RECO registration as a broker, which requires completing the Real Estate Broker Program
- Registration and employment as a salesperson for at least 24 of the 36 months before the broker application
- Management, office or team leadership experience for roles that supervise agents
- Working knowledge of trust accounting, record-keeping and FINTRAC obligations for real estate brokerages
- For brokerages outside Ontario, the broker or managing licence issued by that province's regulator
Who hires a real estate broker
- Independent brokerages appointing or replacing a broker of record
- Franchise brokerages opening new branch offices
- Commercial and investment brokerages needing a managing broker
- Developers setting up an affiliated brokerage for new home sales
Where we recruit real estate broker candidates
We fill real estate broker roles for employers across Toronto and the GTA, including North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Oshawa and Pickering, and for employers across Canada. GTA employers can meet us at our North York office by appointment.
What Finch checks before you meet a candidate
- Broker registration status and history on RECO's public register
- Experience supervising salespersons and reviewing files, with specific examples
- How they have handled a complaint, a deposit dispute or a compliance review
- Whether they plan to keep a personal sales business and how that fits your expectations
- Leadership style and fit with your brokerage's culture and mix of agents
Interview questions to ask
- Tell us about a deal file you stopped or sent back. What was wrong and what happened next?
- How would you approach your first month as our broker of record?
- How do you balance coaching your top producers with enforcing brokerage policies?