A buyer provides a deposit cheque of $10,000 with their Promise to Purchase for a residential property. The cheque is made out directly to the seller. What action should the buyer's real estate broker take?

Question: A buyer provides a deposit cheque of $10,000 with their Promise to Purchase for a residential property. The cheque is made out directly to the seller. What action should the buyer's real estate broker take?

Answer options: ✅ Refuse to accept the cheque and instruct the buyer to make it payable to the seller's real estate agency in trust.

• Accept the cheque but immediately endorse it over to the seller's real estate agency's trust account.
• Advise the buyer that the deposit must be paid directly to the notary who will handle the deed of sale.
• Hold the cheque until the Promise to Purchase is accepted, then forward it to the seller's bank account.

Correct answer: Refuse to accept the cheque and instruct the buyer to make it payable to the seller's real estate agency in trust.

Explanation: According to Article 21 of the Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional ethics of brokers and the advertising of services, any deposit received by a broker in connection with a transaction must be deposited in their trust account. It must not be made out directly to the seller, as this circumvents the safeguards of the trust account.