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B.C. realtor suspended for accepting referrals from unlicensed brokerage website

A B.C.-based realtor has been suspended for a year after he was found to have been accepting referrals from an unlicensed brokerage – a Chinese-language website that promoted local listings to buyers in Asia.

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A B.C. realtor has been suspended after it was found he had conducted more than a dozen sales referred to him by an unlicensed Chinese-language website that offered Lower Mainland listings to foreign buyers.

Xiao Ming (Alban) Wang’s real estate license was suspended for a year, effective Wednesday, by the Real Estate Council of B.C. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 and enforcement expenses of $1,500 to the council, and complete a remedial real estate course at his own expense.

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Wang’s personal real estate corporation, Alban Wang Personal Real Estate Corporation, has also been suspended.

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In an agreed statement of facts released by the council, Wang said he was approached in September 2012, while he was with Amex Sunrich Realty, by a former client who said there was an opportunity to work with an investor, identified in documents only as FN.

At a meeting in Richmond, FN told Wang she had plans to launch a Chinese-language website showcasing B.C. real estate, as well as neighbourhood information, transaction histories, prices, and number of days on the market for each listing. The China-headquartered website, once launched, “attracted many potential buyers in China.”

According to the statement of facts, FN told Wang she would introduce him to customers, many of whom had already decided which listings they wished to purchase. Wang was required to arrange showings, draft contracts, and present offers, and in exchange for the referral, Wang would hand over 90 per cent of his commission. At no point did his name appear on the website, identified in the statement as vanfun.com.

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At no time did he inform his managing broker of his transactions with FN and the website. He also did not disclose to his referred clients that he was paying referral fees.

“Mr. Wang stated that he agreed to the arrangement because it was easy,” the statement of facts noted.

Between November 2012 and July 2013, Wang completed 17 property transactions — spread across Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, Port Moody, White Rock and Coquitlam — referred to him via the website. In total, Wang paid $208,881 out of his commissions to FN and the website.

On another occasion, Wang was found to have drafted and submitted an offer on behalf of a buyer he had never spoken to or met. The buyer was escorted to the showing by a staffer of the website.

Previously, Wang had been disciplined by the council for delaying the payment of collected deposits to a brokerage. In that case, he was suspended for two weeks, required to take remedial trainer, and ordered to pay $1,000 in fines.

The statement of facts was signed in late June, while the consent order was finalized in mid July. The details of Wang’s latest suspension were released by the council this week.

sip@postmedia.com

twitter.com/stephanie_ip

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