New Actions Against Unlicensed Real Estate Services in B.C.

A B.C.-registered company and two B.C. residents have been ordered to stop providing unlicensed real estate services by the Superintendent of Real Estate for British Columbia, and two real estate licensees have received suspensions and maximum fines from the Real Estate Council of British Columbia for facilitating unlicensed activity.

Shangren Vancouver Settlement Service Ltd. and its operators Feng ‘Fanny’ Ni and Xiao Wen ‘Wendy’ Ye have been ordered by the Superintendent to immediately cease providing unlicensed services in B.C. The Superintendent found unlicensed services were provided to purchasers of homes and were facilitated through the use of Chinese-language websites www.vanfun.net and www.vanfun.com. A freeze was ordered on a company bank account for further investigation.

Parties to the Orders may request a hearing before the Superintendent or otherwise appeal the Superintendent’s Orders to the Financial Services Tribunal.

In July 2016, the Real Estate Council issued a related disciplinary order against licensee Xiao Ming ‘Alban’ Wang for facilitating Vanfun’s unlicensed real estate services. Mr. Wang’s real estate licence was suspended for 12 months and he was ordered to pay $10,000.

The Real Estate Council has also taken action against Xin ‘Selena’ Li for encouraging unlicensed activity by providing real estate services and paying referral fees to an unlicensed entity. In August 2016, Ms. Li received a seven-month suspension and was ordered to pay $10,000.