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Three real estate licensees penalized over conflicts of interest and brokerage oversight failures during a property sale
Enforcement actions, including more than $126,000 in combined penalties and expenses, reinforce BCFSA’s expectations for real estate licensees to protect clients’ interests.
BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) has accepted the consent order proposals of real estate licensees Ashley Doherty-Tullis, Tyler Willis, and Brenda Crawford with findings of professional misconduct related to conflicts of interest, disclosure obligations, and brokerage oversight.
BCFSA’s investigation involved a 2023 property transaction in Tulameen, B.C. Willis and Doherty-Tullis had been working as a real estate team and co-owned a brokerage where Crawford was the managing broker. As listing agents for the property, Willis and Doherty-Tullis had access to confidential seller information. They deregistered their team, leaving Doherty-Tullis as the sole listing agent, while Willis represented the buyers.
BCFSA found that Doherty-Tullis created a conflict of interest when she referred her co-listing agent, Willis, to act for the buyers and advised the sellers to remove him from the listing contract. She did not tell her clients about the conflict or fully explain the risks of Willis changing sides, including that Willis would now owe his duties to the buyers, not the sellers. She also breached the sellers’ confidentiality by telling the buyers the sellers had not received any offers on the property. Doherty-Tullis agreed to pay a penalty of $70,769.68, complete remedial education, and pay $2,475 in enforcement expenses to BCFSA.
BCFSA determined that Willis failed to take reasonable steps to avoid a conflict of interest when he represented the buyers after originally acting for the sellers as their listing agent. He did not disclose the conflict in writing or obtain written agreement required from all parties. As part of the consent order, Willis agreed to pay a $40,000 discipline penalty, pay an additional penalty of $9,011.25 representing the remuneration he received from the transaction, complete remedial education, and pay $2,300 in enforcement expenses.
As managing broker, Crawford admitted she failed to ensure Willis obtained written conflict of interest agreements from both the sellers and the buyers. Crawford agreed to complete additional education and pay $1,500 in enforcement expenses.
BCFSA is committed to building and maintaining confidence in British Columbia’s real estate market through proactive supervision and enforcement when professional standards are not met.
Additional information
Media contact:
Kate Bilney
Manager, Communications media@bcfsa.ca
Visit: www.bcfsa.ca
