New Coast Realty fined $7,500 for unlicensed services

New Coast Realty, a fast-growing Richmond-based real estate firm, has been fined $7,500 by B.C.’s Real Estate Council two years after an auditor discovered the company’s director and other staff were involved in unlicensed services.

A September 2016 Real Estate Council consent order states that an investigation into New Coast Realty began in April 2014. It found the director at the time, identified as Y.W., and two other unlicensed staff were engaged in real estate activities that require a licence.

In one case, brokerage records showed Y.W. signed a commission agreement for a Vancouver home. In another case, Y.W. offered free rental services to the owner of a Richmond home.

The consent order states that in 2014, Y.W.’s picture was shown on New Coast’s website — as the “Real Estate Investment Marketing Director” — without indicating he was unlicensed. Another advertisement image showed Y.W. with a number of unlicensed staff.

“These images effectively held these unlicensed staff members out as people who provide real estate services,” the Real Estate Council’s consent order states.

The council found New Coast paid unlicensed staff for providing real estate services.

The council also found New Coast had committed professional misconduct by carrying a trust fund liability.

In June 2013, after a Maple Ridge home sale, a New Coast licensee deposited a $50,000 bank draft into the company’s general account rather than its trust account, the consent order states. The transaction was a “mistake,” but New Coast did not notify the council of the trust fund liability or take steps to eliminate the negative balance until four months later, the order adds.

New Coast Realty has experienced explosive growth, according to its website, which claims it made 352 deals in 2013, 955 deals in 2014 and 2,357 deals in 2015, for $2.7 billion in total homes sales.