Permanent Surrender of Licence

REAL ESTATE COUNCIL OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

In the matter of the Real Estate Services Act

S.B.C. 2004 ch. 42

NOTICE OF LICENSEE RESIGNATION

Balhar Mangat, while licensed as a representative with Money Saver Realty Ltd, Surrey; Realty One Homes Ltd., Surrey; Envoy Realty Ltd. dba Sutton Premier Realty, Surrey; Homevestors Wealth Corp., Surrey; Homevestors Realty Ltd., Surrey; and Invigo Realty Ltd., Surrey, requested the Real Estate Council of British Columbia to discontinue disciplinary proceedings against him as he had decided to permanently retire from real estate practice. Mr. Mangat was facing disciplinary hearings into his professional conduct and would have been required to appear before a hearing committee of the Real Estate Council to respond to these allegations.

The allegations against Mr. Mangat in the Notice of Discipline Hearing were:

The Discipline Hearing Committee will determine whether Mr. Mangat, in the provision of certain real estate services to the Complainant and to the Second Complainant:

1. in connection with a rent-to-own arrangement ("Transaction") in which JD ("Investor") purchased a residential property on Burr Drive in Sooke, BC ("Property") from JB by Contract of Purchase and Sale dated May 22, 2009 ("Contract") and subsequently entered into a lease agreement and an option agreement dated June 1, 2009 with RW and MW ("Complainants") from which the Complainants subsequently wished to withdraw after they obtained sufficient financing to allow them to purchase the Property in their own names:
   1. failed, contrary to section 27(1) of the Real Estate Services Act, to promptly deposit the Complainants' $5,000 deposit cheque dated May 8, 2009 ("Deposit") into the trust account of Homevestors Wealth Corp. ("Homevestors Wealth"), during a time when it was licensed, in that around May 10, 2009, he deposited it into a Homevestors Wealth bank account that was not a trust account;
   2. failed, contrary to section 5-10 of the Council Rules, to disclose to the Complainants the nature of the representation he was providing in relation to an assignment contract dated June 9, 2009 ("Assignment Contract") between the Complainants as assignees and the Investor as assignor in that, although the Assignment Contract indicated that he had an agency relationship with the Complainants, he provided the Complainants with no representation but rather was solely representing the interests of the Investor;
   3. failed, contrary to section 3-3(1)(d) of the Council Rules, to advise the Complainants to obtain independent legal advice regarding the Transaction and, in particular, regarding the Assignment Contract;
   4. directed Homevestors Wealth to pay out the Deposit to the Investor without proper authority, contrary to section 30(1) of the Real Estate Services Act.
2. provided real estate services, contrary to section 7(3)(a) of the Real Estate Services Act, other than to the brokerages with which he was licensed, namely Money Saver Realty Ltd., Realty One Homes Ltd., and Envoy Realty Ltd. dba Sutton Premier Realty ("Sutton") (collectively "Brokerages") or all or some of them, in that he acted on behalf of and promoted investor rent-to-own programs for Homevestors Wealth, which at relevant times was not licensed under the Real Estate Services Act;
3. received remuneration, contrary to section 7(3)(b) of the Real Estate Services Act, while providing real estate services on behalf of Homevestors Wealth, separate from the Brokerages, or all or some of them, in that he received remuneration from Homevestors Wealth relating to services it provided to investor members, including the Investor;
4. provided real estate services, contrary to section 6-2 of the Council Rules, in that he provided real estate services on behalf of Homevestors Wealth, although Homevestors Wealth was not a principal in relation to the real estate services;
5. allowed remuneration to be paid to Homevestors Wealth, contrary to section 6-1 of the Council Rules, in relation to the real estate services he had provided to members of Homevestors Wealth; and
6. failed, contrary to section 3-2(2) of the Council Rules, to keep his managing broker informed of the real estate services he was providing to investor members of Homevestors Wealth, including the Investor.
7. contravened section 7(3)(a) of the Real Estate Services Act, by providing real estate services in connection with a property on 212th Street in Langley, BC ("Second Property") to the complainant, JN, ("Complainant") and to PA through and on behalf of Homevestors Wealth, at the time an unlicensed entity, rather than through and on behalf of Realty One Homes Ltd., the brokerage with which he was licensed;
8. contravened section 7(3)(b) of the Real Estate Services Act, by accepting remuneration in the form of membership fees and a rent-to-own placement fee directly from the Complainant through Homevestors Wealth, for the provision of real estate services;
9. failed, contrary to section 3-2(1)(b) of the Council Rules, to promptly provide his managing broker with the original or a copy of the trading records referred to in section 8-5(2) of the Council Rules for a real estate transaction involving the acquisition by an original buyer of a residential property, the substitution of a new buyer for the original buyer, and the establishment of a rent-to-own arrangement between the new buyer and a third party ("Second Transaction");
10. failed, contrary to section 3-3(1)(i) of the Council Rules, to take reasonable steps to avoid a conflict of interest when he assigned a Contract of Purchase and Sale dated June 27, 2008 ("Second Contract") to the Complainant but failed to disclose that he had an interest in the Second Contract as a principal of Homevestors Wealth, provided agency representation to Homevestors Wealth, and undertook to act as the Complainant's representative;
11. failed, contrary to section 3-3(1)(j) of the Council Rules, to promptly and fully disclose his conflict of interest to the Complainant;
12. failed, contrary to section 3-4 of the Council Rules, to act with reasonable care and skill when providing real estate services by advising the Complainant that, although the bylaws for the strata corporation for the Second Property ("Strata") prohibited rentals, the Complainant would be permitted to rent the Second Property to PA as a rent-to-own tenant;
13. failed, contrary to section 3-4 of the Council Rules, to act with reasonable care and skill when providing real estate services by advising PA that, although the bylaws for the Strata prohibited rentals, he would be permitted to rent the Second Property from the Complainant as a rent-to-own tenant;
14. failed, contrary to section 5-9(3), (4) and (5) of the Council Rules, to disclose his interest in the trade when Homevestors Wealth, a corporate entity of which he was a principal, assigned the Second Contract to the Complainant and he provided trading services to Homevestors Wealth; and
15. failed, contrary to section 5-10(b)(i) and (iii) of the Council Rules, to disclose both that he would be providing trading services to more than one person in connection with the Second Transaction and the nature of his relationship to each of these persons.

There has been no discipline hearing or finding of fact with respect to these allegations, and no admissions to these allegations by Mr. Mangat.

Considering the fact that there is likely no greater disciplinary sanction than not being licensed to act again, the Real Estate Council agreed with Mr. Mangat's request. The lifetime ban on Mr. Mangat's licensing under the Real Estate Services Act was effective as of June 18, 2013, although he surrendered his licence to the Real Estate Council on August 26, 2010.