BC Financial Services Authority has issued a Consent Order that requires two Sunshine Coast realtors to pay $200,000 fines for professional misconduct. Joel Patrick O’Reilly and Denise Anne Brynelsen are required to each pay a fine of $100,000 for serious professional misconduct.
Both trading representatives with RLPS Limited Partnership dba Royal Lepage Sussex in Sechelt were found to have committed professional misconduct about a real estate transaction involving a waterfront property in Pender Harbour.
In a press release, the BCFSA said Joel Patrick O’Reilly and Denise Anne Brynelsen committed professional misconduct when they acted as limited dual agents in purchasing and selling a waterfront property and failed to disclose information regarding the property to their clients. Despite knowing the property contained a non-conforming cabin on foreshore tenure not permitted by the Crown as a permanent residence, they failed to disclose this to buyers and misleadingly advertised the property as suitable for more than seasonal use.
O’Reilly and Brynelsen are subject to the following disciplinary measures: Payment of a $100,000 penalty each, payment of $2,500 in enforcement expenses each and enrollment in and completion of the Real Estate Trading Services Remedial Education Course.
Through its investigation, BCFSA determined that O’Reilly and Brynelsen understood the property contained a cabin on foreshore tenure that the Crown did not permit as a permanent residence. According to the press release, they advertised property with false and misleading representations about the cabin’s use. They understood that their buyer clients were seeking a permanent residence and failed to conduct independent verifications on restrictions on using the cabin and assignment of the foreshore tenure.
They also failed to disclose to their buyer clients all material information about the property, namely that the Crown did not permit the cabin to be used as a permanent residence and that the foreshore tenure was subject to a 5-year lease, which had expired.
“It is imperative that licensees disclose all pertinent information to their clients about a property or transaction,” said Jonathan Vandall, BCFSA’s Senior Vice President, Compliance and Enforcement. “In this case, the licensees’ failure to disclose information was harmful to their clients. The penalties handed down are reflective of the severity of their misconduct and serve as a reminder to all real estate licensees about the importance of disclosing crucial information to clients.”
