Lotus Chung, a Sutton Group - West Coast Realty real estate agent who is running for Burnaby council, has received a 21-day licence suspension from the Real Estate Council of B.C.
The council, which is the real estate licensing and regulatory agency for the province, disciplined Chung for professional misconduct relating to a sale in November 2007.
Chung agreed in writing to return a non-refundable deposit to a client, did not tell her managing broker of the incident at the time, and did not make sure the client's purchasing contract included a subject to financing provision, the council stated in its decision.
Chung also did not advise her client to get independent legal advice about the contract, according to the council.
"Three years ago, my client, an elderly woman, signed an agreement to buy a
condominium. The agreement included a non-refundable deposit," Chung, a TEAM Burnaby council candidate, wrote in an email to the NOW. " Later, the woman, with six or seven of her relatives, came to my office to tell me that she could not afford to buy the condo."
Chung added she was intimidated by the arrival of the relatives, and by the behaviour of her client.
"The woman lay on the floor of my office and threatened to commit suicide if I didn't agree to get her deposit money back," she wrote. "I felt backed into the corner and was afraid she would carry out her threat. Under these frightening circumstances, I signed a letter written by her sister's husband stating that her deposit would be refunded."
She added that she would never have done so if she wasn't concerned that her client might harm herself if she refused.
Chung was the buyer's agent for a strata lot in Surrey. The purchase price was $360,900, according to the council's records, and the deposit was $18,045.
The council found that Chung had acted contrary to section 35(1) (c) of the Real Estate Services Act by stating in writing that she would repay the deposit or would cause it be repaid, which was false and misleading, according to the consent order on the decision.
Chung was also disciplined for not providing a copy of the written statement to her managing broker or keeping her managing broker informed of the real estate activities of the transaction, the order stated.
She also failed to ensure the contract on the purchase included a subject to financing provision, and to ensure that her client was aware of the importance of including or waiving that provision with the benefit of independent legal advice, according to the order.
Chung is suspended for 21 days, from Dec. 7 to 27, and must complete the real estate trading services remedial education course at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business, and pay $1,000 in enforcement expenses to the council.
"I have chosen to accept the disciplinary action of the Real Estate Council of B.C. with good grace," Chung said in her email.
"I am a good and honest Realtor and a decent human being. I will be a good and honest city councillor if elected," she added. "What happened to me in this situation, I would not wish on any Realtor or politician."
She added that she has been a licensed B.C. real estate agent for seven years and has never had a problem with the council before.
Fellow council candidate Ray Power wrote a response about the situation on behalf of TEAM Burnaby.
"The circumstances around what occurred appear unusual," he wrote. "We understand that Lotus was dealing with a volatile situation and a number of emotional people alone in her office."
Regarding the party's position on the disciplinary action, Power wrote; "We understand that Lotus has accepted full responsibility for what occurred three years ago and regrets that she made an error of judgment."
According to Tyler Davis, the communications and privacy officer of the council, the council's disciplinary action ranges from a reprimand, to a suspension for a specific amount of time, to a complete license cancellation.
"This ranks somewhere in the middle," he said of Chung's misconduct
He added that the disciplinary action was at the lower end of the scale.
"But, certainly, it's not just a reprimand, it's serious enough to deserve a sanction where we imposed a 21-day suspension," he said.
