FILE PHOTO
Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK
March 21, 2024 - 7:00 PM
Lower Mainland realtor Gobinder Kaur Takhar has surrendered her real estate licence and agreed to pay fines and fees of $57,000 after manipulating three sisters in a Chilliwack real estate deal.
While she consented to a BC Financial Services Authority order earlier this month, the real estate deal took place in 2017.
Three sisters, who are identified only by their initials in the financial services report, received a small inheritance and wanted to grow that through a real estate investment in a rental property in early 2017.
“All three sisters were in a position of financial hardship: PG was widowed and had a daughter to support; CJ was divorced and single with a son to support; and BA had three daughters, the youngest with special needs,” the report says.
“They were inexperienced with real estate investments.”
They initially worked with one realtor. Takhar filled in for that realtor for vacation coverage and had brief dealings with the sisters during that time.
On July 31, 2017, the sisters, through the first realtor, submitted a bid of $350,000 for a Chilliwack property. It was rejected.
That same day, a company signed a contract to buy that property for $405,000 and 10 days later contracted to buy the neighbouring property for $370,000.
The sole director and minority shareholder of that company was Takhar’s spouse and her son was the company’s real estate agent.
At about that same time, Takhar met with one of the sisters and asked if they were interested in having the first property assigned to them for $405,000.
In early September, the sisters dropped their real estate agent and later met with Takhar who, they said, told them they would have to buy both properties if they wanted the first one.
They also said Takhar told them she had another buyer interested in the properties and they could flip them for a profit before the deal closed.
Takhar denied talking about flipping the properties.
The sisters agreed to the deal, believing it totalled $775,000.
On Oct. 15, 2017, Takhar contacted one of the sisters about completing the deal and told her the total price was $850,000 because they had to pay $75,000 in “assignment fees."
“The sisters say this discussion came as a surprise as they thought Ms. Takhar was going to assist them in finding new buyers to assign the properties for a profit prior to closing and they relied on this information when deciding to purchase the properties by assignment,” the report says.
“They say that the concept of the assignment fee was not explained to them, and they believed they were purchasing for the original purchase price for both properties. They say that Ms. Takhar did not explain that she was not acting on their behalf.”
That left the sisters short of money.
“In order to complete the transactions, the sisters had to obtain financing from other sources, including cashing in personal investments and borrowing money from family members, thereby suffering financial hardship,” the report says.
The deal closed on Nov. 15, 2017, and the sisters filed their complaint two days later.
Takhar voluntarily surrendered her license in August 2020.
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