A top-selling real estate agent in Vancouver who sent out an email advertising how to circumvent the new foreign purchasers’ property transfer tax is being investigated by the Real Estate Council of B.C.
The council said it was aware of a statement by Mike Stewart of Century 21 offering ways people could avoid the new 15 per cent tax, including selling presale contracts to friends or family members who are Canadian citizens or residents.
Such promises are not allowed, according to Marilees Peters, a spokeswoman for the real estate council.
“We’ve contacted this licensee to advise them they need to cease these advertisements and we will be looking into the matter very closely,” she said.
Stewart’s message came just 24 hours after the B.C. government introduced legislation to try to cool Vancouver’s housing market. It brought in the 15 per cent property transfer tax after discovering that in the month of June alone nearly one in 10 houses in Vancouver were being bought by foreign owners, principally from China. The legislation also includes the ability for Vancouver to begin assessing a vacancy tax for homes left empty by investors.
Stewart sent out a mass email to potential clients on Tuesday suggesting he had found a solution to the property transfer tax.
He started out by saying that “we received some unfortunate news yesterday that may have a big impact on some of our clients who have purchased properties in Greater Vancouver that ARE NOT Canadian Citizen’s or Permanent residents.”
But he suggested his agency could help clients who have bought pre-sale contracts.
“For our clients and others who have bought presales we do offer a solution. Most of the presales bought in the last 24-36 months have seen significant increases in value,” according to his email, a copy of which was obtained by the Vancouver Sun.
“It is possible in many cases to assign the presale purchase contract to a family member or friend who is a Canadian citizen or resident. For those of you who do not have that option, we may be able to sell the presale to a third part at a profit to you,” the email suggested. It added that people could get more information by following a link, but that page has now been taken down.
Stewart said he wasn’t counselling people to find loopholes in the tax. Instead, he said his advice pertained to pre-sale contracts that aren’t yet registered in the Land Titles Office.
