"Instead of saying 'let's let it go' and 'it's not a big deal,' well, it's a big deal to someone who lost," said Metro Edge Realty CEO Kevin Lynch. "So instead of waiting, we're being a proactive company."
“可能有人说倒卖合同那不是一个大不了的问题,但对于因此而賣了低價的屋主来说这是一个巨大的损失。”壹品地產的CEO Kevin Lynch說道:“與其說等等看,不如我們第一個站出來採取行動。”
Kevin Lynch, CEO of Metro Edge Realty says his company will not allow its real estate agents to engage in the practice of shadow flipping.
壹品地產的CEO Kevin Lynch說:“我們公司將不會允許我們的經紀參與倒賣房產銷售合同(由我們代理售出的房屋)。”
A ban on shadow flipping for one Metro Vancouver real estate agency
“This really isn’t a brand-new phenomenon,” said Kevin Lynch, CEO of Metro Edge Realty. “I remember when I first started I was over on the North Shore , the marketplace was blowing up and all the West Van guys were locking up property and flipping them.
“这並不是一個新的現象,”壹品地產的CEO Kevin Lynch說道:“我记得当我刚开始在北溫從事地產經紀工作時,在市场大熱的時候,很多經紀都利用倒賣銷售合同的手段去賺取更多的佣金。”
“ I always felt that’s not right. You’re taking the lift off these sellers where your licence dictates you should be representing them, not taking from them.”
“我一直觉得这是不对的。經紀应该盡職代表賣家,而不是从他們身上索取。”
A February investigation by the Globe and Mail showed some Vancouver realtors are using a mechanism called an assignment contract to flip residential properties several times before the deals close. Realtors interviewed for the story said the practice results in a price increase with each flip, with sellers often being unaware of the speculative nature of the deal.
Following a public outcry, the provincial government tasked the Real Estate Council of BC, a disciplinary body, with investigating the practice. An advisory panel was struck on February 22 and will report their findings in late May.
Metro Edge's policy states that the company's realtors cannot assist with or be part of any assignments the company has listed or sold. Lynch said he particularly wants to avoid the situation where two realtors working for the same real estate agency might be representing a seller and a buyer, respectively, in a deal where assignment contracts are being flipped and inflating the value of the property.
“For me the best way to ensure that we hold ourselves to a higher standard and hold our agents to a higher standard is being really clear about the fact that we have no tolerance for internal shadow flipping,” he said.
Kevin Lynch has worked in real estate for 26 years, Metro Edge is a new company and Lynch has ambitious plans to expand to seven offices around Metro Vancouver in 2016. He said he put the “no shadow flipping” policy in last week and has held training sessions for his realtors.
Kevin Lynch已经在房地产行業工作了26年,Kevin有著雄心勃勃的计划,將壹品地產在2016年拓展至覆蓋大溫的7間分公司。他说,他在上週已經宣佈了“无倒賣銷售合同”的公司規定,並對經紀進行了培訓。
Lynch said the practice is more common in commercial real estate, an area of the market with much savvier deal-makers than residential home owners. He believes shadow flipping in the residential market is being spurred by the extremely hot market that has emerged on the residential side over the past year. Detached home prices on Vancouver's west side rose 22% while east side detached home prices rose 31% over the course of 2015. “I’ve seen probably two or three similarly hot markets, but not so hot [as this one],” he said.
While this is certainly not the first “surge” of money to come into the Vancouver real estate market from China and Hong Kong, Lynch said, offshore money is currently coming into the market at “a higher lever than I’ve seen before.”
Shadow flipping banned by Richmond real estate firm
'Instead of waiting we're being a proactive company," says Metro Edge CEO Kevin Lynch
A Richmond-based real estate company is garnering attention by offering a no-shadow-flipping guarantee to its clients.
"Instead of saying 'let's let it go' and 'it's not a big deal,' well, it's a big deal to someone who lost," said Metro Edge Realty CEO Kevin Lynch. "So instead of waiting, we're being a proactive company."
Shadow flipping involves a real estate agent reselling a property numerous times at increasingly higher prices before finally closing the deal.
The agent collects multiple commissions by using an assignment clause in the real estate contract that allows for the flipping. Sellers lose out because they do not realize the highest potential price for their property, and buyers ultimately end up paying more.
The independent panel is expected to provide an interim report by the beginning of April, and a full report with recommendations by the end of May.
Kevin Lynch, CEO of Metro Edge Realty says his company will not allow its real estate agents to engage in the practice of shadow flipping. (Jacy Schindel / CBC)