Real estate agent fined $33k for professional misconduct

A real estate agent who handled landlord duties at two unsold Port Moody properties was recently hit with a $30,000 penalty following an investigation by B.C. Financial Services Authority.

Over a nearly 30-year career, Anh Thuy Hoang has worked for several brokerages including Royal Pacific Tri-Cities Realty and All Points Realty Group.

In 2018, Hoang made a deal with an owner to list their properties in Port Moody and New Westminster. The owner’s sibling also owned property in Port Moody.

“The properties remained unsold,” noted an order from B.C. Financial Services Authority.

In December 2018, Hoang and the owner made an informal deal that Hoang would provide unpaid rental property management services.

Hoang was not licensed to provide rental property management services at the time.

Nearly six years later, BCFSA got a complaint from the managing broker of All Points Realty that Hoang :“was providing unlicensed rental property management services outside of the brokerage in relation to three properties.”

The complaint spurred an investigation, and BCFSA found Hoang had been collecting rents at both Port Moody properties for more than two years and helped the owner collect money from tenants who were late with the rent. She also advertised the properties, showed them to renters, coordinated repairs, and negotiated with tenants for rent increases.

Hoang also arranged for property taxes on behalf of the owner, “using her own funds” between 2019 and 2021.

“At no time did Ms. Hoang pay or deliver to the brokerages . . . all money held or received from [the owner],” according to BCFSA.

Besides the $30,000 fine, Hoang was also ordered to pay $3,764 in enforcement expenses.

If Hoang fails to abide by the order, her licence can be suspended or canceled without further notice.