Hi All,
Need some help. I am from Surrey, B.C. and purchased my first townhouse in New Westminster,B.C. I had found this townhouse on my own and contacted the realtor. He came to my work and had me sign a dual agency agreement. I had told him that I loved the home but was very concerned about noise as there was a unit on top of mine. He assured me there were no problems that the insulation was good and the previous owner had only stated that at times she will hear the boy upstairs jump to the bottom but it wasnt an issue. I asked him to see the minutes of this strata but he always had an excuse..they were not copied yet, he was busy, he forgot. He told me that I should hurry and put an offer in because the owner was thinking maybe she should just rent it out, he said he read the minutes (he lived in this complex as well as his supervisor, she was helping him and also on the board of directors) and he promised "just trust me" that there were no noise issues or anything else in regards to the unit. So I trusted him, I was afraid of losing the unit, and after the first weekend I already had a long list of complaints regarding constant noise from the unit above mine. After bugging him he finally dropped off the minutes but some months were missing. I also noticed that they were old and used, possibly his own, and ordered copies of the missing months. Almost all of the missing months referred to my unit, the former owner had wrote numerous complaints to strata regarding the neighbour upstairs. I was infuriated.

I contacted him and his supervisor (who also would have known as she sat on the board of directors for the strata) and he appologized and came up with lame excuses. After months and months of complaining to no avail I put the unit up for sale and sold it at a profit. I also tried to sue him for damages (moving costs, loss of my first time home buyers credit, stress etc)

The errors and omissions branch did not accept my claim based on the fact that I did not have cause to claim "damages".

I have recently talked with the Realty Board Of Vancouver and told them the situation, (I did not name names yet) they told me to try one more time and send all documentation to errors and ommissions and see if they can see the light.

Any comments or suggestions would be helpful and much appreciated. I know more now but it was my first purchase and I thought I could trust this agent.

You sold for a profit. You did not suffer any damages.

Whether or not a profit was made has no bearing on the fact that this agent acted unethically.

Also a good case for not accepting a dual agency.

I was speaking as to why they did not receive any damages from E&O. I agree that the agent acted unethically and I also agree that dual agency is not good for the client. The board should definately punish the realtor for thier conduct. However, the client did not suffer any actual loss since they sold their property for a profit. Did they disclose the noise issue to their buyer? If so, it doesn't seem to be an issue that negatively impacts all buyers. Why are you so eager to jump on other's comments?

Freak,

The question had Nothing to do with Ethics of the agent. The question was about why E&O denied a damages claim!

The answer to that was there were No damages as the party in question Sold the unit for a Profit. Had the poster filed for damages while still owning the unit the outcome would have most likely been different.

This had nothing to do with a Dual Agency issue, it was more of an incompetency issue.

I wonder if remmey fully disclosed the noise issue to the new buyers?

Yes, I did disclose the noise issue to my realtor that sold the unit for me.
Can anyone address my thoughts regarding damages?

I feel that because I had to sell I lost out on my first time buyers credit, had to hook-up phone, cable etc again, moving expenses and had to move my daughter to another area which caused us both alot of stress and heart ache, had to pay notary taxes etc again. Not only that but the time we spent there was a living hell dealing with the noise and the inconsiderate neighbour above.

Had he been honest with me I would never have bought the unit, and would have found something else and avoided the second move.

Appreciate your help.

R

Because you gained a profit from your sale, you don't have any damages. The best you can do is log a complaint with the local board for the lack of service provided by your realtor. You won't get any compensation for this. You gained experience and now know what to look for when selecting someone to represent you. I wonder why you didn't file a complaint and try to recoup while you were still living in the unit? You would have had a better claim at that point?

Yes, I would have had a better claim but while living there I was very stressed. I work full-time, single mom, daughter just started French Emmersion School, and I had all the noise from up stairs. Not only the noise but all the one on one talks to try to straighten it out and letters and calls to the Board of Directors.
It truely was a nightmare.
R

Remmey: Your question is a legal one. You should consult with an experienced local attorney who will help you evaluate whether or not you have a claim worth pursuing. Your selling price is just one relevant fact for the attorney to consider.