Real eState

Real estate fraud victims to be partially repaid: BCSC

Published

4 months ago

June 28, 2024

Investors who collectively lost millions in a real estate scheme will soon be getting a small portion of their money back, according to the B.C. Securities Commission.

The provincial financial markets regulator said in a news release Thursday that $2.1 million recovered from Siu Mui “Debbie” Wong and Siu Kon “Bonnie” Soo would be distributed to 92 investors who lost money in the sisters’ fraud.

According to court-appointed receiver MNP Ltd., victims of the fraud claim to have lost a combined total of roughly $33 million. Wong and Soo were permanently banned from the financial markets and ordered to pay a total of $22 million in penalties after a BCSC panel ruled on their case in 2016.

The dispersal of the recovered funds was approved in B.C. Supreme Court Wednesday, the BCSC said.

The penalties against the sisters stem from the acquisition of various tracts of land for development in Alberta, and the sale of shares in those development projects to investors.

The BCSC panel found that Wong and Soo committed fraud by misappropriating $1.2 million of investors’ funds, transferring shares to their husbands and adult children without receiving payment in return, “inflating the purchase price of a property and lying about it to investors” and “using mortgage proceeds for purposes other than developing the property.”

The sisters also withheld information from one investor about potential delays to the development, and illegally sold shares without a prospectus, according to the BCSC.

The BCSC obtained a freeze order for some of Wong and Soo’s assets during its investigation, and it was the sale of those assets by MNP that generated the bulk of the $2.1 million that will now be returned to investors, the regulator said.

“The receiver went to great lengths to gather assets for the benefit of victims of this devastating fraud,” said Doug Muir, the BCSC’s director of enforcement, in the news release.

“This case highlights the importance of using our powers under the Securities Act to enforce our financial orders and get money back to victims of investment fraud.”

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Real eState

Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.

Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.

Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.

The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.

Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.

They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.

The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

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Real eState

Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

Published

3 weeks ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.

Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.

Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500

Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438

Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103

Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359

Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent

How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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B.C. voters face atmospheric river with heavy rain, high winds on election day

Published

3 weeks ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.

Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.

The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.

Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.

More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.

Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.

An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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