To the Editor,
British Columbia’s media has recently been focused on the flipping of high-priced real estate in Vancouver, with many realtors becoming profiteers in the process. No indication how many realtors are involved, but this type of flipping has been around for a long time, and is not limited to Vancouver, of course.
I had an 88 year-old neighbour in Parksville whose wife died in June 2012 after a long illness; he decided to return to his U.K. birthplace to live out his life with his daughter.
Needless to say, he was consumed with grief, and jumped at the offer of assistance from another neighbour whose relative was a realtor. My buddy gave me updates of how things were going; something smelled fishy, so I asked if he was aware of house flipping. He seemed to trust those he was dealing with, and his house sold in a few weeks. I drove him to the airport at the end of August 2012; next day the realtor’s sign appeared on his lawn. He was shocked to hear the house was being flipped, and the new asking price published on the realtor’s website shocked him even more.
He and his daughter filed a complaint with the Real Estate Council of B.C. On receiving a copy of the complaint, I finally became aware of just how much advantage had been taken of this elderly gentleman, and just how much his trust had been betrayed. Not only was his thinking impaired by grief, but apparently he was quite unsophisticated in business dealings, which had always been left for his wife to handle.
No doubt those who profit from any dishonest case of flipping will be receiving the karma they deserve. Although it is unethical, flipping is technically legal; it is alive and kicking on Vancouver Island, and presumably throughout the province. Yet there was no mention of curbing this insidious practice in the B.C. budget. I wonder if our government believes in karma, too?
Bernie SmithParksville
