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Housing corp sale not an inside job, say realtors Coldwell Banker reps say they were misrepresented in media report
Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Friday, August 23, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Two prominent Yellowknife realtors are fuming after a recent media report alleged they were part of an inside deal.
Rod Stirling, left, and Ken Pearman are upset at the way the realtor business in Yellowknife was represented in a recent media report that alleges a house, on Latham Island, was unfairly sold to an employee of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. - Daniel Campbell/NNSL photo |
The report, which aired on Tuesday, raised questions about a house on Latham Island being sold by the NWT Housing Corporation to one of its own employees.
In the story, Ryan Sawatzky, who runs the Yellowknife Property Guys franchise, said the property had lots of inquiries but his friend did have not enough time to make an offer.
Sawatzky, who was presented as a realtor in the report, is not an actual realtor, said Rod Stirling, co-owner of Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Yellowknife.
"He can only take pictures and post it on a website," said Stirling.
On the Propertyguys.com website, a legal disclaimer states, "We are not real estate brokers or agents."
"(The media) might as well have phoned someone from Yk Trader and asked them how a sale went," Stirling said.
And that's just the beginning of Stirling's problem with the report. He said it incorrectly shows Ken Pearman, another realtor with Coldwell Banker, as the agent who sold the property.
"I did not sell the house, another realtor sold it," Pearman said.
The report also alleges Pearman helped the NWT Housing Corporation employee seal the deal on the house.
"If a person wants to get in on these things you've got to cozy up to the realtor," Sawatzky said in the report.
The report ends by naming Pearman as "that realtor," saying he refused to answer any questions on the deal.
Pearman said that's just not true. He said the reporter called asking for confidential information such as what his commission was, who bought the property and how much they bought it for. Information Pearman said he's unable to provide because of privacy concerns.
Pearman said NWT Housing Corporation hired Coldwell Banker to sell the surplus property at 77 Morrison Drive. Coldwell advertised the home, receiving 1,133 hits online for its ad between July 25 and Aug. 6, when the property was sold.
"The first 10 days is your honeymoon period, those are the most active days of your listing. This is a small market, it's not Toronto or Vancouver," Pearman said.
Coldwell Banker sold the property for slightly more than the appraised value of $220,000. The property was sold after being on the market for 12 days.
"We did a stupendous job," Stirling said.
Pearman said he doesn't know the NWT Housing Corporation employee who bought the property. He said prospective buyers had plenty of time to make offers on the house. Coldwell Banker showed the property to 25-30 buyers in the 12 days it was on the market, generating three offers.
The NWT Housing Corporation employee's offer was simply the highest and had the best terms, Stirling said.
"Everyone had a fair shot at the property."
In an e-mail to Yellowknifer, Jeff Anderson, vice-president of finance and infrastructure service for NWT Housing Corporation, said they were satisfied the sale was fair and the corporation followed approved guidelines for disposing of the property.
Yellowknifer contacted Property Guys in an attempt to get a hold of Sawatzky but was told he was out of town and could not be reached.
Stirling said as realtors, they're guided by a strict code of ethics.
"You don't tell anyone else what someone offered."
There's no way the housing employee would know what the other offers were, Stirling said. The offers were sealed and delivered to the representative from the housing corporation.
Pearman and Stirling, who have each been in the real estate business for 30 years, are incredulous about the allegations that they'd take part in an inside deal.
"After selling 200-300 houses a year for the last 30 years, are we really going to sell our soul out for one god-damned real estate deal?" Pearman asked.
Stirling said they've contacted the media organization that ran the report and are seeking advice on legal action.
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