City refuses to disclose details of properties sold through Olympic Village receivership

Bob Mackin
Van. Courier

The Victory Square heritage building Vancouver city hall took over after the Olympic Village’s November 2010 receivership now belongs to a health food tycoon.

The 105-year-old, seven-storey Province Building at 198 West Hastings sold for $18.01 million in June 2012 to 0929767 B.C. Ltd., a numbered company whose only director is Nature’s Path organic cereal cofounder Ratana Stephens.

The building was assessed at $7.8 million in 2012 and $13.8 million in 2013. It is, coincidentally, across Hastings from the Flack Block headquarters of influential Vision Vancouver backer Joel Solomon’s Renewal Partners. Ratana and husband Arran Stephens are prominently profiled on Renewal’s website. A month before the transaction, Arran Stephens agreed to pay a $32,000 fine for illegally cutting trees at the couple’s $7.7 million Point Grey home.

Ratana Stephens said she “wanted to keep this very private, because it is a family investment.”

“We bought this building because we feel that we wanted to invest in a heritage building,” she told the Courier. “We are pleased to be caretakers of this historical building, a Vancouver landmark.”

City hall revealed in April 2011 that it assumed 32 Canadian properties appraised at $82.2 million from Millennium Development, the company that defaulted on $740 million owing for the Olympic Village. The approximate net value of the portfolio was $45.48 million.

By April of this year, the city said it grossed $34.86 million on the sale of 22 properties, including the $3 million paid by city hall for the vacant 177 West Pender lot. After deductions for existing mortgage payouts and closing costs, the city netted $26.04 million.

City hall’s communications department and Freedom of Information office both refused to identify individual buyers and prices paid or disclose how many offers were received and whether highest bids were chosen.

B.C. Land Title and Survey records show Polygon Development bought six of the former Millennium properties on West Esplanade in North Vancouver for a gross $47.72 million in May, including an entire commercial block and a parking lot near the SeaBus terminal.

Two of four ex-Millennium retail buildings in West Vancouver’s Ambleside area sold in summer 2012 to Pui Ying Christian Services Society (1846 Marine, $5.01 million) and Feaga Experts (1379 Marine, $2.108 million). Bids were due June 28 for the 1583 Marine Shoppers Drug Mart and parking lot, assessed at $6.98 million.

A deal for the $6.58 million-assessed 1327 Marine property fell through after an Oct. 29, 2012 restaurant fire. West Vancouver Police suspect arson and appealed July 9 for public help to solve the crime. A city communications employee, who refused to be identified, said the insurance claim was settled, demolition will happen and the property will be re-offered for sale.

Meanwhile, the site of a FedEx outlet at 4270 Dawson in Burnaby is under a binding purchase contract, but the transaction has not closed yet, according to the city communications employee. The property registry shows the land is owned by 0677201 B.C. Ltd., whose directors are Millennium’s Peter Shahrokh Malek and Shahram Malekyazdi. The address listed is the city hall-retained Farris law firm.

© Copyright (c) Vancouver Courier

Michelle Hopkins
Other

Dennis Hoy has been a landlord for more than three decades. The retired teacher rents out his summer home on the Gulf Islands, as well as two other residences he owns in the Lower Mainland.

“It’s been my way of being an entrepreneur and making extra income,” says Hoy. “I’ve had very few issues with renting out my island home but I’ve had several with the other two homes.”

Hoy tells tales of the renter who skipped out on a month’s rent; the one who let his dog run wild, leaving the home smelling of poop and urine; and another who left the home in such a filthy mess it took him days of professional cleaning services to get it ready for rental again.

So why does he continue to be a landlord?

For Hoy and a lot of Greater Vancouver homeowners, having a rental property or a rental suite in their home is the difference between owning a home and being renters themselves.

Get it on tape

Over the years, the veteran landlord has learned a thing or two about renting, and he has tips for anyone considering leasing out their premises. Hoy says that he does a tour of the premises with the tenant, and videotapes the whole thing, so that if there’s ever a dispute about damage, he has proof.

“I always get the tenants in the video too and I also videotape my expectations of them, such as maintaining the home in the condition they found it in, as well as the grounds,” he adds.

Run it like a business

Tom Durning, of the Tenant Resource and Advocacy Centre (TRAC), has one piece of advice for landlords: “Treat your rental as an active business.”

He constantly reminds landlords that if they deal with their rental property as any other business, they will have far more success and fewer headaches.

“I can’t tell you how often we need to remind landlords that this isn’t a passive business,” says Durning. “Like any business, if you don’t nurture it, it can get costly.”

“More than one-third of our calls come from tenants who tell us that their landlord isn’t maintaining the home,” he says. “If a landlord does the necessary repairs, they can deduct them from their taxes … so I still shake my head and ask why they wouldn’t?”

“I also tell landlords that they can avoid potential rental damage by simply conducting monthly inspections.”

In addition, he says, too often landlords of one or two properties don’t educate themselves well enough about the provincial laws that govern this type of business transaction. His tip: “A good landlord is an educated one; one who knows the rights of his tenants and his own.”

Rental Housing Council president and COO Amy Spencer agrees. She says that most landlords and tenants live up to their rights and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancy Act. However, Spencer recommends that landlords exercise due diligence in screening tenants, such as checking past rental and work references. And visa versa.

“I encourage renters to ask their potential landlords whether they are members of a professional industry association,” she says. “The BC Apartment Owners and Managers Association; Rental Owners and Managers Society of BC and Professional Association of Managing Agents all require their members to adhere to a code of ethics.”

Do your due diligence

In the end, both the prospective renter and landlord need to exercise due diligence before entering into any contract, otherwise it can be a miserable experience for one or both of them

Tips on how to screen potential tenants:
(Courtesy of Rental Housing Council)

• Ask for proof of identity, such as a valid driver’s licence or passport.
• Thoroughly check all references.
• Contact previous landlords. Ensure the person is a past landlord and ask about the tenant’s past rent-payment patterns and suitability as a tenant.
• Check the applicant’s financial suitability through a credit check.
• Confirm the applicant’s income is adequate to make rent payments.
• Ask how many people will be living in the unit and what the names of those people are.

A landlord must not violate a person’s rights when checking for suitability as a tenant.

Sign a contract

A written contract signed by both landlord and tenant ensures that both parties are agreeing to the same set of expectations. The BC government’s Residential Tenancy Agreement is available free online at www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/rtb-1.pdf. This six-page document lists everything from the landlord’s pets policy to rent increases, to repairs obligations and policies on overnight guests, as well as much more. By going through it together before signing, you set a businesslike tone to the relationship.

Avoid scammers

Vancouver has the highest rents in Canada for a two-bedroom unit, at $1255 per month. With so much money at stake, scammers like to target the rental market. Be aware of common frauds. Don’t risk losing your money, or even worse, your identity and banking information to a scammer. The Rental Housing Council gave us these examples of common scams.

Scams on landlords

• A tenant provides the landlord with fake ID and fake references. The tenant then provides a cheque for security deposit and first month’s rent, and moves into the suite. The cheque bounces, but by then it is difficult for the landlord to serve notice to evict. The tenant stays in the suite until the landlord can legally evict them.

• A tenant sends the landlord a cheque (usually international) for a few thousand dollars for the security deposit and first month’s rent. They tell the landlord they made a mistake, ask them to cash the cheque and send them the difference. Since the tenant’s cheque was international, it takes several days to go through the bank. By the time the landlord has sent the tenant the difference, the original overpayment cheque bounces.

Scams on tenants

• Someone posing as a landlord posts an ad on Craigslist or Kijiji for a place to rent. They use pictures from another listing or a real estate site. They tell the tenant they can’t show them the suite. The tenant meets the landlord offsite or sends them a cheque. On move-in day the tenant shows up to find the suite doesn’t exist, or is already occupied by someone else. In a recent example, the con-artist listed a suite for rent that was actually for sale. Posing as a Realtor he was able to con the concierge of the building into giving him a key, which he gave to the prospective tenant to view the suite without him. He then met her in a coffee shop across the street to sign the rental agreement, and she paid him $6,000 cash. She found out when it was time to move in that it was a scam.

 Where landlords and tenants can go for help:

The BC government has a number of good resources to help ensure a successful tenancy for both landlords and tenants.

• A comprehensive guide is available at: www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/Guides/ACT_English.pdf
• A checklist for tenants and landlords to use when they are considering entering into a tenancy agreement: www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/Fact%20Sheets/RTB-133.pdf
• A brief guide that outlines rights and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants: www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/Fact%20Sheets/RTB-129.pdf
• The Residential Tenancy Agreement: www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/rtb-1.pdf
• If a landlord or tenant has any questions they can contact the Residential Tenancy Branch. In the Lower Mainland, the number is 604-660-1020. Elsewhere, call toll free at 1-800-665-8779.

For a free copy of TRAC’s Tenant Survival Guide, visit www.tenants.bc.ca/main/?tenantSurvivalGuide

© 2013 Real Estate Weekly

Cheryl Rossi
Van. Courier

PROPERTY: L’Atelier building at 2556 East Hastings Street.

The building looks unimpressive with its collection of shops with lit signs at ground level. But the interior of the 1920s building that was transformed into live/work lofts in 1995 by Merrick Architecture is a revelation. Diane King bought a second-floor loft in the building as an investment property in 2006.

“I’d heard about this building on East Hastings and like most Vancouverites — I was born and raised in Vancouver — it was like East Hastings, oh my gosh,” said the opera singer and head of the voice department at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music.

“But when I actually saw the building, it was just so amazing,” she said. “The hallways are really, really wide and they have glass block floors and ceilings and so it’s like a solarium outside my door. I have hibiscus and bougainvillea and cacti and succulents. People are growing tomatoes and things in their hallways… plus there’s a big rooftop deck.”

King has become a booster for the area with its Italian delis, an array of restaurants and Donald’s Market just steps from her door.

“It’s really a spillover now from Commercial Drive in terms of attracting your hipster population and then lots of young families with kids,” King said. “It’s just a really, really vibrant, wonderful neighbourhood, much more interesting than Kits, which is a terrible thing to say.”

She bought a third-floor loft in 2008 from a painter and a potter, and now she and her husband are selling it to buy a house. “The day of the hippie-artist-painter-potter is dying, unfortunately or fortunately,” she said. “That’s life in Vancouver, isn’t it.“

© Copyright (c) Vancouver Courier

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