Richmond house half for sale tied to $23M debt case in China
More information is emerging about the curious case of a real estate listing trying to sell half of a five-bedroom Richmond home.
The strange listing selling an undivided half-interest would have the prospective buyer essentially become roommates with a stranger, and marketing photos included knick-knacks of a family’s living habits resting on counters and coffee tables. The price was a steal though — owning $1 million of property for an asking price of $750,000.
It turns out the family that owns the Lockhart Road property is tied up in a debt collection case in China, where the father owes approximately US$17 million (C$23 million).
The details came to light in a BC Supreme Court decision released this month. A BC judge blocked the father’s attempt to transfer his 50% ownership of the property to his daughter. His wife owns the other 50%.
The title transfer was filed the same day the company the father owed in China attempted to register its judgment on the title to the property.
The BC Supreme Court found the ownership transfer had a “number of badges of fraud,” including the father being insolvent at the time and it being initiated shortly after finding out about the debt.
What’s more, the family declined to respond promptly when they were served documents for the debt proceedings — apparently only getting involved when bailiffs listed the father’s 50% interest in the property for sale in June by posting a notice of intention to change the locks and show the home.
The real estate listing for the property has been active for about six months, the bizarre scenario not enticing would-be buyers. The listing agent Craig Cook even offers words of caution.
“Yes, unusual it is,” he writes in the listing description. “You SHOULD THINK of WHOM would I be sharing ownership with. You may ASK does the other half want to sell? WE DO NOT KNOW THESE ANSWERS.”
The couple’s daughter tried to convince the court she hadn’t seen the earlier court documents, but the judge didn’t buy her story since the Lockhart Road home had been her primary residence for the last 19 years.
The court has ordered the ownership of the home be restored to its original set-up — half owned by the father and half owned by the mother. The matter may proceed to trial if the company the father owes and the family can’t reach an agreement on costs.
Land title documents confirm the family that owns the home is the same name in the Supreme Court decision.