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PHOTO: Real Estate Agent. FILE

A former Ray White Remuera realtor, Yankai Pang, also known as Paul Pang, has been found guilty of misconduct by the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal. The charges stem from Pang duplicating a homeowner’s signature on various documents related to the sale of her property without obtaining proper consent.

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Although Pang did not attend his hearing, the charges revealed that he was approached by the homeowner’s daughter, who claimed to be acting on behalf of her mother residing in China. She provided electronic copies of her mother’s signature and initials to Pang. However, Pang failed to confirm directly with the homeowner that she wanted to sell her property, valued at approximately $2 million, or obtain permission to use her signature and initials.

Furthermore, Pang neglected to verify whether the daughter had legal authority to make decisions on her mother’s behalf. He proceeded to apply the woman’s signature and initials to various documents, including a pre-auction offer and a sale and purchase agreement.

The homeowner and her daughter, who happened to be a friend of Pang’s, did not participate in the investigation, and it remained unclear whether the daughter had proper authorization to sell the property.

During the tribunal hearing, counsel for the standards committee, Elena Mok, argued that Pang’s judgment might have been influenced by his friendship with the daughter. Mok emphasized the importance of licensees having direct communication with the vendor and insisted that having the daughter’s approval was not equivalent to proper authorization.

Mok pointed out that Pang, as a licensed realtor, was aware of his obligations and had even inquired about Power of Attorney. However, the daughter suggested that communication would be easier with her as her mother, the CEO of a company in China, was busy.

Pang failed to inform his employer that he had not been dealing directly with the vendor. The misconduct came to light when his boss noticed discrepancies in the signatures on the documents. Mok stressed that legislation clearly required the vendor to sign the sale documents personally, and it was inappropriate for a realtor to do so, even with hypothetical permission.

The tribunal found Pang guilty of misconduct and indicated that a decision on any penalties would be issued at a later date. Despite being unreachable for comment, Ray White Remuera, Pang’s employer, reported his conduct to the Real Estate Authority and terminated his employment contract upon discovering the misconduct. The spokesperson also mentioned that the vendor withdrew the Remuera property from auction shortly before it was scheduled.

SOURCE: NZHERALD