The number of complaints has skyrocketed since the publication of the investigation by La Presse into real estate brokers Christine Girouard and Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, we learned during their disciplinary hearing on Wednesday in Brossard. This is what allowed the OACIQ syndic to identify a file where Ms. Girouard allegedly lied to inflate the bids.
It was while digging through consumer requests for assistance that investigators from the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec (OACIQ) discovered another address where there seems to be a ploy to create an artificial one-upmanship, explained the assistant syndic Martin Cayer, during the hearing before the Disciplinary Committee of the two brokers, who are trying to avoid the suspension of their license until the end of the disciplinary proceedings, in the fall.
This request for assistance was made in 2022. The seller said he was unhappy with Ms. Girouard’s services because she had omitted to mention when marketing his house that he wanted to sell it without “legal warranty” . However, by analyzing this file in depth, the trustee discovered that Ms. Girouard had transmitted false information during the receipt of the promises to purchase.
In full overheating, the seller represented by Ms. Girouard had received five promises to purchase for his property, the selling price of which was $349,700.
The first two bids were for $350,000, the third for $375,000, the fourth for $381,000, while the fifth was for $390,000.
Through the Immocontact broker communication system, the broker representing the buyers of the highest bid had asked Ms. Girouard, “Am I in the running or not?” »
“He inquired with Mrs. Girouard to be told that no, he is not in the race, relates the assistant syndic Martin Cayer. Then he makes a bonus. »
Based on false information, the buyer increases his offer to $405,000 and the seller accepts it, he says.
According to the assistant syndic, the protection of the public is compromised if these two brokers continue to practice their profession, because “these are actions that are voluntary, that are planned, it is a ploy. It’s repeated. This is not an isolated gesture.”
Since the publication of the La Presse investigation, 69 requests for assistance have been made to the OACIQ concerning Christine Girouard and 7 for Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin.
These requests for assistance are being analyzed and investigated by the trustee, who says that at this stage they already raise important issues for the protection of the public.
On Wednesday, the OACIQ assistant syndic and Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin testified before the Discipline Committee. Ms. Girouard will testify later in the fall at the guilt hearings, her lawyer said.
From the outset, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin informed the Committee of his intentions in the event that he was not suspended. “Reapply for my license, he said, I will look for an agency that is willing to take me under their wing. It is certain that being part of a team, for me, is essential. »
Mr. Dauphinais-Fortin is notably accused of having filed a bogus offer on behalf of his spouse at the time, with the aim of encouraging a higher bid in a file where his boss, Ms. Girouard, represented the sellers.
While the assistant trustee reported that Mr. Dauphinais-Fortin’s ex-spouse had been insistently urged to fulfill this promise to purchase, Mr. Dauphinais-Fortin said that he had spoken to his ex-partner about the project. spouse in the living room an hour before making the offer, that she trusted him and had signed.
According to Mr. Dauphinais-Fortin, it was his boss who asked him to make the offer because she knew he wanted to invest.
“In 2022, we are overheated, Ms. Girouard tells you ‘make me a promise to purchase’ and you don’t ask why? asked OACIQ lawyer Isabelle Martel.
“Because I go there according to the budget that we were ready to put in,” he said.
Ms. Girouard told the assistant syndic during the investigation that she did not know the ex-spouse of Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin and that she did not look at the names on the promises to purchase, only the price.
The alleged bogus offer from his ex-wife resulted in buyers paying $40,000 more for their home.
When the assistant syndic requested the alleged bogus offers from the RE/MAX D’ICI agency, they had disappeared. The assistant trustee had to turn to the electronic signature company eZsign to obtain them.
The decision of the Committee on the license suspension will be rendered this Thursday. Guilty hearings are scheduled from September 25 to October 6.
After Ms. Girouard and David Tardif, whose license has been suspended, here is a third star of the show Numbers 1 must go before the Disciplinary Committee. Mathieu Arsenault, a flamboyant broker who travels by helicopter, and his spouse, also a broker, Catherine Gosselin, have an appointment on November 7. Mr. Arsenault allegedly failed to verify the identity of a client while Ms. Gosselin must answer for illegal exercise or act and nominee.
