Real estate broker David Tardif, star of the show Numbers 1 at Casa, has just had his license suspended. The Disciplinary Committee found him guilty of placing himself in a conflict of interest by buying the property of his client, a vulnerable man, himself.
Real estate star David Tardif, co-founder with his twin brother of Équipe Tardif, located in L’Île-des-Sœurs, will not be able to practice his profession as a broker from June 15 to October 12, 2023. For the Disciplinary Committee , “the conflict of interest is not only blatant, it is deliberate, institutionalized and constitutes a business model favored by David Tardif, writes the Committee in its judgment.
David Tardif is the second star of the show Numbers 1 who must go before the Disciplinary Committee. Repentigny broker Christine Girouard returns to the Committee this Wednesday with her business partner Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin. The couple is accused of having participated in a bogus bid scheme aimed at creating an artificial higher bid on at least four properties, according to the investigation by the trustee of the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec (OACIQ), namely two more than La Presse revealed in mid-May.
A former police officer, David Tardif has been investing in real estate since the late 1990s with his brother, who is also a former police officer. Together, they have “acquired, over time, an impressive real estate portfolio”, mentions their website.
As David Tardif “seeks to build a real estate portfolio while presenting himself as a real estate broker to potential sellers”, this other activity is likely to compromise his integrity and independence as a broker, says the Disciplinary Committee.
So that’s what happened when David Tardif signed a brokerage contract with Mr. Gendron for the sale of his apartment in a quadruplex in the borough of Verdun, in Montreal, in 2018.
During the hearings before the Discipline Committee in September 2022, David Tardif himself will describe his client as vulnerable while Mr. Gendron’s spouse will say that he is helpless and faces certain cognitive problems.
Living in a quadruplex in joint possession, Mr. Gendron had mentioned to the other owners of the quadruplex that he wanted to sell his unit for $165,000 and had refused an offer from one of them at $145,000.
When David Tardif signs the brokerage contract with Mr. Gendron, he makes him a promise to purchase his property the same day at $155,000. Mr. Gendron accepts it, but the co-owners of the quadruplex in joint possession exercise their right and reject the broker’s offer.
David Tardif then presented a new offer of $155,000 from his assistant, Ms. Bonneville, who was part of Team Tardif. The broker, however, refuses to send this offer to the other owners, who insist on having it.
Finally, Ms. Bonneville cancels her promise to purchase, citing that she will not be able to agree with the co-owners and that she will not be able to carry out the desired work in the dwelling.
However, two weeks later, David Tardif presents a new promise to purchase to Mr. Gendron, lower, at $150,000, which he still accepts. David Tardif buys through his company “Gestion Gabchar inc. “.
This time, the broker did not notify the co-owners and subsequently modified the promise to purchase to ensure that he was financed by Mr. Gendron by means of a balance of sale. According to the conditions he puts in the contract, David Tardif gets $80,000 interest-free over 5 years.
Typically, this type of financing is used by a homeowner to sell faster and earn higher interest on the loan than other types of investments available on the market.
On June 15, 2018, before notary Pierre Lacoste, Mr. Gendron transferred his undivided 30% of the building to Gestion Gabchar inc. and this transaction is executed without the knowledge of the other co-owners. A complaint was finally filed with the OACIQ in June 2019 by one of the co-owners.
In this case, the real estate broker cannot put on the market in such a way that he finds the best selling price, because he is seeking to obtain the most advantageous conditions for himself.
The Discipline Committee found David Tardif guilty of having required one of the co-owners to withdraw his request for assistance from the OACIQ, of not having informed the co-owners of their right to purchase and to refuse, as well as than having a brokerage contract with a client while at the same time making him accept his promise to purchase.
Although the judgment was rendered in October 2022, the suspension of the license is effective from June 15.
“None of the co-owners owns any part of the building. Each of them owns a share in the entire building,” explains the Chambre des notaires du Québec. If a co-owner wants to sell, he must first offer his share to his co-owners. The co-owners can also rule out a new buyer by reimbursing him the sale price.
It allows the buyer to be financed by the seller, who can sell more quickly, earn interest income from the loan he makes to the buyer and defer his taxation on the capital gain.
