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A realtor who duplicated a homeowner’s signature on several documents relating to the sale of her house never confirmed with the woman that she consented to her home being sold.
While Pang did not show up to his hearing before the tribunal yesterday, the charges claimed he was approached by the homeowner’s daughter who said she was acting on behalf of her mother who lived in China and wanted to sell the property, located in the affluent Auckland suburb of Remuera.
The daughter gave Pang electronic copies of her mother’s signature and initials.
But he did not obtain confirmation from the homeowner that she wanted her property, valued at around $2 million, listed for sale, or permission to use her signature and initials.
Pang also failed to properly check whether the daughter had been legally appointed to make decisions on her mother’s behalf.
Paul Pang has been found guilty of misconduct by the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal. Photo / Ray White
He went on to apply the woman’s signature and initials to a range of documents, including a pre-auction offer and a sale and purchase agreement.
The homeowner and her daughter, who is a friend of Pang’s, did not engage in the investigation into his conduct, and it was not made clear at the hearing whether the daughter had her mother’s authority to sell her property.
Counsel for the standards committee prosecuting Pang, Elena Mok, submitted Pang’s judgement may have been clouded because of his friendship with the daughter.
“It’s all very well for Mr Pang to say that the daughter said it was OK, but that’s not the same as having proper authorisation from the vendor,” Mok told the tribunal.
“It’s important for licensees to have that direct communication.”
Mok said Pang was aware of his obligations as a licensed realtor, pointing out he had asked the daughter whether she had Power of Attorney.
The daughter had told him that her mother was busy as she was the CEO of a company in China and it would be easier for Pang to communicate with her.
Pang did not tell his employer that he had not been dealing with the vendor directly but it came to light when his boss at Ray White Remuera noticed a discrepancy with the signatures on the various documents.
Mok said the legislation was clear in that a vendor must sign the sale documents themselves. It was not appropriate for a realtor to do it, even if he had, hypothetically, obtained the homeowner’s permission, she said.
“It’s pretty common sense that it would be inappropriate of the licensee to do that.”
The tribunal found Pang guilty of misconduct and indicated it would issue a decision regarding any penalties he would incur at a later date.
While Pang could not be reached for comment, Ray White Remuera, who reported his conduct to the Real Estate Authority, told NZME his employment contract was terminated as soon as his conduct was discovered.
The spokesperson said also the vendor withdrew the Remuera property from auction about half an hour before it was called.
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.
