Three B.C. real estate licensees have been ordered to pay more than $126,000 in combined penalties and enforcement expenses after two agents dissolved their real estate team and went on to represent opposite sides of a property sale.

The BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) announced the disciplinary action on Oct. 21 against Ashley Doherty-Tullis, Tyler Willis and managing broker Brenda Crawford, all associated with Royal LePage Princeton Realty.

As listing agents for the property, Willis and Doherty-Tullis had access to confidential seller information. They deregistered their team, leaving Doherty-Tullis as the sole listing agent, while Willis later came to represent the buyers.

“BCFSA found that Doherty-Tullis created a conflict of interest when she referred her co-listing agent, Willis, to act for the buyers and advised the sellers to remove him from the listing contract,” reads a BCFSA news release. “She did not tell her clients about the conflict or fully explain the risks of Willis changing sides, including that Willis would now owe his duties to the buyers, not the sellers.”

Doherty-Tullis received the largest penalty, $70,769.68, plus $2,475 in enforcement expenses. Willis was ordered to pay a $40,000 disciplinary penalty, an additional $9,011.25 representing his commission from the transaction, and $2,300 in enforcement expenses.

Crawford was ordered to pay $1,500 in enforcement expenses and complete additional education.

 

Real estate team dissolves before sale

 

The case centres on a 2023 property sale in Tulameen, B.C., an unincorporated community in the Similkameen region of south-central British Columbia.

According to the consent orders, Doherty-Tullis and Willis co-owned Royal LePage Princeton Realty and operated as the Willis Tullis Team, with Crawford serving as managing broker.

In August 2023, the two agents jointly listed a property for a retired couple planning to relocate to the Okanagan to be closer to family.

The property was initially listed for $940,000, with the asking price subsequently reduced twice to $899,000.

On Oct. 2 of that year, prospective buyers contacted Doherty-Tullis about viewing the property. According to the consent order, the buyers were a young family interested in purchasing a recreational property in Tulameen. They had a mutual friend with Doherty-Tullis and saw her and Willis’ names on the property’s listing. 

The following day, Doherty-Tullis applied to deregister the real estate team, a request BCFSA approved on Oct. 6.

After showing the property to the prospective buyers, Doherty-Tullis recommended they work with Willis.

According to the consent order, she told the buyers via text message, “I can get my business partner Tyler Willis to contact you.”

She subsequently asked the sellers to sign an amendment removing Willis from their listing agreement, allowing him to represent the buyers while she continued representing the sellers.

In a text message reproduced in the consent order, Doherty-Tullis told the sellers, “To better serve our clients we have deregistered our team and will work together still when we can!”

However, BCFSA found Doherty-Tullis failed to fully explain the consequences of that arrangement, including that Willis would now owe his duties to the buyers rather than the sellers, despite previously having access to confidential information about the property.

The regulator also found she breached the sellers’ confidentiality by telling the buyers the property had not received any offers.

 

Sellers ‘shocked’ by low offer

 

The buyers initially offered $725,000.

According to the consent orders, the sellers had previously told Doherty-Tullis they would consider offers of $850,000 or more. They also had an accepted offer on another property in Peachland, B.C., conditional on selling their Tulameen home.

Following several counteroffers, the parties ultimately agreed on a sale price of $800,000.

During negotiations, the buyers told Willis by text that they wanted to counter at $800,000. Willis replied, “I’m guessing that will be too low but I will send to you for sigs?”

The buyers responded: “Worth a shot as they’ve had no offers since it’s been listed in August, we will wait to get the contract for signatures!!”

During BCFSA’s investigation, the sellers said they were shocked by the initial offer and questioned whether the buyers had access to information they should not have had.

The buyers, meanwhile, told investigators they were unaware of Willis’s previous relationship with the sellers or the property.

Willis admitted he had not disclosed that previous relationship to the buyers. He also failed to obtain the required written conflict-of-interest agreements from both parties.

The consent orders do not establish that Willis disclosed confidential seller information to the buyers.

 

Commission arrangement detailed

 

The consent orders also reveal that Willis agreed to pay a 25 per cent referral fee from his commission.

When the transaction closed in November 2023, Doherty-Tullis received $12,015 in listing commission and another $3,003.75 from the buyer-side commission. Willis received the remaining $9,011.25.

That $9,011.25 was subsequently included in his disciplinary penalty.

Both agents were also ordered to complete remedial education at their own expense.

 

Managing broker also disciplined

 

Crawford admitted it was a mistake to allow Willis to represent the buyers without ensuring the necessary conflict-of-interest agreements were signed.

According to her consent order, Crawford acknowledged that “a conflict of interest form should have been signed” before Willis wrote the buyers’ offer.

Under her consent order, she must complete the Broker’s Business Planning and Financial Management Licensing Course at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business within four months or have her managing broker licence cancelled.

BCFSA received the original complaint in October 2023. The three consent orders were finalized between September and October 2026.