Local realtor Terry Paranych ordered to pay $96K in fines

Realtor Terry Paranych is shown in an undated photo. Supplied.

An Edmonton realtor’s licence has been suspended, and he has been ordered to pay tens of thousands of dollars in fines, and to complete a course, after the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) found he had misled clients, among other charges.

RECA said Monday that a Hearing Panel had suspended Terry William Paranych’s licence for three months, in addition to having to pay fines and costs of $96,000. Paranych has also been ordered to complete the Fundamentals of Real Estate course, and related exams.

Officials said the panel found Paranych had: acted recklessly, and misled clients in 14 cases, that in six cases, he had “engaged in conduct that undermines public confidence in the industry”, on two occasions, he didn’t make it clear that an unlicensed or unregistered assistant was qualified to trade in real estate, and in three cases, the panel found he advertised an incentive that wasn’t provided by and on behalf of his brokerage.

According to the order, the panel heard issues surrounding Paranych’s online advertisements dating back to 2012 and 2013, and found the advertisements were misleading and inaccurate.

According to RECA, Paranych will not be allowed to trade in real estate until all fines are paid, and the course completed.

The realtor released a statement to CTV News in response, and said five years before; RECA had started combing through past advertisements.

“In their review of thousands of ads and website pages they found 20 instances where my advertising did not meet their standards.

“I have decided that it is simply too expensive to continue to defend myself against what I believe to be an egregious fine and an effort to make an example to our industry. I am pleased to put this investigation behind me.”

Paranych said the sanctions don’t apply to or impact The Paranych Rental Communities, or Plex Developments Ltd. He also said agents with the Paranych Real Estate Team will still sell real estate.