A common thread among the recent storm of real estate insolvencies in British Columbia is that they are not usually one-offs. When there is one project facing insolvency, other projects by the same developer are very likely also facing a similar fate. The latest example of this is Richmond-based iFortune Homes.
Like Coromandel Properties, Align Properties, Quarry Rock Developments, and AimForce Development, iFortune Homes is now the subject of a wave of foreclosure proceedings, according to filings in the Supreme Court of British Columbia obtained by STOREYS.
As has been the case with all of the aforementioned developers, a majority of iFortune Homes' portfolio consists of projects at the pre-construction stage, many of which were not producing income for the owner as debt was accumulating.
The foreclosures against iFortune Homes consist of applications from five lenders on four projects, with two located in Vancouver, one in Richmond, and one in Burnaby.
Named as a guarantor in all of the proceedings is Feng Luan. Luan's relationship to iFortune Homes is not identified in the various court documents, but he is identified in one document as "Feng (Peter) Luan." The corporate website of iFortune Homes identifies Peter Luan as the company's President.
2465 W 41st Avenue, Vancouver (Elm41)
The most notable of the foreclosures is 2465 W 41st Avenue in the Kerrisdale neighbourhood of Vancouver, where iFortune Homes was planning a 23-unit strata building called Elm41 — presumably named after Elm Park, located across the street — that had reached the stage of accepting pre-sale registrations.
iFortune Homes owns 2465 W 41st Avenue under iFortune West41 Holdings Ltd., which is currently the subject of foreclosure proceedings initiated by both the first-ranking and second-ranking mortgage holder.
CMLS Financial, which was acquired by Nesto earlier this year, is the first-ranking mortgage holder and initiated foreclosure proceedings against iFortune Homes over a year ago, on August 18, 2023.
The foreclosure is pertaining to a loan agreement the two parties reached in September 2019 for the principal amount of $13,000,000. According to CMLS Financial, the debtors failed to make their monthly payments beginning in March 2023. After CMLS issued notices of default, iFortune Homes was then able to make some payments in June. However, in July, "When CMLS attempted to debit this monthly instalment from the Borrowers' bank account, CMLS was advised the account had insufficient funds," resulting in another default that prompted CMLS to pursue the foreclosure.
An order nisi issued by the Supreme Court dated September 21, 2023 confirmed the outstanding debt at $13,444,005.33 and set the redemption date — the date by which the debtor can pay the outstanding amount to halt the foreclosure — at March 21, 2024.
The Elm41 site at 2465 W 41st Avenue in Vancouver as of May 2024. / Google Maps
A separate foreclosure application was also filed last year, on August 30, by the second-ranking charge holder, HMT Holdings Inc., also known as Harbour Mortgage Corp, whose application is pertaining to a loan agreement reached with iFortune Homes in May 2022 for the principal amount of $6,000,000, which iFortune also defaulted on in July 2023, after failing to make an interest payment.
Named as respondents in HMT Holdings' application were also Vangood Group Holdings Inc., 1013676 BC Ltd., 1013667 BC Ltd., 1085830 BC Ltd., 1119530 BC Ltd., and 1323521 BC Ltd., which HMT Holdings identified as the corporate guarantors of the loan. Additionally, individuals named Yan Jing Wang, Feng Luan, Miao Wang, Kai Yu, and Hua Di Guo were identified as personal guarantors and also listed as respondents.
An order nisi dated February 29, 2024 confirmed the outstanding debt at $7,195,580.65 — with interest continuing to accrue — and set the redemption date at March 1.
HMT Holdings eventually obtained conduct of sale — the right to sell the property, which is often granted to lower-ranking charge holders first — and 2465 W 41st Avenue was listed by Simon Lim, James Lang, and Jessica Hathaway of Colliers. A buyer was unable to be found and conduct of sale switched over to CMLS Financial last month.
Additionally, in a somewhat rare occurrence, HMT Holdings also sought to sell other property owned by the guarantors in order to recover what they are owed. One property that the court ultimately allowed to be sold — in an order dated July 30 — is the single-family home at 2170 Ottawa Avenue in West Vancouver. Miao Wang, one of the personal guarantors, owns 50% of the property, which BC Assessment values at $4,732,000. A strata office unit located at 257-8680 Cambie Road in Richmond owned by another guarantor, Yan Jing Wang, was not allowed to be sold, however.
463 W 59th Avenue, Vancouver (Auberry)
The second property under foreclosure is 463 W 59th Avenue, near Cambie Street, where iFortune Homes was planning a project consisting of two six-storey strata buildings with a total of 63 units, according to a City of Vancouver rezoning report. iFortune Homes named the project Auberry, and it had also reached the stage of accepting pre-sale registrations.
iFortune Homes owns 463 W 59th Avenue under iFortune West 59 Holdings Ltd., which is the subject of an ongoing foreclosure proceeding alongside iFortune West 59 (BT) Ltd., iFortune West 59 (GP) Ltd., and iFortune West 59 Limited Partnership. The property is comprised of four single-family parcels — 441, 449, 455, and 463 W 59th Avenue — that were consolidated in August 2021.
The Auberry project planned for 463 W 59th Avenue in Vancouver. / WT Leung Architects
The foreclosure was initiated by 1282882 BC Ltd., the general partner of Magnolia V3 Limited Partnership, on April 17, 2024, pertaining to a loan agreement reached with the developer on March 23, 2021 for the principal amount of $16,000,000. The guarantors, also listed as respondents, were iFortune West 59 Limited Partnership, Xuling Holdings Ltd., and Feng Luan.
On July 25, the Supreme Court granted an order nisi that confirmed the outstanding debt at $17,802,232.66 — with interest accruing at 25% per annum — and set the redemption date at July 26, 2024. Conduct of sale was then granted to Magnolia V3, and the property has since been listed by Adrian Beruschi of CBRE at $20,000,000. BC Assessment values the property at $21,163,000.
The second-ranking mortgage holder is a company named Globalwide Capital Management Corporation, but Magnolia V3 noted that they were unable to serve Globalwide at the company's registered address of 505-1788 W Broadway in Vancouver because Suite 505 has been merged with Suite 508, both of which are currently vacant and have been listed for sale. Magnolia V3 also notes that "Globalwide is not in good standing with the BC Corporate Registry" and that the company's sole director, Xiao Yang Zhu, "cannot be located or served" and does not reside at his mailing address.
12320 Trites Road, Richmond (Venda)
By volume of land, the third foreclosure is the largest, consisting of 18 parcels — 12266, 12268, 12280, 12282, 12286, and 12288 Trites Road, in addition to 12188, 12200, 12204, 12208, 12211, 12215, 12219, 12233, 12237, and 12251 Buchanan Road, plus 12319 and 12299 Shinde Place — in the Steveston neighbourhood of Richmond, near Moncton Street.
All 18 parcels are owned under 1056023 BC Ltd., the subject of foreclosure proceedings initiated on June 11, 2024 by Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union. iFortune Homes is not named in court documents, but 1056023 BC Ltd. is controlled by Feng Luan, according to the Land Owner Transparency Registry. Luan is listed as guarantor in the foreclosure proceedings and iFortune Homes also lists the project, a 30-lot subdivision named Venda, on its corporate website.
Furthermore, a City of Richmond rezoning report from February 2017 for a 30-lot subdivision at the same location — collectively referred to as 12320 Trites Road — includes application documents with iFortune Homes' name and also identifies the applicant as 1056023 Holdings Limited Partnership, who Coast Capital identifies as the borrower and beneficial owner of the 18 parcels.
The Venda project planned for Trites Road and Buchanan Road in Richmond. / iFortune Homes
The foreclosure is pertaining to a first-ranking mortgage agreement the two sides reached in January 2021. The principal amount of the loan was not disclosed, but an order nisi issued by the Supreme Court on August 8 confirmed the outstanding debt at $5,226,330.96 — with interest accruing — and set the redemption date at February 8, 2025, after which the property can be sold.
According to Coast Capital, other charges on the land title include two certificates of pending litigation, plus a builders' lien.
6605-6665 Royal Oak Avenue, Burnaby
The fourth project is 6605-6665 Royal Oak Avenue in Burnaby, near Royal Oak Station, where iFortune Homes was planning "a high-rise market residential building atop a retail and rental podium," according to a City of Burnaby document from July 2019. The project is identified on iFortune Homes' website as Royal Oak & Grimmer, but never progressed to the point of being considered by Council, according to City of Burnaby records. A rendering on iFortune's website suggests the tower would have been around 18 storeys.
The land assembly consists of two single-family homes at 6605 and 6607 Royal Oak Avenue, plus the adjacent 18-unit apartment building at 6665 Royal Oak Avenue. BC Assessment values the properties at $2,393,000, $2,393,000, and $9,534,900, for a total value of $14,320,900.
iFortune owns the properties under iFortune Royal Oak Holdings Ltd., which is controlled by iFortune Royal Oak Limited Partnership and iFortune Royal Oak (GP) Ltd., all of whom are the subject of foreclosure proceedings initiated on May 28 by Mega International Commercial Bank Co. Ltd., the Canadian subsidiary of the Taiwan-based bank of the same name.
The foreclosure is pertaining to a first-ranking mortgage reached with iFortune Homes in October 2021 for the principal amount of $15,000,000. In December 2023, the two sides then extended the agreement to November 4, 2024, but iFortune Homes has since defaulted on the agreement, with the lender issuing a formal demand for payment on April 18. According to Mega, they are owed $15,440,557.53 as of May 23, with interest accruing at a daily rate of $3,863.01.
The Royal Oak & Grimmer project planned for 6605-6665 Royal Oak Avenue in Burnaby. / iFortune Homes
The second-ranking mortgage holder is 0980202 BC Ltd., who filed a formal response to the foreclosure petition on June 25 disputing a few aspects of Mega's petition and arguing that subordinate chargeholders are typically granted conduct of sale before higher-ranking chargeholders. As of September 12, the Supreme Court has yet to issue an order nisi that confirms the debt and sets the redemption date, and conduct of sale has yet to be granted.
Feng Luan is once again listed as a guarantor, along with Xu Ling Sun, whom the court has had trouble serving. In an application to the Court for alternate service dated September 11, Mega detailed visits to Sun's home in West Vancouver on nine different days by two different process servers that were to no avail. "To date, [the process servers] have not received any response from Ms. Sun regarding their messages and attempts to serve her," said Mega. Xu Ling Sun appears to be the director of Xuling Holdings Ltd., one of the guarantors on the loan pertaining to the Auberry project.
Sun also appears to be a family member of Peter Luan. The home in West Vancouver where process servers tried to serve Sun is also the registered address of Luan, as listed in court documents, and Luan himself confirmed to a process server that they share the same home address, according to Mega's application. Additionally, Xuling Holdings Ltd. also has the same registered office as iFortune Homes — 1120-6388 No. 3 Road in Richmond.
iFortune Homes
Across the four projects, the total outstanding debt is at $59,108,707 — with interest still accruing.
The four aforementioned projects appear to represent a majority of iFortune Homes' projects. Other projects listed in the portfolio on its website do not appear to be the subject of foreclosure proceedings and some do not appear to be owned by iFortune Homes, who also offers development services.
One project not listed on the company's website is Glitz, which they received some attention for in 2018. Glitz was planned for 6840, 6860 No. 3 Road and 8051 Anderson Road in Richmond (just one property over from the controversial Prima project) and was set to be an 11-storey mixed-use project with 75 units, 105,420 sq. ft of office space, and 12,371 sq. ft of retail space, according to a City report from October 2017.
While not under foreclosure, the Glitz project is the subject of a different kind of legal proceeding. For over two years now, the project, which never reached the construction stage, has been the subject of a legal battle over liability pertaining to alleged damage that was caused to sanitary lines owned by the City of Richmond to the north and east of the site, as a result of pre-loading — depositing a large volume of fill — the lands in preparation for construction. The civil claim was initiated on February 24, 2022 and remains ongoing, with various contractors still fighting, in filings as recently as June 2024, over whether there was indeed damage, whether the damage was foreseeable, and who is liable.
STOREYS reached out to Peter Luan on September 11, but has not received a response.
