A leading Chinese real estate agency, 5i5j Real Estate, was fined 30,000 yuan ($4,890) by the Beijing Housing Administration Bureau because it helped a homebuyer sign a housing sales contract online illegally, China National Radio reported Saturday.
Under the guarantee of 5i5j, the homebuyer reached an agreement with the seller to buy an apartment at 2.9 million yuan ($470,000). But the parties first signed a contract worth 2 million yuan on a government housing website, then the buyer paid an additional 900,000 yuan to the seller without informing the housing bureau.
Such illegal strategies are common, and have the goal of avoiding high taxes imposed on housing sales.
The agency's authority to sign housing sales contracts online has been suspended, the report said.
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