A Richmond home builder, who prefers verbal contracts with no paper trail, managed to win $1.4 million for two axed luxury properties in Richmond and West Vancouver.

Yongfeng Enterprises was hired in 2015 by a couple to build a house on No. 2 Road in Richmond, just south of Steveston Highway, and also a house at 1360 Ottaburn Road in West Vancouver.

The builder made only a verbal agreement for the Richmond property, but did have a written one for the West Vancouver home, both for Yu Na Song and Bo Wei.

According to the contract, the West Vancouver house would cost around $1.2 million to build.

Yongfeng told the court the house was an investment property, according to the Weis, while the Weis claimed the property was initially meant to be the daughter’s home, but they sold it because they were “unhappy” with the construction.

Later in the year, Yongfeng – who are owned by Feifei Ren and Shao Ming Wang – was brought on to work on another house in Richmond, 11266 No. 2 Road, without a contract in place.

According to Yongfeng’s owner, Wang, he met the Weis several times to negotiate a contract for the Richmond project and told them he did not want to start construction without a signed contract. The Richmond house would cost around $4.5 million to build.

He started construction anyway after Wei, who was in China at the time, told him the contract was approved and he would sign it later when he returned to the country. Wei also sent him a deposit for the project.

The Weis, however, had a different version of events.

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