Seller seeks buyer with bitcoin for Victoria property

A vacant lot in an upscaleVictoria neighbourhood is for sale for $2.5 million or the equivalent in bitcoin.

Hugo Donais's20,000 square-foot lot sits on Midland Roadin the Uplands subdivision. The listing describes the lotas the perfect spot to build a dream home on a country lane andwalking distance from the golf course and yacht club.

Donaissaidhe's not a gambler, but he told his real estate agent, Jason Binab,he was willing to speculate on the volatile cryptocurrency.

"It'sbeen on the market for about a month and I thought hey, this is not really a busy market right now, so why don't we just offer it to people to buy it for cryptocurrency? Jason said:'Are you joking?'And I said no, I'm not."

The crypto-currency's trading valuehas been volatile. Early Thursdaymorning the asking price for the Uplands homeequalled about 145 bitcoin.

RealtorBinabsaid an offer might already be in the works for the property.

"Aclient that owns quite a lot of bitcoin was alerted to this property by his realtor who sawmy post on Facebookyesterday,and he suggested to him let's write an offer, divest yourself of some of your bitcoin and put it in real estate."

Ryan DeLuca, professional standards advisor for the Real Estate Council of British Columbia, said many brokerages won't touch cryptocurrency transactions because of the risks.

For those who are willing to do so, DeLuca said, "they want to advise the sellers of the potential risks associated with bitcoinand then send them out for professional advice."

In an interview Binabsaid he has discussed with the potential buyer's realtor what he sees as "the scenario that works best for all parties."

He suggested a $200,000 cash deposit, becausethe deposit and the realtors' commissioncan not be paid incryptocurrency.

Binabproposesthe balance of purchase,in bitcoin, would be calculated on the completion date for the sale.

Between the date of an offer and the completion datethe buyer or seller could win or lose big if the currency soars or tanks.

Binab said the potential buyer has options in that situation: If the value of bitcoin falls too far before the completion date on a sale, it might be cheaper for the potential buyer to walk away from the dealand forfeit the deposit.

With files from Deborah Wilson and CHEK News.