OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Since Scott Goodman of Goodman Group Conveyancing started his “Goodman Group Conveyancing Referral Service” bribery and corruption in the conveyancing and real estate industries of Victoria has shifted to over-drive. The price for a conveyancing referral (or bribe) has now reached $150 per referral, and it seems that no estate agent wants to miss out. Scott Goodman, of Goodman...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Michael Fry is an actor, turned estate agent with Nelson Alexander Real Estate. Recently Michael Fry performed an act that did not go down very well at all. After a real estate sale did not go as expected, Michael Fry took the contract and ripped it to bits, without consulting the vendor or the solicitor. When an estate...
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Krystal Radcliffe wroteat 4:44pm on December 10th, 2007 Hey guys, from the Berwick team, just looking at my cards……….reeeeeaaallllllyyyy need to change my photo!!! LOLAnd loving this referal thing, (Pocket money i call it) getting something for practicaly nothing. Let me know if anyone is looking to do business this way, can really benefit from it.
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OPINIONby Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.BSolicitorConsumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au An Appeal Court has ruled that a father and his daughter validly escaped a developer’s option to buy their property because of a solicitor’s slackness over the Christmas-New Year holiday period.When Maitland Murray and daughter Jacqueline bought a bungalow in Birmingham, England, from pension fund trustees one of the sale terms gave the trustees, who owned adjoining playing fields, an option to re-purchase from Murrays. This option...
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OPINIONby David MorrellReal Estate Buyers’ AdvocateDirector Morrell & Koren Right now the real estate auction system is on the ropes because the market has tanked; but its problems run deeper than that. The elephant in the room is whether the auction system itself is working in vendors’ best interests. The agents make the argument that auctions work because they bring buyers and sellers together at a known time and place and that they...
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Opinion by Neil Jenman Consumer Advocate For many years, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) has misled and deceived real estate consumers. Whether it be trying to justify (or deny) dodgy practices such as false price quoting or whether it’s brushing-aside common claims of widespread dishonesty, as far as real estate bodies go, they don’t come much dodgier than Victoria’s Real Estate Institute (REIV). The institute is headed-up by Enzo Raimondo (who...
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OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd If the head of a police force or a government department were to attack entrenched corruption by telling its members that it “strongly recommends” that they refrain from involvement, one would question whether the organisation was serious. In earlier postings I have attacked the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (Victorian Division) (AICVIC) not only for failing to take action to...
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OPINIONby Patrick Brady AAPI, MRICS, Dip. EdCertified Practising Valuer No. 1277Director WBP Property Group Many people know the basics of what can impact the value of their property – overhead power lines and busy roads versus sea/tree views and a short stroll to the local coffee shop. To gain a better idea of how to improve the value of your property, it is worthwhile taking a look at what a professional valuer looks...
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