OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Imagine traveling in a taxi through an unfamiliar part of your city. Suddenly, the taxi driver confesses that he doesn’t travel in that area very often, he is too frightened to continue, and he is going drop you off at the next corner. He tells you that it will be up to you to find another taxi driver at...
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OPINIONby Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.BSolicitorConsumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Some agents seem to delight in making it difficult for novice home-buyers, as the story below reveals. The whistle-blowing agent here was not known to me and his detailed account arrived completely unsolicited. I subsequently phoned him and suggested that, for what it might be worth, he should personally report the whole matter to the Office of Fair Trading. But don’t hold your breath, I added. “Your...
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OPINIONby Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.BSolicitorConsumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Vic Murphy was a former real estate agent and – scout’s honour – one of the nicest, most decent blokes I have ever known. Many years ago my wife and I bought a holiday unit on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast through his agency, Vic Murphy Real Estate. We remained friends with Vic until he died in 2005. Vic Murphy Real Estate still operates at Maroochydore and in the...
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OPINIONby Shannyn HunterConveyancer Lawyers Conveyancing The Budget has good news for first home buyers: the cut-off date for the First Home Owner Boost (FHOB) will be extended by six months. In Parliament Tuesday night, Treasurer Wayne Swan announced, “the First Home Owners Boost has supported employment and helped 59,000 Australians buy their first home. In light of the continuing global uncertainty, and the success of this initiative, tonight I announce that we will...
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OPINIONby Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.BSolicitorConsumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Call me old-fashioned, but part of my personal property investment strategy has always been never sell! At the same time within my law practice over many years my advice to conveyancing clients, intending to sell properties, has always been: Try to find a buyer yourself without the expense of a real estate agent s commission . The vast majority of my seller clients engaged agents anyhow. Some...
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