Australia’s big four banks have quietly destroyed all paper land titles they hold for 1.6 million Victorian mortgagees, forcing property owners to use a bank-owned electronic transaction system. Any future sales of properties whose titles are held by the bank will need to be transacted, at least in part, electronically. The mass destruction of paper titles and their replacement with electronic certificates has been questioned by property lawyers who fear it will compromise security and effectively...
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OPINION by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au During 2008 the Commonwealth Bank made loans totalling $13.5 million to Matthew Perrin, his wife Nicole and their family company. Among other securities, the bank relied on guarantees and mortgages apparently signed by Nicole. Some of these encumbered Perrins’ (previously unencumbered) sprawling Cronin Island family home held in Nicole’s name. Within six months Matthew, but not Nicole, was bankrupt. When the bank eventually sued...
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OPINION by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au What do you do when a property you have contracted to sell is damaged (by flood, fire or whatever) before settlement? What do you do if you are the buyer of that property? These critical questions arose for more than a few sellers and buyers across Queensland during the State’s extensive flooding of December 2010 and January 2011. A year later, with Queenslanders currently remembering...
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OPINION by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Real estate agents are rarely prosecuted or sued. Sure, we regularly hear about misbehaviour in the real estate industry and occasionally a real estate agent appears in court, but this is a rarity compared to the level of misbehaviour and misconduct encountered by consumers on a day to day basis. The reason for the low rate of court actions against real estate agents is the...
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OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Readers may or may not be aware that Google has announced a new social networking facility that will compete wit Facebook, but is entirely different. Google+ in a nutshell Google+ has similar functions to Facebook, such as sending messages to friends, sharing links, chatting, and sharing pictures, but the big difference is that with Google+, you...
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by George Rousos Director Industry Training Consultants george@itc.nsw.edu.au Franois-Marie Arouet, better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French writer and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and free trade. One of Voltaire’s famous sayings was, and I quote: “We must distinguish between speaking to deceive and being silent to be reserved.” “We must distinguish between speaking to deceive and being silent...
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OPINIONby Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.BSolicitorConsumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au This story does not end, as many do, in a court case. But it begins, as many do, with a property advertised for sale: “Charmingly preserved Art Deco features abound in this ground floor cavity brick apartment. Ornate plaster ceilings and cornices, wide skirting boards and architraves, polished timber floors all lovingly presented.Two bedrooms – one with access to the study, a large, light, eat-in kitchen and,...
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OPINION by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Marty Zelig was a former articled law clerk who, while continuing to study part-time for his law degree, became a project coordinator with a property development company. His new job involved handling all the company’s real estate transactions. So when work-mate Francine Clare and her husband George signed a contract to buy their first home, Marty happily agreed to look after their conveyancing to save...
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OPINIONby Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.BSolicitorConsumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au The saleslady told her first lie when Nurse Betty, as I’ll call her, noticed that the newly renovated highset house she liked adjoined a park and creek. “Any flooding here?” she asked. “Not a problem,” replied the saleslady. Most of us believe that nurses are very trustworthy – as surveys regularly show. I first really trusted and appreciated nurses during the big cleanup after Queensland’s 1974 Australia Day...
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Lawyers Conveyancing Facebook Page Quality and Legal Best Practice In keeping with our commitments to client satisfaction and continuous improvement as a Best Practice – Quality Endorsed Law Firm, we have established this self-help facility as a means by which we can offer assistance to conveyancing consumers while also obtaining feedback and information about conveyancing consumer needs. This assists us in ensuring that we can continue to provide the best quality conveyancing services for our...
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