OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd It would seem that real estate agents are the same, all around the world. The following anecdote appears on a real estate industry blog in the United States. What makes this anecdote particularly interesting is the author’s final comment “not all sales have to be ‘difficult’ to makes the salesman deserving.“ I have often wondered as to whether real...
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OPINIONby Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.BSolicitorConsumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au There is an old joke about Lady Cul de Sac. She did not want the title, but there was no way out. Julie James (not her real name) did not want to complete the contract she signed to sell her investment property after she received a significantly better offer from another party. When her buyer sued for specific performance there was no way out. Julie had to settle....
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by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.BSolicitorConsumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Carly Gillard was staggered, after settling the sale of her Northern New South Wales property, to find herself facing commission claims from two real estate agencies. Her property had been listed with both agencies, but only one secured the sale. She soon filed a claim with the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal to determine whether she was liable for two commissions and, if only one, which...
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by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.BSolicitorConsumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Brisbane conveyancing solicitor Chris Bridge became concerned when he noticed that his buyer client’s contract included a special condition authorising the pre-settlement release of the selling agent’s commission. Such a “pre-draw” practice may be legal elsewhere if the contracting parties agree, but not in Queensland where Section 385 of the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act (PAMDA) permits agents to take commissions from their trust accounts only...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) has been forced to come clean, and to admit to consumers that “…no binding contract exists until the successful bidder and the vendor have signed a contract.” A proposed addition to the legislation governing the conduct of real estate auctions represents one more nail in the auction coffin. In his weekly propaganda...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd As any lawyer or conveyancer will confirm, a contract may have to be cancelled for a variety of reasons, even after it has become unconditional. But what if the estate agent has already spent the commission? Lawyers and conveyancers often have a battle on their hands if a purchaser client needs to cancel the contract, or a vendor...
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by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.BSolicitorConsumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Below are comments I have received independently from a couple of legal colleagues. They are clearly quite concerned about the ‘costs consequences’ of conveyancing solicitors’, rather than real estate agents’, preparing sales contracts. The first comment (slightly edited) comes from a North Queensland practitioner. The second (also edited a tad) is from a Brisbane suburban solicitor. COALFACE CONCERNS “I enjoy your Real Estate Blog, and particularly the...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd In his weekly propaganda piece in The Age newspaper (The Age “Domain” 29 September, 2007 p.3) CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, Enzo Raimondo makes something of a Freudian slip when he says, “Agents should ask for a single price for properties sold privately.” Like so many of his type, Enzo Raimondo seems to believe that...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerConveyancerConsumer Advocatepeter@lawyersconveyancing.com.au I have discussed the way in which payments to estate agents can become illegal secret commissions if they are not disclosed, and how the disclosure of payments tends to work against the purpose of the payments. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, I assume that any payments or gifts made by Richard Wood Solicitors to Barry Plant Real Estate’s estate agents, or any other...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerConveyancerConsumer Advocatepeter@lawyersconveyancing.com.au In the absence of evidence to the contrary, we must assume that Richard Wood Solicitors and Barry Plant Real Estate have done everything the law requires of them in relation to gifts offered to estate agents in return for client referrals. But does it make sense for a lawyer or conveyancer to offer gifts to estate agents if legal compliance makes the whole exercise a waste...
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