OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd The old Contract Note was a very simple document. It contained no General Conditions (these were incorporated by reference) and so purchasers were not frightened of it. Estate agents were never asked difficult questions, and purchasers readily signed it. The introduction of the new standard Contract of Sale of Real Estate has changed this. Consumers are becoming more aware of...
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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 I have been very critical of the underhanded approach taken by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) in designing the new standard form Contract of Sale of Real Estate so as to create an even more deceptive document than the old Contract Note. To put my money where my mouth is I have...
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OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd The new Contract of Sale of Real Estate prescribed by the Estate Agents (Contracts) Regulations 2008 was supposed to end the dodgy practice of estate agents withholding terms and conditions from purchasers, but it hasn’t. The document designed by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) allows estate agents to trick purchasers into believing that they have received “the...
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by Shannyn HunterConveyancer shannyn@lawyersconveyancing.com.au Lawyers Conveyancing Anyone who has dealt with the banks for a home loan will tell you about their battle scars with pride. Simply securing finance approval can be a frustrating and baffling task. An anxious purchaser can be kept waiting for finance approval because the valuation has been delayed, the vendor has gone overseas, the valuation has been done but your documents are being processed, your broker is on leave, your call...
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OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd The document known in the real estate industry as “the standard REIV Contract Note” has been banned. As from 28 September, 2008 the only document available to estate agents will be the standard form of contract prescribed by the Estate Agents (Contracts) Regulations 2008 or a contract prepared by a Legal Practitioner or a Licensed Conveyancer. Contract Note –...
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OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Hot on the heels of the contract switchers at Barry Plant Real Estate Croydon comes Ranges First National Real Estate of Belgrave. But things get much worse when the switching of contracts is compounded with lies and threats as part of an attempted cover-up. The contract switch As usual (see other postings on contract switching), we told the Ranges...
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OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Geoff Thompson is the Director of Barry Plant Real Estate in Croydon Victoria, and the Barry Plant Real Estate tag line is “The red carpet experience”. I felt that the red carpet had been pulled out from under me and my client when Geoff Thompson’s sales representative Pauline Ferguson switched contracts without my knowledge and without any explanation. Secret...
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OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd David Sowersby is the Director of Walshe & Whitelock Real Estate, Brunswick and an Associate of the Real Estate Institute of Australia. David Sowersby is also a “contract switcher”. Some years ago I pounced on Sowersby for “switching” contracts, and thought he had changed his ways. Unfortunately, it seems that when you’ve been in the industry as long as...
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It would appear that Barry Plant Real Estate has adopted the tactic of having a “gazumping” clause inserted into real estate contracts. We again warn consumers against allowing estate agents to tamper with the contract. A “gazumping” clause is a special condition which is inserted into a purchaser’s offer by an estate agent. Effectively, it allows a latecomer to the sale to submit a “bid” to the vendor. If the...
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by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.BSolicitorConsumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au After firing more than a few verbal bullets over recent months at Queensland’s Attorney-General (and Fair Trading Minister) Kerry Shine in The Courier Mail and Gold Coast Bulletin newspapers, on ABC radio and here in the Australian Real Estate Blog, I finally got a response (of sorts). The critical issues, of course, had been the largely unregulated role of legally unqualified real estate agents in the preparation...
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