OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) has a sorry history when it comes to regulating Victorian real estate agents and, in more recent times, licensed conveyancers. It is one thing to be powerless to stop corruption, however it is something completely different when the government regulator not only fails to act, but also refuses to investigate. In...
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The Office of Consumer and Business Affairs (OCBA) is warning conveyancers of their legal duty to declare any relevant interests on properties they deal with, following successful disciplinary action in the District Court. Today Judge Wayne Chivell officially reprimanded Bernard Ignatius Flood and fined him $2000 as a result of Mr Flood acting unlawfully and negligently in his practice as a conveyancer. Mr. Flood has operated a conveyancing business in Mount Gambier but the court...
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OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd There are hard times ahead for the real estate conveyancing industry, and particularly for licensed conveyancers. Since non-lawyer conveyancers became licensed their lot has become ever more difficult. On top of these difficulties comes the gloomy prediction of NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster. The following article appeared in the Legal Affairs section of The Australian Financial Review (Friday 3...
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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 Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Last year Scott Goodman, a licensed conveyancer and owner of Goodman Group Conveyancing, launched what he called the Goodman Group Conveyancing Referral Program – a scheme whereby a bribe of $150 is paid to a real estate agent each time a client is referred by that real estate agent to Goodman Group Conveyancing for conveyancing services. Anecdotal evidence suggests...
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OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Professional indemnity insurance for licensed conveyancers is a high-risk problem. The licensing of conveyancers under the Victorian Conveyancers Act 2006 was expected to safeguard consumers by requiring all licensed conveyancers to have professional indemnity insurance cover. However, the requirement for professional indemnity insurance has had the reverse effect in that more consumers are now exposed to greater risk than...
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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 Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd An Appeal To The Australian Institute Of Conveyancers (Victorian Division) (AICVIC) The Australian Institute of Conveyancers (Victorian Division) Inc. (AICVIC) regards itself as the peak body representing licensed conveyancers in the state of Victoria, and it appears to have some influence over the way in which Victoria’s licensed conveyancers conduct themselves. I now make this plea to the new...
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OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate Consumer AdvocateReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd I was motivated to write this article for www.AustralianRealEstateBlog.com.au after I had received a series of emails from a Licensed Conveyancer, Paul Garson of Stonnington Conveyancing. Garson believes that lawyers, who for many years have been the only legitimate conveyancers in the industry, should no longer call themselves “conveyancers”. It seemed to me that Garson had begun...
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