Mitchells (and our resident real estate watchdog Tim O’Dwyer) have long argued that real estate laws across the nation should be changed so only one commission is payable on any residential sale. In this case study, written by Tim for his regular Real Estate Escapes column in Australian Property Investor Magazine, both a selling agent and an introducing agent claimed commission on the same sale: Because of my reputation as a consumer advocate, few real estate agents ever...
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Never mind, when you are selling your home, how attractive to prospective buyers you may have made your property. More significant could be how attractive and likeable buyers find your real estate agent. In fact you may have listed your home for sale, not so much on the basis of how effective your agent might be in marketing and negotiating, but perhaps because the agent was just good-looking. Don’t laugh! We at Mitchells will always...
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The Coalition has described the Labor Party’s implementation of the National Occupational Licensing System (NOLS) as “poor”, in a letter to the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW). “The Coalition is supportive of the stated aims of national licensing,” federal campaign director Brian Loughnane wrote to REINSW last week. “However, implementation has been poor. Labor has made little progress in relation to national licensing of property occupations, and there has been inadequate communication...
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OPINION by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Not only had the buyers purported to “charge” the property with the seller’s agent’s commission liability while consequently consenting to the agent’s lodgement of an instrument-stopping caveat over the title, but also the seller had “irrevocably” authorized and directed the buyers’ solicitor to pay this commission at settlement. After reading Peter Mericka’s excellent blog post, Conveyancing Consumer alert- Beware of the Sneaky Stamp, I was...
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OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate Consumer AdvocateReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Rabies is a terrible affliction. It can can quickly turn a friendly family pet into a belligerent biting beast. Commission rage can have a similar affect on real estate agents, changing them from ordinary salespeople into cruel and manipulative bullies. Like rabies, commission rage cannot be treated. However, early detection means that a consumer can take precautions...
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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 Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd The ultimate real estate office model has arrived. It’s the ILP – a lean, clean sales machine that combines the roles of lawyer, conveyancer and real estate agent to provide an optimum real estate service on a fixed fee basis. Anyone can establish an ILP, including real estate agents, conveyancers and accountants, to provide clients with a one-stop-shop for...
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OPINIONby Peter Mericka B.A., LL.BReal Estate LawyerQualified Practising Conveyancer VictoriaDirector Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Is it any wonder that the REIV (Real Estate Institute of Victoria) misleads, misguides and misinforms its members when its own CEO Enzo Raimondo fails to understand the role of the real estate agent in a sale transaction? In his regular propaganda piece in the Domain section of The Age newspaper, Enzo Raimondo tells consumers that when negotiating for...
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