The Real Estate Information Centre

Selling Real Estate - How Lawyers Do It Better #1

Peter Mericka — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 04:07:00 GMT

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd In this series of postings we examine the role of the lawyer in real estate sales, and explain why the lawyer is returning to displace the real estate agent as the primary adviser and consultant to consumers who are contemplating the sale or purchase of real estate. Why Lawyers Are The Best At Marketing Real Estate Real estate is NOT sold, it's BOUGHT Selling a refrigerator...(read more)

Australia's housing affordability myth busted

Peter Mericka — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:45:00 GMT

Despite rising interest rates and property prices, housing affordability in Australia is not as bad as widely believed, a recent report has showed. According to Rismark National Dwelling Price-to-Income Index, housing affordability has not deteriorated; in fact, it has improved slightly over the past six years. Rismark found that over the past six years, home prices have held between 3.7 times disposable incomes and 4.3 times incomes over the past six years. Household disposable income rose 44% since...(read more)

Rental Yields Fall In Fast-Growing Areas

Peter Mericka — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:20:00 GMT

The rapid increase in house prices in some parts of Australia has resulted in dramatic drop in rental yields in those areas according to a recent report by rpdata.com. One of the biggest surprise falls in rents occurred in the resource-rich mining town of Collinsville in North Queensland where housing yields fell by 2.4% from a yield of 9.1% a year ago to 6.7%. During the same period, median house price surged by 8.7% in the area. Newcastle's Garden Suburb recorded the second biggest drop in rental...(read more)

The Pricing Dilemma - An Agent's View

Peter Mericka — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:18:00 GMT

OPINION by Chris Warren Licenced Real Estate Agent Chris@RemaxColonial.com.au Chris Warren is a Licensed Real Estate agent with over 20 years' experience, providing real estate services to consumers on Brisbane's inner southside. He was recently quoted in a submission to the Estate Agents Council of Victoria concerning real estate agent appraisals and the pricing of real estate, and wrote this article in response to a request for his opinion on the problems associated with the valuing and pricing...(read more)

At Loggerheads Over Seasonal Lodging

Peter Mericka — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:19:00 GMT

OPINION by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Contractual time limits which run out between Christmas and New Year should, as this Blog has previously shown, ring alarm bells for purchasers and their legal advisers. Nevertheless, neither developer Bannercorp* Pty Ltd nor its solicitors heard so much as a tingle when a critical condition in Bannercorp’s time-of-the-essence purchase contract (dated 3rd August, 2007) was mutually extended from 90 to 150...(read more)

Join the Real Estate Ethics Group

Peter Mericka — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:39:00 GMT

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd The purpose of the Real Estate Ethics Group is to encourage discussion on ethical issues related to the delivery of residential real estate services. In order to ensure high quality discussion and debate, the group has been created in the well-known professional network "LinkedIn". Search the internet for a place where real estate ethics are discussed in any meaningful way,...(read more)

REIV Pricing Ploy Relies On Lies

Peter Mericka — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:02:00 GMT

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd We now have the REIV inventing, and forcing its own legislation on real estate consumers. When will journalists, regulators, lawyers and consumers start thinking for themselves instead of simply watching Enzo Raimondo and the crew at the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) make fools of them. It's time to put vendors and purchasers back in control, and to return the real...(read more)

Book Exposes Real World Of Real Estate

Peter Mericka — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:01:00 GMT

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd I was watching "First Tuesday Book Club" on ABC TV a few months ago, and I saw the host, Jennifer Byrne hold up a copy of Brendan Gullifer's book SOLD. According to Byrne, " I thought it was tremendous fun. And let me tell you, you've met these people. They probably sold your house ." Having read SOLD, I can confirm that the characters and behaviours portrayed in the book...(read more)

The Ultimate Real Estate Sales Office

Peter Mericka — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:23:00 GMT

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director 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 real estate...(read more)

Estate Agents - Commission Mentality Explained

Peter Mericka — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:43:00 GMT

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director 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 estate agents...(read more)

Call For Urgent Change

Peter Mericka — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:07:00 GMT

OPINION by George Rousos Director Industry Training Consultants george@itc.nsw.edu.au After receiving glowing support from my clients and colleagues, it was now time to take decisive action by requesting to the NSW Minister- The Hon. Virginia JUDGE, BEd MP that urgent amendments to real estate laws in NSW be introduced in parliament. What follows is my letter to the Minister, written after my reading of the following article which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald: Watchdog raids real estate...(read more)

Did The Minister's Dog Eat Hubby's Homework?

Peter Mericka — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:05:00 GMT

OPINION by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Former corruption investigator Tony Fitzgerald QC and former premier Wayne Goss recently charged that Queensland’s Beattie and Bligh governments had let the state slide back into its “dark past”. “Ethics are always tested by incumbency”, explained Fitzgerald. “The longer any side of politics is in power, the more risk cobwebs will settle”, Goss added. Both agreed that standards had slipped during 11 years...(read more)

Queensland Lawyers Warned About Trust Account Scam

Peter Mericka — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 23:41:00 GMT

OPINION by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au The Queensland Law Society has warned its solicitor members of an attempted trust account scam that had been brought to the Society’s attention. A Queensland law firm had been contacted by individuals who purported to be associated with a large international company trying to recover outstanding debts from Australian companies. The law firm was instructed not to contact the debtor company. The firm soon received...(read more)

Negligent Misrepresentation on Home Owner Contracts

Peter Mericka — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:45:00 GMT

OPINION by George Rousos Director Industry Training Consultants george@itc.nsw.edu.au Statutory authorities must start exercising the same degree of care towards sellers as they do with buyers of properties. It was discovered and found on The NSW Office Of Fair Trading’s website, no cooling-off period applies to sellers of properties once contracts have been exchanged, sellers are generally bound to complete the agreement. (See the article "Sale Contracts" on the website of the NSW Office of Fair...(read more)

Enzo Raimondo - Auction System's Fair, You Can Quote Me

Peter Mericka — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:46:00 GMT

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Following on from my previous posting in which I acknowledged Enzo Raimondo, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) as a master of the partial-truth, comes a newspaper article in which Raimondo confirms that " Much misinformation is abroad about property sales " (sic). Of course, Raimondo does not acknowledge his own role in the dissemination of this misinformation....(read more)

Enzo Raimondo - Valuation Misinformation From REIV

Peter Mericka — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:48:00 GMT

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Enzo Raimondo, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) is a master of the partial-truth. In a recent article in the Herald Sun newspaper Raimondo purports to advise consumers on " forming an accurate view about the value of a property " but deliberately avoids informing consumers of the easiest and most accurate method of all. In his regular propaganda...(read more)

Wrong Advice From NSW Office Of Fair Trading

Peter Mericka — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:05:00 GMT

OPINION by George Rousos Director Industry Training Consultants george@itc.nsw.edu.au Applications for an ex gratia payment will be quite common in the future, unless the NSW Office Of Fair Trading start looking closely at the relevant provisions of the NSW Property Stock & Business Agents Act 2002 . An ex gratia payment is made in the exercise of the prerogative power of Government. A payment may be made if a person has suffered a financial loss or other detriment directly as a result of the...(read more)

The SLOD! Best Price Negotiation Strategy

Peter Mericka — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd As readers know, I have been very critical over the years of the schemes and scams used by real estate agents. Obviously, it is unfair to criticise the methods used by real estate agents without suggesting some alternative, and so I am presenting what I have called the "SLOD! Best Price Negotiation Strategy". I sell real estate for my clients without involving any...(read more)

REIV Confusion On Estate Agent Role As "Go-Between"

Peter Mericka — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:09:00 GMT

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director 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 the purchase...(read more)

Licensed Conveyancing - Deader Than Dead!

Peter Mericka — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:08:00 GMT

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director 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...(read more)

Tough Going For Northern Territory Tenants

Peter Mericka — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:47:00 GMT

OPINION by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Below is the slightly edited text of an email and attachment I received this week from a very distressed Darwin couple. I have referred them to local solicitors for legal advice, and to a television current affairs programme. "Dear Mr. Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B, We have been reading the articles on the Australian Real estate Blog and we have several misconduct grievances against nationally-franchised Property...(read more)

REIV Votes Against Corruption Remedy

Peter Mericka — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:51:00 GMT

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd I believe that the real estate industry in Victoria is the most corrupt in Australia. This is confirmed time and again, not only by the conduct of individual real estate agents, but also by the behaviour of the peak body representing real estate agents, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV). We have seen how the REIV condones criminal conduct by providing its...(read more)

Follow Us On Twitter!

Peter Mericka — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:38:00 GMT

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Yes, you can now follow us on Twitter - just click on the link below:...(read more)

Licensed Conveyancers - Client Dumping

Peter Mericka — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:49:00 GMT

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director 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 that late hour - you will have you make your own arrangements....(read more)

One Real Estate Agent Blows The Whistle On Another

Peter Mericka — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:53:00 GMT

OPINION by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Some agents seem to delight in making it difficult for novice home-buyers, as the story below reveals. The whistle-blowing agent here was not known to me and his detailed account arrived completely unsolicited. I subsequently phoned him and suggested that, for what it might be worth, he should personally report the whole matter to the Office of Fair Trading. But don’t hold your breath, I added. "Your article...(read more)