Browse by Tags

• Agent
• Auction
• carnegie
• Commission
• conflict of interests
• Consumer Affairs
• Contract
• Conveyancer
• Conveyancing
• Deception
• Deposit
• Estate agent
• ethics
• Finance
• finance condition
• fraud
• Inspection
• legal advice
• matthew hurlston
• mortgage
• mortgage broker
• mortgage fraud
• Purchase
• ray white
• real estate
• referral
• Residential
• richard wood
• Sale
• secret commissions
• sid jackson
• solicitor
• special condition
• Valuation

Estate Agent Referrals - Punishment & Corruption
27 October 08 10:32 AM | Peter Mericka | 3 Comments   

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd I have previously written about estate agents who refer clients to "pet" solicitors and conveyancers in return for payment, Read More...

Filed under: Conveyancer, Lawyer, referral, matthew hurlston, carnegie, sid jackson, ray white

Don't Be A Party To Mortgage Fraud!
27 February 08 06:49 AM | Peter Mericka | 1 Comments   

by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Last week I received this email: "Tim, I was wondering if you could help me with a strange clause. A woman wants to purchase a property for $500,000. She wants to get Read More...

Filed under: Estate agent, Conveyancer, Lawyer, mortgage, mortgage fraud, fraud, mortgage broker

Real Estate Agents Preying On Battlers
28 January 08 06:42 PM | Peter Mericka | 3 Comments   

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd " Real Estate Agents Preying On Battlers " is the title of an article appearing on the ABC news website. I invite visitors to Read More...

Filed under: Conveyancing, Estate agent, Conveyancer, Lawyer, Contract, Consumer Affairs, conflict of interests

The "Oh", "Really?" and "I Wish I Had Known That!" of Making an Offer and Organising Finance
24 January 08 09:55 AM | Shannyn Hunter | 7 Comments   

by Shannyn Hunter Conveyancer shannyn@lawyersconveyancing.com.au Lawyers Conveyancing On Monday morning purchasers can experience a real estate hangover. After a weekend of elation at finding their dream house and pressure from the agent to make an offer, Read More...

Filed under: Conveyancing, Estate agent, Deposit, Conveyancer, Purchase, Lawyer, Deception, Finance, Sale, Agent, Residential, Valuation, Contract, finance condition, real estate, special condition, solicitor, legal advice

Catch 32 On Solicitors' Independence
06 December 07 08:53 AM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading has lost, and lost badly, a landmark case mounted in the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal against Gold Coast solicitor Donald Dickie. Read More...

Filed under: Estate agent, Lawyer, real estate, solicitor, conflict of interests

Who Will Pay The (Legal) Ferrymen?
29 November 07 06:28 AM | Peter Mericka | 2 Comments   

by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer 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’, Read More...

Filed under: Conveyancing, Lawyer, Commission, Agent, Contract, ethics

Richard Wood Solicitors Letter - A Lawyer Responds
29 August 07 12:31 PM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd This is a comment submitted in response to the previous posting on this site. While I cannot help but be annoyed about the apparent Read More...

Filed under: Conveyancer, Lawyer, richard wood, secret commissions, ethics

Richard Wood Solicitors Letter – An Estate Agent Attacks
27 August 07 06:52 AM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd On 3 August, 2007 I published a posting titled " Richard Wood Solicitors – Gifts To Agents For Client Referrals ". On 13 August, Read More...

Filed under: Conveyancing, Estate agent, Conveyancer, Lawyer, Commission, richard wood, secret commissions

Landlords' Legal Letter-Writers Beware
10 May 07 11:37 AM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Queensland Solicitor & Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Chief Justice of Queensland Paul de Jersey has warned my State’s lawyers, when they write letters of demand on behalf of clients, to be careful before Read More...

Filed under: Lawyer

Contracts - Real Estate Booby Traps!
10 May 07 11:35 AM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer and Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Lawyers Real Estate Most real estate consumers are aware that real estate contracts are biased heavily in favour of the vendor, and contain a minefield of terms Read More...

Filed under: Inspection, Lawyer, Auction, Contract

Don't Trust Agents' Pet Solicitors Or Conveyancers
04 May 07 02:52 PM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Tim O'Dwyer Solicitor* A solicitor, recently discharged from bankruptcy, has given an enforceable undertaking to Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading after consistently failing to comply properly with a consumer protection law. He is not the first. Read More...

Filed under: Conveyancer, Lawyer

Should conveyancing solicitors act for both parties?
04 May 07 10:21 AM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Tim O’Dwyer Queensland Solicitor & Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au The simple answer to the above question is no. But I guess many of us will, from time to time, act for both parties in conveyancing transactions. And, frankly, many Read More...

Filed under: Conveyancing, Conveyancer, Lawyer

Finders Keepers?
30 April 07 04:59 PM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.B Queensland Solicitor & Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au On TV's Neighbours once a cache of banknotes was dug up from a vacant lot in Ramsay Street. In the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes play-archaeologists Read More...

Filed under: Lawyer

Conveyancing Solicitor Suspended
30 April 07 11:20 AM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.B Queensland Solicitor & Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Gold Coast solicitor Douglas McClelland, who charged conveyancing fees seven times higher than some other solicitors, has had his Practising Certificate Read More...

Filed under: Lawyer, Deception

Witnesses Beware!
28 April 07 11:24 PM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.B Queensland Solicitor & Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au A recent court decision in New South Wales rings warning bells to all those asked to witness property documents. The law is familiar, the Court of Appeal Read More...

Filed under: Lawyer, Finance