Front Page News
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by Neil Jenman Consumer Advocate Right now, in a lot of areas of Australia, there are a lot of unhappy property sellers. They can't sell. In some areas, some properties have been on the market for six months, even longer. To sellers, an on-going unsold...
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by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Carly Gillard was staggered, after settling the sale of her Northern New South Wales property, to find herself facing commission claims from two real estate agencies....
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by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au This latest "Clayton's" finance approval letter is hot off my fax machine. Last year I reported on an upbeat broker’s keenness to show me that my clients’ finance had...
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by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Although agents use slogans like "Nobody does it better", "The right advice", "More personal attention" and "We'll look after you", they are really offering buyers something...
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by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Victoria’s solicitors have been informed by their Legal Practitioners’ Liability Committee (“LPLC”) that their mishandling of property conveyancing is one of the most...
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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...
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by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Brisbane conveyancing solicitor Chris Bridge became concerned when he noticed that his buyer client’s contract included a special condition authorising the pre-settlement...
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by Nicola Wilson Business Development Manager Victoria and South Australia First Title - Title Insurance Most land in Victoria is registered under what is known as the "Torrens System" of land registration. While the system was adequate when introduced...
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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, recently accused me of making comments that were "deliberately mischievous...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd There are few things more dangerous for real estate consumers than estate agents who fancy themselves as "wheelers and dealers"....
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by Neil Jenman The word 'mortgage' is French in origin. It means to make a pledge upon which your life depends - or, literally, an agreement until death. In today's debt heavy world a mortgage really has one of two meanings. Either you destroy (kill)...
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by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer 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...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd A comment on our recent posting about "phantom" property listings makes me wonder whether we may have only just scratched the...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Yesterday I received a telephone call from my Internet Service Provider (ISP) about a phantom phone call. According to the ISP...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd On Tuesday 26 February, 2008 I typed "Docklands" into the search facility at www.realestate.com.au. On page 4 of the Docklands...
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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...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd When estate agents can't or won't negotiate on behalf of their vendor clients we see the " Buyer Declaration " trotted out as...
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by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Walk away to bid another day - but not before the auction is over. Picture yourself as a duly registered, cashed-up bidder at the auction of a seaside mansion. Bidding...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) has been forced to come clean, and to admit to consumers that "...no binding contract...
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Journalist Peter Gregory The Age (Saturday 9 February, 2008) reports that Melbourne real estate agent Paul Castran, managing director of Castran GilbertReal Estate, and the company's sale director Mark Forytarz, annoyed by allegedly defamatory articles...
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"Late last year I came up with an idea. Just as ex-Beatle, George Harrison, once had a concert for the victims of Bangladesh, I thought I'd have a concert for the victims of Bangaru." (An article from the Jenman website.) Millions of Australians have...
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by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Home buyers must always ensure, when contracting subject to satisfactory building inspection reports, that adequate time has been provided for this in their contracts...
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by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd As any lawyer or conveyancer will confirm, a contract may have to be cancelled for a variety of reasons, even after it has become...
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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...
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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,...
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