There is a Real Estate Agency in Qld who sends by post contracts to be signed by the purchaser.

After  the purchaser signes the contracts the purchaser then has to send it onto the buyer in an envelope.

The agent still gets the full commission but the buyer is effectively doing the work for the agent.

The onus is on the purchaser to make sure all the paperwork for the contract is signed correctly  before sending onto the seller

This particular Real estate agency doesnt have an address on their website or cards just a PO box number.

Is this allowed what this agent is doing re the contracts?

Matilda

Hi Matilda,

There is nothing wrong with this, as real estate agents should NEVER EVER handle contracts, other than to simply supply them to the purchaser.  By sending the contract to the purchaser the real estate agent is giving the purchaser every opportunity to read the contracts, to obtain legal advice on them, and to do things without pressure.  When the purchaser sends the contracts to the vendor it is the same, the vendor is in full control.

This real estate agent should be held up as an example of the way real estate agents should always handle contracts.

For an example of the problems that can arise when estate agents handle contracts see "Why Real Estate Agents Should Never Handle Contracts".

Hello

With the agent sending the contracts to the buyer they then get the buyer to fax them a buyers acknowledgement stating the buyer has signed the contracts correctly.

There were some errors with the lease agreement that we picked up so we had to call the agent and get them to supply the correct information.

With the agent putting the onus on the buyer to sign the documents correctly  it really does away with needing agents at all and saving on a commission when selling.

Hi Matilda,

The responsibility for getting the contract right has always remained with the individual vendor or purchaser.  Do you really think that the real estate agent takes any responsibility for anything?  Real estate agents regularly tell me that problems in the contract are not their doing - after all, the purchaser/vendor signed the contract, so obviously they were happy with it.  The real estate agent always throws full responsibility back onto the vendor or purchaser.

Or look at it this way, if the real estate agent was really taking responsibility, why would either party have a lawyer representing them?

I agree with you that real estate agents really do nothing that equates with the massive commissions they demand.