Cameron Fisher - Something Very Fishy!

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 listings was a Feature Listing under the banner of Changing Places, titled "DOCKLANDS $730,000-750,000 Elevated Waterfront Residence 70 Lorimer Street". A client had called me and complained that there was "something very fishy" about this advertisement....(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Don't Be A Party To Mortgage Fraud!

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 extra money from the banks to cover deposit, so this is what she proposes: Contract Price: $670,000 30% deposit (deposit is not physically paid, but sellers acknowledge that the deposit has been) Then at settlement, she pays the $500,000. This means...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Walk Away To Bid Another Day

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 starts at $6.5 million. You join in as bidding progresses to $7.5 million. Then the auctioneer announces that the property is on the market - meaning that the reserve price has been reached and any higher bid will, on the fall of the hammer, secure...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

What's Phillip Webb Really Declaring?

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 a means of proving to the vendor that there is no point in trying to negotiate a better price. We received the Phillip Webb Real Estate version of the Buyer Declaration from Phillip Webb real estate agent Martin Froese. At first glance the Buyer Declaration...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Another Nail in the Auction Coffin

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 exists until the successful bidder and the vendor have signed a contract." A proposed addition to the legislation governing the conduct of real estate auctions represents one more nail in the auction coffin. In his weekly propaganda piece in the...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Jenman Taunts Estate Agents To Sue

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 by consumer advocate Neil Jenman, are taking legal action against Google to stop internet access to the articles. According to the article , "The allegations are contained in two articles from Mr Jenman's website, which could be seen when the agents'...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

What Building Inspection Reports Don't Cover

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 . In my experience, the ideal time is 30 days from the contract date. This allows for the inspector to make his inspection, prepare his report, deliver the report to you, and for you to consider it. 30 days also allows time for any supplementary inspections...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]