Pricing Propaganda From REIV

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd In his weekly propaganda piece in The Age newspaper (The Age "Domain" 29 September, 2007 p.3) CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, Enzo Raimondo makes something of a Freudian slip when he says, "Agents should ask for a single price for properties sold privately." Like so many of his type, Enzo Raimondo seems to believe that the pricing is a matter for the estate agent....(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Get It Right, Or It May Come Back And Bite!

by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au A company within the Herron Todd White group lost a High Court appeal not too long ago on how much damages would compensate former clients for negligent valuation advice. HTW Valuers (Central Queensland) Pty Ltd had to pay damages of $406,194.60, another hundred thousand dollars or so for interest plus legal costs around $600,000.00. The original valuation fee was $250.00 calculated on two and a half hours work...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Foxes Rewarded For Chicken Protection

by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Solicitor Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au When consumer advocate Neil Jenman sent me a clipping of The Courier-Mail's report on the 2007 winner of the Office of Fair Trading's TradeSmart Award, he added a frank warning. Make sure you have a bucket ready,'' he said, because this'll make you want to spew.'' I was more dismayed than sickened to read how Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech (in one of her most outrageous acts before loosing the Fair Trading...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Richard Wood Solicitors - Who Needs To Know?

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Conveyancer Consumer Advocate peter@lawyersconveyancing.com.au I have discussed the way in which payments to estate agents can become illegal secret commissions if they are not disclosed, and how the disclosure of payments tends to work against the purpose of the payments. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, I assume that any payments or gifts made by Richard Wood Solicitors to Barry Plant Real Estate's estate agents, or any other estate agents,...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Richard Wood Solicitors Letter What If The Right Way Doesnt Pay!

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Conveyancer Consumer Advocate peter@lawyersconveyancing.com.au In the absence of evidence to the contrary, we must assume that Richard Wood Solicitors and Barry Plant Real Estate have done everything the law requires of them in relation to gifts offered to estate agents in return for client referrals. But does it make sense for a lawyer or conveyancer to offer gifts to estate agents if legal compliance makes the whole exercise a waste of time and money?...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Real Estate Investing Advice In Disaster Zones

Over the past few weeks, while studying different areas across Australia, it’s easy to see there are still a lot of people making smart money in the real estate sector. Many investors study markets intensely, while others are having their investments boosted by elements out of their control…In normal investing, most markets leaves us with [...]

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[Source: Blog Catalog Blog Directory]

Real Estate Investing, Advice From Above

Well, now that I’m back in Far north Queensland, I had time to catch up on some emails and came across some interesting facts…Totally oblivious to these facts before now, I though I’d share them with you. They show that, “greed is bad karma” and no matter how rich and famous you may be…being humble [...]

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[Source: Blog Catalog Blog Directory]