How I Became An Estate Agent's Hero

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 clients contract included a special condition authorising the pre-settlement release of the selling agents commission. Such a pre-draw practice may be legal elsewhere if the contracting parties agree, but not in Queensland where Section 385 of the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act (PAMDA) permits agents to take commissions...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Title Insurance

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 in the 1800's, Sir Robert Torrens did not anticipate the way in which 3 levels of government would affect land ownership a hundred years later. Nicola Wilson, Business Development Manager - VIC & SA for First Title explains some of the ways in...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Was Enzo Raimondo Gagged?

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 and untrue". But when called upon to nominate any such statements or to provide the evidence, Enzo disappeared from the radar. Has he been gagged by the REIV? Allegations From Enzo Raimondo In my previous posting I took Enzo Raimondo to task...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Beware of Enzo Raimondo's "Wheelers & Dealers"

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". They are usually the ones who cause the wheels to fall off real estate transactions, usually because one party or the other feels that they have been let down. Enzo Raimondo not only acknowledges that estate agents like to do a bit of "wheeling and...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Beware of Enzo Raimondo's "Wheelers & Dealers"

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". They are usually the ones who cause the wheels to fall off real estate transactions, usually because one party or the other feels that they have been let down. Enzo Raimondo not only acknowledges that estate agent's like to do a bit of "wheeling...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

How To Save Your Home

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) it or it destroys (kills) you. Around one million Australians are now suffering the most talked-about 'material disease' of today - mortgage stress. The symptom of mortgage stress is a mortgage payment which is more than thirty per cent of your net income....(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]

Preventing Estate Agents From Preparing Contracts

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 Queenslands Attorney-General (and Fair Trading Minister) Kerry Shine in The Courier Mail and Gold Coast Bulletin newspapers, on ABC radio and here in the Australian Real Estate Blog, I finally got a response (of sorts). The critical issues, of course, had been the largely unregulated role of legally unqualified real estate agents in the preparation...(read more)

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[Source: Australian Real Estate Blog]