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Transparency? More Like A Two-Way Mirror!
23 July 08 07:41 PM | Peter Mericka | 2 Comments   

OPINION by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd Estate agents have a marvelous talent for redefining words so that their everyday meaning is distorted to the point that Read More...

Filed under: Auction, Enzo Raimondo, transparent, scam

Walk Away To Bid Another Day
19 February 08 09:08 AM | Peter Mericka | 1 Comments   

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 Read More...

Filed under: Conveyancing, Deception, Auction, Agent, Auctioneer, Bid

Another Nail in the Auction Coffin
14 February 08 07:37 PM | Peter Mericka | 1 Comments   

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 Read More...

Filed under: REIV, Auction, Commission, Agent, Contract, Enzo Raimondo

Contracts - Real Estate Booby Traps!
10 May 07 11:35 AM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer and Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Lawyers Real Estate Most real estate consumers are aware that real estate contracts are biased heavily in favour of the vendor, and contain a minefield of terms Read More...

Filed under: Inspection, Lawyer, Auction, Contract

Auction Bullying
10 May 07 11:33 AM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer and Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Lawyers Real Estate “Auction turns to scuffle” is the title of an article by David Nankervis of the Adelaide Sunday Mail (p.36). The article describes how police Read More...

Filed under: Estate agent, Auction

In NSW Dummy Bidders Now Face $55K Fine
03 May 07 04:45 PM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

From domain.com.au "Tougher dummy bidding laws were introduced to the real-estate industry last weekend on one of the year's busiest auction days last Saturday." But contrary to what Fair Trading Minister Diane Beamer suggests in the article, we do not Read More...

Filed under: Estate agent, Deception, Auction

Need To Dispose Of A “Dud” Property? Auction It!
03 May 07 04:15 PM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

This warning is prompted by the number of “dud” properties being screened off through our pre-contract advice service . One was a property with “subdivision issues”, and another was weighed down by a covenant that required the owner of the property to Read More...

Filed under: Auction

Hey Geoff, Real Estate Deceptions Are Never Funny
03 May 07 11:59 AM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer and Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Lawyers Real Estate It would appear that the President of the REIV thinks it's funny when consumers are tricked by the scam known as the real estate auction. Read More...

Filed under: Estate agent, Inspection, Auction

The Latest In Real Estate Deception
01 May 07 04:49 PM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

It appears that estate agents now have a new weapon in their auction deception armory. Street theatre! Gary Lapersonne, writing as "Secret Agent" in the Domain section of The Sunday Age (Domain p.2 Sunday Age 7 May, 2006) reports on claims that a Melbourne Read More...

Filed under: Estate agent, Deception, Auction

The "Private Auction" – A Haven For The Dummy Bid
01 May 07 03:45 PM | Peter Mericka | 1 Comments   

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer and Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Lawyers Real Estate The dreaded "dummy bid" never really went away; it simply mutated into a more insidious form through the concept of the "Private Auction." Read More...

Filed under: Estate agent, Deception, Auction

The Dummy Bid Lives!
01 May 07 03:43 PM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B Real Estate Lawyer and Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria Lawyers Real Estate As mentioned in our previous posting, the dummy bid never went away, it simply mutated into more insidious forms. According to "Secret Agent" Read More...

Filed under: Estate agent, Auction

Auction Tales From The Deep North
30 April 07 12:00 PM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.B Queensland Solicitor & Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Queensland’s Beattie Government has changed the law on auctions. It took six years, despite Fair Trading Ministers’ regular boasting about the world’s Read More...

Filed under: Estate agent, Auction

But Wait, There's More Burlesque In Queensland!
30 April 07 11:56 AM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

by Tim O’Dwyer M.A., LL.B Queensland Solicitor & Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Queensland’s Auctioneering Practice Code of Conduct is flawed - not only because of its failure to require identification of phone-bidders absent from Read More...

Filed under: Estate agent, Auction

Contracts - Find The Devil In The Detail
30 April 07 09:52 AM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

Purchasers should take care before signing a contract to purchase real estate, particularly at auctions. Special conditions can be used to pass a vendor's risk to an unsuspecting purchaser. We have shown that estate agents often insert nasty special conditions Read More...

Filed under: Conveyancing, Deception, Auction

Winning Auction Bidders Beware
28 April 07 11:46 PM | Peter Mericka | 0 Comments   

(NOT APPLICABLE IN VICTORIA OR A.C.T.) by Tim O'Dwyer M.A., LL.B Queensland Solicitor & Consumer Advocate watchdog@argonautlegal.com.au Peter Mericka was correct when he stated in Auctions Exposed As Non-Binding that, as every agent, auctioneer, solicitor Read More...

Filed under: Conveyancing, Estate agent, Auction, Sale