Author Archives for Peter Mericka

Neil Jenman Fights Back

February 26, 2009 5:08 pm Published by Comments Off on Neil Jenman Fights Back Neil Jenman does most of his fighting on behalf of consumers who have fallen victim to real estate corruption. But who fights for Neil Jenman when powerful and corrupt real estate industry forces direct their collective fury at him by way of a highly orchestrated and well resourced smear campaign?

Estate Agents Should NEVER Conduct Inspections

February 22, 2009 5:12 pm Published by Comments Off on Estate Agents Should NEVER Conduct Inspections When unknown visitors rummage through children’s clothes during a property inspection it can give rise to all sorts of fears and concerns. It is now well known that theft and “snooping trauma” are common occurrences during real estate inspections conducted by real estate agents.

Video Recording of Real Estate Auctions

February 16, 2009 5:16 pm Published by Comments Off on Video Recording of Real Estate Auctions It's time for consumers to get serious about the tricks and criminal conduct associated with real estate auctions. As most of the criminal conduct associated with auctions takes place when the auctioneer is progress, the logical solution is to make a record of the proceedings. The video recording of every real estate auction would greatly assist in keeping real estate agents within the law, and consumers safe from criminal conduct.

Official Disinterest in a Real Estate Forgery of ‘Convenience Only’

February 14, 2009 5:27 pm Published by Comments Off on Official Disinterest in a Real Estate Forgery of ‘Convenience Only’ A Logan City (Queensland) couple, Jose and Maria, heard glowing reports from a Filipino friend of his negatively-geared property investments. After Jose and Maria showed some interest in making such investment themselves their friend helpfully arranged some introductions for them.

Off-The-Plan Unit Contracts At Risk

February 11, 2009 5:30 pm Published by Comments Off on Off-The-Plan Unit Contracts At Risk Conveyancing solicitors across Queensland have been anxiously scurrying to their filing cabinets to check settled and unsettled off-the-plan unit contracts following a surprise court decision. Serious repercussions could flow far and wide from this decision - not only for the state’s legal profession, but also for the local property development industry and the government.

Estate Agents As “Legal Advisers”?

January 28, 2009 5:35 pm Published by Comments Off on Estate Agents As “Legal Advisers”? Harcourts real estate agent, Lester Drew criticised a column in that newspaper about selling real estate. Drew pointed out that columnist Scott Pape was a financial advisor, was not a “registered member” of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland and was “not professionally qualified..."

REIV – Bad Investment Advice On Buyer’s Agents

January 22, 2009 5:53 pm Published by Comments Off on REIV – Bad Investment Advice On Buyer’s Agents As an investment adviser Enzo Raimondo, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria is the last person a property purchaser should listen to. In his most recent article 'Buyer's agent a sound investment' in the Domain section of The Age newspaper Saturday 17 January, 2009, Raimondo is quite dishonest with readers as he misstates the law on purchaser advocacy and appears to deliberately misunderstand the real estate sale process.

Licensed Conveyancers – PI Insurance Problems

January 8, 2009 6:02 pm Published by Comments Off on Licensed Conveyancers – PI Insurance Problems Professional indemnity insurance for licensed conveyancers is a high-risk problem. The licensing of conveyancers under the Victorian Conveyancers Act 2006 was expected to safeguard consumers by requiring all licensed conveyancers to have professional indemnity insurance cover.

Conveyancing Bribes – A New Growth Industry

December 24, 2008 10:08 am Published by Comments Off on Conveyancing Bribes – A New Growth Industry Since Scott Goodman of Goodman Group Conveyancing started his "Goodman Group Conveyancing Referral Service" bribery and corruption in the conveyancing and real estate industries of Victoria has shifted to over-drive.

Auctions – Going, Going, Gone?

December 22, 2008 10:34 am Published by Comments Off on Auctions – Going, Going, Gone? "Right now the real estate auction system is on the ropes because the market has tanked; but its problems run deeper than that. The elephant in the room is whether the auction system itself is working in vendors’ best interests.