News

Use a Trust to Secretly Buy Your Neighbour’s House!

I want to buy a property from a person that knows me. I don't want that person to know that I am buying his home.

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Were Hoges and Linda Dudded by a Dodgy Agent?

[Auhtor – Tim ODwyer] Dear Mr & Mrs Hogan, You don’t know me, although I’ve been a big fan of Paul’s since his television comedy days and I’ve long liked Linda’s movie work. Anyhow, I wanted to bring to your attention some interesting legal issues relating to the sale a few years back of your multi-million dollar Sydney Harbour property. You will recall that you sold through a Sydney real estate agent to an investor...

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Hey Jude, You Were A True Battler For The Battlers

Few lawyers would be as outraged on behalf of disadvantaged clients, as solicitor Judy once was, to accuse a government of “gutter tactics”.

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Beware Of Property Fraudsters

Australian Property Investor magazine reported on the fraudulent and illegal practices of "jacked" real estate contracts and secret "rebates" on sale prices.

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Skilled Conveyancing Develops New “Skills”

When Skilled Conveyancing copied material from my website and presented it on its own website, it raised in my mind questions regarding honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, business ethics, and simple common-sense.

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Blind Freddy Would Have Spotted The Problems

In my experience many Queensland homebuyers find themselves financially disadvantaged by the cost of checking out homes they’ve contracted to buy. Some folk get more disadvantaged than others.

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More On What Motivates Agents Most

It is always fascinating, if not also disturbing, to see the self-serving clauses added by agents when the law allows them to prepare real estate contracts without the inconvenient involvement of solicitors.

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Contracts – Find The Devil In The Detail

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 into contracts, but they’re not the only ones. Lawyers and conveyancers do it too. A purchaser, intending to purchase at auction, asked for pre-auction legal adviceon a contract prepared by Davis Lawyers of Melbourne. The contract contained...

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Open For Inspection – Invitation For Theft

Reports of burglary and theft associated with property inspections conducted by real estate agents indicate that thieves are relying on estate agents to provide easy access homeowners' valuables.

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Bully Banks Cost Battlers Millions

For some time now a number of banks and non-bank lenders have been promoting themselves as "the battler's buddy", while illegally forcing their clients to pay for costly certificates.

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