OPINION
by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B
Real Estate Lawyer and Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria
It seems that many estate agents believe purchasers have no rights whatsoever. No wonder so many purchasers complain that they are treated like garbage. Here's a recent example.
Richard Carter of
Carter Real Estate in Ringwood is an estate agent and a former
President of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria who promotes himself on the basis of experience, ability and integrity.
But what if the person who promotes himself as the honest and helpful estate agent is little more than a puppet, covering the hand of a master manipulator?
That was the experience of an intending purchaser who submitted an offer to Richard Carter recently.
And whose hand was left clutching the purchaser's offer after the puppet was removed?
To the purchaser's horror, the hand inside the Carter puppet turned out to be that of well-known real estate identity
Ian Reid of
Ian Reid Vendor Advocacy!
Whatever happened to privacy and confidentiality?
A written offer to purchase real estate is an extremely sensitive document.
No estate agent is entitled to treat a real estate contract as his own.
When a purchaser delivers a contract to an estate agent the estate agent it is expected that Regulation 18 of the
Estate Agents (Professional
Conduct) Regulations will be complied with, and that the estate agent will deliver the offer directly to the vendor or the vendor's legal representative.
The estate agent should not deliver a purchaser's offer to any third party without the express permission of the purchaser or the purchaser's representative. Carter's behaviour in delivering the contract to
Ian Reid demonstrated a total disregard for the purchaser's right to privacy.
Conclusions
Estate agents must observe privacy
When an estate agent presents himself as a conduit to the vendor, and asks the purchaser to trust him with her offer, the estate
agent should acknowledge that he is receiving sensitive information. As well as details of the offer, estate agents collect very personal details from intending purchasers, often including
details of income, home loan eligibility, unlisted telephone numbers etc.
The purchaser's right to privacy must be respected. It is not open to the estate agent to pass this sensitive information to parties other than the party for whom it is intended or a party who is
within the contemplation of the purchaser. In the case set out above, had the purchaser known that Carter would be passing the offer to
Ian Reid, an objection would have been raised.
Estate agents should never handle contracts
As we have indicated many times before, estate agents should never handle contracts. (For example, see
Why Estate Agents Should NEVER Handle Contracts and
More On Why Agents Should Not Be Allowed To Prepare Real Estate Contracts.)
Regulators can and must deal with rogue elements in the industry by enforcing existing laws.
A simple and sensible approach would be to ensure that the estate agent does not prepare any real estate contract unless requested in writing by the purchaser to do so.
Unless prompt and decisive action is taken, purchasers will continue to be treated like garbage.
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