Dishonest Real Estate Agents

I came across this illegal trick that a "reputable" city real estate agent is doing. This is the story. Let's say that the apartment is listed at $1.4M. He receives an offer of $1.2M. So to butter up the vendor, he first puts in a fake offer (a forged contract) to the vendor at say $1.025M. The vendor is disappointed, and rejects the offer. Soon after, he presents the real $1.2M offer (telling the vendor that this is a good offer; and also telling the purchaser that there is another person bidding on the the property.) The vendor is more likely to accept the $1.2M offer.

So if you are an investor selling your apartment in Brisbane, take care! Especially if the address of the purchaser is a PO Box. If you get a low ball offer, have someone check out to see if the offer is from a real person.