Ray White's Representations

"We're on a roll here at Ray White Toowong on the back of both our biggest sales AND listing month so far this year! Local sellers are capitalizing on the growth their properties have enjoyed over past years and buyers are swooping on good quality properties as the press continues to claim it a "buyer's market." Well that may be the case but investors are loving it."

So it is both a good time to sell and a good time to buy?

Rate Your Agent

Here is an interesting website, that allows buyers and sellers to rate the real estate agent. I hope it gathers traction. www.propertyscope.com.au

Fairfax Says, Don't Trust Real Estate Agents

Fairfax, which earns a large part of its revenue from real estate agents advertising on Domain and in the SMH and The Age, warns not to trust real estate agents.

"Don't take the word of an agent about what your property is worth. Make up your own mind through research or, if you're still unsure, pay to have a professional valuation carried out on your property. That will cost you between $400 and $600."

Full Story

Gold Coast Real Estate Ad

Well, this is an adventurous way to advertise a property. See You Tube.

Real Estate Agent Tricks

Have you heard about these two tricks from real estate agents?

One is listing a property for sale by forthcoming auction, but never actually scheduling the auction. There is no list price, and the agent tells prospective purchasers do get in quick before the vendor has to pay for advertising, and that once the auction campaign commences, the vendor will not accept conditional offers subject to finance or building inspection.

The second trick is to set a high reserve at the auction. The agent then takes telephone bids, but in fact, the person bidding via telephone is a friend or co-employee. Because the agent knows the reserve, the fake telephone bidder comes in close to but just below the reserve. This bids the price up, and then when the property doesn't sell at auction (as it usually will not), the agent then lists the property at the reserve price and says that there was a bidder just below the reserve (which, of course is not true).

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.

Landmark case sends a warning to investors

"Know how you should and shouldn't market your apartment, particularly when the onsite complex manager owns the building trademark."

From September 2010 edition of Australian Property Investor

Similar to issues raised in prior posts here.

Real Estate Photography

It is interesting to see how good photographs improve the image of an apartment. Have a look at the before and after photos on Brisbane photographer's website: http://www.akimages.org/

Comment from Prestige Agent

"I think we have seen it is a buyers' market at the moment," she says. "Our open home attendances are down by 30 to 40 per cent on last year."

I hope this agent is telling her prospective sellers this!

See Courier Mail.

Offsite Letting Agents

In a prior post, I warned against dealing with unlicensed or unusual offsite letting agents for holiday rentals. Recently, Accommodation One on the Gold Coast closed down -- leaving landlords and guests out of pocket. So guests of both Tailly (A1) and Accommodation 1 have recently lost their holiday bookings as well as their prepayments. Booking sites such as RoamFree and eBay should take some responsibility for dealing with these operators and helping them market their accommodation. ebay has set up a compensation fund for guests, but landlords miss out (and now have to find new tenants in competition with all of Accommodation One's other landlords, in a slow winter market.)

Beware of unlicensed offsite operators

The results of the recent Circle on Cavill lawsuit is a warning both to renters and apartment owners who use unlicensed offsite operators.

Tailly leased about 40 apartments in Circle on Cavill from owners, on a long term basis, for example, on one year leases. He then advertised the apartments for rent on the Internet on a short term basis. The Federal Court found that his websites were illegal, and shut them down. Tailly then went into bankruptcy. The apartment owners were not paid rent. The renters and holidaymakers lost their money and had no booking -- Tailly collected the money upfront at the time of booking, and then spent the money. Tailly was not a licensed real estate agent or travel agent -- just a tenant illegally subletting his apartments.

So if you are an apartment owner, make sure that you are using a licensed real estate agent and that you prohibit your tenant from subletting. (In this case, many of the apartment owners used real estate agents that expressly allowed Tailly to sublet!) If you are a renter or holidaymaker, it is best to deal directly with the property or use a reputable website such as Wotif.

If you are getting a too-good-a-deal from eBay, Stayz or a website that is not operated by a real estate agent or travel agent, then watch out! Not all websites are legitimate.

Another example is Paul Whitehead and his company, WorldTourism. Take care when booking with WorldTourism, to make sure you understand who you are booking with. See story on A Current Affair, and these newspaper stories.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/09/2868246.htm

http://www.mygc.com.au/article/news/local-newsroom/28374-schoolies-ban-contested-in-court.php

Bad Onsite Agent

Office of Fair Trading - Minister's Statement:

10 year ban for real estate employee

An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading has resulted in a Kangaroo Point-based resident letting agent and his company being banned from holding licences under the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000 for ten years after ripping off unit owners.

Minister for Fair Trading Peter Lawlor said Leigh Gregory Craig, who was also fined $2500, was found guilty by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal of failing to follow his clients’ instructions and producing false invoices. His company Brass Properties No 1 Pty Ltd was also banned for 10 years and fined $3,000.

“Mr Craig first came to the attention of Fair Trading officers after they received a complaint from a unit owner who was falsely charged a $132 fee for the retrieval of a set of car keys accidentally dropped down a lift shaft,” Mr Lawlor said. “Following an investigation, Mr Craig was also found to have advertised Bridgeport Apartments for short-term letting which flies in the face of body corporate by-laws which impose a minimum period of six months.

“He deliberately misled unit owners by failing to disclose the higher than usual fees he was charging renters, which at times was double the normal amount. This additional income was not passed on to the unit owners. This type of behaviour has no place in Queensland’s real estate industry. Queenslanders deserve to know they are dealing with reputable and licensed agents,” he said.

"This decision is a clear reminder to the real estate industry to act responsibly. If an agent chooses to breach the law by deceiving their customers, they risk the loss of their licence, reputation and livelihood. The legislation is there to protect businesses and clients, and must be complied with. Licensees caught doing the wrong thing will be penalised."

Real Estate Marketing Technology

This is an interesting websites for real estate agents, involving the use of technology.

Business2

Onsite or Offsite Real Estate Agent?

If you own an apartment, and wish to rent it, there is often a choice between using the onsite building manager (who will often have a real estate agent license) or an offsite real estate agent. There are positives and negatives of both. This is the view of Chris Hinds, an offsite agent, as set out in a recent mailing from him:

"In this day and age, the majority of On-site management offices can provide generic Property Management services. Inappropriately trained staff are usually placed within minimal staffed offices and a heavy reliance is placed on technology and computers to deliver the required service. The business owner is normally no-where to be seen whilst the management of your property is generally handled by unaccountable staff that do not even own an investment property themselves. Sound familiar? Common concerns that generally arise from the above are…

• The Caretaker/Building Manager condoning backpackers or short term letting.
• Poor or unsupervised tenant selection.
• Overcrowding and increased wear and tear contributed by the excess of students, back packers & short-term lets within the building
• Is the most appropriate amount of rent charged to the tenant based on rental market conditions.
• Levies and bills attended to and paid on time.
• Entry and Exit Condition reports completed and done so thoroughly.
• Caretakers/Building Managers wanting an extension could signify their desire to sell out!
• Watch out for those Hotel operators, they are well known to reduce the value of your property."