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Propnex Melbourne principal agent Zi Zheng Huang said the allegations of underquoting stemmed from an “ignorant” mistake in the advertisement.
“We had no intention of deceiving anyone,” he told reporters. The Sunday Times.
Mr Huang said he appealed the fine on medical grounds but it was dismissed due to a miscommunication.
Cardamone Real Estate owner Peter Cardamone said a former employee of the agency made a mistake that led to the fine and the agency took responsibility for it.
The Low Bid Working Group was originally designed to Two years Find and screen real estate agents who give low price guides on their listings to attract more buyer interest.
Since then, officers have attended more than 180 auctions, supervised 1,900 sales and dealt with more than 2,800 complaints. They have also issued more than 320 formal warnings and imposed $1.6 million in fines.
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Underbidding wastes buyers’ time and money, who may attend inspections, arrange financing or pay for building inspections only to find out later that they can’t afford the properties.
It happensWhen a property is advertised for less than the estimated sale price, less than the seller’s asking price, or has been rejected by the seller – but it’s hard to prove.
When selling a property, you must list a price guide, which can be a single price or a price range of no more than 10%. However, there is no obligation for the seller to set a reserve price within this range – Views raised in the 2022 Government Review.
The review recommended the establishment of a low-bid task force, but its results have not yet been published.
Mr Ritchie insisted Consumer Affairs Victoria had a “zero tolerance” approach to underquoting.
“Whenever we find that something is being done that violates the law, we will take enforcement action,” Ritchie said.
“If we take a softer approach, it might be because there might be a dispute as to whether there was actually a breach. We might just discuss obligations and education issues with agents in a proactive way.”
Government Services Minister Gabrielle Williams said the decision to make the task force permanent was because cultural change takes time.
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She said it was “reassuring” that a third of the complaints the taskforce received came from real estate agents.
“The real estate industry is effectively self-regulating to stamp out this type of behavior and activity that is not only bad for consumers, but also bad for the (majority of) real estate agents who are doing the right thing,” Williams told reporters on Saturday.
The state government will increase penalties for real estate agents who break the law. Victorian Housing Statement.
Individuals were fined $2371 for underquoting, while companies were fined $11,855. The highest fine was more than $39,500.
Opposition consumer affairs spokesman Tim McCurdy said the change was long overdue because underquoting needed to be stamped out.
With Elizabeth Redman
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