PHOTO: 123RF – Trust accounts are required to be audited regularly by a chartered accountant.
The authority that regulates real estate agents is investigating “abnormalities” in the trust account of an Auckland franchise.
It has been alleged that $1 million was found to be missing from Preet & Co’s trust account. The company has 10 Harcourts-branded offices across Auckland.
Agents have the accounts to hold money from clients, such as the deposits paid on houses. The Real Estate Agents Act requires that all money received by agents for real estate transactions must be kept in a trust account until it is paid out to the property vendor, or as commission to the salespeople.
It has been reported that Harcourts has topped up the fund to ensure clients are not left out of pocket.
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