PHOTO: FILE
A real estate agent incurred a fine after a dismayed homeowner uncovered that they had been sold an incorrect property. The purchaser became aware of the error upon receiving a call regarding her first home owners grant application, revealing that the lot number on her application didn’t align with official records.
This mishap involved two adjacent, street-front, strata-titled lots in the Perth suburb of Camillo, both owned by the same sellers. The certificates of title listed street addresses that did not match the physical addresses of the lots.
In March 2022, during the preparation of a sales agreement, the agency John O’Neil & Son relied on the street address provided by the seller to acquire the certificate of title and strata plan. However, the real estate agent failed to detect the mistake throughout the sales process and was subsequently fined $7000 by the State Administrative Tribunal.
The agency neglected to notice that the lot listed on the purchased certificate of title did not correspond with the lot on the intended strata plan to be sold. Consequently, the error went unnoticed during the sale, resulting in the issuance of a certificate of title in the buyer’s name for the incorrect property.
As a consequence of selling the wrong property, the real estate agency was fined $7000 by the State Administrative Tribunal following a course of action by Consumer Protection. The SAT determined that the agency had violated the Real Estate and Business Agents and Sales Representatives Code of Conduct by failing to exercise due care, diligence, and skill in preparing a sales agreement.
Consumer Protection Commissioner Trish Blake expressed disappointment that the error had not been detected at any stage during the sale process, emphasizing that mistakes of this nature are unacceptable and constitute a major breach of real estate laws in WA.
“Mistakes of this nature are unacceptable and represent major breaches of the laws that are designed to protect both buyers and sellers of real estate in WA,” she remarked. “Agents must ensure that they have the proper procedures in place to prevent any errors being made which could result in disciplinary action.
“There was no way for the new homeowner to know they were being sold the wrong property. But buyers could put their mind at ease by asking their real estate agent whether they have properly checked the property information before signing a legally binding contract.”
SOURCE: NEWS.COM.AU