New draft legislation for the national licensing of property professionals is due later this month, although one senior industry stakeholder is already predicting the laws will be a major disappointment. The National Occupational Licensing Authority (NOLA) is expected to announce a decision on what licensing will look like for the real estate industry later this month,...

An agent has been fined and banned for a year after refusing to lodge trust account paperwork for six years. According to Consumer Affairs Victoria, Robert Marshall of Partners Real Estate in Reservoir has been suspended and fined $1,500. Mr Marshall allegedly failed to lodge trust account paperwork for six years despite repeated requests and warnings. His licence...

Your Sphere of Influence So what is your sphere of influence? Even before you started in real estate, there would have been people out there upon whom you would have had some influence just because they know you. This includes family, friends, those with whom you do business, teammates and so forth. Throughout your career in real estate, you should always...

A Brisbane agent has recently moved from a physical shopfront to a virtual office after shifting to a new network.  Bryan Carmichael made the conversion after his office joined One Agency at the start of the month when his business’ five year agreement with a former franchise ended. "We saw the opportunity that we didn’t need a shopfront with the...

The number of complaints against real estate agents in NSW fell in 2012, pushing the profession off the regulator's top 10 worst offenders list. According to NSW Fair Trading, there were 891 complaints against property agents regarding the purchase or sale of a property, down from 923 in 2011. Real estate agents came tenth on the top...

Having an agent on each side of the property transaction would slash the number of consumer complaints against agents and enhance the profession’s standing in the community, the head of a major real estate group has said. Tony Brasier, managing director and chairman at PRDnationwide, said many complaints against industry professionals stem from buyers failing to...

Most agents’ appraisal numbers spike in their first 12 to 18 months in the industry and then plummet southwards, one industry leader has said. According to Dane Atherton, managing director of Harcourts Coastal on Queensland's Gold Coast, agents who have been in the industry for two years generally do not see the need to prospect as...

We believe that all administration staff should be registered if dealing with property enquiries and handling trust account monies. "Something of an administrative nature" and "exercise any of the FUNCTIONS of a real estate agent" are the terms used in the legislation and are very broad statements. Therefore, at Property Training Solutions we always recommend ALL staff are registered...

Homebuyers are often confused by abbreviations used in property advertisements in print media, and can be put off by agents who include their headshot, according to a survey by one group. RE/MAX WA conducted a survey on prospective buyers, asking what their pet-peeves are about real estate advertising in print media. According to RE/MAX WA managing director...

Widespread concerns about “conservative” and “inconsistent” property valuations have led a number of lenders to introduce a single set of standing instructions for valuers. The new standing instructions, developed by RP Data, make it simpler for valuers who no longer have to deal with different standing instructions from different banks. The standing instructions outline a bank’s expectations regarding...