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Case Update: Disclosure of leaky walls

The complainant in this case was the purchaser who made a complaint to the Real Estate Agents Authority on 1 March 2018.

The purchaser claimed that the licensee had not disclosed that the conservatory of the property and the bedroom walls were leaky.

In April 2017, the purchaser acquired the property. The licensee had provided him with a builder’s report which was a strong influence on his decision to purchase the property. He assumed that the building report had been carried out on behalf of the vendor. The building report stated that a window needed replacing and some general maintenance was required but no major issues were identified.

On 5 April 2017, prior to paying the deposit, the purchaser discovered that the conservatory was leaking and that the carpet was wet. He claimed that the licensee told him to deal with this issue at a later date.

The purchaser then moved into the property and employed a licensed building practitioner (LBP) who then found a host of issues apparent in the property and accordingly repaired them. These issues were: swelling due to moisture, water entering the bedrooms below the conservatory and the roof tiles were concrete as opposed to metal titles as stated in the building report. The purchaser claimed that licensee should have informed him of these defects and told him to obtain independent expert advice.

The licensee claimed that he had recommended that the vendor obtain an independent building inspection report for purchaser information and when he had discovered information around the kitchen window sill and conservatory leaks, he ensured that the building inspector would include this in his report which was to be given to prospective purchasers.

The licensee also claimed that he advised prospective purchasers about the kitchen window sill and conservatory leak and to obtain their own building report and advice. The Complaints Assessment Committee (CAC) found that two out of three offers had contained building report conditions and therefore, on the balance on probabilities, the licensee did advise the complainant that there was a conservatory leak and to obtain independent expert advice.

Disclosure documents

Another agency licensee who obtained an offer for the property called up the agency manager concerned that the disclosure documents were not identifying some water ingress problems and rotten timber around the conservatory window.

The licensee had been made aware after the agency agreement had been signed that the property had leaks and his agency manager had told him that he should have noted this on the property disclosure documents. The licensee accepted that he neglected to do this but stated that the issues were identified on the face page of the vendor commissioned building report.

The CAC stated that the report was inadequate to be relied upon and that it was not a disclosure document intended to be signed by the prospective purchaser and attached to the Agreement and that the report also minimised the leak.

The CAC found that the licensee failed to adequately complete the disclosure documents and breached Rule 5.1 and Rule 6.4 of the Professional Conduct and Client Care Rules 2012. According to Rule 5.1, the licensee failed to exercise skill, care, competence and diligence in the completion of information material to the Agreement. Under Rule 6.4, was misleading/potentially misleading to the vendor, other Agency licensees and prospective purchasers.

Caveating the building inspection report

The purchaser assumed that the building report was completed on behalf of the vendor. The purchaser’s solicitor stated that he would have warned the purchaser that builders’ reports are full of disclaimers and that it probably would not have been possible to claim against the builder who carried out the report.

The CAC found that the licensee had a professional duty to make it clear to all prospective purchasers that the building report was vendor commissioned and prepared for the vendor and that prospective purchasers could not rely on any claim against the building inspector.

The CAC found that the licensee had breached Rule 5.1.

Finding: A finding on unsatisfactory conduct was made.

You can find the decision here.

Verifiable Training

Dunedin Verifiable Training - LAST CHANCE!
Wednesday 10 & Thursday 11 April
Registration deadline Thursday 4 April - a $50 per person late fee will apply after this date.

Wellington Verifiable Training - LAST CHANCE!
Wednesday 10 & Thursday 11 April
Registration deadline Thursday 4 April - a $50 per person late fee will apply after this date.

Check online for a full list of regional training sessions or the newly released online training packages!

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REINZ Rural & Lifestyle Roadshow

5 locations between 30 April - 15 May

REINZ has organised a 2-hour workshop for our rural & lifestyle sector, presented by John Abbott.
This session will cover getting your head right; prospecting; winning the pitch; presenting compelling information; increase marketing/campaigning; managing clients and closing sales.

Sessions are available in Hamilton, Invercargill, Christchurch, Cromwell and Kerikeri.
Book Now

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REINZ presents the Anti-Money Laundering Roadshow - Part 2!

Practical, hands-on and detailed training. Check out the poster
Find your suitable session and book now.
Last chance to book for Invercargill, Queenstown, Nelson and Christchurch.

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C&I Workshop: Advanced Negotiation Strategies to clinch that deal

Wednesday 1 May
Staying ahead in C&I real estate is tough. You need advanced negotiation skills and strategies to get ahead in challenging market conditions.
Presented by John Abbott, this workshop aims to hone your skills so you can get ahead of the pack and clinch that deal
Book Now

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Verifiable Dates for 2019

Region	Dates	Location
April
Wellington/Lower Hutt	10 - 11	Lower Hutt Events Centre	Book Now
Dunedin	10 - 11	Edgar Centre	Book Now
May
Thames	1 - 2	Thames Civic Centre	Book Now
Whangarei	8 - 9	Northland Events Centre	Book Now
New Plymouth	15 - 16	Novotel	Book Now
Hamilton	29 - 30	Workingmen's Club	Book Now

Sector Events

Commercial & Industrial Breakfast
Wednesday 10 April, 7.30am - 10am
REINZ is excited to have Rod Marler (Panuku Development Auckland), Stephen Selwood (Infrastructure New Zealand), Chris Cunniffe (Tax Management New Zealand) and Lisa Gerrard (REINZ) speaking with us for our 2019 Commercial and Industrial Breakfast held at the Maritime Room, Auckland.

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Sports Tournaments

Auckland Golf Tournament
Thursday 16 May, 10:30am - 5:30pm
Entry includes green fees, prize table, first drink and after match platters. Thank you to our sponsors Property Press, Mercedes-Benz and Barfoot & Thompson. This event is open to REINZ Members, partners and clients. Registrations close on Friday 9th May (unless sold prior).
Registration will be open on the day from 10:30am. Prizes will be awarded for Stableford Competition and Men's & Ladies Gross.
For more information, please contact Events@reinz.co.nz

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Inspire | Motivate | Connect - 2019 YPIRE Conference

For young professionals in real estate, those new to the industry, the young at heart or anyone interested in the amazing speaker lineup.
With a great lineup of speakers including Phil Harris, Tom Panos, Jake Millar and Lisa King, the 2019 YPIRE Conference is one you do not want to miss!

Grab your earlybird tickets before 5 May for the best pricing!

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For all REINZ Events, visit the Education Portal.

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April
Commercial & Industrial Breakfast	10 April	7.30am - 10am	Maritime Room, Auckland
May
Auckland Golf Tournament	16 May	10.30am - 5.30am	Akarana Golf Club
June
NZ Auctioneering Championships - Draw	23 June	5.30pm - 7.30pm	REINZ, Auckland
NZ Auctioneering Championships - Heats	24 June	10am - 5pm	REINZ, Auckland
NZ Auctioneering Championships - Finals	25 June	10am - 6pm	REINZ, Auckland
Septmber
Inspire | Motivate | Connect Conference	18 September	10am - 7pm	Shed 10, Auckland

Location Profiler: the useful location snapshot for prospecting

Did you know that you can compare two locations, council, ward or custom territory side-by-side with Location Profiler?

You can choose between the last 12 months or last month of data and run a comparison between two locations with the following data:

- Sales Statistics
- Census data from Statistics NZ
- School zones

Go to Location Profiler, click on “add comparison” and get started with your suburb snapshot comparison.

Watch the how-to video here.

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Face-to-face Training

PropertySmarts Training - FREE
Thursday 11 April, 10am - 11am
Events on Khyber, L2 REINZ Head Office, Auckland

Enhanced Statistics Portal Training - FREE
Thursday 11 April, 11.15am - 12.15pm
Events on Khyber, L2 REINZ Head Office, Auckland

How to use eForms to create a Sale & Purchase agreement and offer - FREE
Friday 12 April, 10am - 11am
Events on Khyber, L2 REINZ Head Office, Auckland

How to use FlexiSign to negotiate offers online - FREE
Thursday 11 April, 10am - 11am
Events on Khyber, L2 REINZ Head Office, Auckland

Property prices in holiday hot spots are up

Bindi Norwell, REINZ CEO said: "We are continuously seeing values rise in these holiday hot spots with great interest in both the northern beach areas such as Whitianga, and the southern lake townships such as Wanaka.

"There is continued interest in purchasing a holiday home, especially given the warm weather we have been experiencing."

Read more in the full article here.

REINZ works in partnership with NetYourJob recruitment to provide maximum industry coverage when you’re looking for real estate staff. NetYourJob can provide REINZ Members with competitive marketing rates for job advertising. Contact NetYourJob on 0800 638 968 to find out more or click here to view new jobs this week.