New Zealand's worst real estate agent | The Jackal

25 May 2017

New Zealand's worst real estate agent

Anybody who is lucky enough to have a deposit and are looking at getting onto the property ladder now have more than just high prices, P contamination and a lack of good houses to worry about. Homebuyers also need to be extra careful that the real estate agent they’re dealing with isn’t a fraudster.

Yesterday, the NZ Herald reported:

Real estate watchdog loses power to force police vetting checks on agents

The real estate watchdog has been stripped of its power to force agents to undergo police vetting checks after a precedent-setting test case by a Wellington agent.

Luke Domb challenged the Real Estate Agents Authority's (REAA) legal right to demand police vetting reports on new or existing agents as part of its licensing process, arguing the checks were unlawful and far more invasive than a criminal history check.

The vets are used by the authority to ensure agents are "fit and proper" to work in the industry and weed out anyone with serious criminal convictions or dishonesty offences.

You’ve really got to wonder at the justice system sometimes. By not requiring a proper vetting process for real estate agents, the judge has effectively ensured that there’s going to be even more homebuyers being ripped off.

The new rules will assuredly mean an increase in agents misleading clients and homebuyers. There will be more families getting a raw deal and potentially losing all their savings or ending up with a house that isn't habitable.

Furthermore, a lack of trust between agents, clients and house buyers is going to cause even more difficulties during the purchase process. This will inevitably mean agents are held in even less regard, and that’s why all honest real estate agents should oppose such a dumb ruling.

REAA should appeal the vetting ruling to the Supreme Court because it’s moralistically wrong and legally questionable. It appears that the befuddled judge just wanted more real estate cases before the court. Pretty short-sighted really!

Real estate agents are required to have impeccable credentials because they’re dealing with large amounts of money and people’s futures. Besides, there are already enough criminals in the real estate business.

Yesterday, the NZ Herald also reported:

West Auckland real estate agent Aaron Drever pleads for licence

A top real estate agent stripped of his licence last year is blaming attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and stomach stapling surgery for his litany of offending.

West Auckland-based Aaron Drever was once a high-flying seller, earning over $1 million a year in commission.

But he is now making a last-ditch attempt to save the only career he has known since he was 18.

Between 2010 and 2014 Drever, 33, notched up 11 separate formal complaints to the Real Estate Agents Authority (REAA) and was subject to nine separate disciplinary findings - a record that still stands nationwide.

Should we feel sorry for the dodgy Drever because he wasted some of his ill-gotten gains on a stomach stapling operation? No! Do we believe that his ADHD was the cause of him ripping people off? Hell no! This is the most ridiculous argument I’ve heard in a long time and Drever’s lawyer, Guyon Foley, is obviously just another money grubbing hack!

REAA should strongly oppose Drever becoming a real estate agent again because he’s clearly untrustworthy. You don’t get nine separate disciplinary findings without being a career criminal. Maybe he could become a used car salesman or enter into politics?