A first-time homeowner was shocked to discover he had been sold the wrong property months after moving in.
Perth resident Nicholas Cronin had been enjoying life in his new home in Tapping, in the city’s north, before his settlement agent gave him the bad news.
The agent told Mr. Cronin that the wrong folio number had been recorded on all the documents for his new home and that he would have to resubmit it.
He had moved into one of two adjoining lots that had two certificates of title that listed addresses that did not match the physical addresses of the lots.
The real estate agent did not realize that the lot on his purchase certificate did not correspond to the lot on the strata plan, the Western Australia reports.
“As you can imagine this caused all sorts of problems and in fact in February this year I received the correct bill from the Water Corporation,” he said.
Perth resident Nicholas Cronin had been enjoying life in his new home in Tapping, in the city’s north, before his settlement agent revealed he had been sold the wrong house.
Cronin was eventually able to persuade the owner of the other lot to change the address to comply with official records.
Rates, water, gas, electricity and home insurance rates have all been moved to the correct address, however you are still having issues with your NBN and internet.
It comes after a Perth estate agency was fined $7,000 for selling a woman the wrong property in Camillo, in the city’s south-east.
O’Neil Real Estate was fined after the buyer discovered the lot number on their First Home Owner Grant Application did not match records.
The real estate agent did not realize that the lot on Mr Cronin’s certificate of purchase did not correspond to the lot on the strata plan (pictured, a sold sign outside a house in Sydney).
The agency was fined $6,000 and ordered to pay $1,000 in costs after an agent failed to notice that the lot address on the certificate of title purchased was different from that on the strata plan in March 2022.
The State Administrative Court ruled that the agency had violated the Code of Conduct for Real Estate and Business Sales Agents and Representatives by failing to exercise due care, diligence and skill during the sales agreement.
O’Neil Real Estate director Rohan Wieske said the agency had taken responsibility for the fine and had made efforts to ensure the same mistake never happened again.
He told the West Australian his agents were now ensuring they cross-checked title documents with physical inspections of properties sold by the agency.
“It went through us, it went through both sets of settlement agents, it went through the bank, it went through an appraiser and unfortunately it wasn’t picked up,” he said.
“But the owner moved into the house he wanted to buy, the seller sold the property he intended to sell, only the legal description in the contract for the land was incorrect – it was a pretty simple solution.”
Consumer Protection WA has issued a warning in lieu of the error and reminded estate agents to implement proper procedures.
