Barfoot & Thompson guilty of unsatisfactory conduct
Auckland's biggest real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson has been found guilty of unsatisfactory conduct relating to potential conflicts of interest involving its agents.
It follows a court process that saw the company mount repeated legal challenges to an adverse ruling made against it by the industry watchdog.
The case involved an internal Barfoot policy allowing agents buying property listed with the company to deal directly with sellers.
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It cited a 2012 transaction in Te Atatu when two Barfoot agents looking for an investment property purchased a property listed by two of their colleagues after a "team viewing".
The purchasers negotiated directly with the vendors, who revealed the level of previous interest in the property and the fact they were keen to sell before the current tenant left.
The agents eventually bought the property for $360,000 and received more than $5700 in commission.
Another case related to a Stanmore Bay property deal in which an agent who had just listed the property offered to buy it the next day.
During negotiations, the vendor revealed to the agent she was under pressure to sell as the property she wanted to buy was subject to an escape clause that had been activated.
The property eventually sold for $376,000 and the agent who purchased the property received more than $5000 in commission.