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As an agent, the last thing you want is to be on the wrong side of the law. Remaining up-to-date is vital. So, this month we ask how do you keep up with changing legislation?
PHILLIP SHEARING
Director, Towns Shearing, Launceston, TAS
“We basically rely on our Real Estate Institute to keep us informed, and we get trainers to run information meetings with regards to any changes. At the moment we’re in the middle of a process of ongoing change with the Property Act, but that isn’t fully implemented yet. It will introduce vendor questionnaires. There will be cooling off periods coming into place for purchasers, without restricting vendors from marketing your property until you have council and title searches in your possession.”
MARK FOY
Principal, Belle Property Surry Hills, NSW
“We stay on top of legislation through our CPD points. We either do that by getting someone into our office, or we do it through head office at Belle Property. They organise for our whole staff to go in and cover all the issues annually. We also get a company called Think Real Estate to do an internal audit on our books and files to prepare us for a real audit. In addition, we get a solicitor in every six months to go over contract law and any changes. There haven’t been many major changes in the past 12 months though.”
PAUL MULLANE
Principal, Elders Carnarvon, WA
“We get informed through the state Real Estate Institute and follow their guidance. Our franchise network also keeps us informed of any changes. Some new legislation we’ve had to become familiar with is the identification of clients; there were a few scams in WA, so the new laws curtail that practice. It requires certified copies and seeing suitable forms of ID. We’re a small town, so 99 per cent of the time we know the sellers anyway, but I can understand why there are these changes.”
TIM MCINNES
Co-director, Belconnen office, Luton Properties, ACT
“We had the sales agents and property managers sit down with a solicitor last year to go through some of the changes in a combined training session. Our company has appointed a training manager who, along with principal Richard Luton, keeps the team updated at weekly office meetings. Emails and phone messages are also important to communication change within Luton. In addition, it’s compulsory to complete our CPD units every year, which would usually cover such matters.”
BILL BRITTAIN
Principal,Harcourts Coorparoo, QLD
“To maintain their membership of REIQ, Queensland principals have to complete two training modules each year. One of the modules is compulsory and deals with any new changes to legislation, while the optional second module is a choice of a number of subjects dealing with the specialised fields within the real estate industry. These second modules are for ‘best practice’ methods to be used in the real estate industry. The REIQ works in association with the Office of Fair Trading regarding any new legislation.”
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