Breach costs agent $3000

A SPRINGVALE real estate agent’s representative has been fined and reprimanded after he and his wife bought a property his employer was selling – without telling the client, his employer or authorities.
Michael Minh Le, who worked for McDonald Real Estate Springvale, failed to get his client’s permission to buy the property or to notify the Consumer Affairs Victoria director.
Consumer Affairs Victoria took action against Mr Le and on 4 January the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) issued him a $3000 fine and reprimand.
The agency returned its $10,460 commission to the client in December 2011 after learning of Mr Le’s actions.
In March 2011 a woman engaged the agency to auction her property in Union Grove, Springvale.
Mr Le supervised the open for inspections and attended the auction, which attracted only one bidder. The top bid on 16 April was below the reserve and the property was passed in.
Mr Le later gave the agency’s officer in effective control (OIEC) an offer of $523,000 without stating that it came from his wife.
The OIEC passed this offer onto the client, who accepted it on 29 April 2011. Mr Le and his wife became the property’s registered owners on 20 June 2011.
VCAT found that Mr Le breached the Estate Agents Act, did not at all times act fairly and honestly, and engaged in unprofessional conduct detrimental to the estate agency industry’s reputation.