For context - I've worked around the real estate industry in a few ways over the last 10 years. I did property staging for a couple of years, I was an agent for a couple of years and now I do real estate photography as well as marketing for agents! I'm here for a laugh today - I want to know the weirdest thing you received as a settlement gift/your settlement gift horror stories.
Mine? I got a massive seafood platter for one of my properties, even though we had discussed that I'm allergic!
Not entirely in line with your question but was still something we received at settlement and I still can’t believe it happened. We were due to settle on a Monday, the bank loan was all sorted and ready to go. Then on the Friday before that Monday our conveyancer told us she hadn’t accurately calculated our stamp duty costs and that we needed another $50k!! It was impossible for us to extend the loan in time for that and we would have been liable for those incredibly large daily late fees. Luckily the conveyancer put her bad advice in an email which I found (phew) and shared with her saying we would pursue any costs in court. She called us on the Monday morning to say she transferred $50k into the central settlement account 🤯
I actually had something similar happen to me just before settlement! When I purchased my house I got an email from my conveyancer a day out from settlement saying I needed to fund my account by an extra 200k because apparently I was short on funds. I called him in tears asking how this could happen as I didn't have that money. I'd carefully gone over everything numerous times and it makes no sense how I was short on money. He callously just told me I was wrong and I needed to come up with the money or I'd lose my deposit. Then he hung up and didn't take any of my calls.
I called the bank in a panic and they calmed me down and reassured me I certainly had enough money and my conveyancer was wrong. But he wouldn't take any more of my calls until I called on a private number, where he spoke over me and said he was right and I was wrong and once again hung up on me.
My husband then gives him a call and he's willing to talk to my husband (typical). Husband asked for the calculations. They go over the calculations together and it turns out the conveyancer mistook a 6 for an 8. No extra money was needed, he was wrong. The conveyancer didn't even apologise for the sheer panic and stress he caused me. Clearly I never used him again.
That is extremely fucked up, on several levels. What an unprofessional dickbag!
That’s awful. It’s a stressful experience to begin with let alone having a-holes like that making it worse
I'd like to see this man try and talk to my husband over me about contracts and figures when I'm the contracts and figures brain. What a dumb way to conduct himself in this day and age.
That's so bad!!!!!!
Wtf man
I get human error but unless it is a surplus duty (ie in NSW over 3mil on residential incurs a surplus ) surely she thought the duty was a bit low for the purchase price
I don’t think she read the contract tbh because yeah, it’s a big mistake for a conveyancer. We asked her to do the contract for sale of our previous place which was for an older, smaller apartment; guessing maybe she assumed what price range we were buying into based on that….?
My mind is blown. You have to submit settlement figures etc and put a consideration on a transfer (even electronically). Maybe things are different in other states but that is wild to me lol
It was off the plan contract
Dang, this happened to me (for a lesser amount). I just panicked and paid up, the idea of pushing back never crossed my mind :(
Whaaaaaaaat, holy!!!
Yup! We still can’t believe it. I’m assuming it was to avoid issues w her insurance but will never really know
Lawyers know that court is the last place you wanna go if you can avoid it. She was in the wrong for miscalculations and had you sign the contract for a lower amount, but was going to try get you to cover anyway. You called her bluff.
She probably took it from her own funds, but that's nothing compared to the possibility of her being disciplined for it- could even lose her license/be barred.
Very unlikely she would have been struck off for a mistake. Especially given she admitted the mistake and paid up out of her own pocket to rectify. Probably more worried about her professional indemnity insurance premiums doubling and she would also have to pay a substantial excess on the claim. It was probably cheaper for her to pay to settle it. Also, the insurer might want to have a look at her processes etc. before renewing insurance if she made a claim. Professional indemnity insurance is one of the biggest outlays for solicitors, it costs big, big bucks and the vast majority of claims are on conveyancing files.
Conveyancers often aren’t lawyers.