'No case to answer' in Queenstown complaint

Queenstown buyer Pete Deuart complained a local real estate agent had snapped up his dream home.

Wayne Cafe, a Ray White agent, bought the $385,000 property, listed with another Ray White real estate agent, Gavin Castles.

Deuart told local paper Mountain Scene: "There hasn't been a house like that probably for sale in Queenstown for about 10 years. When you're looking every day you know when something comes up like that.”

REINZ regional director Liz Nidd said the REAA had responded to the complaint within a week, which she said was unheard of, and found there was no case to answer.

The Authority wrote in its decision: “We have sighted a copy of the successful offer made by the purchasers. This was accepted by the vendor on 18 July 2012. We have also sighted a backup offer for the property which was accepted by the vendor on 19 July 2012. This agreement would only take effect if the first agreement failed (which it did not). In the circumstances, the licensee believed a sale was imminent and did not encourage you to make an offer… we do not believe a breach of the Act has occurred.”

It said agents were entitled to purchase real estate marketed through their own agency, provided they met the obligations of the Act, including informing the vendor that they were a real estate licensee and getting an independent valuation.

It said it would take no further action.

Nidd said: “The complaint that was made to the REAA regarding Gavin Castles of Ray White, Queenstown, has now been investigated by the Authority and it has been established that all necessary protocols and procedures to comply with the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 and the ‘Client Care Rules’ have been complied with and there is no conflict of interest therefore it has been dismissed.”

She said the agents were relieved.

“They are over the moon. They have gone to hell and back over the past week.  In a town the size of Queenstown, it’s much worse, they’ve had fingers pointed at them.”

Nidd said it was unfair that the case had been made public before a judgement was reached.

Under normal circumstances, the agents would only be named if they were found to have participated in misconduct.

She said it was not uncommon for purchasers to come forward and say they would have paid more for a particular property after a sale.

“This guy didn’t even inspect the property. There was a hole in the kitchen floor. There was also a back-up offer from a member of the public. If he’d been looking as diligently as he claimed, he would have been on their books and would have been notified.”