Saturday, February 7, 2009

Reason 0030 : Unethical Real Estate Agents (ERA Realty Network)

A real estate agent from ERA Realty Network, Jeremy Ang, helped sell his clients' flat in Riverside Piazza (above) to his boss' wife.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_329257.html

The boss of the agent, ERA Senior agent Mike Parikh, had got his wife Madam Sadiq to buy a flat sold by his subordinate and Madam Sadiq had re-sold it almost immediately for $945,000, making a hefty profit of $257,000 in the process.

The two ERA agents were slammed by High Court Judge Choo Han Teck for their unethical behaviour in the transaction of a two-bedroom downtown flat. He found that the conduct of agent Jeremy Ang and his boss, Mr Mike Parikh, senior group division director at ERA, amounted to breach of duty and fraud.

Justice Choo rejected the testimony of ERA's top brass - president Jack Chua and senior vice-president Marcus Chu - that the two men had done nothing wrong. The judge said it was clear why they thought so - Mr Chu admitted in court that he and others in the company, as well as agents in other companies, had done the same thing.

Justice Choo also rejected arguments by ERA that it was not liable for the actions of its agents, who are 'independent contractors'. The option form had ERA's logo printed on it; the commission agreement was between Madam Wong and ERA; and the newspaper advertisements sought to persuade the public that they would have the backing of the company and its network by engaging an ERA agent. It was also ERA - not Mr Ang - which took the couple to the Small Claims Tribunal when they refused to pay the commission on the sale.

However, less than 24 hours after the court's ruling against it, ERA swung full force into damage control mode.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_335387.html

ERA will now require all agents to sign an undertaking at the start of each sale transaction, assuring customers that all possible conflicts of interest will be 'properly disclosed to the best of the agent's knowledge', ERA said in a press release on Saturday.

ERA will also put implement an 'extended' code of ethics for agents and customers, ERA president Jack Chua said. This will be finalised within the next three months. The other measures will come into effect immediately, he added. ERA held a special meeting yesterday morning to brief all its agents on the new procedures.

What is most disturbing about this incident is that ERA's top brass - president Jack Chua and senior vice-president Marcus Chu - felt that nothing wrong has been done and also that Mr Chu admitted that he and others in ERA, as well as agents in other companies, had done the same thing.

The fact that many agents are doing it does not make this despicable act any less wrong. This is a clear case of fraud with premediated intention to deceive and the responsible parties should be jailed if possible.

What is even more telling that right after president Jack Chua said no wrong doing has occurred, ERA had implemented stricter ethics guidelines for all of its agents. This, coupled with Mr Chu's admission that he too had flipped properties in this way, serves to cement the impression much better than any court ruling could, how lacking ERA agents are in ethics.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really do not understand why Singapore comes up with this ERA service for renting rooms. Each time I want to look for a room, I have to go through these agents and pay them half a month as commission. I try not to move too many times to avoid this additional costs. The rent in Singapore is already rocket high and they even charge us for helping us to look for rooms? I can look for rooms myself now that everyone is internet savvy, thank you very much. Still, this agents will spam the web with their advertisements. Oh my god, this is terrible. I understand if you want to rent a house/apartment, we render the service of this agents but it's just a freaking room. Why are they making so much profit from doing nothing other than just preparing the contract?

Anonymous said...

This piece of contract is either to protect or your landlord when certain unforeseen circumstances or situation takes place. For instance, when a landlord is having difficulties collecting rent from the tenant, the contract will have clear indications of steps to be taken and will be a strong support against such tenant.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.
I will always bookmark your blog and will come back very soon.
I want to encourage you continue your great job, have a nice evening!



Look into my blog post: Home Staging Minneapolis

Anonymous said...

Definitely consider that that you said. Your favourite reason appeared
to be at the net the simplest thing to have in mind of.
I say to you, I definitely get annoyed whilst other folks think about worries that they plainly don't recognize about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the top and also outlined out the whole thing without having side-effects , other people can take a signal. Will probably be again to get more. Thanks

my web blog: Slim Helper Diet

Anonymous said...

Simply desire to say your article is as astonishing.
The clearness in your post is just spectacular and i could
assume you're an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please continue the rewarding work.

Also visit my site ... the Diet Patch

Anonymous said...

Fine way of describing, and good article to obtain information regarding my presentation topic, which i am going
to present in school.

Also visit my site - TruVisage Anti Aging

Anonymous said...

hello!,I really like your writing so much! proportion we keep in touch more approximately
your article on AOL? I need an expert on this space to resolve my problem.
May be that is you! Looking forward to look you.


Feel free to surf to my page :: Buy Raspberry Ketone

Anonymous said...

Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets
I could add to my blog that automatically tweet
my newest twitter updates. I've been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.

my website; Male Enhancement

Anonymous said...

Now I am going to do my breakfast, afterward having my
breakfast coming yet again to read more news.

Here is my web-site ... Ripped Muscle Xtreme

Anonymous said...

Amazing! This blog looks just like my old one! It's on a totally different topic but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Superb choice of colors!

Have a look at my web site acai ultra lean

Anonymous said...

Everything is very open with a really clear clarification of
the issues. It was truly informative. Your site is useful.
Thank you for sharing!

Here is my web-site :: muscle supplement

Anonymous said...

Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up and the rest of the website is very
good.

Look into my web blog - Fast Muscle Growth

Anonymous said...

Hey There. I discovered your blog using msn.
That is a very neatly written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and come back to learn more of your helpful info.
Thanks for the post. I'll definitely return.

Check out my site ... free raspberry ketone

Anonymous said...

My family members every time say that I am wasting my time here at net, however I
know I am getting experience daily by reading such pleasant articles.


Also visit my weblog - tom ford partner

Anonymous said...

I pay a quick visit every day some blogs and blogs to read articles,
but this web site gives feature based posts.

my web page: muscle enhancers

Anonymous said...

Wow, this post is pleasant, my sister is analyzing such things,
so I am going to convey her.

Look into my site ... make money online from home

Anonymous said...

I think the admin of this web page is actually working hard for his site, as here every material is
quality based data.

Also visit my webpage Ripped Muscle Xtreme

Anonymous said...

Wow, wonderful blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is fantastic,
as well as the content!

Also visit my web page ... Buy swiss rose

Anonymous said...

I read this article fully concerning the resemblance of most recent and earlier technologies, it's amazing article.

Here is my homepage ... Build muscle

Anonymous said...

Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with SEO?
I'm trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I'm not seeing very good gains.
If you know of any please share. Appreciate it!

My web site ... Hard knight

Unknown said...

I am so grateful for your article. Much thanks.
Tayyabs

Rashid Awan said...

I am so grateful for your article. Much thanks.
BEST NURSERY GLIDERS

Unknown said...

Really helpful article. Great share
iMessage on PC

Ella Logan said...

Nice blog and extremely wonderful. You can do impressive much better but I still say this perfect. Keep trying for the superlative. Click Me

Unknown said...

Really helpful article. Great share
iMessage Guide

Zubair Ahmad said...

"Thanks for this complete list. I have check all of these websites, all are in working
and I get many of the backlinks for my website. Thanks...

SocialSteeze Reviews myfolio

Social Steeze Review realitysandwich

SocialSteeze Reviews cycling74

Social Steeze Reviews picoolio

Social Steeze Reviews liveinternet

Ali Aziz said...

The blog is very interesting and inspiring for. Love the blog very much.



Move 4 Less
Move 4 Less
Move 4 Less
Move 4 Less
Move 4 Less
Move 4 Less
Move 4 Less
Move 4 Less

villagetalkies said...

Great information!!! Thanks for your wonderful informative blog. Village Talkies a top-quality professional corporate video production company in Bangalore and also best explainer video company in Bangalore & animation video makers in Bangalore, Chennai, India & Maryland, Baltimore, USA provides Corporate & Brand films, Promotional, Marketing videos & Training videos, Product demo videos, Employee videos, Product video explainers, eLearning videos, 2d Animation, 3d Animation, Motion Graphics, Whiteboard Explainer videos Client Testimonial Videos, Video Presentation and more for all start-ups, industries, and corporate companies. From scripting to corporate video production services, explainer & 3d, 2d animation video production , our solutions are customized to your budget, timeline, and to meet the company goals and objectives. As a best video production company in Bangalore, we produce quality and creative videos to our clients.