Domain.com.au is just Stupid!

Or perhaps it is the Real Estate agents managing the ads. Either way it is a frustrating, annoying and above all stupid.

Ummm, perhaps I should explain what I am talking about.

I am currently, sort of,  looking for a place to buy in Melbourne. I am attempting to do the sitting back and waiting to pounce thing, which basically means that I have signed up to alerts from the various real estate sites  including domain.com.au. So today, as is usual for a Monday morning, I am sent an email with "New and updated" properties that meet my criteria. In todays email a good looking property popped up.

In the right price range looks to be about the right size and close to a good shopping area and railway station.

Sweet!

So I click through to the page for the house, looks reasonably promising from the site of that. But I notice that there is sale type or inspection times. Thats a bit weird, no matter I'll do my usual things, loading up Google Earth and Street view and checking how it looks, calculating the land area, do a quick search for anything about the house.

It all looks pretty good, so I inquire when the inspections are on. I actually get a call pretty quick from the agent.

It was sold yesterday at Auction.

What the fuuuuuuuuuu...............

Why the hell am I getting it highlighted to me as an updated property? It sure looks like the update should be that it has sold! But it would seem that the update is simply removing the sale type and date etc. If I'd gone there and seen the auction date as yesterday I wouldn't have bothered looking any more. Assuming they just hadn't updated it yet.

Why wouldn't you just delete the whole ad? Or update it to say sold! Which is what they have done on realeastateview.com.

I notice that Domain isn't the only site that has done it is is the same way on realestate.com.au, that is no sale type or date shown.

Ahh I feel better now, I'd just wish they'd sort the site out (but I will admit that they do have a lot of problems to fix....).

So apparently you need a cheque....

If you want to go to Auction you need a cheque, a cheque that is worth 10% of the final price of the house.

Now, I don't know about you but to me this seems a little..... antiquated shall we say. I could conduct a survey of people my age to ask them if they have a cheque book but I already know the answer, with the exception of one friend that is living in the US not one of them will own a cheque book, ok maybe one or two will but the vast majority, in excess of 99% won't have a cheque book.

In the very, very, exceedingly rate case that I need a cheque I go and get a bank cheque and thats all fine and dandy, it works because I know in advance how much I need for the cheque, who to make it out too etc etc. That doesn't quite work for an auction. I suppose you could go and get one made for 10% of your bidding limit, but that doesn't work so well when you get out bid, or a little carried away and go past your 'limit'. Say you lose the bid, then you have dropped $30 or whatever it is that the banks now charge and all you've got is some expensive scrap paper or something.

Also, does a personal cheque strike you as a little, well bouncy? Obviously you're supposed to have the cash etc etc to back it up when you actually bid at the auction, but that doesn't always happen.

So why do real estate agents continue to stick with the crazy rule that you need a cheque? Whats wrong with a few thousand dollars via EFTPOS on the day of the auction (invariably a weekend) to indicate the intent to purchase and the commitment and then paying the rest of the deposit during the week, from a bank directly into the persons bank account?

Time taken to get money into Vendors account:

• Cheque: Deposited on the Monday following the Auction, 10% in the account by maybe Friday but its a big cheque so the bank probably finds an excuse for it to take longer to clear so they can use the cash a little bit.
• EFTPOS + EFT: ~$3000 on day of auction in Vendors account, buyer goes into bank on Monday morning then the remainder of the 10% in account by Tuesday morning.

Isn't it time Real Estate Sales where dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century?

While I wait for that to happen I am off to organise a cheque book.....