Dodgy estate agent with heartless motives slammed for casing Brisbane widow’s home before husband’s death notice

A Queensland real estate agent caught by a widow taking photos of her house one day after her husband died has sparked outrage and slew of stories from other people about similar heartless behaviour.

The story, which aired on ABC Brisbane radio yesterday, followed an email sent to talk show host Spencer Howson detailing what had happened:

“My husband passed away in hospital on 24th January, 2012. The afternoon of 25th January I caught a real estate agent taking photos of my house,” wrote the widow.

“When I went to approach her to find out why she was taking photos, she ran to her car, jumped in and took off at speed.

“On telling this tale to friends because I was so upset by the whole incident, other stories emerged – apparently the agents have someone on the inside at the hospital who feeds them information about the properties of newly deceased.

“My problem is with the estate agents who act on this information immediately, especially preying on the vulnerable older widows. Since when did this become acceptable behaviour in Australia? Surely they can wait a month at least before trying to get their business. I hadn't even contacted a funeral director to make any arrangements, so no notices were in the paper,” she says.

The widow is not selling the house.

The ABC did not reveal the name of the agent, or the agency she worked for. The widow reported that she knew it was an agent because her neighbour saw the woman get into a car that had an agency’s brand painted on it.

Following the airing of the program (listen here in full), other people have written in to describe similar behaviour from other unscrupulous agents.

“Soon after my dad died, we got a phone call from a real estate agent, wondering whether my mum would be selling the house,” wrote Helen.

“I wrote a strong letter to the manager of the real estate agency, but did not receive any apology,” she added.

Jeff blogged:  “I live next door to a real estate agent and witnessed a similar incident as was described on your program. The agent noticed that relatives were cleaning out a house across the road and they approached them to list the property.

“They then purchased the property themselves and immediately subdivided it into two lots. When they were showing people the house for re-sale they would drive their car the 50 metres from their own house so the prospective buyer was unaware they lived so close.”

Silvija blogged: “When we had a garage sale, we were approached by an estate agent asking if this was a deceased estate ... also when my father passed away my mother went through the same as [another commentator], but she was contacted by phone and was talked into selling and buying a smaller home without having time to grieve.”

Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO Anton Kardash told ABC Radio Brisbane that he was “bemused and distressed” by the incident.

“Such behaviour by an agent is clearly in breach of the ethical standards that we operate on,” he said.

However, he said did not understand why an agent would photograph a house she was not selling.

Kardash says Thomson and anyone else who has been the victim of such behaviour should contact the REIQ’s complaints line, which last year received about 13,000 calls.

For tips on how to secure listings the right way, download our free eBook 50 smart tips for real estate agents to sell more in a tough 2012.