Battle between estate agents Oliver Booth and Marcus Chiminello goes public over $140,000 Toorak penthouse commission

An explosive commission battle between two top Toorak estate agents has gone public despite the REIV's attempt to deal with the dispute between its members on a confidential basis.

The battle is over the $140,000 commission entitlement following the $14 million sale of a Toorak penthouse.

RT Edgar agent Oliver Booth has reportedly filed the complaint against Marshall White agent Marcus Chiminello.

They both claim to have introduced the same undisclosed buyer.

The “notification of complaint” was reported by the Sunday Herald Sun.

Chiminello says the buyer approached him.

“At the end of the day I’ve done nothing untoward," he told the paper.

"We were reappointed to sell the property and we facilitated a deal.”

Booth had taken a buyer through the property four times and secured an offer in writing of $14 million, including the furniture.

But Chiminello sold it to the same buyer just days later.

The vendor authority for an exclusive agreement had reportedly been with Booth who then encountered difficulty in contracting the vendor as the Chiminello sale approached.

The Orchard Piper development even had celebrity US agents the Altman Brothers lending their name to the property's marketing.

One source said the REIV would not be happy with the disputes between members leaking out as it seems the leading agents were working on just one percent commission.

The $14 million sale price reported by the Herald Sun varies with the press release advisory which indicated it was $16 million plus, albeit without any advisory of any property and furniture allocation.

"Marshall White agent Marcus Chiminello sold the penthouse of 29 Washington Street, Toorak last week in an off market sale for a price that was nearly double the previous record of $8.2 million," the national media was advised.