Real estate agent pinged for not revealing roadworks that cost owner $160,000

A real estate agent has been found guilty of misconduct for failing to tell all buyers about roadworks affecting the property. Photo / Doug Sherring

A real estate agent has been found guilty of misconduct after a buyer claimed they lost $160,000 because they were not told about roadworks affecting the resale value of a South Auckland home.

Indra Prasad, then with Harcourts Image Realty in Manukau, was found guilty of misconduct by the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal for failing to tell all buyers and relevant colleagues about the roadworks.

Kamaljit Singh subsequently bought the Goodwood Heights property at auction on February 6, 2016.

Then after renovating the home, he once again put it up for sale where it was bought by a successful bidder at another auction in July of that year.

However, the bidder pulled out of the purchase after learning the property would be affected by the Redoubt Road-Mill Road Corridor Project, whereby a 107sq m chunk would be lost from the front of the property so the road could be widened.

Singh claimed the loss of the sale cost him $160,000, including $40,000 in renovation costs.

He said he was only told about the major roadworks when he attempted to resell the home.

Singh then laid a complaint, leading to charges being brought against Prasad.

Prasad told the disciplinary hearing that during open homes at the Goodwood Heights property she had told all interested buyers about the upcoming roadworks after finding out about them from a neighbour.

She also said she told colleagues at Harcourts Image Realty about the roadworks during sales meetings, including Kerry Thorstensen, the owner of the agency, who also acted as the auctioneer during its sale.

She said she also told fellow agent Chetanya Verma, who made bids at the auction on behalf of Singh.

But both Thorstensen and Verma denied this.

Prasad told the tribunal they were lying as part of a conspiracy against her.

When contacted by the Herald, Prasad repeated this, saying she had been "thrown under the bus".

She claimed to the Herald there was a video of the February 2016 auction, showing that all buyers were verbally warned before the bidding started that the property would be affected by roadworks, but that this hadn't been discovered by the investigator.

The tribunal ruling acknowledged Prasad had told some people attending open homes at the property about the roadworks.

However, it found her guilty of misconduct for failing to tell all potential buyers and colleagues.

It also found Prasad guilty of retrospectively adding or expanding entries to her diary to make it look like she had told all potential buyers and colleagues about the roadworks.