Vendors fooled by fake death

Paul Martin and wife Ronika Chand. Photo / Christine Cornege

A couple knocked $5000 off the asking price for their house after a former real-estate agent claimed a potential buyer's relative had died and the family needed money to return to Samoa.

The only trouble was, nobody had died.

The agent, Rita Charles, was last month found guilty of disgraceful conduct by the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal. But vendors Ronika Chand and husband Paul Martin's claim about the fake death was not covered by the tribunal case, which centred on Charles' attempt to act as an agent for them when they were trying to sell the house privately on auction website Trade Me.

Chand said they thought Charles was simply a friend of the purchasers, as she had brought them to view the home in Clover Park, Manukau.

"As far as I was concerned she was just a representative of the family."

Chand said Charles told her the purchasers couldn't afford to buy the house as the husband's mother had died and he was preparing to return to Samoa. "Ten minutes later she called me back and said she'd spoken to the purchaser again."

Charles had said the purchasers were still interested in the house but asked if she could drop the price by $10,000. The couple agreed to come down by $5000 "on compassionate grounds".

When the purchasers visited the house, Martin passed on his condolences and felt the husband seemed "surprised" by his words, but it wasn't until well after the purchase was completed that the buyer's wife admitted nobody had died.

"She said, 'My husband's mother never died'," said Chand. But the purchasers weren't aware of Charles' tactic while the deal was being made. Chand, who now lives in the Waikato, said she felt no ill will towards the couple. She said the house, which she'd bought at age 23 for $279,000, was her pride and joy. She did it up and sold it for $295,000.

The house was bought by Lesina and Petelo Tupe for their daughter Ana Mika and her husband, who would pay it off.

Mika confirmed to the Herald on Sunday that Charles had told the vendors her husband's mother had died, and that it was untrue and they weren't in on the story.

But Charles said she had "sacrificed" much for the vendors and was bitterly disappointed by the tribunal's decision. She claimed they had "twisted everything around" and she was devastated that her name had been dragged through the mud. "I'm very disappointed about this."

Later her cousin, also named Lesina, contacted the paper saying the matter had been resolved and we should drop the story. She said Charles was "a good person" who had suffered a great deal of stress as a result of the tribunal case and media coverage.

Real Estate Agents Authority boss Keith Manch confirmed the authority had investigated Charles' false claim that someone had died, although the matter was not mentioned in the tribunal's decision.

He said Charles was no longer working in the industry when the tribunal fined her $750 - the maximum fine available at the time of her infringement.

"Her disciplinary history would be taken into account if she was to apply to become a real-estate agent in the future," Manch said.

Charles, who at the time of the deal was employed by Nationwide Real Estate Haron and Co in Papatoetoe, is now listed as an adviser on the Government's Financial Service Providers Register for American Income Life Insurance, based in Avondale.