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A real estate agent who thought she was acting appropriately by purchasing a retiree’s property for $500,000 less than its market value has now had her license suspended.
Rachelle Carmen Nohra took advantage of the 82-year-old with alcohol problems and symptoms of Alzheimer’s by purchasing his Sydney home for $600,000.
She offered this price despite knowing his property had a similar value to one sold next door for $1.1 million.
She promised that the retiree – known for legal reasons as Mr A – could remain living at the property for the rest of his life.
However, their subsequent tenancy agreement allowed him to be evicted with 90 days’ notice, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal found.
The tribunal noted that Nohra seemed unable to recognize the conflict between her interests and those of the retiree when she bought his home, nor that he was susceptible to exploitation.
“(Her) lack of insight into such basic matters is of serious concern to the tribunal,” senior member Lachlan Bryant wrote.
Nohra had appealed to the tribunal to reverse the Commissioner for Fair Trading’s ruling, which suspended her license for a year, fined her $11,000, and required her to undergo additional training.
She contended that she was still a “fit and proper person” to act as a real estate agent.
Ultimately, Bryant concluded that she had exploited the 82-year-old by buying his property without providing him with an opportunity to seek financial or legal counsel.
“After the sale costs, the applicant expected to gain around $500,000, according to her own estimates, and upon completion, she benefited at the retiree’s expense,” Bryant stated.
Her actions were “sufficiently closely connected to her profession” to warrant reprimand and punishment, the tribunal found.
“(Nohra’s) belief that purchasing (his) property in the circumstances was the right thing to do is of serious concern,” Bryant said.
“(Her) conduct may put the real estate industry into disrepute and falls short of the community’s expectations of a licence holder.”
She had failed to repay further money to the retiree or take steps to ensure his tenancy at the property was secure over the long-term, Bryant noted.
Nevertheless, he opted not to enforce a harsher penalty requested by Fair Trading, which would have included permanently revoking her license and prohibiting her from practicing as a real estate agent for three years.
That was “too harsh”, he found.
Nohra and Eser Property have been approached for comment.
