Pensioner’s home fight
The Te Puea Marae volunteer said Lee initially offered just $ 500,000, before upping that to $ 560,000 when she told him another realty firm had appraised the home at much more.
Ewe claimed she asked if her lawyer should be present and believed she was signing some sort of agency deal. She is unsure where she will go and the family are seeking urgent legal advice in a bid to halt the sale.
A family friend and industry insider, who the Weekend Herald has agreed not name, said Ewe would have been under immense “emotional duress and stress” at the time.
The friend contacted Lee in February asking him to void the contract, but had not heard back.
“The price is well below the market value, she’s got nowhere to go, she’s a sick woman and these people have taken advantage of her.”
The friend believed a law change was needed to give people greater protection in private treaty sales.
The Real Estate Agents Authority said homeowners did not have to sell through licensed real estate agents, but had less access to redress if something went wrong in a private sale through an unlicensed salesperson.