A lawyer in Victoria is on his way to the Supreme Court for selling properties at a fixed rate of A$4,400. Peter Mericka, the proprietor of Lawyers Real Estate and Sale by Lawyer Online Direct, is being taken to court by Consumer Affairs Victoria for alleged breaches of the Estate Agents Act and the Fair Trading Act.

Mericka, who started his business eight years ago, says he  saw the opportunity for lawyers to win back market share from real estate agents simply by utilising the internet. “For five-years they left me alone, until I announced I was going to franchise,” said Mericka. “As soon as they realised what we were doing, they said lawyers should not be able to negotiate the sale of real estate. They don’t seem to realise the implications this assertion has for lawyers and licensed conveyancers who regularly negotiate on behalf of purchasers as well as vendors.”

At Lawyers Real Estate the terms of the contract are handled by Mericka and his team, who advise both buyers and sellers, but never both in the one transaction. Property owners are required to seek independent advice about the value of their property, and once they have decided on an approximate price, Mericka and his team complete the price and contract negotiations with prospective buyers. “Negotiations in a sale have always been done by lawyers, and now licensed conveyancers are permitted to perform this legal work. Real estate agents are prohibited from doing anything more than ‘filling up’ standard form documents, or contracts prepared by lawyers or licensed conveyancers,” Mericka added. “Real estate agents need licenses so that they can do some of the minor contract work involved with what lawyers do in a sale.”

Mericka said his case was a “watershed” moment for the industry. His case is built on the premise that contract negotiations are the role of the lawyer alone, while Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Real Estate Institute of Victoria are arguing that only licensed real estate agents should be permitted to undertake the business of negotiating the sale of real estate. “The outcome of the case may affect the extent to which lawyers and conveyancers can represent their clients in real estate sales, particularly if the Supreme Court finds that neither is entitled to represent their clients in negotiating real estate contracts,” he said. “There is no skill required in selling real estate, it sells itself.”

In New Zealand lawyers have been able to sell real estate as agents for many years after legislation was changed. According to the New Zealand Law Society president Jonathan Temm there are “real opportunities” to be gained from selling real estate, with more than 20 firms already undertaking the practice. Mericka said he had a number of firms in NSW and Queensland interested in becoming franchisees, but that those parties were all waiting to see what the outcome of the Supreme Court matter will be.