LAND AGENTS' FEES

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 103, 28 October 1933, Page 8

LAND AGENTS' FEES

(To the Editor.) Sir,—The Bill brought forward in the Upper House by the Hon. K. McCallum would be most unfair to land .agents. I should like to ask the lion, gentleman, through your columns, whether he would be willing'to accept the same rate of. pay in his own profession, charging as scale charges in full on the equity only ot properties purchased by bis clients, subject to heavy mortgages and transferred by him on behalf o£ the purchasers? Or again, would he accept as full payment on all heads 2Vs per cent, commission on the actual amount awarded by the Law Courts on any claims he might succeed in winning or in compensation cases successfully prosecuted by him, making no charge at all if unsuccessful, which is the basis on which land accents work? ' Speaking with an intimate knowledge ot Wellington land agents' charges during the past thirty years, there has only been one small rise in commission rates over that period, viz., 5 per cent, on the first £300 instead of on the first £200 and fh per cent, on the balance, in spite of the tact that general running costs'and expenses have all more than doubled, in addition to the licence fees, fidelity bond, etc., which now have to be provided for, to say nothing of heavy petrol expenses in showing clients properties in all parts of the district) none of which expenses the laud agent can book up on his bill of costs.Again the Government charges stamp duty on the full purchase money on any registered sale, even if the purchaser pays only £50 deposit on a. £1000 sale, or over, j so' penalising the small man who previously had to put a Is stamp only on his contract note in lieu of the present stamp i tax of 22s per £100. . a It is questionable whether there are.any land agents in New Zealand today making a fair Jiving out of the land-selling business done on the present commission basis, although they work all hours trying to serve the general public. As the sale ot y. property heavily mortgaged takes as much or more negotiation to bring to a I successful issue, why should venders get out of paying their agents for work doiio by them, for surely the agents _ have rendered their venders great service in freeing them of heavy mortgage liabilities? If the Act became law it would do all land agents out of a. legitimate business which in many cases has taken a lifetime to build up. Fortunately lor land agents in general, there are members ot the Council who will sec that such an injustice as that proposed by the iioii. Mr. McCallum is not perpetrated, and 1, as a land agent, wish to. express my thanks and appreciation for the attitude taken up by those gentlemen.—l am, etc., 11. ERNEST LEIGHTON.